
Hockey dreams, life-changing setbacks, and a $250K business hustle—this episode of the Digital Social Hour with Sean Kelly is packed with valuable insights you can’t miss! 🚀 Adam Chapman shares his inspiring journey from playing semi-pro hockey...
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Adam Chapman
You're pretty smart when people talk about you. Too smart comes up a lot. So why are you trying to prove them wrong? Why aren't you pushing the limits of science and powering the nuclear engines of the world's most powerful Navy? If you were born for it, isn't it time to make a smart choice? You can be smart or you can be nuke smart. Become a nuclear engineer@navy.com nukesmart America's Navy forged by the sea I played semi pro. I signed when I was 20. I played. That's the only thing I did my whole life was hockey. I was not a business guy at all. It was just straight NHL or bust and got pretty close and then had a pretty big injury. So that's how I landed. Yeah.
Podcast Host
Concussion, right?
Adam Chapman
Yeah. Yeah, I was in a fight and I fought a lot, too. Really? Yeah.
Podcast Host
Foreign guys. Adam Chapman here today from Canada. Welcome to America. Welcome to Vegas.
Adam Chapman
Thank you for having me.
Podcast Host
Yes, sir. Is this your first time in Vegas?
Adam Chapman
First time in Vegas, yes.
Podcast Host
What are you. What are you liking about it so far?
Adam Chapman
Well, you had a really good event last night. That was a lot of fun.
Podcast Host
Yeah.
Adam Chapman
Pretty much all we've done so far. Head to your event. It was a lot of fun. A lot of cool people there.
Podcast Host
Yeah, yeah. We were talking outside. You met all sorts of people, right?
Adam Chapman
Yeah, we met a F3 driver last night. Some guys in the online space. Yourself was a really cool event.
Podcast Host
Absolutely. Anyone recognize you from your viral videos?
Adam Chapman
Yeah, just one. Just one. One guy was trying to convince me that we went out in Vegas together, and then he pulled up my Instagram like, oh, you're the Christmas light guy.
Podcast Host
That's what I say.
Adam Chapman
Yes.
Podcast Host
Was that your first viral video, the Christmas light stuff?
Adam Chapman
No, the first stuff that started going viral was driveway sealing. It's like SEAL coating. Yeah.
Podcast Host
And you made money off that and just filmed you, like, performing that on other people's driveways, right?
Adam Chapman
Yeah. Well, it kind of started with just me filming it for my. My actual company, Pad Pal filming videos. And then a bunch of guys started reaching out to me from all over the place, asking for help with their business. And for me at least it was a lot of older guys in the industry, like 65 year old guys. So it was just kind of cool to talk to other people that were looking at home services that weren't old and then kind of spilled into creating more and more content.
Podcast Host
Damn, I didn't know the industry was that old. It's ran by older people.
Adam Chapman
Yeah, it's a very, It's a very old industry. It's a very, let's see, like a little bit more unprofessional. So being a young guy in it and meeting other young guys and it's a lot of opportunity for us. Yeah.
Podcast Host
Do you think it's because our generation's a little lazier?
Adam Chapman
100? Yeah. Yeah. Like everyone wants to be like a TikTok star or do drop shipping or Amazon FBA, whereas no one wants to go and kind of get their hands dirty and put in the hard work. Yeah.
Podcast Host
Or a podcaster.
Adam Chapman
Yeah.
Podcast Host
I get asked every damn day, yo, how can I start a podcast?
Adam Chapman
Yeah, yeah. Well, they think it's easy. Nothing's easy. But that's a little bit more sexy to be a podcaster than a home service guy.
Podcast Host
Yeah, yeah. But these, these jobs are needed, man. I mean, they're not going away. AI is not at the point where it can replace them yet.
Adam Chapman
No, I. And it's one of those things where I, I know everyone's afraid of AI for everything, but a lot of these services, I just can't see it being a priority of, of things that AI is taking over. Maybe it's going to help make it more efficient for business owners, but the actual physical labor is not going anywhere. No.
Podcast Host
Yeah. Hanging Christmas lights. That'd be very hard for an AI to do. I know there are robots now though. Elon Musk dropped one.
Adam Chapman
Yeah, yeah.
Podcast Host
You see that one?
Adam Chapman
Yeah, his little. He did the whole release a bunch of stuff. Yeah, I saw that. But then again, you want to think of like application of if they're going to have all that technology, is it going to be for something like Windows or Christmas lights? Probably not. It's going to be in a different field. I'd imagine that's going to be more lucrative than these types of.
Podcast Host
Yeah, And I love what you teach because it's so relatable and you don't need tons of money. To get started. You started with zero bucks, right?
Adam Chapman
Yeah. So I started with basically ground zero. I was sleeping in my car and then I went door to door, collected deposit money, used that money throughout the winter to buy my equipment. And then that was almost nine years ago now.
Podcast Host
Damn. What was the first equipment you bought?
Adam Chapman
First equipment was a squeegee and a scrubber. I didn't have any of the fancy stuff. It was just like a bucket, some rags, really the basics. I started with window cleaning and then just kept reinvesting back in my business.
Podcast Host
Those window cleaners make decent money, though.
Adam Chapman
Yeah, yeah. Window cleaning is an awesome gig. Cause it's. It's cheap to get started with and it's scalable and easily can do about a thousand fifteen hundred dollars a day by yourself.
Podcast Host
So what type of buildings were you doing that for?
Adam Chapman
Residential. So. So we do some commercial stuff, but the biggest one we got into is residential.
Podcast Host
There's some that do skyscrapers. I'm like, dude, yeah, we're not into that. Yeah, I'm good on that one. They probably make more, but the risk.
Adam Chapman
Yeah, it's very. That's very, like, very uncompetitive. Like there's not enough companies that do it. But that's. That's not a route we're going to go down.
Podcast Host
Yeah, the liability probably is just insane, you know, if you're up that high. I remember being on the 40th floor once and I saw someone outside like, dude, yeah, that is crazy.
Adam Chapman
Yeah, it's like. Or like those guys that do the free solos up the building and stuff.
Podcast Host
Oh, that documentary was my favorite one. What was that guy's name, the free climber? Alex Honnold.
Adam Chapman
Yeah. Yeah, that's it.
Podcast Host
Yeah, that was nuts.
Adam Chapman
And then I saw that one with the. The boyfriend and girlfriend. It's on Netflix now. They like. I forget what it's called, but they're like going up like the Dubai buildings and stuff. Like, no harnesses. What?
Podcast Host
That is crazy.
Adam Chapman
Sweating watching it.
Podcast Host
You ever do crazy stuff like that?
Adam Chapman
Crazy stuff like that? No, I love swimming and jumping off cliffs and stuff. All right.
Podcast Host
Cliff jumping is pretty. Pretty wild. What's the highest cliff you've jumped?
Adam Chapman
Probably like 50ft or something like that.
Podcast Host
I've done 40. And that was. That was pretty scary.
Adam Chapman
Love throwing the gainers off.
Podcast Host
Yeah, I had a fear of heights and I was in Jamaica. I'm like, let me just conquer this. I was like, I'm not gonna look before I jump. I'm just gonna jump off.
Adam Chapman
That's what it's all about.
Podcast Host
Tough landing though. Shit hurt to be honest, but there was a 80 foot cliff there and like the guys. Hey prime members, Are you tired of ads interfering with your favorite podcasts? Good news With Amazon Music you have access to the largest catalog of ad free top podcasts included with your prime membership. To start listening, download the Amazon Music app for free or go to Amazon.com ad free podcasts. That's Amazon.com adfreepodcast to catch up on the latest episodes without the ads.
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Podcast Host
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Adam Chapman
A lot of stuff in nature. Not too much. I like getting away and going to the going down south and taking the winners. I call it off I guess. But working on the business while my guys are kind of taking care of the lights and stuff. Taking them down. But yeah like I love going, going swimming and stuff like that. Getting out of Canada for sure.
Podcast Host
It's cold out there.
Adam Chapman
Yeah, it's already snowing and blowing, so it's nice to be down here.
Podcast Host
There's spots to swim out there though.
Adam Chapman
Kind of a little bit. Like lakes and stuff is only good for like July or else it's pretty cold.
Podcast Host
Yeah. You like the US better overall?
Adam Chapman
Yeah, I love the States.
Podcast Host
You want to move here?
Adam Chapman
Yeah, it's either gonna be Florida or Texas.
Podcast Host
Okay.
Adam Chapman
Well, Las Vegas is pretty nice so far.
Podcast Host
Yeah, it's hard to be Vegas. That process is hard. I heard.
Adam Chapman
Yeah. I have a company that's kind of like down and get my Visa and do that with me if I wanted to. Yeah, yeah. Kind of looking into that.
Podcast Host
I just met someone and he said it was like 8, 000 bucks or something. And that's a lot for most people, so.
Adam Chapman
Yeah, yeah, definitely for a lot of people. But it's definitely a lot of opportunity here too and coming down to meeting a lot of successful people and yeah, it's definitely the move. I think.
Podcast Host
You think your business is replicatable in the U.S. absolutely.
Adam Chapman
Yeah, absolutely. So we haven't started franchising. It's something that we've considered. But for my online stuff, everyone just kind of copies and pastes what I do with in Canada and Ottawa, Canada. And we have guys in Florida, California, we have a couple guys in Vegas as well. Yeah. Copy paste. The same systems, the same strategies and they're doing really well.
Podcast Host
Wow. Yeah, I guess it's needed everywhere, right? A lot of people celebrate Christmas so they need the Christmas lights getting hung and there's no one really teaching that.
Adam Chapman
Yeah, yeah. Well it's. We teach a variety of services. So like. And that's the other thing that comes into play is like where you are. So people that are like in California or Florida, anything on the coast, like soft washing is a big service.
Podcast Host
Soft washing?
Adam Chapman
Yeah. So it's like you're cleaning the roof with the chemicals, like. Yeah. So that got to big thing. Whereas where I am it's not really a big thing. So different places have different services that are more needed or more popular. Whereas there's our services that are the same everywhere. Like window cleaning is going to happen in Vegas, it's going to happen in everywhere. Same thing with the lights. We do the Christmas lights. Permanent lights. Yeah, yeah. So there's depending on what people want to do. I talk a lot about service stacking. So what we'll do is get a client for window cleaning and then we'll upsell them gutter cleaning and Then get them on Christmas lights. And now that one customer spending $2,000 a year. You do a good job, do what you're supposed to do, and they'll come back.
Podcast Host
Yeah, dude, my handyman is booked all day every day. It's nuts. Yeah, $60 an hour and he's just booked all frigging day.
Adam Chapman
Yeah, just. People don't want to do it. And if you people that are doing it, as long as you do a good job, like, people stay loyal because everyone's been burned or like kind of stood up by a contract or by a company. So it's unlike other industries, you can kind of just do the basics and really stand out. So if you take it above that, it's the. The world is yours, facts.
Podcast Host
Plus the marketing is all word of mouth. So, like, if you do good work, people are going to refer you business, Right? I've sent a ton of referrals.
Adam Chapman
Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely, man.
Podcast Host
Yeah. But there is that negative stigma with contractors for sure, because it's always like, they give you that initial quote and it's never that.
Adam Chapman
Yeah, yeah, they're. Well, a lot of these guys can, can charge and they, they know that, like, if they're really good at doing, like, pavers and stuff, they'll be booked out for a year. So they have that take it or leave it kind of mentality sometimes.
Podcast Host
I remember when I got my house, this one guy wanted to charge me like 10k to replace the AC units and they were all like, fine. Yeah, my dude.
Adam Chapman
Yeah, yeah, you got it. You do got to be careful. And that's why I tell guys to like, build up good Google reviews, build up a presence and do the right things. It's going to pay off in the long run.
Podcast Host
Yeah. So when did Home Service University start? Because you've been in this for nine years you said, right?
Adam Chapman
Yeah. So I've been doing my own company for almost nine years now. And I started Home Service University about two years ago now. Uh, and it's the, the. I feel like it's as lame as it sounds. I feel like that was like why I was put on planet Earth. It's. It's really cool to see guys from all over the place and some guys come in and they're struggling, and to see them a year later be able to go from either losing their job or maybe only making like 40k a year to working for themselves, making a hundred thousand dollars a year, being able to have their wife at home with the kids. So about two years doing the Home Service University but it's two years. Years of 247 obsession. So. Yeah, it's moving quick.
Podcast Host
Yeah, it's cool. You're saying you got some testimonials already. People in Cali you're visiting?
Adam Chapman
Yeah, yeah. So we're going to California on Sunday to go visit two of my students. So it's a husband and wife combo. We don't have a lot of those. So it's kind of cool, dynamic husband and wife. We were kind of doing as a bit of a side hustle. The wife quit her job to do more of it, and then now this summer, her husband quit, and now their. Their dream was to have a business together. And they're doing about 25,000amonth and.
Podcast Host
Damn.
Adam Chapman
Yeah, yeah, there's. There's plenty of money in the home services, so they're making more money and they're working together and then also, like. Yeah. Have control of their time.
Podcast Host
So 25amonth. Is that just off one service or did they kind of do everything?
Adam Chapman
Yeah. So 25,000amonth. That's what you can do for like a one or two person crew. And that's pretty standard across the board for like, window cleaning or gutter cleaning. Right now they're doing Christmas lights. You make more Christmas lights. So, yeah, it'd be interesting to check in on them tomorrow and see if they're.
Podcast Host
So I've never paid for that. Like, Christmas lights. What. What are people paying for that for their house?
Adam Chapman
So we started $1,000 minimum service.
Podcast Host
People pay a thousand for Christmas lights?
Adam Chapman
Yeah. Yeah.
Podcast Host
What?
Adam Chapman
Yeah, well, it's. It's a. It's an experience. So it's not just like hardware store lights. Like, we. We use commercial grade lights. We make it like really, really, really nice. And. Yeah, like, our. Our average ticket at my company last year was $1800.
Podcast Host
Damn.
Adam Chapman
Yeah.
Podcast Host
That's nuts.
Adam Chapman
And we lease the lights, too. So it's like a rental, basically.
Podcast Host
Okay.
Adam Chapman
So they're just paying for the service.
Podcast Host
Oh, wow. So they don't even own the lights?
Adam Chapman
No.
Podcast Host
Holy crap.
Adam Chapman
Yeah.
Podcast Host
What a business model.
Adam Chapman
Yeah, it's very. It's very l. My company this year will be about 250,000 and just Christmas lights.
Podcast Host
Damn.
Adam Chapman
Yeah.
Podcast Host
So October, November, December, right?
Adam Chapman
Yeah, October, November. Right through December. Yeah.
Podcast Host
So it's not even like a year. It's just three months. You're doing that revenue.
Adam Chapman
Yeah.
Podcast Host
Which is crazy.
Adam Chapman
Yeah, yeah. And we have. We have some people in home service University that have, like, normal jobs, and then they always take all their time off in the fall. And make a bunch of money with Christmas lights. Yeah.
Podcast Host
Damn. It probably does take a long time to hang them, though, in the house.
Adam Chapman
It depends on what exactly you're doing. But, like, when I send out two guys, my goal for them is to $5,000 of jobs a day. Wow. So it's either like two jobs or sometimes three jobs. We have some residential clients that. That'd be one full day at their house. 5,000.
Podcast Host
That's impressive. You ever get into moving?
Adam Chapman
Moving and.
Podcast Host
Yeah, like, moving house to house. Moving company?
Adam Chapman
Oh, no, no, no. That would be. Moving sucks.
Podcast Host
Really?
Adam Chapman
Well, I don't know if the business model sucks, but personally.
Podcast Host
Oh, yeah, personally. Yeah, we can all agree on that. I just. I just asked because I paid this moving company, like, it was like 1500, 2000 bucks just to move. I was like, damn. I wonder what their margins are on that.
Adam Chapman
Yeah, it's just labor.
Podcast Host
Just labor, right? Yeah. There's no really, I guess the truck, but yeah.
Adam Chapman
And the other thing is beautiful, too, is you could like. Like I tell guys, like, get creative. Like, if you want to start a moving company, you could find the lead, quote the job, and then go rent a truck and get a buddy and start building it up from there. So, yeah, the margins. The margins would be good.
Podcast Host
Absolutely. Do you have a process for finding leads?
Adam Chapman
Using social media for my pad pal and stuff? Yes. Yeah, we. I started the business off door to door because I was broke, I had no money, and it's awesome. I love door to door because you can start from zero and make a thousand. Like, I could leave this podcast today, and just because I had the skill set, I could come home with a thousand bucks, easy, like window cleaning. But I tell guys to build up your brand name, do it right, like, get that repeat business, and then that's kind of what we do. And then as well as you do Facebook ads, Google Ads, yard signs, yard signs. People find it surprising if they ever called the yard sign before. But yard signs, people call. Call yard signs, and they work really well.
Podcast Host
What?
Adam Chapman
Yeah, like those signs that you'll see on the.
Podcast Host
Yeah, people actually call those.
Adam Chapman
People actually call those all the time.
Podcast Host
No way.
Adam Chapman
Yeah.
Podcast Host
That's like a billboard to me. Like, I've never bought off a billboard.
Adam Chapman
I promise you, man. Like, especially when it comes to Christmas lights. Like, we give in Home Service University, we give them everything at Pad Pal that my company does, and we have these yard signs that are like 12 by 18. It just says holiday lighting, phone number, and guys get phone calls before they even get home. From putting this on.
Podcast Host
What?
Adam Chapman
Yeah.
Podcast Host
Is that a Canada thing you think, though?
Adam Chapman
No, everywhere.
Podcast Host
Everywhere.
Adam Chapman
All over Canada, the states, maybe some places are not as popular, but every single one in home service, you. If I open up the app right now, it's like you type in sign. Got the job from yards. I got the job from here.
Podcast Host
No way.
Adam Chapman
Yeah.
Podcast Host
Wow. I mean, I guess it's a. It depends on the industry. Like, if someone did that for something else, it probably wouldn't work.
Adam Chapman
Yeah. I'm not sure. Like, it works for windows and stuff. Of course, other people that have those. The windows and gutters is more popular. But when you have that holiday. The holiday lighting sign just. It's a money printer, man. Like, a sign's gonna cost you like a buck, and then a job's a thousand. Like, you can't get that ROI on Facebook ads or anything.
Podcast Host
Yeah, gutter cleaning. I didn't know the money was that big in gutter cleaning. My parents used to get that when I lived in Jersey.
Adam Chapman
Yeah. So like, the kind of like standard rates, like window cleaning, you're gonna be about 250 a job. Gutter cleaning about 250. 300 Christmas lights is a thousand. Soft washing about 750, depending. Any driveway ceiling, you're about 500 bucks for driveway ceiling. Yeah. So the money's there.
Podcast Host
Oh, God. Which ones do you lean towards out of all those?
Adam Chapman
My favorite service is holiday lighting. Okay. It's high ticket recurring. It's very sticky. Like, unless customer moves, they. They come back.
Podcast Host
Yeah.
Adam Chapman
Second after that, maybe the seal coating can get pretty big into parking lots and stuff like that. I'd say those are my favorite too. They all have their kind of, like, pros and cons, I guess.
Podcast Host
Yeah. Yeah. There's so many ways to make money. I saw people flipping Christmas trees last year. That was pretty viral.
Adam Chapman
Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Flipping Christmas trees. Like we. And that's the other thing too, is like my company, Pad Pal, I could go tomorrow and launch Pad Pal Painting, because we don't do painting right now. Send out an email campaign, and we'd be booked out for months. Because even though we've never done painting, they know what to expect when they contact my company. And they work with Pad Pal. They want us to do everything for them.
Podcast Host
Wow. So you got a great reputation.
Adam Chapman
Yeah. It's been a lot of work and yeah, it's. But we have a good reputation.
Podcast Host
How do you handle, like, angry customers?
Adam Chapman
That's a good question.
Podcast Host
You just refund them or what?
Adam Chapman
Try not to too much, but yeah, we, we do always make sure that our customers are happy because like I said, it's a lifetime customer. Right. So if they're getting their gutters clean and there's treats around, they're going to do it next year. So sometimes. Yeah, like if you need to like wave a service or something like that. Absolutely. We, we do pretty good though. Especially now that I've been. Guys gotten my hand on it.
Podcast Host
Yeah.
Adam Chapman
When I first started out, of course had more issues and stuff, but. And people are pretty understanding for the most part as well. Yeah.
Podcast Host
I've only had two in the past few years, but I just refund them both because I don't want them like bad mouthing me. Like reputation's super important these days, so.
Adam Chapman
Yeah. Oh yeah. Reputation is more important than, than the couple hundred bucks, so.
Podcast Host
Exactly. Yeah.
Adam Chapman
Yeah.
Podcast Host
And some customers, I know there's that saying, like you should always like do right by them, but at a certain point, like you know, they're taking a little too far. I'm just going to refund you so we don't have to do business together.
Adam Chapman
Yeah, I, I think that maybe even more so when it comes to someone's house sometimes.
Podcast Host
Oh yeah.
Adam Chapman
Oh, just do that while you're here. Do this. And that's. Yeah, you gotta, you gotta kind of keep an eye on it. But if you're kind of marketing yourself to the right clients and charging a premium price for your service, I always enforce that on guys like teach guys like, hey, charge a premium price. You can pay your guys well. You pay your workers well, they're gonna do a good job, they're gonna stay, and then your customers are going to come back.
Podcast Host
You get for what you pay for.
Adam Chapman
Yeah, exactly.
Podcast Host
Like you should never, especially for your house, you should never go with the cheapest quote you get.
Adam Chapman
Definitely not.
Podcast Host
Because you're going to get the worst quality work for the most part.
Adam Chapman
Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Or, or they're uninsured and then they get injured and that's you and the homeowner. So.
Podcast Host
Yeah, I usually pick like the middle one.
Adam Chapman
Yeah.
Podcast Host
You know, I'll get like at least three quotes and I'll pick the middle one for the most part.
Adam Chapman
Yeah, it's a good way to go.
Podcast Host
So you play hockey and you were really good.
Adam Chapman
Not decent enough, I guess. Yeah, so I played, I played semi pro. I signed when I was 20. I played. That's the only thing I did my whole life was hockey. Like I was not a business guy at all. It was just straight NHL or bust. And got Pretty close. And then had a pretty big injury. So that's kind of what landed. Yeah.
Podcast Host
Concussion, right?
Adam Chapman
Yeah. Yeah. I was in a fight and I fought a lot too. And then.
Podcast Host
Really?
Adam Chapman
Yeah. Yeah. So I was in a fight and a guy, I had my helmet off and I hit my head off the ice having convulsions for like. Whoa. Yeah.
Podcast Host
Holy. So he like flipped you?
Adam Chapman
Yeah, I got. You got like a 16 game suspension because you're not allowed to do that. Like, it's just like physics. Like, if you. Someone's on skates and you push them and pull their pants like this.
Podcast Host
Yeah.
Adam Chapman
They're gonna flip. And then I didn't feel anything at the time. Like, I got up and then I was in the change room after like the. It was like right at the end of the game and the coach was talking and then I just started like convulsing.
Podcast Host
Holy crap.
Adam Chapman
So I was 20 years old. Thought I was like this close to going to the next step of my first year of playing pro. And next thing you know, I'm being told by the team doctor, hey, like, you're not playing hockey here for at least another year. And then the team, it's pro, it's a business. They said, hey, see ya. Like, good luck. Hope you get better. Damn.
Podcast Host
That's insane, dude. That was probably the lowest point of your life, right?
Adam Chapman
Oh, for. Yeah, I've definitely had a. Not the easiest upbringing and stuff, but like, when I'm in the middle of Georgia from Canada and sleeping in the back of a car, I was definitely. And didn't know anything about anything in life, just hockey. I was definitely questioning what I should do.
Podcast Host
Right. Because you put all your eggs in that basket.
Adam Chapman
Every. Every single thing I knew was hockey.
Podcast Host
Yeah. There was no backup plan. And then when that got taken away, you were probably like super lost. Didn't know to talk to.
Adam Chapman
Right. Yeah, I was very. It was very, very dark, for sure. I didn't really have anywhere to go either. Like, my mom was living with my great grandma at the time. Like an old age home. Yeah. So it's technically like, I guess homeless for like.
Podcast Host
And you were in Georgia, you said?
Adam Chapman
I was in Georgia at the time? Yeah.
Podcast Host
Wow, that is crazy. So what were like the steps you took from there to get out of that funk?
Adam Chapman
So the. The way it works in Canada is like. Well, I guess for hockey wise is you play major junior, so that's like semi pro. I guess that would be considered. And then after that, you. The universities try to get you in Canadian universities Because you can't go to the states anymore to do D1 because you're paid to play. So they tried to like poach all the guys when they're 20. And my brother and I were the same age. We went in the summer and just did a bunch of school tours just to kind of get the money and have fun for the weekend and then leave. Yeah, we were both going pro anyways kind of idea. And one of the schools reached out to me during that time and said, hey, we saw you got injured, come here, we'll pay for your rehab, we'll give you somewhere to stay. I was like, might as well at least have somewhere to stay. So I went there, I started doing my rehab and that's kind of the full circle of how I end up getting into the home services. Was a really bad concussion. Was really wondering if there's any real point of life anymore to falling into the home service space, to being the. The best thing that's ever happened to me. Wow.
Podcast Host
So that school saved you.
Adam Chapman
Yeah, yeah. The. Everyone at that school was awesome. Like the people at the hockey team were good. The doctor, the team doctor was really awesome. My physio, I didn't do anything that rest of that year. So I took the rest of that year just to do rehab and stuff. And then the next year I went back to hockey at university, did academic All Canadian, which is good grades essentially. And you did a lot of points. And then did hockey for the rest of my university career. But my main focus at that point really knew that I liked business more than sports because everything is in your control. But in sports, unless you are a superstar, there's so many things that are out of your control. Whereas business, it's. If you suck, it's your own fault.
Podcast Host
Facts. Yeah. Because sports, especially team sports, you can only contribute X amount of percentage.
Adam Chapman
Right. You only can contribute so much. Like the co, like for all you know, like you're on a bad line or you get bench or you get hurt or you get traded. Like there's so many, especially when I was playing pro. You'll see guys are on like NHL two way deals so they need to be the one that's getting the most ice time so they can get pulled up.
Podcast Host
Politics.
Adam Chapman
Yeah, there's a lot of that. Especially when it comes to pro. And like a lot of things are out of your control too.
Podcast Host
Yeah. I think you would like chess. I know we were talking out there about chess. Cuz if you lose chess, it's your fault. Yeah, it's not like some lucky thing happened.
Adam Chapman
Yeah. I love chess. Yeah.
Podcast Host
Yeah. And that's the same thing with business too. And a lot of people aren't good at business. Let's be honest. It's not for everyone.
Adam Chapman
Facts.
Podcast Host
I mean, I think what 95% fail.
Adam Chapman
Something crazy like that, I have no idea. But it's. I look at business like this, at least for what I know in the. I don't know every single industry, obviously, but for home services and stuff like that, like as long as you stay consistent with it and don't give up, I think that's where most people fail. I know that stat, like everyone. A lot of businesses fail. But how many people that you know? At least that put in like a half assed effort and I technically counted as a business.
Podcast Host
That's true.
Adam Chapman
Yeah.
Podcast Host
Opening up an LLC and then not doing anything. Yeah, they probably count that as a fail, but they never even tried.
Adam Chapman
Yeah. Or they don't try long enough. I think people underestimate how much it takes to get as far as some people do. Like when you say people come to you the podcast, because they see you, they see the studio, they see who you are now, but they don't see you tripping over your words and having a hard time even knowing what to talk about and figuring out your audio for the first time and sticking with it.
Podcast Host
Yeah. Plus the seven years of personal branding and personal development before that.
Adam Chapman
Yeah.
Podcast Host
You know, even getting to that point.
Adam Chapman
It'S like when people see me now, like, they, it's weird because they don't know my whole. Like, they assume that I, like, came from money or a super smart guy or, or anything like that. Whereas it's not the case. Or like my first, My first business vehicle is a 2003 Chevy. The same 2003 Chevy Malibui was sleeping in.
Podcast Host
Wow.
Adam Chapman
The next one was a 1972 F150 that was just enough money to like, get enough jobs done to get a nicer one and then kept upgrading. Yeah.
Podcast Host
Love it. Yeah. Raised by a single mother too, right? Same here.
Adam Chapman
Yeah. Good for you, man.
Podcast Host
Yeah, it was tough at the time, for sure. Felt pretty lost, especially in sports. Like not having that father figure. I was super, like, passive, bro.
Adam Chapman
It's, it's such a helpful thing if you, like having a father that's involved for the kids playing sports and like, can give some influence. Like, I had no idea how it worked. Like, my mom just said, work hard and like, basically like go to the NHL and work hard. But I didn't really know how the Whole process work. So. Yeah, I admire that. You got that far and done well for yourself, man.
Podcast Host
Yeah, no, for sure. Shout out to my mom. She did her best, but yeah, my mentality was just so timid. I was shy. I didn't have that confidence growing up. Yeah, but it sounds like you had some right with the hockey stuff.
Adam Chapman
Had some confidence, yeah. It's just the only thing it was. Yeah, it was just the only thing that I. I looked at. Hot. I remember being young and being like, hey, like, I can't. I don't want to have a life like this one day. So. Hockey is the only way to get rich. It's what, like, I was believed. So being really good at hockey was something kind of like escape everything else that's going on. And I just saw it as a way to like, be able to like, one day take care of my mom and like, have kids and stuff. I want to have a better life for myself.
Podcast Host
Yeah. That was your outlet to escape.
Adam Chapman
Yeah. Was hockey.
Podcast Host
Who initiated the fights? Mainly? You said you gotten a lot.
Adam Chapman
I find people always find this funny when you. When I tell them this, but some of them are really like, no, I don't want to say set up, but you know you're gonna fight like, it's before the game. Like, if you're like doing warm ups, you'll see guys talking at the red line. Like, that guy's tough. I want to fight him. And then you'll go up to, hey, man, you want to fight? But yeah, sounds good, bro.
Podcast Host
Why?
Adam Chapman
It's very chill like that sometimes.
Podcast Host
Really?
Adam Chapman
Yeah, like when I the engineer the times, like, hey, man, let's fight that, you know, man, come on, man. Like, he's like, no, no, no, man. Like, your coach will love you. Haven't played in like fucking five minutes. Like, let's go. Okay, fine. And then you fight and then your pain box. Hey, man, thanks. I needed that. Like, what? It's very. Like that Sometimes they're very intense and like mad and all that. But a lot of times it's like, you know, you're on away game. Or like, let's say you're on away game, you're down to nothing. The other team's tough guy knows that someone else on their team is going to come up and say, hey, bro, fight. And it's like, he owes you one because next time that they'll. Their team will need momentum. He'll ask you to fight and you fight them back.
Podcast Host
Oh, so it's like a momentum shifter. That's why people do it.
Adam Chapman
Yeah. Oh, yeah.
Podcast Host
I never knew that. I always see them on tv. I'm like, what's the reason for this?
Adam Chapman
If someone just ran, if you were watching NHL game, someone just like drops the gloves and start fighting. And it's random. It's because someone that's on the team, that doesn't have momentum, went out and said, hey, can you help us out? Fight me. And then that's kind of how it starts. Yeah.
Podcast Host
Damn, that's crazy. So you made a full recovery though, from that brain injury?
Adam Chapman
Yeah, yeah, it was, it was a big process. Did a lot of. A lot of stuff for that, but made a full recovery. But I just didn't want to continue. I finished my university because you don't quit what you start. So I finished my university, finished with the hockey team. But then as soon as I was done, I just doubled down on the business because like I said, I realized that I didn't love hockey. I just thought as a way to one day provide life and be able to take care of my future family. And then when I saw that and the window cleaning and these simple services, I just doubled down. So as soon as I graduated, that's when I first added Christmas lights and really took my business to the next level.
Podcast Host
Nice. So you've been doing that business for nine years. How. How long did it take to get to six figures in revenue with that business?
Adam Chapman
Two years.
Podcast Host
My.
Adam Chapman
Yeah.
Podcast Host
That's quick.
Adam Chapman
Yeah, so my first year I did 55,000, but that was from April until mid August because I was in universities. Then we have training camp and stuff. And then my second year, yeah, we did the 100, 140. And then by university and graduated about 260.
Podcast Host
Damn.
Adam Chapman
Yeah.
Podcast Host
Yeah, that's really impressive, dude. For real. I mean, not a lot of businesses you could start within two, three years do that type of number.
Adam Chapman
Yeah. So if you're doing a home service business, if you're doing it full time, like a good benchmark to hit for yourself if you're doing the right thing, should be 100,000. Your first. First year.
Podcast Host
First year. Holy crap.
Adam Chapman
100, 000 revenues for first year. Good margin. If you're doing yourself, you're working hard, of course, but that's like a solid, like first year. You're gonna start in January or February.
Podcast Host
And yeah, I mean, average salary in the US is I think, 50k.
Adam Chapman
So yeah, you can do a lot better for yourself just doing these simple jobs like.
Podcast Host
Gotta get your hands dirty though. That's the thing. That's the Difference.
Adam Chapman
Yeah, that's, that's the only thing that, which a lot of guys now I think are starting to open up and like see how much opportunities there. But we had a guy just before I came in here, I was looking, we have our, our app for home service. You a guy said, hey, I've done 54,000 this year in Christmas lights. And I remember that guy, when I first met him, he was like, yeah, I work for a marketing agency. They haven't fired me yet, but I feel like it's coming. And then he ended up getting fired, but he started his business ahead of time. Smart side of it.
Podcast Host
So it's smart to probably do this on the side at first.
Adam Chapman
It's a good. Yeah. Depending on what you're doing in life. Like it's something that I always tell people. You want to do it right, like build up your brand, like do it right. Do it for the long term. But yeah, you can start up on the side. We have a lot of guys that do it on the side of their 9 to 5 to start. And yeah, like I was just in Colorado visiting a guy. He has four kids and a nine to five. But he's like, it's not going to leave anything behind for my kids. I want to build something. He started doing his Christmas light business this year, doing a massive mega church the other day.
Podcast Host
Damn.
Adam Chapman
Yeah, yeah.
Podcast Host
Those churches got money.
Adam Chapman
I've never seen that in Canada. It was nuts.
Podcast Host
That was in la.
Adam Chapman
Yeah. There's the Range Rover parked up front. The G wagon.
Podcast Host
Oh, classic. Yeah. That's not in Canada.
Adam Chapman
It was in Colorado. Yeah. Yeah. Massive church.
Podcast Host
Yeah. I got to bring this up because you said this outside Canadian jobs. So 25% of Canadian jobs are for the government.
Adam Chapman
Yeah.
Podcast Host
That is insane.
Adam Chapman
Yeah.
Podcast Host
You think that's too high, right?
Adam Chapman
It's makes a very slow moving society. For sure.
Podcast Host
Yes. People are just comfortable.
Adam Chapman
Yeah. Comfortable enough. Yeah. I wouldn't say I not happy. I'd say comfortable or yeah, like being.
Podcast Host
An entrepreneur there's probably like looked down on almost.
Adam Chapman
Yeah. If you stand out a lot, like if you're flashy, especially like kind of I'm in Ottawa, like it's, it's not something that's celebrated. Like when you're here in Vegas and in Miami, like you see people are doing big things. It's. I won't even as much celebrate as people are interested and want to learn more and stuff. Whereas in Canada it's much more closed off. Play it, play it a bit more low key. For sure.
Podcast Host
There's parts of Europe like that too. It's just like I hear all the time America is like the best entrepreneurial country and we live here, so we just don't know what else is out there. You know, you guys are hungry, you.
Adam Chapman
Guys are go getters. Like, I'll talk to a guy from the States that's like, yeah, man, like my girl just left me. I've $5,000 to my name. I hate my job. I just need a change in life. And then they'll be cool, let's start my home service business. And then year later they're putting up numbers and hiring workers and like going after it. Whereas like, yeah, a lot of guys from Canada are very like, yeah, risk adverse and want to really like take their time with things.
Podcast Host
Damn, that's wild. It's so close to here too. It's not even that far away. It's a whole different world.
Adam Chapman
There's just a lot of like, a lot of different factions kind of like play into that. Of course, like a lot of government workers just kind of like embedded into our society, the. The mentality. And then obviously a lot of like red tape on things.
Podcast Host
Right, you're saying the companies have monopolized a lot of industries out there?
Adam Chapman
Yeah, yeah. Like a big ones, like phone plans and basically all the grocery stores, like.
Podcast Host
Yeah, they do that here. I don't know if it's as bad, but like if there's a healthy food brand coming up, they'll get acquired by like a non healthy one and then they'll change you the ingredients real quick to make more money.
Adam Chapman
Similar idea. Yeah, it'd be like five grocery stores on your own by one company. So they just, yeah, kind of said.
Podcast Host
That is the one downside of capitalism, I guess. You know, the big dogs are just gonna eat. They'll buy out the up and comers and stay big. But I don't know if there's a better system, honestly.
Adam Chapman
Yeah, I know the States are doing pretty good, you guys.
Podcast Host
We rebounded well from the COVID stuff. I don't know how you guys handled that stuff, but apparently we rebounded better than most countries in the U.S. yeah.
Adam Chapman
Had a hard time, that's for sure.
Podcast Host
I remember you couldn't even fly in at one point.
Adam Chapman
Yeah, I was, I left a lot during COVID just because I was like, yo, screw this. Like especially it was like during January and stuff.
Podcast Host
Yeah. So you, you were able to get out?
Adam Chapman
Yeah, well, I left right before. I was like, I could tell the second time. They're shutting it Down. I was like, hey, I'm not. It was January, so at that time of the year, my guys are just taking down the Christmas lights anyways, so I don't need to be around. So I went to Anguilla in the Caribbean.
Podcast Host
Okay, that sounds fun.
Adam Chapman
Yeah. My mentor's from there and funny enough, he's from Canada. Built an asphalt company and sold it and, and then damn, move down there.
Podcast Host
How'd you meet him?
Adam Chapman
Social media. He reached out to me. He saw me creating content for driveway ceiling. And he has a supply company now, they supply seal coding stuff. And he said, hey, come down. I was like, say less.
Podcast Host
I love that. And that's the power of social media right there.
Adam Chapman
Yeah, it's, it's, it's incredibly powerful.
Podcast Host
That's how we met. You know, content posting daily. You never know who's going to see it.
Adam Chapman
Yeah, absolutely.
Podcast Host
I got like big people coming up to me. They're like, yo, I've seen your videos. I'm like, holy crap. Yeah, nuts. Like, it opened so many doors. Were you posting nine years ago, like on social media or were you doing it more behind the scenes?
Adam Chapman
My first three years, the only thing I was doing was door too. Just while I was in university. I didn't, didn't know, you know, but then as I was getting more and learning more, I was posting a lot of content for my company Pad pal and that's how people found me to help them start and grow their businesses. Was seeing the content that was creating for homeowners being like, hey, Ottawa, like come get your windows cleaned or stuff like that. So love it. It's what brought me and started, I guess my, like I said, my life's purpose home service university was from just creating social media content.
Podcast Host
Powerful. Where can people find your social media and what else you got going on?
Adam Chapman
Yeah, my social media, it's Adam R Chap C H A P like Tracy Chapman. And then you can go to like we have a website join home service. You join homeserviceuniversity.com.
Podcast Host
Perfect. We'll link below. Thanks for coming on, man.
Adam Chapman
Hey, thanks. Thank you very much.
Podcast Host
Check out his stuff, guys. Peace.
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Episode: From Hockey Dreams to $250K: The Home Service Hustle | Adam Chapman DSH #1181
Release Date: February 14, 2025
Host: Sean Kelly
Guest: Adam Chapman
In this riveting episode of Digital Social Hour, host Sean Kelly welcomes Adam Chapman, a former semi-professional hockey player turned successful entrepreneur in the home services industry. Adam shares his transformative journey from the ice rink to building a thriving business that generates six figures annually.
Adam Chapman opens up about his early life, deeply rooted in hockey. "My whole life was hockey. I was not a business guy at all. It was just straight NHL or bust and got pretty close," he admits at [00:31]. His promising sports career faced a sudden halt due to a severe concussion sustained during a fight on the ice. Reflecting on this pivotal moment, Adam recounts, "I was 20 years old... next thing you know, I'm being told by the team doctor, hey, like, you're not playing hockey here for at least another year. And then the team, it's pro, it's a business. They said, hey, see ya."
This life-altering injury left Adam feeling lost and uncertain about his future. With no backup plan beyond hockey, he faced homelessness and isolation, as his mother was residing in a local care facility.
Adam's path to entrepreneurship began during his rehabilitation. "A school reached out to me during that time and said, hey, we saw you got injured, come here, we'll pay for your rehab, we'll give you somewhere to stay," he explains at [21:06]. This support system helped him shift his focus from sports to business, leading to the foundation of his home services venture.
Graduating with academic honors, Adam realized that business offered more control over his destiny compared to the uncertainties of professional sports. "Business, it's. If you suck, it's your own fault," he emphasizes at [22:43], highlighting his preference for the accountability and autonomy that entrepreneurship provides.
Adam details how he started his business from scratch, often facing financial hardships. "I started with basically ground zero. I was sleeping in my car and then I went door to door, collected deposit money, used that money throughout the winter to buy my equipment," he shares at [04:03]. His initial investments were minimal, purchasing basic tools like a squeegee and scrubber to begin window cleaning services.
Within two years, Adam's business skyrocketed. "My first year I did 55,000, but that was from April until mid-August because I was in universities... Then my second year, we did the 100, 140. And then by university and graduated about 260," he proudly states at [28:01]. His company, Pad Pal, now projects revenues of approximately $250,000 from services like Christmas light installations alone by [13:12].
Two years ago, Adam founded Home Service University, a platform designed to educate and mentor aspiring entrepreneurs in the home services sector. "It's really cool to see guys from all over the place and some guys come in and they're struggling, and to see them a year later be able to go from either losing their job or maybe only making like 40k a year to working for themselves, making a hundred thousand dollars a year," he explains at [11:15].
One notable success story includes a husband and wife duo who built a business generating $25,000 monthly by leveraging Adam's training in Christmas light installations. "They make more Christmas lights. So it was something that we'd considered," Adam mentions at [12:12].
Adam attributes his success to several key strategies:
Service Diversification and Upselling: "What we'll do is get a client for window cleaning and then we'll upsell them gutter cleaning and then get them on Christmas lights," he explains at [09:28]. This approach maximizes revenue per customer and ensures repeat business.
Effective Marketing: Utilizing a mix of door-to-door sales, social media content, Facebook and Google ads, and surprisingly effective yard signs, Adam has built a strong brand presence. "Yard signs, people call. Call yard signs, and they work really well," he highlights at [15:14].
Quality and Reputation: Emphasizing high-quality service ensures customer satisfaction and loyalty. "If you do good work, people are going to refer you business," Adam states at [10:36]. Building a robust online presence with positive Google reviews further cements trust with potential clients.
Scalability and Replicability: Adam's business model is easily replicable across different regions, allowing for rapid expansion without significant variations in service offerings. "Copy paste. The same systems, the same strategies and they're doing really well," he notes at [08:52].
Adam provides valuable insights into the home services industry, noting its resilience against automation. "AI is not at the point where it can replace them yet," he asserts at [03:19], emphasizing the enduring need for physical labor in services like window cleaning and Christmas light installations.
He also discusses the varying demands based on geographical locations. For instance, soft washing is more prevalent in coastal areas like California and Florida, whereas Adam's operations in places like Vegas focus on services like holiday lighting and gutter cleaning.
Adam candidly discusses the challenges he faced, from battling a life-threatening injury to navigating the complexities of starting a business with limited resources. "It's been a lot of work and yeah, it's... we have a good reputation," he reflects at [11:11], acknowledging the perseverance required to build a reputable and profitable enterprise.
He also touches upon handling difficult customers, stressing the importance of maintaining a stellar reputation over short-term financial losses. "Reputation is more important than the couple hundred bucks," Adam advises at [17:54], underscoring the long-term benefits of customer satisfaction.
Beyond business, Adam shares his love for outdoor activities like swimming and cliff jumping, although he admits to steering clear of extreme adventures. He expresses his admiration for the entrepreneurial spirit in the United States compared to Canada, noting, "Guys are go getters," and highlighting the cultural differences in risk-taking and business ambitions.
Looking ahead, Adam plans to continue expanding his services and potentially franchising his business model. "We haven't started franchising. It's something that we've considered," he states at [08:52], indicating his vision for broader reach and impact.
Adam Chapman's inspiring journey from a shattered hockey career to a flourishing business empire exemplifies resilience, adaptability, and strategic thinking. Through Home Service University, he empowers others to achieve similar success, making significant contributions to the home services industry. Sean Kelly's engaging conversation with Adam offers listeners invaluable lessons on entrepreneurship, overcoming adversity, and the relentless pursuit of one's passion.
Adam Chapman [00:31]: "My whole life was hockey. I was not a business guy at all. It was just straight NHL or bust and got pretty close."
Adam Chapman [04:03]: "I was sleeping in my car and then I went door to door, collected deposit money, used that money throughout the winter to buy my equipment."
Adam Chapman [11:15]: "It's really cool to see guys from all over the place and some guys come in and they're struggling, and to see them a year later be able to go from either losing their job or maybe only making like 40k a year to working for themselves, making a hundred thousand dollars a year."
Adam Chapman [22:43]: "Business, it's. If you suck, it's your own fault."
Adam Chapman [03:19]: "AI is not at the point where it can replace them yet."
Adam Chapman [17:54]: "Reputation is more important than the couple hundred bucks."
For those inspired by Adam's story and interested in pursuing their own home services business, visit home service university or connect with Adam on social media (@AdamChapC).