The Kitchen Table

Guest: Justin Anderson, electrician, defense contractor employee, owner of Just in Time Electric, host of If This Doesn’t Work PodcastKey takeaways:“Entrepreneur” is a broad term. Most of the journey is failure until a success shows up, and then the goalposts move.Trades are a strong path. Get the schooling, take the journeyman test, and get your credentials. A master’s license matters if you want to pull permits or start a company.Union or non-union doesn’t matter much. Get your money however you see fit, and you can switch between them.If you work for someone else, loyalty alone rarely pays off. Think like an employer.Breaking into niche fields like HVAC controls is mostly about networking and who you know. Be honest about what you don’t know.You can do more than one thing. Audit your time, energy, and attention to see what you truly value, and expect priorities to change.Consistency builds a podcast catalogue. Never burn bridges, and being a good hang drives most opportunities.You don’t rise to your level of competence. You rise to the level of what you believe you deserve.Self-help sayings and rooms-of-recovery slogans can be “corny and they work.”Meditation tip: when your mind wanders and you bring it back to the breath, that is the practice, not failure.Sharing your story can help others and carries a kind of responsibility.Mentioned in the episode: Just in Time Electric, If This Doesn’t Work Podcast, Mission BBQ (commercial clients), Johnson Controls, Siemens, Alerton, Alex Hormozi, Tony Robbins, NLP and timeline therapy, Vipassana silent retreat, Charleston White, Manny’s Mania, Sean Michael Kelly, producer MikeContent note: This episode contains strong language and discussion of addiction recovery.  TIMESTAMPS00:00 – Welcome and meet Justin Anderson01:08 – Why Justin hates the word “entrepreneur”01:41 – Fail, fail, succeed: chasing the next goalpost02:14 – A non-linear path: from a rough youth to learning the electrical trade03:10 – Landing a defense contractor job and the 3x12 weekend shift04:28 – Starting an LLC and running the business Monday through Thursday05:19 – Commercial vs. residential work06:08 – The HVAC controls niche and building automation06:35 – Why trades are in demand and blue collar is the future07:34 – Think like an employer, not a fleet-of-vans owner08:30 – Breaking into controls: networking and subcontracting09:55 – Honesty in business and being upfront on bids10:24 – Recovery, transparency, and why it isn’t a cheat code11:54 – The gold-repaired pottery idea and why healed people are trustworthy12:50 – Big dreams, real life, and wearing many hats14:00 – The “appetizer platter” philosophy: don’t pick just one14:50 – Auditing your time, energy, and attention to find your priorities17:24 – Starting a podcast with just an iPhone17:50 – Advice on trades: union vs. non-union, school, test, credentials18:56 – Data centers, the labor force, and what’s next for the trades21:45 – What do you tell younger people about college, AI, and the future?22:41 – How Justin’s podcast started: 2 Broke Boys to a weekly show23:40 – Finding a producer and learning audio and video on the fly25:00 – Stand-up comedy, guest booking, and unusual stories26:20 – “Are you a good hang?” Why 80% of business is relationships27:00 – Paid guests, YouTube monetization, and breakout episodes28:00 – Local guests and owning your mental health story publicly29:50 – The freedom of no longer caring what people think31:00 – Pushback on guests and handling haters33:00 – Why people close to you may root for you to fail33:50 – “You rise to the level of what you believe you deserve”34:50 – Positive thinking and recovery slogans: corny and it works35:38 – How to start a podcast for free36:15 – The story behind the podcast name37:00 – Tony Robbins, NLP, and meditation38:16 – Vipassana silent retreat story38:50 – Where to find Justin’s podcast and YouTube channel39:20 – Sponsors, using AI for pitches, and booking big-name guests40:55 – Authenticity, owning your past, and sharing your story42:57 – Final thanks and wrap-up

Guest: Ryan Wells, sales rep, Potomac Custom Remodeling. Former pro flat track racer who competed in the X Games twice. Originally from between Buffalo and Rochester, New York; now based in Salisbury, Delaware.Key takeawaysHire for traits, not résumés. Athletic backgrounds signal competitiveness and discipline, and good attitude and work ethic can be trained into the rest.Poaching isn’t a strategy. Recruiting only from competitors imports other companies’ subcultures, so you never build your own identity, and those reps tend to leave for the next offer.Self-driven reps do their own homework. Ryan’s examples include watching YouTube videos, asking to see installs, and role-playing sales pitches to his dog.Stay sharp between leads. Two weeks without a lead means a long gap between paychecks, so be ready when the next one comes.Use a post-loss checklist. Review what you did and what you could do better, and don’t carry a lost sale home.Selling systems build on themselves. One missed step can throw off the whole presentation, especially for system-dependent reps.More tools in the toolbox. Learning to knock doors adds income options in slow seasons.Retail and insurance restoration are being combined. Running them as two separate companies made it hard to focus on one main thing. The new hybrid, options-close format is still a beta.Mentioned in the episodeKen’s best closing percentage: 79% in a quarterRyan’s closing rate without declines: estimated at 80%+Roughly $250K in financial declines in SeptemberIndeed reportedly listing the company as the second-biggest provider of sales jobs in DelawareAdam Larson, another rep Ken is mentoring, who is not yet on cameraConnectRyan Wells on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanwells94_/Ken Baden: CEO/Owner of Diversified Roofer (DiversifiedRoofer.com) and Potomac Custom Remodeling (www.PotomacCustomRemodeling.com)Podcast: thekitchentablepodcast.net

Key takeawaysDTE hasn’t knocked doors in about two years. Leads come from brokered relationships with insurance agents, tree companies, real estate agents, home inspectors and handymen.Anyone who is inside customers’ homes is a potential partner.Cold emails to agents ask for a lunch meeting and aren’t a pitch for preferred-roofer status. Donovan’s estimate is that 100 emails get roughly 20 takers.Pitching agents: you make their customers happier and make them look better. Donovan says DTE has never compensated agents for referrals.State Farm agents are DTE’s biggest referral source. Offering to review stalled, difficult claims is the quickest way in.After a roof sale, ask for the customer’s insurance agent and hand-deliver paperwork for any shingle-class premium discount.New reps shadow agent meetings instead of learning door knocking.DTE’s evidence package, paired with lump-sum pricing, gets approved about 60% of the time up front.When a carrier “requests” something, ask whether it’s a request or a requirement.Donovan’s expected ramp-up for the agent model is about a month to see consistent leads.Ken’s view: the better you get at retail, the better you get at claims.Mentioned in the episodeChris Zimmerman and John (board of advisors and mentors)Exactimate, Roofle-style instant quote tools, Eagle View, SRS and ABCState Farm and AllstateGAF and the Power Roofing modelFair Labor Standards Act and 1099 considerations (Donovan notes he isn’t an attorney)Find the guest: DTE Roofing (https://www.dteroofingllc.com/), Facebook DTE Roofing, Donovan Davis and Mitchell Davis on Facebook.Note: the transcript spells Roofle as “ruffle” in places, so double-check the product name before publishing.Search Keywordsroofing podcast, Kitchen Table podcast, Ken Baden, Donovan Davis, DTE Roofing, roofing sales, insurance restoration, roofing insurance claims, evidence package, Exactimate alternative, roofing referrals, State Farm agents, insurance agent referrals, stop door knocking, roofing lead generation, roofing business growth, retail roofing, instant quote roofing, Roofle, roofing supplements, Diversified Roofer, Potomac Custom Remodeling, Columbus Ohio roofer, roof claim approvalTimestamps00:00:18 – Intro and welcome to Donovan Davis of DTE Roofing00:00:55 – Chris Zimmerman as mentor, and the evidence package’s impact on approvals00:01:57 – Ohio market, retail vs. insurance mix, and the Columbus storm00:02:53 – How Donovan and his brother got into roofing00:03:57 – The low barrier to entry and why it hurts the industry00:05:00 – Hiring lessons and a rep filing claims on his own00:06:36 – Pop-up storms, running a clean business, and the 1099/FLSA lesson00:08:59 – Contractor licensing in Ohio and Pennsylvania00:10:40 – Treating insurance work like retail and moving off Exactimate00:11:40 – Lump-sum pricing and instant quote tools00:14:30 – Retail options and good-better-best packages00:15:50 – GAF/Power Roofing model and ventilation00:17:15 – Referrals and finding the “dance partner” in a neighborhood00:19:00 – Professional referral partnerships and the cold email to agents00:21:29 – State Farm agents as the biggest referral source00:22:50 – Building the agent network and post-roof insurance paperwork00:25:30 – No door knocking: training new reps on agent meetings00:28:30 – State Farm focus and selling agents on making them look better00:29:30 – Frivolous claims and honest inspections00:31:45 – Ramp-up timeline and winning agents with stalled claims00:33:00 – No compensation to agents, and keeping the model clean00:33:37 – Exactimate writers and supplementing in-house00:34:40 – The two-step evidence package00:35:45 – Request vs. requirement, and the Allstate call story00:38:15 – Reasonable pricing and local price verification00:40:00 – Wrap-up: ages, three years in business, and community00:41:35 – Exit strategy and EBITDA mindset00:42:25 – Retail vs. insurance focus and plans for spring00:43:55 – Where to find Donovan and DTE Roofing00:44:50 – Chris’s plane, Diversified Roofer and closing

🗒️ Episode NotesRick's unconventional path: engineering degree → corporate tech job → sales → laid off in the dot-com bustThe origin story: selling Space Invaders T-shirts at Portobello Market in Notting HillBuilding an international business licensing Disney, Warner Bros., Netflix, Star Wars, and Marvel IPThe difference between corporate licensing (Disney/Netflix) and relationship-driven music licensingWhat "merchandising" actually covers: apparel, accessories, headwear, nightwear, and moreEvergreen licenses (Disney) vs. fleeting pop-culture moments (Stranger Things) vs. touring bandsWhy merchandising is a high-volume, lower-margin business — "license to print money"Rick's biggest music license ever: AC/DC, and why the Rolling Stones' logo is untouchableWriting The Maverick Entrepreneur: turning life lessons and failures into a bookThe role of tenacity, resilience, and refusing to quit in entrepreneurshipRick's motivation for public speaking and pursuing personal developmentWorking smarter, not harderRick's closing piece of wisdom: "grab life by the throat" and take full personal responsibilityTrusting your instincts and learning from (not repeating) your mistakesWhere to find Rick Lowe and his upcoming book 

EPISODE NOTESGuest: Jake Huotari, Co-Owner, Aspire Home Services (Maple Grove, MN)Host: Ken Baden, CEO/Owner of Baden Consulting and Potomac Custom RemodelingKey takeawaysFlexibility and a good attitude are core to Jake's leadership philosophy: "Blessed are the flexible, for they will not be bent out of shape."Jake and Josh started at Aspire as a small insurance restoration team. After the 90-day program with Ken, they ended 2025 just under $4M.Jake says retail runs about a 60% margin after commissions, and that insurance claims can move from about 45% to 75% margin using financing and upgrade tie-downs.Retail is a value-based proposition. Your ability to articulate value determines your ability to charge a premium.Retail businesses are worth roughly 4 to 5 points more to private equity and investors, according to Ken.Starting retail doesn't take a huge budget. Begin with one or two canvassers and add as profit allows.Hiring with a personality and temperament profile takes the mystery out of finding reps who will actually close.Jake says that when his team deviated from the scripting in July, their close rate dropped from 34% to 18%. It recovered as soon as they went back to it.Aspire's team now includes 7 sales reps, 8 canvassers, 2 phone staff, a job site coordinator, and a production specialist, which Jake says is a framework for a $15M business.Jake sees insurance carriers squeezing contractors through slow pay and scope disputes. He says fewer than half of last year's roughly 4,000 Minnesota contractors remain.About 3 in 10 roof replacements are insurance-driven and 7 in 10 are for other reasons, according to Ken. Very few roofers go after that 70%.Jake's advice on what made it work: follow directions, and put in the work.Jake's caution: "This is not get rich quick, this is get rich slow."Mentioned in the episode: Blue Collar Baller event (Dallas, 2023), one-sit close, canvassing, DISC-style hiring profile, CRM and cost-per-lead tracking, financing on insurance claims, private equity interest, NLP-based scripting.Connect with Jake: https://www.facebook.com/jakehuotariConnect with Ken: thekitchentablepodcast.net | Badenconsulting.net | DiversifiedRoofer.com | PotomacCustomRemodeling.com

🗒️ EPISODE NOTESMenace Monroe joins the show for the third time, discussing his life, music, and business ventures.He details his history in and out of incarceration starting at age 14, including a recent 6-year prison term.Discusses how a drug habit drove much of his past legal trouble, and how he's been sober and focused since coming home.Explains why he sees the music industry as "a business" — artists need consistency and traction before labels will invest.Talks through his growth strategy: he calls it "multiplication" — steadily increasing followers, streams, and income rather than expecting overnight success.Shares the emotional story of losing custody of his younger son during his last incarceration due to an interstate custody case, and how that experience continues to affect him.Credits family — including his brother, who was incarcerated alongside him — as a major source of motivation and change.Talks about his current single "Still My Boo," dedicated to women who've been mistreated in relationships.Discusses his long-term goal of eventually creating music with a positive message, citing Bob Marley as inspiration.Explains the origin of his clothing brand Trap Rob, which began as sketches in a notebook while incarcerated and has since grown into a full merch line (shirts, hats, bags, car accessories, and more) — now trademarked.Gives a shoutout to his brother's brand, Black Heart Garments, known for tactical, concealment-friendly sweatsuits.Wraps up with where to find his music and merchandise, and future goals: 1 million followers and 10x growth within a year. 

🗒️ EPISODE NOTESPeter Roth returns for his second appearance on The Kitchen Table Podcast, this time bringing detailed numbers and frameworks.Scalify specializes exclusively in human-driven outbound cold calling (AI cold calling is illegal) for booking home service estimates — no inbound, no lead reselling as a primary offering.Scalify builds fully-managed, client-owned call centers: the client owns everything, pays agents directly, and can cancel the management contract month-to-month.The "funnel" framework: bottom-of-funnel leads (people actively shopping) are few and expensive to fight over; top-of-funnel prospects (not yet problem-aware) are a much larger, less-contested pool — which is where cold calling and canvassing ("digital door knocking") come in.About two-thirds of Scalify's clients are insurance restoration roofers, one-third retail.Private equity buyers favor companies with proprietary lead generation because it reduces "de-risking" concerns tied to weather-dependent insurance work.Standard agent ratios: roughly 3 call center agents per 1 closer (assuming an empty calendar); similar to the 2-3:1 canvasser-to-closer ratio in door knocking.Cold callers speak to ~250 people/day with a sub-1% booking rate (1-2 appointments/day); door knockers speak to ~8-10 homeowners/day with higher lead quality but far lower volume.Average show rate on cold-call-booked appointments is around 40%.Typical roofing cost-per-acquisition via traditional marketing is ~$25 (on a great day); Scalify's clients typically see cost-per-acquisition around $900-1,000 — but with a call center, one deal's profit usually pays for the entire build-out (~$8-10K to build, ~$8-9K/month to run).Real client case study: a door-knocking-only operator spending $25K/month saw 1.5x ROI; switching to a call center model produced 6x ROI.The "secret sauce" of a call center isn't the agents, script, or dialer — it's the management team (a 4-person management team is often needed to run just 3 agents).Hiring "green" (untrained) reps and training them from scratch tends to outperform hiring "seasoned" reps with bad inbound-lead habits, because outbound sales requires creating urgency the prospect didn't have before the call.Case study: Victor Rencore, a well-known HVAC operator with 17 companies, deliberately avoids "replacement call" leads (price-shopping, bottom-of-funnel) in favor of top-of-funnel outbound leads.Power Home Remodeling's business model is built almost entirely on canvassing, allowing them to charge premium prices because their leads aren't price-shopping.Live transfers explained: the cold-calling agent does all the qualifying and rapport-building, then transfers the live call to a rotating pool of sales reps' cell phones (random or ring-all), rewarding "speed to lead."Live transfers can increase appointment volume by 25-60% because agents get back on the phone faster, and pre-built rapport improves show rates and close rates.Scalify stays a specialist in outbound cold calling only — Peter refers clients elsewhere for inbound, live transfer add-ons from other sources, canvassing, and SEO rather than trying to do it all.

Episode Notes Why Ken loves doing solo episodes — using the platform for pure value, no guest filter The "lean and mean" strategy that worked great... until it didn't The complacency factor: why sales reps unconsciously coast once they hit a comfortable income The fix: going all-in on recruiting, scaling from 5-7 reps to 15-20 across two offices Why team leads need to be physically in the field with new reps, not managing from afar Ken's decision to personally handle Day 1 onboarding and training for every new hire The "zone of genius" concept (credit to his coach Brandon) and why some things can't be delegated The math behind the growth goal: 15 reps per office, 4 contracts/week at $20K = $1.2M/week Two biggest lessons of the year: never forget the complacency factor, and live in your zone of genius Insurance restoration sales: why too many reps avoid confrontation and big-ticket conversations Setting proper expectations with homeowners at every step (ACV checks, timelines, next steps) Who's actually responsible for what: the insurance carrier's job vs. the contractor's job Why avoiding potential problems creates bigger problems down the line Office revamp, personal branding, and the morning mantra that's shifted team energy What's coming up next: guests including a musician/entrepreneur and Ken's recruiting team

Episode Notes Nancy's background: raised by parents with limited means, inspired by a family friend who was a CPA Left a traditional accounting career path after realizing she disliked tax, audit, and corporate work Became a stay-at-home mom while helping her husband start businesses — five failed along the way Hit rock bottom at 45: divorced, four kids, $100/week child support, $650,000 in debt Bought a tax prep firm that fell through the day after signing a 3-year office lease Built her firm by marketing to people with public federal tax liens during the recession Learned those clients weren't ideal long-term and repositioned toward recurring revenue (monthly tax/CFO services) Founded Success Your Way to teach entrepreneurial mindset and business basics to newer founders Discusses LLC vs. S-corp election and why a sole-member LLC is often the right starting entity The "set your new zero" lesson from a friend that reshaped her relationship with cash reserves Wrote Tame Your Money Monster (releasing January 20th) as a result of her own financial mismanagement Candid discussion on lifestyle inflation, especially in insurance restoration roofing/solar businesses Tax strategy talk: why spending to "save on taxes" often costs more than it saves Real estate as a legitimate long-term tax strategy — but only after building a real income base Closing advice: "Manage your money well — that is what leads to peace in your life" Ken plugs Baden Consulting's retail roofing consultation for storm/insurance restoration roofers

Episode Notes Shane got his start in construction in 2013 doing gutter cleaning and repairs before moving into general contracting, flooring, and eventually car sales. He launched his own business about 8-9 years ago and later transitioned fully into roofing roughly five years ago. A standout early sale: a homeowner with 50-60 solar panels closed in under three minutes for a $12K job. Shane and Ken discuss learning from sales trainers (referencing Adam and the "SLAP" sales framework vs. Ken's "3 W's"). Recruiting struggles this summer left both companies short-staffed heading into peak storm season. Storm activity has been unusually high this year in the DMV compared to the last several years. Two unusual insurance claim situations: carriers asking for pre-purchase home inspections before releasing funds, and a homeowner discovering a $23,000 deductible that left him covering 52% of an ~$80K roof. Discussion on where premiums, deductibles, and claim requirements might be heading next year. Why aggressive, professional closers consistently outperform sloppy canvassing teams — and why sending canvassers into a competitive area can backfire. Zeus Contracting is expanding into Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, with plans to grow paid advertising (Google/Facebook) heading into winter. Zeus Contracting posted a record month: 55 signed deals worth over $900,000. ⏱️ Timestamps 00:00 – Intro & catching up with Shane Michael 01:09 – Shane's start in construction (2013): gutters, repairs & general contracting 02:30 – Transitioning into sales, including a stint in car sales 04:45 – Starting his own business ~8-9 years ago 05:25 – Going full-time into roofing & the fast solar panel sale 06:33 – Sales training, mentors, and the "SLAP" vs. "3 W's" methods 08:04 – Recruiting struggles and rebuilding the sales team 10:39 – This year's storm activity and market response 12:15 – Odd insurance claim: pre-purchase inspection required for payout 13:37 – Digging into how that requirement can even be legal 14:35 – Deductible shock: 48% out-of-pocket on an $80K+ roof 15:31 – Where deductibles and policies are headed next year 20:15 – Finding opportunity in a "down" market 22:08 – Why the industry is thinning out — and why that's a good thing 22:27 – Canvassers vs. closers: professionalism and close rates 25:39 – Company culture, integrity, and core values 25:53 – What's next for Zeus Contracting 26:26 – Expansion plans into Delaware, PA & Virginia 26:46 – Record month: 55 deals, $900K+ in signed work 27:32 – Where to find Shane Michael & Zeus Contracting online