Scott Allison, a master electrician and plumbing apprentice, to explore the intricacies of the skilled trades. Scott's journey began in California as a handyman, doing tile, painting, drywall, and lighting. Over the years, he has gained extensive experience working in commercial and industrial trades. Now, he leads plumbing operations at Milestone, a residential/home service company in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex. Scott shares his unique perspective on the differences between open shop and u...
Jun 26, 2024•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 63
Dive into the world of septic system maintenance with Dominic Rosales, owner of Juice’s Septic Systems and founder of the popular social media channel, Poor Pumper Society. Discover the booming industry of septic tank maintenance, where lucrative opportunities await. Learn about the intricacies of septic systems, the challenges faced by professionals, and the advancements in wastewater treatment technology. Dominic shares his journey, insights on septic system laws, and debunks common myths. Whe...
Jun 20, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 62
Elevator mechanics are among the highest-paid in the building trades. Zack Cutburth, the business rep for Local 21 in Dallas-Fort Worth, shares his journey and insights into this lucrative field. Discover how elevator mechanics can make $200,000 per year on the check, plus comprehensive benefits that include pensions, insurance, healthcare, and ongoing education. Zack explains that the key to their high earnings lies in their rigorous education and the quality of work they perform. Because of th...
Jun 12, 2024•1 hr 5 min
I sat down with Frank Denton, Chairman of the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners, to explore the dynamic world of plumbing in Texas. Frank has licensed more plumbers in Texas than almost anyone else, attributing this success to the state's robust economy and abundance of opportunities, especially when compared to neighboring states like Oklahoma. We delve into the challenges and potential of establishing reciprocity agreements for journeyman plumbers from other states, highlighting Louisian...
Jun 06, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 60
Mark Latham worked as a roofer in high school before becoming a firefighter for 22 years. Being a fireman taught him major life lessons, and how to lead others effectively. Latham would later start Firehouse Roofing Incorporated in 1997, earning the award of Best Roofer in DFW (Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex). They now specialize in all areas of exterior home services — roofing, siding, gutters, windows, and painting. He built his business the hard way, passing out flyers door to door. As a roofer ...
May 30, 2024•1 hr 6 min
The politics in plumbing and the skilled trades can be nasty. They’re great for regulating policy, but behind closed doors where backhand deals are made between the regulators and the lobbyists, the industry is shaped by the few. For example, plumbers in Texas came within one signature of losing their license across the entire industry. What this means is that plumbers have little control over their own future. To prevent the legislation, a group of 7,000 licensed plumbers protested on the steps...
May 22, 2024•46 min•Season 1Ep. 58
Growing up, Lee Meazle never thought he would be the owner of his own plumbing company. However, the writing was on the wall. His grandpa and father were both plumbers. Following the death of his father, his mother worked three jobs to support him. High school he wasn’t fond of class or CNC. College was not interesting either. According to Lee, one of the overwhelming aspects of plumbing is all of the different specialties and required knowledge. From drains and gas lines to water, flow and back...
May 15, 2024•50 min•Season 1Ep. 57
Ben Alexander is a high school dropout, and he runs one of the largest, most professional handyman companies in the United States. He started out as an HVAC tech and worked up to the equivalent of a master’s license. He picked HVAC because there were more job opportunities. He-- never imagined he’d make the move from a designated skilled trades position to that of a handyman. What Ben couldn’t understand is the negative stigma associated with handymen. He believed there was little difference bet...
May 08, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 56
David Butler had ambitions of being a doctor, so joining the skilled trades as a plumber was purely by chance. In high school, a man pulls up at football practice asking for players interested in digging ditches and trenches to help his lawn and irrigation business. By the end of summer, David was digging it, trenching it, wiring it, and connecting all of the irrigation lines and sprinkler heads. So naturally, plumbing was a logical transition during his time in med-school. He started out making...
May 05, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Season 1Ep. 55
Mark Rhodes is an instructor at one of the best trade schools in Texas, ForgeNow. Skilled in many trades, he’s a plumber but is also currently teaching a commercial HVAC class. ForgeNow specializes in fast-tracking green candidates and getting them job site ready in less than 8 weeks. He was trained and certified in HVAC through the Lindsey-Cooper Refigeration School. He has also worked in the skilled trades for over twenty years as a commercial and residential plumber. He learned his sense of d...
Apr 24, 2024•57 min•Season 1Ep. 54
Megan Kendall had an atypical route to the skilled trades. She grew up in the well-to-do suburb of Highland Park, Texas, and graduated from Penn State University. As the Deputy Director of Education for the trade school, ForgeNow, she enjoys working with over 100 tradesmen daily, stressing that not only are tradesmen undervalued, but they are an extremely smart group of mostly men and women. She has been involved in lowering the certification time for HVAC, Electricians, and Plumbers to a 7-week...
Apr 19, 2024•59 min•Season 1Ep. 53
Mike Millsap grew up in the drag racing world, but he never thought it would lead to a shop allowing him to build the coolest cars in the world. He always had a passion for fixing cars, but after high school, never thought it would be more than a hobby and be a running, growing business. He asked his mom every day after football practice to drive him by his father’s shop to see how the new build was going. Eventually, he bugged them enough that at 14, the mechanics of the upholstery shop gave hi...
Apr 10, 2024•1 hr 10 min
“As a tradesmen, if you don’t know something, you must learn it.” That is the basic foundation which led to Roger Wakefield having the biggest YouTube plumbing channel in the world. He started making videos as a means to advertise for his plumbing business, but what followed wasn’t in his wildest dreams. He is walking proof that you’re never too old to start a new career or learn a new skill. At the age of 54 he started his social media journey at a conference in which he heard YouTube was the s...
Mar 29, 2024•23 min•Season 1Ep. 51
In high school, Queena Johnson learned of a looming threat in the plumbing industry: ten plumbers were retiring for every one hire. That meant job security. So she took the apprentice exam and scored very high but didn’t accept a position until she graduated, eventually becoming a master plumber at 23 years old. Her first job was at DSI screwing in check valves at the Great Wolf Lodge — it lasted two weeks and she was told, as a female, she was garnering too much attention from her male employee...
Mar 22, 2024•56 min•Season 1Ep. 50
Henry Wakefield is the CEO of LeakPro, the most advanced and easy-to-use leak detection hardware. From pool leaks to slab leaks, The Outhouse offers 1800 square feet of slab leaks for licensed plumbers and apprentices to hone their skills, which will earn more revenue for their residential service business. Earning more money as a plumber has never been easier. With LeakPro you can build a career on slab leaks and leak detection. The LeakPro Kit comes with one Sidekick, one Leak Pro® Probe, two ...
Mar 15, 2024•58 min•Season 1Ep. 49
Tanya Peddy enlisted in the U.S. Army and traveled the world before finding a second career in the trades. She's a welder, a pipe fitter, and now a licensed plumber working for Brandt Mechanical. In her words, the best part of her job is that she gets to, "make shit with fire." A woman's attention to detail can provide a much needed advantage as a welder. And while the Army provided discipline, she found that the construction industry was nowhere near as strict.
Mar 08, 2024•1 hr 8 min
Gus Antos is the founder & CEO of the multi-million dollar home service business, Milestone. He's a blue collar businessman who understands the necessity of a well-trained fleet. He placed value and quality over the quantity of service calls, and grinded through the first five years to now being one of the highest grossing trades-focused businesses in the Dallas/Fort-Worth Metroplex. If you ever wondered if plumbing, HVAC, or electrical work makes for a good career, look no further than this tes...
Mar 01, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 47
Corby Sirkel is one of the elite welders, having welded on every continent except Antarctica — from the 114 ambient temperatures in Egypt, to the inner bellies of the gold mines in Perth, Australia. He has no formal welding education and no college degree, but his passion to be the best has taken him to unimaginable places in a trade most outsiders know nothing about. He started in concrete and realized quickly he didn't want that forever — though he'll be the first to admit that between the fri...
Feb 23, 2024•53 min•Season 1Ep. 46
Brian Cohen is a business strategist for SF&P Advisors in South Florida specializing in the acquisition and purchasing of service companies with a portfolio in excess of $3 billion. He details what successful business owners have in common, and the patterns he sees in multiple plumbing, electrical, and HVAC companies with valuations in the millions.
Feb 11, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 44
Kimberly Ray was the fifth employee at Rescue Air & Plumbing in Dallas, TX. She reimagined the way a residential service call center operated, stressing the importance of a good wage and great company culture to not only retain employees, but help them perform at a high level which elevatated Rescue Air's bottom line. She also bridged the gap between Installers and Sales Reps, enabling them to work hand-in-hand to increase sales and customer postivity. Rescue Air provides heating, cooling, and p...
Jan 31, 2024•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 43
Before there was Google, Dennis Yu was one of the original algorithm writers at Yahoo!. In this episode, he does a deep dive on how residential service companies can optimize their’ online presence, detailing the few things you must do to rank high on any search engine. He also discusses why marketing agencies fail on almost every promise they make, and how small business owners can navigate the internet in order to boost sales, awareness, and credibility.
Jan 24, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 43
David Johnson built fences as a young man before “officially” joining the skilled trades. Now, as VP of Sales for BoomNation — an online community for America’s forgotten blue-collar laborers and skilled tradesmen — David stresses the importance of bridging the gap between what the trades can offer and what the younger generations want in a career. His ultimate goal is to bring more young men and women into the trades, and he points to the successful careers of welders, plumbers, electricians, a...
Jan 17, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 41
Libby DeLucien is the CEO of 3 trades-oriented businesses, one of which is WootRecruit, the premiere recruiting software for service businesses worldwide. Early in life, she managed a chaotic schedule, working with North America's largest collection of Asian Elephants, shuttling them around the country for Ringling Bros. Circus. Through keen observation of poor management and failed systems, Libby dedicated herself to build a company with a foolproof standard operating procedure. She expresses a...
Jan 10, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 40
Not many tradesmen can say they took control of the major company they started at, and almost none of them can say they took the business from $8 million a year to 9 figures in revenue. Bert Wells apprenticed for many well known tradesmen before earning a college degree from Texas Tech. With the newfound knowledge, Bert ascended the ranks to become a major player in the commercial trades. He's now the President & CEO of Beard Integrated Systems.
Jan 03, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Season 1Ep. 39
In college, Tyler Hoskins struggled to find a major that excited him. He overslept, partied too much, and bounced from job to job, sometimes getting fired, until he found plumbing. And while math wasn't his forté, plumbing gave him a sense of meaning and a way in which to provide. Now, as a tradesman plumber, specializing in leak detection and slab leaks, he makes over $200,000 a year, and has found a career.
Dec 27, 2023•55 min•Season 1Ep. 38
Joe Kroninwetter learned early that if you want something, you have to work hard — and if you work hard enough, you might even get more than you bargained for. As a young man, he followed his passion, working on Harley's and sport bikes. But when a friend introduced him to the world of HVAC, he found a career that would provide more money and sustainability for years to come. In his words, "The trades are recession proof."
Dec 20, 2023•1 hr 15 min•Season 1Ep. 37
Melvin Viera cut his teeth at the bottom in the skilled trades, running parts and doing administrative work for Rescue Air. But that job gave him the necessary knowledge to become a successful HVAC Installer. He discusses his trades-based education, the brotherhood, pride, and comradery of being a tradesman, as well as his quick ascent to making over 6-figures per year in under than 24 months.
Dec 13, 2023•58 min•Season 1Ep. 36
If you ask the teenage version of Saul Granado, his Texas summers sure as hell wouldn't be spent sweating his ass off in an attic. But now, as the sole provider for a family of 6, Saul Granado is grateful for his father introducing him to the trades. He is the LEAD HVAC INSTALLER for Rescue Air & Plumbing at the ripe age of 30, banking upwards of $150,000/year. In Saul's words, "Not everyone can do what we do. It takes a special breed to be up in that attic and do what we do for the amount of ti...
Dec 06, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 35
Day one, Randy Carpenter found himself hand-digging an existing grease trap. Looking back, he's surprised he didn't quit by noon. Now, as the plumbing manager at Rescue Air & Plumbing, Randy discusses his early life in the trades, and the importance of training for making a successful tradesman.
Nov 29, 2023•41 min•Season 1Ep. 34
Philip Richmond worked at TD Mechanical many years before becoming the Lead Piping Superintendent for Wade Mechanical. Learning on jobsites from his father and other mentors, Philip learned in his early 20s how to be a solid leader. He's worked on several notable projects, including Cardinal Stadium in Glendale, AZ and Globe Life Field in Arlington, TX.
Nov 22, 2023•48 min•Season 1Ep. 33
