In this episode of Everyday Excellence, host Todd Baldwin interviews Jackie Sorensen, third-generation owner of Thorson Heating & AC.

They explore what it takes to take over and grow a multi-generational HVAC business while building a leadership style of your own.

Jackie shares the challenges of family business succession, transitioning from hands-on technician to business owner, and learning to lead through financial, operational, and people-management decisions. She also discusses competing on value rather than price, building a strong company culture, using social media and AI to improve marketing and customer experience, and creating more opportunities for women in the skilled trades.

With more than 80 years of family history behind the business, Jackie offers practical insights on succession, leadership, hiring, technology, and building a service company that prioritizes both customers and employees.

Thorson Heating & AC website: https://www.thorsonheatinginc.com

In this episode of Everyday Excellence, host Todd Baldwin interviews Mike Venidis, owner of Good Golly Garage Doors in Phoenix, Arizona.

Mike shares his journey from spending 13 years in digital marketing and helping scale a home services agency to building and operating a garage door business firsthand. They explore the realities of moving from advising entrepreneurs to becoming an operator, including the importance of execution, customer experience, premium positioning, and understanding the full weight of running a business.

Mike also explains Good Golly Garage Doors’ unique family-owned, independently operated network model, its approach to building a strong company culture, and why employee growth and tenure are key measures of success.

Mike also shares lessons from watching a company grow from roughly $1 million to $25 million in revenue, along with insights on leadership, transparency, resilience, and why giving away the playbook is less important than actually executing it.

Good Golly Garage Doors website: https://goodgollygarage.com/

In this episode of Everyday Excellence, host Todd Baldwin interviews Michael Marvon, owner and Lucas Jones, Marketing Director of Smiley Drain.

Michael shares the entrepreneurial journey behind building a marketing-focused plumbing and drain cleaning business, from becoming a licensed plumber at 22 to developing a brand designed around customer psychology, efficiency, and local market presence.

The conversation explores why Michael believes entrepreneurs should “bet on themselves,” how focusing on efficiency can be more valuable than simply pursuing growth, and why building the right team is essential to long-term success.

Michael and Lucas also break down the evolving landscape of digital marketing, including Google Business Profiles, SEO, PPC, social media, customer reviews, and the growing influence of AI on search and lead generation.

They discuss why businesses should combine specialized marketing expertise with strong human oversight, how consistent content builds social proof, and why customer service remains at the center of sustainable growth.

Smiley Drain website: https://smileydrain.com/

Instagram: @smileydrain

In this episode of Everyday Excellence, host Todd Baldwin interviews Jim Caragianes, CEO of Rose’s Cleaning Inc.

They explore how Jim and his wife Rose grew a grassroots cleaning business into a 30+ employee company while maintaining a strong focus on quality, trust, training, and customer relationships.

Jim shares insights on building a high-trust team for a business that operates inside customers’ homes, why evaluating each home personally leads to better service and pricing, and how Rose’s Cleaning approaches sustainable growth without expanding faster than its team and systems can support.

Jim also discusses the realities of running a business with a spouse, expanding into commercial cleaning, tracking return on ad spend, and the importance of developing a “basic plus” understanding of the work before delegating it.

Rose’s Cleaning Inc. website: ⁠https://rosescleaninginc.com

In this episode of Everyday Excellence, host Todd Baldwin interviews Jim Caragianes, CEO of Rose’s Cleaning Inc.

They explore how Jim and his wife Rose grew a grassroots cleaning business into a 30+ employee company while maintaining a strong focus on quality, trust, training, and customer relationships.

Jim shares insights on building a high-trust team for a business that operates inside customers’ homes, why evaluating each home personally leads to better service and pricing, and how Rose’s Cleaning approaches sustainable growth without expanding faster than its team and systems can support.

Jim also discusses the realities of running a business with a spouse, expanding into commercial cleaning, tracking return on ad spend, and the importance of developing a “basic plus” understanding of the work before delegating it.

Rose’s Cleaning Inc. website: ⁠https://rosescleaninginc.com

In this episode of Everyday Excellence, host Todd Baldwin interviews Chris Edwards, Co-Founder and Head of Installs of Right This Way Flooring.

Chris shares his journey from corporate finance and consulting into entrepreneurship, including acquiring a flooring business with no prior industry experience, growing EBITDA by 2x, successfully exiting, and then returning to the industry to build Right This Way Flooring from the ground up.

The conversation explores the realities of entrepreneurship through acquisition, the importance of systems and accountability in small business, and how improving processes and customer experience can drive profitability and growth.

Chris also discusses his strategy for building a repeatable flooring business model, his approach to tracking lead sources and marketing performance, and the growing role of SEO and AI-driven search in generating customers. He shares an honest perspective on the pressure of business ownership, including managing payroll, employees, customers, debt, and the uncertainty that can come with betting on yourself, while emphasizing the importance of building a strong network of fellow entrepreneurs who understand the journey.

With plans to prove the model at Right This Way Flooring’s first location before expanding into additional stores and potentially pursuing both organic and acquisition-driven growth, Chris offers practical insights into building a scalable small business from the ground up.

Right This Way Flooring website: https://rtwflooring.com

In this episode of Everyday Excellence, host Todd Baldwin interviews Stephanie Allen, Co-Founder & Operations leader of AirWorks Solutions, Inc.

Stephanie shares how she and her husband, Kevin, built a family-owned HVAC and plumbing company around relationships, operational discipline, and a “better together” culture.

She discusses the realities of scaling a trades business, including why operational excellence in HVAC needs to come before aggressively expanding into plumbing, how AirWorks uses profit sharing to create a stronger sense of ownership across the team, and what she learned after an ambitious EOS implementation nearly pushed the business into financial trouble.

Stephanie also explains how AirWorks adapted its marketing strategy by reducing paid advertising, leaning into community relationships and organic lead generation, and becoming “five-mile famous” in its local market.

AirWorks Solutions, Inc. website: ⁠https://airworkssolutions.com/

In this episode of Everyday Excellence, host Todd Baldwin interviews Lisa Farley and Dean Wilkinson, owners of Accurate Door. They explore how Lisa and her team have transformed a long-standing Chicagoland garage door business through leadership, personal development, and a growth-focused company culture.

Lisa and Dean share how Accurate Door is evolving from a traditional workplace into a “growth space,” where accountability, emotional intelligence, and continuous development help employees grow both personally and professionally.

The conversation also covers building a remarkable customer experience, adapting to changing customer behavior, using technology and AI in marketing, navigating rising customer acquisition costs, and identifying new opportunities in the residential garage door market.

They also discuss the importance of tracking marketing ROI, putting the right people in the right roles, and knowing when leaders need to step out of the way so the business can continue to scale.

Accurate Door website: https://myaccuratedoor.com/

In this episode of Everyday Excellence, host Todd Baldwin interviews Matthew Green, owner of Blue Duck, a Central Indiana home services company specializing in lawn care, pest control, and Christmas lighting.

Green shares the story behind rebuilding his business after growing his original lawn care company to more than $1 million, explaining why narrowing 23 services down to three core areas became a critical step toward profitable growth and a stronger team.

Green discusses how Blue Duck uses daily video content, SEO, AEO, Google Business Profiles, customer reviews, and AI to establish local authority and generate leads, including how educational content can build trust even when it teaches customers to solve problems themselves.

He also shares lessons on building a leadership team, creating a business that can operate without its owner, and pursuing growth around work that creates meaningful value for customers and employees.

Blue Duck Lawn Care website: https://www.blueducklawncare.com/

Blue Duck Pest Control website: https://blueduckpestcontrol.com/

Blue Duck Christmas Lights website: https://blueduckchristmaslights.com/

In this episode of Everyday Excellence, host Todd Baldwin interviews Matthew Efird, owner of Lighting Pros and Mosquito Joes.

Matthew shares how he transformed the seasonal challenges of his Mosquito Joe franchise into an opportunity to build a year-round outdoor lighting business, eventually growing Lighting Pros into a franchise organization. He explains the importance of creating complementary business models, maintaining clear brand separation, and knowing when to focus on a core service rather than chasing every revenue opportunity.

Matthew also shares hard-earned lessons on delegation, developing leaders, and building a company culture around clearly defined values, personal growth, and accountability.

The conversation takes a deeper look at empathetic leadership and how personal loss reshaped Matthew’s approach to leading teams, trusting others, and creating an organization where people can grow into meaningful leadership roles.

Lighting Pros website: https://thelightingpros.com