Business Spotlight: Greening the Ozarks

When Korina Branson's doctor told her that she wanted her builder to incorporate a gray water collection system into the design of her new home and the builder refused, Branson was flabbergasted.

Gray water collection systems catch the noncontaminated water from washing machines and showers to be reused mainly for irrigation in gardens.

"Her builder had no idea how to do it," says Branson. "That's just crazy when it's so easy to do as the house is being built."

Branson told her life partner, David Jones, about the conversation with her doctor. Jones was a self-employed contractor and also had been hearing stories about people wanting to incorporate green building into their projects. Many builders, though, weren't up to speed on green technologies.

She says that's when they decided to open GreenStick LLC, a construction and consulting firm that focuses on environmentally friendly building practices. Branson says GreenStick helps with residential or commercial building and remodel projects by advising on sustainable, energy-efficient building materials and products that are not known to cause health issues.

The duo opened for business in August 2008, and they run GreenStick from their Reeds Spring home.

Not green in experience

Jones' interest in going green dates back to his youth at Reeds Spring High School, where he was a founding member of the environmental club.

Branson has a bachelor's degree from Southeast Missouri State University in environment, ecology and evolution biology, focusing in marine ecology, and directly after college worked for Bass Pro Shops in Springfield as the live exhibits supervisor. She then moved to marketing, and one of her positions was as a consultant, selling energy-efficient windows at trade shows for companies such as St. Claire. Prior to opening GreenStick, she worked until May 2008 as office manager and sales coordinator at Wick's Truck Trailers in Strafford.

The partners invested approximately $20,000 of their savings for construction equipment and tools and to set up their office and computers.

They also worked with a Score counselor who helped them draw up a business plan. Score is a nonprofit partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration that pairs established and successful executives with budding business owners.

"One of our main goals is to provide a good, honest and efficient service to our customers," Branson says. "We want to help them be as green as they want to be, and we educate them and help them stay within their budget."

Branson says they educate customers about products and some of the myths surrounding going green. For example, while Branson says bamboo flooring is marketed as an environmentally friendly product because bamboo is a replenishable resource, she says it also has to travel a long distance, which increases the carbon footprint. GreenStick recommends working with local companies that sell engineered flooring, which uses less virgin wood, is stronger and doesn't have to be shipped around the world.

Branson says marketing efforts have been mainly through networking with Jones' industry contacts, word-of-mouth referrals and through the Ozarks Green Building Coalition, a network of building professionals and architects.

Initially, the partners hoped to be working as general contractors on more new building projects, but the economy forced them to invest more time in consulting and on remodeling jobs. "We believe it's green to use what is already there, too," Branson says.

The federal tax credit, which allows homeowners to deduct a certain amount from their taxes for energy efficient upgrades, such as windows and heating and cooling units, also has helped GreenStick turn a profit in its first year.

Eric Shepard, an outside heating and cooling sales representative for Springfield Supply Co., says he hasn't seen many construction companies in the Springfield market with an expanded knowledge in going green.

"It's just not widely used yet," Shepard says. "GreenStick definitely has the focus on going green."

About the greenbacks

Branson declined to disclose either sales goals or earnings thus far, but she says GreenStick exceeded her and Jones' expectations by 15 percent.

"Our first year goal was to just be profitable and draw the salaries we were making before starting the business," Branson says.

The duo has completed a half-dozen renovation projects, Branson says, and business is split between Springfield and Branson.

Jennifer Butler owns a 1937-built Springfield home and hired GreenStick to replace the old single-pane windows and doors and seal leaks around the ductwork.

"I've always been interested in going green, but didn't know much about it," Butler says. "GreenStick did all of the research on the products and provided the information we needed and made sure we were installing products that qualified for the tax credit."

Branson says about 85 percent of revenues have been in remodeling projects and 15 percent in consulting with companies on energy savings.

"We hope to grow that to at least 25 percent next year," Branson says.