Find your seat at the table

The PHCP-PVF industry is full of family businesses, many of which encourage future family members to join the gig. That wasn’t the case for Westfield Indiana-based rep firm Battersby Danielson Azbell (BDA). CEO Bob Danielson, Kelsey Richter’s dad, was adamant that BDA would not become a family business. After being approached by Sue Hayes, BDA’s Showroom Manager, while managing a Marriot front desk, Richter had to try for months to get a job at her dad’s company.

“Sue thought I would be a great fit for the showroom team because of my customer service experience,” Richter says. “My dad immediately said no; it took a while, and multiple interviews — none of which were with my dad — to convince him to let Sue hire me.”

Richter joined BDA as a showroom salesperson in 2017 and quickly realized she loves the service aspect of the plumbing industry. “It is very much service in every position you're in,” she says. She traveled to various wholesalers’ showrooms to help designers and builders with displays and new products for several years. A spot opened up in BDA’s customer service team, and Richter helped fill the gaps while still working on the showroom side. In 2022, Richter was pregnant with her now three-year-old son, Conrad, and realized she needed a break from the travel.

“Thankfully, I was given the opportunity to move over to our customer service team,” she says. “But I started from the bottom and worked my way up through that side of the business. I knew being Bob’s daughter may not be received well, and I did not want anything handed to me.”

Today, Richter is BDA’s Director of Operations and oversees inside sales, purchasing, new initiatives and the company’s ERP.

Having worked on both the outside and inside teams with BDA, Richter hopes to give other people in the business those same opportunities. “Now that I’m over the inside team, I want people to know they can have the same opportunity to shift as I did,” she says. “It wasn’t nepotism that allowed me to move teams; BDA wants every person to be happy in their role, and if that means making a change for a valuable employee, we will do what we need to do to get them in the role that works for them.”

Volunteer leadership: Always self-reflecting

Being a young woman in the plumbing industry can be a bit intimidating, especially when first starting out. Richter says being involved in groups like the American Supply Association’s (ASA) Women in Industry Division has helped her advance her career, make lifelong friends, and feel confident in her place in the industry.

In 2018, InSinkErator’s Rebecca Falish recommended that Richter attend ASA’s Women in Industry event, ELEVATE, which was held in San Diego, California that year.

“I quickly realized how amazing it was to not be stuck in my own bubble; to learn things from other women and other companies,” she says. “Attending these events makes me ask ‘what can I do differently? How can I present myself differently? What value can I bring to my workplace through new ideas?’”

Richter advises everyone in our industry to occasionally step outside of their everyday bubble. “If you pass on these events, you’re missing out on opportunities to become more innovative, agile, and exercise the growth mindset that is needed in this industry to survive.”

Attending ELEVATE has exposed Richter to numerous role models and friends. The most valuable lesson she says she has learned is “holding the ladder” for other women. “It is so important to hold the ladder for those coming up behind you,” she says. “I've been able to practice that in my life, working to hold the ladder for other women to come in and succeed, and it’s been an invaluable lesson to learn.”

Richter was selected to be on the Women in Industry Board in 2019 and now in 2025, is the Chairwoman of the Board. She says every Chairwoman she’s witnessed has left their imprint on the group and strived to make the Board the best it can be.

“I looked up to every woman before me and hoped that maybe one day I would have the opportunity to sit in that seat, never thinking it would actually happen,” she says.

Richter adds that being a volunteer leader is less about her and more about what she can provide to the group. “I don’t walk into any room and assume I have the best idea or know more than any other person there,” she says. “I want to use my experience and perspective to bring together the great ideas and decades of experience in the room. I want to learn from everyone around me and use that knowledge to lift the group and help the Board do what's best for women as a whole — to keep them growing, learning, engaged, and always self-reflecting.”

Self-reflecting is a large part of ELEVATE2025’s program in Miami, Florida. According to Richter, it is a powerful tool for both professional and personal growth. “Everyone has a unique story and perspective,” she says. “Sometimes it can be difficult for more experienced people to remember they can learn things from the younger generation, so I believe part of my job as a younger leader is to prompt conversation that encourages mutual learning and allows everyone at the table to share their ideas.”

Find your seat

Putting herself out there does not come naturally to Richter. She says that starting out in the industry, she almost always felt alone and out of place at industry events or meetings.

“When I feel that way, I tend to self-isolate and stay quiet,” she says. “Having learned what I know now, I want to encourage other young women to put themselves out there. It’s uncomfortable, it’s awkward and you may not feel confident enough to do it, but be yourself, and people will accept you. And if you aren’t accepted at one table, there is another place that will accept you; you just have to find your seat at the right table.”

Starting out in the industry as a family member — the boss’ daughter at that — presents its own set of challenges. Richter points out that many of the younger people in the plumbing industry are kin to someone else in the businesses they work for.

“There is a stigma surrounding being a family member working at a family business,” she says. “People assume you won’t work as hard or aren’t capable of the job you have.” Richter’s advice is to shake that stigma off, work hard to prove yourself, and not worry much about what other people think.

Family or not, younger people often struggle to feel valuable in a company with numerous, decades-long employees. “It’s a challenge to prove your worth and show that you can provide more than what people assume you’re there for,” Richter says. “With change comes challenges, and oftentimes younger people come into a company and are the catalyst for that change.”

Richter’s advice is for businesses is to encourage open dialogue between generations and employee levels, so that everyone has the platform to provide value and bring in their perspective.

This type of dialogue is encouraged throughout the culture of BDA, where the company focuses on instilling a change mindset in its employees.

“If we see something that is going to make our lives better, our employees’ lives better or our customers’ lives better, we’re going to adopt it,” she says. “We have embraced a significant change mindset and pride ourselves on a culture that promotes growth, work-life balance and being open minded.”

BDA’s workspace in Fishers, Indiana is a prime example of collaboration and openness. Their office resides in Hub & Spoke, a unique 94,000 square foot master-planned mixed-use development that is home to retail showrooms, a makerspace and training facility, an HVAC contracting company, a plumbing supply company, publications and more.

Make change and positive impact

Sitting in her current spot, Richter is excited to watch ASA Women in Industry positively impact more women throughout the plumbing industry. Beyond that, she says her immediate goal is to continue to make positive changes to her company and the industry, while also being a great mom.

“Being a mom and having a career like this is not something I thought I could do,” she says. “The connections I’ve made in this industry and the role models I’ve had gave me the confidence to do both. An ongoing goal of mine is to be the best mom I can be while being the best female ally to encourage other women that they can do both.”

Richter also shares she hopes to one day own BDA in conjunction with some others at the company.

With an impressive career thus far and such ambitious goals, people may be surprised to learn that Richter still struggles with confidence. “When I walk into a room, I still don’t feel worthy of being there most of the time,” she says. “I have to fight against myself every day not to clam up and stay quiet. I have to remind myself to speak up, because I do matter and I can make an impact.”

Although gaining confidence is an ongoing battle, Richter says this industry is full of the most welcoming people she has ever met.

“At first glance, the plumbing industry might not be pretty to most people,” she says. “But it is full of the most accepting and uplifting group of people — and group of women — I’ve ever experienced. When I walk into these events, I know I am surrounded by friends who want to help me and people I want to learn from. When I tell people outside the industry that I get to experience that, they’re mind blown; what we have is special, and it’s not something you will find anywhere else.”