FXSTD – Alternative Energy Center

By: Tom Hefter
A New Niche Business Opportunity in an Untapped Market

It's well known that the best route to financial stability is to work for one's self. No matter what business one chooses, the key to success is determination and lots of hard work. It takes passion, sacrifice, long arduous hours and a penny-pinching, workaholic mentality with tenacious "stick-to-it-tiveness" to succeed. Only when this is accomplished does the true pay-off present itself and surprisingly, it's not the original goal of being financially stable but instead it's the satisfaction of one's hard work paying off dividends such as the ability to help others, no longer having to live paycheck to paycheck, family time and vacations, and the ability to donate resources to a church, charities, and community. The spotlight is shining on one such recent business opportunity involving the need for indoor allergen remediation.

It's now known that the energy conservation tactics implemented in the 1970's have resulted in some unforeseen and very significant costs. Some changes included construction methods which were altered to create 100% airtight buildings and homes, factory temperature settings for hot water heaters were lowered by the manufacturers' and the introduction of cold water laundry detergent became prevalent. While saving a much needed and an immense amount of energy resources, the unforeseen downside has been the substantially decreasing Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) with a huge and ever increasing amount of accumulated indoor allergens. Recent studies by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have found that the indoor air pollution of homes and buildings nearly always exceeds outdoor pollution by 5x's, 10x,s and in some cases even 100x's or 500x's!

Combining all of the above facts with current lifestyle changes that have most persons, especially children, indoors 95% of our lives, has led to an alarming increase over the last few decades of respiratory infections, asthma, and allergies. Physicians, health centers, and most of all, pharmaceutical companies have reaped huge monetary benefits from the spike in health costs, prescription drugs and over the counter medications all of which have out-paced population growth. Research by the American College of Asthma, Allergy and Immunology (ACAAI) states that over 50% of all illnesses are caused by or aggravated by, polluted indoor air and specifically, unhygienic mattresses where we spend one-third of our lives.

Fortunately, recent technological developments have produced dependable, high-performance HEPA rated vacuum cleaners (designed to service "cleanrooms" in the hi-tech field) and Ultraviolet "C" (UVC) light wands with Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI) capabilities, ideally suited for indoor allergen remediation.

Evidence of the Potential for a Proven Income Opportunity.

Many clinical studies from overseas, most notably from the United Kingdom, have resulted in the start-up of nearly 4,500 mattress cleaning businesses in the past 12-15 years in Europe alone, as well as Australia, New Zealand and countries along the Pacific Rim. In January 2006 and within North America alone, only five or six mattress cleaning businesses could be found on the Internet. Now, eleven months later in November of 2006, there are nearly 50 mattress cleaning businesses. This number is likely to explode due to national media reports on all major television networks including the 24 hour newscasts like CNN, FoxNews, MSNBC, Headline News and others. National personalities such as CNN's, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, FoxNews' Dr. Isadore Rosenfeld, NBC's Matt Lauer and Katie Couric (formerly of NBC) have all reported on this alarming need of epidemic proportions. Major corporations such as Trane, Fil-trete, S.C. Johnson and Son, Sharper Image, and vacuum manufacturers' Dyson, Oreck and Bissell have all targeted dust mites (the #1 source of very potent and harmful indoor allergens) in nation-wide television commercials. Also recently reported nationally as well as locally, is the "come-back" of the horrifying, blood-sucking, bedbugs which were nearly completed eradicated in the U.S. during the '60's and 70's with the use of the now banned pesticide DDT. Globalization is the primary cause of the re-population of bedbugs in the U.S.

Research the Business Opportunity

Half a dozen or so companies, mostly outside the U.S., offer Independent Dealerships which include the specialized mattress cleaning equipment and marketing materials. Prices range from $2,500 to $23,000. Most companies combine a hand-held vacuum cleaner (with HEPA rated filters) which includes a UVC light built-in to the vacuum cleaner suction port. The one U.S. company sells a HEPA rated vacuum cleaner (not just HEPA rated filters) with a stand-alone, independently held, UVC light. The separate UVC light allows for additional revenue streams utilizing the UVGI sterilization capabilities.

Combining the "Health and Wellness" boom, the ever increasing indoor pollution effects on our health, media exposure, and the national movement towards "green" or "environmentally friendly" corporate philosophy, this may be on of the best home based business opportunities to further explore in 2007.