“Work smarter” is a common goal in the business world. But for John Verhoff, CEO and founder of Naples-based Plumbing Nerds, it’s not just a goal, it’s an important part of his company’s personality.
Plumbing Nerds is the third development by plumbing company Verhoff, which began after relocating to Southwest Florida in 2007. He initially worked on new construction projects. But after surviving the 2008-2009 recession, he began to realize that working for contractors didn’t offer as much control over his business operations as he would like.
In 2012, Verhoff shifted the focus to pure home service, initially working with a friend at a company with locations in Florida and two other states. When he bought out his friend in the Florida portion of the company in 2016, he needed a new name and identity. And that was the birth of Plumbing Nerds.
His wife told him at the time that it was “the dumbest name” she had ever heard. “And I knew when I got that reaction from her that I was on to something,” recalls Verhoff, 44.
The company prides itself on offering “smarter plumbing solutions” that are “delivered with nerd-like enthusiasm.” It uses the latest equipment and technology, but also harnesses the power of its staff.
“We just hire really good people who care,” says Verhoff. “Our most important core value is trust and honesty, and that has also been my most important non-negotiable value from the beginning.”
John Verhoff named his Naples-based home services company Plumbing Nerds, in part to take away some of the stigma attached to crafting as a profession.
Stephanie Pifferi
Already in the first job interview, he emphasizes to potential employees that unethical or dubious behavior will not be tolerated in the company. Once hired, Plumbing Nerds provides extensive guidance to employees and supports its 65 employees with ongoing training.
“I think that’s one of the reasons we’re able to attract really good talent, because we’re always looking to do better,” says Verhoff. “I think it’s important and one of our differentiators from our competitors.”
He adds: “It’s a circle – if we do the right thing for the employees, the employees will do the right thing for the customers. And when we do the right thing for the customers, they do the right thing for the company.”
This way of thinking has paid off. Plumbing Nerds grew 50% in 2020, 62% in 2021, and 78% in 2022, ending that year with gross annual sales of just under $10 million. And that growth has happened as the company weathered the challenges posed by the pandemic and Hurricane Ian. The ability to adapt quickly proved key to weathering both storms.
Verhoff’s greatest insight in recent years? The need to constantly evolve.
“We’ve embraced that as a core value,” he says. “Not only because of these challenges, but also because everything is changing so quickly now. We know that if we don’t evolve, we’ll fall behind quickly, so we’ve made it part of our language and it’s now in our core values.”
The company has an ambitious goal of 90% growth in 2023. Adding HVAC services to the company’s offering in Q2 2023 will play a big part in achieving that kind of growth. With the team aligned and the right people in the right positions, Verhoff says the time was right to make this addition: “HVAC will be the game changer this year.”
This development will not be without challenges, especially as supply chain issues remain. “But we’ve been planning this for the past three months, and we still have a couple of months to get everything ready,” says Verhoff.
Plumbing Nerds’ service area can stretch from Punta Gorda to Marco Island, but when the schedule fills up, the company reduces its reach. Experienced technicians are sometimes hard to find, but the company has been at the forefront of overcoming this obstacle with this apprenticeship program that provides hands-on training for high school seniors.
Plumbing nerds, says Verhoff, get 30 to 40 applicants every time an ad is placed on the program.
“The fact that you’re paid to learn and you get paid a high hourly rate for learning during our apprenticeship program attracts a lot of people,” he says.
Verhoff still wants more young people to take up crafts, so he made it his mission and the company’s mission to change the way the world looks at crafts. The employees of plumbing nerds are called “service professionals” instead of “technicians”. The company’s uniform for its service professionals is a polo shirt and black pants “instead of the typical t-shirts and jeans,” he says.
This shift in perception is a mission born of Verhoff’s own experience.
“I just remember when I was 18 I was embarrassed to say I was a plumber, and I don’t think that’s okay,” says Verhoff. “We’re not Mario and Luigi with some assholes hanging around. We’re professionals and I just think we deserve a better reputation than what we’re getting.”
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https://www.businessobserverfl.com/news/2023/mar/07/plumbing-pro-takes-high-tech-professional-approach-to-essential-service/
