Owned and Operated - A Plumbing, Electrical, and HVAC Business Growth Podcast

Today we have Johnny - otherwise known as Squeegeegod on Twitter, Johnny and his business partner Sergio started Orange Window Cleaning 4 years ago and they are on pace to do $700,000 just cleaning windows this year. We love businesses like Johnny’s. They’re very easy to start, but growing them can be a big challenge. We brought on Johnny to give you the step by step details into how he started an...

In this episode John discusses his history getting started in the trades, his journey learning about finance and acquisitions, to buying 5 businesses and owning a $5MM Plumbing and HVAC business. If you're interested to hear a story about how anyone can buy a business and run it successfully despite the ups and downs, this episode is a must listen! Enjoy! Check out Owned and Operated Weekly I...

Steve Ressler knows how to sell your company to the government and has successfully exited every time. He has since been focused on search fund investing, investing in over 20 different companies on a national and international level. At Wilson Companies, we are looking at investing in small businesses and in this particular episode, we go deep into the search fund model and how we - as a small bu...

Trish is a partner at Chenmark Capital, a small permanent equity firm she founded with her husband and brother in law. Chenmark has acquired and runs 6 different businesses some of which have grown through acquisitions to the tune of buying about another 25 deals. At Wilson Companies, we’re just starting to ramp up our acquisition processes and Trish gave us the secrets and barriers we will likely...

Mitchell runs Baldridge Financial and knows how to save money in your SMB. His business is an all-in-one tax and financial planning firm for small and midsize businesses nationwide. John and Brandon get into the details of Mitchell’s business, specifically, they talk about how much it’s grown since Mitchell got active on Twitter, and some of the nuances of growing a financial services firm.  One o...

Brandon Laughridge is on the show today to talk about how to buy small businesses, based off his own experience. He owns two; one in Property Management and one retail furniture store. On top of that, he and his wife invest in real estate. As a property manager, Brandon is at the center of tons of home service companies, roofing, flooring, plumbing, HVAC, property management involves every trade y...

Today we have Jennifer cook, who is our new Marketing and Recruitment Manager. We brought Jen on to help us with a few things: HR, Staffing need, Compliance issues etc. One of the most important things we needed was someone to help us figure out how to hire 12 employees into a brand new business. In this episode, John and Jen give you the details and struggles we have experienced on the recruiting...

Peter runs a property management firm with 500+ units under management. In this episode, we get into the details of starting a property management business from 0, growing it to 15 employees, and the pros and cons of growth through acquisitions. One of the highlights of this episode is when Peter gets into the details of his partnership, how it functions, compensation. It's a really interesti...

Today we talk to Andrew Gazdecki, a lifetime entrepreneur who's started and sold three different internet businesses in a variety of industries and has grown Microacquire to over $600,000 in ARR. Andrew has had a few of those successes, but in this episode, we learn a ton about his past failures and the struggles he’s gone through to build great businesses. Check out Owned and Operated Weekly...

On this episode of Owned and Operated, we talk to Quinn Miller, who makes $120,000/year owning and restocking vending machines. We get into the nitty-gritty of how his business operates from how he sources machines and the maintenance that's required on them to how Quinn sells new locations and what makes his operation the most profitable in San Diego. The Vending machine business is one of t...

This week we talk with Chris Powers, who owns and runs \A Fort Worth based Real estate private equity firm with over $600,000,000 dollars in assets under management. Chris started buying houses in 2004, and even found a way to run a profitable real estate flipping business during the housing crisis. Chris lays down his knowledge on this episode, you’ll learn everything about growing a Real estate...

On this episode of the Owned and Operated HVAC, Plumbing, and Electrical Growth Podcast we talk to Furkan Yuce, who runs Elevation Flooring, a $5MM commercial flooring business in Baltimore, Maryland. Furkan has a very unique track record, working with four different construction companies just to learn the trade, and then starting his shop. Half his team is based in Turkey which allows him to mov...

On this episode of Owned and Operated, Justin Reitman joins the show to talk about the electronic shredding business. Justin was raised in his family's truck leasing and financing business and started a second family business with his brother shredding electronics and hard drives for businesses. One of the highlights of this episode is when Justin gave us years of insights into the truck fina...

On this episode of Owned and Operated we bring Rick Vazza on to talk about how to buy a plumbing business with no experience. Rick bought that llumbing business recently, John and Brandon grill him on how the deal went through, how it was structured, what the current processes/systems are like, and how he plans to grow the company. Enjoy! Check out Owned and Operated Weekly Insights: a newsletter...

On this episode of Owned and Operated we bring on Sam Leslie. This conversation gets DEEP. We cover the major sacrifices that come with entrepreneurship, as well as how those sacrifices manifest into a business that can take care fo your family for generations. Sam and John also start spitballing ideas back and forth - will they be collaborating in the future? Enjoy the show! Check out Owned and O...

On this episode of Owned and Operated, Kelcey Lehrich drops by (literally). Kelcey runs a holding company of awesome Ecom Brands and is closing on his 6th acquisition. If you want to see a conversation between an Ecommerce holdco owner and a home services holdco owner, you're going to love this episode. Enjoy! Check out Owned and Operated Weekly Insights: a newsletter where John discusses top...

On this Episode we talk to Devin Wanzor. Devin used to be a banker working horrible hours, he thought that buying and managing a small liquor store would bring him closer to his community and get his time back. It totally worked! Devin's story is awesome - Enjoy! Check out Owned and Operated Weekly Insights: a newsletter where John discusses topics ranging from recruiting and marketing to the...

On this episode of Owned and Operated we sit down with James Camp who sold his media strategy agency and is now rolling up E-com businesses and teaching others how to flip profitable websites. If you're interested in buying or rolling up digital brands, this episode is for you. Enjoy! Check out Owned and Operated Weekly Insights: a newsletter where John discusses topics ranging from recruitin...

On today's episode John and Rich talk about the struggles of buying smaller plumbing businesses, how it is harder and more stressful than most people will tell you, and the major pitfalls to watch out for when you are acquiring a business. Enjoy! Check out Owned and Operated Weekly Insights: a newsletter where John discusses topics ranging from recruiting and marketing to the growth of your h...

On this episode of Owned and Operated, we talk with Bryant Suellentrop. We talk about how he got started in the janitorial space, and his major workforce and hiring challenges. One of the highlights of this episode is when Bryant talks about his experience with the struggle of starting a business, and the emotional tole it can take. Enjoy! Check out Owned and Operated Weekly Insights: a newsletter...

In this episode of Owned and Operated, Michael Girdley stops by. We talk about how he literally put out dumpster fires in his fireworks business, how he struggled as a young operator getting respect from senior team members, and how to hire and train operators so they don't make the same mistakes. Enjoy! Check out Owned and Operated Weekly Insights: a newsletter where John discusses topics ra...

In this episode we dive in to my Operator and General Manager, Brandon Niro's background. We talk about how he built and ran his landscaping business, how he sold his business to a competitor, and how he did it while attending college full-time. He started at 15 with no drivers license, driving his equipment around with an ATV, and within a few years was managing his competitor's busines...

In this episode of Owned and Operated I wanted to give a description of why we're starting this podcast, and what we'll be talking about. I'm John Wilson, I own a trades business doing about $5MM annually, and am currently buying 1-2 businesses a year. I'm bringing on my operator, Brandon Niro, to talk about the nitty gritty details of what makes a business function. You can ex...