Recently in the news and on television there has been a rising awareness of the plight of our environment and global warming as well as a number of great ways to combat this crisis and create a healthier planet. There are even television programs geared to showing people how to make their homes more environmentally friendly while saving money at the same time. This growing earth friendly trend can create great opportunities for entrepreneurs who want to start a small business in this niche. Think about the number of hybrid cars being sold in the last few years as opposed to 5 years ago and that should give you some indication of how popular a topic the environment is. The Organic Trade Association did a study showing sales of non-food organic products reached $744 million to U.S. consumers in 2005. Keep in mind that any emerging trend in the media or society at large is an opportunity that can create a fortune for a savvy entrepreneur.

There are many areas in the green market that you can take the opportunity to profit from, from energy saving appliances such as light bulbs, organic clothing and apparel, solar panels that can be used to charge i-pods or laptops, hybrid cars, earth friendly cleaning supplies, recycled computers and cell phones and so on. As with any business venture the key is to find a niche that you can be passionate about. Passion is important because without it it will be all too easy to put other things before your business, and hinder your own success. So choose a part of the green market that you may already incorporate into your everyday life or something you've had your eye on but just haven't take the time to see it through.

To ensure success with your environmentally friendly small business venture you'll want to do your market research on the products or services you will be promoting so that you can give your customers valuable and practical information that keeps them coming back to you for more. You might even want to promote complimentary products to your customers who buy and keep in contact with them through an e-mail newsletter that keeps them informed of environmental issues and products as they arise. This is also a great way to promote new products to people who have already expressed an interest in an earth friendly lifestyle. Creating a website or blog to promote your business on the internet is a great starting point.

The green market is one that is growing at great speed and will continue to be a hot topic in the news and in society at large, especially with many governments realizing that they need to cut back on their use of foreign oil in favor of renewable forms of energy such as ethanol, wind power, and solar energy amongst others. This is a perfect opportunity if you can carve your own niche because you will be able to help yourself, your customers, and our planet!