Ecopreneur: the quest for Ethical, meaningful employment!
“What is an ecopreneur?” we hear you ask. Ecopreneur is a blending of the words 'ecological' and 'entrepreneur' – an ecopreneur is an entrepreneur who prioritises the planet and people above profit. An ecopreneur would say it’s more important to be happy, healthy, have meaningful sustainable work than it is to have high profit margins (from Ecopreneur or Entrepreneur: What’s the difference?).
Recently we’ve seen an upsurge of ecopreneurial enterprises started by people who are concerned with the social and environmental state of the world and are looking to do their part to make the world a better place.
As an already ethically minded job seeker, the idea of starting your own ecopreneurial enterprise may be interesting. If so, there are heaps of different resources available to help you decide if and how you can make your idea a reality:
- The Community Enterprise Workbook
- Occupation: Change the World free e-book (as mentioned in our September blog post)
- Social Traders: Business and Social Enterprise Support Agencies
- Social Traders: Social Enterprise Books, Magazines and Newsletters
There’s also some good books on the subject of “Ecopreneurship” which should be available in your local library. (Many of these resources focus on the American ecopreneurial experience, while the specifics may vary between Australia and the US the general approaches and processes are still extremely useful):
- Build a Green Small Business: Profitable Ways to Become an Ecopreneur' by Scott Cooney
- Starting Green: An Ecopreneur's Toolkit for Starting a Green Business from Business Plan to Profits' by Glenn Croston Ph.D. (read a review of this book)
- 75 Green Businesses: You Can Start to Make Money and Make a Difference' by Glenn Croston Ph.D. (check out the 75 Green Businesses website and blog)
After all this reading if you are still interested in starting your own ecopreneurial enterprise there are a number of schemes and grants available to assist you. Below is a short list of just a few of these initiatives. We recommend you contact your state or local government to find out if there are other specific small business grants for your area.
If you are currently receiving support from the government you may be eligible for the New Enterprise Incentive Scheme, a program aimed at helping unemployed people start their own businesses .
Grants
- Victoria
Find a Grant - ACT
InnovationConnect (Icon) - Queensland
Queensland Government Grants
Find a grant - Western Australia
Grants and Assistance Available - South Australia
SA Government grants
Small Business Development Grants
Funding & Grants - Northern Territory
NT Government grants - Tasmania
Business grants - National
AusIndustry Programs
GrantsLink
The Next [BIG THING] Award
New Enterprise Incentive Scheme
