In this episode of Lifted: The Garage Door Podcast, Blair Witkowski sits down with Roland Ligtenberg, cofounder of Housecall Pro, for a fascinating conversation about AI, automation, and what’s coming next for home service companies.

Housecall Pro has grown into one of the most widely used platforms in the trades, helping power more than 50,000 service businesses and supporting hundreds of thousands of technicians across the United States and Canada. With more than 100 million jobs processed through the platform, Roland and his team have a unique view into how contractors actually run their businesses—and where many of them are unknowingly leaving money on the table.

During the conversation, Roland explains why some of the biggest problems contractors face today are surprisingly simple: missed phone calls, unoptimized schedules, slow follow-ups, and systems that still rely on paper, spreadsheets, and disconnected tools.

We also dive deep into how AI is beginning to change the day-to-day operations of service companies, from answering calls and booking jobs to marketing, customer follow-ups, and even collections. Roland shares how Housecall Pro is building AI tools designed specifically for the trades, helping contractors automate the work they don’t enjoy so they can spend more time doing what they’re best at.

Blair and Roland also discuss:

• Why missed calls remain one of the biggest lost revenue opportunities in home service

One of Roland’s most memorable takeaways from the conversation is a simple but powerful reminder:

“Everything you see today is as bad as it’s ever going to be.”

In other words, the technology is only going to keep improving—and the companies that embrace it early will have a significant advantage.

If you run a garage door company or any kind of home service business, this episode offers a rare inside look at where the industry is headed and how new tools can help contractors run smarter, more profitable operations.

Watch this episode on YouTube

https://www.housecallpro.com

Roland can be found online or reached directly through Housecall Pro.

Hosted by Blair Witkowski, Lifted explores the garage door industry through conversations with installers, entrepreneurs, and leaders shaping the future of the trades.

Each episode dives into real stories, business strategies, and the challenges contractors face every day while building successful companies.

In this episode of Lifted: The Garage Door Podcast, Blair Witkowski talks with Thomas Holly of Hollywood Garage Doors, serving the Chattanooga area and North Georgia.

Thomas has spent more than three decades in the garage door industry. He started out in commercial doors as a welder and fabricator, eventually moving into residential work on the side while still working a full-time job. What began as a simple Craigslist side hustle slowly grew into something much bigger.

Over time, the demand kept increasing. More service calls, more installs, more referrals. Eventually the math became obvious — the garage door work was paying better than the day job. In 2016 Thomas made the leap and turned Hollywood Garage Doors into a full-time business.

In this conversation, Thomas shares what it was really like building a company from the ground up with minimal overhead, starting with a beat-up service truck, a ladder, and a handful of loyal customers who kept calling him back.

We also talk about the importance of local networking, including how BNI chapters, community involvement, and word-of-mouth referrals continue to drive a large portion of the company’s work today. While many contractors chase digital marketing and paid ads, Thomas explains why personal relationships and community presence have been far more valuable in his market.

Other topics in this episode include:

• How a side hustle can turn into a full-time garage door business

Thomas also shares honest advice for anyone thinking about starting their own garage door company, including the realities of long hours, customer service expectations, and the hustle required to build a reputation in a competitive market.

If you enjoy hearing the real stories behind how garage door companies get built, this episode delivers plenty of insight from someone who has lived it.

Hollywood Garage Doors

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In this episode of Lifted: The Garage Door Podcast, I sit down with Michael Barrett, owner of Access Garage Door Sales & Service in Greenville, South Carolina.

Michael’s path into the garage door industry is different than most. Before buying Access Garage Doors, he spent nearly a decade helping scale a garage door company across multiple markets through acquisitions and operational systems. That experience gave him a unique perspective on what makes a garage door company valuable, how deals actually happen, and what buyers look for when evaluating a business.

We talk about what it was like stepping into ownership after purchasing an established company, how he approached culture and team trust after the transition, and why the customer database he inherited turned out to be one of the most valuable assets in the business.

Michael also shares some of the marketing and operational ideas he’s experimenting with right now in the Greenville market—from newsletters and outbound customer outreach to simple local branding tactics that help keep the company top of mind with homeowners.

We also get into a topic that’s frustrating a lot of legitimate garage door companies right now: fake Google Maps listings and lead-gen operations showing up in local search results. Michael has been actively investigating some of these listings in his market and shares his perspective on how they impact real businesses trying to compete fairly online.

This episode is a practical conversation about ownership, growth, and what it really takes to run and expand a local garage door company today.

Access Garage Doors & Sales – Greenville, South Carolina

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In this episode of Lifted, I sit down with Adam Williams, a nearly 20-year garage door veteran working in the Charleston, South Carolina market with Advanced Door Systems.

Adam is in that transition a lot of techs talk about but few navigate well — moving off the truck and into the office while the work is still piling up. We get into what that shift really looks like, especially when you’re balancing residential growth with serious commercial work including dock levelers, rolling steel, high-speed doors, and large tilt-wall projects.

We also have the kind of conversation most techs are already having privately. Brand quality changes. LiftMaster callbacks. Why Genie is back in the discussion. What holds up in heat and salt air. What fails. And what that means for companies trying to scale without drowning in warranty work.

Beyond doors, we talk about hiring after COVID, training helpers into real techs, and why trade skills like welding still represent one of the strongest career paths available.

If you’re in the garage door industry and thinking about commercial work, hiring better, or stepping into leadership, this episode is a practical look at what’s happening in the field right now.

• Think you’d make an interesting guest on Lifted? Apply here.

• Need serious SEO for your garage door company? Learn more here.

• Learn more about Blair and his work in the garage door industry.

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• Watch the full video version of this interview on YouTube.

Preston Hiller grew up in the garage door industry, literally. He was on the truck as a teenager, took over his family’s business years later, and then made the hard shift from being a technician to building an actual operation.

In this episode of Lifted, Preston breaks down what changed when Gecko Garage Doors went from a small, family-run shop to a six-truck company and what didn’t.

We talk honestly about burnout, why wrench-turning doesn’t scale, and how putting the right systems in place was the only way to grow without losing control. Preston explains how CRMs changed their business, where companies quietly lose jobs without realizing it, and why hiring for culture matters more than resumes.

A major part of this conversation centers on the Google Business Profile suspension, which Preston calls “Google jail.” After opening a second location, Gecko Garage Doors lost visibility almost overnight, cutting off a significant portion of inbound calls. We get into what happened, how vague Google’s enforcement has become, and what this kind of disruption actually costs real businesses.

We also cover:

Growing from one truck to six in a competitive market

Hiring techs outside the garage door industry

Why home-based operations can scale further than people think

Email marketing that works without burning your list

Social media and video content that actually builds trust

Old-school tactics that still compound over time

This episode isn’t theory or hype. It’s a real conversation about growth, mistakes, systems, and adapting when the rules change mid-game.

If you’re building a garage door company or thinking about taking it to the next stage this one’s worth your time.

Interview by Blair Witkowski

Kyle Dudley didn’t leave the fire service on a whim.

In this episode of Lifted, I sat down with Kyle to talk through what it actually looks like to grow a garage door company the right way while still holding down another career.

We covered:

Hiring your first full-time techs — and knowing when it’s finally time

Training from scratch without burning customers or your sanity

Why service work (not installs) became the backbone of his business

The hidden cost of bad distributors, dented panels, and rescheduled jobs

Old-school marketing that still works when everyone else is chasing ads

What keeps a growing owner up at night — and what doesn’t

Kyle’s background in the Marines and fire service shows up in how he runs his company: debriefs, accountability, pride in the trucks, and respect for the people wearing the uniform — whether that’s turnout gear or a DSS shirt.

If you’re trying to scale without losing control, or you’re wondering whether you’re closer to that next truck than you think, this conversation will hit home.

I sat down with Seth Neumann from Legacy Garage Doors for one of my favorite conversations so far on Lifted.

Seth has been in the garage door industry for over a decade, but his path hasn’t been clean or easy. We talk honestly about starting a business too early, watching it fail, swallowing pride, and going back to work to actually learn the trade the right way. We also get into how getting sober completely reset his mindset — not just as a business owner, but as a person.  

What makes Seth’s story especially interesting is that he’s growing a garage door company in southern Mississippi without the safety net most guys rely on. No Google Maps listing, no big brand, no franchise — just experience, consistency, and doing what he says he’s going to do.   

We talk about real-world lead sources, new door installs, hiring before you feel ready, branding, financing options, training techs, and what it looks like to build a company you actually want your name attached to. 

This episode is for garage door owners and techs who want something real — not motivational noise, not theory — just an honest look at what’s working, what’s hard, and what it actually takes to build something that lasts.

In this episode of Lifted I sit down with JJ and Mark from Choice Garage Doors in Pittsburgh. JJ grew up in the garage door world. His uncle ran a shop for 40 years and the trade has been part of his family for decades.

Mark came out of banking and analytics with a mindset built for systems and growth. Together they’re scaling a lean and efficient garage door company by focusing on the fundamentals and doing the work most people skip.

We talk about what growth actually looks like when you’re still in the truck every day. Answering every call. Running every install. Managing reviews. Ordering doors. Keeping customers happy.

They break down how reviews and customer experience fuel their business, how Google’s updates hit their map rankings, and why staying focused on garage doors instead of adding side services helped them move faster.

We get into wrapped vans, branding, residential vs commercial work, repair versus install revenue, scaling challenges, hiring, and why answering the phone is still one of the biggest advantages in this industry.

If you’re a tech thinking about starting your own company or an owner pushing through the early grind, this episode gives you real insight from two operators who are building it the hard way and the right way.

Hosted by Blair Witkowski. Visit BlairWitkowski.com and Garage Door SEO Experts for more resources on growing your garage door company.

In this episode of Lifted, I sit down with Tim Glenn, the owner of Glenn Brothers Garage Doors, for a conversation that is packed with honesty, experience, and real-world business insights.

Tim has built one of the most reputable garage door companies in his area, and he did it the hard way, the slow way, and the right way.

We talk about how he and his brother got started, what it really takes to grow a service company in today’s market, and how his mindset shifted as the business matured.

Tim opens up about pricing, branding, hiring, systems, customer experience, and why he believes small disciplined companies can thrive even in competitive markets.

He also shares the lessons that shaped him as an owner, including the moments he doubted himself, the decisions that moved the business forward, and the habits that help him stay focused on the long term.

If you are building a garage door company or thinking about stepping into the industry, this episode is a grounded and practical look at what growth really requires. Tim gives straightforward advice from someone who is doing the work every day and constantly improving the way he leads, sells, hires, and builds systems.

This is one of the strongest episodes yet for anyone who wants a more stable, predictable, and profitable garage door business.

In this episode, I sit down with Matt Kuehlhorn from Kooler Garage Doors in Grand Junction, Colorado.

Matt started with a single Ford truck he named Princess and built a culture-rich, customer-obsessed company that focuses on homeowners, not just builders.

We dig into sales process, branding that makes people search your name instead of a generic repair term, using ServiceTitan the right way, where AI actually helps, apprenticeship and training that sticks, and why financial literacy matters more than hacks.

What we cover

• How Matt went from painting houses to launching Kooler Garage Doors and why that unusual start became an advantage

Matt brings a level of honesty and strategic thinking that you don’t often hear in the garage door world. If you’re looking for practical ideas, inspiration, or a model to follow as you grow, this is an episode you’ll want to bookmark.