Hello everyone and welcome back to the Modern Electrician Podcast! In this episode, I sit down with Nick Bossio, @beard_picker on instagram, musician, who recently recorded and released "Time and Material," an acoustic album for and about blue collar folks like you and me. Nick is also the owner of Solid General Construction, a construction and remodeling company based in Sacramento California. Nick is full of life and has years of experience in both music and the trades. His wisdom and personal...
Nov 01, 2021•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 29
Welcome to the Weekly Check-in everyone. I'm your host Doug Powell, it's Monday once again and that means its time to pack your lunch, grab your coffee, lace up your boots, hop in the truck and get get this party started. Today, I recap my weekend camping trip and geek out on the idea of tradespeople being the ultimate keepers of tradition. I catch you up on lessons from last week and give you a sneak peak of what we'll be working on at Lumen Brothers Electric this week. We've got a couple of aw...
Oct 25, 2021•15 min•Ep. 28
Hello everyone and welcome back to the Modern Electrician Podcast! It has been a while since we’ve recorded any new episodes and we are thrilled to be back talking with you all about our trade and the culture surrounding it. In this season we will bring you weekly check-in episodes (such as this one) that give you some insight into what we at Lumen Brothers Electric Company are doing week to week. We will talk about lessons we learned from the previous week. We’ll also cover any new gadgets, tec...
Oct 20, 2021•27 min•Ep. 27
In this episode I chat with Master Electrician and owner/operator of Figueroa Electric, Kyle Figueroa. Kyle and I chat about how he got his start in the trades and the impact that a good mentor can have on an apprentice. Kyle has a ton of experience and a lot of great stories to draw examples from. If you're looking for an online mentor, look no further. Hope you enjoy the episode!
Mar 30, 2021•31 min•Ep. 3
Its impossible to walk the road of mastery without a leader, especially early on in your journey. In fact, you'll encounter many leaders along your way and it will be up to you to determine what to keep and what to throw away for yourself. If you stay on the road long enough, you will become the master and your world will open up to the understanding that leading people isn't as easy as you may have envisioned. Being a leader a is challenging and never ending responsibility and not everyone nail...
Mar 30, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 8
Welcome back to the Modern Electrician Podcast and welcome to our new website! Scroll around, make yourself at home and visit our Patreon page where you can become a contributing sponsor of the show! In this first episode, I sit down with the Utah-based electrician known on IG as Sparky Pride. This is a man who puts his all into everything he does and we dive deep into that mindset during this episode. We talk about everything from taking pride in your work to getting into the electrical trade a...
Mar 30, 2021•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 26
Welcome back everybody to the Modern Electrician Podcast. So happy to have you back and excited to share today’s conversation with you. For so many electrical contractors and people in the trades, we run into situations on a daily basis where we think to ourselves “there’s got to be a better way!” Whether it is a product that is not designed well or a scenario where a certain product would just help the job go more smoothly, we in the trades are always up against this issue of innovation. In tod...
Oct 12, 2020•50 min•Ep. 25
Well hey there everyone and welcome back to another episode of the Modern Electrician Podcast. In this week’s episode, we chat with artist and sculptor Matt Gemmell about choosing the road less traveled as a career path and the type of determination required to overcome the obstacles along the way. Matt is an accomplished real-life sculptor who has contributed to works that can be seen across the country and he also happens to be my brother-in-law. This is a fun conversation that any geek of mas...
Oct 05, 2020•1 hr 27 min•Ep. 24
Hello out there all of you Modern people. Welcome back to another episode of the Modern Electrician Podcast. In this episode, I sit down with Neil of www.ledlightingsupply.com to talk about the concept of “photometrics.” We discuss LED lighting and its rapid evolution to become the predominant option for any lighting scenario as well as a number of other things. Enjoy the conversation and check out www.ledlightingsupply.com for help with your next Commercial or Industrial lighting project. Use p...
Sep 21, 2020•33 min•Ep. 23
Welcome back to the Modern Electrician Podcast, where we talk about the lives and stories of people in the trades. This episode is a fun one for any of your electrical history buffs out there, like myself. I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Robert Bradley, CEO and founder of Institute for Energy Research, an economic think tank that provides a voice to Free Market Energy Research. He’s also an electrical historian and author of several books on the topic of energy history. In today’s conver...
Sep 14, 2020•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 22
Welcome to Episode 3 of the 3rd season of this little thing we call the Modern Electrician Podcast. In this episode, we sit down with Jonny Slick of Straight Shot Training. Jonny is a personal trainer living and working in a little historic town called Shepherdstown, WV, not too far from our little city of Frederick, MD. I reached out to Jonny to have a discussion about body mechanics, exercise and nutrition for the everyday blue collar worker. Since we have such physically demanding jobs, it’s ...
Sep 07, 2020•58 min•Ep. 21
We never really know the ultimate direction that life is taking us. We may think that we have a grasp on where we’re headed but at a moment’s notice, everything can change. It’s an interesting fact of life and I believe that with the understanding of that information, it’s wise to develop the skills necessary to embrace change in our daily lives. Because, as much as we’d like to believe that we’re in control of our lives, we’re often reminded of the fact that we are just along for the ride and t...
Aug 31, 2020•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 20
Jul 08, 2020•57 sec
In this episode, I sit down with Jeffrey Mort, a longtime electrician and fellow podcaster to discuss leadership and approach. Jeffrey is an insightful guy with a lot to share. Check him out on Instagram @jeffrey_mort and listen to his podcast here: https://3phaseradio.com/
Apr 22, 2020•57 min•Ep. 19
In this episode of Modern Electrician, I check in with an old friend from my days as a comedian. Mikael Johnson is a DC-based improvisational comedian and actor who's been honing his craft for the better part of 2 decades. What does a comedian have to do with the trades...? Well, in my opinion, everything is Kung Fu! Whether you are an electrician attempting to put your signature on every job you do or you're an artist attempting to share your perspective with the world, we are all in the pursui...
Apr 17, 2020•49 min•Ep. 18
Episode 3 of Season 2 feature a conversation between myself and Chris and Brian from Rack-A-Tiers Tools, A Canadian-based tool company. Rack-A-Tiers Tools is engaging in conversations with inventors and inventive thinkers for a series they call "Inventor's Corner." They reached out to me to have a conversation about how some of us are elevating the conversation about mastery on social media. I was happy to sit down with these two and we had a great talk. Hope you enjoy! Find Rack-A-Tiers Tools o...
Apr 16, 2020•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 17
When we think about a stable career in our modern society, it's usually something that is consistent, that builds over time and most folks agree that it's a safe bet. The trades could be seen as a stable career. But what happens when that stable career is no longer stable due to something like the coronavirus pandemic that has left millions without gainful employment? In times like these, we have to get creative and look into our bag of tricks in order to reimagine what a "stable career" means. ...
Apr 15, 2020•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 16
In the past few months, our country has undergone some dramatic changes. Many people are without work due to the COVID 19 pandemic and some are in much worse shape. At times like this, it's important to take stock in the good things in your life, practice gratitude and begin to look at your ability to shift, pivot or change direction. Adaptability is the topic of this episode of the Modern Electrician Podcast. In this 1st Episode of our 2nd season, I sit down with Chris from Lower 48 Instruments...
Apr 14, 2020•46 min•Ep. 15
In this episode, I chat with the one and only @nysparky914. This guy's been doing it for 17 years and comes from a long line of tradespeople. We alk about everything from turning nothing into something, our love for the game and staying focused and motivated. This episode has something for everyone. Hope you enjoy it. Please subscribe to the podcast if you like what you hear and follow @modern_electrician on IG.
Mar 01, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 14
Lumen Brothers Electric Company is only 2 1/2 weeks old but so much has changed in my day to day life. Everything from my schedule to my focus to my outlook on owning a business VS having a job. In this episode, I touch on all 3 of those topics and how they’ve changed for me over the past 2.5 weeks. This is a short episode. Wanted to touch base and get the ball rolling on the podcast again.
Feb 05, 2020•17 min•Ep. 11
Running your own company is a challenging, multifaceted thing to attempt. One of the hardest parts is finding a way to let your customers know that you're there. To learn more about this, I reached out to the good people at Kango Media. Freddy was kind enough to talk me through everything from Search Engine Optimization to using Google My Business to be seen in the search engines. We discussed Vanity Metrix, the importance of owning your marketing channels and a lot more. Hopefully this talk is ...
Jan 21, 2020•59 min•Ep. 10
The Master / Apprentice relationship is deeply explored in this episode featuring one of my favorite electricians. We go off the deep end with my good buddy Foxtrot on Episode 9! Enjoy!
Jan 16, 2020•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 9
Every now and again, someone comes along and changes your life for the better. They're sincere, open and constructive and their friendship makes you want other friendships to do the same thing. Today's guest is one of those people. Ian and I have been friends since 2012 and his friendship has helped me become a better person. He also travels to schools in Toronto (where he lives) to speak with kids about mental health. He's a comedian, a city planner, a speaker, a dad and a husband. He's also go...
Jan 01, 2020•54 min•Ep. 7
Organization is a totally underrated element in the quest for mastery, in my opinion. It makes us more efficient and more professional but I've seen so many unorganized tradespeople in my time that I thought it would be worth while to chat with someone who can put all of it into perspective for us. Today, I spoke with Gabriel Pinchev, the CEO of a business management software called Fieldpulse. Gabe was kind enough to lend us some time today to discuss how new advancements in tech can help us in...
Dec 26, 2019•54 min•Ep. 6
In episode 5, I get into the importance of honoring our creative impulses as well as balancing our creative lives with our personal lives. The road to Mastery is filled with so many different things that we have to pay attention to in order to realize our true potential. Honoring your creative urges and following your heart is just one of many skills to develop. We also have to remain balanced in our lives in order to Master, not only our passions, but our everyday lives and relationships as wel...
Dec 24, 2019•1 hr•Ep. 5
It's one thing to learn a trade. It's another thing entirely to take what you've learned and execute it daily in a manner that sets you apart from the rest of the pack. I saw a post on my friend Steve "Hoosier Sparky's" page one day that stuck with me (it's actually a quote from St. Francis os Assisi). It said something to the tune of "He who works with his hands is a laborer. He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman. He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an ar...
Dec 17, 2019•21 min•Ep. 4
Hey everyone, it’s your favorite electrician Doug here with episode 1 of my podcast. It’s called, of course, Modern Electrician. This episode is an introduction to me, a bit of who I am, where I’m coming from and why I’ve decided to create this podcast. Please subscribe, spread the word, and enjoy the show.
Dec 03, 2019•10 min•Ep. 1
