In the 1990’s, John Rolls was making good money as a union electrician, but the tech crash brought a slow down of work. With young kids in daycare, John started a barbeque sauce business as a hobby, to make ends meet. It was going well, so he went to the Small Business Administration about a loan to build the BBQ sauce business. Turns out that’s a high-risk situation, but they said, if he was willing to start an Electrical contracting company, they would loan the money. The union has lots of rules about who can work, owners’ roles, and more. After some digging, he put the company in his wife’s name (much to her dismay), made a few personal financial sacrifices and things took off.

With a $50K line of credit and a large loan from his 401k along with equity from the house, the financing was in place. In summary, John walked away from a very nice salary back then, rolled the dice, and the roller coaster ride started.

There are a couple of things John shared that have contributed to his success over the years. John has a good skillset and a strong work ethic. As an apprentice, he had a great journeyman training him. He still remembers being told to learn how to do things by yourself. A tool buddy can help, but when there are layoffs, both of you are out of a job; be ready to work independently. To young people, he would remind them that you need to get along with others, even if they’re in a bad mood or having a rough day; you need to learn what they know!

One of the biggest challenges in the last year has a familiar ring; labor shortages! Whatever It Takes Electrical (WITEC) has work but is short skilled labor. For his great crew members, he knows the value of paying extra and providing overtime. Employees aren’t worried about work/life balance, they worry about money. There’s a real hunger for well paying jobs. In the trade school John used to have 75 people. This year he has 220 young people. Some of these are Deans List members, choosing to start over as an Electrical, even though work conditions aren’t weather-friendly.

When you build a business, sometimes you don’t get a check; sometimes earnings go back into the business for equipment. Belief in God has given John the strength to get up every morning and go get it, guiding his journey. He’s thrilled to have the kids involved in the business now. – CMW