Owned and Operated - A Plumbing, Electrical, and HVAC Business Growth Podcast
Owned and Operated is the podcast for home service entrepreneurs who want to build larger, more profitable businesses.
Hosted by John Wilson and Jack Carr, each episode features candid conversations with the founders, operators, investors, and industry leaders shaping the future of HVAC, plumbing, electrical, septic, roofing, restoration, and the wider home service industry.
From acquisitions and marketing to sales, leadership, hiring, finance, AI, and operational excellence, you'll hear real-world lessons, proven strategies, and actionable playbooks from people who have actually built successful companies.
If you're buying your first business, scaling past your next revenue milestone, or building toward an eventual exit, Owned and Operated delivers practical insights you can apply immediately.
New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday.
Learn more at www.ownedandoperated.com
Episodes
395 episodes
Owned and Operated with John Wilson | Podcast Trailer
John Wilson has spent the last decade growing a home service company from $1M to $53M in revenue.On Owned and Operated, John breaks down what it actually takes to build and scale a home service business, including hiring, sales, marketin...
The 2026 SBA Playbook: How to Buy a Business With 10% Down
The SBA rules for buying a business are changing in 2026. Here’s what buyers and home service operators need to know.Jack Carr sits down with Alan Peterson from First Internet Bank to break down the latest SBA 7(a) changes, including how...
What Is EBITDA? How to Value, Grow & Sell Your Home Service Business
What is EBITDA, and why does it matter so much when building, financing, or selling a home service business?John Wilson and Jack Carr break down EBITDA in simple terms, including how it differs from net income and SDE, what a healthy EBI...
Why Roofing Is a Beautiful Business: Marketing, Sales & $20K Jobs
What does it actually take to buy and grow a roofing company?Nicholas Riley left Deloitte to buy Driftwood Builders Roofing, a 20-year-old roofing company in Austin, Texas. After reviewing roughly 2,000 businesses, he finally made his f...
Ismael Valdez: How I Built a $108M Home Service Company & What I’m Building Next
Ismael Valdez built NexGen Air Conditioning & Plumbing from $0 to $108 million in just 6.5 years. Now he’s back on Owned and Operated to share the blueprint for his next $100M home service company.John Wilson and Ismael break ...
How We’d Turn $5M Into $10M in 12 Months
How would we turn a $5 million home service business into a $10 million company?In this episode of Owned and Operated, John Wilson and Jack Carr break down how they’d invest $1 million to double a profitable home service business....
How We’d Start a Plumbing Company From $0 in 2026
If John Wilson and Jack Carr lost everything and had to start a plumbing company from scratch, what would they actually do?In this episode of Owned and Operated, John and Jack break down exactly how they’d build a plumbing business from ...
There Are Millions Hiding in Your Customer Database
Your customer database might be worth more than you think.In this episode of Owned and Operated, John Wilson sits down with Faraday founder Alex Coleman to break down how home service companies can turn the data they already collect into...
How to Survive Slow Season in Your Home Service Business
Slow season doesn’t have to wreck your home service business.In this episode of Owned and Operated, John Wilson and Jack Carr break down how they prepare for shoulder season when inbound demand slows, the call board gets lighter, and eve...
Why Everyone Is Buying Home Service Businesses (And You Should Too)
Home service businesses are getting more attention than ever. But are they really as good as they look?In this episode of Owned and Operated, John Wilson and Jack Carr talk about why HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and other home service bus...
How to Build a $40M+ Home Service Business: Cash Flow, Sales & KPIs
You can be profitable and still run out of cash.In this supercut episode of Owned and Operated, featuring insights from several episodes, John Wilson breaks down the cash flow, sales, and KPI systems that helped him scale a home s...
The $1M Decisions Contractors Don’t Realize They’re Making
The biggest decisions in your home service business usually don’t feel big when you make them.In this episode of Owned and Operated, John Wilson and Jack Carr break down the $1 million decisions contractors make without realizing how muc...
Why Home Service Businesses Get Stuck at $3M and How to Scale to $30M
The strategies that get your home service business to $3 million will not get you to $30 million.In this episode of Owned and Operated, John Wilson and Jack Carr break down why contractors stall at different stages of growth and how the ...
From a $2M Family Plumbing Shop to a Multi-Trade Powerhouse
Every growing home service company eventually hits the same wall. The systems that got you to $2 million will not get you to $20 million.In this episode of Owned and Operated, John Wilson sits down with Brady Jolly and Scott Sha...
The Complete Home Service Marketing Playbook
Home service marketing strategy isn't one-size-fits-all. In this Owned and Operated compilation, John Wilson sits down with Lisa Appleby and Ethan Wright of Service Scalers to break down the marketing systems, lead generation stra...
Google Just Changed Local Services Ads (Here's What Contractors Need to Know)
Google is changing Local Services Ads again, and this one actually matters.In this episode of Owned and Operated, John Wilson sits down with Sam Preston of Service Scalers to break down Google's biggest LSA update yet. With Local Service...
Why We Stopped Buying $60,000 Service Vans
The fastest-growing home service companies don't scale by spending more. They scale by making smarter operational decisions.In this special compilation episode of Owned and Operated, John Wilson and Jack Carr break down one of t...
Why Growing Home Service Companies Can't Find Great Leaders
The fastest-growing home service companies don't fail because they run out of demand. They fail because they run out of leaders.In this episode of Owned and Operated, John Wilson sits down with Jim Lose of The Military Veteran to discuss...
Why Septic Might Be the BEST Home Service Business to Own
Septic may be one of the most overlooked businesses in home services, but it might also be one of the best.In this special compilation episode of Owned and Operated, John Wilson brings together two of the biggest conversations we've had ...
The Biggest Acquisition I Walked Away From
Not every acquisition is worth making.In this episode of Owned and Operated, John Wilson shares the story of one of the biggest acquisitions he chose to walk away from, even though it had the potential to double the size of his business....
Stop Tracking Cost Per Lead (Track This Instead)
Most home service companies think they're tracking marketing. They're actually tracking the wrong metrics.In this episode of Owned and Operated, John Wilson and Jack Carr break down how to measure marketing ROI the right way. They explai...
How We're Using AI to Scale towards a $70M Home Service Business
Most home service businesses are using AI the wrong way.In this episode of Owned and Operated, John Wilson and Jack Carr break down how AI is actually changing the trades and why the biggest opportunity isn't replacing technicians, but r...
He Bought a $1.5M HVAC Business. Here's 18 Months Later...
Most home service businesses aren't sold for what they're capable of being worth.In this episode of Owned and Operated, John Wilson and Will Schryver reveal what separates a business that sells for a premium ...
How They're Building a $9M HVAC Business
What does it really take to build a home service business from the ground up?In this episode of Owned and Operated, John Wilson sits down with Ryan and Aaron Osterkamp of Quality Comfort Home Services to unpack the journey from on...
10 years as CEO has taught me every owner struggles with this.
Managing the leadership challenges that come with being a CEO can be surprisingly lonely.In this solo episode, John Wilson reflects on the last decade of leading Wilson Companies from a team of seven employees to more than 220. He shares...