If your service business isn’t where you want it to be—more profit, better crews, fewer fires, real growth—this episode forces the most important question: why, exactly, are you still stuck? Not the polished answer. Not the supply-house answer. The honest one.In Part 1 of the Expert Problem Solver series, Jeremy Hanson breaks down the excuse contagion—how “reasonable” explanations like “I can’t find good help,” “the economy is terrible,” “I don’t have the capital,” “my market is too competitive,” and “I’m waiting for the right time” become a cultural virus in the trades. These narratives often contain partial truth… and that’s why they’re so dangerous. They quietly remove your agency.You’ll learn why smart business owners rationalize failure better than anyone, how industry groupthink makes excuses feel like “common sense,” and why the question isn’t whether your explanation sounds true—but whether it’s useful. Jeremy confronts the most common contractor myths head-on, including the “good help” fallacy, the waiting-for-timing trap, and the perfectionism alibi that keeps owners planning forever while competitors pass them.This episode is the Mirror Moment: the line between owners who stay stuck and owners who get results. Not motivation. Not fluff. Ownership, diagnosis, and operational maturity—the foundations of building a business where good people stay, customers return, and growth becomes repeatable.You’ll also get a practical assignment to end the episode: identify your top three excuses, then write the three actions you’d take if those excuses were no longer allowed.Next episode (Part 2): Root Cause Diagnosis—why most fixes fail, why problems repeat, and how expert problem solvers cure systems instead of reacting to symptoms.Primary keywordsexpert problem solverservice business coachingcontractor mindsetbusiness excusesownership mindsetleadership in tradesscaling a service businessblue collar business growthoperational systems for contractorshiring and retention for service companiesSecondary keywords“no one wants to work anymore” mythtrades business leadershiphow to build a great teamtraining systems for technicianspay progression systemscheduling systems for crewsperfectionism in businesshow to stop procrastinating in businesscontractor pricing strategy (setup for later episodes)root cause analysis (teaser for Part 2)Long-tail phrases (high-intent search phrases)how to stop making excuses in my service businesswhy contractors can’t find good employees and how to fix ithow to build a company culture that retains good technicianswhat to do when “no one wants to work” in the tradesservice business leadership systems that prevent chaoscontractor onboarding and training checklist systemhow to create a pay progression ladder for technicianshow to stop waiting for the right time to grow my businessperfectionism is keeping me from launching a service business offerhow to take ownership when business results are badwhy my service business is stuck even though I work 70 hourshow to build a service business that runs without the ownerhow to turn average employees into high performers with systemswhy blaming the economy keeps contractors brokehow to audit my business like an expert problem solverShort-tail phrases (high-volume targets)contractor coachingservice business growthhiring for contractorsemployee retentionbusiness systemsleadership mindsetstop procrastinatingperfectionism in businessscaling a trades businesscontractor leadershipSponsor Links https://squarespace.com/HANSON https://meetfabric.com/hansonSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.