With all the save-the-planet mania out there right now and the promise of government tax breaks for everything from wind to solar power, many would-be entrepreneurs are wondering how they can get a piece of the "green" action.

But launching a business that's focused on helping the environment is just like building any other business, and it requires just as much, if not more, hard work and planning.

"The word 'green' is clouding the issue of entrepreneurship," says Andrew Hoffman, associate director of the University of Michigan'sErb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise. "Just because it's green doesn't mean it's going to make money." His two key pieces of advice: Avoid the gold rush mentality, and look at whether there's demand for a product or service.

Ian Gardner's story is a perfect example of how making a green business profitable can be a slow go. Gardner, with a background in the energy business, thought some sort of "green" business would be a logical next step. But even with his experience, it took a few years before his wind-power company, Helix Wind Corporation, started bringing in real sales.

In 2006, he and a business partner wrote a business plan, but despite the growing environmental movement, investors weren't eager to loan money to smaller firms because it was still unclear who the winners and losers would be in the renewable energy race. So, he borrowed about $2.2 million from family and friends over 18 months.

"We started out with one platform and then had to redesign our strategy on the fly," he says about quickly changing green energy technologies. And since the San Diego-based company manufactures wind turbines for use in everything from homes to businesses, the production costs were high and required the firm to generate a good amount of volume in order to make money.

After only minimal sales in 2008, Helix Wind is finally seeing the fruits of its labor with more than 50 turbines sold, 15 employees and projected sales of $2.5 million this year.

Alex Burney, CEO of Denver-based RavenBrick, figured there'd be demand for something as mundane as energy-efficient windows. In 2007, he and two partners started making transitional windows that use nanotechnology to create filters that block solar heat when it's hot outside and provide solar heat when it's cold.

RavenBrick, which employs 10 people and projects $1 million in sales this year, recently landed a contract with the U.S. Department of Energy. "This gives us an awesome amount of credibility," Burney says of the contract, noting that the recent stimulus package also provides tax breaks for his products. "We're green but our products make financial sense," he points out.

There are lots of opportunities right now to fund green businesses with potential, according to Susan Preston, who manages the California Clean Energy Angel Fund, which focuses on investment in early-stage green companies. Some of the areas of interest include lighting, water filtration, biofuels, solar panels and developing software that can do things like smart metering for utilities, she says.

Some of Preston's suggestions:

- If you don't want to come up with your own invention, match your business skills with research going on in universities in your area or national labs. Researchers, she adds, are always looking for savvy business people who can help them bring a product to the marketplace.

- Check out Web sites of government agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Energy, to see what grants they are giving out and to which companies.

- Look at what venture capital firms are funding in your area and around the globe.

And when you're ready to seek investors, Preston has three questions she asks before funding projects:

- Is there an adequate market out there?
- What does the technology look like?
- Can the founders execute the business plan?

According to Helix Wind's Gardner, the most important ingredient for finding the right green business is "fundamentally understanding the problem you're trying to solve. Don't read the headlines; read the science and figure out what the real economics are, or find the smartest person you can who knows something about that and partner up."