Successful business owner, BJ Tijerina, CEO of Route 66 Plumbing in Amarillo, Texas, shares how his plumbing business has taken over the market in Amarillo! He gives us his top tips: you need the right customer, the right price, and a healthy mindset.
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3 Golden Nuggets
- Choose the right customer. If you’re scraping by and doing many jobs without bringing in money, reevaluate your customer base. Residential plumbing is where it’s at.
- Have the right mindset. 20% of success has to do with the right equations and knowing the right numbers and the right marketing. 80% of success has to do with what’s up in your head.
- Know your pricing. Know what you’re charging and why you’re charging it. Be honest with yourself and figure out what the rate is that will allow you to keep growing.
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Show Notes
(1:06) Tonight we have a real life plumbing business success story. BJ Tijerina and his lovely wife are Co-CEOs of Route 66 Plumbing out of Amarillo. BJ started his plumbing business from the garage without much money. He had a dream and faith and took a leap.
(4:40) BJ started off taking whatever work he could get. The work was exhausting him and his bank account. BJ made some important changes to his business and is now in a completely different place! He shares his experience below and what he learned.
The Right Customer for Business Success
[(:37) You have to have the right customer. BJ thought contractor work, new construction, and remodels were going to be the right customer. He had all this work, but wasn’t seeing anything in return. Even with working on Saturdays and killing himself with all these big jobs, money wasn’t coming in. He was scraping by, waiting around for them to pay him, always chasing the money from the contracts. It was frustrating. And he was always on the phone dealing with it.
It’s a trap. You never get ahead.
(9:09) So, what is the right customer? Mrs. Jones is the right customer. BJ and Route 66 plumbing made the switch to working for residential service customers.
It’s been a total change in finances and in how BJ feels. The best thing he did was to drop contract work, new construction, and all that.
It was a scary transition because having that other work available was comfortable. (10:44) Blue collar workers are taught to not turn away from work. But we have to. Contractor work isn’t the right type of work. (11:30) Residential plumbing is where it’s at. I get that money now. It’s money in the bank.
The Right Price for a Profitable Business
(13:21) Pricing can be a struggle, especially after working for the big companies. But you’ve got to charge the right price. $85.00 an hour does not get you anywhere. Except the poorhouse.
Pricing was an issue for BJ until he learned how to get his price book put together – to determine his Honest Hourly Rate. He took the time to sit down, look at everything, and work everything out.
(15:03) He figured out how much he really had to charge to make a profit. The amount was really intimidating to him at first. ($251 per hour)
Deep breathe! With the support and help of The Million Dollar Plumber and his wife he did it. And there wasn’t that much push back, and now they know what it is and why they have to charge it.
(15:52) We call it the Honest hourly rate (tongue in cheek) to be honest and fair to the customer and yourself. You have to figure out what the rate is that will allow you to keep growing. Don’t sell yourself short and put yourself in a situation where you are not bringing in enough funds to cover your own costs.
A Healthy Mindset for a Successful Plumbing Business
20% of success has to do with the right equations and knowing the right numbers and the right marketing.
80% of success has to do with what’s up in your head.
(18:35) BJ had to have the mindset to know “I am worth this.” He needed a strong mindset to know this is what I have to charge regardless. To provide for his employees and for his own family. To be where he wanted in life.
(19:31) BJ learned some things to do from us. But what really helps him succeed is his mindset.
(20:20) You can’t let the setbacks get to you. You can’t let thoughts come in and tell you that you’re not worth this. Things will happen in your business and personal life, but you have to have the mindset that everything’s going to be okay. You’re going to get through it. Be success minded and freedom-minded versus fear-minded.
(23:03) Stuff happens. It doesn’t mean you don’t feel it. It doesn’t mean you don’t still have to deal with it. But it’s the difference between letting something that hits you set you back or keeping moving forward.
Richard’s Call to Action.
If you want to learn more about numbers that matter and how to best run your plumbing business, why not schedule a free 30-min strategy call with us? Let’s talk about your goals and where you want to be this time next year, and we’ll help you create a path to make that happen. Schedule your free strategy call here today!
