Snowfighters Institute Podcast

Upcoming Events

Snowfighters Institute Webinars: Join us live for monthly webinars built to help snow pros run stronger, more profitable operations. All sessions run 10:00 to 11:00 AM.

Recruiting | Tuesday, October 13, 2026 Why can't you find good people to hire, and what can you do about it?

Incentive Compensation & Rewards | Tuesday, November 10, 2026 Are your bonuses and rewards actually driving the results you want?

Client & Employee Appreciation | Tuesday, December 8, 2026 Are you truly appreciating your clients and employees, or just going through the motions?

See the full webinar list →

Eddy Zakes, CEO of Earth Development, joins Phil to share how a commercial snow and landscape company based in Green Bay has grown into a 15-state operation built almost entirely on a service partner network. From acquiring the business in 2021 with no snow industry background, to defining core values and brand promises in a February Airbnb in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, to a negligent homicide lawsuit that reshaped how he thinks about documentation, Eddy shares the operational, cultural, and structural moves that make Earth Development different in a space known for burning subcontractors.

Connect with Eddy:

Key Learnings

Don't Mess Up What You Bought - When you acquire an attractive business, your first job is to learn it and not break it, because you bought it for a reason and every employee is better at their job than you are on day one.

Brand Promises Have to Be Reciprocal - If you promise clients you'll be reliable, responsive, and partnering, you need service partners, employees, and even clients showing up the same way, otherwise the promises collapse.

Service Partners Are a Two-Sided Marketplace - In every community, there are only a handful of great service partners, so protect that trust because if you burn them, you lose access to everyone they know for years.

Recruit Service Partners a Year in Advance - Have conversations with potential partners in new markets before you have work for them, so when the customer expands, you're not starting from zero.

Insurance Is the Fastest Disqualifier - The level of insurance a contractor carries is what separates serious commercial snow and ice pros from the people just dabbling.

Service Verification Isn't Going Away - Instead of grumbling about the proliferation of apps, embrace them as the tool that protects your company when the worst-case lawsuit hits.

Document Every Decline - Recorded phone calls saved Earth Development in a negligent homicide lawsuit tied to a client refusing extra salting, so build the systems that document what happened and what was refused.

Fair and Generous Beats Suspicious - Lead with a posture of generosity, backstop it with fairness, and accept that you'll occasionally get taken advantage of because the alternative is living suspicious of everyone.

Be a Resource, Not the Eye in the Sky - Monitor service partners nonstop, but show up alongside them during storms with field operations supervisors instead of playing gotcha after the fact.

High Expectations Attract the Right Partners - Great service partners want to be part of an elite performance environment, so don't apologize for the accountability required to serve hospitals, airports, and high-risk logistics sites.

Growth for Growth's Sake Isn't the Point - Eddy's construction partner once told him he liked the size of his headache for the money he made, and that awareness of when to stop growing is a lesson most operators miss.

Fundraising Taught the Real Definition of Generosity - Generous people have a posture of generosity in everything they do, not just what they give, and that posture reshapes how you build a company.

Reflection Questions

If a subcontractor tried to describe your company to a peer, would they use words that match how you talk about your own brand, or would there be a gap between what you say and what they actually experience working with you?

Do you have the documentation systems in place to protect your business if a client turns down a service recommendation and something serious happens on their property?

Upcoming Events

GROW! Snow | September 22 to 23, 2026 An in-person event built for snow leaders and their teams. Two days of snow-specific breakout sessions, a facility tour, and content designed to drive real change at your business. Details coming soon.

Snowfighters Institute Webinars: Join us live for monthly webinars built to help snow pros run stronger, more profitable operations. All sessions run 10:00 to 11:00 AM.

Recruiting | Tuesday, October 13, 2026 Why can't you find good people to hire, and what can you do about it?

Incentive Compensation & Rewards | Tuesday, November 10, 2026 Are your bonuses and rewards actually driving the results you want?

Client & Employee Appreciation | Tuesday, December 8, 2026 Are you truly appreciating your clients and employees, or just going through the motions?

See the full webinar list →

David Bender, CEO of Weeded! Lawn Service in Richmond, Virginia, joins Phil to share how he built a snow operation that grows in one of the trickiest low-snow markets in the country. From choosing a client model that demands zero tolerance service, to designing custom equipment on the fly, to building a business that runs without him being awake for 83 hours straight, David shares the operational, structural, and mindset moves that made it possible. He also opens up about his SIMA speaking debut, why "lawn friends" beats "clients," and why the two questions he asks himself during every snow event have nothing to do with money.

Key Learnings

Pick a Blue Ocean for Your Company Name - A generic name puts you in a bloody sea of competitors on Google, but a distinctive name plants your flag in uncharted water and makes you unmistakable in your market.

Sell to Clients Who Want It Clean - In a low snow market especially, the only way to make money is to attract clients who want zero tolerance service on every event, so build a client base that fits your model instead of chasing everyone.

You Make the Decision, Not the Property Manager - You cannot run a snow operation while waiting on 53 property managers to approve action, so set the expectation up front that you are the decision maker on their lot.

Build the Business to Run Without You - Preparation, delegation, and communication systems are what let you sit on a beach while a storm hits and trust your team to handle it.

Take Care of the People Doing the Work - Give your subs good hours, clustered lots, quick pay when they walk in with paperwork, and grace when they damage a curb, and they will pick you over the contractor paying $50 more an hour.

Take Care of the People You Work For - Treat your client's money like your money, their tenants like your tenants, and their lot like your lot, and the trust follows.

Ask Two Questions on Every Snow Event - Are we taking great care of the people working for us, and are we taking great care of the people we work for? If the answers are yes, the money side works itself out.

Say No to the Wrong Revenue - When a national buyer offered 60% of what David was earning on Walgreens locally, he walked away because it was the wrong revenue, and the right revenue has always come back around.

Custom-Built Equipment Turns 80 Hours into One - A one-yard salt spreader on a custom trailer pulled by a Ventrac turned 80 man hours of sidewalk salting into one person plowing and salting at the same time.

Interns Can Build Real Software - A summer college intern turned a drag and drop delegation idea into working online software in a week, complete with an air traffic control view showing every plow and shoveler on a map.

Time and Materials Can Beat Seasonal in the Right Market - In a market with high percentage swings from zero to five events, time and materials often works better than seasonal, but only when the underlying business model is rock solid.

Know Your Numbers - Don't obsess over what brand of equipment you're using, obsess over what that equipment actually costs you per hour, because knowing your numbers is what lets you build everything else you want to build.

Reflection Questions

Are you attracting clients that fit your operational model, or are you bending your operation to serve clients whose expectations don't match how you want to run your business?

If a storm hit while you were on a beach with your phone off, would your team handle it, and if not, which system is missing: preparation, delegation, or communication?

GROW! Snow | September 21 to 23, 2026 An in-person event built for snow leaders and their teams. Two days of snow-specific breakout sessions, a facility tour, and content designed to drive real change at your business. Learn more: snowfightersinstitute.com/events-coming-soon/grow-snow

Upcoming Events

GROW! Snow | September 22 to 23, 2026 An in-person event built for snow leaders and their teams. Two days of snow-specific breakout sessions, a facility tour, and content designed to drive real change at your business. Details coming soon.

Snowfighters Institute Webinars: Join us live for monthly webinars built to help snow pros run stronger, more profitable operations. All sessions run 10:00 to 11:00 AM.

Capacity Planning | Tuesday, September 8, 2026 How do you determine your true operational capacity?

Recruiting | Tuesday, October 13, 2026 Why can't you find good people to hire, and what can you do about it?

Incentive Compensation & Rewards | Tuesday, November 10, 2026 Are your bonuses and rewards actually driving the results you want?

Client & Employee Appreciation | Tuesday, December 8, 2026 Are you truly appreciating your clients and employees, or just going through the motions?

See the full webinar list →

Eric Gagnon, President of G&G Landscape and Development in Maine, joins Phil to share his journey from commercial electrician to full-time snow and landscape professional. From partnering with his brother and later navigating a family buyout, to losing his father at 19 and letting that shape how he approaches business and life, to building a self-performing operation that runs on seasonal contracts and an automated salt-sales system, Eric shares hard-won lessons on leadership, technology, and why serving the community matters as much as growing the business. He also opens up about loving snow, being a self-described loader guy, and pursuing a vision of excellence that blurs the line between work and life.

Key Learnings

Look in the Mirror Before You Commit Another Decade - Eric changed careers when he stopped liking who was looking back at him, so pay attention to that feeling instead of grinding through a job you don't enjoy for the rest of your career.

Take the Leap Even When It Means a Pay Cut - Moving from a secure electrical job to full-time in the family business meant less pay and less security, but the freedom to build something of your own is worth the trade-off.

Different Visions Between Partners Wear You Down - When one partner wants to grow big and the other wants to stay small, every conversation feels like someone has to compromise, which erodes the relationship over time.

Buyouts Between Family Members Are Hard but Worth It - Family buyouts get emotional and people say things they shouldn't in the heat of the moment, but the right structural change can restore the personal relationship and strengthen both businesses.

Address Conflict Before It Festers - In personal relationships and business, letting things sit only makes them worse, so have the hard conversation as quickly as possible.

Everything Happens for a Reason - Losing his father at 19 forced Eric to spread his wings earlier than he would have, and shaped a perspective that hard experiences often prepare you for what comes next.

Seasonal Contracts Build Better Businesses - Fixed monthly billing lets clients budget with confidence and lets you build the team, equipment, and quality of service the market expects, regardless of whether the winter is mild or brutal.

Cap Your Salt Applications - Salt is a volatile commodity, so capping applications in your seasonal contract at a set number and charging per application beyond that protects both you and your client from a bad winter.

Self-Perform Wherever You Can - Self-performing 95% of work protects the level of service your customers expect, and even when subcontractors handle sidewalks or remote sites, you should still put eyes on the property afterward.

A Tight Service Radius Is a Luxury - Keeping all your loaders and trucks in one heated shop makes maintenance easier, keeps mechanics on top of every piece of equipment, and simplifies dispatch during storms.

Solve the Problem Instead of Hiring Around It - When contractors kept calling for salt after hours, Eric and his brother built an automated 24/7 salt-dispensing system instead of hiring someone to sit at the shop, and it grew into a major line of business.

Compete on Level of Service, Not Price - You don't have to be the cheapest contractor, especially as low-service excavation crews leave the winter market and clients demand more professional operations.

Give Back to Your Community - Serving as a selectman, on a dam commission, and on a waste-to-energy board takes time but builds relationships and gives you perspective across sectors you'd never touch through your business alone.

Pursue a Vision of Excellence in Everything You Do - The best operators barely distinguish between their work and their play, chasing excellence in whatever is in front of them rather than treating work as something to escape from.

Reflection Questions

Do you like the person looking back at you in the mirror, and if not, what career or business change have you been avoiding?

Are you protecting your quality of service by self-performing where it matters, or are you outsourcing so much that you're losing control of what your clients actually experience?

Where in your business are you hiring around a problem when you could design a system that solves it once and pays you for years?

Resources & References

Upcoming Events

GROW! Snow | September 22 to 23, 2026 An in-person event built for snow leaders and their teams. Two days of snow-specific breakout sessions, a facility tour, and content designed to drive real change at your business. Details coming soon.

Snowfighters Institute Webinars: Join us live for monthly webinars built to help snow pros run stronger, more profitable operations. All sessions run 10:00 to 11:00 AM.

Finding & Managing Subcontractors | Tuesday, August 11, 2026 How do you find subcontractors who actually show up when it snows?

Capacity Planning | Tuesday, September 8, 2026 How do you determine your true operational capacity?

Recruiting | Tuesday, October 13, 2026 Why can't you find good people to hire, and what can you do about it?

Incentive Compensation & Rewards | Tuesday, November 10, 2026 Are your bonuses and rewards actually driving the results you want?

Client & Employee Appreciation | Tuesday, December 8, 2026 Are you truly appreciating your clients and employees, or just going through the motions?

See the full webinar list →

Robert Holmes, founder of Spectrum Weather and Specialty Insurance, joins Phil to demystify weather insurance for the snow and ice industry. From explaining what an independent broker actually is, to walking through real-life examples of how contractors use lack-of-snow policies to protect equipment rentals, collateralize operating loans, and build client-loyalty credits, Robert shows why weather insurance isn't just for the biggest operations. He also shares the story of his 18-year path from research meteorologist and Antarctic weather-station builder to founder of a family-run brokerage that helps contractors turn weather risk into a Lego box of solutions.

Key Learnings

Know the Difference Between Agent and Broker - An agent works for the insurance carrier, but an independent broker's fiduciary responsibility is to you, which means access to the best coverage across carriers instead of whatever one company sells.

Weather Insurance Triggers on Snowfall, Not Expenses - Claims are paid based on measured snowfall against a defined threshold, so you don't have to prove salt costs went up or your labor spend spiked to collect.

Airport Measurements Keep Things Clean - Coverage typically uses a central, historically tracked location like a major airport because it's a disinterested third party with reliable data underwriters can price against.

Insurance Offsets Big Contract Risk - Landing a large contract usually means renting or buying expensive equipment that has to sit ready, and weather insurance can protect that outlay if the snow doesn't come.

Weather Policies Can Collateralize Bank Loans - Snow-only contractors going into winter cash-poor can use a lack-of-snow policy to name their bank as an additional loss payee, giving lenders peace of mind on operating capital loans.

Whoever Owns the Risk Buys the Policy - Property managers, HOAs, landlords, and even municipalities buy weather insurance too, so if the risk lives with your client, they might be the buyer instead of you.

Buy Insurance Earlier in the Season - As winter approaches, carrier capacity in high-demand markets like Chicago fills up, so a policy that costs $X in August could cost 20% more if you wait until October or November.

Use Weather Insurance to Sharpen Your Seasonal Pricing - A backstop policy against a heavy winter lets you consider bringing seasonal pricing down without absorbing all the downside risk yourself.

Turn Insurance Payouts into Client Credits - If your seasonal contract triggers a lack-of-snow payout, you can offer that money back to the client as a credit toward next year, locking in the relationship before the next RFP.

Excess Snow Policies Are Real Too - Coverage doesn't just protect against light winters, you can build policies that trigger when you get more than X six-inch storms, or a certain total in a 15-day window, protecting against overtime, breakage, and burnout.

Cap Your Seasonal and Insure the Overage - Structuring a capped seasonal where insurance covers everything above the cap gives the client no additional cost exposure and gives you a differentiator no competitor is offering.

Weather Insurance Is a Box of Legos - There's no one-size-fits-all policy, so a good broker asks what you're worried about, monetizes the exposure, and builds custom coverage from a set of flexible pieces.

Educate, Don't Sell - The best posture for any advisor is to give clients everything they need to make the right decision for their business, even if that decision is no, because relationships and referrals are built on trust, not pressure.

Answer the Phone - In a world moving toward automation and AI, being the person who actually picks up when a client calls is a competitive advantage that pays for itself over 18 years in business.

Reflection Questions

Are you carrying weather risk that could be transferred to an insurance carrier for less than it would cost you if the winter goes the wrong way?

Have you thought about how a lack-of-snow policy could change what you're willing to bid, or how you structure a capped seasonal contract for your next big RFP?

If you're renting or purchasing significant equipment ahead of a big contract, what happens to your margins if it doesn't snow, and is there a policy that could protect that exposure?

Upcoming Events

GROW! Snow | September 22 to 23, 2026 An in-person event built for snow leaders and their teams. Two days of snow-specific breakout sessions, a facility tour, and content designed to drive real change at your business. Details coming soon.

Snowfighters Institute Webinars: Join us live for monthly webinars built to help snow pros run stronger, more profitable operations. All sessions run 10:00 to 11:00 AM.

Finding & Managing Subcontractors | Tuesday, August 11, 2026 How do you find subcontractors who actually show up when it snows?

Capacity Planning | Tuesday, September 8, 2026 How do you determine your true operational capacity?

Recruiting | Tuesday, October 13, 2026 Why can't you find good people to hire, and what can you do about it?

Incentive Compensation & Rewards | Tuesday, November 10, 2026 Are your bonuses and rewards actually driving the results you want?

Client & Employee Appreciation | Tuesday, December 8, 2026 Are you truly appreciating your clients and employees, or just going through the motions?

See the full webinar list →

Tabetha Hart, President and Co-Founder of Tamarisk Business Advisors and a Certified Exit Planning Advisor, joins Phil for a short but meaningful conversation about why the businesses that look most successful from the outside often trap the owners who built them. Tabetha shares the origin of the Tamarisk Method, why growth without intentional design multiplies owner dependency instead of reducing it, and why the real purpose of a business isn't just to make money, but to create options for the owner, their family, and their team.

Key Learnings

Successful Looking Businesses Often Trap Their Owners - Profitable, growing companies can still leave the owner unable to step away because every decision, team, and customer runs through them.

Growth Without Design Multiplies Owner Dependency - Scaling revenue without intentional structure means more employees, customers, and decisions bottleneck through the owner, so the business gets bigger while freedom shrinks.

The Purpose of a Business Is to Create Options - Revenue and profit matter, but the higher purpose of a business is creating options for the owner, their family, and their team.

Exit Planning Isn't About Retirement - It's about stewardship and intentionally building a business that can thrive beyond you, protecting your family, your employees, and the value you spent decades creating.

Clarity Comes Before Change - Owners are often too close to their businesses to see where dependency exists, so the first step is objectively looking at financial performance, leadership, risk, and how decisions really get made.

Ask What Options Your Next Decision Creates - Before every major business decision, ask whether it makes the business more dependent on you or less, and whether it builds something that can endure.

Reflection Questions

Could you completely unplug for two weeks with no contact and be confident your business would run without you?

Are your recent decisions creating more freedom or more responsibility for you as the owner?

If something happened to you tomorrow, would your business still have options, or would everything depend on you being there?

The Tamarisk Method:

Upcoming Events

Snowfighters Institute Webinars: Join us live for monthly webinars built to help snow pros run stronger, more profitable operations. All sessions run 10:00 to 11:00 AM.

Finding & Managing Subcontractors | Tuesday, August 11, 2026 How do you find subcontractors who actually show up when it snows?

Capacity Planning | Tuesday, September 8, 2026 How do you determine your true operational capacity?

Recruiting | Tuesday, October 13, 2026 Why can't you find good people to hire, and what can you do about it?

Incentive Compensation & Rewards | Tuesday, November 10, 2026 Are your bonuses and rewards actually driving the results you want?

Client & Employee Appreciation | Tuesday, December 8, 2026 Are you truly appreciating your clients and employees, or just going through the motions?

See the full webinar list →

In-Person Event

GROW! Snow | September 22 to 23, 2026 An in-person event built for snow leaders and their teams. Two days of snow-specific breakout sessions, a facility tour, and content designed to drive real change at your business. Details coming soon.

Scott Lesak, President of Kasel Rocks Facility Services in Allentown, Pennsylvania, joins Phil to share his journey from professional track cyclist to firefighter to president of a mid-sized industrial snow operation. From starting a business with his dad at 15 while racing bicycles, to pivoting from high-end residential design build into recurring-revenue commercial snow, to running roughly 45 loaders across the entire eastern half of Pennsylvania, Scott shares hard-won lessons on communication, culture, and the personal transformation that reshaped how he leads. He also opens up about his firefighting years, his recovery from PTSD and alcohol, and why the change you want to see in your business starts within you.

Connect with Scott on LinkedIn

Key Learnings

Hire for Attitude, Not Experience - Skills can be taught, but the willingness to learn and show up upbeat is what actually predicts whether someone will grow into a great team member.

Recurring Revenue Multiplies Your Selling Effort - Selling $1.5M in one-time design build work every year gets you $1.5M, but selling $1.5M in three-year contracts stacks to $4.5M in revenue by year three.

12-Month Billing Reduces Snow Risk - Guaranteed 12-month billing on seasonal contracts is what makes it safe to invest in the loaders, plows, and equipment growth requires.

Relationships Beat Production in Sales - Clients don't care how you plow snow or cut grass, they care that it's done, so the relationship side of the sales process matters more than showing off your production process.

Not Everyone Thinks Like You Do - The older you get, the more you realize your thought process is unique, which means clarity and repetition in communication matter more than you think.

Communication Is a True Competitive Advantage - Sending weather forecasts, game plan updates, and real-time production updates keeps clients informed and separates you from every other contractor claiming the same service.

Get Ahead of Damage Before Clients Find It - When operators chip a curb or hit anything on site, having a system that puts a photo in front of the client within five minutes builds long-term trust instead of eroding it.

Standardize Your Scope and Never Sway - A detailed standardized scope with site maps, pile locations, plow directions, and priority areas removes ambiguity and delivers a consistent experience site to site.

Sell Snow as an Insurance Policy - When clients understand you're keeping their site safe against liability, they're often willing to pay considerably more than they paid the previous provider.

Standards Prevent Slip and Falls - Refusing to sway from a high standard scope is how a snow operation goes 20 years without a single slip and fall claim.

Get Plugged Into the Industry - Organizations like SIMA and events like Snow Alliance at Storks connect you to people who've already figured out what you're trying to figure out, and most operators are willing to help.

Ask Questions and Turn Vendors Into Mentors - The best mentorships often start informally, from a garden center you buy mulch from to a subcontracting relationship, if you're willing to be curious and ask why.

Culture Isn't Health Insurance and PTO - Real culture is caring enough to have the borderline uncomfortable conversation when someone seems off, and being willing to give people in recovery a real chance to grow.

Put People First, Then Clients, Then Profits - When you take care of people, they take care of clients, and clients take care of profits every single time.

You Are the Roadblock - The change you want to see in your business starts within you, so drop the ego, get humble, and look internally at what has to change.

Reflection Questions

Are you selling one-time work every year and starting over, or are you building a recurring revenue base that compounds over time?

How proactive is your damage communication with clients, and could you consistently get a photo of any issue in front of them within five minutes?

Where in your business are you blaming outside factors when the real roadblock is the way you think, act, or communicate?

Upcoming Events

Snowfighters Institute Webinars: Join us live for monthly webinars built to help snow pros run stronger, more profitable operations. All sessions run 10:00 to 11:00 AM.

Pricing & Estimating Review | Tuesday, July 7, 2026 Are you pricing for profit or just hoping to break even?

Finding & Managing Subcontractors | Tuesday, August 11, 2026 How do you find subcontractors who actually show up when it snows?

Capacity Planning | Tuesday, September 8, 2026 How do you determine your true operational capacity?

Recruiting | Tuesday, October 13, 2026 Why can't you find good people to hire, and what can you do about it?

Incentive Compensation & Rewards | Tuesday, November 10, 2026 Are your bonuses and rewards actually driving the results you want?

Client & Employee Appreciation | Tuesday, December 8, 2026 Are you truly appreciating your clients and employees, or just going through the motions?

See the full webinar list →

In-Person Event

GROW! Snow | September 22 to 23, 2026 An in-person event built for snow leaders and their teams. Two days of snow-specific breakout sessions, a facility tour, and content designed to drive real change at your business. Details coming soon.

Key Learnings

Umbrella Liability Beats Raising General Liability Limits - Umbrella coverage isn't auditable like general liability, so it gives you broader protection over auto and employer's liability without driving up your audit exposure.

Sales vs Payroll Rating Changes Everything - Being rated on snow payroll instead of total snow sales gives carriers a more accurate picture of your true exposure and can dramatically lower your premiums.

Guaranteed Cost Contracts Distort Sales Numbers - When clients pay $500,000 whether it snows 2 inches or 200, sales doesn't reflect actual risk exposure, which is why the payroll rating shift matters so much.

Choose Your Clients Wisely - You can run a flawless snow operation, but if your client list is heavy on gas stations and big box retail, insurance carriers may decline to write the account because of slip and fall frequency.

Site Type Matters More Than Industry Label - A local bank and a Walmart are both retail, but they carry completely different risk profiles, so generic application categories without conversation create real problems.

Camera Footage Defends Against Bogus Claims - Forward-facing, rear-facing, and driver-facing cameras give carriers the evidence they need to fight inflated or fraudulent claims rather than just settling them.

You Can Be Involved but Can't Decide - You have every right to talk to adjusters and share your perspective, but the final claims decision belongs to the insurance carrier as a financial business decision.

Settlements Aren't a Reflection of Your Work - Carriers settle based on local jury tendencies and cost analysis, not because you did a bad job, so don't take settled claims personally.

Documentation Dictates Settlement Amounts - Time-stamped records showing arrival, salt application, monitoring, and return trips give carriers reason to fight harder for you and can reduce settlement amounts.

Excess and Surplus Means More Cost, Less Flexibility - Non-admitted carriers can dictate exclusions and rates, often using minimum premiums based on sales that you can't recover even if your revenue comes in lower than projected.

Ask Your Agent the Right Questions - Know whether you're in the standard or excess and surplus market, whether your rating is based on sales or payroll, and what your minimum premium is so you can plan accurately.

Separate Entities Limit Risk Spread - Putting your snow business in a separate legal entity from your summer operation costs more but protects your entire company from being dropped over one bad claim year.

Your Agent Must Tell Your Story - Insurance carriers don't specialize in snow because it's volatile, so your agent's ability to honestly and accurately paint your operation to underwriters directly affects what coverage you can get.

Responsiveness Builds Trust - In insurance and most service businesses, being available and communicating quickly is what separates a relationship-driven agent from a transactional one.

Reflection Questions

Are you blindly accepting your insurance structure, or do you know whether you're being rated on sales or payroll, and what your minimum premium actually is?

What does your client list look like through an underwriter's eyes, and are you taking on accounts that may be hurting your insurability without realizing it?

How strong is your documentation when a claim hits, and would your time-stamped records give your carrier enough reason to fight rather than settle?

Upcoming Events

Snowfighters Institute Webinars: Join us live for monthly webinars built to help snow pros run stronger, more profitable operations. All sessions run 10:00 to 11:00 AM.

Contract Review | Tuesday, June 2, 2026 Internal review and update of sales contracts and subcontractor agreements.

Pricing & Estimating Review | Tuesday, July 7, 2026 Are you pricing for profit or just hoping to break even?

Finding & Managing Subcontractors | Tuesday, August 11, 2026 How do you find subcontractors who actually show up when it snows?

Capacity Planning | Tuesday, September 8, 2026 How do you determine your true operational capacity?

Recruiting | Tuesday, October 13, 2026 Why can't you find good people to hire, and what can you do about it?

Incentive Compensation & Rewards | Tuesday, November 10, 2026 Are your bonuses and rewards actually driving the results you want?

Client & Employee Appreciation | Tuesday, December 8, 2026 Are you truly appreciating your clients and employees, or just going through the motions?

See the full webinar list →

In-Person Event

GROW! Snow | September 22 to 23, 2026 An in-person event built for snow leaders and their teams. Two days of snow-specific breakout sessions, a facility tour, and content designed to drive real change at your business. Details coming soon.

Joe and Carla Policastro, co-founders of Cycle CPA, join Phil to discuss why financial clarity is the foundation of a healthy snow and landscape business. From managing the cash flow challenges of seasonal work, to benchmarking your numbers against industry peers, to why your bank balance only tells part of the story, this husband and wife team shares how proactive accounting and advisory work help contractors make confident decisions instead of operating on gut feel. They also open up about the personal journeys that drive their mission to serve hardworking business owners in the green and snow industries.

Key Learnings

Your Bank Balance Is Only Part of the Picture - Checking your account daily tells you what you have right now, but future cash flow forecasting shows you what is coming and what to watch out for.

Seasonal Businesses Must Build Cash Reserves - Snow and landscape operations need enough cash saved during busy months to carry them through slow seasons and economic downturns.

Get Your Numbers Fast to Decide Fast - The earlier you receive accurate monthly financials, the quicker you can make confident business decisions.

Benchmark Against Industry Peers, Not Just Last Year - Comparing your numbers to industry averages reveals problems like labor costs running higher than competitors, pointing you toward what needs fixing.

Make Decisions on Data, Not Gut Feel - Business owners without timely, accurate information are operating in the dark, while knowing your numbers lets you plan the future with confidence.

Track Labor Hours Against Each Job - In a labor-intensive industry, knowing how many hours are budgeted toward a specific job and tracking time against it is critical to protecting your margins.

Outsource What Isn't Your Expertise - Leverage other people's expertise in areas like accounting, IT, or marketing where you lack the time or skill, so you can focus on what you do best.

Don't Be Embarrassed by Messy Books - Nearly every new client needs a cleanup period, so the state of your accounting should never stop you from reaching out for help.

Predictable Pricing Beats Hourly Billing - Fixed-fee service packages provide cost certainty and remove the surprise of a massive year-end bill that hourly billing often creates.

Know Your Why Beyond the Money - Profit matters, but founders who can articulate the deeper mission driving them are better equipped to sustain through the ups and downs of business.

Technology Bridges the Administrative Gap - Tools like Bill let owners with no admin staff scan receipts and bills from their phone so the accounting still gets handled efficiently.

Industry Specialization Delivers Better Advice - Accountants who know your software, your jargon, and your specific challenges provide insights a general local CPA cannot.

Software Must Talk to Each Other - Platforms like Aspire, Jobber, and Element need cost codes mapped correctly to QuickBooks so month-end close goes smoothly without data errors.

Plan Taxes Before Year-End - Proactive tax planning meetings throughout the year prevent the scary surprise tax bill at the end of the year.

Reflection Questions

Are you making business decisions based on timely, accurate financial information, or are you operating on gut feel and checking your bank balance hoping it tells the whole story?

Have you built enough cash reserves to carry your seasonal business through the slow months and an unexpected economic downturn?

What parts of your business are you trying to handle yourself that would be better outsourced to professionals, freeing you to focus on the work only you can do?

Connect with Cycle CPA

Upcoming Events

Snowfighters Institute Webinars: Join us live for monthly webinars built to help snow pros run stronger, more profitable operations. All sessions run 10:00 to 11:00 AM.

Contract Review | Tuesday, June 2, 2026 Internal review and update of sales contracts and subcontractor agreements.

Pricing & Estimating Review | Tuesday, July 7, 2026 Are you pricing for profit or just hoping to break even?

Finding & Managing Subcontractors | Tuesday, August 11, 2026 How do you find subcontractors who actually show up when it snows?

Capacity Planning | Tuesday, September 8, 2026 How do you determine your true operational capacity?

Recruiting | Tuesday, October 13, 2026 Why can't you find good people to hire, and what can you do about it?

Incentive Compensation & Rewards | Tuesday, November 10, 2026 Are your bonuses and rewards actually driving the results you want?

Client & Employee Appreciation | Tuesday, December 8, 2026 Are you truly appreciating your clients and employees, or just going through the motions?

See the full webinar list →

In-Person Event

GROW! Snow | September 22 to 23, 2026 An in-person event built for snow leaders and their teams. Two days of snow-specific breakout sessions, a facility tour, and content designed to drive real change at your business. Details coming soon.

This week's episode is a little different. Phil Harwood joins Marty Grunder on The Grow Show to discuss the strategic partnership between Snow Fighters Institute and The Grow Group, share his 40 years of industry experience, and explain why snow removal can be the most profitable part of a service business. From his early days running printing equipment in the family business to his current role as a consultant and attorney, Phil reveals the leadership principles that have served him throughout his career, the trends shaping the future of snow operations, and why building a sellable business benefits every owner regardless of exit plans.

Key Learnings

Snow Fighting Is Emergency Service Work - Snow removal is comparable to firefighting because crews are on call all winter and must drop everything when activity starts, requiring a mindset that embraces the calling rather than resenting it.

Find Companies That Love Snow - The best operators love snow not because they enjoy leaving their families for three days, but because they understand they're providing valuable emergency services that make a real difference.

Degrees Don't Equal Smartness or Success - Education provides knowledge, but you have to apply what you learned and surround yourself with smart people to actually succeed in business.

Outsiders Get Heard More Than Insiders - The same advice from an internal team member often gets ignored but is celebrated when delivered by an objective outside consultant with no skin in the game.

Do What You Say You're Going to Do - The basics like answering your phone, being respectful, and following through on commitments sound like cliches but remain the foundation of successful business relationships.

Be Great at What You Want Your Team to Be Good At - Leaders are always being watched, so demonstrating excellence in the areas you want your team to excel in is more powerful than telling them what to do.

Show Up Early and Be Prepared - Getting to the shop two hours before crews arrive, plowing the lot, making coffee, and cleaning trucks sets the tone for the entire operation.

Unintended Consequences Live Behind Core Values - Slogans like "service is always in season" can create costly operational inefficiencies when teams take them too literally without considering the bigger picture.

Drive to Learn Matters More Than Ability - Phil learned to identify every tree in the Detroit metro area in one winter by keeping a tree book in his truck and studying at every stop sign because he wanted to know.

Education Creates Career Paths - Exposing team members to industry education often sparks interest that pulls them deeper into the profession and creates clear paths to greater contributions.

Technology Is Transforming Snow Operations - From real-time coaching built into wheel loaders to remote operators who could eventually run machines from anywhere in the world, technology is reshaping how snow operations function.

Software Integration Is Now Essential - Business management platforms like Aspire integrate with snow equipment to capture data on salt usage and operations, making this technology affordable even for smaller contractors.

The Great Wealth Transfer Is Happening Now - Baby boomers transferring businesses to the next generation is driving educational programs around selling and valuing businesses, making succession planning a critical industry trend.

Build a Sellable Business Whether or Not You're Selling - Setting your business up so someone could easily buy it means you have the systems, key people, and processes that make any business better regardless of exit plans.

Snow Can Drive 80% of Your Profits - In Phil's previous business, snow operations made up 50% of revenue but generated 80% of profits, demonstrating how profitable snow can be when done well.

Reflection Questions

How are you positioning snow removal within your business - as a necessary evil you complain about, or as a valuable emergency service that can be the most profitable part of your operation?

Are you being the example you want your team to follow, showing up early, being prepared, and demonstrating excellence in the areas you want them to excel in?

Is your business set up so that someone could buy it tomorrow if they wanted to, with systems, key people, and processes that don't depend entirely on you being there?

Josh Ferguson, Partner at Freeman Mathis and Gary LLP and 22-year insurance defense attorney, joins Phil to share legal insights from defending snow and ice management contractors nationwide. From handling salt shortages with proper contract language, to navigating multi-tier liability claims, to why lost text messages can sink a defense, Josh reveals why documentation is the foundation of legal protection, why the red pen approach works on client contracts, and why proactive general counsel work delivers the best ROI for contractors who want to avoid expensive litigation down the road.

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Key Learnings

Document, Document, Document - Documentation is the single most important defense in any lawsuit, from preseason site maps to in-event records to follow-up ice watch notes.

Force Majeure Clauses Need Salt Specificity - Generic act of God clauses aren't enough; specifically identify salt shortages in your contract to limit liability when supply issues arise.

Red Pen Every Client Contract - Mark up every client contract you receive because even rejected markups help you understand your risk exposure points.

Detach Your Contract as an Addendum - When clients have rigid contracts, propose attaching your scope of work and protective language as an addendum, which works more often than expected.

Lost Text Messages Sink Defenses - Communications stored on personal phones disappear when employees leave, creating spoliation charges that work against you in court.

Use Platforms with Built-In Texting - Systems like Team Engine store communications by company rather than personal phones, protecting you when seasonal employees leave.

Document Subcontractor Capabilities - Negligent hiring claims require proof that subcontractors had the manpower, equipment, and history to service sites properly.

Mirror Client and Subcontractor Agreements - Gaps between your client contract and subcontractor agreements create exposure points that plaintiff's attorneys exploit.

Stay Involved in Insurance Claims - The squeaky wheel gets the grease; staying involved with carriers and defense attorneys leads to better outcomes over your career.

Personal Injury Lawyers Are Targeting Snow - Big law firms now handle slip and fall cases with more experts, ramped-up injuries, and multi-defendant strategies for bigger payouts.

Multi-Tier Liability Creates Multiple Pots - Plaintiff's counsel add negligent hiring claims to reach property owners, managers, contractors, and subcontractors for more money sources.

Emergency Response Within Hours Matters - Getting attorneys and experts on-site quickly protects privileged conversations and preserves evidence before witnesses change their stories.

Proactive General Counsel Beats Reactive Defense - Working with attorneys before claims happen provides better ROI than dealing with lawsuits after they're filed.

Salt Shortage Documentation Required - When experiencing supply shortages, document the actual shortage with proof from suppliers in addition to having protective contract language.

Reflection Questions

How are you managing electronic communications between your team and clients, and would your text message records survive a lawsuit two to four years down the road?

Do you have documentation proving your subcontractors are capable of servicing the sites they're assigned to, or could a negligent hiring claim catch you unprepared?

Are you treating contract review and legal counsel as a proactive investment in your business, or only reaching out to attorneys when something goes wrong?