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

In this episode, John Wilson and guest Rich Jordan dig into one of the scariest (and most valuable) moves you can make in home service: rebranding multiple companies into a single brand.

Rich runs three acquired companies across New Hampshire and New Jersey…and he’s in the middle of rolling them all into one new identity: High Ground Service Pros. They walk through why he’s willingly tearing down a strong local brand (Sanford), what’s driving the decision, and how he’s trying to avoid losing customers, culture, or SEO in the process.

From “house of brands” vs “branded house” to truck wraps, domains, Google Business Profiles, and core values (“seize the high ground”), this is a tactical conversation for anyone growing through acquisition or multi-market expansion.

What You’ll Learn

• When to keep multiple brands vs. going all-in on one — and how that choice impacts growth, culture, and marketing.
• How to execute a rebrand without losing customers — scripts, GBPs, websites, and call center tactics that actually work.
• Where the real ROI comes from — SEO, media, and operational focus once every truck and trade is under a single name.

🎙️ Hosts & Guest

Host
 John Wilson

Guest
 Rich Jordan

💼 Big Reputation — Stop chasing reviews and watching competitors outrank you. Big Reputation is the AI-powered review + SEO platform built for home service pros. Automate review generation, respond with AI, track local SEO, and integrate with your CRM. Setup is free, and your first month’s on the house.

👉 Book your demo

📞 Sponsored by Quo — The Modern Business Phone for Service Pros

Missed calls mean missed business. Quo (formerly OpenPhone) is the AI-powered phone system that logs calls, creates summaries, and automates follow-ups — keeping your team connected and customers happy.?

🎁 Start your 7-day free trial and get 20% off your first six months at

💼 Special Thanks to AppleTree Business Services!

One of the most common and expensive mistakes in acquisitions is not getting serious about accounting. Whether you’re buying a business or running one, you need the right financial partner. That’s why we’ve partnered with AppleTree Business Services — a one-stop shop fluent in tools like ServiceTitan and Housecall Pro.

👉 Listeners get a free tax & financial review, plus 10% off quality of earnings when buying a business.

 Visit https://appletreebusiness.com and tell Patrick Owned and Operated sent you!

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John Wilson, CEO of Wilson Companies
Jack Carr, CEO of Rapid HVAC

📌 Disclaimer: Some links may include UTM parameters or affiliate relationships, meaning we may earn a commission if you make a purchase. Episodes may feature sponsors, but all opinions expressed are our own.

In this episode, John Wilson and co-host Jack Carr unpack one of the biggest transitions in home service — going from owner to operator. What does it really take to scale beyond yourself? We dive deep into building layers of leadership, knowing when to delegate, hiring vs. promoting internally, and what the first real leadership hire should look like.
From service managers and field supers to accountability systems and EOS, this one’s for owners ready to break through bottlenecks and build real organizational depth.

You’ll hear real playbooks from $1M to $40M+ companies—how John and Jack each handled growth bottlenecks, where they stumbled, and what they’d do differently.

What You’ll Learn

Bottlenecks by Design: How to identify when you’ve outgrown your org chart.
 First Leaders: The real tipping point for adding service managers, CSRs, and field supers.
 Hiring vs. Promoting: When internal leadership makes sense—and when it doesn’t.
 Accountability That Sticks: How to keep KPIs and culture aligned as you scale.
 Delegation Done Right: The tasks owners should’ve offloaded yesterday.
 Revenue-Focused Management: Why your first manager should drive numbers, not just tech skill.

🎙️ Hosts
 John Wilson
Jack Carr 

Shout Out to FieldPulse 🚀

FieldPulse is an incredible Field Service Management platform that helps you save hours each week while keeping your operations running smoothly. If you're looking to streamline your processes, stay competitive, and focus on what truly matters, FieldPulse is a game-changer!

📅 Book your demo HERE

🔨Sponsored by WeSupplyTrades — Thousands of Plumbing, HVAC, and Hydronics parts shipped fast. 

Sign up free, save big, and get 20% off your first order with code OWNED20 HERE

💼 Big Reputation — Stop chasing reviews and watching competitors outrank you. Big Reputation is the AI-powered review + SEO platform built for home service pros. Automate review generation, respond with AI, track local SEO, and integrate with your CRM. Setup is free, and your first month’s on the house.

👉 Book your demo

Send Us Mail!

More Ways To Connect with OAO

• Start Here
• Owned and Operated Newsletter 
• Bonus Videos From John

Leave a Review

John Wilson, CEO of Wilson Companies
Jack Carr, CEO of Rapid HVAC

📌 Disclaimer: Some links may include UTM parameters or affiliate relationships, meaning we may earn a commission if you make a purchase. Episodes may feature sponsors, but all opinions expressed are our own.

In this episode, John Wilson and co-host Jack Carr break down how home-service companies can actually future-proof in 2025: flattening org charts, using AI to nuke overhead, building adaptable teams, and keeping a balance sheet that can take a 30% punch. We get into real numbers (gross margin, overhead targets, EBITDA), how to think about “risk on” vs. “risk off,” and why the middle of the market gets squeezed when big operators cut costs with automation.

You’ll hear play-by-plays on automating call centers, choosing what to systematize vs. keep human, when to de-lever, and how to bob-and-weave against giants who pass cost savings straight into marketing.

• People vs. Systems: The two ways to future-proof—and how to train for adaptability.
• Automation That Moves the P&L: Where AI actually drops overhead (call center, dispatch, admin).
• Healthy by Design: Gross margin, overhead, and cash targets that create real nimbleness.
• Debt & “Risk Off”: How interest rates change the game and when to prioritize de-levering.
• Competing with Giants: What to do when national players cut cost structures by ~8–10 pts.
• Numbers First: Why you can’t future-proof if you don’t know your break-even.

• John Wilson 
• Jack Carr

🔨Sponsored by WeSupplyTrades — Thousands of Plumbing, HVAC, and Hydronics parts shipped fast.

Sign up free, save big, and get 20% off your first order with code OWNED20 HERE

💼 Modernize is how smart contractors scale.

With inbound calls, live transfers, and branded programs, Modernize connects you to ready-to-buy homeowners. Over 9M leads delivered and $4B+ in revenue generated.

👉 Start growing

   Shout Out to FieldPulse 🚀

FieldPulse is an incredible Field Service Management platform that helps you save hours each week while keeping your operations running smoothly. If you're looking to streamline your processes, stay competitive, and focus on what truly matters, FieldPulse is a game-changer!

📅 Book your demo

Send Us Mail!

More Ways To Connect with OAO

• Start Here
• Owned and Operated Newsletter 
• Bonus Videos From John

Leave a Review

John Wilson, CEO of Wilson Companies
Jack Carr, CEO of Rapid HVAC

📌 Disclaimer: Some links may include UTM parameters or affiliate relationships, meaning we may earn a commission if you make a purchase. Episodes may feature sponsors, but all opinions expressed are our own.

In this episode, John Wilson sits down with Brandon Schlicter—better known as Investment Joy—to unpack how a viral laundromat video turned into a portfolio of laundromats, car washes, rentals, and now a fast-scaling commercial roofing company. Brandon shares the mindset shift from small plays to bigger bets, why he assumes success (and plans for failure), and how social media distribution can attract capital, deal flow, and talent.

You’ll hear the real numbers on union commercial roofing (margins, ticket sizes, pay cycles), how to decide between lots of small jobs vs. fewer big ones, and why “every business either sells or shuts down.” We also dig into storm-driven market entry, travel crews, and what it actually takes to scale estimation capacity and cash flow when receivables hit seven figures.

💡 What You’ll Learn

• Media → Deal Flow: How one laundromat video sparked investor interest, partnerships, and bigger acquisitions
• Think Bigger (On Purpose): Moving from $25k houses to $20M+/yr roofing—building the steps between vision and execution
• Union Commercial Roofing 101: Typical gross margins, role of prevailing wage, crew structure, and why residential often doesn’t pencil

🎧 Featured Guest

🧠 Brandon Schlicter — Investment Joy

 YouTube: @InvestmentJoy

🎙️ Hosted by John Wilson — x.com/@WilsonCompanies

🚀 Huge Shoutout to SupplyHouse!

When it comes to fast turnaround times, SupplyHouse has our back! With 250,000+ SKUs covering plumbing, HVAC, and electrical, they make sure we get the right materials—fast and hassle-free.

💡Their Trademaster program offers free shipping, returns, and discounts, all with no membership fee. Use promo code SH5 for five percent off your first order— Code is valid through 9/30/2025.

🔗 Check them out & level up your supply game here

💼 Extra Special Thanks to Service Scalers!

We’ve been partnering with Service Scalers to maximize our Local Service Ads (LSAs) and optimize our Google My Business profiles, and the results have been incredible. With hundreds of thousands in sales and 900+ calls in a single week, GMBs are now our top-performing organic lead channel.

Want to learn how Service Scalers can do the same for you?

🔗Check Them Out Here

Send Us Mail!

More Ways To Connect with OAO

• Start Here
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John Wilson, CEO of Wilson Companies
Jack Carr, CEO of Rapid HVAC

📌 Disclaimer: Some links may include UTM parameters or affiliate relationships, meaning we may earn a commission if you make a purchase. Episodes may feature sponsors, but all opinions expressed are our own.

 In this episode, John Wilson sits down with Jamie from Modernize to unpack how a consumer-obsessed mindset is reshaping home services—from the first inquiry to the final install. They dig into why “experience always wins,” how answer engine optimization (AE/O) is changing search, and what a true platform approach looks like when lead gen, reputation, financing, and programmatic all work together.
You’ll hear how Modernize is building for the full funnel, why smaller, fast-moving operators can out-execute well-funded incumbents, and how to prioritize innovation without getting whiplash from weekly tech shifts.

💡 What You’ll Learn

• Consumer > Everything: Practical ways to map (and measure) the end-to-end experience so customers call you back—again and again
• AE/O, Not Just SEO: How answer engine optimization is rewriting local discovery and the quick-start tactics that move the needle now
• Inquiry to Install: The modern funnel—leads, calls, reputation, email, and conversion flows that actually close jobs
  
  

🎧 Featured Guest

🧠 Jamie — Modernize  

 🎙️ Hosted by John Wilson  

💼 Modernize is how smart contractors scale.

With inbound calls, live transfers, and branded programs, Modernize connects you to ready-to-buy homeowners. Over 9M leads delivered and $4B+ in revenue generated.

👉 Start growing

💼 Extra Special Thanks to Service Scalers!

We’ve been partnering with Service Scalers to maximize our Local Service Ads (LSAs) and optimize our Google My Business profiles, and the results have been incredible. With hundreds of thousands in sales and 900+ calls in a single week, GMBs are now our top-performing organic lead channel.

 Want to learn how Service Scalers can do the same for you?

 🔗Check Them Out Here 

Send Us Mail!

More Ways To Connect with OAO

• Start Here
• Owned and Operated Newsletter 
• Bonus Videos From John

Leave a Review

John Wilson, CEO of Wilson Companies
Jack Carr, CEO of Rapid HVAC

📌 Disclaimer: Some links may include UTM parameters or affiliate relationships, meaning we may earn a commission if you make a purchase. Episodes may feature sponsors, but all opinions expressed are our own.

In this follow-up to our Premier Home Pros deep dive, John Wilson sits back down with AJ and Noah to unpack how they turned six greenfield locations into a nationwide engine doing $170 M+ run-rate—without outside debt. They break down the playbook for market launches, recruiting, and leadership restructuring that turned chaos into scale.

Hear how they rebuilt their org for hypergrowth—cutting the VP layer, adding regional pods, promoting from within, and launching Zoom-based sales training that doubled new-rep output. You’ll also hear the real numbers behind marketing mix, payback windows, and bonus-driven sales comp that pushed them to record volume.

If you’re trying to scale a home-service brand fast—but profitably—this is your blueprint for people, process, and playbook.

💡 What You’ll Learn

• The Greenfield System: Launching six locations in a year and hitting payback in under two months
• Rebuilding for Scale: Why they removed the VP layer and replaced it with high-performance regional leaders
• Zoom Sales Training: How virtual onboarding produced 22 new reps in one month and raised the floor company-wide
• Continuous Recruiting: The “never stop bringing in talent” model to replace the bottom 10% and push the middle up
• Comp & Culture: How a double-bonus structure and variable P&L (≈ 70%) fuel performance and retention
• Path to Nine Figures: The assistant-manager farm system creating internal promotions and next-market leaders

🎧 Featured Guests
🧠 AJ & Noah — Founders, Premier Home Pros
🎙️ Hosted by John Wilson — @WilsonCompanies

💼 Shoutout to PayPerCall.io

Stop paying for leads that don’t convert. With PayPerCall.io, you only pay when your phone rings with a qualified customer. Real calls. Real results.

👉 Book your free call

💼 Extra Special Thanks to Service Scalers!

We’ve been partnering with Service Scalers to maximize our Local Service Ads (LSAs) and optimize our Google My Business profiles, and the results have been incredible. With hundreds of thousands in sales and 900+ calls in a single week, GMBs are now our top-performing organic lead channel.

 Want to learn how Service Scalers can do the same for you?

 🔗Check Them Out Here 

💼 Big Reputation 

— Stop chasing reviews and watching competitors outrank you. Big Reputation is the AI-powered review + SEO platform built for home service pros. Automate review generation, respond with AI, track local SEO, and integrate with your CRM. Setup is free, and your first month’s on the house.

👉 Book your demo:

Send Us Mail!

More Ways To Connect with OAO

• Start Here
• Owned and Operated Newsletter 
• Bonus Videos From John

Leave a Review

John Wilson, CEO of Wilson Companies
Jack Carr, CEO of Rapid HVAC

📌 Disclaimer: Some links may include UTM parameters or affiliate relationships, meaning we may earn a commission if you make a purchase. Episodes may feature sponsors, but all opinions expressed are our own.

In this special re-release of Owned and Operated, John Wilson sits down with AJ and Noah of Premier Home Pros to unpack how they went from a dining-room-table idea to $15M in year one, $86M in year two, and a national rollout—without taking on debt. They break down the sales system, affiliate-led demand gen, installer model, and the ops math behind a ~46-day greenfield payback. If you’re scaling a home service business, this is the blueprint.

You’ll hear the real numbers: 91% demo, 82% close in month one for $557k, why they switched from acrylic to engineered stone to lift average ticket from $11.7k → $18.3k+, how they opened 9 locations by end of 2024, and the org/game plan to chase nine figures—profitably.

🚀 What You’ll Learn

Building a 7-figure month from scratch: scripts, demo rate, close rate, and training cadence

Why product matters: moving from acrylic to engineered stone to lift AOV & margins

The greenfield playbook: leader-first recruiting, affiliate demand, and 46-day payback on ~$96k launch cost

Affiliate vs. branded: how they buy demand now while brand compounds later

SKU & labor simplification: pull-and-replace scope, happier installers, faster cash turns

Know your numbers: modeling CPL → net sets → demos → sales → install rate (~91% of net revenue) to forecast profit within ±2%

Org design for hypergrowth: variable P&L (~70% variable), 5-person recruiting pod model, and promote-from-within targets

🚀 What You’ll Learn:
🔹 Hiring and Training for Rapid Sales Growth
 🔹 How Culture Drives Sales Team Performance
 🔹 Marketing Strategies That Actually Convert
 🔹 Their Massive Growth Goals—and the Systems to Hit Them

🎧 Guests
🧠 AJ & Noah, Founders of Premier Home Pros 

🎙️ Hosted by John Wilson

💼 Big Reputation — Stop chasing reviews and watching competitors outrank you. Big Reputation is the AI-powered review + SEO platform built for home service pros. Automate review generation, respond with AI, track local SEO, and integrate with your CRM. Setup is free, and your first month’s on the house.

👉 Book your demo

💼Shoutout to Avoca AI!

Looking to train your call center and improve technician performance? Avoca AI helps teams identify issues, improve call quality, and drive results from start to finish.

 🔗 Schedule a demo

💼 Shoutout to Quick Staffers LLC

 Need trained HVAC & plumbing CSRs at a fraction of the cost? Quick Staffers LLC specializes in placing top-tier global talent with the best SOPs and scripts.

 🔥 Get $1,000 off your first placement here

Send Us Mail!

More Ways To Connect with OAO

• Start Here
• Owned and Operated Newsletter 
• Bonus Videos From John

Leave a Review

John Wilson, CEO of Wilson Companies
Jack Carr, CEO of Rapid HVAC

📌 Disclaimer: Some links may include UTM parameters or affiliate relationships, meaning we may earn a commission if you make a purchase. Episodes may feature sponsors, but all opinions expressed are our own.

Get MORE JackQuisitions HERE

Should you stay sector-agnostic in ETA (entrepreneurship through acquisition) or plant a flag with a clear buy box brokers, CPAs, and attorneys can remember? After a month sidelined by a home flood, searcher Chris Barr returns to his acquisition entrepreneurship journey—refining a small-business acquisition thesis around B2B services, GovCon janitorial contracts, and Florida/Palm Beach deal sourcing. We dig into search fund tactics, on-market and off-market pipelines, broker outreach, list scraping, AI-assisted follow-ups, and how to position for SBA 7(a) financing, LOIs, diligence, and close.

From tier-1 vs. tier-2/3 service models to residential vs. commercial focus, Jack and Chris get tactical about building a repeatable deal flow engine in a tight geo, crafting a memorable buy box (ticket size, customer type, contract length), and using light automation without sounding like spam. If you’re refining your acquisition criteria—B2B/government contracting, janitorial cleaning services, niche add-ons (e.g., AeroSeal), high-margin home services, or local trades—this episode hits playbooks for valuation, negotiation, seasonality, staffing, and lender selection so you can source better deals, faster.

💡 What You’ll Learn
 • How to create a “tight buy box” brokers/CPAs/lawyers can remember and route deals to
 • The case for B2B and GovCon janitorial (set-asides, contracts, and people leverage)
 • Tier 1 vs. Tier 2/3 plays (e.g., niche add-ons like AeroSeal) and which fits a “nice-wage, simple, local” plan
 • Residential vs. commercial: ticket size, sales motion, and capacity caps
 • On-market vs. off-market engines: re-engaging brokers, list-scraping, and thoughtful personalization
 • Using AI for workflow and follow-ups—without sounding like a bot
 • Why timelines slip (and that’s normal): guilt, resets, and staying in the game
 • Picking the right SBA lender for trades acquisitions

💼 Special Thanks to First Internet Bank!

Looking to buy or expand a business? First Internet Bank is a National Preferred SBA lender specializing in acquisitions for the skilled trades. Their SBA loan program offers up to 90% financing for business acquisitions, partner buyouts, and commercial real estate—plus optional lines of credit to fuel future growth. Unlike traditional lenders, they take a “how can we” approach, making deals happen for both first-time buyers and experienced operators.

👉 Special Offer: Mention Owned and Operated for a reduced good faith deposit and a complimentary deal review + buyside prequalification.

Connect with Alan Peterson from First Internet Bank here 

💼Shoutout to Avoca AI!

Looking to train your call center and improve technician performance? Avoca AI helps teams identify issues, improve call quality, and drive results from start to finish.

 🔗 Schedule a demo

🎙 Host: Jack Carr

Send Us Mail!

More Ways To Connect with OAO

• Start Here
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John Wilson, CEO of Wilson Companies
Jack Carr, CEO of Rapid HVAC

📌 Disclaimer: Some links may include UTM parameters or affiliate relationships, meaning we may earn a commission if you make a purchase. Episodes may feature sponsors, but all opinions expressed are our own.

John sits down with Harmony Brownwood, CEO & founder of GreenWorks Inspections & Engineering, to unpack how she grew from zero connections in 2009 to one of the largest independently owned inspection companies in the U.S.—now operating across six states with 11 locations, 2,500–3,000 services a month, and a runway from ~$15M toward $20M in annual revenue. Harmony shares the mindset work that kept her going for 16 months without a sale, the systems that let her scale beyond herself, and why “happy clients + happy team” is the non-negotiable core KPI.

They get into how GreenWorks blends home inspections, structural engineering, and environmental services; why market flatness forces true market-share plays; and the playbook for entering new states by leading with engineering/environmental before residential inspections. You’ll hear how she measures client experience (NPS, “happy calls,” QC + AI on 80k+ reports), builds SOPs that actually stick, and keeps standards sky-high while still being beloved by realtors, investors, and homeowners.

If you want a concrete blueprint for scaling a people-powered, service-heavy org—without PE money, franchising, or letting quality slip—this one’s for you.

🎙️ Host
John Wilson

🎙️ Guest
 Harmony Brownwood

💼Brought To You By LeadTruffle 

Never let another lead go cold. LeadTruffle’s A.I. follows up with your leads instantly by text, voice, and email — 24/7 — so you can book more jobs before the competition even calls back. Try it free for your first month:

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💼 Shoutout to Quick Staffers LLC

 Need trained HVAC & plumbing CSRs at a fraction of the cost? Quick Staffers LLC specializes in placing top-tier global talent with the best SOPs and scripts.

 🔥 Get $1,000 off your first placement HERE

💼 Extra Special Thanks to Service Scalers!

We’ve been partnering with Service Scalers to maximize our Local Service Ads (LSAs) and optimize our Google My Business profiles, and the results have been incredible. With hundreds of thousands in sales and 900+ calls in a single week, GMBs are now our top-performing organic lead channel.

 Want to learn how Service Scalers can do the same for you?

 🔗Check Them Out Here 

🔗 More from Us
 https://www.ownedandoperated.com/

Send Us Mail!

More Ways To Connect with OAO

• Start Here
• Owned and Operated Newsletter 
• Bonus Videos From John

Leave a Review

John Wilson, CEO of Wilson Companies
Jack Carr, CEO of Rapid HVAC

📌 Disclaimer: Some links may include UTM parameters or affiliate relationships, meaning we may earn a commission if you make a purchase. Episodes may feature sponsors, but all opinions expressed are our own.

John sits down with Zac Dearing (Mantel) to break down how top HVAC, plumbing, and electrical companies are moving from “proposal tools” to true shopping experiences that help homeowners buy with confidence—and help teams close more, faster. They dig into hard data from Mantel’s platform and homeowner survey: why Tuesdays are the biggest sales day, how response time and proposal view time (“eyeball time”) predict closes, and why a 10-point jump in proposal strength correlates with ~$960 higher average ticket.

 They also cover remote/virtual selling (and what a high-fidelity, open-cart experience can look like), pricing transparency (69% of homeowners try to find a price online…only 15% find something clear), extended-warranty strategies, and what changes between a $10M shop and a $100M shop (hint: ruthless simplicity). If you want a concrete playbook for modern sales—benchmarks, coaching levers, and systems that scale—this one’s for you.

💡 What You’ll Learn

• Shopping-Experience Selling: How Mantel helps contractors present interactive options, not lectures—and why FSM “order recorders” miss the moment of influence.
• KPIs That Move Deals: Response-time and proposal “eyeball time,” plus how to use them to coach sellers.
• Proposal Strength → Revenue: Why better option range, add-ons, and personalization lift ticket size (~$960 per +10 points).
• Benchmarks That Matter: Calibrating close rate, average ticket, attach rates—and avoiding dirty denominators.
• Remote/Virtual Sales: When to use it, how big firms are testing it, and the emerging “open cart” follow-up model.
• Simplicity at Scale: The shift from 2–3 sellers to 30–40+, standardization vs. autonomy, and raising the floor without capping the ceiling.
• What Homeowners Actually Want: Clear pricing, reputation, comfort, utility savings > brand logos—and how to price extended warranties for real adoption.

🎙️ Host
 John Wilson 

🎙️ Guest
 Zac Dearing — Mantel 

Homeowner Shopping Attitudes Survey 2025


💼Shoutout to Avoca AI!

Looking to train your call center and improve technician performance? Avoca AI helps teams identify issues, improve call quality, and drive results from start to finish.

 🔗 Schedule a demo

💼 Shoutout to Quick Staffers LLC

 Need trained HVAC & plumbing CSRs at a fraction of the cost? Quick Staffers LLC specializes in placing top-tier global talent with the best SOPs and scripts.

 🔥 Get $1,000 off your first placement here

Send Us Mail!

More Ways To Connect with OAO

• Start Here
• Owned and Operated Newsletter 
• Bonus Videos From John

Leave a Review

John Wilson, CEO of Wilson Companies
Jack Carr, CEO of Rapid HVAC

📌 Disclaimer: Some links may include UTM parameters or affiliate relationships, meaning we may earn a commission if you make a purchase. Episodes may feature sponsors, but all opinions expressed are our own.