When I think of Ellen Rohr, it’s actually not plumbing that comes to mind first. What comes to mind first is Ellen’s energy. From the world wide web to staff meetings, her personality leaves spaces a little brighter than she found them. If I could pinpoint why that is, I would venture to guess it’s a combination of her affirming tone and the sincerity of how she enters every conversation by first checking on the other party’s mood. When she asks, “how have you been?” you can’t help but answer candidly.

In this feature, I want to take some time to spotlight how Ellen has been. A wife to a rock star plumber, Bob “Hot Rod” Rohr, and mom to REHAU’s newest Marketing and Academy Manager of Building Solutions, Max Rohr; Ellen’s horn needs tooting too!

As the November 2019 featured Woman In PHCP, I hope these highlights bring a smile to your face in true Ellen-fashion.

Ellen: The Student

Enrolling in the business school at the University of San Diego, Ellen earned her B.S. in Business Administration and graduated Summa Cum Laude. She entered the plumbing, heating, cooling and piping (PHCP) early in her career, and eventually helped her husband run his plumbing business after his partner passed away unexpectedly.

Ellen recalled, “Once upon a time, I almost sank our family business. I assumed I knew enough about business to run a dinky little plumbing company. After all, I had spent about $100,000 of my parents’ money on my college degree in Business Administration. In fact, I graduated at the top of my class. Still, I didn’t know how to balance a checkbook!”

Ellen continued, “Boy was I humbled! It seemed like lots of money was moving through the company, but at the end of the month there was never any money left. Thankfully, I found terrific mentors, savvy contractors who taught me how to keep score in business, how to put a simple business plan together, how to make money.”

Ellen got better at business. She ended up as president of Benjamin Franklin Plumbing where she built company culture, developed training protocols, fine-tuned lead-to-sales funnels, and more. She helped grow the company from zero to $40 million in franchise sales and 47 locations in less than two years. Ellen got so good at business that she began teaching others what she’d learned.

Ellen: The Consultant

In 1995, Ellen started Bare Bones Biz, a venture capital and consulting company that helps business owners turn big ideas into successful businesses.

In her own words, Ellen helps, “make Business UN-complicated so you can live life UN-leashed!”

For many businesses, Ellen’s takes on the role of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) when consulting. She offers literacy training and books, step-by-step planning models, and more. She has authored four books selling more than 60,000 and trained thousands of small business owners and managers.

A serial business owner, Ellen also has a public speaking company as a certified Ziglar Legacy Speaker, and is a member of Zoom Franchise Company, LLC.

Ellen: The Franchise Operations Manager

In 2014, Ellen was named president of the franchise company, ZOOM Drain, which offers "in the trenches" insights to contractors and business owners. In 2016, Ellen became a member and Franchise Operations Manager with ZOOM.

The Criniti brothers, Jim and Jason, own ZOOM DRAIN Philadelphia and are Ellen’s partners in the franchise company along with Al Levi. Together, they are committed to personal development, and training in technical, operational, sales and communication excellence. They want to do everything to help their team succeed. Together, they hope to build an empire.

Keep up with Ellen at ellenrohr.com