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Building Green in a Black and White World-- Chapter 3

The following is an exerpt from the book Building Green in a Black and White World.
Section 2; Chapter3; Part5; Chapter 3 Conclusion

David Ritchey Johnston
January 1, 1900
HousingZone

Lee Kitson, Kitson Builders
Rockford (Grand Rapids), Michigan
(616) 863-9090

Kitson Builders is a family business with twelve employees. Kitson builds 35 to 40 homes per year (25-30 in exclusive subdivisions and 10-12 on scattered lots). They are involved in recycling and incorporate green features into their homes. Currently, Kitson is developing a 15-lot site and is building green homes on all the lots.

Lee Kitson, gives this advice on how to get started: "Go to a workshop, get a book on green building, and listen to other builders who have done it. Learn how they succeeded. There are many things that you may have not thought about, like how to tie the whole package together into a green sales approach. My sense is that there is interest in these things. You have to spend some additional money on marketing, but there are people in every market who agree that green building is important."

Starting the process of building green can be exciting, especially when your customers respond enthusiastically. However, green building is a balancing act. It requires looking at tradeoffs to determine what makes the most sense for your company.

In Jim Van Derhyden’s words, "The bottom line is long-term survival, and green building is the right thing to do. If you’re not in business, you can’t do the right thing. So which comes first, the chicken or the egg? Stay in business and do the right thing, and make money doing it." As always:

Do good business.

Keep a sharp eye on the bottom line.

Make sure that your decisions are in your customer’s best interests.

Now that you have taken a look at ways to enter the market, you may be ready to create a green company. The following chapter draws on the experience of other builders and offers guidelines for success.

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