A Message From Jack Arnold
Labor Day has passed, which means another summer is almost behind us. This year at Arnold Electric, we’re celebrating the holiday a little differently. Instead of just taking a day off work and firing up the grill, we’re going to reflect on why this is the work we chose to do!
My name is Jack Arnold and I was born in the town of Harvard, IL in 1982, but the Arnold Electrical Services story begins long before I was even born.
The Origin of Arnold Electric
My dad grew up in Chicago proper, and around junior high he moved to McHenry — my mother’s hometown. Jump forward a few years, they got married and bought a home a few miles north in Johnsburg. That’s where I grew up.
My father founded the original Arnold Electrical Services around the time I was born, but by the time I hit high school the business had been dissolved. When I turned 18, as far as I was concerned, following my father’s footsteps into the electrical world wasn’t even an option.
What I really wanted to be was a chef. By my senior year of high school I had already put in time at a few kitchens as a cook and worked my way up to sous-chef, but had a change of heart when I realized the long nights and weekends didn’t line up with my plans to raise a family.
Immediately after graduating, I started a job as a “summer helper” doing electrical work on a residential housing project and had no idea it was laying the groundwork for the rest of my career.
When summer ended, I worked part time driving the Zamboni at our local ice rink and took a couple semesters of community college classes, but I (almost reluctantly) ended up back in the family business.
And I wouldn’t change any of it for the world – not even after founding the current iteration of Arnold Electric in the middle of the worst recession America had seen in nearly a century.
A New Beginning
I made less than $10,000 that first year and barely stayed afloat for nearly a decade, but in 2017, I attended a weeklong business training class in Texas that changed my life forever.
In less than a month, I had reworked my entire business model, eliminating all commercial and industrial work to focus on one thing: residential electrical services.
That’s when I found my true purpose. By becoming specialists in homes — particularly the kind of old homes found throughout Chicagoland — it was an opportunity to work directly with people to improve their lives.
It also empowered me to change impressions of skilled labor by bringing more humanity and a personal touch to every project.
You see, when it comes to tradespeople, most of us are great at the trade part… but lacking in the people area. By reimagining what electrical services can even be, Arnold Electric was able to become a business that provides great service and educates our clients about services as well!
At Arnold Electrical Services, we pride ourselves in knowing that even if the homes we visit don’t select us for their repairs and maintenance, we’ve armed them with the knowledge to make the best decisions about what repairs they need in a way that fits their budget.
And we look forward to doing the same for you! Please contact our office if you have questions or need electrical services.
