Blue Collar Nation
Eric and Larry of Super Tech University, supertechu.com, have years of blue collar service business ownership. They know, all too well, that running a blue collar business is not for the faint of heart. For that reason, the Blue Collar Nation Podcast is dedicated to making the lives blue collar service business better. With humor and an unfailing optimism, Larry and Eric invite guests from all areas to the blue collar world to share ideas and help owners run their businesses more effectively.
Episodes
321 episodes
Reviewing and Reprimanding Team Members
In this episode of the Blue Collar Nation Podcast, Eric and Larry tackle one of the toughest—but most important—skills in running a home service business: having hard conversations with your team.From avoiding conflict to losing...
A Strategy for a Challenged Tech
In this episode, Larry from Super Tech University breaks down a practical, no-nonsense system for handling difficult team members without letting emotions take over. If you’ve ever had an employee who’s underperforming, causing frustration, or ...
How to Train a Service Manager
Promoting your best technician into management sounds like the right move—until it backfires. In this episode, Eric and Larry break down the costly mistake of promoting based on loyalty instead of leadership fit, and how it can damage team cult...
Creating Fruitful Meetings
In this episode of the Blue Collar Nation Podcast, Larry dives into a practical topic that every home service business owner faces: meetings. While meetings often get a bad reputation for being long and unproductive, Larry explains how the righ...
Managing a Business Development Representative
Building a strong referral network can be one of the most powerful ways to grow a service business—but it also comes with challenges many owners aren’t prepared for. In this episode, Eric and Larry dive into the realities of managing Business D...
Accountability, Follow-Through, and the Why: The Leadership Shift Home Service Companies Can’t Ignore with Nate Cisney
On this episode of the Blue Collar Nation, Eric and Larry sit down with Nate Cisney and Stacy Sargent of Restoration Made Simple for a high-energy, no-fluff conversation about what actually moves the needle in home service busines...
5-Star Job-Site Conduct
In this episode of the Blue Nation Podcast, Eric and Larry break down the “theater of business” — the intentional, step-by-step approach to delivering five-star service before ever stepping inside a customer’s home.Designed for h...
Operations Isn’t Paperwork — It’s the experience your customer feels.
In this episode of the Blue Collar Nation Podcast, Eric from Super Tech University takes the mic solo while Larry is off traveling. Eric dives deep into one of the most overlooked drivers of success in home service businesses—operations.
High Performance Environments
Strong Environments. Strong Teams. Strong Outcomes.Building a high-performance culture starts with leadership—and it starts before the workday even begins. In this episode of the Blue Collar Nation Podcast, Eric and Larry break down wha...
Win the Morning, Win the Day | Home Service Business Systems & Leadership
Struggling with late starts, missing tools, and chaotic mornings in your home service business?In this episode of the Blue Collar Nation Podcast, Eric and Larry from Super Tech University break down the proven morning systems they used ...
Upping the Game in Home Services with Kayla McGowan
Larry and Eric sit down with Kayla McGowan, editor of R&R Magazine to discuss all matters within the trades and how getting the proper training for your team, industry networking, and exposure t...
Dress To Kill: How Uniforms and Grooming Affect Sales
In this episode, Larry and Eric break down the ins and outs of why how we present to clients matters to our bottom line. They go deep about dress codes, uniforms, grooming, and how to teach your team why looking good matters.
Your team sucks, and its all your fault.
Hard Work Pays Off: from unemployed and broke to a business owner in 5 years.Claire Carreras has an amazing home service success story and message. As a professional musician, she decided to take a leap of faith and move fro...
From Injuries to Insurance: The Real Cost of Safety
Today Eric and Larry sit down with Eric Wick, founder of Safety Team Technologies. Eric breaks down how blue-collar companies can stop bleeding cash from preventable injuries and high workers’ comp. We get real about why paper manuals and spora...
Lighting the Way to Sales: Ryan Lee's Secrets for Selling Any Home Service
In this episode, Eric and Larry sit down with Ryan Lee - creator of the Lighting Secrets framework and one of the sharpest minds in service sales. Ryan built his reputation by showing contractors how to turn outdoor lighting into a high-value s...
Controlling Your Destiny: Being Creative To Create Business
In this episode, we sit down with the leadership team from One Tom Plumber to dig into how their business model works—and what service contractors can learn from it.Whether you're a restoration company, a plumbing business, or a m...
How Training One Tech Changed Everything: Levi Gain’s Super Tech Success Story
In this episode of the Blue Collar Nation Podcast, Eric and Larry sit down and have a conversation with Levi Gain, owner of Doug’s Carpet & Upholstery Care. Levi shares his journey from running a small, chaotic operation with one underperfo...
Mastering Market Downturns: Sales, Strategy & Soft Skills with Jeff Jones of Violand Management
In this lively episode of Blue Collar Nation, Larry and Eric sit down with Jeff Jones—Director of Sales & Marketing and business coach at Violand Management—to unpack how trade businesses in the disaster restoration, HVAC, plumbing...
Leading the Next Generation: Managing Gen Z in Home Services
Gen Z is changing the workforce - and that includes your home service team. They don't respond to fear-based leadership or "back in my day" lectures. In this episode, Eric and Larry break down how to effectively lead and manage Gen Z employees ...
From Grassroots Beginnings to Industry Leader: The Story of Kevin and Allklean's Culture of Excellence
In this engaging episode, Eric and Larry sit down with Kevin Bunce. Kevin shares his inspiring entrepreneurial journey from dropping out of college to building a thriving company in the restoration industry. He discusses the importance of culti...
The 15-Minute Fix: How Daily Morning Meetings Can Transform Your Service Business
In this impromptu Zoom session, we dig into one of the most underrated performance boosters in the home service industry: the daily morning meeting. Discover why 10–15 minutes each morning can reduce turnover, improve communication, and create ...
From Coal Mines to CEO: The School of Hard Knocks with Bill German
In this inspiring episode of the Blue Collar Nation Podcast, Eric and Larry sit down with Bill German, co-owner of New Way Restoration and proud graduate of the "School of Hard Knocks." Bill shares his powerful journey from working in ...
Inspect to Impress: In-Home Inspections That Close New Sales
In this episode, Larry and Eric break down the art of the in-home inspection—not just to diagnose problems, but to educate the client, build trust, and lead them naturally to a confident buying decision. If you’re in ...
The Perfect Service Call
We are always on the quest of trying to get our techs to perform "the perfect service call" so we get all the repeat business, referrals, and those coveted Google reviews. In this episode, Eric and Larry go step by step through the action...
Winning Every Call: Mastering Soft Skills to Thrive in a Tight Economy
Join this insightful conversation with Eric and Larry as they discuss how home service businesses can maximize each service call's effectiveness by prioritizing technician training and soft skills, especially during a tightening economy....