by Brenden Millstein for Greenbiz
The U.S. economy has been on one of the longest bull runs in history, but with mostly stagnant wage growth, rising interest rates and record-high asset prices across all asset classes, it’s poised for a potential fall. No one knows how long the ride will keep going up, and many smart small businesses are bracing themselves for the downturn. Companies are increasingly turning to rooftop solar to reduce vulnerability to economic downturns by establishing both certainty over and reduction in energy costs.
Small businesses are used to operating in a world of uncertainty. Defined by the Small Business Administration (PDF) as firms having 500 or fewer employees, small businesses face many of the same challenges as large corporations but without the security of being “too big to fail.” And everyone ought to care — most businesses are small, and they account for 99 percent of all U.S. firms.
The economics of rooftop solar have changed dramatically over just the past few years and, by now, those small businesses that haven’t embraced it are denying themselves a potent risk management tool that may help them better endure the next economic downturn — while boosting profits before, during and after.
