In 1985, Dave and Maurine Burt started their drain cleaning business in Fruitland, Idaho. Dave handled the service work, drawing upon his building contractor experience, while Maurine, who has an accounting degree from Boise State University, kept the books.
For the next two decades plus, the family business kept busy and continued to grow, the most significant change coming in 2005 when the Burts’ son-in-law Jerry Robinson completed a four-year journeyman plumber course and the company added “Plumbing” to its name. With that, the business got busier.
In 2011, something else transformative occurred: business coaching. The Burts and Robinson were members of a local business networking group that met weekly. There they eventually became acquainted with Ed Renna, a business coach from Boise.
“In plumbing school, they don’t teach you how to run a business,” Robinson says. “That’s a whole other education.”
The three began to meet regularly with Renna, weekly at first and then twice a month. The focus of a meeting is whatever is on the owners’ collective mind.
“It might be different business strategies we want to try or some problems we may be having,” Robinson says. “He also helps us manage our team — how to teach them good customer service skills or speaking skills.”
Renna talks regularly with other coaches about the plumbing and drain cleaning industries and shares what he learns with the Treasure Valley Plumbing and Drain Service team. The coaching has changed the way they do business.
“Some things we were doing right. Other things we weren’t doing at all,” Robinson says. “We learned about closely tracking our marketing dollars. We learned about what’s good business and not good business. One thing that really stuck with us is goal setting. We began to set 90-day goals; annual goals; three-, five- and 10-year goals. The goals keep us on track.
“Without a doubt, taking up coaching was a pivotal point in our business. It already has taken us above and beyond where I ever thought we would be.”
Read more about Treasure Valley Plumbing and Drain Service in the April 2020 issue of Plumber magazine.
