College or the Trades? An Honest Answer From a 9-Figure CEO

If you're trying to figure out what to do after high school, or you're a parent steering a kid who doesn't know yet, this one's for you. No speech about how the trades are underrated or how college is a scam. Both of those takes are lazy. The real answer is more specific.I'm Chad Peterman, CEO of Peterman Brothers. I went to college, then helped build our home services business into a 9-figure company inside the trades. I've lived both sides, and the honest answer depends almost entirely on the person asking.The honest answer to "college or the trades" isn't which one is objectively better. It's which one fits who you actually are. If you're built for it and you go in knowing what it asks, there's never been a better time to build a career or a company in this industry.Which path are you on, and what made you choose it? Drop it in the comments.Want to connect with me and my team? Schedule a call: https://40kl04.share-na2.hsforms.com/2_9Pg3PvxTw-EsBumhedfjgSubscribe to Can't Stop the Growth for more on building a career and company in the trades.Free Coaching for Home Service Pros: https://cantstopthegrowth.com/ Connect with Chad: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-m-peterman/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chadmpeterman Learn more about: Chad Peterman - https://chadmpeterman.com/ Peterman Brothers - https://www.petermancareers.com/ The People Forward Network - https://peopleforwardnetwork.com/

Every owner believes the next million in revenue will fix what's broken. It won't. And chasing it can actually leave you worse off. I'm Chad Peterman, CEO of Peterman Brothers. Over the last 15 years we've scaled from $5 million to over $115 million a year in home services, and I've hit every stage where revenue climbed and the profit didn't follow. Where you add people, trucks, and overhead, then look up wondering where the money went. Revenue is a lagging indicator. It tells you what already happened. The numbers underneath it tell you what's about to happen. Fix the operation first, watch the right numbers, then grow. What number are you going to start tracking this week? Drop it in the comments. Want to connect with me and my team? Schedule a call: https://40kl04.share-na2.hsforms.com/2_9Pg3PvxTw-EsBumhedfjg Subscribe to Can't Stop the Growth for more on scaling a home service business.Free Coaching for Home Service Pros: https://cantstopthegrowth.com/ Connect with Chad: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-m-peterman/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chadmpeterman Learn more about: Chad Peterman - https://chadmpeterman.com/ Peterman Brothers - https://www.petermancareers.com/ The People Forward Network - https://peopleforwardnetwork.com/

If you're spending money on marketing and not totally sure it's working, or running on referrals and hoping the phone keeps ringing, this one's for you.I'm Chad Peterman, CEO of Peterman Brothers. Over the last 15 years we've scaled from $5 million to over $115 million a year in home services, and at that scale, marketing is not a set-it-and-forget-it line item. We spend between $8 and $10 million every year generating leads, and we have to know where every dollar goes.What are you going to start tracking more closely? Drop it in the comments.Want to connect with me and my team? Schedule a call: https://40kl04.share-na2.hsforms.com/2_9Pg3PvxTw-EsBumhedfjg Subscribe to Can't Stop the Growth for more on scaling a home service business.#HomeService #HVAC #Marketing #CantStopTheGrowth #ChadPeterman Free Coaching for Home Service Pros: https://cantstopthegrowth.com/ Connect with Chad: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-m-peterman/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chadmpeterman Learn more about: Chad Peterman - https://chadmpeterman.com/ Peterman Brothers - https://www.petermancareers.com/ The People Forward Network - https://peopleforwardnetwork.com/

You did the visit. You built the estimate. Then nothing. No call, no text, complete radio silence. It feels like a price problem. It almost never is.I'm Chad Peterman, CEO of Peterman Brothers. Over the last 15 years we've scaled from $5 million to over $115 million a year in home services, and we've watched thousands of estimates close and not close. The pattern is consistent enough that I can usually tell before the tech leaves the driveway whether that job is coming back.Ghosting isn't a pricing problem. It's a trust problem disguised as one. The estimate you sent didn't lose the job. Something that happened before you sent it did.Which part of the visit are you going to work on first? Drop it in the comments.Want to connect with me and my team? Schedule a call: https://40kl04.share-na2.hsforms.com/2_9Pg3PvxTw-EsBumhedfjg Subscribe to Can't Stop the Growth for more on scaling a home service business.Free Coaching for Home Service Pros: https://cantstopthegrowth.com/ Connect with Chad: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-m-peterman/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chadmpeterman Learn more about: Chad Peterman - https://chadmpeterman.com/ Peterman Brothers - https://www.petermancareers.com/ The People Forward Network - https://peopleforwardnetwork.com/

Most contractors don't have a fraud problem. They have a messy books problem. And it's quietly costing them sleep, options, and profit. In this episode of Can't Stop the Growth, Chad Peterman sits down with Ellen Rohr, the trades industry's go-to voice on financial literacy. Ellen married a plumber named Hot Rod, nearly went broke running their shop, learned to read a P&L off a fax machine from mentor Frank Blau, and went on to help build Benjamin Franklin Plumbing and co-found Zoom Drain. Her whole message: the numbers aren't the scary part of the business. They're the scoreboard, and anyone can learn to keep score. Whether your books are a hot mess or you're just tired of guessing, this is the financial gut-check every home service owner needs. Find Ellen Rohr: https://ellenrohr.com/ Subscribe to Can't Stop the Growth for more conversations with the leaders shaping the home service industry. Free Coaching for Home Service Pros: https://cantstopthegrowth.com/ Connect with Chad: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-m-peterman/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chadmpeterman Learn more about: Chad Peterman - https://chadmpeterman.com/ Peterman Brothers - https://www.petermancareers.com/ The People Forward Network - https://peopleforwardnetwork.com/

"I just can't find good people." If you've ever said it, or blamed a slow quarter on the labor market, this one's for you.I'm Chad Peterman, CEO of Peterman Brothers. Over the last 15 years we've scaled from $5 million to over $115 million a year with 500+ people, in the exact same markets where owners tell me there are no technicians. The market isn't dry. Your offer just isn't strong enough to pull someone away from where they already are.Finding A-players and keeping them are two different problems, and most owners lose them on the second one. The pipeline for good talent isn't empty. It's just not pointed at you yet.Which of the four levers are you working on right now? Drop it in the comments. I read every one.Want to connect with me and my team? Schedule a call: https://40kl04.share-na2.hsforms.com/2_9Pg3PvxTw-EsBumhedfjg Subscribe to Can't Stop the Growth for more on scaling a home service business.Free Coaching for Home Service Pros: https://cantstopthegrowth.com/ Connect with Chad: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-m-peterman/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chadmpeterman Learn more about: Chad Peterman - https://chadmpeterman.com/ Peterman Brothers - https://www.petermancareers.com/ The People Forward Network - https://peopleforwardnetwork.com/

You started your own shop, and you're still the best technician on the team. That's exactly the problem.I'm Chad Peterman, CEO of Peterman Brothers. Over the last 15 years we've scaled from $5 million to over $115 million a year in home services, and everything in this episode I got wrong myself first, most of it back around 20 employees when I still thought being the hardest worker in the building was the job.This is the exact shift from doing the work to leading the people who do it. Four skills, and once you see them, you'll spot the one thing actually capping your growth. For most owners, it's them.The best technician in the building and the best owner of the business are two different people. You've already proven you can be the first one. The second one is learnable, but only on purpose. Which of these skills are you working on right now? Drop it in the comments. Want to go deeper on the owner skill set? Schedule a call: https://40kl04.share-na2.hsforms.com/2_9Pg3PvxTw-EsBumhedfjg Subscribe to Can't Stop the Growth for more on scaling a home service business. Free Coaching for Home Service Pros: https://cantstopthegrowth.com/ Connect with Chad: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-m-peterman/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chadmpeterman Learn more about: Chad Peterman - https://chadmpeterman.com/ Peterman Brothers - https://www.petermancareers.com/ The People Forward Network - https://peopleforwardnetwork.com/

How do you grow a home services division from $3 million to $15 million, with a goal of $20M this year? In this episode of Can't Stop the Growth, Chad Peterman sits down with Blake Wiltshire, Director of Residential Services at Althoff Home Services in the Chicagoland area, to break down exactly what changed and what it took. Blake started at Althoff in 2004 sweeping floors and making warehouse deliveries. Today he runs the entire residential division. The growth didn't come from throwing money at ads. It came from the blocking and tackling: rebuilding the call center, retraining technicians, and getting relentless about the basics most contractors skip. Whether you're a $3M shop trying to find the next gear or a $15M operator pushing toward $20M, this conversation is a masterclass in growing through fundamentals instead of ad spend. Subscribe to Can't Stop the Growth for more conversations with the leaders elevating the home service industry. Free Coaching for Home Service Pros: https://cantstopthegrowth.com/ Check out Althoff Home Services: https://callalthoff.com/ Connect with Chad: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-m-peterman/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chadmpeterman Learn more about: Chad Peterman - https://chadmpeterman.com/ Peterman Brothers - https://www.petermancareers.com/ The People Forward Network - https://peopleforwardnetwork.com/

What do homeowners actually want when they're buying an HVAC system, a water heater, or any major home service? In this episode of Can't Stop the Growth, Chad Peterman sits down with Zac Dearing, CEO of Mantel, to break down brand-new survey data from verified home service buyers, and the results contradict almost everything the industry believes. The headline: 69% of homeowners said price was NOT the most important factor in their decision. So what is? Zac and Chad dig into the data on reputation, responsiveness, choice, and the "shopping experience" that separates the contractors homeowners choose from the ones they ghost. Resources from the episode: Homeowner survey: usemantel.com/survey Six data-backed sales tactics: usemantel.com/tactics Learn more about Mantel: usemantel.com Subscribe to Can't Stop the Growth for more conversations with the leaders elevating the home service industry. Free Coaching for Home Service Pros: https://cantstopthegrowth.com/ Connect with Chad: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-m-peterman/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chadmpeterman Learn more about: Chad Peterman - https://chadmpeterman.com/ Peterman Brothers - https://www.petermancareers.com/ The People Forward Network - https://peopleforwardnetwork.com/

What does it take to build a $260 million home service company in one market? In this episode of Can't Stop the Growth, Chad Peterman sits down with Paul Kelly, founder of Parker & Sons, to break down the exact philosophy behind one of the largest single-brand HVAC, plumbing, and electrical companies in America. Paul grew Parker & Sons from $7 million in 2004 to over $260 million today, almost entirely in the Phoenix market. But the surprising part? He's not a big-goals guy. He doesn't believe in chasing massive numbers. He calls his approach "success by a thousand little things," getting one percent better at one thing every single day until you wake up running a quarter-billion-dollar business. Paul also gives an inside look at Raising Goats, his exclusive coaching program for home service contractors. Limited to 32 contractors per cohort, the next class is November 9-12 in Scottsdale, Arizona. Free Coaching for Home Service Pros: https://cantstopthegrowth.com/ Raising Goats: https://raisinggoats.com/ Connect with Chad: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-m-peterman/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chadmpeterman Learn more about: Chad Peterman - https://chadmpeterman.com/ Peterman Brothers - https://www.petermancareers.com/ The People Forward Network - https://peopleforwardnetwork.com/