If you want to play the game on hard mode… randomly pick an industry and hope it works. In this episode of Owned and Operated, John Wilson and J ack Carr break down exactly how they’d build a home service business in 2026—and why the old 2016–2020 playbook is dead. They go deep on research-first market selection , avoiding late-stage consolidation traps, picking “boring” services with clean SKUs, and building a business that can win even when weather, competition, and ad platforms don’t cooperat...
Jan 22, 2026•42 min•Season 1Ep. 279
Most security & life-safety companies don’t get stuck because they lack hustle—they get stuck because they lack measurement . In this special feed drop of Entry & Exit , Stephen Olmon and Collin Trimble (Alarm Masters, Houston) walk through their 2026 planning process: how they set revenue/RMR/EBITDA goals, translate them into departmental KPIs, and use actuals vs. budget to decide when to invest, when to cut, and how to avoid “hope-based” growth. They unpack why so many firms stall arou...
Jan 21, 2026•47 min•Season 1Ep. 279
Insurance claims, storm chasers, and broken incentives — welcome to the dark side of roofing. In this episode, John Wilson sits down (again) with Adam Cherup to unpack what really happens behind the scenes in roofing — from “deny, delay, defend” insurance tactics to the storm-chasing playbook that leaves homeowners stuck holding the warranty bag. They also get practical: seasonality, lead gen, cash flow, and what it actually takes to start a roofing business (especially in Florida). In this epis...
Jan 20, 2026•26 min•Season 1Ep. 278
In this episode of Owned and Operated , John Wilson sits down with Adam Cherup , a “disaster roofer” who’s built a niche, high-margin business installing shrink-wrap temporary roofs after hurricanes, wind events, hail, and fires. Instead of blue tarps that fail in weeks (and often aren’t covered more than once), Adam installs a manufacturer-rated wrap that can last up to a year (or longer) —buying homeowners, schools, hospitals, and commercial properties time while insurance claims and full roof...
Jan 15, 2026•32 min•Season 1Ep. 277
Referrals are still the #1 growth channel in home services — but most contractors treat it like hope marketing. In this episode, John Wilson sits down with Murphy Nadauld (ReferPro) to break down how the best operators turn word-of-mouth into a systematic, trackable, ROI-positive referral engine . They unpack why 83% of customers are willing to refer , yet only 29% actually do — and the three levers that close the gap: awareness, attribution, and automated rewards . You’ll learn how top HVAC, pl...
Jan 13, 2026•49 min•Season 1Ep. 276
This is the literal easiest lever you can pull to add leads tomorrow: turn on (and properly run) Google Local Services Ads (LSAs). In this episode, John Wilson sits down with Sam Preston (CEO of Service Scalers) to break down why LSAs are still absurdly underutilized in home services—and how a simple setup + consistency flywheel (answer calls → book jobs → earn 5-star reviews) can ramp a business fast. They also zoom out into the operator view: how John evaluates acquisitions through the lens of...
Jan 08, 2026•35 min•Season 1Ep. 275
We’re heading into 2026 with one goal: stop losing money. Not “grow at all costs.” Not “try harder.” Just: build a healthy business that actually cash flows. In this episode, John Wilson and Jack Carr break down what they’re cutting, tightening, and renegotiating in 2026 to go from ~13% EBITDA to 20% EBITDA—and why they’re also targeting 10% net profit after realizing how big the gap can be between EBITDA and real take-home profit. They walk through the exact planning process they used this year...
Jan 06, 2026•45 min•Season 1Ep. 274
We break down how we tripled our HVAC average ticket—from $5,000 to $12,500+—and finally made sales profitable. In this episode, we walk through the painful mistakes, system overhauls, and process changes that turned HVAC from a money-loser into a real growth engine. If you run a home service business, this episode is a masterclass in why “selling harder” doesn’t work—but selling better systems, earlier financing, and structured options does. We unpack how repair-first thinking killed profitabil...
Jan 01, 2026•31 min•Season 1Ep. 273
We reveal the real cost of running a home service business in 2025. In this full debrief, we open our books to show why plumbing business growth exploded while HVAC stalled, and exactly how we navigated the hardest summer in years. If you run a contractor business, you know 2025 was volatile. HVAC shipments cratered 49% YoY, forcing operators to face a brutal reality. In this episode, we break down the massive gap between our plumbing wins and HVAC headwinds, why "Always Be Recruiting" became ou...
Dec 30, 2025•49 min•Season 1Ep. 272
In this episode of Owned and Operated, John Wilson sits down with Sam Preston, CEO of Service Scalers, to break down one of the most overlooked (and misunderstood) marketing channels in home services: Nextdoor. They unpack why Nextdoor feels annoying—but works incredibly well when used the right way. From neighborhood recommendation posts to organic storytelling, this platform behaves less like Google Ads and more like a digital referral engine. John and Sam discuss why salesy ads and coupons us...
Dec 23, 2025•26 min•Season 1Ep. 271
In this episode of Owned and Operated, John Wilson and Jack break down what “smart investing” actually looks like for home service operators—starting with the truth most owners miss: if you run a business, you’re already an investor. You’re investing money, attention, and people every day. They start with a practical framework for P&L investing (software, headcount, SG&A): if your business sells for a multiple, then any new expense should produce a return that justifies that multiple—oth...
Dec 18, 2025•39 min•Season 1Ep. 270
In this episode of Owned and Operated , John Wilson sits down with Aizik Zimerman of Jay Blanton Plumbing (Chicago) to break down the remote staffing playbook that most home service operators still aren’t using. John and Aizik start with a real-world story from a contractor event—how one company allegedly went from $0 to $6M using yard signs, and how Aizik tested it immediately (including the “don’t put them on every corner” lesson). Then they go deep on what actually drives scale: building a re...
Dec 16, 2025•32 min•Season 1Ep. 269
In this episode of Owned and Operated, John Wilson sits down with Sam Preston — CEO of Service Scalers — to talk about the marketing asset that still quietly outperforms everything else in home services: your Google Business Profile (GBP). John and Sam break down why AI hasn’t disrupted GBP the way people expected, how Google reviews are now getting pulled directly into AI search results, and why “map pack visibility” remains the cheapest, highest-intent lead source in the game. They get tactica...
Dec 11, 2025•38 min•Season 1Ep. 268
In this episode of Owned and Operated, John Wilson sits down with Ken Goodrich — legendary home services operator, turnaround specialist, and former CEO/Chairman of Goettl Air Conditioning & Plumbing — to unpack what it really takes to build, scale, and successfully exit a home service business. Ken shares the origin story that shaped his entire career: buying his first HVAC business at 25, getting crushed by payroll tax mistakes, and discovering The E-Myth at the exact moment everything fel...
Dec 09, 2025•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 267
In this episode, John Wilson sits down with Patrick Dichter , owner of AppleTree Business Services , to break down what “good accounting” actually looks like inside a growing home service business — and why financial clarity becomes a competitive advantage as you scale. John opens up about a hard truth: he didn’t get his first clean month-end close until last year, and it made almost a decade of decision-making harder than it needed to be. Patrick walks through the real stages most home service ...
Dec 04, 2025•52 min•Season 1Ep. 266
In this episode, John Wilson is on-site in Chicago with Aizik Zimerman, owner of J.Blanton Plumbing, to break down how one of the fastest-growing plumbing companies in the country built a sewer and drain growth engine. Since buying the $6M Jay Blanton business at the end of 2022, Aizik has scaled it to ~$25M this year and a $30M run rate — and nearly half that growth is coming from sewers. They unpack the investments, the operational build-out, and the marketing + sales system that turned trench...
Dec 02, 2025•49 min•Season 1Ep. 265
In this episode, John Wilson sits down with Daryna Kulya , co-founder of Quo (formerly OpenPhone), to unpack one of the most underappreciated growth levers in home services: how you communicate as you scale. What starts as “one tech, one phone, one truck” quickly becomes a bottleneck once you’re trying to hire CSRs, build a call center, and stop missing leads. Daryna shares the real story behind Quo’s rebrand, why they’re building for the long term, and how modern phone + text workflows are evol...
Nov 27, 2025•50 min•Season 1Ep. 264
In this episode, John Wilson and Brandon Niro are joined by Zac Dearing from Mantel for a fast-paced, trivia-style breakdown of what homeowners actually want when buying HVAC and home services in 2025. Mantel just surveyed 500+ homeowners nationwide, and instead of guessing in the dark like most of the industry, we put real customer data on the board. John and Brandon compete to predict homeowner behavior — how many contractors people call, where they find you, what earns trust, how pricing impa...
Nov 25, 2025•51 min•Season 1Ep. 263
In this episode, John Wilson sits down with Richard Dunbar of FieldPulse to dig into one of the most important — and often overlooked — levers for scaling a home service company: modernizing your operational platform. Whether you’re running HVAC, plumbing, electrical, restoration, or any specialty trade, the shift from legacy tools to a true field service management system (FSM) is one of the highest-ROI moves you can make. Richard and John break down how contractors are ditching whiteboards, Ex...
Nov 20, 2025•47 min•Season 1Ep. 262
In this episode, John Wilson and guest Rich Jordan dig into one of the scariest (and most valuable) moves you can make in home service: rebranding multiple companies into a single brand. Rich runs three acquired companies across New Hampshire and New Jersey…and he’s in the middle of rolling them all into one new identity: High Ground Service Pros. They walk through why he’s willingly tearing down a strong local brand (Sanford), what’s driving the decision, and how he’s trying to avoid losing cus...
Nov 18, 2025•47 min•Season 1Ep. 261
In this episode, John Wilson and co-host Jack Carr unpack one of the biggest transitions in home service — going from owner to operator. What does it really take to scale beyond yourself? We dive deep into building layers of leadership, knowing when to delegate, hiring vs. promoting internally, and what the first real leadership hire should look like. From service managers and field supers to accountability systems and EOS, this one’s for owners ready to break through bottlenecks and build real ...
Nov 13, 2025•31 min•Season 1Ep. 260
In this episode, John Wilson and co-host Jack Carr break down how home-service companies can actually future-proof in 2025: flattening org charts, using AI to nuke overhead, building adaptable teams, and keeping a balance sheet that can take a 30% punch. We get into real numbers (gross margin, overhead targets, EBITDA), how to think about “risk on” vs. “risk off,” and why the middle of the market gets squeezed when big operators cut costs with automation. You’ll hear play-by-plays on automating ...
Nov 11, 2025•38 min•Season 1Ep. 259
In this episode, John Wilson sits down with B randon Schlicter —better known as Investment Joy—to unpack how a viral laundromat video turned into a portfolio of laundromats, car washes, rentals, and now a fast-scaling commercial roofing company. Brandon shares the mindset shift from small plays to bigger bets, why he assumes success (and plans for failure), and how social media distribution can attract capital, deal flow, and talent. You’ll hear the real numbers on union commercial roofing (marg...
Nov 06, 2025•53 min•Season 1Ep. 258
In this episode, John Wilson sits down with Jamie from Modernize to unpack how a consumer-obsessed mindset is reshaping home services—from the first inquiry to the final install. They dig into why “experience always wins,” how answer engine optimization (AE/O) is changing search, and what a true platform approach looks like when lead gen, reputation, financing, and programmatic all work together. You’ll hear how Modernize is building for the full funnel, why smaller, fast-moving operators can ou...
Nov 04, 2025•39 min•Season 1Ep. 257
In this follow-up to our Premier Home Pros deep dive, John Wilson sits back down with AJ and Noah to unpack how they turned six greenfield locations into a nationwide engine doing $170 M+ run-rate—without outside debt. They break down the playbook for market launches, recruiting, and leadership restructuring that turned chaos into scale. Hear how they rebuilt their org for hypergrowth—cutting the VP layer, adding regional pods, promoting from within, and launching Zoom-based sales training that ...
Oct 30, 2025•52 min•Season 1Ep. 256
In this special re-release of Owned and Operated , John Wilson sits down with AJ and Noah of Premier Home Pros to unpack how they went from a dining-room-table idea to $15M in year one, $86M in year two, and a national rollout—without taking on debt. They break down the sales system, affiliate-led demand gen, installer model, and the ops math behind a ~46-day greenfield payback. If you’re scaling a home service business, this is the blueprint. You’ll hear the real numbers: 91% demo, 82% close in...
Oct 28, 2025•57 min•Season 1Ep. 255
Get MORE JackQuisitions HERE Should you stay sector-agnostic in ETA (entrepreneurship through acquisition) or plant a flag with a clear buy box brokers, CPAs, and attorneys can remember? After a month sidelined by a home flood, searcher Chris Barr returns to his acquisition entrepreneurship journey—refining a small-business acquisition thesis around B2B services, GovCon janitorial contracts, and Florida/Palm Beach deal sourcing. We dig into search fund tactics, on-market and off-market pipelines...
Oct 24, 2025•33 min•Season 1Ep. 254
John sits down with Harmony Brownwood , CEO & founder of GreenWorks Inspections & Engineering, to unpack how she grew from zero connections in 2009 to one of the largest independently owned inspection companies in the U.S.—now operating across six states with 11 locations, 2,500–3,000 services a month, and a runway from ~$15M toward $20M in annual revenue. Harmony shares the mindset work that kept her going for 16 months without a sale, the systems that let her scale beyond herself, and ...
Oct 23, 2025•43 min•Ep. 253
John sits down with Zac Dearing (Mantel) to break down how top HVAC, plumbing, and electrical companies are moving from “proposal tools” to true shopping experiences that help homeowners buy with confidence—and help teams close more, faster. They dig into hard data from Mantel’s platform and homeowner survey: why Tuesdays are the biggest sales day, how response time and proposal view time (“eyeball time”) predict closes, and why a 10-point jump in proposal strength correlates with ~$960 higher a...
Oct 21, 2025•42 min•Season 1Ep. 252
John sits down with Christian Rattin , CEO of Five Star Home Services, to unpack how he helped transform a single-family HVAC shop into a $40M+ multi-market powerhouse across Columbus, Dayton, and Cincinnati. From growing through chaos to professionalizing with purpose, Christian shares Five Star’s evolution — blending faith, strategy, and servant leadership to build a home service company that gives back millions. They go deep on: the “profit on purpose” philosophy, scaling across markets witho...
Oct 16, 2025•1 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 251
