Man takes initiative, begins own business

Longtime plumber wants to be there for Mexico

By Alan Dale Managing Editor
Posted 8/12/22

With a good 20 years under his belt, Steve Barker decided to go for it and go on his own.

A man with longtime experience in plumbing is determined to give his hometown of Mexico someone they can …

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Man takes initiative, begins own business

Longtime plumber wants to be there for Mexico

Posted

With a good 20 years under his belt, Steve Barker decided to go for it and go on his own.

A man with longtime experience in plumbing is determined to give his hometown of Mexico someone they can count on for their on-the-spot needs.

“It’s more remote – I am working out of my house for right now – I just started it this week,” Barker said of his new Steve-O’s Plumbing venture.

“Mexico needs a plumber bad, and they need more than one. I worked for Tom McBride at Payless Plumbing, and we were talking, and he suggested I get into the business and do it myself.

“One thing led to another and here I am.”

Barker said that it’s vital that residents can call for help and get a hold of someone in a timely fashion or show up when arrangements are made.
“They can give me a holler and I can get there as quick as I can,” he said – noting most of his work will likely be on call. “They can make an appointment with me also.”

Barker has spent much of the past two decades working for M&M Trenching for about six years before moving on as an employee for Flowmaster Construction, as its plumber, for over a dozen years before setting out on his own.

“I did a lot of commercial work for Flowmaster,” Barker said. “I kind of just fell into (plumbing). I was working at different places. When I was a kid, I always wanted to run equipment and they go hand-in-hand. I like the work and the smile on a customer’s place when you get the issue taken care of is part of it.
“That’s one of the worst things you can have are plumbing problems. People are so glad to see you when you show up. There are a lot of days that there aren’t enough hours in the day.”

Barker will be available Mondays through Fridays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., but he emphasized that people should not hesitate to reach out to him if faced with an emergency.

Barker said his major points of expertise are water and sewer line repair and replacement and can handle the other incidentals.
Barker can be reached at 573-582-2162 and he expects to expand his presence on social media and is working solo for the time being.

“I plan on growing and see how it goes,” Barker said.


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