The Home Service Expert Podcast

Tommy Mello: $200 Million Founder|Forbes, Inc., Entrepreneur Columnist
  • 4.7 (789)
  • Management
  • Updated Weekly

The Home Service Expert podcast is the No. 1 podcast for ambitious home service entrepreneurs, whether they are in plumbing, HVAC or another niche. In this show, Tommy Mello, a $200M business founder, will talk with the best entrepreneurs and experts in the home service industry and beyond, to share insights that have made them successful: from the newest marketing tools to the best scaling strategies. Previous podcast guests include Terry Nicholson (former national trainer of NYSE-listed home services company), Craig Smith (President of HomeAdvisor, a home services marketplace valued at $2B+), Cameron Herold (former COO of three $100M+ companies), etc.

  1. 6d ago

    He Went From a Window Tint Shop to a $400M Company (His One Hiring Rule)

    🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ Dustin Sims went from running a window tint shop to VP of Operations at A1 Garage Door Service — a $400 million company — in under five years, promoted three times along the way. Tommy pulls back the curtain on how A1 actually runs: why serving the customer has to be the North Star, why incentives alone drive the wrong behavior, how to interview for the one trait that isn't on any resume, rebuilding a dispatch culture that had checked out, and the AI stack (call analysis, machine-learning dispatch) behind 30,000 jobs a month with a team of 20 dispatchers. 🕐 TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Intro 01:22 Window Tint to VP 03:40 Private Equity Reality 11:26 Rebuilding Dispatch 20:44 Leadership That Serves 24:48 Loyalty and Culture 31:38 Customer North Star 38:40 Interviewing for Care 45:50 Family and Discipline 51:04 Raving Fans Standard 59:30 AI in the Call Center 1:05:20 Dispatching 30,000 Jobs 1:12:36 CSR vs Dispatcher 1:18:10 Culture Over Everything 🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ Check Out My Social Media: Tiktok ⟶ https://www.tiktok.com/@officialtommymello Instagram ⟶ https://www.instagram.com/officialtommymello/ Facebook ⟶ https://www.facebook.com/thomasmello/ #HomeServiceExpert #A1GarageDoor #Leadership

    1h 29m

  2. Jul 2

    The Accountability System That Makes Poor Performance Impossible to Hide

    🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ More than half of private equity–backed CEOs don't make it through the hold period. Samantha Allison and Taavo Godtfersen studied the ones who 5X'd their companies instead — and wrote The 5X CEO. Tommy digs into the five disciplines behind those outcomes, the talent audit that finds the 8–20 roles creating 80% of your value, equity-for-all, what the first 90 days under PE actually demand, and the shift from chief problem-solver to chief system designer. Whether you ever plan to sell or just want to run your company like the ones that do — this is the playbook. 🕐 TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Intro 06:24 Founder CEO vs Hired CEO: Why Private Equity Replaces Owners 11:32 CEO Talent Audit: The 8 to 20 Roles That Create 80% of Value 19:10 The 5X CEO Model: Five Disciplines of Top Performers 27:39 First Year With Private Equity: The 90-Day Playbook 35:42 Blank Sheet Exercise: How Top CEOs Disrupt Themselves 43:02 Nine Box Talent Review and Leading Indicators 50:21 Is Private Equity Good or Bad for Business? 59:33 How Much Debt Should a Business Take On? 1:05:22 CEO Time Audit and Decision Audit Explained 🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ Check Out My Social Media: Tiktok ⟶ https://www.tiktok.com/@officialtommymello Instagram ⟶ https://www.instagram.com/officialtommymello/ Facebook ⟶ https://www.facebook.com/thomasmello/

    1h 8m

  3. Jun 30

    The Operating System Behind America's Biggest Garage Door Company

    🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ A1 Garage Door is about to cross $410 million — and Garage Door Freedom exists to hand other owners the exact systems that got it there. GDF coach Jon Hartey breaks down the Freedom Framework, the KPIs that actually move a business, what the first 90 days look like, and the real member stories — including the owner who burned his whole team down and came back at nearly 100% conversion. Whether you're doing $500K or $5M, this is the look inside. 🕐 TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Intro 00:53 How Garage Door Freedom Started 03:10 The Freedom Framework 04:01 Where Owners Actually Struggle 05:39 What's the Moat Around Your Business? 08:35 What the First 90 Days Look Like 09:29 Meet the GDF Team 11:48 Better Your Best Technician Training 14:21 The KPIs That Matter Most 15:54 Why A1 Books 92% of Calls 16:39 The Most Underrated Growth Lever 21:27 Real Member Success Stories 24:34 Own Your Market — Don't Chase Four 26:57 The ServiceTitan Price Book Advantage 28:17 How the Program Pays for Itself 29:21 Inside Vertical Track 32:56 The Only Objection That Matters 35:19 He Burned It Down and Came Back Stronger 37:55 Work On the Business, Not In It 38:32 Final Thoughts 🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ Check Out My Social Media: Tiktok ⟶ https://www.tiktok.com/@officialtommymello Instagram ⟶ https://www.instagram.com/officialtommymello/ Facebook ⟶ https://www.facebook.com/thomasmello/

    40 min

  4. Jun 30

    The Belief That Separates the People Who Win From Everyone Else | Evan Carmichael

    🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ Evan Carmichael started with $300 a month, dead-ass broke, too afraid to  tell anyone. He sold his company at 22, built a YouTube channel from nothing, and reached 4 million subscribers by helping entrepreneurs believe in  themselves. But the most powerful thing he said in this conversation had nothing to do with YouTube: "We don't care who watches the video. It's a relationship." Evan breaks down the exact content strategy home service owners should be  using — not to go viral, but to build the referral relationships that 5-10x  their revenue. Plus: why your purpose comes from your pain, the neuroscience  behind serving others, and the real reason most billionaires aren't happy  when they finally get there. 🕐 TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Intro 05:48 Team Mentoring as Content 11:35 The Office Hours Method 19:10 Borrowed Belief 26:03 Identity & Standards 34:05 Built to Serve 44:27 Catch Them Doing Something Right 51:12 Just Start and Keep Going 57:44 Content as Relationships 1:02:44 Buyer Breakthrough Videos 1:17:36 Book Recommendations 🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ Check Out My Social Media: Tiktok ⟶ https://www.tiktok.com/@officialtommymello Instagram ⟶ https://www.instagram.com/officialtommymello/ Facebook ⟶ https://www.facebook.com/thomasmello/

    1h 19m

  5. Jun 24

    Your Hiring Strategy Is Setting You Up to Fail Before Day One | Mike Matalone

    🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ Window Nation had 80% employee turnover. Within 6 months, Mike Matalone brought it down to 23% — without changing their sales process, marketing, or compensation. The only thing he changed was how they hired, onboarded, and developed their people. Mike is the founder of XP3 Talent Systems and the bestselling author of Hire, Train, Retain. He spent 5 years coaching 45 CEOs through Vistage, where he discovered that 80-90% of all business problems trace back to one thing: people. In this episode, Tommy and Mike break down the exact people operating system that transforms average hires into A players in 30 days — and why the owners who think they can hire their way to a great team are already losing. ⏱️ CHAPTERS ⏱️ 00:00 Intro 00:24 XP3 Origin Story 06:59 Window Nation Turnaround 12:34 Three Hiring Criteria 18:14 Psychological Connection 23:44 Personality Assessments 30:42 AI For Interviews 36:04 Wow Onboarding 42:56 Company Advocates 53:19 What's In It For Them 1:01:14 Define Success 1:06:24 Build A Business Not A Job 🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ Check Out My Social Media: Tiktok ⟶ https://www.tiktok.com/@officialtommymello Instagram ⟶ https://www.instagram.com/officialtommymello/ Facebook ⟶ https://www.facebook.com/thomasmello/

    1h 12m

  6. Jun 19

    He Grew A Company To $220M | His Warning To Every Home Service Owner

    🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ Chuck Thokey built sales teams that generated $220 million in  revenue — and his first coaching client went from under $1 million  to a $6 million net profit before being acquired by private equity.  In this episode, Tommy sits down with the co-founder of Top Rep  Sales Training to break down exactly why most sales teams are either  your biggest asset or your most expensive liability — and why most  owners can't tell the difference. Chuck covers the four buyer personality types (the Platinum Rule),  why best-better-good pricing closes 90% of customers at the middle  tier, how to give a price without flinching, and the daily Power  Hour training system that keeps reps sharp. He also unpacks the  uncomfortable truth: 80% of sales leaders are either struggling or  need to be replaced — not because they're bad people, but because  they were never trained for the role. If your sales team isn't performing, this is the starting point. 🕐 TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Episode Open 01:21 Aerospace Origin Story 08:30 Four Buyer Types 13:30 Tier Pricing Tactics 20:27 Power Hour Training 30:00 Rep Performance Standard 37:14 Hiring and Simulation 44:23 Leadership Failure Rate 49:13 Six Million Case Study 57:00 Growth Mindset Scaling 1:02:18 KPI Dashboard Mastery 1:07:41 Final Thoughts 🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ Check Out My Social Media: Tiktok ⟶ https://www.tiktok.com/@officialtommymello Instagram ⟶ https://www.instagram.com/officialtommymello/ Facebook ⟶ https://www.facebook.com/thomasmello/

    1h 9m

  7. Jun 19

    What Every Contractor Brags About, That's Actually Proving Their Brand's Working Against Them

    🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ Your brand is either quietly growing your business or quietly killing it. In this episode, KickCharge Creative President Terri Briggs reveals why the most expensive decision home service contractors make is waiting — and how the right brand transforms average tickets, conversion rates, employee retention, and company value from day one. ⏱️ CHAPTERS 00:00 - Episode Introduction 03:49 - Brand Creation Process 07:00 - Revenue Impact Data 11:13 - Color Ownership Strategy 15:00 - Long-Term Brand Value 18:40 - Cost of Waiting 22:10 - Brand ROI Measurement 26:38 - Branded Not Blended 30:12 - JumpSpark Fleet 33:54 - The Profit Problem 39:06 - Free Brand Scan 43:46 - Test of Time 🔍 FREE BRAND SCAN: Is your brand healthy, or quietly holding you back? Terri Lynne Briggs will personally review your name, logo, and truck wrap and tell you what's working and what's costing you. No charge. Book yours: https://www.kickcharge.com/brand-scan/ 🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ Check Out My Social Media: Tiktok ⟶ https://www.tiktok.com/@officialtommymello Instagram ⟶ https://www.instagram.com/officialtommymello/ Facebook ⟶ https://www.facebook.com/thomasmello/

    49 min

  8. Jun 11

    The Smartest Home Service Owners in the Country Are All Doing This One Thing

    🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ Jim Leslie is the CEO of Home Service Freedom and former CMO/CTO at A1 Garage Door — where he helped build the company to over $400 million. Today he breaks down exactly what's killing revenue inside most home service companies (hint: it's not your marketing), walks through real HSF member success stories with real numbers, and explains how the right systems, community, and coaching can take any home service company further, faster. In this episode: ▸ The #1 reason home service marketing doesn't work (it's your booking rate) ▸ How a $22M multi-trade company was losing money without knowing why — and turned it around ▸ The speed-of-implementation principle that separates companies that grow from those that stay stuck ▸ How AI is flipping the labor equation — and what it means for your team right now ▸ Why going deeper beats going wider — every time ▸ What smart investors actually look for in a home service company ▸ Inside HSF: membership, coaching, training, and the 90-day money-back guarantee ▸ Freedom Event: October 26–28, Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas -- 🕐 TIMESTAMPS 🕐 -- 00:00 — Jim Leslie / HSF 08:11 — HSF Membership Overview 16:00 — Member Turnaround Story 23:52 — Speed of Implementation 29:05 — AI Productivity Shift 36:28 — Smart Investor Criteria 44:15 — Freedom Event Details 🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ Check Out My Social Media: Tiktok ⟶ https://www.tiktok.com/@officialtommymello Instagram ⟶ https://www.instagram.com/officialtommymello/ Facebook ⟶ https://www.facebook.com/thomasmello/

    53 min
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4.7
out of 5
789 Ratings

About

The Home Service Expert podcast is the No. 1 podcast for ambitious home service entrepreneurs, whether they are in plumbing, HVAC or another niche. In this show, Tommy Mello, a $200M business founder, will talk with the best entrepreneurs and experts in the home service industry and beyond, to share insights that have made them successful: from the newest marketing tools to the best scaling strategies. Previous podcast guests include Terry Nicholson (former national trainer of NYSE-listed home services company), Craig Smith (President of HomeAdvisor, a home services marketplace valued at $2B+), Cameron Herold (former COO of three $100M+ companies), etc.

Information

  • Creator
    Tommy Mello: $200 Million Founder|Forbes, Inc., Entrepreneur Columnist
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    488
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Show Website
    The Home Service Expert Podcast

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