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

Every home service operator has a failure story.

In this episode of Owned and Operated, John Wilson sits down with Jack Carr (CEO of Rapid Plumbing, Heating, Cooling & Electric in Nashville) to break down the biggest business mistakes they’ve made — and what those mistakes actually cost.

From a $13,000 ad spend weekend that only generated $7,000 in revenue… to overpaying vendors for an entire year… to discovering $80,000 per month in unnecessary purchasing — this is a candid conversation about the operational blind spots that quietly drain profit.

The surprising takeaway?
Most major failures weren’t dramatic. They were data problems. Process problems. Cash flow misunderstandings. And hiring financial leadership too late.

If you’re scaling a home service business — or planning to — this episode could save you years of expensive lessons.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The $13K marketing mistake and how capacity planning changes everything
• How tightening purchasing controls instantly improved margins
• Why most contractors overpay vendors (and don’t even know it)
• The hidden cost of software bloat and subscription creep
• Construction vs. service cash flow — and why mixing the two can hurt
• Why hiring a controller earlier would have changed everything

💳 Extra Special Thanks to Coast!

Coast is the smart fuel card built for home service businesses. Set custom spend controls, stop fuel fraud in real time, earn rebates, and use it anywhere Visa is accepted — no more station restrictions or admin headaches.

Want to see how much you could save?

🔗 coastpay.com/ownedandoperated   The Coast Visa® Commercial Card is issued by Celtic Bank. All card accounts subject to credit approval.

🛒 Extra Special Thanks to Contractor Commerce!

Contractor Commerce turns your website into a 24/7 sales engine for service contractors. With guided pricing, online service and membership sales, and deep system integrations, your site pre-qualifies customers before the phone ever rings.

Visit contractorcommerce.com  Book a demo to see how Contractor Commerce turns your website into a 24/7 sales and qualification engine.

💼 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 $500 off your first placement here 

Connect:

John Wilson - https://x.com/WilsonCompanies
Jack Carr - https://x.com/thehvacjack

#HVAC #Plumbing #Electrical #HomeServices #FleetManagement #ServiceBusinessGrowth

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.

If someone handed you $5 million… would you buy an HVAC business or a security/alarm business?

In this episode of Owned and Operated, John Wilson is joined by Stephen and Collin from the Entry Exit Podcast to debate where they’d place the bet.

HVAC has massive buyers, big platforms, and strong exit demand — but it’s also weather-driven, cyclical, and much less “truly recurring” than most operators think. Security (especially commercial security) can offer real monthly RMR, faster tech upgrade cycles, and sticky accounts — but it comes with licensing complexity, scope creep, and higher-stakes failure points.

If you’re thinking about acquisitions, roll-ups, or just want a clearer lens on what $5M can actually buy in different trades, this episode is for you.

In this episode, we cover:

• The $5M question: Why the “best” business depends on your goal (sleep-at-night vs. build-to-sell)
• Recurring vs. sticky revenue: Security RMR vs. HVAC memberships (and why they aren’t the same)
• Commercial vs. residential: Where security wins, where HVAC wins, and how each segment behaves
• Roll-ups and multiples: What’s getting bought right now and why commercial fire/security is heating up
• Geography matters: Why Texas (and other growth markets) changes the math

💼 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    

💼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

📞 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 

🎙️ Hosts
Host: John Wilson — https://x.com/WilsonCompanies
Guests: Stephen + Collin — https://www.entryandexit.co/

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.

Firing employees is one of the worst parts of owning a home service business — and the bigger you get, the more often it happens.

In this episode of Owned and Operated, John Wilson is joined by Jack Carr (Jack Acquisitions / TriR) to break down a practical framework for terminations that’s fair to the employee and protects the team.

They walk through how to diagnose whether performance problems are caused by the employee or your systems, how to use clear expectations + coaching + PIPs to create a clean decision path, and why keeping a toxic “top performer” can quietly cost you your best people.

What you’ll learn:

• The first question to ask before any termination: “How did we get here?”
• GWC: Do they Get it, Want it, and have the Capacity to do it?
• How to run a Performance Improvement Plan that’s real (not vibes)
• When to make a fast decision vs. when to coach longer
• Why the “people who got you to $1M” usually aren’t the people who get you to $10M
• The hidden cost of avoiding the hard conversation: culture + trust + retention

If you’re struggling with when to coach, when to cut, and how to do it without guilt — this episode is the playbook.

💼 Extra Special Thanks to Service Scalers!

If you’re spending $10K–$30K/month on marketing but still don’t know what’s actually driving booked jobs… you need to check out Booked Solid.

It’s a small, in-person workshop March 3rd–5th in Akron, Ohio, where operators build a real 90-day marketing plan covering Google Ads, LSAs, SEO, Facebook, and follow-up systems.

🎟 $2,500 — save $500 with code BOOKEDEARLYBIRD (limited seats).

🔗 Learn more 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

💸Sponsored by CFO Made Easy

Built a strong trades business? Let’s take it to $10M and beyond. CFO Made Easy offers part-time CFO services for home and trade service businesses—helping you boost cash flow, maximize profit per tech, and make clear growth decisions.

📈 Free Offer: Book a 45-min Financial Insight Session to uncover growth blockers. 

Host: John Wilson — https://x.com/WilsonCompanies
Guest: Jack Carr https://x.com/thehvacjack 

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.

Is direct mail actually back in 2026 — or is it a dinosaur channel that should stay extinct?

In this episode of Owned and Operated, John Wilson sits down with Sam Preston (CEO of Service Scalers) to break down how the best home service companies are using direct mail as direct response, why some operators get 14x ROI while others lose money mailing the same market, and the exact levers you can pull to make mailers perform (audience, offer, format, frequency, and iteration).

They also get into why “legacy media” still works when executed well, how to think about underserved markets, and why your offer + ticket size determines whether direct mail prints money… or burns it.

Key Topics Covered:

• Why “someone in your market is winning” with direct mail (even if you think it’s dead)
• The 4 audiences to mail (members → active customers → inactive customers → net-new)
• What formats work: postcards, letters, Valpak, door hangers, even “weird” creative mail

💼 Shoutout to the ACCA Financial Platform!

Want your cash to work harder between jobs? ACCA helps contractors earn 2.1% cash back on supplier spend and up to 3% APY on idle cash — so every dollar pulls its weight.

One contractor made a simple switch and earned over $53,000 back.

🔗 Learn more or schedule a demo:

💼 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 HERE

🎙️ Hosts
Host: John Wilson — https://x.com/WilsonCompanies
Guest: Sam Preston (Service Scalers) https://www.linkedin.com/in/sampreston/ 

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.

Should Home Service Companies Stop Buying Vans?

In this episode of Owned and Operated, John Wilson is joined by Nashville operator Jack Carr to break down one of the most overlooked expenses in home services:

Fleet decisions.

With service vans now costing $60,000+ and fuel and repair costs climbing, John and Jack make the case for a radical shift:

Ford Mavericks for service… and trailers for installs.

They unpack why the Maverick may be the most capital-efficient vehicle for HVAC, plumbing, and electrical businesses, how truck stock changes operational discipline, and whether modular install trailers could replace box trucks altogether.

If you’re scaling a trades business and trying to protect cash flow, this episode offers a practical framework for building a leaner, smarter fleet.

Key Topics Covered:

• Why service vans have become a drag on the balance sheet
• The real economics of Maverick vs high-roof Transit vans
• Fuel savings, lower capital costs, and fleet scalability
• Truck stock limits in HVAC compared to plumbing and electrical
• The “install trailer” system: modular packouts for equipment installs
  
  

💼 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

💼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

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 

Connect:

John Wilson - https://x.com/WilsonCompanies
Jack Carr - https://x.com/thehvacjack

#HVAC #Plumbing #Electrical #HomeServices #FleetManagement #ServiceBusinessGrowth

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.

Does Google PPC still work for home service businesses—or is it just an expensive mistake?

In this Clicks to Calls episode of Owned and Operated, John Wilson sits down with Service Scalers CEO Sam Preston to break down the truth about Google Ads (PPC) for HVAC, plumbing, and electrical companies. Some operators swear PPC is dead. Others are spending six figures a month and winning. The difference isn’t the platform—it’s execution.

They walk through why PPC fails for most owners, how it’s fundamentally different from Local Service Ads, and what has to be in place before PPC becomes a scalable, predictable lead channel. From budget minimums and landing pages to tracking revenue (not just calls), this episode lays out a clear framework for deciding if PPC belongs in your business—and how to avoid burning cash if you try it.

If you’ve ever said “Google Ads don’t work for us,” this episode will challenge that assumption.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• Why PPC still works—and why most operators think it doesn’t
• The real difference between LSA and PPC (and why PPC breaks first)
• Budget thresholds you actually need to make PPC viable
• Why landing pages matter more than ad copy

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 

💸Sponsored by CFO Made Easy

Built a strong trades business? Let’s take it to $10M and beyond. CFO Made Easy offers part-time CFO services for home and trade service businesses—helping you boost cash flow, maximize profit per tech, and make clear growth decisions.

📈 Free Offer: Book a 45-min Financial Insight Session to uncover growth blockers. 

💼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 

Connect:
John Wilson: https://x.com/WilsonCompanies

Sam Preston: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sampreston

#OwnedAndOperated #HomeServices #HVAC #Plumbing #GoogleAds #PPC #Marketing #LeadGeneration #BusinessGrowth

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.

How do you keep growing fast without breaking your business?

In this Owned and Operated supercut, John Wilson pulls together his favorite moments from recent conversations on what actually snaps when you scale: cash, leadership bandwidth, and the frontline experience that drives revenue.

You’ll hear why growth is expensive (in trucks, infrastructure, and overhead), how disciplined operators reinvest instead of upgrading their lifestyle too early, and why “the war is won inside the home” no matter how good your dashboards look.

If you’re running HVAC, plumbing, electrical, or roofing and feeling the strain of growth, this episode gives you the frameworks—and the hard truths—to keep momentum without chaos.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why growth consumes cash (and how to plan for it)
• The “overhead body” you must build early: leadership, CX, SG&A, marketing, purchasing
• How owners stall out by pulling cash too early (the lifestyle trap)
• Why playbooks beat ego: don’t reinvent the wheel (Nexstar and more)
• Why frontline obsession matters more than dashboards
• How onboarding + clear pay plans create a culture that performs

Connect:
John Wilson: https://x.com/WilsonCompanies

💼 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 

💼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

💼 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

#HomeServices #HVAC #Plumbing #BusinessGrowth #Operations #Leadership #Acquisitions #ServiceTitan #OwnedAndOperated #JohnWilson

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.

How do you stop wasting money on marketing… and start building a lead engine that actually scales?

In this episode of Click to Calls, John Wilson sits down with Service Scalers CEO Sam Preston to break down one of the biggest mistakes growing home service operators make:

Hiring a marketing person too early — and expecting them to do everything.

They walk through what your first real marketing hire should look like, why most owners misunderstand the budget math, and John’s spicy take:

If you’re under $5M, marketing isn’t complicated — you just need to execute the basics consistently.

Whether you run HVAC, plumbing, or electrical, this episode gives you a clear framework for when to stick with an agency, when to go in-house, and what “good marketing” actually looks like when the board is light and you need calls fast.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why “marketing is complicated” is usually an excuse under $5M
• The difference between hiring a coordinator vs. a true marketing manager
• How to know if in-house marketing actually beats agency economics
• The only good reasons to bring marketing inside (and the bad one everyone uses)
  
  

💼 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 HERE

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 

Connect

John Wilson: https://x.com/WilsonCompanies

Sam Preston: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sampreston

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.

This episode is a supercut of standout moments from multiple Owned and Operated episodes, focused on one theme: how great operators build, scale, and eventually sell home service businesses.

John Wilson pulls together some of the most valuable conversations from past episodes—covering acquisitions, exits, org structure, leadership at scale, and what actually changes when you stop running a single trade business and start building a platform.

These clips span decades of operator experience, from buying broken HVAC companies to leading a $600M national home services business, and now applying the same playbook to new industries.

What you’ll hear in this supercut:

• How serial operators think about exits from day one
• The difference between running a trade and building a sellable business
• Why growth breaks when leadership and org structure can’t keep up
• How multi-location platforms balance local autonomy vs centralization
• What private equity looks for in home service acquisitions

This episode is ideal for listeners who want the big-picture thinking behind acquisitions, roll-ups, and long-term value creation—without committing to multiple full episodes.

If you’re building (or buying) a home service business and want to understand how experienced operators really think about scale and exits, this supercut is a must-listen.

💼 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 

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

💼 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

🔗 Connect
John Wilson: https://x.com/WilsonCompanies

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 of Owned and Operated, John Wilson is joined by Sam Preston (CEO of Service Scalers) to break down how smart home service operators should budget for marketing in 2026. They explain why one-size-fits-all marketing budgets don’t work, how to reverse-engineer spend from the number of leads you actually need, and why most companies don’t have a lead problem—they have an execution problem.

This conversation goes deep on gross profit–based budgeting, flexible marketing spend, and the exact frameworks operators use to decide what to scale, cut, test, or deploy in emergencies.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• Why marketing budgets should be based on gross profit, not revenue
• How to calculate marketing spend by backing into daily lead requirements
• The difference between budgeting for a new business vs. a 10-year-old company
• The 4 (plus 1) marketing budget buckets every operator should use
• A simple kill vs. scale framework to test marketing channels without guesswork

💼 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 

If you’re trying to grow profitably in HVAC, plumbing, electrical, or any home service trade in 2026, this episode will help you stop guessing—and start budgeting with intention.

💼 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 

🔗 Connect
John Wilson: https://x.com/WilsonCompanies

Sam Preston: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sampreston/

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.