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A Growth Industry
But it's the atmosphere at Presidio that makes it so different from Harvard. During a recent class, provost Ron Nahser walked around the high-ceilinged room at historic Fort Mason prodding students toward self-examination: "What are you learning about your calling? Are you feeling the love in the marketplace? Ask yourself, 'Why am I in this?' " For Presidio student Taja di Leonardi, it was never for the money. A nature lover, she wanted to go to business school without feeling as if she was selling her soul. At Presidio, her quest to design her own green kitchen grew into a business plan for something she called Ecohome Improvement. When a storefront became available near her home in Berkeley, she says, "it was consistent with my values, there was a need and there was a location a couple blocks away." Since Ecohome Improvement opened in 2005, di Leonardi has doubled the store's square footage, increased her staff from one to 10 and seen a 200 percent increase in revenues. Soul intact, she is cashing in.
© 2008
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Member Comments
Posted By: trailergurl @ 04/26/2008 6:25:46 PM
Comment: Remember, there are many different shades of green. Money is the main color in this story. Some people act on this issue with the heart, and others with the wallet....
Posted By: safegreenliving.com @ 04/24/2008 9:40:14 AM
Comment: The Green Movement has brought social responsibility into a new, fresher market. We weren???t too interested in sustainable living before we had the cause to ???save the planet??? even though for decades business leaders warned that we needed to be socially responsible in how we ran our businesses. I am glad for the commitment universities are making to teach young entrepreneurs and future corporate leaders to think about profits for today and for generations to come. Ali Frederick, Safe Green Living editor.
Posted By: Green Collar Guy @ 04/08/2008 2:23:11 PM
Comment: This post is perfect because it shows that sustinability is worth the cost of transition. I agree that we should be cautious of investing too much in our future and forgetting about the present. its great when consumers demand these types of practices and they become wealth builders for everyone.
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