Welcome And Guest Introduction

Julian Placino 0:00

Welcome to the Home Services Success Stories Podcast, powered by Peakzi, the number one AI platform for growing your home services business. I'm Julian Placino, your host, and we have another great show in store for you today, because today we have Wes Carver, who is the owner at Wes Carver Electric. Wes, welcome to the show. How are you?

Wes Carver 0:19

I'm doing great, Julian. Thanks for having me.

Julian Placino 0:21

Absolutely.

Why Wes Started The Company

Julian Placino 0:22

It's great to have you and really excited to dig into your leadership story. So let's start from the beginning. Wes, you founded Wes Carver Electric in 1999. So what originally motivated you to start the company? What was the genesis of the business?

Wes Carver 0:37

So I think the short answer to that is just entrepreneurship. Um it's really just always resonated with me. Um kind of striking out and seeing what I could do on my own. Uh the long answer to that would be I, you know, early on I kind of realized that I wasn't a good fit for college, but also still wanted to have a career. So I got into the trades uh fortunately early during high school. Um, had some current, you know, I went out, got in the field. I was in the field working about seven, eight years, uh, had some frustrations with my my current job. And um, so once I felt like I had the knowledge to be able to get out there, uh, you know, I had left that company that I was working for and started WCE when I was uh 24.

Julian Placino 1:23

Interesting. You said that you started in the trades in high school. Now, did you come from a family of trades people or did you in were you receive influence from somewhere else?

Wes Carver 1:33

Uh I did receive influence from uh my parents, although they were not in the trades. Uh they were both college educated, so that was the path that worked for them. Um they I would say had a part in helping me realize that college wasn't my thing. Um so yeah, I mean it was I didn't come from that lineage, but I was uh influenced, you know, to encourage, you know, to seek out a career that would be you know a little bit more suitable for me.

Julian Placino 2:02

And what inspired you specifically about the trades, electrical, what kind of caught your interest?

Wes Carver 2:08

Well, to be honest, um electrical, I felt like I didn't want to get my hands that dirty like a plumber, and uh, you know, carpenters and everything were carrying around like a lot of heavy lumber and all that stuff. So I was like, well, with the electrical quest, that doesn't seem too hard. You get to use my head and you know, use my hands. So um just process of elimination, I guess.

Julian Placino 2:29

Okay, interesting. And you mentioned entrepreneurial. Did you start any other different businesses outside of home services before kind of settling in on this one?

Wes Carver 2:38

I don't know that I started any businesses, but I was always hustling. And um, you know, I would do, you know, as a kid at a lemonade stand, and I was like, well, if I'm selling lemonade, well, why can't I sell candy bars and other stuff? And I'm sure I could make a margin on that. Um, to you know, getting into probably my first job uh with a paper out. So picking up one and then someone else would, you know, next next neighborhood over that will become available and then jumping on top of that. So just kind of always, you know, hustling, I guess, like that. And um, yeah, so no real business. I guess they were kind of businesses um along the way, but yeah, no, a hundred percent.

Julian Placino 3:16

I I like the inclinations. I mean, you know, Mark Cuban always talks about like he did a paper route, he did door-to-door sales, like those kind of early stories can kind of show the wiring of the entrepreneur, and it sounds like uh you've had that since the beginning.

Wes Carver 3:29

Yeah, I would say so. Um, again, you know, I think uh I wasn't real keen on, I always kind of felt like I had my own way of doing things that I could see, you know, envisioned doing things, and um, that didn't always line up with you know what my boss wanted me to do or how he wanted me to do it at the time. And so uh yeah, I think the entrepreneurship was I was willing to take the risks and put the work in uh in order to have the freedom.

Julian Placino 3:54

So and what was that decision like when you were working for someone else and you were like, man, enough is enough. I'm gonna go start my own thing. Was that scary? What was that you know, walk me through that?

Wes Carver 4:04

Well, I think uh if anyone's being honest about it, yeah, it's it's a little bit scary. You know, you got a couple bucks in the bank and you're you know now trying to find your own work and make your own way. Um, and I think, you know, again, I mean, if you have that mentality where you're not afraid to put in the work and you know get out there and hustle, you'll find ways to make that happen.

Julian Placino 4:23

And it seems like all that risk has paid off. You've been in business now for 25 years, right?

Choosing Residential Service And Repair

Wes Carver 4:28

Yes.

Julian Placino 4:28

Uh yeah, 20, almost 27 now. Almost 27. Well, congrats on the longevity of the business. So um, in in over the course, you decided to very intentionally focus on residential. So, what was that decision versus you know commercial, new construction, that kind of thing?

Wes Carver 4:43

Yeah, I think it again, it kind of became a process of elimination early on. Um, I know commercial work, uh you don't always have the opportunity to build the same kind of value as you do on residential. So then it kind of becomes a numbers game, and you know, you feel like you're only as good as you know, the number that you put in. Um, also, you know, bidding on when you're bidding on work like that uh and you do end up getting the contract, it's generally because you were lowest priced. So it's like great, we won, but did we really win? So it's kind of like a little bit defeating. Um I think you know, we went through a period of time where we were working on residential projects as a subcontractor, and the things that um we didn't feel were great about that was mainly the um you you lose connection with the customer because now the contractor's our customer, it's not really the person at whose house that we're working in. And so you kind of lose operational control of that process a little bit, um, and then you're inheriting the customer through the contractor. And again, I mean, everybody's got their margins that they have to hit. So, you know, it's it's it was a little bit more difficult for us to be profitable in that in that area. So um about 10 years ago, we switched to 100% service and repair model for residential. Uh, this way we can just focus on one area of the trade and just execute it really well and do it, do that consistently. So all that to say, um, while I feel like residential was the right path for us, we get to deal direct with our customers, and therefore we can provide that higher level of service. Our technicians also uh working in people's homes, it's you're working in people's homes, you know, it's different than working on a commercial building. So I think our guys, though, uh technicians mainly at the end of the day get fulfillment and purpose through getting in that house, fixing the the issue, whatever the issue is. Maybe it's adding some um, you know, some lifestyle upgrades and things like that, some lighting or things like that. But at the end of the day, you know, we walked into something that wasn't working generally, we're able to get that fixed, we're able to, you know, get the customer um, you know, head wrapped around that solution and everybody's happy with it at the end of the day. So I think that's really where we're our technicians, our residential technicians, um, get their for fulfillment and their purpose out of that. Just getting in, fixing the thing, adding the lifestyle stuff, um, and just leaving the house you know, safer than we found it and happy customer.

Training And The People-First Mindset

Julian Placino 7:14

Gotcha. So we're talking about your technicians right now. So I know that your team goes through extensive background checks and ongoing screening, ongoing training. So, what else do you think makes your team great and stand out as home services leaders?

Wes Carver 7:28

I mean, I think the training is a lot of it. The training, the we've also, you know, over the last number of years, I've kind of wrapped my head around, I think in the early years, I thought about the business as we were in the electrical business. Then I would say, probably in the last decade or so, my mentality and my line of thinking has shifted and saying, we're really in the people business. We just happen to do electrical work. So we focus on the people. Uh happy technicians and happy team generally is going to translate into happy customers and making sure that the customer is getting taken care of the way that they need to, and just providing that level of uh of a the customer experience.

Julian Placino 8:05

So ultimately caring for your team because they'll be caring for your customers, and there's a trickle-down effect and a cultural aspect to that as well. Uh, so I think that's

Electrical Safety As A Core Mission

Julian Placino 8:13

great. So, um, electrical safety, of course, is a major focus of West Carver Electric. So um, so tell us a little bit about why that has always been so core to your mission and the way that you conduct business.

Wes Carver 8:24

I think that electrical safety is very important, obviously, and then oftentimes it gets overlooked because while you may have issues going on, uh, they're not always front and center, they're not always, you know, visual things that the customer is going to see. And just doing this for as long as that we have, um we've just seen a lot of a lot of concerning issues over the years, which a lot of them are very preventable, uh, whether it's routine maintenance or just staying ahead of issues before they become bigger problems. But just over time, you you can't help it. You see a lot of stuff. And again, I mean a lot of it can be preventable, you know, through that maintenance, through that monitoring of any kind of life safety equipment in the house.

Julian Placino 9:06

So tell us a bit about that. Let's say we have some homeowners uh tuning in right now, and you always kind of stress the importance of of uh of educating them, because oftentimes homeowners don't think about what's happening behind their walls, right? So, why are routine electrical safety checks so important?

Wes Carver 9:22

So, kind of like what we just touched on, uh you could have electrical issues in your house, just like you could have plumbing issues or anything else that you may not you may not see right away. It may not be a visual indicator for that. So, if we draw a comparison to say a leaky faucet, if your kitchen faucet's leaking or you're you know you have a leak under the uh the cabinet, you're gonna see that. Like, okay, we can instantly understand that that's a problem. Uh, sometimes there's parts of your electrical system that can be deteriorating over time, and a lot of that is not gonna be you know as front and center, you're not gonna get that visual cue. So that's really why when we get into the house, uh, we like to do just, if nothing else, just a quick 10-point safety check over some of the major areas uh in the house, and then that way it gives the customer an understanding of what is going on. Um, because it's not broke until it's broke, and you know, there's again a lot of times we can stay ahead of those issues so they don't turn into something uh a greater issue down the road.

10-Point Checks And Preventing Failures

Julian Placino 10:20

Gotcha. And you mentioned checks, so you offer both standard and premium checks. So help us understand the difference between the two and how you help customers decide which one's right for them.

Wes Carver 10:32

Sure. Well, we do offer a 10-point uh complementary safety check when we go out uh to the customer's home. This addresses most of the high-level life safety issues that and uh we can complete that as a courtesy on every service call. So we'll get out there uh as part of our part of our service call process. We will run through that 10-point check. The uh that 10-point check we got we run through, it's more like a report card for the house. Um, if that we've been to that customer's home multiple times, then that's something that we're gonna continue to monitor if there was any uh areas of concern on the last visit or anything like that. If it is our first time in the house, it just gives us a good general overview of of what's happening and also leaves the customer with that uh report card, you know, I'll call it, of uh the condition of their electrical system. So the so you do you did all mention that we do offer uh two different types of checks. The first, the 10-point check, that's a basic one that we do on uh on every call. So we use a stop weight approach with that, and it's just easy for the customer to focus on what's going on. Uh, we're just gonna rank those key components and condition of uh green is good, uh yellow being an area of concern, and red would indicate that we really want to look at that and get that fixed right away. Um, the more in-depth safety checks would be they get a little bit more involved, and then it's just a much deeper dive into the system. That generally would be used if someone just bought a house and they want to get a little bit more intel and information on you know what's going on or any concerns that may have come up uh previously.

Julian Placino 12:07

Gotcha. Any stories come up to mind when you think about safety checks of how you've been able to help customers realize, oh my gosh, this is like imminent danger. You got to get this thing taken care of. Anything come to mind?

Wes Carver 12:18

Yeah, I mean, generally speaking, you know, uh panels, that's the heart of your electrical system. So if you're not, if your panel is say probably the most common thing is either outdated, uh outdated equipment, outdated circuit breakers, uh, circuit breakers that are 1960s technology that haven't been touched or replaced in 40 to 50 years, that's pretty common for us to come across. And the customer really doesn't understand uh really the importance of that if they haven't been educated on it before. So that's really our goal with that 10-point check. In addition to that, uh I think a lot of times we come across water that gets into the panel, which obviously electric and water don't mix, they are not good together. Uh, and also it just degrades the system at a much more rapid rate. So there's a lot of times issues like that where the system is still functioning or functioning to a degree, but the customer hasn't noticed it yet because they haven't experienced an outage or anything. Uh, so we're able to kind of come across those issues, you know, before they come, become something major, where God forbid something happens or someone gets hurt. Um so normally we're able to come across that stuff. But I don't know that I have any stories in particular, but those are some of the things that we would come across uh more regularly. Uh also a lot of times the GFI receptacles, those ones with the little test button and the reset button on it, uh, they need to be installed in anywhere where there's damp locations, anywhere where there's uh you know water nearby. So a lot of times we'll come by and they're either faulty or they are uh non-existent. So in either case, that's not good because now you're you have the potential for electricity and and water to be mixing, which obviously we want to avoid.

Julian Placino 14:00

Makes sense. And as a homeowner my sense myself, I never even think about these things, right? So, how often do you recommend homeowners do one of these checks?

Wes Carver 14:09

So we we typically do them uh on an annual basis. Now that doesn't always line up exactly every 12 months, but I mean, I think every every 12 months or so is a good cadence for that. Um, get into the house, just see, you know, and everything might have been great last year, but there's something new that's happening this year that we want to be aware of. Uh it could be something that went from, you know, something that was uh an area of concern, maybe has gotten a little bit more severe, and we're getting a little bit closer to needing to deal with that. Um so usually about every 12 months is a good is a good cadence for those those checks.

Julian Placino 14:46

About

Trust Signals And Customer Experience

Julian Placino 14:47

12 months. Okay, that's a good rule of thumb. So um I also know that when it comes to the whole customer experience, you are big on having your technicians, you know, uniforms, ID badges, and the tech seal of safety. What is it you're trying to communicate to your customers by presenting yourself this way?

Wes Carver 15:06

Really, we're trying to get, I mean, we're always trying to work trust, work through trust, right? Earn trust. So you earn trust in drips and lose it in buckets. So we're always very cognizant of that. Um, gaining that trust throughout the process. So that kind of starts with the reviews and how we're presenting ourselves online or in different forums. So, you know, in clean uniforms, ID badges, the tech seal of safety. Tech seal of safety is something that we uh have through one of our best practices groups, and that's really just ensuring that all of our technicians have been background checked, drug tested, and that we keep up on that stuff because we have technicians working in customers' homes every day, all day long. So obviously that that's very important. Um really, we start earning trust through those online reviews, which carries over to customer service department, which is going to answer any incoming calls or online bookings. Um, just again, that especially if the customer hasn't dealt with this before, they can learn so much online and from reviews, but also we want to show them that we do what we say we're gonna do, and that also is building trust along that customer journey. So we want to make sure that our ongoing communication is tight, that we're uh we're communicating well with the customer before we show up, and then obviously we're gonna show up in the time window that we promised. Um technicians are gonna show up to the home. They have a branded company truck, clean uniform, uh, smile. We hope uh they're gonna enter the home, they're gonna ask questions so that we understand the full impact of what's going on, what the issue is, who it's impacting, how we can solve it today for that customer.

Julian Placino 16:48

So it comes down to trust. And of course, that's incredibly important because you're dealing with people's most sensitive and price asset oftentimes are homes, right? So that makes a lot of sense.

Core Values And Owning Mistakes

Julian Placino 16:57

Um, so you you've been in business now for 26, 27 years, um, and you started this thing from scratch. How many employees now today, Wes?

Wes Carver 17:05

Uh, we're about 20 headcount right now.

Julian Placino 17:07

20 headcount right now. Okay. So that doesn't happen by accident. You know what I mean? Like zero to 25, been around for 25 years. What do you think you have done personally to really stand out as a home services leader? What are you and Wes Carver Electric really doing right?

Wes Carver 17:23

I think really over time, against the trusting is super important, but also, you know, how you build that is just sticking to our core values and genuinely caring about both our team and then the customer as well. And also our reputation, you know, because that they all feed into each other, right? So we're trying to create a win-win-win uh for everybody involved. And then I think the other part of it is just always standing behind our work. Uh, things don't always go exactly right in life, right? Mistakes happen, we're all human. So I think then the difference becomes how are you handling those mistakes? Do you avoid them? Do you take accountability and make it right? So I think that's really what kind of makes the difference there. And you know, if you don't have trust and you don't do what you say you're gonna do, then I think it's hard to stay, stay in business and grow it.

Julian Placino 18:12

So ultimately it is trust, but the things that we backed into was core values, taking care of your team and always doing the right thing. So uh I think those are great points.

AI Search Changes And Peakzi

Julian Placino 18:21

Well, um, having been in the industry for uh a long time, uh, you are of course also a customer of Peaksy, and this podcast is powered by Peaksy. So tell us, in your words, describing this to other home services leaders, what is Peaksy?

Wes Carver 18:36

That is a great question, Julian. I'm gonna say this. I know that you guys do a lot with AI, which I think is something that everybody is trying to figure out. It's a major disruptor right now, and we need to get it figured out. Peakzi does a great job with that. I don't, I'm not smart enough to understand all of those levers that you guys are pulling, but I do know that it is something that's very important for us to stay on top of. Um so I I know it has a lot to do with AI that you guys are doing, and then making sure that we're coming up as relevant in search and being able to found, uh be found, but really our marketing manager would be the best one to ask for that. He's a lot smarter than I am uh and understands this stuff a lot a lot better.

Julian Placino 19:18

Okay. Has your marketing manager reported any interesting features or outcomes that you'd be able to report?

Wes Carver 19:25

Nothing's coming to mind.

Julian Placino 19:28

Okay. Well, as a as a as an owner and home services leader, what do you think is the importance of keeping up with this trend of AI versus you know traditional methods of how people are searching for information?

Wes Carver 19:41

I mean, it's just changing so quick. Um, and I think it's changing a lot quicker than even those of us that understand that it's happening, uh, it's happening, it's changing even more rapidly than we can even keep up with. So uh really, I think just staying on top of it, just like making sure that we're managing our online reputation and we're doing the things that we need to be doing, um, you know, gaining reviews and and things like that, uh, just staying on top of all of these different chat platforms, the um all the AI platforms, and just making sure that you know we're we're covering our bases, and I think that you guys do a good job of that.

Julian Placino 20:20

Awesome, yeah. No, 100%. It's the nature of search is changing. So let me ask you this. When pay-per-click was becoming a thing, do you remember what that was like in the early beginning?

Wes Carver 20:31

Yes. That was confusing, but not as confusing as it is today. Does that make sense?

Julian Placino 20:36

How so? How so? Explain that.

Wes Carver 20:39

Well, I think PayPalClick um has changed a lot and continues to evolve. So, I mean, there's the real estate on uh Google's you know homepage. Uh once you do a search, I mean that real estate is there's a lot of different things that are feeding into that. So I think that um it's there's a lot of different angles whereas before, and there's a lot more competition now than there was uh when PPC was first coming out, and it's become a lot more expensive than it used to be as well.

Julian Placino 21:09

Yeah. Yeah, I get I guess why I bring that up is because when I speak to other home services leaders, they often kind of create, they compare those two shifts, right? So back then it was Google and also like pay-per-click. This is you gotta get as a home services person, you gotta understand this PPC game, right? But now everyone is making the shift to AI because that's how people are searching for information. And that's what Peakzi does. You know, one of the things I know we're doing for you is the AI website. It's not as glamorous or like as amazing as a regular website looks like, but it is a way that it communicates to these LLMs in the way that really allows you to present who you are accurately to your customers. Uh so that's definitely a big piece to what it is that we're doing for home services.

Wes Carver 21:47

Yeah, absolutely.

Legacy And How To Connect

Julian Placino 21:48

So, yeah. Well, we're we're getting ready to kind of land the plane here. We talked about a lot of different things. So looking back, and I know this is um, although you've been in the industry for a long time, there's no sh signs of you stopping yet. So um what kind of impact or legacy do you want to leave behind for your customers, your team members, for your community?

Wes Carver 22:08

Yeah, I know when when I think about that I mean there's a lot of things, right, that you would hope will would be said. Um I think that knowing that we were the easiest decision for homeowners when it came down to having a trusted contractor work in their home, I think that would kind of sum it up for me. Like that when they think electrical work in their home, that they just they would think of us, have had a great experience in the past, or know a family member or friend that has, and just that's just an easy decision. They don't even have to think about it. So I think that would kind of encompass us building trust, doing a good job, standing behind our work, um, and you know, having the best team out there. Yeah.

Julian Placino 22:49

So it sounds like you just continue to perpetuate your brand, your trust in the impact that way. So uh I think those are all really, really get great points. So um, well, well, yeah, Wes, this has been really great getting to know you. Um, close us out. If you would share with us your website, social media, how do folks connect with you?

Wes Carver 23:07

Sure. Uh Wes CarverElectric.com is our website. Uh, you can also find us on Facebook, Instagram. Uh, we've been a little quiet on those platforms, but uh looking to get that presence ramp back up again. But yeah, easiest thing to do, Google us, WesCarver Electric, WesCarver Electric.com. You can book online. Uh, and we'll can't wait to get out there and meet you and take care of your electrical needs.

Julian Placino 23:30

Awesome. Well, make sure to have all your contact information in the show notes, Wes. So, Wes, thank you for the time. This was really great getting to know you.

Wes Carver 23:37

Great. Thanks, Julian. I appreciate the appreciate the time.

Julian Placino 23:40

Absolutely. And that is it for today's episode. And 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.