Waste No Day: A Home Services Motivational Podcast

In today’s show, we are putting Aaron Hagan in your passenger seat to discuss growing an electrical contractor business. Aaron is no stranger to the trade. He is a second generation electrician who grew up in a truck and made his way through the ranks to become owner. Learning in his dad's passenger seat from a young age, Aaron kept seeking out new and better ways to grow eventually putting them into the increase of his business. Starting off a two-man operation generating over $300,000 annually, Hagan saw his fair share of ups and downs. At one point, the entire company cycled in a year as they redesigned the definition of culture. Starting over a second time, Hagan grew the business to $25M with goals to his $70M in the next three years. Aaron joins the show today to not only talk about his journey personally, but some tips from the school of hard knocks that he picked up along the way.

In today’s show, we are putting Roy H. Williams in your passenger seat to discuss how the concept of story plays a vital part in accomplishing your message. Whether it is advertising on the radio or marketing yourself in the home, the story matters. So often we try to talk about quicker, faster, better, and the list goes on; but what about the story? What about how a product is going to make a difference? What about how your service makes someone feel? Every purchase is an emotional one and as such the heartstrings must be tugged with a picture, either physically or verbally. Roy H. Williams is the master story teller. A lifelong student of humanity, Roy H. Williams has spent a quarter-century asking, “What makes people do the things they do?” And he’s been using the things he’s learned to stimulate miraculous growth for his small business clients for more than 25 years. His books and Monday Morning Memos are a constant source of fascination and entertainment for his students and friends around the globe and have been named the Wall Street Journal’s number one Business Book in America as well as New York Times bestseller. With forty branch offices in the US, Canada, and Australia, Wizard of Ads, Inc. is now serving the advertising and marketing needs of business owners around the globe. Roy joins the show today to share his expertise on making yourself and your business memorable and moving.

In today’s show, we are putting Chris Voss in your passenger seat to discuss never splitting the difference. Everything in life is a negotiation, but standing in front of a client makes it more apparent. Wouldn’t it be great if you knew what to say and how to say it and when to say it in a negotiation? Over decades of FBI hostage negotiation, Chris learned those things and more through real-world experience; which he detailed in his best-selling book, “Never Split the Difference.” A 24-year veteran of the FBI, Chris Voss is one of the preeminent practitioners and professors of negotiating skills in the world. He is the founder and principal of The Black Swan Group, a consulting firm that provides training and advises Fortune 500 companies through complex negotiations. Voss has taught for many business schools, including the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business, Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, Harvard University, MIT’s Sloan School of Management, and Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, among others. Chris joins the show today to relate these principles to the home services industry as we celebrate episode #100.

In today’s show, we are putting Justin High in your passenger seat to discuss the grit and determination required to push through the tough things. Justin knows firsthand about commitment and overcoming the internal desire to quit. As a three-time world champion in Brazilian jujitsu he has competed at the highest levels and won. From a young age he became familiar with what it takes to overcome difficulties. When he was in his 20’s, he determined that he was the source of many of his own problems. However, as he became more serious about jujitsu he realized that he had to be honest with himself and cut out the habits and choices that would him weaker or the consequences would be his own neck. After winning his third world championship he started to see in each moment of your life it is easy to see what is right versus what is wrong. If you build a foundation of good choices success is the obvious outcome. Justin shares these experiences and more on today’s episode.

In today’s show, we are putting Peter Nevland in your passenger seat to discuss valuable lessons to be learned from the wiener dog. What do wiener dogs and the home services industry have in common? The answer is creating memorable experiences. We need each client we serve to be intrigued at our service and drawn to our interactions. There is too much on the line each time we step foot in the home to not be extraordinary; and the cost of acquiring each client is too great to not secure return business. Peter Nevland lives with his wife and three children in Austin, TX. His teams of Wizard of Ads partners have helped grow businesses since 2008.  It’s very common for his clients to double and continue growing year after year.  He holds a masters in materials science and engineering and worked as an engineer for Motorola before leaving in 2002 to tour the world for a decade as a spoken word performer and writing workshop teacher.  He’s now released 3 books, 8 albums, 2 DVDs and endless smiles all over the world. Peter helps us understand how studying the wiener dog can lead to far better, and remarkable, client experiences.

In today’s show, we are putting Al Levi in your passenger seat to discuss five things that you should always be doing. Al Levi is no stranger to the industry. Working out processes and systems through decades of personal experience as both a tech and business owner, Al has successfully systematized so many areas to make your business go right. Detailing much of these concepts in his book, “The 7-Power Contractor,” Al returns to the show to discuss some new ideas that need constant focus.

In today’s show, we are putting Lt. Col. John Ballenger in your passenger seat to continue our conversation from the last show. Until recently, Ballenger served as a pilot with HMX-1 otherwise known as Marine One or the President’s Helicopter. Capping off a distinguished career in the military Ballenger takes time to share what his time in the service has taught him. Looking to transition into the next phase of life we also explore a great DOD initiative called SkillBridge and what it is doing to help military personnel move into the civilian world and specifically the trades. If you missed the first part of this episode, make sure to get up to speed before diving into this exciting conclusion.

In today’s show, we are putting Lt. Col. John Ballenger in your passenger seat to discuss his career as a Marine One pilot and how it aligns with life in the trades. Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Ballenger started his career as a naval aviator in March 2005. Through multiple deployments and services, Ballenger served in Japan, Iraq, Afghanistan, Quantico, Jacksonville, and eventually Washinton D.C. Rising through the ranks over a twenty-year career, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in August 2019, and took an assignment with Marine Helicopter Squadron One (HMX-1). Ballenger served as a pilot under President Trump and President Biden until his retirement in 2022. On today’s show, he shares of the many similarities between his training and experience and the trades. Ballenger brings to light many points for consideration on how and why we should challenge ourselves to do our best.

In today’s show, we are putting Mary Anglen in your passenger seat to discuss KPI’s otherwise known as key performance indicators. KPI’s may seem like something that someone behind a desk should be tracking but there is great value to bringing them to the truck. The summarized version is setting a goal and tracking the performance so you know how you are doing. This simple yet easily overlooked task is a key to incremental growth in your career. What matters is what you measure and it can make all the difference. For the past several years, Mary Anglen has been a growing leader in the Service Industry, with a focus on operational excellence and utilizing technology to improve efficiency. You may know her for her connections and expertise with Service Titan but she has spent most of her time in the trades managing operations for a large multi-trade service company in North Texas. Prior to joining the CEO Warrior team, she worked with over 150 business owners through on sites and training programs to improve their business structure and overall profitability. Mary joined CEO Warrior as a Master Advisor last year but has been involved in the CEO Warrior world for over 4 years. She has first-hand experience with the power that implementing CEO Warrior systems can have on a business. She brings a passion for bringing awareness to the value of tradesman and helping everyone in the trades change their mindset and achieve greatness. On this show, Mary shares why KPI’s should be not only understood, but established and tracked by techs in the truck.

In today’s show, we are putting Johneida Cano and Madisyn Thomas in your passenger seat to discuss getting more women in the trades. There is great opportunity in the trades for women to bring their skill sets into the field. The trades have typically been considered a “man’s world” but there is a growing trend of women joining as electricians, plumbers, and HVAC technicians. On today’s show we discuss with Johneida and Madisyn what being a woman in the trades is like. Madisyn is just starting out as an apprentice and is quickly growing in skill and confidence. Johneida has been in the trades for sometime and is installing her own jobs for clients. Together these ladies share any concerns they had with jumping into the trade from the start as well as challenges and successes they have experienced along the way.