Owned and Operated - A Plumbing, Electrical, and HVAC Business Growth Podcast

#231 How AI Will Change Home Service Marketing Forever

AI isn’t coming — it’s here. And the way people find your business is already changing.In this episode of Owned and Operated, John sits down with Sam Preston, CEO of Service Scalers, for a deep-dive on how AI is reshaping local search and why HVAC, plumbing, and home service operators need to evolve fast — or risk being left behind.They explore what it means to “rank” in a world of LLMs, how showing up in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overview actually works, and why your SEO and Google Business Profile (GMB) are more valuable than ever. From review mining to AI-mode discovery to early signs of AI agents booking jobs, this episode lays out a real-world, contractor-first roadmap to dominate in the AI-driven search era.You’ll also hear how Wilson’s early investment in SEO and programmatic content is now paying off — and why operators of every size should focus on backlinks, FAQs, and review quality today to future-proof their lead flow.Whether you’re doing $1M or $50M, if you want to stay visible and competitive as AI search becomes the new front door to your business, this one’s essential.💼 Extra Special Thanks to Service Scalers!We’ve been partnering with Service Scalers to maximize our Local Service Ads (LSAs) and optimize our Google My Business profiles, and the results have been incredible. With hundreds of thousands in sales and 900+ calls in a single week, GMBs are now our top-performing organic lead channel. Want to learn how Service Scalers can do the same for you? 🔗Check Them Out Here 💼 Shoutout to Quick Staffers LLC Need trained HVAC & plumbing CSRs at a fraction of the cost? Quick Staffers LLC specializes in placing top-tier global talent with the best SOPs and scripts. 🔥 Get $1,000 off your first placement here💸Sponsored by CFO Made EasyBuilt a strong trades business? Let’s take it to $10M and beyond. CFO Made Easy offers part-time CFO services for home and trade service businesses—helping you boost cash flow, maximize profit per tech, and make clear growth decisions.📈 Free Offer: Book a 45-min Financial Insight Session to uncover growth blockers. 🎙️ Hosts: John Wilson → [https://x.com/wilsoncompanies] Sam Preston  → [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sampreston/] Send Us Mail!More Ways To Connect with O&O John's YouTube Channel Weekly Newsletter Leave a Review John Wilson, CEO of Wilson CompaniesJack Carr, CEO of Rapid HVAC📌 Disclaimer:Some links may include UTM parameters for tracking. Episodes may feature paid sponsors, but all opinions are our own. Always do your own research before making business decisions.

Double Your Profit Day #6 80/20 Rule: The Secret to Explosive Business Growth

📈 Double Your Profit Day 6: 80/20 Rule for Small Business GrowthWelcome to Day 6 of the Double Your Profit 30-Day Challenge—the ultimate profit-boosting series for contractors, home service business owners, and small business entrepreneurs. Today, we expose a game-changing insight: 80% of your profit comes from 20% of your effort. That’s the Pareto Principle, and mastering it could 2X your bottom line.🎯 Are you spending time on low-margin services, needy customers, or bloated departments? If so, you’re draining resources and killing growth. This episode will show you how to cut the fat, double down on ROI, and scale profit with precision.💡 What You'll Learn in This Episode:The 80/20 rule for small business profitabilityHow to identify unprofitable customers and low-return servicesWhich departments drain cash without adding valueHow to cut the bottom 80% of waste and refocusHow to identify your top-performing profit centersCase studies of businesses that doubled profits by simplifyingA repeatable framework to eliminate waste and scale💸This Episode is Brought to You by CFO Made EasyBuilt a strong trades business? Let’s take it to $10M and beyond. CFO Made Easy offers part-time CFO services for home and trade service businesses—helping you boost cash flow, maximize profit per tech, and make clear growth decisions.📈 Free Offer: Book a 45-min Financial Insight Session to uncover growth blockers.📚 Keep Learning Send Us Mail!More Ways To Connect with O&O John's YouTube Channel Weekly Newsletter Leave a Review John Wilson, CEO of Wilson CompaniesJack Carr, CEO of Rapid HVAC📌 Disclaimer:Some links may include UTM parameters for tracking. Episodes may feature paid sponsors, but all opinions are our own. Always do your own research before making business decisions.

Double Your Profit Day #5 Can Zero-Based Budgeting Save Your Business Money?

Double Your Profit Day 5: Zero-Based Budgeting for Home Service Businesses, Contractors, and Small Business OwnersWelcome to Day 5 of the "Double Your Profit" 30-Day Challenge — your go-to business growth series for home service business owners, contractors, and small business entrepreneurs looking to boost profit margins fast.Today’s strategy? Zero-based budgeting — one of the most powerful financial tools for HVAC companies, plumbing businesses, electrical contractors, cleaning service operators, and anyone in the trades or service-based industries.🔧 Most small businesses budget based on last year’s expenses. Not here. We’re showing you how to start from scratch — building your 2025 home service business budget from zero, line by line. Every expense, every tool, every salary, every marketing dollar must be justified and aligned with profitability.✅ What is zero-based budgeting and why it works✅ How to apply it to your contractor business✅ Tips to cut overhead, improve cash flow, and increase EBITDA✅ Why it’s a game-changer for scaling your field service company🔑 What You’ll Learn Today:What zero-based budgeting actually meansWhy you should ignore revenue when setting budgetsHow to start from zero and justify each expenseRe-evaluating overhead like marketing, admin, and utilitiesFocusing on your biggest costs first for faster savings💼 This Episode is Brought to You by Avoca AI! Looking to train your call center and improve technician performance? Avoca AI helps teams identify issues, improve call quality, and drive results from start to finish. 🔗 Schedule a demo HERE  ▶️More EpisodesSend Us Mail!More Ways To Connect with O&O John's YouTube Channel Weekly Newsletter Leave a Review John Wilson, CEO of Wilson CompaniesJack Carr, CEO of Rapid HVAC📌 Disclaimer:Some links may include UTM parameters for tracking. Episodes may feature paid sponsors, but all opinions are our own. Always do your own research before making business decisions.

#230 Is Buying Businesses Overhyped? Why You Should Build Instead

Boomers aren’t your best bet anymore. While everyone’s still chasing the so-called Silver Tsunami, the truth is most aging-out home service businesses won’t sell — and the ones that do often aren’t worth buying. In this episode of Owned and Operated, John and Jack explain why smart operators are ditching the outdated playbook and going all-in on modern growth strategies.They unpack why 2026 is their multi-market year and how they’re expanding beyond Ohio through greenfield launches, tuck-in acquisitions, and strategic partnerships. From leadership infrastructure to population-driven market selection, they share what it actually takes to scale a home service company past a single location. You’ll hear hard-earned lessons from failed multi-location attempts, the red flags of unscalable markets, and why buying a business isn’t always the best move — especially if the fundamentals aren’t there.If you’re a plumbing, HVAC, or electrical operator looking to grow into new markets, this is your real-time roadmap — not the recycled Silver Tsunami narrative. John even teases behind-the-scenes strategies they’re using for greenfielding (the stuff he’s not ready to fully reveal… yet).This is the episode that separates yesterday’s growth myths from today’s $100M playbook.💼 Modernize is how smart contractors scale.With inbound calls, live transfers, and branded programs, Modernize connects you to ready-to-buy homeowners. Over 9M leads delivered and $4B+ in revenue generated.👉 Start growing💼 Special Thanks to Service Scalers!We’ve been partnering with Service Scalers to maximize our Local Service Ads (LSAs) and optimize our Google My Business profiles, and the results have been incredible. With hundreds of thousands in sales and 900+ calls in a single week, GMBs are now our top-performing organic lead channel. Want to learn how Service Scalers can do the same for you? 🔗Check Them Out Here 🚀 Huge Shoutout to SupplyHouse!When it comes to fast turnaround times, SupplyHouse has our back! With 250,000+ SKUs covering plumbing, HVAC, and electrical, they make sure we get the right materials—fast and hassle-free.💡Their Trademaster program offers free shipping, returns, and discounts, all with no membership fee. Use promo code SH5 for five percent off your first order— Code is valid through 9/30/2025.🔗 Check them out & level up your supply game here  🎙️ Hosts: John Wilson → [https://x.com/wilsoncompanies] Jack Carr → [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-carr-299b0a1a7/]Send Us Mail!More Ways To Connect with O&O John's YouTube Channel Weekly Newsletter Leave a Review John Wilson, CEO of Wilson CompaniesJack Carr, CEO of Rapid HVAC📌 Disclaimer:Some links may include UTM parameters for tracking. Episodes may feature paid sponsors, but all opinions are our own. Always do your own research before making business decisions.

Double Your Profit Day #4 Non-Negotiable Budgets = Real Results

Welcome to Day 4 of the "Double Your Profit" 30-Day Series!If you’re running a home service business, small business, or a contractor company, this series is here to help you double your profit in 30 days—one smart move at a time.Today, we’re talking about strict, non-negotiable budgets—the kind that bounce credit cards if someone goes over. Sound intense? It is—and it works. This approach fosters real accountability, forces smarter decisions, and helps smaller businesses stay lean and agile.🔑 What You’ll Learn Today:Why exact dollar-limit budgets drive financial disciplineHow tight budgets increase creativity and innovationAligning spend with strategy—not convenienceWhen your team knows every dollar counts, it changes the game. Financial discipline isn't about saying "no"—it's about saying "yes" to what truly matters.💼 This Episode is Brought to You by Avoca AI! Looking to train your call center and improve technician performance? Avoca AI helps teams identify issues, improve call quality, and drive results from start to finish. 🔗 Schedule a demo HERE  ▶️More EpisodesSend Us Mail!More Ways To Connect with O&O John's YouTube Channel Weekly Newsletter Leave a Review John Wilson, CEO of Wilson CompaniesJack Carr, CEO of Rapid HVAC📌 Disclaimer:Some links may include UTM parameters for tracking. Episodes may feature paid sponsors, but all opinions are our own. Always do your own research before making business decisions.