Yes, We Are Open!

Saunders Electric

Episode Summary

Episode 2, Season 1: Saunders Electric Prince Albert, Saskatchewan Saunders Electric is a family operation through and through, so we connected with them to learn their secrets to juggling commitments to a booming business while continuing to support each other. Their future looks brighter than ever with construction projects booming once again, but is a passing of the torch in the cards for the family patriarch? Listen now to find out.

Episode Notes

You can learn more about Saunders Electric at saunderselectricltd.ca.

Episode Transcription

Al Grego:

Hello, everyone. I'm Al Grego. And this is the Yes, We Are Open podcast.

Speaker 2:

Good afternoon from the flight deck, this is your captain speaking. I'd like to accept and welcome aboard [inaudible 00:00:25] Express 86192 service to Saskatoon. Apologize for the delay [crosstalk 00:00:32]-

Al Grego:

Today, I'm on a flight to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to record some stories for the podcast. I'm not going to lie, I'm a little excited to travel. It's been far too long thanks to this pandemic, but also this will be my first time west of Ontario. I've been east a bunch of times to Quebec and the Maritimes, but never west. So I'm really looking forward to seeing a different part of the country.

Al Grego:

I wasn't sure what to expect traveling during the pandemic, but for the most part it's been fine. Everyone is masked and the majority have been vaccinated. Luckily, it's only a three-hour flight. I'm not sure I would enjoy it as much if I were on a six to seven hour flight to Europe. On landing in Saskatoon, I check in for the night so I can get an early start to my first destination, which is about an hour and a half north of Saskatoon called Prince Albert.

Al Grego:

Built on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River, Prince Albert is the province's third largest city with a population of just under 36,000. The city earned the nickname the Gateway to the North due to the fact that it's the last major center along the route to the rich resources of Northern Saskatchewan. The region is one of the richest areas in the province for agriculture, but the town is also heavily reliant on its government service sector, which accounts for 11% of the workforce. There are three prisons in Prince Albert; the Prince Albert Correctional Center, the Pine Grove Correctional Center for Women, and the Saskatchewan Federal Penitentiary. But it's the area's rich natural resources including lumber, uranium, and diamonds, that tell me this could be Canada's next boom town.

Al Grego:

But it's not just me saying this. Don Saunders Jr. agrees. Don is the owner of Saunders Electric Limited and they're the subject of today's story.

Brittany Saunders:

Hi, Al.

Al Grego:

Hi. How's is going?

Brittany Saunders:

Good. How are you?

Al Grego:

Good, good, good.

Brittany Saunders:

Yeah. Welcome to Prince Albert.

Al Grego:

That's Brittany Saunders, daughter of Don Jr. and Delores Saunders. She's welcomed me into their shop, a modest building located just off Second Avenue West, one of the main roads running through Prince Albert. Brittany leads me around the front counter past some offices into the back where there are racks of electrical parts everywhere and a table where employees sit for lunch or to do paperwork. This is where I set up shop for the day. But before the interviews can start, I get to witness some of the day-to-day business that happens at Saunders Electric.

Don Saunders Jr.:

So what's happening is it got overrun by [inaudible 00:03:13]

Al Grego:

Someone drops off an electric motor for repair. Don Jr. receives it, but the conversation quickly turns to the year's potato crop yield.

Don Saunders Jr.:

How are the potato's looking?

Speaker 5:

Really good.

Don Saunders Jr.:

Really good?

Speaker 5:

Yeah.

Don Saunders Jr.:

How far is our [inaudible 00:03:26]? Right?

Al Grego:

You immediately get the sense that Saunders Electric isn't just a business in Prince Albert. It's part of the fabric that makes up the community along with the other well-established family businesses in the area. And this level of comfort and trust is well earned from 65 years of family tradition, as we're about to learn.

Don Saunders Jr.:

I'm Don Saunders Jr., owner of Saunders Electric in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. Basically been running the company since the late '80s. And actually got into the trade early '80s. In the time, there was big labor troubles that time, but that's when dad yelled help and I got into it.

Al Grego:

You mentioned your dad. So he's the original owner of the company?

Don Saunders Jr.:

Yeah. Well, yeah, Saunders Electric was started in 195... I'm going to say '55. I know became a limited company in 1956.

Al Grego:

Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Al Grego:

The story of Don Jr.'s father is a fascinating one that could fill its own podcast. Essentially, Don Sr. was a tail gunner on Lancaster bombers in World War II. Picture a large plane with a bubble with guns in the tail facing the opposite direction. That's where Don Sr. sat. The amazing part of this story was that Don Sr. survived two plane crashes, likely on account of where he sat in the plane. Most of the rest of his crew weren't so lucky. Despite evading death on two occasions, Don Sr. continued to fly missions before returning to Canada and starting his family and business.

Don Saunders Jr.:

Dad never talked about it. Never heard anything about it until I worked for him. And that's when I was sent out to go fix car plugs when it's 35 below.

Al Grego:

Yeah.

Don Saunders Jr.:

And I'd come back and go, "Holy Christ. Is it ever cold? This is no good for me." And he'd say, "Well, you try sitting in a bomber for 10 hours in 44 below weather. Okay?" So, all right. So then you're down doing stove plugs. So of course then that time I'm, "Oh, my knees hurt." "Oh, you just tried kneeling in the back of a bomber for 10 hours." Okay?

Al Grego:

You're just never going to win an argument with him.

Don Saunders Jr.:

Yeah. No.

Don Saunders Jr.:

As a kid, I used to follow dad around, come down to the shop after school. Once I became teenager, go help the crew after schools, make a little extra money. And that was just following him around, I guess, for all the years and working with different electricians. And that's the same thing my son's going through now, is he's working with a bunch of different electricians.

Don Saunders Jr.:

With the business, I didn't know much other than PA was busy. Dad had a lot on the go. When I got into it, dad was unwinding. He was turning down stuff and he was basically saying, "Too busy. Not enough manpower," was kind of his tune.

Al Grego:

Was it always a given that you were going to take over from your dad?

Don Saunders Jr.:

My truth, we [inaudible 00:06:04] is I was in grade 11 summer holidays working at Leisure Sports when dad was a union shop and his men all went on strike, and the drywallers were all waiting to drywall. And he phoned me up and said, "Help." And basically, when the end of summer hit, dad came to me with [inaudible 00:06:21] papers for trade school. High school or trade school? So I went to trade school. And I think I had the thing that I was going to take this over. And then, this has turned into a real family business. Of course, you know Brittany and my wife, Delores.

Delores Saunders:

My name is Delores Saunders and I am married to Don, the owner. We have been married for upcoming 34 years. I met Don when I was 16. And Don has been working with his father beside him since I recall high school. Don never graduated. He got called to trade school and went to work for his dad because it was busy and there was a shortage. Don then went back to school and got his GED and did get his grade 12. And he was a journeyman electrician at the age of 22. And then, we got married. And shortly after that, we took over the business.

Don Saunders Jr.:

Back then, I had a bookkeeper and she took a job with SaskTel. And Delores was pregnant with Quentin. And I said, "Why don't you leave there, come down here." So basically, and then that's when Delores wound up coming to work here. And then of course, Quentin was born and I needed a bookkeeper. So she came back in with him in his car seat.

Delores Saunders:

I came in and I started organizing the office, and learning the computer, and making bills, and paying the vendors, and taking calls as they came in, and doing all that kind of stuff.

Al Grego:

And sometimes you'd bring the kids into work with you?

Delores Saunders:

Yes, yes. I was very fortunate. They enjoyed coming here, especially Quentin. He tinkered around. He was very good and learnt. I guess you learn what you live.

Quentin Saunders:

So I'm Quentin Saunders, Don and Delores' son here at Saunders Electric, third generation electrician. Every day after school, I started really early on. Even before I was in school, I'd be at the shop. Everyone tells me I was about three days old in mom's office while she's doing paperwork, and spent lots of time here growing up, getting in all kinds of trouble.

Delores Saunders:

And the other girls, they did a little bit of housekeeping around here. And they would answer the phone and they were right in it.

Brittany Saunders:

My name is Brittany Saunders. I'm Don and Delores Saunders' daughter. I remember coming into this shop that we're working out of today when I maybe was three or four. And my grandpa actually, who was the original owner and founder of Saunders Electric, would teach me how to strip wire. And I'd make sunglasses, and bracelets, and all kinds of contraptions.

Al Grego:

Did you know at the time that raising young kids in and around a small business that you'd actually be giving them an entrepreneurial education?

Delores Saunders:

Had no idea. Brittany is very good. She's been very helpful and she's very computer smart.

Brittany Saunders:

I remember when I was younger for example, if it was like a day off from school, I would always help my mom match up POs, like purchase orders, from our suppliers. And I would lick envelopes. Some days I'd have like 150 envelopes that would need to get sent out.

Al Grego:

Did you always want to be an electrician when you were a kid?

Quentin Saunders:

It was an idea in my head. And a lot of people told me, "Oh, you got to do it," but I didn't really have an expectation to become an electrician. It was just kind of a give me I guess. As I grew up, it fell in my lap and it was something that I was here to do.

Delores Saunders:

We built a new home in 2005. Quentin was seven years old. He had wired a cardboard house he had made in our basement. And he had wired it. He had receptacles and light switches in it.

Al Grego:

Good. Wow.

Delores Saunders:

He was so proud of it. I was so proud of him, but I did say to him, "You know, you're going to have to take it apart because you're going to burn down our house."

Quentin Saunders:

I have other things I like to do outside the trade, but-

Al Grego:

What were your other interests?

Quentin Saunders:

Hunting and fishing. I like... Well, I enjoy them so much I went and guided for multiple years outside of high school. So I've guided in Northern Saskatchewan on various lakes.

Don Saunders Jr.:

And now, we got Quentin who's worked with my electricians over the years. And then he finally apprenticed and went guiding. And right now, I'm not... We basically told him, "Get your ticket, then you've got it always." If something goes sideways, you can go get a trade job, which I'm not sure which way he's heading now. I think if the American tourists come back, he might be up guiding again. Life's better floating around in a boat.

Al Grego:

Right.

Don Saunders Jr.:

Getting tips from Americans.

Al Grego:

If you see Quentin one day taking over like you did?

Don Saunders Jr.:

Possibly. That's what I think is going to be guiding the business.

Al Grego:

Up next. Saunders Electric is in great hands with Don Jr., Delores, and the kids at the helm. What happens to a family business when it's hit with family tragedy? Stay tuned to find out.

Al Grego:

You're listening to Yes, We Are Open. With Saunders Electric now solely under the ownership of Don Saunders Jr., business was beginning to grow steadily. After some shrewd maneuvering and bidding, and with the retirement of one of his competitors, he was growing his crew and winning some large contracts A&W, Anderson Motors, and a kitchen renovation at the Federal Penitentiary. It seemed Don's biggest problem was getting enough guys to do the work, but then a confluence of events caused all three projects to run at the same time. Now, Don's staffing issue also became a scheduling issue. Still, not the worst problem to have, but then tragedy hits the Saunders family.

Al Grego:

So let's... I mean, this podcast is about business struggle and then how you guys overcame it. So let's talk about a time where you hit a bit of a struggle. You and Delores were running a company and raising a family. And something happened during that, that kind of put that in the big jeopardy. Can you talk about it?

Don Saunders Jr.:

Oh, there was just a couple three big ones, but... One would be my son, which there was... My son keeps coming up. From my wife starting here when my son was being born and she had a few complications, so that helped, sitting here rather than standing on her feet. I wound up having three projects all at the same time. This one finishing up. They got the foundation here and... Or started framing here, but then it rained. So it wound up that these two were supposed to be staged and they're both at the same time.

Al Grego:

Yeah.

Don Saunders Jr.:

So then, I had bought a boat and went up to dad's cabin for a wiener roast. And of course, that's... I heard Brittany telling the story of when Quentin stepped in the fire.

Brittany Saunders:

My older sister and myself would have been, I don't know what grade we would have been in, but I guess probably like kindergarten or grade one. My dad had just bought a brand new boat. And so, our family was excited to go just about 25, 30 minutes north to Christopher Lake to spend the evening and have a campfire hotdog roast and go try out our new boat. My sister and I were so excited to go for a tube. And so I remember being in the tube, probably chanting at my dad to like, get ripping or get going because we were excited to have some thrill or adrenaline. And next thing I know, my sister and I were kind of just floating in the tube, and my dad had panicked and long jumped out of the boat.

Delores Saunders:

And our little son who, Quentin, was not quite two at the time, was playing around by the boat lift and he backed into a campfire.

Brittany Saunders:

I think my brother had tripped on a boat winch and fell into this campfire that actually had burnt out, but the coals were still really hot. And the embers from a fire of the coals actually burn hotter than the flame itself. So I just remember my dad almost long jumping out of this boat. It almost felt like the boat was left just floating in the water. And my sister and I were just sitting there. And next thing, my parents were gone, and my grandparents were like, "So your parents have taken your brother to the hospital." And we stayed at my grandparents for the evening.

Al Grego:

What do you remember about the accident?

Quentin Saunders:

Nothing. I don't remember anything about it. I was not even two years old at the time. It was actually I believe a week and a half before my second birthday, and spent my birthday in the hospital from what I understand. July long weekend.

Delores Saunders:

That was June 30th. We came home like mid September.

Al Grego:

Wow.

Don Saunders Jr.:

Of course, he wound up in Saskatoon Hospital. So Delores was gone to Saskatoon. I had these 12 guys that needed to go to her everyday, which turned into a real interesting summer of... Even Delores did payroll. How do you do payroll? You know? So that's as I remember is she came back on every second Thursday to write paychecks. But he wound up... He was in Saskatoon Hospital for a little while.

Delores Saunders:

We had 12 staff working. I wasn't able to be in the office. Our girls were taken care of by family.

Brittany Saunders:

Just remember lots of that summer getting fast food and going to Saskatoon to see my brother and mom in the hospital, and staying with my different aunties while my brother was in the children's ward at the hospital in Saskatoon.

Al Grego:

Mm-hmm (affirmative). So while Don was here running the business...

Delores Saunders:

I was in Saskatoon, in the hospital with him.

Al Grego:

For four months? Three months?

Delores Saunders:

Three months. My girls were at... My sister-in-laws were very helpful. Grandma. We were very lucky because I don't know how we would have done it otherwise.

Al Grego:

You had a very strong support system.

Delores Saunders:

Yes, yes. Oh my goodness. Yeah.

Delores Saunders:

And we did it. It's amazing what you can do and accomplish with the help and where everybody comes together to do things. Our staff were very understanding. Everybody was very understanding.

Al Grego:

Coming out of that, how long did it take for Quentin to recover?

Delores Saunders:

Well, because he was so young, he recovered quite quickly. He was strong, tough little guy. He had skin grafting. And actually, his skin was the color of a beet.

Al Grego:

How extensive were your injuries?

Quentin Saunders:

Yeah. There were third degree burns covering, I don't know what you'd say it would be like, a quarter of my body, like leg, burns on my hand, back of my legs, stuff like that. The clothes I was wearing melted into my skin and they had to clean that all out. Like, third degree burns are pretty bad.

Delores Saunders:

We had amazing doctors and they took care of it really well. And you know what? It's healed really well. And you know what? We grew with it. We look at it and it doesn't even flinch on us anymore.

Quentin Saunders:

The doctors were always worried about like how because I was two years old growing into my older years, that as body grows, that they would have do work and everything. But with the sports, and activities, and being able to still move and operate normally didn't affect in any way. The people didn't even notice it about me until I pointed it out, and didn't really let it affect me. It probably changed the way I grew up. But...

Al Grego:

Yeah? How so?

Quentin Saunders:

I don't know. It just... Like everyone said, Danger is my middle name. I wasn't really too scared of much. I was always intrigued in different things and different... I don't know. I just get myself into trouble.

Al Grego:

Sounds like he became bit of a thrill seeker after.

Delores Saunders:

Yeah. Oh yeah. For sure. Yeah. It was very hard on Don. I think he felt guilty that he wasn't able to be with us 24/7, but you can't when you have your own business. It don't work like that. And we all pulled together to get through it. Even though I know it was tough on Don, I've seen the struggles.

Don Saunders Jr.:

Like I say, that was the major calamity and I'm amazed we survived it. But of course we've got a lot of people in PA we know, being both born and raised here. And a lot of customers that have stuck by us for years. Yeah. So other than that, it's being in business is being in business.

Al Grego:

Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Al Grego:

Coming up after the break, we find out what the future holds for Saunders Electric.

Mat Belanger:

This podcast is sponsored by Moneris. As a business owner, change comes at you fast. That's why Moneris is right by your side as you innovate and adapt so you can get paid. With solutions for businesses of all shapes and sizes, we're proud to help Canadians like you achieve their goals. From online, in-store, curbside and pickup solutions, Moneris is there to help your business succeed every step of the way. To talk to one of our business advisors, call 1-866-Moneris, or visit Moneris.com.

Al Grego:

Welcome back to Yes, We Are Open. Don Jr. and Delores Saunders suffered every parent's nightmare. Their young son severely burned in an accident, throwing the family into turmoil. Delores staying by her son's side in the Saskatoon Hospital and the daughters being taken care of by their aunts, grandparents. All this, while Don Jr is frantically trying to keep their family business alive. In the end, thanks to the strength of their family and community, they were able to survive the ordeal and perhaps even come back stronger.

Al Grego:

That was a long time ago. Saunders Electric has since recovered nicely. Not even the pandemic has slowed them down. Now, the question turns to the future.

Al Grego:

What does the outlook look like for Saunders Electric? What does the future look like right now?

Don Saunders Jr.:

Well, I think it's going to open up or keep going, and it's just a matter of getting that flow back.

Al Grego:

Yeah.

Don Saunders Jr.:

But I can't see a problem with the business. It's just getting through this COVID time.

Delores Saunders:

We are busy. We're very busy. Like, I'm sure you have heard we could hire probably four more staff and employ them. I think there's a lot to do.

Quentin Saunders:

Yeah. So in the area, like just recently, there's been a lot of new, big projects released, which we might not get the big project, but we'll get a lot of the runoff projects, either be sub-trades or just like... You know? You build a hospital, you're attracting your doctors, doctors build new houses. We're an electrical contractor where we can wire their new house, or they start building new developments, and restaurants start moving and building, and grocery stores started building, and you need that infrastructure. And that's just runoff from the bigger things in the community that can make a company look for more employees and hire more local people. Right?

Brittany Saunders:

We're really feeling like we're ready to hit the ground running. And that's... There's so much popularity and demand for services around Northern Saskatchewan that people are coming to us as a credible business for the service. So I think the future is bright. I would say just over the past year, we've saw a huge increase in the amount of inbound leads and requests we're getting through our Google My Business, our Facebook page, or our website. And it's all really exciting because those people are wanting work and it includes... Yeah. Like, right now it's generators, backup power systems. And [inaudible 00:22:19] links for people's cabins, farms, or homes is a really popular thing. And I basically keep myself busy around the clock, just providing people with answers on what size of a service they need, what's the best option for their installation.

Al Grego:

Is it your hope one day to take over the family business?

Quentin Saunders:

Yeah, one day. I think there's something to improve here and there's goals and stuff that I've got in my head. I definitely would take over the business, but I know my parents run it right now and I just try to put my opinion into it and try to help them out as much as I can.

Brittany Saunders:

Quentin really knows how he wants to take the company. And I think even though today there's some resistance to fully digitizing the business, I think we're really kind of at this knuckle turning point where we've been promoting the change, trying to implement the change, having some resistance to change, but day-to-day, just the requests of the customers is making us need to adapt.

Delores Saunders:

So we are getting older. I guess within probably the next 10 years. I don't want to retire too soon, but unfortunately it's coming. We're hoping one day Quentin will takeover. Actually, now that he's a journeyman, he's got to learn now the business parts, the estimating, quoting, dealing with the customer complaints, or whatever they may be. And when that is all said and done, we'll feel free that we can leave and leave him in charge and still be close by to help him out if he has any questions.

Al Grego:

So if Quentin decides that it's what he wants to do, take over, how do you feel about that?

Don Saunders Jr.:

I think it'd be fine. It's...

Al Grego:

What does that mean to you?

Don Saunders Jr.:

Well, I guess it all depends on the exit strategy. I guess, and it'd be the way it's set. But of course, would somebody want to come buy the business from me and give me some money towards retirement rather than your son, how far do you go to set him up for his run at it is kind of the whole trick of, I guess, any business. It's the exit strategy on the business. Prince Albert's gone from nine contractors to 40. And that's-

Al Grego:

Yeah, it's a lot of competition.

Don Saunders Jr.:

Yeah. That is. Yeah. And that's around every lake, around every small town.

Al Grego:

Yeah. But I mean, I know that there's not much room for sentimentality in business, but at the same time, this is the company your dad started. And now, if your son came to you and said, "I want to take it over."

Don Saunders Jr.:

Yeah. See if we make it a hundred years.

Al Grego:

Exactly. You know?

Don Saunders Jr.:

Yeah. No. If he wants to do this, yeah, there's an avenue for it.

Quentin Saunders:

You can be an electrician and you can pay attention to details, or you can be an electrician and just get the job done. Right?

Al Grego:

Sure.

Quentin Saunders:

And our best interest, being a family operated company, is that we're not just here to get your job done. We're here for quality. And we've been around. We have a reputation and we try to take care of that.

Delores Saunders:

Saunders Electric has fed and taken care of our family of five along with all of our employees. So we have been very careful and we've managed to look after each other, which is really good.

Al Grego:

That's the story of Saunders Electric. A family run business can often supplant a home as the foundation upon which the family is built. After all, it's where you spend most of your time and energy, where you celebrate some of your greatest accomplishments and suffer your biggest losses. It's often where you learn your most important life lessons. You pour your heart and soul into it. And in return, it shelters, clothes, and nourishes your family. It's no wonder that when a longstanding business shuts its doors, it can be like losing a family member.

Al Grego:

The tradition of a business being passed down from father to son to grandson is nothing new. And some might say it's becoming extinct. There is no generational wealth here. Only a hard work ethic and a strong sense of community. That seems like something worth passing on to the next generation. Saunders Electric looks to be well on its way to its third generation. And from what I see, it's in good hands.

Al Grego:

Yes, We Are Open is a Moneris Podcast Production. I'd like to thank Don Jr., Delores, Quentin, and Brittany for taking time to share their story. You can learn more about Saunders Electric at saunderselectric.ca. You can also follow them on Facebook and Instagram. For more information about this podcast, visit our site, Yesweareopenpodcast.com. If you'd like to support us, rate us on Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. If you're a Canadian small business owner or know of one with an interesting story of perseverance to tell, I'd love to help tell it. You can contact me at podcast@moneris.com. Tune in next week for another story of small business struggle and survival on the Yes, We Are Open podcast. I'm Al Grego. Thank you for listening.