Building Real Businesses with Brian House from Mike Holt Enterprises

The Power of Intentionality: Millions Made, Lessons Learned with Brian House

In this episode of The 360 Electrician Podcast, Jeff sits down with Brian House, Vice President of Mike Holt Enterprises and former highly successful electrical contractor. Brian pulls back the curtain on the real story behind building, losing, and rebuilding multimillion‑dollar electrical businesses.

He sums it up simply:

“I have made millions of dollars, and I have lost millions of dollars. You're only a winner if you made more than you lost.”

Together, Jeff and Brian break down the biggest mistakes electrical contractors make and how to run your business with absolute intentionality instead of chasing the next shiny object.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The “One Thing a Month” Rule

  • How Brian fixed a broken electrical contracting business by choosing one critical thorn in his side each month
  • Real examples: invoicing, material procurement, truck layouts, and more
  • Why focusing on one theme for 30 days outperforms trying to fix everything at once

• The Reality of Software, Apps, and Tools

  • Why stacking 10–20 software subscriptions destroys your ROI
  • The danger of forcing old habits into brand‑new estimating or project management tools
  • How to choose technology that actually supports your field operations and profit margins

• Beating “Perfection Paralysis” in Your Electrical Business

  • Why an imperfect job done today by your team is better than a “perfect” job done by you that never happens
  • How to let go of control, delegate, and still maintain quality
  • The mindset shift every growing electrical contractor must make to scale past being the “army of one”

• Managing the Two Ultimate Scarcities: Cash & Labor

  • How to calculate the true return on investment (ROI) for big decisions
  • When it makes sense to upgrade your fleet, buy new tools, or invest in systems
  • How to think about tools and processes that reduce injuries, downtime, and worker’s comp exposure

• From Reactionary to Intentional Leadership

  • The trap most 1–15 person electrical shops fall into
  • How to stop running your company on emotion and start leading with data and discipline
  • Practical steps to move from “putting out fires” to building a resilient, profitable contracting business

Who this episode is for

• Electrical contractors running small to midsize shops
• Solo “army of one” electricians ready to grow a team
• Field electricians thinking about starting their own business
• Any contractor who feels stuck, overworked, and underpaid

Connect with Mike Holt Enterprises

• Website: mikeholt.com 
• Questions about code, estimating, or business management?
  • Email Brian: [email protected]
  • Email Mike: [email protected]
    They actually answer their own emails.

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