Green Earth Bamboo is a home based green business, started by siblings Corey and Doug Bancorn, which sells organic bamboo textile bedding, clothing, bath towels and baby clothes online.  Because it’s a drop shipping e-commerce business, Green Earth Bamboo sells bamboo products directly to customers without all the additional costs of warehousing and shipping their product.  Green Earth Bamboo became a profitable six figure business in one year, reaching nearly a quarter million in sales the second year.

Now the site only requires 10 hours of work a week – a nice semi-passive income stream. But before you run off to start your own green online business, let’s take a look at what it took to get Green Earth Bamboo off the ground.

Green Entrepreneurship: 3 Keys to Starting a Green Internet Business

For aspiring eco entrepreneurs, starting a green, home-based business is a dream. However, starting any business, even an Internet business, takes a lot of groundwork. Doug and Corey invested a lot of time in preliminary research – researching the market, to identify a profitable sustainable product to sell, vetting bamboo textile suppliers, scoping technology platforms, and learning Internet marketing strategies.

Doug offered three key tips for aspiring green entrepreneurs interested in starting an e-commerce business selling sustainable products:

• Conduct Exhaustive Market Research: Evaluate the demand for your product or service via intensive keyword research to see how many people are searching for what you’re offering on a monthly basis. Use a tool like Google’s Keyword Tool, invest the time it takes to ensure there’s an audience for your particular green business idea.
• Be Picky About Your Suppliers: Whether you’re looking for product suppliers or hiring a company to do your drop shipping or design your e-commerce site, be sure you do a lot of research to ensure they’re a good match. Ask lots of questions and get anything you agree upon in writing.
• Don’t be Distracted By Shiny Marketing Objects: The Internet abounds with the latest and greatest Internet marketing tools, systems, and products that promise “Traffic on autopilot,”“6 figures in 6 days!” “Make money while you sleep,” etc. Most of them will cost you money –sometimes a lot of money – but not impact your business, so try not to go down every Internet marketing rabbit hole. Instead, do your keyword research, develop an SEO strategy, create great content that people want to link to and build a social presence organically.

More Business Tips from Green Earth Bamboo

More often than not, the devil is in the details, especially when it comes to starting – and scaling – a successful business. If you are interested in the full story of how Doug and Corey grew Green Earth Bamboo so quickly, check out Lorna Li's complete interview with Doug Bancorn. In this one hour discussion, you will receive a firehouse of information and discover:

• How many hours a week it takes to get a new e-commerce business off the ground.
• How much it cost to set up their e-commerce business and what they would have done differently.
• Tips on researching your market niche so you know there is enough demand for your eco product or service.
• Five criteria you should use when selecting your drop shipping suppliers.
• Keys to selecting the best e-commerce platform for your business.
• The number one question you should ask your prospective suppliers to avoid negative impacts your business in the long run.
• Which marketing channels provide the greatest return, and why SEO is the way to go.
• How to turn your green blog from a time suck to a Google ranking machine.
• Powerful link building strategies to help you outrank your competitors and even your suppliers.

Visit http://www.greenbusinessentrepreneurs.com/speakers/ for the interview.

Join Us for the Green Business Entrepreneurs Success Summit: April 16-20, 2012

If you are serious about starting a green business or taking your green business to the next level, the Green Business Entrepreneurs Success Summit is a free virtual event that will provide you with strategies and tools to succeed. Over 25 expert speakers will provide valuable insight and entrepreneurial mentorship during Earth Week 2012 – April 16^th – April 20^th – to grow the green economy by helping sustainable businesses thrive.

About Lorna Li

Lorna Li is the Founder and Editor In Chief of Green Marketing TV, a green business blog that provides social entrepreneurs with inspiring interviews, marketing strategies, tips and tools to help them grow their triple bottom line businesses. She is an Internet Marketing professional who specializes in Social Media SEO, the art of leveraging social media to increase search engine visibility and rankings. Lorna’s career as a professional change maker includes a decade of working in the non-profit sector on environmental sustainability and indigenous rights. She’s been actively involved in the social enterprise sector since 2001 and has helped hundreds of nonprofits receive funding through innovative corporate partnerships.   Lorna enjoys helping socially responsible entrepreneurs with Internet focused business coaching at ChangeMakerBusinessCoaching.com.  You can connect with @LornaLi on Twitter or Lorna Li on Facebook.

Green Marketing TV

Green Marketing TV

Green Marketing TV business blog for green and social entrepreneurs - entrepreneurs who care about people, profits, and the planet. Our mission is to provide socially responsible entrepreneurs with marketing strategies, tips and tools that help them grow their small to medium sized business. We offer insightful entrepreneur interviews, news coverage of inspiring organizations, actionable marketing advice, and useful guides on how to start and grow a triple bottom line business, without going crazy.

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