A friend and I decided that we wanted to start in solar energy and the best way would be to create our own solar sales company. We were taking a big chance because we knew almost nothing about solar energy. But we made it work.

I began taking online classes through Solar Energy International learning the basics of solar energy. We then found a solar company that was looking for additional sales that could install all the systems that we sell. We found a company and now just needed to create leads.

There is something both incredibly exciting and nerve wracking about going to a home show and not quite knowing as much as I should have. It was learning quickly and on my feet. It was finessing my way through complex technical answers. It was instilling confidence in potential customers even though I wasn’t always confident.

With our home shows leads, we went to work and were able to close about 20% of our sales calls.

After lots of learning, I eventually went to work for another solar company after my friend moved to another state for family reasons. Although our company was not a stunning success, I really took a lot out of it and it instilled for me a deeper understanding and passion for the solar industry.