By many measures, Plumbing Systems Inc. in Edwards, Colorado, is a successful company. The plumbing, drain cleaning and HVAC firm generates seven-figure revenues, employs 46 people, offers customers a diverse array of services and runs about three dozen service vehicles.But owner Jim Harper candidly admits it almost didn’t turn out that way. Much of the growth at the company, established in 2000, didn’t occur until the last five years or so. Before that, Harper, 50, endured an uncomfortable chair in the proverbial School of Hard Knocks.“It was a long 15 years, but slowly but surely, I figured it out,” he
