🌐 TrueShield Exteriors: https://www.trueshieldexteriors.net/ 

📸 @neighborhoodroofer: https://www.instagram.com/neighborhoodroofer/ 

🌐 Baden Consulting: https://www.badenconsulting.net/ 

🌐 The Kitchen Table Podcast: https://www.thekitchentablepodcast.net/

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 — Introduction & Welcome

0:18 — Ken introduces Cory Smeallie from Northeast Ohio

1:13 — The record-breaking Ohio hailstorm & what it means for roofers

3:21 — How Cory got into the industry — 10 years in roofing

4:26 — Finding roofing sales through a Facebook video from Josh Diamond Burger

6:00 — Cory's rocky past: the factory accident, opioid addiction & homelessness

7:11 — Getting clean April 10, 2014 — how recovery led to opportunity

9:00 — What roofing attracts people in recovery & the instant gratification culture

10:38 — The "chuck in a truck" era vs. being a true professional in the space

12:01 — Stop looking for magic scripts — documentation and consistency win

13:17 — TrueShield Exteriors: just over a year old, $300K year one, pacing $3–5M

14:07 — Bringing his dad up from South Carolina as production manager

15:15 — Doing small jobs for free to build trust and earn word-of-mouth referrals

16:19 — Book recommendation: Beyond the Hammer

17:03 — Growth plans, longevity, and building something his son can inherit

18:00 — Why he started his own company: controlling the customer experience

20:02 — Baden Consulting's vision and what the right investing partner could unlock

21:06 — Running the business daily: playing sales manager while building the team

21:33 — His top retail rep: a former X Games racer turned roofer

23:12 — Finding talent in unexpected places (the gym, a gas station)

23:50 — Hiring a current EMT/firefighter and paying for half his schooling

25:00 — Building a culture where people want to show up

26:07 — How to find Cory and TrueShield Exteriors online

27:27 — Wrap-up & closing

Guest: Chris Mechanic — serial entrepreneur, founder of WebMechanix (sold after 15 years, 9x Inc. 5000), and creator of Mecha AI, a voice AI platform built for high-volume lead gen businesses. Chris came up through SEO and affiliate marketing, built a nationally recognized digital agency, achieved a successful exit near his 40th birthday, and then dove headfirst into the world of voice AI after seeing the technology's potential to solve real call center problems.

Host: Ken Baden, CEO/Owner of Baden Consulting and Potomac Custom Remodeling — a hands-on entrepreneur in the DMV home improvement space who isn't afraid to share what's working and what isn't inside his own business.

What you'll learn in this episode:

Resources mentioned:

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS

0:00 — Welcome & Intro: Who is Chris Mechanic? 

1:00 — Chris's background: Self-taught SEO, affiliate marketing, starting WebMechanix 

1:45 — 15 years of growth: 9x Inc. 5000, 23–24% growth annually 

2:00 — The exit: Selling the agency around his 40th birthday 

2:30 — Life after the exit: The identity crisis and going stir crazy in retirement 

4:00 — The pivot: How voice AI got on Chris's radar (enterprise financial services project) 

5:30 — Ken's story: Investing heavily in marketing and chasing the lead problem 

6:00 — How Baden Consulting started using Mecha AI — and why Ken was a skeptic 

7:00 — The AI answers every call: "Flow" and the 24/7 call routing system 

9:00 — The stats: Service Titan data shows contractors miss 20–25% of calls 

11:00 — Canvasser confirmation calls and what AI does better than humans 

13:00 — The power of a consistent, "hardened" B+ agent vs. your best human rep 

14:30 — AI and jobs: Why none of Chris's clients are using AI to cut headcount 

16:00 — Rehash strategy: The one-call-close model and why margins drop after you leave 

19:00 — The survey + rehash combo: Ken's gold nugget for recovering lost leads 

22:00 — Multiple rehash cohorts: Pitched but said no, ghosted, or never reached 

24:00 — Direct response marketing principles applied to home improvement 

26:00 — Your customer list is your goldmine — and contractors aren't using it 

31:00 — Social media strategy: Get off your own page, infiltrate the conversations 

32:00 — Reddit and AIO (AI Optimization) as the new SEO 

33:00 — Geo-targeted YouTube ads: Become famous in your town for less than TV 

36:00 — Monetizing your customer list with referral partnerships and upsells 

38:00 — Ken's honest review: From pessimist to all-in on Mecha AI 

40:00 — Where to find Chris and demo Mecha AI 

41:30 — Closing thoughts and see you next time

EPISODE NOTES

TIMESTAMPS

0:18 – Welcome & Introduction

1:00 – Andrew's world: Private equity, M&A, and home services in Denver

3:00 – The fire safety industry and PE acquisition frenzy

5:00 – Andrew's business model: EAs, AI, and life insurance strategies

6:00 – The "Become Your Own Bank" concept with life insurance

10:00 – Virtual assistants vs. AI automation — what's still worth hiring a human for

13:00 – The private equity opportunity for home service owners

15:00 – Why you need an M&A advisor before talking to PE firms

18:00 – Ken's growth goals: Potomac Custom Remodeling's 2025 plan

20:00 – Staffing challenges in scaling a roofing company

23:00 – Baden Consulting and the roofing community pivot

26:00 – Andrew's 2025 business goals: targeting $10M per company

29:00 – How to contact Andrew Hathaway

31:00 – Andrew's legacy: faith, family, and marketplace leadership

🔗 Connect with Andrew Hathaway: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anhathaway/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theandrewhathaway/ 

Website: www.hathawaydashcompanies.com

🌐 The Kitchen Table Podcast: thekitchentablepodcast.net 

🏢 Baden Consulting www.badenconsulting.net

🏢 Potomac Custom Remodeling: www.potomaccustomremodeling.com

#BlueCollarBusiness #AIAutomation #HomeServicesBusiness #PrivateEquity #BusinessFreedom #TheKitchenTablePodcast

EPISODE NOTES

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 — Welcome & Introductions 

01:50 — Who Are Brent & Kyle Pease? The Story of the Kyle Pease Foundation 

03:00 — Building a Nonprofit from the Kitchen Table 

03:55 — What It's Really Like to Do an Ironman with Cerebral Palsy 

05:30 — The First Ironman: Losing the Wheelchair & a Moment That Said It All 

06:20 — Will There Be Another Ironman? The Door Is Cracked Open 

07:00 — Ken Opens Up: Recovery, Addiction, and Finding Redemption Through Movement 

10:50 — The Mental Battle Inside an Ironman — How Kyle Keeps Brent Going 

13:30 — The Business of Endurance: Parallels Between Racing and Entrepreneurship 

14:40 — Kyle Explains Why He Chose Ironman — No Wheelchair Division, Just the Race 

15:50 — Breaking Down the Ironman: What Brent Actually Does for 15 Hours 

17:10 — The Brother Bond and Shared Sacrifice 

17:45 — The Book: "Beyond the Finish" and How It Came to Be 

21:30 — Their Public Speaking Work and What Audiences Can Expect 

23:00 — Upcoming Events: Richmond, Phoenix, Cincinnati, and Beyond 

24:35 — Where Will They Be in 5 Years? 

25:30 — The Foundation's Impact: 170 Families and What Comes Next 

26:50 — Where to Find the Kyle Pease Foundation 

27:00 — Final Wisdom: "Motivation Follows Action"

Guest: Ian McCarthy — President of Blue Claw Group LLC LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ian-mccarthy-a08ab725/ Website: blueclawgroup.com | BidClout AI Estimating Tool (on homepage) YouTube: Ian Blue Claw McCarthy | Instagram: @blueclawgroup

Host: Ken Baden — CEO/Owner of Baden Consulting and Potomac Custom Remodeling Website: badenconsulting.net | thekitchentablepodcast.net

Companies Mentioned:

Key Topics Discussed:

Timestamps

0:00 — Intro & Welcome: Ian McCarthy of Blue Claw Group 

1:50 — Blue Claw's business overview: landscaping, pools & tennis/pickleball courts 

4:10 — Ian's background: from CPA to buying a landscaping company for $25K 

6:00 — The accidental acquisition: how Ian's first business deal happened 

7:15 — Growing the landscaping company to nearly $4M in sales 

7:45 — The unexpected pivot: buying a minor league basketball team (Kobe Bryant's father was coaching) 

8:20 — Co-founding the National Basketball League of Canada 

9:50 — Returning to the trades and launching Blue Claw Associates in 2018 

11:25 — Zero to $12 million in 6.5 years across three companies 

11:50 — How COVID became rocket fuel for Blue Claw's growth 

15:00 — Watching the current market and how Ian is preparing for uncertainty 

18:45 — Blue Claw's team: 75-80 employees, 35 trucks 

19:30 — The consulting company: how "Know Your Numbers" was born 

21:00 — Building referral pipelines through architects and designers (not lead services) 

22:30 — The "Know Your Numbers" workshop and why the industry is underserved financially 

25:00 — How AI is changing the blue collar space (operations, marketing, efficiency) 

28:30 — AI search and why contractors need to start thinking about GEO (not just SEO) 

30:45 — Ian's AI-powered future: rebuilding the office with AI tools 

32:00 — The origin story of BidClout: from Spain trip inspiration to AI estimating software 

34:00 — Pricing strategy: how to position as premium and remove client risk/fear 

36:15 — Would Ian buy another business? What he'd look at next 

39:30 — Focus vs. diversification: the real answer for multi-business owners 

42:30 — The future of Blue Claw Group consulting and events 

43:30 — Why many trade business owners fly blind on their numbers 

47:00 — Where to find Ian, BidClout, and Blue Claw Group 

50:00 — Closing thoughts & wrap-up

Ken Baden and Jason Nemes first connected at the Blue Collar Ballers event in February of last year, and this episode is the payoff of several scheduling attempts that almost didn't happen. It's worth the wait.

Jason's background is anything but conventional for a roofing CEO. He spent years building a 4,500-person downline in the health and wellness network marketing space, and still draws a six-figure annual residual from that work today. When a friend called him to start a roofing company, Jason flew to Oklahoma to learn the basics — door knocking, inspections, filing claims — and dove in headfirst.

His first official company, Summit Solutions Roofing and Construction, launched at the end of June 2024 after a business partnership dissolved over equity disagreements. He's candid about the split, the half-million-dollar back-door he experienced from a rep he trusted, and how those hard lessons reshaped the way he moves in business today.

Jason talks about the DFW market — one of the most saturated roofing markets in the country with roughly 8,000 companies — and how he managed to cut through by staying true to who he is on social media, paying people on time, and building a culture where team members feel seen, valued, and enrolled in the vision.

Ken and Jason also get into the business side of growth: insurance vs. retail revenue, multi-state licensing in Oklahoma, Arkansas, and soon Florida and Arizona, goals of $20-30 million this year, the EBITDA benchmarks that make a PE exit viable, and what a real private equity deal looks like for a roofing company in today's market.

The conversation closes on a personal and powerful note — Jason's recovery from drug and alcohol addiction, and how the same intensity and discipline that nearly cost him everything is now the fuel behind one of the fastest-growing roofing startups in Texas.

Follow Jason: Instagram & TikTok: @TattedPrez Facebook: Jason Nemes Company Page: Summit Solutions Roofing and Construction

Follow Ken & the show: 🌐 thekitchentablepodcast.net 🌐 badenconsulting.net

Guest: Jesse Spiegel is the founder of NexLev Logic (nexlevlogic.com), an AI automation platform built exclusively for the roofing industry. With years of experience as a top-producing roofing sales rep — including $3.8M in a single storm season — Jesse turned his firsthand frustrations into a full suite of tools that help roofing companies communicate better, close more, and scale without the chaos. He currently manages roofing projects in both Colorado and Florida while growing NexLev Logic.

Host: Ken Baden is the CEO and owner of Baden Consulting and Potomac Custom Remodeling. His podcast, The Kitchen Table Podcast, is where real business conversations happen in the trades and beyond.

Topics covered in this episode:

Guest: Maryori Jones | Founder, Ave Sportwear 

Host: Ken Baden | CEO/Owner, Baden Consulting & Potomac Custom Remodeling 

Podcast: The Kitchen Table Podcast | thekitchentablepodcast.net

Key Takeaways:

Resources Mentioned:

Host: Ken Baden — CEO & President, Potomac Custom Remodeling and Baden Consulting Format: Solo episode, no guest Runtime: Approx. 21 minutes

People & Companies Mentioned:

• Dmitry Lipinskiy — Roofing Insights (hosted Ken on his podcast and radio show in Minnesota)
• Chris Simberman — industry contact discussing business pivots
• Network shoutouts: John Cena, Chris Jericho, Adam Vidzeme, Brandon J., Todd Price, John McCainbridge, Adam Champagne, Tony Flahom, Kurt Lindemann

Key Topics:

• ICE enforcement & the Hispanic labor workforce — staffing, costs, and project timelines
• Credit score landscape — 64% of Americans have a FICO above 700 (live ChatGPT lookup done on air)
• National roofing market dropped ~19% in 2025
• UPPA law — what it means for contractors working insurance claims
• Insurance drop letters — companies requiring roof replacement within 30 days or canceling policies
• Retail vs. insurance restoration — pros, cons, and why diversification is critical
• What a working retail sales system looks like (lead gen, setter-closer model, 30–35% close rate)
• Super Bowl local ad spot secured a week before the game
• 2026 mindset — down markets create market share opportunities

Baden Consulting is currently accepting a limited number of clients per quarter. Reach out to Ken directly for availability or referrals to vetted industry consultants.