Why His Plumbers Have Homework with Noah Nasekos, Covenant Plumbing LLC

0:00Welcome to Epic Entrepreneurs. I am Cliff McRae with Action Coach Business Growth Partners. Every week, we sit down with business owners, founders, and leaders to uncover the real stories behind building a successful business. The wins, the setbacks, the lessons learned, and the strategies that help them grow. No scripts, no fluff, just honest conversations with entrepreneurs who are in the trenches every single day. Whether you are a business owner yourself, thinking about starting a business, or simply enjoy hearing how successful people think and operate, you are in the right place. Let's jump into today's episode, shall we?

0:58All right, everyone. Welcome to this week's episode of Epic Entrepreneurs. I am Cliff McRae with Action Coach Business Growth Partners, where we work with local business owners to turn big ideas into real scalable growth. Today, I'm excited to be joined by Noah Nesikos with Covenant Plumbing LLC. Noah, how are you doing here? Doing good. How about yourself, Cliff? Yeah, I'm doing great, and we're really excited to have you. So let's go ahead and jump right into things, if you don't mind. Yeah, of course. Excited to be here. All right. So for those of you who may not know it yet, you know, what is Covenant Plumbing LLC?

1:30What do you provide for the community? Man, so we are first and foremost, like our mission is Covenant Plumbing exists to provide excellent services and promote growth. And the main way we do that is through plumbing, through the trade of plumbing. We offer residential from, you know, new construction to service, everything from the road to the septic tank is what I usually tell people. And we also, in our name, we do provide excellent services, but we also promote growth. So we're really promoting growth in our community as well as our workers as well. And that looks like a lot of different things.

2:07One of those things actually might be kind of funny, but our plumbers actually are required to read, believe it or not. So that looks like, whether that's plumbing, like the code book, or different certifications, or just a personal growth book. so that's we're a little different in that but we're that that kind of shows how invested we are in our workers and in and in the area of course plumbing we we strive to provide the best plumbing around and so yeah that's a little bit of who we are and what we do okay and who are you as a person who is knowing the sequels as a person man no no it's good first and foremost child of christ he is he's my savior and and that's where I find my true identity and in the death and resurrection of Jesus.

2:54But I am secondly, a husband. And then, I don't know, thirdly kind of mixing there, you know, son, friend, brother. I've been married to my beautiful wife for almost two years now. And then, I don't know, some of my hobbies are hiking, hunting, just being outside. Nice. But yeah, that's a little bit about me. Okay, perfect. No kids yet, I'm guessing? No kids yet. Nope, not yet. Okay, perfect. But the plan is to go down that route. Yes, yes. Me and my wife would love to have a lot of kids. And we're just waiting on the Lord to see what his plan is. But yeah. Good deal, Noah. All right, so let's go ahead and get right into the business side of it.

3:37What's something about running a business that people think is amazing, but it's actually not when you hear it? Oh, dude, that's a great question. Okay, so a lot of people, and I thought this myself, was jumping into it like, man, the freedom I'm about to have is going to be unparalleled. And while, yes, man, I have been able to use my business to spend more time with my wife, which has been incredible, and family and friends and do little weekend things I wouldn't usually be able to do or things during the week. But what they don't tell you is there's been some nights where I've lost sleep over either an upcoming job that I'm trying to make sure I have every little piece in my head about how we're going to do it, how we're going to execute it, making sure that we're optimizing to the best of our ability.

4:20And some interactions where people weren't happy with either pricing or they thought it was going to be one way and we had to do it a different way. and I don't know, that kind of eats me up. And it may be that I put a little too much identity in my work because it's my business, it's my baby. I don't like people not being happy with our services. So I've lost sleep over that and that's like after hours, stuff like that. We've always made it right with our customers, obviously. But man, sometimes I get so consumed in thinking about it that sometimes I got to take a break And really, I mean, I didn't realize how important vacations are.

5:05Just kind of step away from the business and trust your people to do their thing. Delegating has been super big, but I don't want to jump into something else yet. But that would probably be one of them. The freedom is great, but there's also a lot of time that you don't think about where you're working for your business, just not on the clock. Mm hmm. Now, what was the exact moment where you realized, you know, this business could either really work or it could completely blow up in your face and you lose everything?

5:37Noah Nasekos:Oh, man. Well, my first client. So I had been, you know, I've been working for my plumbing company locally. They were great. They taught me just about everything I know. And I'd been doing side work and they were totally fine with that. And they were like, you know, what you do after hours is totally fine. But my first client, it was a remodel. And when I officially took the leap, or maybe not my first client, but first bigger client, we were doing a remodel. And man, I just butchered, I totally butchered the quote. I told them one number, you know, being optimistic. And I was thinking, you know, about how quickly I could do it.

6:15And man, that job, I probably lost$1 ,200. And at the time, you know, it being my first bigger job, for me, that was a lot. Like$1 ,200 is a lot. And it was like I had to talk with him about the pricing. And ultimately, you know, my original quote is, you know, what I charged him. And I didn't charge him more than, you know, was required. And, yeah, I was like, wow, okay, I've got to do my due diligence. I've got to know, you know, I've got to be safe with my pricing. and I've got to be upfront about everything. I learned clear communication almost day one that if I need to communicate something, it needs to be crystal clear.

6:58It's not just I give a price at the front and if things changes, I adapt and don't tell. No, that's got to be upfront with the customer the entire time. And that was the moment I was like, okay, I've got to get this in check really quick before I move on. And thankfully, the Lord's blessed me and we've been able to keep going since. But yeah, that was the moment. And I was like, man, I got to take this serious. Because at that point, it was on me. Like I had, you know, left my business, started my own, or left my old plumbing company and started my own. So it was on me at that point. Yeah, yeah.

7:33Now, what would you say was the most stressful moment you've had since you started your business? Like a how am I going to get through this type of moment? Oh, man.

7:45you know i think i've been blessed in that there's only been a few minor ones and it was mainly when the phone stopped ringing one thing i've learned is about you know i've really got to do a lot of marketing and advertising as a plumbing business because you know i have other friends who have their own businesses and and they they talk about the jobs they get. And often those jobs are weeks at a time or months. And me, it's like, I need maybe five jobs a day, you know? And so if that, if that phone isn't ringing and I'm not getting calls or word of mouth is slowed down, I've got to prepare and I've got to do my part.

8:24That, that has been, you know, a little stressful, but thankfully, you know, I've been able to stay afloat and, And, you know, I've got two employees now. And so, yeah, that's it. Okay. Okay. Now, have you ever thought about quitting your business and going back to a nine to five? Oh, man. Not seriously. No. Not seriously. I mean, there's been a couple times I've been like, man, I would love not to, you know, be out here on a Saturday or working past, you know, five. But no, not really. Yeah, not really. Okay. Okay. That's fair. Now, you know, if you could wave a magic wand and let's say you could instantly fix one part of your business to borrow, what would it be?

9:11It would probably be the advertising slash marketing. If I could, you know, if that phone just rang nonstop, man, I feel like I could grow my business a lot more. And, you know, right now, because I do have those employees, those employees will get paid before I do. and I'd like to, you know, I'd like to be able to pay myself what I want. And I do think, you know, if I was to get, you know, the amount of jobs I would like every day, then I think that would be probably what I would do. Now, is it the lack of leads or the lack of quality leads? We've been working on the quality for a while. I think it's the lack of leads in that, you know, in my area, there's three pretty major plumbing companies and you know they spend on you know on average what i make you know in a month on their advertising probably in a week maybe just in you know in that aspect and word of mouth has been really good for me i do i do advertising you know on Facebook and, you know, on Google and Google has actually has been pretty good.

10:29It's, I think it's the amount. So yeah, I've been working on the quality and that's, I mean, I just, most business owners know, like, like I'm working on all of that, you know, myself and I'm learning to delegate. I am. And, you know, put responsibilities in the right places with the right people. but yeah i'd say it's probably the amount that i can spend on it each given month okay okay now you know let's say you know if you were given that magic wand and you were able to instantly fix that would the current staff and processes you have in place be able to support that extra business that's a good question i would say yes i have a great bookkeeper slash administrator she does really well and I mean has I mean the business without her it would you know wouldn't be great and we're learning to systemize everything in that I could hand it off to a different person or you know I could have a system in place that I could you know teach future apprentices or other plumbers but yes I would and I mean at that point if I was getting all that I think it would be time for another van for sure.

11:47So I could prioritize, you know, getting the quotes out and, you know, traveling a little bit more with my contractors. Okay, okay. Now, you know, and this question may be hypothetical, but let's say if someone shadowed you or followed everything you did for like a full day or even a full week, you know, at the business, what would you say would surprise them the most about how you operate your company? let me think i think i think the personal so we our values that we have for our business we have three and one of them is personal cultivation and that really is just talking about growing not just as professionals but as people so the investing we do in ourselves as far as the training the mentorship and the spiritual development in the team i think that would really surprise them, especially like in the van, you know, we, we talk about, you know, how can we make this next job?

12:48You know, how can we make these people feel like they're our first customers of the day and we've had the best day and we want them to have the best day. I think that would surprise them. And then also our interactions with the customers. I mean, everything is, you know, we're upfront about everything as far as, you know, pricing and how things have got to work. And oftentimes, you know, people will have an idea of how things are going to happen. And, you know, of course, we're required to work with code. And so sometimes those things aren't, you know, possible. And so we have to, you know, explain.

13:20And that communication is probably, it can be your strongest asset and also can be, you know, a really big point of weakness if you don't, you know, communicate well all around. And so I'd say our personal cultivation and communication with the customer or client would probably be what stands out the most. Okay. Now, let's talk about numbers without getting too specific. How long have you actually been in business? So I've been in business for just a little over a year. So I started back in April of 2025, officially. Okay. Yeah. You just came up on your anniversary last month. Yeah. Pretty exciting.

14:03We went out to dinner and I gave, I don't know if you've seen The Office, but they have this thing called the Dundies. And that's where the boss goes and gives silly gifts or trophies to his employees. And they're usually just gag gifts. But it was fine with me and my employees. We went out to dinner. And it's just three of us right now. But it was fun just celebrating the little things. And I gave them little plaques. And one of them had just started. And so I gave him the employee of the month as kind of like a, you know, a little gag, but also serious. Like I want people to know that I appreciate their work and the business, you know, doesn't exist without, you know, the employees.

14:42But yeah. So, yeah, just just a year. I digress a little bit, but but yeah. Okay. Now, what would you say actually moves the needle most right now in your business? You know, would it be kind of the leads you're getting, your conversions? Is it your competitive pricing or is it your team's performance or is it something else entirely? Ooh, good. I think it's probably a mix. I think it's definitely our team performance and that the clients that I have are almost always repeat clients. And I feel like I'm so blessed. I mean, I could probably call on, I don't know, 15, 20 clients right now and be like, hey, can I use you as a reference or review?

15:28And I know that they would be more than happy to do that. because they've seen how we work and the integrity that we bring to the table.

15:41Can you restate the question? I'm forgetting the second part that I had with that. Yeah, yeah, no problem. Yeah. So I was just saying that, you know, what actually moves the needle most in your business right now? Yeah, I would definitely say that. And then, yeah, and then referrals, really, word of mouth, especially where I live. It's kind of a smaller town, so I'm also having to work with maybe not the largest budgets. And so referrals are huge in that people really only around here refer people that they trust. And so even if they're having to pay a little more, they know that they're getting someone that at least their colleague or whoever it may be does trust in their own house.

16:24And so, yeah, definitely word of mouth and referrals where I live is huge. yeah no i agree i agree now you know what's one thing you're doing today that's you feel like is giving you an unfair advantage over your competitors out there

16:41i would say right now i have the time i have which i don't you know i don't expect to have for a long time but i have the time to really invest in my customers for instance i was there's been many, many occasions where I've gone, I've been able to do a job, and then I'm able to connect maybe a personal level or relate on a personal level with these clients and just, you know, be a friend as well as a plumber to them. And, you know, there's obvious like, you know, it's still a business. And so, you know, that comes first, but I want people to feel totally welcome. And there's a couple of companies around me that, I mean, I get a lot of their customers because people are leaving them because they don't feel cared for, they don't feel listened to.

17:33If a customer's investing a lot of money into something as simple as plumbing, they want to feel heard. They want to know that their investment is going to be, I guess, well-managed. And I'm able, at this point, able to really communicate that to them. and spend a little extra time with them if need be. I'm not trying to stay super long, but if I finish a job, I want to make sure that they're completely happy with everything before just like, I got three more jobs today that I get it to and I want them to feel heard, especially when it comes to money and a larger investment. Yeah, I do feel like that's something that's kind of overlooked these days with all the different companies out there.

18:18you know, people forget that, that personal touch. And that's huge because I've had to, I've, you know, lawn guys and stuff like that, just personal guys I've had in my life, you know, that I use on a regular basis. I've had to let people go because of, you know, communication, not being there and just lack of empathy, stuff like that, when things are happening and, you know, you settle on certain people because of those traits, right? Because they're, they get back to you quickly. They tell you, Hey, I'm not able to make it today, but they're upfront about it rather than telling you at the last second.

18:47And I think that's overlooked sometimes is communication, man. It's huge. Yeah, it really is. It's a make or break. It really is. Yeah. Now, what would you say, Noah, is the hardest leadership lesson you've ever had to learn while growing your team? I know you said you got two employees now. I'm going to try not to say communication again. Let me think for a second. Because communication is so key.

19:16okay well yeah so here's here's another thing i think it's

19:24so for instance my my one of my first employees i was really you know as a business owner my like this is my baby this is my business i want it to you know thrive and i'll go the extra mile no matter what, because I love my business. And communicating that in a way to my employees has, at first I struggled with it as, and I'm not saying I'm perfect by no means, but I've definitely grown in that area. And they're like, if I asked them to do something, you know, I want to not every time have to explain, here's why we're doing it. Here's why it's the best option, but, you know, communicate to them that this is in the best interest of the company.

20:07It's in the best interest of the employee and client, you know, both of them. And just, you know, what I expect from them, I expect more from myself in everything. And then also being, you know, they also like being heard and listened to if they have a different like, hey, this works better. There's been so many things that my, specifically my administrator and my apprentice have brought to me, they're like, what if we just tried this? And I'm like, oh, that totally works. Like, I just, you know, it's just one mind here and I'm trying to solve all these issues. And sometimes, if I'm being honest, like sometimes I'm not the smartest guy in the room or sometimes I don't have the best ideas.

20:49But listening to them when they bring things to the table has been a game changer because my employees have brought several things. And so not, I'm not saying everything, you know, everything they bring is like, you know, gonna happen. But I do want them to feel heard. And we've implemented a lot of different, whether it's different spreadsheets or it can be as simple as that to larger things. I like them to know that I care and them feel heard. Okay. Now, Noah, have you ever had to make a tough call, like example, letting someone go that wasn't a fit for the company or maybe cutting off or denying a job that ended up being the right move long term?

21:35Yeah, I had to make a few of those, as I'm sure most business owners have. And if you haven't, it's coming. Just wait. Yeah, so I'll give one example without going into the details. But yeah, I had a customer repeat, and I had done two big jobs for them. And I've had a difficult time myself separating my personal life from my business life. And it's really hard to do, but especially now that I'm an LLC, I'm trying to separate a little bit. But part of me loves to just do everything the client wants me to do and no questions asked. I want them to feel the most loved. But sometimes that turns into charity work, and charity work for a business is not a business.

22:24It's a charity. And so, for instance, I had this repeat client, and I had done two big jobs for them. They had both went really well. And then they're like, hey, they called and were like, can you do this other job for us? Pretty small job. And I was like, yeah, I can definitely do it. And I kind of walked through the steps of what it would take and what that would look like and when we could do it. And I told them, here's what that would cost. And they were like, well, you've already done two jobs for us recently. Could you just come out and do this for free? And I was like, no. And here's why.

22:58It's going to cost time and going out there and a little bit of material. And they were just pretty upset that they had to pay. which, you know, any business owner, that's like kind of funny. Like, yeah, you have to pay for work to be done. That's just how a business runs. But it kind of hurt in that like, I didn't, a part of me, I didn't want to lose them. But then there's part of me that's like, I also have a business and I can't, you know, just go out and do free work for everybody. So, I mean, that's not super crazy, but it did hurt a little bit having to tell them like, you know, I have done a couple of jobs for them.

23:31And then, you know, and then I know it's not on me. I don't know why they expected free work, but that was a little difficult for me personally. All right. So yeah, let's go ahead and head to what's called the quickfire round. So how this works is I'm going to give you one word, and then I just want you to give me the first thing that comes to mind when you hear each word in regards to running your business, and then give me a small paragraph on why you chose that. Okay. I listened to these on the other podcasts, and I'll do my best. Here we go. The first word is success. Success. Ooh, probably my father.

24:04Oh, one word, dad. My father. And so I don't really see success as necessarily having the most profitable or biggest business. But I look at my dad and he has amazing kids who love him, a wife that loves him, people around him who will do anything for him. He's a leader around Not too far from here He's an executive director And man, he has created Things that will last for generations And you know He's a believer as well And that is That's success in my book Having family and friends that love you And yeah, that's success Okay Failure Failure Ooh Lack of intelligence unintegrate lack of integrity i don't know what that word would be but yeah i have seen so much lack of integrity as you know as you may know this area of the country has grown a lot and so i have a lot of you know there's a lot of realtors and house flippers that'll flip for as cheap as possible and then sell it and that has been really hard to go into customers houses and tell them, look, someone kind of got you as far as pricing goes, and I have to redo just about everything because nothing is up to code.

25:27And that falls on inspectors as well. But man, the failure in just lack of integrity, it's awful sometimes. It hurts to communicate that to a client. Burnout. Burnout. oh gosh that's a good one

25:59that's a tough one gosh

26:05exhausted I guess I don't know I know I know when I felt burnout with my business it's just been go go go go go go big jobs