I just read a very intesting article from Inc magazine’s website entitled, “Start a Business in the Cheap: Ten Growth Industries.” The author used data from the IbisWorld research service to identify ten industries with exceptional growth anticipated in the near future that someone concluded could be entered cheaply.
One of the industries that was identified was green and sustainable building construction, with a forecasted whopping 23% compounded annual growth rate over the next five years. The author did note that public projects will be waning as stimulus funds are expended, but private projects are on the rise as more projects go after LEED certification.
I don’t know exactly how they determined that this was a business you could “start on the cheap”, but I do know that if I were a landscape contractor seeking growth opportunities, this is a trend I would not ignore.
Of course, you could enter this field by going through training achieving LEED certification. There may also be opportunties to acquire businesses that have already achieved certification and have substantial experience with sustainable projects. (let’s talk about that!)
Here is a link to the article: http://feeds.inc.com/~r/home/updates/~3/vdYzqa9vE8E/story01.htm