Lon Lockwood Electric Celebrates 25 Years in Business
As Lon Lockwood Electric celebrates its 25th anniversary, we asked Lon to reflect on how the company began and the people who helped it grow. In the interview below, he shares the challenges, turning points, and lessons that shaped the business, as well as what he hopes comes next.
How It All Began
What inspired the founding of Lon Lockwood Electric 25 years ago?
In 1999, my wife was laid off from Xerox during a time when the company was laying off thousands of employees. We knew she wasn’t going to get her job back, and suddenly we could no longer afford the lifestyle we had been living.
Out of desperation, we decided to start our own business. We put an advertisement in the phone book, and Lon Lockwood Electric was born.
Our biggest motivation was to create a business that would allow my wife to stay home, raise our children, and run the office from our house. What started out of necessity eventually became something much bigger than we ever imagined.
What problem were you hoping to solve for your customers?
If I’m being truthful, when we first started, we were more concerned about solving our own financial problems than anything else. We needed to make a living and support our family.
Taking care of customers was initially a byproduct of that goal. But it didn’t take long for our priorities to change. We discovered how rewarding it was to genuinely help people, and providing outstanding customer service quickly became our motivation.
Today, taking care of our customers is at the heart of everything we do.
Looking back, what was the biggest challenge in those early years?
Our biggest challenge was that we knew how to be electricians, but we didn’t know how to run a business.
Being good at your trade and being good at running a company are two completely different things. We had to learn the business side of things, and that was probably our biggest learning curve.
Building the Business
What milestones are you most proud of over the last 25 years?
One of the milestones I’m most proud of is building our team.
In the early years, especially during our first 10 years, business wasn’t always consistent. Hiring someone was terrifying to me because the last thing I wanted was to bring someone into the company and then not have enough work to keep them busy.
Today, there are 19 of us. We’re able to keep everyone working, provide steady paychecks, and support the families who depend on us.
Looking back at how afraid I once was to hire even one person, seeing what we’ve built today is something I’m incredibly proud of.
How has the company evolved while staying true to its core mission?
We’ve always been a service company, but over the years we’ve evolved into something more.
We went from being an electrical company that provided service to being a customer service company that happens to do electrical work.
That was a major shift in our thinking. We realized that taking care of the customer needed to come first, followed closely by taking care of their electrical system.
Obviously, we take both responsibilities very seriously, but putting customer service first has made all the difference in who we are today.
What was a defining moment that changed the trajectory of your business?
There were two major turning points.
The first was when Chris Rybar joined our company and helped convince me that quality workmanship was more important than being the cheapest electrician around.
We made a conscious decision to take our time, do things correctly, and provide higher-quality work rather than rushing through jobs to offer the lowest price.
The second turning point was joining a best-practices organization that taught us how to properly run a business.
We already knew how to be electricians. What we needed was to learn how to become successful business owners.
Those two changes completely transformed our company.
What is one lesson you learned that still guides your decisions today?
One of the biggest lessons we learned came from going through bankruptcy during the difficult financial times surrounding my wife’s layoff.
That experience taught us never to overextend ourselves financially.
Today, we work very hard to remain fiscally responsible. We don’t take on more debt than we can reasonably handle, and we make decisions that allow us to weather difficult times.
That lesson has stayed with us throughout the past 25 years and continues to guide how we operate.
Putting Customers First
What do you think keeps customers coming back over the years?
I believe it’s our commitment to putting customer service first.
We invest heavily in educating our technicians and employees so they can, in turn, educate our customers.
We want homeowners to understand their electrical systems, know what their options are, and have enough information to make good, common-sense decisions about the work they want done.
We don’t want to make those decisions for them. We want to give them the knowledge to make the right decisions for themselves.
That philosophy must be working because approximately 80% of our business comes from repeat customers.
What types of customer challenges does Lon Lockwood Electric solve best?
I think we do two things particularly well.
First, we educate our customers. We explain what is happening with their electrical systems, present their options, and give them the information they need to make informed decisions.
Second, we offer financing options that help make electrical improvements more affordable.
Sometimes customers know what they want or need but aren’t sure how they can afford it. Financing allows them to move forward with improvements that might otherwise have to wait.
What feedback from customers has meant the most to you?
My favorite feedback is when a customer tells us, “You’re not the cheapest, but we want you anyway.”
To me, that’s one of the greatest compliments we can receive.
It tells me that our customers recognize the value of what we do, appreciate the quality of our work, and trust us enough to choose our company even when there are less expensive options.
That tells me we’re doing something right.
The People Behind the Work
What role have your employees played in Lon Lockwood Electric’s success?
Our employees have played the biggest role in our success.
They’re the face of our company. They’re the people who interact with our customers every day, represent our values, and make sure the work gets done correctly.
Without our employees, we wouldn’t have the company we have today.
They’re the ones who keep the lights on, both literally and figuratively.
What values have remained constant since day one?
Personal integrity.
We’ve always believed in doing the right thing, even when nobody is watching.
To me, integrity means doing a job correctly because it’s the right thing to do, not because someone is standing over your shoulder checking your work.
That belief has been part of our company from the beginning, and it remains one of our most important values today.
How has the company’s culture changed or stayed the same?
Our company culture has certainly had its ups and downs over the years.
For a long time, we didn’t fully understand that company culture was something we could actually influence and control.
Once we realized that, everything changed.
Today, we work very hard to create an environment where people genuinely enjoy coming to work, feel appreciated, and have opportunities to grow.
Our goal is to build a company where employees can thrive throughout their careers and, hopefully, want to stay until retirement.
What makes someone a great fit to work at Lon Lockwood Electric?
The most important thing is having the right attitude and personality.
We’re looking for people with a can-do attitude, people who are teachable, willing to learn, and comfortable helping others.
We also believe everyone has the potential to be a leader.
Leadership isn’t something that should be reserved for people at the top of the company. We expect our employees to demonstrate leadership at every stage of their careers.
Whether someone is just starting out or has been with us for years, everyone has an opportunity to lead by example.
Lessons From a Changing Industry
How has your industry changed over the last 25 years?
Interestingly, the electrical work itself hasn’t changed nearly as much as the way we operate our business.
Electrical systems have gotten 25 years older, but many of the fundamentals of electrical work remain the same.
What has changed dramatically is technology, communication, and how we interact with customers.
We’ve gone from handwritten paperwork, paper invoices, and writing checks to electronic communication, digital invoicing, and credit card payments.
But the biggest change for us has been our approach to business.
We’ve evolved from being an electrical-first company to being a customer-service-first company.
That shift has been incredibly positive, and our customers have responded very well to it.
What advice would you give customers navigating the market?
My biggest advice is to read reviews and pay attention to how companies treat their customers.
Everyone has different opinions about money and what something should cost. I wouldn’t make price the deciding factor.
Instead, look at what happens when something goes wrong.
Did the customer have a problem? How did the company respond? Did they stand behind their work and make things right?
To me, that’s much more important than simply finding the lowest price.
What do you think sets Lon Lockwood Electric apart from its competitors?
I believe three things really set us apart: education, quality workmanship, and our warranties.
We invest heavily in educating our technicians, and we expect them to share that knowledge with our customers.
We also take tremendous pride in the quality of our work. We believe in doing things correctly and standing behind what we do.
One of the biggest differences is our warranty program.
For example, we offer a 20-year warranty on our electrical services, while many competitors offer only a one-year warranty, or perhaps five years at best.
We want our customers to feel confident that when they choose Lon Lockwood Electric, they’re making an investment that will last.
Community and Influences
How has Lon Lockwood Electric been involved in the community or industry over the years?
Over the years, we’ve participated in several community programs and charitable activities.
One of the things we’ve done is provide Thanksgiving meals to families in need during the holiday season.
We’ve also organized coat drives to help people who need warm clothing during our cold Rochester winters.
We’ve always believed that being part of a community means doing more than simply operating a business there.
When we have opportunities to help others, we try to do our part.
Who has had the biggest influence on the company’s journey?
Two people come to mind.
The first is Zig Ziglar, the motivational speaker and author. His teachings had a tremendous influence on how I think about business and life.
One of the most important lessons I took from him was the importance of doing the right thing for other people.
The second is Chris Rybar, one of our technicians who has been with us for almost 17 years.
Chris played a major role in shaping our commitment to quality workmanship.
When we were deciding what kind of company we wanted to become, Chris made a very convincing argument that doing higher-quality work was far more important than simply being cheap.
He was absolutely right, and that decision helped shape the company we are today.
Looking Ahead
What opportunities excite you most for the future?
Right now, one of the things I’m most excited about is our new building.
For the first time, we’ll own our facility instead of renting or leasing space.
The building we’re constructing is approximately three times larger than what we currently need, and that’s intentional.
We’ve moved three times over the years, and every time we’ve moved into a larger building, we’ve eventually filled it and needed more space.
This time, we’re building something that will give us room to grow for many years to come.
I’m excited to see what the next chapter brings.
How is Lon Lockwood Electric preparing for the next 25 years?
Our new building is a major part of preparing for the future.
By creating a facility with plenty of room for expansion, we’re positioning ourselves to continue growing for many years.
But growth isn’t just about having a bigger building or generating more revenue.
To me, growth means being able to help more customers and create more opportunities for our employees.
The larger we become, the more people we can serve and the more technicians we can provide with good, stable careers.
That’s what makes the future exciting to me.
If you had to summarize the last 25 years in one sentence, what would you say?
We’ve grown into a company far larger than we ever imagined, and I’m eternally grateful for the opportunity to provide our employees with meaningful careers while helping countless customers and families throughout o