For Joliet man, Omega Plumbing business a pipe dream come true

Almost 20 years ago, Bob Fox of Joliet started Omega Plumbing with only two things: a $5,000 home equity loan and a dream.

In July, the Joliet business expanded its services to include heating, ventilation and air conditioning. Omega Plumbing Heating and Cooling now has 30 employees and does emergency – true emergency – visits 24/7, Fox said.

Owning and operating his own business is “in his blood,” as other immediate family members do the same, he said. For years, Fox happily worked for other companies offering plumbing services. He started his own business in 2005 after a “now or never” moment, Fox said.

“It was just one of those things that, if I didn’t try it, I’d always wonder if I’d been able to make it,” he said. “It was a leap of faith, I guess.”

From plumber to business owner

Fox said he had little work in those early days and didn’t make much money.

Sometimes he even accepted jobs that had little to do with plumbing just to work, and he did the work himself.

“There were times I actually called the phone at the office to make sure it was still working,” Fox said. “Because I would not get a call for a very long time.”

But slowly – very slowly – business began to grow, mainly through word of mouth and establishing a good reputation, Fox said. Maybe that’s because someone once told Fox it’s better being a farmer than a hunter.

“I can completely understand that,” Fox said. “It’s so much better to cultivate relationships than it is to be a one-and-done company: go in, charge one time, and then you never hear from them again.”

Fox hired his first employee six months after he opened for business. But two events really grew his company: participating in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Education Program in 2013 and purchasing Schmitz Brothers Co. – a family-owned plumbing company that opened in 1923 – in 2019.

In the business education program, Fox said he learned that “businesses are typically really good at their craft but not necessarily great at business.” He also learned business basics such as accounting, balance sheets, human resources and marketing.

“It was a huge difference, and [Omega Plumbing] pretty much took off after that,” Fox said. “I had to take one day off a week for 12 weeks to be at this class. What they taught us – and I’d known this all along – was that my business would survive without me working on it for one day each week.”

He learned instead of wearing all the hats needed to run the business how to hire people to wear those hats and how to encourage his employees to use their strongest skills to the best of their abilities.

“They said, ‘If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room,’” Fox said.

Most of his new business comes through recommendations.

It’s so much better to cultivate relationships than it is to be a one-and-done company: go in, charge one time, and then you never hear from them again.”

—  Bob Fox of Joliet, owner of Omega Plumbing Heating and Cooling in Joliet

“That has been the key thing that has kept us in business,” Fox said. “We work hard at treating our customers the way we would like to be treated. And we work hard at treating our customers right.”

There for the community

Lisa Morel Las, executive director of the Will County Children’s Advocacy Center, said she’s used Omega through the years for routine plumbing issues and to install a water heater. But, she added, Fox’s customer service goes beyond his plumbing skills.

“One day, after a large storm came through my neighborhood a few years ago, I didn’t have power for almost a week,” Morel Las said. “He saw me post that on social media and showed up – on his own volition – with a generator and set it up, just out of courtesy, just to be nice. There was not a charge for it. I thought that was very, very kind.”

Morel Las said Fox is very involved with the community and supports local organizations, including the Will County Children’s Advocacy Center.

“I would very much rather do business with someone you may see out to dinner over the weekend or see at a ballgame in the community,” Morel Las said. “They know you and you know them, and you can trust that individual. That’s how I feel about Bob.”

Brian Bessler of Joliet, a managing broker with Karges Realty in Joliet, said Omega did the underground plumbing on the addition to his home and replaced his water heater. Omega also has done work for 10 to 15 of his real estate clients, Bessler said.

He said during an inspection on a listing last month, he learned that the sump pump wasn’t working. The owner was out of town and “it was expected to storm that night,” Bessler said.

“So I called up Bob, and he had one of his guys over in half an hour to make sure we didn’t flood,” he said.

Fox is “very present in the community,” and other business owners should strive to be like Fox, supporting the community that supports him, Bressler said.

“And Bob does that above and beyond,” he said.