Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael LaRosa.
Hi Michael, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Born as the son of a well-respected landscape designer in Long Island, NY, I witnessed both the ups and downs of being a business owner in the home improvement industry. Like any millennial, I had no idea what or who I wanted to be and my father, Anthony, made sure I went to college and got a degree in Business. After graduating from Hofstra University in 2010, I went through the grueling hours of studying for both my Series 7 and 66 licenses to start working as a Financial Advisor with Wells Fargo’s Private Client Management division. Unfortunately, it was six months into the job that I realized finance wasn’t my thing and could understand why people wouldn’t trust a twenty-two-year-old with their investments and retirement money. I shifted gears and got into sports advertising for seven years until I eventually burned out.
I was approached with the opportunity of solar at the end of 2018 with the risk of leaving a well-paid salaried position and essentially, going into business for myself; My first day of knocking on doors was in a blizzard and I have not looked back. Providing the opportunity of solar for any homeowner is the best upgrade that a house can have and they are already budgeting too much money for it but don’t even know it.
It’s called their “electric bill.” They plan on spending $2000-$3000 a year on their electric bill. This is not a choice, this isn’t variable, and they can’t opt-out but there are two things surrounding that; 1) They don’t have a choice, and 2) It’s not going to be the amount they think, it’s going to be more. Plain and simple, electricity goes up EVERY YEAR and has been shown to have DOUBLED every 10-15 years since the early 1970s. Unfortunately, some people will have to eventually move out of that home because they won’t be able to afford the utility bill to run that house. So, you’re telling me with Solar all they are doing is redirecting that money for a fixed, cheaper monthly payment that they eventually own at $0 down to get started? It’s a no-brainer! I wake up every day knowing that I am truly helping people.
I left my last solar company towards the back half of 2020 as the Director of Lead Generation & Marketing, helping hundreds of homes on Long Island go solar and save millions of dollars in home energy costs. It was time to start my own venture, Second Sunrise Solar, along with my partners Jon Weiner and John Santos where we pride ourselves on transparency, trust, and being a small family-owned shop right in the heart of Charleston, SC. Unfortunately, South Carolina has not adopted Solar as quickly as other parts of the country but we plan to change that.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I don’t think the word “smooth” is ever used in the vocabulary of a business owner, especially in Solar. The great thing about solar today is that it is completely hands-off for the home or business owner purchasing a system. We do all the heavy lifting when dealing with the local town permitting offices, utility interconnection offices, and inspectors.
Recently in South Carolina, there have been some changes with some of the major utilities here on how they credit or “buy back” any power that the customer sends to the grid but these changes are happening all over the country and were inevitable as more and more people have been switching the solar and stop relying on the monopoly utility companies. This has caused us to educate homeowners on how pairing a battery with their system is the way to go when looking to go solar in those specific territories. While the batteries are an additional cost, it is ultimately best for the customer in the long run. Like any business, we adapt and move forward.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We are a family-owned solar dealer. We educate homeowners and business owners on the benefits of solar and ultimately help them decide if it makes sense for them or not. As a dealer, we partner with various installers not only in South Carolina but throughout the entire country as we are operating and growing in 30 states. Instead of the homeowner having to sit with the ten different solar installers that just knocked on their door randomly or pulled them off Angie’s List (which is ultimately costing the most valuable commodity of all… time), we do the vetting for them.
Working with Second Sunrise Solar, we can proudly offer services from our sister divisions whether it be credit repair (Second Sunrise Credit Repair) or mortgages and home refinancing. We also have a plethora of referral partners such as roofing, windows & doors, spray foam insulation, electricians, HVAC, and arborists should any of the families we serve want to incorporate these requests with their solar project.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
To me, success is extremely relative. If you as an individual achieve what you want and are happy, that is ultimately one’s individual success. You should be able to achieve these goals (small or large) independently without having to rely on someone there to do things for you but it does not mean you cannot share this success with a team. My goal for success is to build an organization and platform for my coworkers to easily attain their own personal goals and do whatever it takes to lead a productive life.
Pricing:
- No Upfront Cost
- Huge Tax Incentives & Local Rebates
- Zero Down Financing
Contact Info:
- Email: info@secondsunrise.solar
- Website: www.secondsunrisesolar.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/secondsunrise.solar/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/secondsunrise.solar/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/SecondSunrise_S
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3YXD7vjydWS_DmlSPojyXQ
- Other: https://g.co/kgs/44Q4AR
