Plumb for success

About 550 business executives in Fort Myers recently got a big lesson in overcoming adversity from a small business.
The source: a plumbing-supply company in Cape Coral run by a mother-and-daughter team.
Lee County Plumbing Supply won the 2014 Southwest Florida Blue Chip Community Business Award, an annual honor that recognizes businesses that have overcome adversity to achieve success. An independent panel of judges that included the business school deans of three universities selected them as the winners.
Lee County Plumbing Supply survived the death of one of the owners, the arrival of big-box competitors such as Home Depot and Lowe's and a crippling recession that crushed the homebuilding industry in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers area.
Owner Dionne Lopez shared some of the lessons learned since her parents, William and Dania Lopez, acquired the business in 1982.

Embrace the competition
When the big-box home improvement stores such as Home Depot and Lowe's opened in Cape Coral and nearby Fort Myers, Dionne Lopez didn't let that scare her. “Don't let the big guys intimidate you,” she says.

Instead of retreating, Lopez walked into the big-box stores and asked to meet the managers in person. She informed them about her small business and asked them to refer customers to her that they couldn't help. “If you don't ask, the answer is always no,” she says.