Blue Collar Business Podcast
Welcome to the Blue Collar Business Podcast with Sy Kirby. Dive deep into the world of hands-on entrepreneurship and the gritty side of making things happen. Join us for actionable tips on scaling your blue-collar business, managing teams, and staying ahead in an ever-evolving market. We'll also discuss the latest industry trends and innovations that could impact your bottom line. If you're passionate about the blue-collar world and eager to learn from those who've thrived in it, this podcast is a must-listen. Stay tuned for engaging conversations and real-world advice that can take your blue-collar business to new heights.
Blue Collar Business Podcast
Ep. 39 - The Plumbing Pioneer's Playbook
Turning a $5.50 per hour job into a six-crew plumbing empire doesn't happen overnight. Jerry Houy's 20-year journey building Jerry's Plumbing reveals what's truly possible when determination meets opportunity in the skilled trades.
Jerry's story begins like many in construction - hating his daily grind as a "pack mule" carrying shingles until a plumbing company owner noticed his potential. That simple opportunity transformed Jerry's career trajectory as he fell in love with plumbing and approached every task with enthusiasm. "You don't realize people are watching you all the time," Jerry explains, describing how his reputation for reliability made him a sought-after helper.
The early days of entrepreneurship tested Jerry's resolve. With no credit history, he relied on someone believing in him enough to co-sign for essential equipment. His wife worked alongside him in the field, cutting pipe and dragging materials through mud before picking up their children each afternoon. Together, they built a foundation that would eventually support six crews handling up to 24 house rough-ins weekly.
What stands out most in Jerry's approach is his commitment to quality and relationships. After trying various systems, he implemented a dedicated quality control position filled by a former employee who inspects jobs before customers or inspectors see them. His two daughters now work in the office (one even earned her journeyman license), creating a true family business built on reputation so strong he's "never paid one penny for advertising" in two decades.
Perhaps most refreshing is Jerry's boundaries with difficult clients: "I've fired more builders than builders have fired me." His zero-tolerance policy for disrespect, regardless of potential volume, demonstrates the confidence that comes from knowing your worth.
For those struggling in the early stages of a trades career, Jerry offers simple but powerful wisdom: "Keep pushing, keep fighting. It's going to get better and you're going to reap the rewards." Ready to build your own blue-collar legacy? Subscribe now for more stories and strategies from those who've made it happen.
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Hey guys, welcome to the Blue Collar Business Podcast, where we discuss the realest, rawest, most relevant stories and strategies behind building every corner of a blue collar business. I'm your host, cy Kirby, and I want to help you in what it took me trial and error and a whole lot of money to learn the information that no one in this industry is willing to share. Whether you're under that shade tree or have your hard hat on, let's expand your toolbox. Welcome back, guys, to another episode of the Blue Collar Business Podcast, sponsored by podcastvideoscom. We get to be in the wonderful I think they call this the newscast room this morning presented on some beautiful 4K imagery. Back to you guys, appreciate you guys tuning in.
Speaker 1:Today I've got a wonderful episode that this gentleman has been on the list. He probably doesn't even know how long he's been on the list, but he's been on the guest list for some time and helped me fill a cancellation this week out of the blue, helped me fill a cancellation this week out of the blue and we've actually done a very small amount of business together, but I've known of this gentleman for some time. There is a ton of guys in my community that work for this gentleman and he treats them right and he's been 20 years in business. So, plumbers, you need to take a pen and paper out because he's fixing to give you a business model that he's ran for 20 years and been effective and still has an amazing reputation and name around town and, furthermore, jerry Hoy of Jerry's Plumbing.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for joining me today, thanks for having me Well today we're literally just going to hear a little bit about your story, as much as you want to tell, and hopefully some funny highlights and experiences that the plumbing world has taught you. But what year did we get started?
Speaker 2:I got started in my own business in 2009. I got in the plumbing industry in 2000, let's see. Probably graduated high school in 90. So I got in the plumbing around gosh, let's see 2000, right around 2000. Oh, my god, 25 years ago, yeah, I went, yeah, and I started my business, I guess in 2008, 2001 26 years.
Speaker 1:He's gonna have some good stories to tell us about that when we get there. But what? What was it like when you started out as an apprentice, when I'm assuming you went to work for somebody for the first five or six years, learning plumbing?
Speaker 2:yeah, my dad was a construction worker. We framed houses, built houses, and I was just a pack mule faring shingles and loom. So we all started and I hated every day I went to work and the plumbers would show up on the job and they're just tooting an awler and having a blast, you know, and I'm mad all the time. I just hate what I was doing. And just the owner of that plumbing company one day just came up and told me he said you go to work for me. I'll pay you a dollar more than you're making, which put me at like $5.50 an hour. Wow, and he like 550. And he said no, I'll put you through school. He said all you need to do is show it with a pencil. So easy enough, yeah.
Speaker 2:So I took that opportunity and man, it was just, you're the lowest on the totem pole, you know. At that point you just got to know what you want. I always wanted to be self-employed in something and I just fell in love with plumbing. I it was no longer work, it was pulling. I liked going in and no matter what they asked me to do, I just did it with. Uh, you know, hop and skip, yes, sir, and that obviously people started liking me. You know anybody they got me to as their helper. They they just you know they wanted me just because all I did was I worked hard and I did what I was told.
Speaker 2:You know, yep, I did that for four grand in years, went to school. I would go to school like about three months out of the year. You go to school for one night a week, four hours, one night a week, and this gentleman was paying for that right for every good new show up. And then, uh, it was just rough years, you know, wasn't making much money. And then I got through.
Speaker 2:I got through my schooling and got my journeyman, uh, and then I just worked for a company for a couple shoot, I said a couple, it's probably still three, four years there. I had a guy that worked there that quit, went out and started his own business, which was really hard for me because that's what I wanted to do. I was just scared, you know, malware. Then I went to work for him and I gave him like eight years and it finally got the nerve to get my journey or my master. Before I got my master's I had already bought my work truck, picked up tools there and there where I could and um had a couple builders they all knew of me through the years of working in the field. That said you ever start your own company.
Speaker 1:You call me, so I finally made the compliment, man, just from your work ethic, yeah.
Speaker 2:So I made the jump. I called them and, yeah, they gave me a job and went and did my first underground rough in and I was scared to death. He showed up on the job and handed me my check and I went straight to the supply house. I went straight up because I didn't know if I was even making money. He just told me how much he would pay me. So I ran to the supply house and I don't know, I probably had like a $4,000 check in my hand and they told me my material was like 900 bucks. And you're like and I said, oh no, I gotta do taxes on this money. So so I set on that money and did a few more jobs and just panically went in. Finally supply house said jerry, you don't have to pay that bill every job, you can wait monthly. I said, nope, I'll do it every week.
Speaker 2:So so smart brother yeah, that that really got me going. And then I just started getting super busy. I couldn't do it all myself and I hired my wife. So I didn't say hire, but you know she, she would cut that pipe, she would drag pipe through the mud, she'd roll you know 500 foot, roll gas plastic out and we'd get after it about one o'clock she'd have to go pick up the kids. You know I was working in huntsville at the time and I would stay out there and grind and get it done and come in you know dark, every day. And then after about a year of that I finally had to hire on a guy Right, and then it was just him starting as an apprentice under mama.
Speaker 1:Yeah, as your journeyman.
Speaker 2:You know, and we had three little kids at the time. I mean I don't want to say babies, but I mean we were talking probably fourth third kindergarten, just like me right now, eight, six, four-month-old. Yeah, you just grind. It's what you want to do. You've got to just grind and never let anything stop you. Because I had offers. I had a very large plumbing company in this area make me an offer. That was just unbelievable and I wouldn't take it.
Speaker 1:I wanted to have my own business and I did, and so you know we got her going and you plumbing over the years, mainly residential homes, not really stepping out on the commercial, but doing repetitive subdivision homes and obviously customs as well. That comes with the market, but that's been kind of the mainstream and you've kind of figured out how to build a system from. Well, let's not go too far here. So we've still got. How many years did we run with just the one guy? I'm assuming it was pretty well your fall after that. Probably a year, yep, probably. Probably a year, yep, probably about a year. Then you've got a crew of three, probably within another year of that, and hopefully mama's now working in the office a little bit.
Speaker 1:Yep, yeah that's pretty much how it took off, and then you were out there slinging trying to make sure they had they had work in front of them, Cause you were scared, just like I was. Every day you got these three guys. You're like man, if we don't do this and if we don't get this check in here, then I can't, and it's just a constant fear, especially in those early years. But what did you do? I think you've already spoke on it. It's your work ethic. Number one is an apprentice and it should go to show you guys that are jumping into the plumbing field or jumping in any field, just come ready to work every single day. Listen, shut your mouth, keep your phone in your pocket, get a daggum pen and notepad that you can slip in your one shirt or your one pocket of your shirt and just take notes all day long and ask those questions, and in a year it'll go by and then somebody will notice you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, you get noticed out there. You don't even realize you know people's just watching you all the time. You know I have. I just feel so old anymore because so many of the builders that wanted to use me when I started my business I got too busy and I couldn't keep up. Some of them has, you know, passed away since then and stuff, and it's like I'm dealing with so many new, younger guys now in the, you know, superintendent world. That the younger guys that were for me, they all click, like they, they're like best friends with the super. That the younger guys that work for me they all click, they're like best friends with the super. I'm like man, y'all just go, you just run with it. I do.
Speaker 2:When you got that relationship, I don't need to be a big boss man. Good for you. It took me some time to figure that out. It's hard. You feel like you have to micromanage every single thing that happens. It's hard. You feel like you have to micromanage every single thing that happens. But I have a quality control guy that I hired just to give me some feedback base. And I'll tell you what as long as there's no fires to put out, nobody calls me, and they're very few and far between.
Speaker 1:So that's that's really interesting. When did you this is going to be probably every plumber in America that has the one crew and can sell enough work. How did you step out and do a second crew and keep them up course busy? I mean, it comes with good work and good quality of work and but when did you know that point? And was it just a giant leap of faith, or did you already have the work?
Speaker 2:Man, I tell you it has to just be the leap of faith, because in construction there's no guaranteed 40 hours a week and anybody that gets in the business has to know that. And anybody that gets in the business has to know that there's going to be rainy days and stuff. So for me, I just had to take them on and if I didn't have the work I had to create work, wash the truck, organize the shop, just something to give you your A&Rs and because I knew I need them, if I can't keep them busy're gonna go somewhere else. So, yeah, there is a slaughter is taken there. When, especially when you got to go buy another truck, when you got them tools and you're setting this whole truck up, and then you got to send them on to go, uh, represent your name. You're hoping they're out there doing their job as good as I'm over the other side of Springdale doing my job.
Speaker 2:Loosening them reins is probably was the hardest, hardest thing that I ever had to do, but I'm up to. I've got six crews right now and every single one of them are just they're studs. Yes, yeah, I'm just so blessed to finally have them and I'm telling you I've been through hundreds. You know I'm saying hundreds, and the the strong remain the committed. You know, yes, sir, they stay, and that's where I'm at right now. I've got solid guys I don't have to worry about. Are they going to leave me? Are they going to quit me? I try to take good care of them.
Speaker 1:It's? When do you since? I mean I understand I've only been at it we're starting our 10th year in August been about half the time, but I have been through so many folks. I have that core group that's been here a long gated time, two to four years out of the nine that we've been open. But when do you know that? Okay, we get an apprentice, say we get three or four of them come through with starting another crew, going from two crews to six crews.
Speaker 1:I think a lot of folks are sitting out there, say a journeyman that's sitting out there and go why can't I run a truck? Why can't I run a truck? Why will this guy not see that I'm the guy? And a lot of times guys just like Jerry said hey, you know, hopefully he's taking off in my truck with my name on it and he's doing exactly what I would like him to do. It's not about necessarily the work, it's how organized, how clean, what kind of presentation? Are you out there just cussing up a storm for everybody and their dog to hear you? Because that's Jerry's name on the side of that truck? So when do you know for sure? Because this has been one of the hardest things for me. I've elevated people and I shouldn't have. I should have kept them in the role that they were in. When do you know that that apprentice is the guy that's going to do it Well?
Speaker 2:that's a great question really, because just this morning we had an incident where an apprentice had to drive one of my extra trucks to get to the job and lost the gas cap on the truck. So I said why'd you lose the gas cap? What happened? Were you not thinking blah blah? And he says well, you know. He said I must have. Said I said I don't really mind. She said I probably get no more for three, four dollars. I said it's not about the gas cap, said you know, it's the irresponsibility, it's the fact that you know I can't. You know you're irresponsible at that. What else you're going to be irresponsible at? And I said so, you know you're irresponsible at that. What else are you going to be irresponsible at? And I said so, you know. I said you got a target on you right now, in my opinion, because I said I'm watching you for that, but you don't. You just got to watch that as they're growing. You got to see if they're going to be responsible enough.
Speaker 1:And unfortunately.
Speaker 2:You know it's a risk you got to take somewhat, but they start out for me when they become a journeyman. They have to, in my opinion. They have to go in a truck and they have to go out and make company money. Yep, trading's over Great. If you're not responsible, you wouldn't have been in those four years. You're not going to be. So you know, know, I try to cut that dead weight, so to speak, before. So by the time you give a guy a truck, you're 100 confident.
Speaker 1:And I agree, as you work on these little hiccups, the little things that they don't think's a big deal, which are the biggest deal to us and you're like, if you would just you do your job well, if you would just grasp that you need to just present yourself a little bit differently and go. It's just a $3, $4 gas can, buddy. That irritates me so bad. Yeah, it's not just the gas cap or a gas can or a tool, it's a shovel that's $25 shovels, drive me crazy. But it's the responsibility factor, it's when. Shovel that's $25 shovels, drive me crazy, and, but it's the responsibility factor. It's when can we trust you?
Speaker 1:And then once to those guys that just got that position hey, don't take a mile. If we're given an inch and we're showing the trust and we're showing that, hey, you might be this guy, take that 90 days to really secure in your role and that's the time you're going to ask questions that we're expecting. But don't just go out there and expect the world. Now you've got this big boy position. Just like Jerry said, it's your job to be the direct earner for that truck. You are the talented individual that he is paying to be responsible for not just the truck, the tools and the trailer, but one of the most expensive parts of the job the labor.
Speaker 1:And it's got to be efficient, and that has been a struggle for me to figure that out, because I have trusted and gave folks opportunities several times that I probably shouldn't have, and that's not necessarily on them, even though they're telling me they're ready for it. I've got to have, and I think this just comes from experience, jerry, I hope you tell me this, because I'm sitting there I want to give them what they want, but at the same time I've got my heart on one side, my mind on the other, and it's taken me some years to figure out that my mind really has to take over in those.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, because I mean, you're the reliable one at the end of the day.
Speaker 1:For sure, well, six crews. So what is a typical day in, say, jerry's plumbing world? Now, with what we've got going on 20 years in Now, what are our crews doing? What's our admin doing? Just kind of give a rough. What these guys can hopefully see, because I've been to Jerry's shop. It is very organized. He has systems, he has systems, he has processes and I sit here and talk on the show all the time about processes and systems because I didn't have them in place and I was the bottleneck for my company. So my systems and processes and procedures, with AI sprinkled in places, is very different than Jerry's here on two sides of the table that both have systems that work in place. But give us kind of a you know a rundown per se of what a normal day with six dadgum plumbing crews, brother well, yeah, there's, I mean there's two guys per cruise.
Speaker 2:I mean I've got I don't show up in my job till about seven. Yep, I've got a couple guys that are there just raring to go every day. So you know, I got guys showing up from 6 15 to right at 7 29, you know what I mean. And um, but they, you know, they, just they come in and we, you know they, they paired, they're paired up with a journeyman so the apprentice knows who he's working with and we just put our schedule on the boards and you know, we all try to sit around and talk about the day before or just laugh and joke and just kind of. You know, I don't know what. You call it Commodity.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we do that, and then, you know, I don't have to do a whole lot of nothing. I mean, they know their job, you know, and my guys are so good that they know their job and you know, I just sit back and observe. I don't have to observe my journeymen, no more. You know, they're locked in here until they aren't. But my apprentices, they're the ones that really watch, and I'm watching.
Speaker 2:That apprentice that you know picks up that trash can and goes and takes the trash out without being asked, you know. Or that favorite towel or something I threw at the trash and missed it, and the apprentice that picked it up without even being asked. You know, those are going to be the future of Jerry's Plumbing, you know. But yeah, that's pretty much it. And at 730, everybody better be moving. Yep, there's no, there's no ifs, ands or buts, and I don't have to say nothing when that clock hits 7, 30 them guys are clearing out. They're out in the shop pulling orders, hooking on the tractors.
Speaker 2:Um, I'm going over blueprints, what it what I need to with the guys that might have questions for the day, and I mean it's absolute hooting and hollering and chaos, apprentices running around getting ice in the coolers and loading drinks up, and and then all of a sudden, at like eight o'clock, straight up, you could hear a pin ghost town baby. You bet yeah, and it's that way every day. But you know, I have my two daughters. Two of my three daughters work in the office and my wife works in there with them. So how cool is that? It's awesome. I do not do much, I don't.
Speaker 1:But how cool is it to work with your two daughters and your wife. Yeah, I got two girls now myself. I would love that yeah, my oldest daughter.
Speaker 2:She's pretty much taking the manager title in the office and cool thing about her is she's been with me about eight years maybe and she went and got her journey. No way, no way. Yeah, that's amazing Because her and her husband started with me about the same time, so they just studied together. She went to plumbing school, she's went out and set toilets, she set faucets, you know, and she went down and took the test and she passed it, he passed his, and then they both became journeymen. She's due to go down next month to get her master.
Speaker 1:No way, I bet the guys respect her, though, oh yeah, because she's gone out there done the exact same qualifications to adhere to what they do. So when she asks at 2.30, the customer called in they're a little upset. It may be a little silly, but we're going to run by and they ain't going to have no problem. Yes, ma'am, no problem, I bet, oh yeah that's all you hear at 2.
Speaker 2:This is yes, ma'am, yes, ma'am, from everybody. They really respect them. I got to sit back and be a little bit quiet because I just know about enough to be dead, and then I ruffled their plan or their little schedule, boy.
Speaker 1:Yep, we'll get it did in the last. You say you know five, but from the 10-year mark on, with the scalability and the growth that you've gone to, when did you know that these smaller, redundant systems and processes were needed within your business, like as in even from a the clocking, clock out method to a document, what you guys have done for the day, or hey, did you pull this stuff off the shelf or not?
Speaker 2:yeah, man I'd. I've been pretty much like that from very almost beginning. Wow, it's so important that you know where every single and I deal in thousands of different fittings, you know. So I don't know, I'm just very strict about that. I see a piece of pipe that's six inches long. I see you know $1.25. I don't see a six a piece of pipe that's six inches long. I see you know a dollar 25. I don't see a six inch piece of scrap pipe. I see a piece of pipe that I know for a fact. You can make a couple makeup pieces out of that. Yep, so I really I don't think I ever got to nipped in the butt by anything because I was already implementing it. I would say time cards was something that kind of came a little later than I would have liked. Yep, I just got crumbled up. Paper written said I had 42 hours. Give me a check.
Speaker 1:We all did it. At one point I did the same thing. I didn't know there was anything else different I know it was like you didn't.
Speaker 2:You just wrote checks on whatever, and you know. So now I still. Probably one of the hardest things is to get everybody to fill their time out each day. If you can't do it today, do it first thing in the morning, and that's I'm still working with that, because that still don't happen, okay, and still sit there a little about Tuesday and they know they got to get time cards in there. What time do you get off one day?
Speaker 1:I understand that one and, honestly, there's so many software programs out there now, but I literally went to combat. That was a phone system. It's actually integrates with QuickBooks and everything else goes straight to their payroll. But they clock in and out on their phone, they request everything and I track where they're at If they want paid. I got to know where they're at, not being any way, but at the same time, are you driving to and from the job? Yeah, absolutely, and there's so many software programs out there that are very simplistic, very simplistic for them, very simplistic for the company to adhere to. But with my kind of not to get off on this. But I got into so many battles with GCs. Well, your guy didn't show up that day and do this. Well, just a second, check your email. There's where he was located on your job on this day for this many hours. No, sir, I'm going to need paid for that and that helped me with just more in the commercial game. Not so much, obviously. When I was, I never could scale the residential side of me. I wish I could have. I really do.
Speaker 1:Guys, blue Collar Performance Marketing absolutely been with them the last seven and a half months and I can tell you just sat through another strategy meeting literally two and a half hours ago and I can't tell you how enthused in the value that I'm receiving in our marketing strategy and our campaign and everything that we're doing behind the scenes.
Speaker 1:If you guys need that in your world, need a website, need anything marketing, get over to bcperformancemarketingcom backslash BCB podcast or click the link in the description below. They'll give you a total free discovery call and basically go over the entire marketing campaign. Do you need a website? Do you need this first? Do you need that first? Answer all your questions. So get with them Back here with Mr Jerry. The biggest thing that me and Mr Jerry have in common that not a lot of plumbers dive off and do is buy machines. They all have a truck or some router, router equipment but when, especially in the way you've built the residential side of the business, you were having to do so many rough-ins Like how many rough-ins are you guys doing a day?
Speaker 2:We can. Well, now that I've got two backers, we can do. We can do four houses in a day. And it's like I tell my builders they worry about me keeping up. And I said that's, I can do four a day. And I said, and we can work six days. So I said that's 24 rough ends a week. And I said I have not had a builder once challenge me on that. So I'm like, don't worry about that part. But, um, but yeah, I'd tell you.
Speaker 2:That kind of takes me back to when I did start my business. That was the biggest investment and I had no credit, had no job in their eyes, because I just quit the company I was with for eight years and nobody wanted to. There was no chance of you financing the tractor. And um, I got so lucky, blessed guy that stepped in and co-signed for me and, uh, got me in a tractor and still needed a trailer. And the guy so happen to have a trailer on his lot too. So he got, he scooted me out the door and he basically said you know, I believe in you, I'm, you know, don't let me down.
Speaker 2:And man, his old beater tractor is his bucket. Just I got through it and, man, I got to buy my first backhoe and, yeah, it's, that was good. So yeah, I, we do that on daily. We do two at least every day and there's three phases. You know, we do a top out which is going to set tubs, run all the pipes and the walls. Then we go back to us what we call fixture set out, set all toilets, faucets and stuff like that. But yeah, in one day we could do two rough ends, two top outs, two set outs, with the crew I got.
Speaker 1:So pretty impressive, sir. I mean to have all the systems to be able to go hey, my admin team knows what's going on. They respect the office, the office and the field. The biggest, one of the largest problems that I hear on this show all the time is man, I can't, and they write in, I can't get my field in my office or, I'm sorry, dadgum guys, my admin and my operations to really communicate effectively. Well, it's taken me some time to really scale back and go hey, what works? What's elementary? Is it a checklist, is it whatever it is? And it's taken me some time to really make that a cohesive effort. But it sounds like your admin staff really just supports your guys in a different way.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I've tried so many things. Checklists I personally would set out every day and go try to check the jobs that we do on a daily basis and you'll wear yourself out trying. Yeah, and it was just so. It got to too much. So I created checklists, you know, and all the guys checklists, and unfortunately that turned into jumping in the truck at the end of the day and just filling in all the spots yes, yes, yes, yes, yes and then turning it in, didn't know all about it. That didn't work, you know. Then the callbacks and the inspection failures is what proved it wasn't working.
Speaker 2:So I just ran into an ex-employee of mine one day that quit me because he was just getting elderly and he wasn't physically able to do it. I ran into him and we got to talking. I said, oh, she'd be able to QC. I said you could get off your normal job and come do this in the evenings. Just go around, check my work. And he's a top-notch plumber too. So we settled on a per phase price. And I don't go out there. I meet still meet builders and things when they of course to me, but I don't just go run the roads to burn up gas and he does it and, um, that's been the greatest thing I ever did. It was better than any checklist. And we find problems. We don't have a lot of problems, but we find things before the builder, before the customer, inspector, inspectors. We slide in there, we get it fixed because he writes it up and it's just. We're working so smooth right now.
Speaker 1:I wouldn't change a thing that we're doing, man 20 years in business and he's sitting there talking about how smooth it is. It just goes to show you guys that you don't need all these new school systematic If you build a culture that folks like I see posts all the time breakfast in the shop and I'll be cooking breakfast on a Blackstone and it's a culture that I envy for sure, and I tried chasing the wrong culture at first. Although it was a good culture, it just wasn't incentive based and it was more hey guys, we're going to go do this, rather than hey, let's do this together to get to here, to be able to go do this. And it's simple, not things like doing breakfast we do breakfast and some lunches and whatnot but it's the bigger items and I have really had to rein back do this together. And the one thing you just said. Before we end here, brother, I got one more question, but you said you had somebody help you co-sign and so did I. And when you're first in business guys, I just want to encourage you.
Speaker 1:Most of the time, when you jump off and you do your own thing and you've got to go finance something big, there's not a whole lot of folks that are going to work with you guys. They're just not. But if there is somebody that is believing in what you're doing because, thank God, I had somebody on my first set of machines and wasn't the most conducive business deal but at the same time, look at us, go now. And if I didn't take that risk, not everything is going to come at you on a silver platter is what I'm getting at, and it's those relationships that I talk about on this show all the time.
Speaker 1:Relationships are everything when it comes to business, talking about builders that you know you want to keep every relationship as close as you possibly can. Of course and when did you learn to with as many folks as you have met over the years, brother? How do you decide on which client, volume or pay terms or whatever it is? I think you could be a definite helper here. And how do you weigh out which client's going to be better for your you know operation? Because it's hard. You want to help everybody yeah, I do, you do.
Speaker 2:You know? You hear a lot of times people say you know, put all your eggs in the basket. Um, I do believe that and I have got two of the largest builders in Northwest Arkansas, but I also got about eight smaller builders and I don't know. I mean, obviously, yeah, you're going to focus on the large volume, but you're going to focus on the 150, 200, 300 houses they're going to do that year, versus the guy that's only going to do five or 10. But it's just such a juggling act. It's just you. You work weekends, you work late, you, you know you're, you just try to meet everybody's needs. But, yes, at the end of the day, you, it is a um, I don't know how you want to just categorize them, but it's.
Speaker 2:It's been a problem with tyrant too. You know, I get calls that and I don't feel the love, jerry, I'm not feeling the love. I'm like well, hang in there, brother, please. I was like we're working evenings, my guys are working weekends. I said we are trying and I usually just because I think we're good enough at what we do, and they, they, they be patient and give me that time, we get them caught up, and so that is a tough one, you know, and it's. You don't want to ever have to treat any customer any less, but we don't really. In that sense it's just.
Speaker 1:Well, I guess the I guess the question would be is when to let go of a bad customer. I think would be a better question.
Speaker 2:That's been fairly easy for us, because we I don't want to sound overconfident or cocky, but we are good at what we do and we know we're good. Yep, if you don't appreciate that and you're going to call me and raise your voice and be disrespectful, you are going to get fired. Yep, if you don't appreciate that and you're going to call me and raise your voice and be disrespectful, you are going to get fired. Yep, and believe me, I have fired more builders than builders fired me. Yes, sir, and we just have zero tolerance for that. So you know, that's man, that's. You know when it's time. I guess it don't get scary, though because you know they carry that volume.
Speaker 1:But at the same time, there is principles you set as an operator of a business that you're just not going to step over. That line. That's my boundary line. I don't care how much work you've got Right, you need to sound overconfident or cocky. Sir, you have the system in place with this QC gentleman who worked for you for a long time. He knows your expectations, he knows Jerry himself.
Speaker 1:I think I have literally toyed with that in my mind because I think some of the things that we run into small things, meter can settling or it trace your wire wrapped like small things that are going to get caught on a large commercial punch list that I believe we should have already got, because that's our standard. Whether it's the well, the concrete guys ran over the meter can, nobody said that. You know what I mean. Those situations happen too. But you're good at what you do because you've got a culture built within your team. And then you've got a gentleman making sure that we're doing exactly the standard that Jerry set for. Jerry Splunk, yeah, and that is so hard and unique to find yeah.
Speaker 2:And truly go ahead. Well, I was just thinking, I just fell into that, running into that guy that day, and it was never on my mind, I never was thinking of it. I just kept going out and, you know, doing it myself, and I just bumped into him and I don't know where it came from, it just came right out of my mouth. I said, well, you don't go to work for me? And he said, oh, I couldn't do it anymore. I said, well, you can do QC, maybe Just go check my jobs, maybe just go check my jobs. And he had just bought a new boat and he said I'll make my boat payment. And I said so and he's been doing it. Um, I never see him. I see him one time a year. I invite him well, twice. So we have an employee party every year and then we have a christmas party and I see him at those two three, that means he's getting the reports in.
Speaker 2:Uh, he gets it done. And if I see or hear of anything that's wrong, I immediately ask my girls. I'm like uh, why didn't qc not catch it? And I don't know. Well, there I go calling qc. He sees me calling. He knows something's wrong. Yeah, he just answers the phone. Uh-oh, what did I miss?
Speaker 1:I said but what a great relationship and I think it speaks to a testament of who you are and the relationships that you have built within your company, within your business, over the years. I truly hope in 10 years that my I'd probably be a little bit about 15 years I'd have my two beautiful baby girls working in the office. Yeah, I actually not to elongate today, but I have been toying with the idea. I'm not toying anymore, I'm acting on it. I am going to hire me an operations manager ago or a year ago at this point, and I didn't, as the business, set him up the way we should have. Don't get me wrong. But at the same time, I have focused very hard in the last 18 months of setting up systems to bring somebody else back on.
Speaker 1:But man, it is so hard. I need to be up here with my estimator selling work and I sit here and talk about this hamster wheel of death for an entrepreneur, because you run up here and you bid a bunch of work and you run out here and get it all done and you're, oh God, we have no work. Get up here and cut prices to get on the job and then you're out there doing low budget work and it's just this hamster wheel and I'm at this point that my team needs somebody that is dedicated every single day, 10 hours a day, into operations. Two years ago I could 30 sets of plans that we were working on and 60 sets that were upfront, that we were bidding on. I had you give me a plan number and a page and a profile and I'll tell you the elevation. But I can't do that anymore and I thought it was me. For a long time, as a business owner, I've been beating myself up and I'm like, hey, man, it's not just you, it's the system that's built around you.
Speaker 1:And my team. I looked at my team and I'm like, hey guys, what do we think about this Cy? We feel terrible having to call you. Can you please find somebody? Maybe that QC kind of of course gonna be QC underneath him. But I'm toying that with myself. So I've got one last question for you, sir. It's what I ask every single person on this show and it's what's a takeaway for the blue collar skilled trades guy who is sick and tired of being stuck in the mud, and that means not just physically, but emotionally, mentally Maybe. That apprentice has been working at the plumbing outfit for the first six months and he's really just tired of chasing tools or whatever every day. And he's just checked out up here what you got for that guy.
Speaker 2:Man, I just got to tell you to keep pushing, keep fighting, block that out. It's going to get better and you're going to reap the rewards from it, not only working for a company and having work, it's your money In our business. You have an opportunity to start your own business, you know, and I've been stuck many times. But it just takes the willpower and drive. You know I fell down many times in this over the 20 years of the teacher. Yeah, and it's just a lot of it too is how you're raised. You know you're just raised to fight and push and never give up, no matter what. And you, you'll get what you want.
Speaker 2:You know people that know me. You know I won't stop until I get what I want, and I don't care if it's a new house, a new car, a tool. I will not stop till I buy it. So you know, I have my work ethics. The same way, I was not going to stop till I got that master's, you know, and I got it. So, and now I sit back and wonder what's next. You know I want to drive for something else now, but I'm getting too old. You know, just enjoying the coasting, really, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you've worked really hard, sir, for almost well two decades.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So you deserve a little bit of coasting time. And to you guys that are out there thinking plumbing is an option jump over. Now is the time we need you guys. When Jerry retires in 20 more years, he'll probably be, like me, working until the last day of our funeral. But at the same time, mr Jerry will pay for your schooling. If you're an 18 or 19-year-old kid and you want to come be an apprentice, you may have certain parameters on there, but most plumbing companies, yeah, definitely reach out.
Speaker 2:Where can we find you? I? That's something real quick I have never done in 20 years. I have never paid one penny for advertising. Everything I've ever done is word of mouth because, uh, I was trying to read notes for this today and I was like man, I had nothing. I don't have a phone number.
Speaker 2:I mean, you can look up jerry's plumbing, um, google jerry's plumbing and it brings us up. I don't know why or how I didn't put it in there, but, um, and you know my name is jerry, jerry hoy, with jerry's plumbing. Um, you can find me. Um, I'm out there and we're always accepting applications. Um, doesn't hurt to have my own file. You bet you never know when somebody's gonna quit your, you know, before we get busy and I need to reach out to somebody. And, um, but by all means and that goes for any plumbing company you don't be afraid just to go and ask them if at least you could fill out an application. That's right, get on their radar, because this is an up and down. Sometimes you're booming, sometimes not, but Sometimes you're booming, sometimes you're not, but when you're booming, man, man, you can't have enough.
Speaker 1:All we can get, yep man. Mr Jerry, I can't tell you how much I appreciate you coming in talking with me today. I know the audience is going to appreciate it more than you'll ever understand, and if I get a message from a plumber by, well for sure pass that on. I usually get an email or two a week of hey man, this show. Mr Jerry said this at one time and it changed my whole view and that's what this show's about is to help you guys and bring you guys like Mr Jerry 20 years in business, done it the right way, built the culture and ain't spend a dime in advertising, doesn't know anything about marketing, just good old work, quality drive, grit, determination and never giving up. That is where you'll get where you want to go. Guys, I can't tell you how much I appreciate you tuning in and following the show. You can get it at bluecollarbusinesspodcastcom, watch or listen directly from there. This will be episode number 39 coming at you.
Speaker 1:38?, 39?, either one Check them out all on there, or, if you're on Spotify, apple, iheart or anywhere you get your podcast, make sure and drop us a rating and a follow. It helps the show get out to more of you, guys. I really appreciate your time today, guys, and I hope the show helped you. Until next time, if you've enjoyed this episode, be sure to give it a like, share it with the fellers. Check out our website to send us any questions and comments about your experience in the blue card business. Who do you want to hear from? Send them our way and we'll do our best to answer any questions you may have. Till next time, guys.