For three decades, Alina Stevens’ family business got “we want to buy you” letters almost daily—then in 2024, she finally said yes. In this candid conversation, Alina walks the Blue-Collar Twins through scaling All Pro Pest from ~25 to ~50 employees, choosing a buyer who kept the team (only one person left), and the emotional gear-shift from making every decision to consulting while the new owner hums along. It’s a masterclass in female leadership inside a family company, statewide routing without extra branches, and knowing when to let the kids “go to college.”

You’ll hear:

• The moment “sell” went from never to now—and why employee continuity was the deal-breaker.
• How she modernized ops: true-mobile routing, GPS/cameras, and ditching IVR hell to stay customer-first.
• Lessons as a woman owner winning respect on job sites by knowing the craft cold.
• Why growth means you’re never “over the mountain,” and how to communicate for buy-in (not just talk).
• Life after close: the ego hit of “they don’t need me”… and the freedom to ask what’s next.

From Gym Teachers to Service Leaders: The Julio Twins' Story | Last Bite Mosquito, Viking Pest https://youtu.be/DAYxtzhswxs

From PE Teachers to Pest Control Owners: The Julio Twins Share Their POTOMAC Experience https://youtu.be/HAx9noqsqTo

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulgiannamore

www.potomaccompany.com

https://bluecollartwins.com

Produced by: www.verbell.ltd

Timestamps

00:00 – “We got buy-your-company letters almost daily for 30 years… then we finally sold.”

00:50 – Intros: Alina’s 2024 exit and the hard art of letting go

02:00 – “Never planned to be the bug girl”: Air Force pilot dreams → family firm roots (1971)

03:45 – Health crises, divorce, stepping in after raising kids—“somebody had to sail the ship”

05:10 – Change management 101: don’t flip everything at once (ask her how she knows)

06:45 – Choosing the buyer: keep the people, not just the book—only one employee didn’t continue

08:40 – Post-close role: retained as a 1-year consultant… but the newco barely needed her

10:10 – Scale at sale: ~50 employees, ~40 trucks; when she took over (~2015) it was ~25 staff

12:00 – Origin story: bank teller → office manager → marrying the boss (plus a $2/hr raise)

14:10 – Earning respect as a woman in a male-dominated niche: knowledge beats assumptions

18:30 – Statewide without branches: “true mobile” ops from home bases across Georgia

19:50 – From proprietary software (“Helper”) to mainstream + mobile; training older techs

22:30 – GPS & cameras: nightmare stories… and the crash video that saved a driver

26:00 – Phones & CX: VOIP, fewer prompts, always a human—because customer-first isn’t a menu tree

27:40 – “FITFO”: figuring it out through hiccups, turnover, and route remaps

30:20 – Leadership reality: 3 a.m. at the office, good people who stayed, and new opportunities under newco

33:00 – Comfort vs growth: the tag that says “AND NEXT” and a Mexico pest-control idea

34:45 – Mentors & marriage: productive conflict that made the business stronger

41:30 – Culture: family and team, where competition never outweighed belonging

44:50 – Communication = buy-in: expect 60–70% of your own intensity; tailor the message to the person

52:30 – Meeting Potomac and what “you’re the best” from an advisor really means