Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!

Are you afraid that if you treat your people well, they'll take advantage of you or walk out the door? Learn how one electrician rebuilt from zero to a company of 46 by putting people before profits, and why greed always kills businesses from the inside.

Bill Swanson is the CEO of Progressive Electric, a Michigan commercial electrical contractor wiring hotels, schools, and medical facilities. After 30 years in the trade and more than two decades co-owning a union electrical company with his brother, he started over in 2012 with one truck, one apprentice, and no money while his wife fought cancer. Today his team members stay for decades, and he's planning a transition built to protect every one of them.

In this episode, he explains:

The Greed Trap

🡒 Why owners who fixate on the money end up losing it, and the one thing Bill watches instead.

Names, Not Numbers

🡒 How five weeks of paid vacation and company trucks keep his people from chasing a bigger union paycheck.

The "They'll Take Advantage" Myth

🡒 Why he pays for his guys to earn their master electrician license, even knowing some will leave and compete.

A Near Stranger's Bet

🡒 Why a plumber he barely knew offered to fund his labor and materials for as long as it took.

The Reputation Ledger

🡒 How showing up early and keeping every promise turned one small job into 20 to 30 contractors who keep calling.

Chapters

00:00 Intro

00:48 Paycheck to paycheck and into the trade

07:13 Leaving the union to start his own shop

09:05 2012: a cancer diagnosis and walking away with nothing

11:33 Rebuilding with one truck and one apprentice

15:26 Why his guys are names, not numbers

20:00 Pushing his team to earn their masters

25:38 Reputation is the real startup capital

29:53 The grid, the trades, and the college debate

36:58 Taking care of his people before he steps away

Connect with Bill Swanson

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-swanson-124ba787/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/progressive-electric-corp/

https://progressiveelectriccorp.com/

~~~

Connect with us!

https://www.linkedin.com/in/douglas-cellini/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-young-43391714/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/kingsview/

Prefer to listen? https://pod.link/6791679944

Kingsview General Disclosure: Kingsview Wealth Management ("KWM") is an investment adviser registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Registration does not constitute an endorsement of the firm by the SEC, nor does it indicate that KWM has attained a particular level of skill or ability. The information presented is for educational purposes only. It does not intend to make an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of any specific securities, investments, or investment strategies. Investments involve risk and, unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed

Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note.

Dan Fletcher went from a park bench to Park Avenue. The CEO of Sound Hearing, Beltone reveals how he got clean at the Salvation Army, bought out the owners who refused to sell to him, and built a $20 million company with 54 Beltone franchise offices.

HIs company has 89 employees and 54 offices across Michigan and northern Ohio, and has won every award Beltone offers, including six straight Circle of Excellence awards and recognition as one of Detroit's top places to work, earned across a network of 1,600 offices nationwide.

He explains:

🡒 The Park Bench Turnaround: how hitting rock bottom at a Salvation Army recovery program became the foundation for everything he built afterward.

🡒 The 1,200 Unit Deal: the exact pitch he made to owners who told him the business would never be for sale, and how it made him a partner within one year.

🡒 The Lucky Question: the scale of 1 to 10 interview question that exposes a bad hire before they poison your entire team.

🡒 The Trust Sale: why nobody has ever actually bought a hearing aid from him, and what his patients are really paying for.

🡒 The 5% Edge: why success never required anything astronomical, just slightly more effort than everyone else is willing to give.

Chapters

0:00 Intro

0:41 Donut shops, odd jobs, and the newspaper ad that changed everything

8:25 How to sell a product nobody wants

14:52 Park bench to Park Avenue: the recovery story

18:58 Borrowing $40,000 and paying it back in year one

20:08 Generational wealth without spoiling your kids

27:31 Growing from two and a half offices to 54

31:13 The interview questions that reveal everything

39:44 Building a family first company

41:50 Final advice: get your foundation right before the leap

~~~

Connect with us!

https://www.linkedin.com/in/douglas-cellini/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-young-43391714/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/kingsview/

Prefer to listen?

https://pod.link/6791679944

Kingsview General Disclosure: Kingsview Wealth Management ("KWM") is an investment adviser registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Registration does not constitute an endorsement of the firm by the SEC, nor does it indicate that KWM has attained a particular level of skill or ability. The information presented is for educational purposes only. It does not intend to make an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of any specific securities, investments, or investment strategies. Investments involve risk and, unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed

Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note.

Ben Bosscher hosts a three hour sports radio show five days a week on 100.9 The Mitt.

He's 24.

When the station gave him a test run, he replaced the time slot of Dan Patrick, who’d been on the air longer than Ben had been alive. There was no hiding his age - his vocabulary and experience both weren’t there yet.

So he leaned on the one thing he could control. Preparation.

What we covered:

→ How he preps a three hour show every single day

→ Getting his own show at 24 and why he says he earned it

→ Where sports talk radio goes after the hot take era

→ Sports gambling, promo codes at 21, and his lock of the day

→ His advice for anyone who feels behind their friends

Thanks for coming on, Ben. Catch him Monday through Friday, 9 to noon EST, on 100.9 The Mitt.

Chapters

0:00 Welcome Ben Bosscher

2:23 Building a three hour show every day

5:27 Sounding boards and the job that never stops

7:03 Why he's had success at 24

11:49 Where sports talk radio goes next

14:09 Trusting your gut on air

16:30 Sports gambling and the lock of the day

19:19 What's next for Ben

21:07 For anyone who feels behind

23:58 Will the Lions win the Super Bowl?

Connect with Ben

https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-bosscher/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/1009-the-mitt/

https://www.instagram.com/ben.bosscher/

https://www.instagram.com/1009themitt/

https://www.facebook.com/SportsRadio100.9TheMitt/

~~~

Connect with us!

https://www.linkedin.com/in/douglas-cellini/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-young-43391714/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/kingsview/

Prefer to listen?

https://pod.link/6791679944

Kingsview General Disclosure: Kingsview Wealth Management ("KWM") is an investment adviser registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Registration does not constitute an endorsement of the firm by the SEC, nor does it indicate that KWM has attained a particular level of skill or ability. The information presented is for educational purposes only. It does not intend to make an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of any specific securities, investments, or investment strategies. Investments involve risk and, unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed