Mandatory Questions –
- Kindly give our readers an introduction to your business. Please include what your business is all about, in which city you are located, and if you have offices in multiple locations/ cities. We are a family-owned business with a single office located in Conyers, GA. At Performance Electrical, we are focused on ensuring our clients receive top quality services, while also providing growth opportunities for our employees
- Kindly give us a brief description of yourself (it should include your brief educational or entrepreneurial background and list some of your major achievements). Sarah Benefield is a wife and mother of 3 children. Her initial career path was in education where she holds a Bachelor Degree in Early Childhood Education. In 2022 she joined Performance Electrical which contributed the company to becoming 100% family-owned. Shane Benefield is a husband and father of 3 children. He began his career in the electrical industry in 2003 as an apprentice and worked his way up to a project manager in the same company. He is now a master electrician who holds certification in Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Alabama.
- What inspired you to (start a new business venture) or (make significant changes in an existing business)?
How did the idea for your business come about? The idea of owning a company was always a dream of mine and my husband’s. Our inspiration comes from wanting to provide exceptional service for customers and solving the challenges they face within their facilities. - What three pieces of advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs?
Take the risk, have faith in yourself, and lean on your peers - What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?
Drive, Focus, Attention to Detail, and Organization - How many hours do you work a day on average?
50-60 - To what do you most attribute your success?
God, for providing us with opportunities to allow us to showcase our abilities. - How do you go about marketing your business? What has been your most successful form of marketing?
Harbinger currently handles all of the marketing needs at Performance Electrical and has been a major asset to the company. Prior to onboarding Harbinger, we received our referrals by strictly word of mouth. - Where did your organization’s funding/capital come from and how did you go about getting it? How did you obtain investors for your venture?
Original funding was provided by owners and friends. Future investors were obtained by relationships we had built the first several years in business. While our initial investors were crucial to our success to this point and we are greatly appreciative for them, we now own 100% of the company. - What is the best way to achieve long-term success?
Make sure to give yourself goals. - Where do you see yourself and your business in 5 – 10 years?
Working on the business more than in the business, and averaging 80-100 employees - Excluding yours, what company or business do you admire the most?
Barnsley Construction Group. They are a GC that we work with regularly, and they have shown us what a successful business looks like and how they are run. And also how to treat employees to ensure morale is always high.
Recommended Questions –
- How important have good employees been to your success?
They are the lifeline of our business and are the ones who truly make us successful - How long do you stick with an idea before giving up?
Never give up, just keep trying different avenues until we’re successful. - What motivates you?
Seeing our employees be successful - What are your ideals?
Craftsmanship, Safety, Professionalism, and Reliability - How do you generate new ideas?
By engaging with our workforce and seeing the challenges they face on a daily basis. - How do you define success?
By keeping our employees busy. Seeing our employees succeed in providing for themselves/their families. Customers returning to us based on experience/quality of work. - How do you build a successful customer base?
By ensuring we provide quality service in every job - What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur?
Seeing a project come to life. - What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
Eclipsing the 50-employee mark. - What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?
Their tolerance for risk - What kind of culture exists in your organization?
How did you establish this tone and why did you institute this particular type of culture? Family. We always had the vision of making everyone in the company feel like they are a part of our family. - In one word, characterize your life as an entrepreneur. Challenging.
Optional Questions –
- If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do differently?
Honestly, try not to grow the business as quick as we did. - How has being an entrepreneur affected your family life?
It has provided opportunities we otherwise may not have been available to us. There have been difficult times, (financially, mentally, and emotionally,) but it is a sacrifice of becoming an entrepreneur. - What is your greatest fear, and how do you manage fear?
Our customers not receiving top-quality service. We enlist and update processes regularly to ensure service is always top priority - How did you decide on the location for your business?
Distance from our home and Atlanta - Do you believe there is some sort of pattern or formula to becoming a successful entrepreneur?
The only formula we believe there is to being successful is to never give up. Failure is always just a day away. - If you could talk to one person from history, who would it be and why?
Benjamin Franklin. He was always diverse with his train of thought. - Who has been your greatest inspiration?
Hard to specify just one. I would say everyone that has been apart of our endeavors to this point. - What book has inspired you the most? (OR what is your favorite book?)
Who not How - What are some of the biggest mistakes you’ve made?
Taking on the wrong project, - How can you prevent mistakes or do damage control?
Mistakes are inevitable, but we invest alot in our employees training to reduce the number of mistakes that are made. - What are your hobbies? What do you do in your non-work time?
Watersports and spending time with family. Pool days, watch football with family, boat days, beach with the family
for more information visit us at : https://www.performanceelectricalllc.com/