The 3 Best Takeaways From Owned and Operated LEGENDS

It’s been a busy month, with preparation for the workshop and the release of Owned and Operated LEGENDS.

The first three episodes with Tommy Mello, Matt Ballard, and Chad Peterman are out now, and it’s been incredible seeing the reaction to the interviews.

At three hours of content, there’s a wealth of information available from all three home service superstars. It’s a lot to digest.

Here are the three best takeaways from LEGENDS for your own business.

Let’s do it.

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• Continue to grow, both your employee culture and as an owner.
• Leverage your existing customer base for healthy growth.
• The positives of ‘greenfielding’ versus acquisition.

Reading time: 3 minutes and 45 seconds

Tommy Mello - Self-Improvement, Self-Belief

“My biggest competitor is when I look in the mirror."

Tommy Mello believes business success starts with yourself. You see it in his self-presentation, the way he talks, and his passion for business.

It’s an ethos that builds something, not only on a personal level but for the culture of your business.

Tommy made it clear in the interview: Strong culture is a requirement.

I’ve said it before: If the people you hire aren’t buying into and believing in the ethos of your business then it creates a problem.

He challenges owners looking to learn from those who have already achieved success: Remain curious and humble. Keep reading. Learn. Grow.

He says “Let the hustler in you die. No longer are you a hustler. You're a business owner."

That’s not a statement saying a hustler’s worth ethic is bad, but instead that it’s limiting.

Don’t limit yourself. Take it from Tommy.

Tommy Mello: On Facebook | @RealTommyMello on Twitter
A1 Garage Door
The Home Service Expert Podcast

Matt Ballard - Use What You Have

“I'm doing everything that I can to not have to put money into a lot of the traditional marketing channels.”

There’s a half-running joke, half-truth in our Facebook group for home service owners that comes from fellow HVAC man, Rich Jordan:

According to him, the answer to most problems is memberships.

He’s not wrong. Memberships can get you through rough times and shoulder seasons.

Or, if you’re Matt Ballard and dominating Las Vegas with a $55M HVAC operation, using your existing customer base can be a growth hack.

“The idea there was is that my plumbing department is so small in comparison to everything else,” Matt says in the interview.

“I'm just going to use my HVAC customers to build my plumbing business. And so, now, I’ve added like 30 bucks to our discount club.”

His primary marketing source is his customer and mechanical bases. Part of that is he’s large enough to leverage that database.

But, the ability to cross-sell and integrate is insane.

This all boils down to customer experience. Give them the services they want without needing to call someone else.

Make it seamless. Make it great.

Matt Ballard: @mballard83 on Twitter
Learn More About Sunrise Mechanical

Chad Peterman - Starting From Scratch

"When are you going to build your next location? I’m like, when I find the leader that can lead a location."

If you’re a longtime Owned and Operated reader then you know that, given the chance, I’ll acquire over build any day.

It’s just how I roll.

That is not what Peterman Brothers President and CEO Chad Peterman is all about.

A big focus of the interview with Chad was on acquisitions versus ‘greenfielding.’ This is, literally, starting a business from scratch—a green field to build upon.

Greenfielding may be more challenging at the start due to a lack of existing customer base and higher marketing costs.

But, it allows for the establishment of company culture and processes without needing to undo bad habits or practices from acquired companies.

If you’re looking to build leaders and shape the business the way you see it then the greenfield method is absolute.

It also allows you to test the mettle of potential leaders.

"We had a service manager at the time who wanted to run his own location, and we were like, we had an acquisition, but it ended up falling through,” Chad said.

“So we literally just opened up in Lafayette, hired a team up there, and just went for it."

Sometimes you gotta just go for it.

Chad Peterman: On LinkedIn | @ChadMPeterman on Twitter
Learn More About Chad PetermanThe Can’t Stop The Growth Podcast

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