How to Start a Green Consulting Business

Part 1 - How to start a Green Consulting business - Background

A green consultant business offers consulting services related to sustainability, conservation, and similar issues. Today’s businesses have a strong incentive to “go green,” both to meet evolving regulations and to improve their image. Organizations are feeling pressure to be more environmentally-friendly from governments and the public – including clients and customers – and they need help to do so. Green consultant businesses provide the guidance and expertise businesses need to go green.

Our guide is in 3 parts:

• Part 1 - How to start a Green Consultant business - Background
• Part 2 - Our planner tool to see if this idea is the right fit for you
• Part 3 - Action plan to get started

What are the costs involved in opening a green consulting business?

If you have everything you need to sell yourself as a green consultant – like industry experience, education credentials, and so on – you can start a consulting business with nothing but your laptop and smartphone. But if you are like most people starting out, you will need to get some form of certification or other credentials for clients to take you seriously. There are numerous certification programs out there, ranging from several hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars. It all varies based on the quality of the certification, the time it takes to get it, and the industry it applies to. There are also college and university programs where you can get sustainability and/or green-related degrees.

You should expect to invest in your credentials before you can open your doors for business. And if you are planning on building a team at the outset, you will likely need capital investment and/or a loan to initially pay for salaries, office space, and marketing.

What are the ongoing expenses for a green consulting business?

Ongoing expenses for a green consultant business differ from business to business. If you are all by yourself and working from home, your ongoing expenses may be minimal. If you hire a team and work out of an office, you will have to pay salaries, rent, utilities, and so on. Regardless of the size of your operation, if your industry requires certifications, or something similar, your ongoing expenses will need to include maintaining those certifications.

Who is the target market?

Your target market depends on what industry niche you are focused on. Green consultants serve pretty much every type of business – restaurants, manufacturers, tourism, landscaping, construction, etc. The list goes on and on. Once you know what types of businesses you want to work with, you know your target market. Then, you can hone in your marketing efforts to find businesses that benefit from the services you provide.

How does a green consulting business make money?

Your business will make money by charging clients for your services. The amount you charge will be based on the current demand for your services – you’ll charge less when you start out and more as you gain a reputation – and the scale and difficulty of the job increases. For instance, helping an office of 10 people reduce paper waste will cost less than performing the same service for an office of 100 people.

Pricing is a challenge for all consultant businesses because you have to choose what model makes the most sense. Some charge hourly fees while others charge project-based fees. Still, others may charge a recurring fee for regular or on-call services.

How much can you charge customers?

How much your business can charge will vary depending on your services, your industry, and your experience. It will also vary considerably based on the scale of the job. Resource Management Associates, a green consulting firm, charges between $2,000 and $6,000 for an environmental audit. The price range varies based on the project’s size.

A good rule of thumb for starting a consulting business is to take your last salary and triple it – that’s what you need to make as a consultant. You are doing all of the marketing and client interactions, paying significantly more taxes as self-employed, and need to make enough money to sustain your operation.

How much profit can a green consulting business make?

If you can get a few clients and consistent work, your business should be able to earn enough profit to keep you going. But you should expect it to take a while before you start earning significant profit unless your particular industry is in great demand. With enough clients and a great reputation, it is possible to earn substantial profits as a green consultant business.

How can you make your business more profitable?

You have two options for increasing your profits – get more clients or charge more for your services. Both of these are viable, but generally, it is easier to start by getting more clients. Once you have enough clients to demonstrate the desirability of your services, you can increase your prices.

You may also identify more profitable ventures as your business grows. It might be possible to successfully appeal to different industries that are willing to pay more for your services as you get better at what you do.

Day-to-Day and Growth

What happens during a typical day at a green consulting business?

A typical day at a green consultant business will vary depending on how well established you are. At first, it will mostly consist of marketing and outreach efforts to find clients and secure contracts. You need customers to have a business. But, once you get a few clients, you will be able to move on to the more exciting parts – like interviewing clients, conducting environmental audits, researching laws and regulations, and presenting reports to your clients. You will spend many of your days identifying issues and developing solutions based on the best data you can find.

What are some skills and experiences that will help you build a successful green consulting business?

Industry expertise is probably the most important skill you can have to appeal to potential clients. That’s why most green consultant businesses focus on specific niches, such as residential building development, commercial building development, aviation, manufacturing, and so on. Virtually every industry is trying to improve its environmental impact. If you already know a lot about a particular industry, you will have an easier time selling your services to that industry.

Another major skill that successful green consultants have is the ability to keep up with changing laws and regulations. You don’t want to misstep and give advice that is no longer applicable because the laws have changed. Staying current ensures that your services adhere to current standards.

What is the growth potential for a green consulting business?

The growth potential for a green consultant business is significant. Environmental Analyst found that the global market for environmental consulting reached $34.1 billion in 2017 and continued to grow from there. While you can’t expect your business to reach the peak at the beginning, if you keep working at it, improve your services, and develop a good reputation, you have strong odds of enjoying a growing market for the foreseeable future.

What are some insider tips for jump starting a green consulting business?

It is important in the consulting industry to have a firm grasp of your area of expertise before you offer services to clients. Your business will sink or swim based on the quality of your services and the results you get for your clients. If you don’t know the necessary information, it will likely come back to haunt you. Be sure you feel confident in your abilities.

Another major factor in the work you do will be the current information available regarding research, data, laws, and regulations. Stay up-to-date on all the information related to your services so you don’t encourage clients to spend a lot of money on something that they will regret later.

How and when to build a team

There are numerous tasks to juggle in green consulting. You may be able to handle all of them when you have a few clients, but if you are working for more than two or three clients, you are going to struggle to keep up. As your business scales up, try to hire people before you are desperate for them. A good team will allow you to handle significantly more clients and to do a better job.

Look for employees with skill sets that support your own. You probably don’t need five people that all know the same things. Instead, seek diversity and focus particularly on areas where you know you are not strong.

Part 2 - Is a Green Consulting business the right fit for you?

Part 3 - Action plan to launch your Green Consulting business in 90 days