Episode Overview
Jay and Amanda Mahaffey recognize they make a good team as co-owners of Tuck & Howell Plumbing in Greenville, South Carolina.
Amanda does the books, while Jay handles financials and personnel matters. Since they took over the company from Jay’s uncle in 2023, the company has scaled from $4 million to 11 million in sales, while doubling the staff.
She taught Jay that financials are cool, and Jay has impressed Amanda with how he takes her input and enacts change quickly.
“ Time is money, so act fast,” Jay says. “We do the best that we can at creating processes and procedures for those actions, but we have to act fast.”
The Mahaffeys both knew the 55-year-old company they acquired needed rebranding and streamlining.
“ We implemented ServiceTitan...we added plumbing...we rebranded…we added a new website,” Amanda says. “We had to make changes fast because the company needed it.”
Personnel was an issue, and Jay knew he wanted to move quickly – but wisely.
“ Hire slow, fire fast,” he says. “You have to. Otherwise, at the end of the day, it's like someone grabbing your wallet and taking a brick of cash out of it and handing it right back to you.”
The couple always wanted to retain employees, but they decided to focus more closely on building success by hiring the right people.
“ We’ve started doing one-on-ones to see how we can help [our employees] with their goals,” Amanda says. “ We're creating a culture of when you come in here, we want you to want to grow yourself.”
The Mahaffey’s future calls for everybody keeping up the pace.
Jay and Amanda Mahaffey recently joined ServiceTitan’s Jackie Aubel on the “Toolbox for the Trades” podcast, which included the Mahaffeys’ thoughts on:
[1:54] The importance of implementing new systems quickly
[11:37] Treating employee retention as a rehiring process
[18:00] Opening a new service division and leveraging KPIs
[34:18] Company culture and fostering a positive environment
[40:51] Identifying a brand and who you are
To hear more stories from the trades, subscribe to “Toolbox for the Trades” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, or anywhere you get podcasts.
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