Toolbox for the Trades by ServiceTitan

06.25.2024

The $40 Million Answer: Make Your Customers Feel Seen and Heard

After spending over 25 years working with industry legends like Jim Abrams and Leyland Smith of Service Champions, Lawrence Castillo felt he was ready for his next challenge. So in 2020, he accepted the role of president at Brody Pennell...

06.18.2024

How CSRs and Techs Create The Right Buying Environment for Your Customer

Brigham Dickinson is on a mission to help trades companies with low conversion rates, poor customer experience, and a lack of team alignment. He knows that if companies can tackle these problems, they can book more jobs and generate more...

06.11.2024

How to Keep Profits High When Customer Spending is Low

As the costs of goods and materials continue to rise, consumer confidence is low, inflation is high, and business expenses are increasing. So what’s an HVAC business owner to do? Today we’re talking to two experts in the industry —...

06.04.2024

How to Optimize Technology to Scale Effectively in the Trades

Juan Lopez has always embraced change and views it as an opportunity for growth and continuous improvement. His professional journey is a testament to how you can achieve anything you put your mind to. Everyone in the trades constantly looks...

05.28.2024

Passion Got Us Here: How to Have a Competitive Mindset in HVAC and Plumbing

Patrick Boldt and Craig Childress are extremely passionate professionals in HVAC and plumbing. Both hail from humble beginnings and thrived in the trades despite facing many adversities. They decided to take their passion for the trades to the next level...

05.21.2024

How Outsourcing the Permit Process Leads to Greater Efficiency

Ian Jacoby is a rare breed in every sense of the word. He grew up in the business his father had built, where they would help companies in the trades to obtain the respective permits. By outsourcing this process to...

05.14.2024

How Remote Teams Influence Productivity in the Trades

Michelle Myers is a bit of a pioneer and a “Renaissance Woman” of sorts. She went from being a commercial interior designer to an entrepreneur in the trades and ran remote teams before that term even became a buzzword. Her...

05.07.2024

Become That Voice for Others: Normalizing Mental Health in the Construction Industry

Raffi Elchemmas and Jennifer Massey are dedicated individuals with an important mission — to help normalize talking about and raising awareness for mental health in the construction industry. There are about 5,000 deaths by suicide a year in construction in...

04.30.2024

How Women Influencers Are Changing the Game in the Trades

Kelsey Whittenberg fell in love with being an electrician. She loves to understand how everything works and how to use both her technical expertise and tools to help solve problems in the field. She also posted videos on social media...

04.23.2024

From Info to Action: Empowering Teams Through Data Mapping

Sheena Palacios was truly built into the trades in every aspect since her father, brother, husband, and other family members are electricians by profession. For her, the trades are a passion and an opportunity for her to return that appreciation...

04.16.2024

Shattering Stereotypes: How Female Business Owners Are Disrupting the Trades

Jackie Sorensen knows a thing or two about working in a family business and dealing with gender stereotypes in the trades. She’s passionate about making the trades more attractive and accessible to young women and is actively involved in local...

04.09.2024

How Investor Partnerships Can Help Service Businesses Scale

Richard Lewis truly believes that building genuine connections with people in the trades is the key to long-term sustainable growth. His experience in the finance industry has also helped him to identify opportunities for growth across different sectors in...

04.02.2024

Continuous Learning: Building a Robust Training Culture in the Trades

Ken Midgett is extremely passionate about continuous learning and believes that training is a critical component to the long-term growth of businesses in the trades. As a professional plumbing service entrepreneur, Ken successfully ran two businesses and helped make...

03.26.2024

How a Thriving Mindset Can Help You to Build a Successful Business in the Trades

Devynn Thompson entered the trades with her husband after he decided to establish his own plumbing business. They faced many challenges along the way and realized they had to learn from their mistakes and embrace constructive criticism from their...

03.19.2024

Wooed in Waco: How a Franchise Partner Helped to Transform a Business

Rebekah Hatcher entered the trades with her husband after he decided to set up his own business. They faced many adversities in the beginning as they tried to grow, and they even hit a plateau. They then decided...

03.12.2024

Fight Like Hell: When a Family Business Succession Becomes a Battlefield

Many family business owners eventually pass the leadership torch down to their children. Oftentimes, those transitions work out smoothly. But what about when they don’t? Mike Prencavage, Jr., Owner of The Family Plumber, dreamed of taking the reins of the family...

03.05.2024

Weathering The Storm: The Inspirational Journey of a Roofing Titan

Lance Bachmann had a tough childhood and had to work his way up. After spending several decades in advertising, he decided to start his own full-service digital marketing agency. He learned from his past mistakes, sold the business, shifted his...

02.27.2024

Managing the Transition: How Acquisitions Help Companies to Grow

Many companies in the trades may view acquisitions with trepidation, but they can also provide businesses with incredible growth opportunities. To achieve that growth, you need to start by building trust and having the right plan in place. Angela Millerknows...

02.20.2024

Developing An Authentic and Differentiated Brand in the Trades

Ryan Kettering believes that if service businesses want to truly stand out in their market, they need to look beyond the visual aspects of their logo and website. They need to dive deeper and find something authentic to them that...

02.13.2024

Taking a Family Business to The Next Level

Jennifer Rose-Caudill really “hit the ground running” when she was asked to help out in her family’s plumbing business. Originally trained as a real estate appraiser, she proactively identified areas of improvement within the company and tried to find the...

02.06.2024

Keeping it Cool: Implementing Incremental Change

Krista Landen knows about change all too well. She has witnessed the company she works for growing exponentially over the years, and a big part of that is linked to continuous improvement. Over time, she has learned that embracing...

01.30.2024

An Untapped Pipeline: Expanding a Plumbing Business in Rural Areas

Lance Ball believes that if you don’t challenge yourself, you will never grow. His professional career is a testament to how someone can persevere, reinvent themselves, and seize untapped opportunities. He likes to assure customers that he has their best...

01.23.2024

Leading with Heart: How Caring for Customers Creates a More Successful Business

Katie Biddle believes that when an organization’s leadership shows that they care about their employees, they will be better motivated to provide excellent service to their customers. She proactively encourages her team to put themselves in their customer's shoes...

01.16.2024

Ismael Valdez’s Toolkit for Success: Perseverance, Disruption, and Teamwork

Ismael Valdez is a “Renaissance Man” in every sense of the word. Not only has he built a successful contracting business from scratch, but he’s also about to launch another business that will be a game changer for the trades. ...

01.09.2024

Perseverance: An Entrepreneur’s Rocket Fuel for Growth

Kristian Protic learned about running a business the hard way. He started his career in the trades as a salesman for a home service business. He then started two ventures before founding his current company, which focuses on providing heating,...

01.02.2024

The Resilient Entrepreneur: Scaling a Contracting Business

Samuel Petrie">Samuel Petrie began his career in the trades by working in his father’s business. He then went on to start his own company that focused on delivering technology and solutions that benefit the rural communities that he serves. It was...

12.26.2023

Plumber Paige: A Voice for Young Women in the Trades

Paige Knowles">Paige Knowles, or “Plumber Paige,” has loved the trades since she first saw the construction wing of a tech school during a junior high tour. But she was dismayed by the stigma that surrounded her passion for blue-collar careers. So...

12.19.2023

War Stories From a Finance Leader: The Messy Side of Accounting in the Trades

Jawad Olabi">Jawad Olabi was riding high in a lucrative corporate finance career. But after COVID forced devastating layoffs at his global firm, he started searching for new opportunities. That’s when he found an underserved market that was ripe for much-needed accounting...

12.12.2023

Brick & Mortar: Why Facilities Management Is Critical to the Customer Experience

Facilities management often isn’t top of mind in the day-to-day bustle of contractors and business owners. But Sid Shetty">Sid Shetty, Chief Business Development Officer at ServiceChannel"> ServiceChannel, believes it’s a pillar of the customer experience. Not only does proactive facilities management...

12.05.2023

Solving the Permit Problem: How to Pass Inspections in Real-Time

Depending on the municipality, inspections and permits can be the bane of contractors. While construction giants often have the luxury of an engineering firm on-site, small to mid-sized owner-operators usually have to wait for a local inspector to certify their...

11.28.2023

Data Doesn’t Lie: ServiceTitan’s Residential Contractor Report

Contractors used to have to scout the competition in person if they wanted a sense of how they were stacking up with the rest of the field. But now, business owners can just check the data — if they know...

11.21.2023

A Head-Strong Rebrand: Honoring the Past, Embracing the Future

Siblings Khadijah J. Head">Khadija J. Head and Odari Head">Odari Head, Co-Owners of Head’s Plumbing Sales and Service">Head’s Plumbing Sales and Service, are proud to succeed their parents in running the oldest black-owned plumbing company in Atlanta, Georgia. So when the time...

11.14.2023

Professional Service Partners: Key Indicators That Your Data Is Broken

ServiceTitan is loaded with solutions for contractors’ pain points. But a common hurdle to maximizing its potential is these entrepreneurs are spending most of their day… well, trying to run a business. Time is money, and it takes time to...

11.07.2023

It’s Go Time: How Coaching Can Help Rebuild Trust in Your Inventory

For many contractors experiencing growth, inventory management is often the elephant in the room. No one likes dealing with it, but as Jeremy Wickenhauser">Jeremy Wickenhauser, Certified ServiceTitan Coach with Go Time Success Group">Go Time Success Group, said, it’s an integral...

10.31.2023

A TRIO of Company Pillars: Customer, Employee, and Environmental Care

Brothers David">David and Michael Katz">Michael Katz came to America in 2015 with only a killer work ethic and a dream. In July 2021, they figured they would try their hands at HVAC. Their hard work certainly paid off. In 2023, their...

10.24.2023

Lights, Camera, Service! Part Two: A Chat With Ask This Old House Star Scott Caron

Everyone in the trades knows we’ve needed a spotlight on the need to grow the next generation of technicians, plumbers, and other vital services. That’s why Scott Caron is proud to be an analyst and technical advisor for the 7th Annual...

10.17.2023

Lights, Camera, Service! Part One: A Chat With Ask This Old House Star Scott Caron

As a New England native, Scott Caron">Scott Caron, Owner of Caron Electric in Lexington, Massachusetts, grew up a fan of the local home improvement TV show This Old House. So when his sister called him about an opportunity with its...

10.10.2023

Scaling Services: Create Your Business Around the Customer You Want to Serve

When Spencer Tippetts">Spencer Tippetts, Director of Business Development at Rainforest Plumbing & Air"> Rainforest Plumbing & Air, joined the family business in 2019 to help expand their residential unit, he knew they had opportunities for improvement. Employee turnover, mismanagement, and outdated...

10.03.2023

Hire Better People Faster: How to Fix the Technician Retention Problem

Contractors across the country continue to struggle with putting technicians in their trucks. But Ryan Englin">Ryan Englin, CEO of Core Matters"> Core Matters, believes those entrepreneurs don’t have a hiring problem. They have a retention problem. And it’s because too many...

09.26.2023

Pantheon Live 2023: Pull Good Ideas From Great People

If you couldn’t make it to the incredible Pantheon 2023 conference in Orlando, then don’t worry — we’re bringing the party to your ears! We sat down with over a half dozen incredible men and women in the trades, who each...

09.19.2023

Pantheon Live 2023: Beautiful Things Are Born Out Of Adversity

It takes hard work and resolve to succeed in the trades. That’s why the theme for this year’s Pantheon conference is “Journey to the Top.” And to help celebrate this sold-out extravaganza, we’re bringing on some of the top-tier talent...

09.12.2023

Modern-Day Chimney Sweepers: Is There a Killer in Your Basement?

“Is There a Killer in Your Basement?” A lot’s changed since Bill Heffernan">Bill Heffernan, President of Master Chimney Sweepers">Master Chimney Sweepers, led one of his customer mailers with that dubious line in the 1990s. But his passion for educating customers on...

09.05.2023

Tommy Mello & Al Levi: Why You Shouldn't Dump Marketing During a Slump

It’s time for contractors to face a harsh reality. The trades thrived during Covid while many people were trapped in their homes, but now the free ride is over. And home service providers everywhere are starting to feel the impact on...

08.29.2023

A $40 Million American Dream: Building a Rocket Ship for Exponential Growth

Adam Fuseman">Adam Fuseman, CFO of Fuse Service">Fuse Service in San Jose, California, left Russia for America in 2017 with the hope of becoming an IT professional. But that all changed after a friend convinced Adam to join his appliance repair...

08.22.2023

The Battle of St. Louis: Collaborating with the Competition

“Good help sure is hard to find” is a familiar rallying cry for contractors these days. Now, consider this… What if you had plenty of eager young talent waiting right outside your door but were legally bound not to hire them? Believe...

08.15.2023

Business Planning and Budgets: Where Do You Want to Go and How Will You Get There?

Finding and implementing new business insights can be one of the biggest challenges for owner-operators and managers in the trades. Who’s got time to chase new ideas when you’re constantly “putting out fires?” But when Blake Wiltshire">Blake Wiltshire, Director of Residential...

08.08.2023