Podcast
The Home Service Expert Podcast
Hosted by Tommy Mello: $200 Million Founder|Forbes, Inc., Entrepreneur Columnist · EN
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.
144episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Inside Pace Morby's $1.7 Million RV Park Deal (And Why Beginners Can't Copy It)
4d ago01:23:43Summary ready🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://freedomevent.com Pace Morby went from bagging groceries and building 700 homes for hedge funds to controlling hundreds of properties without banks, credit, or his own money. In this one, he and Tommy trade playbooks: how seller financing actually works and why terms beat price, the capital gains conversation that gets retiring sellers to yes, the expired listing niche feeding him a house a day, the four KPIs that fix any company, and why the worst agent market in 35 years is handing buyers the opportunity of a decade. Connect with Pace ⟶ https://www.instagram.com/pacemorby/ -- 🕐 TIMESTAMPS 🕐 -- 00:00 - Introduction 01:47 - Number Three Of Twelve Kids 04:55 - The Secret-Sharing Culture That Built Home Service 06:53 - AI Is Coming For Jobs, But Not These 09:11 - The Expired Listing Niche Nobody Wants 10:03 - The $5 Million RV Park Phone Call 11:06 - No Money Down At $20 Million 13:04 - Why You'd Better Be Greedy 15:26 - How A Technician Actually Makes More 17:41 - The Boomer Buyout Wave (And Who Shouldn't Ride It) 19:57 - The $500 An Hour Meeting At Starbucks 20:42 - Hedge Fund Flipper: 700 Homes For The Big Funds 23:32 - Bethany's Genius: The Bird Dog Move 25:16 - The Lead Geeks Full Circle Moment 30:44 - What Keeps Tommy Hungry 35:15 - Four KPIs That Fix Any Company 38:52 - Live Teardown: Pace's Lending Business 53:47 - Who's Gonna Compete With You? 56:20 - PE's Hard Lesson: Keep The Founder 59:59 - Speed Round: Three Tips For Beginners 1:02:28 - Why He Buys One RV Park A Month 1:06:04 - The Kermit, Texas Deal 1:06:39 - The Capital Gains Play That Closes Sellers 1:10:23 - The Slowest Market In 35 Years 1:15:14 - How To Work With Tommy 1:17:16 - The Best Add-On In Home Service 🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://freedomevent.com Check Out My Social Media: Tiktok ⟶ https://www.tiktok.com/@officialtommymello Instagram ⟶ https://www.instagram.com/officialtommymello/ Facebook ⟶ https://www.facebook.com/thomasmello/
SummaryHe Beat Cancer And Says Most Owners Are Selling For The Wrong Reasons | Michael Werner
6d ago01:03:26Summary ready🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://freedomevent.com Michael Werner has lived several business lifetimes: Goldman Sachs M&A, president of Werner Ladder at $500 million plus, the Gerber turnaround from $100 million to $700 million, and founder of HomeX, where he sold Schedule Engine to ServiceTitan for nine figures. Twenty years ago, doctors told him he had about four years left. In this episode, he and Tommy break down private equity done right, why ownership changes how people work, the three things that motivate every employee, and the four trends that will decide which home service companies survive the next decade. Connect with Michael ⟶ michael@homex.com -- 🕐 TIMESTAMPS 🕐 -- 00:00 - Introduction 02:02 - Why He Asks Everyone Their Origin Story 04:19 - Goldman's 15 Minute Rule 06:05 - Growing Werner Ladder Past $500 Million 08:49 - Too Entrepreneurial To Stay 12:07 - The Gerber Turnaround: $100M To $700M 14:30 - Satisfy Customers Or Delight Them? 19:41 - Trust, Time, Transparency: The HomeX Idea 23:30 - Why He Took A Minority Partner 29:09 - The Rental Car Ownership Test 32:29 - The Three Things That Motivate People 36:19 - Did The Trades Give Him Cancer? 38:53 - Hold The Mirror Up Before You Sell 42:39 - Never Say Retirement 47:15 - Four Trends That Decide Who Survives 50:33 - The David And Goliath Strategy 53:00 - Where He'd Put His Money 59:39 - The Death Sentence, In Full 1:02:10 - Long-Term Greedy: Final Advice 🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://freedomevent.com Check Out My Social Media: Tiktok ⟶ https://www.tiktok.com/@officialtommymello Instagram ⟶ https://www.instagram.com/officialtommymello/ Facebook ⟶ https://www.facebook.com/thomasmello/
SummaryJason Wild | Every "No" He Heard Was Worth $12 Million
2w ago01:04:00Summary ready🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://freedomevent.com Tommy sits down with Jason Wild, co-author of Genius at Scale (Harvard Business Review's lead title) and the innovation leader behind $6B+ in enterprise deals at IBM, Salesforce, and Microsoft. From child actor rejected 500 times to advising the world's biggest companies, Jason breaks down why you can copy products and poach talent, but culture is the one thing money can't touch, and what home service owners can steal from MasterCard, Pfizer, and Marc Benioff to build teams that run without them. Grab Jason's book Genius at Scale ⟶ https://geniusatscale.com -- 🕐 TIMESTAMPS 🕐 -- 00:00 - Introduction 01:35 - Child Actor Roots 05:01 - The Zen Of Selling 07:52 - Writing With Harvard 11:28 - Focus Vs Innovation 13:17 - MasterCard's Reinvention 16:46 - The Elon Musk Take 22:16 - The Talent War 24:40 - What Money Can't Copy 28:38 - Global Innovation Lessons 34:11 - The Billionaire In Line 37:54 - Three Rapid-Fire Questions 45:22 - The Bridger Role 49:13 - AI And Your Jobs 58:37 - The Book's Big Lesson 🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://freedomevent.com Check Out My Social Media: Tiktok ⟶ https://www.tiktok.com/@officialtommymello Instagram ⟶ https://www.instagram.com/officialtommymello/ Facebook ⟶ https://www.facebook.com/thomasmello/
SummaryLauren Kingsley | Meet the $5.1B Operator Home Service CEOs Keep Calling
2w ago01:17:23Summary ready🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://freedomevent.com Most home service companies think they have a lead problem. Lauren Kingsley says they have a friction problem, and she has the receipts: $5.1 billion in revenue managed across multiple organizations, a call center scaled from 25 people to 800-plus, and the playbook she wrote for Renuity after telecom ran this exact consolidation a decade ago. In this episode: the client who dropped raw volume 20% and watched net sales jump 36% in one month, the 48-hour scheduling window that decides 85% of your jobs, why 1 to 5% of your EBITDA disappears into data silos every year, zip-code-level marketing strategy, the greenfield playbook (canvass first, digital last), building Sovereign Command as a Layer 2 over your tech stack, and the "don't trust, verify" mindset she brought from Bitcoin into business. Learn more about Lauren: https://laurenkingsley.now Contact Lauren: lauren@laurenkingsley.now -- 🕐 TIMESTAMPS 🕐 -- 00:00 - Introduction 0:30 - Welcome: a friction problem, not a lead problem 1:45 - Hopping fences and selling art: Lauren's path to telecom 3:30 - Writing the Renuity playbook 5:30 - Sovereign Command: a Layer 2 over your tech stack 8:25 - One source of truth: don't trust, verify 10:40 - Time: the only asset you can't create 11:00 - Inside Tommy's daily pacing report 12:30 - Dynamic lead assignment: propensity to net close 13:55 - 400,000 calls analyzed: let the machine pick the questions 15:10 - Frictionless journeys and omnichannel nurture 17:20 - AI search jumped from 6% to 60% of homeowners 19:00 - Brand vs direct response: the 80/20 flip 20:50 - Zip code strategy: where spend goes to die 22:30 - The case study: 20% fewer raw leads, 36% more net sales 25:00 - Speed to lead: 48 hours or lose 85% 25:50 - Aggregators, bots, and where the ROI really is 29:15 - The numbers: 1 to 5% of EBITDA lost, 27% missed callbacks 30:35 - Attribution: billboards, Yelp, and 7,000 tracking numbers 34:45 - Blue Sky Jets and the Wall Street stepdad 36:25 - 2008: "something's wrong with the money" 38:50 - The $100M question: Bitcoin as a long-term savings plan 43:00 - Legislation, cold storage, and 21 million coins 46:25 - Grow wide or grow deep? The hybrid answer 48:50 - Pre-approval financing and the whole-home sell-in 51:20 - Greenfield playbook: canvass first, digital last 54:40 - Retail from Costco to Ace, by zip code 57:50 - Your people are the lifeblood 1:00:45 - Dream Manager and DreamStride 1:06:00 - Bench strength and performance-pay training 1:09:55 - How to reach Lauren 1:10:15 - What keeps Tommy up at night 1:14:00 - Very few winners, massive winners 🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://freedomevent.com Check Out My Social Media: Tiktok ⟶ https://www.tiktok.com/@officialtommymello Instagram ⟶ https://www.instagram.com/officialtommymello/ Facebook ⟶ https://www.facebook.com/thomasmello/
SummaryKevin O'Leary | Why the Busiest Home Service Owners Get the Least Done
3w ago00:51:34Summary ready🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://freedomevent.com Recorded live at the Freedom event — Kevin O'Leary sat down with Tommy minutes after walking off stage. Mr. Wonderful built and sold The Learning Company in one of the largest tech deals of all time, runs a portfolio of more than 50 companies, and spent years selling to Steve Jobs — who taught him the rule he still runs his life by: pick the three things that matter, and block out 70% of everything else. In this episode: why home service is one of the best businesses on earth, the contractor-first deal he now makes with every new CEO, why unhappy customers are your most valuable asset, the 70/30 listening rule, and what money actually buys once you have enough of it. As Kevin put it about Freedom: "if you ever get a chance to come to one of these sessions, you should." Follow Kevin O'Leary: https://www.instagram.com/kevinolearytv/ -- 🕐 TIMESTAMPS 🕐 -- 00:00 - Introduction 00:40 - Mr. Wonderful, live at the Freedom event 01:25 - Why Kevin still shows up for entrepreneurs 02:15 - "One of the best times ever" for home service 03:45 - What Kevin pays up for: recurring revenue 05:00 - The AI doom question: buggies & burger robots 07:25 - Private equity's biggest mistake: losing the founder 09:50 - The $6,000 earpiece productivity stack 11:50 - $3.75M/month in marketing and a 10X ROAS 13:05 - Wonder Ads: how TV attribution finally works 15:20 - The 4 KPIs that build any company's budget 16:20 - Running 54 companies at once 17:40 - Quit making transactional ads — tell stories 19:35 - "Always tell the truth" — the lesson from Kevin's mom 22:15 - Kevin's rule: contract first, hire second 24:15 - Ideas are cheap, execution is everything 25:25 - Steve Jobs stories: brutal meetings & 70/30 28:15 - Equity done right: 70/30 deals and dilution 31:00 - Unhappy customers are your most valuable asset 34:25 - Listen 70%, talk 30% 36:20 - The $10M restart plan & 31% in real estate 38:25 - "I don't need more money" 39:10 - Your first $5M is a safety net 41:00 - Who inspires Kevin: Musk at 100% signal 42:15 - Own your failures or he won't invest 43:10 - The book that changed him: Keith Richards 45:05 - Close: "come to one of these sessions" 🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://freedomevent.com Check Out My Social Media: Tiktok ⟶ https://www.tiktok.com/@officialtommymello Instagram ⟶ https://www.instagram.com/officialtommymello/ Facebook ⟶ https://www.facebook.com/thomasmello/
SummaryWhy This 22-Year-Old Selling AI Just Warned Every Home Service Owner
3w ago01:03:21Summary ready🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://mellomedia.s.gy/promo3-freedom2026 George Paladichuk built a million-dollar AI company at 22 — and he's the first person selling AI who will tell you NOT to hand it your phones. His platform, NaiL, sits behind 100+ franchise locations and catches nearly 1,000 calls a day for Superior Fence & Rail alone — recovering $2.5 million a month in revenue from calls that would have hit voicemail. In this episode, Tommy sits down with George to break down where AI actually belongs in your call flow, the businesses that should never use it, the disclosure test that quadrupled hang-ups, what it really costs, and the three pitfalls that kill AI rollouts. Tommy even calls George's AI live on air — see if you can tell. 💎 Top 5 Takes for this Episode! AI is your safety net, not your first touch. Booking rates AND customer satisfaction go up when AI backs up an A-player on the phones — not when it replaces them. Missed calls are a hidden metric. No dashboard reports them — and for one franchise they were worth $2.5M a month. Some calls should never go to a machine. Restoration, funeral homes — nobody in a moment of distress wants to hear a robot. Don't lead with "this is an AI." Announcing it up front 4X'd hang-ups in 30 seconds. Solve the caller's problem first — 80% never notice. Solve the problem before you build the product. That one shift took George from $4K to $50K a month in 90 days. ⏱️ Chapters 0:00 — "The last thing they want to hear is a robot" 0:40 — Who is George: 22, CU Boulder, founder of NaiL 2:15 — Wholesale real estate at 18 → digital marketing → a $1M AI company 7:45 — Superior Fence & Rail: recovering $2.5M/month in missed calls 10:15 — The hidden metric: ~1,000 missed calls a day 12:45 — Don't fire your CSRs: AI as the safety net, not the first touch 17:25 — When AI is the WRONG answer: restoration & funeral homes 20:30 — Overseas agents vs AI: cost, coverage, and one-call-at-a-time 23:30 — "The worst AI will ever be": how fast the voices got good 25:55 — Outbound calling, TCPA compliance, and why SMS wins 30:35 — The next 2–3 years of AI receptionists 32:40 — Should you disclose it's AI? The 4X hang-up test 36:15 — LIVE DEMO: Tommy calls the AI 38:45 — Where to start + pitfall #1: solve the problem, not the technology 43:00 — Pilot programs: 30–60 days, build to launch 46:00 — Why young female voices win 47:40 — What it costs: $10–20K pilots, ~$997/location/month 50:00 — Advice to young builders: find the problem first, then market the hell out of it 54:15 — What's next for NaiL + how to reach George 57:20 — Why rollouts fail: vision, results, and a spokesperson 🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://mellomedia.s.gy/promo3-freedom2026 Learn more about NaiL here: https://usenail.com Contact George: george@usenail.com George Paladichuk is the founder of NaiL, an AI voice receptionist platform for home service franchises. A 22-year-old CU Boulder graduate, he went from wholesale real estate at 18 to running a digital marketing agency through college to building NaiL, which now serves 100+ franchise locations. His biggest client, Superior Fence & Rail, recovers $2.5 million a month in revenue from missed calls handled by the platform. Check Out My Social Media: Tiktok ⟶ https://www.tiktok.com/@officialtommymello Instagram ⟶ https://www.instagram.com/officialtommymello/ Facebook ⟶ https://www.facebook.com/thomasmello/ My other podcast: Tommy Mello Millionaire ⟶ https://www.youtube.com/@officialtommymello Live Q&A submission form: https://homeserviceexpert.com/questions
SummaryHe Walked Away From 2 Shark Tank Offers (Sales 40x'd After)
4w ago01:01:06Summary ready🎟️ Join us at Freedom 2026 → https://mellomedia.s.gy/promo2-freedom2026 Kent Yoshimura walked away from two Shark Tank offers because they came in under the number he set before entering the tank — then became the only founder in show history to come back and close a deal, with KIND founder Daniel Lubetzky. The NeuroGum CEO breaks down the Ring doorbell playbook for selling home services, the 4 Es of marketing, and why sleep is the most underrated CEO skill. Plus Tommy reveals the $400M number and the growth comp that stunned his banker. 🕐 TIMESTAMPS 0:00:00 Cold Open 0:00:32 Guest Intro 0:06:46 Art Meets Business 0:11:49 Sleep Tips 0:15:47 Cold Plunge Science 0:17:19 Influencer Marketing 0:18:24 The Ring Playbook 0:21:26 AI And Jobs 0:30:28 Rapid Fire Advice 0:32:49 The Ryan Story 0:34:49 Partnership Rules 0:37:42 Mental Discipline 0:47:43 Shark Tank Story 0:50:40 The $400M Reveal 0:57:43 The Rat Experiment 🎟️ Freedom 2026 → https://mellomedia.s.gy/promo2-freedom2026 TikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/@officialtommymello Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/officialtommymello Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/officialtommymello
SummaryWhy 2 Employees Beat 6 (The $400K Hiring Math)
4w ago01:48:19Summary ready🎟️ Join us at Freedom 2026 → https://mellomedia.s.gy/promo2-freedom2026 Cameron Herold is back for round two — the man who scaled 1-800-GOT-JUNK from $2M to $106M in six years breaks down why two A-players beat six average hires, the exact matrix Jack Welch used to decide who stays, and the profit math that tells you whether you should even own a home service business. If you're stuck between $3M and $10M, this one's for you. 🕐 TIMESTAMPS 0:00:00 Cold Open 0:02:26 Idea Capture 0:08:30 Vivid Vision 0:11:19 The HVAC Trap 0:19:19 Red KPIs Only 0:25:14 Expansion Warning 0:31:05 Interview Training Gap 0:40:37 Jack Welch Matrix 0:48:51 A-Player Math 0:52:12 The Doubt Rule 1:01:51 Entrepreneur Reality 1:13:54 Profit Over Revenue 1:17:28 P&L Basics 1:26:15 Call Center Rule 1:44:44 Books And Contact 🎟️ Freedom 2026 → https://mellomedia.s.gy/promo2-freedom2026 TikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/@officialtommymello Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/officialtommymello Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/officialtommymello
SummaryThe Content Excuse Keeping Home Service Owners Invisible | Gary Vee
Jul 1700:40:41Summary ready🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://mellomedia.s.gy/promo-freedom2026 Tommy Mello sits down with Gary Vaynerchuk, founder of VaynerMedia and VaynerX, for a conversation every home service owner needs to hear. Gary breaks down how he transformed his dad's New Jersey liquor store into Wine Library, why he saw the internet coming in 1995, and what he looks for before investing in any company today. He explains kind candor, the feedback system he trains 2,700 employees on, and answers the 10 million dollar question about starting over from zero. Then Tommy runs him through a true or false speed round on the biggest social media myths, where Gary explains why blaming the algorithm is costing you views, subscribers, and money. 🕐 TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Intro 04:45 Father's Lessons 09:14 Store Transformation 13:10 Internet Moment 16:45 Jockey and Horse 19:56 Kind Candor 22:59 The $10M Question 26:06 Exit Philosophy 29:20 Sandcastle Philosophy 34:35 Myth Speed Round 00:53 Was Gary Vee born with business talent? 02:54 Do immigrants have an advantage in business? 04:45 What did Gary Vee learn from his father? 06:25 What was Gary Vee paid at his dad's liquor store? 09:14 How did Gary Vee grow Wine Library? 13:10 When did Gary Vee first see the internet? 16:45 What does Gary Vee look for before investing? 19:56 What is kind candor at VaynerMedia? 22:59 What would Gary Vee do with 10 million dollars? 35:15 Does taking a posting break reset the algorithm? 🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://mellomedia.s.gy/promo-freedom2026 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@officialtommymello Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialtommymello Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/officialtommymello
SummaryHe Built Five Companies Then Admitted He Should Have Built One Better (LIVE)
Jul 1501:05:15Summary ready🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ Adam Shampaine went from Capitol Hill to CEO of HomeFix, a $68 million home improvement company, and then built his own supply company, finance company, and window brand. In this episode, Tommy Mello and Adam break down how vertical integration creates a moat competitors can't copy, why company DNA decides which growth channels actually work, how a door-to-door canvasser can earn $300K a year, and the one lesson Adam learned from building five companies: he would be richer if he had built one better. If you run a home service or home improvement business, this is the conversation on canvassing, financing, and focus. 🕐 TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Episode Open 01:52 Capitol Hill Origin 07:20 Part-Time to Sales 12:20 Always The People 18:00 Solar and Supply Stack 23:20 Pure Finance Origin 30:30 Finance Platform Growth 37:20 Company DNA Canvas 43:50 Canvassing As Math 48:50 Canvas vs Demand Leads 54:12 Brand Power vs Canvas 1:02:02 One Thing Regret Questions this episode answers: 01:52 How did a Capitol Hill staffer end up in home improvement sales? 12:20 Is it the market or the salespeople when a sales territory fails? 18:00 Why would a home improvement company build its own supply chain? 23:20 Should contractors start their own consumer finance company? 30:30 How does in-house customer financing actually make money? 37:20 Can you change your company's culture and business model? 40:50 Why do canvassing consultants fail at most companies? 43:50 How much can a door-to-door canvasser make per year? 48:50 What is the difference between canvas leads and demand leads? 54:12 Does brand marketing beat door-to-door canvassing? 🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@officialtommymello Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialtommymello Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/officialtommymello
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