Growth in home services isn’t clean. It’s rarely comfortable. And it almost never looks the way people talk about it on stage.

In this episode, I sit down with Steve VanHorn, Co-Owner and COO of Simpson Salute Heating and Cooling, to have an honest conversation about what it really takes to scale a home service business without breaking it, or yourself.

Steve and his partner grew their organization from roughly $3.5 million to nearly $30 million in revenue in just a few years. But this isn’t a highlight-reel story.

It’s a real look at:

-What breaks when growth hits

-Why chaos, cash-flow pressure, and mistakes are part of the process

-And how slowing down on purpose can be the smartest growth move you make

-Steve shares why they view their business as an ongoing evolution, not something you ever “finish,” and why pretending to have everything figured out is one of the fastest ways to stall real progress.

In this episode, we cover:

-Why struggle is normal—and necessary—when scaling

-What broke first when revenue jumped from $3.5M to $7M

-How “more leads” can actually make things worse if operations aren’t ready

-Why they intentionally hit the brakes on growth to fix quality, callbacks, and communication

-How building a world-class training facility solved labor issues most contractors still face

-Why culture and leadership depth mattered more than top-line growth

-How vulnerability and honesty unlocked better people and better systems

-The reality of EBITDA, private equity expectations, and what makes a company truly attractive

-How AI and technology are being used to support—not replace—people

-Why progress beats perfection every time

Steve also talks openly about partnering with a larger platform, staying fully engaged post-deal, and why the goal was never “exiting,” but building something durable that creates opportunity for their team.

This episode isn’t about tactics, hacks, or pretending growth is easy.

It’s about building a business that can handle success, learning through mistakes, and understanding that if growth feels messy right now—you’re probably doing something right.

If you’re a home service owner in the middle of growth, this conversation will feel very familiar.

The way homeowners—and Google—choose contractors is changing faster than most people realize.

In this episode, I sit down with Austin Rosenbaum, Founder and CEO of Demand IQ, to unpack one of the biggest shifts happening right now in home service marketing: pricing transparency, AI-driven search, and Google’s move from clicks to outcomes.

Austin has been building pricing and lead-generation technology for home services since 2020, and he’s on the front lines of how Google, Meta, and AI are reshaping how contractors get found—and chosen.

One of the most important takeaways from this conversation:

In 2026 and beyond, your customer isn’t just the homeowner.

It’s also Google’s AI agents visiting your website, calling your office, and gathering pricing information on the homeowner’s behalf.

We break down what that actually means in practice—and what contractors need to do now to avoid falling behind.

1. Why pricing transparency is no longer optional for home service businesses
2. How homeowner expectations around speed and pricing have changed
3. Google’s new “Online Estimates” feature and why it matters for SEO
4. Why 10–15% of searchers clicking that filter is a huge opportunity
5. How AI agents are already calling contractors to gather pricing and service info
6. The difference between clicks, calls, and outcomes in modern lead generation
7. Why cost per lead keeps rising on Google and Meta
8. How instant estimates improve click-through rates and lead quality
9. What “price conditioning” is—and why it leads to higher close rates
10. Why pricing tools fail when treated as widgets instead of part of a strategy
11. How offers, messaging, and pricing must work together
12. The rise of virtual sales and pre-built proposals in home services
13. How contractors should prepare for an AI-first buying journey

This episode isn’t about gimmicks or racing to the bottom on price.

It’s about reducing friction, building trust, and aligning your marketing with how people—and AI—actually buy today.

If you’re a contractor who depends on Google, inbound leads, or paid ads—and you want to stay competitive over the next 2–5 years—this conversation will give you clarity on what’s coming and how to adapt.

🎧 Listen now and start preparing your business for the next phase of home service marketing.

Most contractors don’t realize that the best time to sell is before they feel ready to sell.

In this episode, I sit down with Claudio Vilas, founder of The Roofing Biz Broker, to unpack the uncomfortable truth behind selling a roofing or home service business—and why fewer than 10% of companies are actually sellable, despite constant acquisition outreach.

Claudio works exclusively with roofing companies and sees what happens after the emails, the LOIs, and the headline numbers. What he shares in this conversation challenges many of the assumptions contractors make about value, timing, and private equity.

This is not an episode about hype or “selling out.”

It’s about building a transferable business, protecting your future, and avoiding mistakes that quietly cost owners millions.

1. Why acquisition emails don’t equal real demand
2. The two biggest reasons buyers walk away immediately
3. Why “making good money” doesn’t mean you have a sellable business
4. The critical difference between a profitable business and a transferable one
5. Cash vs accrual accounting—and why buyers care so much
6. What real profitability looks like in roofing
7. Why many owners regret selling, even after a big number on paper
8. The heartbreaking story of an owner who waited too long—and lost everything
9. How private equity roll-ups and the “second bite of the apple” actually work
10. The role of technology and marketing in increasing valuation (and when tools don’t help)

Claudio also explains why selling early can actually reduce risk, how reinvesting a portion of the sale can create generational wealth, and why working with the right advisors matters more than timing the “perfect” exit.

If you’re a contractor doing $2–10M, planning to grow, or simply want to build a business that’s valuable, resilient, and future-proof—this episode will completely change how you think about selling.

🎧 Listen now—and start building your business like an asset, not just a job.

Private equity is aggressively buying home service companies but most contractors will never be able to sell their business.

In this episode, I sit down with Stephen Martinez, founder of the American Dream Event, to break down why so many contracting businesses are unsellable and what actually makes a company attractive to buyers.

Stephen works closely with private equity groups, M&A professionals, and operators who have successfully exited. He also built his own roofing company from day one with the intention to sell, applying the same principles investors look for long before a deal ever happens.

This conversation goes far beyond surface-level PE talk. We get into the real mechanics of building a business that’s scalable, profitable, and resilient—whether you plan to sell or not.

In this episode, we cover:

Why there’s more private equity money than sellable contractor businesses

The #1 reason PE disqualifies most companies during due diligence

Revenue and EBITDA ranges that start getting serious buyer attention

Why lack of financial transparency kills deals

What “building with an exit in mind” actually changes in day-to-day decisions

How marketing, technology, and systems directly impact valuation

Why home services are considered recession-resistant

The shift toward virtual sales, AI, and tech-driven operations

Why minority and immigrant contractors often have underutilized advantages

Why PE focused events and owner-only rooms accelerate growth—even if you never sell

Stephen also shares how the American Dream Event evolved from a mission-driven conference into one of the few spaces where blue-collar operators and white-collar capital meet, helping contractors understand what it really takes to build an asset not just a job.

If you’re a contractor doing $3–10M, thinking about scale, or simply want to build a business that’s valuable, transferable, and future-proof, this episode will give you a completely different lens on growth.

📌 If your service is urgent (roof leaks, burst pipes, no AC)… Google and LSA will feed your crew.

📌 If your service is visual, emotional, or aspirational (remodeling, painting, windows, flooring)… Meta and YouTube are your goldmine.

📌 And if you don’t know which category you fall into?

You’re probably burning money right now without even knowing it.

🎯 Want a marketing system built specifically for your trade that actually gets results?

👉 Book a Free Demo Call: contractormarketingpros.net/calendar

We help contractors get found online, generate quality leads, and dominate their local markets.

Let’s build your machine.

🔔 Subscribe for more no-fluff contractor marketing content every week.

📞 Questions? Drop them in the comments or reach out directly.

Thanks for watching. Now let’s go get some leads. 💥

Links & Resources:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephen_martinez/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-martinez-724b8016b/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stephen.martinez.7739814

Website: https://americandreamevent.com/

What if the reason most sales reps fail has nothing to do with talent, scripts, or systems?

In this episode, I sit down with Adam Tronnier, National Sales Director at One Solutions, to unpack one of the most raw and instructive stories in the home services industry.

Adam went from:

- Multiple prison sentences

- Living out of a PT Cruiser

- Knocking doors for five months without getting paid

…to helping build $100M+ in roofing sales, leading 100+ reps across multiple states, and creating a culture where people most companies overlook become top producers.

This is not a motivational episode.

It’s a real conversation about execution, discipline, leadership, and culture—especially in door-to-door and sales-driven contracting businesses.

In this episode, we cover:

- Why discipline beats systems in sales (and when systems actually hurt performance)

- The real reason most reps quit right before they would’ve broken through

- How Adam built elite producers without micromanaging or over-engineering

- Why door knocking and reps in the field matter more than CRMs and dashboards

- How to recruit, train, and retain second-chance talent others ignore

- What private equity got right in scaling sales without destroying culture

- Why leadership must be built in the field, not behind a desk

Adam also shares how his platform Redemption Blueprint is documenting real second-chance success stories—showing what’s possible when people are given structure, belief, and accountability.

If you’re a contractor, sales leader, or owner trying to scale without losing your soul, this episode will challenge how you think about:

- Sales training

- Recruiting

- Culture

And what actually creates long-term performance

🎧 Listen now—and decide whether you’ve been over-complicating growth when execution was the real answer all along.

📌 If your service is urgent (roof leaks, burst pipes, no AC)… Google and LSA will feed your crew.

📌 If your service is visual, emotional, or aspirational (remodeling, painting, windows, flooring)… Meta and YouTube are your goldmine.

📌 And if you don’t know which category you fall into?

You’re probably burning money right now without even knowing it.

🎯 Want a marketing system built specifically for your trade that actually gets results?

👉 Book a Free Demo Call: contractormarketingpros.net/calendar

We help contractors get found online, generate quality leads, and dominate their local markets.

Let’s build your machine.

🔔 Subscribe for more no-fluff contractor marketing content every week.

📞 Questions? Drop them in the comments or reach out directly.

Thanks for watching. Now let’s go get some leads. 💥

Links & Resources:

Instagam: https://www.instagram.com/adamtronnier/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-tronnier-b69312301/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adam.tronnier.58/

Website: https://redemptionblueprint.com/

Prowest LLC: https://www.linkedin.com/company/prowest-roofing-restoration/

Today’s episode is one of my favorites because it cuts through a lot of the noise happening right now around AI, marketing, and growth in the home services industry.

My guest is Dmitry Lipinskiy founder of Roofing Insights.

Dmitry is a former roofing contractor, a long-time content creator, and one of the most consistent voices in our industry when it comes to calling out what actually works — and what’s just hype.

We first met years ago when he was still running his roofing company and just starting his YouTube channel, and watching how far he’s taken that platform since then has been incredible.

In this conversation, we don’t treat AI like a magic solution. Dmitry has a very clear stance: AI doesn’t make you smarter — it makes you dumber if you don’t know how to think.

We talk about why so many contractors chase tools instead of fundamentals, why discipline beats technology every time, and how most people already know what they need to do… they just don’t do it.

We get into how Dmitry actually uses AI in real life — not to replace thinking, but to proofread, structure ideas, improve content, and save time when he hits a wall. We talk about why content marketing works better than ads long-term, how trust compounds, and why consistency matters more than talent.

We also dive into branding, referrals, and the emotional side of the customer journey — why two contractors can do the same quality work, but one gets all the referrals. Dmitry explains why memorability, communication, and experience matter more than craftsmanship alone.

This episode is for contractors who are tired of chasing shortcuts and want to build something real — whether that’s a brand, an audience, or a business that lasts. It’s about thinking clearly, simplifying instead of overcomplicating, and doing the unsexy work consistently.

If you’re trying to figure out how AI, content, branding, and discipline actually fit together — and what not to waste your time on — this conversation will give you a lot to think about.

Let’s get into it.

👉 Want to see how your business compares or where you may be leaking leads?

Book a free strategy call here: https://contractormarketingpros.net/calendar

We help contractors build scalable marketing systems, protect local visibility, and grow without losing control of the basics.

🔔 Subscribe for more real-world contractor growth breakdowns.

Links & resources:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dmitry-lipinskiy-aa5b948a/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dmitrylipinskiy

Website: https://www.roofinginsights.com/

The Math Behind Marketing: How Contractors Should Actually Measure ROI

Most contractors don’t have a marketing problem.

They have a visibility problem.

In this episode, Mauricio sits down with Corey Combs, owner of South Shore Roofing & Exteriors in Tampa, Florida, for an honest conversation about the math behind marketing — and why so many contractors feel burned, confused, or disappointed by their results.

Corey isn’t a marketer. He’s a contractor who got tired of guessing.

After years of trying to reconcile agency reports with what was actually happening inside his CRM, he realized the real issue wasn’t lead quality or ad platforms — it was the lack of clear, end-to-end tracking from first contact to closed job.

This episode breaks down what most contractors never see:

- The difference between a contact, a lead, a booked appointment, and a customer

- Why cost per lead is a misleading metric if you don’t know your cost per booked appointment and cost per acquisition

- How CRM discipline (or lack of it) quietly destroys attribution and trust

- Why “bad leads” are often really process or follow-up problems

- How existing customers, spam, and mis-tagged leads distort marketing reports

- Why booked appointments don’t matter if they don’t show up or convert

- How funnel math exposes sales issues without turning into a blame game

- Why no attribution system is perfect — and why directionally correct data still wins

- How understanding your numbers changes the relationship between contractors and agencies

Instead of hype, tools, or tactics, this conversation focuses on something far more important: replacing emotion with data.

If you’ve ever felt unsure whether your marketing is actually working, struggled to trust reports, or made decisions based on frustration instead of facts, this episode will give you the clarity you’ve been missing.

It’s not about spending more.

It’s about understanding what you’re already spending — and why.

👉 Want to see how your business compares or where you may be leaking leads?

Book a free strategy call here: https://contractormarketingpros.net/calendar

We help contractors build scalable marketing systems, protect local visibility, and grow without losing control of the basics.

🔔 Subscribe for more real-world contractor growth breakdowns.

Links & Resources:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/southshoreroofingandexteriors/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/southshore-roofing-exteriors/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuSTqyiihxDvtgmwiv9iP-g

Website: https://southshorecontractorstampa.com/

Trust Is the New Algorithm: How Contractors Get Recommended by AI with Marcus Sheridan

Search is changing faster than most contractors realize.

In this episode, Mauricio sits down with Marcus Sheridan, author of They Ask, You Answer and Endless Customers, for a candid, wide-ranging conversation about what happens when Google’s blue links disappear, AI starts answering homeowner questions directly, and businesses are either recommended… or rejected.

Marcus explains why the old playbook—SEO tricks, hiding pricing, relying on ads alone—no longer works in an AI-first world. Instead, contractors must build trust signals so strong that both humans and AI confidently choose them.

This conversation goes deep into what that actually means for roofing, HVAC, plumbing, and home service companies.

You’ll learn:

• Why trust is now the algorithm, and how AI decides who gets recommended
• Why contractors who avoid talking about pricing are making themselves invisible
• How pricing estimators are becoming table stakes—and why Google is already prioritizing companies that have them
• The real reason pricing transparency increases leads instead of scaring customers away
• How AI-driven leads are converting 10–15x higher than traditional Google leads
• Why speed-to-lead is more important than ever—and how a 5-minute response window can decide 78% of deals
• What content AI actually rewards (and what content it ignores)
• Why “unscalable” actions like personal video follow-ups can beat massive competitors
• How contractors should think about AI in the back office, sales, content, and data analysis
• Why the future belongs to companies that teach instead of sell

Marcus also shares hard truths contractors don’t often hear:

Most companies already know what they should do—they just don’t act. And in an AI-driven market, inaction is the fastest way to disappear.

If you’re wondering why lead costs are rising, why ads don’t perform like they used to, or how to position your company to win over the next 2–5 years, this episode will give you clarity—and a clear direction forward.

This isn’t a hype conversation.

It’s a wake-up call.

Links & resources:

https://www.aitrustsignals.com/about

https://priceguide.ai/

https://questionfirstgroup.com/