Podcast Summary: To The Point – Home Services Podcast

Episode: From the Trenches to $30M and Enduring Loss No Parent Is Ready For
Host: Chris Yano, RYNO Strategic Solutions
Guest: Charlie Sanders, Arizona Trench Company
Date: August 19, 2025

Episode Overview

This deeply personal installment of To The Point dives into the intense journey of Charlie Sanders, who, alongside his wife Kelly, defied rough beginnings to build a $30M+ home services business—Arizona Trench Company. The episode explores Charlie’s humble (and tough) beginnings, the building of a successful business against all odds, the devastating loss of his 13-year-old daughter Hope to suicide, and the challenge of leading others through tragedy. With candid reflection, Chris and Charlie address resilience, mental health, leadership, and the importance of relationships in life and business.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Humble Beginnings and Mental Fortitude

(03:49–14:22)

• Charlie’s Childhood in Morristown, AZ: Grew up "in the middle of nowhere," living modestly in a small house on BLM land, overcoming poverty, and facing an abusive stepfather who was a prison guard.
• Responsibility Early On: "I had to take care of my brothers. You're driving in fourth grade to get to the bus stop... it was nine miles away" (09:12–09:18).
• Football as an Outlet: Walking nine miles home built physical and mental toughness: "I was probably in better shape than half the guys." (11:08)
• No Sense of Limitation Until Escape: "You don't know you're really in how bad the situation was until you get out... My plan was just to get out there, get on my own, get a decent job.” (12:47)
• Hard Work as a Life Constant: “When we're living out there, it's hard work...then you go to a 9-to-5 and you're going, 'okay, yeah, this ain't that hard.'” (14:22)

2. Choosing Relentless Effort & Avoiding Destructive Paths

(14:22–17:18)

• Witnessing Drug and Alcohol Abuse: "I’ve seen that it didn’t work for those guys. That’s why I stay away from that stuff..." (16:37)
• Meeting Kelly and Building a Life Together: Started dating Kelly as a teenager and was guided by her family and father: "If you're going to date my daughter, you need to get a real man's job" (17:39).
• Teamwork in Marriage and Business: “We worked together since she got out of high school. She was always finance, I was always operations.” (19:15)

3. Building and Scaling Arizona Trench Company (ATC)

(18:22–28:40)

• Company Origins (2013): Started with everything on the line, using retirement funds. "There's no plan B." (20:05)
• Growth Trajectory:
  • 2018: $7M+
  • 2019: $12M
  • 2020: $22M+
• Eventual Acquisition by Quanta: Sold to Quanta, a Fortune 500 company, but remained at the helm: "Their offer let us keep running our business the way we ran it before." (29:24)
• ATC’s Culture: Treated everyone like family—"I care…they can tell when you care about them and not just what you’re getting out of them...ATC is a family.” (25:29)
• Authentic Leadership: "People want to be led by you…what is it that you're doing that's so different?" (25:11)
• Expanding Opportunities: Acquisition unlocked growth outside Arizona—“Never thought we’d be outside of Arizona, but with Quanta, we got this opportunity.” (31:27)

4. The Unimaginable: Loss of a Child

(34:48–54:29)

• Introduction of Tragedy: March 1, 2021—Charlie and Kelly lose their 13-year-old daughter, Hope, to suicide during mid-acquisition of the business. “That’s when your life would change forever.” (35:23)
• Immediate Aftermath:
  • Team and clients stepped up to cover business duties.
  • "We didn't care about the business, we couldn't focus on anything other than our family…we went on autopilot." (40:12)
• The Guilt, Stigma, and Questions:
  • "People don't like to talk about suicide, but it's a thing that has to be talked about." (36:25)
  • "You just can’t go down the what-if rabbit hole, because it doesn’t help." (44:18)
  • No signs were present—total shock to all family and friends.
• Navigating Through Grief:
  • "It never stops hurting. It just gets more tolerable." (61:48)
  • "Being around people helped, all my friends and family constantly being around us helped us get past it." (46:49)
• Business Impacts:
  • Growth plateaued during that year.
  • "It helped to go back to work and get my mind off of it… but I was afraid to go down that rabbit hole [of drinking]." (42:12)

5. Enduring, Leading, and Adjusting Priorities

(54:42–66:34)

• Keeping Hope’s Memory Alive: “We're trying to keep her memory alive…prioritizing God and our family is number one over everything else.” (48:29)
• Shifting Legacy and Purpose:
  • “I needed to make sure I’m spending more family time…and get the business where I can step away.” (50:13)
  • Hired/empowered more leaders to free up family time.
• Mutual Support and Staying the Course:
  • Never fully considered quitting, but keeping a commitment to Quanta and their team pushed them through.
  • "We just got back into the grind…we don’t want to disappoint anybody…" (53:32)
  • Importance of meaningful friendships and community—lean on each other through the worst.

6. Breaking the Silence: Advocacy, Openness, and Helping Others

(60:36–63:11)

• Charlie’s Willingness to Speak:
  • “If my story, anything I say can help anybody, it puts some light on a sour subject. I’ve had people reach out after going through similar stuff and I’ll talk them through it.” (60:49)
  • “Everybody wants to know when does it stop hurting? It doesn’t. It just gets more tolerable.” (61:48)
• Host’s Reflections:
  • “The worst thing we could do is not talk about it…if it impacts one person, it was worth it.” (63:11, 63:41)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Business and Leadership:

  • "ATC is a family…we care about your wives, we care about your kids. That was probably one of the most stressful things—having 200+ mouths to feed." – Charlie (25:29) [25:29]
  • "You can choose your hard. It's hard to not get what you want, and it's hard to get what you want. One is easy, one's incredibly difficult, but the end result—can be really good or it can be shitty." – Chris (65:22) [65:22]
  • "Embrace the suck." – Charlie (65:45) [65:45]

• On Loss and Mental Health:

  • "There's no fixing that situation." – Chris (36:51) [36:51]
  • "You just can’t go down the what-if rabbit hole…especially with Hope. There was no signs…we had no clue." – Charlie (44:18) [44:18]
  • "It never stops hurting. It just gets more tolerable." – Charlie (61:48) [61:48]
  • "If my story—anything I say—can help anybody…it puts some light on a sour subject." – Charlie (60:58) [60:58]

• On Resilience:

  • “It doesn't matter what hand you're dealt, hard work will get you through anything. Not just hard work physically, but hard work mentally—pushing, just grinding, pushing through the hard times. Because it will get better. There will be a better day.” – Charlie (64:48) [64:48]
  • “You're like the 1% of the 1%. Which is crazy for a little kid from Morristown.” – Chris (66:34) [66:34]

Important Segment Timestamps

• Charlie's childhood & early adversity: 03:49–14:22
• Building Arizona Trench Company & business philosophy: 18:22–28:40
• Acquisition by Quanta & leadership after the sale: 28:40–34:48
• Tragedy: Losing Hope & navigating after loss: 34:48–54:29
• Adjusting priorities, legacy, and family time: 54:42–66:34
• Breaking the stigma and helping others: 60:36–63:11
• Closing reflections on resilience & hard work: 64:48–end

Tone & Takeaways

The episode is honest, conversational, and at times raw—balancing humor with profound pain. Chris, as host and close friend, creates a safe atmosphere in which Charlie's lessons on grit, vulnerability, leadership, and healing can resonate for any business leader or parent. The explicit encouragement: share your burdens, lean on your relationships, talk about the hard things, and refuse to fold under the worst this life may throw at you.

If You're Facing Loss or Struggling

Charlie openly invites anyone in a similar position to reach out to him for support via social media (search "Charles Sanders" through Chris Yano’s friends list for connection).

“We just got back into the grind…Because that's the only thing you can do—keep pushing.” – Charlie Sanders [53:32]

You don’t have to do everything, but you have to do something. No zero days.