Publish Date: February 24th, 2025
Any business that makes it to 20 is a big deal, but in the solar industry, this milestone is incredibly rare. And since Namaste Solar was built differently from the beginning, there wasn’t a blueprint for success. While the vision was clear, the path took constant refinement and adaptation. So, how’d we do it?
Let’s take a look.
Small Businesses Often Fail – Especially If They’re a Solar Company
According to the PEW Research Center, small businesses are defined as those with 500 employees or fewer and these businesses account for 99.9% of U.S. firms. That ends up being almost 33 million firms.
While there are millions of small businesses across the country, building and sustaining a business from the ground up is no easy task. Most entrepreneurs share that the path is ripe with challenges to overcome.
Success is hard won and not guaranteed. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has found that 18% of small businesses fail within their first year, 50% fail after five years, and around 65% fail by their tenth year in business.
And solar companies face all the same challenges with the additional element of a turbulent industry. In our 20 years in business, we’ve seen local competitors come and go in double digits. In 2023 alone, over 100 solar companies went bankrupt across the country.
This turbulence is fueled by politics, changing utility rules, technology, the economy, unsustainable business practices, and more. At Namaste Solar, we affectionately call these persistent ups and downs of the solar industry the “solar coaster.”
We hopped on the solar coaster in 2005 and experienced rapid growth, policy victories, and solar rebates from 2006-2008. These early years were exciting, and our small team put in long hours and experienced a ton of firsts.
Since then, working in this industry has been full of twists and turns. There are programs that support our industry, like Xcel rebates or federal financial incentives, and these programs help it become more affordable for homeowners to go solar and they help our business thrive.
While we are grateful for the support of these programs, they often change with little to no notice. Sometimes the political winds change or Xcel will cut off a program with just days of lead time, like what happened last December with their battery rebate program. The latest twist has been the uncertainty around the Inflation Reduction Act and the 30% tax credit.
This is what gives us whiplash and makes the solar coaster ride interesting. Just when we think we’ve seen it all, some new challenge comes our way.
If It’s Such an Unforgiving Industry, How Did We Do It?
After all that volatility, it might be surprising to think that a small, quirky, local solar company made it this far considering even some of the solar giants didn’t make it.
But our quirks may be exactly why we have made it so far. Our commitment to more than just profits has been a key to building our trusted reputation, a reputation that has allowed us to reach our 20th year in business.
When asked about what’s contributed to our 20-year success story, Blake Jones, one of our co-founders, shared, “I remember reading this article about competitive advantages, and it said that if you have one big thing, like a patent, special product, or special idea, you’ll have success in the short term. But you’re leaving yourself vulnerable to other companies just copying what you’re doing. Whereas when your competitive advantage is a whole bunch of small things spread out through the entire company that are happening day in and day out over a long period of time, that’s very difficult for competitors to replicate.”
“And I think there’s a strong analogy with the way Namaste Solar does things,” continued Blake. “What we do, there isn’t one big thing you can point to. It’s all these little practices in the way we do things day in and day out, spread over so many people over such a long period of time. That’s where our competitive advantage comes from.”
So, what are our little practices that all add up to the success story of Namaste Solar?
While other solar companies run by a select few in the C suite, we’ve been employee-owned and operated since day one. Democratic processes are part of who we are, and every employee can have a voice in how we run our business.
“Namaste Solar has been a successful experiment in democratic decision-making and long-term thinking,” shared Jon Wedel, co-owner and Vice President of Commercial. “The people attracted to our mission, our pillars of employee-ownership, and our core values make the magic happen. It’s a bit of chicken and egg. We might not still be here without all the people who have contributed through their hard work and distributed leadership at our organization through the years. We may not have attracted people critical to our success without our business structure. Our co-owned and cooperative structure has been instrumental in our success, and we are confident that it will continue to attract the people needed to make 20 more years in business a reality.”
While many solar companies outsource their installations, ditch customers after the install is complete, or consistently install unreliable systems, Namaste Solar has provided an unparalleled quality of work for 20 years. Our employee co-owners have a vested interest in producing high quality results, and our cooperative structure encourages committed, invested people who care deeply about the service we provide. Our value-driven approach attracts top talent and since we invest in our people with ongoing training and paths to advanced licensure, we’re able to help people grow into their best selves, personally and professionally. And 20 years of designing and installing residential and commercial systems means our experience translates into a better customer experience and a superior product, as reflected in our consistent and plentiful reviews.
“The high-quality installation and use of top tier equipment set us apart from the large national players,” said Matt Johnson, co-owner and Vice President of Residential. “The passion of our people and the holistic approach we take creates a lot of support in the marketplace.”
While our solar peers are incentivizing their salespeople to sell the biggest systems they can, regardless of the customer’s needs, we pay our sales advisors whether they make a sale or not, empowering them to help you meet your goals without the pressured sales experience.
“We’ve always approached solar from an educational perspective and have devoted a lot of time and resources to educating AHJs (authorities having jurisdiction), utilities and our customers about the best way to do solar. Having non-commissioned advisors brings a level of trust that other companies can’t tout,” continued Matt.
While other companies prioritize creating profit for their shareholders, we balance the needs of our many co-owners and strive to create holistic wealth for ourselves and our communities. Our value-driven and purpose-oriented approach is a stark contrast to solar companies who are driven by selling the biggest systems to make the biggest profits.
And our commitment to doing business better is something that we’ve consistently adjusted and improved over the years. With our B Corp certification, we need to recertify regularly to constantly evolving standards.
These are the things that create a reputation as strong as ours. And it’s this reputation that has given us our longevity. Because of this longevity we’re celebrating 20 years of installing solar, serving our community, creating holistic wealth for ourselves and our community, and weathering the solar coaster.
Looking Ahead: The Next 20
When it comes to the next 20 years, it’s impossible to know what is to come. But we do know that we have a strong foundation to weather the inevitable storms. And that we’re committed to doing our work in our unique way for the long haul.
And we know that employee-ownership and doing business differently will continue to benefit our customers, our community, and our business. Whether you are one of our OG customers who got solar in the early days, you’re just beginning your renewable energy journey, or you fall somewhere in the middle, we’re so glad you’re here.
Solar is a 30+ year investment and when you choose your installer, consider who you want to partner with for the lifetime of the system. Want to explore your options? Get a no-pressure free quote today.
