Toolbox for the Trades

Lacey Coleman truly has a talent for moving past negative experiences and turning adversities into opportunities. Beginning her career in the trades at an early age, she had to prove herself to her customers and colleagues. Now the CEO at Coastal Comfort Heating and Air Conditioning in Salisbury, MD, Lacey joined us to discuss her professional and entrepreneurial journey, how she defied gender ste...

Alan O'Neill truly has what many would say is “the luck of the Irish.”  Alan started his career in Dublin as an apprentice plumber and worked his way up in the trades. He then moved to America with his family and founded a plumbing service company with his mentor, which he later sold to private equity. He truly believes in building solid relationships and taking care of his team and that the trade...

Did you know the ServiceTitan Podcast network has other shows that can really help you not only grow your business but learn more about and use ServiceTitan even better? We've come out with additional shows to help folks all over your organization get the most out of your time working with us and our platforms. Today we have a guest episode from our sister show "Mastering ServiceTitan", designed t...

David and Natascha Manley , co-owners of ProLift Garage Doors in Amarillo, Texas, share their inspiring journey from retail careers to franchise ownership and how they have built philanthropy into the core of their business.  Through their small business, the Manleys have made a substantial impact on their community by supporting organizations like Fill with Hope, which addresses food insecurity i...

Marcia Barnes feels the way companies have been buying marketing and the way agencies sell marketing is broken. She identified an opportunity to reorient this challenge by getting customers to look at the math before investing in marketing. With a solid data-driven foundation, people can see the results, know they’re growing profitably, and have the power of their marketing dollar back. The CEO an...

Phillip Filaski believes leading by example is the key to being successful in sales. You need to be good at listening to prospects, ask the right questions, provide a consultative approach, and know how to handle objections professionally. He also believes in working hard, having a disciplined lifestyle, and having the right mindset that prepares you for success and enables you to bounce back from...

Join us as we chat with some of the “Titans of the Trades” at Pantheon 2024! For companies in the trades to be successful and grow, it’s important to have good leadership in place that leads the charge. They need to lead by example, push themselves out of their comfort zones, and do things that are scary in order to scale their business. It starts by having the right mindset, having the right peop...

Hunter Ballew , the founder of Roofing.com , RoofCon , and the Revolt Mastermind Group , joins us to share his incredible journey from firefighter and US Marine to building a multi-million dollar business empire in the roofing industry. Hunter breaks down his 8-Figure Checklist , a step-by-step process for growing a successful company, and why leadership and culture are crucial for scaling any bus...

Jeff Plant has built a successful career across different facets of the trades while working his way up to key managerial positions. It was here where he realized an untapped potential and opportunity to equip leaders and their teams with the necessary skills needed to grow. Identifying this opportunity motivated Jeff to get into coaching to help businesses implement procedures to build empowered...

Nathan Shafer reached a point in his professional journey years ago where he knew that change was needed in order to grow. This change had to come through implementing new systems and processes and building up a team to help scale the business effectively. He also had to get out of the business to work on it, and this motivated him to go down the business coaching path. The owner of Shafer Heating...

When it comes to building a legacy brand in the trades, Tucker Yarbrough truly believes that success comes through steady and consistent growth. This growth is achieved through the trust and collaboration between team members and the community built around the business. In his role, he endeavors to take the family business to new levels of growth, to experiment with new ways of building awareness...

Zack Kays has a wealth of technical knowledge that enabled him to improve internal systems and processes within his organization. He also has extensive customer service experience, which allowed him to excel in his other role as an emergency call dispatcher. In this role, he must ensure that the relationship between the client and the technicians is seamless and that everything is treated with a s...

Lydia Brewster works in her family business, but she’ll also be the first one to tell you that they don’t operate as a family, but rather as a team. This mindset has served her well and motivated her to come up with some unconventional yet extremely effective strategies for hiring and retaining some of the top technicians in the country. Her success lies in her very pragmatic and “no nonsense” app...

Customer satisfaction is typically a top priority for inbound service calls, but what about after the technician has left the premises? Chelle Allen , the owner of iconnectu , joins us to discuss the concept of “happy calls” — customer experience follow-ups made after a service is performed. Chelle explains how these calls not only offer gratitude but also collect valuable feedback to improve serv...

CSRs are the frontline employees of most home service businesses. That’s why Ralph Johnson , VP of Client Solutions at CallPoint , believes that owner-operators should make a concerted effort to give them the tools they need to succeed. You’re already spending marketing dollars to bring in calls — shouldn’t you equip and train your people to handle them? Tune in as Ralph shares his thoughts on mus...

In this episode of Toolbox for the Trades , we speak with Darrell Whiteaker and Lindsay Ramsey, the dynamic founders of Inception Plumbing in Kansas City, Missouri. Together, the couple explore the transformative journey of shifting from a reactive to a proactive business strategy and the power of crafting a "Vivid Vision" for their company’s future. Tune in to discover valuable insights on organi...

Sebastian Jimenez started out as a stand-up comedian. This experience armed him with the resilience and unconventional thinking that helped him co-found a startup company that is now at the forefront of the trades. Much of this success can be attributed to technology and artificial intelligence that enables companies to analyze data faster and better than ever before. As the Founder & CEO at R...

Hey Toolbox listeners, today we're adding a bonus episode to your feed from our newest show on the ServiceTitan Podcast Network — Mastering ServiceTitan. This new show airs on Thursdays and we're bringing it to you here to put more great information about running your business in your ears. In this episode of Mastering Service Titan, we talk with Steve Cossette , the Head of IT at NICE Home Servic...

Ellen Rohr is definitely not your typical financial planner. Besides presenting on stage at industry events like Pantheon, she has another incredible superpower that she loves to share with everyone in the trades: the power of networking with intent. Her success in networking lies in her ability to build relationships with people, her aptitude for making meaningful connections, and her strategic a...

Brian Ruffner and Charlie Warren are on a mission to help companies in the trades realize their full potential and scale effectively. They do this through a combination of systems, processes, technology, and the right talent. They believe success boils down to having a growth mindset and the right internal culture that encourages growth, accountability, and collaboration. This helps to set the sta...

Christian Rattin not only believes that using creative methods like gamification can increase employee performance and engagement, but he also believes in giving back. He knows that many people in long-term recovery have the ability and talent to pursue a profession in the trades. It comes down to having the right systems and processes in place and a program that supports and provides these indivi...

Jamie Adams is on a mission to take the guesswork out of digital marketing for businesses in the trades. He encourages customers to move away from outdated advertising methods to online channels and helps them maximize their marketing dollars with technology. As the Chief Revenue Officer at Scorpion , Jamie and his team endeavor to help local service businesses drive more clients, revenue, and pro...

After spending over 25 years working with industry legends like Jim Abrams and Leyland Smith of Service Champions, Lawrence Castillo felt he was ready for his next challenge. So in 2020, he accepted the role of president at Brody Pennell Heating & Air Conditioning , which has been proudly serving the greater Los Angeles area since 1945. Since taking the reins, Lawrence has helped supercharge t...

Brigham Dickinson is on a mission to help trades companies with low conversion rates, poor customer experience, and a lack of team alignment. He knows that if companies can tackle these problems, they can book more jobs and generate more referred customers for their businesses. It all comes down to having the right mindset and creating an environment of safety, comfort, and fun for the customer. T...

As the costs of goods and materials continue to rise, consumer confidence is low, inflation is high, and business expenses are increasing. So what’s an HVAC business owner to do? Today we’re talking to two experts in the industry — ServiceTitan’s Chris Hunter , Director of Customer Relations, and Deanna Kawasaki , Senior Director of Product Management. We discuss ways to keep your HVAC customers h...