To The Point – Home Services Podcast: "The Best of 2025"

Date: December 23, 2025
Host: Chris Yano (RYNO Strategic Solutions)
Featured Guests: Ken Goodrich, Chad Peterman, Jeff Duden, Michael Franzese, Ishmael Valdez, Charlie Sanders, LSD Crew, Terry Bradshaw, and more

Episode Overview

This annual "Best of" episode is a handpicked highlight reel of the most powerful, impactful, and insightful moments from To The Point’s 2025 season. Chris and his guests share wisdom spanning leadership, resilience, reputation, the reality of entrepreneurship, technology adoption, and persevering through personal tragedy—all uniquely tailored for home service business owners (HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, etc.).

Main themes include:

• Reputation over revenue
• People-first leadership
• Operational excellence in a changing digital landscape
• Power of words and mindset
• Facing business and personal headwinds with resilience

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Power and Responsibility of Leadership

Featuring: Ken Goodrich & Ishmael Valdez

• Touching Lives through Business: Ken and Ishmael reflect on how contractors not only impact employees, but entire families, clients, and communities ([01:30]–[05:00]).
• Drive & Vision in Operators:
  Ishmael emphasizes the “sixth sense” and gut instinct separating true operators:

  “Your internal gut feeling and that sixth sense that made us CEOs ... is what's always gonna differentiate yourself from a good business, from a bad business.” — Ishmael Valdez [04:15]

• Against Classical Business Logic:
  Ken shares anecdotes about navigating irrational, “Rube Goldberg” business systems and urges collaboration over division with equity partners:

  “What we created ... is completely irrational to a classically trained business person ... but we pulled it off. ... You respect me for what I know, and let's somehow come together ... and take it to the next level.” — Ken Goodrich [05:00]

2. Enjoying (And Surviving) the Journey

Featuring: Chris Yano & Chad Peterman

• The Journey IS the Destination: Chris, inspired by Matthew McConaughey, encourages reframing every obstacle as part of the adventure, not the endpoint ([07:00]–[10:00]).
• Adversity Makes for a Great Story:
  Chad suggests seeing tough times as “chapters” that define your story:

  “...the challenging times are the most important part of the story. ... This is going to be a good chapter in that book ... no one gives a shit [about the easy times].” — Chad Peterman [09:45]

• Mindset is Everything:
  Both reinforce the power of attitude in shaping outcomes.

3. Disciplined Entrepreneurship in Franchising

Featuring: Jeff Duden & Chad Peterman

• Choosing Where to Invest Your Energy:
  Jeff offers lessons from running numerous franchise brands, stressing focus and “decision filters” when faced with endless opportunities ([12:40]–[15:40]):

  “...after you lose money in a couple of deals, you start saying, alright, I've got to put some decision filters around this... I'm not doing any more shitty little businesses.” — Jeff Duden [13:35]

• Return on Time/Energy:
  Jeff frames business selection based on how much value it can generate-per-hour, not just potential revenue.

4. Leadership Under Pressure: Lessons from a Mob Boss

Featuring: Michael Franzese

• Do What You Do Best; Delegate the Rest:
  Franzese relates how running a “crew” taught him to identify strengths, motivate teams, and make hard personnel decisions ([21:05]–[23:10]):

  “I always had this motto. Do what you do best. Delegate the rest. ... My job was to motivate them, give them the incentive to work hard for me so they felt rewarded.” — Michael Franzese [22:15]

5. Evolving Beyond the Employee Mindset

Featuring: Ishmael Valdez

• Accountability Vacuum:
  Ishmael points out a common hidden issue in the industry—CEOs operating with an employee, not an owner’s mindset, due to lack of external accountability ([30:00]–[34:00]).
• Calling Out Excuses:
  He criticizes contractors for blaming externalities instead of fixing root problems like reputation and customer experience:

  “How do you expect to have leads when your Yelp rating is 3.8... and your competitor has 7,000 [good] reviews?” — Ishmael Valdez [26:45] “Most of these operators are employee-based operators. They haven't graduated their mindset into being a CEO... you can't be blaming the marketing company, the weather, or cash flow anymore.” — Ishmael Valdez [32:50]

• Beware of “Con” Mentors:
  He warns against industry “gurus” coaching without results:

  “There's a ton of mentors out there that don't know what they're doing and ... shouldn't be mentoring people and ... charging people for anything, because number one, they haven't built anything.” — Ishmael Valdez [33:50]

6. Surviving Tragedy: The Charlie Sanders Story

Featuring: Charlie Sanders & Chris Yano

• Coping with Unimaginable Loss:
  Charlie shares candidly about losing his 13-year-old daughter to suicide, struggling to function in life and business ([38:08]–[47:00]).
• Community & Autopilot:
  The value of a strong company and support system while “on autopilot.”
• Facing Giving Up:
  Charlie discusses nearly quitting, but feeling duty-bound to his team and clients:

  “I mean, I didn't know if we were going to be able to go. ... We pushed harder into the acquisition because I needed to make sure everybody at ATC was OK.” — Charlie Sanders [44:10]

• Hope’s Legacy:
  Remembering his daughter for her kindness and fragility; a plea to break the stigma of talking about suicide:

  “She was so loving and innocent ... She loved big, for sure ... she was all about the love.” — Charlie Sanders [46:20]

• Resources:
  Chris reminds listeners, “your worst day is someone else's dream,” and to call the national suicide hotline — just dial 988 ([49:30]).

7. Final Thoughts: Hallmarks of Success for 2026

Featuring: The LSD Crew (Tommy, Ishmael Valdez, Daryl Bingham, Chris, Chad Peterman) [51:39]–[57:40]

Leadership Visibility

• Tommy:

  “Visibility is no longer a nice to have for leaders. It's part of the business strategy. If your audience cannot see you, they will forget you exist.” — Tommy [52:12]

Reputation Over Revenue

• Ishmael:

  “Now more than ever ... people are fighting for revenue or reputation when it should always be led with reputation. ... The one thing, you can never lose is the reputation of your company.” — Ishmael Valdez [53:17]

Reconnecting with Your People

• Daryl Bingham:

  “Reconnect with the workforce ... those are the ones that make it happen for us. Realize what chapters of life your workforce is in ... and support them.” — Daryl Bingham [54:15]

Speed of Decision-Making

• Chris:

  “Your business grows at the speed you make decisions ... used to always wait for [perfection], but I've learned ... one step forward is better than no progress at all.” — Chris [55:15]

Tech as a Multiplier, Not a Bandage

• Chad Peterman:

  “Technology is not going to solve the problems in your business. It’s going to enhance your business that is run by all of the blocking and tackling that you're paying attention to.” — Chad Peterman [56:33]

8. Surviving (and Winning) in a Tough Market

Featuring: Ken Goodrich

• Pushing Forward in Headwinds:
  Ken, seasoned through multiple recessions, said the worst times are often when his businesses grew the fastest:

  “I just push the throttle forward on the advertising and I went out and took the business to be had ... We grew at 35% CAGR from 8, 9 and 10. ... I think customers are holding onto their money ... We pulled a lot of demand forward ... Changing refrigerant changes, difficult years. ... This is not a time to be retracting ... go out and get the business ... go to more relational branding, guerrilla-type marketing where nobody else is at and go take your business.” — Ken Goodrich [61:19]–[65:07]

9. Defining Resilience with Terry Bradshaw

Featuring: Terry Bradshaw

• Personal Ownership:

  “Resilience ... was when I wanted something so bad and someone else got it. ... You have to have direction in your life. ... Failing is just part of life. ... If you really love what you're doing, it's just a setback. That's all it is.” — Terry Bradshaw [67:08]

• Never Stop Pushing:

  “It's pushing forward, not giving up. And if you do give up, that's not what you're supposed to be doing anyway. Go find out what motivates you ... and then, you know, plow through it.” — Terry Bradshaw [71:34]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Leading in Crisis

  “You have the power to change a ton of people's life. ... Don't ever take your power that you have for granted.” — Ishmael Valdez [04:00]

• On Mindset

  “You are what you think you are. ... The journey is the destination.” — Chris [10:40]

• On Franchising & Focus

  “No more. I'm not doing any more shitty little businesses ... I've really learned to get disciplined about what's my return on time in terms of dollars.” — Jeff Duden [13:59]

• On Survival after Loss

  “I mean, we went on autopilot. ... I didn't know if we were going to be able to go. ... But we just got back into the grind.” — Charlie Sanders [42:16], [44:10]

• On Private Equity and Operational Excellence

  “Private equity ... underestimated how much street knowledge you got to have to run one of these businesses ... It's still kind of a street guy’s game.” — Ken Goodrich [61:50]

• On Reputation

  “You can never lose the reputation of your company and the integrity of your company with your clients.” — Ishmael Valdez [53:23]

Takeaways for Home Service Business Owners

• Leadership is impact—not just revenue or size, but how you steward your influence over people’s lives.
• Extreme Ownership—whether things go right or wrong, start by asking, "What was my part in this?"
• Embrace adversity as an integral part of the story; every tough chapter forges your company's character.
• Be selective about what you say “yes” to; your time has value, and not all opportunities are equal.
• Delegate, motivate, and develop talent; no one does it all alone.
• Build your brand and reputation—they are the foundation for long-term success amid competition and change.
• **Keep a people-first mentality—**even rapid tech adoption is pointless without right culture and fundamentals.
• Push through headwinds; resilience is cultivated only in tough times.
• Stay visible as a leader—internally and externally.
• **Find your tribe—**grow in groups and lean on support networks for both business and life’s hardships.
• Most importantly, never give up on your dream; keep plowing forward.
• If in crisis, reach out—988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

Timestamps for Essential Segments

• [01:30] – Ken Goodrich & Ishmael Valdez: Operator power & industry leadership
• [08:51] – Chad Peterman: Adversity is “the interesting chapter”
• [12:39] – Jeff Duden: Disciplined entrepreneurship
• [21:05] – Michael Franzese: Mob boss lessons in delegation & motivation
• [26:31] – Ishmael Valdez: Reputation and accountability
• [38:08] – Charlie Sanders: Navigating personal tragedy
• [51:39] – LSD Crew: Final thoughts for 2026—Visibility, reputation, tech, people
• [60:59] – Ken Goodrich: Facing soft markets with aggression
• [67:08] – Terry Bradshaw: Resilience defined

Closing

Chris:

“You don’t have to do everything, but you gotta do something.”
The journey continues into 2026—equip yourself with the right mindset, surround yourself with good people, and keep showing up, even when it’s hard.

If you, or someone you know, is struggling, the 988 crisis line is available. You are not alone, and your best chapter may still be ahead.

For more wisdom and real-world tactics, revisit any of the full episodes referenced—see the show notes for direct links and episode numbers.

Merry Christmas and here’s to your growth in 2026!