Home Services Success Stories
The Home Services Success Stories: Real Stories. Real Businesses. Real Growth.
Every home service business has a story — and we’re here to tell it.
The Home Services Success Stories Podcast features conversations with real Peakzi partners and clients across the trades: HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, and beyond. Each episode spotlights an entrepreneur or service leader who’s built something remarkable — sharing how they started, what drives their business, and the lessons learned along the way.
From building teams to scaling operations and embracing AI-driven marketing, our guests talk candidly about what’s working, what’s changing, and how Peakzi helps them grow, hire smarter, and show up stronger in AI search.
It’s not just another business podcast — it’s authentic storytelling from the people keeping homes and communities running every day.
Brought to you by Peakzi — helping home service companies grow through AI marketing, visibility, operations, and recruiting solutions.
Home Services Success Stories
How A Family Plumbing Business Grew Through Service, Culture, And AI
Peakzi Podcast: Trade stories usually start with tools, but this one begins with trust. We sit down with Peter Levi of Peter Levi Plumbing, Heating, Cooling, Drains based in Novato, CA —second-generation tradesman turned general manager—to unpack how a family plumbing shop became a resilient, multi-division brand by choosing service over new construction, people over ego, and practical innovation over hype. From riding in his father’s truck to leading during COVID, Peter shares the habits and decisions that kept the company steady through change.
We dig into the pivotal shift after the recession: moving from new construction to a service-based model with Nexstar’s playbook to stabilize revenue and improve training. Peter explains why he went back to trade school for HVAC, how diagnostics and troubleshooting fuel technician engagement, and how HVAC balanced seasonality and boosted average tickets without sacrificing speed. An acquisition in 2019 expanded their footprint, and Peter breaks down the culture work that made it stick—weekly all-hands, manager presence, shared rituals, and a clear brand identity that aligned processes across locations.
What sets the company apart today is deceptively simple: relationships. Answer the phone, arrive when promised, respect the home, present options, and fix root causes. That discipline creates lifetime customers and lowers callbacks. We also explore how AI is changing home services marketing and hiring. With Peakzi, Peter’s team built an AI footprint to rank in AI-driven search, targeted the right neighborhoods with data-backed lists, and tapped a recruiter model that surfaces specific technician profiles at a lower cost than traditional headhunters. It’s a modern stack that still puts people first.
If you lead a home services company—or plan to—this conversation offers a clear blueprint: pivot toward service for resilience, diversify with HVAC, integrate acquisitions with face-to-face culture, operationalize customer care, and use AI where it drives discoverability and recruiting. Subscribe, share with a colleague who needs a practical growth plan, and leave a review with the one tactic you’ll implement next.
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Discover more at: https://peterleviplumbinginc.com/
Peakzi Podcast: Home Services Success Stories
Welcome to the Home Services Success Stories Podcast powered by Peakzi, the number one AI platform for growing your home services business. And on the show today, we have Peter Levy, who is general manager at Peter Levy Plumbing, Heating, Cooling, and Drains. Peter, welcome to the show. How are you? I'm doing good.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker 2:It's great. Thanks for having me. Absolutely excited to have you on and learn more about the business and your personal story in home services. So, Peter, I know you are a second generation tradesman who's been in the industry your entire life. So, what inspired you to continue down and follow your family's footsteps?
Speaker:Uh, well, my, you know, first off, my father started this business about 35 years ago. And I grew up in the business throughout my whole life. You know, some of my earliest memories were, you know, riding in the truck with him, working summers when I wasn't in school. And then once high school finished for me, I I the idea of college didn't really uh appeal to me at that time. So I decided to jump in and start working full-time.
Speaker 2:Okay. And did you have like a natural affinity for it? Because you know, some second generation folks, they kind of like leave the business and don't like it because they're kind of assumed into it. Or did you enjoy the work itself?
Speaker:I I did enjoy the work. You know, I liked working with my hands. Uh, there's a certain camaraderie with working with guys outside, and you can't really get that anywhere else.
Speaker 2:Okay. And give us a little bit about the founding story. Like, why did your father start this business in the first place?
Speaker:He, you know, that's probably a question best for him, but he would say that he was just tired of working for other people and uh didn't agree with decisions that people above him were making, and he wanted to be his own boss.
Speaker 2:Okay, so kind of the motivation of freedom and doing your own thing and um and being your own boss. Okay.
Speaker:Right.
Speaker 2:Well, did he always did he come from home services? Did he come from a different discipline? Or tell me about that?
Speaker:No, he he uh was working as a plumber at a few different companies, and he had done that uh for several years before he started work uh starting his own business.
Speaker 2:Gotcha. Okay. Well, you yourself have been in the industry for I think 15 plus years, specializing in plumbing, HVAC, and also underground construction. So having done it for all this time, what what keeps you motivated? Why are you still inspired to do the thing that it is that you do?
Speaker:Uh at this point now in my career, I it's really about the people. You know, I I really enjoy working with a group of people that I get to see every single day. Um at the beginning, it was probably the the the mechanical aspect of plumbing and heating. Uh but nowadays it's more just about showing up for the people and uh yeah.
Speaker 2:Okay. Well, tell us about your people. What do you think makes your team stand out when they listen to this, right? So what do you think makes them unique uh and great within home services and just to work with?
Speaker:Uh you know, what makes our people different is uh their dedication to their job. You know, they show up every single day ready to serve the customer the best they can. Uh, the teamwork aspect of it, we we have a really good team environment. So everyone is here to support each other.
Speaker 2:Okay. Okay. Well, I know in in 2011 your company made a major shift from new construction to a service-based model after joining Nexstar. So tell us what led to that transition and what kind of outcomes did that produce for it and how did that reshape the organization of Raw?
Speaker:Well, I mean, at the end of the recession, we were still a new construction type company. And at that time, there wasn't a whole lot of new new construction going on. So we transitioned to a service-based type company in order to be recession proof. So uh that's why we joined uh joined Nexstar, and they led us through the process of how to you know withstand economical issues like that. And that's that's service-based work.
Speaker 2:Gotcha. Okay. And I know you yourself, you went back to trade school specifically for HVAC. So what was the reason for that decision and how has that played out within the business?
Speaker:Well, we wanted to start a a heating and air conditioning division of the company. I said that I was interested in that. Um so I went to school for HVAC, and I've always kind of been drawn to the mechanical aspect of heating and air conditioning. So that's what led to us creating that HVAC department and growing it from there.
Speaker 2:Okay. And what do you think you were drawn to specifically about HVAC?
Speaker 1:Why that versus the other home services trades?
Speaker:I guess it was the this might sound a little odd, but the diagnosing aspect, the thought of working with a multimeter and with wires and troubleshooting an issue with a furnace or air conditioner, that that specific aspect is what drew me initially.
Speaker 2:So the troubleshooting, the finding the underlying cause of of uh of of what the issue is. Okay. Right. Interesting. And you know, you you are you're not just the leader, but you're a hands-on leader. You you came from the field. And I think it was uh 2021 when you had a general manager resign and then you took over, right?
Speaker:That's right.
Speaker 2:So was there a lot of coercing to get you into that role?
Speaker 1:Or was it a natural transition? Or tell us about that?
Speaker:I think it was more of more of a natural transition. Uh up until that point, I had done most of the roles in the business from you know being a service tech, installing. I had managed uh service technicians and managed installers at that point. And then at the end of 2021, when our general manager had resigned, uh my father and I interviewed a few different people, didn't really like him. And I came to him and just said, you know, it's time for me to take a stab at this.
Speaker 2:Oh, and what was his reaction to that?
Speaker:Uh I mean, obviously I'm in a position. So, you know, it it it was I I don't remember his exact reaction. I know we talked about it for a couple of weeks and we decided that we'd give it a shot, you know.
Speaker 2:Well, I know, I know from the second generation. Um, well, whenever I have seen like a father-son combo, generally the father's very excited and you know, about his son wanting to do like the leadership role. So, like was he kind of hit with that same kind of thing? Was he like, oh my gosh, I'm so proud of Peter? He wants to step up and help me business.
Speaker:Like, what was that like? I'm sure there's a part of that. Um during that time, it was in the middle of COVID. So, you know, there was a lot of uh chaos going on. So, you know, I think there was definitely a piece of that, but it was also uh a piece of just fighting day by day, just trying to make it through an unknown time.
Speaker 2:Gotcha. Okay. Well, having been hands-on and now in in leadership and being a general manager, how has working in the field influenced your leadership style, would you say it's influenced me because you know, at this point I wouldn't ever ask uh an employee to do something that I haven't done or wasn't willing to do myself.
Speaker:You know, uh I think there's a lot of general managers these days that don't come from the trades and they don't know the work that goes into these houses every single day, where I I do. I've been there. You know, I've been in the trenches and and underneath the house with the ductwork. And, you know, I I know what it's like to be be those guys out in the field.
Speaker 2:I assume it gives you a great level of credibility when it comes to leading your technicians or interviewing as well, um, because you've been there and done that. You're not like a leader from afar, but you have been in the trenches.
Speaker:Although most of my employees now have never seen me turn a wrench. So, you know.
Speaker 1:Well, they'll be excited to hear the story then and to know for sure and hearing it directly from from the source.
Speaker 2:So I I know another kind of pivotal aspect to uh the your your story is that in in 2019 you acquired another company and integrated it into the business. Tell us a bit about that.
Speaker:Yeah, so that was an exciting time. Uh did not come without its challenges. Uh, whenever you come into a business that has its own company culture, its own way of doing things, and you try to change or tweak things about it, uh, it doesn't always go according to plan. But we we made it successful. We we actually ended up changing that company's name into Pure Liby Plumbing. And uh, you know, we still have an office that's in that area today, and it's doing well.
Speaker 2:What was it about that particular business? What's the new capability that it gave you when you acquired?
Speaker:Uh a new market. Uh mostly. It was expanding to a new market and allowed us to have a bigger footprint uh in Northern California.
Speaker 2:Okay. And what were some of the key lessons you learned in sort of integrating those cultures into one cohesive one?
Speaker:Well one of the biggest bigger lessons is the best way to integrate a culture is getting everybody together in one room so they can learn about each other. And there that way there's not so much of a divisiveness between one location versus another. Does that make sense?
Speaker 2:It does. What did that look like in application? Was it like a like a reality show kind of thing, like American I don't you stick everyone in the same room?
Speaker 1:Like, what did that look like?
Speaker:Well, what it what it mostly looked like was just you know myself and other managers having a presence up there, but also we have these monthly uh company meetings. And at that time we were doing weekly company meetings. So we'd every single week we'd get everybody together in one room to where we can have a breakfast, we talk about some broader company ideas, and then all the employees can, you know, mingle with each other.
Speaker 2:So physically in the same space, not like a virtual town hall or something like that.
Speaker:Yeah, it was it was physical when we could, when you know, those COVID conditions would allow us to.
Speaker 2:Got it. Okay. So really bringing people together ideally into a physical space and really forging relationships and getting to know one another, building trust with one another and uh integrating that way. I think that's uh that's a point. And also the regularity of it, like it wasn't a one-time thing, but it was a constant process that you built into the culture. So um, so I know something that that Peter Levi actually has quite publicized on your website is that you've often said it's relationships that set your company apart. So, what does that mean and how does that show up in the business?
Speaker:Shows up where we we intend to build a relationship with every single customer. Um and within the community. We do a lot of community sponsored events, uh, but it's really about building that relationship with the customer uh to where they become a customer for life. So that's that's where that shows up. And what we try to do is just build that relationship with every single customer to where they call us back every single time.
Speaker 2:And what do you do uniquely different than other home services organizations to build that trust, to build that relationship? Let's say a prospective customer is listening right now. What do you do to earn that trust?
Speaker:What we do is we make sure that we answer the phone. We come out when we say we're going to come out. If we have to reschedule, we we be accommodate, we are accommodating to that person's uh schedule if we have to, if we have to make that reschedule. Once we show up, we make sure that our truck is parked okay, we're wearing shoe covers inside the house, we present options so you know the customer has different different avenues of uh how they can fix their problem. And once we do that, we execute the solution and make sure that you know they don't have that problem again inside their home.
Speaker 2:Okay. So really quality, care, listening to the customer. You mentioned giving them options, so giving them control in the process. Uh so all those really details to really improve the customer experience.
unknown:Right.
Speaker 2:That's right.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:And I know that just the fact that you were on the show right now, you are forward thinking when it comes to technology and also innovation. So you are a customer of Peakzi. So tell us, what has been your experience working with Peakzi and how has it helped benefit the business?
Speaker:Experience that we've had, so about this time last year, my marketing manager and myself were scratching our heads saying, How do we become relevant with in a new AI space? You know, we we didn't understand how Chat GPT or Gemini or any of these other platforms worked. And we didn't understand when we type in something like Palmer near me, how come we weren't showing up all the time? And that's when we reached out to Peakzi, and they they have been able to help us establish an AI footprint uh to where we now are ranking in those searches.
Speaker 2:Interesting. An AI footprint. So visibility when it comes to AI search specifically. Right. Got it. I know it's got some other kind of features to it, like looking into the market insights and different marketing things and hiring. Have you have you played at all with any of those other features?
Speaker:Yeah. So uh one of the features that we've been testing out recently is recruiting. You know, they have a recruiting aspect that they have just started. Um, so we're testing that out right now. The other part was the marketing that you mentioned. They are able to provide us with some new um list of houses that we would be able to target uh to provide our services.
Speaker 2:Interesting. So targeted strategic search based on your capabilities and strengths. Okay. Tell me about the recruiting piece. What kind of edge does it give you? Well, why is it not just a in like a like a just a jobs platform or something like that? You know?
Speaker:Well, they have their own recruiter now. So they actually will go and recruit on our behalf. Uh that is less expensive than a traditional headhunter. Uh, they also provide us to list with potential technician names that we can then look at their profile and see would this technician be a right match for our company? And then we also can reach out to that technician.
Speaker 2:Interesting. So actual specific individuals. And since it's AI, I'm sure it's doing its AI thing to kind of like intensify the quality and also the match. So, well, Peter, anything else to share about Peakzi before we kind of close out here?
Speaker:I we we've just been enjoying the partnership. You know, they've they've helped us out and we look forward to uh, you know, whatever they're coming up with next.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, well, anything else that that comes to to your mind when it comes to anything that you'd like to share about the brand, what is your message to our audience from your business?
Speaker:Message that we want to put out there is that we uh we're here striving to do great work for our customers. We want to attract the best employees, and we are on our paths to doing that.
Speaker 2:All right. Well, certainly it's been great to learn about your story. You are truly a home services leader. You wouldn't be on the show if uh if that wasn't the case. And it seems like you've got a tremendous track record, uh, commitment to excellence, and it's really really, really uh great to know you and also learn about the brand. So close us out. Share us, tell us what's your website, what's your social handle, how do folks connect with you?
Speaker:Well, our website is peterleviplumbinginc.com or callpeterlevi.com. Uh LinkedIn, you can find me at Peter Levi. Uh and then, you know, our business number is 415-454-7771.
Speaker 2:All right, sounds good. And we'll make sure to have all that contact information in the show notes as well. So, Peter, thank you so much for being on the show today.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker 2:And that is it for today's episode. Thanks for tuning in, and we'll see you next time on the Home Services Success Stories podcast powered by Peakzi, the number one AI platform for growing your home services business.