The Successful Contractor Podcast

Gus Antos is the owner of Milestone, a residential home services company that specializes in plumbing, HVAC, and electrical. He also owns or partners in several other residential service companies. In total, all the operations exceed $150MM in revenue. (He started with CertainPath in 2004 with revenues less than $500K and deep in financial distress.) Today, he’s a member-leader within the organiza...

Jimmie Dale is the president of Baker Brothers, a residential home services company that specializes in plumbing, HVAC, and electrical. Baker Brothers is one of the largest home services companies in the DFW area and the country with sales approximately $93MM. (He started with CertainPath in 2008 with revenues around $3MM.) Today, he’s a member-leader within the organization. In 2022, Baker Brothe...

Brown’s Plumbing & Heating in Steinbach, Manitoba, is a family business. Chad Brown’s grandfather started it in 1974, and his dad owned and operated it for much of its history. A caricature of his image adores the sides of their vans. Chad and his wife purchased the company five years ago with the goal of continuing the legacy, and he’s done a strong job thus far. Since joining CertainPath, sa...

Adam Vaillancourt Roofing & Construction is one of the largest roofing contractors in the Northeast (if not the US) with revenues surpassing $22M annually. The operation has steadily grown 15% annually the last three years. The journey hasn’t always been easy. Adam started the business when he was only 29 years old with a rusty pickup truck and $3,000. Adam’s commitment to excellent service al...

Four Seasons KangaRoof in metro Detroit has a remarkable story.  More than 10 years ago, founder Bill Burkhardt Sr. started the business with a desire to provide great service. He soon found himself struggling and $250K in debt. Bill Sr. joined CertainPath looking for guidance. Today, he runs the business with his sons Matt and Bill Jr, along with Brian Neaton, and their incredible team.  Sales ha...

Wisler Plumbing & Air serves Rocky Mount, VA, a small community south of Roanoke. Despite its size, Wisler has become an extraordinarily large home services company, thanks to its dedication to exceptional service. In particular, Wisler has built an impressive residential water treatment division; it’s on target to generate $1.7MM in sales.  Ashley Keith manages that division. Prior to becomin...

Episode Show Notes / Description Metro Electric can be found just north of Detroit, serving Romeo, MI, and beyond.  This contracting company has been growing rapidly. They generate more than $5MM in generators and $1MM in residential service; plus, they have a massive commercial division.  It takes plenty of good electricians to provide the exceptional service Metro Electric has become known for. ...

Vredevoogd Plumbing, Heating, & A/C started its membership with CertainPath as a new construction HVAC-only company roughly 11 years ago.  Its owners Mike & Tom aspired to hit $1MM in sales.  Fast forward to today. Mike and Tom made a lucrative exit from the business, and they turned their family business over to a new leader, Brian Vandestreek, in late 2020.  Brian had NO experience in th...

Mike Robbins is a 5x author, thought leader, and sought-after motivational speaker who teaches people, leaders, and teams to infuse their lives and businesses with authenticity and appreciation. As a leadership expert, he partners with some of the largest companies in the world.  And he will be a keynote speaker at your Temecula Expo in October!   In this interview, Mike talked about “3 Steps to C...

Too often contractors focus on putting more trucks on the road, rather than generating a strong net profit. The Fox family has a much different outlook on business.  Their company, Fox Plumbing Services, is based in Sarasota, FL, and focuses on residential service and remodeling.  It’s never had more than three trucks.  That’s what founder Amos Fox wanted when he started in 1994.  His son, Anthony...

Brent Garrett, along with his wife Jeni, is the owner and operator of the highly successful Sirius Plumbing & Air Conditioning, which serves the DFW area.  The small business owners have the company at $5MM in revenue with more than $7MM clearly in sites.  Brent has taken on a new venture—authoring a book he’s titled, “Swirling the Drain: Why Small Businesses Fail and How to Stop the Leaks.” T...

Shoulder season is something that makes both roofing and HVAC contractors alike nervous.  It’s those traditionally “slower” months in between your busy season.  However, shoulder season doesn’t have keep you up at night if you properly plan for it.   CertainPath Coaches Estee Jaacovi (HVAC) and Rich Rogers (roofing) talk about how to manage shoulder seasons in their respective trades. They share i...

Carl DiBene has had a wildly successful 30-year career in residential contracting. After serving 8.5 years as an Army Ranger, he graduated college and went to work for a contractor, who would become one of CertainPath’s first members in 1999. Carl would become the Director of Training for CertainPath in 2001, building the training for our organization.  His techniques are still taught today and ar...

Episode Show Notes / Description Santhoff Plumbing in Missouri City, TX, has steadily grown from $3MM to $4MM with $5MM in sights.  And Part-Owner & GM Jason Santhoff projects $10MM in the not-too-distant future.  This rapid ascent has occurred thanks to some incredible changes they’ve made to the business, including how Jason and his family have: ·        Completely rebuilt their image, began...

Nate Jones is a plumber with Big Blue Plumbing in Alameda, CA.  Nate had a Crown Champion year in 2022, selling and installing over $700K in residential plumbing. Nate has an incredible background—from growing up a farm in Ohio to professional skater to a bartender for over a decade.  Looking for stability, he hounded Big Blue Plumbing’s owner, Paul Gerrard, who gave him an opportunity… an opportu...

Frustrated, nervous, angry, irritated. These are the emotions of homeowners when they call your company to repair their plumbing, HVAC, electric, or roof. How your techs or salespeople talk to homeowners can radically impact their emotions.  In fact, once you’ve settled your customer, if you take the time to EDUCATE people, they will spend more money—and be happier about the investment in their ho...

Does your team compete AND collaborate?  That’s what great teams do… and great companies… like Brown Boys Roofing in Fayetteville, AR.  Brad Garnett is a 4-TIME ROOFING SALES CROWN CHAMPION! AND he works with 3 MORE Crown Champions! They work hard to push, help, and motivate one another every day.  (By the way, the #1 champ wins a WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIP BELT!  How cool is that???)     Brad was an...

What MAGIC WORDS does Kory Peine say to put STRESSED homeowners’ minds at ease? Some homeowners are full of ANXIETY and even FEAR when calling a home services company for help… Kory understands that—and he quickly turns CONCERN into CONFIDENCE that he can help them…   Korey is a plumbing salesperson for M&R Plumbing, which has locations in Farmington, NM, and Durango, CO.  Last year, Korey kil...

David Diehl is an electrician with Tingley Home Services in Milford, MA. In 2022, he sold and installed $856,000 worth of residential electrical work.  And he did it while working no more than 40-50 hours a week—and no weekends.  In this interview, David shares how he got into the electrical trade—and he was recruited to Tingley by the founder of the company speaking at his school!   Then, David t...

Danielle Leisten is a do-it-all technician for Buric Heating & Air in Columbia, MD.  She does maintenance, service, and sales.  She even helps in the office. Danielle is also CertainPath’s FIRST female tech to attain HVAC Crown Champion status; she sold $1.76MM in 2022.  And it was only her second year in ANY sales function… How did Danielle achieve such incredible, immediate success?    KNOWL...

Jerrad Taylor is a salesperson for Bouldin Roofing in the tiny town of Russellville, KY, which has a population of a little more than 7K.  And he had an incredible 2022, selling $2.8MM in residential roofing. HOW??? Jerrad believes in being STRAIGHTFORWARD with his customers. He enjoys connecting with people and forging relationships.  However, he also believes in being upfront and as honest as po...

Kristian Youngblood of Mackin & Sons in Wadsworth, OH, which is just outside of Akron, is now a manager/plumbing salesperson for the company.  But in 2022, he was a full-time plumber in the field selling and installing over $1.48 MM—eye popping numbers for a small, Midwestern market.     In this interview, Kristian shares his entire service call process. He shares in-depth how he: ·        Con...

Joe Zimmerman, President of Summers & Zim’s in Atglen, Pennsylvania, which is about an hour west of Philadelphia.  Summers & Zim’s has been around for nearly 100 years; his grandfathers started it, his dad carried on the tradition, and Joe assumed leadership in his mid-20’s.  The company was successful and small.  It’s in 2011, after his son Ethann expressed interest in becoming the 4th ge...

Jonathan Unzueta Rojas of Top Flight Electric in Winter Haven, FL, sold & installed $764K in residential electrical work in 2022.  During this conversation, he shares his background and then shares in full his service call process.  Jonathan explains in-depth how he immediately connects with homeowners; how he explains his safety inspection and the need for a diagnostic charge in many cases; h...

Eugene Martin is a salesperson for Lakeside KangaRoof in Geneva, NY. In 2022, Gene sold an impressive $6.9 million in residential roofing in that little New York town. Maybe even more impressive, Gene estimated only 10% of those roofing projects were insurance jobs.  So, Gene can clearly work a sales process, earn people’s trust, build value, navigate options, and happily close homeowners, even wh...