Podcast Summary: The Home Service Expert Podcast

Episode: The 4 Pillars of Leadership with Paul Kelly
Host: Tommy Mello
Guest: Paul Kelly, President & Owner of Parker & Sons
Date: November 17, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode welcomes Paul Kelly, the widely respected home services leader and president of Parker & Sons, to break down the "4 Pillars of Leadership" that have fueled his rise from CPA to head of a $200M+ operation in Phoenix, Arizona. Tommy and Paul cover critical lessons in leadership, business growth, private equity, team building, and operational excellence—with concrete examples and hard-won advice tailored for ambitious home service entrepreneurs.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Paul Kelly’s Journey & Business Philosophy

• From CPA to Industry Leader: Paul shares how his accounting background gave him an advantage in understanding business numbers but his passion quickly shifted to marketing and sales.

  “What I really love is the marketing and the driving sales aspect...but it would be no fun growing the top line if the bottom shrinks.” — Paul (04:16)

• Parker & Sons’ Growth: Acquired at $7M revenue, scaled to $200M+ in Phoenix, now $270M with Tucson’s expansion.

  “It’s a crazy story, but it’s not my story. It’s a whole bunch of people’s, and I’m proud to be a part of it.” — Paul (03:36)

Navigating Private Equity & Ownership Transitions

• Early Sale Experience: Paul sold Parker & Sons in 2016, before the private equity boom—comparing the experience to “taking some chips off the table” and continuing to play.

  “I didn’t want to leave the business...I just wanted to take some chips off the table.” — Paul (05:54)

• Warning for Owners: High multiples shouldn’t dictate a sale if you’re not emotionally or operationally ready. Choosing the right partner is crucial for your legacy and your people.
• Profit-Sharing & Team Wealth: Instituting profit-sharing was pivotal in aligning the team and rapidly restoring margins.

  “Sharing your success with your employees and partnering with a PE group is one way to do that, is in the end the most rewarding thing you can do.” — Paul (10:39)

The Bubble in Home Services & Industry Trends

• Market Overheating: Tommy and Paul discuss a possible bubble in home services due to PE money flooding in and inexperienced operators entering.

  “There’s too many people that hopped in our business too quickly...Everyone can’t do well forever. At some point, the cream will rise to the top.” — Paul (12:57)

• Centralization Risks: Opportunities exist in procurement, call centers, and shared platforms, but losing local identity or poor execution can hurt performance.

  “The more that you take away from a location, the more identity and the less control there is by that location. You just have to be careful.” — Paul (17:36)

Scaling: Single-Market Mastery vs. Multi-Market Expansion

• Dominate Before Expansion: Paul recommends thoroughly owning and diversifying within a single market before moving to new ones.

  “I would rather be a $250 million company in Phoenix, Arizona, than be a $10 million business all over.” — Paul (20:41)

• Service Line Expansion: Once customers trust you, adding complementary services (e.g., electrical, insulation, solar) maximizes growth.

Simplicity in Leadership & Operations

• Not a “Master Plan”: Parker & Sons’ exponential growth was the product of relentless momentum and simplicity in systems.

  “I’m not a complicated person. I can’t implement complicated. When things are complicated, they’re hard to implement and they’re not scalable.” — Paul (23:17)

• Practical Pay Structures: Example - HVAC service at 20% ticket commission.

  “Simplicity in everything...As large as we are, things are harder to implement, not easier. And simplicity is a part of that.” — Paul (25:24)

Marketing Insights for Home Service Businesses

• Smart Marketing Spend: Parker’s marketing spend is “ridiculously low” at 4.5%, but Paul sees 6-7% as right for larger firms, 8-10% (even 12%) for smaller ones.

  “You can do anything you want in your business if only you charge appropriately.” — Paul (25:44)

• Dominate Your Pond: Laser-focus marketing to dominate a niche, neighborhood, or medium—whatever you do, own it.

  "Whatever you do, dominate it...Be a big fish in a small pond, not a small fish in a huge pond." — Paul (28:08)

• Consistency & Longevity: Multi-channel marketing with consistent messaging year after year wins.

The Four Pillars of Leadership ("Raising Goats")

• Introduction: Paul frames being a “GOAT” (Greatest Of All Time) as accessible via four learnable pillars:

  1. Thinking: Elevate your problem-solving and decision-making.
  2. Implementation: Execute effectively by keeping things simple.
  3. Great Operator: Focus on the highest-leverage actions in every department.
  4. Leadership: Inspire actual followership—can you get your team to do what you need?

  “If you think differently, you’ll act differently. If you act differently, you’ll get different results, better results.” — Paul (34:29)

• Biggest Shortage: The industry’s greatest need is not technicians, but leaders—and the “Raising Goats” class is Paul’s legacy project to build that next generation.

  “With the right leaders you get the technicians. And so...how would we all pull together and get somebody from A to Z...to be just a goat in the making?” — Paul (38:34)

Recruiting & Building an A+ Team

• Talent Magnetism: When you genuinely put your people first, top performers and leaders will “find you.”

  “I don’t look for something technical. I look for what’s in here...But mostly, are they teachable? Are they hungry? Are they humble?” — Paul (47:21)

• Culture & Chemistry: All-star talent is important, but a sense of humor, humility, and a culture fit matter just as much.

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Sharing Success:

  “I get a bigger kick out of the employees making money than the company making money. When an employee is able to do stuff for themselves or their family that they weren’t able to do working for somebody else, that’s what satisfies me.” — Paul (11:19)

• On Leadership Test:

  “The litmus test of whether you’re a good supervisor or manager or leader is can you get the people that report to you to do what you want them to do?” — Paul (34:00)

• On Consistency & Marketing:

  “Consistency, longevity, diversity, the same message over a long period of time over a number of mediums works. The problem is all those are expensive to do.” — Paul (29:12)

• On Simplicity & Success:

  “People think you probably had this master plan...I was basically just trying to make payroll at the beginning.” — Paul (23:17)

• On Legacy:

  “I want there to be a whole bunch of goats. That would be my legacy, is I started something and everyone else finished it.” — Paul (43:45)

Notable Segments & Timestamps

• Paul’s Background & Parker & Sons Growth: 01:25–04:16
• Selling the Company & PE Discussion: 05:13–12:36
• Industry Bubble Talk: 12:36–15:56
• Centralization & Scale: 14:20–19:44
• Single-Market Dominance: 20:41–23:17
• Simplicity in Leadership: 23:17–25:24
• Marketing Spend & Strategies: 25:24–30:46
• The 4 Pillars/‘Raising Goats’ Intro: 32:02–38:52
• Recruiting/Leadership Culture: 45:10–50:19

Closing Reflections

Paul Kelly’s message is clear: Being an industry “goat” isn’t magic—it’s the discipline of thinking critically, executing simply, operating strategically, and leading from the front, with a relentless focus on people first. From technical best practices to deep leadership wisdom, this episode offers a playbook for home service entrepreneurs ready to build enduring, impactful businesses.

Further Information & Resources

• Paul’s Book: Tricks of the Trade to Success (tricksofthetrade.com)
• Leadership Course: raisinggoats.com

  “It’s going to completely change not just you and your company and your financials and your success, but it’ll change you as a person as well.” — Paul (58:30)

• Connect with Paul: Through his website or via the “Raising Goats” class.

For more insights, visit The Home Service Expert Podcast