KALONA

Rigid things snap when faced with an opposing force. Flexible things bend and recover.

For Bruce Lee, a philosopher as well as martial artist, water was a most apt metaphor for that ability to bend and flow in the face of adversity.

“If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. If you put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle,” he said. “Be water, my friend.”

Bud Miller, owner of The Water Shop together with wife Audrey, understands this idea. His love of water is “his passion,” Audrey says, and for their business to have endured for 30 years, they had to be adaptable, like water.

“I just remember as a small kid, I was always fascinated by streams of water. After a rain, playing around, little puddles of water are running and streams are running,” he says. “Most of that water was dirty. There are ways to make it better.”

Making water better has been their lives’ work since the inception of their business in 1994. They, together with some 22 employees, including their three sons, offer a full line of water treatment services for homes, businesses, and farms.

Now, looking back through stacks of photos and newspaper clippings, Bud and Audrey feel a sense of nostalgia for earlier days, when Bud leaving his job to venture out on his own required a leap of faith.

Their boys were young when they started the business from their home. Brad, Kenton and Torey easily recall that time when the family discussed what the business should be named.

“Some of that stuff was always coming back to, what do you boys think?” Brad says.

They knew they wanted the name to be water-related; eventually they landed on The Water Shop.

Today The Water Shop’s name and logo are familiar to those in the 13 counties they serve; those trademarks are so well done, they’re “often imitated by others,” Brad notes.

The Millers didn’t have to create their water conditioning business entirely from scratch; as Bud had worked first with a well-driller, then for another water conditioning business, he had contacts and was known in the Kalona and Iowa City area, where they lived.

The business launched when Home Gas, out of Wellman, offered them their rental water softener accounts. From there, they developed a reputation for honest, quality service, and the business grew.

As the business grew, so did the boys and the family golden retriever, who acted as a mascot. Although Bud thought he might just need one or two other people, he soon needed Audrey’s help with the administrative aspects, and they started hiring others.

They outgrew their home shop building in 1997, so they built a structure close by to house the operation. By 2008 they had outgrown that and needed to build again, this time a few miles away on farmland that was in Audrey’s family, on 500th Street.

“We thought it was a really big building then, but now it’s like we’re packed in here,” Audrey says. “We’ve had to really organize our inventory, supplies and office spaces.”

The couple desires to flow where God has directed them, and it is Him they credit with their business growth.

“He’s in control of it all, and it’s not really us,” Bud says. “We’re just put out here as people, servants to do this type of work.”

Their path has not been without challenges. They have been blessed with “wonderful employees,” but losing their first hire to COVID after his being part of their work family for 19 years was a profound loss they still feel. One of their sons faced a health challenge about that same time, and “it was a rough patch.” But still, the Millers are “just grateful every day for this opportunity” to work with their sons, their employees, and their customers.

Water is the source of all life, and that gives the Millers meaningful work.

“We just have a passion for helping people with their water, because that’s something we all use every day,” Audrey says.

Clean and safe drinking water, water that doesn’t breakdown appliances and fixtures, and optimum water for healthy skin and hair are all within reach for families, farms, and businesses. It is The Water Shop’s chosen mission to provide that.

“Being able to serve the community,” is The Water Shop’s goal. “We just want to be there to help people improve their water,” Bud says. “Serve, serve, serve.”

“It’s always about service,” son Kenton confirms from his office. “The very nature of the service mindset, whether it’s here or in the field taking care of customers, has kind of been our hallmark and also something that’s kind of been our DNA throughout the whole time.”

Continuing to serve their customers is exactly what Bud and Audrey hope for when they contemplate the future of The Water Shop. As the third generation – their grandchildren – begin to find places for themselves in the business, it seems to be flowing in the right direction.

“It’s a passion, it’s a labor of love,” Brad says as one of the second generation to propel the business forward. “When you’ve grown up and been spoiled with the best water, then you want to support that and provide that for other people too.”

To celebrate their 30 years in business, The Water Shop will hold a customer appreciation day on Thursday, June 27; stop by for lunch between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. and take advantage of other special offers running all day long. The Water Shop is located on 550th St. SW, just west of Hwy 1 in Frytown.