Podcast Summary: Owned and Operated – Episode #246

Title: From $700K to $30 Million With Multiple Locations!
Date: September 30, 2025
Host: John Wilson
Guest: Rich Jordan

Overview

This episode dives deep into the explosive growth story of home service business owner Rich Jordan, who scaled his business from $700,000 to more than $30 million in just five years across multiple locations and states. Hosted by John Wilson, the conversation unpacks the real-world lessons, approaches, and growing pains involved in expanding a plumbing, electrical, and HVAC company via acquisitions and multi-location strategies. The discussion is candid, practical, and rich with actionable advice for operators considering similar leaps.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Jump to Multi-Location ($700K to $30 Million)

Timestamps: 00:00–02:23, 02:24–04:12

• Origins: Rich grew from a $1M business in 2020 to over $30M with three branches in two states by 2025.

• Acquiring a $3M business in a neighboring state seemed like a straightforward solution for growth but proved to be "five times harder" than running a single-location operation.

• Early on, they made a non-strategic decision—sometimes driven more by opportunity than strict planning.

  Quote:
  “Running two businesses in two states, about five times harder than running one business in one state.” – Rich Jordan (04:07)

2. Centralization vs. Decentralization of Services

Timestamps: 04:12–05:48

• Attempted early centralization of call center and dispatch for efficiency but lacked the size and training to do it well.

• After failing at centralization, they reverted to decentralization before returning to a recentralized model as the business became more robust.

  Quote:
  "We tried to basically double the volume on the same team... We just basically like did poorly." – Rich Jordan (04:49)

3. High-Touch, High-Impact Integration

Timestamps: 05:58–08:04

• Integration approach is hands-on, with leadership spending significant time on-site, literally answering phones and riding in trucks.

• Rich acknowledges this is effective but unsustainable at scale; plans to develop more frontline leadership capacity for future growth.

  Quote:
  “Integration is very much like my box.” – Rich Jordan (08:04)

4. Driving and Infusing Company Culture

Timestamps: 08:13–10:51

• Prefers an immediate, “bear hug” integration versus a passive six-month observation recommended by some acquirers.

• Culture is driven by rapid response to employee feedback and execution of their ideas, building buy-in and trust with teams who previously felt unheard.

  Quote:
  “Guys who maybe haven’t been listened to for many years... float an idea and then they see rapid action on that idea. That’s how you turn someone on.” – Rich Jordan (10:27)

5. Building a Cohesive Multi-Location Brand

Timestamps: 10:51–12:08

• Maintaining a unified company culture across branches with different brands is challenging.
• Currently in the process of rebranding all locations under a single name to strengthen brand identity and internal culture.
• Emphasis on developing frontline leaders with well-defined standards and focused coaching.

6. Developing Leadership – Internal Promotion and Military Recruitment

Timestamps: 12:08–14:09

• Two main leadership “pipelines”: Promoting from within (field/talent) and tapping into military networks for external hires.
• Success stories of promoting dispatchers and technicians to management level, and ongoing efforts to “shepherd” promising individuals into leadership roles.

7. Speed vs. Control: Risk Tolerance

Timestamps: 14:09–14:52

• Business leans “risk on” with a heavy bias for action and speed, willing to break and fix things quickly to keep moving forward.

  Quote:
  "We move with a lot of speed... Sometimes we break things and sometimes we make the wrong decision, but again we will move with speed and pivot again." – Rich Jordan (14:30)

8. Deep Dive: Recent Acquisition Wins and Lessons

Timestamps: 15:01–17:54

• Example: Taking over a 10-person, $3M plumbing branch ("Pure Plumbing"). Quickly identified and removed a toxic high-producer, which had immediate positive cultural impact.

• Increased gross margin by 10 points and branch EBITDA hit 28% within 60 days via price hikes and training.

  Memorable Moment:
  “He ended up getting his head cut off 10 days in because he’s a prick... That was a huge cultural win.” – Rich Jordan (16:12)

  Growth Result:
  "Same plumbers... in August [after takeover] were doing $120,000 out of one truck, $76,000 out of the next.” – Rich Jordan (16:43)

9. Preparing for Greenfield Locations

Timestamps: 17:54–20:23

• All expansion so far has been via acquisition; now planning to “greenfield” (i.e., open a de novo location).
• Steps: Hired recruiter, built a recruiting plan, purchased ATS, created robust training programming, onboarded key leadership (including military).
• Greatest uncertainty: Marketing performance and lead cost ($400 per lead projected), with learning to come after launch.

10. Final Advice for Operators Considering Multi-Location Growth

Timestamps: 21:12–23:14

• Know what you must change immediately (non-negotiables) vs. what can wait, and assess the site leadership’s strength and potential.

• Be flexible and adaptable—use your playbook when the team is ready, not before.

  Quote:
  "You have to quickly assess what are the things that you can tolerate not changing and then what are the things that you really want to bring, like for strategic reason and also for like new wins with your new team." – Rich Jordan (21:25)

11. Reflections on Multi-Location Growth – Is It Worth It?

Timestamps: 22:13–23:14

• Multi-location is harder and doesn’t solve all problems; in fact, it often magnifies them.

• However, it’s essential for ambitious growth and learning critical lessons—Rich's largest, most robust location is his second.

  Quote:
  “Your life would be easier if you stay at one location... That said, we’re not $30 million today if we didn’t go multilocation.” – Rich Jordan (22:24)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |---------------|-------------|-----------| | 00:06 | (B) | "700,000 of revenue to 30 million in 5 years is kind of crazy." | | 04:07 | Rich Jordan | "Running two businesses in two states, about five times harder than running one business in one state." | | 10:27 | Rich Jordan | "Guys who maybe haven’t been listened to for many years... float an idea and then they see rapid action on that idea. That’s how you turn someone on." | | 14:30 | Rich Jordan | "We move with a lot of speed... Sometimes we break things and sometimes we make the wrong decision, but again we will move with speed and pivot again." | | 16:12 | Rich Jordan | "He ended up getting his head cut off 10 days in because he’s a prick... That was a huge cultural win." | | 16:43 | Rich Jordan | "Same plumbers... in August [after takeover] were doing $120,000 out of one truck, $76,000 out of the next." | | 21:25 | Rich Jordan | "You have to quickly assess what are the things that you can tolerate not changing and then what are the things that you really want to bring, like for strategic reason and also for like new wins with your new team." | | 22:24 | Rich Jordan | "Your life would be easier if you stay at one location... That said, we’re not $30 million today if we didn’t go multilocation." |

Episode Flow with Key Timestamps

• 00:00–02:23: Introduction to Rich, growth context, initial acquisition story
• 02:24–04:12: Acquisition of second location, first major lessons
• 04:12–05:48: Centralization vs. decentralization, growing pains
• 05:58–08:04: High-touch integration, leadership’s hands-on role
• 08:13–10:51: Approach to cultural integration, rapid responsiveness
• 10:51–12:08: Brand unification, importance of frontline leaders
• 12:08–14:09: Leadership pipeline, recruiting from within and military
• 14:09–14:52: Bias for action and speed
• 15:01–17:54: Recent acquisition, removing toxic employees, rapid wins
• 17:54–20:23: Planning for greenfield expansion, systems and unknowns
• 21:12–23:14: Key advice for multi-location success, strategic focus
• 22:13–23:14: Multi-location: not easier, but unlocks significant growth

Takeaways for Operators

• Scaling through multi-location is significantly more challenging than it appears from the outside but essential for outsized growth.
• Culture and rapid responsiveness to front-line feedback are linchpins for integration.
• Centralization should be sized to your business’s capability—move toward it as you scale.
• Building strong frontline leaders, both from within and through strategic recruiting (including military), enables growth.
• Move fast but be flexible: not every acquisition needs all changes at once; assess readiness before deploying full playbook.
• Multi-location is not a silver bullet—it escalates complexity, yet the hard lessons compound into future success.

For more insights, actionable strategies, and real stories from home service business operators, tune in weekly to Owned and Operated or visit www.ownedandoperated.com.