Podcast Summary

Owned and Operated - A Plumbing, Electrical, and HVAC Business Growth Podcast

Episode: Zero to $86M in 24 Months: The Home Service Growth Blueprint
Host: John Wilson
Date: October 28, 2025
Guests: AJ and Noah, Co-Founders of Premier Home Pros

Episode Overview

This high-energy episode features AJ and Noah—the founders of Premier Home Pros—detailing their meteoric rise from zero to $86 million in revenue in just 24 months with their home service bath remodeling business. The conversation is a deep dive into the playbook, systems, and mindset that enabled such explosive growth, covering everything from startup origin stories and go-to-market tactics to organization building, marketing, process engineering, and lessons learned along the way.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. How Premier Home Pros Started ([01:39]–[04:49])

• Origin Story: AJ and Noah, previously colleagues at Window Nation and Leaffilter, shared a desire for entrepreneurship and control over their destinies. In 2022, they launched Premier Home Pros at a dining room table, initially operating with just the two of them, AJ’s wife, and one additional team member.
• Product Choice: After considering several home improvement verticals, they zeroed in on bathrooms, citing lower market saturation and high growth potential compared to roofing or windows in Northeast Ohio.

  "Bathroom is a carve out that I think that we have a real opportunity to grow and scale this business." — AJ [02:52]

• First Sale & Early Traction: First lead was run in December 2022 and resulted in a successful sale ($11,300), boosting confidence.
• Outstanding First Month:

  “We demoed at 91%. We closed at 82% for $557,000 our first month. It was the elite mindset of being hungry.” — AJ [00:06, 04:50]

• Mindset: AJ credits their “elite mindset of being hungry” and rejuvenation from leaving corporate roles for enabling their remarkable start.

2. Strategic Product Upgrade: The Game-Changer ([07:04]–[09:07])

• Supplier Breakthrough: A chance meeting introduced them to a manufacturer offering a unique engineered stone wall system—superior to the acrylic alternative (albeit 40% more expensive).
• All-in-One Supplier: This supplier streamlined operations by providing all wall systems, bases, and doors needed.

  “Everything just kinda fits like a glove…Six months from that day, we're the largest client in the country for him.” — AJ [08:04]

• Unique Selling Proposition: By switching to this differentiated product, they separated themselves from commodity competitors, raised average order value, and created a foundation for nationwide growth.

3. Model for Scaling and Office Structure ([09:07]–[09:51])

• Three-Office Year One: Rapid expansions into Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia within the first year.
• Local Office Model: Each office contains a sales manager (also ops lead), project manager, service manager, and teams of sales personnel/installers.
• Scaling Philosophy: Highly process-driven and replicable at the local level:

  “You have a sales manager...an operations manager...a project manager...a service manager, and a sales team.” — AJ [09:23]

4. The Role of Talent, Partnerships, and Owner Mindset ([11:06]–[13:08])

• Team Building: Recognized their personal limits in marketing expertise, so they recruited Vince, a top marketing exec from Leaffilter and ARS, who eventually joined as a third owner.

  “Within two hours, he...said, I got the itch. Like, I gotta be part of this.” — AJ [12:31]

• Core Belief: “If you have the right person, you have the market.” — Vince, relayed by Noah [28:21, 44:04]
• Humility + Ambition: Despite rapid progress, they maintained humility about their journey, acknowledging both calculated risk and luck.

5. Simplifying Services for Scalability & Efficiency ([13:33]–[22:15])

• Core Service: Full-service bathroom remodeling in as little as one day. Focus is tub/shower replacements, aging-in-place, and “pull and replace” jobs—no massive, bespoke construction.
• SKU Discipline: Early “anything and everything” approach gave way to a tightly controlled SKU count, making operations and training far more manageable.

  “We've built the airplane while it’s in the air.” — Noah [19:50]

• Process Streamlining: Focusing on repeatable work meant more jobs per installer, improved margins, higher customer satisfaction, and accelerated cash turn.

  “Let's not gripe about the 5%...let's talk about the 95%...we can do.” — AJ [21:48]

6. Recruiting, Training, and Market Launch ([23:01]–[27:13])

• Hiring Philosophy: Prioritizing payment and treatment of talent over squeezing costs ("when you pay Talent, talent stays” — AJ [24:05]).
• Greenfield Launch Playbook: Drop in an operations/sales manager, recruit and train installers, then ramp sales and marketing.
• Onboarding: Stringent hands-on vetting and training before new personnel are deployed.
• No Debt: Company remains entirely self-funded and cash-flow positive, with markets generating cash within ~46 days.

  “We started the company with no debt. We still have no debt...fully profitable and we haven’t taken $1 of debt.” — Noah [25:50]

7. Superior Go-to-Market and Lead Generation Strategies ([29:50]–[34:13])

• Efficient Market Entry: Costs less than $100k to launch a new city, with nearly immediate payback thanks to lead-buying (versus heavy branding spend typical in the industry).

  “The weight of percentage is much higher with affiliate marketing than it is with branded.” — AJ [31:30]

• Marketing Mix: Heavy use of purchased leads (e.g., Angi, HomeAdvisor), moderate branded presence, and a calculated spend profile.
• Conversion Metrics: Relentless focus on funnel conversion rates and cost of acquisition.

8. Operational Excellence: Metrics and Data ([48:39]–[52:05])

• KPI Mastery: Know conversion rates, cost-per-lead, demo rates (~80%), install rates, and false positives to within a few percentage points month-to-month.

  “If you don't know your metrics as a business owner...you're not running your business. Your business is running you. Hope is not a strategy.” — Noah [52:05]

• Data-Driven Decisions: From market entry to installer hiring to marketing spend, data drives every decision.

9. Culture and Organizational Design ([44:31]–[48:14])

• Org Chart: 200+ people (300+ with contractors/1099s), with functions across finance, install ops, marketing, call center, and sales.
• Internal Mobility: Initial key hires were external, but now most leadership opportunities are being filled internally—promote from within culture.
• Recruitment: Dedicated five-person team divided by region; main recruiting churn is installers and sales, not project managers or service techs.

10. Vision, Lessons & Advice ([36:05]–[56:47])

• Vision: Aggressive from day one (“monstrosity” was always the goal), but systematized and rational—no arbitrary caps, let the market and infrastructure dictate scale pace.
• Unique Selling Proposition: Essential to scaling quickly—must have a product/process the market cannot get elsewhere.
• Balancing Risk: Strong internal debate between "pedal-to-the-metal" and conservative approaches keeps expansion sustainable.
• Advice for Entrepreneurs:

  “You need to do everything, know everything within your business…It all at the end of the day starts with people...If you don’t have good people working for you, you're not going to get where you want to go.” — Noah [53:41]
  “It starts in sales and marketing…If it takes you to do every facet of your business, rethink the business plan…You want to be able to teach someone a process or a system that you can repeat.” — AJ [54:40]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On risk and mindset:

  “One of the two things are happening here. It's either we're going bankrupt or we're going to be extremely successful. And I'll tell you every time. I'll bet on myself.” — AJ [00:00]

• On data’s importance:

  “If you don't know your metrics as a business owner…you're not running your business. Your business is running you. Hope is not a strategy.” — Noah [52:05]

• On scaling:

  “We were the only company in home improvement history to ever do 15 million in their first year. We were the only company to ever do 100 million in their first two years." — AJ [00:31, 38:06]

• On hiring and people:

  “When you pay Talent, talent stays.” — AJ [24:05]
  “If you have the right person, you have the market.” — Vince, as relayed by Noah [28:21, 44:04]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:06] - First month sales and elite mindset
• [01:39] - How Premier Home Pros was founded
• [07:04] - Strategic supplier partnership and game-changing product
• [09:07] - Office structure and rapid expansion
• [11:06] - Bringing on an expert marketing owner
• [13:33] - Defining the core service and SKU discipline
• [19:50] - Streamlining operations for scalability
• [23:01] - Recruiting and market launch process
• [25:50] - Debt-free, cash-positive business model
• [28:12] - Launching new markets and the playbook
• [31:28] - Lead buying vs. branded marketing spend
• [36:05] - Vision, risk, and the importance of dreaming big
• [44:31] - Culture, org chart, and recruitment systems
• [48:39] - Tracking margin and KPI measurement
• [52:05] - Data-driven decision making
• [53:41] - Advice for entrepreneurs

Conclusion

This episode charts a comprehensive, boots-on-the-ground blueprint for business growth in the home services industry, providing an inspiring story and actionable insights for ambitious entrepreneurs. Premier Home Pros’ journey underscores the importance of mindset, data, systemization, and talent for rapid and effective scaling. The playbook: focus on a differentiated product, rigorous process, rapid market entry fueled by smart lead-buying, and never neglect the human factor.

Connect with Premier Home Pros

• Website: www.premier-homepros.com
• AJ and Noah: Both active on LinkedIn

If you’re looking to scale a service business, this conversation is a masterclass in growth, risk management, and playing to win.