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Taking an HVAC company from a one-man operation to a million-dollar business comes with plenty of lessons along the way. From hiring the right people to understanding job costs and improving daily operations, every decision becomes more important as the company expands. In this episode of Profit & Grit, I sit down with Amber DeLong, co-owner of DeLong & Sons HVAC, to discuss how she and her husband, Justin, built their family-run company from a single truck in 2021 to 11 employees and $1.8 million in annual revenue. Amber shares the challenges they've faced with hiring, managing a family business, and finding the right marketing partners. We discuss how business coaching helped her better understand job costing, labor rates, profitability, and the financial metrics that matter most when running an HVAC company. We also explore how she's using AI to build custom tools for purchase orders, job costing, and performance tracking, along with her approach to improving technician efficiency, measuring KPIs, and preparing the business for its next stage of growth. What You Will Learn in This Episode How Amber and her husband grew DeLong & Sons HVAC from one truck to 11 employees and $1.8 million in annual revenueWhy a difficult hiring experience changed their approach to bringing new employees into the businessHow they're planning to expand their service department and eventually move Justin out of the field and into a larger operational roleWhat Amber learned from business coaching about understanding labor rates, job costing, net profit, and financial performanceWhy their first two marketing agencies didn't work out and how finding a marketing partner that understands HVAC helped improve lead qualityHow tracking marketing spending, Google Local Services Ads, and qualified leads helps Amber evaluate her marketing investmentWhat it takes to manage a family-run HVAC company while balancing responsibilities, leadership decisions, and personal relationshipsHow Amber uses AI to build custom purchase order systems, job costing tools, and reporting dashboards without a software development backgroundWhy tracking technician time, estimate close rates, average ticket size, and operational compliance helps identify inefficienciesHow turning recurring operational problems into measurable KPIs can improve accountability and support smarter decisions as the business growsMore From Profit & Grit Book your complimentary Financial Insight Session with Tyler Martin, fractional CFO for home services and the trades, here: http://profitandgrit.com Learn more at profitandgrit.com Follow the show for weekly interviews with HVAC, plumbing, and home service owners and experts who share what it really takes to grow, scale, and profit in the trades. If you listen to any of the following shows, we’re sure you’ll love ours too! To The Point Home Services Podcast, Toolbox for the Trades, Masters of Home Service, Home Service Business Coach With David Moerman, BlueCollar.CEO, The Home Service Expert Podcast, Next Level Pros, Blue Collar Business Podcast, Home Service Millionaire with Mike Andes, The Contractor Fight with Tom Reber, and Blue Collar Success Group. 🎙️ Profit & Grit by Tyler Martin Real stories. Real strategy. Real results for service-based business owners. 🔗 Website: ProfitAndGrit.com 📍 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thinktyler 📸 Instagram & TikTok: @profitandgrit Tyler Martin, a fractional CFO for home services and the trades 📅 Want to grow your business with smarter financial strategy? Book a free intro meeting

Growing an HVAC company to $5 million sounds like a success story, but what happens when the business grows faster than the systems supporting it? In this episode, I sit down with Christy Carter, founder of WorkWife, who helped build SoCo into a $5 million HVAC company with 45 employees in just six years. Along the way, she faced the challenges of rapid growth, managing a larger team, and discovering that the service department had lost $250,000 without anyone realizing it. We talk about how those financial problems went unnoticed, why accurate reporting matters, and how better processes helped Christy get control of the business. She also shares what she learned about hiring, company culture, leadership, and building an operation that doesn't depend on the owner handling everything. We also get into her experience selling SoCo, why she started WorkWife, and how scheduling, pricing, software, and back-office workflows can affect a home service company's profitability. Growth can expose problems that were easier to manage when the business was smaller. Having the right people, processes, and financial reporting in place helps owners understand what's working, address what's not, and build a stronger company. What You Will Learn in This Episode How Christy helped grow SoCo from the ground up to a $5 million HVAC company with 45 employeesWhy rapid growth created operational challenges that the company's existing systems couldn't handleHow Christy discovered a $250,000 loss in the service department through better financial reportingWhy separating service and installation financials is important for understanding profitabilityHow outdated pricing and inefficient workflows can quietly hurt an HVAC company's bottom lineWhat Christy learned about hiring, retaining technicians, and building a strong company cultureHow better processes and leadership helped Christy reduce her involvement in daily operationsWhy Christy's experience selling SoCo changed how she thinks about business ownership and planningHow Work Wife helps HVAC, plumbing, and electrical companies improve scheduling, estimates, software, and back-office operationsWhy I believe accurate financial data and efficient processes need to work together as a trades business growsMore From Profit & Grit Book your complimentary Financial Insight Session with Tyler Martin, fractional CFO for home services and the trades, here: http://profitandgrit.com Learn more at profitandgrit.com Follow the show for weekly interviews with HVAC, plumbing, and home service owners and experts who share what it really takes to grow, scale, and profit in the trades. If you listen to any of the following shows, we’re sure you’ll love ours too! To The Point Home Services Podcast, Toolbox for the Trades, Masters of Home Service, Home Service Business Coach With David Moerman, BlueCollar.CEO, The Home Service Expert Podcast, Next Level Pros, Blue Collar Business Podcast, Home Service Millionaire with Mike Andes, The Contractor Fight with Tom Reber, and Blue Collar Success Group. 🎙️ Profit & Grit by Tyler Martin Real stories. Real strategy. Real results for service-based business owners. 🔗 Website: ProfitAndGrit.com 📍 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thinktyler 📸 Instagram & TikTok: @profitandgrit Tyler Martin, a fractional CFO for home services and the trades 📅 Want to grow your business with smarter financial strategy? Book a free intro meeting

Michelle Myers has spent nearly a decade building Pink Callers, a remote customer service company that supports HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and other trades businesses with ServiceTitan-certified CSRs. In this episode of Profit & Grit, I talk with Michelle about one of the most overlooked parts of a home service company: what happens after the phone rings. We get into the difference between customer service and dispatch, why combining those roles can create problems as a company grows, and how missed calls and poor call classification can distort your booking numbers. We also talk about improving booking rates, using urgency lists, setting technicians up for success before they arrive, and where AI can support the front office without replacing the human experience customers still expect. What You Will Learn in This Episode How Michelle grew Pink Callers into a specialized remote CSR company for trades businessesWhy CSR and dispatch are two different roles that should not always be handled by the same personWhen HVAC and plumbing companies may need to start separating customer service from dispatchWhy answering the first inbound call has such a big impact on booking performanceHow missed calls can quickly turn into lost opportunities and lost revenueWhy an 80 percent booking rate can be misleading if calls are not classified correctlyHow urgency lists can help save calls when the schedule is already fullWhy setting customer expectations before the technician arrives can improve the overall experienceWhere AI can help with call handling and follow-up without completely replacing human interactionWhy stronger systems, cleaner data, and better communication between the front office and dispatch matter as a trades company growsMore From Profit & Grit Book your complimentary Financial Insight Session with Tyler Martin, fractional CFO for home services and the trades, here: http://profitandgrit.com Learn more at profitandgrit.com Follow the show for weekly interviews with HVAC, plumbing, and home service owners and experts who share what it really takes to grow, scale, and profit in the trades. If you listen to any of the following shows, we’re sure you’ll love ours too! To The Point Home Services Podcast, Toolbox for the Trades, Masters of Home Service, Home Service Business Coach With David Moerman, BlueCollar.CEO, The Home Service Expert Podcast, Next Level Pros, Blue Collar Business Podcast, Home Service Millionaire with Mike Andes, The Contractor Fight with Tom Reber, and Blue Collar Success Group. 🎙️ Profit & Grit by Tyler Martin Real stories. Real strategy. Real results for service-based business owners. 🔗 Website: ProfitAndGrit.com 📍 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thinktyler 📸 Instagram & TikTok: @profitandgrit Tyler Martin, a fractional CFO for home services and the trades 📅 Want to grow your business with smarter financial strategy? Book a free intro meeting

Scaling a home service company takes more than increasing sales. It requires strong cash flow, the right people, and systems that can keep up as the business grows. In this episode of Profit & Grit, I sit down with Noah Jackson, co-founder and Chief Growth Officer of Premier Home Pros, to discuss how he and his business partner turned a $65,000 investment into a company with 17 locations serving nearly 30 states, with annual sales projected to reach $250 million in their fourth year. Noah shares how they scaled without debt, reinvested earnings to fund expansion, and used financial data to guide their decisions. We discuss the key metrics they track, including marketing costs, sales conversions, installation performance, and cash flow. We also get into how developing leaders from within, investing in employees, and building strong operational systems have supported their growth, along with practical lessons for home service owners looking to move beyond the $5 million or $10 million revenue mark. What You Will Learn in This Episode How Noah and his business partner started Premier Home Pros with $65,000 and grew it into a company approaching $250 million in annual salesWhy they chose to scale without debt and how reinvesting earnings helped fund their expansionHow they evaluate new markets and determine whether opening another location makes financial senseWhy tracking net sales per lead issued, marketing costs, and installation performance is essential for profitable growthHow daily performance dashboards help leadership identify problems and make faster business decisionsWhy managing the gap between jobs sold and jobs installed matters for cash flow, customer satisfaction, and profitabilityHow investing in experienced employees and developing future leaders from within has supported their rapid expansionWhy giving employees clear career paths, recognition, and autonomy can improve retention and strengthen company cultureHow dedicated service teams and clear processes help maintain customer satisfaction as the business growsWhat owners of $5 million to $10 million home service companies should consider when managing cash flow, hiring talent, and preparing for their next stage of growthMore From Profit & Grit Book your complimentary Financial Insight Session with Tyler Martin, fractional CFO for home services and the trades, here: http://profitandgrit.com Learn more at profitandgrit.com Follow the show for weekly interviews with HVAC, plumbing, and home service owners and experts who share what it really takes to grow, scale, and profit in the trades. If you listen to any of the following shows, we’re sure you’ll love ours too! To The Point Home Services Podcast, Toolbox for the Trades, Masters of Home Service, Home Service Business Coach With David Moerman, BlueCollar.CEO, The Home Service Expert Podcast, Next Level Pros, Blue Collar Business Podcast, Home Service Millionaire with Mike Andes, The Contractor Fight with Tom Reber, and Blue Collar Success Group. 🎙️ Profit & Grit by Tyler Martin Real stories. Real strategy. Real results for service-based business owners. 🔗 Website: ProfitAndGrit.com 📍 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thinktyler 📸 Instagram & TikTok: @profitandgrit Tyler Martin, a fractional CFO for home services and the trades 📅 Want to grow your business with smarter financial strategy? Book a free intro meeting

More revenue does not always mean more cash or fewer problems. In this episode, I sit down with Ismael Valdez, founder and CEO of Nuve and former founder of NexGen Air Conditioning. Ismael helped grow NexGen from zero to more than $100 million, but at around $32 million in revenue, he was still dealing with cash flow pressure, vendor calls, and concerns about payroll. We talk about what pushed him to better understand the P&L, balance sheet, gross margin, labor, and other key financial metrics. Ismael also shares how an owner’s role needs to change as a home service company grows, when to bring in stronger leadership, and what to understand before considering private equity. We also get into customer retention, why he created Nuve, and why strong numbers and strong people both matter as you scale. My biggest takeaway is that every owner eventually reaches a ceiling. Breaking through it means knowing what the business needs next and being willing to change with it. What You Will Learn in This Episode Why reaching $32 million in revenue still left Ismael dealing with cash flow pressureWhat pushed Ismael to start understanding his P&L balance sheet and financial metricsWhy I believe revenue alone can give owners an incomplete picture of business healthHow an owner’s role changes as a home service company grows from $2 million to $25 millionWhy trades owners eventually need to move from doing the work to leading the operationHow Ismael decides which leadership roles to keep and which ones to hand offWhat trades owners should understand before considering a private equity saleWhy customer retention can be just as important as acquiring new customersHow Nuve is designed to keep contractors connected to homeowners after the initial service callWhy Ismael believes customers people culture and financial discipline all matter when building a company that can scaleMore From Profit & Grit Book your complimentary Financial Insight Session with Tyler Martin, fractional CFO for home services and the trades, here: http://profitandgrit.com Learn more at profitandgrit.com Follow the show for weekly interviews with HVAC, plumbing, and home service owners and experts who share what it really takes to grow, scale, and profit in the trades. If you listen to any of the following shows, we’re sure you’ll love ours too! To The Point Home Services Podcast, Toolbox for the Trades, Masters of Home Service, Home Service Business Coach With David Moerman, BlueCollar.CEO, The Home Service Expert Podcast, Next Level Pros, Blue Collar Business Podcast, Home Service Millionaire with Mike Andes, The Contractor Fight with Tom Reber, and Blue Collar Success Group. 🎙️ Profit & Grit by Tyler Martin Real stories. Real strategy. Real results for service-based business owners. 🔗 Website: ProfitAndGrit.com 📍 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thinktyler 📸 Instagram & TikTok: @profitandgrit Tyler Martin, a fractional CFO for home services and the trades 📅 Want to grow your business with smarter financial strategy? Book a free intro meeting

Brennan Bleile started Suck It Up Furnace Cleaning during one of the hardest seasons of his life, eventually growing the company from one truck to six while building a strong reputation in his local market. In this episode of Profit & Grit, I talk with Brennan about growing the business through word of mouth, memorable branding, repeat customers, and a customer experience that has helped the company earn more than 2,000 reviews. We also get into delegation, hiring, managing margins, handling unhappy customers, and Brennan’s perspective on growing a company without losing sight of family and the life he wants outside the business. What You Will Learn in This Episode How Brennan went from welding to building a six-truck home service companyWhy starting at the “perfect time” was never an option for BrennanHow delegating to the right people helped him grow beyond doing everything himselfWhy memorable branding helped Suck It Up stand out in a crowded marketHow Brennan built a customer experience that generated more than 2,000 reviewsWhy listening and responding quickly can turn a frustrated customer aroundHow repeat customers reduce the pressure to constantly pay for new leadsHow routing jobs more efficiently helps Brennan control fuel costs and protect marginsWhy Brennan believes strong service and personal relationships keep customers coming backHow he thinks about growth while still protecting time for his familyMore From Profit & Grit Book your complimentary Financial Insight Session with Tyler Martin, fractional CFO for home services and the trades, here: http://profitandgrit.com Learn more at profitandgrit.com Follow the show for weekly interviews with HVAC, plumbing, and home service owners and experts who share what it really takes to grow, scale, and profit in the trades. If you listen to any of the following shows, we’re sure you’ll love ours too! To The Point Home Services Podcast, Toolbox for the Trades, Masters of Home Service, Home Service Business Coach With David Moerman, BlueCollar.CEO, The Home Service Expert Podcast, Next Level Pros, Blue Collar Business Podcast, Home Service Millionaire with Mike Andes, The Contractor Fight with Tom Reber, and Blue Collar Success Group. 🎙️ Profit & Grit by Tyler Martin Real stories. Real strategy. Real results for service-based business owners. 🔗 Website: ProfitAndGrit.com 📍 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thinktyler 📸 Instagram & TikTok: @profitandgrit Tyler Martin, a fractional CFO for home services and the trades 📅 Want to grow your business with smarter financial strategy? Book a free intro meeting

A lot of home service businesses think they need more leads when the bigger opportunity may be converting more of the ones they already have. In this episode, I sit down with Josh Crouch, founder of Relentless Digital, co-host of Service Business Mastery, and co-founder of PhoneTap. We talk about one of the biggest revenue leaks in the trades: what happens after the phone rings. Josh explains why booking rates are often lower than owners think and how missed calls, pricing objections, and weak follow-up can cost companies significant revenue. We also break down how small improvements in booking rate, technician conversion, and average ticket can create meaningful growth without increasing marketing spend. We also cover Google and AI, choosing the right marketing channels and agency, and how AI call analysis can help uncover lost revenue opportunities. The big takeaway is simple: growth is not always about getting more leads. Sometimes it starts with getting more from the opportunities already inside your business. What You Will Learn in This Episode Why more leads may not solve a home service company’s growth problemHow missed calls can quietly create major revenue lossesWhy actual booking rates are often lower than owners realizeHow pricing objections and call handling affect lead conversionWhy a small increase in booking rate can create significant revenueHow booking rate, technician conversion, and average ticket work togetherWhy better follow-up on missed leads and open estimates mattersHow Google and AI are changing the way homeowners search for contractorsWhat I believe owners should look for when choosing a marketing agencyHow AI call analysis can help identify and recover lost revenue opportunitiesMore From Profit & Grit Book your complimentary Financial Insight Session with Tyler Martin, fractional CFO for home services and the trades, here: http://profitandgrit.com Learn more at profitandgrit.com Follow the show for weekly interviews with HVAC, plumbing, and home service owners and experts who share what it really takes to grow, scale, and profit in the trades. If you listen to any of the following shows, we’re sure you’ll love ours too! To The Point Home Services Podcast, Toolbox for the Trades, Masters of Home Service, Home Service Business Coach With David Moerman, BlueCollar.CEO, The Home Service Expert Podcast, Next Level Pros, Blue Collar Business Podcast, Home Service Millionaire with Mike Andes, The Contractor Fight with Tom Reber, and Blue Collar Success Group. 🎙️ Profit & Grit by Tyler Martin Real stories. Real strategy. Real results for service-based business owners. 🔗 Website: ProfitAndGrit.com 📍 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thinktyler 📸 Instagram & TikTok: @profitandgrit Tyler Martin, a fractional CFO for home services and the trades 📅 Want to grow your business with smarter financial strategy? Book a free intro meeting

Going from a $130,000 one-man operation to a nearly $12 million company takes more than just selling more jobs. In this episode of Profit & Grit, I talk with Carmen Reino, owner of Anchor Pest Control, about leaving a Wall Street IT career to buy a one-man pest control company and building it into a 65-person operation on pace for around $12 million in revenue. Carmen shares how his willingness to take risks shaped the company, why moving toward more residential revenue improved margins and cash flow, and what he learned when top-line growth started outpacing bottom-line profitability. We also get into building a leadership team, using EOS and measurable accountability, and creating a simple dashboard that gives him a daily pulse on the business. For trades owners and home service company owners, this conversation is a practical look at what has to change as a company grows, from hiring the right leaders and protecting margins to stepping away from day-to-day problems and using technology to make better decisions. What You Will Learn in This Episode How Carmen grew Anchor Pest Control from $130,000 to nearly $12 millionWhy taking calculated and sometimes uncalculated risks played a major role in the company’s growthHow a $10,000 bed bug detection dog became an important part of the businessWhy Carmen shifted the company toward a larger share of residential revenueHow residential work improved margins and created more predictable cash flowWhy growing revenue does not always mean the business is becoming more profitableHow leadership needs change as a company moves from $2 million to $5 million and beyondHow EOS helped Carmen introduce clearer metrics and accountability across the companyWhy Carmen built a simple dashboard to track the most important numbers without relying on multiple spreadsheetsHow Anchor Pest Control uses AI coaching and automation to improve sales, customer service, and day-to-day operationsMore From Profit & Grit Book your complimentary Financial Insight Session with Tyler Martin, fractional CFO for home services and the trades, here: http://profitandgrit.com Learn more at profitandgrit.com Follow the show for weekly interviews with HVAC, plumbing, and home service owners and experts who share what it really takes to grow, scale, and profit in the trades. If you listen to any of the following shows, we’re sure you’ll love ours too! To The Point Home Services Podcast, Toolbox for the Trades, Masters of Home Service, Home Service Business Coach With David Moerman, BlueCollar.CEO, The Home Service Expert Podcast, Next Level Pros, Blue Collar Business Podcast, Home Service Millionaire with Mike Andes, The Contractor Fight with Tom Reber, and Blue Collar Success Group. 🎙️ Profit & Grit by Tyler Martin Real stories. Real strategy. Real results for service-based business owners. 🔗 Website: ProfitAndGrit.com 📍 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thinktyler 📸 Instagram & TikTok: @profitandgrit Tyler Martin, a fractional CFO for home services and the trades 📅 Want to grow your business with smarter financial strategy? Book a free intro meeting

Josh Kelly has spent years building, operating, and advising home service companies, helping multiple businesses reach nine figures while learning what it takes to scale beyond the point where everything depends on the owner. In this episode of Profit & Grit, I talk with Josh about his path from struggling to make payroll to owning HVAC, plumbing, and electrical businesses across the country that are on pace to generate around $150 million this year. Josh also shares why many home service companies get stuck around the $8 million to $10 million range, why developing strong middle managers is so important, and why he focuses on consistent momentum instead of chasing massive long-term revenue goals. For HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and multi-trade owners, this conversation covers leadership development, pricing, sales systems, vendor negotiations, daily reporting, profitability, and how AI and automation are changing the way owners can monitor and manage their businesses. What You Will Learn in This Episode How Josh went from struggling with payroll to building and owning large home service businessesWhy mindset can become one of the biggest limits on a company’s growthWhy Josh focuses on consistent momentum instead of massive long-term revenue goalsWhy home service companies often hit a ceiling around the $8 million to $10 million rangeWhy developing strong middle managers becomes critical as a shop gets biggerHow constantly giving managers the answers can keep the owner at the center of every problemWhy Josh believes simple sales systems are easier for an entire team to execute consistentlyHow pricing and better vendor negotiations can protect margins and improve profitabilityHow Josh uses daily KPIs and reporting to spot problems before the end of the monthWhy AI and automation are making financial and operational data much easier for trades owners to access and useMore From Profit & Grit Book your complimentary Financial Insight Session with Tyler Martin, fractional CFO for home services and the trades, here: http://profitandgrit.com Learn more at profitandgrit.com Follow the show for weekly interviews with HVAC, plumbing, and home service owners and experts who share what it really takes to grow, scale, and profit in the trades. If you listen to any of the following shows, we’re sure you’ll love ours too! To The Point Home Services Podcast, Toolbox for the Trades, Masters of Home Service, Home Service Business Coach With David Moerman, BlueCollar.CEO, The Home Service Expert Podcast, Next Level Pros, Blue Collar Business Podcast, Home Service Millionaire with Mike Andes, The Contractor Fight with Tom Reber, and Blue Collar Success Group. 🎙️ Profit & Grit by Tyler Martin Real stories. Real strategy. Real results for service-based business owners. 🔗 Website: ProfitAndGrit.com 📍 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thinktyler 📸 Instagram & TikTok: @profitandgrit Tyler Martin, a fractional CFO for home services and the trades 📅 Want to grow your business with smarter financial strategy? Book a free intro meeting

A growing trades business can still feel chaotic when too much depends on the owner. Al Levi knows that firsthand after helping grow his family’s plumbing, HVAC, and electrical company to more than 70 employees and roughly $17 million in revenue. In this episode, Al Levi joins me to share what he learned as a third-generation trades business owner, author of The 7-Power Contractor, and longtime industry consultant. We talk about how stronger systems, technician training, career paths, and leadership development helped build a company that could operate without constant owner involvement. We also discuss Al’s Top Five approach to priorities, why practical playbooks go beyond basic SOPs, and why developing technicians and leaders from within can create a stronger company. We get into private equity, acquisitions, ethical sales, org charts, training, and what it takes to build a home service business that can keep growing without everything depending on the owner. What You Will Learn in This Episode Why a profitable $17 million trades business could still feel chaoticHow stronger systems allowed Al to step away from the family companyWhy developing employees internally can create a stronger talent pipelineHow the Top Five approach helps owners and teams stay focusedWhy practical playbooks are more effective than basic SOPsWhat trades owners should understand before accepting private equity moneyHow systems can make acquisitions easier to integrateHow ethical sales starts with diagnosing the customer’s needsWhy ride-alongs still matter when training and coaching techniciansWhy building leaders from within helps companies operate without constant owner involvementHow clear career paths can help apprentices grow into technicians and future leadersMore From Profit & Grit Book your complimentary Financial Insight Session with Tyler Martin, fractional CFO for home services and the trades, here: http://cfointrocall.com Learn more at profitandgrit.com Follow the show for weekly interviews with HVAC, plumbing, and home service owners and experts who share what it really takes to grow, scale, and profit in the trades. If you listen to any of the following shows, we’re sure you’ll love ours too! To The Point Home Services Podcast, Toolbox for the Trades, Masters of Home Service, Home Service Business Coach With David Moerman, BlueCollar.CEO, The Home Service Expert Podcast, Next Level Pros, Blue Collar Business Podcast, Home Service Millionaire with Mike Andes, The Contractor Fight with Tom Reber, and Blue Collar Success Group. 🎙️ Profit & Grit by Tyler Martin Real stories. Real strategy. Real results for service-based business owners. 🔗 Website: ProfitAndGrit.com 📍 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thinktyler 📸 Instagram & TikTok: @profitandgrit Tyler Martin, a fractional CFO for home services and the trades 📅 Want to grow your business with smarter financial strategy? Book a free intro meeting

Growth in the trades has never been just about booking more calls for Keith Flores. It is about understanding the numbers, earning customer trust, building the right team, and creating a company people remember long after the service visit. In this episode of Profit & Grit, I sit down with Keith Flores, CEO of HVAC God, HG Home Services, and Home Guardian. Keith shares what he learned from growing quickly before fully understanding the P&L, walking away from a business partnership that went wrong, and building a highly local HVAC company that operates within roughly a five-mile service area. After more than 35 years in the industry, Keith has worked nearly every side of the business. He started in crawl spaces at 12 years old, built an HVAC company from zero to $4.5 million in its first year, helped other companies improve their sales and operations, worked with private equity groups, and eventually developed a sharper perspective on growth, profitability, hiring, branding, and customer retention. We also discuss why Keith believes branding matters more than weather, how professionalism shapes customer trust, why he prefers developing younger technicians, how private equity is changing the trades, and why customer retention may be one of the biggest opportunities home service companies are overlooking. What You Will Learn in This Episode How he built his first HVAC company from zero to $4.5 million in one yearWhat Keith learned from growing a company without understanding the P&LWhy branding became one of his most important growth strategiesWhat went wrong in a business partnership that reached roughly $15 millionWhy contracts, ownership agreements, and clear paperwork matter from the beginningWhy Keith describes HVAC as weather enhanced rather than weather drivenHow a roughly five-mile service radius can improve productivity and employee satisfactionWhy clean trucks, uniforms, and technician presentation have such a strong effect on customer trustWhy Keith prefers developing younger technicians instead of relying only on experienced hiresHow private equity is changing technician recruiting, compensation, and competition in the tradesWhy customer retention may be a bigger opportunity than constantly chasing new leadsWhy transparency and access to system data can help homeowners make better service decisionsMore From Profit & Grit Book your complimentary Financial Insight Session with Tyler Martin, fractional CFO for home services and the trades, here: http://cfointrocall.com Learn more at profitandgrit.com Follow the show for weekly interviews with HVAC, plumbing, and home service owners and experts who share what it really takes to grow, scale, and profit in the trades. If you listen to any of the following shows, we’re sure you’ll love ours too! To The Point Home Services Podcast, Toolbox for the Trades, Masters of Home Service, Home Service Business Coach With David Moerman, BlueCollar.CEO, The Home Service Expert Podcast, Next Level Pros, Blue Collar Business Podcast, Home Service Millionaire with Mike Andes, The Contractor Fight with Tom Reber, and Blue Collar Success Group. 🎙️ Profit & Grit by Tyler Martin Real stories. Real strategy. Real results for service-based business owners. 🔗 Website: ProfitAndGrit.com 📍 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thinktyler 📸 Instagram & TikTok: @profitandgrit Tyler Martin, a fractional CFO for home services and the trades 📅 Want to grow your business with smarter financial strategy? Book a free intro meeting

Bob Beall has spent about 40 years in plumbing, building companies, selling businesses, surviving difficult growth periods, and learning what it takes to move from working in the trade to leading a larger operation. In this episode of Profit & Grit, Tyler Martin talks with Bob about his path from learning plumbing with a visual impairment to building and selling BNC Plumbing, starting over with Mr. Rooter, and eventually growing across multiple territories with roughly 40 trucks. Bob also shares some of the harder lessons behind that growth, including what happened when he added equipment and employees too quickly, why he now believes strongly in pricing for profit, and why knowing your numbers becomes even more important as the company gets bigger. For plumbing, HVAC, electrical, and multi-trade owners, this conversation covers growth, profitability, technician training, marketing, financial management, family business, customer service, and the numbers Bob watches to keep the operation moving in the right direction. What You Will Learn in This Episode How Bob learned the plumbing trade while dealing with a visual impairmentHow he built BNC Plumbing from scratch and eventually sold the companyWhat his first business sale taught him about contracts, earn-outs, and non-compete agreementsHow he started over after selling his first plumbing businessWhy growing too quickly eventually put pressure on the companyHow Bob made it through difficult periods when cash became tightHow consistent technician training has helped increase average tickets and technician earningsWhat it takes to maintain service quality across multiple territoriesWhy Bob watches customer reviews as an operational indicatorHow he approaches working with his children inside a family-run businessThe booking and close-rate benchmarks Bob watches inside his plumbing companyWhy he looks at numbers frequently but prefers making larger decisions based on quarterly performanceHow Bob thinks about marketing versus advertising and measuring return on marketing spendWhy he believes home service companies need a strong presence across Google and social mediaMore From Profit & Grit Book your complimentary Financial Insight Session with Tyler Martin, fractional CFO for home services and the trades, here: http://cfointrocall.com Learn more at http://cfomadeeasy.com Follow the show for weekly interviews with HVAC, plumbing, and home service owners and experts who share what it really takes to grow, scale, and profit in the trades. If you listen to any of the following shows, we’re sure you’ll love ours too! To The Point Home Services Podcast, Toolbox for the Trades, Masters of Home Service, Home Service Business Coach With David Moerman, BlueCollar.CEO, The Home Service Expert Podcast, Next Level Pros, Blue Collar Business Podcast, Home Service Millionaire with Mike Andes, The Contractor Fight with Tom Reber, and Blue Collar Success Group. 🎙️ Profit & Grit by Tyler Martin Real stories. Real strategy. Real results for service-based business owners. 🔗 Website: ProfitAndGrit.com 📍 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thinktyler 📸 Instagram & TikTok: @profitandgrit Tyler Martin, a fractional CFO for home services and the trades 📅 Want to grow your business with smarter financial strategy? Book a free intro meeting

Building a multi-trade company is difficult enough when experienced technicians are available. Austin Blanchard and his business partner took a different route by building much of their talent from the ground up. In this episode of Profit & Grit, Tyler Martin talks with Austin Blanchard, co-owner of Dynamech, about growing an HVAC, plumbing, and electrical company toward $5 million in revenue through organic growth without outside investors, loans, or acquisitions. Austin shares why Dynamech hires for character before technical experience, how they train employees across multiple trades, and why clear roles between service and project execution have become increasingly important as the company grows. For trades owners and home service company owners, this conversation offers a practical look at hiring, technician development, business partnerships, performance tracking, margins, systems, and building a company around the strengths of the people already inside it. What You Will Learn in This Episode How Dynamech grew toward $5 million through organic growthWhat Austin looks for when interviewing potential techniciansWhy ownership accountability and positivity matter in their hiring processHow experienced employees eventually became trainers for newer techniciansHow multi-trade training helps Dynamech manage changing workloadsHow extensive photo documentation helps maintain quality during trainingWhy Dynamech separated service from project executionHow service technicians diagnose problems and present options while project teams complete larger workWhy Austin believes being busy does not always mean an employee is creating enough valueHow Dynamech is experimenting with merit-based pay tied to revenue generation and executionWhy the company targets roughly 50 percent gross profitHow owner compensation and overhead can distort reported profitabilityWhy Austin believes financial benchmarks need context before owners compare themselves to other shopsWhy Austin believes a flexible software setup can support Dynamech toward $10 million and beyondHow complementary technical and business skill sets became one of Dynamech’s biggest competitive advantagesMore From Profit & Grit Book your complimentary Financial Insight Session with Tyler Martin, fractional CFO for home services and the trades, here: http://cfointrocall.com Learn more at http://cfomadeeasy.com Follow the show for weekly interviews with HVAC, plumbing, and home service owners and experts who share what it really takes to grow, scale, and profit in the trades. If you listen to any of the following shows, we’re sure you’ll love ours too! To The Point Home Services Podcast, Toolbox for the Trades, Masters of Home Service, Home Service Business Coach With David Moerman, BlueCollar.CEO, The Home Service Expert Podcast, Next Level Pros, Blue Collar Business Podcast, Home Service Millionaire with Mike Andes, The Contractor Fight with Tom Reber, and Blue Collar Success Group. 🎙️ Profit & Grit by Tyler Martin Real stories. Real strategy. Real results for service-based business owners. 🔗 Website: ProfitAndGrit.com 📍 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thinktyler 📸 Instagram & TikTok: @profitandgrit Tyler Martin, a fractional CFO for home services and the trades 📅 Want to grow your business with smarter financial strategy? Book a free intro meeting

Growing a trades business from one truck into a multi-million-dollar company can look impressive from the outside. But as Ashley Stroud explains, each new stage of growth brings a different set of problems to solve, from leadership and recruiting to marketing costs, margins, and the systems needed to support a larger team. In this episode of Profit & Grit, Tyler sits down with Ashley Stroud, co-owner of Plumbing Outfitters in the Austin, Texas area. Ashley shares how she went from working in a level one trauma center to helping build a plumbing company with 27 team members and roughly $6 million in revenue. They also talk about the revenue ceilings Plumbing Outfitters has faced along the way, why growth has not been linear, what losing three high-performing plumbers taught the company, how Ashley thinks about gross profit and marketing spend, and why stronger infrastructure becomes more important as a shop gets bigger. What You Will Learn in This Episode How Ashley transitioned from emergency room nursing into the tradesHow Plumbing Outfitters grew from one truck to its first million dollarsWhy hustle can get a business to one stage but not necessarily the nextHow call overflow became an important process improvementWhat Ashley learned from losing three high-performing plumbersWhy technician development should be viewed as a long-term lifecycleHow stronger onboarding can help technicians become productive soonerWhy trades business growth is rarely a straight lineWhat makes the $3 million to $7 million range especially difficultWhy missing a revenue goal can still produce valuable business lessonsWhy top-line revenue does not tell the whole storyWhy understanding your P&L is critical for making better decisionsWhy matching revenue with labor and material costs mattersHow inaccurate timing can distort monthly financial resultsWhy marketing spend needs to match your actual growth goalsHow Ashley and her husband define their roles inside the businessWhy position agreements and scorecards should apply to owners tooHow a strong leadership team helped reduce overlap between co-ownersMore From Profit & Grit Book your complimentary Financial Insight Session with Tyler Martin, fractional CFO for home services and the trades, here: http://cfointrocall.com Learn more at http://cfomadeeasy.com Follow the show for weekly interviews with HVAC, plumbing, and home service owners and experts who share what it really takes to grow, scale, and profit in the trades. If you listen to any of the following shows, we’re sure you’ll love ours too! To The Point Home Services Podcast, Toolbox for the Trades, Masters of Home Service, Home Service Business Coach With David Moerman, BlueCollar.CEO, The Home Service Expert Podcast, Next Level Pros, Blue Collar Business Podcast, Home Service Millionaire with Mike Andes, The Contractor Fight with Tom Reber, and Blue Collar Success Group. 🎙️ Profit & Grit by Tyler Martin Real stories. Real strategy. Real results for service-based business owners. 🔗 Website: ProfitAndGrit.com 📍 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thinktyler 📸 Instagram & TikTok: @profitandgrit Tyler Martin, a fractional CFO for home services and the trades 📅 Want to grow your business with smarter financial strategy? Book a free intro meeting

Brent Garrett had already built and sold a successful plumbing and air conditioning company when his next business nearly collapsed under roughly $1 million in debt. In this episode of Profit & Grit, Brent shares how losing sight of the company’s culture and finances led to one of the hardest periods of his career. He explains how he rebuilt the business by improving sales, pricing, financial oversight, technician performance, and leadership. The conversation also covers the messy middle of growth and the key systems trades owners need to build a stronger, more profitable company that does not depend entirely on them. What You Will Learn in This Episode How he built and sold his first company before moving into mergers and acquisitionsHow his business ended up close to bankruptcy and roughly $1 million in debtWhich financial statements and operating numbers trades owners should regularly reviewHow focusing on the customer experience and needs-based selling helped rebuild the companyThe four stages trades businesses move through from owning a job to owning a companyWhy many contractors become stuck in the messy middle around five or six trucksThe five areas Brent says growing trades companies must prioritizeHow technology and CRM systems help prevent growing companies from multiplying inefficient processesWhy marketing and recruiting should be ongoing business functions rather than occasional projectsHow understanding gross profit helps owners price their services correctlyWhy confusing markup with margin can cause a company to lose money on every saleHow Brent works backward from desired profit to establish revenue and overhead targetsHow completed calls, average ticket, revenue, and labor percentage work togetherWhy profitable growth allows a company to reinvest in its people, customers, and long-term legacyMore From Profit & Grit Book your complimentary Financial Insight Session with Tyler Martin, fractional CFO for home services and the trades, here: cfointrocall.com Learn more at profitandgrit.com Follow the show for weekly interviews with HVAC, plumbing, and home service owners and experts who share what it really takes to grow, scale, and profit in the trades. If you listen to any of the following shows, we’re sure you’ll love ours too! To The Point Home Services Podcast, Toolbox for the Trades, Masters of Home Service, Home Service Business Coach With David Moerman, BlueCollar.CEO, The Home Service Expert Podcast, Next Level Pros, Blue Collar Business Podcast, Home Service Millionaire with Mike Andes, The Contractor Fight with Tom Reber, and Blue Collar Success Group. 🎙️ Profit & Grit by Tyler Martin Real stories. Real strategy. Real results for service-based business owners. 🔗 Website: ProfitAndGrit.com 📍 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thinktyler 📸 Instagram & TikTok: @profitandgrit Tyler Martin, a fractional CFO for home services and the trades 📅 Want to grow your business with smarter financial strategy? Book a free intro meeting