Restoration Pros Unplugged
Restoration Pros Unplugged is the podcast built for restoration business owners who want to grow, operate smarter, and lead better.
Hosted by Clinton James, CMO at Water Restoration Marketing, each episode cuts through the noise and gets straight to what matters — real conversations with restoration industry pros, business builders, and experts who've been in the trenches.
From marketing and sales to operations, leadership, and scaling your company, Restoration Pros Unplugged delivers the insights, strategies, and honest talk you won't find anywhere else.
No fluff. No filler. Just straight-talking advice from people who know this industry.
Whether you're running a two-truck operation or managing a multi-location company, this podcast gives you the tools, knowledge, and inspiration to take your restoration business to the next level.
Subscribe, tune in, and get ready to learn from the best.
Welcome to Restoration Pros Unplugged.
Episodes
75 episodes
What Your Techs Are Actually Saying in the Home with Nick D'Urbano from Porter
You pay to make the phone ring. Then a tech walks into a house, has a conversation you'll never hear, and that conversation decides whether you got the job.In this episode, host Clinton James sits down with Nick D'Urbano of Porter. Nick ...
An 11-Inch Rain and a $300K Lesson: Tyler Hendrix on Building Voda South Kansas City
One 11-inch rain event cost Tyler Hendrix and his partners an estimated $250,000 to $300,000 in a single day, because they weren't built to handle the volume.In this episode, host Clinton James sits down with Tyler Hendrix, co-owner of V...
Dropped Out, Cashed Out His Roth, Built the AI: Caleb Owens on Running Restoration at 24
At 20, Caleb Owens took over a $525K mitigation department that had bad hires, heavy churn, and stolen equipment. Fifteen months later it was running at $1.5M with 37% profit.Then he left, liquidated his Roth IRA at 23, and started his o...
Sealed on a Napkin: How Rick McGuigan and Larry Braun Built the Partnership That Blew Pine Ridge Wide Open
Rick McGuigan asked Larry Braun to join his company for ten years. Larry kept saying "you can't afford me." They finally settled it on a napkin.In this episode, host Clinton James sits down with Rick McGuigan and Larry Braun of Pine Ridg...
Five Fire Claims in Six Weeks: Bobby Thomas and Malik Stevens on Killing the Margin vs. Volume Myth
Malik Stevens believed what everyone says about TPAs. Then he ran five fire claims in six weeks, and the first one billed almost $60,000.In this episode, host Clinton James sits down with Bobby Thomas, CEO of Extreme Services, and Malik ...
"The Packouts Girl With the Hobby Job" : Kristen Stein on What Contents Work Actually Takes
Most restorers think contents is easy. Put stuff in a box. Kristen Stein says the box was never the hard part.In this episode, host Clinton James sits down with Kristen Stein, owner of Blue Kangaroo Packouts in Randolph, New Jersey. Kris...
Two Phone Calls, One Drive Home: How Michael Harrison Built a $6M Restoration Powerhouse
Michael Harrison told his insurance agent he'd do $250,000 his first year in business. He finished at $1.6 million.In this episode, host Clinton James sits down with Michael Harrison, owner of Mid-South Restoration Services and 1-Tom-Plu...
From Near-Bankruptcy to Breakthrough: Raul Gonzalez's Restoration Comeback Story
Most restoration business owners only show you the highlight reel. Not this episode.Raul Gonzalez of WonderBuilt Restoration and Construction gets real with Clinton James about the two times his business almost didn't make it — bad hires...
Six Years, Six Territories: How Tunde & Moji Adefolaju Built a 15-Truck SERVPRO Starting One Week Before COVID
Tunde and Moji Adefolaju opened their SERVPRO one week before COVID shut everything down. Six years later they're running six territories and 15 service vehicles in Northern California.In this episode, host Clinton James sits down with ...
From Navy Squadron to a $100K Job: Dwayne West's First 9 Months at Firehawk Restoration
Nine months into business, Dwayne West landed a $100,000 job off his second lead. In this episode, he tells host Clinton James how he did it.Dwayne owns Firehawk Restoration in Jasper, Georgia. He's a Navy veteran who grew up working con...
Industrial Metrics, Explosive Margins: How Larry Braun Scaled Pine Ridge Restoration Past $6M Using Dashboard Accountability
Running your restoration company on gut feeling and bank balances is a quiet way to stay stuck. Real growth comes from installing hard numbers and accountability into every job.In this episode, host Clinton James sits down with Larry Bra...
Scale or Stall: The Three Core Pillars Separating Restoration Giants From Stuck Operators
Most episodes of this show feature a single guest sharing their unique path through the industry, but today we are completely flipping the script. In this special roundtable edition of Restoration Pros Unplugged, host Clinton James brings toget...
How Andrew Rickabaugh Fled the "Apology Tour" to Build a Multi-Million Dollar Independent Restoration Brand
Most restoration owners have a crazy story about how they got into the business, but very few have survived a first job so brutal it almost drove them out of the industry forever.In this episode of Restoration Pros Unplugged, host Clinto...
Systems, Leadership, and Letting Go: The Next Level for Restoration Owners with Toby Clem
In this follow-up episode, Clinton James sits down again with Toby Clem of Restoration Advisers to dive deeper into what it really takes to grow a restoration company that doesn’t depend on the owner.If your business still runs off memor...
Your Data Is Broken & Why AI Can't Save You "Yet," with Andrew Wirick of Docusketch
If your field techs are juggling four, five, even eleven different apps on a single water mitigation job — you've got a data problem. And that data problem is going to follow you everywhere: estimating, compliance, team performance, and especia...
The Fundability Fix with Paul Childers: Build a Restoration Business Lenders Actually Want to Back
You're landing jobs. Revenue is climbing. But somehow, cash is always tight — and when you need financing to grow, the doors keep closing.You're not alone. And the problem probably isn't your sales numbers.In this episode of Res...
From Disney to Mold Remediation: Engineering 5-Star Service in a 1-Star Moment with Vance Morris
What if your restoration company could deliver a Disney-level experience—even on a customer’s worst day?In this episode of Restoration Pros Unplugged, Clinton James sits down with Vance Morris, former Disney leader, founder of Deliver S...
Building a Restoration Business That Runs Without You with Toby Clem of Restoration Advisers
Most restoration companies don’t struggle to find work—they struggle to build a business that doesn’t depend entirely on the owner.In this episode of Restoration Pros Unplugged, Clinton James sits down with Toby Clem of Restorat...
Stop Doing Everything: The Leadership Shift That Scales Restoration Companies
In this episode of Restoration Pros Unplugged, Clinton James sits down with Erik Peterson, General Manager of Arko Restoration, to unpack a game-changing leadership exercise that’s helping restoration companies break through growth ceilings.
From Feast-or-Famine to Predictable Profit: The Database Strategy Most Restorers Ignore
Most restoration companies are sitting on thousands of past customers and doing absolutely nothing with them.In this episode, Clinton sits down with Alex Nghiem, Chief Revenue Officer at Epic180, to break down a simple but powerful idea:...
From $700K to $2.8M How John Gabriele Scaled and Expanded the Right Way
What does it really take to scale a restoration business and expand into a new market without making expensive mistakes?In this episode of Restoration Pros Unplugged, Clinton James sits down with John Gabriele, owner of 911 Restoration o...
How Contractors Actually Scale: Systems, Trust & Marketing | Clinton James & Paul Sanneman
Real growth in the trades doesn’t come from chasing trends or jumping on the latest tactic. It comes from systems, strategy, and partnering with people who understand how contractors actually operate.In this episode, Clinton James — CMO...
Storm Surges, Freezes, and Missed Jobs: How AI Is Saving Restorers Thousands
Missed calls, slow follow-up, and storm surges can quietly kill your revenue.In this episode of Restoration Pros Unplugged, Clinton James sits down with Nick D’Urbano, Co-Founder and CRO of Distance, to break down how restoration compani...
Restoration Pros Rewind 2025: The Best of the Year | Christmas Special
This isn’t just a recap, it’s a celebration of the moments that made Restoration Pros Unplugged the go-to podcast for growth-minded restoration entrepreneurs.In this special Rewind episode, we look back at the top interviews, biggest ta...
A White-Collar Approach to a Blue-Collar Industry: Phil DePaul’s Leadership Playbook
In this episode of Restoration Pros Unplugged, Clinton sits down with Phil DePaul, the powerhouse owner behind United Water Restoration Group Long Island and 1-Tom-Plumber Long Island. Known for his bold “BoomZeal” leadership style, Phil breaks...