49: Why Most Window Cleaning Businesses Never Break $1M With Gatlin McBride

Jan 16, 2026

Gatlin McBride, owner of Mint Window Cleaning, shares his journey from pressure washing to nearly $2 million in annual revenue. He discusses the importance of service agreements, how to reduce churn, and effective marketing strategies. Gatlin highlights the power of calling existing customers for recurring revenue and explains the nuances of pricing psychology. He delves into the mental challenges of entrepreneurship, emphasizing persistence and the grind necessary for success. This candid conversation is packed with actionable insights for aspiring business owners.

01:25:57

forum

Ask episode

web_stories

AI Snips

view_agenda

Chapters

menu_book

Books

auto_awesome

Transcript

info_circle

Episode notes

question_answer

ANECDOTE

Humble Pressure-Washing Start

Gatlin started Mint after building a pressure-washing trailer and handing it to his brother while he left on a mission.
He returned, partnered, then later split operations between Arizona and Utah to scale separately.

insights

INSIGHT

Market Size Dictates Growth Ceiling

Market size limits ceiling and speed of growth; dominate small markets to scale to seven figures.
Use demographic math (10% of households above income threshold × ticket × repeat rate) to estimate realistic caps.

volunteer_activism

ADVICE

Sell Plans Before Price

Pitch service plans before price to reduce confusion and increase conversions.
Ask customers to choose frequency first, then present pricing and handle objections.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Gatlin's entrepreneurial beginnings

01:30 • 2min

chevron_right

Pressure washing to window cleaning pivot

03:29 • 3min

chevron_right

Moving markets and dropping out of college

06:28 • 1min

chevron_right

Market size and growth math

07:35 • 2min

chevron_right

Seasonality shocks and hiring ramp

09:59 • 2min

chevron_right

How Mint handles slow winters

12:09 • 2min

chevron_right

What a service agreement is for

14:37 • 1min

chevron_right

Quarterly plans: scheduling and billing

15:37 • 1min

chevron_right

Selling plans on the front end

17:05 • 2min

chevron_right

Keeping the pitch simple

19:27 • 1min

chevron_right

Package structure vs. plans

20:47 • 5min

chevron_right

Post-job plan pitch and emails

25:48 • 6min

chevron_right

Calling your customer list

32:03 • 3min

chevron_right

Building a calling team

34:40 • 4min

chevron_right

Script for plan expectations

39:02 • 6min

chevron_right

Improving the plan offer

44:43 • 5min

chevron_right

Percentage vs. dollar discounts

49:50 • 2min

chevron_right

Marketing channels that worked

52:16 • 5min

chevron_right

Google Business and reviews

56:50 • 1min

chevron_right

Paid ads: Facebook versus Google

57:59 • 4min

chevron_right

Tracking leads and ROI by source

01:02:07 • 3min

chevron_right

Market differences and copy-paste limits

01:04:49 • 2min

chevron_right

Long-term persistence beats shortcuts

01:07:04 • 5min

chevron_right

Entrepreneurial loneliness and reflection

01:12:16 • 3min

chevron_right

Content and YouTube strategy

01:15:30 • 4min

chevron_right

Collaboration and industry change

• Mentioned in 25 episodes

The Motive

Patrick Lencioni

In 'The Motive,' Patrick Lencioni delves into the critical reasons behind a leader’s motivation through a narrative involving two rival CEOs. The book highlights the difference between reward-centered leaders, who seek personal gain, and responsibility-centered leaders, who prioritize the needs of their teams and organizations. Lencioni identifies five key responsibilities that leaders often neglect: developing a leadership team, managing direct reports, having tough conversations, running effective meetings, and consistent communication with employees. The book encourages leaders to reflect on their motives and adopt a service-oriented approach to leadership, emphasizing that true leadership is about serving others rather than seeking personal rewards.

#1103

• Mentioned in 31 episodes

The Ultimate Sales Machine

Turbocharge Your Business with the 12 Key Strategies of Top Performers

Chet Holmes

Amanda Holmes

In 'The Ultimate Sales Machine', Chet Holmes outlines 12 essential strategies for running a successful business. The book emphasizes the importance of systems and processes in sales success, teaching employees to work smarter, leveraging marketing effectively, and perfecting every sales interaction. The updated edition, contributed to by Amanda Holmes, includes new material relevant to modern business, such as core story frameworks and the use of modern marketing mediums. The book offers practical tools, real-life examples, and proven strategies to help businesses achieve significant improvements in sales performance and overall success.

#2812

• Mentioned in 15 episodes

Ready, Fire, Aim

Zero to $100 Million in No Time Flat

Michael Masterson

In 'Ready, Fire, Aim,' Michael Masterson shares his expertise on building and growing businesses quickly. The book outlines a focused strategy for guiding a small business through four stages of entrepreneurial growth: Infancy ($0 to $1 million), Childhood ($1 to $10 million), Adolescence ($10 to $50 million), and Adulthood ($50 to $100 million and beyond). Masterson emphasizes the importance of selling, understanding customer needs, managing cash flow, and building a strong team. He advocates for a 'Ready, Fire, Aim' approach, which involves taking rapid action, refining strategies based on real-world feedback, and maintaining flexibility and adaptability in a fast-paced business environment.

#16

• Mentioned in 383 episodes

Think and Grow Rich

Napoleon Hill

Published in 1937, 'Think and Grow Rich' is a seminal work in the self-help genre. The book is the result of over twenty years of research by Napoleon Hill, who studied the habits and achievements of more than 500 successful individuals, including Andrew Carnegie, Thomas Edison, and Henry Ford. Hill distills their wisdom into thirteen principles that, when practiced with persistence and faith, can transform dreams into reality. These principles include the power of desire, faith, specialized knowledge, organized planning, and the role of the subconscious mind. The book emphasizes the importance of maintaining a positive mental attitude, setting clear and specific goals, and taking consistent action to achieve success. It also explores the concept of the 'Master Mind' alliance and the need to overcome fears and doubts to achieve one's objectives.

• Mentioned in 454 episodes

Rich Dad Poor Dad

What the Rich Teach Their Kids about Money - That the Poor and the Middle Class Do Not

C.P.A. Sharon L. Lechter

Robert Kiyosaki

The book tells the story of Robert Kiyosaki's two fathers: his 'poor dad,' a highly educated but fiscally poor man, and his 'rich dad,' the father of his best friend who was a successful entrepreneur. It emphasizes the importance of financial education, distinguishing between assets and liabilities, and building wealth through investing in assets such as real estate and businesses. Kiyosaki argues that a good education and a secure job are not guarantees for financial success and provides practical lessons on how to make money work for you rather than working for money.

#205

• Mentioned in 101 episodes

The E-myth

why most businesses don't work and what to do about it

Michael E. Gerber

The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber dispels the myths about starting your own business, highlighting that most small business owners are not true entrepreneurs but rather technicians skilled in their trade. Gerber introduces the concept of the 'E-Myth' and explains that business owners must embody three key roles: the Entrepreneur (the visionary), the Manager (the organizer), and the Technician (the doer). The book emphasizes the distinction between working 'on' your business and working 'in' your business, and provides practical advice on building systems and processes to ensure a business can run independently of its owner.

Episode Summary:

In this episode of the Window Cleaning Millionaire Podcast, Ryan sits down with Gatlin McBride, owner of Mint Window Cleaning, to unpack what it really takes to build a seven-figure home service business from the ground up.

Gatlin shares his full journey—from growing up in a family of entrepreneurs, starting with pressure washing, and partnering with his brother, to moving states, dropping out of college, and scaling Mint Window Cleaning to nearly $2 million in annual revenue. Along the way, he breaks down the hard lessons learned about seasonality, market differences, pricing, branding, and why most business owners underestimate how long success actually takes.

The conversation dives deep into advanced topics like service plans, recurring revenue, sales scripting, pricing psychology, marketing channels that actually work, and why calling your existing customer list may be the most overlooked growth lever in the industry. Gatlin also explains how Mint structures quarterly service plans, sets expectations to reduce churn, and uses simple but powerful scripts to increase lifetime customer value.

Beyond tactics, this episode gets real about the mental side of entrepreneurship—loneliness, delayed gratification, grinding through the “middle,” and why most people quit before they ever give themselves a real chance to win. Gatlin offers candid advice for owners stuck between $5K–$150K per month and explains why staying in the game long enough is the ultimate competitive advantage.

If you’re serious about scaling a home service business, building recurring revenue, and playing the long game, this episode is packed with insights you won’t want to miss.

Home Top podcasts Popular guests Top books