There can be no greater thrill in the world than watching your hard work pay off in the form of a successful green business venture. But how to learn about the world of running a small green business before simply launching in? Try doing a green internship. The connections will be tremendous, the learning opportunities varied and interesting, and the work gratifying.
Companies looking for highly skilled, motivated and energetic interns may find volunteers coming out of the woodwork if they are in a green industry and can help train the next generation of ecopreneurs.
In doing the research for my book, I interviewed hundreds of eco-entrepreneurs and found that most would be willing to take on interns and train them in their respected field, in exchange for a couple of weeks of volunteer labor. Ecopreneurs interested in hosting an intern or volunteer should take the survey on my website, and fill in the question about interns with as much information as you can. I will be trying to coordinate matching volunteers with opportunities to volunteer in industries as diverse as green building and backyard organic gardening. We need to create more green businesses and careers, not just green jobs, and this is one crucial piece of the solution.
Scott Cooney is the author of Build a Green Small Business: Profitable Ways to Become an Ecopreneur (McGraw-Hill), and looks forward to the day when the green economy will simply be referred to as…the economy.
Photo credit Shira Golding on Flickr Creative Commons
About Scott Cooney
