Conversations with Larry Motley

Today we’d like to introduce you to Larry Motley, Jr.

Hi Larry, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
We started as a small heating and air-conditioning contractor in the mid-2000s. An early chance encounter introduced us to geothermal heating and cooling systems, or more correctly, ground-source heat pumps. That discovery nurtured a real interest in us to offer our clients “better.”

Since then, we have fully embraced building science, including storm resilient building, passive survivability, net-zero energy use systems, and independent energy production. Through ongoing education we discovered homes operate as interdependent systems which led us to the conclusion we needed to expand out-licensing in order to offer total home solutions to clients.

Today, we are a full-service mechanical, electrical, plumbing, septic, and residential building firm, and self-perform all work. This allows us to look at a home holistically and develop value-based trade-offs for our clients, and control end-to-end quality. Our goal is to help homeowners achieve a high-performing home while minimizing first costs.

Moving forward, our earnest desire is to offer a better home to clients.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Haha, smooth road? Any small business owner can attest it is never a smooth road.

For us, the challenges presented to small businesses were only complicated in 2016 when one of the principals was deployed overseas to support Operation Inherent Resolve. He serves as a logistics officer with more than two decades of real-world experience. The military deployment lasted for almost an entire year which placed a significant strain on our small staff.

That being said, our dedicated team pulled together and we successfully navigated the loss of a critical member. The lesson learned from this experience was to develop people and build in redundancy.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Although we perform all electrical, plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning repairs, and installations, we really specialize and enjoy delivering high-efficient and sustainable technologies. Specifically, ground-source heat pumps, radiant heated floors, air-source heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, and PV solar systems.

We are best known for being a veteran-owned and led a local small business. We believe we have better people, better products, and better solutions. Specifically, we think our people are better because we recruit and retain employees based on service to people attitude and high standards of performance adopted from our military experiences. Our organization is led by combat veterans who nurture a positive and inclusive culture with high morals and ethics which is reflected in our open, honest, and transparent customer interactions.

Also, we are a learning organization, humble enough to acknowledge we are not perfect, and honest enough to make right any mistake or oversight we make. We think our products are better because, when possible, we buy American-made products from industry leaders and other local or veteran-owned small businesses. Finally, we think our solutions are better because we always provide our clients with options empowering them with choice and convenience.

We are most proud of the training center of excellence. We have a first-class training program for all employees. Many people looking to get into the trades pay tens of thousands of dollars to go to school. Once employed, nearly all contractors just throw people into the mix and expect them to figure it out. At our firm, we provide more than 100 hours of paid above-industry-standard technical training per year.

At a personal level, we feel this is simply the right thing to do in order to set our people up for success, at the business level it is an investment to ensure our clients get better people!

Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
I have been very fortunate in that throughout my life, senior people have offered me mentorship.

I think much of that is attributed to having a can-do attitude, and an earnest desire to learn. That often attracts people to want to help you. If you do not have a mentor, I would recommend doing research into your field of interest, don’t be shy to reach out to individuals you can learn from, and ask for help, advice, or just open dialogue.

You will be surprised how often and how much people are willing to help you.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.ushpg.com
• Facebook: facebook.com/HomePerformanceGroup/
• Other: www.ushpg.com/knowledge_center/