Dear Reader,
Before there was a multimillion-dollar business . . .
There was an 18 year old kid with a dream.
Joe had no revenue. No team. No leads.
So Joe did what most kids wouldn’t.
He borrowed his parents’ printer. Printed letters to builders. Stuffed them into envelopes. Rode his bike to the post office. And sent them out the old fashioned way.
Not an email blast. No automatic funnels, and no shortcuts.
Just a young man with a name, a dream, and the guts to start.
Fast forward: Joe built a company doing over $12.5 million a year. (He later sold it to Private Equity.)
With better margins than companies three times his size.
Joe was focused on going to work and learning. He was never the loudest guy in the seminar, but he was taking notes.
- He built systems.
- Trained leaders.
- Learned from legends.
He didn’t care about “scaling fast”… he cared about building something that lasts.
This episode is about that.
About what happens when you stop chasing revenue . . .
. . . and start building like the company you want to be.
So if you’re tired of burning out just to look big, If you want the kind of business that pays you and gives you peace . . .
Pull up a chair.
Joe’s story doesn’t just inspire. It recalibrates your aim.
In This Episode, You'll Learn:
- Why net profit matters more than revenue in the trades
- How Joe rebuilt from nothing after a family business collapse
- The power of systems—even in small companies
- Learning from the legends like Ron Smith and Ken Goodrich
- Why big dreams require practical efficiency
Episode Chapters & Summary
Rebuilding From Rock Bottom
“I didn't even have gas money. I used my parents' printer to send letters to builders.”
Joe opens up about his lowest point. After his father's business shut down, Joe had nothing but hustle and a borrowed printer. He clawed his way back, proving that determination and scrappiness beat perfect conditions every time.
Key Takeaways:
- Success often starts with desperation, not comfort
- Creative problem-solving matters more than resources
- Even small wins snowball over time
- Grit is a non-negotiable trait in entrepreneurship
Lessons From Legends
“There's a man named Ron Smith, and Ron wrote a book called HVAC Spells Profit.”
Joe credits Ron Smith, Ken Goodrich, Ben Stark, and Steve Miles for shaping his philosophy. He shares how meeting industry legends—and devouring their books and conversations—gave him blueprints for profitability and systems thinking.
Key Takeaways:
- Seek out mentors who've done what you want to do
- Books are the cheapest mentorship available
- Industry giants leave clues for success
- Great entrepreneurs study history to build the future
Profit Over Vanity Metrics
“Ask them what their net profits are. I guarantee they will not share that with you.”
Joe reveals how he learned early not to chase revenue for ego's sake. Instead, he focused on net profit—even when others bragged about top-line numbers. It's the discipline that made his smaller business more profitable than many giants.
Key Takeaways:
- Revenue is vanity; profit is sanity
- Ask tough questions about real margins
- Smaller businesses can be more efficient and lucrative
- Consistent profitability beats explosive but unsustainable growth
Engineering Efficiency at Any Size
“We started figuring out these efficiencies… How can we streamline everything as if we were a big company?”
Joe shares how he designed processes like staging nine HVAC systems for rapid loading—and how he leveraged suppliers for cash flow management. Small businesses can still think like giants, and systems create freedom.
Key Takeaways:
- Efficiency isn't only for large companies
- Small operations can outpace big ones with smart systems
- Process engineering saves time, money, and sanity
- Technology and automation unlock scalability
The Vision Beyond the Non-Compete
“I've got tear pads all along this wall with what it would take to create another company.”
Joe reveals that while he's under a non-compete, he's planning his next move. His walls are covered in vision boards and systems planning. For entrepreneurs, the journey never ends—even during a pause.
Key Takeaways:
- Entrepreneurs are always dreaming and planning
- A pause doesn't mean complacency
- Future success comes from clear vision and detailed systems
- Building the next thing starts before your first thing ends
