Epic Entrepreneurs

A remodel can look perfect on Pinterest and still go sideways fast once the first wall opens. We talk with Rich Cook of Kocon Construction about what it takes to deliver high end home remodeling and renovation work without losing the client’s trust when timelines shift, surprises show up, or budgets get tested. Rich specializes in custom carpentry, fine trim, cabinetry, and start to finish renovat...

A paint job can look perfect on day one and still fail fast. We’re joined by Robert and Teddy Schreiber, twin brothers and co-owners of True Vision Painting, to talk about what actually makes residential painting and commercial painting hold up over time and what it takes to build a service business people trust with their homes. We get into the unglamorous details that separate pros from “good en...

A dumpster rental company can look like the simplest business on the planet until you try to run one at full speed. We sit down with Alli Balabanis from Vero Beach Dumpster Rental to get honest about what it really takes to grow a roll-off dumpster business in Florida’s Treasure Coast: the equipment costs, commercial insurance, routing headaches, late-night “we need a dumpster tomorrow” calls, and...

A burst pipe does not wait for business hours, and neither does the person you trust to walk into your home and fix the damage. We sit down with Chris Powell of Pro Premier Restoration to unpack what water mitigation, mold remediation, and fire damage restoration look like in the real world, from the first panicked phone call to the last piece of equipment leaving the driveway. Chris explains why...

Default mode is sneaky. One day your team feels aligned and energized, and the next day everyone is “busy” while priorities blur, meetings turn into checkboxes, and momentum quietly disappears. We sit down with Stephanie Smith, founder of Be Brave Group in Morgantown, West Virginia, to talk about a better way to lead: grow by design, not by default. We walk through how Stephanie’s background in so...

Your home floods at 2 a.m., a ceiling caves in after a storm, or you spot mold creeping behind drywall. That is when a restoration company stops being a “vendor” and becomes the calm voice you trust. We talk with Chandler Lofgreen, owner of DryTech Restoration, about how emergency response really works across Northern Arizona, from Prescott and Prescott Valley to Sedona and Flagstaff, and what “re...

If you have ever looked at entrepreneurship and thought, “I just want more freedom,” this conversation adds the missing warning label. We talk with TJ Clayton-Cornell of Modern Woodmen of America about what it feels like to leave the military’s guaranteed paycheck and step into a commission-based financial services career where discipline is the difference between growth and panic. He shares the m...

The fastest way to ruin a custom home build isn’t bad taste or a missed detail, it’s broken communication. We’re joined by Greg Palmer of Built Up Homes, a Greenville, South Carolina custom home builder and remodel contractor who’s seen the difference firsthand, from production neighborhoods to high-touch custom projects where the relationship matters as much as the framing. We talk about what cli...

A lot of companies think their marketing problem is “we need a video.” We see it differently, and Anthony Sparks from Sparks Media Agency explains exactly why. From Morgantown, West Virginia, Anthony has spent 12 years building a creative agency that blends storytelling and strategy across video production, website builds, rebrands, and ad placement on Meta, YouTube pre-roll, and streaming TV. The...

A roofing business can look simple from the outside, but the moment you try to scale it, everything gets real fast: crews, margins, weather delays, homeowner expectations, and the never-ending question of how hands-on an owner can stay. We talk with Alex Savely, co-owner of Ridge Roofing in Western North Carolina, about building a company that grows on referrals and repeat trust instead of pressur...

A truly great lawn isn’t a single product, it’s a system. We talk with Yoel Clark from Pittsburgh Turf and Fertilizing about what’s really happening under your grass, why the NPK numbers on a fertilizer bag matter, and how timing and balance can make the difference between a quick green-up and lasting turf health. If you’ve ever wondered why weeds keep coming back or why your lawn looks great in s...

Clean is easy to promise and brutally hard to deliver the same way every single time, across every crew, on every job. That’s why our conversation with Marcus Southern from Southern Royalty Cleaning Service LLC goes far beyond mops and buckets and straight into what actually scales a service business: trust, communication, and leadership that shows up when it counts. Marcus shares the real story b...

A remodel can look gorgeous on Pinterest and still feel wrong the minute you move back in. We talk with Caitlin Madia, founder of Remarkable Interiors in Morgantown, West Virginia, about what actually makes a home come together and why “just picking colours” is rarely the real problem. Caitlin breaks down full-service interior design from concept to completion, including furnishings, remodels, and...

Your garage door breaks at the worst possible time and suddenly you’re not shopping for a “good deal” you’re shopping for someone you can trust. That’s why I wanted to bring on Mike Melatti, founder and president of The Garage Doc in Virginia Beach, to talk about what it really takes to run a reliable garage door repair and installation company in Hampton Roads when pricing is rising and competiti...

A tree service business can look like a simple trade until you see what’s underneath: high-stakes safety, expensive equipment, nonstop scheduling decisions, and customers who can change plans at 10 p.m. I sit down with Andrew Schray of AB Tree Service NC to get real about what it takes to build a fast, high-quality tree removal and tree trimming operation in a crowded market, and why “must be nice...

A water loss is stressful enough, but the wrong cleanup can turn it into a health problem and a financial mess. We’re joined by Ryan and Bob Parrish from RestoPros of Catawba Valley to share what “doing restoration the right way” actually means when a water heater blows, a toilet leaks into the basement, or category three sewage backs up into a finished space. We talk about the personal moment tha...

A home inspection can either leave you feeling informed or feeling terrified, and the difference often comes down to one thing: trust. We sit down with Tyler Gibbs, owner of Building Trust Inspections, to talk about what buyers, investors, and entrepreneurs should actually expect from a West Virginia and Ohio licensed home and commercial building inspector. Tyler explains how he approaches inspect...

A great remodel is never just cabinets and tile, it’s a chain of handoffs that either protects the homeowner’s peace or destroys it. We’re joined by Jessica Lichvar of Red Saw Remodeling, a Pittsburgh area interior remodeling company known for older homes, and we dig into what those houses teach you fast: nothing is perfectly level, surprises are guaranteed, and the only way through is craftsmansh...

Your plumber can save you money, or quietly sell you a bigger job than you need. That line is why we wanted this conversation with George Sfarnas of Sfarnas Plumbing, a family-run residential and commercial plumbing and gas service business built around one promise: honest work at an honest price. George gets real about what customers never see, the late-night stress, the constant phone calls, and...

One bad claim can expose years of “saving money” on insurance. We sit down with Tina, founder of Providence Insurance Agency, to talk about what most people never learn until it’s too late: the difference between the cheapest policy and the right protection for your home, your car, and your small business. With three decades in the industry, she shares the unlikely moment that pulled her into insu...

A single busted HVAC, one questionable pay stub, and one owner who cannot fund a roof replacement can turn “passive income” into a full-time job fast. We sit down with Eli Miller and Jeff Mayorga of Encompass Property Management to show what really happens behind the scenes of professional property management and why treating a rental home like a business changes everything. Eli shares how the 200...

Radon is one of those problems that feels easy to postpone because you cannot see it, smell it, or feel it and that is exactly why homeowners get caught off guard. We sit down with Alex Micco from Alpha Radon to translate the risk into plain English, including his simple line that makes it click: radon is like microdoses of radiation. From there we get practical fast, because the goal is not fear,...

Your home can look perfectly fine on the outside while an overlooked electrical panel quietly becomes a safety risk. We sit down with Matthew Wright of NS Electric, a residential electrician serving Morgantown and the surrounding area, to talk about the problems most homeowners do not notice until the lights go out or something starts to smell hot. He shares why “it still works” is not a safety st...

TikTok is not just dances and trends, it is quietly becoming one of the strongest lead sources in local services, including construction. We talk with Dylan Mason of Mason Contracting, a North Carolina general contractor focused on custom homes, about how his business grows from word of mouth roots into a modern custom home builder brand that homeowners can actually find, trust, and follow. Dylan...

Starting a service business sounds like freedom until you’re staring at the ceiling at 2am replaying a job plan, a customer complaint, or a quote you’re not sure will hold. We talk with Noah Nasekos from Covenant Plumbing LLC about the unfiltered reality of building a plumbing company from the ground up and why the “after hours” work is often the hardest part of entrepreneurship. Noah shares the m...