STARTING MY ENERGY MANAGEMENT CONSULTANCY SERVICE

The preliminary stage and challenges...

I was not so sure on what exactly I can sell when I left SEDA Malaysia in February 2012. I received several job offers with different positions and expectation but almost all of them were about selling energy efficiency solutions and products and securing projects and services.

I finally accepted an offer from my business partners today where they agreed to set up a company and allowed me to have the freedom to explore business opportunities using whatever skills, expertise and strengths that I have. I wanted me to be a business partner where we can work together to grow our business in long term instead of just being an employee with them. I felt so grateful for the faith they have in me and risks that they were taking to offer the opportunity to me.

While thinking of what exactly I could offer and sell to the market, I helped them to develop the existing business of the group which was doing business development and marketing works to secure new projects. The group has been very established in providing total energy management solutions in reducing energy costs through energy performance contracting business model in Malaysia and other countries in this region. Technically, the group has all the resources in energy engineering for energy saving projects identification and implementation in term of equipment and personnel for projects delivery.

So, my idea was to leverage of the existing strengths and capability of the group with services that will complement technical solutions that have been offered for existing and future clients.

It took me about six months for me to conduct some personal market researches through my communications with contacts within the industry, extensive online materials readings and observations on current development of energy efficiency initiatives in Malaysian market by government and private sectors.

Weighing my options and getting prepared...

I have decided to specialize in the management and strategic elements instead of technical or engineering of energy efficiency since I was in Energy Commission. With that I mind, I have managed to get some much exposure through various training and other capacity development programs between government and other government in topics that are more on energy management system, policies and regulatory works in the last 4 years of my service in the government.

By the time I rejoined the private sector, I have less interest in exploring the technical parts of energy efficiency but I believe all my technical experiences  would be very useful too when it matters as I move forward.

With some advice from my partners and mixed with experiences and expertise that I have developed over the years, I know I would become an energy management consultant rather than an energy efficiency technical expert. 

That was mainly due my interests are more matched with skills that I have already possessed and very comfortable especially in public speaking and training. On top of that, I love interacting with people and always thrilled by the challenge to convince them about how good is energy efficiency for all of us as an individual, companies and also for the our country.

My first few steps in preparing myself to enter the market again as an industry players mainly involved:

1. Informing all my relevant contacts and friends in the industry that I have left the government and returned as an industry player. At that point, I did not share much on what I was doing exactly when asked but I did inform them that I will be doing something on consultancy and training together with energy saving projects. In the same time, I updated all details of my contacts and classify them into their ranks and industry where I can possibly contacting them again later.

2. Maximizing my presence online using platforms and networks such as LinkedIn, my blog and Facebook by utilizing all works that I have been involved together with various organizations that I have properly documented with basic write-ups, photos and also videos.

3. Asking around and talked to my contacts especially among players from the industry for me to obtain first information on the current environment of energy efficiency related businesses.

4. Simultaneously with all the above, I have managed to get myself registered as an electrical energy manager with Energy Commission, completed my training to be certified as a competent trainer by HRDF and enrolled in the locally organized energy management system expert training program under United Nation Industrial Development Organization(UNIDO).

5. With basically zero background in running a business on my own, I have learned from the basics too on how to operate a business with management strategies, financial and human resources cash flows, pricing, marketing, services delivery and etc. I have been blessed and lucky enough that I have received so much guides and advice from my experienced partners.

6. To test the market, I did try working with some contacts under joint proposals to offer services related to energy management consultancy. My main objectives were to learn on how to structure the proposal, preparing and rationalizing the costs, packaging elements in the proposal, how to work with strategic partners to propose and then to deliver the services and etc. The most important of all of that was how the prospects assessed and responded to our proposals because from their responses, I could see potentials areas to make the better if I were to do it on my own.

7. Continued to accept offers to speak EE seminars/conferences or invitations for meetings/discussions on EE issues under the industry association.This was for the purpose of to keep updating my contacts that I am still around in industry and would offer something to market soon.

Honestly, there were some doubts in my mind while trying to create my products that I wanted to introduce to the market. That mainly due to several factors and questions that suddenly appeared in my mind frequently that I could not deny that really worried me so much such as...

I was new in the market and need to compete with more established names in the market. Information that I gathered told me that many have given up and moved into other industry due to the very slow take-ups of energy efficiency solutions in the market.

Would anyone buy my service?

Would  I be good enough to convince them?

There were also moments where I did think about reconsidering my decision to run a business and to look for job with fixed monthly salary again. However, I did receive a lot of supports from my family members, contacts and friends too and they kept telling me I could successfully in my new adventure. Most of the were also offered their helps whenever possible for me to grow with them in the industry.

"You will never know how successful you can be unless you try!?

"Failure is assured unless you do or try something to stop it!"

"If you don't believe in yourself, who will?

"If you don't want to take some risks, who will take it for you?"

Finally, after about six months I have managed to get myself prepared to sell my self-developed services. All are new to the group and it took me some time for me to get my partners on the same page with me on what I would like to offer under the new company.

To enter the market as an industry player, I decided to offer the following under my energy management system consultancy services:

1. Energy management system development and implementation based on ISO50001 Standard;

2. Program designs and expert trainers service for in-house capacity building;

3. Registered electrical energy manager service: Expert guidance and compliance; and

4. Energy management policy studies and strategic implementation proposals.

All the above are areas that I believe that I had enough knowledge and experiences to sell and then to deliver.

To add values and to strengthen to the above services, are expertise and resources in providing technical energy management solutions by the group are also offered to the prospects. I believe by making the prospects aware about our capability to become a one-stop center for energy management services provider that offered technical and management solutions for them.

After all the basic elements on all those services sorted out, the challenges awaited me were to detail out each service in the form of business proposal, budget and fees to be charged and expected deliverable.  As a newcomer with no company's track records yet, I need to ensure that my entrance into the market to be notified and could be differentiated from existing players.

But then the big question was...."How could I do that?

Next,
The breakthrough...