Michael Katz, the owner of Trio Heating & Air, shares his journey from a $5M to a $15M operation. He openly discusses the personal sacrifices and mindset shifts needed for growth. The conversation touches on the challenges of balancing expansion with maintaining a lean operation and the need for leaders to evolve with their businesses. Michael reveals his 'bucket strategy' for targeting customers and emphasizes the importance of using automation tools for better customer engagement and higher profitability.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Growth Brings Tough Choices
Michael Katz felt conflicted about growing beyond $10 million but ultimately found growth mentally stretching and fulfilling.
He identified an awkward company size stage with 50-60 employees that was neither small nor fully corporate.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Right Size for Profitability
If you want immediate profit, avoid growing too large due to operational complexity and overhead.
Between $15M to $30M is a good size to balance customer base and operational resilience.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Leadership Team Drives Growth
Build a strong leadership team with clear KPIs, accountability, and incentives aligned to profitability.
Manage departments by tracking conversion rates, labor/material percentages, and use bonuses to drive performance.
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Home Service Millionaire, authored by Tommy Mello, offers valuable insights and strategies for entrepreneurs in the home service industry. The book shares Mello's personal journey and experiences in building a successful home service business, providing practical advice on various aspects of business management. It covers topics such as marketing, sales, hiring, and leadership, offering actionable steps for readers to implement in their own businesses. The book's focus on systems and processes helps readers create a scalable and efficient business model. It's a valuable resource for anyone looking to grow their home service business.
In the final episode of our 3-part mini-series with Michael Katz, Owner of Trio Heating & Air, we dive into the gritty reality of scaling a trades business from $5M to $10M and beyond. Michael shares what it really took to build Trio into a $ 15M-plus operation in just a few short years, including the personal sacrifices, mindset shifts, and leadership evolution that fueled the journey. Michael gets candid about burning out, questioning his path, and ultimately transforming his own leadership style to match the company’s needs.
Join us as we discuss:
[1:07] The trade-offs of growing a business vs. staying lean and profitable
[12:01] Why you have to change your personality to match your business
[19:52] The bucket strategy: targeting the right customers at the right time
[29:25] How to boost your TitanAdvisor score and get more business
Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast:
Mastering ServiceTitan 