A Time Sensitive Holiday Update from Rich Feola,
CEO of SolarExclusive.com
To My Family, Friends, Solar Exclusive Team and Vendors, Coaching Students, And The Solar Industry At Large:
Being originally from the East Coast, I have this work ethic like the popular breakfast commercial which says, “Gotta get up and make the donuts”. But sometimes, we should probably all pause, reflect, and enjoy the taste instead of always laboring for the next dozen.
I’d like to first express my deepest apologies to you all for my actions last week, and the frustrations or fears I may have caused you. The holiday season is meant to be a time of joy and refreshment, and I’ve caused additional stress. After many years of both struggle and triumph, in an all too changing solar landscape, we are more committed to the solar industry now than ever, despite my temporary lapse of judgment.
As many of you may now be aware, rather than relying on my team of attorneys, I hastily posted something publicly which had a far-reaching impact to all of you, much in ways I didn’t initially intend. It may seem as though this was a marketing stunt, but I can assure you it was not.
Despite these events, I’ve been able to surround myself with a team of knowledgeable doctors, decent therapists, and most importantly, an incredibly loyal family and team of employees and contractors at Solar Exclusive.
Here are the next steps for Solar Exclusive and what I learned after a week of focusing on and taking care of my health:
1) We will be continuing operations as normal at Solar Exclusive in 2025 and beyond, and have no intentions on stopping. That being said, it will be after pivoting with a new and improved version of our offer: we will start a transitional process of bringing our advertising fully back in-house, since commoditizing it through outsourcing for some of our clients is not the direction we want to continue in going forward. We are going back to our old mantra which was, “We’d much rather have 100 clients who love us, than 1000 clients who are only content with us”.
One of our competitors, Prospect Bacon, has done a phenomenal job of this in years past, and I think their willingness to stay “smaller” rather than grow “as big as possible” is something I need to learn from them.
We have all experienced significant ups and downs in this solar industry, regardless of what part we play in the industry as a whole. There’s a reason why many call it the “solar-coaster”! There are many bad actors in this industry; but I have always attempted to run Solar Exclusive in the most honest, ethical, and upstanding way I could.
With this transition, we will be extremely selective in which clients we bring on going forward, since I will personally be more involved in the marketing side as interim CMO, until I can discern a better path for our service and fulfillment.
Our intention is to make our service better than ever, and this pivot is imperative for us to accomplish that.
2) Another thing I’ve learned I’d like to clarify is:
Just as the Ghost of Christmas Past told Scrooge about a love interest he let fade away due to greed, I do not want it said of me that I failed to love the most important person in my family, my wife. She has endured much of my mental health struggles, almost as much as me, and for that I am eternally grateful to her.
3) Additionally, I’d like to encourage anyone and everyone to consult a doctor or a therapist if you struggle with mental health challenges. The Suicide Hotline is below, and many times it’s hard for us to see that we have people nearest us who love us and care for us, but they are there, and they love us very much.
Lastly, in my statements I commented on various religious views of mine, being an Eastern Orthodox Christian myself. If you’re a Christian, I recommend you reach out to whatever (or whomever) you deem a religious authority in your life to research what you should do personally, or regarding whatever other thoughts I may have sparked within you regarding these matters.
Although I hold very strong religious opinions, I understand that in a pluralistic society, everyone feels as though they are entitled to their own opinion.
None of my statements should be construed as hateful, close-minded, racist, or anything of the sort, as I am not an ordained minister, but simply am trying to live my life the best way God calls me to.
Even though I have significant weaknesses, nonetheless I would like to encourage you to remember what the holiday season means to you personally, but also what it means to others.
As one of my favorite songwriters, Trey Anastasio, once said, “There might be more to this than we all know…”
I hope that with renewed confidence we can enter 2025 with a fresh vision for the solar industry at large… and make the Future Brighter than ever for the solar industry. Hang in there with us, the best is still yet to come!
Happy holidays,
Rich Feola
Founder and CEO
Need Help or Know Someone Who Does? Text or call 988 or Reach out to the Suicide Hotline
Being originally from the East Coast, I have this work ethic like the popular breakfast commercial which says, “Gotta get up and make the donuts”. But sometimes, we should probably all pause, reflect, and enjoy the taste instead of always laboring for the next dozen.
I’d like to first express my deepest apologies to you all for my actions last week, and the frustrations or fears I may have caused you. The holiday season is meant to be a time of joy and refreshment, and I’ve caused additional stress. After many years of both struggle and triumph, in an all too changing solar landscape, we are more committed to the solar industry now than ever, despite my temporary lapse of judgment.
As many of you may now be aware, rather than relying on my team of attorneys, I hastily posted something publicly which had a far-reaching impact to all of you, much in ways I didn’t initially intend. It may seem as though this was a marketing stunt, but I can assure you it was not.
Despite these events, I’ve been able to surround myself with a team of knowledgeable doctors, decent therapists, and most importantly, an incredibly loyal family and team of employees and contractors at Solar Exclusive.
Here are the next steps for Solar Exclusive and what I learned after a week of focusing on and taking care of my health:
1) We will be continuing operations as normal at Solar Exclusive in 2025 and beyond, and have no intentions on stopping. That being said, it will be after pivoting with a new and improved version of our offer: we will start a transitional process of bringing our advertising fully back in-house, since commoditizing it through outsourcing for some of our clients is not the direction we want to continue in going forward. We are going back to our old mantra which was, “We’d much rather have 100 clients who love us, than 1000 clients who are only content with us”.
One of our competitors, Prospect Bacon, has done a phenomenal job of this in years past, and I think their willingness to stay “smaller” rather than grow “as big as possible” is something I need to learn from them.
We have all experienced significant ups and downs in this solar industry, regardless of what part we play in the industry as a whole. There’s a reason why many call it the “solar-coaster”! There are many bad actors in this industry; but I have always attempted to run Solar Exclusive in the most honest, ethical, and upstanding way I could.
With this transition, we will be extremely selective in which clients we bring on going forward, since I will personally be more involved in the marketing side as interim CMO, until I can discern a better path for our service and fulfillment.
Our intention is to make our service better than ever, and this pivot is imperative for us to accomplish that.
2) Another thing I’ve learned I’d like to clarify is:
Just as the Ghost of Christmas Past told Scrooge about a love interest he let fade away due to greed, I do not want it said of me that I failed to love the most important person in my family, my wife. She has endured much of my mental health struggles, almost as much as me, and for that I am eternally grateful to her.
3) Additionally, I’d like to encourage anyone and everyone to consult a doctor or a therapist if you struggle with mental health challenges. The Suicide Hotline is below, and many times it’s hard for us to see that we have people nearest us who love us and care for us, but they are there, and they love us very much.
Lastly, in my statements I commented on various religious views of mine, being an Eastern Orthodox Christian myself. If you’re a Christian, I recommend you reach out to whatever (or whomever) you deem a religious authority in your life to research what you should do personally, or regarding whatever other thoughts I may have sparked within you regarding these matters.
Although I hold very strong religious opinions, I understand that in a pluralistic society, everyone feels as though they are entitled to their own opinion.
None of my statements should be construed as hateful, close-minded, racist, or anything of the sort, as I am not an ordained minister, but simply am trying to live my life the best way God calls me to.
Even though I have significant weaknesses, nonetheless I would like to encourage you to remember what the holiday season means to you personally, but also what it means to others.
As one of my favorite songwriters, Trey Anastasio, once said, “There might be more to this than we all know…”
I hope that with renewed confidence we can enter 2025 with a fresh vision for the solar industry at large… and make the Future Brighter than ever for the solar industry. Hang in there with us, the best is still yet to come!
Happy holidays,
Rich Feola
Founder and CEO
Need Help or Know Someone Who Does? Text or call 988 or Reach out to the Suicide Hotline
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