Billy Stevens of billyGO: To Create A Fantastic Work Culture, Listen, Don’t Just Hear
Listen, don’t just hear. Hearing is just the act of perceiving sound, whereas listening is a conscious choice. Whenever an employee, no matter their position, offers up an idea, recommendation or concern, leadership needs to truly listen and ensure the team member understands their input is valued — even if it is not something that can be pursued at that particular time.
I had the pleasure to interview Billy Stevens.
Billy is the founder and CEO of billyGO, an app-based plumbing company that is ending the home service hassle and putting integrity, security and customer service back into the industry. A true entrepreneur, Stevens began his prolific career in the home service industry by purchasing a two-plumber business — with no industry experience to his name. Over the course of two decades he grew the business to 70 people, serving thousands of loyal plumbing and air conditioning customers and establishing the company as the premier provider in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. After selling the business and enjoying a brief retirement, Stevens re-entered the marketplace with the goal to once again disrupt the industry. The culmination of Stevens’ creativity combined with his decades of experience, billyGO is revolutionizing the industry with HVAC and plumbing services by APPointment.
Thank you for joining us Billy! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
At the beginning of my career, I was actually the superintendent for a homebuilder in the Dallas area. At one point we had sold three new homes, the most we had sold at one time. I needed to get a plumber out to the sites quickly to meet our deadlines. I called our plumber and was told it would take three weeks for a crew to come out. To make matters worse, in addition to the delay there was also going to be a 10 percent increase in the cost. In my infinite wisdom, I thought there had to be a better solution out there. So I spent the next two weeks trying to find a faster and more cost effective alternative — and came up empty.
Exasperated, I eventually drove out to the plumber’s office. After listening to me beg, they agreed to take the project — but they wouldn’t be able to schedule a crew for yet another three weeks. So I responded in the most logical fashion and asked what it would take to buy the company. Mind you, I had no money at the time and no experience in the plumbing industry, but it just felt like that’s what my gut was telling me to do.
I borrowed $10,000 from my father-in-law for cash flow, bought the business and was able to pay him back with interest in two weeks. I grew that business for two decades to be the premiere provider in the Dallas-Fort Worth area before retiring in 2012 at 48. I tried to stay busy in my retirement, but I didn’t feel fulfilled. I’m an innovator at my core, and when I saw a chance to transform the industry once again through technology, I jumped at the chance and created the app-based plumbing company billyGO.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?
This is going to sound like a humble brag, but honestly, it’s the reaction we’ve received from our customers. Our techs tell us stories all the time of customers out on their front lawns waving their arms to greet them because they’ve been tracking the tech’s arrival on the app. They can’t believe billyGO actually arrives during the set APPointment time. It’s kind of crazy to think that reliability and good customer service can inspire that kind of reaction, but I think that just goes to show you how bad this industry has been for so long.
On top of racking up over 100 positive reviews on Google in four months, we actually had one customer look up our corporate address and drive to our office to tell us how much she loved the experience. The response has just been phenomenal.
Are you working on any exciting projects now? How do you think that will help people?
When billyGO was first launched, customers were limited to plumbing service options only, but we are about to introduce the one-hour APPointment option for HVAC service and repairs — just in time for the Texas heat!
We are also always looking for ways to save our customers even more time and money. With that in mind, we are about to start marketing our prices online — something that is surprisingly uncommon in our industry. BillyGO operates so much more efficiently than most home service companies that we are able to offer our services at a 30 percent lower cost than our competitors. The process for deciding on a home service provider has historically included scheduling a commissioned sales rep to come out to your house — from three different companies to get three differing bids. This is hours of wasted time that we are hoping to eliminate by being transparent and posting our prices online. By making available the information customers need to make a decision, we will be giving customers a true comparison for an informed buying decision.
OK, let’s jump to the main part of our interview. According to this study cited in Forbes, more than half of the U.S. workforce is unhappy. Why do you think that number is so high?
Culture starts with leadership. As a leader, you have the opportunity and responsibility to set the tone of the work environment you want — everyone else will respond to your attitude. That’s why at billyGO we have created a culture of mutual respect at all levels of our organization. It does not matter if you are a technician or vice president, every employee has value and ideas that will continue to drive this company forward. In fact, at our leadership level we are intentional about promoting and protecting our culture by striving to always motivate and uplift our team, which we do in a few different ways. We give time off to allow our team members to pursue opportunities for self-improvement, and we also share our financials with our entire team, including the techs. It’s important for everyone to understand costs because then they understand the importance of performing the work right the first time. Communication and inclusion in C-suite level discussions instills an ownership mentality, and around here we like to give ownership so our team will take ownership. There’s a reason that in an industry that is short on technicians, we have a waiting list of people wanting to work for billyGO.
Based on your experience or research, how do you think an unhappy workforce will impact a) company productivity, b) company profitability and c) employee health and well-being?
Unhappy employees are less likely to be looking for ways to help their organization succeed. In fact, they’re more likely to be looking for the next opportunity with your competition. Decreased productivity and increased turnover are draining on a company’s capital financially as well as the capital of their time looking for and training employees.
In environments where employees are valued by hours worked as opposed to contributions and output, employees will work themselves to their physical limits. Working 24/7 year-round is not just draining physically but also emotionally and socially, depriving that employee any outlets to be revitalized and restored outside of the office.
Can you share 5 things that managers and executives should be doing to improve their company work culture? Can you give a personal story or example for each?
- Listen, don’t just hear
Hearing is just the act of perceiving sound, whereas listening is a conscious choice. Whenever an employee, no matter their position, offers up an idea, recommendation or concern, leadership needs to truly listen and ensure the team member understands their input is valued — even if it is not something that can be pursued at that particular time.
2. Communicate, communicate, communicate
Employees are happier and in turn more productive when they understand and identify with the “why” of an organization. Our managers and executives have the responsibility of not just instructing their team on “what” they should be doing, but sharing how performing their roles achieves the overall strategic vision and provides future opportunities for the team personally.
3. Show respect to get respect
We don’t put much stock in titles around here. Respect is not something that comes with a title. It’s earned through every interaction, no matter how insignificant it may seem. You know that golden rule your mom drilled into you over and over again to treat others how you want to be treated? That’s not something you should leave behind once you graduate from the playground to the boardroom.
4. Seek first to understand
In every organization there are a wide variety of job roles and responsibilities. Leadership should always first seek to understand where an employee is coming from as opposed to just writing off an idea or suggestion because it doesn’t make immediate sense to them. Innovation and progress happen when we open ourselves up to other points of view.
5. Success only happens together
Brands are people, not objects. An organization will rise or fall based on the people behind the scenes, which is why being unified behind a shared goal is so critical. Everyone must be included in the vision and mission.
It’s very nice to suggest ideas, but it seems like we have to “change the culture regarding work culture.” What can we do as a society to make a broader change in the U.S. workforce’s work culture?
Work environments with equal say, representation and opportunity should be the norm, not rare unicorns in our society. Every individual has value and should have a voice. Employees are people, not figures on a spreadsheet. We have to stop assessing value on who will work the longest hours for the lowest pay. When you invest in your team, not just financially but through personal growth opportunities, the entire organization wins. Employees who are valued and respected are more productive during the workday and more likely to remain a loyal employee.
How would you describe your leadership or management style? Can you give us a few examples?
I am extremely relational in my leadership style. I make it a point to connect with each member of my team as regularly as I can — they all have my personal number and know my door is always open. We hold weekly collaborative meetings to ensure everyone is aware of what we are working on at a high level, and we solicit their feedback on how we can continue to improve. Especially since the individuals designing the technology are not the ones out in the field daily, it’s critical to our success to have our entire team included in the innovation process. There are no roadblocks standing in the pathway to success for our team members — we make sure the opportunity for growth is always clear and accessible.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful toward who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I can’t narrow it down to just one. The banker who approved the loan for my first business venture 23 years ago has continuously mentored me as I’ve grown in the corporate world, and I’m fortunate enough to now call him a dear friend. He took a chance on me all those years ago when I had no money or experience, but he saw something in me and continues to provide guidance even now all these years later. We try to talk at least once a month, and when we do, those calls tend to last hours. I am striving to be the mentor to others that he has been to me.
The second person I can’t fail to mention is my father-in-law. He loaned me $10,000, without question, all those years ago knowing full well he may never see that money again. His belief in me is what made all of this possible. I’ll never forget the feeling I had when I was able to pay him back two weeks later with interest, knowing his faith in me had paid off. He continues to encourage even my wildest ideas, believing I can accomplish anything I set my mind to.
And, of course, my wife. It may sound cliché, but she is my best friend and my balance in this life. She remains positive when I get discouraged and brings me back to reality when I get too far ahead of myself.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
I’ve made it a point to have billyGO give back to the community. One organization that is very close to my heart is Hearts for Homes, which is a ministry that provides no-cost home repairs to low-income elderly homeowners. In fact, before billyGO officially opened for business, we spent our entire Soft Launch period performing work to benefit Hearts for Homes, and we continue to provide assistance as often as we are able. There are so many things people take for granted, like having hot water. It’s heart-wrenching to go into the home of an 80-year-old who has not had hot water in two years. There are far too many cases of that in our world today, and we are working to correct that, one donated service at a time.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Be available when opportunity strikes.” I didn’t come from a wealthy family, and I didn’t have a privileged upbringing. But when I saw the opportunity to change an industry, I didn’t hesitate. Opportunities are all around us; we just have to look for them and be willing to go after them when they present themselves.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
When I was a kid in school, we had classes for auto mechanics, wood work, welding and agriculture. These classes were full of students like me who didn’t go to college but have gone on to do quite well for themselves. The amount of debt that college students are graduating with these days is staggering. I read a statistic the other day that the average student is graduating with over $37,000 of debt, which is about the same as their annual salary for their first job out of college. These young people have to work crazy hours and sometimes multiple jobs just to cover their basic living expenses and make their minimum loan payments. College isn’t necessarily for everyone, whether it’s for personal or financial reasons, but other options for advancement are available. Apprentices in my industry can make $50,000 in their first year and work their way up to a six-figure salary as a technician in the time it would take to graduate college — without incurring the debilitating debt. If we don’t reform our school system, soon your plumber will make more per hour than doctors and lawyers combined!
About billyGO:
App-based billyGO is revolutionizing plumbing/HVAC service and repair by putting customers in charge of their time with service by APPointment. The proprietary mobile app manages all aspects of the business including 24/7 scheduling, algorithm-based dispatching, transparent flat-rate pricing, immediate invoicing and secure payment processing. BillyGO offers full-service plumbing and HVAC services with flat rates and guaranteed pricing while employing skilled tradesmen who do not work for commission and therefore focus on serving, not selling. With a 92 percent response rate to their guaranteed one-hour appointment window and zero dispatch fees, billyGO is streamlining the plumbing and HVAC industry while passing cost savings back to their customers. Further information is available at https://billygo.com/ or on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or YouTube, or by phone at 817–873–0717. State Plumbing License 38424 Jeff Sims RMP — TACLB41879E.
