Let me clue you in on a poorly kept secret: Traditional advertising is expensive. I know, this isn’t exactly shocking. Depending on your market, a month-long rental of a billboard could cost five figures. A week’s worth of 15-second radio ads can run up to $8,000 — and that doesn’t include the cost of producing them. And television? Forget it.

It’s not often that a 27-year-old decides to start his own contracting company, but in the case of Ryan Osterkamp, that’s exactly what happened.

Edwards Plumbing & Heating, a third-generation contracting business, was founded back in 1948 by Charles W Edwards. Charles Edwards, a pipefitter by trade prior to WWII, became a Navy Seabee, building runways in the pacific.

After learning the trades during two tours in the Navy Seabees, Guy M. Cooper Sr. decided to start his own business — Guy M. Cooper Plumbing & Heating was founded in 1930. While the mechanical contracting firm has a long, storied history of providing high quality work and high quality jobs for all its employees, the third-generation owners Gary Cooper and Glenn Cooper decided it was time for a rebrand in 2021.

After working for a plumbing company who wouldn’t give him a day off, Levi Torres and his wife, Cassi Torres, decided to start their own plumbing business in 2012. The couple wanted a company that supported its employees and served every customer with professionalism and respect, and High 5 Plumbing was born.

For the past 15 years, Steve Baker had a plan to start his own plumbing company. Last year, that dream was finally achieved with the opening of Gideon Plumbing in Duncan, British Columbia, Canada.

What do logging and plumbing have in common? Jon Hatch for one. After a friend told him about a plumbing apprenticeship opening 15 years ago, Jon Hatch made the jump to the plumbing industry. 

Southern Trust Home Services began life on a farm. An electrician by trade, Ted Puzio founded his contracting business in 1995 while raising his two teenage sons. Then named TP Electric, Puzio and his sons renovated and flipped farmhouses before building a two-story facility to both live in and use as a workshop.

“The right call any time of year” is the perfect slogan for Asheville, North Carolina-based Four Seasons Plumbing. The company was founded in 2006 by husband and wife team, Max Rose and Rachel Rose, thanks to a monetary gift from Max Rose’s grandmother.

Known as “The Temperature Experts,” Shelby Township, Michigan-based Koz Heating & Cooling was founded just eight years ago — the culmination of Michael Kosmalski’s dream to one day own his own HVAC company.