I’ve always found starting a new business to be a creative process. Artists choose a medium through which to express their thoughts and feelings. They then use that medium to shape their message and communicate with others.
In a similar way, entrepreneurs choose a business that fits their passions. Then they develop a brand that captures for their customers and clients the values of their products and services.
When we started Solar Farms New York we were passionate about solar energy. At the same time we knew that most of our potential customers could not take advantage of solar. They lived in apartments or did not have suitable rooftops for panels. They shared our desire to replace carbon based fuels with renewable energy from the sun. But they had no alternatives.
Community solar farms provided the solution. New York and a handful of other states allow everybody to enjoy the benefits of solar energy. The farms generate electricity that goes to the utility, benefiting everyone. Homeowners who wish to support the solar farms receive an allocation of credits from the utility.
We were excited about offering solar to everybody. At the same time we knew that community solar was hard to explain. After all, if solar panels are on a farm miles away, how do I benefit? The utility cannot direct the electricity from the solar farm to my house!
That is where the life of a businessman resembles that of an artist. Our Solar Farms New York team spent weeks talking about how we could explain community solar without making misleading statements like “you can go solar” or “you will save money with solar.”
We worked hard on our messaging to make sure it was accurate. We designed a website. We developed some marketing materials that explained how community solar works. We drew some diagrams.
And then we went to meet our customers. We drove from our office in Albany to upstate New York to sit down with some of the homeowners and businesses that we wanted to serve. We wanted to make sure they understood our products. And if they did not we wanted to make adjustments that would help them achieve their solar goals.
We were between meetings one morning in Plattsburgh, New York when we stopped into the Koffee Kat on Margaret St. We ordered some coffee and fell into a conversation with a couple customers standing around. We talked to Dominick Monette, the barista. And we met Patty Waldron, the owner and Democratic Legislator from Clinton County.
As we talked we noticed some paintings and drawings for sale on the wall. We wandered over and were admiring them. One particularly caught my attention. I was short on cash so I borrowed some from my colleague, took the picture down from the wall, and brought it over to Dominick to buy.
Imagine my surprise when I learned that Dominick was the artist! He does pen and ink illustrations in his spare time. He and his wife, also an artist, belong to a creative team of artists and musicians they call LOS: Life on Saturn. I’m a fan!
So here’s a toast to Dom, our new friends at the Koffee Kat, and all of our new customers in Plattsburgh who are supporting in our new Solar Farms: The crossroads of new business and the arts!
