NEWThe April issue is live, laundromats, self-storage, and pet services business models.Read this issue
Business Model · Home & Trade Services

The Plumbing Company

An essential, high-ticket, recession-resistant trade where the truck is the unit and utilization is the profit. Here is how a plumbing company actually pencils, and why recurring agreements - not emergency calls - are the real asset.

15 min experienceInteractive economicsBuilt from FDD & BLS data
01

The Snapshot

Is this worth your attention?

$500k-$1.5M
Typical annual revenue
2-4 truck shop · AUV ~$1.27M (Mr. Rooter)
12-20%
Owner cash margin
share of revenue
~$30/hr
Median plumber wage
$62,970/yr (2024)
$80k-$260k
Cost to start
truck, tools, working capital
Medium
Day-to-day difficulty
dispatch, techs, lead gen
Low-Med
Absentee potential
systemized with a GM

A fit if you...

  • Hold or can hire a license and lead a field crew
  • Want an essential, recession-resistant trade
  • Will build recurring agreements, not just chase emergencies
  • Can run dispatch, lead-gen, and the numbers

Probably not if you...

  • Want a passive, absentee investment from day one
  • Dislike managing techs and being on call
  • Cannot recruit or retain licensed labor
  • Have no appetite for marketing and lead generation
02

Step Inside the Layout

A live look at one tool inside

This is the actual 3D floor from the full model - drag to explore it. Inside, you configure the space yourself and watch the economics move with every choice.

Loading configurator…

This is just the surface

The full model is the complete, interactive deep-dive, and every business here is built to the same standard: a live economics simulator you tune to your own numbers, an interactive 3D walkthrough, a location scorecard, an owner-fit assessment, buy-versus-build guidance, and the full breakdown of how it makes money and what quietly kills margin.