2011: Big Changes in Store for The Green Suits

Cross-posted from TheGreenSuits.com:

2010. What a challenging year.

In January 2010, many thought that by the December 2010 we’d all be riding the green economy tsunami. Woo hoo!

And certainly, I looked forward to 2010 with great hope that it would be the breakout year.

But as each month of the year passed–and the job market showed no measurable improvement (and some months, actually regressed)– the new green economy looked less promising.

And that tsunami we thought we’d be riding by now? It is still in sight, but remains well off shore.

2010 was a truly amazing year for me as I became a published author; in April my book–Tailoring the Green Suit: Empowering Yourself for an Executive Career in the New Green Economy–debuted in hardcover and e-book formats. And it sold remarkably well! Thanks to each and every person who bought a copy or downloaded the book to their Kindles and smartphones. I hope you enjoyed reading the book as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Now…A PREDICTION: 2011 is going to be our breakout year…REALLY! (This year I truly mean it!)

And the good news for 2011? TheGreenSuits.com will reach out to thousands more aspiring green business executives across the U.S., empowering them to make the career pivot of their dreams!

You might have noticed that The Green Suits’ logo on this website’s masthead now includes a tag line: the executive recruiting and career development community for the green business revolution. And in Spring 2011, this site will become a true online community, redesigned to help business executives seek obviously green careers–in corporate sustainability–or develop resource sustainability and social responsibility practices at not obviously green companies.

As 2011 begins, we will be hard at work transforming TheGreenSuits.com into a true social community. New career advancement and training tools are being developed to help The Green Suits reach their goals, faster. And our guidance will extend to eco-entrepreneurs as they establish environmentally (and financially) sustainable and socially responsible enterprises.

The potential universe of Green Suits is formidable: over the next several years, we estimate that the universe of green-suited American business executives could grow to more than 68 million people. And the core group of Green Suits–those executives who believe “green defines them”–could tally some 15 million executives. And we want to have a role in empowering as many of them as we can!

This will probably be our last post of 2010. We need to wrap up some projects and start early on some new ones. And we are going to take some well-deserved time off.

To all who celebrate, we wish you a Merry Christmas. To others, Happy Kwanzaa. And to others still–Happy Festivus!

And for everyone who reads TheGreenSuits.com regularly, may you all enjoy a happy, healthy, prosperous, and verdant 2011.

LET THE GREEN SUITS REVOLUTION BEGIN!

Corporate Re-Branding is Complete: Dan Smolen Direct Search is Now The Green Suits, LLC; Start It Up, LLC Officially Launched

To quote the Chambers Brothers, “Time has come today!”

During the past four years, my life and career have gone through an amazing transformation. Finally, I have:

• Merged my over 30-year involvement in environmental causes with work and business;
• Written Tailoring the Green Suit, a career guide for ambitious green business executives that is selling well (thank you!);
• Founded an eco-friendly outsourced marketing and business development resource called Start It Up LLC, and;
• Re-engineered and re-branded Dan Smolen Direct Search–my boutique executive recruitment firm for direct/interactive marketing professionals–as The Green Suits, LLC, a career empowerment resource for executive talent eager to enter the green business space.

The Green Suits, LLC

The world is experiencing a major transformation: a “green paradigm shift.” And, The Green Suits, LLC embraces that transformation.

We are more than executive recruiters. The Green Suits, LLC is a career empowerment company providing green business executives (a.k.a. “The Green Suits”) with the tools and resources that they need to build and sustain rewarding careers in obviously green industries (such as renewable energy, green tech, etc.) and not-obviously-green industries (such as insurance, banking, automobile manufacturing, etc., etc.) which require talent to expertly manage the triple bottom-line: people, planet, profits.

In the coming months, The Green Suits–in partnership with some truly amazing resources–will introduce products and services designed to help business executives drive “profitable sustainability” in their companies and achieve great success in their professional careers. Keep checking the The Green Suits web site regularly for late-breaking developments.

Start It Up, LLC

We bear witness to an eco-entrepreneurial explosion.

Entrepreneurs love to solve problems, invent solutions, and turn their garage operations into successful start-up companies. They possess fire-in-the-belly and vision. And some–perhaps the inventor and manufacturer of smart-energy solutions or the high-end apparel manufacturer selling clothing and accessories made from 100 percent post-consumer waste–will achieve great success.

And the elite among them will–after successful initial public offerings–become overnight millionaires.

It happened in all the past recessions, it will happen again in this one: entrepreneurs–especially eco-entrepreneurs–will drive the creation of wealth and the new jobs that will help return our economy to good health and stability.

Yet despite hard work and personal sacrifice, many start-up entrepreneurs fail to realize their dreams and sustain profitable enterprises. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (The SBA) one-third of new businesses fail within the first two years of operation; about 56 percent of them fail by the four-year mark.

That’s where Start It Up, LLC comes in. We provide entrepreneurs with best-in-class marketing and business development solutions to help their dazzling new companies grow and succeed.

Interested in knowing more, check out the web site at StartItUp.com.

I’ve said it many times: our best days lie ahead. Enjoy the ride!

Let That Green Lawn Turn Brown!

Cross-posted from The Green Suits:

In my book, Tailoring the Green Suit: Empowering Yourself for an Executive Career in the New Green Economy, I offer The Green Suit–the intrepid green business executive–suggestions for extending his or her “sphere of influence” well beyond the company gate.

And one meaningful, if not entirely provocative, way of showing your commitment to green is to let your lawn turn brown.

Here in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. we have two seasons: winter and August. And “climatological August” begins around the Memorial Day weekend, when suddenly, daytime temperatures often exceed 90 degrees.

The Washington D.C. suburbs are affluent, home to constellations of well-tended subdivisions. Mornings begin with the sound of irrigation heads spraying millions of gallons of water onto (our) rich green lawns. And those lawns are pretty; for sure, they remain an indelible symbol of The American Dream.

But, those green lawns sprout at the expense of reduced groundwater and watershed capacity. A sudden string of 90-plus degree days–and automatically-set irrigation systems–can severely deplete our water supplies.

That is why I urge The Green Suits to turn off the irrigation system, shut it down for the entire summer, and let their green lawns turn brown. Actually, brown lawns are not dead; during hot summer months lawns go into a resting phase when they extend their roots deeper into the soil to extract moisture. Irrigation might yield a pretty green lawn, but in summer months heavy watering actually weakens lawns, making them more susceptible to root stress, and insect damage from grubs and other nasties.

As The Green Suit with the brown lawn you may get some not-so-approving looks from your neighbors. But, you will be doing the planet a big favor by cutting down on your water usage. Furthermore, you will enjoy big reductions in your monthly water bills.

So this summer, go green by committing to a brown lawn. Get your household to buy in to a solid triple bottom line strategy: turn that green lawn brown to help the planet conserve water, aid people (by making water available to more residents of your community), and impact the pocket book with considerable utility cost-savings.

photo h/ts California Water Alert and Rutgers University.

10 Things You Can Do to Celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day

Cross-posted from The Green Suits:

Happy 40th Earth Day!

Today is THE DAY to reflect on the Earth’s resources and its long-term health and survival.

It is the day to commit ourselves to building a strong and sustainable green economy, one that rids the U.S. of its utter dependence on foreign-sourced energy while helping us regain our leadership in the development of renewable energy and green technology. It is also the day to encourage companies to conserve resources and be corporate socially-responsible.

Indeed, Earth Day 2010 is an urgent call-to-action: this year, management executives from across the U.S. will decide that the time is right for them to pivot into green business careers, so that they may do well and do right, making the world a better place.

I believe we have reached the point where opportunities are beginning to overcome many global crises.

And now, millions of us in the executive ranks will become the ambitious, enthusiastic, and enterprising agents of change: The Green Suits.

In writing Tailoring the Green Suit: Empowering Yourself for an Executive Career in the New Green Economy, I set out to guide thousands of aspiring green business executives across the Jordan. But unlike Moses, we embark on this journey with clear heads, strong purpose, and our goals in sight.

And at times throughout our journey we will stop to ask for directions, so that we get to The Promised Land.

Make the 40th Earth Day a meaningful Earth Day. Here are 40 things you can start doing, today:

1. Attend “Green Drinks” events in your area. Log on to the Green Drinks Web site to find the event nearest you. (NOTE: I will be speaking at this evening’s Earth Day Green Drinks event in Fredericksburg, Va.).
2. Did you know that most laundry detergents on the market are designed for cold-water washing? If you have got a full load of laundry ready to go, wash it in cold water.
3. Going shopping today? If you can easily carry the items in your hands, then tell the cashier you don’ t need that shopping bag. And, if you are about to do your weekly grocery run, bring reusable shopping bags, instead. My two extremely large reusable bags with handles have replaced the dozen plastic shopping bags per week that I used to get, or over 600 annually!
4. Plant a tree (or a shrubbery)! To quote Monty Python’s Knights-Who-Say-Ni, chose “One that looks nice……..and not too expensive! ” Plant native species that, when fully grown, will provide shade to nearby dwellings and habitats for birds and other critters.
5. Reuse. How many things do you buy that are designed for single-use…like disposable shavers? Most things have longer shelf lives than are advertised. And those shavers? There is a product on the market that sharpens reusable blades and shavers!
6. Start composting! Placing food scraps in a low-tech compost heap or a spiffy drum-style compost bin helps turn stuff–normally destined for the kitchen sink disposer–into the-most-amazing soil-additive for your…shrubbery!
7. Reduce water consumption by turning off the lawn irrigation, installing low-flow shower heads, or perhaps showering with a friend. (Could be fun!)
8. Check, and if necessary re-inflate, the tires on your car. Remember how President Obama was ridiculed by some for this suggestion? Truth is, it is sound advice: maintaining proper tire-inflation helps improve your car’s fuel efficiency.
9. Use mass-transit. More companies are offering their talent stipends to ditch the car and ride the rails.
10. And, work from home. Virtual office technology is so efficient and well-priced that many of us may be able to switch to a home-office. Aside from the tempting option of working in your jammies, you likely will be more well-rested and more-efficient on the job when you work from home.

But wait! There’s more!

Buy yourself–or some aspiring green executive you know–Tailoring the Green Suit: Empowering Yourself for an Executive Career in the New Green Economy. Kindle and hardcover editions are now available!

Are you in the midst of a job search? Your purchase of Tailoring the Green Suit may be tax-deductible; check with your CPA or professional tax-preparer to find out, for sure!

Write an Op/Ed to Showcase Your ‘Green Business’ Leadership, Knowledge

Cross-posted from The Green Suits:

Last week was a busy one.

Not only was Tailoring the Green Suit finally published, but an op/ed I wrote for the Fredericksburg Va. Free Lance-Star newspaper also got “ink.”

In my book, I stress that the enterprising green business executive–The Green Suit–must continually make a public spectacle of him or herself. And one way to do that is to submit to newspapers in your area opinion pieces you have written, that demonstrate your leadership and familiarity with current green business issues.

My op/ed pointed out a serious problem in the community: while my state is on track to build a formidable green economy, the (Fredericksburg Va.) area where I live may not reap the benefits, because higher education, business, and local government here have not formed the necessary partnership or what I call “a three-legged table.” From the op/ed:

Virginia stands to become a global leader in the new green economy. Several of our academic institutions–Virginia Tech, the University of Virginia, the College of William & Mary, and (the historically African-American) Hampton University–are making great strides in researching and developing green tech. But in Greater Fredericksburg, we will not reap the green-business benefits other Virginia communities will enjoy unless we “build a three-legged table.”

It may be nearly impossible to publish an opinion piece in a major-metro daily newspaper like the New York Times or the Chicago Tribune. But dailies in smaller communities–that are hungry for timely and well-written content–may be inclined to run your piece.

Tailoring the Green Suit discusses this and other ways you may promote yourself as a knowledgeable green business leader. Order it today from Amazon.com.

‘Green Suits’ Book Cover Revealed

Cross-posted from The Green Suits:

Who likes waiting (for anything good)?

Many of you – excited about the impending release of Tailoring the Green Suit: Empowering Yourself for an Executive Career in the New Green Economy – have (emailed me/called me/sent me smoke signals/channeled me/social media messaged me) asking when the book would finally be available for purchase online and on booksellers’ shelves.

Unfortunately, I still do not have a definitive answer to that question. Schedules often take a backseat to quality assurance (as they should). And the production of this book has taken a bit longer than originally planned.

However, we are working aggressively to stay on track for a late March 2010 release. And, I think we will make it.

Meantime, is anybody game for a little show and share?

(Me! Me! Me! PICK ME!)

It is with great pride and excitement that at last we are able to reveal the book’s cover design. Check it out:

I would be remiss if I did not recognize the love of my life, my wife Marsha, for her extensive involvement in the cover design project. We think that the final result looks great and hope that you like it, too.

So the final countdown to book release begins. And now I ask:

Are you ready to tailor your Green Suit?

Book cover ©2010, Dan Smolen.

‘Green Spaces’ Enticing NY’s Ecopreneurs

Cross-posted from The Green Suits:

Earlier, we reported on how vacant retail sites and other dwellings were being re-purposed as truly sustainable work spaces.

Now, a facility in the hip TriBeCa section of New York City is taking the green office movement one step farther; it is enticing ecopreneurs with a highly-engaging way to “co-office.”

Green Spaces takes the 1990s-era shared office work-space model, merges it with sustainable office best-practices, then fosters broad-scale ideation and collaboration by catering exclusively to Manhattan’s emerging class of green business leaders.

Founded by former Merrill Lynch Private Banking Group executive Jennie Neven, Green Spaces provides its members a visually-pleasing office environment, a variety of work space options and start-up business packages that include these top-drawer amenities:

• Business Plan Creation and Consultation from industry leaders
• Fiscal Planning Consult from former Merrill Lynch advisor
• Investor Introductions
• Marketing / Advertising Focus Groups
• Legal Council
• Website / Logo / Branding Services
• Accounting / Quickbooks Set-Up
• Sustainability Consulting

Collaborative work is a well-known trait of the Millennial Generation. Given the fact that so many Millennials are now entering the workplace – and green business executive careers – Neven’s office concept is sure to be an unqualified success.

Forget Politics: Green Business is Here to Stay

Cross-posted from The Green Suits:

Yesterday, I received a comment to an earlier post. The commenter, Kwame, referenced the special election to fill the late Ted Kennedy’s seat in the U.S. Senate. He wondered what affect Republican candidate Scott Brown’s surprise special election win would have on the state of green business. I thought Kwame’s question was an interesting and timely one, worthy of inclusion in a separate post.

From a political standpoint, Tuesday’s special election struck national Democrats like cloud-to-ground lightning. And as a result, Democrats in the U.S. Senate have lost their filibuster-proof super majority of 60 seats.

Massachusetts special-election voters may not have been thinking about green business when they cast their ballots. But with the Bay State’s decision to elect a conservative Republican to the U.S. Senate, the goals that President Obama and Democrats in Congress set out to achieve – including renewable energy projects, green tech, clean tech, and so-called “green jobs” – would appear to be at-risk.

From a political standpoint, time will tell how well green business issues resonate with members of Congress.

But from business standpoint, I don’t think that green business will be severely impacted. From Fortune 100 brands like IBM to Wal-Mart to the smallest of enterprises, many well-respected companies have embraced – or are about to embrace – energy efficiency, sustainability, and corporate social responsibility.

We know that American companies of all sizes are going green because doing so makes good business sense. What we don’t know is how long will it take before the new green economy takes hold.

I have high hopes for 2010. And, in the months ahead, I believe we are going to make a lot of progress on the green business front. Hopefully soon, lots of high-paying green business executive jobs will materialize.

Maybe now, as a result of this stunning Republican win in normally Democratic Massachusetts, green energy and green jobs will be less about politics – less about avoiding filibusters in the U.S. Senate – and more about getting people back to work, quickly.

To paraphrase President Obama, Green business should not be a Democratic Party or Republican Party priority. It should be an American priority.

So to Kwame and the rest of The Green Suits out there, I say forget politics. Green Business is here to stay.

And those green business executive jobs of your dreams? Get ready! They are on the way!