PlumbingBossPro Blog — Running a Plumbing Business

From Owner-Operator to Manager: Getting Out of the Van in a Plumbing Business

For most plumbing owners, the van is home. It is where they are good, where they are comfortable and where they feel useful. But a company where the owner is always in the van can only grow as far as one person can stretch. At some point, the owner has to choose between plumbing for the business and running it.

It Is a Choice, Not a Rule

Office help, covered in Hiring Office Help for a Plumbing Business and Setting Their Roles, takes the paperwork off your evenings. Getting out of the van is a bigger step.

Some owners never want to leave the van, and that is a perfectly good business. A one or two van company run by a working owner can be a great living. But if you want a bigger company, more time off or a business you could someday sell, you will need to step back from daily calls.

Why It Is Hard

Getting out of the van is hard for practical and personal reasons:

• You are the best plumber. Handing calls to someone slower or less careful is painful to watch.
• Customers ask for you. Long-time customers want the owner, not the new guy.
• Knowledge is in your head. You know which houses have quirks, which landlords are picky and which water heaters are close to failing.
• Management feels less real. At the end of a day of calls, you can see what you did. A day of managing feels less solid.

Get the Knowledge Out of Your Head

Before you can step back, the company has to know what you know. That means records:

• Equipment on every house. Water heater, softener, sump pump, main shut-off, sewer cleanout, with brand, model, serial, year installed and location.
• Access notes. Gate codes, dogs, where to park, who to call.
• Past notes. What you did last time and what you recommended.
• Customer notes. Who prefers texts, who wants a call first, which landlord approves bigger repairs.

In PlumbingBossPro, all of this lives on the client and the address and shows on the job card. When it is there, any plumber can walk into any house with what you would have known.

Hand Off in Steps

Do not go from full-time in the van to full-time in the office overnight. Step back in stages:

1. Hand off routine maintenance first. Yearly flushes and softener service are predictable and easy to train.
2. Then routine service calls. Faucets, toilets, disposals.
3. Then drains. Once your plumbers are confident with the machines.
4. Keep the big estimates for a while. Water heater replacements, tankless installs and commercial accounts are where the owner's judgment pays off most.

Many owners end up spending most of their time on estimates, key accounts and the business itself, and only go out on calls for tricky jobs or to train.

Stay in Control Without Riding Along

Stepping back does not mean losing touch. You can see the business without being in every house:

• The dispatch board shows every van's day.
• Crew GPS shows where everyone is on the office map.
• Photos and notes on each job show what was found and done.
• Inspection checklists show readings and recommendations.
• Reports show work done, billing and collections.

The weekly review becomes your main tool. If you have not made it a habit yet, start with The Weekly Reports Every Plumbing Business Owner Should Watch.

What the Owner Does Now

Once you are out of the van, your job changes:

• Sell the bigger jobs and keep key accounts happy.
• Hire, train and coach your plumbers and office staff.
• Watch the numbers and fix leaks.
• Plan for the next van, the next season and the next year.
• Keep customers and the crew happy enough to stay.

It is a different kind of work. It takes time to feel natural. Do not be surprised if the first year out of the van feels harder than the years in it.

Let Others Do It Their Way

Your plumbers will not do everything exactly the way you would. As long as the result is good, the customer is happy and the job is billed right, let small differences go. Focus your attention on what matters: quality, honesty, customer care and complete records.

Build a Company, Not a Job

Getting out of the van turns a plumber with a business into a business with plumbers. Get the knowledge into the system, hand off in steps and stay in control from the office. For more on growing a plumbing company, visit the PlumbingBossPro plumbing business software page.