The Home Service Expert Podcast

Episode: The Power of Mindset in Entrepreneurship with Ryan Lee

Host: Tommy Mello
Guest: Ryan Lee
Date: September 1, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the critical role of mindset in entrepreneurial success, especially within the home service industry. Host Tommy Mello, founder of a $200M business, sits down with Ryan Lee, an entrepreneur, business coach, and founder of Landscape Lighting Secrets. Together, they discuss intentional living, setting boundaries, scaling businesses, partnership dynamics, pricing strategies, staffing, and developing systems that fuel sustainable growth.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Working Intentionally and Learning to Say "No"

• Intentional Scheduling: Both Tommy and Ryan discuss shifting from saying "yes" to everything to becoming selective and intentional with their time and priorities.
  • "I'm making the rules to my game... I think I'm carving my own path now." — Ryan (03:05)
• Boundaries: Ryan relates how family and personal fulfillment drove him to re-architect his work-life balance. Realizing his addiction to "the grind," he refocused on what aligns most with his family and business goals.
  • "My wife actually called me out one day... 'Where the hell are you? Like, I'm drowning over here.'" — Ryan (11:44)

2. Evolving Dreams: Defining Your Own Success

• Following Others vs. Setting Your Own Path: Ryan talks about growing out of the habit of chasing others' dreams, learning instead to articulate his own definition of success.
  • "Tommy's dream is not my dream." — Ryan (13:27)
• Definite Chief Aim: Inspired by "Think and Grow Rich," Ryan sets his chief aim: helping 1,000 lighting business owners become millionaires, making collective impact his North Star.
  • "I just want to help a thousand lighting business owners earn a million dollars or more..." — Ryan (14:30)

3. The Power of Mindset in Scaling and Bottlenecks

• Owner Is the Bottleneck: Both Tommy and Ryan argue that at each stage of a business, the owner's mindset—and not necessarily lack of skill or strategy—is the core bottleneck.
  • "It's 100% mindset." — Ryan (14:59)
• Comfort vs. Growth: True entrepreneurs must actively fight against the human tendency for comfort in order to grow and achieve above-average outcomes.
  • "You have to get out of your own way." — Ryan (16:42)

4. Building, Replacing, and Elevating Teams

• Attracting and Retaining Talent: Tommy emphasizes the need to recruit people who sprint toward the company's vision and how empowering leaders to realize shared dreams is vital.
  • "The hustler had to die for the leader to be born." — Tommy (19:49)
• Intentional Training: Both note the need for structured training and frequent high-value engagement with top performers, not just focusing on struggling employees.
  • "Most companies are so busy just trying to keep the wheels from falling off..." — Ryan (27:39)

5. Systems and Delegation: Buy Back Your Time

• Delegating Early: Both share stories of losing business due to being too busy, and how hiring administrators (even before "affording" them) is vital to level up.
  • "How much is it costing me to not have this?" — Ryan (19:55)
• Building Systems: Tommy details hiring executive assistants, outsourcing, and building out systemized processes to sustain momentum and scale.
  • "You gotta be working on the systems..." — Tommy (23:18)

6. Strategic Pricing and Profit Mindset

• From Scarcity to "Dream Business" Math: Ryan explains the pivotal moment that shifted his thinking on pricing—a spreadsheet exercise showing what it truly took (daily break-even) to operate his "dream business."
  • "You have to charge enough to act like the company that you want to be instead of the business you are today." — Ryan (47:02)
• Value of Profit over Revenue Brag: Tommy reflects on the transformation from focusing on top-line revenue to EBITDA (profit), recognizing the importance of healthy profitability even in aggressive expansion phases.
  • "When the conversation changed for me is when I only brought up EBITDA." — Tommy (50:19)

7. Handling Haters and Naysayers

• Social Media and Industry Envy: Tommy notes the pushback from competitors about charging premium prices and being visible, while Ryan points out that such negativity is often a projection of others' comfort zone fears.
  • "It's much easier for them to reach out and pull back. If they can hold you back, that's less effort than…ascending themselves." — Ryan (44:43)

8. Growth Through Partnerships and Referrals

• Rifle vs. Shotgun Approach: Ryan shares a targeted referral strategy—building high-trust partnerships with adjacent high-end service providers (interior designers, AV installers, pool companies) to get pre-qualified, high-ticket lighting customers.
  • "That's a rifle strategy that brings in high ticket jobs." — Ryan (36:39)

9. Scaling Capacity and Testing New Ideas

• Capacity Planning: When offered hypothetical "100 leads per day," Ryan emphasizes the need to reverse-engineer and systematically build service capacity, admitting most in his industry aren't ready for that volume (yet).
  • "Reverse engineer the actual problem and figure out the solution." — Ryan (60:29)
• Testing Ideas Quickly: Tommy describes how he pilots concepts personally, hires project-based consultants, and only scales what demonstrates ROI.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "The hustler had to die for the leader to be born."
  — Tommy Mello [19:49]
• "You have to charge enough to act like the company that you want to be instead of the business you are today."
  — Ryan Lee [47:02]
• "Intentionality is everything. Saying 'no' is hard, but if everything is important, nothing is."
  — Tommy Mello [04:28]
• "Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right." — Henry Ford
  — Quoted by Ryan Lee [71:37]
• "The owner is usually the biggest bottleneck."
  — Tommy & Ryan (throughout section on mindset, ca. [14:59-17:31])
• "Most of us have more information than we're taking advantage of."
  — Ryan Lee [14:59]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 02:04 – Tommy and Ryan discuss finding intentionality and learning to say "no."
• 07:00 – Ryan recounts his first business, the impact of reading Traction, and breaking up with his brother/business partner for divergent dreams.
• 11:44 – Ryan's family intervention: balance, addiction to work, and the wake-up call.
• 14:59 – "100% mindset" as the real bottleneck for growth; overcoming excuses and comfort.
• 19:49 – Tommy: "The hustler had to die for the leader to be born"—on transforming from doing everything to leading.
• 27:39 – Discussing the value of investing in employees and focusing on the top 20%.
• 36:39 – Ryan details his "rifle approach" to targeted partnering for high-value referrals.
• 47:02 – Ryan's profit mindset breakthrough: "You have to charge enough to act like the company that you want to be…"
• 50:19 – Tommy’s realization about focusing on EBITDA/profit, not just revenue.
• 62:16 – Letting partners "fail forward" and readiness for higher-level advice.
• 71:37 – Final thoughts; Ryan's favorite mindset quote and personal variation.

Books Referenced

• Traction by Gino Wickman
• E-Myth by Michael E. Gerber
• Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
• Buy Back Your Time by Dan Martell
• Be Your Future Self Now by Benjamin Hardy

Closing Thoughts

The episode is a masterclass on the intersection of personal growth and business scaling—from the deliberate avoidance of comfort to the all-out embrace of ambitious, actionable vision. Tommy and Ryan reinforce that success in the home services space (and beyond) hinges less on technical gimmicks and more on mindset, relationships, rigorous financial discipline, and—above all else—intentional living.

For more:

• Listen to Ryan Lee’s podcast: Lighting for Profits
• Explore lighting coaching at Landscape Lighting Secrets
• Connect with Tommy Mello and learn from his book, Elevate

End of Summary