Restoration Pros Unplugged

Rick McGuigan asked Larry Braun to join his company for ten years. Larry kept saying "you can't afford me." They finally settled it on a napkin.

In this episode, host Clinton James sits down with Rick McGuigan and Larry Braun of Pine Ridge Cleaning and Restoration in Cleveland, Ohio. Rick bought a small carpet cleaning business in 2003 and grew it to $3.5M largely on his own. Larry came out of 30 years in steel. Together they've taken Pine Ridge into mitigation, reconstruction, and contents.

You'll walk away with:

Malik Stevens believed what everyone says about TPAs. Then he ran five fire claims in six weeks, and the first one billed almost $60,000.

In this episode, host Clinton James sits down with Bobby Thomas, CEO of Extreme Services, and Malik Stevens, a Louisiana owner converting his independent company into an Extreme franchise. Bobby came up from carpet cleaning to technician to owner and runs corporately across five states. Malik covers Lafayette, New Orleans, and Baton Rouge.

You'll walk away with:

Most restorers think contents is easy. Put stuff in a box. Kristen Stein says the box was never the hard part.

In this episode, host Clinton James sits down with Kristen Stein, owner of Blue Kangaroo Packouts in Randolph, New Jersey. Kristen came out of international trade, bought a restoration franchise three years ago, and now runs 20,000 square feet of storage serving New Jersey, New York, and parts of Pennsylvania.

You'll walk away with:

Michael Harrison told his insurance agent he'd do $250,000 his first year in business. He finished at $1.6 million.

In this episode, host Clinton James sits down with Michael Harrison, owner of Mid-South Restoration Services and 1-Tom-Plumber Memphis. Michael started in the trade at 14 as his brother's helper and spent 20 years learning it at franchises and independents before two phone calls on one drive home pushed him to go out on his own.

You'll walk away with:

Most restoration business owners only show you the highlight reel. Not this episode.

Raul Gonzalez of WonderBuilt Restoration and Construction gets real with Clinton James about the two times his business almost didn't make it — bad hires, a cash crunch, a lawsuit that blocked his SBA funding, and high-interest loans just to cover payroll. He shares exactly what it felt like, what he got wrong, and how he turned it around by finally asking for help instead of trying to do it all himself.

If you've ever laid awake worrying about making payroll, this episode is...

Tunde and Moji Adefolaju opened their SERVPRO one week before COVID shut everything down. Six years later they're running six territories and 15 service vehicles in Northern California.

In this episode, host Clinton James sits down with the husband-and-wife team behind SERVPRO of East Concord / Brentwood. Neither came from restoration — Tunde managed construction projects, Moji came out of banking and oil and gas. One 40-minute phone call with a franchisee they'd never met sent them into the industry.

You'll walk away with:

- How they survived a launch that landed on top of a gl...

Nine months into business, Dwayne West landed a $100,000 job off his second lead. In this episode, he tells host Clinton James how he did it.

Dwayne owns Firehawk Restoration in Jasper, Georgia. He's a Navy veteran who grew up working construction with his dad, then built a career flipping houses and running a general contracting business before jumping into restoration.

You'll walk away with:

Running your restoration company on gut feeling and bank balances is a quiet way to stay stuck. Real growth comes from installing hard numbers and accountability into every job.

In this episode, host Clinton James sits down with Larry Braun, VP and Co-owner of Pine Ridge Restoration in Cleveland, Ohio, and a featured speaker at the Restore Scale Dominate Summit in San Diego. Larry spent 30 years running an industrial steel plant before joining the restoration business just two and a half years ago. He brought a manufacturing mindset with him — and it worked. Pine Ridge had been st...

Most episodes of this show feature a single guest sharing their unique path through the industry, but today we are completely flipping the script. In this special roundtable edition of Restoration Pros Unplugged, host Clinton James brings together two of the sharpest tactical minds in the home services space: Chris Nordyke of Floodlight Consulting Group and Nikole Mackenzie of Momentum Accounting. 

If you are a restoration business owner generating anywhere from two million to ten million plus in annual revenue and you feel like you have hit a glass ceiling, this transparent, no-nonsense conversation is your blueprint t...

Most restoration owners have a crazy story about how they got into the business, but very few have survived a first job so brutal it almost drove them out of the industry forever.

In this episode of Restoration Pros Unplugged, host Clinton James sits down with Andrew Rickabaugh, co-owner of Rick and Ball Restoration and a One Tom Plumber franchise in Huntsville, Alabama. Andrew pulls back the curtain on his non-linear path to entrepreneurship, spanning roles as a paramedic, firefighter, Huntsville police officer, and a 20-year career in the Marine Corps. The real turning point, however, came...

In this follow-up episode, Clinton James sits down again with Toby Clem of Restoration Advisers to dive deeper into what it really takes to grow a restoration company that doesn’t depend on the owner.

If your business still runs off memory, gut decisions, and “just figuring it out,” this episode is for you.

Clinton and Toby break down:

If your field techs are juggling four, five, even eleven different apps on a single water mitigation job — you've got a data problem. And that data problem is going to follow you everywhere: estimating, compliance, team performance, and especially AI.

In this episode, Clinton James sits down with Andrew Wirick, VP of Product at DocuSketch, to talk about one of the most overlooked challenges in restoration right now — fragmented field data. Andrew's spent the last eight months in the trenches with restoration companies across the country, riding along with techs and talking directly to owners about what's actu...

You're landing jobs. Revenue is climbing. But somehow, cash is always tight — and when you need financing to grow, the doors keep closing.

You're not alone. And the problem probably isn't your sales numbers.

In this episode of Restoration Pros Unplugged, Clinton James sits down with Paul Childers of Blue Sky Biz Solutions to expose the financial blind spot that quietly strangles growth for restoration companies doing $1M, $3M, even $5M or more: the business structure behind the revenue.

Paul has seen it firsthand — restoration owners who are great at the work but runn...

What if your restoration company could deliver a Disney-level experience—even on a customer’s worst day?

In this episode of Restoration Pros Unplugged, Clinton James sits down with Vance Morris, former Disney leader, founder of Deliver Service Now, and owner of Maryland Mold Busters—to break down how service-based businesses can transform customer experience into their ultimate competitive advantage.

From systemizing service delivery to creating “wow moments” in high-stress situations like water damage and mold remediation, Vance shares practical strategies that restoration business owners can implement immediately to drive referrals, increase pricing power, and scale sust...

Most restoration companies don’t struggle to find work—they struggle to build a business that doesn’t depend entirely on the owner.

In this episode of Restoration Pros Unplugged, Clinton James sits down with Toby Clem of Restoration Advisers to unpack why so many restoration companies hit a growth ceiling—and what it actually takes to scale beyond it.

From the “owner bottleneck” problem to building leadership teams that can truly operate independently, Toby shares hard-earned insights from working with restoration companies across multiple growth stages.

If you’ve ever felt trapped in your busine...

In this episode of Restoration Pros Unplugged, Clinton James sits down with Erik Peterson, General Manager of Arko Restoration, to unpack a game-changing leadership exercise that’s helping restoration companies break through growth ceilings.

If you’ve ever felt like your business can’t run without you… this episode is going to hit home.

Erik shares how a simple but powerful task audit categorizing everything you do into Core, Supportable, Delegatable, and Automatable completely changed how he views his role as a leader. The result? More clarity, fewer bottlenecks, and a path toward scalable growth.

The...

Most restoration companies are sitting on thousands of past customers and doing absolutely nothing with them.

In this episode, Clinton sits down with Alex Nghiem, Chief Revenue Officer at Epic180, to break down a simple but powerful idea:

Your CRM is either a gold mine or a graveyard.

If you’ve been in business for 5+ years, you already have a built-in revenue source. Past water losses. Mold jobs. Fire cleanups. Carpet cleaning. Duct cleaning. Crawlspace work. These customers already trust you.

So why aren’t you marketing to them?

Alex...

What does it really take to scale a restoration business and expand into a new market without making expensive mistakes?

In this episode of Restoration Pros Unplugged, Clinton James sits down with John Gabriele, owner of 911 Restoration of Des Moines and 1 Tom Plumber of Des Moines, to break down how he grew his company from under one million dollars to nearly three million and why he is now expanding into a second market.

John shares real lessons from the trenches, including why coaching played a major role in his growth, how focusing on the right...

Real growth in the trades doesn’t come from chasing trends or jumping on the latest tactic. It comes from systems, strategy, and partnering with people who understand how contractors actually operate.

In this episode, Clinton James — CMO of Water Restoration Marketing and host of Restoration Pros Unplugged — joins Paul Sanneman, founder of Contractor Staffing Source, for a powerful crossover conversation on what truly drives sustainable growth for home service businesses.

While Clinton works exclusively with restoration companies, the insights in this episode apply to plumbing, HVAC, roofing, remodeling, and any service-based business owner serious about...

Missed calls, slow follow-up, and storm surges can quietly kill your revenue.

In this episode of Restoration Pros Unplugged, Clinton James sits down with Nick D’Urbano, Co-Founder and CRO of Distance, to break down how restoration companies are using AI to capture more leads, handle overflow calls, and generate more jobs — without replacing their people.

Nick walks through real-world use cases for:

This isn’t just a recap, it’s a celebration of the moments that made Restoration Pros Unplugged the go-to podcast for growth-minded restoration entrepreneurs.

In this special Rewind episode, we look back at the top interviews, biggest takeaways, and most replayed clips from our most impactful conversations. From leadership breakthroughs to sales strategies, hiring systems to franchise growth these are the insights that moved the industry forward in a big way.

You’ll hear from:

- Our most listened-to and watched guests
- High-impact advice from top operators and thought leaders
...

In this episode of Restoration Pros Unplugged, Clinton sits down with Phil DePaul, the powerhouse owner behind United Water Restoration Group Long Island and 1-Tom-Plumber Long Island. Known for his bold “BoomZeal” leadership style, Phil breaks down how he built two thriving service brands by bringing a white-collar approach to a blue-collar industry and why professionalism, extreme ownership, and clean presentation are non-negotiable in today’s restoration and plumbing world.

Phil shares his journey from plumbing distribution, to disaster recovery, to becoming one of the top franchise operators in the country. He opens up about the early strugg...

Struggling to find and keep good people in your restoration business? You’re not alone.

In this episode of Restoration Pros Unplugged, host Clinton James (CMO, Water Restoration Marketing) sits down with Paul Sanneman, founder of Contractor Staffing Source, to talk about why the “labor shortage” in restoration is often a self-created problem and what you can do about it.

Paul breaks down the biggest hiring myths holding contractors back, like:

- Only recruiting when you “need someone”

- Thinking employees are “too expensive”

- Trying to DIY recruiting without a real...

AI is changing the way restoration companies operate, and WonderBuilt Restoration is already putting it to work. In this episode of Restoration Pros Unplugged, Clinton James talks with Raul Gonzalez, owner of WonderBuilt in Tucson, AZ, about how AI tools and remote oversight are helping him streamline operations as the company grows.

Raul explains how he listened to our interview with James Hatfield from LiveSwitch, signed up right away, and quickly found real use cases like faster mold evaluations using AI-generated scopes, better contents planning through data-driven insights, and live remote support for technicians on complex jobs.<...

In this episode of Restoration Pros Unplugged, Clinton James sits down with Claire Carreras an entrepreneur known for taking broken home-service teams and turning them into high-performing operations. Claire shares her unusual path into restoration, her experiences at Paul Davis and Servpro, and the leadership lessons she learned while rebuilding departments, launching new service divisions, and now running 1-Tom-Plumber Austin.

Claire breaks down her simple 3-part method for fixing struggling restoration companies:

- People: understanding who’s on your team, what motivates them, and who fits where.

- Process: reviewing what’s working, what...

In this episode of Restoration Pros Unplugged, Clinton sits down with Ben Justesen, one of the restoration industry’s top minds in estimating and pricing strategy. Ben’s journey, from growing his family’s company, Just Right Cleaning & Construction (JRCC), into an award-winning restoration firm to leading national training programs and now shaping technology at DocuSketch offers lessons every contractor can use.

Ben breaks down the biggest mistakes he sees in estimating and pricing, explains the difference between markup and margin (and why most contractors get it wrong), and shares practical advice for protecting your profits on every...

When every minute counts in restoration, getting eyes on the loss fast can make or break a job. In this episode of Restoration Pros Unplugged, Clinton James sits down with James Hatfield, CRO of LiveSwitch, to explore how simple, app-free video links are transforming how restoration companies handle intake, documentation, and customer communication.

James shares how LiveSwitch—originally built for 911 dispatch and live sports—now helps restoration teams see the job before they roll a truck, build instant trust with customers, and cut hours off every claim.

You’ll learn how leading restoration companies are using...

In this episode of Restoration Pros Unplugged, host Clinton James sits down with Scott Miller, founder of The Growth League, to unpack his incredible journey from rookie franchisee to independent restoration owner and now successful business coach.

Scott shares how he built a top-performing restoration business, scaled it, and sold it, all while learning the hard lessons that most owners don’t figure out until it’s too late. 

You’ll learn:

- The financial blind spots that keep owners from true profitability

- How to motivate your te...

In this episode of Restoration Pros Unplugged, Clinton James sits down with Jeff Carrier, Co-Founder and CEO of Restoration ERP, to talk about how restoration companies can use technology to win more commercial work and how the new ERP Copilot AI is changing the game.

Jeff breaks down how most restorers have handled commercial disaster planning in the past, why ERPs are key to landing “first call” commercial clients, and how his team built a platform that makes it simple and profitable.

You’ll also hear about ERP Copilot, the industry’s first AI-powered sales trainer...

In this episode of Restoration Pros Unplugged, host Clinton James (CMO, Water Restoration Marketing) sits down with Chris Nordyke, President & Co-Owner of Floodlight Consulting Group, to unpack the sales and marketing KPIs that separate thriving restoration companies from those just getting by.

Pulled from a powerful live session hosted by WRM and Floodlight, this episode breaks down how to truly “know your numbers” and how tracking the right ones can help you scale smarter, convert more leads, and win more profitable jobs.

You’ll discover:
✅ The top KPIs that drive predictable growth and profitability
✅ Ho...

Finding and keeping the right people can make or break a restoration business. In this episode of Restoration Pros Unplugged, host Clinton James sits down with Mitchell Riley, Recruiter and Partner at OPS Staffing, to unpack what works and what doesn’t when it comes to hiring in the restoration industry.

Mitchell shares practical recruiting strategies that restoration company owners can use right away, including:

- Low-cost, high-impact tactics like referral programs, local networking, and community outreach

- Where to find the right candidates for different roles from field staff to project managers to...

Cash flow is one of the biggest challenges restoration companies face. Insurance claims can take weeks or even months to pay out, leaving contractors scrambling to cover payroll, materials, and overhead. For many, this delay means turning down jobs, slowing growth, or dipping into personal funds just to stay afloat.

In this episode of Restoration Pros Unplugged, Clinton James sits down with Ilana Ben-Ezra, PhD, President of National Claims Funding, to reveal how restoration business owners can get paid upfront without waiting on the insurance company.

Ilana breaks down:

- Why delayed insurance...

In this episode of Restoration Pros Unplugged, Clinton James (CMO, Water Restoration Marketing) sits down with Leah Hanlon (Franchise Sales & Business Development, 1-Tom-Plumber & Icon Property Rescue) to unpack exactly how restoration companies can land more commercial contracts in 2025.

If you’ve struggled to break into the commercial market or you’re ready to scale past residential feast-or-famine work, this conversation gives you the blueprint. Clinton and Leah walk through the traits of successful business development reps (BDRs), why professionalism and persistence win in commercial sales, and how your digital presence can make or break your outreach.

...

In this episode of Restoration Pros Unplugged, Clinton James sits down with Holly Baldwin, Senior Customer Success Manager at DocuSketch, to uncover how restoration companies can transform an advanced documentation tool into a powerful sales and marketing engine.

Holly shares her journey from her early days at Servpro to becoming a key leader at DocuSketch, where she now helps restoration professionals streamline operations, win more business, and deliver a true “white glove” customer experience.

Key topics covered in this episode:

What does it take to move from working insurance claims to running one of Texas’ most trusted restoration companies while also launching a platform to educate the entire industry?

In this episode of Restoration Pros Unplugged, host Clinton James sits down with Ben Jernigan, owner of WTR Restoration and founder of DrMoisture.com, a new educational hub for homeowners, agents, and adjusters.

With over 18 years of experience in public adjusting, restoration, and disaster response, Ben shares his journey of rebuilding after Tropical Storm Allison, scaling WTR into a nationwide operation, and why he believes education is...

In this episode of Restoration Pros Unplugged, host Clinton James sits down with Leah Hanlon, one of the nation’s top restoration sales leaders at Icon Property Rescue and now VP of Franchise Sales for 1-Tom-Plumber. Leah reveals how she’s helping entrepreneurs merge restoration and plumbing into unstoppable growth machines.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

In this episode of Restoration Pros Unplugged, host Clinton James interviews Chris Nordyke, President and Co-founder of Floodlight Consulting Group, to unpack what it really takes to build and scale high-performing sales teams in the restoration industry.

With deep industry experience and a passion for business growth, Chris shares the foundational strategies behind Floodlight’s success and how their Fractional Sales Leadership model is transforming how restoration companies pursue and close profitable commercial work.

Key topics covered in this episode:

In this power-packed episode, Clinton James sits down with Amy Levine, owner of Bright Side Restoration, who built one of Long Island’s most respected restoration businesses from scratch.

Amy pulls back the curtain on her early challenges, how she scaled with purpose, and the systems that helped her stay sane in the chaos. Whether you're running a solo crew or managing a multi-location team, her journey delivers real-world lessons you can apply right now.

As a female leader in a traditionally male industry, Amy brings a fresh perspective on team culture, client relationships, and bu...

In this episode of Restoration Pros Unplugged, Clinton James sits down with Rocky Hensley, founder of ICON Property Rescue and the visionary behind 1-Tom-Plumber, to unpack a bold strategy that’s helping restoration companies secure more commercial restoration work—fast.

After building and selling a successful restoration company, Rocky saw the writing on the wall: shrinking margins, too much reliance on TPAs, and fewer large-loss opportunities. So, he created a game-changing solution—a plumbing franchise designed specifically to bolt onto restoration businesses and open doors to high-value commercial clients.

You’ll discover:

In this episode of Restoration Pros Unplugged, host Clinton James sits down with Ryan Schrader, Director of Local SEO at Water Restoration Marketing, to break down how restoration companies are winning more jobs in 2025 with Google Local Service Ads.

Ryan shares the biggest updates to LSAs this year, why some campaigns deliver consistent, high-quality calls while others bleed budget, and the exact framework their team uses to help restoration companies turn LSAs into $10K+ months.

This isn’t theory or guesswork—it’s the tested, agency-built system helping restoration business owners generate exclusive water damage leads...