Guest: Jon Brown — Executive Pastor, Journey Church (Kenosha, WI) Guest Links: Instagram: @PJon | YouTube: JRNY Church

Jon Brown has spent 25 years at the same church, working his way up from youth pastor to executive pastor overseeing 36 staff pastors, 75% of whom he developed from a young age. In this episode, recorded in Italy, he breaks down the universal leadership principles that apply whether you're running a church, a roofing company, or a marketing agency: how to actually grow yourself before you grow others, why your competition should become your allies, how to handle the pressure of perfection when everyone expects you to have it together, and the Sabbath discipline that keeps high performers from burning out on the long haul.

You'll learn:

• Why leading yourself is the hardest leadership job you'll ever have
• How to build a personal growth plan that targets your actual blind spots
• Windshield time: turning drive time into learning time with audiobooks
• "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go farther, go together"
• How jealousy of competitors reveals your own insecurities (the Joseph Kellogg story)
• Why you should reach out and encourage the person you're most jealous of
• Treat people like they love you, and eventually they'll start to believe it
• How to handle critics who question your motives and character
• Why leaders don't get to have a bad day (chug the Red Bull in your truck)
• Complain up, never down: why you need someone above you to vent to
• If you don't heal what hurt you, you'll bleed on people who don't deserve it
• John Maxwell's 5 levels of leadership: position, permission, production, people development, pinnacle
• Why 25 years in one place creates compounding mastery and generational impact
• The Sabbath principle: one day a week fully unplugged (and the auto-text that protects it)
• Why hobbies and play make the other six days more effective

Guest: Tony Vincent — Owner, Ultimate Roofing | Ultimate Properties | Ultimate Tree Service | Ultimate Equipment Rentals Guest Links: Website: https://getultimateroofing.com | Facebook: Ultimate Roofing WV

Tony Vincent runs four businesses out of West Virginia and has built Ultimate Roofing into a $20 million operation with 100+ employees across 5 states, while quietly stacking $9 million in heavy equipment and 70 rental properties on the side. In this episode, he ranks the most lucrative home service industries for 2026, breaks down why he stopped chasing top-line revenue at 16% net, and pulls back the curtain on the systems that let him manage 100 people without losing his mind. The conversation also dives into the financing playbook that gets him to 90% financed jobs, why blown-in insulation and gutter guards are the secret weapons for landing premium roofs, and how a single $1 door hanger incentive turns laborers into canvassers.

You'll learn:

• Tony's ranked list of the most lucrative home service businesses for 2026
• Why tree service has 75-80% GP and is one of the best businesses to add to roofing
• The "less saturated = more lucrative" rule for picking your next trade
• Why he killed the fencing offshoot after 100 jobs
• The 5-or-6-manager hierarchy that lets him run 100 employees from a distance
• Why titles motivate people more than monetary compensation
• The low-base, high-KPI compensation structure used on every single employee
• How a $1 per door hanger incentive generates real referral jobs
• Why he stopped chasing $50M revenue and dialed in at $20M with 16% net
• The "control the supply chain" rule that drove his decision to drop fencing, gutters, soffit, fascia, doors
• Why his ad spend is $80K on Google for roofing vs $1K for equipment rentals
• How to use Service Finance for 90% financed jobs (and why Foundation is the wrong primary)
• The "what's your budget look like?" frame that closes more roofs like car sales
• Why blown-in insulation and gutter guards at zero margin land $25K roofs
• The 55% close rate that comes from giving away promotional items
• Why most contractors should be financing every job over $10,000
• How his real estate portfolio (70 properties) became his retirement plan after stocks

Guest: Kris Werner — President, Werner Roofing | IHS Group (Infinity Home Services) Guest Links: Website: https://www.wernerroofing.com | Phone: (616) 638-4662

Kris Werner runs Werner Roofing in Grand Haven, Michigan, a "five mile famous" brand he built slowly from a one-man job into a multi-trade home service operation now partnered with Infinity Home Services. In this episode, he gets practical about what actually changes when you join a private equity backed family of brands, why best practice sharing with 25 other roofing companies is the unfair advantage most owners don't have, and the operational details that separate a $4M roofer from a $10M+ company. The conversation also goes into adding trades the right way, why Werner doesn't chase storms, how Castle and Diamond metal shingles compare, what's actually slowing down GAF solar shingle adoption, and why a "divine discontent" customer expectation curve is reshaping the entire industry.

You'll learn:

• Why "five mile famous" beats trying to be a regional powerhouse
• How to add metal roofing, gutters, siding, and windows without breaking your ops
• What private equity actually changes (and what stays the same)
• How 25 brand presidents share best practices daily across IHS
• Why collecting accounts receivable matters more in winter than you think
• How to pick a second location and the first two hires that matter
• The "law of the lid" that keeps owners stuck at $3-5M
• Why retail roofing beats waiting on storms (even in storm markets)
• How to treat roofing crews so they stay loyal to your brand
• Just-in-time material delivery vs full roof load: pros and cons
• Why the synthetic roofing market is only 2% (and what could change)
• The new GAF, Castle, Diamond, and Tesla metal products worth watching
• The Jeff Bezos "divine discontent" effect on customer expectations
• Why reading the same business books 3 times beats reading 30 new ones