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What separates a business owner from someone who has built a business that can run without them? It comes down to leadership, communication, systems, and knowing where to focus your time and money. Chris Garrison, founder of Absolute Restoration and co-founder of Blue Collar Millionaire, joins the Home Service Roundtable to break down what it takes to scale a home service business, build a strong team, and create a company that can operate without the owner doing everything. With a community of more than 300,000 blue-collar business owners, Chris shares the lessons he learned through expensive mistakes, investing in himself, and building better relationships with other entrepreneurs. We talk about:

• Why getting into the right rooms can accelerate business growth
• How to network with intention and turn conversations into opportunities
• Finding the biggest bottleneck in a business instead of constantly chasing more leads
• Why clear communication and having employees repeat instructions back can prevent costly mistakes
• The three biggest challenges contractors face: leads, labor, and financial clarity
• Guerrilla marketing, referral partnerships, door knocking, and direct-response marketing
• How to generate more Google reviews and strengthen local SEO
• Why sales is theater and how presentation, confidence, and energy build trust
• Recruiting through social media and creating a culture people want to join
• Developing employees, building leaders, and giving teams room to learn from mistakes
• Why better financial reporting and understanding the numbers matter more than simply raising capital
• Hiring through skills tests, personality assessments, and real problem-solving exercises
• The costly lessons Chris learned from crypto and forex trading
• Why contractors should build businesses that can eventually be sold
• How to buy back time by delegating work and focusing on value
• Chris's approach to direct mail, marketing budgets, and supplier-funded campaigns

Chris also shares his biggest takeaways from masterminds, the habits that keep him growing, and why enjoying the journey matters just as much as reaching the next goal. Subscribe to the Home Service Roundtable for more conversations on leadership, sales, marketing, and building a stronger home service business. Learn more and apply for the Round Table Grant at HomeServiceRoundtable

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AI won't fix a broken business. And automation won't help if you don't know how to use it. In this episode of Home Service Roundtable, we sit down with David “Church” Blissett, an entrepreneur, home service business owner, and technology innovator who has built businesses across HVAC, plumbing, and electrical. Church shares how contractors can use AI, automation, and better software implementation to improve efficiency, protect profitability, and create more time for what matters most. From AI-powered call analysis to automating daily tasks, Church explains why technology should support your team rather than replace the human relationships that make a business successful. He also breaks down the costly mistakes contractors make when adopting new software, building unnecessary tools, and trying to do everything themselves. We talk about:

• Whether AI is making home service companies smarter or simply making owners lazier
• How to use AI and automation without losing the human touch
• Why trained customer service representatives can still outperform AI voice agents
• How call analysis can identify missed booking opportunities and recover lost revenue
• The difference between AI and traditional automation
• How email automation can save hours every week
• Why contractors shouldn't build their own CRM or accounting software just to save money
• How to calculate the true value of an owner's time
• Why software implementation matters more than simply buying the right platform
• How to implement ServiceTitan without disrupting your busy season
• Why contractors should hire experienced implementation specialists
• The danger of paying for multiple software tools that perform the same functions
• How training and accountability help teams get more value from their technology
• Why every software platform needs someone responsible for ongoing implementation
• How AI and automation can help business owners reclaim time for their families
• Why authentic communication matters when using AI to write emails and social media content
• How technology can support company culture through personalized employee reminders and recognition
• Why learning to say no and setting boundaries are essential for business and marriage

Whether you're a $1 million contractor trying to get out of the truck or an established company looking to improve operations, this conversation will help you think differently about technology, leadership, and where your time is best spent. Watch the full episode to learn how to use AI and automation strategically, avoid expensive implementation mistakes, and build a more efficient home service business.

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Most home service businesses don't have a profitability problem. They have a leadership problem. In this episode of Home Service Roundtable, we sit down with Mike Disney, a business coach, speaker, and growth strategist who has worked with hundreds of home service companies. Mike breaks down what strong leadership actually looks like, why owners get stuck working in the business, and how better systems, people, pricing, and accountability can change the trajectory of a company. The conversation also covers the growth plateaus that contractors face, finding great talent, the future of sales, coaching, and the mindset required to keep growing. We talk about:

• Why leadership problems show up across every line of the P&L
• Why vision and core values are the foundation of leadership
• What leadership should look like at different revenue levels
• Why owners need to get out of the day-to-day and become CEOs
• The difference between managing a business and actually leading it
• Why leaders should produce growth and profitability, not just maintain the status quo
• How training and onboarding can replace the founder being in the field
• Why contractors need strong SOPs and accountability
• The daily KPIs Mike looks at to understand the health of a business
• Why every KPI needs someone accountable for it
• Why pricing is one of the biggest problems holding contractors back
• How the right people, onboarding, training, and compensation impact profitability
• Why many contractors think they're making 5% profit when they're actually losing money
• What contractors are wasting money on and how to vet outside advice
• Why coaching is an investment only when you're willing to implement what you learn
• The mindset changes required to get out of your own way
• Why gratitude can change the way business owners lead their teams
• The daily habits Mike uses to help owners focus on what actually moves the needle
• Why $1M, $3M, $5M, and $7M can create very different growth challenges
• Why $7M can become a major turning point for a home service business
• Why growth sometimes means saying goodbye to people you've worked with for years
• Why the talent pool isn't the problem and contractors need to change how they recruit
• How business owners can recruit talent from their own communities
• Why trades can offer young people a powerful career path
• Mike's prediction that traditional comfort advisor sales could change dramatically
• Why salespeople need to prove their value as technology changes the buying process
• The importance of humility and asking, "What if that's not true?"
• Mike's recommended book for business owners

Whether you're trying to break through your first million or scale beyond $10 million, this episode is about building the leadership, people, systems, and mindset required to keep growing. Watch the full episode to hear Mike Disney's perspective on what separates businesses that scale from businesses that simply stay busy.