Today we’d like to introduce you to Larry DiFoggio.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
The company was founded in 1973, yet the idea for DiFoggio Electric started at a sixth-grade science fair. I took apart and reassembled a combustion engine. It was there I discovered my passion as a “builder” and for all things electrical. Even as a kid I was fiercely independent. I knew one day, I’d own a business. A lot happened between sixth grade and starting the company. The short version is that after graduating Technical Trade School, I served in the United States Army. After my military discharge, I obtained my Journeyman and then Master Electrician licenses. I worked for several electrical contractors, got married and with my wife Andrea at my side, we started and have built DiFoggio Electric to a team of talented electrical tradesmen and seven trucks in the field.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
If I said business ownership is easy, I wouldn’t be telling the truth. Every business faces challenges some that will bolt you awake at 3:00 am in a cold sweat. In the early years, we faced what most businesses do. Employees quit. You lose a bid. It comes with the territory. I keep things in perspective. No problem compares to what I saw in Vietnam on a year and a half Tour of Duty. I also credit my wife Andrea who heads up internal operations. She keeps me grounded. No pun intended. Andrea has a secret sauce and the ability to reframe a problem into a positive. There have been countless Saturday morning strategy sessions over coffee at the kitchen table since 1973. We’re a strong team. I’m grateful for where I’ve been, where I am and where DiFoggio Electric is heading.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
DiFoggio Electric is a full service electrical contracting company serving the residential and commercial markets. Although, I’ve reverse engineered the process. The question is always, “If I were a customer, would I hire DiFoggio Electric and why?” We don’t tell customers how good we are, we show them. It’s that simple and it’s that complex. I’ve staked my company’s reputation on those principles.
If I had one piece of advice for your readers it’s, “Not all electricians are created equal.”
Electricity surrounds us. It’s a complex science. Everyone can appreciate beautiful lighting design and fixtures. Yet people don’t realize what they can’t see behind the wall impacts safety. Be it for a commercial project or when your kids and grandkids put their head on the pillow at night, safety is job one.
We’ve lost jobs because the builder selected solely on price. Time and again, a contractor will low ball the estimate to get the work. They get in over their head, figure out they’re losing money and they vanish. This holds up a job and that costs money. Every. Single. Time. DiFoggio Electric gets the ‘call’ to pick up where others left the builder or customer holding the bag.
In fact, the demand has been so high, we’ve added an Electrical Consulting service that addresses estimating accuracy from the project outset. This proprietary process identifies trouble spots others miss. Builders and customers know what to expect from the start instead of surprise cost overruns mid-job and lost time that blow the bottom line.
Yet an electrical contracting firm is one part electrical expertise, one part the team that performs the work. When I started DiFoggio Electric I envisioned a company that raised the industry standards for the quality of electrical work and employee conditions. In the early 1970s electrical contractors didn’t provide health insurance, paid vacation, tuition reimbursement, take home trucks or 401k benefits. DiFoggio Electric offers these incentives because we want to give trade professionals the environment to realize their potential. At DiFoggio Electric, our team is ‘family.’ It’s a career, not a job and one a robot will never replace.
We work at addresses like The Millennium Towers, in Beacon Hill’s Louisburg Sq., the Fan Pier’s Twenty-Two Liberty and with prominent Builder and Architecture firms throughout New England.
My wife Andrea and I are proud of what we’ve built. Customers reward DiFoggio Electric with loyalty that spans three generations. In fact, our employees show the same loyalty, Mike Iodice started as an apprentice and now he’s a Master Electrician. The business is growing. We’re excited to be recruiting talent and grooming a new breed of electricians. Eddie Stack, our Director of Operations is like a son. It’s where my four decades of compounded electrical trade experience meets the next generation. I value the team of Master Electricians, Journeymen and Electrical Apprentices at DiFoggio Electric. We couldn’t do what we do without them. They are the reason DiFoggio Electric is known as Electrical Contractors Beyond Ordinary.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Ask ten people what has been most important to his/her success, you’ll get ten different answers. Hard work. Determination. Excelling at your craft. Sleepless nights. It’s all of that and more. A company reflects the owner’s personality. The smaller the company, the stronger the reflection. I’ve been called a perfectionist. And we don’t tell customers how good we are, we show them. It’s that simple and it’s that complex.
Contact Info:
- Address: 30 Riverdale Avenue, Suite One. Newton MA 02458
- Website: www.difoggioelectric.com
- Phone: 617.527.3296
- Email: info@difoggioelectric.com
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
