rolex
SSupported by cloud hosting provider DigitalOcean – Try DigitalOcean now and receive a $200 when you create a new account!

Meet Demorian Linton: The Entrepreneur Behind One Of America’s Fastest Growing Energy Brokerage Firms

Listen to this article

Below is our recent interview with Demorian Linton, from Inertia Resources:

Q: Can You give us a brief History on Inertia Resources?

A: Inertia Resources was established in April, 2018. Inertia is an energy consultation firm that prides itself on personal service, with on-site agents in Texas, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Maryland, Connecticut, New York, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and New Jersey.

We built the company on a business model that is different from almost every other energy broker in the country. We maintain a physical presence in every city we serve, so clients can meet with their broker face-to-face and actually build a relationship. That model, along with over 50 combined years of deregulation experience from our staff, has led Inertia to be ranked as a top-five national performer by the largest energy supplier in the country, in its first year of operation.

Q: How did you come to launch this start-up?

A: I’ve been in the business for 16 years. I was working with a leading broker, but always envisioned a different business model for clients and brokers. I made the decision to part ways with that firm to launch Inertia Resources last April.

Recommended: On-Demand Platform Carbon Design Brings Subject Matter Experts And Client Projects Together

Q: How can businesses benefit from energy brokers?

A: There are a number of benefits businesses gain by working with energy brokers vs suppliers, from cost-savings on overhead, to negotiating rates and timing, to leveraging the market for the best custom rate to reduce energy bills.

Energy suppliers have to adjust their pricing margin to support marketing and advertising costs, that are then passed along to consumers. Brokers have about half the overhead of suppliers and can pass that savings directly on to businesses.

Also, suppliers typically won’t contact you to renew until just before your contract expires. This allows the cost per KW to increase throughout the year, and when it’s time to renew, businesses are having to renew at a higher rate. Brokers can save businesses money by locking in a rate two years in advance so they don’t get hit with continually escalating prices.

Rates in Massachusetts alone, have increased 94% in the last five years. It’s similar to booking a flight. The longer you wait to book your flight, the higher the price tag as you get closer to your departure date. Energy costs are running the same way right now. If you wait for suppliers to contact you to renew at the end of your contract, it will dramatically increase your rate.

Q: What differentiates Inertia Resources from the competition?

A: We may be one of the only, if not the only, energy brokerage firms in the US that meets with all of our clients face-to-face. Most brokers strictly do business over the phone, but we look to build relationships for life by meeting with and better understanding each client and their individual needs.

We are also able to get clients the best prices on energy over our competitors, because of the relationships we’ve built with a small number of the nation’s best suppliers. A lot of brokers will tell you they’ll shop prices for 50 or more suppliers, which may sound attractive, but what kind of relationship can you build with 50+ suppliers? We leverage the best rates for clients because we’ve been selective and built relationships with only the top suppliers. We are one the only preferred brokers of energy in the US, and a preferred partner of Engie (The largest supplier of energy in the world).

Q: Who are some of your clients and how has Inertia impacted their businesses?

A: We’re currently working with roughly 2,500 businesses nation-wide and have helped our clients net $4.2M in energy savings in our first six months of operation.

If you look at the Boston, Massachusetts area, we manage some of the most well-known businesses there like New Balance Corporate and all their Boston properties, the new Auerbach Center for the Boston Celtics, The Boston Bruins practice facility, G2O Spa and Salon, Lolita Cocina & Tequila Bar locations, Yvonne’s, and all Davio’s restaurant locations.

As an example, we saved Lolita’s over $64,000 in energy costs in their first six months by leveraging a rate that was $.04 less per KW, and educated them on usage, how the deregulated market works, and how to take advantage of the best energy pricing options for their company’s future.

Q: What kind of milestones have you hit in your first year?

A: Inertia is really experiencing explosive growth, especially since we won’t hit our one-year anniversary until April, 2019.

•We’ve recorded $2M in sales, and expect to reach $10M in sales in 2019.

•We closed 156M KW in our first nine months, and have already closed 73M KW in the first two months of the new year.

•We are ranked #4 (out of 359) on Engie’s Top National Performance Partners list. This is great accomplishment for a first-year firm, considering the top 50 firms on this list have probably been partnering with Engie for 10 years or more.

•We are averaging 85 clients per month in 12 states (the national average for energy brokers is around 20 clients per month).

Q: Energy bills are almost always a top five expense for businesses. What’s your best piece of advice for businesses to manage energy costs?

A: Business owners need to realize, just as they have a lawyer or accountant for their business, they should have a trusted energy broker. When they do it themselves they end up paying a lot more. There are so many things business owners don’t know about when it comes to brokering their energy, like they can customize their own price, they can aggregate their businesses together, they can change LLC’s, etc., that they miss out on substantial current and future savings by thinking it’s just an energy bill and they can do it themselves.

Q: What businesses don’t take advantage of energy brokers as much as they should?

A: Depending on what demographic market your in, as much as 60% of small business owners don’t take advantage of the pricing and expertise of energy brokers in deregulated markets. Nearly 100% of billion-dollar companies get it and are taking advantage of brokers, but small businesses and homeowners try and do it themselves, without realizing they can leverage the same kind of expertise and pricing from a good broker, as big corporations.

Recommended: Real Estate Investment Firm Elpitha Solutions Owns, Operates, And Manages A Multi-Million Dollar Portfolio

Q: How do you see the marketplace, and your role in it, changing in the future?

A: By federal law, all states will have to be deregulated by 2028, which will open up competitive pricing for consumers. Based on energy pricing models, rates will continue to increase over the next 5-10 years, and the relationships we’ve built with the nation’s two largest suppliers give us a credible guidepost in the market to continue to grow our business and secure the best competitive pricing for each of our clients.

About Inertia Resources
Inertia Resources is a premium energy broker built to give businesses and consumers nationwide the best pricing and options to reduce rising energy costs and boost their bottom line. As one of the only preferred premium brokers in the United States, Inertia works exclusively with a small handful of top tier energy providers, including the two largest suppliers in the country (Engie and Direct Energy), to offer the best pricing and competitive market management for customers for the lifetime of their business.

Inertia’s senior brokerage staff has over 50 years of deregulation experience. The company prides itself on personal service, with on-site agents in Texas, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Maryland, Connecticut, New York, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and New Jersey. In 2018, Inertia Resources helped 2,500 US businesses, including New Balance, the Boston Celtics and the Boston Bruins, save $4.2 Million in energy costs.

Activate Social Media:
Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedin
Mercedes-Benz-EQS