When Mike Lozier and his wife were ready for a career change, they wanted to start a business that could give back to their community and support veterans. With Mike’s 15 years in the Marine Corps, he knew first-hand that companies need to create the right kind of environment for veterans to acclimate to life outside the military. In 2016, they started a gutter company that allowed them to do just that.
Since then, Gutter Plumber has grown 100 percent year-over-year, which Mike chalks up to having employees who provide superior service. What started as a one-truck operation now boasts five trucks, ten employees, and a new office.
Gutter Plumber has built a reputation on the incredible work the team does for their customers and for their community. Mike’s been known to provide work free of charge for customers he knows are struggling financially. For one such customer, a WWII veteran, Mike and the team service his home for free every year as a way of saying thank you for his service.
Mike loves being a small business owner. His background as a Marine instilled in him a love of organized and well-managed processes. Nowadays, he enjoys the freedom and independence to make the decisions that are best for his business and his employees. He gives all the credit for Gutter Plumber’s success to his incredible team.
Thanks to the nature of his work, Mike’s business didn’t change much due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He took the necessary steps to ensure he and his employees were considered essential so they would be able to continue working during the shutdown, and he was grateful not to let his customers down.
Mike reminds his small business peers to take risks and stay uncomfortable. Learning from mistakes and breaking out of the status quo is what ensures growth—that and an excellent business plan. And finally, treating employees with the same respect you treat customers ensures they’re appreciated and supported in their work.
Before finding Pie, Mike found himself with a huge bill from his workers’ comp provider after Gutter Plumber’s audit due to the company’s immense growth. “It got to the point that my workers’ compensation policy started to strangle my business, and I couldn’t grow,” Mike said.
His insurance agent recommended switching Pie to save the company nearly 12 percent. The savings allowed Gutter Plumber to hire two more employees. Mike shared that “working with Pie has been a dream come true, and I really feel that they have my best interests at heart.”
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