Gold Winner Tammy Buchanan, Small Jobs Plumbing
Silver Winner Brian Clarke Plumbing & Heating
Bronze Winner Ian Cooper Plumbing & Heating
Tammy Buchanan played it safe when she decided to go into business for herself: She kept her full-time job working for another plumbing company. But just two months after she and business partner Sherri Bain launched Small Jobs, she realized she could leave the other job. That was less than three years ago, and now Small Jobs is so busy they’re looking to hire another licensed plumber. “Business is flooding in,” Buchanan says, pun unintended. “It’s been a good go these last couple years.” Being a female plumber is unusual (Buchanan says the field is 99 percent male across Canada) yet well-received, especially since most of the time it’s a woman who answers the door when Buchanan arrives at a call. After that first impression, however, Buchanan’s plumbing skills are what seals the deal, and her approach says a lot about what makes her the Best Plumber in the city: “My motivation is doing something right, charging a reasonable price and having the customer be happy at the end of the day.”
