Lyndsey McDonald | PlumbingPro
Owner of Plumbing Pro
Lyndsey McDonald is the owner of Plumbing Pro and shares how her drive to leave a legacy for her kids inspired her to build a family plumbing business. In her story she talks about her journey into entrepreneurship, the importance of hiring the right people, encouraging women to join the trades, and the mental toughness it takes to succeed without a plan B.
At the Start
Lyndsey didn’t set out to run a plumbing business—she just wanted to model independence and grit for her four kids. When her son expressed interest in the trades, mentors encouraged her to combine her startup background with his trade skills to build a family business. As a single mom, she faced high stakes and zero safety net.
Turning Point
Her son’s curiosity sparked the idea—but Lyndsey’s entrepreneurial mindset, forged through side hustles, tech, and teaching, turned it into reality. Hiring the right people with the right attitude helped Plumbing Pro thrive early on.
Impact & Legacy
Lyndsey now advocates for women in the trades, challenging stereotypes and helping build pathways for others. She’s working with fellow tradeswomen in Nashville to launch a foundation focused on upskilling and introducing trades as a vibrant, viable career path for women.
“There is no Plan B. I’m a single mom with four kids—jumping ship isn’t an option. When you feel like you’re done, you just do the next right thing.”
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My name is Lindsay McDonald, and I own and operate plumbing Pro. We're a residential and commercial plumbing company in the Nashville metro area. How did I get started as an entrepreneur? I mean, it's how far back do you want to go? I was babysitting by the time I was 11, and then as a young adult, had cleaning businesses. Nannied was a homeschool Co Op teacher, so I kind of always had some sort of little side hustle going. But I think what probably turned the corner to do a full blown business is the legacy I want to leave my kids, the modeling that I want to show my kids that it's possible to own your own business, I would say early successes is hiring the right people. We can teach you plumbing, but we need you to be a kind, caring, upbeat person. How did I get started in owning a plumbing company? That's the million dollar question that I get asked every day, multiple times a day, and I blame it on my now 19 year old son, who wanted to go into the trades. He went around and spoke with different mentors. They kept encouraging me to use my background in tech startup to run the business and change it into a whole family business. So that's what we did. If I had to give advice to an aspiring entrepreneur. I mean, first of all, none of us have ever made it like we're all faking it till we make it. Let's be honest. But I would say, be a lifelong learner. Be curious if you're not learning new things every single day. Always put yourself in a room with people who are smarter and wiser and further down the journey than you are. Entrepreneurship takes incredible mental toughness, and I would say you have to look at it as though there's no plan B. If there's a plan B, you're gonna you're gonna say, I have a way out of owning this business and running this business and growing this business, but if there's no Plan B, which for me, there's not. I'm a single mom with four kids, so there is no plan B, but I think that's almost a benefit, because you can't jump ship and you won't jump ship, and so when you feel like you're done, you will do that next right thing. Because there is no plan B. When I speak to older teenagers or young adults, I always encourage them to at least consider the trades. So I'm constantly having conversations with young adults, just encouraging them to think openly about it, especially women, because 80% of home maintenance decisions are made by women. I really encourage women to go into the trades, and I think we're seeing a bit of a shift in that, but it's really fun to be on the leading edge of that. I'm working with other women in trades in the Nashville metro area to start a foundation where we can help upskill and just introduce this as a possibility for a viable, vibrant career for women too.
Why We Share These Stories
We believe that celebrating Tennessee’s entrepreneurs will inspire the next generation of bold thinkers, risk-takers, and community builders. Entrepreneurs don’t forget where they come from—and they carry the power to transform not just their businesses, but entire neighborhoods, towns, and local economies. See more entrepreneur stories from the Patton Foundation.
