A rising number of entrepreneurs are delving into a sea of green – a wave of opportunities in the green technology industry that have the potential of producing millions of green jobs. Although the world’s richest people cannot be expected to rescue the economy as the world gets ready to turn the corner into a new year, experts say green business leaders do have the potential of paving the way for a brighter economic future.
According to experts, the world’s wealthiest individuals actually are placing more of their focus on protecting their own assets in the slow-growth economy. For this reason, they are expected not to be as risk-taking in 2012 – at least not as risk-taking as is necessary to help to boost the economy.
Robert Frank, a Wall Street Journal writer who spoke recently at the Economist’s World in 2012 summit, said that millionaires throughout the world likely will have to pay more in taxes to help nations that are struggling with high debts.
In addition, Frank said he expected that the number of millionaires in Asia should be higher than the number of millionaires in the United States next year.
However, green technology is opening up several doors for aspiring entrepreneurs, and the work of these entrepreneurs should create many more job opportunities in America. Green businesses can be both cost-saving and money-making in that they provide green products and services that help customers to reduce their ecological footprints while saving on energy costs. Billions of dollars are wasted as people waste water, energy and other important resources.
Green companies also promote recycling, which further saves people money. Because of the increasing demand for green businesses’ offerings – such as clean energy and clean water – their money-making potential is high, which translates to more green job opportunities, thus getting more unemployed individuals back to work.
Small green businesses actually are more capable of creating new jobs faster than large companies can and thus should be at the forefront of leading America’s economic recovery through clean energy technologies and green employment opportunities, according to the Center for Small Business and the Environment.
The wealthy worldwide may be expected to be more cautious with their spending next year in light of the volatile economy, but the volatility of the market – combined with people’s growing realization of the need to save money and save their planet – should provide a breeding ground for green entrepreneurs to arise and make a difference. It’s a difference that can preserve the Earth, people's hopes of landing jobs, Americans’ wallets and subsequently the economy for coming years.
Republicans and Democrats may finally agree on something: Small business owners and entrepreneurs need better and more plentiful opportunities to gain access to capital, grow their businesses, and create more jobs.
Last month, the House voted 407 to 17 to pass passed the Entrepreneur Access to Capital Act, which seeks to makes it easier for small businesses and entrepreneurs to raise capital through crowdfunding. The new bill would let let small companies sell up to $2 million in equity online. Investors would be allowed to put in as much as $10,000 or 10 percent of their annual income—whichever is less.
In addition to the overwhelming bipartisan support the bill received in the House, the President supports it as well. In a September 8 address to a Joint Session of Congress on jobs and the economy, the President urged Congress to remove the red-tape—and SEC restrictions—that make it difficult, if not illegal, for entrepreneurs to raise funds in public.
"This bill will make it easier for entrepreneurs to raise capital and create jobs," the White House noted in a statement. "The Administration looks forward to continuing to work with the Congress to craft legislation that facilitates capital formation and job growth and provides appropriate investor protections."
Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts, a vocal Republican supporter of crowdfunding, addressed the Senate Banking Committee last week, urging members to consider crowdfunding as a viable method for entrepreneurs raise funds. He described crowdfunding as "the grease that keeps the gears in the American economy churning."
Current online investment platforms—such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo—allow people to offer funds for projects, though they do not offer true equity in return. Sites like Microventures do offer equity, but to invest you must be an angel investor. Right now, there's no legal way for unaccredited people to invest in companies for equity.
"Imagine that," Brown said. "The next Steve Jobs being held back by rules from the age of the typewriter. When are we going to give the tools and resources to our job creators? [Crowdfunding] is an innovative way to look outside the box and get up with the times to open up capital markets to new businesses and existing small businesses. It has the potential to be a powerful venture capital model."
Although much large-scale crowdfunding still illegal in the United States, there are several crowdfuning firms overseas already connecting investors with entrepreneurs. Symbid, a Netherlands-based crowdfunding firm, enables entrepreneurs to secure funding from €20,000 up to €2.5 million. Crowdcube, which is based in the U.K., offers a similar service, but with no investment maximum. Entrepreneurs go online, write their pitch, and offer two numbers: the target—which is the total amount of money they wish to raise and invest in the business—and the equity offered.
Critics to the bill argue that devious entrepreneurs will have open range to set up phony companies and lull neophyte investors into dropping them cash. And because there's potential for thousands of daily transactions, there would be little oversight. Brown, though, believes the benefits outweigh any risks.
"Americans are allowed to gamble unlimited amounts at casinos, and can send donations to charities halfway around the world with one tap of a trackpad," wrote Brown in a recent Wired editorial. "Yet, we are legally prevented from making even modest investments in job-creating small businesses."
Carl Esposti, the founder of Crowdsourcing.org, points out another argument: that the investment risks involved are actually lower, since there will be many investors doing due diligence on the investment. Therefore, he says, if 150 or 200 people decide to vote on an entity, the aggregate of the risk assessment might indicate that that entity is not such a bad bet.
"There's an interesting dynamic on whether it actually creates a natural calibration of risk-reward," Esposti says. "From that perspective, it has some really interesting potential."
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I never thought about it like that.
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