John Wilson - Growing the Family Plumbing Business - Ep. 47

Think Like an Owner

My guest on this episode is John Wilson. John purchased his 3rd generation family business, Wilson Plumbing, which was started by his grandfather and has grown it from 4-5 plumbers to 20 and still growing strong. I’ve had guests with just one company and those with a half dozen companies or more. John’s in the middle and we spend some time talking about his evolution into a holding company role and desire to build a portfolio of companies.

We also talk about building his plumbing business, hiring and training new plumbers including how to walk up to a customer’s house, why plumbers often don’t make good managers, and how to scale a home services business. I learned a ton about the nuances of operating in this episode and I hope you take away a few great lessons from John’s experience so far.

For the full episode transcript and more, visit alexbridgeman.com/podcast.

I’m also the founder of The Operator’s Handbook, a print publication where small company operators share their insights and ideas for building more effective and profitable companies. Articles focus on process improvement, sales, hiring and training, managing culture, and all responsibilities within operating a small company. If you run a small business and are looking for new ways to grow and improve, subscribe today and join your peers in the endless pursuit of better at theoperatorshandbook.com.