How to Start a Solar Business

by Team Tradify, February 4, 2025

With increasing government incentives and lower technology costs, there’s never been a better time to start your solar business. While starting a business isn't easy, if you’ve dreamt of a better salary, an improved work-life balance, and a genuine sense of achievement, then it may be the path for you. If you’re ready for the challenge, prepare to keep learning, create a business plan, meet the legal requirements, find investors and staff — then learn how to run a business.

Low on time? Skip ahead!

Define your goals for your solar business
Write a business plan
Register your business
Challenge your solar skills
Financing
Choosing the right tools for your solar company
Growing the team
How to market your solar business
Insurance

1. Define your goals for your solar business

Getting organised from the start is key. Defining your goals will shape your solar business plan and overall approach. Want to scale quickly and take on large projects? You’ll need to plan for rapid growth and a strong team. Looking for a better work-life balance? Look for the projects you know you can smash out of the park and still have time to catch the sunset with the fam. Whatever your motivation, having clear goals will provide a strong foundation for your business.

Your business name sets the stage. Get inspired with our free generator

Once you’ve got your goals and objectives clear, it’s time to start thinking about the more practical stuff.

Before diving in, check if there’s demand for solar in your area. Unlike other trades, solar is an elective investment, so research local competition, customer appetite, and industry incentives. Entering an untested market means room for growth, once you get the word out. Luckily, solar demand is on the rise, and government incentives are making it easier for businesses and residents to get started.

🇺🇸 USA: Over the past decade, solar installations in the United States have grown at a rate of 26% per year. Solar’s share of the total electrical generation in the U.S. has increased from 0.1% in 2010 to over 6% today.
🇬🇧 UK: At this point, the UK is projected to miss its 2030 clean power target by 32 GW. To boost the industry, ministers have eased onshore wind restrictions, approved new solar farms, and increased renewable energy subsidies.
🇦🇺 AU: Australia is the reigning champion of the solar industry. The market value is expected to triple from USD 4.2 billion in 2022 to USD 12.5 billion by 2030. Solar's capacity is also projected to rise from 47.5 GW in 2025 to 91.74 GW by 2030.
🇳🇿 NZ: New Zealand is also witnessing a surge in solar energy adoption. New Zealand has a goal to hit 100% renewable electricity by 2030, with solar energy playing a crucial role.

2. Write a business plan

Your solar business won't get off the ground without a business plan. Any successful business owner in the world would agree that the time spent planning a new business's structure, purpose, and strategy pays dividends down the line.

At a bare minimum, your solar business plan should include:

Financial projections
Growth opportunities
Marketing strategies
Financing
Short/long-term goals

Read our guide to writing a business plan here.

Researching your local market will give you a clearer idea of where to position your business. Look at existing solar installers in your area, their pricing, and the types of projects they focus on. Tools like Google Trends and government energy initiatives can also help you check demand.

What is a SWOT analysis?

Finding it difficult to figure out where you smash it and where you crash it? Running a SWOT analysis is a great way to not only understand your strengths (S) and weaknesses (W), but also identify opportunities (O), and anticipate threats (T).

Strengths and weaknesses are internal aspects of your business (what you’re good at, what you’re not so good at). At the same time, opportunities and threats are external forces (what is likely to impact on your business in a negative or positive way).

EG:

Strengths: Growing industry, government incentives, eco-conscious customers.
Weaknesses: High upfront costs, and seasonal fluctuations.
Opportunities: Expanding into solar battery storage, partnering with builders.
Threats: Policy changes, market saturation, changing technology.

3. Register your business

Time to make it official — the next step is to register your business. When deciding how to register your business structure, seriously consider your goals for the future. Will you grow, or fly solo forever?

🇺🇸 USA - you can apply for a sole proprietorship or form an LLC.
🇬🇧 UK - most people register as sole traders or limited companies.
🇦🇺 AU - you’ll need to apply for an Australian Business Number (ABN).
🇳🇿 NZ - you’ll register as either a sole trader (Ministry of Business) or a company (NZ Companies Register).

4. Challenge your solar skills

Running a business requires more than technical skills; you'll need to learn how to manage other people, find customers, build relationships with suppliers and everything that goes into running a business.

It's also up to you to keep ahead of trends, new products and innovation in the solar industry

Solar industry associations

Joining a solar industry association helps you keep up with the latest policies, trends, and business opportunities. They're also great places to connect with other professionals, get access to training, and even score discounts on equipment and services.

🇺🇸 United States:

Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA)
American Solar Energy Society (ASES)

🇬🇧 United Kingdom:

🇦🇺 Australia:

🇳🇿 New Zealand:

Behind the Tools with Tradify

Podcasts are a great way to learn while driving to and from jobs. Tradify's podcast is made specifically for tradespeople looking to start or grow their business.

BehindTheTools_Thumb-1-2

Tradify's Behind the Tools podcast is an inside look at tradespeople from all over the world. Each episode we bring on a guest to answer the real questions you have about life in the trades, running a business, and how to overcome the challenges that come with being a tradesperson.

You can watch the videos on YouTube or listen to our podcast on your favourite platform:

5. Financing

It's going to cost money to make money, and starting a solar business almost always requires an initial outlay of cash.

You've got two options here:

Fund it on your own
Find cash from a third-party

Get started with our guide: How to Create a Business Financial Plan

If you have enough cash to get up and running, then great! Otherwise, you’ll need to approach your bank or other lenders about a small business loan. Almost all major banks have small business departments, and they provide a range of financial loan options, including:

Business accounts
Credit cards
Small business loans

Usually, they'll also have small business experts who’ll help you through the process of starting a solar business. Just make sure you take your completed business plan with you because nobody is going to lend you money if you can’t show them you’ve got a plan.

Government loan schemes

Your local government might also have financial schemes set up to help new businesses. Find out for yourself by following these links:

🇺🇸 USA - SBA provides limited grant funding to eligible businesses.
🇬🇧 UK - Startup Loans of £500 to £25,000 are available to start or grow your business.
🇦🇺 AU - Check if you’re eligible for a variety of grants that vary between states.
🇳🇿 NZ - Government grants, advice, and mentoring are available, depending on your business.

Angel investors

There may be other options when it comes to financing. Angel investors provide capital for new businesses and startups. They often receive convertible debt in return or a percentage of ownership. They are often more willing to provide money than traditional lenders.

While they’re looking for a piece of the action, bt they also have their own investment criteria and expectations.

🇺🇸 USA - Angel Investment Network
🇬🇧 UK - Angel Investment Network
🇦🇺 AU - Angel Investors
🇳🇿 NZ - Angel Association

Purchasing solar equipment

Unless you already have your own equipment, an initial investment in tools is going to be your biggest cost. You’ll often also need to invest in a set of wheels able to transport tools and supplies to site.

There are some great financing options out there, so you won’t necessarily need a huge stash of cash. You can even claim tax back on a huge range of business purchases!

🇺🇸 USA - Tax write-offs for businesses
🇬🇧 UK - Expense claims for UK contractors
🇦🇺 AU - Expense claims for Aussie tradies
🇳🇿 NZ - Expense claims for NZ tradies

Equipment costs will also vary significantly, depending on your needs and preferences. This isn’t generally the best place to cut costs, as cheap tools are unreliable, and will deteriorate much faster than better quality counterparts.

Costing up your initial business requirements can be daunting, but remember that your vehicle and equipment are assets, not liabilities. All can be resold if necessary, or added to the total value of your business if you decide to source capital-based loans or funding.

We've created a Cash Flow Forecast Template & Guide to help you forecast your business's cash flow and keep everything on track.

Accounting and taxes

Have you thought about how you're going to stay on top of your books? Perhaps you'll transfer your business data to accounting software, hire an accountant — or both.

Find out if you need an accountant for your solar business.

To make things even easier, Tradify also integrates with your favourite accounting software:

a graphic of tradify and its accounting integrations QuickBooks, xero, sage, myob, and stripe

Making money!

At the end of the day, the goal of your business is to make money! However, many new businesses struggle to factor in overheads and ongoing costs when setting their prices. To help you with this, we’ve developed some financial tools that make crunching the numbers super easy.

6. Choosing the right tools for your solar company

Your reputation and business success rely on the tools you choose to build your solar business with.

Your solar products:

Building strong supplier relationships ensures access to reliable, high-quality products. Find a solar brand you trust, one you’re proud to associate with your business. Instead of competing on price, focus on value, offering durable, long-lasting solar products that benefit both you and your customers.

Software

There's a lot of moving parts in a new business! Tradify makes starting a solar business easier by streamlining job management, quoting, invoicing, and customer tracking—all in one place.

With Tradify, you can:

Invoicing
Quotes & Estimates
Job Scheduling
Job Management
Access and auto-fill a huge range of solar certificates.

7. Growing the team

Realising you'll need more hands on deck is a clear sign your business is growing. However, hiring staff is a huge responsibility and the choices you make can make or break a young business. When you're ready to hire your first employee, follow these steps.

Step 1: Recruitment

Before hiring, define the role, responsibilities, and required qualifications.
Post job listings on industry websites, local trade schools, and social media.
Perform thorough background & reference checks.
Ensure candidates have the necessary licenses and qualifications.
Look for candidates with strong troubleshooting abilities.

Step 2: Interviewing

An in-depth interview ensures you hire the right person for the job.

Assess candidates' problem-solving skills and past experiences.
Test their technical knowledge.
See if the candidates align with your company's values and work ethic.
Give practical tests or test periods to verify their skills in real-world situations.

Step 3: Onboarding & retention

Show new hires and employees how they can grow within your company.
Provide opportunities to grow their skills
Train staff on job management tools like Tradify.
Hold regular meetings to address concerns and celebrate successes.
Organise team-building activities, charity projects, or friendly competitions.
Offer competitive salaries.
Offer flexible work hours where possible.
Include health and safety benefits.

Resources:

8. How to market your solar business

Building a brand requires a focused marketing effort. You'll use this to create a loyal customer base, generate reviews, and positive word of mouth and ultimately a thriving business.

When you first get started, your family and friends can be your most valuable network. Once you’ve got a bit of a following you can start to build clients via other channels.

Find your competitive advantage

A competitive advantage is what you do better than anyone else. The smarter you can be about developing and promoting your competitive advantage, the better placed your business will be to succeed.

Do you specialise in a particular area? What kind of guarantees can you offer? Is there a tech solution you could harness, something that no-one else is using?

Whatever it is that sets you apart from everyone else — own it. It’s what will make you stick in people’s minds and help you win more work.

To start your marketing plan, consider:

Building a website
Google Business
Photography
Reviews
Social media platforms:
Listing with local business directories:
🇺🇸 List of USA small business directories
🇬🇧 List of UK small business directories
🇦🇺 List of Australian small business directories
🇳🇿 List of NZ small business directories

9. Insurance

You want to avoid any legal or safety risks — as a business owner, it’s your responsibility to follow all legal and regulatory requirements. After all, if something happens, you’ll be responsible.

Your minimum legal to-do list:

Follow national safety standards
- 🇺🇸 US — OSHA
- 🇬🇧 UK — HSE
- 🇦🇺 AU — Safe Work Australia
- 🇳🇿 NZ —WorkSafe
Conduct risk assessments for working at heights, electrical safety, and manual handling.
Make sure you're following all PPE compliance (harnesses, gloves, eye protection, fire-resistant clothing).
Provide safety training and certifications for employees.
Establish emergency procedures for falls, electrical shocks, and fires.
Keep up with mandatory safety inspections and site compliance checks.

Insurance

You’ll need insurance for your vehicle and equipment, as well as other essentials like general liability insurance. Depending on your priorities, you may also want to take out other policies like worker’s compensation, a general business owner’s policy and income protection insurance.

Here are 10 tips to keep your tools safe

If you’ve got your very own small business expert at your bank, the package they set you up with will probably include insurance. But if it doesn’t, you’ll need to do some homework to find a reputable provider of business insurance.

Read our article on business insurance for tradespeople.

What’s next for your solar business?

Start by testing your plan, and working your way towards a business model that works for you. Test, learn and take note of what's working and what's slowing you down. This will allow you to test ideas quickly, build on your success, and learn from your failures.

Looking for business software to run your solar business? Try Tradify free for 14 days, or pop into one of our free demos.