Plumbing & HVAC Hustle Podcast

Guest: Mike Milligan — Founder, One Oak Financial | Author, The One of a Kind Financial Plan
Guest Links: Website: https://mikemilligan.com | https://1oakfinancial.com | Text "IDEAS" to 600-700

Mike Milligan went from selling sandwiches with his grandmother at 11 years old to building a nationwide financial firm taking on Charles Schwab, Fidelity, and the big banks. In this episode, he breaks down the top three legal ways business owners can decrease their taxes, explains the buy-borrow-die strategy the ultra wealthy use to pay single-digit tax rates, and lays out specific loopholes like the Augusta Rule and the fa...

Guest: Keith Flores — Owner, HG Home Services | Founder, Home Guardian Guest Links: Website: https://hghomeguardian.com

Keith Flores started in the trades at 12 years old crawling under houses for $200 cash days, scaled and exited multiple HVAC companies (including walking away from a $7.5M payout when his partner wanted to keep grinding), and is now launching Home Guardian, the first real preemptive smart home monitoring system built for contractors. In this episode, he gets honest about what really happens when you go all in on a service business, the mistake of teaching people who aren't all in, and wh...

Guest: Troy Daland — Owner, Air Zero Guest Links: Website: https://airzero.com | Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram: Troy Daland

Troy Daland spent 24 years in the Air Force as a CER specialist before launching Air Zero in Tampa, Florida. In this episode, he breaks down how military leadership principles translate directly into building an HVAC company that can scale, why "achieving the high ground" through technology and AI gives technicians an unfair advantage in the field, and the limiting beliefs that keep most owners stuck. The conversation also covers what private equity actually does better (and worse), why customer care dr...

Guest: Kevin Strandberg — Owner, BWS Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning Guest Links: Website: https://bwsheatingandair.com

Kevin Strandberg is a second-generation HVAC and plumbing owner running BWS in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. In this episode, he gets specific about how he's using Claude to run a tighter operation, from building a two-week CSR onboarding plan in 30 minutes to running deep first-quarter financial analysis straight from QuickBooks Online. The conversation also covers the squeeze hitting home service in 2026: back-to-back supplier price increases, Minnesota's high tax burden, the new paid family leave law, and why homeowners are shopping mom and pop sh...

Guest: Wymond Wong — Owner, Twin City Heating, Air & Electric Guest Links: Website: https://twincityheatingandair.com

Wymond Wong has run Twin City Heating, Air & Electric in Minneapolis for over 15 years and grew it from a 1-2 man shop into a 20-person operation. In this episode, he gets honest about how being the cheapest option almost put him out of business, why undercharging devalues your entire industry, and the leadership shifts that finally let him stop competing on price and start building a sustainable company. The conversation also goes into branding home service like a sports team, why community bu...

Guest: Gary Singleton — Former Owner, Max Air | Former Partner, Mansfield Plumbing & Air | Private Equity Acquisitions Guest Links: Facebook: Gary Singleton | Instagram: @drsingleton

Gary Singleton has spent 39 years in HVAC and plumbing, scaled and exited two companies (Max Air and Mansfield), and now does acquisitions for private equity while selectively coaching technicians. He tripled Mansfield's HVAC side in 10 months without marketing. In this episode, he breaks down exactly how he did it and what most owners get wrong about hiring, training, and pricing structures.

You'll learn:

Guest: Michael Johnson — Owner, AC Man Heating and Air | Founder, Sales Elite Consulting

Guest Links: YouTube: Michael James Johnson HVAC

Michael Johnson has run AC Man Heating and Air since 2005, 21 years of building an HVAC company the hard way, starting with phone book ads and business cards on hospital windshields before Google Ads even existed. Now he consults HVAC, plumbing, roofing, and electrical contractors through Sales Elite. The through-line of this episode: the breakthrough you're avoiding is exactly where your next level lives. Michael lays out why HVAC owners are spoiled by the four months a...

Guest: Ryan Fitzgerald — Plumbing Department Leader, Fitzgerald Heating Air and Plumbing (Las Vegas, NV)

Guest Links: Facebook: Ryan Fitzgerald (Las Vegas, Nevada)

This episode covers how to layer a plumbing department onto an existing HVAC company and scale it from almost nothing to over $5 million in a single year. Ryan Fitzgerald joined a company in Las Vegas that was doing $14 million in HVAC but only $400,000 in plumbing, and within his first full year built the plumbing side to $5.4 million with a team of eight technicians and four installers. He breaks down exactly how that happened: a...

Guest: Anthony Mound — Owner, Trust 1 Services

Guest Links: Website: https://trustoneservices.com/

This episode breaks down why most plumbing and HVAC companies get stuck at $5 million and what it actually takes to push past that ceiling to $10 million and beyond. Anthony Mound started Trust 1 Services in 2020 with nothing, moved to Boston with a garbage bag of clothes, got laid off from the union for doing too much side work, and turned that into a company on pace for $12 million this year, fully self-funded with no partners and no outside investment. He explains why the real di...

Guest:
John Conway – COO, Redwood Services

Guest Links:
Website: https://redwoodservices.com/

This episode breaks down why “going rate” is one of the biggest myths in home services, and why undercharging has far less to do with the market than it does with fear, weak systems, and misunderstanding what customers are actually buying. It explains why homeowners do not usually say yes or no based purely on price, but on the value, professionalism, and overall experience delivered during the service call, and why owners who obsess over being the cheapest often limit their abilit...

Guest:
David Katz – HVAC business owner / operator

Guest Links:
Website: https://trioheatingandair.com/

This episode breaks down what actually happens when a home service company grows from $5 million to $10 million+, and why getting there fast can make the business feel dramatically harder before it gets easier. It explains how rapid growth exposes weaknesses in structure, process, labor management, warehouse systems, cash flow controls, and leadership capacity, and why many owners who say they “don’t want” to scale are often really dealing with limited belief or a lack of clarity on how to do it. T...

Guests:
Aaron Cooper – Founder, Same Day AI
Johnny Smokes – Guest personality / Next Level Trend

Guest Links:
Website: https://www.gosameday.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samedayai/

This episode breaks down the real debate around AI voice answering for HVAC, plumbing, and home service companies—not the hype version, but the practical question every contractor actually cares about: will it book more jobs than the alternatives. It explains why the market is suddenly flooded with AI answering tools, why many of them feel like glorified voicemail systems, and what separates platforms that m...

Guest:
Kenny Byrne Jr. – Founder, Brands Service Partners / Call the Animals

Guest Links:
Facebook: Kenny Byrne Jr.
Text: 860-436-7678

This episode breaks down the real formula behind scaling an HVAC company from $5 million to $12 million fast, and why the jump is almost never about one magic marketing tactic it is about hiring the right people, training them relentlessly, and building consistent systems that remove guesswork from every stage of the customer experience. It explains why most owners get stuck because they stay trapped in the truck, hire reactively, undercharge, and never bu...

Guest:
Ryan Fenn – Founder, CHIIRP

Guest Links:
Website: https://www.chiirp.com

This episode breaks down how home service companies can radically increase booked jobs by treating follow-up as a conversion system, not an afterthought, and why the winners in 2026 won’t be the companies generating the most leads they’ll be the ones converting the highest percentage of the leads they already have. It explains CHIIRP’s rebuilt platform relaunch and the shift from complicated drip-campaign setup to outcome-focused AI agents that handle specific missions like converting Angi leads, rehashing estimates, reviving dead lea...

Guest:
Alan O’Neill – CEO, Abacus Plumbing (Abacus Plumbing, Air Conditioning & Electrical)

Guest Links:
Website: https://abacusplumbing.net/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abacusplumbing

This episode traces how Alan O’Neill went from a plumbing apprenticeship in Dublin to building a $100M+ home services business in the U.S., and why the trades are one of the most underrated wealth-and-impact vehicles in the country. It breaks down the rigor gap between European and U.S. apprenticeship systems, how early leadership opportunities accelerated his career, and why steady, disciplined growth can outperform chaotic “rocket-s...

Guest:
Leon Garrett – Owner, Kenco Plumbing & Drains (New Hampshire)

Guest Links:
Website: https://www.kenconh.com/
Instagram / TikTok / YouTube / Facebook: @KencoPlumbingNH

This episode breaks down how a fast-growing plumbing business can use short-form content as real business leverage, not vanity metrics, and why views become a form of currency when they translate into relationships, credibility, and brand opportunities. It covers Leon Garrett’s path into the trades, how content creation became a serious growth lane once Kenco launched, and what actually changes when you start getting consistent traction—brand partnerships, event...

Guest:
Blain Clement – Operations Manager, Preferred Home Services (Greenville, SC)

Guest Links:
Website: https://gopreferred.com

This episode breaks down what it actually takes to greenfield a brand-new HVAC and plumbing market and scale fast without collapsing under the pressure, using Preferred Home Services’ Greenville launch as a real blueprint. It covers how a failed acquisition led to starting from zero, why the earliest months are mentally brutal when call volume is inconsistent, and how that scarcity can ironically produce higher tickets by forcing technicians to slow down, build trust, and run better insp...

Guest:
Jason Walker (J-Dub) – Founder, HVAC Masters of the Hustle

Guest Links:
Website: https://hvacmastersofthehustle.com

This episode breaks down the most common HVAC sales mistakes that quietly destroy close rates, even for technicians and comfort advisors who think they are doing everything right. It explains why waiting until the end of the appointment to address objections guarantees price resistance, how failing to pull objections out early forces reps into defensive selling, and why price instantly becomes the enemy the moment it is presented without proper groundwork. The episode dives into the critical mi...

Guest:
Jenna Toon – Founding Customer Success Manager, Reins

Guest Links:
Website: https://myreins.com

This episode breaks down when, why, and how HVAC and plumbing companies should use phantom equity to retain top talent without giving up real ownership. It explains why equity-based incentives are gaining momentum in home services, how rising competition and private equity have changed retention expectations, and why traditional bonuses often fail to create true ownership behavior. The episode walks through what phantom equity actually is, how it differs from traditional equity, and why it removes the biggest risks th...

Guest:
Jen McKee – Founder, Key Heart Marketing

Guest Links:
Website: https://keyheartmarketing.com
Conference: https://thegrowth-experience.com
Email: jen@keyheartmarketing.com

This episode breaks down why consistency—not virality—is what actually makes money in marketing, business growth, and personal development, and why most entrepreneurs quit right before momentum compounds. The episode explores how identity shifts drive long-term success, using parallels between fitness discipline and business discipline to explain why showing up when results are invisible is the real growth lever. It dives into why consistency builds trust in the marketplace, how re...

Guest:
Vincenzo Colosimo – Marketing Strategist, Hook Agency

Guest Links:
Website: https://hookagency.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vincenzo_colosimo/?hl=en

This episode breaks down what an ideal HVAC marketing budget looks like heading into 2026, and how growing companies should think about spend, percentages, and channel mix instead of guessing or reacting emotionally to short-term results. It explains why most growth-focused HVAC companies should be planning to invest roughly 6–8% of revenue into marketing, why that number feels uncomfortable for many owners, and why discomfort often signals deeper operational or profitability issues rath...

Guest:
Peter Roth – Founder, Scalify (Call Centers for Home Services)

Guest Links:
Website: https://scalifyco.com

This episode breaks down how call centers can become one of the most scalable and cost-effective growth channels for HVAC, plumbing, and roofing companies—when built correctly. It explains what call centers actually are (and what they are not), why forcing VAs into cold calling fails, and why professional, career call-center agents dramatically outperform improvised in-house setups. The episode walks through the real economics behind nearshore call centers, including labor arbitrage, agent quality, predictive dialers, and why mana...

Guest:
Mike Venidis – Co-Owner, Good Golly Garage Doors & Former Partner at Rhino Digital Marketing

Guest Links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mvenidis/

Good Golly Garage Doors: https://goodgollygaragedoors.com

MikeVenidis.com: https://mikevenidis.com

This episode explores how Mike Venidis, after 15 years building one of the most respected digital marketing agencies in the home service space, is now applying that expertise to launch Good Golly Garage Doors with a level of strategic precision rarely seen in this industry. The episode dives into his data-driven market planning, Census Bureau re...

Guest:
Andrew Dobbins – Founder & CEO, Intelligent Design Air Conditioning & Heating (Tucson, AZ)

Guest Links:
Company Website: https://www.idesignac.com
Podcast & Content: Sales Wars with Andrew Dobbins (YouTube, Instagram, Facebook)

This episode explores the real inflection point many home service owners face: when stepping out of sales and sales leadership becomes necessary for scale rather than a liability. Using Andrew Dobbins’ journey building Intelligent Design into a multi-trade operation across HVAC, plumbing, roofing, and electrical, the episode breaks down why top closers often become bottlenecks, how sales performance can mask deeper operational issu...

Guest:
Bob Beall – Founder, Bob Is The Plumber / Master Plumber licensed in 5 states

Guest Links:
Website & Training Programs: https://bobistheplumber.com

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Bobistheplumber

 This episode explores how Bob Beall built one of the fastest-scaling plumbing companies in his region, growing from a single truck to more than 40 by implementing systems, disciplined hiring processes, strong field management, and a training-first culture. The episode covers his early breakthrough after plateauing at five trucks, the moment he realized he had to release control to grow, and how he built lea...

Guests:
Dustin Mitchell – Co-Owner, Half Moon Plumbing
Tiffany Mitchell – Co-Owner, Half Moon Plumbing

Guest Links:
Dustin Mitchell LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dustin-mitchell-364310250/
Half Moon Plumbing Website: https://HalfMoonPlumbing.com

In this episode of The HVAC & Plumbing Hustle, Tim talks with Dustin & Tiffany Mitchell from Half Moon Plumbing in the Tulsa Metro. After years of steady but stagnant growth, they recently hit $10M+ in plumbing-only revenue, placing them in rare company. They break down the mindset shift, business acumen, leadership development, and operational changes that made it possible.

What...

19-year-old phenom Jason Melendez Jr. (Legend Air, Dallas) breaks down the five-step sales system that drove $2M in his first year—and how he’s gunning for $5M next year. He talks service-first selling, the “pullback/takeaway,” momentum resets, and making HVAC fixes understandable with kid-level analogies. Guest links: Legend Air (legendairtx.com) and Jason’s LinkedIn (see profile below). 

Guest: Jason Melendez Jr., Legend Air — LinkedIn profile (search “Jason Melendez – Aubrey, TX”) and company site: legendairtx.com. (Company pages corroborate Legend Air ownership/family business.)
LinkedIn+1

What you’ll learn

From $0 to a market leader in an ~80k city: Brandon Brown (Brown’s Heating, Air, Plumbing & Electrical) breaks down winning in tight markets, getting out of the truck after 12 years, retaining techs with culture (paid birthday off, real appreciation days), and building community ties that compound referrals. We dig into pricing discipline, adding trades the right way, and recruiting from trade schools & farm kids for grit.
 Guest: Brandon Brown — Brown’s Heating, Air, Plumbing & Electrical (Lynchburg, VA): brownsheatingair.com
Brown's Heating Air Plumbing Electrical | Book: Cool Success: Navigating the Highs and Lows of HVAC & Life (Amazon) 

If yo...

Homeowners push on price. Pros protect position. In this Plumbing Hustle episode, Jeff Cronin who sold $8.8M in one year breaks down how to neutralize price objections without discounting, anchor with commitments, and close with financing like a pro.
We cover: qualifying for trust, future pacing timelines, dismantling “3 bids,” and the Duck-Duck-Goose mindset for breaking a slump. 

Guest: Jeff Cronin — Prime Time Consulting → https://primetimeconsulting.net

Why watch: Protect your price, present with commitments + financing, and stop selling from your own wallet.

From gutter company exit to building a high-performance plumbing team, Mike Braun (Plumbing Director at Randy’s Electric & Plumbing) breaks down the mindset, routines, and processes that turn techs into top producers and salespeople into effective managers. We cover confidence on the call, re-engagement tactics, feedback loops, and leading with consistency.

Want to take your plumbing/HVAC startup from $300k–$500k to $1M+? Tim Brown sits down with Mitch Smedley (Smedley Plumbing) to break down the playbook: three-option pricing, frictionless payments, 10,000-hour tech guarantee, community “Family First” days, and YouTube + SEO tactics that compound growth. You’ll hear why to use AI for production—but never replace the customer intake—and how to turn every job into five-star review flywheels. Watch for concrete scripts, pages to build, and where to invest first to dominate local search and social. Subscribe for more home-service growth ops.

Home service leaders: want higher retention, stronger leadership, and a culture that actually wins? Laura Kelly (Clover Growth Partners) joins Tim Brown to break down transparent systems, solution-oriented surveys, daily EOD check-ins, the DP (Daily Progress) report, and SOPs via Loom. We also cover mental fitness (walks, priming, loving-kindness), scaling psychology vs. strategy, and the “3 Promises” that keep A-players for years. Watch for tactical frameworks you can deploy this week to boost revenue, profit, and quality of life—without losing control. Call to action: Comment your next culture move and grab the survey prompt template in the description.

Laur...

Plumbing owner Nick Sambrick (Revelation Plumbing – Pittsburgh, PA) shares the exact priorities that helped him double year after year: learn faster than the business grows, define (and fire) the wrong customer, align tech incentives without nuking margin, make service wildly profitable, and price with gross profit first. We also hit CAC:LTV, option pricing, and why you should market harder when you’re busy.

Guest – Nick Sambrick
Facebook & YouTube:  ⁨@RevelationPlumbing⁩  
Company: Revelation Plumbing (Pittsburgh, PA)

What you’ll learn:
- The 5 priorities to go from $1M → $2M
- Avatar shift: landlords → homeowner service<...

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Most home service owners plateau because they try to scale chaos instead of systems. In this episode, Chuck Staszkiewicz breaks down the mindsets, cadence, and leadership frameworks that actually move an HVAC/plumbing company from $5–$7M moguls to a clean path to $10M—without burning out your team. We cover letting go vs. micromanaging, the 1-3-1 decision method, running a monthly Shareholder Day, and how to avoid chasing shiny playbooks. If you’re stuck in fie...

HVAC owner Derek Cormier (Climate Experts) breaks down how entertainment-first short-form content drives real business: recruiting, sales, and brand trust. We cover AI workflows (Zapier → OpenAI), TikTok hooks, personal vs. company pages, TBO (Total Brand Optimization), and why “fun + thorough” beats cookie-cutter posts. If you market plumbing/HVAC/electrical, this playbook will help you grow faster and hire better.

What you’ll learn:
- Entertainment → education → conversion content ladder
- Personal branding that recruits A-players (60%+ of applicants from social)
- Local list building for AEO/AI search wins
- AI tools to buy back time an...

Selling HVAC Online vs. In Person: Pros & Cons with Marko Sipila
Should HVAC companies put pricing online—or stick to in-home sales? In this episode, Tim Brown sits down with Marko Sipila, founder of QuoteDaddy, to break down the future of HVAC sales.

You’ll learn:

Whether you’re running an HVAC or plumbing business...

How to Kill Your HVAC Company in 16 Weeks (and How to Save It) | Tim Cotten
What are the fastest ways to destroy your home service business—and how do you avoid them? In this eye-opening episode, Tim Brown talks with Tim Cotten, business coach and former HVAC owner, about the three most common mistakes that crush companies and how to flip them into growth strategies.

You’ll learn:

Can’t Find Plumbers or Techs? Here’s How to Fix It | Go Green Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electrical
Struggling to find skilled plumbers or HVAC techs? You’re not alone. In this episode, Tim Brown sits down with Alicia and Peter Green, owners of Go Green Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electrical, to talk about the skilled labor shortage—and the creative strategies that are actually working.

You’ll learn:

Why Scaling DOWN Made This Plumbing Company More Profitable | Robbie Abruscati
Everyone talks about scaling up—but what if the real money is in scaling down? In this episode, Tim Brown sits down with Robbie Abruscati, owner of Paramount Plumbing Solutions, to talk about why he intentionally made his company smaller… and way more profitable.

You’ll learn:

Why chasing size can destroy margins

How to identify your most profitable work (and drop the rest)

The dangers of growing too fast in plumbing & HVAC

How Robbie doubled profits by sim...