Life, liberty and the pursuit of...plumbing?

A well-known phrase in the United States Declaration of Independence is "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

While it may not have been the direct intent of the signers to include the freedom of career choice in that statement, it certainly must have been on the fringes of thought. "Enjoying your job" would definitely be in the "happiness" column and the folks over at John the Plumber can attest to that.

John Nelson, owner of John the Plumber says, "What can I say? I love my job!" John is a third generation plumber with his great uncle and father setting the course.

"My first plumbing job was when I was 5 years old, soldering a joint under a house. I was the only one small enough to fit under there. My dad could see the joint but he couldn't reach it so he handed me the solder and the torch and verbally guided me through the process. A plumber was born!"

In his early twenties John worked for his dad at Nelson Plumbing out of California City before going to work for Pepsi for the next 15 years, drawing a salary and earning benefits.

"Then I gave that all up to become a self-employed plumber," he laughs. "Yes, I lost my medical benefits. Yes, I have to pay all of my social security taxes. No, I don't get any sick pay or paid vacations. But I love what I do. I love being self-employed. I love being a business owner and I love living in a country where I can do that," he said.

John isn't the only plumber at JTP loving what they do. Lead plumber and veteran employee of JTP, Mark Swisher, recently passed the test to become a licensed plumber.

"How many small plumbing companies can say they have two licensed plumbers available?" said John. "When Mark came on board he had a lot of general construction knowledge, extensive management experience, loads of common sense and a great work ethic but no indepth plumbing knowledge. I've enjoyed teaching him the ways and definitely happy that he chose plumbing as a career. It's just one of the blessings of being a business owner and just one more of the blessings of living in a country like ours that encourages life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

If your plumbing issues are making you unhappy, let the folks over at John the Plumber move you into the happiness column. Give them a call at (661) 823-8031