A key part of her role as co-owner of Sentry Plumbing is to take service calls and dispatch husband Dustin to jobs throughout Marshall County and surrounding areas.

“I have our business phone on me all of the time,” she said in a recent telephone interview with the T-R. “I also manage the businesses finances and inventory from our home.”

Consequently, Bower, 47, merits inclusion in the 2025 Times-Republican’s Women In Business feature. Sentry Plumbing offers drain cleaning, faucet installation and repair, garbage disposal and water heater installation and a myriad of plumbing-related services according to their website.

The company’s core values are respect, fairness, professionalism, value, non-discrimination and trustworthiness, according to its website. The couple opened the business in April of 2022.

Dustin decided he wanted to be a plumber during a 21-year career in the U.S. Army. He served as a Ranger, Master JumpMaster, Pathfinder and paratrooper, according to the company website.

Over a decade, he gained the necessary experience and passed numerous exams to qualify as a master plumber. The latter is significant in the company’s service work, Sarah said, because some plumbing companies may only send a technician to a service call.

Dustin previously worked for a well-established plumbing company and learned how a service business operated and how to charge adequately for service calls – a key skill in opening and maintaining a small business.

Sarah said she has learned that inventory control is critical – they will buy products in bulk when possible and pass those savings on to customers. They, like other small business owners, have been challenged by inflation and are prudent about passing those costs onto customers.

Several customers who posted reviews on the company’s website gave the business five stars.

Sarah Bower, pictured, assists in many aspects of the business at Sentry Plumbing alongside her husband Dustin.

“I called on Friday and was so thankful to get an appointment for a Saturday,” wrote one.

“I was pleased with the service and price,” wrote another.

Sarah and Dustin strongly believe in supporting local small businesses and backed up their words by joining the Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce not long after they opened Sentry Plumbing. She urges people to spend locally, being aware that Ames and Des Moines-based plumbing businesses are advertising their services frequently in the Marshalltown area.

Sarah said transitioning from health care to being a co-owner of a small business has given her a more fulfilling ‘work life.’ She cited being on call while a nurse — meaning she received calls in late evening and early morning and weekends too.

Sarah said she and Dustin are optimistic in the Marshalltown area economy and believe supporting small businesses will help the area grow.

“Dustin and I are the only Sentry Plumbing employees, but we have nine children between us with some working in the trades who may or may not join us. Who knows what the future holds?”

For more information, contact 641-750-0108, or visit www.sentryplumbing.godaddysites.com.