Preferred Partner Interview - Tounsley Electric
A lot of businesses will say don’t mix your professional life with your personal life. And in some cases that may be true – but we don’t really follow the status quo around here because we believe business is personal. That you should have the same service that I would give my grandmother – and if my grandma was in need of some electrical service, this would be my only call.
Meet Jason. He is the owner and founder of Tounsley Electric, he is an incredible father to two amazing boys, and he is without a doubt one of the greatest leaders I know.
In fact the amount of admiration for this man has lead me to choose to do life with him, he’s stuck with me forever! 😉 Honestly, getting to intermix my business and personal life in this way with my clients is the way I like to do business – because business is personal.
1. Introduce yourself -- How long have you been in the business? Why did you start your company?
I left my previous employer of almost ten years in the spring of 2007. I had completed my 4 year apprenticeship and then worked for him another 5 years as a journeyman electrician. Unfortunately at that point I felt I had reached the limits of what that company had to offer as far as professional growth was concerned. I couldn’t see myself doing the same thing for the next 30 years until it was time to retire and there was no plan or vision towards growth from my employer so I decided to step away and start my own electrical contracting business.
That short sightedness and/or resistance to growth is pretty prevalent in the industry and more often than not is the reason why most companies end up losing their best and most experienced employees. Having experienced this first hand and watching it unfold time and again it just seemed like there had to be a better way. To that end, one of the driving principles of Tounsley Electric is to allow the employees growth to facilitate the growth of the company rather than the company growth dictating the growth of the employee.
How does that look in real life? Every time I hire an employee I do so with the unrealistic expectation of them retiring from TEI someday. I look at it as my responsibility to make sure they never feel like they have hit a ceiling in this company. There is always another step to take, another opportunity. The benefits to the company are loyal, experienced, invested employees that drive strong, stable growth. The benefit to the customer is some of the most experienced professionals in the industry who value long term relationships with our customers.
2. What do you like to do outside of the office or workplace? Family life? Activities?
I love spending time with my two boys, Owen (17) and Cooper (11) and my incredibly beautiful and talented girlfriend Kelley. (ehhmm there were no bribes here 😉) We spend a lot of time outdoors hunting, fishing, and camping. We love to travel and experience new places, new people, and good food. We’re always up for a new adventure. Lately we’ve been spending a lot of time exploring Florida and all the outdoor activities there are to experience there.
3. What is your take on work-life balance and how do you balance it all?
Work/Life balance is probably one of the biggest hurdles I faced as a new business owner. There is always something competing for your time and in the moment it usually seems like
sacrificing things you want to do outside of the company is the best way to find more time to invest in the company. Unfortunately your family and loved ones are the ones that pay the heaviest price in that scenario and its just not sustainable long term. Every situation is different but I have found some guidelines to make things a little more balanced for me.
Set appointments with yourself. If you want to go to the gym at 3 every afternoon set that as an appointment. You are the boss and you wouldn’t try to skip a meeting or reschedule with the boss. When someone wants you at that time you tell them you have an appointment, that’s all they need to know.
Set up a routine that gives you a hard stop at the end of the day. Maybe its the gym or a yoga class, maybe its picking up the kids from daycare or school. Whatever it is find something that requires you to be somewhere at a certain time everyday that shifts your brain from work mode to family mode. Past this time work things will still come up occasionally and some will need to be dealt with but just ask yourself two questions first. Can this be dealt with tomorrow? Is this more important than what I am doing with my family now.
Be present and be intentional with your time, family time is family time and work time is work time. Its very tempting to take your kid to work when you’re feeling like you haven’t spent enough time with them lately or pull your laptop out on vacation just to catch up on some things when you’ve been gone a few days. Seems like a great way to kill two birds with one stone but unfortunately neither bird ends up dead and you’ll run out of rocks. This isn’t to say you can’t schedule work time within a family vacation or family time within your work day, just do so intentionally and be present in whatever you are doing at the time.
4. What is one area of your industry that you feel you really hit the nail on the head? Why?
I think the Apprenticeship program is the most underrated educational program for great paying careers with nearly endless opportunities. I talk to so many kids every year that thought college was their only option after high school. Most of them have little more to show for it than a mountain of debt, limited career opportunities and what turns out to be a pretty useless piece of paper. I know this isn’t the case with every college graduate or degree but it certainly is a reality for many.
Apprenticeship requires you complete college level courses that pertain to your chosen field while also completing on the job training. The program is overseen by the state and gives guidelines for both the employer and apprentice pertaining to expectations and compensation. In short, you learn how to do your job in real world conditions while being paid. Electrical apprentices who work for me and pass their Journeymans exam after four years earn upwards of $75,000 a year with full benefits, a company vehicle, and best of all no debt.
5. What do you do for your industry that others don’t?
We focus on providing the most practical and reliable products and solutions to fulfill our customers needs. We focus on building a stable, sustainable business with a loyal customer base so we can provide continued growth opportunity to our employees. We focus on training and recruiting highly skilled electricians to better serve and grow our customer base. In short we focus on growth and we do that through serving our customers and employees in the best way we know how.
6. What is your favorite thing about a job? Paint that picture?
Being trusted to do a project for someone, either a first time or return customer. I started TEI in my garage. I had a mortgage and a kid and a truck to pay for and no real plan. I remember praying for those phone calls. I still appreciate that opportunity each and every time it presents itself.
7. Do you have a wild story about a project? What happened?
After 30 years in the construction industry I can’t say I have any wild stories but that’s relative I suppose. I think I have a few interesting stories but probably not the kind that make riveting blog content.
