The REAL Cost of Running a Trades Business in 2025 — What Most Owners Don’t Understand
Owned and Operated - A Plumbing, Electrical, and HVAC Business Growth Podcast
Intro
John Wilson and Jack Carr open the episode, set the 2025 roundup theme and guest context.
We reveal the real cost of running a home service business in 2025. In this full debrief, we open our books to show why plumbing business growth exploded while HVAC stalled, and exactly how we navigated the hardest summer in years.
If you run a contractor business, you know 2025 was volatile. HVAC shipments cratered 49% YoY, forcing operators to face a brutal reality. In this episode, we break down the massive gap between our plumbing wins and HVAC headwinds, why "Always Be Recruiting" became our #1 survival rule, and how total financial transparency saved our bottom line.
In this episode, we cover:
- The Industry Reality: Why mild weather and refrigerant transitions crushed HVAC demand.
- The Recruiting Crisis: Why we lost key techs mid-summer and how we fixed our hiring pipeline.
- P&L Transparency: The actual impact of overhead, margins, and "fixed" costs on a trades business.
- 2026 Strategy: Our plan for a "Lean & Lethal" operation and new acquisitions.
🚀 What You’ll Learn:
- Why 2025 was a wake-up call for the home service industry (and how to adapt).
- The danger of high overhead when revenue misses the mark.
- Why recruiting is your biggest constraint—even when leads are flowing.
- How to use daily huddles and "War Rooms" to fix operational drag.
- Why Gross Margin is the only lever that matters for 2026.
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💼 Extra Special Thanks to Service Scalers!
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🎙️ Hosts:
More Ways To Connect with O&O
John Wilson, CEO of Wilson Companies
Jack Carr, CEO of Rapid HVAC
📌 Disclaimer: Some links may include UTM parameters or affiliate relationships, meaning we may earn a commission if you make a purchase. Episodes may feature sponsors, but all opinions expressed are our own.
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