Blake is from a small town in the north of Ireland and he’s been in San Francisco since. Blake studied electrical engineering back in Ireland and worked as an electrician for several large companies before moving to the States.
Once here, he continued to work for large operations, but ultimately sought his own slice of the pie. “I was pretty high up in other companies, but got burnt off doing the dog work for others when I knew I could do it better myself,” he told us.
Pauric Electric started doing business in 2008, just when the recession was hitting the hardest. Blake told us that he was only getting work with his other companies once or twice a week, but he was noticing a demand for smaller jobs that no one else wanted to do, so he started focusing on those
Now, his company consists of himself, four employees and two utility vans. He likes the size of his business because it allows him to connect with the customer and maintain a high level of quality and reliability. “I think what gets us the most work is because I’m the guy that answers the phone and I’m the guy that shows up,” said Blake.
Pauric Electric offers the complete spectrum of electrician services, including data wiring, installing new electrical lines, rewiring old ones, repairing wear and tear on all household appliances, and general troubleshooting. Blake estimates that 70 percent of his residential and commercial work is done in San Francisco and the remainder happens in Marin. In fact, Blake did the electrical wiring for local restaurant Nopa many years ago.
A true man of his craft, Blake loves his job because of the sense of satisfaction it brings him. “Commercial jobs are more rewarding because you can see a lot of the finished products,” he told us. “For houses, it’s kitchens and bathrooms because of the homeowners’ reaction and overall satisfaction with the job. It’s a pretty good buzz.”
Blake has worked on an enormous variety of places, from gutting the wiring of old Victorians (the oldest house he’s worked on was from 1906) to jobs related to the recent tech explosion in the city. “Business is definitely booming in the remodel aspect. A lot of things are leaning toward the dotcoms, installing new data lines and things like that. Also with the new influx of money people want to modernize things. Electric car chargers are a big thing right now,” said Blake.
However, his recent success doesn’t make him want to expand his business much more. “I’d kind of like to keep it small and personal,” he said. “If I go bigger, I’d likely lose that connection with my clients.”
It’s this genuine care for his customers that’s kept Blake listed as the “Best Electrician” in the city. When we asked him what he loves so much about his work, he replied:
“It’s a rewarding job, you meet lots of great people and it’s great to help them, and a lot of people are very grateful. It’s been rewarding. I’ve been able to fix a lot of people’s problems … A good electrician is someone who loves their job. When I go to work, my motto is to always do their house the same way I’d do my own. It’s not always about the money.”
Source: Article by by Stephen Jackson @thecorridorsf