Northern Nevada Business Weekly: Tell us about your company.
Scott Lange: We started out as a Solatube Premier Dealer, and purchased an existing company five years ago (Jim Mehrten Carpentry). Today, we have evolved and are now a Velux five-star skylight and five-star solar specialist. We offer tubular skylights, traditional skylights, solar hot water systems and solar-powered attic fans to both residential and commercial customers. We have two full time employees and one part time employee.
NNBW: What role do you play in the company?
Lange: As the owner, I fill in where necessary, and make sure people know their roles. I can install if necessary, but only spend a few days per year on the roofs. I determine the company's strategic plan, budgets, and advertising initiatives. My new company, Run My Business, helps small companies like mine by managing the day-to-day operational aspects of the company, namely inbound/outbound telesales activity, dispatch and scheduling services, and basic bookkeeping functions. These are areas which typically get overlooked, or undermanaged, in many service-oriented type of businesses. This company is located in Portland, Ore. I primarily serve as the inbound/outbound telesales trainer/manager in this business. I have two other business partners in this company who handle technology and human resources.
NNBW: How did you get into this profession?
Lange: Twelve years ago, I was looking for a job after several unsuccessful attempts to help friends get their businesses started. I went to a local temp-to-hire company, who placed me with Solatube International as a customer service rep. I moved up the chain of command within that company until I broke away to purchase an existing Solatube dealership here in Reno.
NNBW: What are some of the skills and abilities necessary for someone to succeed in this job?
Lange: Nothing ever goes as planned. Having said that, it's still necessary to have a plan from which to work. Tracking performance data is one of the keys to our success. I think lots of business owners and managers don't give this aspect of their businesses enough attention.
It's impossible to know where to go if you don't even know where you are. And the only way to know where you are is by tracking performance data, and then analyzing it regularly.
NNBW: If you could have had any other profession what would it have been? Why wasn't it your first choice?
Lange: I would have been a professional golfer.
NNBW: What are some of the important trends you see in your industry?
Lange: Energy efficiency is mainstream today. We are positioned well, with several different products to chose, none of which will break the bank. We offer introductory type of products for people who want to get into renewable energy without the massive investment.
NNBW: What do you like to do when you're not working?
Lange: Golf, fantasy baseball, travel, spend time with my daughter and wife, all-you-can-eat sushi.
NNBW: Have any advice for someone who wants to enter your profession?
Lange: Be willing to lose it all. It's not what people want to hear, but if you can remove the daily stress of worrying about the future, you can tap into your full potential.
NNBW: Would you rather be younger, thinner, richer or smarter? Why?
Lange: Richer. Is this a trick question?
NNBW: What's the best advice anyone ever gave you?
Lange: Finish what you start. I had a knack for starting lots of projects but never really completing them, and several good friends helped me see this in myself.
NNBW: What are five things you can't live without?
Lange: My family, all-you-can-eat sushi, my Blackberry, baseball season.
NNBW: If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why would you want it?
Lange: Be able to read people's minds. Today we are trained to be so politically correct that it feels fake. If I could read people's minds, I would get to see the hypocrisy in it all.
NNBW: What does the content of your refrigerator say about you?
Lange: Slow food is good. Fast food is bad. Two-thirds of children in this country are obese. In 2006, it was "only" one-third.
The basics:
Name: Scott Lange, owner of Sun-E-Concepts and owner of Run My Business
How long have you been in this job? Owner of Sun-E-Concepts five-plus years; owner of Run My Business three months
How long in the profession? I've been in the Solatube business for 12-plus years
Education: MBA, Energy Management, University of Phoenix Online
Best book you've read? "Omnivore's Dilemma."
What's on your iPod? Don't own one
The best movie ever? "Pulp Fiction"
Spouse, kids or pets? Wife, Wendy; daughter, Gabriella (GG for short), and cat named Maggie
