We Start Our Days at 6AM with CEO of Rooter Hero Plumbing John Akhoian

Welcome to this episode of the Million Dollar Mastermind. I'm Larry Weddell. And before we get started, if you want to know exactly how to win again and again, go to Wydell on winning.com webinar now to watch something I've put together for you. Now let's get going into this episode.

Of Million Dollar Mastermind. I'm talking to John Akoyan and John is the CEO, owner and founder of Reuter Hero Plumbing. And they've had amazing success. It was founded in 2011. Okay. And so welcome John. Glad to have you with us and appreciate you taking the time.

My pleasure. Thank you. Happy to be here.

And you know what's great about John is not only has he had success, but he has been in the business of passing on winning principles and writing books and doing teaching and in addition to running his businesses. And what that does is force you to be really specific in thinking like, how did I get this thing done? How can I explain to somebody else? And so John is well versed at explaining principles on winning and how to successfully navigate life. He's in the drain cleaning and plumbing business and their revenue is massive. I'm going to let him tell you about it, but it's like we have 191 million revenue and that's probably wrong, but operating in 12 locations throughout California and Arizona as of 2019, that's what we've got. Owned a home service franchise business for 20 years before he founded Reuter Hero Plumbing. And so he knows the game. And we're gonna have a lot of fun talking with John. So John, tell us about your world and correct the statistics and everything that.

I put out there. So go ahead. Yeah, we're in the plumbing and drain cleaning industry. And Rooter Hero was founded in 2011. Today we have, we have, we sold off a couple locations. So we have 10 locations, over 300 employees. We've been growing at a average rate of 30% plus recently this year over last. And companies opening up new locations. We plan on opening up four. Four this year. We've got two already done. So it's exciting times for us. And I did write some books. Values First. It's a principle driven leadership. It talks about some of the leadership principles we use in our business. The Secret to Real Wealth. It's a book about a career in plumbing and how it could change your life and allow you to retire wealthy. And creating 99 millionaires, making it big as a home improvement salesperson. So these are the few books that I wrote and they're on Amazon if anybody wants them or you could download a copy on our website. I have free PDF versions if you.

Go to rooterhero.com and talk about you also. Why, why did you have, when did you create and how did you create your 12 week apprentice program?

So this was created, I would say roughly about five years ago. We were in the blue collar trades industry. We're having a shortage of plumbers that are coming into the industry. Colleges are doing a great job, you know, sending people to college and universities and, and getting them lined up for white collar jobs. And I think since they removed shop from high schools and the budget was cut when it comes to mechanic and shop and you know, it really started sending more kids into the white collar industry. So we're having a shortage. So what we did is we decided that we're gonna go ahead and we're gonna have our own university, our own school, and within 12 weeks we have a ongoing training program where you know, we do classroom and field and we take anybody that has mechanically inclined skills that's, that's motivated and driven and just teach them the plumbing industry. And we start out with drain cleaning and then we get a little more advanced as you know, they get their hands, you know, used to doing the work.

Now talk about this, how many million millionaires you've created at Rooter Hero? And I think you said even better than that.

Yeah, we have roughly about 10 or 12 people that became millionaires working with and at Rooter Hero Plumbing. And I have quite a few stories of it and creating 99 millionaires. We have a couple of guys that actually started their business when we started Rooter Hero and we were pretty instrumental on helping them start their software company. And those two individuals working in alignment with our company have become billionaires, you know, creating a software for the plumbing industry.

And so I mean you're talk about this, you know, the premise that I think it needs to, this drum needs to be pounded a whole lot more that you don't have.

Kids need to hear it.

You know, we don't need to hear.

It, but kids need to hear it is that they, you don't have to go to college to become wealthy and you don't have to work a white collar job to become wealthy. And when did that become a passion of yours, getting that, that theme out there?

So me Personally, I was 17 when I got into the plumbing industry and it happened. Like most people that get into trades, you either have your father or you have a hero that's in the trades. That teaches you or you fall into it through hardship. And my plan A was to go to college to become an attorney. That's what my parents wanted me to do. Life threw a curveball at us. I was 17 and my dad passed away. He was a truck driver and he was the breadwinner of the family. And my mom didn't work and my brother was in college at the time time. And we had just bought a house a year before that. And, you know, all the plans of me going to college kind of flew out the window. I had to go get a job. And, you know, my mom said, hey, you're going to do anything, might as well get into trades. It's a good, you know, it's a good plan B, you know, if you're not going to go to college, and I know you'll always be able to put food on your table if you're in the trades. And I said, great. So we knew a family friend that was a plumber, and I went and worked with him as a helper, as an apprentice, and quickly learned to trade. And within a year, I was able to make up my dad's income, continue to keep the household going. We had sold my dad's truck and had enough money to pay the bills and keep it going. And luckily my earnings went up and I was able to help my mom pay the mortgage at the time. And my mom's still in the same house right now, so we're happy about that. And plumbing has been great for me. That's all I've been doing ever since.

And how did you move up the ladder in the plumbing industry? You know, you said you had to you replace your dad's income in one year, starting as a basically apprentice labor helper and moving up through the ranks. And that was pretty staggering realization at a young age. You can replace your dad's income.

Yeah, I was really, truly motivated to do that. And I learned the trades really fast. I remember the first day when I was out in the field with Arthur and I showed up really early. He said, we start our days here at 6am I said, no problem. I was at his. He worked from home. So I was at his house at 6am and we got in the truck and he said, well, you know, we're going to get under a house, we're going to fix some pipe, we're going to do, you know, a couple of really dirty jobs. And at the end of the day, you're either going to like it or you're not. If you don't then I'm telling you, just tell me now, don't waste my time. I said, okay, I'll do that. So at the end of the day, we're driving back and you know, I'm all muddy from crawling under houses and, you know, going out and getting tools for him and, you know, digging some lines and doing stuff like that. He said, well, what do you think, John? Do you, do you like this? And I said, I love it. I want to keep doing it. He said, okay, great. I'm going to teach you everything you need to know about plumbing. And that's where it started. And within six months I had learned the trade well enough for him to go out on jobs alone. So at that I would just go pick up truck at, at 6:00 then I would go do a lot and do certain repair. He was a service and repair plumber for apartment building. So I would go out, you know, change stems, fix leaks, crawl under apartments, you know, repair pipes, do stuff like that. And the more I did it, the more I got good at it, the more I enjoyed it. So my thing was, you know, I was motivated to get really good at it. So I took the trade seriously. And the better I got at it, the more I fell in love with it.

Hey, listen, there's a lot of information online, but there aren't a lot of people who have actually done something. In my case, I've actually built a successful business, has accrued over $5 billion.

In assets under management, and has done.

Well even during trying times. Now, if you want to know exactly how I've done this, go to Whiteellumwinning.com webinar Now I've compressed a decade of learning into five short weeks. Just for those of you who want to give yourself an incredible advantage and are tired of waiting and watching others.

Move up and talk about now.

How.

You know, that's the story of 99%, probably of the people who go into the trades. You know, they have a high intensity learning period for six months, they get the trade down and then that's what they do for the next 20, 30 years. So how did you not stay in that position?

So I've, I've always been kind of driven and motivated. Really didn't have much school education because I, you know, I dropped out of high school after my dad passed. But I've always enjoyed learning. I just didn't, didn't know what type of learning I enjoyed. So, so what I did is I started to listen to audiobooks. That was my, my Main thing that I would do because I would spend so much time in a truck, and instead of listening to music, I would just get these audiobooks of just motivational speakers and sometimes, you know, even other audiobooks like, you know, learning accounting and, you know, things like that. And I would just use that time in the truck to learn as much as I can. And. And that's basically how I advanced my business. I've been doing that ever since I was 17 or 18 years old, and I'm still doing it today. I mean, you know, here we are, 30 years, you know, in the future, and I'm still listening to audiobooks as I drive. I'm still curious about, you know, learning new principles, new trades. I listen to, you know, a lot of motivational speakers in today's days, and I take a lot of classes and stuff like that. So I think that's been my driving force of growth, has been, you know, working on myself, getting better. And I. As I would get better, I would apply those principles in my business and my business would grow. And I started my own plumbing business when I was 19. I basically, you know, just bought some hand tools and had some weekend jobs that I did, and I eventually, you know, just bought enough tools in a van and started my business when I was really young.

And so how did that evolve? So that was just like a natural progression then. I mean, you know, I guess there was no. No bad feelings from the guy that had trained you. How long. How long had you been a plumber at this point? Year and a half year. Two years.

Yeah, so I worked for Arthur for about two years. And I remember going to him once, and I. And I told him, you know, I really enjoyed doing this. I love plumbing. And I had advanced. He gave me raises and stuff. And I think when I started with them, I was making about $25 a day, and I got up to about, you know, 60, 70 or $80 a day. And then I was doing some, like, weekend jobs and stuff that would make more money than I would make all week working from. But what. What ended up happening is I went to him and I said, let's grow the business. I mean, I'm. You know, you're. I see these companies popping up and. And. And they're just, you know, you steal dozens of vans. And I said, why don't we start growing this? He said, john, he was one of those plumbers that was just, you know, basically, he had a lifestyle business, happy with it, didn't want any more headaches than what he had to he said, I'm happy doing what I'm doing. My one truck operation provides me a good, you know, lifestyle and I'm really not interested in doing anything more than that. He said, you have choices. You could go work for a big company, you could go and, and start your own thing. He said, I'm completely supportive over that. So I decided that that's what I was going to do.

And the thing is that it is surprising for entrepreneurs to realize not everybody is motivated like they're motivated. And it's perfectly okay not to be the monomaniac on a mission to grow and expand and conquer the world all the time and be that competitive.

Yeah, absolutely. I think he's still out there with, with the, with one truck and still doing his thing. And I mean, I'm sure he's got somebody helping him do the work because he's getting older. I mean, this is the kind of trade where, you know, you're not going to be crawling under houses at 50, 60, 70 years old, but as long as you have a good helper, you know, you could get a lot done.

Yeah. And the thing is that it's, it's, you know, whatever makes you happy, you know, you know what your nature is and what you want out alive. You have a sense of that. But there's some of us that are weird and we don't know why, but we've got this drive, this enjoyment of creating things, growing things, trying to expand, meeting new people, new experiences and the go go life just has an attraction. And you know, maybe it would be better if we could be a one truck plumber. But sometimes, but you know, you got to be what you got to be. And so John, you went out and you started your own thing. So how did, how did that progression go?

So I started my company at 19. Back then, you know, you have to get a contractor's license. So I was doing a lot of jobs that were just small jobs, you know, two, three, four or five hundred dollar jobs. And if I would land something big, I would go to Arthur. He was always good about, you know, helping me with the bigger projects because he was licensed and I wasn't. So what I did is I, I applied for my contractor's license. And back then the, the California State License Board would allow you to, you know, plead your case if you were getting it early. And I was, you know, I only had two or three years, you know, into it and I was applying for it. And I remember sitting in front of a committee, you know, giving them my Story of why I should be able to test and get the license and they approved me. So I studied the heck out of the books and went and passed the test. And I was licensed. So that allowed me to, you know, start marketing my business to more management companies and other things. And my philosophy was always, you know, and I learned this young from my dad that, you know, work hard, you know, you know, this was not a 9 to 5 thing for me. I was either working on finding customers, I would go door to door, I would go to management companies, I would go to restaurants passing out my cards. I was either looking for work or I was fixing someone's plumbing. Two things I was doing seven days a week, you know, 10, 12 hours a day. So I would wake up early and I would start going marketing. If I didn't have a job by the end of the day, you know, I would end up having a job for the next day. I mean, some people I would talk to would need something done and I would line it up and I'd go out there the next day and start. So that's how it all started, just door to door. And eventually I put enough money together, my business did really well and you know, I had saved, I remember it was a couple hundred thousand dollars back then when I was like about 20 years old and I was looking to, I was looking to franchise. So I went and bought a franchising magazine. I saw all of these fast food franchises opening up. I said, man, it'd be nice to put money into one of these, you know, fast food franchises. I could still do the plumbing and these things run on their own. So I'll have some management running it and it will be a money maker. So I bought the magazine. I was flipping through, looking at the startup costs of all these different franchises and I came across this little ad that had a plumbing franchise in there. And I said, wow, interesting. So I made a phone call and a couple weeks later somebody called me back and I met with them and went back and forth and ended up buying a plumbing franchise. And so then I rolled my business into the plumbing franchise and I did that for 20 plus years. And that was great because I really learned a lot of business skills and you know, other things that I was missing, accounting principles and skills and things like that. And became the fastest growing franchisee the first year or two and then became franchise of the year and then sales leader of the year. And every year we're getting like five or six different awards from the franchise and, and it was all great. You know, until, you know, I started to want to grow into more and more territories and then it got limiting and yeah, they just weren't allowing, you know, they, I guess in their philosophy. They didn't want to put all their eggs in one basket. And I understood that. So I ended up selling the franchise. And it was a good, you know, good sized franchise with four locations. At our peak, we're doing over 20 million a year. Had really good profits and sold it and got out of it.

And the thing is, you are, you know, you're basically making your time count because you had a startup, you know, just like any, any kind of startup. And you were, you know, when you were up, you in addition to marketing and doing your service calls, when you are in transit from place to place, you're listening, you're loading your brain by listening to the audiobook. So there's like, you know, people wonder, how can I compress timeframes? How can I do a lot in a short period of time and propel myself up from where I am to higher up the ladder, where I just feel like I should be higher up the ladder? Then that's the formula of how you do it. And really, really interesting to see how this played out in the world of the trade. So thanks for sharing that with us, John.

Yeah, my pleasure.

If you enjoyed what you've heard and are dead serious about finding out for yourself exactly how this works in the real world, I've taken the most valuable business lessons I've learned over 40 years and put them into something for you to watch. Go to Forward slash webinar now in order to move up as fast as possible. I'm Larry Widell and I run the Million Dollar Mastermind. Go, go.