Episodes

  • What a private-equity buyout letter actually costs a family HVAC shop - Trade Secrets

    What a private-equity buyout letter actually costs a family HVAC shop - Trade Secrets
    Jul 11 2026
    A second-generation HVAC owner gets an unsolicited letter from a private-equity-backed roll-up offering to buy his business at what sounds like a great multiple - until the earnout terms, the equity rollover, and the three-year employment clause turn the headline number into something much less certain.
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    6 mins
  • How an Electrical Shop Doubled Its Value With a Membership Plan — Trade Secrets

    How an Electrical Shop Doubled Its Value With a Membership Plan — Trade Secrets
    Jul 10 2026
    A two-truck electrical shop stopped letting every month start at zero and doubled what the business was worth — with a simple membership plan that made payroll boring.
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    5 mins
  • Tripling 5-Star Reviews Without Paying a Cent (Roofing Case Study) — Trade Secrets

    Tripling 5-Star Reviews Without Paying a Cent (Roofing Case Study) — Trade Secrets
    Jul 8 2026
    A roofing crew tripled its five-star reviews in four months and never paid a cent — by changing when they asked and killing the one habit they thought was working.
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    5 mins
  • Emergency Call Pricing: What a 2 AM Call Should Actually Cost (Trade Secrets)

    Emergency Call Pricing: What a 2 AM Call Should Actually Cost (Trade Secrets)
    Jul 7 2026
    A plumber was working harder at eleven PM than at noon and losing money on every emergency call without knowing it. How a two-truck shop rebuilt its after-hours pricing.
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    5 mins
  • The HVAC Shop That Outgrew the Owner's Phone

    The HVAC Shop That Outgrew the Owner's Phone
    Jul 3 2026
    A single HVAC shop's missed calls were a measurable P&L line — not a delegation problem. We put a number on every rung to voicemail and rebuild the dispatch path to take the owner off the critical path.
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    5 mins