Joe Williams 18:15
That’s funny, you mentioned that because I was that kid? So? Yeah, just what you know, it just came, I guess genetically born in me. But the I think there’s always going to be a challenge and the trade. And a lot of it has to do with you know, when I was in high school, and I, you know, was looking to going to going to college and then getting a career choice. You know, everyone told me you need to be an engineer, right? You need to be an engineer, you need to be an engineer that was preached for family all the way down the line. So I signed up for and once I got into college, and about my third year finishing up my third year of college and realized what an engineer actually did. And what electrical engineer and what, you know, my career choices got to be like, I was just like, I don’t want to I don’t want to work in nickel every that is not, you know, that’s just not who I am nothing against people to do. But that’s not you know, I don’t want to work manufacturing or manufacturing job either. We’re all different people, right? I want to do something where I feel like I have more of a contract, individual contract. And I like working with my hands. And I like thinking through problems. I like to you know, be like a problem solver, like you were talking about. And I like to do that challenge. And I think once I started, I took a summer job as a framer. And once I did that I quit college and never went back. And it was one of those things where I realized, you know, I absolutely love the trade. I love what I do. I love, you know, doing things where I feel like I accomplished something every day, you know, I can actually point to the things that I’ve accomplished, you know, and have a sense of pride and you know, and hey, I replaced those units on that roof. You know, we helped design that building and kind of stuff. It really is to get kind of back to your question, you know, for mechanical, you know, we’ve got five people retiring for every seat taking their place. So you know that those numbers can’t continue like that, or we’re not going to have anybody that is going to paint your house, we’re not going to have anybody that’s going to paint your building, we’re not going to have anybody that’s going to start with your air conditioning, you know, we do have to give kids, you know, the option of understanding that there are other choices besides college, and I’m not bagging on college, and I enjoyed my college experience. And I learned a lot that I still use every day. But it’s one of those things that you know, that it’s not for everyone, and it wasn’t for me. And so, you know, the trades are a respectable thing to go into, you know, and, and it’s, you know, there’s days where it’s tough, and there’s days where it’s, you know, is beautiful spring day, and you’re up on the rooftop, you know, by yourself working on air conditioning units, and you’re just like, wow, look around here, you know, beautiful sunny day, because you got the best office view in the whole Bay Area, it’s something that I try and talk to our youth when when I get the opportunity to let them know that there are other things besides you know, going to be, you know, getting a psychology degree or getting, you know, there’s other choices out there for you career wise. And I think if we continue to do that, I know Mike rose done a lot with with this step deck. And I think if we continue to do this, hopefully we can, you know, some of that at least some of the kids that maybe don’t want to fit into the college mode to go into the trades because you know, you can get a job in the trades, you know, pretty much right out of your, you know, a little with a little bit of training, and some school and you can get right down and get to work. And in five years, you could be making, you know more than what you’re making, if you’ve gone through college, and it’s a great experience, you work with a team every day you accomplish goals together is really something that that I hope a lot of kids in the future, realize that there’s these other opportunities besides just necessarily going to college. And I think that will solve what helps us solve our problem. As far as like the, the exact, you know, for us, we just recruit all the time, we always try and talk to people and we try and retain our so when you get somebody that’s good, you got to try and keep them when you you know, when you find someone that’s good. I don’t like poaching, you know, but if I find somebody that’s unhappy, or someone that doesn’t feel like they’re being appreciated, that’s really where we get our, you know, are, like it sound like poaching from I think that’s bad karma from other companies. But if you have somebody that’s not happy, then that person’s for you. So,
Greg Owens 22:15
yeah, yeah, I mean, it’s so true. I don’t like to poach. But if I see somebody in painting, you know, like the gas station, I’ll go over, I’ll talk to them. And I’ll, and I’ll give them my card. Because I’m a we’re always on, we’re always looking, especially as the season comes, right, because we’re seeing business. And so, you know, I’ll just say, Hey, you know, like, if you know anybody, because a lot of times, they might know other people that are not working. And if they’re a good, conscientious worker, then my feeling is like their friends are a good, conscientious worker, right? Because like you just hang out with those kind of people. And so yeah, it’s been a great way to get and then like you said, you know, they might come to me and say, Hey, I’m really not happy at the job that I’m at, or this painting contractor is really slow in this market, or I like the kind of work we do like some people, like I was saying earlier, we don’t do new construction and new constructions. I’ve done it before, but you’re sometimes in an office skyscraper painting walls for weeks and weeks and weeks, if you come to work for me, it’s like, our average job size is like two weeks, you know, you’re gonna you’re gonna move to a new job. And like you said, you’re going to be it’s a new job. It’s a new view, it’s a different part of the Bay Area. And, and it’s a different challenge, right? Like you get to like, and you get to see the results, you get to stand back and really admire your work and go Wow, we did this cool project. We got it done. It looks great. The owners are happy. And then you move to another one, right? So for anybody that’s got like, add a great sort of Avenue, because every day, every few days, it’s something completely different new do Katrina is married to a is a leak specialist. Like he detects leaks, and Oh, wow. And you know, that it’s very specialized, because it’s plumbing, but it’s like plumbing when there’s a problem, right. And they do leak detection, and, and he’s that type of guy that just like he loves what he’s doing. And it’s great.
Katrina Stevenson 24:06
I totally hear all the time that things are, you know, just perfect for someone who he does have ADHD. So I mean, that’s perfect for someone like him. But I have to say that also, you know, I came from the, you know, hospitality industry was the same. It’s different every day and you’re moving and you’re, and you’re doing Check, check in new people in checking new people out. And there’s constantly a problem is kind of like facilities and the trades, I would say,
Greg Owens 24:32
it’s always changing and always moving. Right? Definitely. And I don’t you know, I I don’t know how some of these I got when we’re inside office buildings. And I’m walking through and I’m watching teams work on a program, right like in there all day long. They’re coding, I’m always like really impressed that they can sit there and stay there all day long and do that right. And there’s there’s definitely people that are really good at that and that’s for them, but I think there’s so many really interesting opportunities. If you like problem solving, and you like having a new new challenges each day, right being an HVAC or being in painting, construction industry as a whole, there’s so many different
Joe Williams 25:12
guys. It’s a fantastic, you know, the trades are fantastic. I mean, you know it, I do, like, I think those challenges were all of us, you know, you get to a new job, you’ve got a whole new set of challenges and being able to solve those in, and it is different in a way every single day. So you know, you get on those jobs where they’re kind of a grind, and it gets a little bit monotonous. But like you’re talking about, you know, then that jobs over and everyone’s excited to start the new one now with the new project, because, you know, this one’s got a whole new set of challenges that we, you know, that we have to overcome. And, and I think people in the trades really enjoy, you know, working on that theme, you know, have what’s the best way to solve the challenge? What’s the best way to resolve this? You know, this, and that’s something that we I think we all really thrive on, we like that environment that you know, okay, let’s roll up our sleeves, you know, who has an idea? Okay, now, let’s build on that, you know, how, how do we, you know, get to that best delusion between all of that? Yeah,
Greg Owens 26:08
have you guys set it up? I know, I’m assuming it’s based on the job. But I’ve seen a lot some HVAC companies that have sort of one man crews for a service. And then bigger crews, depending on the job, if you’re doing an install or rebuild or something like that, what’s the mix for you guys,
Joe Williams 26:25
so we don’t have a, we have a couple guys that are in our set construction. But mainly all of them are our service. And then what we do is we pull those guys as needed to, to do construction work. And they also have a construction background. And for them. I know a lot of companies separated all but for our team and talking to them, they liked the challenges of both. And so they like to be able to do something a little different when you’re a service guy, and all you’re doing is servicing all the time, it’s nice to get on a construction job for a couple and do something different. They don’t mind it, you know, and some of our more senior guys, they’re all service because that’s, you know, they’re a little older, and maybe doing some of the heavy lifting at a construction is a little more challenging to them physical, but for the most part, all of our guys like to really, you know, all of our team, like they really, you know, mix it up a little bit, they don’t mind it, you know, going out and doing a construction job as long as you know, they’re not doing it for the next few years. So yeah,
Greg Owens 27:20
I think that’s true with our guys too. Like they we have most of the time, we’re two person crews. And then sometimes we need to like, you know, put a whole bunch of people in to get something done at once, right? Or if it’s a much bigger building or something and they enjoy that right. And then they like going back to their like, you know, these two man crews, but I think average. Yeah, average size of our jobs is about two weeks. What do you guys have an average size that you can point to? Or is it too difficult?
Joe Williams 27:46
It varies. I mean, most of our from a construction standpoint, most of our jobs are a couple days, you know, most of our stuff is kind of smaller work, we have had projects that have lasted a couple months before. And those are, you know, those have their own challenges, especially with deadlines and stuff. But you know, we’ve done everything, your small little Team $10,000 job all the way up to your projects that are in that $500,000 range. So that’s really kind of where we top out as far as you know, service, you really want something bigger than that, then for construction, you probably should go to, you know, a larger mechanical contractor or like, and then when you like offering advice to young people, or somebody that wants a career change and move into H or construction, what kind of advice would you give to people
Greg Owens 28:33
out there to you know, to get started or to find out more?
Joe Williams 28:37
Well, for me, it was, you know, go to your local library and pull out all the books on what you want to do and read it. But I’m an older man. So you would talk to the younger generation now. And they’ll tell you, oh, YouTube, right, I learned how to do it on YouTube. So there’s a lot of great resources online, all kidding aside that are excellent to kind of get you on the right path, some of your trades, you’re going to need to have some license. And so you have to remember that if you’re going to be like an HVAC mechanic, you’re gonna have to have a universal license allows you to handle refrigerant, you know, according to the Montreal Protocol, which is so that we don’t damage the environment, or have the most minimal impact on the environment. So those licensing things are important. Fire life safety hazard. So find out what those are, what you need to be trained in, and how to get you know how to get life would be probably the first step it requires. And then and then really from there, you know, you can start calling and looking online, figuring out what the job entails every day, and then just start knocking on doors and that company know that, hey, this is something I want to pursue. And if you’re passionate about it, I think you’ll find companies that are happy to invest in your future and put the time and the resources and the monetary resources in to see you succeed and your skill as a trade and hope that they’ll be able to retain you as you develop and endure Professional career. Yeah, I
Greg Owens 30:01
wouldn’t think you’re like me that if some person came to you young person came to you and said, Hey, this is the research I’ve done into your company in your industry, here’s what I’ve learned. I’d like to start working for you, you’d be blown away and be like, okay, we’ll find an opportunity for you here. Right? I’ll help you learn more, right? Because like, it’s such a, such a rare event, right? Like, it’s only it’s, it happens to me from time to time. But you know, there’s not many people coming to the painting industry on a regular basis, not like Starbucks, Starbucks seems to have no problem getting new help into their, you know, some people like air conditioning, and that kind of thing.
Joe Williams 30:39
Yeah, I have a feeling, though, that the employees would probably have a lot more longevity at our companies, and then a company like, no offense against Starbucks make good coffee. But yeah, you know, when you’re in the service business, your job is not just to understand and service clients, it’s this is to serve your company, and you’re really what we do is service its service. And that includes people in your own house, and people, you know, outside the house, right, your client, I had a friend of mine that day, when I got into, you know, the service based business, and he told me that it’s the highest calling that you could probably do with the exception of that person, you know, this at the church every Sunday. So, you know, it’s, you know, what we do is service to people do the same, you know, we basically find out what their concerns are or what their challenges are, and how do we solve them. And it is a rewarding, it’s a rewarding profession. And I think I think everybody on my team, I think everybody on your team would have the same thing. You know, there’s nothing better than walking home on a Friday and having a call from Boy, you know, you just did such a fantastic job. And thank you so much. And, and then, you know, it makes for a nice, yeah, it’s nice to get a pat on the back. I don’t know a lot of other careers where you can get that, out of that kind of,
Greg Owens 31:54
yeah, gotten to another level of like, joy in that regard was, uh, it happened to like, a few months ago, as we were painting a house and we needed to get access to the neighbor’s house to get into their yard two, you know, put some ladders up to get to the house. We were painting because it was tight, right? And I guess I told the painters, Hey, I’ll go over and I’ll talk to the neighbor and talk with her. And I walk over and I knock on the door, and I’m wearing my mask and everything. So I backed away from the door and I’m like, Oh, hi. You know, we’re McCarthy Painting, we’re painting your neighbor’s house, would it be okay, if we put two ladders in your yard? And she’s like, Oh, absolutely no problem. And I looked around her house was like, Oh, this is you know, your house looks really really good. I love the way it looks. She’s like it. Should you guys painted it. Like, Oh, dang, that’s great. That’s good to know.
Treat always shares with us. You know, anytime we get Yelp reviews, or home advisor or things like that, you know, it’s so great, especially when the clients put the names of the employees in there. And they say, Julio, and Carlos we’re great crew We’re so happy to have them and I’m sure you get like that kind of feedback on your
Joe Williams 33:03
we do we’ve got a whole wall in our office here is actually my office but we have a whole wall in our office of kudos to the call it but kudos corner but yeah. We’re all of us have gotten that thank you are a great job. And, you know, it’s nice to be rewarded for your hard work. That’s one of the great things about what we
Greg Owens 33:23
I like that that’s a good one. Katrina, we should put something in the warehouse on that.
Katrina Stevenson 33:28
Who does who does corner?
Greg Owens 33:30
Who does corner? I think we’re gonna take that one if you don’t mind.
Katrina Stevenson 33:34
Okay, great. All right.
Greg Owens 33:35
Well, this has been a wonderful talk with you here on a Friday morning, Joe Williams, any last words and where people can find out more about you and your company and that kind of thing.
Joe Williams 33:46
They can always visit us on our website at Package Unit Pros that packageunitpros.com. And if they have any questions, we’re always here to happy to help whether it’s something that we can service or not. We’re always happy to hear to be here to help or lend a hand when it comes to any advice or air conditioning advice.
Greg Owens 34:04
All right. Well, thanks for taking the time today and being on the Watching Paint Dry podcast.
Joe Williams 34:09
Thank you, Greg. Thanks, Katrina. really an honor. I hope you both have a wonderful weekend.
Outro 34:24
Thanks for listening to the Watching Paint Dry podcast. We’ll see you again next time and be sure to click subscribe to get future episodes.