Michael Sottile: American Plumber Stories

At the age of 15 I was asked by my brother in laws boss to be a labor for a new construction plumbing company, at the time I didn’t really know what a plumber did other than work on toilets and showers. I started as a labor digging ditches for triplex’s in a coastal area. I dropped out of high school and began working. At that time I went from digging to helping install underground’s, to doing top out and set and finish. I then moved on from there to become a service and repair plumber which I really enjoyed more than new construction. After getting my feet wet with a couple different service companies, I ended up working for a small company and pretty much ran the show as it was only me and the owner working in the field, the owner ended up passing away and I kept the business a float with his wife until I decided it was time for me to get my lic and start my own company. In 2013 I obtained my lic and started Ability plumbing service and repair, fast forward to 2023 I now employ 5 people. We are a company that has never advertised we are simply word of mouth, we are now exploring marketing to grow the company into my dream company that helps the community and our employees.

Freedom, financial stability, helping others solving problems, and leading a team.

What advice do you have for the younger generation entering the plumbing trade?  

My advice would be to do it, get in the trades we need new talent and you the younger generation needs financial stability freedom and a good fun job