Blue Collar Nation

TITLE SPONSOR: Super Tech University Dramatically improve your team's performance with a system of short daily video lessons training your team in soft skills. When you invest in your team and teach them soft skills, your team can make you more profit. Go to https://supertechu.com/ for more info. Click here for a discount: https://supertechu.com/register/podcastoffer/ . Here is an entrepreneu...

CEO Doug Donovan joins us to talk about Interplay Learning's next level training for HVAC, Plumbing, and Electrical trades. These "video games" are so amazing and make learning the trades fun and exciting. Listen to hear how this super affordable training system can help you train your techs. To get the Blue Collar Nation EXCLUSIVE DEAL on InterPlay Learning's membership, click...

TITLE SPONSOR: Super Tech University Dramatically improve your team's performance with a system of short daily video lessons training your team in soft skills. When you invest in your team and teach them soft skills, your team can make you more profit. Go to https://supertechu.com/ for more info. Click here for a discount: https://supertechu.com/register/podcastoffer/ . Here is an entrepreneu...

Jeremy O'Hara of Service Fusion joins the Blue Collar Nation podcast to talk about keeps track of your techs, your sales, your clients, and your fleet. Having tried many CRM's over the years, Eric and Larry are really impressed with Service Fusion. Give the episode a listen if you are thinking about taking your game to the next level. Full disclosure : Eric and Larry like this software s...

Landscaping, like many blue collar service businesses, is not for the faint of heart. Many landscapers start out as "technicians" and lack the general business and marketing skills to grow and scale their businesses. Ultimately, they have a "job" more than being a business owner. To make matters worse, it's a crummy job with lots of stress and tons of hours! Enter Scott an...

TITLE SPONSOR: MORNING TECH MEETING This episode it brought to you by www.morningtechmeeting.com . Don't lose money in the field because your service techs are not great at sales, customer service, and communicating with clients.  Morning Tech Meeting has video lessons that can be sent directly to your tech's phones for training. TITLE SPONSOR: Super Tech University Dramatically improve...

David and Raymond Bartolomucci of Roopairs grew up in the restaurant industry. Their father owns and operates several successful restaurants in the Bay area of San Francisco. Cutting their teeth in the industry working in the family business since they were young kids, Ray and David saw an opportunity to help both restaurants and the service companies that help them keep the hot and cold side equi...

TITLE SPONSOR: MORNING TECH MEETING This episode it brought to you by www.morningtechmeeting.com . Don't lose money in the field because your service techs are not great at sales, customer service, and communicating with clients.  Morning Tech Meeting has video lessons that can be sent directly to your tech's phones for training. TITLE SPONSOR: Super Tech University Dramatically improve...

In the water damage restoration world, like many trades, a large amount of money can be won or lost during the estimating process. Jon Isaacson has recently written a very important book about proper estimating with Xactimate for restorers and contractors. Larry and Eric know first hand what it is like to lose too much money to having poorly trained estimators in their company. The lessons in this...

Wayne joined Larry and Eric to talk about the traits it takes to "grow into" your business. Most people do not understand the hardships and sacrifices it takes to start a small business from scratch and actually grow it. Wayne is one the people who do. Wayne was the son of a coal miner in England, then did 3,100 jumps out of airplanes with the British military. Listen to Wayne's jou...

Today we have on Ken Midgett, aka Coach, plumbing instructor extraordinaire with his star pupil, Paige Knowles. We talk about the scarcity of young women joining the skilled trades and what drove straight A student Paige to take a chance on trade school. Ken Midgett - Lehigh Career & Technical Institute lcti.org Linked In - masterplumber.01 Paige Knowles email - plumberpaige@gmail.com Instagra...

It's all about branding. If you build a great brand locally, it's the advertising money can buy. However, you do not need to break the bank to build a brand for your service business. Learn what Eric and Larry did well, and also about some of their regrets. TITLE SPONSOR: MORNING TECH MEETING This episode it brought to you by www.morningtechmeeting.com . Don't lose money in the fiel...

Today was a treat. We had the pleasure to sit down and chat with RectorSeal's Stuart Oakner, inventor extraordinaire. Stuart has an amazing entrepreneurial story. Just a "regular" HVAC guy, Stuart started inventing float switch and clean-out products to make his job in the field easier. Once he realized how great they were working for him, he started a company to manufacture and dis...

Eric met Dr. Nicole Rankine when they were becoming John Maxwell Certified. Eric was just trying to learn how to be a better leader to his team, "Dr. Nic" was on a mission to become a leading expert in the world on millennials in the workplace. Lots of blue collar service business owners love to complain about their millennial staff "not getting it", but they are the new work f...

This is a special edition of the Blue Collar Nation Podcast, and one that is very close to Eric and Larry's heart. Howard Partridge's Inner Circle. Reaching out to Howard when Eric and Larry's company was struggling to make it, they were about to throw in the towel and go work for the man. The Inner Circle changed all of that and helped Eric and Larry build a great business that was...

The Blue Collar Nation is excited to have Brandon Donatelli of Matterport Software on the show today. If you have never seen a Matterport digital survey of a building, you are missing out. They are an amazing tool for contractors. With Matterport software you can create incredible, accurate 3D virtual tours of buildings and spaces. You can share easily on social media sites, such as Facebook, Inst...

We had the pleasure of having Chris Yano on this week to talk digital marketing. Chris is old school. Just results, no fluff. Now that's "blue collar"! In fact, Chris has 54 employees that just listen to phone calls to customer service reps all day long to make sure his clients are converting on the marketing work his company is doing. To get the most out of marketing your service b...

Larry and Eric realized early on in their business career that they would benefit from having a business coach. In fact, they took a lot of heat from both peers and family members of thir "wasting money" on coaching. Well, nothing could have been further from the truth. Coaching allowed the guys to grow, scale, and ultimately sell their service business. Learn the trials and tribulations...

RectorSeal was founded in the oil fields of Texas in the 1930's, now it's a publicly traded company providing amazing products for members of the plumbing, HVAC, and electrical trades. Listen in as we discuss Rectorseal's amazing company history, their innovative products, and the FREE training program they have to help members of the trades. Contact: For On Demand Classes visit the...

Tommy Mello is a service business juggernaut. Tommy built A1 Garage Door Service from just himself on the truck to over $40 million a year in revenue. He has a great podcast, The Home Service Expert Podcast . He is the author of Home Service Millionaire, and amazing book that serves as a master class on service business ownership. Tommy is doing it all! In this episode, we sit down and talk about...

Erica Leonor is a hoot! She is so fun to talk to. However, don't be fooled; she is all business. Erica has such a great feel for how to get your CSR's to book appointments and jobs. In this wide ranging interview we talk workplace culture, phone skills, who makes a good CSR, and how to keep your team accountable to get the results you desire from your reps. In service companies, much mon...

If you follow the blue collar world on social media, you know Angel Quiroz's work. Angel and Rich Malachy of Malachy Parts and Service created one of the best social media followings online. Creative, informative, artistically done videos and audio to build a large following and creating brand awareness. That is what Angel does. Listen in to learn how Angel develops awesome "marketing ar...

Mike Michalowicz is a business icon. The author of Profit First, The Pumpkin Plan, Clock Work, The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, and now Fix This Next. Mike joined us to talk about his new book and the blind spot that most entrepreneurs have when trying to decide on what to fix next in their businesses. Mike is a wealth of knowledge and was kind enough to grace us with his presence on the show. SPONS...

Skylar Lewis joins us again to talk about mindset. Skylar has had a lot of ups and downs in his business career.  However, one thing has been constant-a belief in himself and a commitment to being a success.  Skylar is the owner of Superior Restoration .  He also created an amazing development program for business men called Rise Up Kings , check it out. This podcast has been sponsored by Morning...

Dan Udy keeps rising up from failure. This man will not stay down. His indomitable spirit keeps him coming back for more and more success. Dan has had some troubles in his life, and that is what makes him so real and so authentic. Dan has overcome alcohiolism and mental health struggles to build an amazing carpet cleaning business on his terms and now is an administrator on Cleaners Connect and on...