‘We learned that a product doesn’t sell just because you’re trying to do good in the world. You still have to have a healthy distribution, a good marketing strategy, and price the product properly.”
Jerry Greenfield of Ben & Jerry’s, on their “Peace Pop” product that flopped.
This is an important point for those of us who got into business not from the money side but from the idea(lism) side. There are a lot of people in Brooklyn with high hopes of making Brooklyn the greenest city in America. We are idealistic and optimistic. We love green renovations, we get excited by solar panels on Brownstone green roofs.
It is important to remember that a business is just an idea without the business side. All the stuff that has nothing to do with green construction such as accounting, correct pricing, marketing, employee management….this is what will make the best Brooklyn green contractor.
There are a lot of good contractors with strong businesses in Brooklyn. They have all the business side. With time they will learn the green building side. And they will be a force to contend with.
Green builders – real green builders who got into building for the love of green – have a real advantage now. We have the surprise factor. We are riding a wave that many contractors have barely realized is important.
But that is just a little head start at the beginning of the race. To keep the lead we need to also be the best on the business side. This means offering constant good service, having a powerful marketing plan, budgeting jobs effectively, managing the construction team AS WELL as being the best green builders in Brooklyn.
Brooklyn green builders have the passion, the inside advantage and the skills. If we heed Jerry’s advice I don’t see why green builders (Eco Brooklyn included) can’t keep the lead in the greening of Brooklyn buildings so that they are not only the best green contractors but the best contractors, period.