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Sun Volt Solar Blog

earth, the final frontier

Clean Energy, Clean Environment

We are at a cross roads in human history, we can choose to continue on as we have been, or we can make a change to improve our future and quite possibly the future for several generations to come. We are here to promote energy independence, a better environment with a higher return on investment for your hard earned money. It is what I believe in, it is why I am in the solar business.

Accounting, Taxes, and other dull stuff

07 Jan 08 | Business administration

Like anything in life, there are things that you like to do and things that you don’t.  I like to design things, build things, and watch them work after they are done.  Some people might even argue that I have a knack for figuring out difficult problems and overcoming unusual situations.

I will be the first to admit, administration is not one of my strong suits.  That being said, owning your own business requires a fair amount of administration.  There are forms to be filled out and sent to the proper authorities, insurance, accounts payable, accounts receivable, taxes and payroll not to mention generating proposals, etc.

To handle that stuff, I purchased a copy of Quickbooks Pro.  I purchased it online from Amazon.com and received $50.00 off the list price of $199.95.   I have set it up on my computer and am in the process of learning the program.  I can say that it seems pretty easy so far.

If this gets going well, I will have to hire an accountant to deal with the tax issues.  New York State sales tax alone is enough to drive one batty with all the different rules, one set for residential customers, another for business customers, etc.  Then, of course, there is the IRS.  Enough said.

They don’t make it easy to start a business, I hope that all this back end effort is worth it.

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07 Jan 08 | Business administration | Comments (0)

Dealer Opportunities

12 Sep 07 | Business administration, Solar Electric, Solar Hot Water, Wind Power

I have been looking around at solar product manufacturer’s web sites and noticed that many of them have “dealer opportunities” links. This is also true of many online solar suppliers as well. I find this interesting because if you can become an equipment retailer, you have another good income stream for your solar business. Here is a brief list of solar manufacturer’s and online solar distributors which have dealer opportunities:

  1. Alternative Energy Technologies (AET), Manufacture of solar collectors, solar water storage tanks and parts.
  2. AEE solar, photovoltaics, microhydro, small wind
  3. SunWize, photovoltaices, small wind
  4. Evergreen Solar, Photovoltaic manufacture
  5. Solar Depot, Photovoltaics
  6. Bergey Windpower Co, Small wind
  7. Southwest Windpower, Small wind

I am sure that I missed a few others that are floating around. A good google search should turn up more if you are interested.

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12 Sep 07 | Business administration, Solar Electric, Solar Hot Water, Wind Power | Comments (0)

Renewable Energy Business viability

19 Jul 07 | Business administration, Environment

As a part of writing a business plan, you have to project what your business is going to be in 1 year, 2 years, 5 years, etc. This is a very hard thing to quantify if you have never been a particular business before.

Because this business involves installing renewable energy equipment, e.g. solar panels, wind turbines, etc. on new and existing structures, the sales and availability is the driving force. If there is a sudden shortage in solar panels, then there will be none to install, which would tend to have a bad effect on those how install them for a living.

Some research is required to find answers to these and other issues. Many of these statistics can be found on line, but there are a lot of web sites out there that have to be waded through to find some things. All this takes time of course. Then there are things that are driven by emotion. The prime question is why will some one spend an extra $20K to install photovoltiac panels on there house? What is the motivation for installing expensive wind generating equipment?

The answer can be complicated. Individual motivations may include but are not limited to:

  1. Environmental Concern. Installing renewable energy systems will reduce the amount of fossil fuels required to generate electricity for that particular house. Energy to run homes in the US accounts for about 22 percent of the total energy used. This includes all end users in the commercial, industrial, and transportation sectors.
  2. Return on investment. Renewable energy technologies use natural energy sources to generate electricity. The costs associated with this are the initial purchase and installation of the generating equipment, plus any yearly upkeep. To calculate a pay back, one would use the price of the conventional energy purchased over time vs. the cost of the renewable energy system. This will give a payback period after which the owner of the renewable energy system is considered to be making money by not purchasing conventional energy for the remaining equipment life. This is known as a “return on investment.”
  3. The coolness factor. Many people look at renewable energy as something new and interesting.
  4. Energy independence. Some people desire not to pay money to large businesses for a number of reasons. They see renewable energy systems as a means to gain partial control of a world that is mostly run by others.
  5. Because there is no other power source. In the case of remote cabins and other locations, renewable may be the only viable way to install an electric system.

Quantifying those motivations for a business plan are difficult. You cannot base a business on “coolness factor” unless you are talking about something like an iPod. Yet, it does exist as several people have told me when I was installing my solar panels that it would be really cool to have them installed on their house too.

There are other indicators of solar industry growth that are more tangible. These include increased production of photovoltaic and solar thermal panels. Some of these production increases are substantial and make a strong case for large growth in the solar industry. Others include statements by solar distributors that re-enforce the shortage of installers.

Above all, the business plan has to demonstrate that you can do the job. Not only do you need to be knowledgeable on the installation and other mechanics but also some business acumen is required. How are you going to generate sales (of your services or equipment). How are you going to manage installation work. How are you going to handle administrative functions, payroll, taxes, etc. These are all questions that should be answered in a good business plan.

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19 Jul 07 | Business administration, Environment | Comments (0)

Writing a Buniness Plan, Part I

02 Jul 07 | Business administration

This is the nitty gritty of forming a business, you have to have a Plan. Without a well written business plan, it will be impossible to secure financing, which will be critical in my business startup. I will need to purchase things like tools, a vehicle, office equipment, pay for marketing and advertising and off set expenses until the work starts coming in. As one source puts it, until you have a Business Plan (capital B, capital P) your business is still just a fantasy.

Areas and topics that a good Business Plan will cover include:

  1. An executive summary outlining goals and objectives.
  2. A brief account of how the company began or will begin.
  3. The company’s goals.
  4. Biographies of the management team.
  5. The service or product the company plans to offer.
  6. The market potential for that service or product.
  7. A marketing strategy.
  8. A three- to five-year financial projection.
  9. An exit strategy.

Those are the basics, you can add more topics if you thing necessary such as number of employees, expansion plans, etc.

The most important part is the executive summary section. This should be a synopsis of the entire plan and be about a page or so long. Without a good executive summary, you will not have a good first impression and chances are you will not receive the financing you where looking for. It should be in a Who, What, When, Where, Why, How (How much) format.

The rest of the business plan should expound on what is said in the executive summary. Include as much information as possible to backup the information in the plan.

Finally, an exit strategy may seem a little negative, however, it is important to set some type of benchmark for when to call it quits.

When my business plan is done, I will post an outline here. Also, for further reading, the Small Business Administration has a good general outline and information on starting small businesses.

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02 Jul 07 | Business administration | Comments (0)