Joe and Melissa Bates defied convention by building a debt-free plumbing business through creative hustling and Dave Ramsey’s financial principles. Their relentless experimentation, from Menards aisles to social media, shaped a resilient family and business. Mentors and homeschooling reinforced their commitment to questioning norms and passing on financial wisdom to their children.

BIG IDEA

Their story, bolstered by mentors like Mike and Susan, illustrates how questioning norms and persisting through doubt can carve a unique path to personal and professional fulfillment.

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Joe and Melissa Bates share their journey of homeschooling and running a business while embracing differences in themselves and their children. Inspired by their church community, they defied traditional paths in education and pivoted their plumbing business to focus on service over convention. Their story is a vivid exploration of adaptability, resilience, and growing alongside their kids in a world that prizes conformity.

BIG IDEA

From drawing inspiration from their church community to questioning traditional paths in education and business, they reveal how embracing differences—whether in themselves, their kids, or their unconventional approach to plumbing—has shaped their family and livelihood.

BUZZSPROUT KEYWORDS

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Joe and Melissa Bates open up about their bold decision to homeschool their four children, driven by a desire to nurture independent thinkers who stand firm in their beliefs. They share the challenges of adapting to each child’s distinct learning style, from their creative eldest, Cassidy, to their sensitive daughter, Ella, and how these lessons reshaped their parenting approach. Through candid stories of doubt, growth, and perseverance, they illustrate how questioning conventional education led to a family of resilient, principled individuals.

QUOTE: The beauty of what you’ve done with our kids is to help to see what they’re good at, what they’re designed for, and gearing their life to fit into what they’re naturally created to do versus trying to put a round peg in a square hole.

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Joe and Melissa Bates recount how a layoff sparked Legacy Plumbing and Heating, guided by mentors who shaped their business and family life. They reflect on the wisdom poured into them and their drive to pay it forward in their community. This episode captures the grit of entrepreneurship and the quiet strength of human connection.

BIG IDEA

“When I see other people in a similar situation where I was, I always tell the kids, when I retire someday, I want to find me in 2009 and go find that guy and make a difference in his life because I just feel like I owe.”

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Joe and Melissa Bates recount starting a business amid economic hardship, raising four kids while relying on faith to overcome fear. Sacrificing their retirement for a truck and growing their own food, they built a legacy of resilience and integrity. Their story shows how trust and purpose can transform struggle into strength.

BIG IDEA

“God is bigger than our excuses.”

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Joe was laid off in January 2009, facing a bleak winter with a new house, four kids, and no job prospects. In a pivotal moment, Melissa countered his fear with “God’s got this,” sparking a shift from despair to determination. This episode traces their journey of resilience and faith through the chaos of the Great Recession.

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Joe and Melissa Bates unpack his raw journey from hospital clerk to master plumber in Minnesota, shaped by a mentor’s patience and the humbling art of cutting pipe straight. Beyond the tools, this episode of Feel Northern Air reveals the gritty camaraderie of job-site hazing and the quiet pride of mastering a trade. Hit play for a tactile glimpse into plumbing’s human side, with plans to share its sarcastic soul on social media.

THE BIG IDEA

Beyond the tools, it’s a story of human connection: the camaraderie of job-site ribbing, the humbling sting of a thrown pipe, and the quiet pride of mastering a craft.

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How do you raise kids who stand firm in a world that pulls them to conform? In this episode, Joe and Melissa Bates peel back the layers of their homeschooling life, where faith, community, and conviction collide with real-world challenges. From multi-generational Sabbath gatherings to a teen selling HVAC to folks triple his age, they share how their kids learned to navigate life alongside people of all walks—not just their peers. Picture a shy homeschooler building a housecleaning gig or a football star choosing practice over Friday night games, all while lifting his team. This episode digs into the quiet strength of integrity—how it’s forged in a family that prays for a guiding word and lives it out through service, grit, and going against the grain. It’s a grounded, heartfelt look at parenting with purpose in a fragmented world.

BIG IDEA

“We have to be able to live in and among people that aren’t exactly like us and I think that’s something that the kids really grew a skill… where they’re able to interact with.”

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