Owned and Operated - A Plumbing, Electrical, and HVAC Business Growth Podcast

Epizodes

• How Top Contractors Convert More Leads Without Spending More on Marketing 11.06.2026 57min

  How Speed to Lead Unlocks More Revenue From Every Lead Source Most contractors think they need more leads. According to Tyson Chen, co-founder of Avoca, most home service companies actually need a better system for capturing, contacting, and converting the leads they already have. In this episode, John Wilson sits down with Tyson Chen to break down the speed-to-lead systems that are helping home service companies double revenue, improve booking rates, and make channels like Angi, Yelp, Meta, ...
• Dirty Jobs, Big Profits: Inside the Poop Scooping Business 09.06.2026 1h 19min

  Most people think pet waste removal is a side hustle. Erica Krupin built a real business around it. In this episode, John Wilson sits down with Erica Krupin, founder of Kroopin's Poopin' Scoopin', to break down the surprisingly scalable world of pet waste removal. From starting with a bucket, rake, and a 2007 Chevy Cobalt to building a recurring-revenue service business with hundreds of customers, Erica shares the hard lessons behind growth, leadership, hiring, marketing, and surviving a year...
• 10 Books That Scaled My Business to $44M 05.06.2026 8min

  This week, I’m sharing the books that shaped the way I think about business and helped me scale my family’s company from $1 million to $44 million in revenue. These are more than popular business books sitting on a shelf. Each one solved a specific problem at a critical stage of growth, from leadership and operations to hiring, sales, and scaling. In this episode, I break down the lessons that had the biggest impact on my entrepreneurial journey and explain how you can apply them to your own ...
• The Biggest Lead Source Most Home Service Companies Are Ignoring 04.06.2026 42min

  Most contractors wrote off Yelp years ago. But the platform has quietly become one of the most powerful lead-generation engines in the home service space, powered by AI partnerships with OpenAI and Perplexity that are funneling search traffic directly to Yelp listings. John Wilson sits down with Katy Lightsey, Head of Services at Yelp, to break down exactly how 61 home service leads are flowing through the platform and what 68 contractor lead generation act...
• How We Built a 30+ Person Offshore Team (And Why It Changed Everything) 02.06.2026 51min

  Most contractors think offshoring is about saving money. It's actually about creating leverage. John Wilson and Jack Carr break down how offshore teams helped them scale faster, build better systems, and free up key leaders to focus on growth. They share exactly which roles to offshore, what to keep in-house, and the leadership lessons they've learned after managing dozens of remote team members across recruiting, dispatch, accounting, marketing, and customer service. What you'll learn: → Whi...
• We Replaced 40 Service Vans with Ford Mavericks and Saved Thousands 29.05.2026 3min

  We swapped 40 Ford Mavericks into our home service fleet — and the results changed the way we think about fleet management. Most home service companies are overspending on vehicles without realizing it. A new service van can cost $50,000–$60,000 today. A Ford Maverick? Around $27,000. We now run 40 Mavericks inside a 120+ vehicle fleet — and we’ve lowered overhead, reduced accidents, improved fuel economy, and still get the job done without sacrificing operational efficiency. In this episod...
• The REAL Systems That Take You From $1M to $10M 28.05.2026 1h 2min

  Most contractors who can't scale their home service business aren't failing — they're solving the wrong problems at the wrong time. John Wilson sits down with FieldPulse Chief Growth Officer Daniel Eigner to break down the operational chaos that kills growth between $1M and $10M. From contractor CRM setup and price books to job costing, KPIs, and AI tools — they cover what actually moves the needle and why fundamentals beat complexity every time. After working with hundreds of growing contrac...
• Why Most Home Service Companies Scale Too Early 26.05.2026 42min

  Most home service companies don’t fail because they scale too slowly — they fail because they scale too early. In this episode, John Wilson and Jack Carr break down the biggest scaling mistakes contractors make between $2M–$5M, including second locations, new trades, over-hiring, and broken systems. They share hard-earned lessons on leadership, KPIs, operational bottlenecks, and what actually makes a business ready to scale. If you want to grow without destroying profitability, this episode i...
• I Bought 15 HVAC, Plumbing & Electrical Companies — Here’s What Actually Happens After Closing 22.05.2026 8min

  Having acquired 15 businesses in plumbing, HVAC, and electrical services, John Wilson breaks down what really happens after the acquisition closes. Learn practical strategies for how to buy a business, including sourcing off-market deals, business valuation, negotiating with sellers, due diligence, and building a strong post-acquisition integration plan. If you're interested in business acquisition, entrepreneurship, private equity, HVAC business growth, plumbing companies, electrical contrac...
• The 2026 Google Strategy for Home Service Companies 21.05.2026 30min

  What separates the fastest-growing home service companies from everyone else? In this episode, John Wilson sits down with Julie from Big Reputation to break down what’s actually working in local SEO, Google Business Profiles (GBP), and online reviews in 2026. From review velocity and AI-driven search to multi-location GBP strategies and ranking in competitive markets, this conversation dives deep into the systems top operators use to dominate local search and generate more booked jobs. They c...
• How We Doubled a Plumbing Business in 90 Days | Cash Flow, Sales & Buying Businesses Explained 19.05.2026 38min

  What actually drives growth in home services? In this compilation episode, John Wilson shares the systems and strategies behind scaling a $40M home service company — including how his team doubled a plumbing business in 90 days, improved cash flow, increased average tickets, and expanded through acquisitions. From pricing strategy and speed-to-lead automation to technician training and buying businesses, this episode breaks down the fundamentals top operators use to grow faster and more profi...
• Buy vs Build: The Fastest Way to Grow a Home Service Business 15.05.2026 8min

  Most entrepreneurs think starting a business from scratch is the best way to grow. John Wilson disagrees. In this episode, John breaks down why buying an existing business can dramatically accelerate growth, reduce startup friction, and create opportunities that organic expansion often can’t match. Drawing from experience acquiring 14 companies and scaling a $40M plumbing, HVAC, and electrical business, John explains how elite operators evaluate acquisitions, enter new markets, and improve un...
• Most Home Service Companies Are Wasting Their Best Leads (Referral Marketing Blueprint) 14.05.2026 41min

  Home service companies are leaving serious money on the table when it comes to referrals. In this episode, John Wilson sits down with Murphy Nadauld from ReferPro to break down how top HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and roofing companies are building scalable referral engines through lifecycle marketing, automation, and AI. In this episode, you’ll learn: • Why referrals are underutilized in home services • How lifecycle marketing drives repeat revenue • Why referral incentives increase...
• High-Ticket Sales in Home Services: What Actually Works 12.05.2026 33min

  High ticket sales in home services aren’t about being pushy — they’re about giving customers the right options. In this episode, John Wilson and Jack Carr break down the systems behind bigger tickets, better close rates, and stronger sales cultures in HVAC, plumbing, and electrical businesses. They unpack why many technicians struggle with sales, how to shift the mindset around presenting options, and why education — not pressure — leads to better outcomes for both the customer and the compan...
• Why Your Techs Aren’t Selling High Ticket (And What to Fix) 08.05.2026 8min

  Most home service companies think they have a sales problem. In reality, they have an organizational problem. In this bonus episode, John Wilson breaks down why low average tickets usually come down to poor positioning, weak training, and solving the wrong customer pain points—not bad technicians. Drawing from experience scaling a $40M plumbing, HVAC, and electrical business and acquiring 14 companies, John explains how elite operators build high-ticket sales systems that consistently drive b...
• The Real Reason Everyone in the Trades Is Starting a Podcast 07.05.2026 44min

  In this episode, John sits down with Jackie Aubel, host of ServiceTitan’s Toolbox for the Trades, to unpack what content actually does for a home service business—and why most people get it wrong from the start. They break down the real role of podcasting: not a short-term revenue driver, but a long-term play for brand, relationships, and access. Jackie shares how ServiceTitan approaches content as a distribution machine—turning one episode into dozens of touchpoints across social, email, and...
• How Door-to-Door Marketing Is Driving Millions in Home Service Revenue 05.05.2026 43min

  Most home service companies rely too heavily on digital channels—and that’s a risky game. In this episode, John Wilson and Sam Preston break down door-to-door marketing (canvassing) and why it’s becoming one of the most powerful, scalable lead generation channels in home services. What started as a way to de-risk dependence on Google and Meta has turned into a multi-million dollar revenue driver—and a repeatable system for launching and scaling new branches. They walk through how top operator...
• Cash Flow 101: Why Profitable Businesses Still Go Broke (and How to Fix It) 01.05.2026 10min

  John Wilson, CEO of Wilson ($40M revenue, ~200 employees), breaks down a hard truth: profit doesn’t keep businesses alive—cash does. In this episode, he explains how companies can look profitable on paper while quietly running out of money. From accounts receivable and payable to debt that never shows up in net income, John reveals why EBITDA and profit are often misleading—and what actually matters. Drawing on his experience bootstrapping Wilson and real-world examples (including a business ...
• The MOST Overlooked Growth Lever in Home Services 30.04.2026 30min

  Most home service companies don’t have a lead problem—they have a follow-up problem. In this episode, John and Sam break down lifecycle marketing and how to turn every lead into more revenue without increasing ad spend. From speed to lead to SMS, email, and outbound calling, they explain how top operators build systems that consistently generate repeat business. If you want to stabilize lead flow, lower marketing costs, and scale faster, this is the playbook. You’ll learn: Why speed to ...
• Fleet Strategy: How to Buy, Finance, and Scale Your Vehicles 28.04.2026 58min

  Most home service companies treat their fleet like a necessity. The best operators treat it like a strategy. In this episode, John and Jack break down how to actually think about fleet management—from financing vehicles to choosing the right trucks—and why most businesses are overspending without realizing it. They walk through the five main ways to buy vehicles (cash, loans, lines of credit, and leases), the real differences between operating and capital leases, and how programs like Ford’s ...