Podcast Summary: "From $600K to $10M in a Town of 10,000"

To The Point - Home Services Podcast
Host: Chris (RYNO Strategic Solutions)
Guest: Alyssa Rogers (VP, Rogers Heating & Cooling, South Boston, VA)
Release Date: December 16, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode explores the audacious growth journey of Rogers Heating & Cooling, a home services company in a tiny Virginia town. Host Chris interviews VP Alyssa Rogers about scaling from $600K to $10M in revenue and their aim for an industry-defying $100M goal—despite serving a local population of fewer than 10,000. They break down Alyssa's strategies, sacrifices, community focus, and the mindset behind chasing seemingly impossible goals.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Small Town, Big Vision (00:00–11:00)

• The Story & the Skepticism:
  • Alyssa and her husband Joey took over Joey’s family business in 2018, then at $600K revenue in a small town (South Boston, VA; pop. <10,000).
  • Current revenues are up to $10M with 40–45 employees.
  • They’ve faced considerable doubt about their aim to ultimately reach $100M, especially from industry peers.
• Community Minded Marketing:
  • Alyssa’s own podcast, "Hello, Hello," features other small businesses, serving both as a networking generator and recruiting tool.
  • Grassroots engagement is vital in smaller towns.
  • Notable Quote [04:00]:
    "Just to be able to showcase other businesses and get to know them has been fantastic... it's really brought us so much business and even it's been a great recruitment tool." — Alyssa
• Sacrifice and Family:
  • Both Alyssa and Joey fully immersed themselves ("all in") after taking over, leveraging Alyssa’s corporate marketing background despite no HVAC experience.

2. The $100M BHAG—Big Hairy Audacious Goal (11:00–24:00)

• Origin of the $100M Goal:
  • Initial milestone was reaching $1M, then $3M, then $10M. Big thinking was sparked by attending Grant Cardone’s 10X Growth Conference in 2021.
  • Exposure to larger business owners made them reset their ceiling to $100M.
  • Notable Quote [18:55]:
    "We left that conference and we were like, 10 million’s off the table. It’s going to be a hundred million." — Alyssa
• Mentorship & Help:
  • Cardone Ventures (Brandon & Natalie Dawson) helped them craft a strategic, step-by-step growth plan, reverse engineered from the $100M goal.
  • Later, Alyssa began coaching with industry leader Chad Peterman for tactical, home-services-specific guidance.
• Host Perspective [13:55]:
  “I hope that [listeners] walk away from this podcast and they’re like, oh, that actually starts to make sense a little bit... And look, let’s say worst case scenario, you didn’t hit 100 and you landed at 87. Oops. Oh, darn. Dang it.”

3. Mindset & Sacrifice—The Real Cost of Big Goals (24:00–32:00)

• All-in Living:
  • The Rogers family literally sold their dream home and moved into an apartment above their office to maximize focus and resources for the business.
  • Turned down a multimillion-dollar buyout in favor of chasing the big vision.
  • Notable Quote [28:12]: “He does not sign it. You could become multi-millionaires at that point and does not sign it... you believe so much in this $100M goal.”
  • Family alignment and frequent conversations about roles and priorities keep marriage and business stable despite stress.
• Dealing with Doubt:
  • Alyssa embraces the doubters as motivation for continued progress.

4. The Growth Strategy (33:30–41:00)

• Regionalization & Replication:
  • Reaching $100M is impossible in one 10K-person town.
  • The plan: replicate the $10M model in nine or more similarly-sized markets; each location aims for multi-trade verticals (HVAC, plumbing, electrical).
  • Expansion includes moving across state borders.
  • Market selection is strategic, based on population and opportunity.
  • A detailed 400-page plan from Cardone Ventures guides each year’s market entries and operational priorities.
• Staffing for Scale:
  • Developing leaders internally:
    • Team members articulate their goals; roadmaps and skill benchmarks groom future branch managers.
    • Success with a tech-turned-manager in Lynchburg illustrates the process.
  • Notable Quote [43:12]: “We have a handful of team members that want [to run new markets], and they know with those locations comes relocation. We have a whole plan for them... before they’re even eligible to run a location.”

5. The Nitty-Gritty: Grassroots Growth (41:00–52:00)

• Community-Building Tactics:
  • Early days involved literal "guerrilla marketing"—setting up tables next to the post office due to the lack of a website, approaching passersby for business.
  • Parades, sponsoring youth sports, being omnipresent at community events, and hyper-local branding are emphasized as faster ways to build trust in new markets.
  • Memorable moment [47:54]: “We didn't have a website until, I think it was 2021. And so we just went out, we were at every single event... That’s how you can start to build brand equity quick.”
• Warning for Others:
  • Don’t simply copy competitors’ marketing. Instead, “look at what they’re NOT doing and go there.”
  • Consistency is everything: lose community momentum and someone else takes your spot.

6. Reality Checks: Leadership & Hard Days (52:00–59:00)

• Ups and Downs:
  • Both Alyssa and Chris admit that in fast-growing businesses, “there are way more bad days than good days”—and that’s normal.
  • Leaders should celebrate small wins and recognize the heavy emotional toll.
  • Quote [54:09]:
    “It changes by the day. You ask me today, I'm there, right? Like, let's go... I've lost myself a lot in this journey and had to get back on the right path.”
• Personal Sacrifice:
  • Alyssa’s biggest regret is lost time with her 7-year-old daughter, unable to do “all the mom things,” but they have open, age-appropriate conversations to align family purpose with business sacrifices.
  • Emotional moment [58:15]: “I haven't been able to go to the school and participate in a lot of stuff that she does... that's a sacrifice that I feel like I've made as a mom.”

7. Visualizing the Win & Advice to Dreamers (64:39–69:00)

• What $100M Means:
  • For Alyssa, it’s about the journey and impact as much as the number—proving doubters wrong and celebrating with the people who built it together.
  • Joey will “immediately wonder how to get to $200M”—visionaries never stop.
• Advice to Others (68:18):
  • Be true to yourself.
  • Surround yourself with the right people—don’t try to do it alone.
  • Have stamina; “Head down, get to work... win every day.”

Memorable Quotes & Timestamps

• On community marketing [04:00]:
  "Just to be able to showcase other businesses and get to know them has been fantastic... it's really brought us so much business." — Alyssa

• On setting goals [18:55]:
  “We left that conference and we were like, 10 million’s off the table. It’s going to be a hundred million.” — Alyssa

• On sacrifice [28:12]: “He does not sign it. You could become multi-millionaires at that point and does not sign it.”

• On the grind [53:23]: “Head down, get to work.” — advice from Ken Goodrich

• On hard days [55:51]: “I have way more bad days than good days.” — Chris

• On family sacrifice [58:15]: “I hope that she [my daughter] wouldn’t say this right at seven, but... I haven’t been able to go to the school and participate in a lot of stuff that she does... that’s a sacrifice that I feel like I’ve made as a mom.” — Alyssa

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Business backstory, local mindset & marketing – 00:01–11:14
• Goal setting, turning point, Cardone Ventures – 11:14–24:10
• Sacrifice & strategy (family, home, PE buyout) – 24:10–32:25
• Expansion planning & regional focus – 33:29–41:06
• Leadership development, internal pipelines – 41:07–44:28
• Community-building, boots-on-the-ground tactics – 47:37–52:23
• Leadership/life balance, hard truths – 52:23–59:35
• Sacrifice, legacy, and vision-boarding the win – 64:39–69:07
• Final advice to dreamers/leaders – 68:18–end

Final Thoughts

This episode is a blueprint for home service entrepreneurs in "impossible" markets. Alyssa’s journey—in her open, honest, and inspiring tone—shows that audacious growth is possible with community focus, clear goals, ruthless sacrifice, and daily discipline. The debate is no longer whether such growth is possible, but how to execute and maintain the emotional grit required for the journey.

Follow Rogers Heating & Cooling and Alyssa on social media for ongoing updates—and, as Chris suggests, if you’re going to follow just to watch for a stumble, well, that’s fine too!