With Scott’s Electrical, Maintenance and Transportation Services, electrician Kwsie Scott has created an apparent one-stop-shop.
The company’s services range from electrical to refrigeration, computer, yard maintenance, plumbing, welding, painting, transporting furniture and appliances and transport, all performed by a skilled team of six, who are all known to be ‘Jacks of all trades.’
The business, registered in 2018, was founded by Scott, who has been an electrician for years. He attended the Government Technical Institute (GTI) where he completed a Diploma in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering in 2002. After leaving GTI, Scott worked as an electrician but when his employer died, he joined the Guyana Power and Light Company (GPL) where he worked from 2004 to 2012.
It was through GPL that he honed his electrical skills, but that was not the only benefit. GPL, he noted, also provided seminars on customer service. This, he said, came in handy.
Between leaving GPL and starting his business, Kwsie was out of the country then when he returned he began driving a minibus and doing electrical installation in between driving. His driving work included providing transportation for creek outings, excursions, and airport pickups.
Prior to establishing his business, Scott knew he had friends with certain skills and thought how easy it would be for them to get work if customers only had one number to call for different services. He also noted that he realised he needed help.
Which of the jobs is the riskiest? Scott, who has done them all, said they can all be dangerous. He explained that a painter could fall off a scaffold, or an electrician if he is not paying keen attention to his work, could be electrocuted.
“In 2008, I was up on a pole. I was installing a service at the customer’s home. I had a knife peeling a cable and two cables came together and the cable hold onto the knife. The cable had 240 volts. Together that could have easily sent 1,100 volts through me. When I came down, I was trembling. It’s high tension cables, so although I was wearing protective gear, I could have been electrocuted. Through that I’ve gained knowledge. I know the next time I have to be more careful that the wires don’t come into contact,” he shared.
Starting a business, he said, takes great courage because of the many risks involved. He added that someone has to be wholeheartedly set on pursuing something in order to prepare for all the risks involved.
Scott recalled once trying to get a loan to purchase a Canter truck and though he had savings, the bank required so many things and he did not have them all, so he was denied the loan. This was a challenge, but he refused to be stopped. It took him a while but in two years he had saved enough to purchase the Canter, using a friend’s in the meanwhile. It was by no means easy, he said, praising his wife and partner, Leann, for supporting his dream and working with him in making it a reality.
“My life could have been different today,” Scott said. “I spent 18 years of my life on Laing Avenue. We didn’t have the best education. I lived in the ghetto. I could have been one of the men leading a [life of crime]. When I wrote CXC, I wrote four subjects and only got two. I remember wanting to go to UG, but my mother said we didn’t have the money. I had to make a decision and decided I wanted to go to GTI. After I finished with my diploma there, a friend encouraged me to go to UG with him but again because of finances, I couldn’t go. Growing up in Laing Avenue, I had no one there to encourage me. I just know that I wanted to be somebody and that was what pushed me to do better. I still pass through Laing Avenue from time to time and I would try to groom the youths there in doing better.”
GTI, he added, changed his life. Today he often emphasizes to his sons the importance of an education and how much of an integral role it plays in alleviating poverty. Sometimes he takes the two older ones to work with him, but explained that he does not dictate what his sons should become in life, while further boasting of his oldest son’s talent in art.
Part of running an effective business, he shared, is teamwork. While he knows he can do almost any skill required when customers call, he does not claim each job. In fact each man is allowed a turn. When one is not available, that spot becomes open for another.
“Since I’ve been doing this, I’ve never had a complaint,” he said.
The business, which is located at Grove, East Bank Demerara, can be reached via its Facebook page: Scott’s Electrical, Maintenance and Transportation Services or at telephone number 670-4948.
