Today we’d like to introduce you to Zach Weeks.
Zach, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
One Stop Electric was established late 2025 by long time friends Zach Weeks & Nick Janowski. One Stop Electric is essentially a love child between two buddies formed through years of struggle, endurance, grit, pain, failures, success’s and an overarching desire for peace, happiness, and meaning.
Nick was born in Alaska and moved with his family to Seaside, OR at 12, where he attended school and watched his parents John and Joan open JJ Electric. Over the years as Nick grew up he watched his parents take JJ electric from a one man electrical shop. Into what became and still is today one of the most reputable electrical contractors on the coast (JJ Electric was sold in roughly 2024 and his parents retired). Growing up Nick became an avid weightlifter (on the lifting team in HS), and exceptional guitarist and musician. Nick is a father to two children, a 17 year old son and 13 year old daughter.
Zach was born in Redmond, WA and moved to Beaverton, OR by the age of 2. Coming from a split home, he watched his single father build a better life through his charisma, strength, and perseverance. Starting with selling door hardware to locksmiths and now a regional sales manager for Motorola. And watched his mother go the opposite direction in life losing everything to drugs and alcohol. Zach’s time was roughly split between both homes, attended Aloha High School played football, golf, track, & cross country. He would find peace in the calm of a golf course and long runs.
Nick & Zach would not meet until 2016 as 2nd year electrical apprentices, during their formative years as young boys/men they would go through various forms of trauma, abuse, hardships, and experiences. Some good, some bad. Which would later become the foundation of their humor, characteristics, friendship, compassion, and desire to help others.
Meeting in 2016 in the Bank of America building as 2nd year apprentices during a tenant improvement. They would unknowingly create a lasting friendship over the next 10 years and extreme conviction in one another. Over those 10 years both worked at a multitude of companies, some relationships ending by choice other’s by failure’s. Along the way they would gather a large array of experiences in the electrical field. And a variety of examples and techniques to running an electrical contracting business. Zach focused more on residential projects such as custom homes, track homes, historic remodel’s, troubleshooting/service, and large residential buildings. Nick spent the majority of his time in large commercial and industrial settings. working on Intel, data centers, retirements homes etc.
In early 2025 Zach quit his job with no plan and a knowing his happiness, advancement, and dreams were dependent on opening a business. Nick found himself out of work with the union due to a slowdown at roughly the same time and set out to get his master electrical license. Mid 2025 a plan was hatched and before the end of the year they would establish One Stop Electric.
They had a goal to take all they’d seen over the last 11 years, good and bad, and to transmute it into a different way to be electrical contractors. Emphasizing compassion, honesty, and a level of fairness that is almost non-existent in the multitude of trade’s and home service providers today. They value people and doing the right thing above all else. Believing every customer has their own unique goals and circumstances. One Stop Electric aims to understand those goals and how best to achieve them under the given circumstances. They are often in people’s homes and face almost every situation you can imagine. Financial hardships. time constraints, health/medical needs, tragedies (loss of loved one’s, cancer, etc.). In these situation’s OSE believes it is a responsibility owed to the community to be human beings first and electricians second. First -compassion, understanding, patience, Second- As electricians use those skills to solve problems, whatever they may be.
Zach & Nick aim to approach the industry differently, and inject it with a level of skill, empathy and fairness it is in desperate need of.
As One Stop Electric Grows it intends to get involved with the community. Informing younger generations of alternative career path’s. And those that come from unfortunate financial/home situations. Or simply do not feel they are thriving in the classroom setting and would like a more hands on means to furthering their education and skills.
The end goal for Zach & Nick is to form a non-profit or charity. Share their story, instill hope in others that may have suffered from abuse. Provide services and opportunity, and a means to overcome various manners of hardship.
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?
We have faced many challenges in the conception of One Stop Electric. Some Known of before and after opening that we would face such as the length of time it takes to get your master electrician license. Which even if you did everything perfectly along the way is a minimum 9 year process since starting as an apprentice. It is one of the most time consuming and difficult achievements amongst all the trades. It is a required component to running a legal, licensed electrical contracting company (plumber start to finish could open a company in 4 years).
There’s the need for capital, to invest in all the necessary tools, vehicle, clothing, insurances, and to function initially before landing work and turning a profit. What a rollercoaster “profit” is initially, we cant snap our fingers and have structures instantaneously built so it comes in waves.
The hands on skills and experience needed to be a full service electrical company is immense. There is so many aspects and possibilities, commercial, residential, industrial, and within those. Further categories, new construction, remodel, troubleshooting/service. One could spend years in a single category learning to perfect your craft. Thankfully we have opposing experience and almost 25 years combined but even then technology is ever advancing. We are constantly learning, and mastering our craft, it is infinite. My advice would be choose the few you want to be exceptional at and then build a team with different strengths so you compliment eachother. Were constantly teaching eachother even as pro’s in our particular niche’s.
Some unknown challenges, there is so many crucial things to having a successful electrical company beyond being a good electrician. We needed to become versed in computer skills, tax, employment, contract law, people skills, psychology, emotional intelligence and marketing. It has been such a wonderful experience being thrown into the fire and having to grow as people.
And the interesting unknowns…. The shear amount of con-artists, scams, and all around shady people. Within 30 days of opening and getting our website online. Nick gets a phone call, guy trying to extort us for $3,000 we did not have and probably spent 2 months prior! (We spent everything getting going, It was success or bankruptcy). Anyways he says we need to give him $3,000 dollars or he was going to smear us online before we could even get off the ground. Im guessing this is a tactic, they find fresh companies, and assume most will pay to avoid the hassle.
Well he found the wrong one, Nick proceeded to say “we dont negotiate with terrorist’s and kick rocks”. I couldn’t have agreed more and plus we didnt have a choice. Well this guy wasn’t bluffing, within 24hrs we had 30-40 “people” bots most likely wed never heard of making false claims and accusations on yelp and facebook. The scammer’s tenacity and ability to deliver was impressive, I believe that ordeal took Nick almost a month to clear up via higher ups at yelp and facebook. That was a completely un-heard of ruse we were not expecting. We also ran into some shady contractors as well starting out, same thing i believe, they target new business and vulnerable home-owners. Its not un-common for general contractors to start some projects, get their 50% down, empty and bankrupt the business. Then start over here or somewhere else.
Our discernment grew tremendously and the necessity to follow your gut was made very apparent in those early months.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
One Stop Electric is an all encompassing electrical contracting company. Whether that is rewiring your kitchen for that new remodel, getting power to your wife’s “she shed/art studio” outback. Middle of the night emergency call cause a breaker is tripped and its powering someone’s oxygen. A tree fell on your service and power is out. Restaurant oven/jacuzzi failure, generator or solar install, new gas station being built, medical office remodel, custom dream home, multifamily dwelling’s. We could go on forever, essentially if it has to do with electricity, were the One Stop. We have made it our life’s work to usher electrons in every sense, and we do it well.
Were most proud of the jobs where we get called in cause another company got in over their head, were unable to find a solution, or the customer simply cannot find someone to take on the task due to complexity or difficulty. At times we have been a last hope for people in completing a difficult project or bringing a goal to reality. As professional electricians it is our job to make designs/dreams a reality, no matter the difficulties or obstacles.
I believe our desire to learn/grow, our tenacity and patience in difficult or complex situations. As well as our empathy and understanding on the human side of things sets us apart. We do our best to take the time to get to know our customers and have a real conversation so they can get to know us as well. As people we spend a good portion of our lives at work, we believe its important to enjoy that time as best we can, take a moment, sit down, share a story or opinion on life or our experiences. We recognize the importance of maintaining humanity in the modern world.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
In my experience in the trades, all of my best teacher’s. Were people about twice my age that i could get along with and conversate easily with for extended periods of time. However, I think the most important aspect to growth and learning in not just business but life as well. Is not necessarily finding the right teachers as it is being open to all the possibilities in which we can learn.
Everyone has unique skills, strengths, weaknesses, failures, and successes. All of those attributes and experiences have something to teach us. My 7-year-old daughter teaches me things all the time, ways to look at life and love, things to question or that I should make an effort to further understand. The homeless man on the street corner, elderly woman at the bus stop, cashier at the grocery store etc. They all most likely know something about something that you don’t. People all around us have fragments of gold in the form of knowledge no matter their age or looks. I believe your capacity to learn and grow. Has a direct link to your willingness to conversate while being humble enough to not pass judgement on those around you. There is countless lessons within every soul around us and endless information at our fingertips. The key is being open enough for the opportunity to receive it and discerning with what could pertain to you, your life, and goals.
We have similar mindsets to networking in general, the more conversations you have with people the better. Try to see opportunity in everything. Walk onto the jobsite you noticed while grabbing a coffee. Take the time to meet the owner of that restaurant or food cart you like to go to. Go meet your neighbors, go to events in the community. Interact with the world around you!
Pricing:
- Service Calls and Trouble Shooting 250$ first hour, 175$/hr after
- Panel Changes $3,750-$5,000
Contact Info:
- Website: https://onestopelectric.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/one.stop.electric.llc?igsh=dXNkbjJ6d3UwcDR1
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1GYWdNR1TT/?mibextid=wwXIfr
