Plumbing Bros Director and CEO James Riddle is no stranger to adversity in business. Despite numerous challenges, he and his co-founders have developed valuable business relationships, a strong brand and one of Australia’s fastest growing franchises.
Humble beginnings
Riddle began his career in Melbourne, starting up his own plumbing and electrical business at the age of 21. He experienced the typical challenges of small business owners, which eventually overwhelmed him and led to the closure of his business.
“It was just me and I was just too young as well,” he says.
“Long story short, I lost everything. You think you’ve made it, but you don’t know anything about sales, marketing, accounting or finance at that age.”
With some difficult lessons learned, Riddle relocated to Perth where he would go on to establish Plumbing Bros in 2017 with two business partners.
With an emphasis on customer service, they experienced great initial success. They completed 10,000 jobs by 2019, received several small business awards and established themselves as a strong, reliable plumbing business.
Franchising expansion
By the end of 2019, Riddle was ready to push the business to new heights.
“There’s a ceiling to a plumbing business. How far can we take it? What’s the next step?” he asked himself.
Driven to avoid his previous mistakes in Melbourne, Riddle developed a passion for business development and began building a franchise model for Plumbing Bros.
In 2020, the franchise model went to market. They’ve since opened 14 locations around Australia, grown their workforce exponentially and become an industry titan.
‘No silver bullet’, just consistency and discipline
Plumbing Bros’ success has been hard-earned and built on lessons learned.
“There’s no silver bullet” Riddle says.
“When people ask what separates Plumbing Bros from other businesses or what’s caused the change, there is no easy answer,” Riddle says.
“It’s a whole lot of consistency and discipline over long periods of time – relentlessly day in, day out.”
Reflecting on his early career in Melbourne, he highlights community and support as a key factor in his later success.
“In Melbourne, I felt isolated. There were a lot of different learning curves, but the isolation stands out,” he says.
“Perth is very relationship-based. There’s a strong business community here and if you’re not networking and making yourself known then you’re missing opportunities.”
Optima Partners comes on board
Plumbing Bros has been a client of Optima Partners since 2022, having been introduced through mutual business connections.
“Optima Partners is a huge part of our support structure,” Riddle says.
“We trust the advice and it’s timely and helps us push forward and get deals over the line. I can’t speak highly enough of them.”
Optima Partners’ Director Enrico De Pietro is Plumbing Bros’ primary contact.
“It’s great watching James and Joe (Papiccio, Director and COO) grow this business and introduce new franchisees. They are a dynamic duo and complement each other.” Enrico says of Plumbing Bros.
“For a couple of tradesmen, they are switched on when it comes to most things business related. They’ve been able to introduce a franchise model to their business and offer the support and training required to the franchisees.”
Plumbing Bros and Optima Partners have formed a strong business relationship, with De Pietro and his team providing bookkeeping, tax planning and business advisory services.
“Enrico’s guidance has just been phenomenal. I’m sure he’s sick of me calling him, he’s just always there,” Riddle says.
Next steps
Having learned from the challenges of his early career, James Riddle embraces his strengths in the business and relishes the opportunity to develop it further.
“I really like being challenged. I like to build things and watch them grow. I don’t know if managing is my strength, but building a strong product and passing it over is where I get my kicks,” he says.
Plumbing Bros continues to thrive, with a comprehensive plan for future development. Riddle is confident that they are on the right course.
“We have a vision for 33 locations around Australia by the end of the 2027 financial year. I have zero doubt that we’re going to achieve that. Our goal is to be a household name in Australia.”
