How Tim Keeley Grew Keeley’s Plumbing: From Side Hustle to Trusted Local Name
Tim Keeley is the owner of Keeley’s Plumbing, a growing residential plumbing company based in Lombard, Illinois. Tim began his career in 1999 doing new construction plumbing. After the housing crash in 2008, he switched to service plumbing and never looked back.
Ten years ago, Tim started his own company as a side job. He worked full-time while doing plumbing jobs on the side until it got too busy. After a year, he quit his job and went all-in on Keeley’s Plumbing.
Today, the company has eight team members, including office staff, journeymen plumbers, apprentices, and helpers. Tim says hiring has been one of the biggest challenges. It’s hard to find people with both plumbing experience and customer service skills.
“The juice wasn’t worth the squeeze, so we cut out remodeling and focused on service—and we’ve been happier ever since.” ~ Tim Keeley
Keeley’s Plumbing focuses on everyday residential plumbing issues like toilets, water heaters, and faucets. They used to do new construction and remodeling, but dropped it to focus only on service work. Tim says it’s less stressful and more profitable.
They also get a lot more visibility from service work compared to remodels, where customers may not even know who the plumber is. With service jobs, they build relationships, which often turn into word-of-mouth referrals. That’s how they’ve grown the business.
The company uses SEO and Yelp ads to get new customers. They also stay involved in their community through event sponsorships and parades. Even though local marketing doesn’t always bring a high return, Tim enjoys doing it.
Right now, Tim says the business is in a stable place. They are busy almost every day, and their small team is running smoothly. He’s open to growth, but only if the right people come along.
He says the biggest limit to growth is finding great plumbers who don’t need a lot of training. Until that happens, he’s happy with where the company is. The focus is on delivering exceptional work, ensuring customer satisfaction, and nurturing the team.
Tim’s advice for others is to maintain high quality and prioritise the people. Whether it’s your team or your customers, putting people first leads to long-term success. That’s been the key for Keeley’s Plumbing.
Tim Keeley, Keeley’s Plumbing Contact Info:
KeeleysPlumbing.com
(630) 479-9438
KeeleysPlumbing@gmail.com
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Starting the Business:
Tim explains how he turned a side hustle into a full-time plumbing company. -
Service vs. Remodeling:
He shares why they stopped doing remodels to focus fully on service calls. -
Hiring Challenges:
Tim talks about how tough it is to find skilled plumbers with the right attitude. -
Community Involvement:
Keeley’s Plumbing sponsors local events and parades to stay connected. -
SEO and Online Ads:
Their website and Yelp ads bring in a steady stream of new leads. -
Steady Growth Mindset:
They’re happy with slow, steady growth instead of scaling too fast. -
Customer Communication:
They offer quick responses by phone, email, and text, which builds trust.
