November 5, 2025 • 18 mins
Want an electrician who actually calls back and shows up on time? We sat down with Rey from R&J Brothers Electric, a family-run team serving Bergen County, to unpack how a service-first approach turns everyday fixes into lifelong relationships. Rey shares why he focuses on small jobs—troubleshooting outlets, installing ceiling fans, swapping GFCIs—and how fast estimates, clear pricing, and warm manners create trust that lasts.
We dig into the real work of running a trade business: pricing, financing and maintaining trucks, hiring techs who care, and building a brand that lets you charge fairly without haggling. Rey’s marketing playbook is refreshingly simple and effective—consistent posting, neighborhood groups, door hangers, yard signs, before-and-after shots—designed to reach local homeowners where they are. The result is a steady pipeline without burning cash.
The conversation also explores two big growth areas. First, electric vehicle chargers: what drives cost, how panel location affects wire runs, and how partnerships with PSE&G unlock valuable rebates many homeowners miss. Second, smart home and landscape lighting: from Ring video doorbells and floodlights to thoughtful LED low-voltage designs that highlight trees, paths, and roof peaks while keeping energy costs low. You’ll hear practical design tips, install best practices, and honest talk about budget, efficiency, and long-term reliability.
If you care about reliable service, smart upgrades, and getting more beauty and safety out of your home, this one’s worth your time. Subscribe, share with a neighbor who’s been ghosted by a contractor, and leave a review to help more locals find the show. Got a project on your list? Tell us what you’re planning and what’s holding you back.
R&J Brothers Electric
Rey Guedes
New Milford, NJ
973-951-2005
Office@rjbrotherselectric.com
rjbrotherselectric.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Intro/Close (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Doug Drohan.
Doug Drohan (00:10):
Hey everyone, welcome to another episode of
the Good Neighbor Podcast,coming to you live from Bergen
County, from Harrington Park,actually.
And my name is Doug Drawn.
I'm the owner of the BergenNeighbors Media Group and the
host of the Good NeighborPodcast in Bergen County.
Today we are joined by ReyGuedes.
Rey is the owner of R and JBrothers Electric.
They're based out of my wife'shometown of New Milford, New
(00:33):
Jersey.
She's a New Milford High Schoolgrad.
Rey, welcome to the show.
Rey G (00:37):
Thank you.
Thank you.
Good morning, Doug.
Doug Drohan (00:38):
Yeah, good morning.
Good morning.
So, you know, listen, there's alot of electric uh companies,
electricians, I should say, um,certainly in this world and and
more specifically in BergenCounty.
Um, when did you like start,you know, when did you become an
electrician and and kind oflike why?
Rey G (00:56):
Why yeah, I actually started in high school, 1998.
So I I I attended to I went touh Passaic County Tech and I did
uh three years in high school.
And well, long story short, I Ididn't get to graduate high
school, you know, whatever, butbut I did return and I um to
Bergen Tech.
(01:16):
I continued my educationthrough Bergen Tech, where I am
actually now the um I'm on theirboard as advisors.
Oh, right two times a year.
I do speak to the kids, I talkto them about how to how to
approach this field, the curtheir career path, and how to
take advantage of theopportunities that's you know,
uh so this way they could growin the in the business, right?
(01:39):
Everyone has different goals.
But uh I started in 2013 and Iaim primarily in the uh service
business.
Doug Drohan (01:49):
Okay.
So so what does that meanexactly?
Rey G (01:52):
Meaning uh we don't really do new builds or anything
like that.
I'm not in the constructionbusiness or anything.
Uh we just work with uh justeveryday calls, service calls.
My lights are not working, myoutlet just sparked, you know.
So we we provide prop servicecalls, uh repair,
troubleshooting, you know,basically your everyday small
jobs that may be small for othercontractors, but it's it's our
(02:14):
bread and butter, you know.
Doug Drohan (02:15):
Okay, yeah.
I mean that's that's the issuethat uh as a homeowner, I hear
this all the time from otherhomeowners is that they call
somebody and maybe the job's nottoo big enough for them, so
they don't want to bother.
They never call you back.
Rey G (02:28):
Right, right.
Doug Drohan (02:28):
Sometimes these guys come to your house, and and
I'm not just talking aboutelectricians, but any any
contractor, they come to yourhouse and they spend an hour
with you going over the projector the scope of what you need or
may want.
And then you never hear fromthem again.
You're like, what the hell,man?
I guess my money's no good,huh?
Rey G (02:45):
No, no.
So we we actually are a littledifferent uh as far as that
goes.
We actually send estimates andquotes either right on the spot
or that same day, you know?
Doug Drohan (02:53):
Yeah.
Rey G (02:54):
Two days, no more than two days.
Sometimes we get a littleoverwhelmed with all the calls.
So uh, but but you know, nomore than two days, you know,
which is I think it's fair.
Doug Drohan (03:02):
Yeah.
Now, did you automaticallystart your own business or did
did you work for someone elseout of out of school?
Rey G (03:08):
Yeah, straight after school, I I I started uh I
started working for con otherother small businesses,
contractors, yeah.
And it just so happened thatfor the most of my career, it
was it was I was I worked forservice business companies, you
know.
So that's it's almost like ano-brainer when I went into
business.
I chose that same path.
Yeah.
Um, but I personally love it,uh, Doug, because uh I I mean I
(03:30):
like I like people, you know, ifI'm sitting on the bus or I'm
I'm on a park bench orsomething, I I just tend to talk
to people, man, you know, andyeah, so I I I get to I get
yeah, I I I I we meet peopleevery day, and you know, you
never know who you meet, andit's it's cool.
I like it.
Doug Drohan (03:46):
Yeah.
So I mean, one of the thingsthat um you know, it when you
work for someone else, they tellyou where to go.
You don't have to worry aboutbringing revenue in, they're
paying you a salary.
That is true, and uh you don'thave to worry about hiring guys
or people quitting or uh havinginsurance and having a truck and
dealing with a team.
And so when you go to uh youknow back to Bergman Tech and
(04:10):
and advise uh these studentsthat want to become
electricians, what do you tellthem what it's like to actually
own your own business?
Do you do you share thatexperience with them too?
Rey G (04:22):
You know what?
No, that's actually a goodquestion, though, because
everything that you mentionedwas the hardest part of running
a business, in my experience,right?
I thought running a businesswas oh, just replacing some
outlets, running some wire.
No, I it was the completeopposite.
It was pricing, it's remainingprofitable, knowing your
margins, uh, truck expenses anduh hiring, you know, it's all
(04:45):
like things that you go you comeup in the business, not really
learning because you're not theboss, you know, you're you're an
employee at that point.
But um, but I had to learn, butI was grateful that I went in
my come up, Facebook groups arearound too, you know.
Yeah, and there's uh electricalcontractors in New Jersey, New
Jersey electricians only, groupslike that where you um you
reach out to one another and youlearn from people, you know.
Doug Drohan (05:07):
Yeah, because you know, no not too many schools.
I mean, you go to college foranything.
Uh, you know, I often say likecollege teaches you how to work
for somebody else, you know,teach you how to get a job.
You know, I'm I'm going tocollege now, I'm going to apply
for a job.
I'm going to intern somewhereand you know, I got to work for
somebody else.
There are very fewentrepreneurial, I mean, there
(05:28):
are some today, but it's notlike a major that I know of.
Um and like you said, you know,what knowing how to handle a
profit and loss statement andbeing responsible for marketing.
How do you get, you know, a lotof a lot of marketing issues I
see that new business ownersmake is they they get a
beautiful website, maybe theyhave a storefront, maybe they
got their social media page, butthey're not doing anything to
(05:52):
buy their customers.
Like, what are you doing formarketing?
How are people finding you?
And everybody loves to work onword of mouth, but you know,
when you go out and invest in atruck and all the equipment and
the insurance, and you're gonnawork on word of mouth, that's a
little scary, right?
Like, so how did you in allthese years uh have how have you
gone about building yourbusiness?
Rey G (06:14):
Well, for one, I I think it budgeting, right?
I think biting more than youcan chew or spending more than
you can afford, I think it uhputs people in trouble.
Yeah, I started off small, I'mgonna be honest.
I was I don't like impulsedecisions, or whenever I do make
a milestone decision, and I'mso nervous, but it is what it
is, and I know like I've beenthere so many times that I know
(06:35):
it's gonna work out, right?
Intro/Close (06:36):
Yeah, yeah.
Rey G (06:37):
Uh buying a new truck was always always made me nervous.
Oh, what am I doing?
It's another $60,000 uhexpense, but it but it always
works out, you know, because Iam pretty strategic in how I do
things.
Doug Drohan (06:48):
Yeah, yeah.
Rey G (06:51):
Um and it's staying cost effective.
There's ways of marketingstaying cost effective as well.
I mean, there's there'sFacebook groups, it doesn't cost
you a thing.
Intro/Close (06:58):
Right.
Rey G (06:59):
Um, you know, my office, we get a lot of help in the
office, and we market everyMonday or every Friday, every
other day on Facebook.
Um door hangers, door hangersare still a thing, man.
You know, it's on the ground,yard signs.
Nice, you know, nice it's it'syou know, getting your name out
there.
You market so much, you'reactually in the branding
yourself, you know.
Doug Drohan (07:19):
Well, that you're speaking to the choir.
That's that's what this show isall about, right?
And everything I do is aboutbuilding a brand because um you
could charge more, you don'thave to haggle with people once
you know you're recognized andpeople trust you.
Of course, easier to attractand keep clients and then get
referrals that way.
So um so so one of the thingsyou talked about was you know,
(07:40):
you're gonna do these small jobsthat a lot of electricians
won't touch.
So um, I mean, you're not gonnachange a light bulb, but would
so a job like installing aceiling fan, uh helping somebody
with their outdoor lights, ormaybe their light over their
front door isn't working, orsomething like that.
Rey G (07:59):
All that, man.
Yeah, okay.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Like maybe a GFI trip, or it'sshot, or it's no longer working.
Small jobs, every day, everyday, small jobs, man.
And I and I feel like I'mactually I like it.
I like it because I I like thegratitude that I get from
people, Doug.
Yeah, you know what I mean?
They call somebody, and thatsame day I disc we end up
dispatching somebody, the jobgets done.
Yeah, uh, people say thank you,and and I I like that, man.
Doug Drohan (08:22):
You know, well, you know, and there's a song by uh
a guy.
I mean, I used to work in themusic business, so a lot of
things in my head are related tosongs, but from small things,
mama, big things when they comeis a song by Dave Edmonds.
And sometimes those smalllittle jobs uh that you came to
that house for all of a suddenthey bought an electric car and
now they need a car charger.
(08:43):
Or, you know, we haven't had astorm in a long time, but maybe
somebody wants a generacgenerator installed.
So that small job that you didfor a couple hundred bucks, now
they remember you and they callyou now because they they want
to do their that they got theygot it.
Rey G (08:58):
That small job is a foot, it's a step in the door for
more jobs in the future to come,you know, especially if you
leave with an impression of uhyou know if they had a great
experience with your services,you'll be helping meet someone
in the future.
Doug Drohan (09:11):
Yeah, no, it's so what are you seeing in terms of
trends?
So I mentioned electric carchargers.
Um, like what kind of jobs arebecoming more popular, I guess
you could say, from uh from anelectrician standpoint.
Rey G (09:24):
Like man, you hit it on the nail.
Uh car chargers.
We we do a lease three carchargers a week, you know.
That's that's huge, yeah, man.
Especially um, you know, we'reworld-versed with what's out
there with resources as far asrebates and and so forth.
We're partners with PC and G,so we do help customers out with
that, uh with a rebate, whichthey pay off.
Doug Drohan (09:45):
Oh wow, I didn't know that.
I had one installed a coupleyears ago.
I didn't know about a rebate.
Rey G (09:50):
See, if you would have reached out to us, we would have
taken care of you.
Doug Drohan (09:52):
Yeah, I paid a couple grand too for that.
Yeah, that's my my electricpanel is on the far left side of
my basement, and then my garageis on the right side.
Well, that's so just the thecost of the wiring was what cost
a lot because it had to runfrom the whole length of the
house, then in out the backyard,into the garage, and then back
(10:14):
outside.
Rey G (10:15):
So it was a bit of a if it wasn't too long ago, you may
still be eligible for that.
Doug Drohan (10:19):
But it was like two years ago.
Yeah.
Um that's interesting, and thenum, you know, I guess another
thing is smart devices, peoplegetting like you know, doing
smart homes or you know, ringsand things like that.
Rey G (10:34):
So we're partners with ring.
We do get uh so we're a ringdealer, so they do send us uh uh
like emails and and uh uhvideos to update us with new
features, with Alexa enableddevices.
Doug Drohan (10:47):
Okay.
Rey G (10:48):
We install a lot of ring floodlights, doorbells, you
know, those are everyday jobsfor us as well.
Doug Drohan (10:54):
That's great.
And and how big's your uh yourteam?
Rey G (10:57):
Right now, I think it's eight of us.
Doug Drohan (10:59):
Okay, wow, that's great.
Rey G (11:01):
Um it's me, I got my my cousin, my wife, we're in the
office.
unknown (11:05):
Nice.
Rey G (11:06):
Then I have my brother.
We're a family business, man.
Uh that's why that's R and Jbrother.
R and J brother, yeah.
My brother's uh one of ourlead, you know, he's a lead guy
out on the field, and we have atotal of five, I believe.
Yeah, five five tax.
Doug Drohan (11:20):
Nice, nice.
So then um, so what is um likeyou know, your service area?
Like, where will you guys likeif somebody's listening to this,
you're based in New Milford?
Um, you know, how far out willyou go?
Do you just focus on the case?
Rey G (11:34):
Well, here's yeah, here's the deal.
I mean, I'm I'm in New Milford.
I have a truck in New Milford,and then so we have four trucks
on the road, they're take-hometrucks, so it's easier to cover
ground that way.
So we basically cover all ofBergen County and surrounding
areas.
I do have a truck in LittleFalls so sometimes we get calls
like you know, Wayne, LittleFalls, Verona, you know, that
(11:59):
area.
We'll we'll service them aswell.
Doug Drohan (12:02):
Okay.
And then uh what's the best wayfor somebody to reach you?
Rey G (12:08):
Uh they can reach out to us through Facebook, Instagram,
give us a call, 973-951-2005.
Doug Drohan (12:16):
Okay.
And then on Instagram, what'syour uh, you know, what is it?
At RJ Bros Electric.
RNJ Brothers Electric, okay.
So if I go on your Instagram,so let me uh let me see, like,
you know, what why would anelectrician what the heck is an
electrician post on Instagram?
Rey G (12:31):
You know, I just put like everyday content, you know what
I mean?
Everyday small jobs, you know,we put a lot of car chargers on
there.
Okay, okay.
Sometimes even estimates, youknow, just how I um how how I
view things, you know.
Doug Drohan (12:46):
Yeah, yeah.
I mean, listen, like you said,everything is uh about building
a brand.
And the more places people canuh can find you, right?
The better better it's gonnabe.
And I mean, you know, it'sfunny, like a lot of companies
will be uh I see a lot ofdoctors, they'll they'll post
videos of like their staffdancing in the office.
(13:09):
I'm like, okay, it's cute, butit's not gonna make me want to
hire, you know, run to thedoctor because you're dancing on
the I mean everybody's allabout content, content, content.
But I think um it's a lot ofwords, too, man.
Yeah, I mean, listen, thepicture is a thousand words,
right?
And one of the things like onyour website like is um I think
(13:29):
when you look at landscapelighting, nothing is to me more
beautiful than when you'redriving by a house or you're in
somebody's backyard and they'vegot some really great lights set
up.
Rey G (13:40):
Yeah, as far as you say that I think my last few videos
is on landscape lighting.
I personally love landscapelighting, man.
And again, you hit it on thenail.
That's what I love about it,that you enhance somebody's
home, you make it lookbeautiful.
Doug Drohan (13:51):
Now, let me so let's talk about that because
I'm gonna speak um, you know,sort of personally.
So I have a lot of uh solarlights I put up around, you
know, they work a little bit.
Obviously, they don't work aswell in the winter, right?
They're cheap, you know, butthey're not gonna illuminate too
much.
And then I have these stringlights in my backyard that look
kind of cool, but I have themall over the bushes and I mean
(14:13):
they look great.
I have them on a timer.
Um, but you know, when you whenyou illuminate something from
the ground up, it's just gotthat kind of resort feel to it.
Is it expensive to do somethinglike that?
Like does it cost a lot fromyour electric bill?
Um, you know, you're running alot of amps, and and you know,
obviously the the scope of thejob determines how much it
(14:34):
costs, but what is the likeeffect of an on your electric
bill when you do landscapelighting?
Rey G (14:40):
I mean, we mean everything is LED now, so it's a
lot more the lighting itself isa lot more efficient than yeah
you know, halogen lights andstuff like that, you know.
Doug Drohan (14:49):
Right, right.
Rey G (14:49):
Um but we're all we're also AMP, we're also partners
with AMP.
So they're actually a national,nationwide uh landscape
lighting picture company.
Doug Drohan (14:58):
Okay.
Rey G (14:59):
Me, which I think it was last year in July that my
brother and I flew out toFlorida for some training, you
know.
Doug Drohan (15:06):
Okay.
And um where do you have tocreate like if you're running uh
in the backyard, you gotta digup the ground a little bit to
run the lines in, right?
Like where's power source?
Rey G (15:17):
There's there's there's tricks of the trade, there's
tips of you know, this way youdon't you don't you don't want
to make an excavation out of theplace, right?
But you know, there's there'sthere's ways of going about it
and and doing it things in aworkman-like manner, you know.
Doug Drohan (15:29):
Now, in terms of design, like do you advise
people on where the lightsshould be like, yeah, yeah.
Rey G (15:35):
So landscape lighting, yeah, landscape lighting is
ambiance, you know.
I that's what I you'reenhancing, you're you're making
it look giving this uh um uh youknow, giving it like a subtle
type of lighting, you know,highlighting tanks,
architectural lighting, mayberooftop line uh peaks.
I always uh there you go.
And in my last couple videos, II I went over that where you
know everyone thinks from thefrom the ground up, right?
(15:58):
Yeah, your pathlights, youknow, I mean light up a couple
trees here and there, but alsolighting up the top half of the
house.
Yeah, sometimes we havetwo-story homes.
So we like to we like tohighlight the peaks, you know,
really uh you know, it's not tooinvasive to do that.
No, no, no, no.
It's low voltage wiring, so itdoesn't need to be dug as deep
(16:19):
as um as line voltage, you know.
Got it, got it.
Doug Drohan (16:23):
That's cool.
Yeah, so I mean, uh, well, youmight have a future customer,
we'll see, you know.
Rey G (16:28):
Yeah, man, give us give us a call, man.
Doug Drohan (16:30):
Yeah, yeah.
So let's just um go again, uh,just re recap.
So your phone number, you'rebased in New Milford, it's R&J
Brothers Electric.
Uh your website is RJBrothersElectric.com.
Uh the phone number is 973 9512005.
Um, and that's probably thebest way to reach out, right?
(16:52):
Just go on your website andcheck out all the different
services.
And you know, the cool thing islike there's no job too small.
That's right.
But obviously you do big jobsas well when it comes to panel
upgrades and yeah, yeah, yeah.
Intro/Close (17:04):
Service upgrades are great.
Doug Drohan (17:06):
Yeah, that's great.
Uh so Rey, I I don't know,before uh you know, um, is there
anything else you you wanted touh you know leave us with
before we uh we say goodbye?
Rey G (17:15):
Oh man, um smiling is contagious.
Doug Drohan (17:19):
Yeah, okay.
Like that, you know, yeah, andeverybody on your team is has
kind of the same uh the samething.
Rey G (17:26):
Yeah, yeah.
Well, I I tell you what, Imean, we do comp we do monthly
company meetings, and I feellike everything starts from the
top.
Me, and you know, I like tothink I'm a stoic person.
I like to be uh you know,friendly, be nice, courteous,
you know.
Yeah, and and I tell and I tellmy guys that, man, when you
walk into someone's home, youknow, shake, you know, shake
their hand, you know, greeteverybody, pet the dog, you know
(17:48):
what I mean?
Like everyone gets a greeting,and uh, you just want to leave
the house with a goodimpression, you know.
Like, man, you know what?
I really like those guys.
Doug Drohan (17:55):
Yeah, nice.
That's great.
That's great.
Well, Rey, thanks so much forbeing on the show.
We are going to just uh endwith a bit of a music, uh,
musical outro, and you and Iwill be right back.
Intro/Close (18:07):
Thanks for having me.
Doug Drohan (18:08):
Absolutely.
Intro/Close (18:09):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to gnpbergen.com.
That's gnpbergen.com or call201 298 25.
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Doug Drohan.
Doug Drohan (00:10):
Hey everyone, welcome to another episode of
the Good Neighbor Podcast,coming to you live from Bergen
County, from Harrington Park,actually.
And my name is Doug Drawn.
I'm the owner of the BergenNeighbors Media Group and the
host of the Good NeighborPodcast in Bergen County.
Today we are joined by ReyGuedes.
Rey is the owner of R and JBrothers Electric.
They're based out of my wife'shometown of New Milford, New
(00:33):
Jersey.
She's a New Milford High Schoolgrad.
Rey, welcome to the show.
Rey G (00:37):
Thank you.
Thank you.
Good morning, Doug.
Doug Drohan (00:38):
Yeah, good morning.
Good morning.
So, you know, listen, there's alot of electric uh companies,
electricians, I should say, um,certainly in this world and and
more specifically in BergenCounty.
Um, when did you like start,you know, when did you become an
electrician and and kind oflike why?
Rey G (00:56):
Why yeah, I actually started in high school, 1998.
So I I I attended to I went touh Passaic County Tech and I did
uh three years in high school.
And well, long story short, I Ididn't get to graduate high
school, you know, whatever, butbut I did return and I um to
Bergen Tech.
(01:16):
I continued my educationthrough Bergen Tech, where I am
actually now the um I'm on theirboard as advisors.
Oh, right two times a year.
I do speak to the kids, I talkto them about how to how to
approach this field, the curtheir career path, and how to
take advantage of theopportunities that's you know,
uh so this way they could growin the in the business, right?
(01:39):
Everyone has different goals.
But uh I started in 2013 and Iaim primarily in the uh service
business.
Doug Drohan (01:49):
Okay.
So so what does that meanexactly?
Rey G (01:52):
Meaning uh we don't really do new builds or anything
like that.
I'm not in the constructionbusiness or anything.
Uh we just work with uh justeveryday calls, service calls.
My lights are not working, myoutlet just sparked, you know.
So we we provide prop servicecalls, uh repair,
troubleshooting, you know,basically your everyday small
jobs that may be small for othercontractors, but it's it's our
(02:14):
bread and butter, you know.
Doug Drohan (02:15):
Okay, yeah.
I mean that's that's the issuethat uh as a homeowner, I hear
this all the time from otherhomeowners is that they call
somebody and maybe the job's nottoo big enough for them, so
they don't want to bother.
They never call you back.
Rey G (02:28):
Right, right.
Doug Drohan (02:28):
Sometimes these guys come to your house, and and
I'm not just talking aboutelectricians, but any any
contractor, they come to yourhouse and they spend an hour
with you going over the projector the scope of what you need or
may want.
And then you never hear fromthem again.
You're like, what the hell,man?
I guess my money's no good,huh?
Rey G (02:45):
No, no.
So we we actually are a littledifferent uh as far as that
goes.
We actually send estimates andquotes either right on the spot
or that same day, you know?
Doug Drohan (02:53):
Yeah.
Rey G (02:54):
Two days, no more than two days.
Sometimes we get a littleoverwhelmed with all the calls.
So uh, but but you know, nomore than two days, you know,
which is I think it's fair.
Doug Drohan (03:02):
Yeah.
Now, did you automaticallystart your own business or did
did you work for someone elseout of out of school?
Rey G (03:08):
Yeah, straight after school, I I I started uh I
started working for con otherother small businesses,
contractors, yeah.
And it just so happened thatfor the most of my career, it
was it was I was I worked forservice business companies, you
know.
So that's it's almost like ano-brainer when I went into
business.
I chose that same path.
Yeah.
Um, but I personally love it,uh, Doug, because uh I I mean I
(03:30):
like I like people, you know, ifI'm sitting on the bus or I'm
I'm on a park bench orsomething, I I just tend to talk
to people, man, you know, andyeah, so I I I get to I get
yeah, I I I I we meet peopleevery day, and you know, you
never know who you meet, andit's it's cool.
I like it.
Doug Drohan (03:46):
Yeah.
So I mean, one of the thingsthat um you know, it when you
work for someone else, they tellyou where to go.
You don't have to worry aboutbringing revenue in, they're
paying you a salary.
That is true, and uh you don'thave to worry about hiring guys
or people quitting or uh havinginsurance and having a truck and
dealing with a team.
And so when you go to uh youknow back to Bergman Tech and
(04:10):
and advise uh these studentsthat want to become
electricians, what do you tellthem what it's like to actually
own your own business?
Do you do you share thatexperience with them too?
Rey G (04:22):
You know what?
No, that's actually a goodquestion, though, because
everything that you mentionedwas the hardest part of running
a business, in my experience,right?
I thought running a businesswas oh, just replacing some
outlets, running some wire.
No, I it was the completeopposite.
It was pricing, it's remainingprofitable, knowing your
margins, uh, truck expenses anduh hiring, you know, it's all
(04:45):
like things that you go you comeup in the business, not really
learning because you're not theboss, you know, you're you're an
employee at that point.
But um, but I had to learn, butI was grateful that I went in
my come up, Facebook groups arearound too, you know.
Yeah, and there's uh electricalcontractors in New Jersey, New
Jersey electricians only, groupslike that where you um you
reach out to one another and youlearn from people, you know.
Doug Drohan (05:07):
Yeah, because you know, no not too many schools.
I mean, you go to college foranything.
Uh, you know, I often say likecollege teaches you how to work
for somebody else, you know,teach you how to get a job.
You know, I'm I'm going tocollege now, I'm going to apply
for a job.
I'm going to intern somewhereand you know, I got to work for
somebody else.
There are very fewentrepreneurial, I mean, there
(05:28):
are some today, but it's notlike a major that I know of.
Um and like you said, you know,what knowing how to handle a
profit and loss statement andbeing responsible for marketing.
How do you get, you know, a lotof a lot of marketing issues I
see that new business ownersmake is they they get a
beautiful website, maybe theyhave a storefront, maybe they
got their social media page, butthey're not doing anything to
(05:52):
buy their customers.
Like, what are you doing formarketing?
How are people finding you?
And everybody loves to work onword of mouth, but you know,
when you go out and invest in atruck and all the equipment and
the insurance, and you're gonnawork on word of mouth, that's a
little scary, right?
Like, so how did you in allthese years uh have how have you
gone about building yourbusiness?
Rey G (06:14):
Well, for one, I I think it budgeting, right?
I think biting more than youcan chew or spending more than
you can afford, I think it uhputs people in trouble.
Yeah, I started off small, I'mgonna be honest.
I was I don't like impulsedecisions, or whenever I do make
a milestone decision, and I'mso nervous, but it is what it
is, and I know like I've beenthere so many times that I know
(06:35):
it's gonna work out, right?
Intro/Close (06:36):
Yeah, yeah.
Rey G (06:37):
Uh buying a new truck was always always made me nervous.
Oh, what am I doing?
It's another $60,000 uhexpense, but it but it always
works out, you know, because Iam pretty strategic in how I do
things.
Doug Drohan (06:48):
Yeah, yeah.
Rey G (06:51):
Um and it's staying cost effective.
There's ways of marketingstaying cost effective as well.
I mean, there's there'sFacebook groups, it doesn't cost
you a thing.
Intro/Close (06:58):
Right.
Rey G (06:59):
Um, you know, my office, we get a lot of help in the
office, and we market everyMonday or every Friday, every
other day on Facebook.
Um door hangers, door hangersare still a thing, man.
You know, it's on the ground,yard signs.
Nice, you know, nice it's it'syou know, getting your name out
there.
You market so much, you'reactually in the branding
yourself, you know.
Doug Drohan (07:19):
Well, that you're speaking to the choir.
That's that's what this show isall about, right?
And everything I do is aboutbuilding a brand because um you
could charge more, you don'thave to haggle with people once
you know you're recognized andpeople trust you.
Of course, easier to attractand keep clients and then get
referrals that way.
So um so so one of the thingsyou talked about was you know,
(07:40):
you're gonna do these small jobsthat a lot of electricians
won't touch.
So um, I mean, you're not gonnachange a light bulb, but would
so a job like installing aceiling fan, uh helping somebody
with their outdoor lights, ormaybe their light over their
front door isn't working, orsomething like that.
Rey G (07:59):
All that, man.
Yeah, okay.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Like maybe a GFI trip, or it'sshot, or it's no longer working.
Small jobs, every day, everyday, small jobs, man.
And I and I feel like I'mactually I like it.
I like it because I I like thegratitude that I get from
people, Doug.
Yeah, you know what I mean?
They call somebody, and thatsame day I disc we end up
dispatching somebody, the jobgets done.
Yeah, uh, people say thank you,and and I I like that, man.
Doug Drohan (08:22):
You know, well, you know, and there's a song by uh
a guy.
I mean, I used to work in themusic business, so a lot of
things in my head are related tosongs, but from small things,
mama, big things when they comeis a song by Dave Edmonds.
And sometimes those smalllittle jobs uh that you came to
that house for all of a suddenthey bought an electric car and
now they need a car charger.
(08:43):
Or, you know, we haven't had astorm in a long time, but maybe
somebody wants a generacgenerator installed.
So that small job that you didfor a couple hundred bucks, now
they remember you and they callyou now because they they want
to do their that they got theygot it.
Rey G (08:58):
That small job is a foot, it's a step in the door for
more jobs in the future to come,you know, especially if you
leave with an impression of uhyou know if they had a great
experience with your services,you'll be helping meet someone
in the future.
Doug Drohan (09:11):
Yeah, no, it's so what are you seeing in terms of
trends?
So I mentioned electric carchargers.
Um, like what kind of jobs arebecoming more popular, I guess
you could say, from uh from anelectrician standpoint.
Rey G (09:24):
Like man, you hit it on the nail.
Uh car chargers.
We we do a lease three carchargers a week, you know.
That's that's huge, yeah, man.
Especially um, you know, we'reworld-versed with what's out
there with resources as far asrebates and and so forth.
We're partners with PC and G,so we do help customers out with
that, uh with a rebate, whichthey pay off.
Doug Drohan (09:45):
Oh wow, I didn't know that.
I had one installed a coupleyears ago.
I didn't know about a rebate.
Rey G (09:50):
See, if you would have reached out to us, we would have
taken care of you.
Doug Drohan (09:52):
Yeah, I paid a couple grand too for that.
Yeah, that's my my electricpanel is on the far left side of
my basement, and then my garageis on the right side.
Well, that's so just the thecost of the wiring was what cost
a lot because it had to runfrom the whole length of the
house, then in out the backyard,into the garage, and then back
(10:14):
outside.
Rey G (10:15):
So it was a bit of a if it wasn't too long ago, you may
still be eligible for that.
Doug Drohan (10:19):
But it was like two years ago.
Yeah.
Um that's interesting, and thenum, you know, I guess another
thing is smart devices, peoplegetting like you know, doing
smart homes or you know, ringsand things like that.
Rey G (10:34):
So we're partners with ring.
We do get uh so we're a ringdealer, so they do send us uh uh
like emails and and uh uhvideos to update us with new
features, with Alexa enableddevices.
Doug Drohan (10:47):
Okay.
Rey G (10:48):
We install a lot of ring floodlights, doorbells, you
know, those are everyday jobsfor us as well.
Doug Drohan (10:54):
That's great.
And and how big's your uh yourteam?
Rey G (10:57):
Right now, I think it's eight of us.
Doug Drohan (10:59):
Okay, wow, that's great.
Rey G (11:01):
Um it's me, I got my my cousin, my wife, we're in the
office.
unknown (11:05):
Nice.
Rey G (11:06):
Then I have my brother.
We're a family business, man.
Uh that's why that's R and Jbrother.
R and J brother, yeah.
My brother's uh one of ourlead, you know, he's a lead guy
out on the field, and we have atotal of five, I believe.
Yeah, five five tax.
Doug Drohan (11:20):
Nice, nice.
So then um, so what is um likeyou know, your service area?
Like, where will you guys likeif somebody's listening to this,
you're based in New Milford?
Um, you know, how far out willyou go?
Do you just focus on the case?
Rey G (11:34):
Well, here's yeah, here's the deal.
I mean, I'm I'm in New Milford.
I have a truck in New Milford,and then so we have four trucks
on the road, they're take-hometrucks, so it's easier to cover
ground that way.
So we basically cover all ofBergen County and surrounding
areas.
I do have a truck in LittleFalls so sometimes we get calls
like you know, Wayne, LittleFalls, Verona, you know, that
(11:59):
area.
We'll we'll service them aswell.
Doug Drohan (12:02):
Okay.
And then uh what's the best wayfor somebody to reach you?
Rey G (12:08):
Uh they can reach out to us through Facebook, Instagram,
give us a call, 973-951-2005.
Doug Drohan (12:16):
Okay.
And then on Instagram, what'syour uh, you know, what is it?
At RJ Bros Electric.
RNJ Brothers Electric, okay.
So if I go on your Instagram,so let me uh let me see, like,
you know, what why would anelectrician what the heck is an
electrician post on Instagram?
Rey G (12:31):
You know, I just put like everyday content, you know what
I mean?
Everyday small jobs, you know,we put a lot of car chargers on
there.
Okay, okay.
Sometimes even estimates, youknow, just how I um how how I
view things, you know.
Doug Drohan (12:46):
Yeah, yeah.
I mean, listen, like you said,everything is uh about building
a brand.
And the more places people canuh can find you, right?
The better better it's gonnabe.
And I mean, you know, it'sfunny, like a lot of companies
will be uh I see a lot ofdoctors, they'll they'll post
videos of like their staffdancing in the office.
(13:09):
I'm like, okay, it's cute, butit's not gonna make me want to
hire, you know, run to thedoctor because you're dancing on
the I mean everybody's allabout content, content, content.
But I think um it's a lot ofwords, too, man.
Yeah, I mean, listen, thepicture is a thousand words,
right?
And one of the things like onyour website like is um I think
(13:29):
when you look at landscapelighting, nothing is to me more
beautiful than when you'redriving by a house or you're in
somebody's backyard and they'vegot some really great lights set
up.
Rey G (13:40):
Yeah, as far as you say that I think my last few videos
is on landscape lighting.
I personally love landscapelighting, man.
And again, you hit it on thenail.
That's what I love about it,that you enhance somebody's
home, you make it lookbeautiful.
Doug Drohan (13:51):
Now, let me so let's talk about that because
I'm gonna speak um, you know,sort of personally.
So I have a lot of uh solarlights I put up around, you
know, they work a little bit.
Obviously, they don't work aswell in the winter, right?
They're cheap, you know, butthey're not gonna illuminate too
much.
And then I have these stringlights in my backyard that look
kind of cool, but I have themall over the bushes and I mean
(14:13):
they look great.
I have them on a timer.
Um, but you know, when you whenyou illuminate something from
the ground up, it's just gotthat kind of resort feel to it.
Is it expensive to do somethinglike that?
Like does it cost a lot fromyour electric bill?
Um, you know, you're running alot of amps, and and you know,
obviously the the scope of thejob determines how much it
(14:34):
costs, but what is the likeeffect of an on your electric
bill when you do landscapelighting?
Rey G (14:40):
I mean, we mean everything is LED now, so it's a
lot more the lighting itself isa lot more efficient than yeah
you know, halogen lights andstuff like that, you know.
Doug Drohan (14:49):
Right, right.
Rey G (14:49):
Um but we're all we're also AMP, we're also partners
with AMP.
So they're actually a national,nationwide uh landscape
lighting picture company.
Doug Drohan (14:58):
Okay.
Rey G (14:59):
Me, which I think it was last year in July that my
brother and I flew out toFlorida for some training, you
know.
Doug Drohan (15:06):
Okay.
And um where do you have tocreate like if you're running uh
in the backyard, you gotta digup the ground a little bit to
run the lines in, right?
Like where's power source?
Rey G (15:17):
There's there's there's tricks of the trade, there's
tips of you know, this way youdon't you don't you don't want
to make an excavation out of theplace, right?
But you know, there's there'sthere's ways of going about it
and and doing it things in aworkman-like manner, you know.
Doug Drohan (15:29):
Now, in terms of design, like do you advise
people on where the lightsshould be like, yeah, yeah.
Rey G (15:35):
So landscape lighting, yeah, landscape lighting is
ambiance, you know.
I that's what I you'reenhancing, you're you're making
it look giving this uh um uh youknow, giving it like a subtle
type of lighting, you know,highlighting tanks,
architectural lighting, mayberooftop line uh peaks.
I always uh there you go.
And in my last couple videos, II I went over that where you
know everyone thinks from thefrom the ground up, right?
(15:58):
Yeah, your pathlights, youknow, I mean light up a couple
trees here and there, but alsolighting up the top half of the
house.
Yeah, sometimes we havetwo-story homes.
So we like to we like tohighlight the peaks, you know,
really uh you know, it's not tooinvasive to do that.
No, no, no, no.
It's low voltage wiring, so itdoesn't need to be dug as deep
(16:19):
as um as line voltage, you know.
Got it, got it.
Doug Drohan (16:23):
That's cool.
Yeah, so I mean, uh, well, youmight have a future customer,
we'll see, you know.
Rey G (16:28):
Yeah, man, give us give us a call, man.
Doug Drohan (16:30):
Yeah, yeah.
So let's just um go again, uh,just re recap.
So your phone number, you'rebased in New Milford, it's R&J
Brothers Electric.
Uh your website is RJBrothersElectric.com.
Uh the phone number is 973 9512005.
Um, and that's probably thebest way to reach out, right?
(16:52):
Just go on your website andcheck out all the different
services.
And you know, the cool thing islike there's no job too small.
That's right.
But obviously you do big jobsas well when it comes to panel
upgrades and yeah, yeah, yeah.
Intro/Close (17:04):
Service upgrades are great.
Doug Drohan (17:06):
Yeah, that's great.
Uh so Rey, I I don't know,before uh you know, um, is there
anything else you you wanted touh you know leave us with
before we uh we say goodbye?
Rey G (17:15):
Oh man, um smiling is contagious.
Doug Drohan (17:19):
Yeah, okay.
Like that, you know, yeah, andeverybody on your team is has
kind of the same uh the samething.
Rey G (17:26):
Yeah, yeah.
Well, I I tell you what, Imean, we do comp we do monthly
company meetings, and I feellike everything starts from the
top.
Me, and you know, I like tothink I'm a stoic person.
I like to be uh you know,friendly, be nice, courteous,
you know.
Yeah, and and I tell and I tellmy guys that, man, when you
walk into someone's home, youknow, shake, you know, shake
their hand, you know, greeteverybody, pet the dog, you know
(17:48):
what I mean?
Like everyone gets a greeting,and uh, you just want to leave
the house with a goodimpression, you know.
Like, man, you know what?
I really like those guys.
Doug Drohan (17:55):
Yeah, nice.
That's great.
That's great.
Well, Rey, thanks so much forbeing on the show.
We are going to just uh endwith a bit of a music, uh,
musical outro, and you and Iwill be right back.
Intro/Close (18:07):
Thanks for having me.
Doug Drohan (18:08):
Absolutely.
Intro/Close (18:09):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to gnpbergen.com.
That's gnpbergen.com or call201 298 25.
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