Just after lunch on 7th March 2008 I was given a piece of paper with a name and address on it and told that the bloke wanted a solar thermal system. I got back to the office just before they closed with an order form.
I had just spent two and half days days in the company of the most passionate sales director I have ever met, David Mead is his name and he gave me an opportunity.
I took it. I needed solar on my house but I couldn’t afford it. I needed to get into the industry, sell a shit load and get a cost price system before I moved on to kitchens and bathrooms. I had already done the windows. 23 of them over 18 months. Needed to reduce heat loss first, then start producing. That was the plan anyway.
I sold again the following day, and the day after that and probably every day for around 10 or 11 months until we got our own Thermal Solar system at cost price. Still cost a few thousand, but we got it at cost. And so was born The Solar Shed.
In those days, I would still go to peoples houses but during the cooling off period, invite them to our place to see the products in action. Yes, we had people traipse through the house, into the bedroom to poke their head in the airing cupboard. And then we’d have a walk around the garden, a sit down and a nice cup of tea in the shed, where we talked about the ice melting, banks crashing, smoggy cities, oil wars in the Middle East and all the other things that drove us into this industry.
The visits usually end up at the front gate where we have a little plant stall. We collect for various local good causes and compost!
It’s a good life so to speak.
As the business structure changed and we started to grow a local network through the markets and business groups, The Solar Shed grew and morphed. We became a Ltd company, registered as such, insured as such and started to operate as such. Invested in a refurb to create a state of art renewable show room and started to advertise through local print media and targeted online advertising.
No more direct sales. The whole idea was to bring people to us, to show them that even on the oldest of houses, another way is possible. A world without Oil and the crap that goes with it. And we’re almost there. When we moved here in 2004, we used over 3,200ltrs of oil for heating and hot water. Last year, under 700ltrs. We’ve gone from two cars and driving over 25,000miles a year to one car. An electric one that fills up for free on the solar.
We generate in excess of 6,000kwh of electricity, use most of it and we have an extremely good broadband connection. With the advancement in technology, the business can operate wholly on renewable energy for 9 months of the year.
I think, looking back, we have ticked many of the boxes that we set out to do. I entered this industry just as the financial crises of 2008 hit, we have weathered every storm that successive governments have thrown at us, we’ve have survived recessions, mass media misinformation and every ridicule you could imagine.
As this is my company and my company blog, I’m entitled to say that I’m quite proud of this little achievement.
Where do we go from here? Who knows. The phone rings and we talk. It could be a factory owner looking green up the supply chain, a home owner looking to reduce their bills. It could be a shed owner who wants a simple light or a cabin where someone will be living off the grid….
No two days are the same in this industry, all I know is that every one needs energy and solar is the solution.
Here’s to another 13 yrs.
Thank you, for your support and custom over the years, we really do appreciate it.
Kevin
#SolarLove