Profiles in Prosperity

Hosted by Service Roundtable

Business Marketing Careers

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Episodes

165

Latest episode

Sep 2025

Language

EN-US

About the show

Do you like stories about business? I do! I’m endlessly fascinated by the creative and innovative strategies business people employ to build their businesses. I love the stories of how businesses were started, bought, sold, grown, failed, and the stories of pitfalls and advances. They’re all interesting. As someone who runs a business and advises others who run businesses, I find the stories useful and informative as well as cautionary and inspirational.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

August 10, 201618 min

1 - The Dutton Plumbing Story – Eric Dutton

If you are a residential service contractor – HVAC, Plumbing, Electrical, Pool & Spa, etcetera – you will get a lot of great information and useful ideas from this interview with Eric Dutton. Eric Dutton is founder and president of Dutton Plumbing in Simi Valley, California. Eric discusses how he began, grew, and manages his large contracting company. There are so many gems in this interview: “Do ordinary things extraordinarily well.” “Fear is a choice.” “Let go.” His company’s slogan is, “The plumber you would send to your mom’s house.” Eric explains how this tagline/motto influences the way he and his employees operate within the business. Great stuff!

September 19, 201611 min

2 - Our Company Culture Makes a Difference - Angie Snow

Angie Snow and her husband run Western Heating and Air Conditioning in Orem, Utah. Their company culture is the result of intentional actions on their part. Angie discusses their company culture, why it's important, how it’s helped them grow, and how they implemented and maintain it in their company.

September 26, 20166 min

3 - Be the Best Place to Work - Pete Danielson

Pete Danielson is owner, with his business partner, of Modern Mechanical in Ashburn, Virginia. Modern Mechanical was named the "best place to work," by the Washington Business Journal, and Pete explains why and how they got that title.

October 3, 201615 min

4 - The Only Plumbing Company Highly Recommended By My Mother - Ed O'Connell

Ed O'Connell is founder of O'Connell Plumbing, "The only plumbing company highly recommended by my mother." Ed shares his personal story leading to his success as a business owner and how groups and networking helped him get there.

October 10, 201610 min

5 - Never Look Back, Never Give Up, Remain Positive - Joe Groh

If you’re involved in the HVAC, Plumbing, Electrical or any other residential service business you need to know about the Joseph Groh Foundation. Joe Groh had a long career in the HVAC industry before suffering a bike accident that left him a quadriplegic. He founded the Joseph Groh foundation which provides financial support to those in connected with the construction trade industry who are living with life-altering injuries.

October 17, 20169 min

6 - Multiple Location Strategy - Kathie Todd

Kathie Todd and her husband Don run Central Oregon Heating and Cooling. They have received the Ron Smith Trailblazer award, and Kathie was named HVACR Woman of the Year. She discusses their multiple location strategy, the benefits, and how they make it successful.

October 24, 201612 min

7 - Knocking on Doors - Ed O'Connell

Ed O'Connell is founder of O'Connell Plumbing, "The only plumbing company highly recommended by my mother." Ed discusses how he marketed his business by walking door-to-door, five to ten houses per day, and the loyal customers and referrals that came from it.

November 7, 201613 min

8 - My Employee Retention Strategy - Ben Stark

Ben Stark built and sold two wildly successful HVAC companies. Now he’s a well-respected industry consultant. Ben's technician retention rate was substantially better than average and he describes the programs and methods he used to achieve that in his business.

November 21, 201610 min

9 - Mitch Cropp - On Acquisition of Companies and Employees

Mitch Cropp founded and grew Cropp Metcalfe into one of the largest and most successful home service companies ever, and has won a vast array of awards. Mitch discusses what works and what doesn’t work regarding the acquisition of companies and their employees.

December 5, 201611 min

10 - Pete Danielson - Business Development Manager

Pete Danielson is owner of Modern Mechanical in Ashburn, Virginia. Involvement in the local community is great for the community, but it’s also great for your brand, and a great way to gain new customers. Pete came up with an innovative way to do a LOT of community involvement and developed processes to make it work effectively for his company. In this episode of Profiles in Prosperity, Pete discusses how he used a business development manager to be his community representative and substantially grow his customer referral base.