Saying Hello to You - Get to Know to Me
Me and my two girls - Charley and Amelia
👋🏼 Hello!
I don't think I've said hello in a while (or ever?). So I wanted to just write a few words about who I am and what Green Projects Group does.
Read to the end to get the top-secret scoop on how I'm thinking of making money this year. (Also my thoughts on whether or not to have a third kid, for some reason making this really personal?!)
😄 WHO I AM: I'm Will, professionally known as President at Green Projects Group. I am an outside-of-the-box thinker. As a kid, I wanted to be an artist, a farmer, and a dad. Later, and for quite a while, my priority was to live in a subterranean home(?!). I just fell in love with it and got obsessed with the concept. Obsession is a running theme. When I fall for an idea, I really fall for it. When I do something — bike across the USA & Eastern Europe, work as a builder/remodeler to learn all about homes, learn how to tie flies and collect the materials directly from nature, start a family and surround myself with X chromosomes — I really do it. I've been described as very passionate while somehow being calm.
👨💼 WHAT I DO AT WORK:
I see environmental problems and I think of business solutions... but with a twist. I want to see business solutions that wrench on "the system" a little bit, changing it ever so slightly. Solutions that directly touch people. Solutions that democratize access, increase equity, reduce costs, limit CO2, explain concepts, ease the stress of change, or prepare us for a warming climate. I enjoy the challenge of business, so these concepts tend towards "social enterprise" but not all the way to "nonprofit." I really enjoy making concepts and resources easier to understand and access.
✅ WHAT I'VE DONE:
The first challenge was to just launch GPG! We opened our doors five years ago, in January 2019. Stepping away from a W2 job was scary and exhilarating. Every project since then has been an exercise in building my confidence and learning how to tackle whatever was in front of me that needed to be done.
These projects included remodeling (just to keep the lights on that first month!), multifamily lighting projects, consulting (furniture sustainability), designing and running the Free Lightbulb Program for 18 Michigan utilities, and helping the Holland Energy Fund launch Home Energy 101 (we do their energy efficiency kit fulfillment).
GPG fell into a groove with the Free Lightbulb Program, and it was definitely our biggest and most successful project these last five years. This program started with me going door-to-door with a very tall pallet of LEDs in the back of my truck! I offered them up for free, delivering instant gratification and energy efficiency, in exchange for folks' signatures on some utility rebate paperwork.
A big part of my job is watching trends and lending my voice to conversations happening around the state in sustainability and affordability.
🎉 WHAT I'M EXCITED TO DO:
As the Free Lightbulb Program has recently sunset, I'm experimenting with three main business models. They're all firmly rooted in energy efficiency and electrification. I'd love to talk to you about them, so drop me a line if you have thoughts.
Electrification Coaching: helping people transition away from natural gas and gasoline. This is paid for by direct product sales on our website, contractor commissions, and affiliate links. It could also include a "creator" component; sharing case studies on YouTube. I've coached about five people so far and the results are quite rewarding.
Program Design & Implementation: working with Michigan utilities and municipalities to design programs that educate their residents. These could include beginner- ("101") and intermediate- ("201") level education sessions, and possibly the afore-mentioned electrification coaching. These services would be paid for by utilities/municipalities, and possibly through sponsorships. I'm in exploratory conversations right now with cities.
City-by-City Heat Pump Challenge. Okay, this one is the zaniest. It's a "heat-pump-counting, social-movement-sparking fundraiser in a box." (Heat pump basics: they use electricity to both heat and cool, and they are a crucial tool in the climate fight.) Inspired by Maine's Heat Pump Challenge, I started to think, "Instead of waiting for states and city commissions to track this information and publish goals, what if we empower local nonprofits to raise their voices and challenge their own towns directly?" We could use publicly-available permit records to track installations, and inspire cities with a friendly competition to hit their 2030 goals before other cities (and before the clock is up)! There would also be a merchandise component (think "I ❤️ heat pump" or "my other t-shirt is a heat pump" swag.) I'm currently speaking with potential sponsors to see if this idea sticks.
Other projects I'm seriously considering or already working on: www.mushroomleathersupply.com, ebike sales (from my garage??), and managing an all-electric fleet of green rental homes (one down, a million to go).
Question for you: what's your next "green" project?
So... just to have something that's not entirely work-related, there's a fun way to think about whether or not you want to have another kid. Ask yourself "is anyone missing?" I can't remember where I heard this but I really like it.
Our lives are completely filled to the brim right now and we're sick all the time and stuck at home with daycare closures. I recently mentioned this "is anyone missing?" framework to a friend and of course he said, "so is anyone missing?" I responded, "I haven't decided yet, but I think it could stand it if it were even crazier." 🙃🤷♂️😄
Get electric or stay electric friends, and be well!