Competition is an underlying theme in this industry.
Any discussion of business-related topics is usually presented within the framework of doing it better than the other guy. How to stand out to potential customers. How to get them to pick you over the competition. There have been many articles published in this magazine and posted on Cleaner.com that fall into this category.
There’s nothing wrong with competition, and every entrepreneur wants to run a profitable business. But also important to the larger industry are teamwork and cooperation. The idea that there is plenty of work to go around, so why not help others, mentor others? Even the supposed competition. Everyone can benefit through the sharing of knowledge and resources. Competition can be friendly, not only cutthroat.
One of this month’s profiles is what made me think about this topic. Total Trenchless Supply, based out of Woodland, California, is an offshoot business of another company, Hall’s Plumbing. That company was actually profiled in Cleaner magazine not long ago, in the February 2022 issue. While affiliated with Hall’s Plumbing and with the same ownership, Total Trenchless Supply is its own distinct venture. It was established in 2023 and its sole goal is trenchless training.
It began with Perma-Liner on occasion referring people to Hall’s Plumbing when they had questions.
“Salespeople would call and say, ‘I have this guy who wants to buy, but he has questions and would like them answered from an installer’s perspective,’” Hall’s Plumbing owner Chris Reynolds says. “So I would call the contractor and answer the question, talk to them and make sure they had the right equipment for the job and let them know they could always call me if they needed to talk some more.”
It happened frequently enough that it gave Reynolds the idea to form Total Trenchless Supply. It’s a formal business — not a charity — that Reynolds of course wants to be successful. But it’s been devised around this idea of mentorship and the betterment of the industry as a whole. The country’s aging underground infrastructure needs things like trenchless solutions and it’s good to have as many contractors skilled in those methods as possible.
Says Reynolds, “The important thing is to grow a network of plumbing and trenchless companies all across the country, all like-minded and wanting to install quality product. Our goal here is to continue to build relationships to where we can all help each other succeed.”
It’s something worth thinking about. It’s easy to become hyperfocused only on your business and your own success. But what are things you can do that can contribute to a larger communal success? Can you be a mentor to someone? How can you be part of the improvement of not only your individual business but the industry?
There’s no single answer to those questions, but Total Trenchless Supply represents one example of an approach that is contributing to industry growth.
Enjoy this month’s issue.
