More than 1 in 7 homes in the United States will have a solar PV system by the end of the decade. When you consider that back in 2006, fewer than 30,000 homes had solar arrays it reinforces just how much the solar industry has grown and will grow even more.
It is one of the many reasons why so many people want to start their own solar businesses. When you join and become part of the solar revolution, there is a tremendous potential to run a successful business, but you have to be smart about how you enter the industry.
Many hear about the solar industry’s record-breaking growth each year and think now is the time to enter the industry and start my own solar business. They have made the right decision to enter the solar industry.
They have made the wrong decision if they enter the solar industry without any help.
It can cost a business owner as much as $500,000 in their first year to market and promote their business and hire crews to perform their installs. This doesn’t take into account the additional costs for paying more for products and inventory, because they don’t have relationships with suppliers.
Not to mention they will have to rely on subcontractors which can quickly eat away into your potential profits.
New business owners have to wear many hats, but no one can be expected to be an expert at everything. You may have worked in the solar industry for several years and had great success in either sales, installations, or project management, but it’s completely different when you have to do all of those jobs yourself as well as being an accountant, marketing your business, and dealing with subcontractors.
Juggling all of those different jobs yourself means you have less time to focus on your customers and closing new deals.
Not having access to consumer financing partnerships is probably one of the largest barriers to entry for most solar companies. Most consumer lending partners generally require a minimum of 2 years of business experience and a minimum of $2 million in revenue before they will approve a new solar company as a dealer.
Most solar projects are purchased through a financing partner, so not having these partnerships for at least the first two years can severely limit your ability to sell new solar projects. You will lose sales to your competitors who have financing partnerships. In order to close deals, you’ll have to offer large price cuts and other concessions that will only further eat into your profits.
It is best to have a community of industry experts and partners who will be able to help you at every step of the way to launch your solar business and set you up for success. People who have successfully started a solar business and can guide you to build and grow your own solar business.
When you become an Astrawatt Solar franchisee, you immediately become a member of the Astrawatt Solar community. Our community is made up of experts in sales, marketing, engineering, project management, finance, accounting, technology, and customer service that made Astrawatt into the 3rd fastest growing solar company in the United States
As an Astrawatt franchisee, you will have access to immediate partnerships with leading regional and national suppliers with special pricing from leading manufacturers. Every new franchisee we add to our network increases our co-op purchasing powers and in turn gives us the ability to negotiate better pricing for solar panels, inverters, racking, and batteries.
As a new solar business, this means you can sell the leading solar products at a better price and profit margin.
Astrawatt franchisees have access to immediate partnerships with leading consumer lenders who have solar-specific financing products with discounted dealer fees. Every new franchisee we add to our network increases our ability to negotiate lower dealer fees.
Instead of having to wait at least two years to have access to consumer financing partners and losing many deals to your competitors, you will have access on Day 1 to one of the most important partnerships needed to start a successful solar business.
Astrawatt provides franchisees with a franchise marketing starter kit to help with launching and opening your new location. The franchise marketing starter kit includes:
You will have access to a world-class brand, marketing collateral, and excellent online reviews including 5-Star ratings on Google My Business, SolarReviews, EnergySage, and an A+ Better Business Bureau (BBB) rating.
We will provide you with our lean business model blueprint, so you can run a vertically-integrated solar sales and installation company with a short ceiling on the need to hire employees. We have outlined growth stages and will provide you with a lean model blueprint for each stage of your business growth.
It is our goal at Astrawatt to provide our franchisees with services that would otherwise need to be managed by internal employees.
We believe this is one of the greatest advantages of opening an Astrawatt franchise.
One of the most important benefits of our franchise network is that we are all on the same team.
Not only will you receive ongoing training and support from us, but we have also created a peer-to-peer network where employees from different franchises can help each other overcome obstacles and communicate with each other for support. Your employees can post questions or issues they are having to their peer network and receive helpful tips and answers from other employees at different franchises who have dealt with and overcome similar obstacles.
We also have a franchise owner group available for all Astrawatt franchise owners to meet, collaborate, and find ways to grow and build up each others businesses.
The number of solar installations in the United States are expected to quadruple between now and 2030. Any industry with such explosive growth will go through many changes, but one thing that has remained the same are the three types of business models that dominate the solar industry.
Read ArticleNo one can be expected to be an expert at everything when they run their solar business, so we provide you with the industry experts and knowledge for everything from marketing, sales, competitor analysis, project management, and finance and accounting.
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The demand for solar energy continues to grow and is expected to comprise 30% of all US energy generation by 2030. The massive growth of the solar industry and its benefits to our environment are the reasons why you want to become a part of the solar revolution.
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