We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jazon Gonzalez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jazon, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Your ability to build a team is often a key determinant of your success as a business owner and so we’d love to get a conversation going with successful entrepreneurs like yourself around what your recruiting process was like -especially early on. How did you build your team?

When I started Azael Electrical, it was just me and my 2017 GMC Sierra. I left my previous job as an electrical commercial foreman a few months after obtaining my Master Electrician’s license. I knew even before I started that at one point I will have to hire people to help me. Contrary to that belief, at the time when I started, I could barely provide enough work for just mysef , let alone have enough to hire another individual. As time progressed, work started to pile up to the point where I had to turn down jobs simply because they were too big for just a one man show.

Throughout my career as an electrician, I met some awesome characters, and friends. Some were peers, and others were individuals I led to concouer the rigors of electrical commercial construction. In the back of my head , it was a goal of mine to surround myself with f*cking winners. Who knows, maybe they might work for me one day. If I wasn’t around any winners, I would help cultivate them through mentorship and leading by example. Creating a culture of hard work with rewards was anything but easy , especially within the trades. The stigma for trades was always a low class construction worker with little to no goals. Of course I went against the grain with that stigma and led crews to finish jobs on time , under budget and most importantly safely. When it was time for me to venture off, i chose to not lose contact with some of those I worked with in the hopes of hiring guys I knew were winners.

I hired my first employee in the summer of 2021 when we started to pick up larger jobs. He was one of those winners by the name of Abdi Orozco. I hired him as a helping hand in the hopes of training and helping him obtain his Electrical wiremen’s license. He would eventually get his license and start working on his own without my supervision. This would allow me to work on my business rather than working in it to start marketing our brand more often and consistanly land profitable jobs as well. As the jobs got bigger and more consistant, I had to make another move on landing more help. I would eventually hire another individual to help Abdi in the field.

With work being hectic at times I would get my life partner and wife , Carol to help me with the business administration side of things .I was an Electrician with many hats including tecnician, estimator, business admin, marketing agent, you name it. It got too much for me and Carol eventually quit her job at Bank Of America to work full time as Azael Electrical’s Vice President/Business Administrator. Like a true employee she had her own salary and benifits. You can’t expect your woman to work for free of course.

Its Year 3 at Azael Electrical. We are now a team of five consisting of myself, Carol, Abdi, Ethan, and Alex. Although we are a small team, we have managed to triple our sales since our inception, Team building does not happen over night. Sometimes it takes years of cultivating those relationships with people you work with. Who knows , that person might be the very reason you’re all successful. I personally wouldn’t have it any other way. I wish I would have started sooner.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I was born and raised in Dallas, TX. Nothing too special about my upbringing aside from my rebellious years as teenager. You could say I was a normal young man looking for fun and engagement and at times took it to extremes.

I was born to some awesome parents that happened to migrate from Mexico. Both eventually met in the United States since they were from two different states. I was born lucky you can say. I could only imagine the hoops and hurdles they had to jump just to get here, let alone raise me and two pain-in-the-ass younger brothers.

Aside from the early years, once I graduated from high school, I immediately jumped into the workforce. I picked up a job remodeling homes for a close family friend that was like an uncle to me. His name is Rich, and although we were not related, he was family. Working for him exposed me to what I would describe the finer things in life. I would work on homes that looked and felt like they belonged in a movie. At times I would meet and conversate with the homeowners to just pick their brains on subjects like success, and how they got it. Sometimes I would even find it odd that they would talk to a kid like me. I was nothing special. Observing the way successful people live really left an everlasting impression on me. So much in fact it would later become my obsession.

I tried the college route when I was 19 years old. I signed up for Cedar Valley Community College pursuing an engineering degree. At the time I was working full time 50 to 60 hours a week in a commercial construction setting. Gone were the days of working in nice homes. This time it was a world of new construction which was actually a lot of fun. I worked as a carpenter’s helper as well as a pipe layer’s helper. Both of course were grueling jobs, but the pay was great at the time.

I could remember my dad being my greatest supporter. I was by no means a great son, but no matter what I did I always had his support. So much that he would disapprove of my decisions to working these types of jobs. He always told me to look for something better. It got to the point where he would annoy me to try out a skilled trade every other day. I can remember telling him, “Don’t worry Dad I’m still going to college too, I’ll figure it out.”

Even though I was studying and working, I felt no passion for what I did. I remembered noticing one thing in common that successful people tend to have. That of course was doing something they loved. I honestly hated school and my job. I would see guys work in the same position for years on end, the same position I was in. It did not take long for me to realize this was not it.

I took my dad’s advice when I reached the ripe age of twenty. May 27th of 2014, was when I became an apprentice electrician. I used my previous construction experience to my advantage and quickly made a name for myself. It did not take long for me to fully invest myself in the trade either. Within the first 6 months, I dropped out of college and focused all my ambitions into becoming the best apprentice electrician within the company. Hell, I even signed up for electrical trade school that my employer partially paid for. Two years later in the trade, my girlfriend and I bought a house in Mansfield, TX. A place where we would later lay the foundation for our family and business. I was 22 at the time and the year was 2016.

Fast forward to now 6 years and three kids later, I can honestly say I made the best decision for me. I absolutely love what I do. All those years I spent working on my craft, and getting all the electrical licenses possible led to where I am at now. I did in fact made some great friends over the years and associated with some great people. That of course did not come with side effects. I learned not everyone shares the same enthusiasm as you do, nor do they care for your success. If you want something, greater than where you are at now it is going to take some sacrifice. I did not party or indulge as much as my peers did in my early 20s. I worked my ass off to only scratch the surface of where I want to be. I used my youth to jumpstart my career and even then, I still wish I did things a little different. If I only knew what I know now when I was 18 straight out of high school, I might be a millionaire right now. My dream of owning a successful business will one day be reality. I made it this far with the support of my family and friends. I Haven’t made it yet, but I will keep the same energy until I fade way. I failed many times and got up every single time. I might have been rocked a couple times, but I never got knocked out.

I not only do this for myself but for the well-being of my family. I want to leave an everlasting legacy behind well beyond after I am gone. To date, our business Azael Electrical has a talented team including my now wife. I now have my own small team of apprentice electricians. They have goals as well, and I will always make it my priority to help them further their career because someone at one point helped me. This in terms will only benefit us a team. Growing can only be possible if everyone eats.

Our business Azael Electrical And Lighting Design LLC is a family owned electrical contracting business serving the DFW metroplex. We specialize in Residential and commercial service as well as construction and remodels. We perform small repairs on homes to constructing electrical for businesses with large floor space. We are a detailed and quality oriented business that prides ourselves with great communication and service.

I am proud of being able to keep my family name alive through our business as well as being a responsible Hispanic business owner. I feel even more pride in growing a team of talented and awesome individuals who share the same aspirations and goals as I do. This will be part of the legacy I will leave behind to pass down to my children one day.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

I always advocate giving people a sense of belonging and leading by example. Setting goals for people even when they seem unatainable give others something to work for, Especially if they saw you as someone who overcame all sorts off odds yourself. Treat people like people and not numbers or statistics. We all bleed, breath and shit. Excuse the my french but you will be surprised how often people will go to war for you by simply leading by example.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I was always told as an apprentice electrician by my so called leaders and peers that trying to run your own business is risky and headache unworthy of the possible rewards. I always told myself that someone at one point did make it despite thses risks. Why couldn’t that be me? No way is somone that much better than me! I can do it too regardless of the doubts and beliefs of others. There is a reason why the top 1 percent is the top 1 percent. It damn sure wasn’t thinking like those doubters.

Contact Info:

• Website: azaelelectrical.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/azael.electrical/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Azael.Electrical
• Other: Nextdoor: https://nextdoor.com/pages/azael-electrical-and-lighting-design-mansfield-tx/recommend/

Image Credits
Jazon Gonzalez, Carol Gonzalez, Jazz Orozco Ethan Delgado, and Alex Salazar