Home Service Headquarters

In Episode 28 of Home Service Headquarters, Jack Schnettlercontinues his conversation with Max Hicks, owner of Reliant Plumbing, to dig into the marketing, technology, and business decisions behind a growing plumbing company.

Max talks about how Reliant's marketing has evolved from a$500 monthly Google budget to a much larger operation, how the company uses analytics to measure marketing performance, and his early experiences with advertising through emerging AI platforms.

The conversation also covers the importance of communication between the field and office, changing customer expectations, pricing, commercial plumbing, and why Max believes businesses should prove a process works before expanding it.

In This Episode

• How Reliant Plumbing's marketing has evolved over 12 years
• Using analytics to determine which campaigns actually generate a return
• Exploring new advertising opportunities through AI platforms
• Why field-to-office communication is critical for services businesses
• How customer expectations have changed with modern technology
• Why pricing can make or break a plumbing company
• What to consider before expanding into a new market
• Why custom trust is especially important in plumbing
• Max's advice on investing for ROI instead of ego
• The equipment and technology investments that can actually make a business money

Communication Is the Connection

For Max, one of the biggest challenges in any servicesbusiness is connecting the field and the office. Reliant uses its CRM on both sides of the operation so information can flow through the company and support better business decisions.

Max also believes owners need to stay connected to their teams. Even today, he'll get in a truck, work alongside his technicians, and show up when the business is dealing with difficult situations.

Growth Requires More Than Adding Locations

Max's approach to expansion is straightforward: make surethe business works before trying to duplicate it.

That means having the right people, profitable processes, and a model that can be repeated successfully. As Max puts it, don't do anything before it works.

Listen to Episode 28

Hear the full conversation with Max Hicks of ReliantPlumbing on Episode 28 of Home Service Headquarters for more lessons on marketing, operations, pricing, and building a sustainable home service business.

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe and turn on notifications to catch our weekly episodes!  

Connect with Max Hicks

🌐 Website: https://reliantplumbing.com/

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReliantPlumbingTx

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reliant_plumbing_tx/

🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/discover/reliant-plumbing-tx

📺 YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@reliantplumbing

Home Service Headquarters 

Real conversations with home services pros and business owners. Learn how they built their businesses, overcame challenges, and found success, one job at a time.  

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HomeServiceHeadquarters  

🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@homeserviceheadquarters  

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/homeserviceheadquarters/  

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HomeServiceHeadquarters  

🌐 Website: https://homeserviceheadquarters.com  

Home Service Headquarters is sponsored by Project 2Payment, helping home services businesses handle scheduling, estimates, invoicing, payments, and customer management from one platform. https://project2payment.com/

In Episode 27 of Home Service Headquarters, Jack Schnettler sits down with Max Hicks, owner and founder of Reliant Plumbing, to talk about his journey from starting in the plumbing trade at 16 to building a multi-location plumbing company across Texas.

Max shares how getting laid off pushed him to start Reliant,what those first days looked like, and how the company grew from a single truck into a business with approximately 60 vehicles, 80–85 employees, and $26 million in revenue across its locations.

In This Episode

• How Max got started in plumbing at 16
• Why getting laid off led him to start his own business
• How Craigslist, Google, and simple marketing helped launch Reliant Plumbing
• The turning point that took Reliant Plumbing from about 10 trucks to nearly 30
• What rapid growth taught Max about management and processes
• Why communication and consistency are critical for retaining employees
• How developing employees helped Reliant Plumbing expand into new markets
• Why Max is focused on strengthening the business before its next major growth phase
• Reliant Plumbing's plans to expand into Houston

From One Truck to Multiple Locations

Max didn't start Reliant with a large team or a complicatedplan. He focused on getting customers, doing good work, and building the business one step at a time.

As Reliant grew, Max learned that bigger doesn't always meaneasier. Rapid growth exposed weaknesses in management, training, compensation, and processes — and forced him to build the structure needed to support the company.

The Importance of Communication

A major theme throughout the conversation is communication. Max believes employees need consistency, reliable pay, and the ability to get support from the office when they need it.

As the company grew, he also learned the importance ofaddressing problems instead of ignoring them and putting the right people in the right management roles.

What's Next for Reliant?

After years of significant growth, Max is using 2026 to strengthen and restructure the business before its next expansion. Houston is the next major target, with plans to enter the market in 2027.

For Max, sustainable growth means making sure the people,management, and processes are ready before taking the next step.

Connect with Max Hicks

🌐 Website: https://reliantplumbing.com/

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReliantPlumbingTx

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reliant_plumbing_tx/

🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/discover/reliant-plumbing-tx

📺 YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@reliantplumbing

Home Service Headquarters 

Real conversations with home services pros and business owners. Learn how they built their businesses, overcome challenges, and found success, one job at a time.  

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HomeServiceHeadquarters  

🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@homeserviceheadquarters  

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/homeserviceheadquarters/  

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HomeServiceHeadquarters  

🌐 Website: https://homeserviceheadquarters.com  

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe and turn on notifications to catch our weekly episodes!  

Home Service Headquarters is sponsored by Project 2 Payment, helping home service businesses manage CRM, scheduling, estimates, invoicing, payments, and customer management from one platform. https://project2payment.com/

What separates a good home service business from one that dominates its market?

In this episode of Home Service Headquarters, host Jack welcomes Victor Rancour, CEO of Rocket Group and co-founder of Profit Rocket, for an in-depth conversation about what it really takes to build, grow, and scale a successful home service company.

Victor shares lessons from growing an HVAC company into amultimillion-dollar business, why speed wins customers, how the right CRM transforms operations, what great sales training actually looks like, and why culture — not compensation alone — is the biggest competitive advantage.

Whether you're just starting your business or managing multiple locations, this episode is packed with practical advice you can implement immediately.

In This Episode

• Victor's journey from technician to multimillion-dollar business owner
• Why urgency wins more customers than price
• How to recover the 40% of revenue many contractors leave behind
• Why the pen-and-paper approach is costing contractors money
• Creating an educational sales process instead of a pushy sales culture
• Building customer trust through options and transparency
• How Rocket Group motivates and develops high-performing teams
• Onboarding strategies that attract and retain A-players
• Victor's advice for taking action and avoidinganalysis paralysis

Connect with Victor Rancour, Rocket Group, and Profit Rocket 

Rocket Group Website

Profit Rocket Website

Brick by Brick by Victor Rancour:

• direct purchase link 
• Amazon 

LinkedIn Profile: Victor Rancour

Facebook Profile: @VictorRancour

Instagram Profile: @Victor_Rancour

YouTube Channel: @VictorRancour

Connect with Home Service Headquarters

Website: https://homeserviceheadquarters.com/  

YouTube Channel: @HomeServiceHeadquarters  

TikTok: @homeserviceheadquarters  

Instagram: @homeserviceheadquarters  

Facebook: @HomeServiceHeadquarters  

Home Service Headquarters brings you real conversations with home services pros and business owners. Learn how they built their businesses, overcame challenges, and found success — one job at a time.  

Don’t forget to subscribe and turn on notifications to catch our monthly episodes!  

Episode Sponsor

This episode of Home Service Headquarters is proudly sponsored by Project 2 Payment. 

Project 2 Payment helps home services businesses simplify operations with one easy-to-use platform for CRM, scheduling, estimates, invoicing, payments, and customer management.

Whether you're just starting your business or scaling to the next level, Project 2 Payment gives contractors the tools they need to improve cash flow and operate more efficiently. 

Learn more at Project2Payment.com. 

What does it take to build a home service business worth millions?

In this episode of Home Service Headquarters, host Jack welcomes Victor Rancour, CEO of Rocket Group and co-founder of Profit Rocket, to discuss his remarkable journey from making minimum wage performing oil changes to building, scaling, and selling a successful HVAC company before helping contractors across the country grow their businesses.

Victor shares how answering a Craigslist job posting changedthe course of his career, why pricing is one of the biggest mistakes contractors make, and how systems, culture, marketing, and leadership create scalable companies.

Whether you're launching your first home service business orlooking to take an established company to the next level, this episode is packed with practical lessons from someone who has done it firsthand.

In This Episode

• Victor's journey from minimum wage jobs to becoming one of the nation's top HVAC sales professionals
• How a Craigslist job posting launched his career in home services
• Starting an HVAC company with little business experience
• Growing from a pizza shop parking lot to a multi-million-dollar company
• The importance of pricing for growth—not survival
• Why systems and operations matter just as much as sales
• The origin of Profit Rocket and Rocket Group
• Helping contractors scale through partnerships instead of traditional coaching
• Victor's perspective on private equity in the home service industry
• Why culture is a competitive advantage
• A preview of Victor's new marketing book, Brickby Brick

Connect with Victor Rancour, Rocket Group, and Profit RocketRocket Group: https://rocketgroupholdings.com/#section-bCN-zLLaWS

Profit Rocket: https://callprofitrocket.com/

Brick by Brick by VictorRancour

• direct purchase link
• Amazon

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victor-rancour-51605a48/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victor.rancour/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victor_rancour/

Home Service Headquarters

Website: https://homeserviceheadquarters.com/ 

YouTube Channel: @HomeServiceHeadquarters 

TikTok: @homeserviceheadquarters

Instagram: @homeserviceheadquarters 

Facebook: @HomeServiceHeadquarters 

Home Service Headquarters brings you real conversations with home services pros and business owners. Learn how they built their businesses, overcame challenges, and found success — one job at a time. 

Don’t forget to subscribe and turn on notifications to catch our monthly episodes! 

Episode Sponsor

This episode of Home Service Headquarters is proudlysponsored by Project 2 Payment.

Project 2 Payment helps home service businesses simplifyoperations with one easy-to-use platform for CRM, scheduling, estimates, invoicing, payments, and customer management. Whether you're just starting your business or scaling to the next level, Project 2 Payment gives contractors the tools they need to improve cash flow and operate more efficiently.

Learn more at Project2Payment.com.

In Part 2 of our conversation with CJ Kortes of OutlaunchMarketing, we dive deeper into the tactics behind effective home service business marketing — from what your website needs to do once someone lands on it, to how AI search is rewriting the rules for who gets found online.

If you missed Part 1, CJ covered why most marketing fails and how to identify what’s actually driving leads and revenue. This episode picks up right where that left off.

Key Takeaways

• Your website is a sales tool, not a brochure. It should build trust and convert visitors the same way a great salesperson would.
• Website visitors go through three phases: exploring, evaluating, and acting — your content needs to serve all three.
• Old-school SEO keyword tricks are dead; relevance, user experience, and content depth are what drive rankings now.
• AI search is already changing how customers find home service businesses — the time to build visibility is now.
• Outlaunch has shifted from “SEO” to “AI Search Visibility” because the two are inseparable.
• Social media can work — but only with real, consistent, authentic content (not outsourced fluff).
• Word of mouth is a foundation, not a growth strategy — if you want to scale, you need marketing to amplify it.
• CJ’s biggest advice after 20 years: surround yourself with mentors and successful peers earlier than you think you need to.

Topics Covered

• Why your website needs to act as a sales rep before your technician shows up
• The explore → evaluate → act framework and what it means for your calls to action
• How SEO evolved from keyword stuffing to relevance-first content strategy
• Why AI search changes how you write website content (and why you can’t ignore it)
• Outlaunch’s new service: AI Search Visibility
• Hit or miss: social media, lead conversion, and word of mouth
• CJ’s one piece of advice for every home service business owner
• How to connect with CJ and get a free instantmarketing score

Connect with CJ Kortes and Outlaunch Marketing

🌐 Website: https://www.outlaunch.marketing/

📺 YouTube Channel: @outlaunch

🎵 TikTok: @outlaunch

📸 Instagram: @outlaunch_mktg

📘 Facebook: @outlaunch

📊 Get your free InstantMarketing Score at outlaunch.marketing

Home Service Headquarters

📺 YouTube Channel: @HomeServiceHeadquarters

🎵 TikTok: @homeserviceheadquarters

📸 Instagram: @homeserviceheadquarters

📘 Facebook: @HomeServiceHeadquarters

🌐 Website: https://homeserviceheadquarters.com/

🎤 Home Service Headquarters brings you real conversations with home services pros and business owners. Learn how they built their businesses, overcame challenges, and found success — one job at a time.

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe and turn on notifications to catch our monthly episodes!

* Sponsored by Project 2 Payment, the best home services estimate and invoice software on the market. Add customers, create project estimates, send invoices, and collect payments with ease. https://project2payment.com/

In this episode of Home Service Headquarters, we sit downwith CJ Kortes of Outlaunch Marketing (part one of a two-part series).

CJ shares how home services businesses can:

• Understand what’s actually driving leads and revenue
• Fix marketing that “isn’t working”
• Build websites that convert (not just exist)
• Prepare for the shift from SEO to AI search

If you’ve tried marketing before and didn’t see results, this episode will change how you think about it.

Key Takeaways

• Most businesses don’t actually know what’s working.
• Referrals are great — but not scalable on their own.
• Marketing failures often come from poor tracking, not bad channels.
• A website’s content matters more than its size.
• AI search is the next big shift (and most are behind).

Topics Covered

• CJ’s journey from film to marketing
• How Outlaunch evolved from web design to full marketing
• Why most websites fail to convert
• SEO vs AI search explained simply
• What new businesses should (and shouldn’t) invest in

Connect With CJ Kortes and Outlaunch Marketing

🌐 Website: https://www.outlaunch.marketing/

📺 YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@outlaunch

🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@outlaunch

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/outlaunch_mktg/

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/outlaunch

Connect With Home Service Headquarters

📺 YouTube Channel: @HomeServiceHeadquarters
🎵 TikTok: @homeserviceheadquarters📸 Instagram: @homeserviceheadquarters
📘 Facebook: @homeserviceheadquarters

🌐 Website: https://homeserviceheadquarters.com/

🎙 Home Service Headquarters brings you real conversations with home services pros and business owners. Learn how they built their businesses, overcame challenges, and found success — one job at a time.

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe and turn on notifications to catch our monthly episodes!

* Sponsored by Project 2 Payment, the best home servicesestimate and invoice software on the market; add customers, create project estimates, send invoices, and collect payments with ease.https://project2payment.com/

In this episode of Home Service Headquarters, we sit downwith Tyler Martin of CFO Made Easy and host of Profit and Grit.

Tyler shares how home service businesses can:

• Improve cash flow
• Fix broken pricing models
• Scale without running out of money
• Understand their financials

If you’re stuck financially or trying to grow, this episodeis a must-listen.

 Key takeaways:

• Most businesses struggle with pricing (and don't realize it)
• Clean financial data is the foundation of growth
• Growth requires more cash than most owners expect
• Profit margins - not competitors - should drive pricing
• Many struggling businesses are actually fixable 

Topics covered:

• Tyler's journey from CPA to fractional CFO
• Common financial mistakes in home services
• Pricing strategies that actually work
• Cash flow vs profit explained
• How to scale without breaking your business 

Connect with Tyler Martin: 

🌐 Website: CFO Made Easy: https://cfomadeeasy.com/

🎙️ Podcast: Profit and Grit: https://profitandgrit.com/

🐦 X: https://x.com/think_tyler

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThinkTyler/

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/think_tyler

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thinktyler/

Home Service Headquarters 

📺 YouTube Channel: @HomeServiceHeadquarters  

🎵 TikTok: @homeserviceheadquarters  

📸 Instagram: @homeserviceheadquarters  

📘 Facebook: @HomeServiceHeadquarters  

🌐 Website: https://homeserviceheadquarters.com/  

 
🎙 Home Service Headquarters brings you real conversations with home services pros and business owners. Learn how they built their businesses, overcame challenges, and found success — one job at a time. 

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe and turn on notifications to catch our weekly episodes! 

In this episode of Home Service Headquarters, Jack sits downwith serial entrepreneur Tim Sparks, founder of the Knock Knock Pros app. With decades of experience across construction, HVAC, and multiple business ventures, Tim breaks down how his latest platform is solving one of the biggest problems in home services: paying for leads that never turn into real jobs.

The Knock Knock Pros app is designed to connect homeowners with service providers in real time, offering transparent pricing, GPS tracking, and a flat-rate booking model that eliminates the uncertainty of traditional lead-generation platforms.

Key takeaways:

• Why paying for leads is broken in the home services industry
• How a flat-fee booking model changes the game for contractors
• The power of real-time tracking for homeowners and service pros
• How before-and-after photos protect both contractors and customers
• Why flexibility (turning availability on/off) matters for growing businesses
• The future vision for the Knock Knock Pros app, including reservations and rideshare features

Connect with Tim Sparks

🌐 Website: https://knockknockpros.com/

📞 Phone: 303-521-4037

✉️ Email: [email protected]

Home Service Headquarters

Real conversations with home services pros and businessowners. Learn how they built their businesses, overcome challenges, and found success, one job at a time. 

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HomeServiceHeadquarters 

🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@homeserviceheadquarters 

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/homeserviceheadquarters/ 

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HomeServiceHeadquarters 

🌐 Website: https://homeserviceheadquarters.com 

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe and turn on notifications to catch our weekly episodes! 

Skilled trades hiring is one of the biggest challenges facing home services businesses today, but most contractors are trying to solve it the wrong way.

In this episode of Home Service Headquarters, host Jack Schnettler sits down with Ryan Englin, founder of Core Matters and a leading expert in trades-based hiring and retention. Ryan shares why skilled trades hiring isn’t just a recruiting problem, it’s an employee experience problem, and explains how contractors can build systems that attract, hire, and retain top-tier talent.

From becoming an employer of choice to building a hiring bench that eliminates panic recruiting, this conversation dives deep into what actually works in today’s labor market.

If you’re struggling to hire or keep skilled trades workers, this episode will fundamentally change how you think about hiring.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

•  Why skilled trades hiring fails when companies focus only on pay and job boards
• The real reason employees leave (and it's usually not money)
• How toxic leadership quietly destroys hiring and retention efforts
• What if means to become an "employer of choice" in the trades
• Why onboarding and job clarity matter more than fast hiring
• How to build a hiring bench so you're never scrambling again
• The mindset shift required to scale without burning out your team

About the Guest

Ryan Englin is the founder of Core Matters, a consulting firm that helps operations-heavy businesses solve hiring, retention, and leadership challenges, especially in the skilled trades and home services. He is also the author of Hire Better People Faster and host of the Titans of the Trades podcast.

🔗 Connect With Ryan Englin

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanenglin/
• Employer of CHOICE Assessment: https://corematters.com/go/choice/
• Core Fit Blueprint Masterclass: https://corematters.com/masterclass/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@corefithiring
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecorematters
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecorematters/

About our Sponsor

Project 2 Payment is an easy-to-use payment tool built to offer home service contractors and small businesses a faster and simpler way to bid on projects, send itemized invoices, collect down payments, and get paid faster for completed work. https://project2payment.com/

👉 Subscribe to Home Service Headquarters for more real-world insights on growing and leading service businesses.

In this episode of Home Service Headquarters, Jacksits down with entrepreneur, contractor, and systems-obsessed operator Teddy Slack, whose résumé includes starting six service businesses, scaling multiple to seven figures, and even exiting one for a 5x multiple.

Teddy shares the raw, unfiltered story behind his journey —from being a kid with a half-size shovel on his dad’s job sites to starting his first million-dollar division with nothing but a desk, a phone, and a yellow legal pad. But the real story begins later: the explosive growth, the over-expansion, the expensive mistakes, and the humbling restart that changedeverything.

Whether you're a contractor getting started, a home servicebusiness owner stuck in the weeds, or someone looking to scale and eventually exit, Teddy’s journey is a masterclass in what to do — and what not to do — when growing a service business.

📌 What You’ll Learn in This Episode

00:00 – Welcome & Guest Introduction

Jack introduces entrepreneur Teddy Slack and previews hisjourney through six service businesses.

01:00 – Early Start in the Trades

Teddy grows up on job sites, learns hard work early, andeventually joins the family environmental business.

04:00 – Launching His First Division & Early Success

How Teddy built a residential tank division to $1M+ in thefirst year using PPC, hustle, and hands-on learning.

09:00 – Too Many Businesses, Too Fast

Teddy opens multiple companies—hazmat cleanup, flippinghomes, fracking, door-to-door sales—and stretches himself thin.

14:00 – Failure, Reset & Rebuilding the Right Way

A costly fracking investment collapses; Teddy restarts,studies business fundamentals, and begins focusing on systems and profitability.

20:00 – Scaling Simple Tank to a 5x Exit

Through processes, delegation, and content, Teddy buildsSimple Tank Services to $4M+ and sells it within three years.

24:00 – Why Roofing Is His Next Big Move

Teddy explains why he chose roofing: simple model,subcontractors, no permits, and huge scalability potential.

30:00 – The NJ Home Pro Podcast & Future Plans

Inside Teddy’s new strategy of generating leads through acontractor-focused podcast—and where he plans to take the roofing business next.

🔗 Connect With Teddy Slack

📺 Modern Contractor TV YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@teddyslack

🎙️ NJ Home Pro Podcast YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@JerseyHomeProPodcast

🌐 Website: https://tettiroofing.com/

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teddy_slack/

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/teddyslack/

Learn more about our sponsor: https://project2payment.com/

 🎙 Home Service HeadquartersReal conversations with home services pros and businessowners. Learn how they built their businesses, overcame challenges, and found success, one job at a time.

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HomeServiceHeadquarters

🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@homeserviceheadquarters

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/homeserviceheadquarters/

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HomeServiceHeadquarters

🌐 Website: https://homeserviceheadquarters.com

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe and turn on notifications to catch our weekly episodes!