Jimmy The Plumber

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For as long as he could remember, Jimmy had wanted to be a plumber. He knew why, his Dad was a plumber and he wanted to be just like him. His Dad's name was Robert Potts but everyone that knew him called him 'Plumbob'. It wasn't until Jimmy was almost in double figures that he realised why they called him that. It was still funny now.

His Dad worked hard. He would leave the house, every morning just as Jimmy was finishing his breakfast and return just in time to sit down and join the rest of the family for their evening meal.

'Plumbob' worked for a big company called 'Perfect Pipes' and he had been with them since he left school. One thing that Jimmy liked was that his Dad never worked at the weekends, at least not for the company. He did, however, do the occasional jobs for friends and family. When this happened he would sometimes be allowed to go with him. Although he wasn't able to help properly he did become very good at handing his Dad the tools he asked for. Wrenches, spanners, washers, flux and solder were all familiar things to Jimmy.

Jimmy wasn't the 'sharpest tool in the box' but he worked as hard as he could as school and was rewarded with some reasonable results when it came to exam time. It was enough for him to be able to apply for apprenticeships that were on offer within the plumbing trade. He would have loved to have worked with his Dad but that company wasn't hiring.

He secure a place with 'Fast Fit Factors' which, although not as big as his Dad's firm, they had a good reputation. As an apprentice, he had to go to college for one day a week. This was to gain certain qualifications so that at some point he would be a fully fledged plumber in his own right, and not just an apprentice.

After three years, Jimmy had taken and passed all the relevant exams. As a reward for this he was given his own van and was able to go out on jobs on his own. His Dad had said that this is when he would learn the most. He said it was a bit like learning to drive. All the lessons and practice just got you your license, once you passed that, then you learnt how to drive. How true that was.

For another three years, Jimmy did everything he was told and continued to learn every day. The wages weren't brilliant but they were enough for him to put aside a small amount each week. You see Jimmy wanted to have his own business. He admired his Dad's loyalty for staying with one company all of his life but he also knew that sometimes life had been financially difficult. Jimmy wasn't greedy but he also didn't want to ever have to struggle by not having money. He had also learnt that you never got paid more than your boss. Well, he wanted to be his own boss.

During his third year as a qualified plumber he had started doing some extra jobs outside of his normal work. At the start these had been through his Dad's connections but after a while he'd started to build up his own client base. Those who he had done some work for would recommend him to their friends. It was enough to keep him busy most weekends and the odd evening as well.

Six years after leaving school Jimmy handed his notice in and began life as self-employed plumber. He has saved up just enough to buy his own modest work van and leave himself enough to provide a monetary cushion that would ease the transition from having a regular wage to actually bringing in revenue from the jobs he did.

He was twenty-two years old and had his very own business, life was good, hard, but good. He was still living at home but paying his fair share towards his keep. He had his own business which included a van, tools and more importantly a good reputation. He had found that this was one of the most valuable things, more than a smart looking van or the latest, most expensive tools.

Even with all of that, it was another two years before Jimmy had enough work to fully support himself and be able to move out from his parents home and into his own flat. He now had a couple of contracts that covered nearly all of his weekly expenses and there was almost always a months work ahead of him at any one time.

Upon reflection, he thought he'd done alright. To get to where he was had taken him eight years, all told. Left school at sixteen and now at twenty-four he had his own business, was totally self-sufficient and living on his own. Not bad at all, he thought.

He did sometimes wonder though, if right back at the beginning, that if someone had told him it would take this long whether he would have stuck with it.

What do you think ?

Twack Romero.

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Recent Comments

57

What a great story! (Plumbob...LOL!)

One of the many things I wanted to be when I was young was a ballerina. I took ballet lessons for years, then moved from ballet shoes to toe shoes and the real work began. The hours of practice, the blisters, bleeding toes, daily foot baths and broken toenails. But I finally got the lead and a solo dance in a community production...after 14 years.
No way would I have made it if I had been told it would take 14 years, luckily all my teacher told me was what to focus on “this week”.
We can all accomplish what we want by just doing what needs to be done this week!

KyleAnn

That's a great way of dealing with the whole package. It makes me think of athletes, those that are reaching for highest accolades, their window of opportunity is so small, finite. How they keep it together mentally is quite beyond me.

Dose of reality can often be as scary as it is motivational.

When I very (very) first started searching how to work in the online world, all, (Bar 2) promised overnight success. Only WA and “Income School” said it would take dedication, hard work together with consistency, i am sure there are many more than two companies on the internet who offer stability and a trusted well travelled path but it was these two which I found to be the most realistic and which said you need to work, you need to work hard and consistently, thus giving me the “reality check” but equally it gave me a belief that the company had greater kudos and in turn believability.

This is the reality and I thank you. I hope to be here reading your blog posts next new year and many Christmas /New Year after that.

Just like Plumbob (love his story) I hope to be here helping people solve their problems, their dripping taps, find their stop cock I will also call upon my other plumber friends to help me, thus helping me to continue in my apprenticeship, ensuring free flowing water in an otherwise dry and arid environment.

Hope 2020 will be serene, peaceful and successful, oh and your new lady behaves herself (the car I mean.. 😉)

Hello Cordelia, such a pleasantness when you drop by, thank you.
I too am thankful for the 'upfront and honest' pitch that came with WA. I hadn't been searching for it or anything similar, just fortuitous.
I intend to be here for the foreseeable future so we will have ample opportunity to irrigate our environment.
'Ziva' though trying hard to incinerate herself, has at least remained happy to start when put upon to do so. I can ask no more of her at present.
We'll see if we stay friends over the coming weeks. I'm sure we will.

Ha ha, Ziva, that’s her name....
she sound like a naughty minx... 😂

That's absolutely true. It is a good thing that we don't know what will hit us in the future, we might not be as resilient and throw the towel. But in small doses we can digest it and move on. We learn from failures not from success, remember.
Funny, my father was so against me going to college, he always said nothing is as crisis proof than being a plumber, everybody needs them. I - today - think college is overrated, but it does, above all things, teach you HOW to learn.
Needless to say, becoming a plumber was not an option for a girl then. Thank God. Though when I pay my plumber $78 an hour I crinch and think of my father;)

'Odd Thomas' had he not been a 'Fry Cook' would have been either a shoe salesman or a tyre fitter, as people will always need both.
The comparison between Jimmy's path and those who endeavour in the online world seem at odds and I wonder why that is.


Twack you do have a great post . It is educational as well as a model for everyone. I love the practicum side or being the 😎😎😎😎*handykid *f😁😁 from his dad.

Have a wonderful new year with your friends and family👍

God bless,
lydia









.

Thank you Lydia, happy you liked it. May your New Year be full of joy and excited anticipation.

Welcome Twack same to you...

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