Episode 4 – Why I Chose To Be An Electrician

ABOUT THIS EPISODE

Being an electrician was not my first pick of things to do with my life.  After flying planes, working construction, being a chef, working in restaurants, being in the Marines, working in factories, and being a corporate salesman I was given the opportunity to try my hand as an electrician.

At first I didn’t like it.  I didn’t want my friends to know I was working with my hands.  I figured they would look down on me for being in construction.  This is back when I gave a shit about what they thought.  After a few years however I started making real money, and working around some guys that changed my perception of reality.  I grew up, learned a skill, and found stability in my life because I found a purpose.  I was able to raise my son as a single father and found something that would lay the foundation for a great life, as well as maintain my drive and passion to learn.

I’ve always had to hustle.  Being a single dad at the age of 18 is never easy, and between the government taking a quarter of your income and child support taking another quarter, you’re not left with much regardless what your wage is.  And as an early 20-something, I wasn’t spending the remaining 50% of my money well.  In the midst of being broke and nearly homeless, having a suspended license, and needing to get my kid to school and get to work, I had multiple run-ins with the law with no money to get myself out of the hole.  Since I’ve been of working age I’ve always had to hold down at least 2 jobs, sometimes 3.  Its the only way I could put food on the table since graduating high school.  I made my own bed (of course), and I realized that taking this craft seriously was the only way I could pull myself out of it.

Now I’m 32 and after years of working around wise men, and learning to be really good at something that changes constantly forced me to focus my attention and set goals for myself.  I was able to see a light at the end of the tunnel and found a way to climb out of the struggle.  Now I have a commercial driver’s license, own a home, am married, and have financial freedom that I’d never known existed.

Doing this everyday has given me a way of living and a way of thinking that has changed everything in my life.  Now I own a company and have the freedom to make my own way in this crazy life.

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Episode 3 – How To Make The Phones Ring

ABOUT THIS EPISODE:

Well its April, we’re 7 months in and we’ve gained a lot of knowledge of many of the paid services out there to advertise your business through. We’ve tried most of them, but there are still a few we need to test.

In this episode we talk about the different paid lead services we’ve used since inception and which ones are worth the buck. From Angie’s List, to Home Advisor, Yelp, Yellow Pages, Houzz, Facebook, AdIQ, Google AdWords, and Yodle – we’ve tried them all. I talk about the pros and cons, and who we’ve liked using but most importantly which one makes the phones ring! Starting your own electrical contracting company requires paying money to be seen by customers. There’s no getting around it until you get to the point where you can work from straight referrals.

I’m here to teach and be taught. I’m documenting my journey from becoming a Master Electrician to growing an electrical contracting company from scratch.

Please like, comment, share, or DM me if you have any thoughts or would like to get in touch.  If you like this podcast PLEASE SUBSCRIBE and LIKE my videos on YouTube.

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Episode 2 – Where We’re Headed (Goals)

ABOUT THIS EPISODE:

In this video I talk about my plans for where I’d like to be over the next decade. I’d like LiveWire Electrical to be a company that’s known for the quality of work we do, as well as the quality of relationships we nurture.

Customer service is a big deal, as well as treating your employees right. I don’t want a company that has a high turnover rate, but one where electricians come to be better electricians. I want to build a legacy as one of the best companies around, and would like education and humility to be the thing that ushers that in.

My belief is that I can train anyone to be an electrician, but that you can’t train good into a bad person. I want to take my time and vet out a group of outstanding men and women to lay a firm foundation for the framework of the company I have planned.

I’m here to teach and be taught. I’m documenting my journey from becoming a Master Electrician to growing an electrical contracting company from scratch.

Please like, comment, share, or DM me if you have any thoughts or would like to get in touch.  If you like this podcast PLEASE SUBSCRIBE and LIKE my videos on YouTube.

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Episode 1 – Documenting My Startup

 

ABOUT THIS EPISODE:

I’m Dustin Stelzer, I own an electrical contracting company called LiveWire Electrical Services, Inc. based out of Austin, Texas.  I took my Master Electrican license exam in October of 2016 and passed on the first attempt.  Ever since then I’ve been documenting my work and I’d like to share what I’ve learned has worked/not worked along the way.

This vlog and all its content is about starting an Electrical Contracting company and documenting our successes and failures.  I will use it to ask questions as well, so please interact if you have anything that you think will help us out.  I’d like to meet other guys out there like me and share tips and tricks that we’ve learned, as well as advice for ways to avoid headaches going into this.

In this video I introduce myself and talk about why I’ve created this channel. I’d like to meet other people that are just starting out their journey to growing an electrical contracting company. This is mainly for electricians…more specifically young hustling electricians, to be able to get and give advice for how to start your own company and talk about the lessons learned along the way. Whether you’re an Apprentice, Journeyman, or Master, please comment and watch our journey. It may help you on yours.

I talk a little about being young and trying to find guys (and gals) that are young like me and are hustling and grinding everyday because this is their passion. I’d like to use this channel as a way to meet other electricians and get insight into how I can better grow my company.  I’d also like to use this as a platform to show other electricians what we’re doing and what problems we run into along the way.

I’m here to teach and be taught. I’m documenting my journey from becoming a Master Electrician to growing an electrical contracting company from scratch.

Please like, comment, share, or DM me if you have any thoughts or would like to get in touch.  If you like this podcast PLEASE SUBSCRIBE and LIKE my videos on YouTube.

LISTEN TO AUDIO HERE: