Business Management

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As many companies adopt growth-oriented language, it’s important to explore the tactical strategies behind it. Key benchmarks to consider include: What roles do we need to fill in the next few years? How do we retain our experienced employees? Who is our ideal customer and how many will we have in three years? What are our projected revenues in 5 and 10 years? Are our plans aligned with healthy gross and EBITDA margins?

Apprenticeship has long been the heartbeat of the plumbing and HVAC trades. But for today’s apprentices, training looks different than it did for their mentors and parents. With new online programs, flexible learning schedules, and updated curriculum that reflects the latest industry standards, apprentices are able to gain both the technical “booksmarts” and the on-the-job confidence needed to thrive.

Your energy drives the tone, the pace, and the performance of your team. If your goal is to create a culture where people show up strong, stay accountable, and do work they’re proud of—guess what? That starts with you showing up that way first.

When Brady Jolly steps into the office each morning, he’s carrying more than the responsibility of running a nearly 60-person business. He’s carrying forward the legacy of a company his parents founded back in 1979 — a company that has reinvented itself more than once and is today on a mission to "reimagine how the world experiences home services."

Most crucial of all is developing a strong team of mentors who can help nurture aspiring technicians. This is often where the true value of an apprenticeship program is revealed. Most contractors have at least one veteran tradesperson about whom they would say, "I wish I had 10 of them!"

Not every ride-along ends in a hire, and that’s by design. Last year, a candidate with over 20 years of experience applied. On the phone, he nailed every question with the right answer and knew what to say to capture my attention. His resume looked solid, so I invited him for a ride-along. But when he joined our team, the cracks appeared.

Not every ride-along ends in a hire, and that’s by design. Last year, a candidate with over 20 years of experience applied. On the phone, he nailed every question with the right answer and knew what to say to capture my attention. His resume looked solid, so I invited him for a ride-along. But when he joined our team, the cracks appeared.

Women make up only 2-3% of the plumbing workforce and 8% of plumbing apprentices. In construction trades, they hold 3.9% of roles like plumber or pipefitter, a 32% increase since 2016, totaling over 314,000 tradeswomen, according to the Institute of Women’s Policy Research.

CONNECT brings together professionals and emerging leaders, contractors, vendors and educators in a collaborative environment. Attendees will leave not only with fresh insights and tools for success but also with the kind of personal connections that support long-term growth and innovation.

If you’re leading a plumbing team today, you’re probably dealing with a whole mix of generations, attitudes, and learning styles. The top-down, “Because I said so,” approach may have worked in the past (barely), but it’s not cutting it now. The truth is, people don’t want to be managed—they want to be developed.