ALL IN THE FAMILY— Joel’s Plumbing family members, from left are: Diego, Orlando, Lalie, Joel Sr. and Joel Jr.
What does it take to offer outstanding and efficient plumbing services to a community? According to Lalie Chapman, the business brains behind Joel’s Plumbing in Ventura County, it takes a whole family and a lot of perseverance and ambition.
Lalie, 38, is proud of her father, Joel Magana, 62, who, she says, got into plumbing in 1985 because he wanted to learn a trade.
“His landlord was a plumber and irrigation landscaper,” she explains. “My dad begged him to teach him and to give him a job until one day he decided to give him a chance.”
That’s the short version of how Joel’s Plumbing company got started in 2007. However, like many family businesses, and like families in general, this one took a few twists and turns to make it what it is today.
Lalie relates the story of how her father, who came from Mexico, wanted his kids to learn to speak Spanish. Instead of just getting them to take classes, Joel Sr. also wanted them to learn about his culture so he moved the family to Guadalajara in 1994.
“I think my dad thought we would live there forever but in Mexico it’s hard make a good profit. We started our first family business selling mops to pharmacies like CVS. We were little kids and we each had different tasks with the same goal—to put food on the table. I think this is what set us up to work together as a family,” she says.
When they moved back to America in 2001, Lalie says they returned with a desire to prosper in this country. And they were grateful: “To eat ice cream again, to have a full fridge of groceries. And my dad knew he wanted to get his plumbing license so he could start a family business here in Ventura County,” she added.
So that’s what he did in 2007 when he obtained his plumbing contractor’s license. “And started what would later become one of the most reputable plumbing companies in the central coast of California,” Lalie says, adding: “With an old Chevrolet pickup truck, just enough tools to complete his jobs, and a dream to build a business which he could pass on to his sons, daughters and later generations, he was able to obtain contracts with major appliance stores, and major corporations such as Lowes.”
Joel Sr. eventually brought all three of his sons on board: Joel Jr., now 40 years old, Orlando, 36, and Diego, 32, who all help Joel’s Plumbing to continue making a name for itself through their hard work, professionalism and commitment to serve all customers with respect.
Although business was steady, something was missing, Lalie says. It was structure in its administration and bookkeeping, so in 2018, her dad hired her to take charge of that side of the company.
Within a few years the business grew, and now it has five fleet vehicles running individual routes, two non-family plumbers— Ryan Booth and Danny Lol, who are as close as family members—plus a warehouse stocked with tools, materials and parts for jobs.
Joel’s Plumbing continues to thrive along with its great reputation, being rated five stars on Yelp and Google, says Lalie. “Our family is living the American dream.”
“And we work with another local family business here in Moorpark, WDC Kitchen and bath appliances, so we do plumbing and appliance installations. We have also partnered with SoCal gas installing no-cost Rinnai tankless water heaters for mobile homes, a program for energy and gas efficiency.”
Also as a way to give back to give back to the community, Joel’s Plumbing will offer “10% to go to customer’s children’s school PTO if they use our services,” she says. “We also want to teach this trade to others so we are working on starting a plumbing school for this community.“
When Joel Sr. decides to retire sometime in the near future, his business will definitely be in good hands. And customers will still be treated like they’re family members as well.
For more information, call or text (805) 319-0085 or email jmplumbing77@gmail.com.
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