Starting A $1.4M Home Service in 5 Weeks 

Key insights

Business Model and Profitability

• 🏠Home service companies, which provide services like house cleaning, pool cleaning, grout cleaning, and landscaping, may be overlooked in the online world, but they are essential and profitable businesses that fulfill a need in people’s lives.
• 💰Starting a pool cleaning business doesn’t require a significant upfront investment, as basic equipment and a truck can be obtained for under $1,000, making it accessible for aspiring entrepreneurs.
• 💡Switching to a bi-weekly service model during the winter allows the company to increase their margins and make more profit per visit, while also attracting more customers.
• 🏊‍♂️Pool route brokers, who have been in the business for decades, play a role in facilitating the sale of pool businesses and taking a commission.
• 🌐There is a dedicated website where pool route owners can sell their routes, providing detailed information about the routes and allowing for potential buyers to make informed decisions.
• 🤔The speaker’s mention of finding the process interesting implies that there may be unique challenges and opportunities in the home service industry worth exploring.
• 🏊‍♂️They sold the service by bundling and selling individual pieces, like modular units, which is an interesting and potentially lucrative business model.
• 💪Taking the extra step and going the extra mile in your work can lead to greater leverage and opportunities for growth in the industry.
• 💰Paying employees based on effort can be a successful strategy for incentivizing hard work and dedication.

Marketing and Lead Generation

• 🤔Many people know the skill but struggle with getting customers, while others know how to get customers but lack the necessary skill.
• 📣Utilizing organic methods on platforms like Nextdoor can be highly effective for generating recommendations and leads for a home service business.
• 📈The pool service company aims for a conversion rate of at least 30% on their website, with a cost per lead of $22 to $30 and a closing rate of one in four leads.
• 💰Starting with free or cheaper platforms like Nextdoor and Yelp can bring in a good amount of leads for a home service company before investing in Google ads.
• 💰Learning persuasion and the little details of marketing can help individuals start making $10K a month in just 20 or 30 hours, without any secret sauce.

Operational Efficiency and Productivity

• 🏊‍♂️Some pool service workers can handle up to 20 to 25 pools a day, showcasing their efficiency and productivity.
• 💪Some employees were able to make a significant amount of money, earning $13-14 per pool and completing up to 20 pools a day.
• 🚚The monthly expenses for running a single truck in a home service business can amount to around $4,000, with chemicals alone costing approximately $3,000 per month.

Customer Relations and Branding

• 😱The speaker shares stories of customers who have gone to extreme lengths to monitor and question the work of service technicians, highlighting the importance of treating service people with kindness and respect.
• 💰Investing in branded vehicles, such as Ford Rangers with vinyl wraps, can contribute to building a strong brand image for a home service business.

Timestamped summary

Starting a successful $1.4M home service business involves acquiring customers, utilizing online platforms for advertising and credibility, implementing automation and technology, focusing on fulfillment and partnerships, and scaling the business for profitability.

• 💼00:00 Starting a home service business involves acquiring customers, learning necessary skills, and utilizing platforms like Google AdWords and Nextdoor for advertising and credibility. Collapse
  • The speaker discusses how they transitioned from running a social media marketing agency to owning home service companies, realizing that they were doing all the marketing for these companies but not fulfilling the actual services, leading them to buy their own companies.
  • The speaker discusses their experience starting a home service company by flipping pools from green to blue, learning from YouTube tutorials and investing $25,000 in equipment, and charging clients $150 per month for pool cleaning services.
  • To start a home service business, it is important to focus on acquiring customers and learning the necessary skills, which can be done through buying a business or learning from online resources like YouTube.
  • Google AdWords is the most successful platform for advertising a home service business, but if you have no money, you can utilize organic methods such as joining Facebook groups and participating in apps like Nextdoor to gain recommendations and credibility.
  • To start a home service business, create an account on Nextdoor, make a post offering your service, have others recommend you, and promote a special offer to gain credibility and clients.
  • Send traffic from Nextdoor ads to the messaging app within Nextdoor for better conversions and increased credibility.
• 💼11:00 Starting a home service business with a focus on Google ads, offering promotions and utilizing online platforms for sign-ups, and using a text message system for customer interactions and payments.
  • The speaker discusses the strategy behind their Google ad campaign for their home service business, aiming for a 30% conversion rate and a cost per lead of $22 to $30, resulting in a subscription model with a margin of 20% to 40% and potential revenue of $10,000 to $12,000 per month per technician.
  • The speaker discusses the growth of a home service company and how the same marketing strategy can be applied to various types of home services, such as roofing, solar, house cleaning, and pest control.
  • Start with free or cheap platforms like Nextdoor and Yelp for advertising, then move on to Google ads for a higher cost per click but potentially more leads and conversions.
  • Offering a free algaecide treatment and inspection, along with a first month free promotion, and utilizing online platforms for sign-ups, can help generate leads and increase profit margins for a home service business.
  • To increase conversions, the speaker recommends using a short landing page with social proof and minimalistic design, and once an application is filled out, an automation triggers a text message to inquire about pool service.
  • The company uses a system where customers receive a text message, provide their zip code, answer questions about repairs, and then sign an agreement and pay with a credit card, all done through text messages.
• 📈25:25 Starting a $1.4M home service in 5 weeks: Learn how to set up a lead automation system, build a high-level lead generation system, sell a pool business for a monthly multiple, and be cautious when buying pool companies. 
  • Learn how to set up a lead automation system on go high level by watching YouTube tutorials for about 20-30 hours.
  • Learn how to build a high-level lead generation system, automate it, and utilize the smart community on the backend to market effectively and make a significant income.
  • You can use Canva for photo ads and chat sheet BT to come up with good offers and write copy, and in the pool business, you can sell a business for a monthly multiple of 8 to 12x, with brokers taking a 2x multiple commission.
  • They sell the business by running Google ads or ranking organically on Google for pool routes for sale, and there is a website where you can sell your pool routes.
  • The speaker discusses the deceptive nature of buying pool companies and how route brokers provide limited information, leading them to believe they could do it better.
  • Sold a business with 600 accounts and 12 technicians in 16 months.
• 🏠32:09 💰 Starting a $1.4M home service company in 5 weeks by bundling and selling packages, focusing on fulfillment and partnerships, and using a route optimization app for pool cleaning. 
  • The speaker discusses their unconventional business model of building and selling home service packages, which took 19 months to complete and resulted in a profit of around $1 million.
  • The speaker discusses the process of bundling and selling their home service company in order to maximize profits and maintain control over the transaction.
  • The speaker recommends focusing on fulfillment and partnerships to take a home service business to the next level, suggesting that running ads and offering leads can be a profitable alternative to a retainer model, and eventually expanding the business through investment or buying a franchise.
  • The speaker discusses how they started a $1.4M home service company in just five weeks by hiring a handyman with a strong work ethic and training him to take on pool service jobs.
  • We started employees on a salary of $36,000 a year, but then switched to a model where they are paid per pool, starting at $8 and increasing based on experience, with some employees making $13-14 per pool and completing 20 pools a day.
  • The speaker discusses using a route optimization app called Skimmer for a home service business where employees go house to house to clean pools.
• 💰41:18 Starting a $1.4M home service in 5 weeks: Use an app for accountability, hire one person and buy a truck for each, charge for additional treatments and products, focus on scaling and automation for profitability. 
  • The app allows for live pictures and automatic chemical readings to be sent to customers, ensuring accountability and providing proof of service.
  • Hire one person and buy a truck for each person, costing around $20-30k, to maintain customer relationships and provide incentives for employees to stick around.
  • Zero down payment on a truck, monthly expenses of $3,600 per truck including employee wages, gas, insurance, labor costs, and $3,000 per month for chemicals, resulting in a net profit of $3,000 per month.
  • The pool business can be profitable with a high customer lifetime value, allowing for potential monthly profits of around $40-60k after expenses and ad spend, and it can be a successful lifestyle business even with a smaller scale.
  • Charging for additional pool treatments and selling pool products brought in a significant amount of money for the company, with a 72% acceptance rate on email offers, resulting in a profit of $40,000 in one day.
  • Focus on scaling by adding more trucks and offering additional services like filter cleaning, which can generate significant revenue, and automate the process to streamline operations.
• 💼49:53 Starting a home service business requires learning about platforms, automation, and investing in equipment, with the goal of reaching $1.4 million in revenue and a 30% profit margin, while scaling the business improves operations and management. 
  • A guy in a Nissan Versa was making around $15K a month doing filter cleans, and starting a home service business requires learning about landing pages, lead automation, and using YouTube for learning, as well as investing in a truck, equipment, and software like go high level and unbounce.
  • The speaker explains that to start a home service business, one needs to utilize platforms like Nextdoor and Unbounce, implement high-level automation, acquire necessary equipment, and aim for a revenue of $1.4 million with a 30% profit margin.
  • Save money by buying cheaper trucks instead of taking out loans, as it reduces expenses on commercial insurance and gas.
  • Having good credit is important for obtaining loans for cars, but it is usually not possible to get autos under an LLC until being in business for two years, so the speaker would have refinanced the cars into the LLC if they had kept the business.
  • Scaling the home service business resulted in improved operations and management as technicians became more experienced and were able to take on managerial roles, making it easier to handle the business at a larger scale.
  • We expanded our pool service routes to cover the entire valley, allowing for more flexibility and efficiency, although there were challenges with truck usage and potential liabilities.
• 🏠56:52 Starting a $1.4M home service in 5 weeks: Emphasizing trust and communication, the speaker used GPS tracking software with cameras to monitor technicians, acquired a pest control company for higher margins, and focused on using quality products and hiring employees with good personality. 
  • Balancing the challenges of managing employees and their use of company trucks, the speaker emphasizes trust and communication while monitoring gas expenses.
  • We used GPS tracking software with cameras installed in our trucks to monitor the technicians’ activities, including receiving notifications for things like yawning or smoking, which was excessive but necessary for long-distance trucking.
  • The speaker explains that acquiring a Pest Control company is a good business move because it operates on a subscription model with higher margins and is less visible to customers, making it easier to manage and generate consistent revenue.
  • Pest control is a more profitable home service compared to pools due to higher multiples on the back end, longer customer lifetime value, and the ability for technicians to handle more accounts with less time and overhead costs.
  • The speaker discovered a pest control company for sale on a Facebook group, contacted the seller, obtained all the necessary information, and decided to make an offer to acquire the company.
  • The speaker discusses the importance of using good quality products in their home service business and shares their strategy for finding employees with no experience but good personality.
• 💼01:05:36 Hire presentable and well-spoken individuals, implement cost-effective strategies, utilize Facebook for customer acquisition, and focus on follow-ups and sales calls to start a successful $1.4M home service business. 
  • The speaker discusses the importance of hiring presentable and well-spoken individuals for their home service business, emphasizing the need for training and the benefits of a flexible work schedule, while also mentioning the challenges of dealing with experienced workers and the transition to a new business.
  • The speaker discusses the importance of cost-effective truck purchases, implementing an apprenticeship-style hiring process, the potential profitability of pest control services, and the acquisition of a pest control company through seller financing.
  • Learn from others, acquire industry knowledge, build a system, save money, and consider partnerships or hiring to start a successful business in the home service industry.
  • Facebook is a great tool for customer acquisition, as it is easy to learn and use, and by offering irresistible deals and targeting specific regions, one can start a $10,000 per month home service business in three to four months with a budget of $5,000.
  • The speaker discusses the software and advice needed to start a successful home service business, emphasizing the importance of reliable employees, communication with customers, and having sufficient funds for advertising.
  • Build a million dollar business by being willing to do the work and focusing on follow-ups and sales calls, without the need for extensive social media promotion.