Day four “Successful Solar Business” course

Day four “Successful Solar Business” course

Yesterday was the final day of the SEI Successful Solar Business course given at Sandy Hook National Seashore in Seabright, NJ. I can say I got quite a bit out of the course as many of the things discussed there were unique to the solar business. Overall, I would grade the course as very good and a good experience.

There was also quite a bit of content that I would call “general business administration” which you would receive from any small business course such as the one I took in college.

Yesterday we went over more sales stuff and business plans. Then we met with Mona Rotkopf from SunWize, a photovoltiac distributor. It was very interesting to hear her presentation on what products they offer and how they structure there rates for dealer/distributors.

Some of the things I liked:

The information on marketing. There is nothing better than a seasoned professional to tell you what has worked and what has not worked in the past. That does not mean that you may not try a few of the “has not worked” marketing strategies because maybe you have a new wrinkle, just beware.
The information on sales, particularly on how not to waist a lot of time. If you are in business for yourself, this is key. The sales prequalification information was not something I would have thought of and was worth the price of the course alone.
Meeting with industry reps and professionals. Meeting with Brian from Seabright Solar and Mona from Sunwize was also good.

Some of the things that I did not like:

The accounting classes were a little boring. Not that they are not needed, if you have no business background, this stuff is critical. I have dealt with it before, so it was not edge of the chair material
I could have put up with less stories from students. This is a hard one for the instructors to control sometimes. I think some people like to hear themselves talk and some of the things that were said were marginally relevant at best. Not to say that they all were and there were a lot of genuine good questions asked, but a few of the students had the tendency to prattle on about this or that and I would think to myself “What does this have to do with me?”

I would also like to say that the setting was great. The beach at the National Park was wonderful, and the history of the Fort Hancock historical area was great too. I enjoyed walking around after class and taking in all of the various things. I am sure that had it been in the middle of summer, the place would have been overrun with people, but in mid to late September, it was ideal.

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