Welcome back to our Million Dollar Contracting series with author and contractor Kim Hopkins. In this episode, we dive into the chapter that separates struggling businesses from seven-figure operators: PROFIT. Kim breaks down: Why “breaking even” is a trapHow most contractors underprice without even knowing itThe 10% rule for long-term success (most skip this and pay the price)How to build a profit-driven team that wants your business to win If you're serious about growing your local servi...
We’re back with another no-BS episode in our Million Dollar Contracting book series—and this one hits where it hurts: getting paid. Author and 40+ year Operator Kim Hopkins returns in Episode 171 to break down: How he went from losing $80K at a time to collecting every pennyThe common collection mistakes that bleed your bottom lineWhat to do when a GC, management company, or homeowner stalls (spoiler: it’s not small claims court)He’s been burned, bounced back, and built a system that works. I...
In this power-packed episode, Tom Howard (VP at ServiceTitan + serial service business acquirer) lays out how he and his team took three underperforming HVAC companies and flipped them into a $25M machine—fast. You’ll learn: How to spot opportunity in a dumpster fire of a businessWhat radical transparency and equity can do for your teamHow AI is outperforming human CSRs—and cutting costsThe real cost of bloated teams and broken systemsWhy most owners get stuck at $2–5M—and how to punch throu...
Think great work is enough to grow your service business? Think again. In this episode, we sit down with Kim Hopkins, author of Million Dollar Contractor, to break down the three skills every local service pro must master to scale—people skills, technical skills, and admin systems. Kim built a multi-million dollar electrical business from the trunk of a sedan—and he’s sharing the no-fluff strategies that actually get you more jobs, better referrals, and a business that doesn’t own you. What Y...
We continue the “Million Dollar Contracting” book review series with special guest and author, Kim Hopkins, Founder & Owner of The Electric Connection out of Los Angeles CA, in business for over four decades. In this episode Kim we cover Sales, chapter 8 of his book. Kim shared the lessons he learned on what customer types are ideal and which ones to avoid and the signals each one gives off telling you who they are. Topics discussed included: The key questions and deal breakers custo...
We continue the “Million Dollar Contracting” book review series with special guest and author, Kim Hopkins, Founder & Owner of The Electric Connection out of Los Angeles CA. In this episode Kim shares two of the most important lessons he’s learned in four decades of running his electrical services company. We also touched on a few key points of Chapter 7 of his book, this chapter is on Internet Marketing. Enjoy! Buy The Book: https://www.amazon.com/Million-Dollar-Contracting-Business-...
We continue the “Million Dollar Contracting” book review series with special guest and author, Kim Hopkins, Founder & owner of The Electric Connection out of Los Angeles CA. Nearly the entire episode was devoted to the essential ingredients of a high-converting website for contractors. From fundamental structure, to essential conversion elements, and how pretty it should look are all discussed. Kim shared how his company targets lucrative keywords that have little to no competition. D...
In this interview we explore Chapter 5 on Promotions of this “Million Dollar Contracting” book review series with special guest and author, Kim Hopkins, Founder & owner of The Electric Connection out of Los Angeles CA. 40+ years of promotional wisdom was shared once again in this episode. What channels wasted money and where he found his best returns through the decades. Kim talked about growing repeat and referral business from past customers through maintenance contracts / service agr...
Today we provide Chapter 4 of this “Million Dollar Contracting” book review series with special guest and author, Kim Hopkins, Founder & owner of The Electric Connection out of Los Angeles CA. Promotion is the subject of chapter 4 and we had a fun time discussing many of the methods Kim has successfully used over the last 40+ years. More of the good stuff here. Enjoy! Buy The Book: https://www.amazon.com/Million-Dollar-Contracting-Business-Financial/dp/B0CYHF7WD8/ Guest Website: https:/...
Today we provide Chapter 3 of this “Million Dollar Contracting” book review series with special guest and author, Kim Hopkins, Founder & owner of The Electric Connection out of Los Angeles CA. Marketing is the subject of Chapter 3 and Kim shared his four decades of experience highlighting the need for a mixture of slow and fast marketing and why budgeting for marketing is crucial to long term survival. Kim also shared how important it is to step up your game when the economy slows down ...
Today we review chapter 2 of the book "Million Dollar Contracting" with its author and special guest and author, Kim Hopkins, Founder & Owner of The Electric Connection out of Los Angeles CA. From this chapter, titled “Setting Up Your Contracting Company Properly” we discussed seemingly simple but very important things like naming your company for future use, domain names, professional email, insurance, banking, legal requirements, and more. We also touched on the importance and differe...
Today we start a special book review series with special guest and author, Kim Hopkins, Founder & Owner of The Electric Connection out of Los Angeles CA. Kim started his electrical services company in 1979 and today, nearly 45 years later, it thrives and operates with minimal involvement from him. Kim decided at this point in his life he’d like to share the knowledge he acquired over all of those years of operating a successful home services company. It’s his desire that his book will ...
Today we have a special guest on the podcast, Jakob Kirschner, Peak Advisory Fractional CFO out of Woodland Park CO. When it all comes down to it, we’re all essentially in the profits business, so knowing our numbers and consulting with those who specialize in them best is a smart move. Learn what a Fractional CFO is and how they’re an essential ingredient to make your service business more profitable or take it from 7 figures to 8 or 9. Jakob specializes in working with contracting compan...
Today we have a special guest on the podcast, Osh Sawa, of Mile High Plumbing, Electrical, & Air out of the greater Denver area. Discover how Osh, his wife, and his best friend John started plumbing and grew it in just a few short years to expand into HVAC and now electrical with a good sized team. They developed referral relationships within the community to create a constant stream of incoming leads. They concentrated on training and developing a culture that cares for their team to ...
Today, we have a special guest on the podcast: Rebecca Ramirez of Rambo121 Moving & Storage Company in the greater Phoenix AZ area. Five years ago, Becca and her husband Oscar quit their jobs, bought a moving truck, and started on their path to owning and operating a successful moving and storage company. See how they sought out relationships with referral partners to keep a steady stream of business flowing and brand themselves in the community. Learn how they specialize in moving hig...
Today we have a special guest on the podcast, Dominic Arsenault with Domination Plumbing out of Leominster MA with locations in 3 cities. In just five short years Dominic has started and grown his plumbing & HVAC company from zero to 28 employees and expanded into three cities. You can quickly see why he’s been so successful and his growth so rapid, because Dominic is all about taking care of people - his employees and his customers. It’s 100 percent all about them and as a result, his ...
Today we have a special guest on the podcast, Don Hilderbrand, from PlumbSmart out of Asheville NC. Asheville NC and dozens of cities and towns across the southeastern U.S. were hit hard or completely devastated by Hurricane Helene. In this discussion, Don talks about how unprepared most of us are for such events and how you can take action to help ready yourself, your business, and your community for such tragedies. Don talks about planning ahead for such events with local contractors, su...
Today we have a special guest on the podcast, Erik Bon Fleur, MBA, owner-operator of Andy Frattin Plumbing in Ormond Beach Florida. After spending over a decade in the corporate world, Erik caught the entrepreneurial bug and went on a path to buy and then run a service business. We explore his path, why he chose a plumbing company, and where he took it from there. He grew the company fast by implementing some key fundamentals. Erik shared some great advice for any operator all throughout ...
Today we have a special guest on the podcast, Brett Neal, CPA, and Co-owner of High Velocity Accounting, who specializes in working with home service companies. Running a service business is hard, and getting the numbers right is the most important ingredient to success. Working harder when the numbers are off just accelerates the challenges and stress. Accounting and bookkeeping are usually not the strong suits of most business owners. But they’re also one of the most important functions...
Today we have a special guest on the podcast, Ian Schotanus, the “H.R. Guy”, and co-owner of The Big Picture Consulting. Is your company compliant with payroll and Human Resources? If you have employees, you are subject to payroll, safety, and other H.R. compliance laws. Today’s episode discusses many of the legal requirements of operating your Home Service company and some simple solutions to cover your tail. Ian discusses required H.R. documents like your employee handbook, safety manua...