Profit & Grit with Tyler

Profit & Grit with Tyler

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Profit & Grit with Tyler episodes

  • How to Scale an HVAC Business from $2M to $100M - Ismael Valdez

    More revenue does not always mean more cash or fewer problems.

    In this episode, I sit down with Ismael Valdez, founder and CEO of Nuve and former founder of NexGen Air Conditioning. Ismael helped grow NexGen from zero to more than $100 million, but at around $32 million in revenue, he was still dealing with cash flow pressure, vendor calls, and concerns about payroll.

    We talk about what pushed him to better understand the P&L, balance sheet, gross margin, labor, and other key financial metrics. Ismael also shares how an owner’s role needs to change as a home service company grows, when to bring in stronger leadership, and what to understand before considering private equity.

    We also get into customer retention, why he created Nuve, and why strong numbers and strong people both matter as you scale.

    My biggest takeaway is that every owner eventually reaches a ceiling. Breaking through it means knowing what the business needs next and being willing to change with it.

    What You Will Learn in This Episode

    • Why reaching $32 million in revenue still left Ismael dealing with cash flow pressure
    • What pushed Ismael to start understanding his P&L balance sheet and financial metrics
    • Why I believe revenue alone can give owners an incomplete picture of business health
    • How an owner’s role changes as a home service company grows from $2 million to $25 million
    • Why trades owners eventually need to move from doing the work to leading the operation
    • How Ismael decides which leadership roles to keep and which ones to hand off
    • What trades owners should understand before considering a private equity sale
    • Why customer retention can be just as important as acquiring new customers
    • How Nuve is designed to keep contractors connected to homeowners after the initial service call
    • Why Ismael believes customers people culture and financial discipline all matter when building a company that can scale

    More From Profit & Grit

    Book your complimentary Financial Insight Session with Tyler Martin, fractional CFO for home services and the trades, here:

    http://profitandgrit.com

    Learn more at profitandgrit.com

    Follow the show for weekly interviews with HVAC, plumbing, and home service owners and experts who share what it really takes to grow, scale, and profit in the trades.

    If you listen to any of the following shows, we’re sure you’ll love ours too! To The Point Home Services Podcast, Toolbox for the Trades, Masters of Home Service, Home Service Business Coach With David Moerman, BlueCollar.CEO, The Home Service Expert Podcast, Next Level Pros, Blue Collar Business Podcast, Home Service Millionaire with Mike Andes, The Contractor Fight with Tom Reber, and Blue Collar Success Group.

    🎙️ Profit & Grit by Tyler Martin
    Real stories. Real strategy. Real results for service-based business owners.

    🔗 Website: ProfitAndGrit.com
    📍 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thinktyler
    📸 Instagram & TikTok: @profitandgrit

    Tyler Martin, a fractional CFO for home services and the trades

    📅 Want to grow your business with smarter financial strategy?
    Book a free intro meeting

    43 min
  • Building Trust Beyond the Service Call - Brennan Bleile

    Brennan Bleile started Suck It Up Furnace Cleaning during one of the hardest seasons of his life, eventually growing the company from one truck to six while building a strong reputation in his local market.

    In this episode of Profit & Grit, I talk with Brennan about growing the business through word of mouth, memorable branding, repeat customers, and a customer experience that has helped the company earn more than 2,000 reviews.

    We also get into delegation, hiring, managing margins, handling unhappy customers, and Brennan’s perspective on growing a company without losing sight of family and the life he wants outside the business.

    What You Will Learn in This Episode

    • How Brennan went from welding to building a six-truck home service company
    • Why starting at the “perfect time” was never an option for Brennan
    • How delegating to the right people helped him grow beyond doing everything himself
    • Why memorable branding helped Suck It Up stand out in a crowded market
    • How Brennan built a customer experience that generated more than 2,000 reviews
    • Why listening and responding quickly can turn a frustrated customer around
    • How repeat customers reduce the pressure to constantly pay for new leads
    • How routing jobs more efficiently helps Brennan control fuel costs and protect margins
    • Why Brennan believes strong service and personal relationships keep customers coming back
    • How he thinks about growth while still protecting time for his family

    More From Profit & Grit

    Book your complimentary Financial Insight Session with Tyler Martin, fractional CFO for home services and the trades, here:

    http://profitandgrit.com

    Learn more at profitandgrit.com

    Follow the show for weekly interviews with HVAC, plumbing, and home service owners and experts who share what it really takes to grow, scale, and profit in the trades.

    If you listen to any of the following shows, we’re sure you’ll love ours too! To The Point Home Services Podcast, Toolbox for the Trades, Masters of Home Service, Home Service Business Coach With David Moerman, BlueCollar.CEO, The Home Service Expert Podcast, Next Level Pros, Blue Collar Business Podcast, Home Service Millionaire with Mike Andes, The Contractor Fight with Tom Reber, and Blue Collar Success Group.

    🎙️ Profit & Grit by Tyler Martin
    Real stories. Real strategy. Real results for service-based business owners.

    🔗 Website: ProfitAndGrit.com
    📍 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thinktyler
    📸 Instagram & TikTok: @profitandgrit

    Tyler Martin, a fractional CFO for home services and the trades

    📅 Want to grow your business with smarter financial strategy?
    Book a free intro meeting

    39 min
  • The $3M Phone Call Problem in Every Home Service Business - Josh Crouch

    A lot of home service businesses think they need more leads when the bigger opportunity may be converting more of the ones they already have.

    In this episode, I sit down with Josh Crouch, founder of Relentless Digital, co-host of Service Business Mastery, and co-founder of PhoneTap. We talk about one of the biggest revenue leaks in the trades: what happens after the phone rings.

    Josh explains why booking rates are often lower than owners think and how missed calls, pricing objections, and weak follow-up can cost companies significant revenue. We also break down how small improvements in booking rate, technician conversion, and average ticket can create meaningful growth without increasing marketing spend.

    We also cover Google and AI, choosing the right marketing channels and agency, and how AI call analysis can help uncover lost revenue opportunities.

    The big takeaway is simple: growth is not always about getting more leads. Sometimes it starts with getting more from the opportunities already inside your business.

    What You Will Learn in This Episode

    • Why more leads may not solve a home service company’s growth problem
    • How missed calls can quietly create major revenue losses
    • Why actual booking rates are often lower than owners realize
    • How pricing objections and call handling affect lead conversion
    • Why a small increase in booking rate can create significant revenue
    • How booking rate, technician conversion, and average ticket work together
    • Why better follow-up on missed leads and open estimates matters
    • How Google and AI are changing the way homeowners search for contractors
    • What I believe owners should look for when choosing a marketing agency
    • How AI call analysis can help identify and recover lost revenue opportunities

    More From Profit & Grit

    Book your complimentary Financial Insight Session with Tyler Martin, fractional CFO for home services and the trades, here:

    http://profitandgrit.com

    Learn more at profitandgrit.com

    Follow the show for weekly interviews with HVAC, plumbing, and home service owners and experts who share what it really takes to grow, scale, and profit in the trades.

    If you listen to any of the following shows, we’re sure you’ll love ours too! To The Point Home Services Podcast, Toolbox for the Trades, Masters of Home Service, Home Service Business Coach With David Moerman, BlueCollar.CEO, The Home Service Expert Podcast, Next Level Pros, Blue Collar Business Podcast, Home Service Millionaire with Mike Andes, The Contractor Fight with Tom Reber, and Blue Collar Success Group.

    🎙️ Profit & Grit by Tyler Martin
    Real stories. Real strategy. Real results for service-based business owners.

    🔗 Website: ProfitAndGrit.com
    📍 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thinktyler
    📸 Instagram & TikTok: @profitandgrit

    Tyler Martin, a fractional CFO for home services and the trades

    📅 Want to grow your business with smarter financial strategy?
    Book a free intro meeting

    56 min
  • From Wall Street to $12 Million Pest Control - Carmen Reino

    Going from a $130,000 one-man operation to a nearly $12 million company takes more than just selling more jobs.

    In this episode of Profit & Grit, I talk with Carmen Reino, owner of Anchor Pest Control, about leaving a Wall Street IT career to buy a one-man pest control company and building it into a 65-person operation on pace for around $12 million in revenue.

    Carmen shares how his willingness to take risks shaped the company, why moving toward more residential revenue improved margins and cash flow, and what he learned when top-line growth started outpacing bottom-line profitability. We also get into building a leadership team, using EOS and measurable accountability, and creating a simple dashboard that gives him a daily pulse on the business.

    For trades owners and home service company owners, this conversation is a practical look at what has to change as a company grows, from hiring the right leaders and protecting margins to stepping away from day-to-day problems and using technology to make better decisions.

    What You Will Learn in This Episode

    • How Carmen grew Anchor Pest Control from $130,000 to nearly $12 million
    • Why taking calculated and sometimes uncalculated risks played a major role in the company’s growth
    • How a $10,000 bed bug detection dog became an important part of the business
    • Why Carmen shifted the company toward a larger share of residential revenue
    • How residential work improved margins and created more predictable cash flow
    • Why growing revenue does not always mean the business is becoming more profitable
    • How leadership needs change as a company moves from $2 million to $5 million and beyond
    • How EOS helped Carmen introduce clearer metrics and accountability across the company
    • Why Carmen built a simple dashboard to track the most important numbers without relying on multiple spreadsheets
    • How Anchor Pest Control uses AI coaching and automation to improve sales, customer service, and day-to-day operations

    More From Profit & Grit

    Book your complimentary Financial Insight Session with Tyler Martin, fractional CFO for home services and the trades, here:

    http://profitandgrit.com

    Learn more at profitandgrit.com

    Follow the show for weekly interviews with HVAC, plumbing, and home service owners and experts who share what it really takes to grow, scale, and profit in the trades.

    If you listen to any of the following shows, we’re sure you’ll love ours too! To The Point Home Services Podcast, Toolbox for the Trades, Masters of Home Service, Home Service Business Coach With David Moerman, BlueCollar.CEO, The Home Service Expert Podcast, Next Level Pros, Blue Collar Business Podcast, Home Service Millionaire with Mike Andes, The Contractor Fight with Tom Reber, and Blue Collar Success Group.

    🎙️ Profit & Grit by Tyler Martin
    Real stories. Real strategy. Real results for service-based business owners.

    🔗 Website: ProfitAndGrit.com
    📍 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thinktyler
    📸 Instagram & TikTok: @profitandgrit

    Tyler Martin, a fractional CFO for home services and the trades

    📅 Want to grow your business with smarter financial strategy?
    Book a free intro meeting

    43 min
  • Why Trades Businesses Stall at $10 Million - Josh Kelly

    Josh Kelly has spent years building, operating, and advising home service companies, helping multiple businesses reach nine figures while learning what it takes to scale beyond the point where everything depends on the owner.

    In this episode of Profit & Grit, I talk with Josh about his path from struggling to make payroll to owning HVAC, plumbing, and electrical businesses across the country that are on pace to generate around $150 million this year.

    Josh also shares why many home service companies get stuck around the $8 million to $10 million range, why developing strong middle managers is so important, and why he focuses on consistent momentum instead of chasing massive long-term revenue goals.

    For HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and multi-trade owners, this conversation covers leadership development, pricing, sales systems, vendor negotiations, daily reporting, profitability, and how AI and automation are changing the way owners can monitor and manage their businesses.

    What You Will Learn in This Episode

    • How Josh went from struggling with payroll to building and owning large home service businesses
    • Why mindset can become one of the biggest limits on a company’s growth
    • Why Josh focuses on consistent momentum instead of massive long-term revenue goals
    • Why home service companies often hit a ceiling around the $8 million to $10 million range
    • Why developing strong middle managers becomes critical as a shop gets bigger
    • How constantly giving managers the answers can keep the owner at the center of every problem
    • Why Josh believes simple sales systems are easier for an entire team to execute consistently
    • How pricing and better vendor negotiations can protect margins and improve profitability
    • How Josh uses daily KPIs and reporting to spot problems before the end of the month
    • Why AI and automation are making financial and operational data much easier for trades owners to access and use

    More From Profit & Grit

    Book your complimentary Financial Insight Session with Tyler Martin, fractional CFO for home services and the trades, here:

    http://profitandgrit.com

    Learn more at profitandgrit.com

    Follow the show for weekly interviews with HVAC, plumbing, and home service owners and experts who share what it really takes to grow, scale, and profit in the trades.

    If you listen to any of the following shows, we’re sure you’ll love ours too! To The Point Home Services Podcast, Toolbox for the Trades, Masters of Home Service, Home Service Business Coach With David Moerman, BlueCollar.CEO, The Home Service Expert Podcast, Next Level Pros, Blue Collar Business Podcast, Home Service Millionaire with Mike Andes, The Contractor Fight with Tom Reber, and Blue Collar Success Group.

    🎙️ Profit & Grit by Tyler Martin
    Real stories. Real strategy. Real results for service-based business owners.

    🔗 Website: ProfitAndGrit.com
    📍 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thinktyler
    📸 Instagram & TikTok: @profitandgrit

    Tyler Martin, a fractional CFO for home services and the trades

    📅 Want to grow your business with smarter financial strategy?
    Book a free intro meeting

    54 min
  • How to Scale a Trades Business Without Chaos - AI Levi

    A growing trades business can still feel chaotic when too much depends on the owner. Al Levi knows that firsthand after helping grow his family’s plumbing, HVAC, and electrical company to more than 70 employees and roughly $17 million in revenue.

    In this episode, Al Levi joins me to share what he learned as a third-generation trades business owner, author of The 7-Power Contractor, and longtime industry consultant. We talk about how stronger systems, technician training, career paths, and leadership development helped build a company that could operate without constant owner involvement.

    We also discuss Al’s Top Five approach to priorities, why practical playbooks go beyond basic SOPs, and why developing technicians and leaders from within can create a stronger company. We get into private equity, acquisitions, ethical sales, org charts, training, and what it takes to build a home service business that can keep growing without everything depending on the owner.

    What You Will Learn in This Episode

    • Why a profitable $17 million trades business could still feel chaotic
    • How stronger systems allowed Al to step away from the family company
    • Why developing employees internally can create a stronger talent pipeline
    • How the Top Five approach helps owners and teams stay focused
    • Why practical playbooks are more effective than basic SOPs
    • What trades owners should understand before accepting private equity money
    • How systems can make acquisitions easier to integrate
    • How ethical sales starts with diagnosing the customer’s needs
    • Why ride-alongs still matter when training and coaching technicians
    • Why building leaders from within helps companies operate without constant owner involvement
    • How clear career paths can help apprentices grow into technicians and future leaders

    More From Profit & Grit

    Book your complimentary Financial Insight Session with Tyler Martin, fractional CFO for home services and the trades, here:

    http://cfointrocall.com

    Learn more at profitandgrit.com

    Follow the show for weekly interviews with HVAC, plumbing, and home service owners and experts who share what it really takes to grow, scale, and profit in the trades.

    If you listen to any of the following shows, we’re sure you’ll love ours too! To The Point Home Services Podcast, Toolbox for the Trades, Masters of Home Service, Home Service Business Coach With David Moerman, BlueCollar.CEO, The Home Service Expert Podcast, Next Level Pros, Blue Collar Business Podcast, Home Service Millionaire with Mike Andes, The Contractor Fight with Tom Reber, and Blue Collar Success Group.

    🎙️ Profit & Grit by Tyler Martin
    Real stories. Real strategy. Real results for service-based business owners.

    🔗 Website: ProfitAndGrit.com
    📍 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thinktyler
    📸 Instagram & TikTok: @profitandgrit

    Tyler Martin, a fractional CFO for home services and the trades

    📅 Want to grow your business with smarter financial strategy?
    Book a free intro meeting

    46 min
  • Your HVAC Business Shouldn’t Depend on the Weather - Keith Flores

    Growth in the trades has never been just about booking more calls for Keith Flores. It is about understanding the numbers, earning customer trust, building the right team, and creating a company people remember long after the service visit.

    In this episode of Profit & Grit, I sit down with Keith Flores, CEO of HVAC God, HG Home Services, and Home Guardian. Keith shares what he learned from growing quickly before fully understanding the P&L, walking away from a business partnership that went wrong, and building a highly local HVAC company that operates within roughly a five-mile service area.

    After more than 35 years in the industry, Keith has worked nearly every side of the business. He started in crawl spaces at 12 years old, built an HVAC company from zero to $4.5 million in its first year, helped other companies improve their sales and operations, worked with private equity groups, and eventually developed a sharper perspective on growth, profitability, hiring, branding, and customer retention.

    We also discuss why Keith believes branding matters more than weather, how professionalism shapes customer trust, why he prefers developing younger technicians, how private equity is changing the trades, and why customer retention may be one of the biggest opportunities home service companies are overlooking.

    What You Will Learn in This Episode

    • How he built his first HVAC company from zero to $4.5 million in one year
    • What Keith learned from growing a company without understanding the P&L
    • Why branding became one of his most important growth strategies
    • What went wrong in a business partnership that reached roughly $15 million
    • Why contracts, ownership agreements, and clear paperwork matter from the beginning
    • Why Keith describes HVAC as weather enhanced rather than weather driven
    • How a roughly five-mile service radius can improve productivity and employee satisfaction
    • Why clean trucks, uniforms, and technician presentation have such a strong effect on customer trust
    • Why Keith prefers developing younger technicians instead of relying only on experienced hires
    • How private equity is changing technician recruiting, compensation, and competition in the trades
    • Why customer retention may be a bigger opportunity than constantly chasing new leads
    • Why transparency and access to system data can help homeowners make better service decisions

    More From Profit & Grit

    Book your complimentary Financial Insight Session with Tyler Martin, fractional CFO for home services and the trades, here:

    http://cfointrocall.com

    Learn more at profitandgrit.com

    Follow the show for weekly interviews with HVAC, plumbing, and home service owners and experts who share what it really takes to grow, scale, and profit in the trades.

    If you listen to any of the following shows, we’re sure you’ll love ours too! To The Point Home Services Podcast, Toolbox for the Trades, Masters of Home Service, Home Service Business Coach With David Moerman, BlueCollar.CEO, The Home Service Expert Podcast, Next Level Pros, Blue Collar Business Podcast, Home Service Millionaire with Mike Andes, The Contractor Fight with Tom Reber, and Blue Collar Success Group.

    🎙️ Profit & Grit by Tyler Martin
    Real stories. Real strategy. Real results for service-based business owners.

    🔗 Website: ProfitAndGrit.com
    📍 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thinktyler
    📸 Instagram & TikTok: @profitandgrit

    Tyler Martin, a fractional CFO for home services and the trades

    📅 Want to grow your business with smarter financial strategy?
    Book a free intro meeting

    59 min
  • How a Blind Plumber Built a 40-Truck Business - Bob Beall

    Bob Beall has spent about 40 years in plumbing, building companies, selling businesses, surviving difficult growth periods, and learning what it takes to move from working in the trade to leading a larger operation.

    In this episode of Profit & Grit, Tyler Martin talks with Bob about his path from learning plumbing with a visual impairment to building and selling BNC Plumbing, starting over with Mr. Rooter, and eventually growing across multiple territories with roughly 40 trucks.

    Bob also shares some of the harder lessons behind that growth, including what happened when he added equipment and employees too quickly, why he now believes strongly in pricing for profit, and why knowing your numbers becomes even more important as the company gets bigger.

    For plumbing, HVAC, electrical, and multi-trade owners, this conversation covers growth, profitability, technician training, marketing, financial management, family business, customer service, and the numbers Bob watches to keep the operation moving in the right direction.

    What You Will Learn in This Episode

    • How Bob learned the plumbing trade while dealing with a visual impairment
    • How he built BNC Plumbing from scratch and eventually sold the company
    • What his first business sale taught him about contracts, earn-outs, and non-compete agreements
    • How he started over after selling his first plumbing business
    • Why growing too quickly eventually put pressure on the company
    • How Bob made it through difficult periods when cash became tight
    • How consistent technician training has helped increase average tickets and technician earnings
    • What it takes to maintain service quality across multiple territories
    • Why Bob watches customer reviews as an operational indicator
    • How he approaches working with his children inside a family-run business
    • The booking and close-rate benchmarks Bob watches inside his plumbing company
    • Why he looks at numbers frequently but prefers making larger decisions based on quarterly performance
    • How Bob thinks about marketing versus advertising and measuring return on marketing spend
    • Why he believes home service companies need a strong presence across Google and social media

    More From Profit & Grit

    Book your complimentary Financial Insight Session with Tyler Martin, fractional CFO for home services and the trades, here:

    http://cfointrocall.com

    Learn more at http://cfomadeeasy.com

    Follow the show for weekly interviews with HVAC, plumbing, and home service owners and experts who share what it really takes to grow, scale, and profit in the trades.

    If you listen to any of the following shows, we’re sure you’ll love ours too! To The Point Home Services Podcast, Toolbox for the Trades, Masters of Home Service, Home Service Business Coach With David Moerman, BlueCollar.CEO, The Home Service Expert Podcast, Next Level Pros, Blue Collar Business Podcast, Home Service Millionaire with Mike Andes, The Contractor Fight with Tom Reber, and Blue Collar Success Group.

    🎙️ Profit & Grit by Tyler Martin
    Real stories. Real strategy. Real results for service-based business owners.

    🔗 Website: ProfitAndGrit.com
    📍 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thinktyler
    📸 Instagram & TikTok: @profitandgrit

    Tyler Martin, a fractional CFO for home services and the trades

    📅 Want to grow your business with smarter financial strategy?
    Book a free intro meeting

    49 min
  • How to Grow Without Experienced Technicians - Austin Blanchard

    Building a multi-trade company is difficult enough when experienced technicians are available. Austin Blanchard and his business partner took a different route by building much of their talent from the ground up.

    In this episode of Profit & Grit, Tyler Martin talks with Austin Blanchard, co-owner of Dynamech, about growing an HVAC, plumbing, and electrical company toward $5 million in revenue through organic growth without outside investors, loans, or acquisitions.

    Austin shares why Dynamech hires for character before technical experience, how they train employees across multiple trades, and why clear roles between service and project execution have become increasingly important as the company grows.

    For trades owners and home service company owners, this conversation offers a practical look at hiring, technician development, business partnerships, performance tracking, margins, systems, and building a company around the strengths of the people already inside it.

    What You Will Learn in This Episode

    • How Dynamech grew toward $5 million through organic growth
    • What Austin looks for when interviewing potential technicians
    • Why ownership accountability and positivity matter in their hiring process
    • How experienced employees eventually became trainers for newer technicians
    • How multi-trade training helps Dynamech manage changing workloads
    • How extensive photo documentation helps maintain quality during training
    • Why Dynamech separated service from project execution
    • How service technicians diagnose problems and present options while project teams complete larger work
    • Why Austin believes being busy does not always mean an employee is creating enough value
    • How Dynamech is experimenting with merit-based pay tied to revenue generation and execution
    • Why the company targets roughly 50 percent gross profit
    • How owner compensation and overhead can distort reported profitability
    • Why Austin believes financial benchmarks need context before owners compare themselves to other shops
    • Why Austin believes a flexible software setup can support Dynamech toward $10 million and beyond
    • How complementary technical and business skill sets became one of Dynamech’s biggest competitive advantages

    More From Profit & Grit

    Book your complimentary Financial Insight Session with Tyler Martin, fractional CFO for home services and the trades, here:

    http://cfointrocall.com

    Learn more at http://cfomadeeasy.com

    Follow the show for weekly interviews with HVAC, plumbing, and home service owners and experts who share what it really takes to grow, scale, and profit in the trades.

    If you listen to any of the following shows, we’re sure you’ll love ours too! To The Point Home Services Podcast, Toolbox for the Trades, Masters of Home Service, Home Service Business Coach With David Moerman, BlueCollar.CEO, The Home Service Expert Podcast, Next Level Pros, Blue Collar Business Podcast, Home Service Millionaire with Mike Andes, The Contractor Fight with Tom Reber, and Blue Collar Success Group.

    🎙️ Profit & Grit by Tyler Martin
    Real stories. Real strategy. Real results for service-based business owners.

    🔗 Website: ProfitAndGrit.com
    📍 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thinktyler
    📸 Instagram & TikTok: @profitandgrit

    Tyler Martin, a fractional CFO for home services and the trades

    📅 Want to grow your business with smarter financial strategy?
    Book a free intro meeting

    56 min
  • Nobody Talks About This in Home Services - Ashley Stroud

    Growing a trades business from one truck into a multi-million-dollar company can look impressive from the outside. But as Ashley Stroud explains, each new stage of growth brings a different set of problems to solve, from leadership and recruiting to marketing costs, margins, and the systems needed to support a larger team.

    In this episode of Profit & Grit, Tyler sits down with Ashley Stroud, co-owner of Plumbing Outfitters in the Austin, Texas area. Ashley shares how she went from working in a level one trauma center to helping build a plumbing company with 27 team members and roughly $6 million in revenue.

    They also talk about the revenue ceilings Plumbing Outfitters has faced along the way, why growth has not been linear, what losing three high-performing plumbers taught the company, how Ashley thinks about gross profit and marketing spend, and why stronger infrastructure becomes more important as a shop gets bigger.

    What You Will Learn in This Episode

    • How Ashley transitioned from emergency room nursing into the trades
    • How Plumbing Outfitters grew from one truck to its first million dollars
    • Why hustle can get a business to one stage but not necessarily the next
    • How call overflow became an important process improvement
    • What Ashley learned from losing three high-performing plumbers
    • Why technician development should be viewed as a long-term lifecycle
    • How stronger onboarding can help technicians become productive sooner
    • Why trades business growth is rarely a straight line
    • What makes the $3 million to $7 million range especially difficult
    • Why missing a revenue goal can still produce valuable business lessons
    • Why top-line revenue does not tell the whole story
    • Why understanding your P&L is critical for making better decisions
    • Why matching revenue with labor and material costs matters
    • How inaccurate timing can distort monthly financial results
    • Why marketing spend needs to match your actual growth goals
    • How Ashley and her husband define their roles inside the business
    • Why position agreements and scorecards should apply to owners too
    • How a strong leadership team helped reduce overlap between co-owners

    More From Profit & Grit

    Book your complimentary Financial Insight Session with Tyler Martin, fractional CFO for home services and the trades, here:

    http://cfointrocall.com

    Learn more at http://cfomadeeasy.com

    Follow the show for weekly interviews with HVAC, plumbing, and home service owners and experts who share what it really takes to grow, scale, and profit in the trades.

    If you listen to any of the following shows, we’re sure you’ll love ours too! To The Point Home Services Podcast, Toolbox for the Trades, Masters of Home Service, Home Service Business Coach With David Moerman, BlueCollar.CEO, The Home Service Expert Podcast, Next Level Pros, Blue Collar Business Podcast, Home Service Millionaire with Mike Andes, The Contractor Fight with Tom Reber, and Blue Collar Success Group.

    🎙️ Profit & Grit by Tyler Martin
    Real stories. Real strategy. Real results for service-based business owners.

    🔗 Website: ProfitAndGrit.com
    📍 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thinktyler
    📸 Instagram & TikTok: @profitandgrit

    Tyler Martin, a fractional CFO for home services and the trades

    📅 Want to grow your business with smarter financial strategy?
    Book a free intro meeting

    53 min

About Profit & Grit with Tyler

From the publisher's feed

Profit and Grit is the no-BS weekly podcast for home service business owners and blue collar entrepreneurs. Each episode features real strategies from successful contractors and industry experts in…