Defying the headline-making bankruptcy of a yet another nationwide solar installation firm, many long-time solar installers have learned that staying in business requires remaining loyal to their local communities. Rather than over-extending their resources by expanding too broadly too quickly, these companies have grown steadily by relying on customer referrals and word-of-mouth.
These companies exemplify an adage Barry Cinnamon, host of The Energy Show podcast, calls “Cinnamon’s Law.” The bigger a solar installation company becomes, the less money it makes. The bigger its revenue and the more layers of management it needs to serve multiple jurisdictions, the bigger its losses. Some of these companies never recover.
pv magazine USA recently spoke with numerous small- to medium-sized installation companies to get a sense of how important remaining local has been to their success.