Huge Transformations

The Huge
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  • BUSINESS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Welcome to the Huge Transformations Podcast—your go-to source for building a thriving, profitable home service business! Hosted by Sid Graef from Montana, Gabe Torres from Nashville and Sheila Smeltzer from North Carolina, this show is all about real talk with real business owners. We dive deep with industry leaders who have built 7- and 8-figure home service companies and are eager to share their hard-earned wisdom. No fake gurus here—just straight-up insights from entrepreneurs who’ve been in the trenches. Every episode is packed with 100% real-world experience and 0% theory. Expect unfiltered conversations about the wins, the setbacks, and everything in between. Our guests reveal the costly mistakes to avoid and the strategies that actually work, giving you the tools to transform your business into something extraordinary. Ready to take your home service business to the next level? Let’s dive in!

  1. 2H AGO

    37: The James Riley Episode

    On this episode of the Huge Transformations Podcast, Sheila Smeltzer sits down with James Riley of Upper Cumberland Window Cleaning, a 13-year business owner in rural Tennessee who is pushing to break through the million-dollar mark. James shares one of the more honest and heartfelt growth stories in the series, explaining how he got into window cleaning almost by accident, bought a struggling route with barely any real customers, burned through his savings, and had to take a janitor job just to keep his family afloat while rebuilding the company from the ground up. What makes his story stand out is not just the grind, but the conviction behind it: James built the business with a long-term vision of creating one of the best places to work in his area and leaving behind something bigger than himself.   James and Sheila talk through the realities of scaling in a smaller market, dealing with new competitors, improving systems, and making the shift from owner-operator to actual business leader. They also get into employee retention, company culture, transparency, performance pay, coaching, and the challenge of not letting the owner become the bottleneck. Throughout the conversation, James makes it clear that his business is driven by faith, family, and service to people, and that perspective shapes everything from leadership to hiring to how he defines success. It is a strong episode for owners trying to push past a revenue ceiling while building a company with real heart.   Resources Upper Cumberland Window Cleaning Upper Cumberland Window Cleaning Facebook Upper Cumberland Window Cleaning Instagram The Huge Insider newsletter signup The Huge Insider podcast downloadable action guide The Huge Mastermind info page The Huge Convention   Transcript:  Hello everyone. Welcome to the Huge Transformations podcast. I'm Sid Graef out of Montana. I'm Gabe Torres here in Nashville, Tennessee. And I'm Sheila Smeltzer from North Carolina, we are your hosts and guides through the landscape of growing a successful home service business. We do this by interviewing the best home service business builders in.   The industry folks that have already built seven and eight figure businesses and they want to help you succeed. Yep. No fake gurus on this show, just real life owners that have been in the trenches and can help show you the way to grow profitably. We get insights and truths from successful business builders, and every episode is 100% experience.   0% theory. We are going to dig deep and reveal the good, the bad, and the ugly. Our guests will share with you the pitfalls to avoid and the keys to winning. In short, our guests will show you how to transform your home service business into a masterpiece. Thanks for joining us on the Wild Journey of Entrepreneurship.   Let's dive in.   Welcome to the Huge Transformations podcast. I am Sheila Smeltzer, your host and contributor. Today I'm interviewing James Riley. James Riley is from Upper Cumberland Window Cleaning, and he is a 13 year company that is aiming to go to, aiming to hit a million dollars this year. So if you are in that space, if you are in that realm of size of business and you're looking to break through the ceiling of a million dollars, you wanna listen to this.   The cool part about this interview today is this is a little bit different. We talk about operations, we talk about sales, we talk about systems, but what you're gonna find from listening to this wonderful person, James Riley, is how much heart we should all aspire to have for our own companies. He 100% wants to just.   His goal is to just have the best place to work. He loves providing opportunities for people. And he loves people. Um, he's a very spiritual man. Um, and you'll see how that comes through to him, really crushing it in business. This is so cool. I love this stuff. You know, we all have our own individual and unique contributions and we can play that out however we want in our own companies, and I think it's really neat to, to experience the way that.   We're all doing it. So be an active listener. That is my, that is my wish for you today is to be an active listener. Listen to what we can learn from James Riley, and we are just here in every single interview to help you grow. Enjoy the show. Hey listeners, this is Sheila Smeltzer with the Huge Transformations Podcast.   Thank you for joining us today. Um, we're gonna have a nice conversation with James Riley out of Tennessee. Uh, James owns Upper Cumberland Window Cleaning, and he's been in the business for about 13 years, and, uh, just by getting a little soft opening with him before the recording today. Um, I really wanna get into James, uh, life in his 13 years.   He's right at that breaking the ceiling from 800,000 to a million dollars. And we wanna dive deep and see what's good, what's difficult, and what he thinks that he could have done differently so that we can help all of our listeners, um, avoid any pitfalls and, and learn from the show. So, hey, welcome James.   Well thanks. Thanks for having me. You are quite welcome. I'm excited for this. So we've met each other in the Mastermind and um, but we've never really gotten to know each other, so this is a great opportunity. Yeah. What better than this? Let's share with a lot of people. Yeah, sure. So James, tell us about Upper Cumberland and how you got started in the window cleaning business.   Okay. And all the other services that you do too, please. Okay. Yeah, sure. Well, how we got started about 13 years ago, I had a job. And I had a friend that, uh, acquired other businesses and, and everything, um, that I went to church with. And, and he approached me about window cleaning. I mean, where I'm at. Like I said, and I'm, I'm in the sticks of Tennessee.   I mean, we have served seven counties just to make up for not being the metro area. And two of those counties are probably one of the poorest counties. Well, anyway, he approached me and I turned him down window cleaning. I have fun at that. And well, he's very persistent. He offered me a free lunch. You know, I'm not a free Will Baptist, but I am a free Meal Baptist, so, okay.   I took him up on that free lunch and uh, he kind of talked me, he said, just go out with me and see what you think and anything. You know what, just go out with us and see what you think about it. And so I did that. I met him on a Saturday. Saturday morning. Really, really early. So we met about, um, I'd be at his house probably at three 30 in the morning.   Wow. From the get go. Okay. So we met up with people who were selling it, you know, they wanted to get an early start and, um, we went out on a route with them and, and I felt like the word gimme a commercial storefront, commercial storefront route, it was storefront routes at that time. All. And so I felt like Noah, when the Lord gave Noah a blueprint on how to build the art, he's given me one on how to, um, on this business.   He gave me a vision of about this business and where it's going to go. Um, so we met with him. We accepted it. I didn't have enough money to get him in, so he, he vows for me. Um, he actually bought the whole thing, so I was in debt to him. I thought this was something I could do on the weekends with my girls.   Okay. You know, um, to build work ethic and everything. And then, and, um, it didn't work out that way. I went to call one customers. I mean, they had a lot of ghost customers. I mean, they had about 200 something customers on, on file. We was lucky to have a hundred of them. Ah, I went to call 'em. They, we fired.   They had a bad reputation. Didn't know anything about it. Um, like I said, I've never bought anything like this before and he says, I'm out. I'm out of this. And. He gave me his portion. I had to pay him back. So you all heard about sids, um, eat macaroni and cheese and everything like that? Yeah. I had no money.   I, my savings count was empty. Nothing coming in. So, excuse my bil analogy. I ate beans and taters for, for six months. We got tired of that. We ate taters and beans. I mean, it was, it was that bad. And, um, but anyway, um. My wife was worried. Um, we got two girls at home and, you know, losing our insurance and everything, it, it was just a big mess.   Um, so it all worked out. I mean, I had some background in some, um, when I used to work in the dealership industry of, of, I started a big parts connection in the area and, um, from Knoxville to Nashville. Um, it's called Middle Tennessee Parks Connection. And I, you know, so I was always good at PR and. With customers and, and building that way.   But, um, never had my own business. Okay. And again, I just went with the, the vision the Lord's given me. We're still going through and I always tell my competitors until God stops, gimme visions, that's when I'll worry. And, but he's still, you know, I got a DD so I'm not one of those can read a book and, and, and really understand it without having to read it 10 times.   You know what I mean? So it's, it kind of makes it a little bit more difficult for me in the, in the business industry, um, on that end. Um, yeah, there's a lot of, a lot of failures. We done. I mean, a lot of, a lot of wins and some losses of getting to this point. 13 years. Not everything is best. The struggle's real, Sheila.   It's real. The struggle is real is real. So, you know, I could see why my language, James, you're speaking my language. Yeah. I don't, I don't now I don't understand why businesses do not make it in the first five years. Yeah. You know, um, if you, if you're going to open up business. You can't be a know-it-all.   That's why, you know, that's one of the biggest rules. You can't think you have all the answers. Mm-hmm. Always. There's a scripture in the Bible says, surround yourself by men of oath. For they know the way of judgment. It's because the

    54 min

  2. APR 6

    36: The Brandon Smith Episode

    On this episode of the Huge Transformations Podcast, host Sheila Smeltzer sits down with Brandon Smith, a retired Army First Sergeant turned first-time franchise owner of M1 Epoxy Floors in the Nashville area. Brandon shares what it really looks like to jump into entrepreneurship after 23 years in the military—trading structure and support systems for the chaos of wearing every hat in a small business. From sales and marketing to installation, bookkeeping, and hiring, Brandon gives a raw, honest look at his first 18 months in business and how his military mindset—especially adaptability and resilience—has helped him navigate the pressure.   Brandon and Sheila also break down the realities of running a high-ticket, non-recurring service business. They talk about the challenges of cash flow, managing large project costs, learning financial forecasting the hard way, and why closing sales is critical when every job is a one-time opportunity. Brandon shares key lessons on hiring for character over skill, building an install team, and leveraging systems like CRMs to stay organized. They also explore how joining the Huge Mastermind shifted his thinking—especially around understanding market size, opportunity, and simplifying growth. It’s a valuable episode for newer entrepreneurs and anyone trying to turn early momentum into a sustainable, scalable business. Resources M1 Epoxy Floors Veteran Service Brands Housecall Pro QuickBooks The Huge Insider newsletter signup The Huge Insider podcast downloadable action guide The Huge Mastermind info page The Huge Convention   Transcript:  Hello everyone. Welcome to the Huge Transformations podcast. I'm Sid Graef out of Montana. I'm Gabe Torres here in Nashville, Tennessee. And I'm Sheila Smeltzer From North Carolina, we are your hosts and guides through the landscape of growing a successful home service business. We do this by interviewing the best home service business builders in the industry, folks that have already built seven and eight figure businesses, and they want to help you succeed. Yep. No fake gurus on this show, just real life owners that have been in the trenches and can help show you the way to grow profitably. We get insights and truths from successful business builders, and every episode is 100% experience, 0% theory. We are going to dig deep and reveal the good, the bad, and the ugly. Our guests will share with you the pitfalls to avoid and the keys to winning. In short, our guests will show you how to transform your home service business into a masterpiece. Thanks for joining us on the wild. Journey of entrepreneurship. Let's dive in. Hello? Hello, listeners. It's Sheila Smeltzer, a plus Pro Services and huge transformations podcast contributor. I am very excited today I introduce an interview. Brandon Smith with M1 Epoxy Floors, who is an 18 month new franchise owner, franchisee owner, uh, who shares a lot of his new entrepreneurial experiences with us. We talk about the good, the difficult, what we would do different. We talk about how his. Retired army, uh, experience has landed into his leadership skills and, uh, entrepreneur entrepreneurial skills, how he's wearing so many hats. We cover everything from tactical work and the details about epoxy floors, fixed revenue to recurring revenue. We talk about wearing all the hats. Um, this is just an awesome, authentic interview that I know that all of our listeners will gain something from. Um, I really enjoyed getting to know Brandon today, and I thank all of you for listening. Let's dive in. Hello everyone, this is Sheila Smeltzer with the Huge Transformations Podcast and I have Brandon Smith with Mach one Epoxy Floris here joining us today. Hey Brandon, good morning. Thank you for having me. I love this. This is gonna be super fun. Uh, Brandon is retired army sergeant and he is a first year franchise e owner of Mock One Epoxy Floors based outta West Nashville. And we're gonna have a lot of fun today and really insightful conversation about the correlation between your background and how, you know, your serving in the Army has helped you with, you know, starting as an entrepreneur. Um, I love that you're pretty new in the entrepreneurial journey, so this is gonna be great. Um, and I, you know, I wanna first start and just get to know you, but Brandon, introduce yourself. Uh, tell us a little bit about yourself and your family and a little bit about Mach One. Okay. Um, so yes, I am, uh, just under 18 months business owner. Uh, I bought a franchise Wan Epoxy. Um, we do operate in the greater Nashville area, Nashville West based. Um, I've been, like I said, I've been doing that for about 18 months, but prior to that I spent 23 years in the Army. I retired as a senior enlisted advisor or a first and a, uh, first sergeant. Um, over a counter drug task force. Um. In that is vastly different, but a lot of the same, going from that role, transitioning to a business owner, um, a little more chaos in the, in the small business world, trying to manage all of the hats instead of having the supporting framework. But, uh, we're figuring it out. Um, I'm a father. I have two children, 11 and eight, grace and Madeline, and, uh, they're my other side of chaos. So there's no rest. And I understand, I understand you're handyman to your wife as well. Yes. If there is a project I am responsible for doing said project, um, probably not the best at getting them done any, any timely, but, uh. We, uh, we do a lot. We live out here, uh, just south of Clarksville and north of Dixon in almost no man's land. A little county of Houston County that, uh, has about 8,000 people in total. So we got a couple of stoplights that we don't really need. Uhhuh, it's quiet out here, but there's lots of projects. That's great. Well, she's lucky to have you, Brandon. Thank you. Thank you. So, wearing all of these hats, um, how has your experience and, you know, just 23 years in the Army, how, how, what are these skill sets that have helped you navigate, um, your 18 months, starting out with the franchise? Well. In the military, we said a lot of things like embrace the suck. Mm-hmm. So when things got chaotic and it just wasn't going well and there's lots of regulations, there's lots of guidance, um, but sometimes things just don't fit in that framework. And being able to think outside the box and being able to, um, mold to the situation you're in has helped me tremendously. Um, coming over to the entrepreneurial side and opening Mock one Epoxy, um, was exciting and fun is still exciting and fun, but it does not come easy. There's still a lot of stress. There's still, I am the salesman. I am the owner, I am the installer. I am the maintenance guy. I, I do all of the things. I do the bookkeeping and the manage our accounting and the accounting. So. That's a lot. It is a lot. Um, yep. Been there and trying to make sure that you do it right. And I can tell you that, uh, there's, there's nights that I wake up and I'm still stressed about the business and stressed that, uh, I'm making the right decisions for us. But, uh, overall turning in here in our second year now, um, things are really looking up and business is going really well. My employees are doing great. They're installing floors like crazy. And, uh, we're booked up for a couple of months. And I, I, I gotta say that, uh, that's not without the score of the huge, it's not without the score of the community that, uh, I'm in at Mach one or Better Service brands, but, uh, we're doing really, really well. I love to hear that. Um, such a success on, on the, you know, coming out of the gate, it sounds like, um, Brandon, tell, tell me about hiring. So how did you. You know, uh, I, I do not, I'm not part of a franchise. Um, but how does that work when you're starting out? You've got a brand new location, um, you're the franchisee. How did you know who to hire first? How did you know, how did you start filling in the roles? Roles, and what does, what is the size of your organization after 18 months? So, when I opened, my intention was to go slow. Um, I wanted to understand the business I, from, from the base level all the way up. So I wanted to install floors on my own. I wanted to manage all the risk within my two hands. Okay. Um, I did that for about three months. My goal was to do it for a year, and after about three months, I realized that it was impossible. There's no way that I could turn a true profit, um, manage the entire business and go out and do floors. Tennessee is a great place and Nashville is fairly, fairly metropolitan, so there is a lot of work there. But I was traveling a couple of hours to job sites on a daily, so I'm losing those couple of hours that the business needed for me or that I needed to work on the business rather. Um, so about three months in, I decided that it was time to start looking for a laborer. Um, we put out an add or two. Um, I took a couple of interviews, had a couple of coffees. I'm not a, coming from the military, I've done a lot of boards that are very regimented and I've always found that anybody can study in passive board. You can, you can be prepared and seem as if you know what you're doing. I like to have a conversation. I like to talk to people and really get a feel for who they are, especially if I'm gonna work with them or trust them on a daily basis. Sure. So I tend to take people to coffee. I tend to invite potential employees out for. On the job, uh, training or on the job, uh, interviews. Let them put their hands on tools, talk me through their processes, and, uh, help validate some of their experience. Excuse me. Help validate some of their experiences. And, um, that has done me very, very well since I've opened the business. So we are, we have two employees now. Okay. I was very fortunate. My lead installer has about 20 years of experience in industrial epoxy work. Wow. Great pi

    1h 1m

  3. MAR 30

    35: The Jeffrey Scott Episode

    On this episode of the Huge Transformations Podcast, host Sheila Smeltzer sits down with Jeff Scott, a second-generation window cleaner from Wisconsin and the owner behind Green Window Cleaning, Green Building Maintenance Services, and Safety Green Training. Jeff shares how he started his company from scratch in 2009 after walking away from his family’s business sale, knocking on doors with little more than basic tools and experience. From there, he built a company that now leans heavily on recurring commercial work while also becoming deeply respected for its expertise in rope access, high-rise safety, and training.    Jeff and Sheila also go deep on something that rarely gets enough attention in home services: safety as a real operating system, not just a checklist. They talk through rope descent systems, SPRAT and IRATA training, rooftop risk, job hazard analyses, documented compliance, and the difference between doing dangerous work and doing skilled work safely. At the same time, Jeff opens up about rebuilding his company after major staffing losses, creating stronger culture, empowering his team, and stepping back into growth mode after years of living more passively. It is a sharp episode for service business owners who want to think bigger, lead better, and build a company that is both profitable and professionally run.    Resources Safety Green Training Green Window Cleaning Green Building Maintenance Services Jeff Scott on LinkedIn Jeff Scott / Safety Green Training on Facebook The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin The Huge Insider newsletter signup The Huge Insider podcast downloadable action guide The Huge Mastermind info page The Huge Convention The Freedom Path   Transcript:  Hello everyone. Welcome to the Huge Transformations podcast. I'm Sid Graef out of Montana. I'm Gabe Torres here in Nashville, Tennessee. And I'm Sheila Smeltzer from North Carolina, we are your hosts and guides through the landscape of growing a successful home service business. We do this by interviewing the best home service business builders in. The industry folks that have already built seven and eight figure businesses and they want to help you succeed. Yep. No fake gurus on this show, just real life owners that have been in the trenches and can help show you the way to grow profitably. We get insights and truths from successful business builders, and every episode is 100% experience. 0% theory. We are going to dig deep and reveal the good, the bad, and the ugly. Our guests will share with you the pitfalls to avoid and the keys to winning. In short, our guest will show you how to transform your home service business into a masterpiece. Thanks for joining us on the wild. Journey of entrepreneurship. Let's dive in. Hi, I'm Sheila Smeltzer with the Huge Transformations Podcast. Thank you for joining us today. I have a really special and unique interview with Jeff Scott. Uh, Jeff and I are longtime industry friends and colleagues, and we're gonna take it a little bit different today. We're gonna go a little bit different route and we're gonna be talking about. Yes, business. But we're also gonna be talking about high rise rope descent, rope access, safety audits, OSHA compliance, um, building JHAs residential rooftop safety. Um, but what we're gonna do is we're gonna get into Jeff Scott's head because he is a second generation window cleaner from Wisconsin. Uh, he was brought up in the high rise world, and this guy's got, um. He's got level three spr, um, training. He's, he's a wealth of knowledge when it comes to building access and safety training, so this is super cool. This is totally my thing. I love talking about this stuff and, uh, we're gonna bring it to you here. I hope you enjoy this podcast. Stick around and join us. Hey everybody. Welcome to the Huge Transformations podcast. I am Sheila Smeltzer. And today we have a super cool, uh, show because this is like a long time friend of mine, Jeff Scott. Hey Jeff. Hey Sheila. How you doing? I'm doing great. Uh, Jeff Scott is, uh, safety Green training. Also Green Building and maintenance services, green Building Maintenance services. Uh, also green window cleaning, which is residential company. Mm-hmm. Um, and Jeff, you and I have known each other for probably 18, 16, 18 years. God, that seems like a long time. It's true though. Um, I think we, we met originally through the IWCA. Um, Jeff is a second generation window cleaner. Um, you started as a window cleaner and now you have your companies, I mean, you are, um. Like when you say that you're a window cleaning professional, you have absolutely excelled in that. You've got your high rise expertise all the way down to your residential. This is gonna be a super fun conversation. Jeff, you wanna tell our audience about yourself? I can. Um, well, I'm Jeffrey. Hello everybody. Um, hello, Jeffrey. Um, I've been a window cleaner most of my life. I have stepped away from it from time to time to do some other things. I spent a long time in sales. But, um, I was kind of a late bloomer. I started my company up in, I guess it'd be oh nine. I think I was like 37. Um, so what is that, 17 years ago? Probably a little longer than I, or not quite as long as I've known Sheila. Yeah. Um, I think I met you Sheila through my father. Yeah. Kent. Yeah. And uh, you know, I think the first time I met you was probably in Oconomowoc. Ah. Um, at one of the window cleaner picnics that Gary Mauer used to put on. That's going way back. Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean, we were talking about timeframe, but I think that locks it into when we had met, uh, we had a mutual friend, um, at that time. Yep. Um, but, um, yeah, so that takes, that takes us back. So yeah, I started up in oh nine, um, without a dime in my pocket. Um, but I did have a lot of experience at the time. Okay. Uh, just knocking on doors, walking up and down the street. Can I clean your windows, you know, into residential? Yep. And, um, so I mean, but your dad, and so tell me, it was Madison window cleaning, right? Right. No, no, no. He was, he was bright way window cleaning. Um, they started up in central Wisconsin. Right when. Okay. And then, man, I think it was the late eighties, started moving down into the Madison area. Okay. Okay. Started getting on ropes slightly before then. Uh, just in the central Wisconsin area, running a, a spider stage before that. Um, but then, uh, yeah, I think it was the late eighties. They hired a salesman finally and started pushing into the Madison area into some mid-rise work. And then, um, they sold in, I think it was oh oh eight. Okay. Um, and it was kind of a, a shock, you know, to every, it was, it was kind of a secret sale. Nobody knew about it until it happened. Mm-hmm. Um, yeah. So at that time, I didn't want to go to work for the new owners. Uh, it was bought by a company called, um, jacks Maintenance. Okay. Uh, which was a large janitorial company outta the Fox Valley, which is basically runs from Green Bay down towards Madison. Okay. Um, and they, you know, they did the right thing. It was a goodbye for them. Um, you know, uh, Ken to my father sold very well. Um, we don't really even hear about sales of that capacity anymore, what he got for it. Um, but um, yeah, uh, when I walked out the door, um, I had to do something. I still had a bucket of moping. The squeegee went and bought a little giant ladder. So did you go from the high-rise working with your dad to residential because of like non-compete? Uh, no, I didn't have a non-compete. Okay. Um, so why did I did that? Because I didn't have the money to buy, you know, high-rise equipment. Okay. Um, I didn't, I didn't have a staff, you know, I couldn't go do it on my own. Um, when I started up, I basically didn't know how I was gonna, how I was gonna feed my daughter, who was five at the time. I didn't know how I was gonna, I didn't know how I was gonna pay the mortgage. I didn't know how I was gonna make the car payments, you know? Mm-hmm. So I just kind of went back to being a little kid and knocking on doors and walking up and down the street. Love it. So, um, green window cleaning today. What's the size of green window cleaning? What's it look like? Um, well we're kind of a three-headed beast with the green building Maintenance services, green window cleaning services and safety green training. Mm-hmm. Um, we're probably. 85% large commercial contracted work. That's all recurring revenue. Um, which leaves about, you know, 10 to 12% residential and then safety green training's really kind of a side project. Yeah, that's, what's that? That's you, that's you. I've got, um, two other trainers. Okay. All right. Um, one that, you know, my, my. Rope access trainer. He's RET certified. He's uh, a climbing gym trainer. Um, he's, uh, a lead trainer for Boulder's Climbing Gym, which is here in Madison. And then he does like a lot of excursions out to Devil's Lake and trains people out there. So he's got a lot of aptitude. Uh, and then we also have a young woman who is our aerial lift operator trainer. Um Okay. And does all of our in-house stuff and does some stuff like an add-on for our classes as well. But safety and green training, we keep priced as economical as possible. Um, we have to keep it sustainable, but that's really how we give back to the industry. Love that. I love that. Um, so do you have, just like from business structure standpoint, you, it is like one company, but these are three different business units? Yes. Right now it's, it's still, you know, we were, we've, we've dropped into one LLC, um Okay. And everything. The other two are DBAs. Okay. Um, we are separating our CRMs at this point. Um, but, um, we'll see what happens, you know? Um, we're keeping it all. Safety green will get broken off here in the near future as, 'cause everything else is gettin

    59 min

  4. MAR 26

    34: The Brad Davis Episode

    On this episode of the Huge Transformations Podcast, host Sheila Smeltzer sits down with Brad Davis of Best Exterior Cleaning in Seattle, Washington, to unpack one of the most honest kinds of growth stories in home services: rapid sales success followed by the hard reality of building operations that can actually support it. Brad shares his unconventional path from ironworker and crane operator to top-producing real estate agent and eventually exterior cleaning business owner, explaining how he helped grow the company from about $60,000 to $600,000 in a year through relentless networking, outreach, follow-up, and sheer volume of sales activity.   Brad and Sheila also dig into what happened after that explosive growth. Brad opens up about the breakdowns that came from scaling too fast without strong enough systems, including hiring issues, poor training, inconsistent job quality, operational chaos, and the financial pain of expensive mistakes. The conversation then shifts into what he is building now: clearer technician levels, stronger onboarding, better accountability, a more structured training process, and a roadmap for creating real career paths inside the business. Along the way, they talk about leadership, culture, recurring revenue, commercial versus residential work, and why long-term success in service businesses depends not just on selling hard, but on creating simple, scalable systems that help people win.   Resources: Brad Davis – Best Exterior Cleaning Brad Davis on LinkedIn The Huge Insider newsletter signup The Huge Insider podcast downloadable action guide The Huge Mastermind info page Facebook The Huge Convention   Transcript:  Hello everyone. Welcome to the Huge Transformations podcast. I'm Sid Graef out of Montana. I'm Gabe Torres here in Nashville, Tennessee. And I'm Sheila Smeltzer From North Carolina, we are your hosts and guides through the landscape of growing a successful home service business. We do this by interviewing the best home service business builders in the industry, folks that have already built seven and eight figure businesses, and they want to help you succeed. Yep. No fake gurus on this show, just real life owners that have been in the trenches and can help show you the way to grow profitably. We get insights and truths from successful business builders, and every episode is 100% experience, 0% theory. We are going to dig deep and reveal the good, the bad, and the ugly. Our guests will share with you the pitfalls to avoid and the keys to winning. In short, our guests will show you how to transform your home service business into a masterpiece. Thanks for joining us on the wild. Journey of entrepreneurship. Let's dive in. Welcome today to today's Huge Transformations podcast. I am Sheila Smeltzer here with you and I am interviewing Brad Davis. Best exterior cleaning outta Seattle Washington. Fascinating story about Brad. I met him recently in the huge mastermind group and I had the pleasure of interviewing him today. Um, this is a guy who was an iron worker journeyman, got his spine crushed, uh, moved into real estate, became a top producing real estate agent, um, rookie of the year, and ultimately started an exterior cleaning company. And sounds to me like he can sell like crazy and we're gonna talk a lot about that. But he also, 10 Xed his company. One year going from 60,000 to 600,000 and he shares the trials and tribulations and the really difficult things that came along the way of that type of rapid growth. And we dive into that today and, uh, we have a great conversation and talk a lot about training. We talk a lot about. Sales. And, um, by the way, he's an excellent, um, digital creator, has excellent video content. Highly suggest you check out his stuff on social media. Um, and yeah, we're learning together here at the Huge Transformations podcast and really enjoy you joining us and listening to Brad Davis's interview and promise. You're gonna find some gold and you're gonna learn some things that either A, you can relate to. Or B, can help you prevent making some of the same mistakes that we do as entrepreneurs. So welcome to the huge community, and thank you for listening to today's show. Hello. Hello everyone. This is Sheila Selzer with The Huge Transformations Podcast. And thank you for joining us today. We have Brad Davis, Brad's with Best Exterior Cleaning outta Seattle, Washington, and, uh, a new, um, attendee with our huge mastermind group. Brad, welcome. Thanks, uh, thanks for having me. Uh, yeah, I'm exterior cleaner out of Seattle, Washington. Uh, happy to be here. Really love the huge convention. Yeah. So Brad, I, uh, you and I got to know each other a little bit whenever, uh, at one of the recent masterminds and we connected on the safety topic. Don't know if we're gonna get into that today, but, um, happy to. But, um, I'm just really excited to be able to get to know you a little bit better and share, you know, your experiences with our, with our viewers. Um, you know, I see that you've done some real estate. I see that you've done some iron work and you're about two years into your, uh, company in the exterior cleaning space. So, c tell us, tell us a little bit of your background please. Yeah, so, uh. So like a lot of entrepreneurs, I, uh, didn't do well in high school, uh, A DHD and dyslexia. And so that was a struggle. So I became an iron worker outta high school, um, four year, four plus years. Um, after being an iron worker, I was nearly crushed to death at work. Um, I have four fuse vertebrae in my lower back. Had to learn how to walk again. Took multiple back surgeries and years of physical therapy. Um, and I say it like it's nonchalant, but you know, it's kind of normal for me, uh, now. And so then I, um, after that I got into construction cranes, uh, was doing like mobile cranes and, and tower cranes, um, for a while. And then got an opportunity to work at Boeing, was a overhead crane operator at Boeing for five years. And then, um, started a, uh, cannabis processing company out of Oregon. Um, we. They make marijuana products. Mm-hmm. Um, realized I was in over my head, but I was a part of like a group that started it and decided I just didn't want to be a part of it. So I left that, uh, got into real estate, got like a top, um, top producer, uh, one year and rookie of the year, my first year. And, um, rookie of the year. Yeah. So they gave like a rookie of the year for our office. There were like 200 agents. Um mm-hmm. There was like five, five, uh, five rookies, five new people. And so I, uh, I, I actually, uh, proudly won it by quite a bit. Um, and then I got, uh, top five, uh, real estate agents in my offices, um, the next year. And then my third year things just slowed way down and I was just, look, I, it just wasn't. What I wanted to do long term. And so I looked for something that I could, a machine that I could build. I wanted to build a business that I could slowly work my way through every single position to where I could then be able to, um, have a asset that works. And so I knew right away to get, you know, coaching and training and things like that. Um, my first, uh, we started in September of 24. Mm-hmm. Um, September, October, November, and then December. Um, that combined, I did about $60,000. Um, and then after, uh, and then, and then, so that was 20 24, 20 25, uh, we pushed really hard. I, uh, essentially like brought on a partner who had, um, a really small, like one man show business that did a lot of multifamily. Okay. And I, um, essentially what I say is I took what he had and I put gas on it, and we did. Um, and he did like about 200 or less a year. Um, but he had a lot of, like, his wife was going through cancer treatment and, um, had two small kids and just couldn't really grow it. Um, there's just too many hats for him to wear between the business and home. Mm-hmm. Um, and so he, he, we partnered up and we did 600 K last year. And so we just like, uh, and it was, and about three quarters of the way through it all started like falling. So, um, I thought this was going to, you know, like I was selling and things were going really great and we just didn't have systems that really made what, like made it work. It was just like we were going off of. Momentum and just trying to make everything happen. And about three quarters of the way through the year, I was getting pulled out a lot for, um, uh, about, actually probably about halfway through the year I was getting pulled out of, of selling to go and fix problems and deal with things. And we just, my focus couldn't be in, in sales and trying to make things happen. So, um, we were just having to, you know, try and, and we were, we weren't training people as well as we could. We didn't have as good expectations as we could. We weren't hiring that well. We were just kind of doing everything okay. But we were selling really well. Okay. So it was a lot coming in, a lot of problems. And then we were delivering, but the, but we'd have jobs that were big, that were like, oh, this is gonna take us a week. And then it took us a week and a half or two weeks because. The problems. Right. And can can I stop you for a second? Yeah. So I just heard you say that you 10 x your company in a year. Yeah. You did that through sales. So can you take us, can you take our listeners through your sales process? 'cause that's, that's pretty damn good. Thanks. Um, my sales process, yeah. Was, uh, what do you think was hardly a sales process? I felt like though it's, you know, there's something to it. Um, so like the main, so what I did was I looked for, I got lists of, of multifamily, um. Of like commercial slash like multifamily, um, contacts. And then I would, um, and so that's, that's phone numbers and emails. And then I also, um, got connected with, um, the, our local CI, um, and so I, which is like an organization that focuses on,

    1h 8m

  5. MAR 26

    33: The Christina and Fred Hodge Episode

    On this episode of the Huge Transformations Podcast, host Sid Graef sits down with Fred and Christine Hodge of Clearview Washing, an exterior cleaning company in New Jersey that Fred started with his dad at 19 and that the couple later transformed into a fast-growing, systems-driven business. Fred shares how the company began with window cleaning and gradually expanded into gutters, power washing, and more, while Christine explains how joining the business brought a major shift toward structure, accountability, and scalable growth.   Fred and Christine break down the biggest changes that helped them grow: moving from paper-based operations to software and systems, building a stronger hiring process, creating clear roles, and treating team members like career employees instead of temporary labor. They also talk candidly about working together as spouses, the boundaries they had to create between business and home life, and how building culture, confidence, and leadership within their team has become a core part of the company’s success. Finally, they share what it takes to move from one growth stage to the next, including why their path to $5 million now depends less on hustle in the field and more on elite sales talent, operational leadership, and continued investment in people.   Resources: Clearview Washing The Process CEO (Christine Hodge) The Huge Insider newsletter signup The Huge Insider podcast downloadable action guide The Huge Mastermind info page Facebook Group   Transcript:  Hello everyone. Welcome to the Huge Transformations podcast. I'm Sid Graef out of Montana. I'm Gabe Torres here in Nashville, Tennessee. And I'm Sheila Smeltzer From North Carolina, we are your hosts and guides through the landscape of growing a successful home service business. We do this by interviewing the best home service business builders in the industry, folks that have already built seven and eight figure businesses, and they want to help you succeed. Yep. No fake gurus on this show, just real life owners that have been in the trenches and can help show you the way to grow profitably. We get insights and truths from successful business builders, and every episode is 100% experience, 0% theory. We are going to dig deep and reveal the good, the bad, and the ugly. Our guests will share with you the pitfalls to avoid and the keys to winning. In short, our guests will show you how to transform your home service business into a masterpiece. Thanks for joining us on the wild. Journey of entrepreneurship. Let's dive in. Hey, it's Sid at the Huge Transformations podcast, and I'm really delighted you are here. It feels like it's been a whirlwind since the last time we recorded an episode, and it's like this. I just got back from six days in Mexico for a nice reset with my wife before we get started with a busy, busy cleaning season in our business here in Montana. And before that I was in Nashville for three and a half days for our mastermind. The huge Mastermind. And that's where we get, we get 40, 50, sometimes. We have 60 people get together in one room. These are all sharp, growth-minded business owners that really want to accelerate their business. They want to 10 x their business in the next three to five years, and we spend. Intense time together, working on process, working on a tool, working on a way to maximize their business. And this one was no different. It was probably the most in-depth process orchestration we've done on new product development, on, on role creation to help people advance and accelerate their business. And I'm, I usually don't bring this up, but I wanted to bring it up because maybe you as a listener, maybe you've got a business with, you know, five or more employees and you're over half a million, maybe over 700,000 in revenue, and you want to get to a million, you want to get to 5 million, but you feel like you're plateaued. If that's you, you gotta check out the Mastermind and just see if it's a right fit for you. 'cause it's designed. For people in that range. They're, they've got five or more employees, they're over 700,000 in revenue, and they want to get to 2 million, 5 million. We really want to grow a business that will grow and operate without you. That's what the huge Mastermind is for. So check it out@thehugemastermind.com. That link will be in the show notes. Didn't mean for that to sound like a, a promotion or advertisement, but it's, it's so valuable for people that are in that situation that feel like they've plateaued, that have kind of outgrown their capabilities, but they know they've got a lot more potential left. They just need to help. They need to find someone to help unleash that potential. So that's what the mastermind's for. But here's one thing that we decided to do last week as the, uh, the mastermind sort of leadership group. We publish. We published a book strictly for our mastermind members, um, little less than a year ago called the $10,000 Ideals book and the 10 K idea Book m. What that is, is that, you know, at a lot of our quarterly masterminds, we will have our members stand up and contribute and tell us what is your 10 K idea. The framework for the 10 K ideas has gotta be something that you have that's strategic or practically, um, tactical that they have, have actually done in their business in the past six months that has generated over $10,000 in fresh revenue in a 30 to 90 day period. So we just compiled 14 of these ideas and put 'em in a book that we could give to new mastermind members to help them jumpstart their membership in the Mastermind. What's really cool about that is each one of these ideas is worth over $10,000. Last year at the huge convention when, um, uh, before I introduced one of the speakers, I showed that book and I just turned to a page and opened it, and there was one particular. Tactic that was in there that I read and I'm like, guys, I'm gonna go home and do this in my business. It's a tactic we had never applied before. This was the end of August, right in the slow, the doldrums of summer. And I went home, gave it to my leadership team, my office manager. We sent out four emails to half of our database and one text message, four emails, one text message with this one specific tactic. And I wanted to prove that we would generate over $10,000 in fresh revenue. We ended up generating $26,400 in new revenue just from that one tactic executed one time. I was like, damnit, this is good. It works. So we decided to make this $10,000 ideal book available to anybody that wants a copy. So if you go to the 10 K book info, let me say that cleaner, 10 K, that's one zero. In the letter K 10 K book.info, you can get your free copy of the $10,000 idea book. I hope you do, and I hope you utilize it and implement some of the stuff that's in there. A couple day ideas in there that we've executed. You're gonna go, this is too simple. I can't believe it. Like it'll never work. Do it. It will work. It's already been proven. It's already worked for many, many others. And it'll work for you too. So this is our, my free gift to you. Go to the 10 k book info, get your copy of the 10,000 idea book and add it to your business repertoire and jumpstart your season with extra 10,000, 50,000, a hundred thousand in revenue. And just, you know, next time you see me at the convention or you know you hear me on the podcast, just gimme a thumbs up and say, thanks man. That was. Awesome. Make sure and get yours. Okay. That's a long lead up to today's show. Today's show, I had no idea how much I was going to enjoy the conversation and interview with our guests, Fred and Christine Hodge, Fred and Christine Hodge. They own a power wash or an exterior window cleaning company. Clear, clear wash. Oh my God, I'm so sorry. Frank. Christine, I messed up the name of your company. They've got a great company in New Jersey, this exterior cleaning. They've been in business for about 20 years and they have gone into a, a strong growth mode in the past five years. They've more than doubled the size of the company and they become leaders in the industry, teaching other people how to implement systems, implement good hiring, and hire leaders, and retain leaders in their company though. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did and learn as much as I did from Fred and Christine Hodge. There are guests. Fasten your seatbelt. This was fun and fast paced, and you're gonna want to take notes. Just know that all the notes are in the show notes. Every link, everything we mention in the show notes, check it out. Fred and Christine Hodge. Hey everybody, this is Sid with the Huge Transformations podcast, part of the huge, um, the huge convention. I'm excited today 'cause I've got Fred and Christine Hodge together on the podcast and we get to, I I've, we, we've met at the huge convention. I've had a couple conversations with you guys. I've never had a deep conversation where I go, let me hear the backstory. Let me hear how you get started. And, you know, some of the growing pains along the way. 'cause you guys have grown a, a pretty significant, uh, exterior cleaning company there in New Jersey. And it's Clearview Clearview Washing, right? There's a clear view. Clearview Washing, Clearview Washing. So first of all, Fred, Christine, thank you very much. How are you guys doing? You're in the, the land of ice and cold or how things in Jersey right now? It's cold, it's snowy. We're dreaming of warmer days, but we're almost there. True, true. Do you always feel like, I mean, it's like the, I I don't know what the, uh, the bias is, the mental bias, but when you, when the sun's shining, you think it's always gonna shine. And when it's cold as hell, you think it'll never be warm again. And we know that's not true. Yeah. But it sure feels that way. It sure does. It sure does. I mean, today it's like 40 degrees and it feels like summertime bec

    1h 10m

  6. FEB 9

    32: The Molly Moran Episode

    On this episode of the Huge Transformations Podcast, host Sid Graef sits down with Molly Moran, founder of green sweep, an eco-friendly house cleaning company in Albuquerque, New Mexico that she built from cleaning toilets herself to a multi–seven-figure business with 35+ employees. Molly shares how a real-life asthma-triggering cleaning experience led to her “green” positioning, and how her original dream (inspired by The 4-Hour Workweek) evolved into building a company designed for profit, impact, and freedom. Molly breaks down the moves that helped her scale: staying focused instead of chasing extra services, investing aggressively in marketing + recruiting, and constantly pressure-testing pricing to support better wages and a more professional customer experience. She also talks leadership—why shifting from “managing” to coaching your team creates better outcomes—and how Profit First became a turning point in escaping “entrepreneurial poverty.” Finally, Molly previews CleanCon in Indianapolis (a residential-only conference built around connection, innovation, and education) and shares the real challenge she’s working through now: protecting space and energy while operating at a higher level across multiple businesses.   Show Notes: Molly Moran The LIVE BRIGHT Show  Molly Moran on Instagram The Huge Insider newsletter signup The Huge Insider podcast downloadable action guide The Huge Mastermind info page Huge Foundations Facebook Group The Huge Convention   Transcript: Sid Graef: Hello everyone. Welcome to the Huge Transformations podcast. I’m Sid Graef outta Montana.   Gabe Torres: I’m Gabe Torres here in Nashville, Tennessee.   Sheila Smeltzer: And I’m Sheila Smeltzer from North Carolina. We are your hosts and guides through the landscape of growing a successful home service business.   Sid Graef: We do this by interviewing the best home service business builders in the industry—folks that have already built seven- and eight-figure businesses and they want to help you succeed.   Gabe Torres: Yep. No fake gurus on this show, just real-life owners that have been in the trenches and can help show you the way to grow profitably.   Sheila Smeltzer: We get insights and truths from successful business builders, and every episode is 100% experience, 0% theory. We are going to dig deep and reveal the good, the bad, and the ugly. Our guests will share with you the pitfalls to avoid and the keys to winning. In short, our guest will show you how to transform your home service business into a masterpiece.   Sid Graef: Thanks for joining us on the wild journey of entrepreneurship. Let’s dive in.   Sid Graef: Hey everybody, it’s Sid with the Huge Transformations podcast, and today we’ve got a really great interview episode and conversation with my friend Molly Moran. Molly Moran runs a significant—uh—house… I can’t talk today, but I think you’ll get the point. She’s got a house cleaning company in Albuquerque, New Mexico.   She grew it from scratch, from cleaning toilets to a robust multi–seven-figure business with 35 employees. She’s got her own podcast, The Live Bright Show. She has a coaching and training program called Live Bright, and she’s hosting an event. She runs marathons, and she’s got two really cool dogs.   But you’re gonna enjoy our conversation ’cause it’s filled with insights and advice that she got early on and transformed the way she operated her business. So with that, I hope you enjoy the conversation with Molly as much as I did. Thanks for joining us today.   Sid Graef: Hey everybody. Thanks for joining us on the Huge Transformations show. I’m Sid, and today’s guest is Molly Moran—and you are gonna have, I hope you have as much fun as I am. Molly, how are you? I’ve got a little introduction for you, but first, how you doing? Thanks for being on the show.   Molly Moran: I’m great. I’m so happy to be here, Sid. Thanks for having me.   Sid Graef: Cool. And I love your headshot. It just says “Bright” at the front and it shows like, “Let’s live bright.” So for those of you that have never met or heard of Molly—Molly’s from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Can you spell that for me please?   Molly Moran: Oh, like for real? No.   Sid Graef: The founder of green sweep, which is a substantial eco-friendly house cleaning business in Albuquerque. You host The Live Bright Show and you have the Live Bright community and you coach people and help them. And this speaks to me so—Molly, you help people make more money, have more fun, and have more freedom. And I am a freedom hound. That’s my biggest motivator. And fun comes right after that. And money is third, but still important. So we’re gonna talk about that some.   And this year you and a handful of friends are hosting a live conference, a get-together in— is it Indianapolis?   Molly Moran: It is, yes. Indianapolis, in March, called CleanCon.   Sid Graef: CleanCon. First time I heard the name I was like, “Is this someone who got outta prison? Doesn’t have any tattoos—CleanCon?”   Molly Moran: Sid—like, I’m like, “No, it’s a cleaning conference.”   Sid Graef: And then the last part of my introduction, and probably the most important thing, is you have a dog named Bentley.   Molly Moran: I do. And we have another dog—we got Bentley a sibling a month ago, and his name is Leo.   Sid Graef: Very good. What are the breeds of your dogs?   Molly Moran: They’re both little rescues. Leo is a schnauzer—we just got his DNA back yesterday. Bentley is a schnauzer… she’s like a schnoodle, but she also has husky and German shepherd in her.   Sid Graef: Well, she’ll probably live 25 years with a good mix like that.   Molly Moran: Let’s hope.   Sid Graef: Before we actually get started, I met with a friend of one of my clients this morning—she’s an architect. She said the vendor booth that was the top booth most visited: they put down AstroTurf and they brought 10 puppies. People could just sit down and play with puppies.   Molly Moran: That’s smart. That’s brilliant.   Sid Graef: I’m like, instantly I was like, “I wanna be a vendor at somebody’s show, and I’ll take a bunch of puppies and popsicles.”   Molly Moran: Great idea.   Sid Graef: Let’s go back toward the beginning of your business career. Was green sweep the first business you started, or did you start before that?   Molly Moran: That was my first business. I started green sweep in 2009, so it’s been a minute and a half. Very first business and pretty random, honestly.   I was a victim of The 4-Hour Workweek, so I was reading it on a beach in Mexico in like 2007 and I was like, “I’m gonna go for it.” And then fast forward six months—I started a cleaning company.   I was in the nonprofit world—program management. My trajectory was like, “I’ll be an executive director someday,” and then I was like, “I actually don’t wanna do this.” I kept getting bored and switching jobs, and decided I should start my own business.   It could have been anything. I had certain parameters: low startup costs, I’ve gotta be able to do it, not high-technology focused. I had hired a cleaning service at my house at the time, came home one day and couldn’t breathe because of the chemicals they used. I triggered an asthma attack and I was like, “Oh, I should start an environmentally friendly cleaning company.” That’s literally how the idea came about.   Sid Graef: When you started, what was the vision?   Molly Moran: The vision was huge from the very beginning. I was living in San Diego at the time, had a sister here in Albuquerque, and we decided to start the business together. Albuquerque seemed like a friendlier place to start a business than California.   Very quickly realized we were better off as sisters than business partners. I got it going and I worked in the business—I cleaned. I wanted to know how to do everything. I didn’t have deep pockets. I was scrubbing toilets and waiting tables at the time—doing a whole bunch of things as I got it off the ground.   Sid Graef: What do you love about owning a business, and what could you do without?   Molly Moran: The biggest thing I love is freedom—in many senses. I get to structure and create my life how I want to. Now versus then, I can work from anywhere. I don’t need to be in Albuquerque to scale my business.   I love the potential—it can be smooth sailing, or I can turn the heat up and we can grow. I love making lots of money and spreading it around—money is a tool for trips and giving and security.   I also love the impact. With cleaning, we impact our staff’s lives—we provide fantastic jobs in a traditionally underpaid, underappreciated profession. We professionalize it, offer benefits, change the narrative around the profession. And the impact we have in the community and on clients.   Sid Graef: Did you have to fight uphill to change the perception and wages?   Molly Moran: When I first got into business, I didn’t know how to run a business. What I made was what was left at the end of the day. I remember sometimes my cleaners made more than I was making and I was like, “Something’s wrong.”   Eventually I got coaching and mentorship and restructured operations—what we were charging, how we paid staff—more expensive for the client but more professional and valuable service.   From a respect/professionalizing standpoint, I’ve always done that. Cleaning homes is about more than clean—it’s about the sanctity of a home and giving people time back to connect and play and do what they want.   Sid Graef: Your customer base is mostly residential?   Molly Moran: Primarily—about 95% residential. We used to be 50/50, but

    52 min

  7. FEB 5

    31: The Patrick Clark Episode

    In this episode, host Sid Graef sits down with Pat Clark, a longtime leader in the home service industry and the co-founder behind Bright Brothers Power Washing. Pat shares a raw, scrappy origin story—starting in the 2008 recession, sleeping in a van to attend training, and grinding through the first few years on “rice and beans”—before learning how mentorship, marketing, and relentless execution can turn a struggling operator into a true business builder.   Pat breaks down the real turning points: hiring office support and salespeople (even before he felt ready), building systems by borrowing and adapting proven frameworks, and learning painful lessons around leadership, accountability, and hiring standards (including why background checks became non-negotiable). Sid and Pat also dig into Pat’s sales philosophy—why he strongly prefers in-person estimates, how communication becomes a competitive advantage, and how a simple, repeatable sales process can help franchisees win even when competitors undercut pricing.   Finally, Pat explains the leap into franchising with Bright Brothers—why they chose to build a brand from scratch, what it took to handle franchise compliance and documentation, and how partnering with Contractor Nation accelerated the entire roadmap. The episode closes on mindset shifts that matter for any operator trying to scale: moving from scarcity to abundance, letting go of fear around money, and learning to grow faster by partnering with people who already built what you’re trying to build. Resources:   Bright Brothers / Contractor Nation Ecosystem Bright Brothers Bright Brothers Franchise Opportunities Contractor Nation Prōfectus Sales Program (Contractor Nation)    Books: Profit First EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System)   Connect with The Huge: The Huge Insider newsletter signup The Huge Insider podcast downloadable action guide The Huge Mastermind info page Facebook Group Transcript   Sid Graef: This is— they’re trying to plow the interstate there. I-35 goes right through Austin and they had… they just had two front-end loaders pushing down the interstate. I’m like, okay, that’s like, work with what you got. But that’s right. That’s a tough day. That’s a tough day.   Yeah. Um, I used to live in Austin years ago. That’s where I went to school and there was an ice storm—caught ice storm once—and it… I mean it’s like… you know, the whole state shuts down. Put ice—everything shuts down. And I like… I walked to work. It was not a big deal. Wasn’t that cold, but it was so much fun.   Be at work. I worked at Four Seasons Hotel at the time and all the guests that were there just kinda locked down and nobody could get to and from work. So there we had a skeleton crew for three days who got to stay in a fancy hotel. I was like, nice. Wow, this is awesome.   But anyway… well, cool. Well, let me—lemme do an official start.   Hey everybody, this is Sid Graef and welcome to the Huge Transformations podcast. My guest today is Pat Clark, as you can see.   And Pat’s been part of the home service industry for a very long time—been a leader in the industry as well. Right now you’ve got Bright Brothers power washing, and it’s… you have your own location, it’s a franchise as well. You started with Precision Pro Wash, you developed Sales Boost, and now you’re franchising.   So it’s a pretty big journey and I want to dig into it and learn about how you got started in business and literally—how did you start in home service business? And why… why would you do such a thing?   Pat Clark: Yeah. So I do— I will correct you just a little bit there, Sid. So I don’t actually own my own location, which is amazing. And there’s a whole reason behind that, which we’ll get into.   But no, home services, man, is my passion. It really is. Like, I got in out of necessity. I was 20 years old. I remember going to my first event— it was back in, shoot… 2008. And I literally— me and my wife slept in our van to go to a two-day event, ’cause I couldn’t afford the hotel, but I was like, hell or high water, man, we’re gonna make this business work.   Right on. And so yeah, I slept… learned about non-pressure roof cleaning. Crazy, right? And just dove in.   I went on the internet. Back then, we didn’t have YouTube. We didn’t have Facebook like we do today, right? It was forums. So 20-plus years ago, right? Like I’m on The Grime Scene and, you know, I’ll mention some names. And these guys were like, the OG, right?   But OG boards, and I was researching roof cleaning, exterior cleaning, new construction, and so…   You know, I went in full-time and it was hard, don’t get me wrong. Like the first three to four years was very difficult for us. Rice and beans in the wintertime. You know what I mean? Learning marketing, learning all that.   And then I got a business coach, AC Laier. The man, the myth, the legend, right? And so he came to my location. I remember it was our last like $4,000. He literally— I pick him up from the hotel and I had a five-gallon bucket my wife was sitting on. He gets in the passenger seat. No— we’re in my work van. Right? That’s all I had. 1995 Astro Van.   But yeah, picked him up and I was like, “Hey man, this is my last $4,000. Where do we go from here?”   And you know, AC is a blessing. And so anyway, he taught me marketing. He taught me systems. He taught me how to get out there and sure enough, right? Like I just went for it.   And the next time he came back out, he was like, “Dude, it’s like Jesus is strapped to your back.” Like I was executing. He’s done it, I’m gonna execute, and I’m gonna put in the work. Like I’m a worker, man. I’m gonna put it in.   So, you know, home services… I found my passion. I started growing the businesses and then people were like, “Hey, can you speak at my event? Can you teach how you’re growing?”   And so I was never outgoing, right? I was scared to talk to people. I barely made it through high school. I was in special ed. Like, I could tell you a crazy background. My dad was never in the picture.   But I knew I wanted to talk to my previous self. Like if I can do it, I can bless somebody that they can do it, right? Take this vision, take this thing, and run with it.   So I started teaching at events. I started teaching safety classes. Wherever I can kind of pitch in to the industry. And it was just overwhelming, as you know, Sid. We’ve been in this a long time where people are just amazing.   I’ve got friends in so many states by teaching and mentoring and helping and whatever it was.   And it was like—going back to the very beginning—I was scared to tell people my secrets, my stories, like how we were winning because it was that scarcity mindset: “Shoot, man, I got competition in my backyard. They’re gonna take food off my plate.”   But I didn’t know at the time: no, man, you need to have an abundance mindset. When you bless others, it comes back tenfold.   And so again, just teaching and mentoring and then people were like, “Pat, can you come bid this large job? I can’t do it. It’s too big.”   I’m like, “Yeah, dude.” And I had these people start coming outta the woodwork, you know what I mean? You build these relationships.   So to say how I got into it was really through necessity. 2008, recession was right there. I was working for a builder at the time and they were slowly going outta business. The writing was on the wall. And so that’s when I went full-time.   Sid Graef: Oh, that’s great. I love a scrappy origin story where you go literally—like “Hey, I was up against the wall. I didn’t really have any other choices. Like we burned the bridge and we’re gonna make this work.”   What were—like AC came out and helped you. So first you got a mentor, you got a coach, you got a guide, somebody that’s been down the road, it could show you where the landmines are buried.   But beyond that, one of the things you said that’s really unique amongst most entrepreneurial types is you said, “I just executed.” You didn’t overthink it.   I know myself included— a lot of guys—somebody will say, “Do it like this, like this,” and then I’ll spend the next two days trying to modify it, make it better. And you go, “Just go do it.” And don’t try to change it. Just do it and then you can change it later.   So that’s a really excellent point.   The thing I wanted to ask you about early on—once you got some help from AC—what were the main things that you did that started producing results? And was it surprising to you that it actually worked?   Pat Clark: Yeah, so it was more marketing than I was… you know, I was small-minded when I first started, just like a lot of us. And I was like, “Dude, if I put out a thousand flyers, if I knock on this many doors, I’m gonna be so busy.”   But it was like, no, you gotta 10x that. Whatever you think it is, you gotta 10x it.   But what happened was when you start 10xing things, right, you can only do so much. So it was Pat wearing all the hats.   And so I read this article—and I’m not into Scientology—but there’s this article by L. Ron Hubbard and it said, “If you put the people in place, the money will come.” And it hit just at the right time. I don’t even know how I got this article, right? But it was like: put the people in place and the money will come.   And I’m like… to your point, it is like you just gotta go execute. You gotta do it and you gotta learn and you gotta fail.   And I was never in a management position. I was never hiring people. So if you had a pulse, I’m like, “Dude, you come work for me.” And that works to a poin

    1h 2m

  8. 12/10/2025

    30: The Aaron Harper Episode

    On this episode of the Huge Transformations Podcast, host Sid Graef sits down with Aaron Harper, founder of Rolling Suds Power Washing, to unpack what it really takes to build a scalable, coast-to-coast service business—without burning out or selling hype. Aaron walks through his journey from Hollywood talent agencies (working around names like Will Smith and Jesse Eisenberg) to B2B sales, and eventually into franchise development—helping grow service brands by hundreds of units before launching Rolling Suds. He shares how he walked away from a near seven-figure “dream job” offer while his wife was six months pregnant so he could start his own franchise brand from scratch, raise capital for the first time, and acquire Rolling Suds.   Resources: The Huge Insider newsletter signup The Huge Insider podcast downloadable action guide The Huge Mastermind info page Huge Foundations Facebook Group     Transcript:  Hello everyone. Welcome to the Huge Transformations podcast. I'm Sid Graef outta Montana. I'm Gabe Torres here in Nashville, Tennessee. And I'm Sheila Smeltzer From North Carolina, we are your hosts and guides through the landscape of growing a successful home service business. We do this by interviewing the best home service business builders in the industry, folks that have already built seven and eight figure businesses, and they want to help you succeed. Yep. No fake gurus on this show, just real life owners that have been in the trenches and can help show you the way to grow profitably. We get insights and truths from successful business builders, and every episode is 100% experience, 0% theory. We are going to dig deep and reveal the good, the bad, and the ugly. Our guests will share with you the pitfalls to avoid and the keys to winning. In short, our guests will show you how to transform your home service business into a masterpiece. Thanks for joining us on the wild. Journey of entrepreneurship. Let's dive in. Hello my friends, it's Sid Graef. This is the Huge Transformation podcast. Thanks for joining me today 'cause we've got a great conversation with Aaron Harper. Who is Aaron Harper? Aaron is the founder and was the CEO until he hired a new CEO of rolling SUDS power washing. And that is the nation's first coast to coast power washing franchise. And you're like franchise. We're a bunch of solo business owners. You're gonna learn a ton from Aaron and how deliberate. And thoughtful. They have been in developing a franchise brand for power washing and really helping raise the level in the industry across the board. So we had a great time on this. We talk about a lot of stuff. There's a lot of resources that are mentioned, book books and podcasts and concepts and all of that. All of that's gonna be in the show notes. You can learn, you can check it out there. Um, but with that, please join me in this conversation with Aaron Harper and get to know my new friend and yours, Aaron Harper. Welcome to the Huge Transformations podcast, everybody is your listening. Uh, the Huge Transformation podcast is all about the journey, the journey of a business person, entrepreneur, usually in home services, but where they started and how they became successful and some of the challenges along the way. And I'm really excited I've got Aaron Harper on with us today. And as your, your name tag says Aaron, founder of Rolling Suds. First of all, thanks for being on the show with me today. Thanks for having me. I'm excited to get, uh, get to know you and, and talk about, uh, talk about all the stuff that we're gonna talk about. Yeah, a hundred percent. So I've got like 4,000 questions for you, but, uh, a little bit of background for you is not for you about you. So you grew up in California, you were a skater, surfer kid, got into, uh, looked like you wanted to get into the film industry and as an agent. Mm-hmm. And then somehow transitioned out of that and started working as an employee and a franchise, carpet cleaning franchise, and then kind moved up the ranks and then, uh, there's a whole lot more to the story. One thing that I, I can't wait to, we'll do it a little bit later, but you and I share something in common that is so obscure. It's like one in 10 million. I was shocked when I saw it. Not in what, just in some of the homework. Um, which, which might be fun for us to discuss a little bit, but how did you go from the. Skater kid to arts and entertainment, wanna be an agent and to get into franchising, like, tell us the backstory. I'll dig in a little bit more as we go. Yeah. So, um, you know, I, I, I, I grew up, uh, in Southern California, you know, my grandfather was really into film. I was really into film. I studied film. I saw Entourage, thought I wanted to be Ari Gold, except just a little bit nicer. Um, and, um, and, and then, you know, kind of put that, put that goal in my mind to, to do that. Um, left college, ended up having an internship, working for, you know, a, a, a producer, um, movie producer. Then went and worked at, um, talent agency and ended up working my way up as kind of an assistant slash like a agent and training. Working on the teams of like Jesse Isenberg, Melissa, Leo, will Smith, and like a bunch of other ones. And, uh, basically realized that like I didn't want anything that my bosses had and they were miserable. And it was just like I was working so, so hard. And I'm not afraid of hard work, but like it was, I mean, if you know anything about the Hollywood industry, like it's about as bad as you, as you think it is in terms of like all of the stereotypes that you've heard about the backside of the Hollywood industry are true and then some. And so it was just not a life that I wanted. I was really miserable. And, um, you know, I, I just said, made the decision to kind of abandon, abandon ship there. Um, worked, uh, in kind of a B2B sales role, um, to try to put some numbers on my, on my skillset. Like I learned a lot during that experience. Like, I learned how to manage really difficult personalities. I learned the importance of relationships. I learned how to stand out in a crowd of many aggressive, hungry people. So I, I, I, I value the experience, but it wasn't where I wanted to be 20 years later. Right. And, but in Hollywood, like so much of what you do is based upon who, you know, what parties you can get into, like all these different, like who, who you can have coffee with, like very kind of, um, obscure and like unquantifiable things. Mm-hmm. It's like very squishy. It's like what's your, your reputation like? So I wanted to put some numbers on my, my efforts and ended up working at a Fortune 15 company and being their top sales rep. Nationwide, um, and said, okay, I, I've got something here. And a buddy of mine was working in franchising, had a carpet cleaning brand, and um, he said, you should get into franchise development. And I was like, well, I don't really want to build Wendy's location, so what are you talking about? He was like, no, like 1-800-GOT-JUNK is a franchise. Chem Dry is a Fran franchise. Like there's all these businesses that in the home service space that are franchised that you can, um, that you can grow and build. And, um, I loved the idea of helping people become business owners. So I emailed his boss every three weeks until he hired me with no response, no responded emails, um, till like email number seven. Okay. Um, and um, and then I just worked in, so I worked there, um, grew that brand by about 200 units in three years, then worked at a car, uh, drywall repair franchise, grew that by about 223 units in two years. And then I was like, wait a minute, I can do this on my own. Um, and I left that to go find a business to franchise in the service space. Um, I wasn't particularly looking for a power washing business. Um, I was looking a bunch at a bunch of different industries, HVAC, roofing, plumbing, solar tree care insulation, lawn care line striping, epoxy coatings. Like we looked at, like, I looked at like 23 different businesses, but, um, power washing like the, the, the Wendling started, um, rolling uds in 1990. And, and they're just great people that I knew I could partner with. Um, and it was a great business. It's, it's a great business and I knew it could, I could replicate it in any, any market. We went into and acquired the brand in January of 23, and since January of 23, we launched our first two franchisees in June of 23. And we've gone from a single location, power washing business in Pennsylvania to 328 units operating in 30. 36 states, um, nationwide now. Okay. So that's, there, you're, that's the Reader's Digest version and jumping and going from beginning to end. Let's dig in, in the middle just a little bit. Sure. Well, in, in, uh, 2022, I, again, in that year, it's when you left the, uh, the, the patch franchise thing mm-hmm. In, uh, the, your bio since you were fired in like January, 2022 and your wife was expecting at the same time, which seems like a really scary time to go, Hey, I'm gonna. Not get another job, but we're gonna go build something. We're gonna get in franchising, but I don't even know what it is yet, like sell that. So it's actually him saying how you sell that, it's actually even worse than that. It's actually, yeah, it's even crazier than that. So my, um, my job that I was working at wanted me to take on a brand from scratch that they would've paid me. Um, I would've had a, you know, title with the word president in it. Um, they wanted to, on target earnings would've been somewhere between 850 and 1,000,800 50,000 and a million dollars, um, in, in earnings annually. Um, I would've been given two other brands and been able to incubate a brand from scratch with an unlimited budget like it was on paper. Probably the best you're gonna get from a corporate standpoint in a job. Um, and my wife was six months pregnant and she had heard me kind of like over the years. Cont

    1h 10m
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5
out of 5
10 Ratings

About

Welcome to the Huge Transformations Podcast—your go-to source for building a thriving, profitable home service business! Hosted by Sid Graef from Montana, Gabe Torres from Nashville and Sheila Smeltzer from North Carolina, this show is all about real talk with real business owners. We dive deep with industry leaders who have built 7- and 8-figure home service companies and are eager to share their hard-earned wisdom. No fake gurus here—just straight-up insights from entrepreneurs who’ve been in the trenches. Every episode is packed with 100% real-world experience and 0% theory. Expect unfiltered conversations about the wins, the setbacks, and everything in between. Our guests reveal the costly mistakes to avoid and the strategies that actually work, giving you the tools to transform your business into something extraordinary. Ready to take your home service business to the next level? Let’s dive in!

Information

  • Creator
    The Huge
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    38
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2025 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Huge Transformations

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