How Paul Kelly Grew Parker & Sons From $7M to $260M
Introduction: Simplicity, Not Complexity, Builds Big Companies If you want to know how to grow a home service business, the loudest advice is almost always to add: another trade, another service line, another shiny system. Paul Kelly built one of the largest home service companies in the country by doing the opposite. He bought Parker […]
How Contractors Can Turn More Calls Into Revenue With PhoneTap
Introduction: Your Next Jobs Are Hiding on the Phone If you want to turn more calls into revenue, the opportunity is not more leads. It is the calls you already pay for. Around 80 percent of conversions for contractors still happen over the phone, and yet the phone is exactly where most owners have the […]
How to Grow a Home Service Business by Buying Competitors, Not Ads
Introduction: The Growth Lever Most Owners Ignore Ask almost any owner how to grow a home service business and you will hear the same answer: spend more on marketing, win more customers, one job at a time. It works, but it is slow and it is expensive. There is a faster lever sitting in plain […]
Diluted Focus, Diluted Results: The 90-Day System Behind Windy City Equipment Service’s Growth
Introduction: The Menu Is Too Big Josh Zolin has a specific way of explaining why most home service businesses struggle to grow: it’s the Cheesecake Factory problem. Hand someone a seven-page menu and they’ll spend ten minutes paralyzed by indecision. Hand them In-N-Out’s four items and they order in seconds. Zolin is CEO of Windy […]
Why Close Rate, Not Lead Volume, Is the Hardest Problem in Home Services Right Now
Introduction: The Leads Aren’t the Problem Anymore Justin Riley has spent the past several years generating home service leads at scale through Upfrog, the online transparent pricing platform he founded in 2020. So when he says the industry’s biggest bottleneck in 2026 isn’t lead generation, it’s worth paying attention. Riley joined Tersh Blissett and Josh […]
How to Build a Home Service Company That Lasts 125 Years, Not Just Sells Well
Introduction: A Company Older Than the Automobile Smith & Oby’s articles of incorporation date back to March 1898. Jake Wattenbarger, President and General Manager at The Smith & Oby Company, described sending them off for a bid prequalification and joking that the document looked like it belonged next to the Declaration of Independence. That level […]
How Small Home Service Teams Can Outrun Private Equity With AI
From a Carpeted Office With Smoking Allowed to an $80 Million Roll-Up In 2018, Zach Cooper-Vastola and his two partners bought Stanley Ruth, a 100-year-old, four-generation family plumbing business in New York City. The office had carpeted walls. People smoked inside. There was no digital system of any kind, just handwritten paper tickets that office […]
How Home Service Businesses Hit 20% Net Margin, According to Two Former Private Equity Buyers
Most Home Service Businesses Are Leaving Half Their Profit on the Table There’s a number Matthew Mooney and Raymond Gong repeat with almost clinical consistency: 20%. That’s the net margin benchmark they believe every well-run home service business should be hitting. The uncomfortable reality, based on the hundreds of companies they’ve reviewed, is that most […]
AI Diagnostics and AI Voice in HVAC: How One Contractor Turned Inspections Into a High-Margin Revenue Stream
AI Isn’t Coming for the Trades, It’s Opening the Door Wider Chris Plunkett grew up in his dad’s HVAC business in Michigan, changing out his first blower motor at eight years old. Today, he runs an HVAC company in Tucson, Arizona, and he’s become one of the more thoughtful voices on how AI tools are […]
Why Automation Fails in Home Service Businesses: 3 Reasons (+ Fix)
Why Automation Fails: 3 Reasons Your Software Isn’t Working You bought field service management software. Spent hours configuring workflows. And now your techs are ignoring it, customers are getting duplicate messages, and you’re manually fixing what should be automated. You’re not alone. 83% of automation projects fail to deliver ROI in the first year. […]
