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 Clinton James sits down with Andrew Rickabaugh, co-owner of Rick and Ball Restoration and a One Tom Plumber franchise in Huntsville, Alabama. Andrew pulls back the curtain on his non-linear path to entrepreneurship, spanning roles as a paramedic, firefighter, Huntsville police officer, and a 20-year career in the Marine Corps. The real turning point, however, came at age 24 when he was hired into a restoration firm as an area manager, only to find himself leading an operational disaster. Handed a mountain of derailed reconstruction files, Andrew spent his days visiting furious homeowners and eating crow for mistakes made by completely unmanaged crews. The experience was so exhausting that he quit after 364 days, vowing never to set foot in the restoration industry again.

The story didn’t end there. Years later, a call from his brother-in-law and business partner, Kevin Ball, convinced him to return on his own terms to launch an independent company. Andrew breaks down how they put their heads down and did the dirty grunt work themselves, organically climbing the organic rankings to become the highest-rated restoration firm in a hyper-competitive market. He details their strategic expansion into the commercial market, explaining what it takes to find and manage a high-performing business development rep who isn't afraid to pick up the phone and build long-term relationships with property managers.

To eliminate the expensive, margin-choking bidding wars over third-party plumbing referrals, Andrew and Kevin made the bold choice to buy a One Tom Plumber franchise. Now managing a team in the mid-30s with a fleet of 15 service vehicles, Andrew shares raw insight into how they handle modern operational constraints. He explains how they utilize AI tools to audit scopes and counter insurance adjusters using strict IICRC guidelines, and why they are aggressively pivoting toward a customer financing model to bypass carrier delays and compress their average 30-day reconstruction start times.

Whether you are a military veteran looking to make the leap into home services or an established restorer feeling trapped as the bottleneck in your own business, Andrew’s perspective on efficiency, tech integration, and self-reliance will reframe your growth strategy. He leaves listeners with a powerful reminder on the true value of entrepreneurship: if you don’t own your business, you can't control your future.

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Learn more about Andrew and his team: www.rickandball.com

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