This episode digs into what it takes for a local plumbing company to compete as private equity money reshapes the trades. Max Hicks, founder of Reliant Plumbing, shares how he went from a teenage work program and union plumbing to building a multi-market company across Texas. We discuss scaling without losing service quality, communicating value when bigger brands dominate the market, and why Max believes staying independent still makes sense for his business.
Key topics
- Max Hicks shares how his plumbing career started at 16 through a work program after school was not a fit for him.
- He explains how early experience in new construction and commercial work taught him hard work, but service plumbing is where he found his passion.
- In this episode, Max breaks down how he started Reliant Plumbing from a borrowed van, a small tool set, and almost no service experience.
- He describes the mindset of building a business instead of just creating another job for himself, and how that shaped every hiring decision.
- Max says growth came from filling roles only when the business truly needed them, then training someone else to take over.
- We discuss how private equity changed the market, especially lead costs, competition, and the pressure to show up with stronger systems and sales.
- Max shares that scaling across Texas required the right people in the right seats, especially for market expansion into cities like San Antonio.
- He says one of the hardest parts of growth is financial discipline—wanting to keep more of the money instead of reinvesting everything back into expansion.
- Max explains why he chose to stay independent: he loves the work, values flexibility, and does not want the identity shift that can come after a sale.
- He talks about communicating value by focusing on talent, advertising, and honest self-awareness about what the company is and is not best at.
- Max advises other owners facing private equity interest to think hard about what they want after a sale and to understand why the buyer wants the business.
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