Blue Collar Ballers

Thinking of buying a business? Learn exactly how to use SBA 7(a) financing—from LOI to close—with Matthias Smith of Pioneer Capital Advisory. In this Blue Collar Ballers episode, we go step-by-step on how to buy a business with an SBA loan . Guest Matthias Smith , founder of Pioneer Capital Advisory , breaks down SBA acquisition financing —from securing term sheets to underwriting, closing checkli...

From Corporate to Blue-Collar Operator: Eric Cunningham shares how he left National Instruments and tech startups to buy a 25-year-old residential plumbing company in Austin, TX . We unpack acquisition entrepreneurship , the “learning/stupid tax,” and the shift from sales ops and engineering leadership to running a home-services trades business day to day. Eric gets specific on recruiting and reta...

What happens when a private equity exec walks away, gets sober, and builds one of the top residential solar companies in America? In this episode of Blue Collar Ballers , Faiez Rana sits down with Bret Biggart , the Founder & CEO of Freedom Solar — a company that’s grown into a $200M+ powerhouse , ranked #5 residential solar installer in the U.S. , and named one of the Best Places to Work in A...

Today on Blue Collar Ballers , I'm sitting down with Miss Dafna , owner of Pink’s Windows Fort Lauderdale—a fast-growing window and pressure washing franchise. When Dafna unexpectedly lost her job, she didn't panic. Instead, she leaned into an opportunity she found by chance—buying and rapidly building a home services franchise, all while balancing life as a single mom. From personally cle...

Dan Dowdy started earning $5/day on plumbing jobs with his dad at age 5. By 2009, he stepped into leadership of the family business—learning the hard way how to manage people, delegate, and scale without burning out. In this episode of Blue Collar Ballers , Dan shares hard-earned lessons from 20+ years in the trades and what he now teaches owners across the country. We cover: The 4 levels of leade...

Reid Rupp started mowing lawns at 14. By 25, he was running a $10M remodeling company—after buying it with less than $400K down. In this episode of Blue Collar Ballers , Reid breaks down what really happens after you buy a business—beyond the highlight reels. We cover: How he structured the deal using an SBA loan + seller financing The hidden risks (and people issues) he didn’t see coming What cau...

From Pro Baseball to Coaching 1,000+ Sales Teams: How Ryan Groth Transformed the Way Contractors Sell Ryan Groth, Founder of Sales Transformation Group , didn’t just walk away from a pro baseball career—he reinvented himself into one of the most respected sales trainers in the trades. Today, he’s helped 1,000+ contractors build scalable, high-performing sales teams. In this episode, we go far beyo...

Andy Fuller was watching Jurassic Park when a wild idea struck: mosquitoes have been around since the dinosaurs — and they’re not going anywhere. That insight became the seed for Mosquito Hunters, a side hustle he launched while working a corporate job. Today, it's a national franchise with over 150 locations and a new “3-in-1” model combining pest control, mosquito control, and holiday lighti...

Most home service business owners dream of a big payday—but 80% never find a buyer. Not because their business isn’t profitable. But because it’s unprepared. In this episode of Blue Collar Ballers , business attorney Mitch Zoll pulls on two decades of experience and breaks down 6 hidden landmines that quietly sabotage business exits—especially in trades like HVAC, plumbing, roofing, and constructi...

In this episode of Blue Collar Ballers , Faiez Rana sits down with Steve Huber, founder of Billion Dollar Contractor and the architect behind two of the most dominant sales organizations in solar and roofing. Over the last 12 years, Steve’s teams have sold and installed more than $2 billion in residential home improvement projects for over 100,000 homeowners across 20+ states. → From $0 to $40M in...

What happens when a corporate lawyer helps a plumber recover $60K in missed revenue—and stumbles into a broken industry? He builds a business to fix it. In this episode of Blue Collar Ballers , I sit down with Marc Visent, founder and CEO of Knowify , a construction management platform now used by over 2,000 contractors. We unpack Marc’s journey from the legal world into construction tech—and the...

Anna Pavlack went from Marine Corps intelligence to Main Street CEO—buying a 78-year-old HVAC business in small-town Pennsylvania with just 5% down. In this episode, Anna breaks down how she structured the deal using SBA financing and seller notes, why buying the building gave her better terms, and what she wishes she’d known before her first year of ownership. Whether you're thinking about bu...

At just 25 years old, Joel Bell is running a $12.5M roofing business with a lean team and a rock-solid mindset. But just four years ago, he was earning $14/hr at a gas station, flipping furniture on Facebook, and catering crawfish boils to cover rent. In this episode of Blue Collar Ballers , host Faiez Rana sits down with Joel to unpack his journey from scrappy hustler to 8-figure operator. You’ll...

How Ashley Stroud Built a $5M+ Plumbing Business While Raising 5 Kids What does it take to build a plumbing company from scratch—while raising five kids and running it with your spouse? In this episode of Blue Collar Ballers , we sit down with Ashley Stroud, co-owner of Plumbing Outfitters , to unpack how she and her husband Warren scaled their family business to 26 employees, 9 service vans, and...

How Jacob Vanhorn Built a $50M Roofing Empire with Systems, Service, and Second Chances In this powerful episode of Blue Collar Ballers , Faiez Rana sits down with Jacob, the CEO and co-owner of Bird Creek Roofing & Construction—a Texas-based roofing company that grew from humble beginnings to over $50 million in annual revenue . But Jacob’s story isn’t just about sales and scaling—it’s about...