How Denis Built Plumbing Now
Series: Built in Ottawa
Denis Lavoie never planned to run a company. He planned to be a good plumber. In our very first episode, we visit the Plumbing Now shop in the east end to talk about how a one-van operation became one of Ottawa's busiest residential plumbing companies. Denis walks us through the early years — undercharging, overworking, learning to say no — and the turning point when he hired his first employee and realized the business had to work without him on every job. We get into hiring in the trades, why he answers bad reviews personally, how Google changed everything for local service businesses, and what AI might mean for the trades. Filmed on location at the Plumbing Now shop.
- Starting with one van and no plan
- The first hire that changed everything
- Why reputation is the only marketing that compounds
- Hiring and keeping good tradespeople in Ottawa
- Google, reviews and the modern service business
- AI, new tech and the future of the trades
Nobody remembers a good plumber. They remember the one who didn't show up.
The day I hired someone better than me was the day this became a real business.
Denis Lavoie
Founder & Owner, Plumbing Now
Denis started Plumbing Now with one van and a phone that wouldn't stop ringing. Fifteen years later, his team serves homeowners across the city — and he still answers calls himself when the schedule gets tight. He's blunt about what it takes to build a trades business in Ottawa: showing up, doing it right, and never pretending a job went fine when it didn't.