From 6 Employees to 96 Vehicles: How to Scale a Home Services Business Without Losing Your Culture

Slow and Steady Wins the HVAC Race | Kyle Kelch, North Star Heating and Air

I brought Kyle Kelch of North Star Heating and Air onto the podcast for one reason: he runs a 26-year-old family business that has done almost everything backward compared to what the industry tells you to do and it is working better than most. No aggressive scaling. No chasing private equity. No high-pressure sales tactics on service calls. Just a slow, deliberate build anchored in treating every customer like family, and every technician like one too. Kyle took over from his father, Terry Senior, who started North Star with two unmarked trucks and no marketing budget. Today they run nine trucks, they are tracking toward $5 million in revenue, and their customers are inviting their technicians to weddings and birthday parties. That is not a line in a mission statement. That is what actually happens when you get the culture right. In this episode, Kyle and I go deep on how they built it, what they refused to do along the way, and what their free tune-up-for-life program actually generates in long-term revenue. We also get into the private equity wave hitting the HVAC space right now, and why Kyle sees it as an opportunity rather than a threat. If you are running a home services company and you are trying to build something you can pass down instead of something you can cash out, this one is for you. CHAPTERS Chapters: * 00:05 - The Impact of Private Equity on Customer Dynamics * 00:57 - The Importance of Sustainable Growth * 10:28 - The Impact of SEO on Business Growth * 24:15 - Building Relationships Through Customer Service * 31:10 - Transitioning to Digital Marketing Strategies * 43:16 - The Importance of Customer Relationships in Business * 53:43 - Starting a Business in Home Services: Insights and Advice * 01:00:05 - Expansion Plans for North Star Heating and Air COMPANIES MENTIONED North Star Heating and Air Family-owned HVAC company based in Utah, founded by Terry Kelch Sr. and currently led by Kyle Kelch as second-generation owner. They serve the Salt Lake Valley, Utah County, West Jordan, Sandy, Lehigh, and Park City areas. Known for free lifetime tune-ups, commissioned technicians who operate with a service-first mindset, and a zero-debt growth philosophy. Blue Forge Marketing Home services marketing agency owned by Adam Loveridge, specializing in heating and air conditioning, plumbing, remodeling, and garage door contractors. Blue Forge has managed North Star's SEO, Google Business Profile, social media, and Connected TV advertising for over 12 years. WEBSITES MENTIONED Blue Forge Marketing: https://www.blueforgemarketing.com [https://www.blueforgemarketing.com] North Star Heating and Air: Search North Star Heating and Air on Google to find their current site and business profile GUEST INFORMATION Kyle Kelch Kyle is the second-generation owner of North Star Heating and Air, a family-run HVAC company in Utah founded by his parents roughly 26 years ago. He came up as a technician, spent time working for a larger company specifically to study their operations, then brought those systems back to his family's business and rebuilt it from the ground up. Under Kyle's leadership, North Star grew from two unmarked trucks doing under $700,000 a year to nine trucks on track to hit $5 million. He manages a straight-commission technician team, personally reviews every invoice, and follows up with customers after every service call. He also dedicates a set number of hours per week to in-person networking, which he credits as a meaningful driver of organic growth. Kyle is also the on-camera spokesperson for North Star's Instagram Reels and Connected TV ad content, where he focuses on homeowner education rather than promotional messaging. He is actively planning a plumbing service line expansion and is raising the business with the intention of passing it to the next generation. To reach Kyle or schedule a service in the Salt Lake Valley area, call North Star directly or find them on Google.

This is How Olga Started a $2 Million Painting Company With Only $500

I sat down with Olga de la Cruz, co-founder of HQ Painting in Salt Lake City, Utah, to talk about what it takes to build a high-end painting company from scratch. Starting in 2012 with $500 in their first month, Olga and her husband have grown HQ Painting to target $2.2 million in revenue this year, with a team of eight crews dedicated to custom, detail-oriented work. Olga breaks down how they hire, train, and retain painters, why referrals and networking drive the bulk of their business, and how they built a brand that homeowners and contractors remember. She also gets personal about what the $7 million goal really means to her and what comes after. Timestamps Chapters: * 00:21 - Finding Your Niche in Business * 02:03 - Starting a Business in the Painting Industry * 10:29 - Transitioning to Marketing Strategies * 22:31 - Establishing a Brand Identity * 28:40 - The Future Vision: Growth and Giving Back Guest Information Olga de la Cruz is the co-founder and spokesperson of HQ Painting, a high-end residential and commercial painting company based in Salt Lake City, Utah. She and her husband launched the business in 2012 and have grown it by focusing on detail-driven work, low employee turnover, and strong community relationships. Olga is also passionate about supporting women business owners and giving back in Mexico. Companies Mentioned * HQ Painting * Blue Forge Marketing * Vistaprint * Sherwin-Williams Websites Mentioned * HQ Painting Utah [https://hqpaintingutah.com] * Blue Forge Marketing [https://blueforgemarketing.com] Key Takeaways * Find your niche early and build your processes around it. * Hire for attitude, train for skill. * Pay your people first. Respect keeps them around. * Referrals and networking can carry a business to $2M. * Brand consistency across every touchpoint builds recognition.

The CTV Strategy That Cut One Contractor's Cost Per Lead by 90%

In this episode, I sit down with Jessica Chase from Get Above the Fold to talk about programmatic advertising and connected TV for home service contractors. She walks me through how these ad formats work, when to start using them, and how they lift results across your other marketing channels. We get into building a strategy around your first-party data, CRM lists, and event geofencing. Jessica shares real client numbers, including cost-per-lead results that most contractors have not seen from Google alone. She also breaks down budget ranges that make sense at different stages of business growth. Chapters: 1. 00:04 - Scaling Marketing Spend and Testing Strategies 2. 06:00 - Introduction to Programmatic Advertising 3. 20:47 - Starting a New Marketing Strategy 4. 31:39 - Understanding Programmatic Advertising for Contractors 5. 43:16 - Understanding Customer Personas in Marketing 6. 48:03 - Understanding Customer Data for Business Growth Guest Information Jessica Chase is the founder of Get Above the Fold, a programmatic advertising agency. She has 20 years of marketing experience, including time at 1-800 Contacts, Rakuten, and a cash back marketing company. She helps home service contractors reach the right audience through CTV, audio, display, and native advertising. Companies Mentioned 1. Blue Forge Marketing 2. Get Above the Fold 3. 1-800 Contacts 4. Rakuten 5. The Trade Desk 6. Service Titan 7. Hulu 8. Peacock 9. Spotify Websites Mentioned 1. Blue Forge Marketing [https://www.blueforgemarketing.com] 2. Get Above the Fold [https://www.getabovethefold.com] Take Aways 1. Start programmatic with your CRM and site retargeting data before broad prospecting. 2. Layer CTV into your marketing mix once you have at least $3,000 to $5,000 per month to test. 3. Knowing your customer data, zip code, gender, and home age, makes targeting more precise. 4. Running multiple ad formats across channels raises conversion rates on average by about 20%. 5. At higher spend levels, moving budget into programmatic can reduce cost per lead well below what Google Ads delivers on its own.

What It Really Takes to Grow a Home Service Business on Purpose

I sit down with John Jauvenaux from BB Septic in Northwest Arkansas to talk about what it really takes to build a stable, profitable home services company. We get into his early jobs, failed ventures, and how he turned a small septic outfit into a growing business by focusing on integrity, systems, and the right people instead of shortcuts. From my side as an agency owner, I share how this lines up with the way we help contractors grow from survival into serious scale. We talk through old-school marketing like Yellow Pages and door hangers, how online listings and NAP consistency changed the game, why reviews matter so much, and how EOS, integrators, and clear processes let an owner step out of the truck without losing control. Chapters: 1. 00:07 - Taking Ownership of Success 2. 02:07 - Transition to Digital Marketing and Business Strategies 3. 12:21 - The Importance of NAP Consistency in Digital Marketing 4. 21:34 - The Journey of Learning and Self-Discovery 5. 25:22 - Transitioning to Ownership and Leadership 6. 31:29 - Identifying and Solving Business Problems 7. 44:33 - Transitioning to Marketing Strategies 8. 52:14 - The Power of Local Marketing and Networking 9. 56:32 - Taking Action in Business: The Importance of Implementation 10. 58:55 - Navigating Success: Lessons from a Lifelong Entrepreneur 11. 01:06:38 - Building a Business: Growth, Acquisition, and Legacy COMPANIES MENTIONED 1. Blue Forge Marketing 2. BB Septic 3. Dex 4. Manta 5. Yext 6. TripAdvisor 7. Google WEBSITES MENTIONED 1. https://www.blueforgemarketing.com/ [https://www.blueforgemarketing.com/] 2. https://ip.com/ [https://ip.com/] 3. https://www.manta.com/ [https://www.manta.com/] 4. https://www.yext.com/ [https://www.yext.com/] 5. https://www.tripadvisor.com/ [https://www.tripadvisor.com/] 6. https://www.google.com/business/ [https://www.google.com/business/] GUEST INFORMATION John owns and leads BB Septic in Northwest Arkansas. He has worked in septic and portable sanitation for more than thirty years, growing from a two-truck outfit into a multi‑million dollar operation. John focuses on clear processes, education-based marketing, and building a team that can run the day-to-day while he works on new projects in wastewater and speaks at industry events.

From 6 Employees to 96 Vehicles: How to Scale a Home Services Business Without Losing Your Culture

I had the pleasure of sitting down with Carrie Kelsch, CEO of A Plus Garage Doors, to talk about her incredible journey from mortgage broker to running the largest garage door company in Utah. We covered everything from surviving the 2008 housing crisis to building systems and processes that took her from six employees to 96 vehicles on the road. Carrie shared her strategies for creating a strong company culture, implementing Service Titan to gain transparency across operations, and the decision to join Guild Garage Group in 2022. This conversation is packed with practical advice for any home services contractor looking to scale their business. What stood out most to me was Carrie's focus on the blue collar worker and her Youth in the Trades program that gives teenagers exposure to careers in the trades. She also emphasized the importance of making sure your technicians take ownership of customer reviews and creating a five star experience at every job. If you're in the home services space and want to grow, this episode is a must listen. Chapters: 1. 00:09 - The Value of Blue Collar Workers 2. 06:41 - Transition to the Garage Door Industry 3. 07:34 - Implementing Systems for Business Growth 4. 21:10 - Transitioning to Effective Marketing Strategies 5. 23:30 - The Shift to Digital Marketing 6. 37:09 - Transitioning to Guild Garage Group 7. 49:04 - Strategies for Success in Home Services Companies Mentioned A Plus Garage Doors Blue Forge Marketing Guild Garage Group Expert Garage Doors Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Service Titan Lehman Brothers Countrywide Websites Mentioned blueforgemarketing.com [http://blueforgemarketing.com] Guest Information Carrie Kelsch is the CEO and founder of A Plus Garage Doors, which she started in 2005. She grew the company from six employees doing 1.5 million in revenue to 96 vehicles on the road pushing for 50 million in annual revenue. In 2022, she joined Guild Garage Group and expanded operations into Las Vegas.