Steven Deyo is the Vice President of West Houston Electric, and leading their current expansion from Katy, Texas to Los Angeles, California. He shares how his family-owned and operated, third-generation company has made the transition from commercial new builds to residential. He also highlights how they are identifying and capitalizing on new opportunities in the market. 

Growing Up in the Trades

Steven grew up working in the company as a kid. At 10 years old, he asked his dad for an interview. He began as a tech, became a journeyman, and worked his way up into a leadership position. In addition to twisting wires as a profession, he is also a guitarist and songwriter. These aspirations coupled with the budding opportunity in our increasingly electricity-powered society inspired him to expand the family business to Los Angeles. 

“I came out here and became a California-licensed electrical contractor… knowing there’s a lot of technology coming with solar, and electric cars, and their future, I definitely thought it would be a good idea to have my contracting license out here and continue the business in TX, so we are able to develop in both cities, in LA and Houston.”

Identifying Opportunities

Steven was only a one-year-old when his parents won the bid to wire George W. Bush Senior and Barbara Bush’s home in 1991. Since then, they have had a storied roster of high-end customers. 

However, because of these high-profile homes, their reputation grew and demand across neighborhoods began to rise. This catapulted them to pivot their business in order to focus on residential. They saw this as an opportunity for long-term relationships with their customers, troubleshooting common problems, ensuring important safety upgrades, and providing precise, careful service within each unique home. 

Of course, there were tensions and growing pains that come with every transition, but Steven credits their success to his family’s work ethic. He emphasizes the lessons that going out and doing these jobs with his father taught him, and how this leadership from the top down helped them establish clear processes that would help their team and serve their clients best. 

“I definitely learned about gathering a team and partnering with the right people to make it happen. It’s a lot of processes that are going into getting new customers and developing our market. So, over time learning from the companies that we work with that help us to make it happen, doing podcasts, also listening to podcasts like this one, this let me gather a lot of content and learn from industry experts... I try to attend trade conventions, expos where I can learn, I’m part of coaching groups where they teach us this material, Blue Collar Success Group is one that I’m having success with.”

Building a Culture 

Building a culture begins with hiring the right people. Steven acknowledges that it is tough and challenging, but these key pillars help make it happen:

1. Know what you’re looking for in an employee.
2. Follow up with people.
3. Always be recruiting and looking.
4. Maintain an organic presence on digital and online platforms.
5. Provide incentive-based pay for technicians and team.

Your company values also have a profound impact on your culture. Steven credits hard work, integrity, communication, and serving each customer as if they were the only customer for shaping the customer and employee experience at West Houston Electric. 

Expansion Driven by Technological Boom

Steven shares that the expansion to Los Angeles is a different, separate entity from West Houston Electric, but will share the same processes and values that make their original location successful. 

Some of the trends that inspired them to expand and capitalize on consistent developments in their industry were:

1. The increasing adoption of the Internet of Things and smart homes.
2. Older homes in need of electrical renovations and code compliance.
3. LED lighting.
4. Security systems.
5. Electric cars.
6. Energy conservation and sustainability: generators, solar systems.

Steven’s advice to those pursuing growth and expansion during this time is to surround yourself with people who will hold you accountable. 

“Be clear on your goals and partner with people that can help you be accountable to those goals and check on them regularly.”