When did Green Irene start?
We developed a business plan over the course of several months in 2007 and then incorporated in November 2007. Over the ensuing months we performed Green Home Makeovers and launched our online training program in May 2008. Our first eco-consultants were in the field in June 2008, and we’ve continued to grow ever since.

What expertise do I need to be an eco-consultant?
Since it’s a new field, we don’t expect you to have been an Eco-Consultant before. We train you (via the web) on the topics and on all of our services and products, including the detailed Green Home Makeover Plan (which covers room by room improvements a homeowner can make to live a greener, healthier lifestyle) and the Green Business Makeover with Green Business Bureau Certification. We want to bring on Eco-Consultants who are passionate about living a green lifestyle, yet non-judgmental.

What hours would I work?
You set your own schedule and decide when you are willing to accept appointments and schedule Green Home Makeovers and other in-person visits. Some people work 9 am to 3 pm a few days a week, others only want to work on weekends and others only accept early-evening appointments because that fits their lifestyle and that of some clients.

Do you have to be a woman to be a Green Irene?
No, both men and women like the idea of work that improves the environment and provides a valuable service. And companies like the concept of adding a complementary line of services and products to their existing business. As of November 2009, 32% of our independent distributors are men (25%) or companies (7%) while women are 68%.

Is there a typical “Green Irene”?
There is no typical Green Irene. Our Green Irene Eco-Consultants come from many backgrounds, including stay at home mothers who are looking to conduct one or two appointments a day or several days a week, people with full time jobs that want to do eco-consulting as a second job in the evenings and weekends, and others who are adding eco-consulting to the services they can offer in their existing complementary businesses.

Would I be the only Green Irene Eco-Consultant in my town?
Our goal is to help you become the Green expert in your community. We want you to have a large enough area that you can be as busy as you care to be, though we don’t want you driving long distances for appointments. We do not offer exclusive territories. More information is available on this in our Agreement, which you can review when you express interest in becoming a Green Irene.

Do you need a college degree to be an Eco-Consultant?
No, but we do require a high school degree.

Can I do this as a summer job in college or high school?
The opportunity does not lend itself to a short term or seasonal job because it takes time to build a client base through word-of-mouth and local marketing. There are start-up fees and investments for training that also aren’t ideal for a short-term effort. We now offer a Green Irene Campus Consultant program as a part time income for College and Graduate School students. Read about it under The Opportunity section.

What skills do you need to be a successful Eco-Consultant?
You need to have a healthy curiosity to keep learning in an evolving field. You need to be comfortable interacting with a homeowner or business owner and going through your consulting plan and explaining your recommendations. You need to be friendly, organized and have excellent follow-up skills. It certainly helps to be passionate and interested in creating a healthier world, but you definitely won’t be successful if you are a “Preachy Green Person.” You will find yourself in a basement checking the water temperature setting on a hot water heater and screwing in a lot of CFL energy efficient lightbulbs, but no mechanical skills are required.

Can I work from my home?
Yes, of course. You do not need an “office” to commute to since you visit with clients in their homes.

Can I be a Green Irene Eco-Consultant if I live outside the United States?
At this time, Green Irene only ships products within the United States (including Hawaii and Puerto Rico) however we are happy to train you to be an Eco-Consultant anywhere in the world as long as you realize our training and materials are in English and created for the North American market.

What products does Green Irene sell?
Currently our only Green Irene branded product is our terrific line of Green Irene Enzymatic Cleaners. Our other products are Green Irene recommended products. That means that we research and evaluate products in order to hand select what we believe to be the “best in category” products. Consequently, we are always looking for new products to add to our offerings and welcome suggestions from our Eco-Consultants. Click here to view a sampling of our products offered.

May I attend a Go Green Workshop being done by an Eco-Consultant in my area?
We cannot invite you to attend an event at someone else’s home since the host is the one who opens up his/her home to the group. But if you’d like to see a Go Green Workshop in action, why not host a Go Green Workshop in your own home? Just let us know you’d like to host when you contact us.

May I shadow an Eco-Consultant on a Green Home Makeover appointment to see firsthand what is involved in being an eco-consultant?
No, we cannot have an Eco-Consultant invite you into a client’s home, but the best way to learn exactly what is involved in a Green Home Makeover is by engaging an Eco-Consultant for a Green Home Makeover right in your own home. Just let us know you’d like to schedule an appointment when you contact us.

What is the benefit of an in-home consultation when there is so much information available about going green on the Internet?
The number of people who have adopted green practices and have become educated by doing research and making going green a hobby is very small. Most people have taken few or no steps to “go green” and save energy, and those people are the ones who would like to go green but haven’t made it a priority, haven’t spent hours researching what to do and how to best do it, and don’t have the time or desire to make going green their hobby. Those are the people we are here to educate and assist. Or rather, the subset that can afford to spend $99 for a consultation and hundreds more to make improvements. The Green Home Makeover is a niche service, but tens of millions of homes are in this “niche”.

I would have gladly paid someone to help me swap out my CFLs instead of the endless trips to Home Depot and online research to find that Home Depot actually doesn’t carry the “right” bulbs for my solutions. Every list of top 10 ways to go green has “switch to CFLs”, but it isn’t that easy when you get down to it. It isn’t simply about heading down to the big box retailer – you need a specific type of dimmable CFL for dimmer switches, you need candelabra CFLs for chandeliers, covered CFLs for flood lights, covered globes for vanity lights, 3 way CFLs and my personal favorite – mini-spirals so that your lampshades actually fit after you swap out the old bulb! And I would have switched to CFLs long ago if someone had shown me the staggering savings that I see on my electric bill every month now. I would have gladly paid someone to tell me which low-flow shower head was the best one as opposed to staring at a wall of 30 low flow shower heads and guess which one would still provide a great shower experience (many feel like a shower in a RV). The list goes on and on from nice looking composter for my kitchen that doesn’t stink and doesn’t need worms, how I can cut back on Phantom power, etc.

Instead my husband and I spent hours upon hours of time researching and seeking out solutions, but most of our friends would never do that. So that is where Green Irene fits in. The information on the Internet is for the people who are willing to “do-it-yourself” and are happy to spend hours researching the issues and then more hours finding the good solutions.

Is Green Irene a member of the Better Business Bureau?
Green Irene is a member in good standing of the Better Business Bureau. You can check our status at this link.

What other Certifications has Green Irene earned?
Green Irene has earned the Green America Business Seal of Approval. We passed their thorough screening process and are approved to be listed as a socially and environmentally responsible business.

Is Green Irene a member of the Direct Sellers Association?
Green Irene is a member in good standing of the Direct Sellers Association (DSA), the 100 year old trade association with a strict code of ethics we abide by. The Direct Sellers Education Foundation, an affiliate of the DSA, has produced a good short (2 minute) video in conjunction with the Better Business Bureau about the opportunities with an ethical direct selling firm. We encourage you to view the Introductory video here.

One of our eco-consultants recently addressed this question from a prospective eco-consultant and we believe her reply was thoughtful and realistic so we thought we’d use her words.

“I was contacted recently by someone wanting to know more about my experience with Green Irene.  Here’s what I said.

Green Irene is like any other business opportunity – what you get out of it will be directly proportional to what you put in.

Imagine you were to buy a McDonald’s franchise.  The cost would be huge, because you’d have to buy the building and the sign and pay employees and support ad campaigns.  In return, you’d be seen as part of the McDonald’s brand and get a lot of drive by and walk in traffic.  People would find you relatively easily.

With a more affordable business opportunity (Green Irene, Mary Kay, Party Lite, Southern Living at Home) the cost to get started is much lower – no building, no sign, no employees.  However, it means no drive by and walk in traffic.  People will not find you on their own.  You will have to go to them.  The most affordable way to do so is word of mouth, so most people start off with friends and family.  If you aren’t willing to initiate outbound communication about your business, no one will know about it and you won’t make any money.  Period.

As long as you have this understanding going in, you will be fine.  The people who fail are the ones who want a McDonald’s experience for a Mary Kay start up cost.  They pay for the kit and then wait for the money to come to them.  Unfortunately, this doesn’t work.

This doesn’t just apply to the “business in a box” companies, but also to real “from scratch” companies like our [other] company.  We’ve had to pay a ton of money for all the things you get as part of the [Green Irene] starter kit – logo, website, target market, the “idea”.  But we don’t have a sign and a huge budget for advertising, so what we get is a function of what we put out, in phone calls and events.

I signed up for Green Irene because I was interested in “green” in general and was interested in what we could do to our home to save on energy bills.  The training materials provided me with a great background in this subject, and we’ve done several projects and several more are on the “to do” list.  I have not made one penny from Green Irene, but that is fine, because I have not had one event or made one phone call.  I’ve gotten out of it in proportion to what I’ve invested.  If I decided to try to make money from Green Irene, I’d start with an open house and invite friends and family and share with them why I was interested in going green, what projects and products I’ve chosen to do that, and let them know if they are interested in doing the same that I’m available for consulting and that I resell the products.  I’d exhibit at “green expos” in my local area if the exhibitor fees were reasonable, knowing that I probably wouldn’t sell anything on the spot but that my fishbowl where people enter to win some “green” prize would provide me with leads for future events and consulting engagements.  And then I’d make money.

I hope the advice is helpful!

By the way, the above was not meant to discourage you, but to help set expectations and point you in the right direction.  If you pursue this, you’ll experience great personal growth and financial benefits.  For better and for worse, there’s nothing like running your own business!  Good luck! “