Goal For The Green

For small business owners, every decision is an important one. For responsible small business owners, this means making responsible, environmentally-friendly choices and growing the business in sustainable, sound ways. However, it can be difficult for small business owners to focus on the environment when they’re so busy worrying about their bottom line. After all, entrepreneurship can be very risky, and small experts estimate that half of all small businesses will fail within the first year. Fortunately, there are small, easy, and affordable ways to be more ecologically minded that won’t be bad for business at all. Here are a few tips to help get you started.

Reduce Waste

First of all, take a look at your business and see if you’re not creating unnecessary waste. A lot of paper waste can be eliminated by switching to email or other online communication. Use social media to reach your audience instead of flyers and other paper material. If you’re in the food industry, look at steps you can take to be more efficient, since food waste is one of the most destructive and unnecessary things you have to deal with.

Start Recycling

This is probably the easiest step you can take since most towns, counties, and municipalities already offer some recycling services, both for businesses and for individuals. Find out what recycling programs are offered in your area and do your best to take advantage of them. Separate your paper waste from cans, plastic, and other materials and recycle them at the appropriate facilities.

Use Green Technology

You don’t need to go it alone when it comes to becoming more environmentally friendly. There is now a whole industry devoted to helping people make more ecologically sound choices, and there is a great deal of new technology available to make it easy to be green. For example, Donaldson filtration systems, sold by a reputable company like Green Leaf Filters, can cut down on environmental waste and destruction. Do some research and find out about new technology that can help your small business do better.

Shop Locally

For your small business needs, look around your neighborhood before turning overseas. A lot of environmental destruction is caused by transporting goods across long distances. You can fight that pollution by shopping locally for your business whenever possible. As a bonus, you’ll be helping your local economy succeed!

Many companies will offer free information that may seem detrimental to business profits. For example, organizations such as Palmco will provide ways to save energy in the home when the company’s primary source of income is that energy used. It’s not to purposely lose money, but it’s a way to enhance the business overall. It’s the same reason why many businesses will hand out free promotional items to people at trade shows. It’s all about the marketing of a brand.

Builds a Reputation

A company that provides this kind of free information to its customers looks more like they are trying to help rather than collect every penny possible. This, in turn, helps develop a better interaction and a reputation as a company that cares about its customers. The company is no longer viewed as a faceless corporation and seems more personable. Over time, this type of marketing has potential to increase sales and productivity as the organization is more trusted by the consumers.

Regularly Engages the Customers

Some products may not require a constant relationship with customers. However, those that base their practices on subscriptions or other re-occurring services have a better chance of enhancing the customer relationship by providing helpful information and tips. This engagement helps solidify business leads and future sales as the company tries to remain as relevant as possible to the individual. It’s a constant reminder that the business is there to help the person in future needs.

Demonstrates Honest Practices

When businesses are not forthcoming with simple information that could help consumers, it may be seen as dishonest. By delivering information or other promotional products, the company has more of an air of trustworthiness to the general populace. This can increase future sales and consumer interest. People are more likely to purchase goods from a company that is trusted rather than one that hides facts or doesn’t assist in basic needs.

Empowers the Populace

The more information people accumulate, the less likely problems will occur in any given situation. Free information and products gives people the sense of empowerment and the ability to control the circumstance. For example, energy-saving tips can make people feel like they have control over their bills and budgets. It’s a boost of self-confidence to succeed in various aspects of life.

Companies that offer free information or advice are doing so to help consumers. While this information or promotional product could be sold, the aspect of free gives it power to be a valuable marketing tool. Enhance your company’s reputation by empowering your customers.

The cost of energy has been steadily increasing and showing no signs of relief any time soon. We asked the electricians at Ruby Electrical to share some ideas about ways to lower energy costs. Specializing in energy efficient lighting, Ruby Electrical offers these tips to lowering energy costs by making changes to lighting.

English: Energy efficient LED lights strung into a holiday decoration. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

1. Choose an energy efficient product. Sometimes choosing a more energy efficient light source is the easiest way to lower your costs. Whether you are light your home or your office space, changing your current lighting to LED lighting can save you more. Unlike incandescent or halogen lighting, LED lights shine bright without burning too hot. Additionally, the same amount of LED light can be produced using less energy than other inefficient types of lighting, which means lower costs for you.

2. Use timers to control when lights turn on or off. Another great way to save money on your energy bill is to use timed lights. Let your daily routine determine your lighting needs. With timed lighting, you don’t have to worry about whether you turned the lights off before leaving the house ever again. Simply set the timer to turn off the lights 5 minutes after you leave. You can also set up the timer to automatically turn on outdoor lighting at night and shut them off in the morning. Adding timers to your office lights allow you to control when the lights of your business are on and off. Set the timer to turn on lights 10 minutes before you open and shut off 10 minutes after closing. You have enough to worry about without having to think about your lighting. Automating your lighting needs will take a load off your mind and keep more money in your bank account.

3. Use motion sensor lighting. Consider how often lights are left on when no one is using the space. Avoid wasting energy unnecessarily and switch to motion sensor lighting. Motion sensor lights turn on only when movement is detecting, so as long as someone is not sitting perfectly still in a room, the lights will remain on. When someone leaves the room, the lights will automatically shut off if no movement is detected after a predetermined amount of time. Motion sensor lighting is especially useful in an office setting when you or your colleagues frequently leave an office light on because you are expecting to be back right away. With motion sensor lighting, if your short trip to break room ends up taking longer than you expected, the lights will shut off before you waste too much valuable energy.

If any of these solutions seem like something you would like to try in your home or office, contact an electrician for a consultation. Ruby Electrical serves the Gold Coast areas of Coolangatta, Robina, and Tweed Heads. Whether you need to shop fittings on the Gold Coast for your home or schedule an office fit out for your business, the professional electricians are available to help you find the right products and styles to fit your needs and lifestyle. Visit rubyelectrical.com.au for more information and to schedule your consultation.