I had the opportunity to take over and buy into the business from a previous president who left the business. It felt like a chance to bet on me, who else would you rather bet on, invest in me and not just work for someone else. So I jumped at it.

Ha, Winnelson is an odd name. What the heck is a Winnelson?!?!? So here's a bit of the history:  

1875-In St. Louis, Nils Olaf Nelson founds the N.O. Nelson Mfg. Co. (NONCO), one of the nation’s earliest manufacturers and distributors of plumbing supplies.  

1956-A group of entrepreneurs founds Primus Inc. in Dayton, Ohio.

1958-The Pueblo, Colo., branch of N.O. Nelson suffers a serious fire. Primus Inc. steps in to help, partnering with N.O. Nelson to save the Pueblo branch and establish a shared-ownership model. By the end of the year, Primus Inc. has purchased nearly all remaining N.O. Nelson assets and locations.

1960-Primus, whose first president is Dick Schiewetz – one of the founders – opens dozens of companies over the next several years, each a separate corporation under the Win brand: Winnelson, Winair, Winlectric, Windustrial, Winfastener, Winpump, Winwater, and (notably) Winsupply.It's just grown from there over the years, Winsupply INC, our parent company, now has over 640 locations nationwide in the same model.

I have been here for the last ten years, and we have grown from four employees to currently eleven, and almost quadrupled in sales. We've gone from a industrial focus to a residential service and repair focus with commercial plumbing thrown in for good measure.

We focus on the professionals in the industry. Our goal is to help our customers be successful. To be more than just a supplier, but a partner in their company. When our customers prosper and are successful, so are we.

We have a vision statement that we strive for. It is as follows:

Vision Statement: Temecula Winnelson strives to have every interaction with customers, co-workers, vendors, manufacturers, and fellow Winsupply companies result in a positive impact. We hope to improve your situation and your life one encounter at a time. Bringing us all one step closer to reaching our dreams and goals. To achieve this, we follow these simple tenants:  

Be kind.

It costs nothing but effort to be thoughtful.

 

Be respectful.

Treat others as you want to be treated.

Be honest.

Mean what you say. Do what you say.

Be positive.

Nothing is accomplished with a negative mindset.

We are a plumbing wholesale company. We provide plumbing supplies focused on the professionals. We have will call, delivery, a hot shot service that is an emergency delivery for a small fee so the customer can stay on the job working, tool rentals, an e-commerce site, an inventory management software, and more. We sell most of the same things as our competitors, but I like to think our give a damn is better. We believe in the golden rule, and like to have a laugh while helping people. That being said, we are human, we make mistakes, but we try to make it right as soon as possible.

Our team is knowledgeable, friendly, fun, and we try to over communicate.  We attempt to put ourselves in the shoes of the customer.

I think the one I remember the most was Dana, of Dana's Plumbing said to me that we are like Cheers. Welcoming and know your name.  That was great, I loved that show!

We participate in a program with the Murrieta school district where some of their students come work in our warehouse with teacher supervision to get people, life, and work experience. We donate to His Little Feet non profit each month who help provide shoes and socks to underprivileged children. Plus we try to have a yearly Toys for Tots drive or a collection for Animal Friends of the Valley during the holidays.

We are working on the yearly drive for this Holiday, but it is not nailed down to what just yet. Stay tuned!

Hmmm, I'm not sure really. I know as I get older, it is more important to me and our company. To be able to give back or contribute in some small way is important.

Besides having no idea what I was doing when I started and crying a lot? Probably setting aside your ego, being willing to keep an open mind to other people's input and ideas, and not thinking you got this business thing down. There is always something new, a better way, or you get complacent.

Hire smarter people than you who can cover the places in your personal and work experience where you are challenged. Business is hard, don't think that it is not. There are good days, and then there are overwhelming days. Accept it and learn from both. Empower your people. Train them in your business and culture then allow them to make decisions. Let them make mistakes and then go over the how's and why's with them on how it could be done differently next time. This allows you to learn and grow also in handling people and situations.  

Fortunately, our partner Winsupply INC helps with technology innovation that we can add to our toolbelt, and our vendors and manufacturers are great resources for that also.

 

Grow our exposure. Grow relationships. Get word out about Winnelson to our community about who we are and how we can help them with their plumbing related needs. How? By continuing to use great resources like the Temecula Valley Chamber of Commerce, making more sales calls, and trying to be relevant and helpful to the people and businesses around us.

Amazing. Fun. Loud. Helpful. Goofy.  

I made a shift a few years ago after reading the book, The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni, on hiring. I look less at skill set, we can train people on the tasks and how to do them, and more on the person. On hiring good people, with the same values we have, and that fit in with the team we have already.

Less yelling. More listening. Less just doing tasks myself. More explaining. More asking for input, and more of what the individual wants also. Empowering them to make decisions and help the customer better, and reviewing when there are bumps in the road.

Oh my gosh. The technological side of plumbing has gone crazy.  So many innovations in heaters, tankless, everywhere in the industry. We really have to lean on the vendors and the manufacturers for that. Of course the internet too. Everyone wants an Amazon experience, so you have to step up as an organization for that. Winsupply INC has done an outstanding job on that front. 

 

Electric everything is a huge push in our state these days, and water consumption is always being looked at. Again, having good relations with your vendors and manufacturers is key.

Honestly, I did not start up my own, so I am not qualified to comment on that. That's a question for some of the other courageous business owners in our community.  

It's been a few. Let your business be a part of you, a representative of who you are. If you are doing it from your heart, whatever the outcome is you've done it honestly and openly. Another is people won't remember what you sold them, did for them, or what you said but they will remember how you made them feel.  So build relationships. Also, it's not bragging if it's true. Don't be afraid to champion yourself, your team, or your company if you've done good and great things.

Resilience. It's hard to own and run a company, give yourself some grace with mistakes. A good work ethic. Surrounding myself with people smarter than me. Just too dumb to quit.

Check out more info section on our website. We started a podcast. We have a Youtube channel. Stop and see us.