Young Plumbing Services Builds Success Through People

Name and title or job description: Douglas and Jessica Young, owners

Age: Doug, 45; Jessica, 41

Years in the industry: Doug spent more than 20 years in the plumbing industry, while Jessica entered the industry in 2020. The company was founded in 2017.

Business name and location: Young Plumbing Services, Anderson, South Carolina

Services we offer: Young Plumbing Services is a full-service residential plumbing and septic company. Our septic division provides septic pumping, inspections, repairs, tank installations, drainfield installations and complete system replacements.

Association involvement: We’re active members of Service Nation and the South Carolina Onsite Wastewater Association.

Jessica is also a business coach and moderator with Service Nation and serves as the South Carolina State Lead and mentor for Women of Plumbing & Piping.

One of our biggest passions is investing in people. Whether that’s through coaching other business owners, mentoring women entering the trades or developing apprentices on our own team, we believe this industry gets stronger every time someone shares what they’ve learned.

Benefits of belonging to the association: We honestly wouldn’t be where we are today without being part of these organizations.

Service Nation has helped us become better business owners. Through coaching and networking, we’ve learned how to improve our finances, operations, leadership, marketing and company culture.

SCOWA keeps us connected with the wastewater industry here in South Carolina and provides valuable technical education and networking.

Women of Plumbing & Piping has given me the opportunity to meet incredible women throughout our industry while helping encourage others who may never have considered a career in the trades.

One thing we’ve learned is that great businesses aren’t built in isolation. They’re built by people willing to learn from one another.

Biggest issue facing your association right now: One of the biggest opportunities we see for SCOWA is increasing member involvement and engagement. Like many associations, it’s easy for members to attend a class or conference and then step back until the next event. We would love to see more contractors actively participating throughout the year by sharing ideas, mentoring newer members and helping strengthen the industry as a whole.

We also believe there’s an opportunity to provide even more ongoing support and resources for those who choose to get involved. Strong associations are built by engaged members, and when members are equipped to succeed, the entire industry benefits.

Our crew includes: Douglas is a master plumber who oversees technical operations, field support and training. Jessica serves as operations manager, leading business operations, marketing, customer experience and strategic planning. Doug brings decades of technical knowledge, while Jessica focuses on systems, leadership, marketing and creating an exceptional customer experience.

Our team is the reason we have been able to grow.

Josef Young, senior service technician, is only 22 years old, but he has already become one of the best diagnostic plumbers we’ve ever worked with.

Matt McCalla leads our installation team and has been with us since 2022. Matt reminds us that character matters just as much as skill.

Leading the growth of our septic division are Josh Richert and Jacob Martin. Josh joined us with no previous plumbing or septic experience, but he has developed into a future leader for our company. Jacob has quickly proven himself to be an exceptionally talented plumber and now leads the installation of our septic tanks and drainfield systems.

Sydney Charping, lead service coordinator, helped us navigate our rapid growth while delivering an exceptional customer experience.

We’re fortunate to have an outstanding team supporting these leaders. Nick Liker, Doug Paul and Alberto Sostre serve as service technicians while Richard Rising is a key member of our Install Division. Our apprentices are the future of our company: Mekhi Martinez, Jaxson Wages, James Brown, Charles Humphrey, Lucas Young, Jeremy D’Angelis, Skyler Teasley and Kole Pendry. Brandylee Kris-Howe works in the office to support our team and our customers.

We believe in developing the next generation of tradespeople, so every truck leaves our shop with both a lead technician and an apprentice.

Typical day on the job: Every morning begins the same way. Coffee first, then our morning huddle. We gather with the entire team to review the day’s schedule, celebrate wins, discuss KPIs and work through any challenges before the trucks leave the shop.

We keep our kitchen stocked with coffee, snacks and drinks and once a week Doug usually cooks breakfast for everyone. Breakfast mornings are definitely everyone’s favorite.

Once the crews head out, every day becomes an adventure. Jessica spends most of her day managing operations, reviewing KPIs and working on marketing. Doug spends his day coaching technicians, visiting larger projects, coordinating manufacturer training, solving problems and making himself available whenever someone needs help.

The job I’ll never forget: We’ve had plenty of technically challenging jobs over the years, but a job in particular still makes us laugh. We were installing an effluent pump when halfway through the job, a new apprentice lost his breakfast, directly into the septic tank. The homeowner, who had been watching from his porch, leaned over the railing and followed suit. The apprentice eventually found another career path, the homeowner ended up with a perfectly installed system, and we walked away with a good story.

My favorite piece of equipment: The Crust Buster. It’s definitely not the flashiest tool we own, but after pumping enough septic tanks, you quickly realize it’s one of the most valuable. Sometimes it’s the simplest tools that make the biggest difference.

Most challenging site I’ve worked on: Our very first drainfield installation seemed determined to test everything we knew. The property had a high water table and limited usable space, sat between an elevated highway and an old parking lot, and already had a failed repair completed by another contractor. Every time we solved one problem, another one appeared. After a lot of planning, we designed a pumped system with a distribution box feeding a low-profile drainfield that fit the property’s limitations. Looking back, we’re grateful that our toughest project came early because it challenged us to think creatively, trust our training and work together as a team.

Oops, this didn’t work out as planned: When we decided to expand into septic, we originally partnered with another company for pumping while we focused on repairs and installations. However, this arrangement didn’t work out. We couldn’t find a company that delivered a high level of customer service. So, we took a leap of faith and bought our first truck at the WWETT Show. Looking back, we probably would have purchased a larger truck with freshwater capabilities and designed a few things differently. One lesson we’ve learned as business owners is that growth rarely happens inside your comfort zone.

The craziest question or most insightful comment from a customer: One customer asked us, “Can’t we just use a bunch of 50-gallon drums for a septic tank?”

Another asked if we’d climb inside the tank and pressure wash the walls.

No matter how long you’re in this business, customers will always find new ways to surprise you.

If I could change one industry regulation, it would be: Here in South Carolina, we’d like to see stronger enforcement requiring suppliers to verify licenses before selling septic tanks and other regulated installation materials. This would protect homeowners better while ensuring that licensed contractors aren’t competing against unlicensed work.

Best piece of small business advice I’ve heard or came up with: Documentation is key! Over the years, we learned that it is incredibly important to document everything. We take detailed notes and lots of pictures. Customers sign off on estimates to authorize the work and also acknowledge that the work was completed as agreed.

Documentation doesn’t just protect your business. It protects your customer, builds trust and demonstrates professionalism, even after you leave the job site.

If I wasn’t working in the wastewater industry, I would like to: We’d probably still find ourselves helping people in this industry. Whether through coaching, speaking, mentoring or consulting. We’d love to spend more time helping other contractors build healthy businesses. People invested in us throughout our journey. Being able to pay that forward would be one of the most rewarding things we could do.

Crystal ball time – This is my outlook for the wastewater industry: Artificial intelligence is changing nearly every industry on the planet. We embrace technology and use AI every day to help answer phones, improve our marketing, communicate more effectively with customers and streamline our operations. But no matter how advanced technology becomes, it can’t crawl through a crawl space, diagnose a failing septic system or reassure a homeowner who’s having one of the worst days of their year. It certainly can’t replace the craftsmanship, critical thinking and genuine care that great technicians bring to every job.

More than anything, we’re optimistic about the future because we believe the skilled trades are becoming more valuable than ever. As technology reshapes many traditional careers, plumbing and wastewater continue to offer meaningful work, lifelong opportunities and the chance to make a difference in people’s lives every day.

We’re proud to be part of an industry that keeps our communities healthy, and we hope to leave it stronger than we found it by serving our customers well, investing in the next generation of tradespeople and never stopping our own pursuit of learning and improvement.