Despite fears of inflation, the ongoing credit crisis and sluggish economic growth, there are areas of the economy that are growing and small business owners who are flourishing. Here are five strong sectors for small businesses.

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Green Collars in the Green

Record-setting oil prices may have put a strain on consumers and hampered manufacturing and production, but the sudden price hike has also created a national awareness of the benefits of renewable and alternative energy sources. As a result, just about anyone who has a background in alternative energy is in high demand.

Borrego Solar, a California-based solar installation company, has experienced 100% growth every year since 2001, and has expanded from four employees in 2001 to 162 employees today.

“We are projected to break $60 million in revenue in 2008, and that’s up from $7 million in revenue in 2005,” said Borrego President Mike Hall. “Governments at all levels, but primarily state and municipal governments, have decided that solar is a good idea."

Hall said his company, which installs solar energy systems, is benefiting from government incentive programs that promote alternative energy sources.

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Many contractors suffering from the mortgage meltdown are finding work installing solar, Hall said.

Gerald Celente of The Trends Research Institute agrees that green -- or ‘smart,’ as he puts it -- solutions will remain a growing field. And the growth won’t be limited to solar and wind, he said.

"Energy at any level is going to be a huge business,” said Celente.

Opportunities in Finance 

Financial experts are always in high demand, whatever shape the economy is in.

“We are still seeing steady demand for accountants, tax people, CFOs and those types of positions as companies try to improve their financial health,” said Jo Bennet, a partner at executive search firm Battalia Winston Amrop. 

As the tax code gets more complicated, and more companies strive for transparency, good accountants have become invaluable. And financial planners are in high demand since the market has fallen and many people have sought to adjust their retirement plans, said Jim Metzler at the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

Metzler said there’s also been a rise in demand for audit-type and assurance services from CPAs because banks are demanding more evidence of clients’ financial health. 

“Accountants are often called upon more during bad times," Metzler said. 

Naturopathic and Alternative Medicine

It’s no secret that nurses and physicians are always in high demand. But even alternative medicine has become more profitable. Naturopathic doctor services are not covered by insurance in most states, forcing patients to pay out of pocket. Even so, naturopathic doctors say their workload hasn’t diminished in the weak economy. 

Nicole Egenberger, a naturopathic doctor in New York, has watched her client roster expand as the economy continues to go through turbulence.

“Right now we haven’t noticed a slowdown at all, so we’ve been pretty fortunate,” Egenberger said. “But we’re lucky because we’re in the health care field and that is something people tend to prioritize when it comes to spending habits.”

Karen Howard, executive director of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians, said the association’s convention and membership numbers are up dramatically and continue to grow despite the sluggish economy.

“Our Web site is in the top 450,000 Web sites, which is amazing since we do absolutely no awareness or promotion,” Howard said. “We get about 80,000 hits a month and about 45,000 of those are on the ‘Find a Doctor’ link, so the awareness about naturopathic medicine seems to be growing.”

Trend forecaster Gerald Celente agrees the slowing economy will likely increase demand for alternative medicine.

Celente said a recession could lead to huge numbers of layoffs. “More people will have to take health care into their own hands," he said, "so that means big business for naturopathic medicine, herbal tinctures, vitamin counseling and preventative and curative medicine.”

Naturopathic practitioners who are entrepreneurial enough to open their own practices in unlicensed states such as New York could see a big boom in business--especially since it's an all-cash business and not dependent on insurance companies or inhibited by paperwork, Howard said.

Online Media Advertising

A slowing economy typically means a decline in advertising spending, and many companies will likely trim their budgets throughout the end of this year. But regardless of how much money is cut from the advertisers’ coffers, spending for online ads is expected to increase across the board.

“I would guess that there’s less total advertising dollars being spent right now, but so much of that money is shifting from traditional advertising to online media that we’re seeing a lot of growth,”said Trent Overholt, of executive search and recruiting firm MRINetwork’s Los Angeles-South Bay office.

Indeed, the International Advertising Bureau announced in June that advertising revenues were up 18.2% year over year, and the first quarter of 2008 brought in $5.8 billion in revenue, which was the industry’s second highest quarter reported.

Advertising sales professionals and small online advertising firms are poised to benefit from the transfer of spending from traditional media to digital media.

Engineering Entrepreneurs 

Professional engineering is another sector in high demand. Despite diminished budgets for public works projects and less commercial properties in the design phase, engineers at small firms still have work to do.

“There’s plenty of work for engineers,” said Brad Aldrich, PE and co-owner of Forcier Aldrich & Associates, a small engineering firm in Essex Junction, Vt. “It’s a great career to jump into because there’s a significant need regardless of a downturn.”

Aldrich said small engineering firms are doing well because they tend to diversify their business more than larger firms. Aldrich’s firm works primarily on infrastructure projects, many of which are unavoidable even during economic downturns because the repairs and expansions are so desperately needed.

“When it comes to roads, bridges, wastewater and utilities—this stuff is deteriorating and we need to find a way to maintain what infrastructure we have so that it doesn’t deteriorate to the point that it becomes too costly to repair,” Aldrich said.

What's more, Celente thinks new trends in transportation will create more jobs in the field. "Light rails and things like that—there will be a lot of infrastructure work to be done,” he said.