In this episode, John dives into the unexpected challenges faced by Jack while managing his plumbing business during an exceptionally tough week. Rather than shying away from setbacks, the episode explores how these experiences paved the way for strategic decisions, including the bold move to transition their home service business into a seven-day operation. Listen and learn about the bold transition of John's home service business into a seven-day operation. Don't miss a beat – hit play and gai...
Nov 21, 2023•30 min•Season 1Ep. 67
In this episode, John Wilson and Jack Carr sit down with Rick Vazza as he shares his experience acquiring a second Zoom Drain franchise location. Rick sheds light on his journey, tackling challenges from leases to managing operations remotely. Discover the details of franchise growth, learning about the strategies and lessons alongside Rick. Tune in for a clear exploration of the ups and downs in expanding a franchise! Discussion Highlights: Lease Assumption: Rick outlines the unexpected but suc...
Nov 16, 2023•29 min•Season 1Ep. 66
In this episode, John Wilson is joined by Rick Vazza, an owner and operator of plumbing companies in the San Diego area. Rick Vazza discusses his journey of purchasing and launching a drain franchise, Zoom Drain in San Diego, as part of his existing plumbing business. He highlights the positive impact it had on his business. Additionally, they look at essential growth strategies involving B2B business development and explore the potential of introducing a restoration service. Later in the episod...
Nov 14, 2023•33 min•Season 1Ep. 65
In today's episode, John Wilson is joined by Aizik Zimmerman to discuss strategies for home service businesses, particularly focusing on membership programs, marketing, and reviews. They emphasize the importance of providing value to customers and owning the customer relationship. The conversation touches on various marketing approaches, including digital marketing, reviews, and guerrilla marketing. Discussion Highlights: Value-Packed Membership Program: Creating a membership program that offers...
Nov 09, 2023•30 min•Season 1Ep. 64
In today's episode, we welcome Aizik Zimerman, a home service entrepreneur who owns a fast-growing plumbing company called J Blanton in Chicago. The conversation covers topics such as the success of their businesses, the use of marketing and recruitment strategies, the influence of private equity on the market, and how tailoring their businesses around marketing has led to success. John and Aizik exchange insights about their recruitment processes and the role that competitive pay and a healthy ...
Nov 07, 2023•35 min•Season 1Ep. 63
In this episode, hosts John Wilson and Jack Carr discuss the art of recruiting top-tier talent that can help your home service business grow and thrive. The key? Build an organized, sales-like approach for recruiting top-tier talent. Tune in to see just how it's done! The discussion also includes when to bring in Human Resources or a recruitment hire, how to build an appealing business culture for potential hires, methods to identify and close on high-level candidates, and the benefits of consis...
Nov 02, 2023•42 min•Season 1Ep. 62
In this episode of Owned and Operated, join hosts John Wilson and Jack Carr as they discuss the world of bidding software and pricing strategies tailored for home service companies. Drawing from their own experiences, they share insights about various CRM systems, with a particular emphasis on ServiceTitan. The discussion underscores the significance of streamlining your tech stack and the undeniable advantages of adopting a flat-rate pricing system. Additional Topics Covered in This Episode: Av...
Oct 31, 2023•43 min•Season 1Ep. 61
Special thanks to our sponsor: Service Scalers : Looking to scale your home service business? Service Scalers is a digital marketing agency that drives success in PPC and LSA. Discover more growth strategies by visiting Service Scalers . In this episode of Owned and Operated, John and Jack dive into optimizing home service call centers. Key takeaways include: Prioritize Quality: Customer feedback highlights areas for improvement. Reduce Wait Times: Shorter waits boost customer satisfaction. Acce...
Oct 26, 2023•41 min•Season 1Ep. 60
Are you a home service entrepreneur looking to scale your business efficiently? In this episode of "Owned and Operated," we delve into the intricacies of middle management, scaling, and the challenges faced by home service companies as they grow. Join us as we explore valuable insights shared by industry experts. Discussion Highlights: Recruitment Strategy: Finding the right talent to manage different business pillars, such as plumbing, HVAC, and roofing, requires assessing their prior experienc...
Oct 24, 2023•39 min•Season 1Ep. 59
Summary: In this episode of "Owned and Operated," the John and Jack explore key strategies to drive growth in the home service industry. They discuss the immense potential of utilizing a call center and establishing an inside sales team, highlighting the success of membership sales and a range of marketing avenues beyond pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. Key Takeaways: The Call Center Advantage: The hosts reveal how shifting membership sales to the call center led to a remarkable spike in sales a...
Oct 19, 2023•48 min•Season 1Ep. 58
Are you a home service entrepreneur looking to scale your business to new heights? In this episode of "Owned and Operated," we delve into a candid conversation between two experienced entrepreneurs, discussing their strategies, challenges, and insights. From pricing to growth plans and the pitfalls of expanding services, this discussion provides valuable nuggets of wisdom for those navigating the home service industry. Discussion Highlights: Stability in Home Service : Jack and John kick off wit...
Oct 17, 2023•40 min•Season 1Ep. 57
In this episode of “Owned and Operated”, hosts Jack and John catch up on their recent activities and dive into the topic of service businesses. They talk about the problems and chances that come with growing service businesses, especially when it comes to plateaus and the need for more infrastructure and management. The hosts also talk about how traditional business models are changing and how roles within organizations might be able to overlap. They look at appliance repair as an example of a p...
Jun 15, 2023•50 min•Season 1Ep. 56
In this episode of “Owned and Operated”, John Wilson and Jack Carr discuss a lot of interesting topics including the concept of a mobile tire and oil change service. Get to know why Handyman Business is a special niche! With the convenience of having a professional come to you, it's a no-brainer for homeowners and fleet companies alike. The profit margins are better for homeowners, but fleets provide a more stable and regular source of income. This business model can be a sure thing in the busin...
Jun 08, 2023•48 min•Season 1Ep. 55
In this episode of Owned and Operated, the hosts discuss the business model of water trucking, specifically potable water delivery services. They investigate the difficulties and the costs that are associated with it, such as complying with the regulations and the high costs of equipment and tires. Even though there are problems, they emphasize how profitable the business is. For example, one interviewee said that each truck was making between $500,000 and $600,000 per year. Jack and John show i...
May 24, 2023•49 min•Season 1Ep. 54
In this pilot episode of “Owned and Operated”, John Wilson and Jack Carr discuss their recent business transitions and exciting changes, including moving to a new location, adopting Service Titan, hiring a comfort consultant, and surviving the slow season. They also explore a unique niche business called Gum Busters, a specialized pressure-washing company that removes gum and graffiti from public spaces. They delve into the company's operations, contracts with municipalities, and the potential f...
May 18, 2023•35 min•Season 1Ep. 53
In this pilot episode of “Owned and Operated”, John Wilson is talking to Jack Carr about his history and how interesting his life adventure was that led him to a residential HVAC commercial company in Nashville. We will get to know his strategies for building his team, and we will see how Jack considers revenue generation if he’s not bringing people in. Why did Jack buy this business if they had no marketing? What can you expect from our podcast? We will be exploring the ways in which businesses...
May 11, 2023•42 min•Season 1Ep. 52
Today, Kelcey Lehrich and John will be jumping into an interesting conversation. This will revolve around a conference happening in Cleveland and how it came to be, what it is, what to expect, and where to find out more information. We hope to see you there. Enjoy! Send Us Mail! More Ways To Connect with O&O John's YouTube Channel Weekly Newsletter Leave a Review John Wilson, CEO of Wilson Companies Jack Carr, CEO of Rapid HVAC 📌 Disclaimer: Some links may include UTM parameters for trackin...
Jun 29, 2022•19 min
The SMBesties are back as John and Reg Zellers hop on to cover a few topics on today’s show. They’ll jump into economics and how low demand even in the home services industry has forced some strategy changes. Business to Business is still doing well, but John talks about the struggles of Business to Consumer during Q1. Reg talks about how his businesses are starting to get busier. He touches on his struggles to find people with labor shortages. The guys also discuss the shipping and freight issu...
Jun 22, 2022•29 min
It’s SMBesties time again! John, Kelsey Lehrich, and Reg Zellers are joined this time around by Joshua Schultz as they will cover a few topics along the way. They will mention their Q1 struggles and successes, how they occasionally have to wear multiple hats and what can happen when this occurs. The guys touch briefly on mental health with the ups and downs of Small Business. The big topic is the difference between Corporate vs pure bred entrepreneurship in Small Business. They dive into the min...
Jun 15, 2022•44 min
Emily Holdman is the Managing Director at Permanent Equity out of Columbia, MO, where she’s worked with her current business partner for 14 years. Her background is in marketing, as she also went to school for journalism. Hear about her super impressive career as she is going to be a keynote speaker at the HoldCo conference, which is being held in Cleveland, July 24-26. Head over to holdcoconf.com for more details. That’s hold c-o c-o-n-f .com. In her current position, Emily focuses on marketing...
Jun 08, 2022•1 hr
Joining John on today’s podcast is Greg Moran. Greg currently runs his own podcast called "The Founder’s Journey." He started in the music industry and realized it wasn’t for him. Then, 13 years ago, he started a company called Check.com. Today he has moved to again work with Early Stage Founders and started a Venture Fund called Evergreen Mountain Equity Partners that focuses on the future of work. Here he works with founders to start companies that are really going to define the next generatio...
May 25, 2022•53 min
On the podcast today, John welcomes Hayden Slack to the show. A native of Fort Worth, Texas, he has worked in the Department of Defense and, in 2014, started working for his father-in-law’s foundation repair company, GL Hunt, which he still runs to this day. Then, about four and a half years ago, he started a plumbing business that started slow, but has steadily grown over the past few years. Hayden will talk about how even the roughest starts to owning a business can turn into a profitable vent...
May 18, 2022•42 min
On today’s podcast, John welcomes in, Jon Matzner. Jon is the CEO of Garage Excell. They are garage remodeling and organization specialists based out of Southern California. Mr. Matzner, originally from the East Coast, came from the National Security world, where he spent time in Africa and the Middle East for the better part of a decade. He went from working for Uncle Sam to marketing to owning businesses, and now into the SMB world. They’ll dive into how each lesson Jon learned along the way h...
May 11, 2022•1 hr 2 min
Josh Schultz will be joining John for today’s podcast. Josh has a background in fields such as supply chain and finance but has ventured into the world of foundries. In fall of 2021 he connected with Reg Zeller and now works as president of Canekast. Canekast is a company acquiring US based non-ferrous foundries and is revolutionizing the foundry industry overall. He’ll discuss their partnership dynamics and explain how he executes on Reg’s visions as well as the operational aspects and details ...
May 04, 2022•56 min
Today joining John on the pod will be Lucas Loptain. Lucas has created several companies and currently has a startup studio dedicated to creating anti-unicorns, mainly targeting SAAS companies, which are all tech-enabled. They'll be diving into what his company investments look like, the scale and pace at which they go through this process, and how they help companies understand how far they can go. He’ll also break down the format of deciding which founders to work with from their hundreds of m...
Apr 27, 2022•58 min
Benton Moss is a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill and formerly played professional baseball for 5 years. He married into a family actively involved in real estate and the interest must’ve stuck as he’s now president of a full-service real estate company He currently runs two different businesses, one in property management and the other in HVAC and Plumbing. Both work commercially and residentially. Today, he’ll discuss multiple topics with John, such as how the development process works, how you sca...
Apr 20, 2022•1 hr 3 min
Chris Edwards is a small business owner born and residing in Colorado. After college, he jumped into a finance position but eventually decided to switch out of corporate America and into the SMB world. So in February of 2021, he closed on a flooring store called Affordable Flooring Warehouse. They have a storefront location as well as a warehouse operation to provide installation services to customers. You’ll get to learn how this has created a competitive advantage and differentiated their busi...
Apr 13, 2022•48 min
Today we will have a very exciting podcast as Kylon Gienger joins us along with his wife Teliah. This is the first time we’ll hear about a married couple’s working dynamic and how they’ve balanced each other out throughout the years. Kylon could be described as a jack of all trades with the many unique SMB companies he’s been involved in. He currently is a podcast founder, band member, President of a company accelerating entrepreneur acquisitions, and a home service business portfolio owner. For...
Apr 06, 2022•1 hr 19 min
We are very excited to have Elliot Holland joining us for this week’s podcast. Originally from Ann Arbor Michigan, Elliot is a reformed engineer turned businessman residing in the greater Atlanta area. He attended Harvard Business school for his MBA and Started “Guardian Due Diligence” in 2017. They help with due diligence and coaching of 3 types of individuals: self-funded searchers, acquisition entrepreneurs, and business buyers. They’ll be covering multiple topics in relation to Guardian incl...
Mar 30, 2022•53 min
Justin Burris will be joining John for today's podcast episode. Justin is a co-founder of “Majority Search” a company that partners with operators to both buy and grow small companies. When making purchases with other people's money, a unique business model is created and you’ll get to hear all about it. They’ll be tackling topics such as how someone gets into the industry, the type of investors involved, and the importance of finding the right fit when finding people to work with. Enjoy! Check ...
Mar 23, 2022•46 min
