What’s The Big Deal About Green?

By Jayme Broudy, Contractor's Business School

Dear Jayme:
Everything I hear is “Green, green, green”. I don’t disagree with it and I know it’s become a factor in my market, but how important is it? What should I be doing?
- Daniel

Dear Daniel:
You can get on the green bandwagon for a lot of reasons but the simplest one is that if you don’t get on the bandwagon, it’s going to leave without you. Pretty soon a green accreditation will be like a contractor’s license: there’ll really be no option.

The momentum behind eco-everything is building quickly. An increasing percentage of contracting business requires expertise in green methods and materials, along with an ability to explain the economics of green, particularly to smaller commercial and residential clients.

“But” you say,“I know about this stuff. I’ve done some of it. I read my trade magazines. Isn’t that enough?”

For many projects, a flat no; accreditation is required. For others, you’ll be competing against contractors who ARE certified and you’ll lose. Finally, having a general idea and really knowing the right way are two different things.

Now, a few thoughts about the green market and why you should pay attention to it:

• Commercial building owners want to go green, but building new buildings isn’t an option these days. Green retrofits, however, have relatively short payback times and can done in affordable phases. They’ll do them now in a down economy, and more so as things improve. All good for you.

But even retrofit projects cost money. Why are they hot to do green stuff ? Same reason you should be: The ones that don’t won’t be competitive. Green means lower operating costs now (and lower rents later), and better image. Tenants want both. Check this out  (this is a digestible summary of a big study).

• The public sector: more and more public agencies are instituting green requirements for contractors. No green certification, no bid, no business.

• Conventional repair/replace/remodel: Can’t you just work that piece of the business and ignore the green stuff? Sorry, no. Even if they end up opting for conventional solutions, most prospective clients want to at least hear about the green options. If you can’t explain the pros, cons, options and economics to prospects they’ll get estimates (and give the business) to someone who can.

• There are a large group of tax incentives and subsidies that greatly reduce the costs of green construction. These are likely to be expanded and increased and push even more business into the green market.

All in all, a very bright picture for the green contractor and a very shaky one for the old school operator.

How to get started:

Get going on accreditation sooner rather than later. This process takes months, so get started now. You won’t find time when business picks up.

Your trade association should have either its own green accreditation program or be able to point you at the best one for you. Here are a couple to get you going:

• USGBC (U. S. Green Building Council): www.usgbc.org. This group has become the biggest player in the green construction certification business through the LEED system (below).

• LEED: www.gbci.org. This is the leading general accreditation system. They accredit both projects and construction professionals.

And some trade-specific sites:

• NAHB (National Association Of Home Builders): www.nahb.org/category.aspx?sectionID=1174.

• NARI (National Association Of The Remodeling Industry): www.nari.org/certify/certify/.

• Plumbers (Green Plumbers USA): www.greenplumbersusa.com/.

I’ve been harping on using the recession to get your business tightened up and positioned for the future. Get started now and you can be the one riding the wave when the green tsunami hits your market.
Cheers!
Jayme

Jayme Broudy is the founder and principal of Contractor’s Business School, a coaching, training and consulting firm specializing in helping contractors produce more profit in less time. Since 1993, Jayme has worked with hundreds of contractors in many specialty areas to build successful stand-alone businesses. Visit www.contractorsbusinessschool.com or call (800) 527-7545 to get the FREE CD "10 Key Strategies to Build a Business that Works."

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