FXBG Neighbors Podcast
Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast
FXBG Neighbors Podcast
EP #25 Behind the Wires: Meet Andrew Montgomery of Upstate Electric
Andrew Montgomery's journey into electrical work began with a newspaper classified ad in 2013. Though his first position was short-lived, it sparked a passion that would eventually lead him to establish Upstate Electric, a residential electrical contracting business serving the Fredericksburg area. "I'm very fortunate right now to be doing something that I'm so passionate about," Andrew shares, reflecting on the rewarding nature of his chosen trade.
Behind Andrew's dedication to electrical safety lies a deeply personal motivation. As a child, his family home was destroyed by an electrical fire, a traumatic experience that taught him resilience and shaped his professional ethic. This firsthand understanding of the devastating consequences of faulty electrical work drives his commitment to proper installation and safety standards. When Andrew discovers loose connections that have begun generating heat in clients' homes, he's acutely aware of how quickly such situations can escalate, making his timely interventions all the more meaningful.
A common misconception Andrew addresses is the belief that anyone can handle electrical work. While he encourages homeowners to learn basic tasks like changing switches and outlets (with proper safety precautions), he emphasizes that many electrical jobs absolutely require professional expertise. "There are a lot of things that a licensed, skilled electrician should be doing. Otherwise, you run the risk of causing a fire that will damage your home," he cautions. Andrew distinguishes himself through transparency and honest service, refusing to sell customers on unnecessary work. He even offers free phone consultations to help troubleshoot issues, potentially saving clients both time and money. For those seeking a trustworthy electrical contractor who prioritizes safety and customer needs, reach out to Andrew through Upstate Electric's Facebook page for residential installations, renovations, and upgrades.
Andrew Montgomery
Upstate Electric
upstateelectricco@gmail.com
571-406-4741
This is the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Dori Stewart.
Speaker 2:Welcome back to another episode of the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast. Today we have a fantastic neighbor to introduce you to. Andrew Montgomery is the owner of Upstate Electric. Andrew, welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 3:Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I appreciate you being my guest. Let's start off by sharing with the listeners a little bit about your business.
Speaker 3:I am a small excuse me, small electrical contractor. I do mostly residential installations, renovations and upgrades, but I also dabble in commercial when I can get the work. It's just myself right now, but hope to be growing quite a bit in the next year.
Speaker 2:Nice. So tell us about your background, your journey. How did you get into this?
Speaker 3:I actually got into electrical work through a newspaper ad back in 2013. I was looking for a job and I picked up a newspaper and in the classifieds there was a listing for a helper and I ended up getting that job working with Buell Electric, which is another electrical contractor in the area, and I worked with them for about a year, but I was I was young and ended up losing the job. But I realized in that year that I had a real passion for the work, so that that always brought me back to the the electrical work and I just kind of I'm very fortunate right now to be doing something that I'm so passionate about. I really enjoy doing the work.
Speaker 2:Nice, nice. That's so important to enjoy what you're doing, make today go by a lot better.
Speaker 3:I'm very fortunate to be able to do something that I really do enjoy doing.
Speaker 2:Nice, nice. Do you find that there's any myths or misconceptions about the industry?
Speaker 3:you find that there's any myths or misconceptions about the industry. It's really tough to say when you start talking about the residential side of things and specifically service and what I'm doing. A lot of people think that anybody can do their electrical work and just about anybody can change out devices and stuff like that, and I recommend people to look up videos on youtube to change out like switches and plugs, you know, turn the power off. But uh, I get a lot of people that think that you know, I can pay this person less. They're not necessarily a licensed electrician and it'll be just fine, but it's not fine. They really. There are a lot of things that a licensed, skilled electrician should be doing. Otherwise you run the risk of, in a lot of cases, not necessarily burning your house down, but causing a fire that will cause damage to your home.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, no one needs that.
Speaker 3:So your advice is to look for a licensed electrician versus just yeah, yeah, it's, and it's an easy thing to do to ask for your electrician's license number and you can look up their license on uh dporgov.
Speaker 2:Okay, great advice, great advice. So when you're not working, what are you doing for fun?
Speaker 3:I like to hang out with my wife and my cats. I like to hang out with my wife and my cats. We like to play video games and we spend a lot of time with my nieces and my family.
Speaker 2:Nice.
Speaker 3:Nice, awesome. So can you describe a life challenge or a struggle that you went through that now you feel like you're stronger because of it? When I was a kid, our house burned down an electrical fire actually.
Speaker 3:Oh gosh and you know obviously that was a very difficult thing to get through. But I learned pretty quickly in that process that you know things don't stop. It doesn't matter how bad things get for you or how bad your situation is. You got to just pull yourself up by your bootstraps and keep going, because otherwise you're going to get caught behind and there's no and no coming back from a situation like that if you don't keep doing what you're doing, if you try to stop and slow down.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so interesting that you went through that as a child and now the industry that you are in, you truly understand the importance of doing things the right way.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, it's something that I very uh uh hits a little close to home when I go into situations, um, specifically where I, you know, I see very often I go in and a loose connection has caused some heat to be generated and things are starting to burn up, but thank goodness I'm able to get there in time before it becomes more of an issue, kind of thing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, you have a very, a very close tie to wanting to make sure things are done right. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you have a very, a very close tie to wanting to make sure things are done right.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so what is one thing that you wish the listeners knew about your business?
Speaker 3:Uh, that's a good one. Um, a lot of people, especially when an electrician or any trades person comes into their home, they're very leery and hesitant to take somebody at face value, because a lot of these companies, a lot of people, send in sales people to try and sell you on stuff that you don't need. And I pride myself on being very transparent about pricing and the necessity of installations and stuff like that. So I don't I don't try to sell people things that they don't need and I try to be very open about what your wants and needs are and trying to figure out what the customer's wants and needs are versus what is necessarily going to work out better for me monetarily.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's great. That's great, and I'm sure your customers appreciate that, because nobody likes to be sold things that they don't really need. So thank you for that, yeah yeah. Well, it has been lovely chatting with you. If the listeners want to work with you, get in touch with you. How can they find you?
Speaker 3:Right now I don't have a web page, but my Facebook page, Upstate Electric, is a good way to get my contact information and my phone number's on there. I'm available for calls or texts any time of the day. Emails, I tell people all the time, phone call's free, so if they've got any issues and they want to try and talk it through over the phone, or I can try and talk you through any projects over the phone. Save myself a trip and save you a couple of bucks.
Speaker 2:Amazing. Andrew. Thank you so much for being my guest on the podcast today and sharing Upstate Electric with us.
Speaker 3:Yeah, thanks again for having me. I really appreciate it.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Fredericksburg Neighbors podcast. Thank you for listening to the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to fxbgneighborspodcast. com. That's fxbgneighborspodcast. com, or call 540-534-4618.