Blue Collar Ballers

Faiez Rana
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Blue Collar Ballers is the podcast about real entrepreneurs building 7- and 8-figure businesses with their hands—from roofers and plumbers to painters, pest pros, and landscapers. We go beyond Silicon Valley hype to share tactical growth strategies, operational playbooks, and leadership lessons from those turning grit into generational wealth. Whether you're in the trades or just respect the grind, these are the stories behind America’s most essential businesses.

  1. MAY 15

    $1M Cleaning Business and Never Met a Cleaner or Client | Patrick Murphy on Building Cascade Home Cleaning 100% Remotely

    Patrick Murphy is the owner of Cascade Home Cleaning, a residential cleaning business in Bellingham, Washington that he's built to $1M in annual recurring revenue — entirely remote. He's never met a cleaner. He's never met a client. He started the company as a side hustle while working as a product manager at Amazon in Seattle, and now runs it from Chicago, 2,000 miles away from the market it serves. Cascade operates in a town of 100,000 people, with a total addressable market under 250,000 across the surrounding county. Patrick built it over four years on the back of a Big Four accounting career and a decade in product at Nordstrom and Amazon — and he's importing the operating discipline of trillion-dollar companies into a blue collar service business. In this episode, Patrick breaks down the internal hiring playbook he wrote himself — a recruiting system any home service operator can run, whether they're hiring cleaners, technicians, or office staff. We get into: The tenets for hiring he adapted from Amazon's doc-driven culture, and why writing them down is what makes them stickWhy "always be hiring" is non-negotiable — and how to run an evergreen job post and a bench of candidates before you need themThe 50% rule for every new hire, and how it constantly raises the talent ceiling on your crewHow he sponsors Indeed posts for $5–$7 a day and what he spends in total on recruiting per yearThe W-2 transition from 1099 contractors and what it changed about retention and qualityWhy most operators don't find good people — and what they're actually doing wrongIf you've ever told yourself you can't find good people in your market, this episode will challenge you. Patrick isn't in a hot labor market. He's in a small town in Washington, running it from Chicago, and his recruiting bench is deeper than most operators' active rosters. Chapters 00:00 — Intro03:43 — Meet Patrick: $1M cleaning business, built 100% remote06:54 — From Big Four accounting to Amazon to cleaning08:04 — How he started Cascade as a side hustle17:15 — The tenets for hiring (stolen from Amazon)19:28 — Tenet #1: Always be hiring22:21 — What "always be hiring" actually looks like day-to-day24:01 — Recruiting spend: $5–$7/day on Indeed26:09 — The 50% rule: every new hire raises the average Visit: Qualified Hires

    52 min

  2. MAY 8

    From $1.2M to $30M in 9 Years | Trey McWilliams on Scaling His Family HVAC Business in East Texas

    Trey McWilliams is a third-generation HVAC operator from East Texas and the founder of Blue Cardinal Home Services, a platform group now operating in over 20 locations across the home service trades. Trey grew up riding shotgun with his grandfather — a Navy retiree who started the family business because he loved taking care of customers and didn't want to deal with employees or back-office work. Trey started drawing a paycheck at 14, ran a truck by 16, and by 22 he made the call that would change everything: he told his dad the lifestyle business needed to become a scaled business, and he'd pay the price to make it happen. From 2010 to 2019, he took McWilliams & Son Heating and Cooling from $1.2M to nearly $30M in revenue — then built Blue Cardinal Group on top of it to give other operators a home to take chips off the table without selling out to private equity. In this episode, Trey breaks down the exact playbook he ran to scale: The first hire that broke his $1M ceiling — and why it had to be a salesperson, not an operatorThe math teacher who built his entire ops backbone from the call center upThe "rule of four" that governs every new market and trade he entersWhy he runs the business in groups of four crews so techs never miss their kids' baseball gamesHow he added plumbing without compromising the HVAC standard — including the academy model for homegrown technicians (95% of his field staff)The mindset shift from "I'm in HVAC" to "I'm in the people-building business"Why he built Blue Cardinal as the anti-private-equity platform for operators who care about culture and the long gameIf you're an operator stuck between $1M and $5M and you can feel the ceiling — or if you're a second or third-generation owner wrestling with whether to scale past what your dad built — this one's for you. Chapters 00:00 Intro00:40 Growing up in the family business — riding with grandpa at 1404:30 The 2010 turning point: "If not me, then who?"06:38 The exact playbook from $1.2M to $30M16:35 Hire #1: Why sales had to come before operations20:15 The math teacher who built the ops backbone23:30 The rule of four: how Trey enters new markets and trades27:00 Scaling is a journey of personal evolution30:00 Why he built Blue Cardinal Home Services36:00 Going from operator to capital allocator1:02:00 What's next for Blue Cardinal — and the operators he's looking for

    52 min

  3. APR 23

    $0 to $11.5M in Four Years | How Philip Crutchfield Is Scaling Three Home Service Franchises Under One Roof

    In this episode, I sit down with Philip Crutchfield, co-owner and founder of Camber Brands in Sarasota, Florida — a portfolio of three home service franchises doing $11.5M in 2025, with a target of $17–18M in 2026. Camber houses Mighty Dog Roofing (where Philip was the very first franchisee), Blingle holiday and landscape lighting, and Varsity Zone HVAC — which he founded from a dead acquisition with zero employees and built into what is now the founding location of a 30+ unit franchise system under Horsepower Brands. Philip breaks down: How he cross-promotes three trades to one customer and wins commercial work his competitors can'tWhy he acquired an HVAC business with zero employees — and how it became a nationwide franchiseThe 500-person annual "Camber Party" that started as a one-off thank-you and became his best marketing channelHow he hit $1.4M in his first 7 months by hiring heavy early when most franchisees bootstrapWhy his salespeople are called "relationship managers" and are never on straight commissionThe mistake of "drowning an opportunity" — and the gutter line that cost him moneyThe biggest transition moving from B2B software to tradesWhat he'd tell any first-year home service franchisee who wants to make money fasterIf you're an operator thinking about a second service line, a portfolio play, or just wondering how to stand out in a crowded home service market — this one's for you.Chapters 00:00 Intro 02:30 Meet Philip Crutchfield and Camber Brands 05:00 Why acquire an HVAC business with zero employees 08:00 The cross-promotion mechanic — how 3 brands win 1 customer 11:00 The condo complex story: 40 HVAC units, one flat roof, one contractor 13:30 The Camber name story and the 500-person annual party 18:00 How the party pays for itself through supplier sponsorship 20:30 $1.4M in 7 months — why Philip hired heavy early 23:30 Tennis vs. golf: which builds a better network 25:00 The residential-to-commercial split and why you have to earn commercial 27:00 Working with Horsepower Brands as the founding franchisee 35:00 Working on the business vs. in the business 40:00 Why his sales team is called "relationship managers" 43:00 From B2B software to home services — the biggest personal evolution46:00 The path from $11.5M to $18M — pricing and process 47:30 "You can drown an opportunity" — the gutter service mistake 52:30 Advice to first-year franchisees: throw out your KPIs54:00 The "just ask" philosophy 55:30 Best dinner spot in Sarasota + where to find Philip Meet the Guest: Philip Crutchfield Visit: Camber Brands Meet the Host: Faiez Rana Brought to you by Offshore Launch Your shop is leaking profit. In 14 days, we'll show you exactly where, then put a full‑time operator in place to run the fix inside your tools.

    49 min

  4. APR 16

    From College Dropout to $3.7M in Fencing | How Nate Austin Grew a Premium Fence Brand in Texas

    In this episode of Blue Collar Ballers, Nate Austin, founder of Austin Brothers Fence Company in Austin, Texas, shares how he and his brother started a fence company with $2,500, a financed truck, and zero experience installing wood fences — YouTubing their first 10 builds. Fourteen years later, Austin Brothers is one of the most recognized residential fence brands in the Austin market, peaking at $3.7 million in revenue with a reputation for white glove service that clients say feels more like a design firm than a fence contractor. Nate was a college dropout who spent seven years gaming his way through school with no degree to show for it. After bouncing through jobs — AT&T retail, door-to-door pest control, vacuum sales — he realized he was a terrible employee and moved to Austin to start something of his own. Nate breaks down: How he built a consultative, online-first sales process in an industry where everyone just shows up and measuresWhy he intentionally filters leads through an upfront qualification process — and still can't keep up with demandThe real story behind growing to 30+ people three separate times and deliberately downsizing each timeHow 40% of his revenue comes from referrals and repeat clients without paying for ads for nine straight yearsWhat a $78,000 historic home fence project looks like from estimate to completionWhy he's launching a budget sister brand to serve first-time homeowners who can't afford premium fencing — without sacrificing the service modelWhether you're a trades owner trying to figure out how to sell without being a salesperson, or you've hit a growth ceiling and can't figure out why scaling feels like suffocating, this one's for you. 00:00 Intro 02:46 From college dropout to starting a fence company 06:15 Getting the first customers with $7.50/day Google Ads 10:23 YouTubing how to build the first 10 fences 15:34 Building a premium sales process around self-awareness 19:47 Why the customer journey feels like a design firm 23:19 Managing lead volume without a sales team 26:23 Nine years of growth without an ad budget 29:11 The $78K historic home fence job 34:25 Growing and downsizing three times on purpose 39:51 Launching a budget sister brand 41:40 The one restaurant you have to hit in Austin Meet the Guest: Nate Austin Visit: Austin Brothers Fence Company Meet the Host: Faiez Rana Brought to you by OsL: Your shop is leaking profit in the office. We’ll show you where and how to fix it in 14 days.

    45 min

  5. APR 9

    His Customer Couldn't Remember His Name - So He Spent $78K To Fix It | Will Sarver, Boxer Buddies Moving

    Will Sarver spent 10 years building a moving company in Austin, Texas. One phone call changed everything — a past customer told him she'd just moved again, but couldn't remember who she'd used last time. That was his company. So Will dropped $78,000 on a complete rebrand. New name, new logo, new trucks, new website. Boxer Buddies was born — and within 42 days, people were calling just from seeing the trucks drive by. Something that never happened before. Will breaks down the real math behind his rebrand — what Kick Charge Creative charged, what the wraps cost per truck, and why he sees it as a foundation investment, not a marketing expense. He also walks through the incentive system he built to drive Google reviews: $30 per crew member, per review, but only if it includes a name, a photo, and hits Google. One of his drivers was pulling a 73% review rate on every job he touched. Beyond branding, Will gets into the operational engine behind Boxer Buddies — Friday crew trainings, nightly driver calls, a three-round hiring process that starts with a VA-led Zoom screening, and a recruiting motion that runs every week whether they're hiring or not. He and Faiez also go deep on open book management, why most employees don't care as much as you do (and whose fault that really is), and the math behind going from $1M to $2M in revenue. Topics covered in this episode The rebrand decision — from Sarver Movers to Boxer Buddies and the book that started itWhy branding that appeals to women drives more initial callsThe full cost breakdown of a $78K rebrand across logo, wraps, and website$30 per Google review — how Will built the incentive structure and the labor math behind itFriday training sessions and how they prevent damage claimsThe three-round hiring funnel — VA screening, dispatcher interview, owner final callWhy recruiting should run like marketing, not HROpen book management and tying crew incentives to the P<he weighted-average revenue model for hitting $2MVAs handling recruiting screening, marketing attribution, and sales QA00:00 Will's background and how Boxer Buddies started in college04:03 Business size — $1.05M last year, targeting $2M05:06 The rebrand decision and Branded Not Blended by Dan Antonelli07:41 Why branding is the foundation, not a marketing line item10:23 Kick Charge Creative — research, owner calls, and the $78K total cost12:11 Tommy Mello rebranding at $17M and why that's scary at any stage16:16 Operational changes over the past 12–24 months18:15 Friday training — what they cover and why it prevents damage claims22:00 The $30 Google review incentive — name, photo, Google only24:18 Adrian's 73% review rate and how Will benchmarked the team26:01 The labor math — 34% target, 28% actual, and allocating 3–6% to review bonuses28:30 Book recommendations — Never Split the Difference, Ultimate Sales Machine, Atomic Habits31:15 Open book management and The Great Game of Business38:54 Weekly recruiting cadence — Indeed, 6th Street, referrals, Meta ads44:38 The screening question that filters candidates instantly46:09 VA team — recruiting, marketing analysis, sales QA49:36 The path from $1M to $2M — Google ads, mailers, capacity53:02 Advice for owners one to two steps behind54:23 Austin date night pick — North Italia + Cosmic Beer Garden Meet the Guest: Will Sarver Visit: Boxer Buddies Meet the Host: Faiez Rana Brought to you by OsL: Your shop is leaking profit in the office. We’ll show you where in 14 days.

    57 min

  6. APR 3

    He Built His Own Exit Plan — Then Had His Biggest Year Ever | Tony Batista | Floors 2 Luv

    Tony Batista is the founder of Floors 2 Luv, a multi-million dollar flooring company in Houston, Texas running 10 crews and completing over 300 jobs a year. After nearly two decades in business, Tony is now in year three of a five-year succession plan — handing the company to two of his own people with no broker and no private equity involved. The result? The biggest revenue year in company history. Tony's path to flooring was anything but obvious. Born in Cuba, he immigrated to the U.S. at ten years old, served in the Air Force, and built a career in the airline industry working for Eastern Airlines, Aeromexico, and Delta. A failed partnership in his first six months forced him to learn the flooring trade from scratch — and that forced education became the foundation for everything he's built since. In this episode, Tony breaks down: How he structured an ironclad six-month partnership agreement that let him walk away clean when things went sidewaysWhy he only closes a third of his 700+ annual estimates — on purpose — and what that tells him about his pricingThe succession plan he designed himself using contract skills from his airline career, and why the business grew more after he started transitioning outHow he runs a perfect 100 score in BNI and treats networking as a system, not a side activityWhat it means to get up every morning and find something to improve after 17 years in businessIf you're a trades business owner thinking about how to exit, how to structure a partnership, or how to build something that runs without you — this one's worth your time. 00:00 Meet Tony Batista — From Cuba to Houston03:12 Air Force, airlines, and how he landed in flooring08:45 The failed partnership that forced him to learn the trade14:20 How Floors 2 Luv gets customers and why remodeling dominates19:30 700 estimates, 33% close rate — and why that's by design25:15 Structuring partnerships the right way from day one31:40 The five-year succession plan — no broker, no PE38:10 BNI, networking as a system, and the givers gain philosophy47:00 Biggest year in company history and what's next for 2026 Meet the Guest: Tony Batista Visit: Floors 2 Luv Meet the Host: Faiez Rana Brought to you by Offshore Launch We run the back office for home service shops running 2-10 trucks, so busy owners can work on their business instead of in it.

    45 min

  7. MAR 27

    From One Van with His Dad to Building a Handyman Empire | Tim Leary on Scaling Handys & Champion Service Partners

    Here's the updated description with timestamps pulled from the raw transcript. These will shift after you cut the pre-roll, so adjust accordingly — the pre-interview small talk runs until about 5:47, so roughly subtract 5-6 minutes depending on your edit. Tim Leary is the founder of Handys, a full-service handyman company based out of Salt Lake City, Utah. After watching his dad grind in lawn maintenance for 25 years — only to find out he had nothing to sell — Tim quit his eight-year career in real estate to build something of value together. In less than two years, they've scaled Handys past $1.2 million in revenue with a full team and a business that runs without either of them on the truck. Now Tim is building Champion Service Partners, a platform company designed to help solo handymen scale, get off the truck, and build real equity. Tim's journey didn't start in the trades. It started with a Facebook comment from Ken Goodrich that turned into a phone call that changed his life. From there, he went all in — leveraging his sales and communication background to professionalize an industry where most operators are still answering their own phone and charging $50 an hour. In this episode, Tim breaks down: How a random interaction with Ken Goodrich gave him the framework to see what's possible in the tradesWhy he and his dad started Handys and how they scaled past seven figures in under two yearsWhat it's like being the first handyman company accepted into the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses programThe emergency back surgery that left his dad paralyzed overnight and how that experience reshaped their entire missionHow he's building Champion Service Partners to turn solo operators into equity holders and create 20-plus millionairesWhy accountability is the highest form of love and how he's applying that to his leadershipWhether you're a solo operator looking to get off the truck or an owner trying to build something bigger than yourself, this episode is for you. 00:00 Introduction06:02 Tim's elevator pitch — who he is and what Handys does06:55 His dad's 25 years in lawn maintenance and the moment everything changed09:56 The Ken Goodrich Facebook comment that made Tim quit real estate14:22 Why simple doesn't mean easy — delegation and scaling challenges16:50 The Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program19:53 Strategy, competitive analysis, and preparing for PE entering the handyman space25:08 Service lines, saying no to remodels, and using data to refine the business28:46 Day one vs. today — hiring VAs and building the operations team31:45 The Champion Service Partners vision — 20 partner locations33:10 Why accountability is the highest form of love35:52 Finding an operations manager who won't let things slide36:54 His dad's emergency surgery, the Craig Nielsen partnership, and the deeper why42:34 The billboard question — Bend Don't Break45:49 Where to connect with Tim and the Handyman Business Academy Meet the Guest: Tim Leary Visit: Champion Service Partners Meet the Host: Faiez Rana Brought to you by OsL: We run the back office for home service shops running 2-10 trucks, so busy owners can work on their business instead of in it.

    43 min

  8. MAR 24

    From Single Mom to Master Plumber | How Jillian Pittman Went from Digging Trenches to Running a $2.7M Company

    Jillian Pittman is a master plumber and the owner of JMP Plumbing Services in North Texas — a $2.7 million residential and commercial plumbing company with five trucks on the road, ten technicians, and a goal to cross $3 million this year with fewer people than she had at her peak. Jillian didn't come from the trades. She fell on hard times as a single mom, moved back in with her parents, and picked up plumbing as a temporary gig through her sister's boyfriend. That "couple week job" turned into a decade-long career — from apprentice to journeyman to one of the few women in Texas holding a master plumber's license. In this episode, Jillian breaks down how she went from running someone else's company to launching her own, the moment she discovered she was $750K in the red, and how she clawed her way back to profitability without a coach, a mentor, or a safety net. We go deep on: Why she scaled from 8 trucks down to 5 — and doubled her output in the processThe tiered bonus structure she built to reward technicians and weed out the wrong fitsHow a bad bookkeeper nearly killed her business and what she tracks now to make sure it never happens againTaking digital marketing in-house after getting burned by agencies — and spending 5 hours a week to replace $50K in annual vendor costsUsing Facebook for brand awareness instead of direct response — and why $100/month goes further than you'd thinkThe case for staying small, staying profitable, and building a "boring, wealthy plumbing company"Her five-year vision: adding HVAC and electrical licenses, passing the company to her son, and growing vertically instead of horizontallyWhether you're a trades business owner navigating your first financial crisis or you're trying to figure out when smaller is actually smarter — this one's for you. 00:00 Who is Jillian Pittman and what is JMP Plumbing00:57 Falling on hard times and stumbling into plumbing02:18 From temporary gig to lifelong career03:59 Running someone else's company — and seeing everything wrong with it05:32 Starting JMP and using local networking to build the foundation07:08 Networking when it doesn't come naturally07:57 Being a woman in the trades — the pink toolbox and the sandwich story09:20 Building a reputation when the odds are stacked against you12:45 Where JMP is today — $2.7M, five trucks, ten technicians14:47 Scaling too fast and nearly going bankrupt16:00 Building reporting dashboards and tracking profitability17:36 Getting more out of Housecall Pro than you think19:02 Paying off a 25% interest loan and becoming debt-free21:17 Doing it alone — why coaches and consultants didn't work23:30 Technician pay: the tiered bonus structure that changed everything26:27 Overcoming the fear of losing employees when you change comp27:55 The five-year vision: HVAC, electrical, and passing it to her son30:59 Staying small on purpose — the "boring, wealthy plumbing company"32:15 Digital marketing in-house: Google Ads, LSA, and Facebook34:22 Lead attribution and building your own reporting dashboards36:14 Personal branding and empowering other small business owners39:33 Building real relationships through social media40:28 Going it alone without a mentor Meet the Guest: Jillian Pittman Visit: JMP Plumbing Services Meet the Host: Faiez Rana Brought to you by Offshore Launch We run the back office for home service shops running 2-10 trucks, so busy owners can work on their business, not in it.

    46 min
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About

Blue Collar Ballers is the podcast about real entrepreneurs building 7- and 8-figure businesses with their hands—from roofers and plumbers to painters, pest pros, and landscapers. We go beyond Silicon Valley hype to share tactical growth strategies, operational playbooks, and leadership lessons from those turning grit into generational wealth. Whether you're in the trades or just respect the grind, these are the stories behind America’s most essential businesses.

Information

  • Creator
    Faiez Rana
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    37
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Faiez Rana
  • Show Website
    Blue Collar Ballers

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