Latest / The Home Service Heartbeat Podcast / What the Marine Corps Taught This Business Owner | Jason Hanson of Sierra Pacific Home and Comfort, Inc.

Transcript

What the Marine Corps Taught This Business Owner | Jason Hanson of Sierra Pacific Home and Comfort, Inc. · The Home Service Heartbeat Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: Hello, everyone, and welcome to this episode of the Home Service Heartbeat Podcast.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Joe Corsera, and today I'm excited to be joined by Jason Hansen, who is a good friend from Sierra Pacific, Home and Comfort, the guys in the bigger red trucks who serve with heart from Sacramento, California.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_01: Jason, thank you so much for joining us today.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_01: We're thrilled to have you on the show.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: I'm excited to be here, Joe.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_01: Well, Jason, why don't we just jump right into it and you can start sharing about how you got started in the service industry and what led you to your leadership role here at Sierra Pacific Home and Comfort?
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, absolutely.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I uh got into the home services industry by accident and by luck, I would say.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: I was spent the early part of my adulthood in the Marine Corps, and I uh had done a lot of travel and was looking to be more stationary.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: And I got out and I landed in the HVAC business.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: And along the way, I had done a number of different things in the in contracting as well as in the manufacturing space.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: And in that role in uh in uh as a Linux TM, I I became familiar with the founder and owner of Sierra Pacific, and um he became like a coach and mentor to me.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: And uh eventually I bought the company from him.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: So that's how I came to Sierra Pacific.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: It was a well-built, well-run company.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: I'd known a bit about uh home services and the way the business is run.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: And he uh he was looking for somebody that would help continue his legacy and keep the business going and grow it, and the team was ready to grow.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: And so I figured that out and and got into the business, and that was in 2007.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: So it's been 19 years for me now.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_01: Well, you know, you could say that being in the Marine Corps is the ultimate service business.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_01: I could say that.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Jason, uh, how much of that Marine Corps training uh has helped you uh to develop some of the culture at Sierra Pacific right now?
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: I'd say a lot.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: For me, uh, you know, one, the Marine Corps is always about Marines, it's always about the people.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: And uh these businesses are the same.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: It's always about the people that you have on your team.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: Uh when you develop those people well, when you give them good structure and process, they succeed.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: And when they succeed, they're doing great for your clients.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, for me, I I use a lot of those same principles, the leadership principles of the Marine Corps to apply the same thing to what we do here in the home services.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: And so um, I'm a believer that if you have good people and bad processes, the bad processes win too many times.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: And so we work hard on on having both of those things uh work together, good people, good processes, uh discipline in in execution, camaraderie.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, those those things all come together and uh leadership principles uh apply to developing those.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I mean, you know, going from those uh those different organizations, the Marine Corps, and then going in the supply chain, uh, as you said, as a territory manager, and then moving into uh retail service uh direct to consumer, uh what was the biggest challenge you faced as you were uh making these different uh changes?
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_01: And how did you overcome it, Jason?
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: So I think that probably the biggest challenge I faced was early on after uh you know I acquired the company in in the first part of 2007, and then I had about a year and a half to really learn this company and its team.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: And that was a that was a great period of time.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: And then all of a sudden in the fourth quarter of 2008, we had a financial crisis, and uh that has left an indelible mark on me as a business owner and the way I think about everything that I do.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, in a lot of ways, I tell people I'm a depression era business owner.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: You know, the you know, 2009 was uh was just a lot of heart-wrenching work to sustain the company and to get and keep it going through that time frame.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: And so that was a lot of um experience in making timely and tough decisions, the ones that you know you need to, but hate to actually have to do, and having the courage to make those decisions quickly uh is is probably one of the biggest lessons I learned.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_01: Well, you know, uh when we first came up with the concept of the home service heartbeat podcast, your your your face emerged in my brain almost immediately.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_01: So it's all overdue that we finally got you here, and I'm really happy that we do.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_01: But uh was there a key moment when you realized that, okay, I can see the uh the light uh through the trees or whatever the see the forest through the trees, if you will.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_01: When did you first know that uh that this was gonna work for you, that this uh was a viable opportunity?
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_01: You knew it was a well-run business.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_01: Giving getting a well-run business is one thing, but keeping it going is another thing.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_01: And through modernization and technology and things like that, there's all kinds of uh different twists and turns.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_01: So when did you first know that uh this was a viable operation and that this is gonna be your new future?
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: Are you referring to before I acquired it or after I acquired it?
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_01: After you acquired it.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_01: Once you got in the driver's seat and realized it wasn't as easy as you thought it was gonna be.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, what was that?
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_01: What was like when did you realize, you know what, here's what we're gonna do.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_01: We're gonna uh we're gonna apply our strategies and you could talk about some of those if you wanted to.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_01: But what but what was some of the things where you said, like, this, you know what, this is gonna work.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_01: I can see how this is gonna be sustainable for me and my family uh to help other families in the second time.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: So um the scariest time frame was I would say November, you know, November, December of 2008 until about May of 2009.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and in that time frame, the management team, most of which had been with the company at that point for about two decades.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: So it was a really good team there.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: They've been through some tough times before with the previous owner, and we had made a lot of tough decisions about how to tighten our belt, where to where to cut expenses, how to drive marketing and sales.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: And when we got to basically the summer of 2009, I knew we had it.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: I knew we, I knew we were gonna make it.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: And um we had we had to make timely decisions early in the winter um timeframe, and then uh keep morale, um uh you know, focused, keep the you know, the team like we can do this.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: And when we got to the summer, I knew I knew we had it because we were we had um we had survived the hardest part of the year for our business.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: We had uh survived against our competitors who didn't make it.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: And so we had the leads coming.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, we had the resources to do the marketing that our competitors couldn't do.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: We had a sales team that was very good at what they did, and they were they were uh keen and focused and they did a good job.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: And so we went into that summer feeling very confident, and from there we did uh pretty well to to succeed for our clients and for our team.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_01: Well, let's talk about a little bit about the team uh so that uh the the public up there in Sacramento can get a peek at it, if you don't mind.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_01: If we had to open the door and introduce us to some of the key contributors that were um were important to the success of growing Sierra Pacific.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_01: Uh can you tell us some stories about uh a few coworkers who uh started out, maybe they didn't know they didn't know they were destined for greatness and you've seen some personal growth there.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_01: Tell us a little bit about some of the personal growth that you've seen in your team.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_01: Tell us a story or two, if you don't mind you.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_01: Marines are always good at telling stories.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe you could tell us one or two.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: Sure, sure, sure, Kim.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, um, it's great in that right now the management team from that time frame is different, in that the management team I have today came from some of those managers.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: They were they were under studies of the managers I had during that time.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: So right now in our solar division, uh our our operations manager Eric, Eric was an installer at that time frame in our business, and he learned under uh the management team at that time how to how to set up um installation crews for success, how to cultivate and train people with a quality mindset, how to um the the the small disciplines of daily habits to run a good truck so that every day it comes in, gets set up and goes back out the next day for success.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: So Eric today is running just such an amazing solar division.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: Uh his crews are timely, their quality, their craftsmanship is so high because he he's brought that into them.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, being firsthand, being one of the installers that did it and trained a bunch of the people that you know that are now crew chiefs today.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: He was he was on their the crew, they were on his crew and he trained them how to do what they do today, and they have that that same mindset, that craftsmanship mindset that that Eric has.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_01: That's great.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_01: How about any uh customer success stories?
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_01: Can you tell us about any key customers or interactions with customers you had that were uh especially telling?
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_01: Uh tell us about some of the customers that gave you feedback about uh the success of Sierra Pacific, if you don't mind.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I am so fortunate.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: I feel blessed that uh nearly every week I get to hear a story from another Sierra Pacific client who has done three, four, five different projects with us over the years.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe they got a solar pool system from us in one year, and then a solar electric system in another year, and a heating and air, and yet a different year.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe we're changing out their heating and air system yet again after you know some 20 plus years of maintenance on that system.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: And so I can think of um, you know, uh basically a regular basis.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: Back today, I had a meeting with a number of my design supervisors, and uh and Joey came to me.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: Joey's one of our design supervisors, uh, super motivated man, uh highly technical, and understands his business really well.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: But he also, when I say his business, he really understands you know the HVAC trade, but he's great with people.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: He understands pure motive service.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: And Joey came to me and he he he wanted to remind me of uh this client who's actually lives in my neighborhood, and he asked me if I remembered Stanley.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I said, yes, I remember Stanley, and he started talking me through a project.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: Now, Stanley is a client where we've done a solar pool system, we've done a PV system, we've done a main service panel upgrade and two HVAC systems.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: And Stanley has a third HVAC system that is a really unique challenge uh on the house.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: And we were just going through that again about how we were going to come back in and do yet another project uh for Stanley down there in the in the southern part of Sacramento for changing out another old heating and air system on his home.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: And so it's just greatly rewarding to see that we do such a good job delivering on the craftsmanship, but also the client experience.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: And again, to come back to pure mode of service, just creating that environment for the client really feels like they're in control.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: We we we teach them what their options are and we let them decide what's going to work for best for them.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_00: And then we do, once they give us the selection they make, then we go to work at delivering it with the finest tradesmen and craftsmanship.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_01: Well, let's talk about your leadership style.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_01: How do you approach building and leading a growing, high performing team that is meticulous and the kind of quality that uh you provide the consumer?
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: Well, first I believe that it starts with everybody having a sense of purpose.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: Why are we here?
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: What are we what are we doing here?
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's not a job.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want people that want a job.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I don't want people that want to be in the you know, air quote construction, you know, business.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_00: What I want is I want people who believe that their trade skills give them the unique opportunity to make other people's lives better.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_00: Our clients are are are looking for someone that they can trust to do the work that they either they could do themselves, let's say they can do it themselves, but they don't have the time or they they put their energy into other things, or they can't do it themselves and they rely on, they rely on uh on someone like us to do it.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: And so, you know, when I look at uh what we have, we have clients, not customers.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: Uh our clients count on us for us using our trade skills and our knowledge in their best interests.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_00: And I want the the team members on Sierra Pacific to have that sense of like believe in who you are.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: When you wake up and you swing your legs over the side of the bed every day, somebody out there needs you and wants you to be your very best.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: You hold a very high uh position in the society in that you are an electrician, a plumber, an HVAC craftsman, whatever you may be, you you have skills that people are counting on that you do them very, very well.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_00: That every electrical connection is a permanent, durable, safe connection.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_00: Every roof penetration for solar, every gas connection is sealed tight.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_00: Those are the things that you have.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_00: So those people out there, you're there to make their life better.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_00: And if you believe in that, then you have a sense of purpose to go out and do and do better for others.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: And if and if and if you start with that, like you really get like there's more to this thing than just having a construction job.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: If you want a construction job, there's 10,000 construction companies out there.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_00: Go find one of them.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: I'm looking for craftsmen and tradesmen.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: And if you believe in yourself in that, and then you get to use those to make other people have a better life, you can improve their life with what you bring to them, then you're gonna love what you do.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_00: You're gonna believe in what you're gonna you're you're gonna pour your heart into it and they're gonna feel it, they're gonna see it in everything that you do.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_00: So those are my those, those are what my I I say that message over and over and over again.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_00: That's what I want my team to believe in, and that's what we look for.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_01: So if I uh was, if I had family who was, you know, because uh I think one of the things that sometimes the clients uh sometimes can say, hey, maybe my son or my nephew should go work over there.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_01: Is there um, do you guys have a restrictive uh looking for like experienced talent, or do you guys home grow your team more so?
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_01: Would you say you're more of a homegrown team or finding people who used to work at different companies?
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_01: What would be the focus?
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_01: And how would you know what were some of the qualities you're looking for and people you would add to uh so people who are applying for a job would see if they would fit into this culture?
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so uh more experienced or homegrown, and what kind of a qualities are you looking for in the potential employees so they would know if they would fit here?
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_00: So for um our team, every year we always look to bring in people who are new to the trades.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_00: They do not necessarily come from another company that has um put some sort of impression into their head as to what the business is.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, we look to bring in, and we do a build-the-tech course every year for our HVAC technicians.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_00: We bring in uh new people into the electrical or plumbing trade as well, and we train them up uh based off of their sincere desire to be a tradesman.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_00: Like they get it, they they want to be a tradesman.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's an important part that we talked about is uh that they don't want to be in construction, they want to be a craftsman and a tradesman.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: And so um I love developing uh people that come um outside the industry.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe they're they're younger in their years, have done a few things, maybe they're in their mid-20s, uh, early 20s, they've tried a couple things, but they haven't found the thing yet that really gives them that reward, like they feel good about doing, and then they find out somehow, some way that working in the plumbing or electrical or HVAC or solar, they they really they really gain some sort of intrinsic satisfaction out of doing the work.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: They like the work.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_00: That's a starting point right there when they when they like that work.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_00: The next thing is when they when once they see a place like ours where we where we explain, like, no, we really care about being a tradesman, a craftsman.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: That's important to us that you think of yourself as putting quality into everything that you do and not not just uh you know grip it and rip it, type mentality of construction, go fast, go fast.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, we want people who really care about the the the durability.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_00: So I always start, it's gotta be safe, it's gotta be quality, and it's gotta be timely.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_00: You gotta have all three of those.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_00: The you gotta you gotta do all three.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_00: But when you do all three, now now you're you're at a championship level, you're performing at a championship level.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_00: And to that point, the people that come from outside of our company are in the trades already.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_00: That is a major piece of um, I would say, the the hiring process that we go through.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_00: And that what we are looking for is to make sure that they're compatible with that mindset and to see that they maybe haven't learned some unfortunate stereotypes about how they have to be successful in the trades and in the industry.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we want them to um to come at it with that sense of pure mode of service and that sense of craftsmanship combined.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_00: And so we work really hard in the interviewing process to call that out, to really find out do you really care about the work that you do?
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_00: What's your passion for it?
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_00: What examples do you have in your life where you showed that passion for treating people that way and doing that kind of work and delivering uh service and committing yourself to the benefit of a team?
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you know, you're part of a team now.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_00: You're we're we're I tell them all the time, I said, you know, find the equate, the, you know, whatever it is that you like, whether it be the the the World Series, the Stanley Cup, the Super Bowl, pick whatever it is.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_00: But that's the team that you're you're coming to join here.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_00: We're looking for champions that want to play at that level and that you're you're gonna be challenged to play at that level.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_00: Like every year, we're gonna try to go back to the Super Bowl.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_00: So, like, what does it take to get back there?
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_00: It takes everybody challenging each other all throughout the year, and you're gonna be challenged here.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're afraid of that challenge, you fear if that's scary to you, then we may not be the right team for you because our clients um deserve it and we expect it.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_01: Now you mentioned uh the term that Service MVP has coined uh pure motive service a couple times.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_01: So I might as well just open up that uh so people understand what that is.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_01: Uh could you explain to the viewers and listeners what is pure motive service and and how does that apply to your culture?
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_00: Well uh Joe, um I'm I'm lucky enough that um that I've worked with you for oh boy, uh how many years now?
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_00: Has it been um three, four years?
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_01: It feels like I've known you forever, but for out for life.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_01: But uh but I think it's been about four years, something like that only.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, but I think but I like I I think I always say like when I first time I met you, I was like was like a brother from another mother for sure.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_01: And uh or maybe an uncle from another mother, I'm not sure.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_01: But but either uh but I felt I felt a kinship, a kinship to everything you you stand for for sure.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_01: I think pure mode of service fit like a glove, I felt when I first met you guys, you know.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_00: Uh uh yes, uh definitely definitely so.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, the um to to uh to summarize the the pure mode of service for you know for you know our audience is that you know we believe that we're here to uh to educate our clients.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_00: We're we're here to be a window of opportunity, not to get in their way.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_00: So our job is to go through and look at their home and for us to use our skills and our experience to tell them what we see in the in the ways that they may not be able to see it for themselves as a homeowner and not to not to overwhelm them with a some sort of a sales approach, but our job is to teach them about the things that can make their life better and then uh let them, through the options that we give them, let them decide what's most appropriate for them.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_00: Let them decide how they're gonna use our skills and our knowledge uh on their home.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_00: And we are then there to search.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: Serve them and give them, you know, give them the opportunity to experience the benefits of the choices that they've made.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_00: And then as uh as they see fit, when they choose to do other things, when they choose to do those other things, we'll continue to be there to serve them.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_01: That's great.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_01: Uh how do you balance?
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, you know, the service industry, I'm not sure most of the public doesn't realize how inefficient uh this business is with trucks and inventory and insurance and uh the skyrocketing prices of gasoline throughout different eras of our economy and things like that.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_01: Uh tell us how you balance the efficiency or try the search for being efficient by staying in the process uh with the customer friendliness, which just takes time.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, making friends with a client isn't very efficient, but it does pay back in droves, I always find.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_01: Uh is there a balance there, or do you say, you know what, uh just take as much time with a client as you need?
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_01: What's your philosophy on that?
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's exactly where we are.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um the the client is the reason we're there.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_00: So the air conditioner didn't call us, the uh the water heater didn't call us.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we're there because the family that lives there, that's who called us.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_00: And so um we're really there to serve them, and we're not done until they've decided that we've done a good job for them.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_00: And so, how long it does it take to do that work?
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_00: What that that depends on the home that we're at.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_00: And we respect people's time.
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_00: And so there are uh working professionals who uh feel like they are on um a deadline for what you know they think their service needs to be.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_00: And and um we work hard to accommodate uh those people so that when they think that it's time for us to be in and out very fast, we work really hard to do that while still making sure that we um we work with them and and teach them what we know.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_00: And um, and for the people that that need us there to uh need us to be there longer, um, that's our that's our purpose.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_00: The reason we're here is because of them.
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_00: And so for my my uh craftsmen in the field, uh we tell them that that their their role is to is mission accomplishment, is earning loyal clients because they're delighted with their experience.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_00: And I I ask that of my team all the time when I see I'll see an install team come back from uh from a job for the day, and uh they all know I the first thing I ask them mission accomplished, and it's either mission accomplished, which means to me, yes, uh delighted clients, delighted with their experience, or uh uh no, one more day on the job, but we will accomplish mission by you know tomorrow.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_00: So they all know like that's where we are.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_01: It's still in progress, but it will be accomplished sometimes, right?
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's a two-day job, it's a three-day job, but we're gonna get there.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, something like that's a great way of uh framing challenges, right?
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_01: To say, yeah, we're we're still in progress on this one, but uh that's a that's a great way, I think, of positive outlook, which I think you definitely epitomize, Jason.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_01: So uh now we're gonna have some fun.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_01: Let's have some fun here.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_01: Now I got a couple of questions for you that are gonna be uh out of out of left field here.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_01: And uh it's one is one uh I love this question because it's uh helps me kind of imagine uh the way things will be.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_01: And so uh this question surrounds what trends uh do you say do you see that are shaping the future of both HVAC, uh electrical and solar, both uh installation and service.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_01: And how are you preparing your team for these changes that are coming up in the future?
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_00: It's technology.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_00: The technology is changing everything.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_00: It feels like um all of the trades are being uh I guess um provided devices, components, equipment, whatever it may be, that are all much more um um sophisticated.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_00: And so everything has this element of programming to it.
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_00: Just let's say, you know, heating and air systems.
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um you've been in the trades longer than me.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_00: I've been in the trades for 26 years, and and uh, you know, most of the equipment back then they were simple electromechanical devices.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_00: They they turned, they turned on and off with very simple components to them.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_00: And now these are computers that blow hot and cold air.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_00: Heck, even your water heaters are just like not even that simple anymore with electronic gas valves and pressure sensing uh exhaust, and just it depends, you know, if you heat pump water heaters.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_00: Now you have a heat pump water heater.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_00: Now you have this this you know air conditioner that heats water.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_00: That's a whole nother, you know, level of technology.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I think I think someday people are gonna wonder, uh, what what do you what do you mean?
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's like the way I talk about, yeah, we used to have they used to have coal furnaces.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_01: That'll be like that'll be the gas water heater, like uh in the future, like uh the future there with heat pump technology and all that stuff right there.
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_01: It'll be interesting, won't it?
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_01: And uh uh how about the electrical part of the business, though?
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_01: You guys do a lot of electrical work and uh that's gotta be one of the most fascinating, different all the different consumer solutions that kind of touch your world too.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_01: Is that uh do you guys see something like that uh in in the some some of the solutions that a service business like yours would offer?
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, absolutely.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_00: So um really because the solar landscape has changed in in California, uh, we're really uh um able to now focus on being electricians, broad-based electricians across the whole home, as opposed to solely on the solar electric side of the business and generator side.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_00: And so now the fascinating things that are in the electric are that like the smart panels, where now instead of you know the breaker switches, the safety mechanical switches were mechanical, now it's electronic and it does uh load management where if it sees multiple appliances all call you know coming on at the same time, it can manage where the electricity goes to, and you can just be more efficient with um with how you use um you know appliances in the house.
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_00: And then so you can see actually where energy's going.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_00: You can look at, you know, on your device, there's an app now.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_00: Of course, there's an app for everything.
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_00: Why wouldn't there be one for electricians?
• 28:57
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, there's an app that you can say you can look at how all of your applying what appliances use a lot of electricity or or use a little electricity.
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_00: So um the electric um trade for me is a is a growing part.
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_00: It's still small comparatively to the other portion of our business.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_00: But um, I have a great team of electricians on board right now.
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_00: We have uh eight electricians, and um and they're doing a really great job out there, really exposing our clients to the work that we can do for them.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_00: And what's really been fun to see is how many of our clients go, wow, I didn't know that you did that.
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_00: And and I was like, Yeah, it's you know, it we're here, we're here to serve you.
• 29:39
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, you know, the electrical portion of the home is uh is a significant part of the house operating well.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_00: And why wouldn't we do that for you?
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_00: We should do that for you.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_00: So uh it's fun to see our electricians um really, really thriving in there and doing interesting things like, you know, um I thought that it was fascinating how many people are now asking us to install their cameras and their doorbells, their you know, they're there, you know, like I I didn't anticipate it, but now you know, there's so much, which then leads to the next thing, which was like, well, they really wanted it.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_00: I'd really love it if this TV didn't have to sit on this pedestal down here.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_00: Can you mount it up on the wall and hide all the cords?
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_00: And like, yeah, we can run, we can run everything, and you know, we can do that.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_00: And so we're finding all these um all these services that our clients wanted all along that we just weren't offering to them yet.
• 30:34
  SPEAKER_00: And it's amazing once you ask them, like, did you like that there?
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_00: And they go, actually, we were hoping somebody could help us with that.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_00: And when it soon, if you just ask them, um, they're they'll tell you that they have things that they wanted to do and they just were looking for somebody they could trust.
• 30:51
  SPEAKER_01: Jason, what keeps you after uh over being part of three decades in this business or over 20 years in this business, uh continues to be motivated?
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_01: What what makes you get up in the morning and uh motivates you?
• 31:07
  SPEAKER_01: Uh that it really matters to you, Jason?
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's the people.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_00: I love working with my team.
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_00: I love working with the people, I love seeing their successes, I love seeing them uh you know having uh their life success and feeling and seeing them happy and rewarded.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_00: So that's a big one right there.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_00: Like if I if this um if Sierra Pacific is is structured well and it continues to run well, and really good people who care about clients and each and their teammates can can come in and join this, they'll they'll have such a rewarding career, both in the sense of the work that they do matters.
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_00: It's not you know, it's not a job that that they that they you know begrudgingly do because they need a paycheck.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_00: It's a career that they enjoy having and enjoy contributing to that rewards them financially so they can take care of their family.
• 32:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so I I love seeing that success.
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's the it's it's the people I get really um drawn to the systems and the processes that enable us to let champions perform at the highest level.
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_00: I that's I'm I'm really big into um observing coaches that develop championship teams and how do they, you know, what do they do?
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_00: What is their practice environment like?
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_00: What's their locker room like?
• 32:32
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what I focus on here is what is our practice room like?
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_00: What is our locker room like?
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_00: And what do we do?
• 32:39
  SPEAKER_00: And and how do we bring more champions to the locker room?
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_00: Because that's that's that's what makes the difference right there is as how you you build a team of people who may go out individually and do their own, and you know, they may be solo in their own van, but they're representing this brand, the Sierra Pacific brand, and all these other people.
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_00: And I and and how what do they do when they're they're alone and how well are they doing it?
• 33:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I I never want to question that.
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_00: I always want that enthusiasm that they they bring to the table to be the one that says, Yeah, and I know those people out there doing a great job.
• 33:15
  SPEAKER_00: I know he's I know he's generally looking out for our clients with integrity and honesty, and he cares about the brand that he represents.
• 33:23
  SPEAKER_00: And we talk about that too.
• 33:25
  SPEAKER_00: I said, you know, we're in our 42nd year.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_00: I've been here for 19, we're in our 42nd year.
• 33:31
  SPEAKER_00: Today, the legendary reputation that Sierra Pacific has in Sacramento was from people that many of us have never met.
• 33:41
  SPEAKER_00: And today you are building the legacy that others will get to enjoy, and you'll never get to hear their thanks.
• 33:49
  SPEAKER_00: You'll be off onto your own retirement and beyond, and you'll never get to then you know hear the benefit.
• 33:56
  SPEAKER_00: But that's the sign of a true pro that you put the work in uh for the people who will carry this uh this this legacy forward and never be around to actually get their their their gratitude from them, but they will benefit from it.
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_00: And that's that's the sign I'm looking for, people who really who really get that and um and and can commit to that.
• 34:17
  SPEAKER_01: I got two more questions, then we're gonna wrap it up here, Jason.
• 34:21
  SPEAKER_01: So what would you say you I know you mentor other business owners too and have a lot of partnerships and you know conversations?
• 34:30
  SPEAKER_01: What's what should a person who's looking to get into the home service industry uh to invest in it?
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_01: Because I know a lot of people think it's a hot industry where everybody should get into this and hey, the bet the best way to do this is start a plumbing company or an air conditioning company.
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_01: What should somebody know before they start investing in a home service business like this?
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_00: Well, um, you you you touched on a couple things there.
• 34:59
  SPEAKER_00: So I'd say the first thing is um one, you bet you need to you need to love working with people.
• 35:06
  SPEAKER_00: If you don't love working with people, then this is not the trick, this is not the industry for you.
• 35:11
  SPEAKER_00: You need you need to have a belief that um that you're here to work with people.
• 35:16
  SPEAKER_00: You want to uh you want to collaborate with them, you want to coach with them, you want to you need to be open to feedback from them, that you're gonna meet great people who are gonna make you better too, if you just are willing to be coachable also.
• 35:28
  SPEAKER_00: So I you know, I I'm I may be I may be the owner of the business, but I I need to be coachable by my own people.
• 35:35
  SPEAKER_00: They know things is you um there's so many uh intelligent people that are in the trades that um that you if you stand long enough without saying anything and are able to listen to them, they will teach you so much about life and not just their not just their trade, not just the technical part of their trade, but just you know uh how to be a better person.
• 36:00
  SPEAKER_00: And so you need to be a people person.
• 36:02
  SPEAKER_00: I would say that's that's one.
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_00: You gotta you gotta love the leadership, you need to have a happy warrior mindset.
• 36:09
  SPEAKER_00: And what I mean by that is uh we we do not work in a sterile, you know, semiconductor manufacturing plant where you know every bit of the air is sterilized and everything is controlled down to the minute.
• 36:25
  SPEAKER_00: We live in a dynamic uh environment where you know we start off working on a home that was, you know, maybe built in 2001, and then you go to a home that was built in 1941.
• 36:38
  SPEAKER_00: And the, you know, the what you find in those homes are are very different circumstances.
• 36:44
  SPEAKER_00: And you may be doing heating and air on both houses, but you go in and you discover things that you didn't anticipate, and you got to be prepared to pivot fast.
• 36:53
  SPEAKER_00: And so you can't get overwhelmed in the moment when things change and you know, frustration um can develop.
• 37:00
  SPEAKER_00: You got to be a happy warrior and go, okay, we can figure this out.
• 37:03
  SPEAKER_00: And so um that applies to the circumstances and it applies to the people in those circumstances.
• 37:09
  SPEAKER_00: And so you gotta love, you gotta just love the business that we're in.
• 37:12
  SPEAKER_00: You got to love solving the problems and and relishing, like, okay, we're we're gonna we're gonna make today great.
• 37:18
  SPEAKER_00: Somebody's gonna be better because because of what we go through here today.
• 37:22
  SPEAKER_00: So I would say um those are my two, you know, two key things is you know, love being with people, working with people, and have a happy warrior mindset.
• 37:32
  SPEAKER_01: So you can't you you can't you get you're gonna have to have people to achieve what you're doing.
• 37:36
  SPEAKER_01: You can't just throw a bunch throw a bundle of money at it to solve any problem.
• 37:40
  SPEAKER_01: It's gonna take people to solve the problem, not just uh not just money or cash to solve the problem.
• 37:45
  SPEAKER_00: 100% show, 100%.
• 37:47
  SPEAKER_00: You know, there's uh there's uh there's a lot of people with MBAs from all over this country uh that have uh that have tried to run this business thinking only about numbers and forgetting uh that um what really makes it happen where the rubber meets the road is that plumber in the house and how he actually solves the problem and how he conducts himself.
• 38:12
  SPEAKER_00: In all the in all the minutes, what do you say?
• 38:14
  SPEAKER_00: There's you know, there's 480 minutes in a regular day.
• 38:18
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what are they doing?
• 38:19
  SPEAKER_00: How do they, you know, how do they have the greatest impact in those four nature?
• 38:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and if you're you can build good systems and processes for that, and then you have to have a good team, you have to have the right people.
• 38:31
  SPEAKER_00: So I go back to one of my earlier statements is you got to have good people and good processes, you put those things together, then the numbers turn out.
• 38:39
  SPEAKER_00: Then then the investment into being in these businesses is very much worthwhile.
• 38:46
  SPEAKER_01: I get it.
• 38:46
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, uh, we're gonna end it with this final question, and then this is one of my favorite questions, uh, because I get to learn a lot about my uh the people on the show whenever I do ask it.
• 38:57
  SPEAKER_01: Uh do you remember what what was the when you were let's go back in time and look at the uh much younger Jason Hansen uh when he was in the Marines?
• 39:06
  SPEAKER_01: What what what was the rank that you achieved in the Marines, Jason?
• 39:10
  SPEAKER_01: I got out uh a major.
• 39:13
  SPEAKER_01: A major.
• 39:14
  SPEAKER_01: So if you go back and talk to a younger uh maybe private Jason Hansen before before you made the before you made the major rank, uh you remember those days, uh Jason, when you got into boot camp?
• 39:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I do.
• 39:30
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so let's let's go back and talk.
• 39:32
  SPEAKER_01: Let's go back and let's go visit, uh, take a journey to visit with a much younger uh private Jason Hansen.
• 39:39
  SPEAKER_01: Uh what advice uh or lessons have you learned that you would give to yourself as uh private Jason Hansen when you were in the Marines?
• 39:51
  SPEAKER_00: Uh one go for it, be courageous, get uncomfortable, like go for the things that that uh you you wonder, like I don't know if I can do that.
• 40:02
  SPEAKER_00: And that's that's the sign that tells you go for it.
• 40:04
  SPEAKER_00: Like that's you need to you need to go for it.
• 40:07
  SPEAKER_00: But then you got to be coachable because someone you don't know how to get there, but there's somebody out there who can and they can guide you on how to get there.
• 40:14
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's probably one of the things that you know, specifically in the Marine Corps.
• 40:18
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I I I I had uh you know great benefit that I I was raised in a family that um, you know, our family history of people who um overcame challenges, and uh our family history is of of going out and going for it and and just um looking to overcome all of the all of the impediments to success and and finding a way to get there.
• 40:44
  SPEAKER_00: So I had that role model in my family um just you know uh growing up.
• 40:50
  SPEAKER_00: But then in the Marine Corps, the Marine Corps definitely pushes you to take you to where you're afraid to do what they're asking you to do, but then you find out I actually can do that.
• 41:02
  SPEAKER_00: You know, they push you beyond what you're what you're capable, what you think you're capable of doing.
• 41:08
  SPEAKER_00: And so then you find your new horizon.
• 41:10
  SPEAKER_00: Well, once you're past the part where people are, you know, something else is is forcing you to do that, it's you.
• 41:17
  SPEAKER_00: You're the one who has to push yourself to go to that next level to see that next thing.
• 41:22
  SPEAKER_00: And then ask somebody who's who's uh a trusted confidant or a trusted mentor or somebody who else is uh who also has has challenged themselves and been challenged, ask them to help you.
• 41:38
  SPEAKER_00: Like, how can I how can I get there?
• 41:40
  SPEAKER_00: This is where I'm shooting to go for.
• 41:42
  SPEAKER_00: Uh what can I do?
• 41:44
  SPEAKER_00: And then and then be um be able to listen and learn from that and set your eyes on it and keep going.
• 41:51
  SPEAKER_00: Don't stop.
• 41:52
  SPEAKER_00: There's no quitting me.
• 41:53
  SPEAKER_01: I I love that advice about there is other there are other people out there willing to give you advice or guidance, but you know, you have to be smart enough to ask and be open-minded uh to that advice.
• 42:05
  SPEAKER_01: So many people suffer needlessly when they could get advice from other people who have been uh through the fires, uh Jason.
• 42:12
  SPEAKER_01: Do you agree with that?
• 42:13
  SPEAKER_00: I 100% agree with that.
• 42:15
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 42:16
  SPEAKER_01: Well, Jason, uh it's has been another uh great episode of the home service heartbeat.
• 42:23
  SPEAKER_01: Jason, where can uh the listeners uh around the country who might listen to this or just homeowners or people who uh need great service or just want to talk and come over and talk and uh learn more about you, uh connect with you and your team and uh learn more about working or partnering with you, Jason.
• 42:45
  SPEAKER_00: We're easy to find.
• 42:47
  SPEAKER_00: Uh just go to Sierra Pacific Home.com, Sierra PacificHome.com, or you can just look up the guys in the big red trucks.
• 42:54
  SPEAKER_00: We're easy to find online.
• 42:56
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, we've got uh convenient access to be um contacted through either a book now online.
• 43:04
  SPEAKER_00: You can book an appointment anytime you want, you can message us or you can call us.
• 43:08
  SPEAKER_00: We're here to help you.
• 43:10
  SPEAKER_01: Well, thank you, Jason, for being another great conversation with Jason Hanson.
• 43:15
  SPEAKER_01: We really appreciate having you on the show, Jason.
• 43:17
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you again.
• 43:18
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you, Joe.
• 43:19
  SPEAKER_01: And thanks everyone who's listening right now or watching us on YouTube uh for sticking with us until the end.
• 43:26
  SPEAKER_01: If you've gained value from today's episode, we'd love for you to leave a rating or review wherever you listen to podcasts.
• 43:32
  SPEAKER_01: And if you know someone in the service industry or anyone looking to scale their career or business, to send this episode their way, because this is going to be a keynote episode, I'm very sure, and uh one that everybody should listen to if you're in the service industry.
• 43:48
  SPEAKER_01: So if you take away one key insight from today, put it into action and let us know how it goes.
• 43:54
  SPEAKER_01: We'd love to hear about your progress.
• 43:57
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks again, everyone, for joining us, and we'll see everyone on the next episode of the Home Service Heartbeat Podcast.
• 44:06
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks, everyone.