Margins are the backbone of a profitable business, but are you managing yours effectively?

And what comes to mind when you think about breaking even – yay or nay?

In this episode, Kenny Chapman and Chris Crew dive into essential strategies for muscling up your margins.

From understanding gross margin dollars per hour to setting the right prices for your services, and all the way to the steps needed to go into hyperprofit mode…these actionable insights will help you boost profitability and avoid common pitfalls!

• Chris Crew brings up Under Armour and introduces the importance of visualization in business into the conversation.
• Kenny and Chris make the example of exercising and how approaching that the right way is how one should look at “muscling up” margins in business.
• Being driven in your business is key – but you need to make taking care of yourself one of your, if not THE, top priorities.
• Chris explains how profitability is 100% boiled down to gross margin dollars per hour…but he also emphasizes that there’s a challenge with it.
• Incorrect pricing is one of the main reasons why businesses fail – to avoid that trap, there’s an important question home service business owners should ask themselves.
• The second reason why businesses fail is the inability to get clients willing to pay the price they’re actually asking for.
• Chris believes that your close rate on the phone and in the field is a multiplier or a divider of your marketing dollars.
• Chris breaks down the minimum billable hour formula, something you can use even if you’re running a start-up.
• Working on picking the right price? “Your technicians and sales people have to buy the price first”, says Kenny.
• Chris and Kenny talk about the importance of focusing on your break-even point and its relation to being in hyperprofit mode.
• Kenny explains how a $100M company operates incredibly similarly to a $2M company.
• When it comes to wanting to be in hyperprofit mode, it’s important to keep in mind that, if not approached correctly, the strategy could backfire big time.

Mentioned in This Episode:

HomeServiceBusinessSuccessShow.com/7

The Blue Collar Success Group

HSBS episode 6 - HomeServiceBusinessSuccessShow.com/6

Under Armour

Les Brown

Layne Staley

Kurt Cobain

Tony Robbins

Microsoft

Phoenix Suns

When it comes to profit, most home service business owners seem to be asking the wrong questions and focusing on the wrong things…

…and that can have COSTLY consequences.

In this episode, Kenny Chapman and Chris Crew look at the critical aspects of profitability and operational efficiency. They challenge traditional thinking about business margins and touch upon the most common “profit suckers” many business owners completely overlook.

And to help you protect your profit margins, you’ll hear a couple of real-life examples too!

• Chris Crew shares a story that relates to wanting to drive profitability into a business – there’s some other stuff going on and you have to be aware.
• Kenny Chapman touches upon a couple of examples of so-called “profit-suckers.”
• The real question shouldn’t be “What kind of margin are you running?,” rather “What do you account for direct cost in your business?,” says Chris.
• Chris and Kenny discuss the things that can start eroding profit margins – starting with gross margin.
• Never forget: when you know who you are, you’ll know what to do.
• Chris believes that the very first thing anyone should do when they want to strengthen profit margins is to first look at gross margin.
• Did you know that in most services businesses, 50% of the revenue is in field labor, office labor, overhead labor, material and equipment?
• Chris explains why he believes that the process in your business should NOT be built around people.
• Chris and Kenny talk about operational inefficiencies, AA, “closing the loop”, and how Chris built his business off of other people’s money by leveraging his relationships.
• “We defend what we know because uncertainty is so scary,” says Kenny – don’t fall victim to this!
• Chris and Kenny share an example of how much operational inefficiency can start to eat up your profit margin.

Mentioned in This Episode:

HomeServiceBusinessSuccessShow.com/6

The Blue Collar Success Group

Frank Blau

HSBS episode 5 - HomeServiceBusinessSuccessShow.com/5

HSBS episode 1 - HomeServiceBusinessSuccessShow.com/1

Mindset plays a crucial role in navigating the challenges of running a home service business.

In this episode, Kenny Chapman and Chris Crew dive into the dangers of "top line intoxication" and how it impacts profitability, culture, and quality of life.

You’ll learn about balancing intuition with systems, understanding true costs, creating a business that’s true to your values, and why you should approach your business as if you’re going to sell it…even if that’s not actually the case.

• Co-hosts Kenny Chapman and Chris Crew share their desire to give back to the home service industry.
• Chris compares the relentless chase for top line revenue to “an addict looking for the next high” and breaks down the neurological cycle behind it.
• Chris breaks down the neurological process that takes place when the top line revenue “cycle” occurs.
• Focusing solely on revenue growth – while ignoring profitability and margins – can lead to dangerous consequences for your business.
• Chris and Kenny discuss the intoxication around income – and what impact it can have on your quality of life.
• A client of Blue Collar Success Group chose not to scale his $3M company to $10M – Chris discusses the main reason behind his decision.
• Beware: top line intoxication can lead you to not only sacrifice profits and margins, but company culture too!
• Kenny and Chris talk about bringing together different ways of approaching life, the role of intuition in business, and running at your own pace.
• Thinking about your business as if you’re planning to sell it will lead you to having systems in place, quality leadership, and you driving profit.
• Here’s a powerful “mantra” for home service business owners: when the business isn’t right, it’s because something isn’t being done right on the basics.
• Chris unpacks the concepts of understanding your true cost to open the doors and pricing your services for the business you want to become, not the one you are today.
• There’s a healthier "dopamine rush" every business owner should chase: clarity on daily costs and a sustainable path to success.
• Chris lays out the key metrics to track at different revenue stages, from $250K to $10M+, and how they can guide your growth journey.

Mentioned in This Episode:

HomeServiceBusinessSuccessShow.com/5

The Blue Collar Success Group

HSBS episode 1 - HomeServiceBusinessSuccessShow.com/1

HSBS episode 4 - HomeServiceBusinessSuccessShow.com/4

Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence by Dr. Anna Lembke

Tony Robbins

Alan O’Neill

There’s no denying it: sales can make or break a home service business. However, mastering it requires more than just a good pitch…

Kenny Chapman and Chris Crew dive into the mindset, strategies, and processes that drive successful sales, even in a challenging market.

From overcoming industry resistance to creating repeatable systems, you’ll hear game-changing insights that will help put your business on “fast forward.”

• Co-host Kenny Chapman reveals his initial focus when launching Blue Collar Success Group and how it shaped his approach to sales.
• Kenny and Chris Crew talk about the power of doing things differently in sales and how sales can “cover up a multitude of sins” in a business.
• Kenny is a firm believer of the fact that businesses are ruined when things are good – it just doesn’t show up until things slow down.
• Chris brings up the sales resistance that seems to be present within the home service business industry.
• As a home service business owner, you’re a sales and marketing person…whether you like it or not.
• Chris touches upon what happens when you’re more focused on sales as a practice instead of as a tactic.
• Kenny talks about an impactful phenomenon that’s just starting: the so-called blue collar tsunami.
• Chris and Kenny discuss the importance of people and processes – and the mindset business owners should have when it comes to their staff.
• When it comes to sales, there’s an important lesson home service businesses can learn from Hollywood.
• Want to really put your business on “fast forward”? Get a repeatable, duplicable, sales process in place.
• Chris illustrates the role of TTQ (time to quote), number of options, and number of line items per call within the sales process and the art of mastering it.
• Chris spills the beans on a couple of different strategies he leverages whenever he’s confronted with objections by a potential client.
• Chris shares an analogy between sales and medicine.

Mentioned in This Episode:

HomeServiceBusinessSuccessShow.com/4

The Blue Collar Success Group

Leadership in a Nutshell Podcast

Frank Blau

Jim Rohn

Nick Nanton

Paulding County High School

Blue Collar Success Laws: Your No-Nonsense Guide to Problem-Solving, Productivity, & Profit by Kenny Chapman

Chris Crew and Kenny Chapman dive into strategies to generate more quality leads and drive sustainable growth.

Tune in to hear about practical tips for filling your pipeline with quality lead generation, how to approach sales calls and spend your marketing budget, and brand awareness, as well as market domination and the role your mindset will play in all of this.

• The episode kicks off with The Blue Collar Success Group president Chris Crew and founder Kenny Chapman addressing the question “No leads, no problem?”
• Chris shares a story of what happens with his past business that led them to go from not having enough calls to having too many calls with leads.
• Kenny explains why the way you’re probably thinking about leads right now is short-sighted.
• A common mistake people make with leads is putting away the “digging tools” as soon as things go well.
• Chris discusses something you can do, from an operational standpoint, to truly see what’s going on in your business.
• On a call, do you tend to give a long list of the services you provide? “Do things differently,” says Chris Crew. “List only what you don’t offer.”
• Chris and Kenny address the aspect of budget in relation to leads and marketing, and the reasons why businesses struggle with lead generation.
• Remember: a part of your marketing is about testing things.
• Some business owners forget to track the effectiveness of what they’re already doing marketing-wise.
• Kenny takes back the curtain on one strategy that helped him dominate his market.
• Chris and Kenny go over why you shouldn’t put all of your eggs in one basket, as well as how to go about actually testing your efforts and strategies.
• When it comes to brand awareness, ensure that all of your marketing looks and feels like your brand.
• For Kenny, leads are like speaking languages – make sure that you’re speaking the right language to the right lead.
• Chris identifies the type of leads you shouldn’t buy first when using a lead aggregator.
• An important lesson to remember: it may feel boring at times but, as Kenny says, “When it comes to your brand, boring is brilliant!”

Mentioned in This Episode:

HomeServiceBusinessSuccessShow.com/2

The Blue Collar Success Group

HSBS episode 1 - HomeServiceBusinessSuccessShow.com/1

Angi (formerly known as HomeAdvisor)

Yellow Pages

Family Feud

Steve Harvey

Coca-Cola

Pepsi

Co-hosts Kenny Chapman and Chris Crew of The Blue Collar Success Group share some of the fundamental principles of healthy business ownership.

They explore mental health and pacing yourself to avoid burnout, all from a business owner’s standpoint.

You’ll also hear about seasonality in business, how to manage the pressures of growth and what you can do to avoid the “Bannister Effect.”

• Kenny Chapman, founder of The Blue Collar Success Group, kicks off the episode by sharing an important truth: “It’s about pace, not race.”
• The Blue Collar Success Group President and co-host Chris Crew explains how sharing the right thing at the wrong time…is actually the WRONG thing!
• There’s an ongoing mental health crisis, which is even exacerbated in business ownership.
• Just like in sports, business too has seasonality.
• Chris touches upon what it’s needed for you to really achieve work-life balance.
• Kenny and Chris discuss consciously doing things, the type of pressure you would want to have, and the role that pressure and fatigue can play in your business.
• Chris shares a deep race-business ownership analogy that will probably help you put things in a different perspective.
• For Chris, one of the big issues has to do with people tying self-worth to the size of their company.
• The “Bannister Effect” is a danger for business owners – Chris and Kenny explain why.
• If you want to set a pace to avoid “playing a game you can’t win,” having a plan is key.
• Feeling fatigue? It’s probably because your race seems never-ending, says Chris.
• Kenny goes over why, in business, “boring” is really powerful.
• Chris and Kenny share how to avoid becoming a victim of the game that you designed.

Mentioned in This Episode:

HomeServiceBusinessSuccessShow.com/1

The Blue Collar Success Group

Dan Sullivan’s Strategic Coach

Roger Bannister

Start With Why by Simon Sinek

The Home Service Business Success show...launching November 13!