Summary

Building a Successful Home Service Business

Steven, founder of Resi Brands, has achieved remarkable success, growing his home service business from $12 to $30 million in revenue with 400 locations. His journey is a testament to the power of hard work, strategic decision-making, and a customer-centric approach.

Key Factors in Success

Discovering crucial steps to success, such as getting customers to refer the business
Implementing a self-imposed rule to work diligently every day to drive business growth
Hiring a team, including a project manager and admin, and implementing systems like a CRM and SOPs
Focusing on quality, customer experience, and building a great team

Overcoming Challenges

The speaker’s journey was not without its challenges. Initially, they struggled with trusting others to do their jobs, leading to micromanaging. However, by implementing systems and processes, they were able to overcome this challenge and achieve rapid growth.

Franchising and Business Growth

The decision to franchise The One Painter company came after rapid growth and working with a business coach. The owner was convinced that franchising was the best business model, as it allows empowerment and training of franchisees to build their own businesses, while also generating royalties. The company has since grown to nearly 500 franchise units across the nation.

Garage Up: A Garage Renovation Franchise

Garage Up is a garage renovation franchise offering services such as epoxy floors, hex lighting, slot walls, and garage door installation and repair. The company has 15 units and is gaining momentum, with 10 new signings in the last 4 weeks. By shifting focus to garage door repair and sales, the brand has become a necessity-based business with luxury upgrade options, leading to increased revenue and franchisee interest.

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and Customer Acquisition

Creating SOPs is essential for clarifying and refining processes, making it easier to train others and replicate systems. Initially, effective strategies for acquiring customers without significant ad spend include partnering with real estate agents, leveraging referrals from happy customers, and building a reputation through repeat business and positive reviews.

Sales and Marketing Strategies

Providing prices on the spot and aiming to close deals immediately
Using a diligent sales process with multiple touch points, such as repeated phone calls, to get a response and ultimately secure a sale
Implementing a sales follow-up strategy involving multiple touches: call, text, and email
Building relationships with real estate agents to get referrals and introductions to other professionals
Focusing on making customers happy to get referrals, rather than relying solely on marketing

Leadership and Accountability

Successful entrepreneurs possess strong leadership skills, value accountability, and are detail-oriented, which contributes to their profitability. They can build, manage, and hold teams accountable, and are willing to hold themselves accountable as well. Accountability is key to holding everything together, and a lack of accountability can lead to problems.

Personal Growth and Risk-Taking

The speaker’s upbringing as a child of missionaries, traveling to 27 countries before age 14, instilled in them a comfort with risk and change, shaping their perspective and contributing to their success today. They attribute their success to building personal relationships with customers, who are more likely to write reviews and refer others when they like the people providing the service.

Conclusion

Building a successful business requires focusing on quality, customer experience, and a great team, with marketing as an added support. As an entrepreneur, the most fulfilling part is the freedom and autonomy to make choices, which motivates them to continue even during tough times. Entrepreneurism represents freedom, but it can also be enslaving at times, requiring long hours and hard work to solve problems, although the freedom it provides makes it worthwhile.

Key Vocabulary

Term	Definition	Example Usage
Customer-Centric Approach	A business strategy that focuses on meeting the needs and exceeding the expectations of customers.	Steven’s home service business achieved success by adopting a customer-centric approach, prioritizing customer satisfaction and referrals.
Franchising	A business model in which a company allows individuals or groups to operate under its brand name and guidelines.	The One Painter company decided to franchise, allowing them to expand rapidly and generate royalties from franchisees.
Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)	Predefined processes and procedures that outline the steps to be taken in a specific situation or task.	Creating SOPs helped Steven’s business clarify and refine processes, making it easier to train others and replicate systems.
Customer Acquisition	The process of gaining new customers for a business or product.	Steven’s business used strategies such as partnering with real estate agents and leveraging referrals to acquire new customers without significant ad spend.
Leadership	The ability to guide, motivate, and inspire others to achieve a common goal or vision.	Successful entrepreneurs like Steven possess strong leadership skills, which contribute to their profitability and ability to build and manage teams.
Accountability	The state of being responsible for one’s actions and decisions, and being answerable to others for those actions.	Steven emphasizes the importance of accountability in business, noting that it is key to holding everything together and preventing problems.
Personal Growth	The process of developing and improving one’s skills, knowledge, and character to achieve personal and professional goals.	Steven’s upbringing and experiences contributed to his personal growth, instilling in him a comfort with risk and change that has shaped his perspective and contributed to his success.
Risk-Taking	The act of taking bold action or making decisions that involve uncertainty and potential risk.	Steven’s comfort with risk and change has allowed him to take bold action and make decisions that have contributed to his business success.
Entrepreneurism	The practice of starting and running one’s own business, often involving innovation, risk-taking, and hard work.	Steven’s experience as an entrepreneur has given him the freedom and autonomy to make choices, which motivates him to continue working hard to build and grow his business.
CRM (Customer Relationship Management)	A system or software used to manage and analyze customer interactions and data.	Steven’s business implemented a CRM system to help manage customer relationships and improve customer satisfaction.

Watch The Video

21-Year-Old Starts a Home Service Empire! (HOW!?)

Vocabulary Quiz

1. Which word means ‘a payment made to someone for allowing others to use their business model or idea’?

A) Royalty
B) Franchise
C) Referral
D) Revenue

2. What is the term for ‘pre-defined procedures or steps that a company follows to achieve its goals’?

A) CRM
B) SOPs
C) Sales Strategy
D) Marketing Plan

3. Which phrase means ‘giving someone the power or authority to do something’?

A) Micromanaging
B) Empowerment
C) Accountability
D) Leadership

4. What does ‘customer-centric’ mean in the context of business?

A) Focused on making a profit
B) Focused on the needs and satisfaction of customers
C) Focused on marketing and advertising
D) Focused on the product or service itself

5. Which word means ‘the state of being responsible for something’?

A) Entrepreneurship
B) Leadership
C) Accountability
D) Autonomy

Answer Key:

1. A
2. B
3. B
4. B
5. C

Grammar Focus

Grammar Focus: The Use of Gerunds and Infinitives

The use of gerunds and infinitives is a crucial aspect of English grammar, and it is essential for CEFR C1 level learners to master this concept. Gerunds are verbs ending in -ing that function as nouns, whereas infinitives are verbs beginning with “to” that can function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. In the provided text, we can see examples of gerunds and infinitives being used to express purposes, reasons, and results. For instance, “focusing on quality, customer experience, and building a great team” is an example of a gerund phrase used to describe the key factors in success. On the other hand, “to franchise The One Painter company” is an example of an infinitive phrase used to express a decision or intention. Understanding the correct usage of gerunds and infinitives can help learners improve their sentence structure, clarity, and overall expression.

Grammar Quiz:

Choose the correct answer for each question:

1. By ____________________ systems and processes, the speaker was able to overcome the challenge of micromanaging.
A) to implement
B) implementing
C) implementation
D) implement

2. The decision to franchise The One Painter company came after rapid growth and working ____________________ a business coach.
A) with
B) to work
C) working
D) to

3. Creating SOPs is essential for ____________________ processes, making it easier to train others and replicate systems.
A) to clarify
B) clarifying
C) clarification
D) clarify

4. Successful entrepreneurs possess strong leadership skills, value accountability, and are detail-oriented, which contributes ____________________ their profitability.
A) to
B) in
C) to their
D) for

5. The speaker attributes their success ____________________ personal relationships with customers, who are more likely to write reviews and refer others when they like the people providing the service.
A) to building
B) building
C) to
D) build

Answer Key:

1. B) implementing

2. A) with

3. B) clarifying

4. C) to their

5. B) building