Before skill, before technology, trades careers are built on responsibility and showing up.

Andrew Brown and Dan Callies, President of Oak Creek Plumbing, break down what actually sustains blue-collar careers: character, mentorship, and earned respect.

Andrew and Dan explore how plumbing apprenticeships develop more than technical skill, why hire for character, train for skill remains a durable leadership principle, and what it really takes to grow from apprentice to journeyman to business owner. Drawing from decades in the field and in leadership, Dan explains how accountability, attitude, and consistency shape long-term success in the trades.

The conversation also examines the AI impact on skilled trades, not as a threat to craftsmanship, but as a tool to support efficiency, diagnostics, training, and operations. Dan shares how Oak Creek Plumbing uses technology to digitize routine processes while preserving the human judgment required for hands-on problem-solving.

Whether you’re considering skilled trades careers, currently in a plumbing apprenticeship, leading blue collar teams, or trying to understand how AI fits into construction and contracting, this episode delivers experience-backed insight from someone who has built both people and businesses in the trades.

IN THIS EPISODE

(00:00) – Skilled Trades Careers Today: Why the trades remain the backbone of the economy

(06:10) – Hire for Character, Train for Skill: What leaders actually look for on job sites

(14:45) – Plumbing Apprenticeships Explained: Earning while learning and building mastery

(24:30) – The AI Impact on Skilled Trades: Digitize what you can, humanize what you must

(35:50) – Blue Collar Careers vs College Debt: Time, patience, and long-term payoff

(49:20) – Advice for Young People Entering Skilled Trades Careers Today

Key Takeaways

1. Skilled trades careers are built through consistency, responsibility, and showing up, before skill ever takes over.
2. A plumbing apprenticeship develops technical ability, discipline, and leadership over time.
3. Hiring for character and training for skill creates stronger tradespeople and healthier companies.
4. The AI impact on skilled trades improves efficiency and training but cannot replace hands-on judgment or craftsmanship.

About the Guest

Dan Callies is the President of Oak Creek Plumbing and a second-generation plumber with decades of experience in the field and in leadership. He has worked through every stage of the trade, from apprenticeship to ownership, and remains deeply involved in mentorship, workforce development, and industry advocacy.

Dan is a strong proponent of apprenticeship training, union education, and responsible technology adoption. He believes the future of blue collar work depends on character, accountability, and leaders willing to invest in people over time.

Keywords

Skilled Trades Careers, Plumbing Apprenticeship, Hire for Character Train for Skill, Blue Collar Leadership, AI Impact on Skilled Trades, Skilled Trades, Trades Industry, Trades Careers, Tradespeople, Contractors, Construction, Craftsmanship, Problem-solving, Plumbers, Electricians, HVAC, Carpentry, Millwrights, Andrew Brown, Dan Callies, Oak Creek Plumbing, Toolfetch, Skilled Trades Advisory Council

RESOURCE LINKS

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-callies-6a641613/

Website: https://www.oakcreekplumbing.com/

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The most important thing is show up companies.

Um, hire for character, trained for skill, be responsible for your

future and your for your career.

You have to earn the respect and you have to be respectable.

Dan Callies, president of Oak Creek, Wisconsin based Oak Creek Plumbing.

I I, I used to be the guy in the back of the class and something

just clicked inside of me that just said, yeah, I, I get this.

I understand this.

AI is disruptive.

White collar work.

I'll give them anything.

They can stop into my office at any time and I'll share anything

with them to raise them up.

Someone who's young and they wanna start tomorrow, what are some of the

things they can do to give them advice?

What's that journey look like?

What's the span of time to really get there?

Well.

Hi, I'm Andrew Brown.

You're listening to the Lost Art of the Skilled Trades Podcast, a show that

shines the spotlight on careers in the skilled trades that are high paying,

honorable, rewarding, and fulfilling.

The trades are the backbone of the economy that keep us running, and without

them, our world would cease to exist.

All right.

Welcome back to The Lost Art of the Skilled Trades.

Super excited to have Dan Coley on the show today.

President of the Oak Creek Plumbing Company.

Correct.

Welcome to the show.

I'm so excited, man.

This is wonderful.

I mean, even just being at the PHCC Connect show here, even just for a

day, you could feel the excitement.

The people that don't know plumbing apprentices are working literally

across the way here at the event, and there's a whole competition going on and

just watching these kids who are what?

High school kids.

High school kids, right.

I mean a little bit older in high school.

And they're an apprenticeship program and they're, they're,

they're are future craftsmen, right?

They are.

They're taking this trade.

And in honing their skills for those future generations.

I mean, it just, it's amazing that number one, that they, they had the fortitude to

say, yeah, I'm gonna work with my hands.

I'm gonna work it with my mind.

I'm gonna be out there and create something.

And build something.

You can stand back and say, wow, I was part of that.

Yeah.

It's a good feeling.

And you know, it's one thing to have the tech skills, but you also need the soft

skills behind that being in the field that you're in, and obviously the business that

you're in, and the people that you employ.

What do you look for in those individuals?

Because they can have the tech skills, but what about the soft skills?

And our motto at our company is, um, hire for character, train for skill.

Right?

So do they have the right aptitude attitude?

Uh, I can you can you, and I'm not saying they have to be vocally specialized

or have a a com communication, but there have to be relatable and, and

understandable and just, but the most important thing is show up.

Right.

I mean, that's, that's, that's 70%.

You'd be surprised, you know, you would think that people would show up, but

not everybody even knows would show up.

Right.

And, you know, that's, that seems to be an issue.

What I see from small businesses, even Fortune 100 and or Fortune 500

companies, they have trouble with these, you know, I don't wanna say

it's the younger generation, it's just, it's just a different, it, it sure is

culture, just different generation.

It, it, and the way to look at it, I'm not saying it's wrong because we.

Sometimes I'm, I'm, I'm 60 years old, of course, I've been through

a lot of different things and my mojo is a little bit different than

what their mojo is, and theirs is maybe a little bit short term, more

personal gratification for the moment.

Maybe mine's the long run and the long thing.

And again, neither one's right or wrong.

And with.

We have to adapt a little bit out there, and they have to

adapt a little bit out there.

We both have to kind of give and take a little bit.

Um, and I understand a work life balance and I get all that.

But there's a point that there's a responsibility there and to take

actions and be responsible for your future and your for your career.

And part of that is through, um, understand and, and respect and

respect the, the people that you're working with and working for.

And the people that you work for have to respect you, but you have to earn the

respect and you have to be respectable.

Um, to, to earn that.

Well, I always, it's funny, I say to my kids, I'm like, showing up,

uh, on time versus showing up early.

Right on time is late and early is on time, and my son looked at me, he is

like, what the hell are you talking about?

Right?

Like, you'll get it when, when you're older.

But those things like stay off your phone, like those are like simple things.

But again, it's just a generational thing that you know, and.

But that's, that's just what it is.

Those little nuances mean everything to us by the, in the big picture, they don't.

And the funny thing about the, you know, on time, if you're on time, you're late.

That was the, the Lambo, you know, exactly said, and I'm from Milwaukee,

Wisconsin, green Bay Packers all the way.

Right.

And, and the, the Lambo and his, his, his philosophies and how

he, you know, motivated his team.

I mean, he was really a, a ahead of his time.

And we, we, those are legacy things that he's said and done.

Percent timeless.

Yeah.

I'm a Chiefs fan, but we won't, uh, we won't go there.

I'm sorry.

Well, that's a different podcast.

He just, he did, he was with Kansas City for a while too, so, well,

we'll, well, I forgive him for that.

Yeah.

So if you roll, can roll back in your journey.

How did you get into.

Trade is there, was it family?

Like, what was the backstory behind that?

Yeah, yeah.

And I'm second generation, uh, in the company and, but going through high

school, I was like any high school in the mid eighties, you know, I, I don't know.

I was, where am I gonna go with this?

I'm not sure if the family business and, and it was my mom

and my dad had the business.

They had maybe one or two employees.

It was, it was very.

Uh, um, you intimate shop, wonderful.

Paid the bills, but you know, definitely lived the life of not luxury.

Um, and my dad working every single day and, you know, seeing the

boy, is that what I wanted or not?

I don't know.

But I got outta high school.

I'm like, I really college.

I wasn't college bound.

I wasn't college material.

Um, and I said, well, dad, let me, lemme give this a shot, you know?

And for the first year, maybe even two years, it, it still didn't, it wasn't

there, you know, that click wasn't there.

I said, Hey Pops, you know, I'm just this, this isn't fill in my bubble.

He's like, all right, well you're halfway through your apprenticeship.

Just stick it out, get your apprenticeship and then you can do whatever you want.

But as long chance, was your dad happy that you were in an

apprenticeship at that point?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So he was all for it.

It wasn't like stay out of it or anything like that.

And the funny part, I'm one of seven in our family, and uh, so I have, uh, two

older sisters, two older brothers and two younger brothers, and I was the only one

that kind of said, Hey Pops, you know, well, oh, we'll fund your retirement here.

And, um, but then I got into it and all of a sudden something clicked and

so I started reading the code and I just, like, I, I used to be the guy in

the back of the class, you know, kind of disengaged in, in two semesters.

I was the guy in the front of the class asking the questions, answering the

questions, and something just clicked inside of me that just said, yeah,

I, I get this, I understand this.

And then I got involved with PHCC and I saw the business side

of it, you know, and it just.

It was the maturity level of apparently, right?

I mean, it just, it just, something clicked and all sudden I became

involved in, in, in mentoring and a meeting and, and peer grouping

and all this stuff that, that try to position myself to, to be there.

And now at a point in my career, I'm kind of that.

How can I help others?

Yeah.

Which is good to, to give back because of, you know, your success and you've

seen both sides, like you said, you know, you've been out in the field

and, and you've seen the business side, so you've seen both sides.

It is interesting, and you just gave me a thought about someone who is

in the field to make the leap to an entrepreneurial journey, is how difficult

is that and is that a different skillset for the people who are listening?

Sure.

And number one, you have to have the fire in the belly.

You know, it's gonna test you beyond what you think you can be tested, right?

And, and it's, and I wouldn't so much worry about the skillset, but you have to

understand that number one is knowledge.

You, you got to surround yourself with people that can help you mentor you.

Number two, you have to read, at least this was for me now, maybe

my day was reading now, now it's YouTubing or podcast or whatever

to, to obtain this, uh, message.

But one of the best books I've read out there is by Michael Gerber, the E myth.

Entrepreneur seizure.

Right.

Oh, you just hit a chord.

I love that book.

Right, right.

And just that, that set the foundation for everything else and

systemize and how do you communicate and how do you get these things.

And then there's other, you know, best practices to the EOSs and the, the

rocket fuel and, and those things.

I mean, they're all awesome books now.

They out podcast and all of 'em.

Well, I'm gonna, I'm gonna say that I'm a actually a nerd when

it comes to that stuff 'cause.

Had my industrial supply company that I had for 24 years, we

implemented EEO s so I know exactly.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

It's great, great stuff.

And if you have EOSs, if you take, uh, the E Myth and the Good, the great

book, you kind of foolish 'em together.

They had a baby called, you know, the Entrepreneur operating system.

Right?

Yeah.

So it's kind of, they take parts and I'm sure there's more books

and more things that inspired.

That, that book, but it, it, that's the foundation of a lot of business.

If you, that's the roadmap, but you still have to operate it.

You still have people involved in your business.

And right now we have about 30 people on staff, so we're not

terribly big, but there's a lot that's a lot of mouths to feed.

And, and that's a little train that we have to.

Keep chugging and then we have to keep on putting some fuel

into it and keep it going.

Yeah.

Are you a union?

We are signatory, yeah.

You are?

Yeah.

My, my folks, uh, my dad was signatory when I purchased the company.

We could kept it signatory and when I purchased it, that's what you did.

Right.

And our area is very, very strong signatory.

It's kind of changed over a little bit, so sometimes that's given

us maybe a little disadvantage.

I turned every disadvantage to an advantage, right?

So now, boy, I, I, I say, Hey, we're a union contractor and we are, our

training is second to none out there.

And, and if I need help or support, I'm just one phone call away from, you

know, filling some gaps or some voids.

If we get, have a larger job, we can, we can flex a little bit more

and move around a little bit more.

Are you finding challenges with any shortages out there of trying to

find technicians or people in field?

Well, right now, it is kind of funny.

In the union, they have over 300 applicants trying to find a home.

So in the union side, not so much.

Now they're not skilled, they're not trading yet.

Right.

But they's, they're applicants.

Now you gotta, you gotta, you know, weed through and some, some,

it's just a name there, right?

They had to apply somewhere and some really wanted this trade.

So, but.

Overall, yes, there is a shortage, especially with the

mass exodus of the baby boomers out of our industry right now.

Now we're, we're making up some room on technology.

We're able to install more with less, right?

Because of some of the, the AI technology, some of the things that you

can do on of the Apple iPad that you couldn't have done that in the past.

Well, people were saying, someone was saying it last night at

a, at a, a dinner last night.

You know, what AI is going to do to the, to the industry,

you know, to diagnose things.

To make it a little bit easier, but you still need the hands-on work

of the individual to to fix it.

It's not like, you know, Johnny, the robot's coming over to get

in your crawl space anytime soon.

And we have, in our company, we're kind of focusing, we, we have

something called digi digitize.

When you can humanize when you must.

So what we're trying to do is take the mundane things that are

happening every day that maybe you don't need a human touch to.

When someone calls our company, we, we have a virtual assistant answering the

phone, asks for their name, their address, their phone number, and what's the basic.

You know, what's happening here?

How much, how much of an urgency is this now, if the customer answers all the

questions, actually our Emily, who is our virtual assistant, can actually even

book the call, put the call into our system, and we really don't have a human

touching it per se, that they see it.

They, they do those things.

Now, we always give the people the option of human out.

We call it and hey, okay, let's get over here.

But, but that's just one example I think of kind of going down there of what we did

internally in business, out in the field with, like you said, diagnosing things.

And I use it constantly, right.

Uh, you take a picture of a water heater, it'll tell you, I mean,

you take the serial numbers.

He is gonna tell you the date that that water feed heater Yeah.

Was, is a manufacturer.

It's wild.

Here are some of the issues that it could happen.

Wild.

Yeah.

And it's like that, right?

Yeah.

And, and then we can ramp up our staff based on this information,

it's a little more readily available.

And it's more in a human form that you can read it and understand it.

Uh, right, but I get the fact of trying, you know, the call center

or like the customer service person.

I can understand that.

Like when in, in my area, when you're calling plumbing companies and they don't

always call you back, and especially if they're a small shop, they're, they're

out in the field, we'll get back to you.

But if you're putting AI in, I can understand because

it's 24 7, it doesn't get.

It doesn't get sleepy, you know, doesn't call out sick.

Doesn't have a bad day.

It doesn't have a bad day, and you can train it however you wanna train it.

So I completely understand that aspect of, you know, that

that will be outsourced to ai.

There's other thing with standard operating procedures and the SOPs and

in testing, I mean if, or verification if we have an employment list that hey,

we, we'll test someone on a certain thing and then AI helps us develop that

test and develop the answers and pro curriculum for it training programs.

It's helped us immensely in that.

Yeah, I think it's, it's like flipped, you know, like blue

collar, white collar work now that.

AI is disrupting white collar work, right?

It's almost like flipped, like blue collar is becoming white collar,

and kids, I always call it Gen Z, are thinking about, well, okay, I

can go to a four year degree, but I'm gonna spend X amount of dollars.

And a lot of these kids who are coming outta school, they're not getting the

job and not getting the return, versus going into a trade or the plumbing trade

and getting an apprentice apprenticeship.

And earning and learning and being ahead of the game.

I mean, I had, uh, Valerie, uh, on the show just prior to this, and she's an

apprentice and, and she's doing very well.

You know, at a young age.

Well, and I think at schools at one point where they were judged on how

many people went to college, right?

So the guidance counselors, and that's where their focus is.

And 'cause the guidance counselor went to college, the teacher went to college, the

everyone there went to college, right?

So that's their, their culture, the atmosphere.

Now they're understanding their.

Then they said the kids in the basement classes.

The industrial classes.

Yeah.

Yeah.

But you're not college material.

You're gonna go, well, I think this shift is now, no, I mean, if

someone has passion, some people are brilliant, but they're not college.

They're not, it's just, it's not them.

Right.

They, they love working their hands.

They have that mechanical mindset.

They have these things.

They're gonna be miserable sitting behind a computer.

Um, so I think some of the cultures changed that area.

It's also the parents used to be, you're going to college.

Now maybe, maybe mom or dad did, or maybe they didn't, but the social

status was my kids going to college.

And I think that a shift, I'm seeing a shift in that Definitely.

Of seeing, of just saying, Hey, you know, boy, being a

plumbing is, is not a bad gig.

Right?

I mean, you, you can do well, and it's not always about financial either, right?

I mean, if, if that's the only reason you're going into

it, it might not be Right.

Right.

I mean, it's just, you're not gonna be fulfilled.

You're not gonna be.

You're gonna struggle.

Yeah.

You're gonna love what you do.

Yeah.

I mean, yes.

Will the money come?

Yeah.

But I think kids need to understand that this is not instant gratification.

Right.

It's gonna take time.

I think a lot of pushback on a lot of the younger generation

to become an apprentice.

You're not making a lot of money at first, but you're,

you're, you don't know anything.

Do you know?

Apprentice wise, like first year, second year, what are the wages roughly?

Yeah, especially in signatory union shop.

I mean, you're, you're in that $20 an hour starting, right?

That's a 40 grand plus.

You get the benefits, the health benefits, and the pension signatory.

Now that's, if you're, it's an open shop, it might be a little

bit different and area might be a little bit different, right?

We're in Milwaukee.

Chicago's gonna be a little bit higher than that.

Cost of living.

Your cost of living, right?

So there's different contracts in area, but still, if you're

starting out at 40,000 a year.

Plus benefits, um, not a bad place to start.

And then every year after that, you, you increase, um, based on time in,

in the trade and then based on your passenger classes and, and things.

Uh, so it's it's a, it's a pretty lucrative, pretty quick, yeah.

So you, you, you scale up fairly quickly, so if people that are

listening who are thinking about getting into the, the plumbing trade,

maybe they're 19, 20, thinking about.

The time it takes to become an apprentice, a journeyman, then if you wanna scale

up from there, maybe own your own business, what's that journey look like?

Like how, what's the span of time to really get there?

Well, in, in, I can only speak of, of my area, my experience on that, but

in, in Wisconsin and in our area, it's, it's, it's a five year apprenticeship.

So you, of course you have to pass that and, and you have to have so

many hours per year that you booked.

And there's so many classes that you have to pass this.

So once you get that, then you have to wait an additional three years

before you can take the master's, test it, and to own your own business.

In Wisconsin, you have to have a master's, uh, um, a license to do that.

Now a master gives you ability to take, take out permits and, and,

and once you have your master's, then ownership of the, of you have

the ability to own the company.

'cause every plumbing company has to have a master plumber.

Uh, as part owner of that company.

Right.

So you're looking about what, eight to 10 years?

Eight to 10 years, right.

Eight to 10 years.

So if you're so around like 30 Yeah.

Early thirties, sure.

You'd be able to open your, your own business.

Do you think there's too much competition today?

Or do you think there's enough to go around?

Yeah, that's a great question.

Right?

I mean, the competition is wonderful, but when does it become too much?

You know?

And most businesses are not gonna make, what's the five year?

What's the rule of five?

You know, in five years, what 80% of people that started.

Don't make it right.

And maybe you who I, no, there's different reasons where there was education.

Maybe just time.

Something was didn't go right, that stuff happens.

So, um, but I think there's always opportunity there.

If that's what drives you, don't worry about that.

Right.

I, and if I want a competitor, I want a good competitor, I want

someone who's educated, trained I'll, I'll give him anything.

He can stop into my office at any time and I'll share anything

with them to, to raise them up.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And and and.

You want that?

Yeah, I want that.

You want that?

Yeah.

I think competition is good for all.

It's good for the consumer.

Yeah.

It's good.

The right competition, the, the ones that don't know business, that don't

know how to charge the right amount, that, that maybe give the plumbing

industry a bad name, you know, or try to take advantage of situations

that's not right and that's not good.

Yeah.

It is interesting in, in small towns, like I live in a small town in Westchester

County, New York, and there is a Facebook group and it's a lot of the moms, they

talk about like, I need a plumber, I need a, you know, an electrician.

And they talk.

And the thing is, if you wrong one person, oh my, that person says, and they can

really throw off your entire business.

How important is it for you from, and how do you teach your

employees when they're working?

To, to do the right thing.

Right.

To do the right thing.

And I think it's a culture within a business.

I don't know if we have to teach it.

I mean, of course we always reinforce it and we, we, we look at these things

and, um, the funny part is, I, not every person out there is our client.

Right.

And, and understanding some of that, right.

We're, we're, we're looking for relationships.

We're not looking for transactions.

So it's something a little, sometimes a little bit different.

Some people, some consumers can be unrealistic and you know, and you

get dinged, but if you've got a 4.8 rating on Google and you're gonna get

some dings, you can't, don't worry too much about it if your culture

is the right culture right now.

But if you are taking advantage of people and you are doing things maybe

not copacetic well then yeah, you definitely better be concerned about that.

Right.

And that's gonna show, yeah.

For you are testimonials, like the most important thing, right?

Correct.

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I, I love what they did and, and when we do get feedback, we jump on it right away.

Hey, where did we miss what, you know, is it something that we did wrong?

Hey, let's, let's fess up, let's make it right.

Maybe the expectations weren't realistic and then we'd have, might

have to have a little conversation with a client and maybe, maybe we

set the unrealistic expectations.

Right?

Uh, well, that's the thing.

And you gotta, it's sort of like a, a push and pull here.

You might not make as much on this job and you have to give up, but it's, you have a

repeat customer who tells 10 other people.

You don't want that person saying to 10 other people do not use this company.

Right, right, right, right.

And but you have to understand sometimes no matter what you

do, you're going to get those.

But that's hopefully the exception and not the rule.

Yes.

And, and I and that I'm not ever a, a proponent of saying ignore those.

But you have to understand because if you beat yourself up,

if that's all you look at, yeah.

I wanted to pivot over back to, uh, sort of business ownership

and, and mindset for you.

What have you done from a growth standpoint to really get you to a place?

I know you talked about.

Um, EOS and, you know, some things to run the business, but for, for you,

you know, not everybody has a good day.

You have, you know, your ebbs and flows.

So for you, how do you keep positive in a, you know, if it's, there's a downturn or

the, you know, business is slow, like what do you do, you know, and drink heavily?

No.

Uh, um.

And I experience helps a navigate a lot of things when you have downturns, right?

Hey, we've been through this, we can, we can shore this up,

we can do something different.

Um, but I think it, it's exposure to, and of course communities like

PHCC that can help you navigate, and what am I saying out there is misery

loves company, you know, so you go out there and you can, you guys gift your

wolves and you're not the only one here running into these things, right?

So it, it kind of helps you.

Alright, now I, I have that foundation.

I'm not the idiot that I think I am.

Right?

And, and then, then you can say, well, okay, how do we strategize through this?

Is how, what do you cut or what do, do you have to market more?

Market differently?

What, what?

Uh, look on another service, provide another, um, entity to our clients that

they can start, Hey, you know, pipelining.

Sure.

You know, so how do you expand those areas?

And, and just always keep, but you gotta keep your pulse on it.

You can't let it sneak up on you.

'cause it can vary very quickly and it has on me.

Back in the early two thousands, the.com thing, I didn't see,

you know, it's like, oh man.

I bet that's, that was a lot of people, right?

A lot of people didn't see that.

Yeah.

I just think, you know, I was an entrepreneur.

Like I think it's a crazy freaking journey.

Yes, it's true.

It's a crazy, we are crazy people.

We are well, right.

To go off on your own, to have your own business, to work longer hours

and might not make as much right away.

It's crazy.

But I think getting in a group of some sort.

Like PhD HC has helped you?

For me it's been, Vistage is a Sure Vistage's a tech and Vistage.

Yeah.

I was a member many, many years.

I mean that, that was like life changing to, to be in a room with 15 other, you

know, business owners to be like, wait, you have that problem and there's a

lot of stuff you don't know, and the stuff you don't know really hurts you.

So like always picked up nuggets.

Every meeting there's board of advisors, right?

And just get out there and, and be humble.

Take, take this information that people are willing to share

with you and, and help you.

And, but it's, you gotta surround yourself with the right people and

understand, okay, they're there for you.

Right?

They're, they're, they're right people.

Yeah, a hundred percent.

You know, also your own employees.

Get the right people on the bus.

Right?

Set the culture right.

It all comes from the top, top down.

It all.

Top down for.

People who, and before you leave the show, for people who want to get

into the plumbing trade, or someone who's young and they wanna start

tomorrow, what are some of the things they can do to give them advice?

Yeah.

And that's a great, and part of it is just, you know, getting out there and, and

maybe start getting your name out there to local firms out there, Hey, and then maybe

be the shop boy, you know, the shop girl for, for, um, after high school hours.

Um, you know, just putting away fittings, cleaning shop, helping them get things.

So your name's there.

They can see your, they can see your attitude, they can see you,

who you are based on how you show up when you're supposed to show up.

And, and that will set the stage naturally to say, Hey, I'm

looking for my apprenticeship.

Uh, would you sponsor me?

Right?

I mean, holy cow.

That, that, that would be pretty big.

Um, other than, I mean, if, if you can show, um.

Winners always win.

And I, and I don't, and I wanna say that I say achievers always achieve, look,

I always look at people's past history will kind of help predict their future.

So if they, if they worked at McDonald's and they were the

crew chief at McDonald's that.

Says a lot to me, right?

If, if they worked at, you know, Domino's Pizza and they were the lead

person on that shift or whatever, I bet we look for the, a lot of those

qualities of how you really, you didn't coast, you really kind of stepped up.

Now the funny part is when I hire myself, when I was at that age, you know, maybe

not, you know, but there was probably something in there that I didn't realize.

Um, that was there.

Yeah.

And it kind of kinda came out.

Yeah.

And that's good advice and that, that takes time to develop that.

Right.

And, and, and perseverance.

Don't give up, uh, be politeful perseverance and understand that

sometimes it happens right away.

Sometimes it, it takes a while, but if this is what your passion is it

there, there will, it will land.

Oh, I believe it 100%.

And I, I kinda, I feel the passion with you, like you're still excited about

the business and you're excited about being here at PHCC and making an impact.

Dan, if people wanna find out more about you, anything social or website that

people can go to that's, that's funny.

We've had a conversation.

I'm, I'm technology.

I love ai.

I love those things.

The social stuff.

I, I don't even know if I could even post on Facebook.

Right.

Uh, pay people to do that.

And I'm kind of jokingly say it, but you know, I'm, I'm kind of private in

that area and maybe I that, but I think I set my business up to be the entity.

I didn't set the business up for me to be the.

Entity.

Right.

I mean, we're Oak Creek Plumbing isn't the Oak Creek Plumbing by Dan Kelly's.

Right.

But that, that was my choice.

I am, I'm more behind the scenes kind of guy.

I will get out in front and I will, you know, I'll be the

first one with the flag up front.

Right.

But, um, to, to, you know.

Put myself out there.

But with that being said, part of PHCC right now, I'm the national president.

Uh, my term ends at this connection.

I'm with Oak Creek Plumbing.

I mean, you look at our website, look at our, our things that we have set

up because we have some good things, I think, some good things that people

could duplicate of what we're doing.

Um, and moving on.

Um.

I will take a phone call at any time.

I will take an email or a text message at any time, and just I'm a proponent

of the industry to help it at any way, shape, or form that I can.

Yeah, I, again, I love the passion and you know, it's all about making

the impact and getting that next generation, uh, working with their hands.

Dan has been a blast having you on the show.

Thank you very much.

Andrew.

Andrew, you rock man.

Thank you again for what you do to this industry and help it raise it all

and just you're promoting it and just.

Rock on man.

Rock it.

Oh, you one, you change one person's life.

Yes.

That's, that's just one person.

Fair enough.

Alright, Dan, thanks so much.

Be good.

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