(upbeat rock music)
-: Hello, and welcome back to "The Sharpest Tool."
My name is Josh, your host,
and this is the place where we take the sting
out of marketing with everything that we're
bringing to the table, and I am fired up.
I'm always fired up when we got
one of our clients in the booth.
I have Eric Dutton here from Dutton Plumbing.
People come from all over the country
to witness Dutton Plumbing, how they operate,
what the culture's like,
so it's really special to have Eric in here
in the booth.
So Eric, welcome!
-: Hi Josh.
-: Hey, appreciate you taking the time
outta your busy schedule to come talk about
business with us.
-: Ah, it's a pleasure, it's nice being here.
I really enjoy my time at Scorpion,
I also have a good time here.
-: Awesome.
Well, I wanna kinda dive into a few different topics
here when it comes to your business,
the growth that you guys have seen.
I know you've been growing pretty substantially
beyond the past decade,
and there are a lot of challenges that business owners
are facing in today's landscape that they have been facing.
A lot of our people are up against something right now
that someone as experienced as yourself, I think,
has probably faced in the past.
And so I'm really lookin' forward to diving into this idea
of growth and how to overcome some of the obstacles
that come along with that.
So, why don't you give us a little bit of background,
how did you wind up in the trades?
-: I had a stepfather who was a plumber,
so I was drafted at a real early age to do labor,
help, and kind of help him do the things he did.
He did plumbing and I found I had a natural aptitude
for it, and quickly became better than him.
I never wanted to be a plumber, I really didn't.
I did everything in my power to get away from that.
It didn't seem cool, didn't seem glamorous,
so I always did it, and then I did a few different
ventures off on my own that were more fun.
Motorcycles, things like that,
and tried that as a business and ultimately
kept coming back to plumbing because I could
afford to buy cool stuff when I did plumbing.
Ultimately and got married, had a baby on the way
and I had to get serious.
So I started going to the next level
and started doing bigger projects,
got into new construction at that time
and then evolved from that and ultimately into
home service plumbing and that spoke to me.
That really gave me purpose.
Helping people in their homes, solving problems
and the opportunity to make good money.
I really liked it.
-: That's awesome.
What stuck out to you about the business ownership aspect?
Is that something you always had in you?
Did you try, like, lemonade stands when you were younger,
or was there somebody who spoke into your life that said,
"You know what, you'd actually be really good at
"running a business operation?"
What did that experience look like?
-: I can only say, probably I woulda been
a terrible employee.
I've really, never had a job, which I,
at one point was kind of embarrassed about,
now I guess is kind of cool.
The first time I ever got a W-2
is when I incorporated my company.
And again, working for family when I was younger,
never really got a paycheck, it was $20 bill here.
So I never really had that job
and I think I regretted it at the time
but I appreciate it now.
It allowed me to be a free thinker and grow on my own.
I wasn't caught up in that box,
on that treadmill, you know,
chasing that hourly bill or that hourly paycheck
and just getting caught up in that.
So it allowed me to be a free thinker
and forge my own path.
-: You mentioned the home services industry
really spoke to you when it came to
home service plumbing.
What about it?
What was the most rewarding part that drew you?
-: Again, dealing with people, the relationships.
You go into peoples homes, you get to know who they are,
their kids, their pets.
It's more than just screwing pipes together.
It's more than just fixing things,
you're dealing with people.
As well as I'm very proud to be a plumber.
I feel plumbers are the most genuine,
best people on the planet.
We do more for society than any other trade or anything,
where we save people, we create civilizations.
And to be able to prove that on a retail level
in people's homes with uniforms providing
top level service, and awing them
and amazing them with what we do.
We're not just that butt crack plumber
that everybody has the image.
And when I an see that happening, it makes me proud
because it's elevating the group of people who I just love.
And plumbers, it takes us to another level
and I want to be part of that.
-: You seem to have this indescribable,
or this unconditional care factor when you speak
about the clients that you get the opportunity to work with.
Where does that come from?
Has that always been ingrained in you
since you started your business or did that come
at a later realization as you were growing your business?
-: I'd say it's probably in me.
I think it's in most of us.
I'm very conscientious, I was very dependable,
if I make a commitment I follow through with it,
and being able to see that start to finish.
And that's what I, kind of, like,
I'm a little ADD so, if I can be part of a transaction
that the call is initiated in the morning,
the work done, and then the relationship
ended the afternoon with payment,
it's like the ADD is perfect.
It happens quick. (Josh chuckles)
So I can get instant satisfaction
for the entire experience.
And then you watch that build on the next
and build on the next, and the repeat business
coming back, and getting to know the people.
And having that trust, that loyalty,
when those people call you and they trust you,
they only want you,
and for a while that was me.
Now they call and they want my people.
They don't even know me, they don't know who I am.
They might hear me in some marketing pieces,
but they want Randy, they want Ryan,
they want Kevin.
They want somebody that works for me,
and that makes me happy.
-: That's incredible.
Let's talk about that a bit.
The Dutton Plumbing brand,
I think is pretty self explanatory from your last name,
Eric Dutton, where the Dutton name, kind of, came from.
But that brand that you've built,
that used to revolve around Eric Dutton,
now is being translated into these people that work for you.
How did you go about making sure that these people
embodied everything that you embodied
when you would go into a house?
-: I mean, we train.
We try to hire the right people.
We want the personality, we want people that care.
We train people.
We have a slogan,
"The plumber you send to your mom's house,"
and we use that as our barometer.
We use that for making decisions on hiring people,
on our marketing, on how to deal with customers,
how to handle customer service issues.
It just gives us the compass of where we're heading
and how we treat everyone around us,
and that is, kind of, what gives us that focus.
-: "The plumber you send to your mom's house",
that's the slogan that you have.
Where did you come up with that?
That's awesome.
-: You know, that was kind of an organic birth to that.
Had an employee who was new to the industry,
knew nothing about plumbing, an office worker.
Went to a local PHCC trade show here in L.A.
and was all excited to go down there
and see these plumbers, different plumbers.
And when he got there, he was terrified.
I mean, these scraggly, dirty, mean looking guys,
smelly and loud coming through and he was shocked.
He'd only seen Dutton plumbers to that point.
And when he came back and he was sharing that experience
with other coworkers in the office they were asking,
well, why are our guys so much different?
And he coined the phrase.
Well, we have the plumbers you send to your mom's house.
-: (laughs) That's awesome. -: So I trademarked it.
-: Let's talk a bit about the tech challenge that
I think is plaguing a lot of home service businesses today.
Just finding techs and finding good techs
that embody what you embody.
No doubt, in terms of growing your business,
that's something you have to do by nature.
You have to bring people in that embody everything you do,
that are gonna treat your customers
the way that you would treat them.
Did you develop any sort of process
to hiring those types of people,
or did you go more off a gut feeling?
What'd that look like?
Did you take all the exams that everybody
has people take now to find a good fit?
Or what's that look like for Dutton Pluming?
-: Well, we've done it all and we find,
the guys you know's gonna be perfect
doesn't show up day two.
Or you have that guy who you're going,
oh my god, you almost want to explain him
to people before you let them meet him,
turns out to be a superstar because it's the personality.
And I find that you don't need somebody
that looks like a model.
You don't need somebody that fits some mold.
You need somebody who's unique,
and we love that, 'cause we're unique.
So when people get to know them,
they know the individual.
They know who they are, they know about their kids
and we're lucky that way.
We do a lot of growing our own,
so I encourage people, hire people.
They don't have to know what they're doing,
it doesn't take a long time, you can train 'em.
Hire the right person, teach 'em how to turn the wrenches
and that's the best way to build a solid team.
And of course we're always looking for those unicorns
that we call them that come in,
you just have to be ready for it.
Always be hiring, always be recruiting,
say yes to everybody who wants a job
and that's how you build a strong team.
-: I love that.
How does the culture inside of Dutton Plumbing
differ from some of the other plumbing companies
that you've been to and had
the opportunity to experience?
-: What I notice, there's a real sense of ownership.
People feel their voice is heard, they're important.
The have part of the business, their souls are into it,
they really care.
And that's, I think, one of our core values
is family culture.
And that, kind of, spreads through the company.
And for better or worse, sometimes that is hard to overcome
because you have to put up with some behavior
'cause they're family.
Sometimes it's beneficial because there's that loyalty
and that team.
And I find that that's pretty much the culture there.
And like any culture, it goes up and down.
I do enjoy the highs, it makes me excited.
Come to work early, stay late.
I can't wait for Monday to come to work.
And then there's times where we'll have some changes
in the company like any company, we evolve,
and makes people uncomfortable and people tighten up
and it gets a little uncomfortable,
like any other family or any other group.
And it's kind of exciting
and it's just an organism.
It seems to have a life of its own.
-: Yeah, what are some of those things that you do
at Dutton Plumbing to stay ahead of the competition
in this constantly changing landscape
of the home services industry?
-: You know, I feel among companies that are
best practice type companies,
we're doing the same thing.
I think we all wanna take it to the next level,
and then there's the other companies
that we all have around us.
They're not really competition.
You know the saying, "In the land of the blind
"the one-eyed man is king."
And, no criticism of my fellow plumbers.
I love them all because what they do for society,
I don't care what level company you are.
You work out of your house, you wear dirty ripped jeans
and smoke cigarettes in your customer's house,
that's your choice, that's the level of service
you bring, but you're a plumber,
you're really helping improve the world.
So that being said, I just take it to another level.
I'm a perfectionist, a little compulsive,
and I like clean exact, professional service
and I give it at the highest level.
-: Awesome.
What would you say is one of the biggest challenges
that you've had to face, kind of, to date
since you started Dutton Plumbing all those years ago?
With yourself as the plumber going into the houses,
what would you say is one of the biggest challenges
that you had to overcome?
-: I could go down a list.
You know, we've all had the lawsuits,
we've all had the employee that quits middle of the night,
we all have had all of the monsters we all face,
but I think the number one thing I had problems with,
and I know it plagues other business owners,
is the inability to let go.
Let go, be able to trust people in power.
People delegate and let them operate freely.
Stop micromanaging, unless you like being
one, two or three truck company, that's great.
Kill yourself six days a week and 12 hours a day
and make sure everybody runs it by you first,
and that's an awesome lifestyle.
I lived it for a little while,
but then you just hire the right people,
give them the room they need to grow and to thrive,
and you'll find talent and you'll be satisfied.
You know, when you're not in that day to day,
it allows you to then step into another seat
and more creative and you take care of the bigger things,
allowing you growth.
And then you're looking for that gas pedal,
step on it and move forward and you could make moves.
You're not worrying about the little day to day stuff.
You have awesome people out there doing it
and I'm honest about this, they do it at a higher level
than I've ever done in my life.
And that makes me proud.
-: That's awesome.
How did you come about that resolution
and that conclusion that you needed to start letting go?
Is that some personal development that you did
or did you listen to another plumber
like people are listening to you right now,
and that kind of spoke to you?
-: I would say, all of the above.
I mean, like I said, I used to listen
to Tony Robbins when it was on cassette tapes, OK.
(Josh laughs) I've always been into that,
into self development, and, you know,
I'm driving to service calls listening to something,
and talking to people,
and yeah, being influenced by people.
By Frank Blau and Maurice Mayo,
just different people in the industry
who've made their mark.
I'm not that smart, I'm not that special,
but I can listen to smart, special people
and try to copy what they do.
And I may screw it up, I don't know,
but I do it.
I get over the fear, 'cause we're all afraid.
Now I love my little envelope,
I'm so comfy in here and I'm so happy here,
leave me alone.
Step on the gas pedal,
blast through the side of that envelope,
try something different, get uncomfortable.
That's where the magic is and that's what I like to do.
So I guess, maybe I'm a glutton for punishment.
I don't mind hitting a wall if I have to.
I wanna feel the speed gettin' to that wall,
and then I'll turn and go the other way.
I'll figure it out.
-: You have any top recommendations for people to listen to,
some of your favorites?
What would you say? -: Wow.
(Josh laughs) You know, there's so many
and I am not prepared, (Josh laughs)
but you know, I talk about Tony Robbins,
it's all about looking inside you, OK.
Fix yourself and everything around you fixes.
Don't look for outside forces to correct it,
it has to come from within.
So, anybody who wants my book list,
I'll share it any time they want.
And of course, it's on Audible 'cause...
-: Yup. -: I'm that guy, too.
-: Likewise. -: I'm not gonna sit up
and read the damn book, but yeah.
And it's just anything.
Anything that people are willing to share with you,
listen to it if you've got the time.
And you'll find if something you don't like
you don't go through it, don't finish it.
Find something else.
But there's tons of stuff out there.
A lot of the messages are the same,
it's about empowering, taking chances,
moving forward and just having confidence
and focusing on your goals, not on your fears.
If you take your eye off of the fear and focus on the goal
you will be drawn to that goal, it's that simple.
-: Bottom line is, invest in yourself, right?
-: Yeah, absolutely. -: Do something and
learn something every single day so you're that much better.
-: Yup. -: Awesome.
What business tools, or tools that you have
in your business arsenal that you found to really be
most influential in terms of your growth
that you've experienced?
-: I mean, you can talk about softwares,
you know, ServiceTitan, of course.
I mean, having these awesome tools to measure
and best practice groups, Nexstar, Service Nation Alliance,
these different groups that give you these awesome tools
and trainers to help you move forward.
And there's tons of it out there.
The problem most plumbers or most service companies,
they love it, they buy it, they pay for it
and then they don't use it, right.
All the training in the world doesn't do you any good
if you don't take advantage of it
and implement it.
So I think it's a matter of finding what works for you.
But I've been involved with everything,
I've tried everything.
And when I, kind of, sometimes reflect back
and look at the steps we've gone through
and look at our current structure
it's like, wow, how complex it is.
There's so much to it, and it just happened over time.
-: If you could look back at all the decisions
that you've made as a business owner and you were like,
you know what, I would've done this one differently,
would there be a thing?
Or do you feel that the decisions you make
have, kind of, made everything what it is today
and you wouldn't change a thing?
-: No, I would've started sooner and driven harder.
-: (laughs) I like that.
-: Yeah, that's it.
I mean, let go of the fear.
I wish I had focused on myself sooner
and became more developed earlier because, you know,
I was a young man, we all have our fears,
we all don't know what we're doing.
I mean, and a lot of us out there aren't highly educated.
We're trades people that put down the wrench
and pick up a pen and think we're now a contractor.
And they stay in that bubble.
I fought my way out of it and I probably coulda done it
smoother, I could've done it faster.
All I know is I wish I had started sooner and driven harder
so I could've made the mistakes younger
and gotten through it faster.
-: Absolutely, that's awesome.
Well, this has been, honestly,
this has been really, really great Eric.
I really appreciate you taking the time
to talk with us today.
I just wanna kinda bring this all to a nice close.
If you had one piece of advice that you were to give
business owners who are listening right now,
who are trying to grow their business.
They look at Dutton, maybe, and they're,
that's the goal, man, that's my current goal right now
that I'm shooting for is to grow my business to that size.
What would you say that advice is?
-: Just freakin' do it.
Just do it.
If you can't afford it, raise your price so you can.
-: Yeah. -: That's all.
Don't be afraid to be who you wanna be.
It's just a matter of a decision, that's all it is.
That's the only difference.
You decide to stay like this, if you wanna be like that,
decide it and do it.
-: Awesome.
Well, I really appreciate the time, Eric.
Appreciate you taking the time outta your day
and coming out and chatting with us.
-: All right, Josh, thanks.
-: Awesome.
And for everybody listening wherever you're listening at,
definitely hit that subscribe button
so you can get more of these podcast episodes.
And from all of us here at "The Sharpest Tool",
we will catch you next time.
Thanks.
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