With a background in Social Science, Paul built his career around helping people and making a positive impact. After gaining experience in service and communication, he launched Green Solar with a focus on delivering high-quality products, expert installation, and genuine customer care.

Having built his career in sales, he says, “I’d never really thought about starting my own business, I thought I was good at certain things – not necessarily running a business – but I thought I’d give it a shot and see how it goes.”

And how is it going? It’s been 13 years and it’s still growing! Paul has grown the full time staff to 6 people, and has a trusted network of installers he’s working with. This network, built on trusted relationships, and Paul’s commitment to his customers has contributed to the business growth.

Let’s jump into Paul’s business tips.

Paul’s advice to other solar businesses

What do you wish you’d known before you started?

Paul’s first tip is to set up a system or process for something as soon as you’ve had to repeat it a few times. In the beginning he was “just dealing with everything as it came to us, as opposed to having processes and systems in place. It took me years to put in a firm process.”

The most impactful processes are ones that are customer facing. Processes for communicating the status of an install, next steps, and educating them has not only improved the overall customer experience, but reduced how many emails and phone calls Paul and his team gets.

If you were going to do it all over again, where would you start?

“I’d focus on trusting myself and exploring what I was good at,” says Paul. Working out your own role sooner means being able to identify where you need to bring someone else in, and what you need them to do.

He also suggests taking your time growing the business and not rushing it. Early wins are great, but if you grow before you put processes and people in place it won’t be sustainable. Instead, focus on where you need to bring in assistance to strengthen your foundations and build from there.

Foundations are always a good idea, and they’re something that Paul is currently revisiting to make sure they’re up to date. By keeping foundations solid, the business has a strong base to continually build and on top of. One way this shows results for Green Solar is the amount of word of mouth customers they get. Paul says he’ll have customers from 10 years ago call and be pleasantly surprised Green Solar is still around and happy to work with them again.

When it comes to things to avoid, Paul mentions shiny distractions: “so many meetings, so many phone calls, so many extra bits of software, and marketing, and telemarketing.” Once you’ve got the essentials for running your business (for installers, Paul says this is “Pylon and Google Suite”), chasing new and exciting extras will be a hindrance rather than an add on. Stay focused on what will improve your processes, free up your time, and improve your business – which, from time to time, does include new software or marketing.

In terms of growing the business, what roles or team members helped you level up?

“Admin, admin, and admin.” For years, Paul says he thought there were tasks he thought only he could do. Through focusing on processes for tasks he was repeating, he’s been able to hand off most of the admin to his team.

He says he still does some admin, but in a way that allows him to evaluate the business and see where there’s still room for improvement.

“I can’t overstate how much [admin] has helped.”

When it comes to working with installers and subcontractors, Paul invests quite a bit of time getting to know them and building trust with them before working together. Meeting through recommendations from existing business relationships is a great way to find people you can trust to give your customers the best experience and install.

An issue he’s identified in the industry is lots of “glossy brochures” that don’t reflect reality of the product, and this is why having installers you trust is so important. “I want to know that what we’re promising on one end is what’s happening on the other end.”

Tips for installers wanting to grow their business

“Think about what will make the customer the happiest.” Happy customers lead to more happy customers.

When he first started, Paul focused on having high quality panels, inverters, and batteries, making sure the quality of the install was good, and soaking up as much education as he could about the advancements in solar. With that, when you go out to find customers, you’ll have the best foundation for success.

Paul’s final tip for building any business is be good with your time. He was dismissive of this advice himself until being convinced when he tried it. He recommends blocking your calendar for certain tasks (like admin!) and using the Pomodoro method to stay focused.