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Running A Plumbing Business Is Hard Until You Understand THIS

📅 November 5, 2026 🎤 Jered, Kristen De

Chapters

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  • 0:00
    Plumline Answering Service
    Jared introduces Kristen De and promotes Plumline, a 24-hour answering service that charges per booked call, offering 7 free days for listeners.
  • 3:27
    Kristen's Background & Expertise
    Kristen De introduces herself as a virtual CFO for the trades, sharing her 20 years of experience as a business owner in plumbing and HVAC, and her unique perspective on bridging financial and operational insights.
  • 28:10
    Gross Profit & Job Pricing
    Kristen discusses how to structure an hourly rate to achieve desired gross profit margins, emphasizing the importance of aligning job-level profitability with overall P&L goals.
  • 43:56
    Volume vs. Profitability
    The discussion shifts to the difference between gross profit margin and gross profit dollars, and how volume impacts overall profitability and the ability to cover overhead, even with lower margins on large jobs.
  • 55:17
    Common Financial Issues
    Kristen highlights typical financial challenges seen in P&Ls, including excessively high marketing spend, low gross profit margins, owner overcompensation, and an imbalance of non-revenue generating staff.
  • 1:16:52
    Budgeting & Overspend
    The conversation covers effective budgeting strategies beyond line-by-line scrutiny, focusing on revenue, gross profit margin, overhead caps, and net profit goals, and the common trap of technology overspend.
  • 1:33:35
    Payroll Structures & AI
    Kristen discusses the importance of simple, understandable, and incentive-based payroll structures to avoid premature turnover and distrust, while also touching on the transformative role of AI in administrative efficiency.
  • 1:51:31
    Future Events & Community
    Jared and Kristen recap their successful 'hurrah' event and announce future dates, emphasizing the value of business owners connecting and sharing insights, and Kristen introduces her new Virtual CFO Community.

Speakers

J
Jered
Host
K
Kristen De
Virtual CFO for the Trades

Key Takeaways

✦

Prioritize efficient operations: Maximize what you're already getting before raising prices. Ensure your business runs efficiently to avoid charging customers for your inefficiencies.

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Understand the 'why' behind financial metrics: If labor costs are high, investigate operational inefficiencies like long dispatch times rather than immediately increasing prices.

✦

Align job pricing with P&L goals: Ensure individual job gross profit margins contribute effectively to the overall company's P&L gross profit margin, accounting for all relevant costs of goods sold.

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Focus on net income, not just top-line revenue: While revenue growth is important, ensure it translates to increased net profit by protecting foundational structures and avoiding excessive overhead spend.

✦

Strategic hiring: Hire technicians before growth to train them and ramp up marketing simultaneously. For administrative roles, grow first, then hire to avoid premature overhead inflation.

✦

Simplify payroll: Implement a clear, incentive-based payroll structure that technicians can easily understand and explain, fostering trust and reducing premature turnover.

✦

Leverage AI for administrative efficiency: Utilize AI tools to automate data analysis, call classification, and administrative tasks, increasing output and understanding without necessarily reducing headcount.

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