From the stages of New York City to the sun-soaked rooftops of South Carolina, Aaron Davis’s journey is anything but typical. Originally hailing from New Zealand, Aaron first moved to the US chasing dreams of becoming a stage performer in the Big Apple. However, after a later 18-month detour in California where he cut his teeth in solar sales, he spotted a golden opportunity. Ten years ago, he packed his bags for South Carolina to ride the wave of its emerging solar market.

Lighting the Spark: How Firefly Construction Group Started

Armed with about $35,000 in capital, Aaron launched his renewable energy venture, initially calling it Palmetto State Solar. Fast forward to 2020, the business was expanding beyond state lines, but they ran into a snag—a larger company with a similar name, Palmetto Solar, was garnering a poor reputation and casting a shadow on Aaron’s hard work. It was time for a rebrand, and Firefly Construction Group Inc was born. The new name perfectly captured the bright essence of renewable energy, complete with a cheeky, fitting tagline: “Stay lit,” symbolizing their mission to keep the lights on and power flowing.

Weathering the Storm: Struggles in the Solar Industry


Running a solar business is rarely all sunshine, though. If you ask Aaron what his biggest headache has been over the last decade, he’ll point to one major hurdle: cash flow management. In the construction and solar world, massive amounts of money often go out the door to fund a project, but the final, profitable payment might not arrive for months. It creates a “weird conundrum” where the company can be highly profitable on paper, but cash flow restrictions make payroll a tightrope walk.

Then came a massive legislative curveball: the sudden elimination of solar tax credits. Aaron considered the abrupt removal “reckless,” even traveling to Washington, D.C., to lobby for a more gradual, scaled-down transition so businesses could adapt. With the financial incentives taking a hit in states like South Carolina, the value pitch of solar had to shift from simply saving money to offering energy independence and resilience.

Pivoting to Power: Successes in General Construction and Solar

Facing a projected dip in solar volume, Aaron had a choice: downsize his company, or diversify. He chose the latter, leveraging his existing crew, project management, and operations to boldly pivot into the general construction arena—taking on renovations, remodels, decks, and electrical work. Learning how to accurately estimate and sell these new types of projects became a fresh challenge.

But with new challenges came incredible victories. Firefly is currently developing innovative sales tools that allow their sales force to easily gather operational info and generate early estimates for general construction, seamlessly streamlining their process. They’ve also largely ditched the traditional “door-knocking” hustle—which Aaron found rife with low-quality leads and dishonesty—in favor of internal digital ads and a decade’s worth of solid SEO traffic and backlinking.

Perhaps their brightest success recently is a monumental partnership with a nationwide developer in the greater Atlanta area. Firefly is set to install solar on multiple developments, including a massive 600-home project, a deal that will easily sustain the company for the next couple of years.

Building Tomorrow: The Future of Sustainable Homes

So, what’s next for Firefly? The current smaller construction projects are just the “building blocks” for their ultimate vision. Within the next 12 to 24 months, Aaron plans to branch into building full new homes, keeping sustainability, renewable energy, and eco-friendly materials at the forefront.

Their grand, long-term dream is to transform 11 acres of land into a completely sustainable community. These homes will operate on their own microgrid, totally disconnected from the traditional utility grid.

Looking back on the bumpy road and the forced shift away from a purely solar focus, Aaron maintains an incredibly positive mindset. He believes that the necessity to think outside the box and diversify rather than close down might just be the best thing that ever happened to the company.

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