The Kitchen Table

Ken Baden
  • 4.9 (32)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

A show about business, sales, goals, and the pursuit of personal greatness, all where business gets done. The Kitchen Table.

  1. 2d ago

    From Insurance Restoration to Retail: How Jake Huotari Hit Nearly $4M in Year One

    EPISODE NOTESGuest: Jake Huotari, Co-Owner, Aspire Home Services (Maple Grove, MN)Host: Ken Baden, CEO/Owner of Baden Consulting and Potomac Custom Remodeling Key takeaways Flexibility and a good attitude are core to Jake's leadership philosophy: "Blessed are the flexible, for they will not be bent out of shape."Jake and Josh started at Aspire as a small insurance restoration team. After the 90-day program with Ken, they ended 2025 just under $4M.Jake says retail runs about a 60% margin after commissions, and that insurance claims can move from about 45% to 75% margin using financing and upgrade tie-downs.Retail is a value-based proposition. Your ability to articulate value determines your ability to charge a premium.Retail businesses are worth roughly 4 to 5 points more to private equity and investors, according to Ken.Starting retail doesn't take a huge budget. Begin with one or two canvassers and add as profit allows.Hiring with a personality and temperament profile takes the mystery out of finding reps who will actually close.Jake says that when his team deviated from the scripting in July, their close rate dropped from 34% to 18%. It recovered as soon as they went back to it.Aspire's team now includes 7 sales reps, 8 canvassers, 2 phone staff, a job site coordinator, and a production specialist, which Jake says is a framework for a $15M business.Jake sees insurance carriers squeezing contractors through slow pay and scope disputes. He says fewer than half of last year's roughly 4,000 Minnesota contractors remain.About 3 in 10 roof replacements are insurance-driven and 7 in 10 are for other reasons, according to Ken. Very few roofers go after that 70%.Jake's advice on what made it work: follow directions, and put in the work.Jake's caution: "This is not get rich quick, this is get rich slow."Mentioned in the episode: Blue Collar Baller event (Dallas, 2023), one-sit close, canvassing, DISC-style hiring profile, CRM and cost-per-lead tracking, financing on insurance claims, private equity interest, NLP-based scripting. Connect with Jake: https://www.facebook.com/jakehuotariConnect with Ken: thekitchentablepodcast.net | Badenconsulting.net | DiversifiedRoofer.com | PotomacCustomRemodeling.com

    From Insurance Restoration to Retail: How Jake Huotari Hit Nearly $4M in Year One

  2. Sep 12

    Baltimore Rapper Menace Monroe on Turning Struggle Into Success

    🗒️ EPISODE NOTESMenace Monroe joins the show for the third time, discussing his life, music, and business ventures.He details his history in and out of incarceration starting at age 14, including a recent 6-year prison term.Discusses how a drug habit drove much of his past legal trouble, and how he's been sober and focused since coming home.Explains why he sees the music industry as "a business" — artists need consistency and traction before labels will invest.Talks through his growth strategy: he calls it "multiplication" — steadily increasing followers, streams, and income rather than expecting overnight success.Shares the emotional story of losing custody of his younger son during his last incarceration due to an interstate custody case, and how that experience continues to affect him.Credits family — including his brother, who was incarcerated alongside him — as a major source of motivation and change.Talks about his current single "Still My Boo," dedicated to women who've been mistreated in relationships.Discusses his long-term goal of eventually creating music with a positive message, citing Bob Marley as inspiration.Explains the origin of his clothing brand Trap Rob, which began as sketches in a notebook while incarcerated and has since grown into a full merch line (shirts, hats, bags, car accessories, and more) — now trademarked.Gives a shoutout to his brother's brand, Black Heart Garments, known for tactical, concealment-friendly sweatsuits.Wraps up with where to find his music and merchandise, and future goals: 1 million followers and 10x growth within a year.

    Baltimore Rapper Menace Monroe on Turning Struggle Into Success

  3. Sep 5

    The Truth About Call Centers & Cold Calling for Roofers with Peter Roth

    🗒️ EPISODE NOTESPeter Roth returns for his second appearance on The Kitchen Table Podcast, this time bringing detailed numbers and frameworks.Scalify specializes exclusively in human-driven outbound cold calling (AI cold calling is illegal) for booking home service estimates — no inbound, no lead reselling as a primary offering.Scalify builds fully-managed, client-owned call centers: the client owns everything, pays agents directly, and can cancel the management contract month-to-month.The "funnel" framework: bottom-of-funnel leads (people actively shopping) are few and expensive to fight over; top-of-funnel prospects (not yet problem-aware) are a much larger, less-contested pool — which is where cold calling and canvassing ("digital door knocking") come in.About two-thirds of Scalify's clients are insurance restoration roofers, one-third retail.Private equity buyers favor companies with proprietary lead generation because it reduces "de-risking" concerns tied to weather-dependent insurance work.Standard agent ratios: roughly 3 call center agents per 1 closer (assuming an empty calendar); similar to the 2-3:1 canvasser-to-closer ratio in door knocking.Cold callers speak to ~250 people/day with a sub-1% booking rate (1-2 appointments/day); door knockers speak to ~8-10 homeowners/day with higher lead quality but far lower volume.Average show rate on cold-call-booked appointments is around 40%.Typical roofing cost-per-acquisition via traditional marketing is ~$25 (on a great day); Scalify's clients typically see cost-per-acquisition around $900-1,000 — but with a call center, one deal's profit usually pays for the entire build-out (~$8-10K to build, ~$8-9K/month to run).Real client case study: a door-knocking-only operator spending $25K/month saw 1.5x ROI; switching to a call center model produced 6x ROI.The "secret sauce" of a call center isn't the agents, script, or dialer — it's the management team (a 4-person management team is often needed to run just 3 agents).Hiring "green" (untrained) reps and training them from scratch tends to outperform hiring "seasoned" reps with bad inbound-lead habits, because outbound sales requires creating urgency the prospect didn't have before the call.Case study: Victor Rencore, a well-known HVAC operator with 17 companies, deliberately avoids "replacement call" leads (price-shopping, bottom-of-funnel) in favor of top-of-funnel outbound leads.Power Home Remodeling's business model is built almost entirely on canvassing, allowing them to charge premium prices because their leads aren't price-shopping.Live transfers explained: the cold-calling agent does all the qualifying and rapport-building, then transfers the live call to a rotating pool of sales reps' cell phones (random or ring-all), rewarding "speed to lead."Live transfers can increase appointment volume by 25-60% because agents get back on the phone faster, and pre-built rapport improves show rates and close rates.Scalify stays a specialist in outbound cold calling only — Peter refers clients elsewhere for inbound, live transfer add-ons from other sources, canvassing, and SEO rather than trying to do it all.

    The Truth About Call Centers & Cold Calling for Roofers with Peter Roth

  4. Aug 29

    I Learned This the Hard Way: Scaling Past $10M in Insurance Restoration | Ken Baden

    Episode Notes Why Ken loves doing solo episodes — using the platform for pure value, no guest filter The "lean and mean" strategy that worked great... until it didn't The complacency factor: why sales reps unconsciously coast once they hit a comfortable income The fix: going all-in on recruiting, scaling from 5-7 reps to 15-20 across two offices Why team leads need to be physically in the field with new reps, not managing from afar Ken's decision to personally handle Day 1 onboarding and training for every new hire The "zone of genius" concept (credit to his coach Brandon) and why some things can't be delegated The math behind the growth goal: 15 reps per office, 4 contracts/week at $20K = $1.2M/week Two biggest lessons of the year: never forget the complacency factor, and live in your zone of genius Insurance restoration sales: why too many reps avoid confrontation and big-ticket conversations Setting proper expectations with homeowners at every step (ACV checks, timelines, next steps) Who's actually responsible for what: the insurance carrier's job vs. the contractor's job Why avoiding potential problems creates bigger problems down the line Office revamp, personal branding, and the morning mantra that's shifted team energy What's coming up next: guests including a musician/entrepreneur and Ken's recruiting team

    I Learned This the Hard Way: Scaling Past $10M in Insurance Restoration | Ken Baden

  5. Aug 22

    Taming Your Money Monster: The Real Cost of Entrepreneurship with Nancy Benet

    Episode Notes Nancy's background: raised by parents with limited means, inspired by a family friend who was a CPA Left a traditional accounting career path after realizing she disliked tax, audit, and corporate work Became a stay-at-home mom while helping her husband start businesses — five failed along the way Hit rock bottom at 45: divorced, four kids, $100/week child support, $650,000 in debt Bought a tax prep firm that fell through the day after signing a 3-year office lease Built her firm by marketing to people with public federal tax liens during the recession Learned those clients weren't ideal long-term and repositioned toward recurring revenue (monthly tax/CFO services) Founded Success Your Way to teach entrepreneurial mindset and business basics to newer founders Discusses LLC vs. S-corp election and why a sole-member LLC is often the right starting entity The "set your new zero" lesson from a friend that reshaped her relationship with cash reserves Wrote Tame Your Money Monster (releasing January 20th) as a result of her own financial mismanagement Candid discussion on lifestyle inflation, especially in insurance restoration roofing/solar businesses Tax strategy talk: why spending to "save on taxes" often costs more than it saves Real estate as a legitimate long-term tax strategy — but only after building a real income base Closing advice: "Manage your money well — that is what leads to peace in your life" Ken plugs Baden Consulting's retail roofing consultation for storm/insurance restoration roofers

    Taming Your Money Monster: The Real Cost of Entrepreneurship with Nancy Benet

  6. Aug 15

    From Cleaning Gutters to Running a Roofing Empire: Shane Michael's Story

    Episode Notes Shane got his start in construction in 2013 doing gutter cleaning and repairs before moving into general contracting, flooring, and eventually car sales. He launched his own business about 8-9 years ago and later transitioned fully into roofing roughly five years ago. A standout early sale: a homeowner with 50-60 solar panels closed in under three minutes for a $12K job. Shane and Ken discuss learning from sales trainers (referencing Adam and the "SLAP" sales framework vs. Ken's "3 W's"). Recruiting struggles this summer left both companies short-staffed heading into peak storm season. Storm activity has been unusually high this year in the DMV compared to the last several years. Two unusual insurance claim situations: carriers asking for pre-purchase home inspections before releasing funds, and a homeowner discovering a $23,000 deductible that left him covering 52% of an ~$80K roof. Discussion on where premiums, deductibles, and claim requirements might be heading next year. Why aggressive, professional closers consistently outperform sloppy canvassing teams — and why sending canvassers into a competitive area can backfire. Zeus Contracting is expanding into Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, with plans to grow paid advertising (Google/Facebook) heading into winter. Zeus Contracting posted a record month: 55 signed deals worth over $900,000. ⏱️ Timestamps 00:00 – Intro & catching up with Shane Michael 01:09 – Shane's start in construction (2013): gutters, repairs & general contracting 02:30 – Transitioning into sales, including a stint in car sales 04:45 – Starting his own business ~8-9 years ago 05:25 – Going full-time into roofing & the fast solar panel sale 06:33 – Sales training, mentors, and the "SLAP" vs. "3 W's" methods 08:04 – Recruiting struggles and rebuilding the sales team 10:39 – This year's storm activity and market response 12:15 – Odd insurance claim: pre-purchase inspection required for payout 13:37 – Digging into how that requirement can even be legal 14:35 – Deductible shock: 48% out-of-pocket on an $80K+ roof 15:31 – Where deductibles and policies are headed next year 20:15 – Finding opportunity in a "down" market 22:08 – Why the industry is thinning out — and why that's a good thing 22:27 – Canvassers vs. closers: professionalism and close rates 25:39 – Company culture, integrity, and core values 25:53 – What's next for Zeus Contracting 26:26 – Expansion plans into Delaware, PA & Virginia 26:46 – Record month: 55 deals, $900K+ in signed work 27:32 – Where to find Shane Michael & Zeus Contracting online

    From Cleaning Gutters to Running a Roofing Empire: Shane Michael's Story

  7. Aug 8

    Solo Episode: Mindset, Hiring, and the Stronghouse Rumors | The Kitchen Table Podcast w/ Ken Baden

    Episode Notes Ken explains why this is a solo episode and gives a quick update on upcoming guest scheduling The story behind his Audi R8's third blown motor and the lesson learned about modifying performance cars How a Warren Buffett-inspired gratitude mindset helped him reframe a costly setback Setting the record straight on rumors that Stronghouse Roofing was insolvent Why Ken sees "blood in the water" opportunity as competitors cut staff and salaries Behind the scenes of his company's mass hiring and training push, including working with an outside recruiting firm Why Ken and his business partner Justin are personally training every recruit Advice for contractors considering adding a retail division to their insurance restoration business Why fall and spring are the money-making seasons for retail roofing What Ken looks for before taking on a new consulting client The daily 8:30 AM morning mantra his team recites, and the psychology behind it (including the "red car theory") Why belief and mindset matter as much as strategy when market conditions shift Personal update: family, an upcoming trip, and staying grounded amid rapid company growth Timestamps 00:00 – Solo episode intro and guest scheduling update 01:11 – Ken's Audi R8 blows its third motor 04:26 – Reframing setbacks with gratitude (the Warren Buffett flat tire story) 06:14 – Why Ken's been posting more about his wife lately 07:38 – Setting the record straight: Stronghouse insolvency rumors debunked 09:53 – "Blood in the water": why Ken is going all-in on growth this year 12:49 – Inside the company's mass hiring and training push 14:39 – Why Ken and Justin are personally training every recruit 15:33 – Advice for contractors considering a retail roofing division 19:00 – What to look for (and avoid) when vetting a coach or consultant 20:59 – Team hits goal — pizza party moment 23:00 – The origin of the daily morning mantra 26:39 – Breaking down the mantra: the "red car theory" and unconscious opportunity 28:19 – The full morning mantra, word for word 30:59 – Personal update, family plans, and closing thoughts

    Solo Episode: Mindset, Hiring, and the Stronghouse Rumors | The Kitchen Table Podcast w/ Ken Baden

  8. Jul 24

    From Chick-fil-A to $10M: Zach Sasser's Roofing Empire

    Episode Notes Zach grew up in a roofing family in DFW; his dad transitioned from mortgages into roofing after the 2008 crash. Zach sold his first roofs at 17 after a hometown storm, earning around $10K in one summer — more than a full summer at Chick-fil-A. He studied marketing in college, believing that knowing how to get customers translates across any industry. Interned with the APEX mastermind under Stuman, surrounded by established roofing/home-service leaders; became top sales producer within 18 months and stayed about 5 years. About 4 years ago, Zach began helping his brother Brett grow Lone Star Exteriors — from roughly $1.2M to $9.5M last year, on pace for just over $10M this year. Discussion of regional insurance differences: DFW average deductible ~$7,000 vs. as low as $500 in parts of Oklahoma; ACV-only policies and roof payment schedules are increasingly common in Texas. State-level insurance regulation varies significantly (e.g., Delaware vs. Maryland) and impacts deductible/depreciation rules. The "Keep the Check" program: financing full job costs when insurance underpays (e.g., 40–50% coverage), helping homeowners avoid dipping into savings or high-interest credit card debt. Zach's company is roughly 95%+ insurance restoration and a small retail percentage, but expects retail/financing hybrid models to grow as ACV-only policies increase. Mindset segment: the impact of NLP techniques, daily positive affirmations with his team, and the "red car theory" (you see what you look for). Zach invested $50K in recruiting this year and brought on a team of commercial roofing reps from a company that did $140M the prior year. Long-term goals: hit 8 figures this year, with sights on $25–30M as the company scales systems and processes. Discussion on goal-setting flexibility — learning when to adjust targets rather than rigidly chasing a number, informed by a past overexpansion lesson. Where to find Zach: primarily active on Facebook and Instagram; company is Lone Star Exteriors, founded by his brother in 2018.

    From Chick-fil-A to $10M: Zach Sasser's Roofing Empire
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About

A show about business, sales, goals, and the pursuit of personal greatness, all where business gets done. The Kitchen Table.

Information

  • Creator
    Ken Baden
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    157
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2023 The Kitchen Table Podcast
  • Show Website
    The Kitchen Table