Most of our customers are finding us either by our trucks being branded or online through Google Business Profile.
Shelly Toles
Owner
As the first female plumber licensed in the state of Kentucky, Shelly Toles is used to forging her own path. “I started with my dad in 1979,” Shelly says. “I was the only female to take the class and the only female when I went in to get my license, so I felt really out of place. But my dad said I would have to make my own way in it.” After 18 years as her father’s employee and a brief stint with her own bathtub repair business, Shelly opened the full-service home plumbing company, Shelly Toles Plumbing, in 2009. Today, they serve 3,000 to 4,000 customers a year with new construction, services, and repairs. “I’ve got several builders who have been with me from day one, and then we’ll pick up new homeowners for construction or other new customers,” Shelly says. “We’re a small company and we like to grow things slowly.”
Shelly Toles Plumbing’s Google Business Profile has more than 100 reviews, and Shelly notes that the number of customers finding them through their Business Profile continues to grow each quarter. As for operations, the business decided to go digital a few years ago to keep pace with Kentucky’s Division of Plumbing, and they chose Google Drive to help them share information with inspectors. “The licensed plumber in the field will take pictures and a video of each job, and then we forward that to the division of plumbing, along with our permits, and everything is through Google Drive,” Shelly explains. “There's very little paperwork anymore. Virtual inspections have helped tremendously.” Shelly now has 45 years of experience under her belt, but keeps looking forward. “We still break barriers,” she says. “The world honestly still doesn't always look at women being able to run a male-dominated business, but there are plenty of women out here with the leadership to do it. You just have to stand your ground and let them know that you can do this.”