Scaling a Family Contracting Business Without Losing Your Roots (S1.9)

In this episode, we sit down with Jeff and Nathan from A1 Plumbing, a brother duo who share what it’s really like stepping into a family business and making it your own. They open up about the challenges of taking over an established plumbing company, navigating family dynamics, earning trust on and off the job site, and balancing tradition with modern business decisions. From early growing pains to proud milestones, Jeff and Nathan offer honest insight and practical takeaways for anyone working with family—or preparing to carry the torch.
Whether you’re part of a multi-generation trade business or thinking about what comes next, this conversation is packed with real-world experience and relatable advice. 🎙️🔧

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hi, I'm Bradley McEwen, the host of the Constructors Relief Podcast. And on this episode, we sit down with A1 Plumbing, Jeff and Nathan, who are Brother Jewel, who took over the family business from their father. We talk about the challenges of running a family business. We talk about their involvement and how they got into the industry. And we also talk about their community involvement, which they're very proud of. So without further ado, let's check out the episode. All right, Jeff and Nathan from A1 Plumbing, thanks for joining me today on our podcast. Nice to have you.

SPEAKER_03 0:29

Yeah, no, it's great to be here.

SPEAKER_01 0:30

Good. So I just want to start maybe in 30 seconds if you could tell me a little bit about yourself and your experience and we can go from there.

unknown 0:36

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 0:37

You want to dive in first, Nate? Sure. Um, Nathan, Jeff and our business partners, uh, brothers as well. Um really like uh for me, I come from a more of a hands-on technical background. Um, getting into the trades, a lot of um working for other businesses, other uh other companies. So my background is uh is a lot more technical than it is actually like ownership business side of things.

SPEAKER_02 1:00

So yep.

unknown 1:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:02

Nice.

SPEAKER_03 1:03

Awesome. And yeah, so uh I'm Jeff. I come from a less technical background where I am proud to be a licensed plumber, well technician. I've spent some time on the tools, um, but I've always loved the business um side of the trades. And um, before getting back into the trades and getting in business with my brother, um, I spent some time working in social work and supportive housing.

SPEAKER_01 1:22

Nice. So your dad was a plumber. So is that kind of what influenced you both to kind of get into that field?

SPEAKER_03 1:27

Definitely. Yeah. Yeah. Um, I mean, it's the, you know, it's that obvious opportunity, so to speak, that we that we always had growing up. So where maybe at some points in our life it didn't really seem like inspiration, like the opportunity is always there, right? Meaning like working for dad and doing plumbing, what he did maybe always wasn't super attractive. Um, but we always were so lucky to have that opportunity early on and get to, you know, it's a lot of time, I think for both of us, probably our first summer job. And dad was really good with like dragging us along in the truck with him, maybe when we were 12 or 14 years old and exposing us to it, the good and the bad. Um, so yeah, he was certainly uh an influence on that decision to get back into the trades.

SPEAKER_01 2:07

Well, at least you knew what you were getting into, right? That you were experienced. Um did you ever think of maybe doing something else? Like, did you ever think that that this wasn't going to be your future?

SPEAKER_00 2:17

So, like I tried a lot of different things. Um, so I was doing like small engines for a little bit. I did uh like fire suppression, like setting up sprinkler systems and commercial buildings. Um, I have like a uh a personal passion for cars and automotive. So my like big dream was like, hey, I want to be an automotive mechanic. So as I went around and tried out different jobs and different places, um, it was just easy for me to be like, okay, I don't like that anymore. I'm gonna fall back and work for my dad. So it was like cool to have a fail-safe of always going back to plumbing. Um, if someone asked me 10 years ago, did you want to be a plumber? the answer would probably be no at that point in time. So it's funny that here I am and with the business and everything with uh um in a trade that probably wasn't really my immediate passion to start. Right.

SPEAKER_02 3:03

But yeah, cool.

SPEAKER_03 3:04

And and same with me too. I mean, I um I knew that the opportunity was always there to get into the trades, but naturally, just maybe that was a little bit of my own rebellion at that age, but just wanted to do something different. So I went kind of a completely different path and went to college with a buddy of mine, and we took child and youth work and um and so completely different industry. And I love that. And I graduated from that program. I got a good job in supportive housing, and I spent about seven years there. And um, you know, despite not taking that path of our dad, he was super proud to see me do something different too. And you know, um, but then I had kind of I felt like that career path had run its course, and with supportive housing, there's a lot of kind of like burnout and and cap and earning potential and stuff. So I started to get interested in getting back into the trades. And again, to circle back to dad too, he was always a big promoter of it that way too. Where he's like, You do what you want, but this is a good lifestyle, there's lots of opportunity here.

SPEAKER_04 3:58

And he was kind of trying to pull you back in. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 4:02

And and we're I'm super glad that he did because you know it's uh it's been uh we're really blessed to be in the position that we're in now owning a trades business.

SPEAKER_01 4:10

Yeah. Do you feel like because you maybe were in different where you started out, do you feel like that has shaped you differently? Like, did you learn different things from taking that path first and then being here where you are?

SPEAKER_00 4:23

Um, like for me, again, like my background is a lot more technical. I I I worked for a lot of different um companies and businesses. And and uh so like for me, the the benefit of um going outside of the family business and then coming back, I was able to bring other types of like skill sets or knowledge and things like that, where if I just stayed within the family business and and did that right away, then you're kind of you're restricted in your learning. Um, you know, you're you're getting the knowledge passed down from my dad or our third brother as another as a plumber as well, where I was able to go out and work under 10, 15, 20 different um, you know, kind of experts in their field and and bring that back to to our business and kind of share that knowledge and stuff too. So a huge benefit for me of of going out and then coming back to the family business after.

SPEAKER_01 5:11

Yeah, yeah, for sure. Uh, do you find that there are any like strengths or challenges of running a family founded business? Probably lots.

SPEAKER_03 5:21

You know what? I think there's there's challenges just in business in general, right? So um whether you're doing that with family or whether you're doing it with a just a business partner that's not family or you're doing it on your own, like it's tough. And uh and so the strengths in doing it with family is that, you know, when Nathan and I decided to partner up in this, um, the biggest thing for me is I felt like I I had someone built in that I knew that I could trust and I could bounce ideas off of. And it wasn't 100% on me. So I could leave the business or I could put my focus in another part of the business, and I didn't have to find someone else to to do that part that I was absent in or didn't have as much of my attention.

SPEAKER_02 6:03

Right.

SPEAKER_03 6:03

Um, so having that trust and that relationship is huge. Um and the challenge is um I don't know. You know, I think Nathan and I have a really good contrast and we work really well together. Um, we allow each other to focus on parts of the business, we give each other our kind of own freedom and independence and don't micromanage each other, and the trust piece is big. Um, so we're blessed not to have a lot of friction. Yeah. Um but taking over the business uh from our father is difficult too, right? Because we're coming in with these new ideas and this new plan, and and he has what he has built and set up for so long, and he doesn't want to see that um risked, right? Yeah. And and he also maybe not be completely ready to let go of the reins of it either. So then that ultimately creates uh friction because it's the not operating the day-to-the-day business that we can always see some friction, but it's that uh handoff and transition periods, which can be a little bit tough and and you know, communication through those times is is difficult, but it's key.

SPEAKER_01 7:06

Yeah. Did you find that um it was hard for you to come and come up with new ideas and push like what do you want to keep because that was your dad's business? But how do you, you know, the world is changing. How did you keep up with that and maybe push that a little bit more? Like if there's somebody that's maybe going through that right now, what do you wish you knew about it when you started doing that?

SPEAKER_03 7:29

I I think I wish that we all knew in in um, not just dad, but you know, us included that um, you know, that change is good and growth is good and adopting new technology and processes is good. Um, because you know, dad's our our biggest fan. He loves what we're doing right now, and sometimes he might just shake his head at it.

SPEAKER_02 7:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 7:48

But when we got on the other side of the tough decisions to say, like, we're not doing handwritten invoices anymore, like we're gonna get a scheduling software and we're gonna hire this position and we're gonna adopt this technology, we got on the other side of it. Dad just would kind of smile and shake his head or like, remember when we used to do that? And he's like, That's crazy, and you guys got this thing going on. And or he would say, like, do you know, like your customers love that text message they get automatically when their technicians on the way or whatever? And we're like, Yeah, that's part of that new system that you want. Um so if we knew what we knew now, we're able to look ahead and appreciate change and that you know, we all actually had the same goal in our head, let's just build a really fun business to work in. Um, then uh then it would have been easier. Then there wouldn't be so much of that resistance to change.

SPEAKER_01 8:31

So you guys in five years have scaled from half a million to seven million. What do you credit is the biggest driver behind that?

SPEAKER_00 8:40

Um one of those like the funny things that um to look back on now, and it's it's still like in my mind now when we look at our our call center we have in-house, but it's we just decided to pick up the phone. And uh I remember having that conversation where um, as three of us, we just said we're not gonna let a phone call go unanswered. So it's like you're and and we're on the tool still. So I'm under someone's kitchen sink working on the drain and the phone's ringing, and I'm taking a call from a customer for the next job or whatever, too, right? So um a lot of it is just trying to consistently um look into the future, even though you're kind of stuck in the weeds, it's really hard to do, it's hard for for me to do. Jeff's like a really good um kind of goal setter, visionary, that kind of stuff, and and and pushes a lot of a lot of growth. So um just knowing that uh you can't be on on one on one certain task and ignore everything else if you want to um promote growth or whatever too, right? So I'm answering the phones is kind of a funny thing to say, but it's important. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 9:39

I think to build off what Nathan said, like if you um answer your phone um and you show up on time and you do good work and you do what you say you're going to do for your customer, you're in like the top 1% of local tradespeople. You know, we're we're in demand and and and the trades population is aging. And, you know, not all trades companies are home service companies. Like we're a home service company. We work for that end user homeowner, right? And um, so we're keeping them and their needs and their expectations top of mind. Um, so that was kind of really big as that edge is like we're just gonna be available and we're gonna serve the customer. And although we can reflect on like that growth and talk about revenue and 500,000 to 7 million, like we're super proud of that, but we never paid much attention to the numbers. We paid attention to making sure that um it was cool when we added a plumber that was a really good fit with the team. And it was cool when we got a five-star review um from Betty, and you know, Betty loves us on social media, and if we messed up, we made it right and we didn't look at the money then either. Like if we had a drip and it costs us $2,000 to replace their flooring, if that's what the customer wanted, that's what we did.

SPEAKER_02 10:53

That's what you do.

SPEAKER_03 10:54

Um, and then we just realized that the phone kept ringing more and more, and we need more people and we need more plumbers, and then it's like, oh geez, we're doing millions of dollars in plumbing every year. And it's pretty cool.

SPEAKER_01 11:04

You mentioned social media. Do you find that that has really changed uh your plumbing business and how that looks, and how do you use that to your advantage?

SPEAKER_00 11:13

I'll let you take this away.

SPEAKER_03 11:15

Um, I mean, I I love social media because it's a lot of fun to do as well, too, and it has like spin-off benefits internally for culture. And and we've recently um got a dedicated social media person um that we really trust and that puts out really good content. And it's fun for us because we don't have to spend the time editing it and that. And and so I actually wait for our social media post to come up and like, you know, like the video, and and it wasn't something that we had to do ourselves. Um so um I think you know, we've made that investment because we do really believe in social media and it is marketing and advertising, but it's a culture uh tool for us too. It's a recruitment tool for us too because we want to look cool to other plumbers that might want to apply for a job with us. Um but I think the the marketing benefits of it are huge. Like, you know, we're not as memorable as we think we are as a home service business, and we got to constantly be um reminding the customer of who we are and what we do. And social media, I think, is a great tool for that. If we had to strip all other marketing out and keep one, I would keep social media.

SPEAKER_01 12:16

Really? That's very interesting. So for somebody that maybe doesn't have social media or even a lot of marketing initiatives in their business, what would you say is like the number one thing if you think social media, how would they go about doing that? Like, how did you guys start to build that in in your business?

SPEAKER_03 12:34

I think you just take a real grassroots approach and give value first. Like, you know, there's not that there's nothing worse than this. It almost sounds dramatic, but you know, a contractor goes on Facebook, does one post that's like, call me for this, you know? And it's like you just right out the gate or like an ask for it, you know. People don't aren't really like they'll seek you out if they want something. What you should be doing is giving a value and providing, you know, free advice and and say, look at what we're doing for our community and and look at our team and our culture. And that's what people want to engage with. And then when they do need plumbing, they're gonna remember you and they're gonna want to do business with you. So, and you don't need a big social media guy. Just start with your phone, record it yourself, really grassroots, and then scale that.

SPEAKER_01 13:18

And then scale from there. Yeah. So speaking of scaling, like uh when you started to really scale your business, how did you decide which services you wanted to enter in first, whether it be plumbing, water treatment? How did you go about that?

SPEAKER_00 13:31

Um we we were always on the service side of the industry. And um, when when Jeff and I took over the business, that was right when we started rolling into COVID and the and the pandemic and everything. And um, it just kind of for us reconfirmed that um to stick on the service side, it's it's proven to get us through economic crises, pandemics, and everything like that were always going to be of value where um getting more into like the residential new construction or commercial, there's a bit of a um a wave you gotta ride there for uh potential downfalls, stuff that can happen in it. So um we doubled down on the residential service, um, serving that homeowner, the end user, uh making sure that uh we just stuck to um like just great quality, um, high-end customer service. So that's how we stayed shifted towards the residential service side of things. But um yeah, if Jeff wanted to break that down of like where we went from just residential plumbing now into like wells and pumps and septics and stuff that evolved from there as well.

SPEAKER_03 14:34

But it it was important that we really assessed like who our customer was first. And we did want to um we don't want to do new construction work and and work for builders and and we don't want to do commercial work and work for businesses and industrial and and big piping that we don't know what we're doing, you know.

SPEAKER_02 14:50

Right.

SPEAKER_03 14:50

Um, what was already working with with dad's uh business and build off that. So acknowledging who our customer was, which was the homeowner, and then what are their needs, and then what type of area are we in? Because we're in a smaller towns and villages, so we have people that are on in the city, on municipal water and sewer, but we have a ton of rural customers. So if we want to be able to service them as best we can, it's important that we service them from their wells, water source all the way out to the septic. And that's what really led us into um knowing and understanding wells and becoming those well professionals in how that water gets treated in the home and then where it eventually goes out to waste, and and we've put a lot of effort into that whole rural plumbing envelope.

SPEAKER_01 15:36

So if you were to scale and do that whole process again, would you do anything differently? Like you spoke about how the pandemic kind of shifted that direction. Do you think if you were to do it now, you would take a different direction?

SPEAKER_00 15:47

Um, I don't. I I honestly feel like um working directly for the homeowners in the service industry is is uh the best spot to be. And and I like personally for me, and I hear it a lot from our team, is like the instant gratification of um going to a customer's house, getting to know them, getting to know their problem, and then walking away with that resolved. I don't think there's a um like a better feeling to have in the in like when you work of just in in in four service calls in one day, you gotta walk out being the hero or whatever. So um, you know, I I think there's a lot of positives that come out of working for um homeowners and solving those issues for for them when they're in like kind of like a bit of a heightened state or a crisis. So um I just I love the service industry and and if we were to do it all over again, I would still double down and and do what we're doing is working for the customers and and and making sure that if they're going to invest in their plumbing that they're gonna get a high quality um professional um uh uh result out of that too.

SPEAKER_03 16:46

So um yeah, I I don't think that I would honestly change much. I feel like really blessed for the path that we took. And we really dug into some important resource resources early on to fill in the gaps of what don't we know about business and and we have a vision of the type of business we want to run and the the rows of all our branded trucks and a big team and um and a big building that we can call home and um but we didn't really know from a business perspective how to get there. Um so if I did anything differently, I would just double down on that business knowledge and resources early on and get the confidence to know that um to know your value as a tradesperson and a home service provider and get the business stuff right, get your pricing right. Um and uh because when you priced right and you're generating um, you know, money for your business, you can do more for your employees, you can do more for the community, you can do more for customers because you can afford to handle the callbacks that are inevitable in the customer concerns. And I think a lot of people get into the trades business and think that the best way that I can grow my customer base is to be the cheapest guy. And that's actually where customers don't get served properly and those businesses don't last. So understanding the business side of contracting as early as possible, um, we were lucky to do that fairly early, but I would do it earlier if I could do it again. If you could do it again. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:11

Uh so you kind of spoke about like that the cheapest, you know. So how do you uh say to your customers about like quality and how you guys appreciate quality? How do you kind of express that to your customers so they understand the difference between cheapest is not always the best option?

SPEAKER_03 18:30

Right. A lot of that just comes with good product knowledge and being able to visit places like Beauchart and get a factory tour and understand how the products are made and the importance of that process and that quality control. And then we can sh bring that information back to our customers. But we use a lot of wording and it's not just buzzwording, but we talk about when the products we sell, they're professional grade products. And these usually aren't available in your local hardware stores or certainly the big box hardware stores, and we talk about the quality differences between those. And that exists a lot of the time, is that we sell professional grade products that they might not know the difference, even though it appears the box store has a similar brand, and that a lot of people waste money that way.

SPEAKER_01 19:14

Right.

SPEAKER_03 19:15

And if there is similarities in the products, then we need to draw a distinction in the quality of our service. So, what do we do differently than other contractors? And that's really important too. And that's just the way that we show up at the door and the way that we stand behind our work and we involve the customer in the process so that they make their decisions about their home. We're just there to educate them. And so our process is very different than I think a lot of other home service providers, and that's what sets us apart.

SPEAKER_01 19:40

Right. How do you find that you keep up with all of the new products and and uh like being kind of an expert in those things? Do you have any tips or tricks on how you stay up to date on all that?

SPEAKER_00 19:54

Um like so just Jeff and I are are are very interested in and and uh um always on like social media and things like that and and uh um follow a lot of different suppliers and and uh going to industry-related like trade shows and stuff. So um for us it's really easy. And I think some of the downfall is not sharing the knowledge with the kind of the boots on the ground, the guys putting um the equipment in. So um what we've introduced this year for our team is kind of like a we call in-house like Tech Talk Tuesday. So we're gonna pick a product or uh a service we offer and just kind of talk um with the entire team about that and and how does it get installed, what is the warranty on it, because um you know our our customers are becoming a lot more educated through the internet and and AI and everything. So we need to step up our game to have all the answers to the questions because they're gonna be asking those already knowing what the answer um they're looking for, um, which is how they're gonna gauge your professionalism and everything too. So we we do that through in-house education.

SPEAKER_01 20:53

Yeah, that's cool. That's a very cool thing. I like that.

SPEAKER_03 20:56

And I think a big one too is uh supplier relationships and getting to know your supplier, getting to know your rep, building that relationship with them, and um and knowing what resources do they have to come in and educate our team and stuff as well, too.

SPEAKER_01 21:09

So yeah, we find here at Pochar too, we do a lot of educational stuff, and we find that that's like the key to making sure everybody is on the same page that everybody understands, and we try to find ways of uh because some of these products can be quite confusing, right? And so, like different ways of training the contractors or wholesalers, different things like that. So that's very cool. So um company culture, that's something you guys really um really uh find big in your company. So, what's been maybe like the biggest challenge in maintaining that as you scale to such a larger company?

SPEAKER_03 21:42

Um, the inevitable turnover. Um, and I we have very low turnover, but when it happens, it's difficult. You know, our guys and our and the core team that we've had um long term are are really eager to kind of welcome people in and make sure that they fit. And um, but when you have People come and go, and you realize that you know this person wasn't a good fit, and so then they're no longer here. Um, but that time that they're there can really change a dynamic a little bit. And then just seeing people come and going, it's like we're if we're a family, I don't want to have to, you know, invite you in and then see someone go, and then you form those relationships. Um, so turnover is a big one, and and so we really try to do the best job we can at recruitment and hire for uh culture fit just as much as we do for skills.

SPEAKER_01 22:28

Do you have any tips on like what you kind of have learned to make sure it is a good fit or kind of test that like how do you go about that to make sure that it is a good long-term fit for you guys?

SPEAKER_00 22:40

Um I don't I don't know. Like I it's a tough question because I I think that uh when you interview someone and you sit down with them and you get to know them, you're just seeing a really, really small um part of it. So I don't want to say there's not a process to it, um, but it it's a lot of just kind of feel and and trusting your gut. And the the more people you interview and the more people you hire, the better and better you're going to get at it as well. Um, I truly feel like um Jeff and I, as business owners, um, don't have as much um pull on company culture as you would think. Like and I think it's a lot it really rides on who's a part of your team and and they're the creators and and and they foster that culture. So um your employees are what makes a the workplace a really good place to be. And um, I think the as a business owner or management, you have a you don't have as much of a uh role in that as you would like to think.

SPEAKER_01 23:36

Right.

SPEAKER_03 23:36

Yeah, yeah. But I would agree. Like uh, you know, on the one hand, it does trickle down from leadership culture a lot of the times, but when you get to a certain size, culture also just kind of takes off on its own. And and you know, you need to maybe keep an eye on it if there's corrections that need to be made, but you don't always have that control. And from a positive perspective, with us, we were able to get some key people and some key culture vibes, I guess, so to speak, in there early on that now it's just kind of taken off on its own. Um, and guys will do the correct thing for us if if we need to, right? So um, yeah, we're we're super blessed to have the culture that we do. And it doesn't mean that every day is easy, but it's pretty awesome that you know we have these our businesses departmentalized now. You know, we have a call center and we have a service team and an install team and a sales team and um that risks culture as well. Um, but at the end of the day, we all departmentalized get along.

SPEAKER_01 24:37

Yeah, that's good. That's a tough thing, right? When it starts to become individual teams, how they have their culture, but then also how the company how it fits together. Yeah, how it all fits together. So would you say that your leadership style has changed from maybe how you first started to now and how maybe you see it evolving?

SPEAKER_00 24:58

For me, not not a whole lot. I think I'm I'm more aware of the of the type of conversations I have. Um I'd I would describe myself as like a little bit OCD, and I think I've done really, really well technically with my background because I just have like a really eye for quality. Um so where I have to catch myself, where I'm kind of like consistently learning, is um I'm like someone that just likes to see things perfect, like and so I can generally gravitate towards like just feedback and and not always not always praise when it's there too. And I and I think for me, learning that uh these are full-grown adults, but they still need like a high five and an attaboy and and a pat on the back and and celebrate the wins, and and you can get so lost in like, why'd you do that? And and there's a callback here. Um, but there's a lot of good things that happened um between those two kind of like corrections that need to need to be uh made. So for me, it's being more aware of of how I talk to the guys and and holding myself accountable to um providing praise um a certain amount of times before I actually uh sit someone down and have like a a correction conversation or coaching conversation, right? So um those are my kind of faults I found that I'm working towards as a as a leader of just uh providing more positive feedback.

SPEAKER_03 26:13

I think sometimes the things that make us a good leader um and especially for culture also hold us back.

SPEAKER_02 26:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 26:20

And my personality is like I just like to kind of keep the good times rolling and and but and positive vibes and stuff, and that makes it harder sometimes to have the difficult conversations. Um so that has been kind of a bit of a learning process for me. And then also to piggyback on what Nathan said is that you you don't have the right to have the difficult conversations if you haven't given the pat on the backs. And we are not the best at that. And if we had something to improve on, I think it was that, and that is a really good lesson to share to other business owners and people working in a business, is that um someone explained it to me is you have to kind of make deposits into a bank account before you can make a withdrawal. And there should be four deposits before one withdrawal, meaning four instances where you've acknowledged someone doing something good and gave good positive feedback before you can make a withdrawal of one. And I have to constantly remind myself of that because like why is it so difficult to give positive feedback? You know, and um managers and business owners and leaders struggle with that all the time, and it should be really easy. But why is that hard? And and so I've had to remind myself of that. And the other part about leadership is I think slowly realizing as the business grows, and as much as we have each other to lean on, and I'm just 50% of A1 plumbing, I still have to wake up in the morning and realize that um I have to now own this as a leader and I'm responsible for the outcome and what happens, and that's just really scary. Yeah. Um, but you know, I think as a leader, you evolve to continue to accept that responsibility and be like, if I don't do it and take some action and own it, then it's not going to um get done. Luckily we get a partner up in that, but it's still a very personal thing that you have to accept as you grow a business.

SPEAKER_01 28:02

Is there anything that so your dad he ran it? So is there anything that you find that was shocking when you started to run it that he didn't show you and you were very like, whoa, I didn't realize that this was an aspect that I now have to have to do?

SPEAKER_03 28:18

Um, I think generally my answer that would be just carrying the weight of everything, right? Yeah. So that get that responsibility gets transferred over. And he did that for so long, which made it hard for him to let go. Um, and then we had to realize that when every little part of the business, um the callback or the accounting or the whatever it is in departmental, you have to own all that now. And we were ready for it, but it's still a constant uh realization that this is your baby now, 24-7.

SPEAKER_01 28:47

Yeah. Especially when you watch somebody else do it, they maybe make it look easy, right? And all of a sudden you're like, well, that it's me now that has to do it. So that's an interesting. Did you have anything you wanted to tack on that?

SPEAKER_00 28:58

Or um, but I think it's just the um the time commitment to doing it yourself and and like um being the decision maker. So um when you're when you're just kind of working for someone or working for my dad, and you're still in that employee mindset, you're just kind of clocking in and clocking out, and you have late days because you're on the tools. Um but there's there's a lot of like uh like early, early mornings that need to happen and and phone calls late into the evening, and you know, you put your kids to bed and you hop back onto the computer to um continue to stay ahead. So um there's a lot that happens before and after the general work day to keep the business side of it moving along when you're still um still kind of actively doing some hands-on portions of it. So I would say that uh um really understanding the um backend stuff that my dad was doing before we before we got to the shop and after we left uh um is is was caught me off guard.

SPEAKER_01 29:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:51

Yeah, for sure. Um just switching gears a little bit, your community involvement. Can you just explain a little bit about how you guys are involved in your community and why that's so important?

SPEAKER_03 30:00

Um yeah, I think I've I've always wanted to do that as early on as we could because like selfishly, there's also like an aspect of like, you know, like we're out there and look at us and look what we're doing and stuff. And and I always took a lot of pride in getting involved in the community. And when I didn't operate a business and I seen other people being able to do that, I thought that was a cool look, you know, like from an individual perspective as a business owner, but then it obviously has really big marketing benefits and stuff too. So I think it's something that's really cool to be able to do. Um, and you can spend a lot of money on a lot of different marketing things, but when you can um give your money, so to speak, and and support causes and support your community, but then it actually comes back to you in business is like the best way to spend money on marketing, yeah. So we've always been aware of clever ways to and different ways to get involved and give back in the community.

SPEAKER_01 30:55

So you have um an A1 in the comp community program. So can you tell us about how that kind of idea and where it came from?

SPEAKER_03 31:04

So some of the best ideas are ones that are stolen. So I'm not gonna say that we invented this concept, um, but we were the first ones to do it locally, and we heard of a similar program run by a home service company. I think it might have been in the States, and I'm like, wow, that's a good idea. So how can we make this our own? So the basics of it is that um we uh choose three local charities or causes each month, and we feature them on our website and in our social media, and we give them all a little bit of awareness and we share our network with their network. Um, and then it's like a community vote thing as well, too. So people can go onto our website, read about that cause, choose the one that speaks to them, and then at the end of the month, that um organization gets a $500 check from us to use however they want. And then they get a short promotional video done by a local videographer that tells about their organization. The really cool thing with that was is that the $500, it it felt like that was the prize. Um, but there is so much value in this video that they get to have now that um tells their story and their cause, and they use that to, you know, their shareholders and you know, then the community. And um that brings them in so much more value. So the anyone in the community has gotten really popular because people are like, I want that. You know, $500 is great, that money's gonna be well spent, but I want that promotional video.

SPEAKER_02 32:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 32:29

And the partner we have to do that video just does an amazing job. So it's uh something that we do internally that we're we're really proud of.

SPEAKER_01 32:37

So nice. So have you found that you've had maybe benefits from recruiting or like customer loyalty because of your efforts that you put into the community?

SPEAKER_03 32:46

Uh definitely. Yeah. Everything that we do from a marketing aspect, and I would say that community involvement and stuff is in that marketing realm, is not just how this would look to um a potential customer, but how it would look to a potential employee. So um I think we always have to be recruiting in this business and in the trades. And so recruitment is in the back of mind in anything that we do.

SPEAKER_01 33:14

Nice. Do you then recommend that other contractors should really consider doing something like this for their community or not forgetting about their community? And like, how do you think they should go about that if they're looking to get involved like that?

SPEAKER_00 33:29

I think uh um marketing budgets can easily get away from you. Uh marketing is expensive, especially when you start looking at like Google ads and listings and and everything like that. So the the benefit of taking a little bit of your marketing and putting it back into the community is um it's impacting your community too, like that money's going back in versus just you know entering the Google realm.

SPEAKER_04 33:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:52

Um so you're reinvesting back into your your customer base. Um, so I think it's if if you're wondering where some like ROI um can come back into, I think investing in the community is smart. I think it's kind of a more of a long-term um thing to get going. But um the kind of like lost track of my thoughts there a little bit. But um I I think it for us, I wish we did it earlier. And uh and and just understanding that uh the community is the reason why you're growing and and it's the reason why you're there, it's the reason why you're hiring all these employees. And it's it's so easy to pat yourself on the back and be like, look at me, look how great I'm doing as a business owner, and it and and not realizing that it comes from the community surrounding you. So uh being a part of that and really doubling down and understanding that uh uh the the phone has to ring and these are the these are the people that are are calling, right? So it it it should be should be we should be investing back in them.

SPEAKER_04 34:51

Right.

SPEAKER_03 34:51

I I feel pretty strongly about this because I have an opinion and that's I think it's a business's responsibility to contribute back to their community as much as they possibly can. And I'm not saying that we do this, I think we need to continue to do it more and more too. Um, but we can do a better job as businesses of serving our community and the vulnerable parts of our community even um better than I think the government can because we can do it more efficiently. And it is okay to brag about giving when you're from a business. And there's this idea that, you know, of the YouTuber that's filming themselves like giving food to the homeless, and it seems like really self-serving and not a good look. But I would want to encourage businesses to think about it differently. You should share all the giving that you do because it challenges and teaches other businesses to do the same thing. And then everybody can increase their giving. So I think it's fine to donate to the food bank and show that on your social media that you're doing that. You know, if you quietly give, I'm that's awesome too. I love that. But don't be afraid to advertise your giving and what you're doing and challenge other businesses to do the same because it'll it'll grow.

SPEAKER_02 36:02

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 36:03

Um and then my other advice would be is just start really small too. There's really small ways to give. Um, one thing that I really that's has such a high impact and a low cost is be aware of local GoFundMe's for people that are impacted by a fire or an accident or medical issues, and give whatever you can from your business on that GoFundMe. And um, people have reached back out to us and was like, you know, I seen A1 Pumping, like we used you guys to plug our drain two years ago and you donated to my son who was sick, right? And it was really cool. And do it for $50. And and when you you and it's in the budget, do it for $500. And um donations and giving is a line item on your business budget and your profit and loss statement. If you budget for it like you do any other expense, then you have that money there.

SPEAKER_01 36:48

And people remember that, right? Like people have hearts, right? Like they remember those kind of things. And so the next time that they need somebody, they're gonna remember to call you guys, right? And that and a small town, especially, people talk. And that's a big marketing tool that I think people forget about is just the word of mouth and how uh somebody having a positive experience with you leads to to more jobs and stuff like that, right? So as we kind of slowly start to close here, um, do you want to touch on how maybe owning your business has changed your life, maybe even professionally or personally?

SPEAKER_03 37:23

Right. Um okay, I'll start with that. It's crazy to say that um being able to operate your own business provides you with freedom because we work 50 or 60 hours a week.

SPEAKER_02 37:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 37:35

But it if you actually enjoy what you do despite it being extremely stressful at times and difficult, um, then you're not really counting the hours that you spend at home versus the hours you spend at work. And when culture is good and you enjoy the people that you work with, it just meshes together. So you someone might look and say, Well, you work all the time. It's like, well, I I do, but I enjoy it in my home life and and work mesh, and I don't track the hours. And that is where kind of that freedom and independence unlocks that I I really like. And um we constantly invest back into the vi business. Um, we draw a wage just like everybody else that works for the business, and anything that we make is rolled back in. Um but we're we're also we're able to make a good living and we're able to pay our team well so they can make a good living and have a good quality of life. Um and my wife and I love to kind of build our little farm and have money to invest in our chickens and goats and donkeys and you know in our backyard oasis. And um, we have that opportunity to do that because of the trades. And I'm so grateful to work in the trades where there's despite the uh economy and different things, we're we're in demand and we're in a thriving industry, and I'm really proud that that kind of affords us lifestyle.

SPEAKER_02 38:51

Nice.

SPEAKER_00 38:53

Um yeah, I think like to to piggyback off of what Jeff said, like I um every day I I really enjoy what I do. Um yes, we do work a lot of hours, um, but um it it doesn't really um it doesn't feel like work all the time or whatever, which which is which is great. Uh um I I laugh about it all the time because you look at getting into the trades and becoming a plumber. And um one thing that you don't really think about is is like you know, traveling and doing podcasts and and uh being a part of like a uh like promoting the trades for the next generation stuff. And um I've flown more in my life um as a business owner than I have uh personally or never, right? And I've seen a lot of different parts of the states and and that's just like a really kind of cool aspects of doing what we're doing and being a part of um an industry um that has a lot of potential and uh and tapping into that potential. Um I've it's just opened my eyes up to um to to to travel, to see the world. Um and then uh you know, where where I would love to focus on on next and and the next part of it as um time comes back to us a little bit as as business owners would be um really focusing on promoting the trades and uh and and getting into the high schools and and into the next younger generation to be like, look at what what can uh come of this or whatever, right? And and um professionalizing our industry uh to the to the younger generation. So that's where my kind of passion is moving forward.

SPEAKER_01 40:29

But is there one thing that you would tell somebody who's looking into getting into the trades of why you recommend it? Like what would you say if you started doing that going into schools? How would you promote that to them?

SPEAKER_00 40:42

Um I I honestly think that there's just untapped potential in in our in the trades. I think that we're going to be um really, really like we're gonna be required in the future. There's um stats based off of some things in the states, and and maybe this has changed um and and numbers have uh altered a little bit, but I do know that the average age of a licensed plumber in the states is like 45 years old, and that's kind of a scary thing to look at because those are the that's the generation that has to teach the next generation of of how to do it. So when you're looking at majority of your workforce retiring or leaving the industry, um we really rely on the next generation to fill those spots. Um so I think we're going to be sought after. I think it's going to um the the tides will change where the trades are going to be like, you know, a prominent uh uh focus for everybody because we're gonna need a lot of people. So um our our industry is gonna be in demand. And uh I think that's an exciting part to be uh exciting to be part of.

SPEAKER_01 41:38

Yeah, for sure. Uh all right. So any parting wisdom that you'd like to like leave us with before we wrap up here?

SPEAKER_03 41:46

Um Well, I think that if there is other uh people working in the trades and and trying to grow a trades business that are listening to this podcast, I think something that I feel is super important is that um collaboration over competition. Like we have to network and network with each other in the community. And I think some people get into business in the trades and they feel like, well, am I not supposed to wave at the other plumber when I drive by anymore? You know, like is he the enemy? And um you can build so many great things if you can network and you can share ideas, and we really need to do better as an industry at um collaborating and networking with each other and unlocking all that potential in that. And how can we serve our customers better and how can we serve our team better?

SPEAKER_02 42:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 42:34

And support each other in the you know, the challenges of being a business owner.

SPEAKER_00 42:39

So I'm I'm gonna repeat something I said earlier. And uh full grown adults need a pat on the back and they need an attaboy. And uh um, if you want to talk about like how do you grow a business, it's retaining the um the employees that you have and and and uh seeing them grow is is wanting them to grow with you. Um so it's not it's it's it's awkward and it's weird, but people people need it. And uh and so pat your guys on the back of my high five, tell them they did a good job. Um they're they're men, but they need to hear that kind of stuff. Yeah, yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_03 43:12

Because they do a good job, right? And it's tough work, and not many people are willing to do this. And we have all these goals and ideas and things we need to meet um as a business, but we can't forget that they just spent the day, you know, out, you know, in an excavation trench, putting in that sewer pipe in or in someone's mechanical room or crawl space, and they're truly doing the uh the tough work, and um and you have to acknowledge that as you grow. For sure.

SPEAKER_01 43:37

Yeah. All right. Well, thank you, Jeff and Nathan, for j joining me today.

SPEAKER_03 43:40

Thanks for having us. This is fun.

SPEAKER_01 43:42

And have a good rest of your day.

SPEAKER_03 43:43

Thank you.