Natalie Forster: Editorial Opinion

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Generosity is the new marketing. In this era of social media, charitable companies can earn an enhanced brand reputation as being a “good” company and will make people want to do business with them.

Plumbing and HVAC contractors need to market themselves to potential employees just like they market to their customers.

Plumbing and HVAC contractors can help alleviate financial worries by offering multiple financing options.

Fall is conference and tradeshow season in the plumbing and HVAC world.

According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the number of teenagers who have driver’s licenses have declined. You wouldn’t think this matters to the home service contracting industry, but it does.

In my years in the workforce, I’ve had jobs with amazing bosses and managers. On the flip side, I’ve also had terrible managers who made me question whether or not I wanted to stay in that organization.

A few weeks back I was having a conversation with a plumbing and HVAC contracting business owner. During the beginning of our discussion, he abruptly told me, “I just use ChatGPT to do your job.”

Many of us have heard the term, ‘The Great Resignation,’ in describing the massive amount of employee turnover the last few years. In 2021, federal data shows nearly 50 million workers left their jobs for various reasons — higher pay, new career opportunities and more. With an already strained job market in the skilled trades, employee retention is more important than ever.

Last month, the Biden-Harris Administration announced it is proposing the first-ever national drinking water standard for six per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The proposal, if finalized, would regulate PFOA and PFOS as individual contaminants, and will regulate four other PFAS — PFNA, PFHxS, PFBS and GenX Chemicals — as a mixture.

BNP Media’s Plumbing Group is finally settling back in after a whirlwind of travel this past month. We’ve been racking up those frequent flier miles attending NKBA’s Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS), IMARK Plumbing, the AHR Expo and the WWETT show. While there was a ton to see at each event, for the purposes of this column, we’re going to focus on KBIS.