Many people dream of starting their own small business –and starting a business in the trades is more lucrative now than ever before. With so many people working from home, homeowners are investing in the types of home improvement projects that require licensed contractors like plumbers, HVAC professionals, and electricians.
This presents a huge opportunity for home service professionals to boost their businesses. And using a field management software like Housecall Pro gives licensed plumbers a leg up on the competition–helping them earn more money and impress more customers.
Key Takeaways:
- Plumbers are in high demand now and the industry is on track to keep growing over the next 10 years
- The average master plumber earns 15% more than the average American
- With the right tools, you can grow your plumbing business quickly
An outlook on plumbing jobs
The pandemic had an impact on all home service professionals. Social distancing rules, stay-at-home orders, and economic uncertainty led to an inability for many tradespeople to safely enter homes or steadily book jobs.
Despite these setbacks, the plumbing industry held strong. Many plumbers were able to successfully navigate the pandemic to earn an annual average salary of $50,000. And the BLS suggests that plumbing jobs will continue to grow by 5% each year through 2030.
In light of these trends, it’s no surprise that millionaires are encouraging young people to consider plumbing careers.
How to Become a Plumber
All it takes to embark on a lucrative career in plumbing is a few years of post-high-school education. In fact, plumbing is one of the best industries to get into if you don’t have a bachelor’s or other degree from a four-year institution.
Learning how to become a plumber isn’t all that hard. At minimum, plumbers need a high school degree and a driver’s license. But if you can invest in your schooling by attending a trade school, you can significantly increase your take-home pay. According to Zippia, plumbers with an associate’s degree can earn more than $54,000 per year.
Based on data from Money US News, the salary outlook for plumbers is increasing: over the past 10 years, salaries in the plumbing industry have grown by ten thousand dollars. And if we look ahead, the annual employment growth for plumbers between 2019 and 2029 is 4.3 percent, which means an estimated 20,900 jobs should open up.
While novice plumbers will learn a lot on the job, spending a little time at a trade school can be a worthwhile investment in your career for the long run. Aspiring plumbers should look into well-established trade schools to get the highest-quality certifications. Trade Academy is currently giving away $50,000 in scholarships for aspiring students looking to enter the trades. If you’ve ever considered learning a trade, take action now for the chance to earn scholarship money and free tools to help you get started.
Growing your plumbing business
Although the data suggests a substantial number of plumbing jobs opening up over the next few years, the job market will likely become more competitive. In fact, less than half of all plumbers spend more than two years in any job. That kind of turnover suggests that younger plumbers looking to start their business, or master plumbers looking to grow their existing business, need all the advantages they can get.
A strong field service management software will become an essential tool for running a successful plumbing business–and rising above the competition–as this industry becomes more saturated. This type of software helps plumbers schedule new jobs, dispatch their teams, and manage their money with ease and speed that can’t be matched using pen and paper.
Meet Rob, The Millionaire Plumber
Rob is a real Housecall Pro customer and a prime example of just how lucrative a career in plumbing can be. Owner-operator of Good Guy Plumbing in Torrance, California, Rob knew from a young age that he wanted to be an entrepreneur. As someone who “thinks of a million different ideas, and has a vision for something big,” he admits that he “couldn’t do that working for someone.”
Rob has had an eye for business ownership all his life. Rob and his father owned and operated a car dealership while Rob was at college, which opened his eyes to being an entrepreneur. After graduating from the University of Southern California with a degree in Business Administration, Rob’s father suggested he look into the plumbing business.
Rob admits he was hesitant, but “after much thought, and actually studying the industry, I knew there was a major opportunity there if I marketed it right.” He learned the technical side of the trade from his father, who was a plumber, and studied other companies in his area to learn how they marketed and operated.
Rob has now been running Good Guys Plumbing for four years. Like many other plumbers, Rob started out managing his business with pen and paper – keeping triplicate files of work orders, sending postcard reminders to customers for recurring work, and ultimately tapping his wife to help him schedule new jobs and mind the paperwork.
This system led to problems as Rob’s business grew: he had trouble keeping his books in order and scheduling jobs efficiently.
Searching for a solution to streamline his business, Rob found Housecall Pro in 2016. In a matter of weeks he was up and running with the software and had 427 jobs booked, averaging $656 per job.
Almost immediately, Rob felt relieved: Housecall Pro was helping him manage both his jobs and his customer lists. Through Housecall Pro, Rob was able to win new jobs from his online profile, integrate his records with QuickBooks to save time, and automatically connect with his customers who needed routine repairs.
Today, Rob has an average weekly revenue of $25,000 and is making over $1 million annually.
Conclusion
With the right mindset and smart tools, you can be like Rob. If you’re on the fence about what to do with your future, consider a job in the skilled trades. College is no longer a requirement for young people, and with a few years of dedication to your craft, you can build a successful plumbing business.
Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary may have said it best: “Be a plumber, they get rich. Everybody has to have a plumber, even in a recession.Every single building on Earth wants to have electricity and plumbing working… These are careers that actually can help you provide for your family forever.”
There are a lot of plumbing professionals out there. In fact, in 2016 there were almost 470,000 plumbers in the United States – and that number is only increasing.
More people are entering the trade. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the plumbing industry will grow by 24% from 2014 to 2024.
But just as the competition is heating up, so is demand for plumbers. In fact, reports suggest that no plumbing company holds more than 1% of the market share in terms of revenue.
To improve your odds of success? Keep up with the latest industry best practices, never stop learning about your trade, and take advantage of everything Housecall Pro can do to streamline your business.
