This 20-Year-Old Entrepreneur is Empowering the Next Generation of Skilled Tradespeople with Paige “Plumber Paige” Knowles

Did you see things playing

out this way? No. So like when I enrolled in tech school, I thought this will be a cool skill to know so that when I own my own house or houses I'll be able to fix some stuff. Like that was it. And I did not think that I would be, I. Going in like a plumber route at all. And then fast forward to where I am now, I didn't think I would be in the industry in any capacity other than just to have some knowledge. And then as time went on throughout high school, I thought, okay, I'm gonna be a master plumber. I'm gonna own my own business. This is something that I'm really passionate about. I was really concerned about my credibility aspect, but I'm still trying to learn, I'm still trying to take in all the skills and I'm not afraid to work, but I'm trying to expand the message more than just. Adding one person into the field, I could be adding thousands by talking to students and encouraging them to get into it. But no, I did not think that this is where I would be at all. And I still feel like there's so much that the future holds that I would never expect. Because if someone had told me by the age of 20 that I would have gone to Sundance Film Festival for a documentary that I would've been in, no, I would not have used that. So I'm looking forward to what the future has

Future like the future is wide open for our celebrity guests, Ms. Plumber page NOLs. she's got a whole lot going on. She's a college student, she's an author. She's a. Brand. I mean, she's, she's doing a whole bunch. I think the biggest thing is that she's a huge advocate for the trades. her energy is just, I mean, she's just so like down to earth, like super, super cool. was not at all intimidated. With all the glamor, uh, that she brings to the table. And through this conversation, what you're going to hear is. We have people in our corner behind us supporting us. sometimes holding us up a, it helps us to continue going forward. And so Ms. Page shares about her support network, which is valuable. And, um, There's a really important piece in here where she talks about how accomplishment like experiencing accomplishment. Through her efforts of learning the trade. impacted her mental wellness and engagement at school. And I think that's like ultra ultra important, uh, because the. You know, checkboxy right. Wrong guest snow. Uh, nature of our education. I've seen it have a lot of, do a lot of damage to people in terms of their thinking when they get out into like the real world. behaving as if there is a yes or no. where of course in Jessie land, there is only the rightest answer. And again, the fulfillment piece, right? when I put my hands on things and make something happen, I experienced a tremendous way will fulfillment. interested to know what y'all think about that idea. That's not to knock down and say education is horrible. It's only to say that there is also other places to derive fulfillment from. And we're definitely going to give a shout out to the LnM Family member. That went out of their way to leave. Uh, I'm going to say inspirational motivational. Post because it was inspiring and motivating to me. so here is the post is jesse Fernandez is bringing the skills, tools, and energy. That are revealing new opportunities and transforming how we think function and deliver. The excitement of our teams from his training sessions are nothing short of incredible. My goodness, N. Thank you very, very much folks. If y'all didn't know, I earn a living, like I actually have a job that. me and helps me buy all my hair product, et cetera. And that is as a consultant. So I get to work out there with amazing leaders that are committed. To leaving a mark on the people that they serve in a positive way, such that their quality of life is greater. And that comment was from one of those. Super phenomenal leaders out there in the world because they do exist in the construction industry. Believe it or not. When you get a chance, go to depth, builder.com. And find the blog click on the little thing on the top. Hit blog. Uh, I've been sharing kind of the origin story of the podcast and how this podcast has rolled in and grown into all kinds of other magical stuff. while you're there sign up for the email list Because things are progressing at a rapid clip. And what I mean by that this last year was awesome. This year is like, Phenomenal. Uh, the book, the, my second first book is going to be coming out in June 23rd. Super super excited about that. Anyways, hit the email list that we can get updated with all the other good stuff. And if you don't want to be bugged by me any more than you already are. I understand, and I appreciate that. So instead of continuing to bug you. I'm gonna let you meet Ms. Paige Knowles. So here we go to plumber. Page.

right. lnM, Family, I gotta tell you, you may hear the excitement in my voice, and I'm gonna be tripping all over myself because we got like a super superstar here. Miss Paige Knowles. Miss Paige, how are you today?

Hi everybody. Thank you so much for having me. I'm pretty excited to be on this podcast today.

We're gonna learn about her here in a minute. But author, written, 1, 2, 3. How many books have you written? I've written

two books so far.

Yeah. Oh my goodness. And so one thing, I think you and I connected on Instagram first. Yes. I started following you there and I think you were still in high school.

I was just graduating when I started following more people.

It's just struck me that you were posting about plumbing. I also happened well, I used to be a plumber. I don't plum anymore. So I'm like, oh my God, this is amazing. How could we. Connect and support and collabo or whatever and all of a sudden here we are. I get to interview you. So Right.

years later here we're That's awesome. that's so awesome. I love how life works like that.

So you're at university now, is that

correct? Yep. I go to community college for construction management, but I did plumbing for all four years of high school.

So let's hear about that. It sounds like your high school, you had the opportunity. Or there was an option to do a track of trade study.

What was that all about? The high school that I went to works with a trade school and we can go half day to learn a trade at the school and then half day doing academic classes at our high school. So I did that for four years, and then my senior year I did. Cyber so that I could work full days through co-op and then just do cyber school at home. Once I got home from work at night, it was awesome. I like to say I did cyber school before. It was cool, cause I graduated during the year of Covid, so I finished my school year before everybody else and then Covid happened, so nobody else had to finish it.

So why did you pick plumbing.

Yeah, I don't know. People ask me that all the time and it just felt right. I just do things, I don't wanna say out of impulse, but almost out of impulse. My parents own rental properties, so I used to work like I'm used to working with my hands and pulling just seemed like the right path. And then when I got to tour it and do rotations there, it was amazing. And the teacher there was great and super supportive and it just, Felt like the right fit.

Oh my God super cool. Again, I'm a plumber by trade. My dad was a plumber. Honestly I was like, there ain't no way I'm doing plumbing like for a living because I hated it. Until the first time I walked on a commercial drop site. I was like, oh my goodness this is what I need to be doing and so what else should the LnM Family know about you? Ms. Page?

I don't even know where to start. There's so many things and I feel like it's crazy. I was featured in a 3M documentary called Skilled that's like the really big news right now. That was pretty awesome. I got to fly out to the Sundance Film Festival for it to premiere. No way. Yeah, that was really fun. I got to meet Vivica Fox and she was like, fangirling about Plumber page. I never thought that would ever happen

So let's talk about Plumber page. Because folks, if you're listening, you gotta go check out the YouTube video because you'll be able to see what this plumber page we're talking about. When I first started following you, it was like this is interesting, and then all of a sudden this brand or image started formulating. What was the story behind? The formulation of Plumber page,

it wasn't planned out, plumber page was a cool username that I thought of while in high school because I was studying plumbing, so it just started as like an Instagram handle. And then I started following more people, connecting with more people. And then I started sharing my story and I was like, this could be like, A legit brand so I created a logo because I love like pop art, and I'm not an artist, but I tried my best. I got into the, like super poppy colors and I took like inspo pictures, made some logos, and here we are. I I wrote two kids books and I didn't wanna hire an illustrator because I'm a poor college student. So I figured it out, and now here we are. I'm like growing into like, I don't know the brand I love the vibes.

I dig it too. The colors right? The contrast between the red and the, is that a specific yellow?

It's just like the primary yellow, got it. Like the primary red, yellow blues. I feel like, have been the main

They, Attract the eye. Yeah. And so not only is it like your brand on in terms of a thumbnail or a logo, but you also live it. I'm looking at it right now and it's yeah, that's the plumber page

brand, right? Yeah. It's not just like a face that I put on. I feel like it's just authentically me and it's almost one and the same.

Oh, that is super cool. So you wrote two children's books. Where did that come

from? I was graduating high school, COVID was happening. I was not working a job at that point cuz I was working co-op with a plumbing company and I was really enjoying it. But then Covid happened and I didn't, my family didn't feel comfortable putting me out into the real world, even though like plumbers were still working. So I totally could have. But yeah, I tried to find like different paths and reaching a younger audience is the main focus. So I wanted to figure out a way to do that. My sister is a really like English writer type of person, and I'm like a math person all the way. I am not like an English writer type of person or artist, but here we are. I was just like, you know that, that's a cool idea. My family talked about it and I just did it. I drew it on my phone cuz I have a note, a Samsung note. So I just was starting like, drawing for fun and then I was looking at how to publish it on Amazon and then it was published like I would love to go back and fix some of the illustrations because the first one yeah, it's not great. But the second one, like I knew what I was doing. I put a lot more time, energy, and focus into it and I love how it turned out. So now there like, I wanna make a series and I know what I'm doing a little bit better now, but it was just to reach a younger audience is the main goal. Get them working with their hands in their house and understanding how their house works. Cuz it's crazy how many people don't know. Even as adults.

Yes. Yes. They live in it and if something ain't working that they're stuck. It's crazy. So how have your peers your classmates, et cetera, what's their response to this path that you're on? Creator, craft person.

I think I've gained a lot of respect cuz all of my friends now are super supportive of it and, Plumber page, like they're fangirling over me when I walked into school. But when I started considering going into a plumbing career specifically, I got a lot of judgment and negative feedback from friends because when we looked at tech school, it looked cool to everybody. But then they went home and they told their parents and they were like, you're not going to tech school, tech schools for stupid kids. You're not doing that. You're on college prep path all the way. Yeah. So there was a lot of negativity around that. But as I've grown into kind of like an advocate for the trades I have put a more positive light on it, and I think that because I'm putting all the positivity out there, I receive positivity back.

Yeah. And I'm sure you've learned the earning potential in the trades is pretty darn significant. Yeah.

And I feel like it's just gonna keep going up because Nobody wants to do it.

Very few people out there continuing to do it. There's more exiting the industry than there are coming in. And like the earning potential is huge now. it's not the most comfortable job. Yeah. And so if you're soft, don't do it. That's it. You can earn an amazing lift. So you have some characteristics that I think I've noticed in tons of craft trades professionals and creators, right? Because now I'm tinkering around in this creator economy. Yeah. And when you describe the way you put together the children's books that you're working or that you've produced already what I heard was you did it, like you, there was an idea and you said, oh, I let me figure that out. And you just figured it out that's it. Like you didn't hire a publisher or an animator or No. You just did it.

Yeah. My mom calls it a superpower and like one of our greatest. Almost weaknesses because it's great. I wanna do everything. I like to have my hands in every pot. And I like to micromanage though, so ooh, delegating is good. And I so I love that. I want to do everything, but I need to learn how to delegate a little bit better sometimes.

Yes. Sharing the load, especially on the trajectory that you're on, is going to help. What's the word? Multiply your efforts, right? Yeah. Like I, same. Fiercely independent. I don't need no help. I'll figure it out on my own. But there's a limit, there's a cap as to how much I can learn and contribute. Yeah. If I'm not inviting other people in. Yeah. And like the whole delegating thing is Right. Okay. I've learned the skill. How can I help somebody else develop that skill?

Cause I heard that you have a copywriter now, that frees up some of your time to continue doing stuff like this.

Yes. So there's one thing to put together a book and publish it and get it up on K D P and all of that Rig Maru, and then there's the, is anybody gonna buy it? Right. How, How did that feel for you?

I didn't. Have high expectations of anybody buying it. I thought, let me put it out there, and it's something that I can say that I'm proud of doing, even if nobody like sees it. But then I picked up doing a lot of public speaking to schools, especially in Canada. So like virtually they bought like thousands of my books so that they could give them to their kids. So that's where it started spreading, and then I became almost a household name to people in that school district. And then it's oh, hey, check this out from a different school district. Honestly, a lot of my sales have been through Canada because that one school district picked me up and that just kickstarted all of that blew up

from there. Oh wow. Okay. So you're not in Canada that correct? No, I'm

in Pennsylvania.

So you're here in the States? Yes. And I think I know the answer to this question, how different are the folks from Canada, within the schools? In terms of enthusiasm about the trades as opposed to, or in comparison to schools here in the States?

So I've been exposed to people who want to try to make a difference, both in Canada and the states. I don't really talk to people who. Are against it, I guess is the right word. So what I have been exposed to, it's very positive and people want to try and push the skilled trades focused on kids and stuff. But Canada has a lot more programs and just. Organizations initiatives to spread the word better. And I think we are starting to pick up on that here in the States, but Canada is like way ahead of us in all of that, and they're way more positive and supportive of it. Now they're starting to work on more programs to help kids at a younger age get out into trades and do it. Yeah.

I've seen the same thing as for whatever reason, maybe it's the structure, they seem to have a more formalized structure that enables that information to travel faster and further. Yeah. Here in the States, there are a ton of people. But we're all separated. And everybody's doing their own thing. We gotta figure

out how to join forces and just exploded in the states.

Yes. So I serve with a group, the Skilled Trades Alliance, and that's part of our mission. Like how do we unite, how do we come together so we can do this thing? And before I got connected with that group, Here locally in Texas, there were a lot of folks that, it was interesting. They wanted to do we need to connect. We need to connect. But what they really meant was, we need everybody else to do what we're doing. It's no, I don't think, or they were very protective about their thing. I'm not sure what it is, but there is definitely something in our way and. There's a lot of damn progress in terms of communicating and people being excited about the trades. Yeah, and I'm like super enthused. Of what you've done cuz you just decided to do it. Am I wrong?

No. Yeah, you're totally correct. And I've been trying to connect, like Kick Ass Careers is an organization in Canada, but their mission is exactly aligned. It exactly aligns with mine. So I think I've became the first US ambassador for them and there's a lot more that I could be doing to help. Progress, but slowly I'm working on it. I've just been busy. But yeah, plumber page kick ass careers. And I'm working with let's build construction camp for girls and we're trying to expand all over the states. So there are organizations, it takes a lot to get

it out there. It's a lot of work. And so I'm curious your family, how, what is their level of involvement? Clearly you have the support, so thank you Parents. Parents are awesome. So like what's their contribution to this thing?

They started at all, I feel because if I didn't work on investment properties with them, none of it would've happened. They're the support system who pushed me to get out of my comfort zone, do public speaking, write a book they were very supportive throughout every step of the way. They just wanna see me happy and be as successful as I can. They don't really care. Whatever path I take. But they have been supportive. My family is very hands on. We work together when, like still rental properties. We work together. My sisters, they followed suit and they did plumbing as well. So my youngest sister, Peyton, she's a senior in high school right now and she just won first place at districts and state level plumbing competition. Who skills you? Nice. So she's going on to nationals. I'm so proud of her. Like it's just really a family effort. And plumber page has just been like, Kind of the face for all of it, but we all are really focused on the same mission and they're great with helping with all of that.

Ah, that's beautiful. So you started the plumbing route, sister, now National Champion, or gonna be a national and were either of your parents like in the trades as a profession?

Not really. Like my dad will do handyman work on the investments because he has to. Or we have to hire someone, my mom is a registered nurse and my dad is an IT guy. Okay. Yeah.

So there's a thread there. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, that's so cool. Okay, so publish the book. You've got a brand. Like a nationally, internationally renowned brand. Done some public speaking. You've done a bunch and I'm sure there's a whole bunch more in your future coming up. So yeah, think back. Did you see things playing

out this way? Not at all. No. So like when I enrolled in tech school, I thought this will be a cool skill to know so that when I own my own house or houses I'll be able to fix some stuff. Like that was it. And I did not think that I would be, I. Going in like a plumber route at all. And then fast forward to where I am now, I didn't think I would be in the industry in any capacity other than just to have some knowledge. And then as time went on throughout high school, I thought, okay, I'm gonna be a master plumber. I'm gonna own my own business. This is something that I'm really passionate about. And now here we are. I was really concerned about my credibility aspect, but I'm still trying to learn, I'm still trying to take in all the skills and I'm not afraid to work, but I'm trying to expand the message more than just. Adding one person into the field, I could be adding thousands by talking to students and encouraging them to get into it. But no, I did not think that this is where I would be at all. And I still feel like there's so much that the future holds that I would never expect. Because if someone had told me by the age of 20 that I would have gone to Sundance Film Festival for a documentary that I would've been in, no, I would not have used that. So I'm looking forward to what the future has in store for me.

Oh, that is so amazing. And I'm gonna say this. Yeah. Because I think it's an experience that we share. Like the fact that I picked a career in the trades, I got a lot of flack for it. You're underserving your potential. And what a waste. Like I got all kinds of stuff from people that cared about me. Like they weren't being ugly. They really had my best interest in mind. But it was, in their mind it was a failure and I felt like a failure for a period of time. But having, taking that route provided this amazing I've had a life that I would never have imagined. Now, I haven't been to the Sundance Film Festival in a documentary all fancy like over there, but I've had enormous opportunities. As a result of picking a career in

the traits. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, and one of the other podcasts I was on we talked about people, especially people who are close to you and want to see you succeed. It's I. The safe versus unsafe route and it's like a happiness skill. So obviously they want to see you happy, but pursuing a trade is not safe because they don't know what it holds for you. So they're worried about your safety over your happiness in that moment because they don't want you to pursue a route that they don't know you will succeed

in. Because they have no experience, they have no frame of reference.

And we don't see a lot of trade success stories. Like you don't see people being like, this is a good option. You just see the old men who are like, oh, my back hurts. I should have worn like the right knee pads. You know? Truth. Yeah.

You know that's a super valid point. It's something that we need to take into account and not be so harsh when I say we, I'm talking about me. Now along the same lines. I feel like thinking back when I was in school, which wasn't too long ago, but longer than when you were in high school the direction I was getting was it would have put me in a situation where I would've been miserable. What do you think about that?

Yeah, no, I totally agree because I was miserable in middle school like I was a straight A student, I was so worried about my grades all the time that I couldn't have fun because I needed to be perfect and everything, and I needed to be honors and straight A's, like I was miserable and I was making my life miserable because of all the pressure. As soon as I relaxed a little bit and found something that was. Not easy, but like doable and made me happy and I felt accomplished. And it didn't matter what the grade was, it was about the learning experience and being able to look at it and be like, I did that. So yeah. I was miserable and going into a trade changed that.

Yeah the powerful thing there, or that I heard was there's this thing about grades. And then there's what you're talking about is like learning and fulfillment. When we're learning and sharing the knowledge in some form or rather in service to others, it has a fulfilling effect. Yeah. And the great doesn't matter. No. You know how many negotiations I've had, No one ever asked me what my grades were. What they're concerned about is the value I can deliver. Period. Nobody's asking me what my GPA was like that's not a thing. I just recently interviewed Louise from down under in Australia. Mm-hmm. And she had a phenomenal quote. She's Jesse, here's the thing is the universe doesn't have an answer sheet. Like in school we have these answer sheets to grade. Yes. No wrong. But once you get outta school, it's real life and there is no answer sheet.

You gotta problem solve and use the skills that you have to do the best that you can.

That's it. That's it. So you went into the technical school because you saw yourself like it was a skill that you were gonna need to help. Maintain property or the house you were gonna live in or investments et cetera. It sounded like it wasn't a career choice, it was more of an interest choice. Yeah. Okay. So back then what did you see yourself doing as a career? What is it that you had in your mind at that time?

That's a good question. I think. At that time, I was really just, whatever happens, I felt like I had to go to college because that was the right path, because that's what's been pushed down my throat,

just when it was getting good. I know, I know. I'm, I'm a party pooper. Uh, folks, this is part one. Next week we'll be releasing the second half of this interview, which you're gonna want to hear because our amazing guest has a amazing learning and misstep they're gonna share. And also the footprint they intend to leave on this Earth is moving. They always are. So come back next time and in the meantime you can listen to some of the older, previous episodes another thing you can check out between now and the next episode hitting is the blog. Go to depth builder.com. Go to the homepage. Up on the top there's like the menu bar, and you look for the blog and you click on the blog. Uh, and there's a bunch of stuff there for you to read. Appreciate your support very much, we'll see you soon. Peace. Oh my goodness. You're either driving down the road or just so enthralled with, uh, with this whole podcast that you went all the way down to the very, very, very, very end of it. And we appreciate you and just, we're going to take this as an indication of your dedication so we got a little special request of you, a call to action, because everybody tells us that like, you need to have a call to action. So here's the call to action. Be kind to yourself, go out there and share a smile with someone