Good Neighbor Podcast Estero
Bringing Together Local Businesses and Neighbors of SWFL
Good Neighbor Podcast Estero
EP# 185 -Greg Wiemerslage on Building Oracle Appliance from the Ground Up
Ever wondered what it takes to transition from a farm kid in Minnesota to a successful entrepreneur in Southwest Florida? Greg Wiemerslage, owner of Oracle Appliance, reveals his journey from rural beginnings to mastering the appliance repair industry. Growing up on a farm, Greg developed an unmatched work ethic and a natural talent for fixing equipment, which he later refined through specialized training in heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration, and appliances. With tenacity and dedication, Greg took the bold step of moving from Los Angeles to Fort Myers, overcoming numerous obstacles to establish his thriving business.
Join us as Greg shares the highs and lows of starting Oracle Appliance, including the pivotal moment when he decided to hit the reset button and pursue his dream despite the uncertainties. From his initial struggles trying to secure a job transfer to ultimately launching his own company, Greg's story is a testament to resilience and entrepreneurial spirit. This episode is packed with valuable insights into the appliance repair industry, offering a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to ensure customers' appliances run at peak performance. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur or simply curious about the journey of a local business owner, Greg’s story will inspire and inform.
Oracle Appliance
Greg Wiemerslage
SWFL
(239) 451-3278
info@oracleappliance.com
WEBSITE
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Cabo Jim.
Speaker 2:Schaller, Welcome Good Neighbors to episode number 185 of the Good Neighbor Podcast Estero. Today we have Good Neighbor Greg Wiemerslage from Oracle Appliance. Welcome, Hi, how are you doing today?
Speaker 3:Thanks, for having me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm doing awesome. It's always great to get to know people in the community and share their businesses with our listeners. So, without further ado, let's jump right in. And why don't you share a little bit about what you do over at Oracle Appliance?
Speaker 3:Yeah, hello everyone. I'm thrilled to be here and tell you a little bit about myself and about Oracle Appliance today. My name is Greg Wiemerslag. I'm the proud owner of Oracle Appliance. We provide residential and commercial appliance repair in Southwest Florida. We started with a simple yet ambitious goal to be the best appliance repair company in Southwest Florida. But we provide reliable, efficient, customer focus repair services that ensure customers appliances are working and running at their peak performance. So when your refrigerator, washer or dryer oven break down, we're the ones that you call.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, and that happens quite a bit, I'm sure. So how did you get involved in this industry?
Speaker 3:Yeah, you know, looking back, I've always been the type of person that enjoyed working with their hands. I grew up as a farm kid in rural Minnesota, where I learned the value of hard work and the benefits of taking care of your equipment. So that way it was. It was ready to go when needed. When planting or harvest season rolls around, equipment breaks down need to be limited. When they do happen, they need to be remedied as soon as possible.
Speaker 1:Absolutely.
Speaker 3:Yeah, need as soon as possible, yeah. So then I graduated from high school, went to a local trade school where I studied heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration and appliances. There I took part of a two-year program, both classroom study and hands-on training of all types of electrical mechanical systems. That's where I really fell in love with the trade, knowing I had the ability to repair the appliances, any broken equipment that customers have in their time of need, and getting a broken down product back up and running by the by the end of that program. Just like a lot of trade schools, job placement is very high. So I actually had a job lined up with a national service provider two months before graduation. So I worked there seven years, then worked with another manufacturer for another four years and then finally started my business here in Florida.
Speaker 2:So I'm going to do this on my own, so going along with that there's always some type of challenge or obstacle whether it's starting a new business or even personally that we typically have to go through to get where we are today. Is there something that defined your journey?
Speaker 3:Yeah, you know, it was actually when we moved to Florida and starting our business. When we moved to Florida and starting our business, I was working for a manufacturer at the time was a global, big global manufacturer of appliance electronics, and my wife found out. She, her career, brought us to Fort Myers. We found out we were going to be moving here. We had about a five month timeline and I thought no big deal, I'll just put in for a transfer. Um, and filled out the paperwork, talked to my future boss, everything appeared to be in motion.
Speaker 3:Um, a couple couple weeks goes by and uh, don't hear anything. So I send a follow-up email. A couple more weeks goes by, uh, send another follow-up email, call the voicemail, still hear nothing. So it's two months to go until we need to be here and I don't have a job lined up. We're moving from Los Angeles to Fort Myers, we're moving across the country. So I'm starting to panic. So I'm looking for jobs in Fort Myers. And the more I'm looking for jobs, the more I realize it's just not sitting well with me. If we're going to hit the reset button, I'm going to do it my way.
Speaker 2:So I'm going to start my own business and that's what we did. Very nice, very nice. Well, congratulations on that. It takes a lot to do just that nowadays. So are there any myths, or maybe misconceptions, surrounding your industry?
Speaker 3:and what you do that we could clear up for our listeners. Yeah, yeah, Some people. When it comes to home repair, especially with appliances, some people believe that repair services are all essentially the same, but that could not be farther from the truth.
Speaker 3:Not all repair services offer the same level of expertise or reliability. Where there are some minor issues, homeowners can do a DIY do-it-yourself project. They can safely fix it on many appliances or using a handyman, but a lot of times it requires special tools, special equipment, special training to serve as a properly and safely so. Our technicians are trained to handle a wide range of issues safely and efficiently, ensuring that appliances are repaired correctly. Another one that's really common is the repairs are not worth the cost. It's a very common misconception that repairing appliances is not worth the cost and it's better to just buy a new one. While that might be true for very old or severely damaged appliances, in many cases a professional repair can be significantly cheaper than the replacement. Our goal at Oracle Appliance is to provide cost-effective solutions that extend the life of the appliance, saving the customer both time and money in the long run.
Speaker 2:Very nice. So do you notice anything trending within the industry lately? New technologies or anything like that?
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, the biggest thing is and I'm sure you've heard on, you know, for a couple years now, but it's the internet of things um, smart appliances. You can. You can do a load of laundry from the car now you know, you can schedule it. It'll tell you what it's doing, um, when it's going to be done, is it working properly? So that's the biggest, coolest trend and it also benefits us from a service side. It stores those error codes. We can see you know what failed and when it just it really it's really cool and it's just it's kind of helping everybody.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Technology is good. Yes, so you mentioned you weren't from here originally. How did you choose Southwest Florida again?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so both me and my wife are from Minnesota. She was going to grad school out in Los Angeles and by the end of that we knew we were going to be leaving California, so she applied for internships all across the country. One of the internships was actually here in Fort Myers at Florida Gulf Coast University, and sure enough that's the one we got, and so we we knew we were moving across the country and that that internship has since turned into a long-term position. So we have set roots here in Fort Myers and we will be here for the foreseeable future.
Speaker 2:Very nice. We love it here. So when you do owning a business, obviously very demanding of your time but when you get a free moment, what do you enjoy doing outside of work?
Speaker 3:Yeah, most of my free time is being spent with my family. So my wife, becca that I mentioned. We've been married for eight years now. We have a three and a half year old son, riker, and we have our number two on the way In August. We're having a daughter, so congrats.
Speaker 2:Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 3:So those are the people that mean the most to me and that's that's who we hang out with. A lot of times we just gonna hang out at the pool on weekends. Uh, reicher loves riding the choo-choo train out lakes park, so we're we're always at lakes park having fun, uh, riding the choo-choo train. Um, we love hanging out at the beach, um, and then, uh, you know, I'm a, I'm a fantasy football player, so we have a group of friends that we've been in a long-term league. So it's a good way to keep in touch with friends and we really enjoy it.
Speaker 2:Absolutely so. Is there one thing you wish our listeners knew about Oracle Appliance that maybe they don't know?
Speaker 3:Yeah, oracle Appliance is about more than just repairs. Look, it's about more than just repairs. Look, it's no secret. Things are not made to the same high quality standards that they once were, and that's across all industries. That's not just picking on appliance manufacturers. For those in the audience that owned appliances 30 years ago, they knew it used to be the norm to purchase a washer and dryer set and that was going to last you 30 years, and unfortunately that's just not as common as it used to be.
Speaker 3:With that being said, the best and most important thing that any homeowner can do to extend the useful life of their appliance is having regular maintenance and cleanings on their appliances. So, whether it's a laundry or a kitchen appliance, regular maintenance and cleaning of those appliances lowers the stress, the burnout, the wear and tear and extends the life of that system. We not only provide the repair service, but we show you how to care and maintain your appliances and certainly, if you're not able to perform the maintenance and cleaning yourself, give us a call. We'd be happy to set you up with one of our maintenance plans. We offer laundry appliance maintenance plans, kitchen appliance maintenance plans and combination laundry, kitchen and maintenance plans.
Speaker 2:Very nice man. Maintenance is, like you mentioned, very, very important nowadays, so how would our listeners go about contacting you if they had any questions, concerns or needs?
Speaker 3:contacting you if they had any questions, concerns or or needs. Yeah, simply, they can simply call or text our office and that the number phone number is 239-451-FAST, f-a-s-t or numbers is 3278. You can also schedule your appointment online by going to our website at www. oracleappliance. com. You can also follow and like us on the Nextdoor app, facebook, instagram, at Oracle Appliance, where we post updates, tips and tricks for caring for your appliances.
Speaker 2:Very good, greg. It's been a pleasure getting to know you. Thank you for being such a good neighbor and I hope to see you out in the community soon.
Speaker 3:Great. Thank you so much.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast Estero. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpestero. com. That's gnpestero. com, or call 239-296-2621.