What They Needed
A solar installation company in Arizona completing 80+ residential installs per year.
Strong sales team. Solid reputation. But operations were a bottleneck.
Their design team and project coordinators were overwhelmed. Projects were taking 6-8 weeks from contract signing to installation. Customers were getting frustrated. The team was burning out.
They knew it. But hiring locally at $65K-$70K per role was going to drain their margins.
With federal rebate phase-outs shrinking profit per install, they needed a solution that didn't force them to choose between speed and profitability.
A Solar Design Specialist and a Project Coordinator who could handle the entire post-sale workflow.
Someone who would:
- Create system designs and engineering plans
- Manage permitting and utility interconnection paperwork
- Coordinate install schedules with installation crews
- Communicate project updates to homeowners
- Track project status in their CRM
- Report on project timelines and bottlenecks daily
Most importantly: Someone who wouldn't simply quit when they get a better offer from a competitor.
Savings Comparison to US Hires.
Local Hires (Arizona market):
- Base Salary (Design): $65,000 - $70,000
- Base Salary (Coordinator): $55,000 - $60,000
- Health insurance: $16,000-$20,000
- Payroll taxes (FICA, unemployment): $10,000-$12,000
- Total annual cost: $146,000-$162,000
Carlos and Elena (remote hires):
- Annual salary (Carlos): $32,000
- Annual salary (Elena): $28,000
- Benefits: $0 (not required)
- Payroll taxes: $0 (1099 contractor)
- Total annual cost: $60,000
Savings: $86,000-$102,000 per year
That's enough to:
→ Hire a third remote team member and triple your capacity
→ Add $80K to your solar equipment inventory
→ Build 12+ months of cash runway
It's not just about saving money.
It's about what you DO with those savings.
In their words:
"Honestly? We were worried. Hiring designers and coordinators remotely for solar felt risky. One mistake on a permit could delay a project by weeks. But Carlos and Elena have been incredible. Carlos's designs are cleaner than our previous local designer. Elena keeps projects moving faster than we ever have. Our install timeline went from 6-8 weeks to 3-4 weeks. Our customer satisfaction scores went up. We used the savings to hire a third remote team member and expand into a new county. If we were still paying $150K for these two roles, we'd still be stuck at 80 installs a year."
— Founder, Arizona Solar Company