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If you thought going green was a fad, think again. Environmental consulting is a robust and growing industry, valued at $17.8 billion, according to IBISWorld. Growth of 9 percent a year over the next five years is expected. This industry is well suited to independent contractors with the skills to install environmental gear such as wind turbines, solar panels, and green roofs. Every sector, from government to the individual household level, is expected to thrive. Looking to specialize? Expertise will be in demand in the fields of air-, soil-, and water-quality management, as well as sustainability studies as they pertain to development projects. Talk is cheap, but solid communications are priceless in this global economy. The U.S. military and businesses expanding overseas are two of the translation and interpretation industry’s best customers. Overall, the market grew some 18 percent last year. According to AnythingResearch.com, the translation and interpretation services industry is a $2.7 billion market that has grown an average of 22 percent a year since 2004. The health care industry is another area in need of language, partly because of the growing U.S. immigrant population. Many opportunities exist in the business-to-business space as well; that space includes website translation and the creation of multilanguage marketing materials. There are also related tech opportunities in the burgeoning market for mobile on-demand translation via SMS. Despite this year’s legislation, health care costs – particularly at hospitals and primary care providers – are soaring. As the elderly population also grows and demands less expensive, out-of-hospital care, the industry is expected to expand an average of 4.9 percent through 2014, according to IBISWorld. This industry, which was also on Inc.’s 2009 list, has been strong for years yet retains a low barrier to entry. Subsectors of the field include physical therapy and ambulatory delivery of new technologies. Nonmedical home care hiring is expected to grow more than 50 percent before 2018. Sure, iPhones have been around for a while. But with the advent of the iPad, explosive sales of Android phones, and an ever-expanding market for mobile apps that work on any Web-enabled phone, there is plenty of fresh territory for programmers, developers, and designers. One tip: Keep location in mind. Venture capitalists and industry experts alike expect the location-aware economy to grow at the rate social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, have over recent years. In the past three years, companies that make location-based apps alone have received $656 million in 67 deals, according to Dow Jones VentureSource. As highways in and around urban centers become more congested, the old-fashioned ferryboat is making a comeback. Privately run ferry services, as well as tourist excursions, are thriving along the Pacific Northwest coast and on the Great Lakes. Given that significant spending for building ferryboats and terminals is part of the 2009 economic recovery act, opportunities are expanding. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, job growth in the water transportation industry is expected to grow 15 percent through 2018. The industry grew 17 percent last year, according to AnythingResearch.com. Barriers to entry, though, are steep. A new Coast Guard–certified ferryboat that carries 150 passengers costs about $6 million. The top four teamakers control 88 percent of industry revenue, according to IBISWorld. But the remaining 12 percent represents a $264 million market for small, independent manufacturers. Tea, the sixth most popular beverage in the U.S. after carbonated soft drinks, bottled water, beer, milk, and coffee, is growing because of increasing consumer health consciousness, particularly among the boomer population. The industry averaged annual growth of about 5 percent over the past five years. Other healthy beverages with promising growth prospects include antioxidant-rich juices and vitamin-enhanced waters. It’s not just guitar hero: it’s real guitars, bongos, and violas. Past growth in hobby, toy, and game stores has been tied to general consumer spending, but these days stores that sell crafts, hobby goods, and musical instruments have been performing better than the retail industry as a whole. AnythingResearch.com found a growth rate of 9 percent, which also took into account toy and game retailers. This might be a result of people cutting back on larger entertainment expenses and choosing instead to spend more on pastimes and skill cultivation. Parents always want their kids to do better on tests. A large number of adults returning to school are also looking for an edge. Given the low barrier to entry, this field is competitive. But if you carve out the right niche, it could be lucrative. The industry, which includes tutoring in such fields such as special education, language, and music, grew about 7 percent last year, according to AnythingResearch.com. Little treats have a sugar-glazed forecast. Bakeries, pastry shops, and bagel sellers are growing at a rate of 5 percent, according to AnythingResearch.com. Research suggests small indulgences are picking up, but big purchases such as vacations are not – although blogger and baked goods expert Nichelle Stephens, co-editor of the prominent sweets blog Cupcakes Take The Cake, says the movement is expanding into high-end-foodie territory. “It’s focused on small batches, local suppliers, seasonal ingredients, and lots of creativity when it comes to flavors and combinations,” she says. After a period of slowed growth during the U.S. housing crisis, self-storage has bounced back – largely because it was already better insulated against economic forces than the housing market. The subprime mortgage crisis caused a wave of foreclosures, meaning families needed places in which to store their possessions. The $22 billion industry has a remarkably low barrier to entry, with 90 percent of self-storage companies owned by small-business entrepreneurs. According to the Self Storage Association, there are 2.2 billion square feet of self-storage in this country. That means there are more than 7 square feet of storage per U.S. resident. Forget Main Street: This industry is composed of retailers with no physical retail presence. Instead, they sell solely online – and are especially thriving in the areas of quality handmade jewelry and vintage clothing. After Web retail saw revenue fall as the recession decimated 2009 sales, expectations are high this year. The industry has a remarkably low barrier to entry: Have something to sell? Get a PayPal account and you are set. Online sales of independent merchants – mostly via sites such as Etsy, eBay, RubyLane, and Supermarket – grew an annual 6.6. percent over the past five years, according to IBISWorld. Given that the sale of marijuana for medicinal use is legal in nearly one out of three U.S. states, and California is considering total legalization, pot’s cultural tide is rising. So is its business side. California’s biggest dispensaries are starting franchise operations and establishing branding. There’s an emerging industry trade show and a lobbying, marketing, and consulting firm strictly for cannabis in Oakland, California. Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron, in a February 2010 paper, estimated the market to be $14 billion. Others have pegged the medicinal retail market at $10 billion to $40 billion, based on usage, demand, and pricing data. Though the price tags of blockbuster video game titles have been steadily rising, the barriers to entry for small game developers have never been lower. Self-publishing through Apples iTunes App Store as well as through Microsofts Xbox Live allows entrepreneurs and code geeks with a solid idea to elbow their way into this highly competitive field. “This is the best time to be a small garage shop or a mom-and-pop shop of just a few developers,” says David Riley, who specializes in video games and entertainment at the market research firm NPD Group. “They dont need to sit down in front of a venture capitalist and sweat blood” anymore. The $44 billion market has also been thriving because of the influx of nontraditional gamers such as baby boomers, women, and young children. As technological advances allow a broader palette of life-saving surgeries, the organ and blood reserves that make these operations possible will continue to be in demand. Blood and organ banks make up 55 percent of the $23.8 billion ambulatory health services industry, and the financial barriers to entering this field are relatively low, despite some regulatory hurdles. Perhaps a more surprising growth category in this industry is the increased demand for sperm donation. This is largely because a number of European countries have passed legislation that prevents sperm donors from remaining anonymous or receiving compensation. This leads to a severe drop in supply, and now “you have all of those infertile people buying sperm from U.S. cryobanks,” says Corey Whelan, the program director for the American Fertility Association. Clean and consistent water supply is an essential service of modern living, so the industry remains untouched by economic fluctuations. According to IBISWorld, the industry should see steady 3.5 percent revenue growth per year until 2015. Though traditionally the industry has been dominated by municipally owned operations, there may be increasing opportunities for independent companies to enter the market as it trends toward privatization. Why? Challenges in adhering to stricter water-quality standards could drive cities to look elsewhere for solutions. They will also probably face hardships in keeping up with technological developments. Tech and consulting are two hot areas for breaking in. Companies that help manufacturers perform safety and quality testing on consumer products and materials, a.k.a. “laboratory testing services,” constitute a $15 billion industry, according to data from IBISWorld. Over the next five years, the industry is expected to grow 5 percent each year, as fueled by increased government regulation of consumer and food products. Growing consumer concerns over the safety of products – especially childrens products – will also add to the demand for testing laboratories. Additionally, the industry will be driven by the amount of money that companies put into research and development, which appears to be increasing. IBISWorld predicts that in the coming years, companies will invest even more in new products and technologies, therefore giving R&D a healthy boost. – By Christine Lagorio, Tamara Schweitzer, and Josh Spiro Retail – Health care – Business – Pacific Northwest – Bottled water

If you thought going green was a fad, think again. Environmental consulting is a robust and growing industry, valued at $17.8 billion, according to IBISWorld. Growth of 9 percent a year over the next five years is expected. This industry is well suited to independent contractors with the skills to install environmental gear such as wind turbines, solar panels, and green roofs. Every sector, from government to the individual household level, is expected to thrive. Looking to specialize? Expertise will be in demand in the fields of air-, soil-, and water-quality management, as well as sustainability studies as they pertain to development projects. Talk is cheap, but solid communications are priceless in this global economy. The U.S. military and businesses expanding overseas are two of the translation and interpretation industry’s best customers. Overall, the market grew some 18 percent last year. According to AnythingResearch.com, the translation and interpretation services industry is a $2.7 billion market that has grown an average of 22 percent a year since 2004. The health care industry is another area in need of language, partly because of the growing U.S. immigrant population. Many opportunities exist in the business-to-business space as well; that space includes website translation and the creation of multilanguage marketing materials. There are also related tech opportunities in the burgeoning market for mobile on-demand translation via SMS. Despite this year’s legislation, health care costs – particularly at hospitals and primary care providers – are soaring. As the elderly population also grows and demands less expensive, out-of-hospital care, the industry is expected to expand an average of 4.9 percent through 2014, according to IBISWorld. This industry, which was also on Inc.’s 2009 list, has been strong for years yet retains a low barrier to entry. Subsectors of the field include physical therapy and ambulatory delivery of new technologies. Nonmedical home care hiring is expected to grow more than 50 percent before 2018. Sure, iPhones have been around for a while. But with the advent of the iPad, explosive sales of Android phones, and an ever-expanding market for mobile apps that work on any Web-enabled phone, there is plenty of fresh territory for programmers, developers, and designers. One tip: Keep location in mind. Venture capitalists and industry experts alike expect the location-aware economy to grow at the rate social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, have over recent years. In the past three years, companies that make location-based apps alone have received $656 million in 67 deals, according to Dow Jones VentureSource. As highways in and around urban centers become more congested, the old-fashioned ferryboat is making a comeback. Privately run ferry services, as well as tourist excursions, are thriving along the Pacific Northwest coast and on the Great Lakes. Given that significant spending for building ferryboats and terminals is part of the 2009 economic recovery act, opportunities are expanding. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, job growth in the water transportation industry is expected to grow 15 percent through 2018. The industry grew 17 percent last year, according to AnythingResearch.com. Barriers to entry, though, are steep. A new Coast Guard–certified ferryboat that carries 150 passengers costs about $6 million. The top four teamakers control 88 percent of industry revenue, according to IBISWorld. But the remaining 12 percent represents a $264 million market for small, independent manufacturers. Tea, the sixth most popular beverage in the U.S. after carbonated soft drinks, bottled water, beer, milk, and coffee, is growing because of increasing consumer health consciousness, particularly among the boomer population. The industry averaged annual growth of about 5 percent over the past five years. Other healthy beverages with promising growth prospects include antioxidant-rich juices and vitamin-enhanced waters. It’s not just guitar hero: it’s real guitars, bongos, and violas. Past growth in hobby, toy, and game stores has been tied to general consumer spending, but these days stores that sell crafts, hobby goods, and musical instruments have been performing better than the retail industry as a whole. AnythingResearch.com found a growth rate of 9 percent, which also took into account toy and game retailers. This might be a result of people cutting back on larger entertainment expenses and choosing instead to spend more on pastimes and skill cultivation. Parents always want their kids to do better on tests. A large number of adults returning to school are also looking for an edge. Given the low barrier to entry, this field is competitive. But if you carve out the right niche, it could be lucrative. The industry, which includes tutoring in such fields such as special education, language, and music, grew about 7 percent last year, according to AnythingResearch.com. Little treats have a sugar-glazed forecast. Bakeries, pastry shops, and bagel sellers are growing at a rate of 5 percent, according to AnythingResearch.com. Research suggests small indulgences are picking up, but big purchases such as vacations are not – although blogger and baked goods expert Nichelle Stephens, co-editor of the prominent sweets blog Cupcakes Take The Cake, says the movement is expanding into high-end-foodie territory. “It’s focused on small batches, local suppliers, seasonal ingredients, and lots of creativity when it comes to flavors and combinations,” she says. After a period of slowed growth during the U.S. housing crisis, self-storage has bounced back – largely because it was already better insulated against economic forces than the housing market. The subprime mortgage crisis caused a wave of foreclosures, meaning families needed places in which to store their possessions. The $22 billion industry has a remarkably low barrier to entry, with 90 percent of self-storage companies owned by small-business entrepreneurs. According to the Self Storage Association, there are 2.2 billion square feet of self-storage in this country. That means there are more than 7 square feet of storage per U.S. resident. Forget Main Street: This industry is composed of retailers with no physical retail presence. Instead, they sell solely online – and are especially thriving in the areas of quality handmade jewelry and vintage clothing. After Web retail saw revenue fall as the recession decimated 2009 sales, expectations are high this year. The industry has a remarkably low barrier to entry: Have something to sell? Get a PayPal account and you are set. Online sales of independent merchants – mostly via sites such as Etsy, eBay, RubyLane, and Supermarket – grew an annual 6.6. percent over the past five years, according to IBISWorld. Given that the sale of marijuana for medicinal use is legal in nearly one out of three U.S. states, and California is considering total legalization, pot’s cultural tide is rising. So is its business side. California’s biggest dispensaries are starting franchise operations and establishing branding. There’s an emerging industry trade show and a lobbying, marketing, and consulting firm strictly for cannabis in Oakland, California. Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron, in a February 2010 paper, estimated the market to be $14 billion. Others have pegged the medicinal retail market at $10 billion to $40 billion, based on usage, demand, and pricing data. Though the price tags of blockbuster video game titles have been steadily rising, the barriers to entry for small game developers have never been lower. Self-publishing through Apples iTunes App Store as well as through Microsofts Xbox Live allows entrepreneurs and code geeks with a solid idea to elbow their way into this highly competitive field. “This is the best time to be a small garage shop or a mom-and-pop shop of just a few developers,” says David Riley, who specializes in video games and entertainment at the market research firm NPD Group. “They dont need to sit down in front of a venture capitalist and sweat blood” anymore. The $44 billion market has also been thriving because of the influx of nontraditional gamers such as baby boomers, women, and young children. As technological advances allow a broader palette of life-saving surgeries, the organ and blood reserves that make these operations possible will continue to be in demand. Blood and organ banks make up 55 percent of the $23.8 billion ambulatory health services industry, and the financial barriers to entering this field are relatively low, despite some regulatory hurdles. Perhaps a more surprising growth category in this industry is the increased demand for sperm donation. This is largely because a number of European countries have passed legislation that prevents sperm donors from remaining anonymous or receiving compensation. This leads to a severe drop in supply, and now “you have all of those infertile people buying sperm from U.S. cryobanks,” says Corey Whelan, the program director for the American Fertility Association. Clean and consistent water supply is an essential service of modern living, so the industry remains untouched by economic fluctuations. According to IBISWorld, the industry should see steady 3.5 percent revenue growth per year until 2015. Though traditionally the industry has been dominated by municipally owned operations, there may be increasing opportunities for independent companies to enter the market as it trends toward privatization. Why? Challenges in adhering to stricter water-quality standards could drive cities to look elsewhere for solutions. They will also probably face hardships in keeping up with technological developments. Tech and consulting are two hot areas for breaking in. Companies that help manufacturers perform safety and quality testing on consumer products and materials, a.k.a. “laboratory testing services,” constitute a $15 billion industry, according to data from IBISWorld. Over the next five years, the industry is expected to grow 5 percent each year, as fueled by increased government regulation of consumer and food products. Growing consumer concerns over the safety of products – especially childrens products – will also add to the demand for testing laboratories. Additionally, the industry will be driven by the amount of money that companies put into research and development, which appears to be increasing. IBISWorld predicts that in the coming years, companies will invest even more in new products and technologies, therefore giving R&D a healthy boost. – By Christine Lagorio, Tamara Schweitzer, and Josh Spiro Retail – Health care – Business – Pacific Northwest – Bottled water

To come up with their best new ideas, most companies turn to an inexpensive and efficient source of innovation: their own employees. How can you unleash the creative spirit lurking in your workforce? Here are eight of the best strategies we’ve uncovered in recent months. 1. Let Every Employee Play Designer . Three years ago, the five-person research and development team at pet-accessory company West Paw Design had a case of collective writer’s block. A production manager named Seth Partain proposed holding a contest for the company’s three-dozen employees. Everyone from salespeople to seamstresses were encouraged to spend an afternoon designing and producing prototypes for new products. Following an end-of-day vote, a winner was crowned at an award ceremony. By making employees feel a part of the idea-creation process, West Paw Design set up a new

Although the median age of CEOs is 54, one of the fasted growing demographics of entrepreneurs is young people. According to a survey by JA Worldwide almost three-quarters of high school students indicate an interest in becoming entrepreneurs. Although there are a few college programs dedicated to entrepreneurship, even with the preparation from a college degree program many young entrepreneurs can flounder . To help remedy this, Under30CEO.com has collected advice from its users and offers “Young Entrepreneur Advice: 100 Things You Must Know!” Sponsor Many of the tips echo the idea that it’s a cold, hard world out there, and that young entrepreneurs would do well to hire great people, to delegate administrative tasks to others, and to develop strong professional and personal networks, not just of potential customers but of others more established in their field. Some of the notable themes: Know Your Market : “I wish I’d know how much easier it is to build a business around an established market that’s already looking for a solution to its problems rather than trying to build the market around the business I wanted to start.” – John Crickett Money Matters : “Finding the right Accounting / Financial Manager right up front was our biggest learning and biggest mistake. Completely changed our financial performance and caused us to hit a wall we should have avoided.” – Mike Cleary Don’t Worry too Much about Education : “It is OK to trust your instincts – even when they are not necessarily backed up by years of finance/accounting or business school credentials” – Jenn Benz Learn to Manage People : “I wish I would have known that the hardest part of owning and operating my own business would NOT have been how to create revenue on a monthly basis. I wish I would have hired a full time IT guy and a shrink to manage with my sales force!” – Bradley W. Smith Have a Business Plan that Includes an Exit Strategy : “Have a serious exit strategy & plan prior to opening doors. As an entrepreneur I was ready and willing to take the plunge to open my own company, but didn’t realize I had to structure my company around the exit strategy (i.e. make it sellable and transferable, and self sustaining without my everyday presence).” – Christopher N. Okada Cultivate Strong Support Networks : “I wish that early on I had sought out more business leaders in my field. It wasn’t until I was a bit older that I realized the value of the knowledge to be learned from veteran industry players and how it could help me grow my business.” – Jim Janosik Take Care of Yourself : “You can’t put your life on hold while waiting for your venture to hit. I have tremendous regret around all of the family events, vacations, and time with friends that I missed because I was working on getting my film/company off the ground.” – Pamela Peacock You can read the full post here . What advice would you add to this list? Discuss

Location-based social networks like Foursquare, Gowalla, Brightkite and Google Buzz are currently among the fastest growing new mobile services. All of these apps have one thing in common: they encourage you to share your current location with the rest of the world. By doing this, though, you are also telling people where you are not: at home. A new site, PleaseRobMe , plays on this theme and displays real-time updates from Foursquare users who broadcast their check-ins on Twitter. Sponsor According to the trio of developers behind the site (Barry Borsboom, Frank Groeneveld and Boy van Amstel), “the goal of this website is to raise some awareness of this issue and have people think about how they use services like Foursquare, Brightkite, Google Buzz etc.” There are also ads on the site, so the developers clearly also had something else in mind when they started this site. No matter the developers’ motivations, the visceral reaction to PleaseRobeMe on Twitter , shows that the developers have hit a nerve. PleaseRobMe doesn’t show anything new that a regular Twitter search for the 4sq.com domain wouldn’t uncover, but it’s the first time that a service has made this information so blatantly obvious. We don’t think that a lot of thieves are actually trolling the Internet for information when people leave their homes, though we have already seen some burglaries where status updates may have played a role. Besides robberies, there are also other reasons why you might want to keep your Foursquare profile private. Do you, after all, really want to tell your future employer that your spent all those weeknights at the local bar? Privacy Concerns: The Limiting Factor for Location-Based Networks? More importantly, though, this service highlights the privacy implications of regularly broadcasting your location. Some people are willing to take the risk and are perfectly fine with broadcasting their location and services like Foursquare reward these check-ins with virtual badges and real-world discounts for their most active users. For a lot of people, however, sharing location data takes online transparency one step too far. Ultimately, the success of location-based networks will be limited if they can’t find ways to make users feel safe when using these services. How to Stay Safe? If you really feel the need to share your location with the whole world, then you have to accept the risks. This isn’t just limited to location-aware applications, though. Posting Twitter updates from your vacation also make it pretty obvious that you are not at home. When it comes to location-aware services and geo-social networks, we prefer services that allow their users to send location updates privately to a select group of friends and trusted contacts. BrightKite – one of the older geo-social networks – for example, allows you to set very granular privacy controls on a per-post level. Of course, you could always resort to using a completely anonymous service like BlockChalk or a permission-based one-on-one service like EchoEcho , but with these, you can’t update your friends about what bar to meet them at either and the social aspects of these services are limited. It would also be nice if these services allowed users to select the level of granularity of their check-ins. While this won’t discourage burglars (and doesn’t work for FourSquare-like apps), being able to just point to “Houston, TX” as your location instead of the actual hotel your are staying in could alleviate the fears of a lot of users. The Dangers of Mixing the Virtual and the Real World PleaseRobMe points out the dangers of location-based social networks. Services like Foursquare, Brightkite and Google Buzz bridge the gap between the virtual world of social networks and the real world, which is something we are not accustomed, to. It’s easy to think that the information we share online doesn’t have any influence on the real world, but PleaseRobMe makes it pretty clear that there can be real-world consequences to sharing your location. What Do You Do? What is your policy for staying safe on location-aware social networks? Do you avoid them at all cost? Do you think that the positive aspects outweigh the potential risks? Do you use a pseudonym and a fake avatar? Let us know in the comments. Discuss