The Contractor's Edge

In this segment live from The NFRA Conference, Mike Stiers and Anthony Brown interviews Mike East of Smart Level to talk about how contractors can measure, map, and document elevation readings faster without fighting lasers, handwritten notes, or inconsistent field processes. Smart Level uses pressure-based leveling, Bluetooth, and app connectivity to help contractors record readings directly into...

In this segment from The NFRA Conference in Oklahoma City, Mike Stiers and Anthony Brown sit down with Jen Zamzow of Contractor Accelerator to talk about what a CRM should actually do for contractors: take work off the office team, keep homeowners informed, and make the day-to-day easier to manage. Jen shares how Contractor Accelerator started in foundation repair and now supports a wide range of...

In this segment from The NFRA Conference in Oklahoma City, Mike Stiers and Anthony Brown sit down with Daniel Stark of Stark Foundations to talk about how faster, cleaner engineering can help foundation repair contractors speed up jobs without cutting corners. Daniel explains how Stark Foundations focuses solely on foundation repair engineering, using their SPEKTR platform to help contractors subm...

In this segment live from The NFRA Conference, Mike Stiers and Anthony Brown sit down with Rob Stam of Nash Distribution to talk about a bigger issue in foundation repair: how the industry can raise the bar for contractors, homeowners, and everyone involved. His message is clear: when the industry lacks standards, homeowners suffer, bad actors gain ground, and good contractors have to work harder...

In this segment live from The NFRA Conference in Oklahoma City, Mike Stiers and Anthony Brown sit down with HB Marshall of Your Crawlspace to talk about what crawl space contractors actually need to grow, including better products, training, and more repeatable systems. HB is helping contractors move beyond "winging it" with stronger installation processes, video assets, marketing resources, on-si...

In this segment live from The NFRA Conference in Oklahoma City, Mike Stiers and Anthony Brown sit down with Tom Gibbs of NCFI Polyurethanes. Tom shares his experience from nearly 25 years in foundation repair and 18 years in polyurethane, including how NCFI can help foundation repair contractors add a profitable service line, solve access challenges, and stop turning away work that may already be...

In this segment live from The NFRA Conference in Oklahoma City, Mike Stiers and Anthony Brown sit down with Jason Adams of SPS Engineering to talk about how better engineering, inspection systems, and reporting workflows can help foundation repair contractors create a better experience for homeowners. Jason shares how SPS Engineering is helping bridge the gap between foundation repair inspections...

Most contractors ask the same question: "Where should I spend my marketing dollars?" When the better question is: H ow much should you spend, and in what order should you invest? In this episode of The Contractors' Edge , Mike and Anthony kick off a new Marketing 101 segment built for contractors across foundation repair, basement waterproofing, crawl space encapsulation, pest control, HVAC, plumb...

In this week's episode of The Contractors Edge, Anthony Brown shares how contractor leads and lead opportunities are changing heading into Summer 2026. It may come as a surprise but, cheap leads may be costing your business more time and money than you realize... From Google and Facebook ad updates, to shifting buyer behavior, lead quality trends, seasonal marketing adjustments, and the increasing...

Are you losing your leads during the proposal process to "a better company?" Or are you losing jobs because you're leaving the homeowner confused on the what, why and how you're going to fix the problem? If the proposal process loses urgency, or creates confusion on why your estimate is a different price, you can guarantee they'll go with the contractor who gives a clearer explanation and an onsit...

If you want more profit in 2026, stop treating "more leads" like the only answer. In Episode 24, Mike and Anthony recap the best contractor advice so far this year, pulled from our Q1 conversations and the patterns we keep seeing across home services. Costs are still weird, competition is real, and trust is harder to earn. But the market is expanding in a lot of regions, which means the opportunit...

Working in foundation repair can make you feel like you're building a company on an island. There's limited mentorship, standards are lacking, and for a long time, there hasn't been clear training on how to approach jobs or build relationships with homeowners inside the home.  But in this episode, Mike and Anthony sit down with  Jae Wells , owner of American Standard Foundation Repair and current...

If you do crawl space encapsulation, moisture control, or basement waterproofing, you already know the industry has strong opinions on the best way to approach homeowner problems.  In this episode, Mike and Anthony sit down with Myriam Breedlove , President and Owner of Atmox , to break down what actually matters in crawl spaces: how different air conditions affect crawl space moisture , why dew p...

Demand is different in 2026 , but contractors who stay intentional (and disciplined), will take market share.  In this episode Mike and Anthony recap what their seeing in the home service industry, how it's affecting clients, and how you can get ahead in your business if you play your cards right.  Service demand is still there, but the buyer is more cautious, and the contractors who tighten lead...

If you're a home service company doing good volume, you already have something most contractors ignore: past customers who should already trust you. If you're not consistently turning those customers into reviews and referrals, you're missing revenue that lowers how dependent you have to be on your paid leads budget.  In Episode 20, we sit down with  Landon Taylor , founder of  Snoball , to break...

Homeowners are more skeptical than ever, and the competition in the industry keeps growing. Are you a basement waterproofing company still selling like it's 2005? Or have you adapted to stay at the top of your game? In this episode, we sit down with Sean Worthington, President of the Basement Health Association (BHA) and owner of Worthington Foundation Authority (PA), to unpack what most basement...

An uncomfortable truth? There's no way to "market" your way out of operational chaos. In this episode, Mike Stiers and Anthony Brown sit down with Will Blake, contractor operator and founder of PER4MANCE.IO, to talk about scaling your company without adding trucks, crews, or more production problems.  Will breaks down why "sales is for the show, production is for the dough," and how contractors lo...

The World of Concrete wasn't just about "concrete". Mike and Anthony recap their time in Las Vegas, and break down what they saw across the halls, why networking after hours is where the real value lives, and what contractors can learn from how exhibitors position, differentiate, and pull people into their booth. If you've been thinking "I just need more leads," this episode will be another remind...

What does a real 30% growth plan look like for a $3M home service contractor? In this episode, Mike Stiers and Anthony Brown walk through the math behind taking a $3,000,000 business to $3,900,000 in 1 year using real KPIs, funnel math, and budget allocations. You will learn how to reverse engineer your numbers from your revenue goal, and build a marketing plan based on where you are going, not wh...

In Episode 15, we sit down with Scott Llewellyn , Director of Business Development at Foundation Rescue Supply (FRS) , who's on a mission to change the foundation repair space, as well as help contractors improve their in-home close rates. Scott has spent more than 20 years inside the foundation repair and waterproofing industry, holding roles across sales, production, marketing, and operations. I...

Most owners don't set a marketing budget. They pick a number that "feels okay" and hope it's enough to maximize their lead generation.  In this episode, Mike explains a simple way to stop guessing and start using  math to decide how much to invest in your marketing at every revenue stage. From chuck-in-a-truck under $1M to $20M+ operators, the strategy is different when you're entering the next le...

What if your revenue wasn't stalling due to bad marketing?  What if it's about what happens after the phone rings. In Part 2 of this Contractors' Edge episode, Mike Stiers and Anthony Brown dig into the  real money leaks they often find in home service businesses: Missed calls and slow follow-up Business hours that don't match how homeowners actually live Weak nurturing and almost zero rehash Sale...

Most contractors aren't struggling because they're doing everything wrong. They're struggling because they're doing a few critical things wrong over and over, without realizing it. In this episode of The Contractors' Edge , Mike Stiers and Anthony Brown discuss the top marketing and operations mistakes they hear repeatedly from contractors both in their everyday workflow, and in person.  You'll he...

If you're a contractor heading into 2026 still "trying a little of everything" with your marketing, this episode is your wake-up call to create an intentional growth strategy.  Mike Stiers and Anthony Brown share what's actually working right now for home service and home improvement companies from real-time experience, and how the smartest contractors are turning that into predictable leads, book...

If your 2026 marketing plan starts with a random budget number, you're doing it backwards. In this episode, Mike Stiers and Anthony Brown show contractors how to plan growth by working backward from your sales goal using your KPIs, then turning those numbers into a realistic marketing budget, operations targets, and weekly accountability. What you'll learn The "lead to dollar" machine: the only nu...