“Uh-oh.”
That was the thought that kept running through my head when I founded Quality First Plumbing & Heating; It was an emergency business.
For most people, losing a job is one of the most devastating events in their lives. All of a sudden, you’re hit by a mix of feelings: fear, disappointment, and anxiety about the future.
Where you once had a clear path forward for your life and career, now there’s a disconnect; a gap where it’s easy to feel lost—lacking a clear sense of purpose.
To say I didn’t feel these things would be a lie; I felt them in spades.
But after finding myself on the wrong side of my old building, I realized two things very quickly…
- I had the experience and know-how to go out on my own.
- I didn’t have a choice.
In 2008, I started Quality First Plumbing & Heating after being fired from my job. By 2017, the business had grown steadily, but I felt we could be doing more, that we needed something different…
Then I found it.
And that’s when everything changed...
Turning lemons into lemonade
After getting fired and starting Quality First Plumbing & Heating, the business began with just me and a truck.
Although I knew how to do the work, leading and running a business was an entirely different animal. There were a lot of things I didn’t know. What I did know however was how I thought a plumbing business should be run.
Here are three principles I learned to live by:
- Honesty - Quality First Plumbing & Heating believes in taking an honest approach to every aspect of the business.
- Trust - Honesty builds trust, and earning the trust of property owners all across Denver has been indispensable to the success of the business.
- Smart marketing - If you want to grow a successful business in a competitive market, you need good, front-footed marketing and advertising.
The first two principles on that list came easy. I could control those. Marketing on the other hand—that was completely out of my area of expertise.
I wanted to capture a greater share of the Denver metro market, and I knew branding, marketing, and advertising were absolutely necessary to get my name out there. So, I went looking for a partner…
Finding the “One”
Looking back at the years I spent bouncing between marketing companies (four in total), it felt like jumping out of one bad relationship and into another—and that’s not even mentioning the money that was lost, wasted, or downright stolen.
Understandably, I’d had my fill of marketing companies that failed to offer the honesty, service, and results that I built my business on.
It was frustrating, but I didn’t give up.
I created three requirements that had to be satisfied before I’d work with another marketing company. Here was my list of demands:
- They had to be able to speak to my audience.
- They had to be smart about using my money.
- They had to be committed to the growth of my business for the long haul.
Although “the fifth time’s the charm” isn’t a saying, it should be. In 2017, after years of cycling through marketing companies, and wasting thousands of dollars, I found what I was looking for:
I found Scorpion.
And finally gained the service, results, and trust I wanted.
Since partnering with Scorpion, I’ve gained…
- 126,038 website visitors
- 5,969 online leads
- 1,556 new customers
And all within the first two years.
In 2008, I grew my business from a one-man, one-truck show, to a thirty-person, 28-truck juggernaut by 2019, servicing both residential and commercial clients across the Denver Metro area.
It’s been a long journey, to say the least, but from getting the pink-slip to founding one of the most successful home services businesses in Denver, it’s been a hell of a ride.
To learn more about what Howie Metz did to establish his brand as a force within his local market call (866) 616-0824.
