The Kitchen Table

Guest: Justin Anderson, electrician, defense contractor employee, owner of Just in Time Electric, host of If This Doesn’t Work Podcast Key takeaways: “Entrepreneur” is a broad term. Most of the journey is failure until a success shows up, and then the goalposts move. Trades are a strong path. Get the schooling, take the journeyman test, and get your credentials. A master’s license matters if you w...

Guest: Ryan Wells, sales rep, Potomac Custom Remodeling. Former pro flat track racer who competed in the X Games twice. Originally from between Buffalo and Rochester, New York; now based in Salisbury, Delaware. Key takeaways Hire for traits, not résumés. Athletic backgrounds signal competitiveness and discipline, and good attitude and work ethic can be trained into the rest. Poaching isn’t a strat...

Key takeaways DTE hasn’t knocked doors in about two years. Leads come from brokered relationships with insurance agents, tree companies, real estate agents, home inspectors and handymen. Anyone who is inside customers’ homes is a potential partner. Cold emails to agents ask for a lunch meeting and aren’t a pitch for preferred-roofer status. Donovan’s estimate is that 100 emails get roughly 20 take...

🗒️ Episode Notes Rick's unconventional path: engineering degree → corporate tech job → sales → laid off in the dot-com bust The origin story: selling Space Invaders T-shirts at Portobello Market in Notting Hill Building an international business licensing Disney, Warner Bros., Netflix, Star Wars, and Marvel IP The difference between corporate licensing (Disney/Netflix) and relationship-driven musi...

EPISODE NOTES Guest: Jake Huotari, Co-Owner, Aspire Home Services (Maple Grove, MN) Host: Ken Baden, CEO/Owner of Baden Consulting and Potomac Custom Remodeling Key takeaways Flexibility and a good attitude are core to Jake's leadership philosophy: "Blessed are the flexible, for they will not be bent out of shape." Jake and Josh started at Aspire as a small insurance restoration team. After the 90...

🗒️ EPISODE NOTES Menace Monroe joins the show for the third time, discussing his life, music, and business ventures. He details his history in and out of incarceration starting at age 14, including a recent 6-year prison term. Discusses how a drug habit drove much of his past legal trouble, and how he's been sober and focused since coming home. Explains why he sees the music industry as "a busines...

🗒️ EPISODE NOTES Peter Roth returns for his second appearance on The Kitchen Table Podcast, this time bringing detailed numbers and frameworks. Scalify specializes exclusively in human-driven outbound cold calling (AI cold calling is illegal) for booking home service estimates — no inbound, no lead reselling as a primary offering. Scalify builds fully-managed, client-owned call centers: the client...

Episode Notes Why Ken loves doing solo episodes — using the platform for pure value, no guest filter The "lean and mean" strategy that worked great... until it didn't The complacency factor: why sales reps unconsciously coast once they hit a comfortable income The fix: going all-in on recruiting, scaling from 5-7 reps to 15-20 across two offices Why team leads need to be physically in the field wi...

Episode Notes Nancy's background: raised by parents with limited means, inspired by a family friend who was a CPA Left a traditional accounting career path after realizing she disliked tax, audit, and corporate work Became a stay-at-home mom while helping her husband start businesses — five failed along the way Hit rock bottom at 45: divorced, four kids, $100/week child support, $650,000 in debt B...

Episode Notes Shane got his start in construction in 2013 doing gutter cleaning and repairs before moving into general contracting, flooring, and eventually car sales. He launched his own business about 8-9 years ago and later transitioned fully into roofing roughly five years ago. A standout early sale: a homeowner with 50-60 solar panels closed in under three minutes for a $12K job. Shane and Ke...

Episode Notes Ken explains why this is a solo episode and gives a quick update on upcoming guest scheduling The story behind his Audi R8's third blown motor and the lesson learned about modifying performance cars How a Warren Buffett-inspired gratitude mindset helped him reframe a costly setback Setting the record straight on rumors that Stronghouse Roofing was insolvent Why Ken sees "blood in the...

Episode Notes Zach grew up in a roofing family in DFW; his dad transitioned from mortgages into roofing after the 2008 crash. Zach sold his first roofs at 17 after a hometown storm, earning around $10K in one summer — more than a full summer at Chick-fil-A. He studied marketing in college, believing that knowing how to get customers translates across any industry. Interned with the APEX mastermind...

EPISODE NOTES David Michaelson is President of Michaelson Roofing Improvements (MRI), based in Reston, VA MRI does roofing plus is pursuing HIC (Home Improvement Contractor) licensing for full exterior work Reston, VA has a unique planned-community history (founded by Robert E. Simon, former owner of Carnegie Hall) The DMV roofing market was down significantly last year; heavy reliance on governme...

EPISODE NOTES Ken explains why he's committing to more solo episodes to focus on the "state of the union" of the roofing/home services industry How EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) helps break yearly goals down to weekly, department-level numbers The difference between a mentor (free) and a coach (paid) — and why Ken still values both Recruiting was identified as the company's #1 issue, not...

Justin Donawa has been in the canvassing industry for 8.5 years, starting at age 19 while in college and rising to VP of Field Marketing at Potomac Custom Remodeling. The episode digs into why leads are the #1 challenge for any retail home improvement company — and why canvassing remains the most immediate and cost-effective solution. Insurance restoration vs. retail canvassing: the key structural...

Guest: Cory Smeallie, Owner & CEO of TrueShield Exteriors LLC (Northeast Ohio) Host: Ken Baden, CEO/Owner of Baden Consulting & Potomac Custom Remodeling Cory shares his personal story of addiction and recovery — last use date: April 10, 2014 His entry into sales came through a Facebook video from Josh Diamond Burger of Next Gen TrueShield Exteriors launched just over a year ago; did $300K in year...

Episode Notes Ken is recording solo after a scheduling change — and with a sinus infection The podcast is doubling down on roofing and home services as its primary niche Major roofing companies in the DC metro area are scaling back, cutting staff by up to 50%, or folding entirely — some owing distributors millions Ken shares his philosophy: when the market is down, lean in and grow market share Po...

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 s...

EPISODE NOTES Andrew Hathaway is Co-Founder of Freedom. AI and operates out of Cherry Creek, Denver — right in the heart of the private equity and M&A world. His three-part framework for business owners: Executive Assistants for time freedom → AI automation for operational efficiency → Life insurance strategies for financial freedom. The "Become Your Own Bank" concept: using a permanent life insur...

EPISODE NOTES Brent and Kyle Pease are co-founders of the Kyle Pease Foundation, based in Atlanta, GA Kyle has cerebral palsy and competes in full Ironman triathlons alongside his brother Brent In an Ironman, Brent pulls Kyle through a 2.4-mile swim in a boat tied to his waist, pedals a three-wheeled bike with Kyle seated in front for 112 miles, and pushes Kyle in a chair for a 26.2-mile run They...

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 Mention...

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-...

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 cha...

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: Ave stands for Agua Viva Empire — a faith-first brand for women of all body types The brand was born from Maryori's postpartum experience and the loss of identity many mothers face after childbirth S...

EPISODE NOTES 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, Br...