Step By Step Guide to Starting a Plumbing Business in 2025

When starting a plumbing business you have several things to keep in mind. For instance, as a professional plumber you must know how to fix and detect leakages, installing water heaters, and clean drainages. The primary aim is to do it immaculately but first thing first you must convert those skills to a profitable hustle.

The transitioning from a professional plumber to the talk of the town plumber takes time, dedication and the strong marketing through a word of mouth appreciation by the community.

But, before keeping your head busy in fusses and formalities like, preparing documents for licenses, setting up invoicing mechanisms and/or managing co-plumbers. Be ready to take smart actions and the blogpost will push you towards a successful plumbing career. You will be able to hit peaks and make waves as a complete entrepreneur.

The only thing you should worry about right now is whether or not you can take a leap forward or stay as a professional plumber working full or part time and being averagely paid on an hourly basis.

7 Easy Steps to Starting a Plumbing Business

The Generic But The Most Important Step: Create a Business Plan

With the highlight on the word “generic”, unimportant may echo in your head. But the emphasis we put on creating a unique and executable business plan takes you one inch closer to starting a plumbing business. In our recent posts, we have discussed enough about how to successfully work on creating an effective biz plan. But here is your pathway:

Pick a name and type for your plumbing business. It can be “Smart & Grand Plumbers” and you can opt for sole proprietorship, LLC or a partnership.
The executive summary addresses the company’s structure and best describes what you will offer to the community.
The market analysis and managing the organization is critical and hence you can never write off the service and/or product line, marketing, sales, projections, achievables and funding options.

Buy an Authentic Plumbing License: Train & Certify Yourself

The next big leap forward in starting a plumbing business requires you to formally recognize the importance of licensing yourself or your company with local authorities. The license ensures you are reliable and know the task, efficiently, smartly and effectively.

Step # 1 to Licensing Your Plumbing Business: Contact The Government

First thing first you must know the relevant authority to formally your business by contacting the local government. It can be your state government, authorities or local bodies. There are several guides available online but you can refer to the SBA’s official site for state licensing and permits.

Step # 2: Apply For an Employer Identification Number

When applying for an EIN you need to make sure you are eligible for it. As the identification number will help you in not only opening business bank accounts but also perform several other tasks as a plumbing business owner.

Step # 3: Obtain a Contractor License

You are required to contact the government and state bodies to acquire the permission on the structure. If you don’t get one you may face consequences, like massive penalties and fines and/or closing down your plumbing business.

Step # 4 to Starting a Plumbing Business: Train & Certify Yourself

You can acquire any license you want but starting a plumbing business is not about staying reliable in the eyes of consumers. Just because you have marketing skills and know how to sell.

The truth is that on field performance matters the most. Hence, you need to train yourself. There are several teaching schools for professional plumbing and if you are already into this business. You can offer courses related to plumbing knowledge for your employees.

The certifications you will receive from the plumbing schools and/or the experience you can get while working as a plumber in several organisations will help you a lot in starting a plumbing business later.

Create a Separate Bank Account & Insure Your Plumbing Business

Creating a separate bank account and insuring plumbing business are like the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. They try to mix but they do not. When you mix your personal bank account with the biz’s high chances that you will not be able to accurately measure the cash inflows and outflows. The statement and taxation phenomenon will deter to a greater extent.

You need the insurer to help you unexposed while even starting a plumbing business is full of risks. Most people become skeptical of unsecured companies. Therefore, grabbing business insurance for your plumbing company will help you grow further after you have got licenses and permits.

While you do all the good things for your company, the insurance for your plumbing business will support your company’s financial well being and protect it from force majeure, unexpected losses. Similarly, the plumbing insurance will assist your workers, and your business in case of any accidents, injuries, or property or equipment damages.

Get Fundraising With Multiple Finance Options

It is true that the guide to starting a plumbing business is for those who are already familiar with the plumbing equipment. Because, the material, tools and equipment you need is certainly not cheap. You need a hefty amount of investment or savings to sustain the equipment purchase.

To finance your venture you either can self fund it or simply acquire funds from the third party.
There may be occasions when you do not have sufficient funds, you can then approach lenders or banks for smart business loans.
Government loan schemes can greatly benefit you in starting a plumbing business if you have a solid motivation and plan behind running and sustaining it.
Angel investors can also help you by giving away a massive chunk of their capital for your startup but they demand a convertible debt and minor or major percentage of ownership.

Investing The Right Budget in Purchasing The Plumbing Equipment

After you are done with the formalities there comes a moment when you need the right proportionality of budget to be spent on purchasing the right equipment. For instance, you need inventory, a van and safety equipment to pile up the plumbing tool kit.

When picking the right equipment you need to ensure that it reduces your hustle. I.e., going back to the store or a warehouse for every job piece or a tool.

Nobody is asking you to invest all your money in purchasing brand new equipment. At the start, you can buy essential hand tools. Later you can either rent or purchase equipment for more specific plumbing jobs subject to acquiring of licenses, skills, and customer demand.

Furthermore, major/minor plumbing tools include pipe wrenches, pipe twisters, hacks, plumber torches, hand gloves, glasses, plungers, screwdrivers, crumpers, bore scopes, and pliers, etc.

Packages & Pricing For Your Plumbing Services

You can start with two to three pricing options while staying compatible with market rates. Make sure to conduct a thorough research and ensure you have analyzed trends and then prepare a list of commercial and home services you will offer.

Schedule a list of materials required for the plumbing job and then price the work.
You can either invoice the customer using standard hourly rates or a flat job rate.
Invoicing your customers with several payment methods like cash, cheque, credit card, or e-transfer.

The plumbing services pricing list is not only to assist business owners but also the customers.

Gather The Team & Work on Promoting Your Plumbing Business

The last step in starting a plumbing business is you hire a team of plumbers to grow your plumbing business. You may find plumbers around your area but keep in mind that not every plumber has the right qualification and experience. Hence, conduct relevant interviews before onboarding them.

Similarly once you have finalized the team of right plumbers you can then make efforts in prompt marketing your business. Try running social media ads to reach more localized communities.

FAQs: Starting a Plumbing Business

Which category of plumbers make the most money?

According to one of the renowned recruiting websites, ZipRecruiter, several plumbers earn hefty amounts of money, for instance:

A plumbing Engineer makes around $85,000 to $107,000 per year.
A plumbing Designer gets around $75,500 to $99,000 annually.
The master plumber takes home the salary of $61,500 to $92,500 per year

What is an ideal profit margin for starting a plumbing business?

When starting a plumbing business, any profit margin is a win-win situation. However, as you grow places as a plumbing business owner you can aim for 30% to 50% net profit margins.

Can you earn well with eco-friendly plumbing in 2025?

While you can earn massive profit margins on traditional services. However, never write off the eco-friendly plumbing options. For instance, low-flow fixtures, water recycling systems and tankless water heaters. You can also charge compatible rates against green plumbing solutions.

The Bottom Line

To start your career as a plumbing business owner you need to plan it. In the U.S you need EIN (Employers Identification Number) for relevant licensing which are required to launch your business. Moreover, even if you are eligible to run your business, you can not launch it with blind eyes.

You need resources, the tools and equipment as well as proper market research and knowledge. The team you will build will greatly impact the outcomes related to starting a plumbing business.

To stay ahead of the competition you need marketing tactics and strategy to smoothly operate the plumbing business. The service you provide must have the standard pricing on hourly basis or flat rates. The more you work on the formalities the better chances of your business growth will be by the end of this year. Stay tuned with Reliable Startup for more info like this!