Julian Placino: 0:00

Welcome to the Home Services Success Story Podcast powered by Peakzi, the number one AI platform for growing your home services business. I'm Julian to know your host, and we have a great show in store for you today. Because today we have Matt Damyans, who is the owner at Damyans Electric. Matt, welcome to the show. How are you?

Speaker: 0:19

Thank you, sir. I'm doing fine. How are you?

Julian Placino: 0:22

Really good and excited to learn more about your story. So, Matt, you are one of those home services leaders that really started the trade very early, and you were, I think, 16 years old. So, what first drew you to electrical work and what made you fall in love with the industry so early?

Speaker: 0:39

Well, uh I, you know, right in high school, I either wanted to be a plumber or an electrician. Um, and I tried, uh I helped uh my my dad was building a house, and I wanted to help the biological company for free, and I just loved it so much. I told the guy, uh get me in, and he said sure, which I thought that's a nice way to say, get out of here. Next day he called me and uh I was on. And I ever since ever since I love uh I love electrical work.

Julian Placino: 1:16

Interesting. So, did you have influences from uh family or colleagues in the home services world? Like, how did you first get introduced to it?

Speaker: 1:25

I that was it, man. Um, maybe I should tell a little bit of backstory here.

Julian Placino: 1:30

Yeah, that'd be great.

Speaker: 1:31

We came to the United States. Um, my parents has 11 children. There wasn't no apartments for 11 children, so we kind of grew up homeless. Um you know, the youngest with my mother in this area of the town, the middle kids with my parents in this middle of the town, and the oldest kids and that side of the town. After eight months, my dad managed to buy a house. Two years later, he took the equity there and we built a house. As we were building this house, pretty much our own, we couldn't do the electrical by ourselves because of the licensing and things like that. So he hired a contractor. I was in a house there, like Test Rock's fun, you know, drilling through the home, um, pulling wire. I didn't even know what I'm doing, but just putting the pouch on it. Me, I mean, I was like, this is this is good stuff, you know. Um, I was so excited to help the guy. That was my first introduction, actually, touching the wires and boxes and all that. So uh I was I was so excited to help the guy. Every day I was there, and then when they finished, I asked him, Do you guys hire? And I was 16. I did uh I did not like school, I liked working. So basically, pretty much I dumped school when they hired me, and ever since then I was I I loved it every day.

Julian Placino: 3:08

And you loved it, so you had a like a natural interest and passion for it from day one. It really was like love at first sight, right?

Speaker: 3:16

Oh yeah, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And you know, I think from the first day I felt good about not only working, but I felt like I I I think I had a dream of becoming a home owner someday. Because I remember the my boss gave me a cell phone. Company cell phone, it was a big bricks, it was purple with sparkling. I put a phone on the dashboard of the car, I felt like I'm man, I got a company phone. I felt so good. I thought I'm at the top of the world, you know. I felt like I'm an important figure in the company, you know. Um, so I I don't know, I really liked fixing problems, pulling wires, and make a difference, I guess.

Julian Placino: 4:07

And you've been in the industry for 25 years. So when did you go from working for someone else to starting your own business? Tell us that story.

Speaker: 4:16

Oh, yeah. Actually, uh, the guy who hired me in in 2007, he started having problems with uh, I think with family, and I think he bought more houses than he could maybe afford, a couple of them, and he started going down. So uh I approached him, I wasn't licensed. I approached him and I said, listen, let me buy your truck, let me buy all your junk. Uh and uh I'm gonna make a Damyans Electric, not rapid electric, because that's what it used to be rapid electric. So uh I registered as Damon's Electric, he was a 50% owner. I was 50% owner, and the reason for that because of the license, he was a master holder. So in 2009, so in 2007, that's when Damien's Electric officially went, like legally, you know, all registration, all that. In 2009, he told me, you know, I don't want to be an owner, I just want a guest card, I want a paycheck on Friday. So we went and took him off the box, and I was 100% owner in 2009. And from 2009 and 2018, he was uh 100% employee.

Julian Placino: 5:43

Wow, so he went from owner to employee, and you went from employee to owner. That's a great story. Okay, so so what was the skill set change like? So actually being in the field and doing the work versus building a business, those are two different things. So, what was the biggest learning curve? Tell us about that.

Speaker: 6:00

You know, uh honestly, until I joined Success Group International or SGI, they used to know, until then I was just uh a good electrician. Um, I didn't the group, the SGI really trained me a little bit more on how to be more of a business person versus an electrician. So in 2018, that's when until 2018, it was just me, um Dion, which was a former owner of Rapid Electric, or I'm sorry, you know, I he was my former boss, I should say. Uh until then we're just wiring a bunch of commercial, residential, new homes. We would probably make fun out of this residential service and repair because we thought it's so easy. Until in 2018, I really started getting into it. I'm like, you know what, this is real challenges here is to find problems and come up with solutions. And then when I start to understand more the business side, you know, how to actually be a business, not just to wire a home, you know. Um so yeah.

Julian Placino: 7:22

Okay. So so there was there was definitely a different skill set. So what do you think was the new skill that you had to learn? Like you mentioned that group that that showed you how to run it as a business. What what was the thing that kind of made the difference that allowed you to grow as a business person versus an electrician?

Speaker: 7:39

Well, uh it's a good question. Um hopefully I'll can I can answer this good. Number one, I had no idea what's numbers. All I knew is like, hey, we got money in a bank, let's use it until we didn't the card didn't work. Maybe we don't have money there. So uh really uh it it it it helped me to pay attention more on the on the financing side, like on the on the numbers. Let's say the run the business of your numbers. That really that's when I focused a lot on it. What's gross if you'd have asked me then what's a gross profit, I wouldn't even know what what are you, I thought I would think you're talking to me with some language that I don't know, or net profit, or any of this stuff. I wouldn't I would have no idea. So they taught me a lot, and the more they taught me, the more I wanted to learn more. And and then also how to structure a price together when when you offer a service. And my head was like, well, I think it'll take me an hour, and then I think it'll take me 10 bucks of material, this is how much it is. Boom. Where with the Success Group International, they taught me, listen, you're in business to make money, to be profitable. There's a there's a part to where you're getting paid, and then there's a part where the business needs to be profitable, you know. It's not only the profit, it's not only okay, you got your whatever for the time you did. Because in that case, you're just uh you could be an employee to anybody, you know. So they taught me that how to how to make the business profit and um profitable, and then uh the more they showed me the more I wanted to know. A big thing is how to how to deal with customers, direct, you know, homeowners, retail type of business, you know, which I I thought I would never, that's not me. You know, when it comes up to sales, when it comes up to to show and tell to the customer, when it comes up to big cleanness in the house, quality, I thought a hundred percent when I went to profit today, I thought a million percent that's not me. Like I didn't even want to try because I knew, but the more the more I I I was so sick of it because I I never was, I did I couldn't, I wasn't, I was I I always was broke. Does that make sense? I I just never had money. Look, I had money, and then next thing the bank doesn't, the car doesn't work because I didn't have money. So it's like we were doing good jobs, but then it seemed like we would always lose money. So um gosh, I lost my I I think I lost my thought. But anyways, uh when Success Group International showed me how to talk to customers and I I I I I start to discover myself that actually, you know what, I love talking to people. I actually love to uh find solutions. I love to find problems, you know. Like, you know, you think you got a problem, I come there and I say, okay, here's the problem, here's why it's happening, and here's the solution. I start to find out that like I'm actually enjoying this. This is this is my cup of tea, you know. Uh, and I start losing because before then I really loved like uh commercial, you know, getting dirty, digging, excavator, scissor lifts. And the more I got into this, I'm like, man, I hate that kind of commercial stuff. You know? So and then it's uh, you know, uh it's one of the things that I kept wanting to know more. I wanted to learn more. Okay, why is it why do we have lights flickering? Let's not just because a lot of electricians they they seem to cut the corners to you know figure the problem. I wanted to actually for real find a solution, you know. So um, and then Success Group International, they too they showed me a lot about how SEO. I if you have asked me then, Juan, what what does it what's it if you'd asked me what's SEO, I'd be like, what are you talking about? I have no idea. You know, or Google reviews, I don't even know what you're talking about. So a bunch of things like this, they they kind of presented to me and they they said, Listen, we could tell you what this is about if you're willing to listen and to adapt. And I'm like, sure, of course. And it's kind of like magnet, man. I kept wanted to learn more, I wanted to find out more. Yeah.

Julian Placino: 12:31

Yeah, it sounds like so. This particular group really opened your eyes. So what I heard is that you really had to learn your numbers. You learned how to manage a profit and loss statement to see how a deal sort of affects the bottom line, also how to properly price. Um, the other thing also I heard is that you have to learn how to deal with customers because yes, you're like personal business, but it's a people business, right? So you got to learn how to go find customers and interact with them and solve problems, but by doing so, it unlocked your own kind of interest and passion, these things that you didn't know that you would be interested in, um, which makes you a really great owner because that's what you have to do, like to scale the business, right? So I think those are really, really great points. So how big is your team now, Matt?

Speaker: 13:15

I have on a field um eight guys.

Julian Placino: 13:19

You have eight guys. Okay. So so tell us a little bit about your team and what you think makes them stand out.

Speaker: 13:28

Well, before uh maybe uh, you know, when I went to the profit to not profit day, but uh executive prospective day, I think that's what they call it. They asked me a goal. What's your goal? How many guys do you want to have? And I go, like, on the oh, they used to call this goal big, hairy, audacious goal, or something like that. And I'm I'm like, I will never have seven, or no, my goal was like five guys. I'm like, I will never have the five guys, but let me make my big goal, you know. I never thought I would be there. Now I'm like just seven guys, one at twenty. You know, now I'm starting to even get bigger. But look, um all my guys, no, nine, I would say six guys, they were completely green. Yeah. Um five or six guys. I can't most of my guys they started like as a jerk uh apprenticeships. Uh six of them came in as a day day one, they ever they never dealt with electrician with electrical work. So basically what I'm trying to say, I grew them all up from zero. There's some guys who came with some experience, but uh, but I enjoy a lot to to it gives me a sense of pleasure to when I know, okay, you you had nothing, you were nobody, you had no, you didn't even know what career you wanted to do, and you grew up here, and it it gives me like a sense of feeling that you know what, I didn't just fix a problem in electrical, I also uh helped this guy to discover what he wanted to be, and he loved it, and I uh empowered him with tools, with work or whatever to that now they're journeymans. Now they're they make good money a year, they provide for their families, they they buy homes, and you know, they they got a good lifestyle, I would say that they they uh they uh and they're pretty they're I would say they're the best team I could ever dream for. They're very loyal to me, uh, very fun to work with, good, honest, young guys. It's a family. I meet them anywhere. I don't when I meet with them, I don't really go like we don't really feel like, oh, you're my boss, you're my employee. We're just like bodies, you know. Um I have full trust in them going into anybody's house. It I never had any sort of issues with them because I know they're not the type of guy where they're gonna go and do some creepy thing or steal something, or I don't know, you know what I'm saying? And it's just they grew up with me. Um and as like actually a year ago, I started a brand new guy from zero. Now he has one year of experience under his belt, you know, three more years, four more years, he's gonna be probably one of a great tech out there license, you know. Uh I also have some two guys that they had some experience over the seas as electrical. They came here. Um from day one, they started with me. Again, today we're the best friends, great electricians, super smart and intelligent guys. Um, and um right now I think I have seven different nations in uh in the couple.

Speaker 1: 17:12

That's awesome, very eclectic group.

Julian Placino: 17:14

Oh man, it seems like you take a lot of pride in bringing up these young guys. I mean, I I kind of almost sort of see your own story on that. Like you've become sort of kind of like that father figure, but you also say that you have a very specific personal mission. You kind of touched in it, touched on it already. You said you want to help the next generation find their purpose and success, their discipline and integrity. So, why is that important to you and how do you do it?

Speaker: 17:42

Well, what's important uh why is important again? I think it the reason I think it's important to me, if I get up in the morning and I feel like it's a waste of day, I become depressed. I have to feel like, listen, I provided something to the society. I I I brought something into this world, meaning if I came to work and I helped you with your career, it gives me a sense of I have a purpose. I have a purpose. I didn't just um I didn't just go on a field to make a buck or two, you know. By the way, money thing, my accountant always beats on me. Like, why don't you care about money? It's I it's it's I don't care so much about money. Money is a result of what I do, but when I come here, I want to make sure this kid who came to work, he has a purpose. He he he he's not just gonna go out there and and steal or today he works at Starbucks, tomorrow Home Depot, the third day he's back into the daddy's basement, you know. I I don't want those guys to be like that. I want them to grow uh uh honest, uh good people to the community. Um it does.

Julian Placino: 19:10

So it sounds like it's it's yes, you're a home services business, yes, you're special specialties electrical, but you seem to find purpose in helping other people find purpose. So there's like a kind of a social good to like what it is that you do. I think that's really inspiring. Um and also something I know that you're very uh passionate about because you're a husband and also a father of seven, I think it is, right? So how has being a family man influenced the way that you lead your company, the values you bring to work, and how you service your customers?

Speaker: 19:38

Oh, um man, we might go back a little bit to this question. It's because it it's a one question, but a couple different things. Um how does it help to to run my business as a family member? That's what was what the question, right?

Julian Placino: 19:55

Yeah, how does being like a family man influence the way you lead?

Speaker: 20:00

I think the biggest thing is look, I understand that the challenges I have a home could be financial, could be the time with my kids, could be the frustration with other contractors coming to my home. I understand I want to make it easier on the next family that I that me personally where my guys go into their home. I want it to be the least the problematic, the easiest transaction, the easiest communication to where they could enjoy the quality of their life. Having the kids, having the family, it's its own challenges. I don't want to be part of your part of your challenges. Does that make sense? Like I don't want to complicate your life the way it's already complicated, you know. I want to be a little bit better than I go, I want to create just a little bit better than it is. You know, does that make sense?

Speaker 3: 20:59

Yeah.

Speaker: 20:59

So that's my family helps me a lot with that.

Julian Placino: 21:06

Kind of keeps you grounded, and you really are about like helping improve the lives of the people around you. So okay, I think that's great. Well, Matt, earlier you mentioned that before you didn't know what SEO was, you didn't know what like the technology and stuff was, but here you are a customer of Peakzi, which is about as advanced and as innovative as you can get, right? So you're a customer of Peakzi. How has Peakzi helped your business?

Speaker: 21:33

Well, Peakzi, I think of man, it's kind of it goes back to when SGI showed me the eyes when I joined them. What's SEO, what's this, and then I think Peakzi that's what they're doing now. I mean, I did not know AI could be your agent. I didn't know AI or whatever this Peakzi, they show me what's the trend. Okay, in November, uh in November, installing of a light is going down, and installing a thermostat is a demand. I didn't know there's such a there's I I just didn't know there's possible you could track things like this, you know. Um or to kind of to be transparent with the customer um how much does a panel change cost to change, you know. So I think Peakzi they they do show a lot to, you know, what's the to me shows a lot to understand what's the demand, when is the demand um you know, maybe also to show what not only about my company, but in the city, you know, what's going on in the city as far as demand again, um the trend and things like that.

Julian Placino: 22:53

So it seems like the biggest thing that it gives you is market demand forecasting, kind of where to pivot your business, what areas to kind of serve. Um, have you had experience with any of the other features, whether it's like the operations, whether it's the recruiting piece? Have you have you dabbled with anything like that?

Speaker: 23:09

Or no, not yet. You know, you you bring up the recruiting piece, and maybe we'll that brings us back to building the gun. I gave up. I used to right in the beginning when we there was a few years to where we were really growing up and I hired people out there. I gave up on that. I'm just gonna build them new. I don't wanna, so I don't I'm I rather grow slow and make sure I get I build my guys versus to I'm not I don't really use their service for recruiting. I I'm not I don't have interest in that.

Julian Placino: 23:46

Gotcha, gotcha. Okay, okay. Well, before we close out, I've got just two uh more questions here for you, Matt. Any anything else that you'd like to mention about your experience with Pixie? Any other insights you can share?

Speaker: 23:58

You know, uh man, um Peakzi, they they again uh uh I I uh Sean has been really great uh help to me. He has a lot of patience because I'm uh I'm a slower when it comes up to all this technology by default I don't like it. But I understand that's a future. I understand I need to learn. So it's kind of the thing is is not only I don't know it, I don't really like it, but I kind of force myself to learn. So Sean has been great to to to walk me through to show me um just some keywords, what the difference brings up out there. And by the way, we already I I I do see leads coming from Chat GPT. It's probably it's probably the the results of Pixie, you know. I hope so. But um yeah, that's uh you know, that's that's all I maybe I can say for right now.

Julian Placino: 25:00

No, I think that's great. I think the first thing you mentioned, Sean, so they have a great team as well. It's not just the product, but people you can talk to who are experts in AI, who live, breathe, eat, sleep, not just AI, but AI for home services. So you always like have a have a great partner there. And you mentioned you're starting to find people find you through Chat GPT, and that's like one of the big things is being found through AI search. Like how people used to find people through Google, people are now using the LMN, LLMs, uh, Chat and Gemini and Grok and all that, and looks like you're experiencing some benefits of that. So that's great. I appreciate you sharing that insight. Um so so beginning to kind of land the plane here with you, Matt, one of your favorite quotes is when you don't lie, you don't have to remember anything. Why is that an important quote to you?

Speaker: 25:47

Because you don't have to remember nothing. You know, when you when you I'm not saying I never lied, but I do when I read this quote, which was maybe I don't know, 15, 20 years ago, when I read it, it didn't click to me. But then when it clicked to me, it's like, wait a minute, when you lie, you always have to remember what did you what was your answer. So you have to remember your answer to always to give the same answer. When you don't lie, if you live free. You live in a freedom, man. That's why I began my own business, is for the freedom. I you know, that's part of the why I wanted to be my on my own business. Is freedom is a big thing to me. Okay, so yeah, if uh if you don't lie to I don't care to who, customers, to your wife, to kids, to anybody, you you kind of go with who you are, period. You don't you you get this mask off of you, you know. You you live freedom.

Julian Placino: 26:52

I love that. I never really equated it to that before. If you don't lie, like not lying, or being honest leads to freedom. You can be who you are, with whoever, whenever, because you're always just being yourself.

Speaker 1: 27:03

And you strike me as a person who's very direct and very honest, and I love it. I appreciate that so much.

Julian Placino: 27:08

So, well, Matt, close us out here. You are a great home services leader, you have a very inspiring story, uh, very interesting philosophies as well. So, what is your vision for the business? What's the future for Damyans Electric? What kind of legacy do you hope to leave for your community, for the business, for your team?

Speaker: 27:28

Well, um, that's a great question, honestly. Um I think one of the big goals uh I want to grow, but I don't want to I want like organically to grow, right? Part of it, uh, I have a mission to where up till now I've been donating money. I've been kind of under the desk donating. Not under the desk, like under the radar. I really don't like to show off. I really don't want people to know what I I I have a my fun yeah, I believe in the Bible. And then one of there's a quote in the Bible, I don't know exactly where, but it says your right hand should not know what your left hand does. Okay, so when I donate, I really don't want people to know. But I I also have a like a non-profit organization to where I funded, to where I helped the community. I even help out of the country people or communities, whatever. As far as legacy, um I hope my kids someday could uh could carry on. That's all I mean. It would be really cool. And I kinda I think it's gonna happen. It's it's gonna happen, it's gonna happen sooner than I think.

Julian Placino: 28:49

Well, we're excited to see how that continues to unfold. So what I heard is, well, that's very great and humble um of what it is that you do, because you not only have a great business and home services, but you are like a force for good and social impact, and people probably don't even know they're receiving that impact because you're doing it all under the radars you mentioned, and that's awesome. And the second thing was uh the generational impact. It looks like your your your young ones are gonna potentially take over the business, and that's gonna be a great thing to see. So um so, Matt, this has been really great getting to know your story. Share with our audience how do they check out the business, how do they connect with you? Tell us your social, tell us all that.

Speaker: 29:24

Uh I don't have much to say in that one. As I uh you're probably not gonna find me on a social. Uh, I don't think actually, I don't think I have an account anywhere as a personal file. Um my business is on Facebook, obviously website. Uh now that with a Peakzi, you can find me on AI, probably ChatGPT. Um that's yeah, um that's website, probably the best way.

Julian Placino: 29:54

Awesome. And we'll make sure to have all that contact information in the show notes, Matt. So, Matt, this has been a very fun conversation. Thank you for sharing your story. We wish you all the continued success.

Speaker: 30:04

All right, thank you, Sean.

Julian Placino: 30:06

Well, that is it for today's episode. Thanks for tuning in. So we'll see you next time on the next episode of the Home Services Success Stories podcast powered by Peakzi, the number one AI platform for growing your home services business.