Business Cards
13 May 08 | Sales, marketingIt seems like a small thing, but I ordered business cards the other day, take a look:
These came from Black Bear Printing, a local outfit right here in Kerhonkson, NY. I have to say, they came out pretty good! They have a site called The Printing Den, where you can design your own card online, or upload a design for printing. Since I already had a logo and a general idea of what I wanted, I chose to use the online design application. All in all, it was pretty easy to use. I paid $48.00 plus shipping for five hundred cards.
As part of the marketing effort and generally appearing to have one’s act together, I think this is an important step.
Since this blog is about starting and running a solar business, I am going to post more about the back end business stuff since that seems to take up at least half of my time.
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Tags: business startup, marketing
Books for the Solar Professional
27 Mar 08 | Solar Electric, Solar Hot WaterThere are several reference books about solar energy and wind energy on my book shelf that I refer to from time to time. I find it helpful, especially when I am dealing with a complicated design issue, to do a little research. These books offer guidance and theoretical information which can greatly improve design considerations.
- de Winter, Francis, Et Al. Solar Collectors, Energy Storage and Materials, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1990. This book is a great resource for theoretical problems. Very technical with lots of Calculus and Physics base equations for heat transfer, storage, black body radiation, etc. I like to pick it up and peruse through it once in a while just to keep on my toes. More for engineers than for the run of the mill solar installer.
- Lane, Thomas. Solar Hot Water Systems, lessons learned 1977 to today Gainesville, FL: Energy Conservation Services of North Florida, 2004. This is the bible on Solar Domestic Hot Water systems. There are a few pages devoted to space heating, but most of the book is for SDHW. Includes information on sizing, mounting of collectors, storage, pumps etc. If you are going to install a SDHW system, this book is a must
- Solar Energy International. Photovoltaics Design and Installation Manual. Gabriola Island, BC Canada: New Society Publishers, 2004. Excellent PV installation manual, covers both grid connected and independent PV systems. Has chapters on system sizing, battery sizing, mounting, wiring, etc. Great resource for anyone getting into the PV end of the solar business.
- Siegenthaler, John, PE. Modern Hydronic Heating for Residential and Light Commercial Buildings, 2nd edition. Clifton Park, NY: Thomson Learning, Inc, 2004. Great reference book on any type of Hydronic Space heating. Good design resource for heat load sizing, heat loss calculations, radiant systems, etc. I bought this because I am getting more and more inquiries about space heating. I have yet to read this one cover to cover, but I am working on it.
- NFPA. National Electrical code, 2008 edition. Quincy, MA: NFPA, 2008. I like to keep the latest edition of the NEC on hand and available. Section 680 deals with PV installations.
- Small, Lloyd L. Analytic Geometry and Calculus. New York, NY: Appleton Century Crofts, Inc, 1953. This is an old college Calculus text book that I picked up at a used book store. It helps me remember some of the math if I have any questions or problems working on a calculus equation. Fortunately, almost everything can be plugged into an excel spread sheet and quickly calculated that way, but every once in a while I find myself scratching my head over something.
There are numerous other online sources that are also available. These are huge files and if you click on the link it will start downloading automatically, only use these links if you have high speed internet. They are well worth the trouble to download and read.
- Photovoltaic Power Systems and The National Electrical Code: Suggested Practices
- A Guide to Photovoltaic System Design and Installation, California Energy Commission Consultant Report 500-01-020, June 2001
- Stand-Alone Photovoltaic Systems: A Handbook of Recommended Design Practices
Of course, there are many, many other sources of reference material and I could probably write a book about solar books. However, these are the ones that I find most useful.
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Tags: business startup, reference material, Training
New Phone Number
22 Jan 08 | General BusinessI am glad that I live in 2008 and we are a technologically dependent society. Things like having a business phone are not only necessary but vital to the success of said business. I can imagine that if I lived at some point before all these technological marvels we have today, ordering a new phone line might become quite an ordeal.
Perhaps it would take no fewer than five phone calls, three e-mails, one canceled order, one phone number miss-assigned, a threat to use the cable TV’s phone system and about three weeks for the phone tech to finally show up and wire it to my office. All this of course, provided by the so called “Primary phone service provider” in our area. No, it’s a good thing that I live now so that none of those things happened when I ordered my new business phone number.
By the way, if you wrote down the first number published for Sun Volt Solar, it is wrong. The correct number is (845) 626-2627.
They did say, do not publish the phone number until after it is installed, so I guess that I was warned. Now I can finally order my business cards.
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Tags: business startup
Accounting, Taxes, and other dull stuff
07 Jan 08 | Business administrationLike 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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Tags: business startup
Name Change
18 Dec 07 | General BusinessIn talking with a potential distributor, it was brought up that the name “Hudson Valley Solar” was too close to another business’s name. In effort to avoid confusion and hard feelings, I have decided to change the name of my business to Sun Volt Solar, which is more generic and less likely to cause confusion and hard feelings with the other guy.
I felt that rather than become a pain in the rear end, I’d rather just come up with something unique for the area and be done with it. So, Sun Volt Solar it is. Good thing I have not printed any stationary or business cards yet. Soon. Soon.
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Tags: Business Plan, business startup
The outcome hangs in the balance
11 Dec 07 | Commentary, General BusinessIt seems that Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has the interests of Big Coal and Big Oil at heart. Being the Republican Senate minority leader, this position is not unexpected. Senator McConnell has supported George W. Bush in most things, including the Iraq war (that is until it became unpopular to do so, at which time he changed his mind on Iraq).
What McConnell and the other Republicans are missing is the fact that change is in the air. The environmental and energy issues are too large to ignore, and enough people have taken notice that it can no longer be business as usual. Momentum favors the things that are in motion. At the risk of creating a public backlash to the Republican party in general, these Senators are on the road to greater dependence on oil and coal, not less. I hope and pray that the voters of this country are paying attention, taking notes and looking at the alternatives. If so, I would postulate that these stalwart Republican Senators, who are only interested in voting the party line as defined by Bush, are treading the path to their own reelection defeat and subesquent retirement ceremonies.
For myself, the decision on whether or not to jump fully into the solar business hinges on whether or not the tax incentives will be renewed. Without the tax incentives, both federal and state, it would be difficult to make a living in the solar business. We rely on incentives to even the playing field and make solar thermal, photovoltaic and wind turbine technology affordable to the average home owner. Even with the incentives, it can be a tough sell, especially to someone who does not fully understand the technology, or appreciate the environmental benefits of a solar installation.
If the big oil and coal companies were not receiving huge incentives from the government to produce cheap energy, these renewable energy incentives would not be necessary. This is the European economic model, they have very high energy prices, which makes renewable energy competitive with conventional energy systems including nuclear power. This would be what I would call, a true market system. Something to think about.
New York State has an excellent photovoltaic incentive program through NYSERDA. Unfortunately for those just starting, in order to qualify for those incentives, you have to be a certified photovoltaic installer through NABCEP. As they advertise in all the trade magazines, it is the certification “that is hard to get” mostly due to the experience requirements. Of course, this is a catch 22, how do you get the experience if you can not be a certified installer without experience?
Solar Thermal installations also have a tax incentive through New York State, but not enough to make it viable without the additional federal tax incentive.
As of now, my business plan includes both installation work and some type of retail sales. Without both these components, the business model does not work, I will not make enough money to feed my family and cover all my expenses, so my future in the solar business hangs in the balance. Here are some particularly critical swing votes that could push support for the energy bill over the critical, filibuster-proof 60 votes mark. If one of these Senators “belongs” to you, call, call and call again:
Coleman (R-MN)
Collins (R-ME)
Corker (R-TN)
Craig (R-ID)
Crapo (R-ID)
Ensign (R-NV)
Greg (R-NH)
Grassley (R-IA)
Levin (D-MI)
Lugar (R-IN)
McCaskill (D-MO)
McCain (R-AZ)
Sessions (R-AL)
Smith (R-OR)
Snowe (R-ME)
Specter (R-PA)
Stevents (R-AK)
Sununu (R-NH)
Thune (R-SD)
Anything you can do would be a help.