Some of the words we keep hearing are “double dip recession” and “credit squeeze on housing loans”. World economic crisis effects each and any business market, still there are some markets that are effected much more then other. Real estate business as among those which depend on the economy and also on the banks providing enough credit. If unusual business ideas make the difference, then Tumbleweed Homes is a successful green business idea that will surely overcome all obstacles and cope with crisis. This company creates living spaces that are affordable and eco-friendly. They’re tiny, but that’s where many of those benefits come from. Tumbleweed Homes are not just basic sheds, these homes are little versions of traditional American living spaces and are fully functional to live in year-round!  Surely an unusual green business opportunity!!

If you’re working on real estate market and desperately need an unusual business idea, then this one is your rescue!

The Property magazine has rounded up the top 10 choices for today’s eco-conscious businessman, from a solar briefcase to life-like video conferencing.

1 Pocket solar power

Your phone does suck energy. Fortunately, there’s a range of chargers out there that use solar energy to power your gadgets. The Solio, can power all the standard gadgets – MP3 players, phones, portable games consoles – at the same rate as having it plugged into a conventional plug socket.

2 Eco USB stick

Portable memory hasn’t had the greenest of reputations. There is, however, a less landfill-bothering option: the EarthDrive. The housing of this memory stick is made from biodegradable polyester derived from renewable resources, including corn, and is fully recyclable, according to its manufacturers.

3 Solar for your laptop

If you’re an out-and-about business traveller, you’re always in need of a mobile charging option. This backpack, the Voltaic Generator, can charge your laptop – and any leftover power is housed in the bag’s own battery pack. It features built-in solar panels and the fabric itself is made from recycled pop bottles.

4 Green phone

The Nokia 3110 Evolve, which has covers made from 50 per cent renewable material and less packaging than your average mobile. It also comes with a ‘low load’ charger, which consumes little energy if you forget to unplug it from the wall. Needless to say, you can also recycle the device when you upgrade.

5 Fuel cell batteries

Green batteries for mobile phones are on the way. Angstrom Power has created a hydrogen fuel cell for mobiles and tested it out in Motorola handset. According to the company, the fuel cell system means battery life will be doubled and recharge times cut to ten minutes.
6 Computers that turn themselves off

Telling staff to turn off their computers when they leave the office is a good policy but one way to make sure all PCs go dark when the working day is over is to use remote power management software like Intel’s vPro which can automatically power down a company’s PCs whether they’re on premises or not.

7 Recycled printers

Printers present a myriad of opportunities to green the office. Switching off a printer when not in use, using recycled paper, printing duplex as standard and recycling ink cartridges are all standard ways to make printing more environmentally acceptable. But now some printer makers are taking things a step further – the HP Deskjet D2545 has a body made of 83 per cent recycled plastic.

8 Servers with small footprints

While servers may be at the less sexy end of green tech, they’re certainly one area where an office can make significant cuts in its carbon emissions. Virtualisation is one of many options for greening the data-centre by allowing businesses to run several virtual machines on a single piece of hardware.

9 Telepresence

For offices with a host of frequent fliers, one way to cut travel – and its associated costs and emissions – is videoconferencing. HSBC’s already taken the leap and is seeing its spending drop accordingly. A green meeting option it is, but not necessarily a cheap one: Cisco’s TelePresence units, range from tens of thousands of dollars for the lower end model to hundreds of thousands for the most expensive.

10 Watch your energy

To keep an eye on the energy consumption of all your gadgets you’ll need an energy monitor, a device that gives useful feedback about your electricity habits and how much money all that power is costing you: like this Wattson device from DIY Kyoto

Water Rhapsody have established 16 franchisees in water conservation over the past 6 months from the Cape to the Limpopo. They are still looking for ecopreneurs who want to own their own green businesses in the Free State, North West province and in the Northern Cape. Water Rhapsody has been in business offering water conservation systems for the past 16 years and has some 3000 installation to date. Six months ago it started expanding its operations from Cape Town into the rest of South Africa and there are a few key positions left. For further information see Green Business Opportunities and the Water Rhapsody website

Every now and then a brilliant idea comes along and one needs to find that unique individual to match the opportunity. Usually its the other way around – by this I mean there are lots of good people looking for opportunities, but no good ideas !

At Ecopreneur we are going to help find one individual who is looking for his own business, but is short of a great idea. We have a client who has a brilliant idea in the South African (and could be world wide) security business and is looking for someone to partner him to build a great business. Our client has done the necessary research and is well skilled in business start-ups and particularly in marketing. He seeks a partner to help develop this business – he wants the person to develop the technical, and operational side of the business and to ultimately train others to grow the business. To begin the process please make contact via the Security Industry opportunity

The right candidate will be an enthusiastic and passionate person who has been looking for the right idea for his own business. He may be currently in a corporate environment or already on his own. He is ready to commit to a vision and begin to build a business of which he will be proud. He will be useful with his hands and have a sharp engineering type mind that seeks to technically innovate on existing technologies. He may have had some experience in the electrical/mechanical disciplines, but generally loves a challenge. He will be able to impart his knowledge to others to help grow the business. He will be comfortable with marketing, although this will not be a long term part of his role.

If this is for you, please send an email motivating why this opportunity is for you together with your CV. Details here: Security Industry opportunity

This position has been filled and opportunity is now closed