When Brooklyn, New York, native Yuda Best turned 28, he moved to Miami and opened his own plumbing business. Now, two years later, Oasis Plumbing going strong.
“Looking back, plumbing was the obvious choice for me,” he says. “I’m surrounded by plumbers in my family. But, when I first started, it was because my brother in-law was a plumber and he changed my mind-set of how plumbers are seen. Growing up, I think plumbing was frowned at as a dirty, nasty job and people thought they didn’t make money.”
Best got his start in the industry in New York City by calling 20 plumbing companies asking for a job as a helper.
“I told them that I would even work a month for free to prove myself,” Best says. “I got lucky with my boss. He was a great person to learn from. I asked a lot questions and paid attention to every detail around me. I used to stay up late reading and watching videos to broaden my knowledge. That helped to accelerate my learning of the trade.”
However, his goal from day one was to open his own business after getting his plumbing license. Once he felt ready, he flew down to Miami to take the licensing exams. Best and his wife moved to Florida just 10 days after discovering he received his master plumber’s license.
Oasis Plumbing focuses on residential plumbing services and takes pride in its customers’ satisfaction.
“I have heard customers complain about the other company — about how late they show up, how incompetent and filthy they are and how they don’t care at all about the customer or their home,” Best says. “We received a review from a customer of ours the other day and it’s a perfect example of how we are at every service call. We were proud to walk out of that job smiling that our work looked awesome and we did our best.”
The company wasn’t always named Oasis — originally, it shared Best’s name.
“I didn’t feel connected to it or love it,” Best says. “We struggled for some time to decide what to do. My wife came up with the name Oasis Plumbing. I really liked it because it feels right for the Miami area. We rebranded, and now I feel proud to be the owner of this company.”
Oasis Plumbing has one vehicle, a 2018 Ford Transit 250, and one other employee in addition to Best himself.
“My next step is hiring an office staff,” he says. “Once I can relieve myself with some of the office work, I want to hire another technician and purchase another van. From there, I will just keep duplicating the process.”
Best likes the Ford Transit 250 because due to the height and length he is able to stand comfortably in the back and there is room to store a 10-foot pipe on the top shelf. There is also space for large water heaters. Best notes that he recently picked up an order of four hybrid water heaters and fit them all inside the van.
“We have shelf racks from Hackney and the bins help to keep extremely organized,” he adds. “We’re able to stock a lot of items in our truck so as not to waste time going to the supply house.”
When Best decided to rebrand the company, he knew he needed a new logo design and truck wrap. He went to Dan Antonelli and Kickcharge Creative for help.
“It’s really catchy, fun and different,” Best says. “I love the fun beach vibe with the lifeguard chair and surf board. We wanted to get brand recognition and a better image of our company from our customers. Our image and our high quality of service goes hand-in-hand. We look respectable in clean uniforms with our trucks wrapped. I’m proud of our brand.”
