75 Green Businesses That Can Make You Money

Sure it is nice to be worrying about green issues right now when some of us are worried about our health insurance, but Green is actually becoming big business.

This short list highlights a much bigger one that was compiled a while back. 75 Green Businesses You Can Start and Make Money On is a much more comprehensive list.

It's no surprise that Going Green has figured out a way to turn into a profitable operation. Just watch any presidential debate this time around and you can see there are more and more people that want alternative fuel options because of gas prices. Those aren't the only ways to make some green while going green, however.

What is the Biggest Employee Motivation Killer?

You can't run a business and not notice there are certain things that suck the life out of your employees. LAck of raiseds, fear of being laid off permanently, etc. One thing I have always found managing other employees in my observations are that managers tend to make the mistake of promising thisng they aren't sure of. Things such as telling employees they are not going to have to work overtime on Friday with a notice on Monday and then telling them Thrusday that they do indeed have to come into work that day. This of course would be for employees that work 4 10-hour shift work weeks. These kinds of things are great when they are actually true. Never, ever take something away from an employee that you promised them they would have. Managing employees is as much about psychology in how you handle them as it is about actually being competent at being their manager.

Did I actually tell you what the biggest motivation killer is already? Not if you go by the reason I started this post. In fact it is something that every employee thinks about subconsciously, and a few actually state blatantly when the observation is made. It's that people are not motivated to help the company. They are motivated to help themselves. This is just common sense to most. I care more about a .50 cent raise that covers my weight loss pills for the next year than I do about some exectutive's stock price going up 1/4 of a point. I work for myself. IF I don't get rewarded for working harder, and only the company does, what is my motivation to actually work harder?

Tha tabove paragraph is lined with thoughts from the movie Office Space. One of the most brilliant movies ever made in my opinion. One quote sums it up to me: "It's not that I'm lazy, it's that I just don't care. I could work my ass off so that my boss' stock will go up a 1/4 of a point, but I don't see a dime. Where's the motivation?"

Take a look at this subject discussed in depth here as well as some options to help you understand it, and to help bring back motivation to the work place.

10 Cheap Ways to Brand Recognition

I've always felt that some great promotional items were an easy way to cheaply build brand recognition in the small bbusiness area. Things like pins, calender magnets people always have on their fridge, etc.

I'm always interested in checkign out some easy ways to do a bit of marketing/advertising. When I see a list of cheap ways to do it...even better. Not only are there great ways to do things offline, but with the way the internet plays such a great role in business now there are even some great ways to do it online for virtually nothing. All the while increasing your sales. Take a list of 10 ways to build your brand here.