Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Martin.
Hi Michael, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Despite being a native Dallasite and living here for a really long time(!), I have a pretty wordly view of things as I’ve traveled nationally and globally throughout my life – thanks, Mom, for introducing me to that passion! – so I feel like a Texan with a rich taste of other places, people, cultures, food, languages and faiths. Maybe this is why I eventually became a solar entrepreneur in 2010 after a couple of decades in infotech/software… because I seem to see things a bit differently and not just through my big Texas lens! As I like to say now, “I wasn’t always this way!” I was more normal working in solid tech companies, moving up, doing well, having a family, etc… But time and having kids (4 incredible girls, now young women) changes a person, no doubt.
My inner environmentalist – seeds from my wonderful, glorious days at UT in Weird Austin – kept building over the years via camping with friends and family, concern over Dallas dirty air as an outdoor athlete (road cyclist often at White Rock Lake) and my developing professional desire to do more impactful work with a clear purpose. That somehow led me to become a solar entrepreneur. And just FYI, there are not a lot of us in North Texas like in other areas of the country and world where solar is more developed. I am a “cause person”… have a hard time saying no and my wife would say I have too many interests and passions and she’s right! I just like plugging in, helping, expanding my world because people and world are interesting. Aside from loads of community service over the years in Dallas (via church, the YMCA, the United Way…), my own #1 personal cause has been cycling for so many thousands of miles for cancer survivors…I formed The General’s Guard in 2006 as my dad was fighting cancer. The Guard is a carefully crafted crew of 11 who ride most days together, take care of each other daily and have raised about $500,000 for cancer survivors. I am proud (I don’t really like that word) and grateful for these guys and what we do for others… and each other. As for the work side, it’s been scary to step into a new industry and start-up all at the same time. Whereas my tech career was focused nationally and internationally, now my focus is right here at home in NTX helping commercial property owners (think low-rise office buildings, industrial distribution centers…) who want to do sustainable stuff like use clean, fixed-cost solar power to run their businesses. The good news for them is despite the challenge and fear of being an early adopter (most people are followers, as we all know!), solar has a proven national and global track record of delivering value and working for decades and in all weather environments.
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?
The solar business everywhere and in TX in particular, is a bumpy road because we’re talking about changing a very entrenched industry and way of providing generating and distributing power. It is exacerbated here in TX because as we are THE traditional energy state…, oil and gas. And almost universally, the general level of understanding is often dated and inaccurate, so I regard myself first and foremost an evangelist and advocate committed to educating those I meet so that they can see the “light” – meaning the incredible value – of solar power.
As a native Texan, I understand and am grateful for our rich energy heritage AND that is now time to transform to a better way… isn’t that the Texan mindset to do it “the best,” “to innovate,” to be “friendly” to businesses with great potential economic and community impact?! And today, the future is not just calling from way down the road, it’s right next to us now saying “c’mon, time to innovate, do better for EVERYONE” and stop extracting obsessively from Mother Earth and spewing our waste all over her and on each other, especially those who are under-resourced and underrepresented. Our traditional energy model has brought massive improvements in our lives, yet we also fully understand its costs in terms of human health – #1 – and planetary health… which is really all tied together as we live intensely interdependent and intertwined with the earth. One of my favorite environmental questions is, “what if we create a better world for nothing?” Ha! What’s the downside? From a business perspective, my world always starts with sharing knowledge and information and asking questions to learn what a client’s motivations are and serving them to get into operational sustainability with on-site clean, reliable solar power. That potential to help businesses is terribly motivating for me and helps my feet hit the floor every day with energy, determination and optimism.
As you know, we’re big fans of MM Solar Advisory. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
My work is serving others as engaging with people in the realm of solar power always starts with giving them information and educating them as most folks don’t really know much about solar… except they think they want it and like it! That is a good place to start, but I’ve found that it doesn’t mean they’ll carry their positive perception of solar to action…meaning install it on their business’s rooftop, especially here in North Texas because it’s not yet mainstream, “normal” to do. But it’s OK as I view giving people good information that will help them at some point is worth it. Because when they do act, it will not only be good for them and their business and brand, it will also benefit their neighborhood as they are reducing pollution by making their own clean power on-site. So all of this puts the evangelist tag on me as well as the advocate tag. I accept those labels and reputation along with “passionate” and “energetic.” I’ve been told countless times that my passion and energy clearly come through when I talk about solar power and its multi-faceted positive impact.
MM Solar Advisory is by design a collaborative business model where I engage others to ultimately deliver the total solar solution to businesses. Companies usually need outside capital to fund their project so I bring in those folks with the money(!). And a solar project requires a reputable and capable firm to do the detailed engineering, procurement and construction of the project, meeting the client expectations. The bottom line to considering and implementing solar power for a business is that it is really pretty simple because solar systems pay for themselves, work for decades and are very low maintenance. What is the downside of that business decision?! You’d be surprised how many folks get stuck on the innovator, early adopter point…that part is frustrating as it may be a new-ish business thing to do here in North Texas, but it’s low risk and work and delivers value. Those are facts but humans are strange with respect to decision making and it only happens when they’re ready and comfortable. It’s also important to celebrate doing something good for your business, your stakeholders and your community. That is my top-line message to business – the good part – hoping that helps them find the courage to move ahead and deploy solar power in the business. My encouragement is, “you can do this and you will be admired… today and long-term as this has long-term, legacy impact on those who come next to the business and the neighborhood. The net on all of this is I have a deeply ingrained passion to inform and inspire… Conserve, Renew, Inspire is the MM Solar mantra… we all win when the business goes with solar!
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
What we really need at MM Solar Advisory – along with the other solar folks in NTX – is finding and connecting with the needles in the haystack who are those commercial property owners who have some degree of sustainability DNA inside and want to do sustainable things. Yet they don’t know much about solar, assume it’s too costly and do nothing for fear of doing something that appears risky. But the thing is, solar is not risky, it just works. I can show them the way to a viable project with real impact that they can measure and brag about… good for all of their stakeholders and their brand! A genuine win-win-win deal is what you get with solar in your business.
Contact Info:
- Email: mm@mmsolaradvisory.com
- Website: http://mmsolaradvisory.com
- Twitter: @MMSolar_NTX
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mm-solar-advisory/about
