Price is a topic everyone wants to discuss and everyone has an opinion about, and you are probably wondering why I am even implying there is a circumstance when price doesn’t matter. Before you start thinking I’m crazy, let me explain.

I’m 69 years old and my hair is as brown as it was when I was a teenager. A bit of it, mostly around my ears and the back of my neck, sneaks in as gray, but some Russian barber just buzzes those stray hairs away and I’m back to being a young fella again. I like the Russian barbers.

In last month’s Hydronics Workshop column I described five devices that would, in my opinion, improve and expand the North American hydronics industry.  Here’s my “wish list” from that column:

When I was the last of the three brothers to enter the family business, my dad said to me, “I owe you an opportunity, not a guarantee.”

As a backpacker, the most important item I carry in my backpack is water. I start each morning of a hike with three liters of water; two in my bladder and one in my bottle. The water bottle looks like any typical water bottle that people carry.

You pull up to your business at 7:00 a.m. and see that your service trucks have already left. 

When someone calls a plumber, they are usually doing so because they have an immediate need. Perhaps a pipe has burst or their running water is down to a trickle. Whatever the issue, the customer needs assistance — fast.

The basics of plumbing may be timeless, but the products are changing as technology evolves and demographics shift. For the modern plumber who embraces opportunity, these products offer new and enhanced revenue streams. Here are seven you should offer.

I hope 2019 is off to a great start for you and your company. Regardless whether it’s going the way you want it to or not, I want you to think about what it would truly take to make the rest of 2019 the best year of your life. And as you examine that, don’t just think about how you are going to make that happen — think about who will help you get there.

We live on The Isle of Long, which means that if you throw a rock you’ll hit a large, chrome-plated diner. These palaces of gastronomy have just about anything you could want for any meal of the day and the food arrives on the table seconds after you decide what you want, and often even before.