Building a Trade Business with Unrealistic Optimism: Inside the Growth of Rare Breed Plumbing Heating Air

Building a trade business requires moving past the fear of the unknown and relying on clear, factual numbers rather than guesswork. Many operators get stuck at the solo stage because they try to manage everything themselves without seeking outside advice or looking at their real margins. True operational growth happens when an owner shifts from being a field worker to a true builder of people.

Court Lundberg, the founder of Rare Breed Plumbing Heating Air in Utah, sat down to discuss the realities of scaling a service shop. He shared the hard operational milestones of growing from a single truck to a team of over 30 employees, navigating costly hiring errors, balancing seasonal demands, and leveraging local masterminds to learn from high-volume shops.

From Student Debt to a Dopamine Rush in the Field

Entering the plumbing industry was not the initial plan. Traditional assumptions about trade work often involve negative ideas about odor, manual discomfort, and low professional status. Many young workers avoid looking at service careers because they do not understand the true physical reality and satisfaction of the job.

Faced with the choice of taking out student loans while his wife completed nursing school, a part-time helper job changed everything. Within two weeks, the technical nature of the work and the immediate problem-solving dynamic proved that the trades were a lifelong career path. There is a specific satisfaction that comes from answering a call in an hour of need, showing up to calm a homeowner down, and resolving a mechanical issue with your hands.

After finishing a formal apprenticeship, moving to a larger population center like Salt Lake City provided the right market density to launch a small business. Over nearly seven years, that initial operation expanded from one technician in a single service truck into a structured enterprise with dozens of field staff and administrative support.

The Pain of Scams and the Danger of the Shiny Sales Rep

Small business owners are often desperate for security, which makes them prime targets for bad advice and poor educational resources. When an operator is struggling to understand their numbers, they often look for external answers from smooth-talking sales reps who promise immediate results but have never actually run a profitable service line.

Today, hiring protocols require verifying performance data directly within active service software before an offer is made. The business no longer relies on shiny pitches. Instead, growth comes from having good people, knowing your numbers, and understanding the exact cost of client acquisition.

Strategic Tuck-Ins: Expanding into HVAC and Balancing the Season

HVAC operations are notoriously cyclical, facing sharp revenue drops during mild spring and fall shoulder seasons. Companies that only handle heating and cooling often face intense spikes during summer and winter but starve during the months in between. Plumbing demands, however, remain flat and steady throughout the year because pipes break regardless of the weather outside.

To solve this systemic bottleneck, Rare Breed Plumbing Heating Air executed a strategic tuck-in. When a highly skilled local operator named Jerick reached out for business advice, he decided it was better to combine forces than to struggle alone. He brought his existing HVAC talent over to the team. By pairing his cooling expertise with the established plumbing lines, the shop created a reliable year-round baseline that protects the field team and keeps the dispatch boards moving.

Masterminds over Sales Pitches: Finding Mentors Who Are Steps Ahead

Every small business owner lives in a parallel universe of hidden mistakes, train wrecks, and imposter syndrome. It is easy to look at larger operations and assume they have everything figured out perfectly, but the reality is that everyone faces similar administrative friction. The real breakthrough happens when you open your mouth and ask for help from people who are steps ahead of you.

To grow beyond the three-million-dollar mark, developing workers into field leaders became the primary challenge. Without a massive corporate budget, the solution was to build local educational masterminds. By inviting established industry icons, like financial expert Ellen Roar, to speak for an hour, the shop gathered local contractors together for collaborative learning with no hidden sales agendas.

These masterminds split owners into interactive groups of eight to discuss what works in cleaning, electrical, or plumbing. Sharing very purposeful questions with mentors running large-scale operations provides immense value. It builds genuine connections so you know exactly who to call when financial or marketing problems occur.

The Employee Experience: Squeezing the Life Out of Private Equity Trends

The home services market is currently seeing a massive influx of private equity firms buying up local brands. While these firms are focused heavily on hitting major profit margins to support investment funds, their aggressive sales scripts can end up squeezing the life out of the authentic customer experience. In plumbing, the field staff are the true commodity. If the employee experience is poor, the client experience fails naturally.

Standard operating procedures are useful, but they fall apart if you have unhappy people trying to follow a rigid script. A great team running wild with genuine enthusiasm will out-perform a structured script every time. True leadership requires putting your people first and ensuring the internal team feels supported so they can treat the homeowner with total integrity.

Unrealistic Optimism and the Heavy Load of Leadership

When things get difficult in a shop, the entire team looks directly at leadership to see how they react. Unrealistic optimism is often the single trait that separates growing trade companies from those that remain stagnant. Even if the house is metaphorically burning down, a leader must maintain an optimistic outlook to keep the team willing to work harder through rough moments.

However, staying up all the time is emotionally taxing. When an owner is having a normal human day, the sudden change in energy can feel like a dark cloud passing through the office. Part of running a business means understanding that leaders carry the heavy financial stuff alone. Your team does not need to know when it is hard to make payroll. They need to see that everything is under control. If your energy is low, it is better to take a breather, step away to a coffee shop, and protect your team from your temporary frustrations.