Small Business Ideas – Green Businesses

Are you looking for small business ideas to bring in some extra money? Not confident enough with a computer to tackle online markets just yet? There are other opportunities out there for you. Remember, we’re looking for businesses that require minimal investment and are as recession-proof as possible.

Because the economy is down, people don’t have as much discretionary income to spend on luxuries. So create your business around a necessity that people will still need and will still be able to afford—even when they don’t have as much income.

Don’t get discouraged. Even in a poor economy, people still need necessities. So there will always be successful small business ideas in any economy.

The Cincinnati Enquirer recently published “Five Businesses for a Down Economy.” In the article, Dan Cavanaugh of the University of West Florida's Small Business Development Center says that he “would look at needed services that are not discretionary.”

The article highlights End of The Line Cafe, a vegan café in downtown Pensacola, Florida. Jen Knight, the owner of the restaurant and coffee shop, recently celebrated the business’s sixth anniversary.

How is the business doing now, six years after Knight and her business partner started it? “We are growing,” Knight said. “We need more space.”

What did Knight do to make End of The Line Cafe so successful? What can other entrepreneurs take away from End of the Line's success and apply to their own small business ideas?

First, Knight started the business with the philosophy that she wasn’t ever going to spend more money than she had. She saved money from a previous job to start the café. Then she bought supplies for the café as she could afford them.

“When I opened End of The Line Cafe,” she said, “I didn’t buy a bunch of bright shiny new equipment. When I had the money, I bought things we needed.”

Put simply, don’t spend what you don’t have. Don't run your business on credit. This philosophy can make your small business ideas more financially successful.

In addition, End of The Line Cafe targets an under served niche within the Pensacola community: vegans. Knight recognized the lack of vegan-friendly food in the area. She then started the business to meet the needs of her own lifestyle. She wanted to provide good quality food for vegans while still appealing to other health-conscious eaters, as well.

Knight also differentiated the product offered by End of The Line Cafe. The food and beverages are vegan-friendly, but, more important, they are simple, healthy, and affordable.

The menu displayed on their website gently teases, “Don’t ask for no fancy blended Starbucks!” Even though the business is a restaurant and a coffee shop, it is deliberately trying not to compete with the established businesses out there.

It wants to offer a different product. The menu consistently describes the food itself as “fresh,” “organic,” and “homemade.”

Knight keeps operating costs down by recycling virtually everything that she brings into the restaurant. Going green is a popular new trend. It reduces both operating and start-up costs, so it can actually financially strengthen small business ideas. Going green makes it easy for people to start small businesses.

Knight picks up food scraps to send to a compost site, also recycling all paper and plastic products. Many of her supplies, including light bulbs, hand soaps, and glass cleaners, are eco-friendly.

Knight tries to conserve gas in an effort to help the environment. She has all of her food deliveries made by bicycle. She and her business partner even shop for supplies for the café on their bikes. This makes End of The Line Cafe even more appealing to an eco-friendly clientele.

These measures also save money. For example, the energy-saving light bulbs cut electricity costs. Likewise, the bike deliveries save money on gas and automotive expenses. Money-saving measures like these allow those who don't have a lot of capital to launch their small business ideas.

The café offers its food and beverages at extremely competitive prices. End of The Line Cafe also adds additional value for its customers. Regular open mic nights, poetry readings, and acoustic guitar performances are free to customers, as is wireless internet.

The café’s website also boasts that End of The Line Cafe is “one of the main drop off points for Pensacola Books To Prisoners Program”. Please, if you have any books collecting any dust whatsoever, drop them off with us. They will get sent off to people who will appreciate every…page.”

In supporting charities like this, End of The Line Cafe makes customers feel as though they are supporting a cause and a good lifestyle when they purchase from the café.

End of The Line Cafe shows, easy to start small businesses are out there. You just need to find small business ideas that excite you and then launch them wisely.

Begin by following Jen Knight’s example—don’t spend what you don’t have, find a niche, differentiate your product, keep operating costs low, and add value to your customers. You’ll find that small business ideas really can be easy to implement.

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