Feature image above: The team prides itself on maximizing value for customers while delivering top-notch service.
When a house needs electrical work, there is one question that runs through pretty much any owner’s mind: “How much is this going to cost?” Nathen Welch, co-owner of Electrical Solutions of Central Arkansas in North Little Rock with Blake Isom, said his company is focused on “providing a service, not a heart attack.”
“Our goal was to offer superb service without the superb cost,” he said. “We’ve worked at large companies and decided that we were trying to lower the cost to the consumer.”
The company started five years ago and serves residential and commercial properties across central Arkansas as far as Benton, Bryant, Hensley, Cabot, Ward, Austin, Vilonia and Conway.
“We started this because we felt like we could do it better,” Isom said. “The price of everything nowadays, people can’t afford hardly anything. We want to give them good, quality work. I wouldn’t want to overpay for electrical work.”
Rather than using a flat-rate system or price book, the company checks the price of everything, Welch said, which helps keep costs low for customers.
“We have five major suppliers we deal with, and what we do is we go and try to get at least three good prices, like anybody should for anything, and we negotiate the price as low as we can go,” he said.
Although the company has grown at a rapid pace, he added that he works to keep overhead low by making as many calls as possible with minimal staff. The current headcount is eight.
“I think we’ve got a good group of guys,” Isom said. “We try to hire only the best.”
Welch said the staff are responsible for “99.9 percent” of the company’s success.
“My staff sees more people a day than I would ever be able to see, so therefore, they are an extension of me and Blake, and we are very proud of our staff,” he said. “Our staff’s values and our values very much align, so we’re able to pass that along to the customer.”
He added that he teaches staff members to listen to customers instead of telling them what their needs are to provide better service. Another key principle is safety before sales tactics.
“Let’s stay if it was another company, they’re going to come in and say, ‘OK, I’m going to give you the ‘good, better, best option,’ right? We don’t do that. We just try to give them the best option at a lower price,” he said. “Some people use safety tactics as scaremongers to their customers to say, ‘Oh, well, you need to do this. This is dangerous.’ If we see something dangerous, we’re going to address it. We’re not going to walk away from it, but we’re not going to try to sell them something that’s not important at that time.”
That is not to say that Electrical Solutions of Central Arkansas cannot equip homeowners with the latest bells and whistles. Welch said Arkansas has been slow to pick up on the smart home trend, largely because of the time and cost involved with the upgrades, but it is a growing market.
“The world is moving at a constant pace, so it’s hard to settle in and say, ‘OK, I’m going to spend $5,000 to put smart devices all throughout my home,’” he said. “A lot of what we’ve done to help curb that is we build plans for them and say, ‘OK, here’s our base where we need to start.’ A lot of customers are like, ‘Hey, I’d like to go ahead and do this room and that room,’ so we’re able to help automate their home but not do it all at once. They can do it in bits and pieces, and I think that is what has helped in that aspect.”
He added that safety standards have increased since he got into the business in 2000, including new methods of wiring and enhanced breaker systems.
“Breakers have changed dramatically over the years. We now have breakers that are smart that can see safety issues way faster than the old, standard breakers could,” he said. “Our products have innovatively changed. We have better products from 26 years ago to now. The quality of products has changed dramatically.”
After only five years in business, the company has already made an impression on its customers, this year being named Best Electrical Company by AY About You readers in “AY’s Best of 2026” in June, as well as being included in “AY’s Innovative Home Awards” this month. The company was also nominated by Arkansas Money & Politics readers for “AMP’s Best of 2026,” the results of which will be published in November.
Welch said the reason for the company’s success can be summed up in one word: honesty.
“We’re honest. We’re not perfect. Everybody makes mistakes, right?” he said. “What we do is we try to give them the best option without any fluff. Really, we’re just a bunch of good guys who are trying to give people good service. We’re a service company, and without our customers, we don’t have a company. We treat everyone with respect.”
The company gives back to the industry by nurturing young professionals through Associated Builders and Contractors and helps out the community by assisting with food and clothing drives. That is in addition to the small ways staff work to make a difference for customers every day.
Welch said that in five years, he would like to double the number of staff members to have an even greater impact on the community. He added that he also hopes to start a trend among electricians of prioritizing customers, whether at large corporations or mom-and-pops.
SEE THE FEATURE BELOW AND IN OUR SEPTEMBER ISSUE OF ARKANSAS MONEY & POLITICS
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