Hello home service operators, |
Jolly Heating, Air, Plumbing, and Electric grew from a $2 million family plumbing business into a $22 million multi-trade operation. |
The biggest lesson from that growth? At some point, working harder isn’t enough. |
You need the right leaders, systems, and culture to keep scaling. |
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Here’s the entire conversation, followed by some more of my thoughts. |
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From a $2M Family Plumbing Shop to a Multi-Trade Powerhouse |
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How Jolly Built a Business That Can Scale |
When Brady Jolly took over management of his family’s plumbing business in 2014, it was doing around $2 million in revenue. Today, Jolly Heating, Air, Plumbing, and Electric is a $22 million multi-trade business. |
But that growth didn’t happen because Brady and Scott Sharrock simply worked harder. |
In fact, one of their biggest realizations was that working harder eventually becomes the problem. |
For years, Brady and Scott were the entire leadership team. They said yes to everything, handled problems themselves, and essentially “cowboyed” their way through growth. |
That worked until the business hit around $5 million. Then they got stuck. |
The breakthrough came when they started building an actual leadership team. They promoted department heads, delegated responsibility, and taught those managers how to lead. |
That means more than giving someone a manager title. |
Their leaders learn how to: |
Run effective one-on-ones with their teams Understand gross margins and job costing Track the KPIs that actually drive their department Identify the levers they can pull when performance slips Take ownership instead of sending every decision up the ladder
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I see this same problem all the time in home services. |
The owner gets the company to $3 million, $5 million, or even $10 million through sheer force of will. Eventually, there aren’t enough hours in the day to keep doing everything yourself. |
Jolly also figured out that scaling leadership requires scaling culture. |
Their employee engagement score went from 56/100 in 2019 to 93/100 today. That wasn’t because they put a basketball court in the office or handed out more perks. |
They started measuring engagement, collecting employee feedback, setting clear expectations, and reinforcing their values through weekly one-on-ones, company meetings, training, and quarterly town halls. |
That’s the part I think operators sometimes miss. |
You can add trucks, trades, locations, and acquisitions. But if your leadership and culture don’t grow at the same pace, eventually the rest of the business outruns you. |
The next stage of growth typically involves building a company that can continue to grow without you. |
My Takeaway You can hustle your way to a certain size, but eventually growth depends on the leaders you build around you. The goal is to create a business that keeps getting better without you making every decision. |
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Step Inside the Future of Heat Pumps |
Top HVAC contractors are taking the stage at the US Heat Pump Summit this September to share the numbers, strategies, and hard-earned lessons behind their success. |
Hear directly from contractors running everything from one-man shops to 300+ trucks and learn what’s actually working with heat pump sales, installs, margins, and long-term growth. |
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How do you feel about today's newsletter? |
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👊 John |
Disclosure: Some of the content and links in this newsletter are sponsored or affiliate links, which means we may receive payment or earn a commission if you click through or purchase. However, all opinions expressed are entirely my own. |
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