Profit & Grit with Tyler

Tyler Martin
  • 4.8 (6)
  • ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Profit and Grit is the no-BS weekly podcast for home service business owners and blue collar entrepreneurs. Each episode features real strategies from successful contractors and industry experts in HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, and other trades. Hosted by Tyler Martin, a fractional CFO for home service businesses and the trades, Profit & Grit dives into growth, cash flow, hiring, pricing, and leadership. If you own or want to grow a business in the trades, this home service podcast will help you build a stronger, more profitable company.

  1. Why Most HVAC Sales Calls Fail Before They Start - Drew Cameron

    3D AGO

    Why Most HVAC Sales Calls Fail Before They Start - Drew Cameron

    Most contractors think they have a sales problem. In reality, it’s usually a process problem. Drew Cameron joins me, a longtime trainer and consultant who has spent more than 25 years helping home service companies build better sales teams and stronger customer experiences. Drew grew up in the trades, helped run and sell a family HVAC business, and now works with contractors across the country on how to improve performance through better structure, coaching, and accountability. In this episode, we break down why sales calls fail before they even start, and how the best companies approach the in-home process differently. Drew explains why connection matters more than closing, how to guide homeowners through decisions, and what most contractors get wrong when they rush to quote. We also get into hiring, training, and compensation, including how to structure pay around connection ratios and performance instead of just revenue. What You Will Learn in This Episode • Why most HVAC sales calls break down early • The difference between closing and connecting with customers • How to run a stronger in-home consultation • Why rushing to quote hurts your results • The role of process in improving sales performance • How to coach and lead a sales team effectively • Why connection ratio matters more than close rate • How to structure compensation to drive better behavior • The KPIs that actually measure sales success • How better sales execution leads to higher tickets and stronger margins More From Profit & Grit Book your complimentary Financial Insight Session with Tyler Martin, fractional CFO for home services and the trades, here: http://cfointrocall.com Learn more at http://cfomadeeasy.com Follow the show for weekly interviews with HVAC, plumbing, and home service owners and experts who share what it really takes to grow, scale, and profit in the trades. If you listen to any of the following shows, we’re sure you’ll love ours too! To The Point Home Services Podcast, Toolbox for the Trades, Masters of Home Service, Home Service Business Coach With David Moerman, BlueCollar.CEO, The Home Service Expert Podcast, Next Level Pros, Blue Collar Business Podcast, Home Service Millionaire with Mike Andes, The Contractor Fight with Tom Reber, and Blue Collar Success Group. 🎙️ Profit & Grit by Tyler Martin Real stories. Real strategy. Real results for service-based business owners. 🔗 Website: ProfitAndGrit.com 📍 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thinktyler 📸 Instagram & TikTok: @profitandgrit Tyler Martin, a fractional CFO for home services and the trades 📅 Want to grow your business with smarter financial strategy? Book a free intro meeting

    52 min
  2. How a Family HVAC Company Grew to $20M Without Selling to PE - Cody Martinez

    MAR 10

    How a Family HVAC Company Grew to $20M Without Selling to PE - Cody Martinez

    Building a $20M HVAC company didn’t start with investors or private equity. It started with a family taking a chance. Cody Martinez joins me from Cowboys Air Conditioning and Heating in San Antonio, a family-owned business that has grown to more than $20 million in revenue.  The company began after Cody’s father was laid off on Thanksgiving. Cody’s mom and uncle started the business with his mom cold-calling from the kitchen table while his uncle ran installs. Cody’s father later joined and became the leader who shaped the company’s culture and direction. In this episode, we unpack the decisions that helped Cowboys break through the $4M–$10M ceiling. Cody explains how “call-by-call management” transformed the way they dispatch service calls and why matching the right technician to the right customer can dramatically improve results. We also discuss recruiting competitors’ top technicians and the tough leadership decision to let go of the company’s top four producers in order to protect the culture. Cody credits his father with setting the mission of the company: change people’s lives, create opportunities for employees and their families, and build something that lasts for generations. What You Will Learn in This Episode • How Cowboys Air Conditioning and Heating started from a kitchen-table operation  • The role Cody’s father played in shaping the company’s leadership and mission  • How the company scaled past $20M while staying family owned  • Why call-by-call management can dramatically increase revenue  • How dispatching the right technician to the right customer improves outcomes  • The leadership decision to let go of the company’s top producers  • Why protecting culture can unlock faster long-term growth  • How proactive recruiting attracts stronger technicians  • Why margins matter more than simply chasing top-line revenue  • How family-owned companies can compete against private equity-backed firms  • The leadership habits that reinforce culture every day  • Why building a legacy can be more powerful than chasing an exit More From Profit & Grit Book your complimentary Financial Insight Session with Tyler Martin, fractional CFO for home services and the trades, here: http://cfointrocall.com Learn more at http://cfomadeeasy.com Follow the show for weekly interviews with HVAC, plumbing, and home service owners and experts who share what it really takes to grow, scale, and profit in the trades. If you listen to any of the following shows, we’re sure you’ll love ours too! To The Point Home Services Podcast, Toolbox for the Trades, Masters of Home Service, Home Service Business Coach With David Moerman, BlueCollar.CEO, The Home Service Expert Podcast, Next Level Pros, Blue Collar Business Podcast, Home Service Millionaire with Mike Andes, The Contractor Fight with Tom Reber, and Blue Collar Success Group. 🎙️ Profit & Grit by Tyler Martin Real stories. Real strategy. Real results for service-based business owners. 🔗 Website: ProfitAndGrit.com 📍 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thinktyler 📸 Instagram & TikTok: @profitandgrit Tyler Martin, a fractional CFO for home services and the trades 📅 Want to grow your business with smarter financial strategy? Book a free intro meeting

    52 min
  3. The Revenue Levers Most Owners Ignore - Justin Judd

    MAR 3

    The Revenue Levers Most Owners Ignore - Justin Judd

    Going from rock bottom to revenue growth isn’t a marketing tactic. It’s a mindset shift. Justin Judd is the VP of Partnerships at Chirp and one of the most respected voices in lead conversion inside the home services space. But before sitting in rooms with industry leaders and speaking on big stages, Justin was a recovered heroin addict who hit absolute rock bottom, including a stroke that left half his face paralyzed. In this episode, we unpack the revenue levers most owners ignore. Why more leads isn’t usually the real answer. How speed to lead can increase conversion by 391%. Why open estimates are a hidden bank account. How automation can enhance human connection instead of replace it. And what recruiting A-players actually looks like in the real world. Justin shares tactical strategies around follow-up, missed calls, AI implementation, and scorecards, but he also makes a deeper point: everything starts with mindset. The shops that win aren’t always the ones with the biggest budgets. They’re the ones that execute faster, measure better, and take ownership. This conversation is for home service owners who feel stuck at $2M–$10M, frustrated with lead quality, or wondering why revenue isn’t translating into profit. What You Will Learn in This Episode • Why “we need more leads” is often the wrong diagnosis • How contacting a lead within one minute can increase conversion by 391% • The power of automating speed to lead across every channel • Why open estimates should be tracked like cash in the bank • How a 9% lift in conversion produced $752,000 in two months • The right way to use automation without losing the human touch • Why personalized video follow-up creates long-term stickiness • How AI is reshaping follow-up, booking, and messaging strategy • Why A-players rarely come from the unemployment line • How scorecards remove emotion and create accountability • Why mindset is the ultimate revenue lever If you’re serious about scaling, this episode reinforces a simple truth: growth doesn’t just come from more marketing. It comes from better execution, stronger leadership, and knowing exactly where your revenue is leaking. More From Profit & Grit Book your complimentary Financial Insight Session with Tyler Martin, fractional CFO for home services and the trades, here: http://cfointrocall.com Learn more at http://cfomadeeasy.com Follow the show for weekly interviews with HVAC, plumbing, and home service owners and experts who share what it really takes to grow, scale, and profit in the trades. If you listen to any of the following shows, we’re sure you’ll love ours too! To The Point Home Services Podcast, Toolbox for the Trades, Masters of Home Service, Home Service Business Coach With David Moerman, BlueCollar.CEO, The Home Service Expert Podcast, Next Level Pros, Blue Collar Business Podcast, Home Service Millionaire with Mike Andes, The Contractor Fight with Tom Reber, and Blue Collar Success Group. 🎙️ Profit & Grit by Tyler Martin Real stories. Real strategy. Real results for service-based business owners. 🔗 Website: ProfitAndGrit.com 📍 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thinktyler 📸 Instagram & TikTok: @profitandgrit Tyler Martin, a fractional CFO for home services and the trades 📅 Want to grow your business with smarter financial strategy? Book a free intro meeting

    49 min
  4. Thinking Too Small Is Costing You Millions - Alyssa Rogers

    FEB 24

    Thinking Too Small Is Costing You Millions - Alyssa Rogers

    Going from $600K to $10M didn’t require moving cities. It required changing how they led. Alyssa Rogers is the Vice President of Rogers Heating and Cooling in South Boston, Virginia, a town of under 10,000 people. When she and her husband took over the family business in 2018, it was doing about $600,000 in revenue. Today, it’s an eight-figure company with multiple locations and a clear path toward a $100 million vision. In this episode, we unpack what really happens between $1M and $10M in a home service business. The messy early years. Hiring without structure. Learning leadership in real time. Bringing in coaching. Installing a true GM layer. And turning down a life-changing private equity offer because it didn’t fit their long-term plan. Alyssa shares what scaling in a small market actually looks like, why technician retention is always a leadership issue, how aligning team goals changes culture, and why financial discipline matters as growth accelerates. This conversation is for home service owners who feel capped by geography, stuck between $2M and $5M, or unsure what the next phase requires. What You Will Learn in This Episode • What it looks like to take over a $600K HVAC company • Why the first $1M to $2M is grit and figuring it out • The leadership shift required to move beyond “truck and a shop” • How the right peer group changed their trajectory • What happens at the $3M–$5M bottleneck • How reverse-engineering a 10-year vision clarifies decisions • Why hiring for character beats industry experience • What changes when you bring in a true GM • Why they turned down a private equity offer • The importance of clean financials, margin targets, and forecasting If you’re pushing toward eight figures or building something durable enough to sell one day, this episode reinforces a simple truth: growth only works when leadership, structure, and financial clarity grow with it. More From Profit & Grit Book your complimentary Financial Insight Session with Tyler Martin, fractional CFO for home services and the trades, here: http://cfointrocall.com Learn more at http://cfomadeeasy.com Follow the show for weekly interviews with HVAC, plumbing, and home service owners and experts who share what it really takes to grow, scale, and profit in the trades. If you listen to any of the following shows, we’re sure you’ll love ours too! To The Point Home Services Podcast, Toolbox for the Trades, Masters of Home Service, Home Service Business Coach With David Moerman, BlueCollar.CEO, The Home Service Expert Podcast, Next Level Pros, Blue Collar Business Podcast, Home Service Millionaire with Mike Andes, The Contractor Fight with Tom Reber, and Blue Collar Success Group. 🎙️ Profit & Grit by Tyler Martin Real stories. Real strategy. Real results for service-based business owners. 🔗 Website: ProfitAndGrit.com 📍 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thinktyler 📸 Instagram & TikTok: @profitandgrit Tyler Martin, a fractional CFO for home services and the trades 📅 Want to grow your business with smarter financial strategy? Book a free intro meeting

    49 min
  5. Why EBITDA Disappears After You Buy a Trade Business - Ryan Williams

    FEB 17

    Why EBITDA Disappears After You Buy a Trade Business - Ryan Williams

    Revenue looks stable when you’re buying a trade business. What’s unstable is everything underneath it. Ryan Williams is a longtime operator and co-founder of DivvyShares. After reviewing more than 100 deals, he acquired a residential plumbing company and stepped straight into what most buyers only discover after closing: year one exposes everything. In this episode, we talk about why most home service acquisitions don’t fail because of the market. They fail because of overpaying, owner dependency, rushed decisions, culture problems, and cash flow strain that shows up fast once the deal closes. Ryan shares what it actually looks like to buy a $5M trade business, miss projections, fire a top producer, slow growth intentionally, test AI answering, and overhaul fleet safety, all in the first year. This conversation is for trade business owners thinking about buying, selling, or trying to push past that $3–$5M ceiling without breaking their business. What You Will Learn in This Episode • Why many home service acquisitions quietly underperform in year one  • How overpaying for SDE or EBITDA puts buyers behind from day one  • The hidden risk of “hands-off owner” deals in the trades  • Why so many owners stall out around $5M in revenue  • How personal income dependency keeps owners from hiring leadership  • What really happens when you fire a top-producing salesperson for culture  • Why moving a billable tech into supervision immediately impacts revenue  • How to think about durability versus aggressive growth projections  • Why cash flow discipline matters more than headline revenue  • How booking rate data exposed a six-figure mistake  • What went wrong with AI answering in a 50+ Southern demographic  • Why speed-to-lead still wins in aggregator-driven markets  • How truck cameras exposed serious safety and liability risk  • The mindset required to survive the first 12 months after buying a trade business If you’re considering buying a plumbing, HVAC, or electrical company, or you’re building one with the goal of selling someday, this episode gives you a realistic look at what happens after the ink dries. More From Profit & Grit Book your complimentary Financial Insight Session with Tyler Martin, fractional CFO for home services and the trades, here: http://cfointrocall.com Learn more at http://cfomadeeasy.com Follow the show for weekly interviews with HVAC, plumbing, and home service owners and experts who share what it really takes to grow, scale, and profit in the trades. If you listen to any of the following shows, we’re sure you’ll love ours too! To The Point Home Services Podcast, Toolbox for the Trades, Masters of Home Service, Home Service Business Coach With David Moerman, BlueCollar.CEO, The Home Service Expert Podcast, Next Level Pros, Blue Collar Business Podcast, Home Service Millionaire with Mike Andes, The Contractor Fight with Tom Reber, and Blue Collar Success Group. 🎙️ Profit & Grit by Tyler Martin Real stories. Real strategy. Real results for service-based business owners. 🔗 Website: ProfitAndGrit.com 📍 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thinktyler 📸 Instagram & TikTok: @profitandgrit Tyler Martin, a fractional CFO for home services and the trades 📅 Want to grow your business with smarter financial strategy? Book a free intro meeting

    49 min
  6. Your Best Tech Is About to Walk - Chris Buttenham

    FEB 10

    Your Best Tech Is About to Walk - Chris Buttenham

    Keeping great people gets harder as your business grows, especially when wages stop being enough to hold everything together. Chris Buttonham is the co-founder and CEO of Reins. He grew up inside a small contracting business, watched firsthand how retention and succession issues limit freedom and value, and later built a platform that helps owners give key employees real skin in the game without giving up ownership or control. In this episode, we talk about why most retention problems aren’t really about pay, how alternative equity and profit sharing actually work in practice, and why owners who wait too long to think about incentives and succession usually end up with fewer options, not more. This conversation is for home service owners who are growing, feeling the weight of people dependency, and starting to realize that alignment, not effort, is what unlocks the next stage. What You Will Learn in This Episode Why higher wages alone rarely solve retention problemsHow misaligned incentives quietly increase owner stressWhat “alternative equity” really means in a small businessThe difference between phantom equity and real ownershipHow profit sharing can improve margins instead of hurting themWhy simplicity matters more than complex bonus formulasWho your true “key employees” usually are and why timing mattersHow incentives can improve profitability and exit readinessWhy even owners who never plan to sell should think about successionHow aligned teams create leverage instead of dependencyMore From Profit & Grit Book your complimentary Financial Insight Session with Tyler Martin, fractional CFO for home services and the trades, here: http://cfointrocall.com Learn more at http://cfomadeeasy.com Follow the show for weekly interviews with HVAC, plumbing, and home service owners and experts who share what it really takes to grow, scale, and profit in the trades. If you listen to any of the following shows, we’re sure you’ll love ours too! To The Point Home Services Podcast, Toolbox for the Trades, Masters of Home Service, Home Service Business Coach With David Moerman, BlueCollar.CEO, The Home Service Expert Podcast, Next Level Pros, Blue Collar Business Podcast, Home Service Millionaire with Mike Andes, The Contractor Fight with Tom Reber, and Blue Collar Success Group. 🎙️ Profit & Grit by Tyler Martin Real stories. Real strategy. Real results for service-based business owners. 🔗 Website: ProfitAndGrit.com 📍 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thinktyler 📸 Instagram & TikTok: @profitandgrit Tyler Martin, a fractional CFO for home services and the trades 📅 Want to grow your business with smarter financial strategy? Book a free intro meeting

    46 min
  7. The Real Reason Growth Gets Harder After $5M - Lance Bachmann

    FEB 3

    The Real Reason Growth Gets Harder After $5M - Lance Bachmann

    Growth gets harder after $5M because effort stops being the constraint and leadership, systems, and financial clarity start to matter more than hustle. Lance Bachmann has built, scaled, and sold multiple companies across home services, technology, and marketing. Today, he partners directly with business owners to help them break through growth plateaus, install real operational structure, and build companies that can scale quickly and profitably. In this episode, we talk about why so many owners get stuck between $5M and $10M, the leadership behaviors that quietly cap growth, and why financial literacy is often the missing link between effort and results. This conversation is for owners who are growing fast, feeling the pressure of complexity, and realizing that working harder isn’t solving the problem anymore. What You Will Learn in This Episode Why growth feels heavier after $5M instead of easierThe leadership mistakes that silently limit scaleWhy most businesses struggle with the same fundamentalsHow fear-based leadership hurts teams and resultsThe difference between revenue growth and operational controlWhy financial literacy creates real freedom for ownersHow personal spending inside the business slows growthWhy clean systems matter more than new tacticsWhat actually changes when a company moves toward eight figuresHow disciplined execution beats complexity every timeMore From Profit & Grit Book your complimentary Financial Insight Session with Tyler Martin, fractional CFO for home services and the trades, here: http://cfointrocall.com Learn more at http://cfomadeeasy.com Follow the show for weekly interviews with HVAC, plumbing, and home service owners and experts who share what it really takes to grow, scale, and profit in the trades. If you listen to any of the following shows, we’re sure you’ll love ours too! To The Point Home Services Podcast, Toolbox for the Trades, Masters of Home Service, Home Service Business Coach With David Moerman, BlueCollar.CEO, The Home Service Expert Podcast, Next Level Pros, Blue Collar Business Podcast, Home Service Millionaire with Mike Andes, The Contractor Fight with Tom Reber, and Blue Collar Success Group. 🎙️ Profit & Grit by Tyler Martin Real stories. Real strategy. Real results for service-based business owners. 🔗 Website: ProfitAndGrit.com 📍 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thinktyler 📸 Instagram & TikTok: @profitandgrit Tyler Martin, a fractional CFO for home services and the trades 📅 Want to grow your business with smarter financial strategy? Book a free intro meeting

    33 min
  8. Scaling a Family Trade Business Without Losing the Culture - Chris Mazzini

    JAN 27

    Scaling a Family Trade Business Without Losing the Culture - Chris Mazzini

    Most family-owned trade businesses don’t struggle because they lack opportunity. Growth exposes cracks in systems, roles, and communication that were never an issue when the company was smaller. Chris Mazzini is a co-owner of Aspinwall Baystate Plumbing, a 50+ year family plumbing, heating, and HVAC business in Massachusetts. He’s lived the shift from paper calendars and day-to-day decision making to real systems, structure, and scale, without losing the culture that built the company. In this episode, we talk about what actually makes scaling a family business hard, where friction really comes from, and what it takes to modernize operations while keeping trust inside the business and with customers. This conversation is for owners running family or legacy trade businesses who want to grow without breaking the culture that made them successful. What You Will Learn in This Episode Why family businesses hit friction as they scaleHow growth exposes weak systems and unclear rolesWhy money creates the most tension in family companiesThe importance of defining lanes inside the businessWhy scheduling discipline builds customer trustHow reputation compounds over timeWhen ServiceTitan makes sense and what implementation really requiresThe pros and cons of property management workWhy COD work changes technician conversationsHow to scale without losing culture or legacyMore From Profit & Grit Book your complimentary Financial Insight Session with Tyler Martin, fractional CFO for home services and the trades, here: http://cfointrocall.com Learn more at http://cfomadeeasy.com Follow the show for weekly interviews with HVAC, plumbing, and home service owners and experts who share what it really takes to grow, scale, and profit in the trades. If you listen to any of the following shows, we’re sure you’ll love ours too! To The Point Home Services Podcast, Toolbox for the Trades, Masters of Home Service, Home Service Business Coach With David Moerman, BlueCollar.CEO, The Home Service Expert Podcast, Next Level Pros, Blue Collar Business Podcast, Home Service Millionaire with Mike Andes, The Contractor Fight with Tom Reber, and Blue Collar Success Group. 🎙️ Profit & Grit by Tyler Martin Real stories. Real strategy. Real results for service-based business owners. 🔗 Website: ProfitAndGrit.com 📍 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thinktyler 📸 Instagram & TikTok: @profitandgrit Tyler Martin, a fractional CFO for home services and the trades 📅 Want to grow your business with smarter financial strategy? Book a free intro meeting

    46 min
See All (55)

Trailer

4.8
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

Profit and Grit is the no-BS weekly podcast for home service business owners and blue collar entrepreneurs. Each episode features real strategies from successful contractors and industry experts in HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, and other trades. Hosted by Tyler Martin, a fractional CFO for home service businesses and the trades, Profit & Grit dives into growth, cash flow, hiring, pricing, and leadership. If you own or want to grow a business in the trades, this home service podcast will help you build a stronger, more profitable company.

Information

  • Creator
    Tyler Martin
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    55
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Profit & Grit with Tyler
  • Show Website
    Profit & Grit with Tyler

You Might Also Like