The Home Service Expert Podcast
The Home Service Expert Podcast

The Home Service Expert Podcast

Tommy Mello: $200 Million Founder|Forbes, Inc., Entrepreneur Columnist

Overview
Episodes

Details

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.

Recent Episodes

The Real Reason Most People Never Start (It's Not Discipline)
MAY 18, 2026
The Real Reason Most People Never Start (It's Not Discipline)
๐Ÿš€ FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ Dr. Benjamin Hardy is one of the world's leading organizational psychologists โ€” PhD, bestselling author of 10X Is Easier Than 2X, and Dan Sullivan's writing partner. In this episode, Tommy sits down with Dr. Hardy to break down why you don't need to be ready to start, how your future self is already waiting for you to decide, and the one mindset shift that separates the operators who scale from the ones who stay stuck. โฑ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Start Before You're Ready 02:54 Welcome and Introductions 04:31 Tommy's Hockey Stick Growth 05:28 Ben's Background Today 07:01 Profitability Over Revenue 09:26 Ben's Origin Story 16:08 Meeting Dan Sullivan 21:48 How to Co-Write Books 24:30 Building Your Audience 30:13 The Power Law Explained 36:24 How to 10X 43:59 Writing Seven Books 47:34 The Gap and the Gain 48:59 Future Self Framework 57:14 Stop Waiting for Perfect 01:00:11 Future Self Deep Dive 01:07:48 The Science of Future Self 01:21:40 Closeout Questions 01:25:01 Start Over With $10M 01:28:20 Ben's Favorite Books 01:31:18 Find Ben Online ๐Ÿ”— Build Your Freedom โ†’ https://homeservicefreedom.com/ ๐Ÿ“ฑ Follow Tommy: TikTok โ†’ https://www.tiktok.com/@officialtommymello Instagram โ†’ https://www.instagram.com/officialtommymello Facebook โ†’ https://www.facebook.com/officialtommymello ๐ŸŽ™๏ธ Home Service Expert Podcast โ†’ https://homeserviceexpert.com
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94 MIN
The Leadership Skill That Gets More Valuable as AI Takes Over
MAY 16, 2026
The Leadership Skill That Gets More Valuable as AI Takes Over
๐Ÿš€ FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ The biggest myth in home service technology? That software solves problems. It doesn't. People do. Tommy sits down with Richard Kohberger โ€” the go-to ServiceTitan expert and founder of Blue Collar Nerd โ€” for one of the most honest conversations about technology, leadership, and what it actually takes to build a great home service company in the AI era.In this episode you'll learn: โ€” Why most companies use ServiceTitan wrong โ€” and what it actually looks like when you use it right โ€” The truth about AI replacing CSRs and what to do about it before it happens to you โ€” Why adding more AI to your business means your people need MORE human attention, not less โ€” The four metrics every home service owner should know cold โ€” Why emotional intelligence is the most underrated skill in home service leadership -- ๐Ÿ• TIMESTAMPS ๐Ÿ• -- 00:00 - Introduction 00:34 - Richard's Background and Blue Collar Nerd Origin 03:08 - Why Investors Are Rushing Into Home Service 06:02 - Advanced ServiceTitan Integrations 10:31 - When to Get on ServiceTitan 13:50 - AI-First Software and What's Coming 17:46 - Tommy's AI-Written Radio Ad Live 21:16 - Social Media vs Traditional Advertising 28:03 - The A1 Garage Model vs HVAC 32:28 - Which Industry Would Richard Build In? 36:12 - Tommy's 2017 Trifecta and Podcast Origin 38:49 - SOPs: SweetProcess vs Trainual 41:13 - AI Supporting People Not Replacing Them 44:41 - Technology Changing Leadership and Culture 47:52 - Longevity Science and Fasting 51:03 - Skills the Next Generation of Operators Needs 54:14 - EQ vs IQ in Leadership 58:42 - Rapid Fire: The Four Metrics Every Owner Must Know 1:09:08 - Die With Zero and Tommy's Philanthropy Plans 1:13:53 - Get Clear on Your WHY 1:17:35 - Is "I'm Doing It for My Family" Really True? 1:23:39 - Meditation, Facing Fears, and Final Thoughts ๐Ÿš€ FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ Tiktok โŸถ https://www.tiktok.com/@officialtommymello Instagram โŸถ https://www.instagram.com/officialtommymello/ Facebook โŸถ https://www.facebook.com/thomasmello/ Tommy Mello Millionaire โŸถ https://www.youtube.com/@officialtommymello
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90 MIN
The #1 Reason Home Service Companies Get Stuck Between $1M and $10M
MAY 11, 2026
The #1 Reason Home Service Companies Get Stuck Between $1M and $10M
๐Ÿš€ FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ Most home service companies don't fail from a lack of opportunity โ€” they fail because they lose focus. Tommy sits down with Yarin Gaon, a growth advisor who has mentored over 397 businesses through Chicago and SCORE and helped company after company break through the $1Mโ€“$10M plateau. Yarin's framework is built on one core idea: the path of least resistance always wins. In this episode you'll learn: โ€” Why your current business model might not be the version worth scaling โ€” How to find the 20% of your operation driving 80% of your profit โ€” The growth canvas replacing vision traction organizers for home service leaders โ€” What "path of least resistance" actually looks like applied to your business โ€” Why you need to pause before your next quarterly session and design Version 2 Yarin's free playbook: fractional.partners โ€” no lead magnet, no catch. Just the framework. -- ๐Ÿ• TIMESTAMPS ๐Ÿ• -- 00:00 - Introduction 00:51 - Yarin's Background and Story 05:06 - Hustle vs Focus 06:08 - What Vision Actually Means 08:20 - Defining Your Real Success Metric 10:39 - How to Build a Monopoly in Your Market 12:11 - Military E-Commerce Business Breakdown 15:49 - Diversification Mistakes and When to Cut 21:17 - The Wrong Growth Model 23:51 - Growth by Addition vs Subtraction 30:50 - Profitability Before Capital 33:41 - How Private Equity Values Your Business 37:47 - What the Best CEOs Have in Common 39:53 - Better Decisions Equal More Profit 1:05:46 - Why Franchising Fails in Home Service 1:07:09 - The Explicit Decision Framework 1:09:45 - The Growth Model Framework 1:12:48 - Free Playbook and Book Recommendation 1:13:32 - Path of Least Resistance Explained 1:15:14 - Build a Machine That Prints Profit ๐Ÿš€ FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ Tiktok โŸถ https://www.tiktok.com/@officialtommymello Instagram โŸถ https://www.instagram.com/officialtommymello/ Facebook โŸถ https://www.facebook.com/thomasmello/ Tommy Mello Millionaire โŸถ https://www.youtube.com/@officialtommymello Live Q&A โŸถ https://homeserviceexpert.com/questions
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77 MIN
Why the Wealthiest Investors, Nobody Talks About, Are All in This Industry
MAY 8, 2026
Why the Wealthiest Investors, Nobody Talks About, Are All in This Industry
๐Ÿš€ FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ ๐Ÿ’Ž Top 5 Takes for this Episode! 1. People overestimate what they can do in one or two years โ€” and massively underestimate what they can do in five to ten. Stick with the boring work. 2. Blue collar is the new rich. AI won't replace the trades. Private equity loves scalable home service. Most people couldn't name three flooring companies. That's the opportunity. 3. The real game isn't revenue โ€” it's enterprise value. Lifestyle businesses extract cash. Legacy businesses build an asset worth selling. 4. Master the mundane. Discipline over dopamine. Repetition over inspiration. That's the only secret. 5. There's nothing more dangerous than a wealthy man who gets bored. The same hunter energy that builds empires can destroy everything. Channel it right or it eats you alive. -- ๐Ÿ• TIMESTAMPS ๐Ÿ• -- 00:00 - Introducing Cody Sperber โ€” The Clever Investor 01:30 - From Navy vet to flipping houses off a napkin 03:39 - 14 months, $30K in debt, and one deal that changed everything 04:57 - Collapsing time: 14 months to 2 months to 3 weeks 06:09 - From wholesaling to rentals to real estate education 07:47 - Why real estate teaches entrepreneurship faster than anything 10:03 - Real estate is a people business โ€” AI can't replace that 11:36 - Why Cody was the best marketer in real estate 16:02 - Why blue collar is the new rich 17:16 - Why Cody chose flooring: most people can't name two companies 18:10 - Selling the education business: first time playing the right game 18:27 - Enterprise value vs. lifestyle business 19:00 - Getting emotional at the Service Titan debate about private equity 20:03 - Why taking chips off the table was about parents, not profit 22:01 - The American dream is still real โ€” immigrants prove it 41:24 - Why authenticity beats selling courses every single time 46:17 - Having kids doubled his income โ€” the hunter mindset intensified 46:42 - The upfront conversation every entrepreneur needs with their partner 48:34 - The system that made marriage and business work together 50:37 - 18 years and a divorce: 'We friendzoned each other' 52:06 - The most dangerous thing a wealthy man can do when he gets bored 53:26 - Having everything on paper and feeling completely empty inside 55:11 - The year and a half that rebuilt his character from the ground up 58:05 - One piece of advice for your 20s: Master the mundane 58:35 - People overestimate 1-2 years. They underestimate 5-10. 59:22 - Why Cody loves failure and what he tells his team 1:00:47 - If you had $10M and your network โ€” what would you build? 1:22:29 - Floor Daddy at 2 years: three crash and burns, $1M+/month 1:23:53 - Tommy's close: financial discipline and the 15% EBITDA rule Check Out My Social Media: Tiktok โŸถ https://www.tiktok.com/@officialtommymello Instagram โŸถ https://www.instagram.com/officialtommymello/ Facebook โŸถ https://www.facebook.com/thomasmello/ My other podcast: Tommy Mello Millionaire โŸถ https://www.youtube.com/@officialtommymello Live Q&A submission form: https://homeserviceexpert.com/questions
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93 MIN
From Sales Rep to $28M: What Jordan White Learned Building Seek One Roofing
MAY 4, 2026
From Sales Rep to $28M: What Jordan White Learned Building Seek One Roofing
๐Ÿš€ FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ ๐Ÿ’Ž Top 5 Takes for this Episode! There are two types of business owners โ€” those who build for cash flow, and those who build enterprise value to sell. Know which one you are before you start. More marketing never fixes a broken operation. Fix your booking rate, cancellation rate, and conversion rate first. Then scale spend. A players today can become C players in two years. The business grows, the people don't always grow with it. Watch for it. Never take on work outside your lane just because it's a big dollar. Scope creep creates liability, inflates AR, and distracts the whole team. "Everybody wants the views, but very few people are willing to take the hike." โ€” the one quote that defines the cost of real success. -- ๐Ÿ• TIMESTAMPS ๐Ÿ• -- 00:00 - Introducing Jordan White and Seek One Roofing 01:13 - The hardest thing in business right now 03:13 - Building a business as an asset vs. a cash flow machine 04:50 - Year by year: $2.5M to $28M in four years 07:32 - What salespeople don't know when they start a company 09:57 - Why some industries are impossible to scale 12:37 - Building trust and credibility before you have a brand 13:25 - What happens at $28M โ€” private equity, roll equity, or rebuild 17:52 - How faith shows up in real business decisions 20:49 - Protecting integrity while training salespeople to win 22:20 - The marketing formula nobody talks about 23:30 - Why adding more marketing spend right now is a mistake 24:44 - Building a real-time data dashboard with custom metrics 26:58 - Why you should own a market before you enter a new one 29:47 - When to walk away from a market (we pulled out of 7) 31:35 - The hardest leadership lesson Jordan learned 33:17 - Turning down an $8.3M commercial job and why 36:31 - Aaron Stokes tribute โ€” the plane accident and what it meant 38:53 - What loss teaches you about enjoying the journey 41:47 - If you don't enjoy the journey, the destination won't change it 43:01 - Don't tie your identity to your business 43:12 - What changes as a leader when the company outgrows you 45:57 - The CFO who sees around corners 1:04:30 - Colin's story: from Tractor Supply at 19 to $273K in year one Check Out My Social Media: Tiktok โŸถ https://www.tiktok.com/@officialtommymello Instagram โŸถ https://www.instagram.com/officialtommymello/ Facebook โŸถ https://www.facebook.com/thomasmello/ My other podcast: Tommy Mello Millionaire โŸถ https://www.youtube.com/@officialtommymello Live Q&A submission form: https://homeserviceexpert.com/questions
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64 MIN