Cole McCloskey  - The Electrician, Inc.

On the Appreciating the People: "I don't know that it's necessarily a bad thing that we, as a society, in business, are adopting a culture of being appreciative and valuing people for more than just what they produce."

Flip a switch, the lights come on.  Plug in your phone charger at night and your phone is ready to go when you wake up.  We take things like this for granted, but what does it take to make the lights turn on and the power to move through a house?

Cole McCloskey, co-owner of The Electrician, Inc. shares with us what it takes to become one of the people that do what they can to make sure the lights can turn on the and the electricity can move through the right wires.

The conversation goes beyond the nuts and bolts of working with electricity, delving into the challenges and rewards of starting a business, the importance of building trusted relationships in the trades, and the lessons learned from managing and growing a team from just a handful of employees to nearly one hundred. Cole opens up about the pivotal moment he became a partner at The Electrician Inc., why he believes in empowering team members rather than binding them with golden handcuffs, and how genuine appreciation and leadership can make all the difference in retaining good people.

Listen as Cole explains his journey and how others can follow his path to become not only electricians, but entrepreneurs as well

Enjoy!

Visit Cole at: https://theelectricianinc.com/

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theelectricianinc/

 

Podcast Overview:

00:00 From Construction to Electrician Journey

06:10 "From Apprentice to Entrepreneur"

08:17 Succession and Growth Strategy

12:13 Reluctant but Generous Mentorship

15:27 Organic Leads Build Relationships

18:43 "Freedom Over Golden Shackles"

20:01 Retaining Good Employees

25:03 "Code Exceptions and Missteps"

28:53 Journeyman vs. Master Licenses

29:54 Master Electrician: Skill vs. Integrity

33:38 Madison Electrician Training Insights

36:32 Electrical Practices and Misconceptions

42:13 Trusting and Empowering Others

44:36 Prioritize Valuing Top Performers

46:51 "Embracing Appreciation in Business"

50:16 Strategic Approach to Tough Conversations

54:23 Entrepreneur Stories & Electrician Insights

Podcast Transcription:

Cole McCloskey [00:00:00]:

You do have to have a master electrician license to have your own business, because to have your own business to pull permits, you have to have a contractor's license. You have to have a master license to get the contractor license. So if that's a route someone wants to go, they do have to pass that exam.

James Kademan [00:00:14]:

So if they pass that test, then they have achieved master electrician status.

Cole McCloskey [00:00:18]:

Yeah, really above that, you can get into credentials for being an inspector if you want. The master exam is the first step towards that. If that's route you want to go.

James Kademan [00:00:30]:

You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumphant successes of business owners across the land. We are locally underwritten by the bank of Sun Prairie and downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link found at https://drawincustomers.com Today we're welcoming, preparing to learn from Cole McCluskey of the Electrician Inc. And we are talking construction, electrician, electricity, all the good stuff. So Cole, how is it going today?

Cole McCloskey [00:00:59]:

Going very well. Thank you for having me.

James Kademan [00:01:00]:

Let's talk about the foundation. What is the Electrician Inc.?

Cole McCloskey [00:01:04]:

So we are a full services electrical contractor. We do jobs large and small across all sectors from residential to commercial to industrial. We do also fire alarm and low voltage access control systems. So we cover a wide variety of the market in that way. But just the full service is electrical contractors is what we are.

James Kademan [00:01:26]:

Right on. And how did you get into that?

Cole McCloskey [00:01:29]:

Well, I grew up in the industry, so my father has worked for a construction company for his entire life. So growing up, right about the time I was old enough to grab a hammer and swing it, he was teaching me how to do that. So that was pretty cool to grow up in the industry and just be interested in what it's like to work with your hands. So I would help him out with roofs and woodworking projects and remodels and all kinds of different things. That was, that was really cool. And so I knew I wanted to get into a field that allowed me to do that when I became an adult. And long story short, I ended up through a family friend, finding the Electrician Incorporated and talking to the owner, who's now my business partner. So I'm sure we'll get into that piece of things.

Cole McCloskey [00:02:17]:

But just worked there for a summer in high school and fell in love with it and just really enjoyed not only working with my hands, but kind of having to learn how electricity works and circuitry and controls and things like that. It's just always really intrigued me and ever Since I started, I've just really enjoyed it and loved it.

James Kademan [00:02:39]:

Nice. I played a little bit in the construction game and I gotta say, electrician, electric. Electrical stuff seems like way more fun than plumbing.

Cole McCloskey [00:02:50]:

It depends. But yeah, I think for the most part, especially the service side, I think plumbing can get it to be a little bit of a nasty job sometimes.

James Kademan [00:02:58]:

I would much rather replace the light switch than unclog a toilet.

Cole McCloskey [00:03:01]:

Yes, definitely.

James Kademan [00:03:02]:

So that's just where I'm at.

Cole McCloskey [00:03:04]:

So I think you made the right respect for plumbers because.

James Kademan [00:03:06]:

Absolutely.

Cole McCloskey [00:03:07]:

Because of that.

James Kademan [00:03:08]:

You know, it's funny, I was hanging wire at this bank, low voltage stuff. And there's a guy that was up, way up high, his fancy H type thing, and he's putting in the sprinkler pipe.

Cole McCloskey [00:03:19]:

Sure.

James Kademan [00:03:20]:

Like the iron sprinkler pipe. He's got a thread it and all that kind of stuff. And it's just him up there. And I'm like, I gotta shake this wire. Right. This low voltage, super flimsy, easiest thing in the world to do. And I'm like, huh, I guess I won there. Yeah.

Cole McCloskey [00:03:38]:

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. We end up running rigid pipe like that for certain things, but. But yeah, that. Just the noise of the fittings that they put on that sprinkler pipe. My brother actually is a sprinkler fitter.

James Kademan [00:03:51]:

Oh, he is. Okay.

Cole McCloskey [00:03:52]:

Yeah. So he. Him and I, you know, give each other grief and good fun about the different trades. But. But yeah, for them there's a lot of. There's a good combination, I think, in. In the electrical field of using your hands. You know, it is hard work or can be really hard work at times, but there's a lot of thinking ahead using your brain, really thinking through an installation before you start it, those kinds of things.

Cole McCloskey [00:04:18]:

And I just, like I said before, I really have always liked that piece of it.

James Kademan [00:04:21]:

Yeah. That's cool. So is the Electrician Inc. Franchise or is it just.

Cole McCloskey [00:04:26]:

No, we're actually not. No. It was founded by my business partner, Brent Yockler, by himself in 2004. Okay. He was one man and one van. He's got a last name that's a little bit hard to pronounce and spell and. And I just don't know that he wanted to be like every. I don't think he wanted to be like everyone else and have, you know, yacht or electric.

Cole McCloskey [00:04:50]:

Right.

James Kademan [00:04:50]:

Sure.

Cole McCloskey [00:04:52]:

He. He just came up with the electrician ink and it's. It stuck with us and it's done. Well, there's no Confusion about what we do.

James Kademan [00:05:00]:

Not at all. Right. Unless you guys did plumbing and they're like, wait, right.

Cole McCloskey [00:05:03]:

Yeah, yeah, this is a little weird.

James Kademan [00:05:04]:

Yeah.

Cole McCloskey [00:05:04]:

So as we've expanded our market services, we've, we've or different scopes of work in, into kind of the more specialty. We do some specialty testing and maintenance and safety compliance within the electrical realm. And then obviously we're getting into more and more of the low voltage systems. So we've talked about certain marketing techniques that might better explain that.

James Kademan [00:05:28]:

Sure, that's fair.

Cole McCloskey [00:05:29]:

But. But in general, I think we've got decent brand recognition, specifically in Dane county with the construction side and the service side of things. And it's going well for us.

James Kademan [00:05:42]:

Nice. So tell me a story about how you bought in as a partner.

Cole McCloskey [00:05:46]:

Yeah. So I started with the electrician, as I said, for a summer in high school and loved it and so got to develop a good relationship with. With Brent. And as I went through my last year of high school, I really kind of made the decision that this is what I was going to pursue, at least at first, that field.

James Kademan [00:06:09]:

Being a partner.

Cole McCloskey [00:06:10]:

Well, no, no, no, I'm sorry, the field, the electrical field. And so I talked with him about the possibility of doing my apprenticeship schooling and training through the company and he said absolutely, 100% would love that. So graduated high school on a Friday, came to work on Monday for him and worked my way through the apprenticeship program, which was five years.