The Spectacular Burnout of a Solar Panel Salesman

Aaron Colvin, a driven and hardworking teen, dreamed of becoming an entrepreneur. He wanted to provide for his mother, who raised him on her own. For Wired, Brendan I. Koerner writes about Colvin’s stint doing door-to-door solar sales, which required a lot of effort for little reward. Colvin’s strange experience reveals a toxic and cult-like culture within solar companies that promise money, a glamorous influencer lifestyle, and self-improvement. (Subscription may be required.)

Managers in the solar industry are adept at making novice salespeople like Colvin push through the job’s darkness. They do so by convincing their crews that the work has a quasi-spiritual component—that it’s a path to not just wealth but also radical self-improvement. For Seal Team Six, that meant adhering to an almost monastic routine. Colvin woke up early each day to study books like Door-to-Door Millionaire and videos on how to handle customers’ objections. He and his three teammates would then hit the gym to lift weights together before ripping until 9 pm. They’d stop only to wolf down a burrito or a few tuna packets for sustenance. At the end of the day, after “bageling”—that is, logging zero appointments—Colvin would pass out to the strains of Fortnite emanating from the living room.