Blue Collar Prosperity

What's Holding Back Home Service Companies from Cash Flow, Profit & Freedom? Q: What's the #1 purpose of a business?  A: To Make Money. Q: How much money? A: Enough for the owner to achieve their goals. I recently put on a workshop for my friends at The New Flat Rate and I dug into the numbers of the last 50 financial assessments that I performed for home service companies.  The numbers are not good. The numbers don't lie. I also believe that a majority of home service companies are a few feet from gold. They are doing so many things right. They just need to make a few small changes in their financials. In today's episode I share with you the data as well as what we need to do in order to turn the ship around. Interested in a financial assessment of your company? Book a call here and we'll make it happen: http://thebluecollaradvisors.com/call

Lewis Vandervalk is an expert at tying in digital marketing to boots on the ground, guerilla marketing. He doesn't care how you get your customer's attention, even if it means you don't need to hire his agency. Lewis (originally featured in episode TWO) is an entrepreneur located in New Brunswick, Canada. With a background in Construction and trades and a degree in Mechanical Engineering, Lewis started a Digital Marketing agency for Contractors in 2019. Currently, Lewis is owner of Blue Crocus Solutions, a Digital Marketing Company providing Web Design, SEO, and Google ads to contractors. His goal is to educate people to be able to do their own marketing and support business owners dominating their local markets. In today's interview, Paul and Lewis talk about: How to create true referral partnerships and backlinks. Why SEO is more important than ever. How to leverage AI to improve your online visibility. Leveraging local restaurants to drive new customers. The importance of doing SEO (and marketing) the right way. Ready to transform from a stressed out, uncertain business owner, to a confident, respected CEO with clarity of your financial health? Visit today to finally solve your pricing problems: https://thebluecollaradvisors.com/price

Danielle Putnam (originally featured in episode 12) is President of The New Flat Rate, a pioneering software company that created the first menu-pricing system for contractors in the HVAC, plumbing, and electrical industries. After 14 years with TNFR, she’s focused on scaling its technology and expanding its impact across the home service sector. Danielle was named “Woman of the Year” at Service World Expo, served as President of Women in HVACR, and was featured in ACHR News’ “Top 40 Under 40.” She’s also a passionate speaker and advocate for women in the trades—and when she’s not working, she’s raising her four children with her husband in Dalton, GA. In today's interview, Paul and Danielle talk about: A quick refresh on menu pricing and why it's so important. What are the biggest mistakes contractors make when it comes to pricing. What is a champion in the truck? How do they drive change? Why you don't have to roll out new initiatives to everyone at once. How can we involved our family into our mission, mission and values on a personal level and business level? Ready to transform from a stressed out, uncertain business owner, to a confident, respected CEO with clarity of your financial health? Visit today to finally solve your pricing problems: https://thebluecollaradvisors.com/price

Mike Abramowitz and his team specializes in getting time back for owners while also increasing revenue without any additional spend on marketing. As co-founder of Better Than Rich, Mike leads GSD Intensives, where his 30+-person plug-in team installs custom systems and AI-powered virtual assistants support for home service pros ready to get out of the weeds and off the tools. They streamline sales, referrals, and hiring—without adding more marketing spend or burying the owner in busywork. Mike also hosts The Better Than Rich Show and runs the “Automate, Delegate, Systemize” community, where 1,000+ business owners get real-world tools to build a business that works without them. In today's interview, Paul and Mike talk about: Why you can't hire your way out of problems. The importance of putting systems and playbooks in place before hiring. Where do blue collar business owners get bogged down the most. What is the Time Rich 6. How can home service business owners buy back their time. Ready to transform from a stressed out, uncertain business owner, to a confident, respected CEO with clarity of your financial health? Visit today to finally solve your pricing problems: https://thebluecollaradvisors.com/price

For all the gamers out there, this interview will hit home. Trent Lowenstein joined Paul on the podcast this week to discuss God Mode and business. What does that mean? When you have an abundance mindset and switch to God Mode, you realize you are 100% in control of your world. Trent Lowenestein- Former Director at Nexstar, GM for PE group shop, Director and lead coach for Tommy Mello’s program, creator of GodMode strategy for business, Hvac, Plumbing, electric shop business owner (with successful exit), now he’s the future president of Next Level Pros. In today's interview, Paul and Trent talk about: Video games and simulation theory. The power of God Mode. The four parts to a winnable game. Creating an abundance mindset. Ready to transform from a stressed out, uncertain business owner, to a confident, respected CEO with clarity of your financial health? Visit today to finally solve your pricing problems: https://thebluecollaradvisors.com/price

Almost every home service business owner that I talk to has one of two excuses of why they aren't creating consistent, predictable profitability. 1) They are "reinvesting" back into their business. 2) They don't want to pay taxes. In today's solo podcast, I focus on #1, the convenient excuse that only sounds good to the person saying it - "I'm reinvesting into my business." I also share the proper way to reinvest into your business while making sure your cash flow remains healthy. Lastly, are you not sure if your pricing is right? Download my free pricing calculator: https://thebluecollaradvisors.com/price

Our first repeat guest on the show is here and it's a great conversation. A year later, Paul has brought back Brigham Dickinson from Power Selling Pros. Even with AI Voice being all the talk in home service, Brigham's business focuses on training (human) CSRs. Brigham originally joined us last year to talk all about turning your call center into a profit center and training CSRs with Power Selling Pros. He’s back this year to discuss how the landscape has changed, including training technicians, and where is AI taking us. In today's interview, Paul and Brigham talk about: How we can leverage AI to improve our humans and customer experience. Are we going to be firing all our CSRs soon? Using tools like Rilla and Lace to listen to more calls and better serve our CSRs and Technicians. The 3 things customers MUST feel before making a decision. How can we leverage CSRs to sell memberships (and replacements). Ready to transform from a stressed out, uncertain business owner, to a confident, respected CEO with clarity of your financial health? Visit today to finally solve your pricing problems: https://thebluecollaradvisors.com/price

Ready to learn from someone who went from zero to a 9-figure exit in less than 5 years? Chris Lee is here today to share his journey and wisdom. Chris Lee is the Founder and CEO of Next Level Pros, an entrepreneurial accelerator fostering business growth and development for small to large sized businesses through education, private equity and venture capital investments. Chris founded Solgen Power, a vertically integrated solar provider, in his garage fall of 2017, later exiting to private equity at a 9-figure valuation… all in 4.5 years. His team was recognized by Financial Times as the 6th fastest growing privately held company in the Nation, spanning to 18 different locations and 1100+ team members. In today's interview, Paul and Chris talk about: The importance of values. Creating a crystal clear 5-year plan and road map. Building everything in your life by design, not default. Your vision has to be bigger than your employees' vision. Building a culture of happiness and joy. Why your customers are not the first or second most important thing in your business. Ready to transform from a stressed out, uncertain business owner, to a confident, respected CEO with clarity of your financial health? Visit today to finally solve your pricing problems: https://thebluecollaradvisors.com/price

Most companies in the trades start out by doing a little bit of everything. That usually also includes a lot of construction work. Why? It doesn't cost as much in marketing. It's a consistent flow of work. The problem? It will eventually crush your cash flow if the work isn't being done on your terms. Today's guest lived it. Chris Wisniewski, owner of Integrate Comfort Systems, joined Paul Maskill on the podcast this week. Chris Wisniewski is the Vice President of Integrate Comfort Systems — or ICS — a family-owned HVAC company based in northern New Jersey. ICS was founded by Chris’s father in 1990, and he’s had the privilege of helping lead the company into its next generation. Chris has been doing so full time since 2000. In today's interview, Paul and Chris talk about: Eliminating construction work and downsizing to increase profit and cash flow. The biggest problems in not working with the end-user. The difference between a transactional customer and a relationship. Hanging on to the wrong employees for too long. Ready to transform from a stressed out, uncertain business owner, to a confident, respected CEO with clarity of your financial health? Visit today to finally solve your pricing problems: https://thebluecollaradvisors.com/price

The podcast is about to turn one years old! In this week's Blue Collar Prosperity Podcast, Paul shares with you the Top 10 Takeaways from the first year of interviews. The overall theme? The most successful businesses in the trades simply do the basics better than everyone else. With all the technology and AI pouring into the home service space, it still comes back to running a great business by doing the little things. The top 10 things you need to be doing today are shared in this solo show. Lastly, are you not sure if your pricing is right? Download my free pricing calculator: https://thebluecollaradvisors.com/price