Tevis Howard credits his business success to trees. After graduating from Brown University, Howard visited Kenya. While much of Kenya is arid, drought-prone and inhospitable to many crops, Kenyan soil is ideal for growing certain types of trees. Howard created Komaza, a forestry business that works with over 5,500 Kenyan farmers to grow and harvest trees. The tree farmers get an income, and Kenyans enjoy the benefits of reduced deforestation.
“I made a dozen or so business plans,” Howard tells Fast Company. “Most of them were bad or mediocre ideas. But trees continued to be a good idea.”
Entrepreneurs with all kinds of business plans will participate in Global Entrepreneurship Week, November 17–23. This resource guide is a great place to start developing yours.