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What I’m Thankful for This Year

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This year there are plenty of things I’m thankful for. I believe that there is a creator who sustains life, so for me, every moment of my life and all my blessings are from God and His grace. I’m very thankful for that. I’m also thankful for the health of my family and my own health. We just recently got a new addition to our family, so my wife and I are super excited and thankful for the new child in our lives.

Every day I get to come in and work with the best team I’ve ever been a part of, and I’m just so thankful for the team members who put their faith and trust in this organization and contribute so much.

We try to be a positive impact on the community around us. I am very thankful for the community that I live in. We generally do not have a lot of unrest or civil issues. We’re pretty low-key and this is a great place to live in. The community has been very good to me, my family, and this organization and we’re very thankful for that.

As we’ve gone through the last couple of years with COVID, society has changed profoundly. There are lots of people who are tense and on-edge. We’ve even failed in certain situations, so I’m very thankful for my customers’ patience. It can be very challenging to meet the demands of others, but people have patiently waited for us to solve those problems and be better in the future. That patience goes a long way.

If you have any plumbing or HVAC issues in your home, reach out to the team at Wisler Plumbing & Air by contacting us online or giving us a call at 540-483-9382.

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As an organization gets older, we gradually weed out the things that don’t work and hold on to the things that do. That’s how the Wisler Way has come about and solidified over the years. If I had to describe the details, we’ve really tried to get as good as we can at finding people who are passionate about the same things that we are, especially in the absence of an abundance of tradespeople. That doesn’t mean that we’re always 100% aligned with each other, but there’s a common thread that helps us share the same goal and purpose every day.

We’re very much about investing in people, changing lives, and changing family’s lives. This organization is really just a vehicle for us to develop, grow, and achieve certain goals. Therefore, we support the investment in training and schooling as much as possible to impact the people within our team. We also have very high standards in writing posted around the office. We try to make sure that we don’t compromise those standards because they’re a large part of the reason why we’re successful. If I would ask a team member if they’d prefer that we lower our standards, they’d generally respond with a resounding no. They can appreciate the value of being in a high-standard environment.

We’re a growing organization, and it’s part of our mission statement to grow profitably. One reason why we do this is because we want to provide opportunity for ourselves as well as anyone who might be joining our organization. If we bring in people who are behind our mission, invest to help them grow and develop, and maintain high standards, there will be plenty of opportunity that presents itself. Of course, it can become monotonous to come to work and do service calls every day, but I find myself constantly trying to look at the big picture and think about the greater purpose at play. Team members have the ability to gain a promotion or learn more about what it means to be a husband, father, wife, or mother. That’s just part of the impact of working for a good organization.

If you have any questions, reach out to the team at Wisler Plumbing & Air by contacting us online or giving us a call at 540-483-9382.

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There are a few books that have helped me as a business owner that I would recommend for everyone, including future business owners. The first one is How to Lead When You’re Not in Charge. Especially for young people with a lot of ambition, I think it can be very frustrating early on in our careers. It can feel like you’re put in a box, or that you want to fly but just can’t do it yet. I’d say I was definitely this way, too—it’s a consequence of having a lot of ambition and confidence and wanting to charge forward to challenge the status quo. This book meant a lot to me because there’s a time in a young person’s life when they need to be mentored and need to develop.

Business ownership is a very heavy responsibility, especially if you have employees. There’s a lot of people looking to you and counting on you. It takes humility to recognize that you need mentorship, and the book speaks to this very well. It’s possible for ambition and humility to coexist in someone, which is what my takeaway was after reading this book. If anyone finds themselves not in charge of a business or not in an ownership position, this book is very enlightening.

The next book, The E-Myth, is pretty popular for businesses. (The E stands for entrepreneurship.) What I took away from this book is that people shouldn’t start a business or own a business for the wrong reasons. So many people get frustrated at work, quit their jobs, and then decide to start their own business. Make sure you get into ownership for the right reasons. Business ownership is not something to take lightly. It can take a lot of financial and personal responsibility.

The last book is kind of newer to me—I just read it around 18 months ago. It’s called The 4 Disciplines of Execution. (We’ve employed it here in this organization.) It speaks about 4 different disciplines, but the one that stood out most to me is the cadence of accountability. People with a musical background probably have a good understanding of cadence, which is a way to describe a rhythm. In order to execute properly, you need to have a continuous cadence of accountability for both yourself and others around you. This doesn’t have to be something negative at all. In actuality, accountability can be a very positive thing. This book speaks to that and helps you to understand the importance of not just accountability, but applying it consistently.

If you’re a business owner, someone thinking about starting a business in the future, or even an employee who isn’t considering business ownership, these are some useful books to read. They can help you develop a mindset that leads to better relationships at work. So many times there’s a push and shove dynamic between employees and employer. Most of the time I find that neither side wants to push or shove—it’s really due to a lack of understanding. I consistently try to put myself in the employee’s shoes when making decisions because I used to be an employee. But sometimes you’re an employee who’s never been a business owner, so gaining an understanding about what happens on the other side can be a very powerful tool.

If you have any HVAC or plumbing questions, reach out to the team at Wisler Plumbing & Air by contacting us online or giving us a call at 540-483-9382.

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If you’re planning to go on a long vacation, you’ll probably want to make sure your home is protected from any kind of damage. The worst-case scenario would be a major incident that happened while you were gone and completely unaware. There could even be a storm that blows debris onto your home. Here’s what you can do to keep your home safe so you aren’t preoccupied while you’re away.

Find a house sitter.

It might be wise to ask someone who has access to your home to drop by at least once a week. (Every day would probably be even better.) This person would be able to check on the electricity, plumbing, HVAC, or just the house in general to make sure nothing has gone wrong. Any potential incidents can be caught early if you have someone to take a look for you.

Prep your water heater.

You might want to turn the water heater down to 80 or 90 degrees, which is pretty easy to do with a gas system and a little bit harder on an electric one. If your system doesn’t have a vacation setting, you might just want to turn it off by flipping the breaker.

Consider turning off the main water valve.

If you’re gone for a week or more, it might be a good idea to turn off the main water valve going to the house. That way if a pipe bursts or something comes loose, there won’t be water running into the house and causing a lot of damage. (The only water released would be what’s in the lines.) There are a few reasons why you wouldn’t want to turn the water valve off, however. If you have automatic appliances like an ice machine or a pet water dispenser, it’s probably a better idea just to have someone check your house daily.

Turn on vacation mode.

Equipment like water treatment systems have a vacation mode that prevent them from backwashing or activating any of their functions. As soon as you get back and run a gallon of water, the system should automatically exit vacation mode.

Change your thermostat’s setting.

If you have a programmable thermostat, do a permanent hold on the heating or cooling, depending on the season. During winter you’d probably want to bring it down to 60 or 65 degrees, and during summer you’d probably go up to 75.

Check for air drafts.

During the winter you’ll want to make sure everything is sealed up properly so there’s no way for cold air to enter into crawlspaces, basements, or doors. Otherwise it could significantly affect the heating and cooling system and even freeze the pipes in the plumbing system.

If you’re traveling for the holidays this winter, make sure to go through everything in this list so your home will be safe when you return. If you have any questions, reach out to the team at Wisler Plumbing & Air by contacting us online or giving us a call at 540-483-9382.

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I’ve been a master plumber ever since I was 19 years old. One of the stipulations for obtaining a master plumber’s license is that you have to wait until after you’re 18. Because I grew up in the plumbing trade and had my experience and schooling done well before then, I sat for the journeyman plumber’s test as soon as I could. You have to hold your journeyman’s license for one year before taking the master’s test, which is what I did. (Just a quick note: when I use the terms ‘journeyman’ or ‘tradesman’, these are the names used by the state for licensing purposes.) You’re required to have 4 years of practical on-the-job experience combined with 240 hours of class time. If you have more field experience, each additional year takes off 80 hours of class time.

One of the more attractive aspects of becoming a tradesman is the fact that there are fewer licensed tradesmen now than ever. It’s a tremendous opportunity for someone to get certified, especially now that many companies are willing to pay your way to obtain a license (like we do). If you were to get a certificate for something like nursing, you’d generally have to pay for the schooling yourself and do it on your own time.

In the state of Virginia, tradespeople can work under the company owner’s license or supervisor’s license. However, we view certification as an accomplishment and a credential that makes employees build confidence. We encourage all of our team members to get their license, even though they don’t need to obtain one to be in a service truck. When they go to a customer’s home they can say they are a licensed plumber or HVAC technician, which feels really good.

Many people might have been in the trade for 10 or 20 years but they just haven’t made it a priority to sit for the test. We have a gentleman here who just got his license after doing plumbing for 30 years. When you talk to him about it, you can tell that it’s an accomplishment in which he takes immense pride. I’m sure it’s something that he’s wanted for a while.

If you’re interested in getting into the industry, the first step is generally joining a company with an apprenticeship program. Then you’ll be able to build on-the-job training and get enrolled in classes. At our company we hire apprentices, put them through training, and give them the platform to learn the trade. Because we are accredited, any in-house training will go towards the 240 hours of class time. If you’re interested in learning more, just head over to WislerJobs.com. If you need help with your plumbing or HVAC, just give us a call at 540-483-9382.

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In the last post we talked about a day in the life of a water treatment installer. This time let’s take a look at water technicians. The big difference between a technician and an installer is that the installer will just install or replace equipment that needs to be upgraded, whereas the technician is going to be doing both maintenance and service to existing units that need to be kept in good working condition. It might be a new client that has older equipment or someone who doesn’t have a maintenance agreement and has a unit that needs to be worked on.

Similar to a water treatment installer, a typical day for a water technician starts with breakfast that we offer here in the company. The team talks with each other and goes over what their day is going to look like. The technician has to prepare for their routes because they might make anywhere from 4 to 6 stops a day. They need to load the materials and parts ahead of time to be prepared and efficient enough to head home before it gets super late. Unlike an installer, the technician’s day is spent communicating either with the clients or with the office and dispatch. Because technicians go to more jobs, they need to be very comfortable with communication, collaboration, and time management. They diagnose systems where the water might not be correct, so there’s definitely more of a problem-solving skillset required for this role.

Water treatment installers and water technicians are very different from each other. It really depends on the person as to where they’re a better fit. If someone doesn’t really like a great deal of communication and collaboration, they’ll probably fit better in the installer role, whereas if someone gains energy from working with a wide range of people, then they can really shine in the service-oriented role of a technician.

We’re definitely looking for water treatment apprentices to join our team right now. If you’re interested, be sure to head over to WislerJobs.com for more information. Or if you need a new water treatment system in your home, just give us a call at 540-483-9382.

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