Most contractors think growth is built in the field. More trucks, more techs, more leads. But Chad Peterman, CEO of Peterman Brothers, has built a 500+ person organization across HVAC, plumbing, and electrical services in Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio, and he sees it differently. The real growth engine does not start in the truck. It starts at the first ring of the phone.

In this episode, Chad breaks down how a family business turned multi-state operator learned that the call center is not support. It's strategy. It is revenue. It is the first impression that decides everything that comes after it.

Chad takes us back to the early days of Peterman Brothers, before the scale, before the systems, when growth was exciting but also breaking things at the same time. He shares the moment it became clear that people, not production, would define the ceiling of the company, and how early mistakes shaped the way he now thinks about scale, leadership, and structure.

The conversation moves into a powerful shift in perspective around call centers. Chad challenges the idea that answering phones is administrative work and instead positions it as one of the most important revenue drivers in the entire business. From missed opportunities to first impressions, he breaks down where contractors are unknowingly leaving money on the table and why training, systems, and leadership all have to work together for the phone to become a growth engine.

From there, Mandeep and Chad connect the dots between customer experience and revenue. What actually happens in a five-minute phone call that determines thousands of dollars in revenue downstream? Chad unpacks the most common mistakes CSRs make, what a high-performing call actually sounds like, and how empathy and structure can exist in the same conversation without sacrificing conversion.

The discussion expands into retention and upselling, where Chad explains how real growth is often hidden in plain sight. Small shifts in communication, service plans, and trust building during the first interaction can dramatically change long-term customer value. It is not about pushing harder. It is about listening better and executing with intention.

Operations come next, where dispatch becomes the make or break point between a great call and a completed job. Chad breaks down how strategic dispatching works, what most teams get wrong, and why speed without alignment often leads to lost revenue instead of gained efficiency.

A major focus of the episode is people development. Chad shares the philosophy behind building the Top Tech Academy and how structured training, onboarding, and career mapping became the backbone of scaling a 100M+ operation. He explains why most companies do not have a performance problem; they have a development problem.

We also dig into Chad’s philosophy from The Empowerment Project, where he challenges contractors to think differently about growth. Not as something you chase, but something you build through your people and systems every single day.

This episode is a blueprint for contractors who want more than activity. It is for those who want alignment between office, dispatch, and field, and a system where every call, every handoff, and every interaction drives measurable growth.

Special thanks to our sponsors, Broccoli AI and Grow Reviews, for supporting Born For The Trades and helping contractors scale smarter.

If you are a contractor stuck between effort and execution, this episode will show you where the real leverage lives.

Support the show

Most people in the trades are focused on getting through the week. Making payroll. Landing the next job. But every once in a while, someone comes along who plays a completely different game. On this episode of Born For The Trades, host Mandeep sits down with Lance Bachmann, a self-made entrepreneur who turned grit into over $100M in exits across multiple industries. And what’s surprising isn’t just the scale. It’s how repeatable he insists the process is.

This conversation starts where most don’t. Not with strategy, but with realization. Lance didn’t grow up with a roadmap or a network handing him opportunities. The shift happened when he saw that what he was building wasn’t just income, it was an asset. Something with real, transferable value. That moment changed everything. It’s the difference between owning a job and owning a business.

From there, the conversation moves into a mindset most contractors ignore. Building with the end in mind. Even if you never plan to sell, thinking like a buyer forces better decisions. Cleaner systems. Stronger teams. More predictable results. The kind of business that doesn’t rely on the owner to survive. Because the truth is, if it falls apart without you, it was never really a business to begin with.

Then comes the reality check. Revenue might look impressive, but it doesn’t tell the full story. Buyers care about what’s left over, not what comes in. Understanding profitability, structure, and how your numbers actually read to an outsider is where many owners get humbled. And it’s often the difference between a life-changing exit and a disappointing offer.

One of the most powerful moments in the episode is a real case study. A roofing company that went from $2M to $23M in under two years. Fast growth, but not without pressure. Systems breaking. People stretched. Decisions that had to be made quickly or risk losing everything. It’s a raw look at what scaling actually demands behind the scenes.

The conversation also digs into one of the biggest traps in the trades. The owner is the center of everything. Letting go isn’t just operational, it’s psychological. Building leaders, trusting systems, and stepping out of day-to-day control are often the hardest moves, but they're also the ones that unlock real value.

As private equity continues to move aggressively into home services, understanding how these deals work has never been more important. What looks like an opportunity can quickly become regret if you don’t know what to look for. Lance breaks down what matters before, during, and after the deal.

By the end, it comes down to action. Not theory. Not someday. Real moves contractors can make immediately to start building something that works for them, not because of them.

Big shoutout to our sponsors, Broccoli AI and Grow Reviews, for supporting the trades and helping contractors level up their operations, marketing, and growth in an increasingly competitive landscape.

Support the show

On this episode of Born For The Trades, Mandeep sits down with Kevin and Gabe, two Stanford-trained computer scientists who took an unexpected path. Instead of chasing flashy startups or big tech exits, they chose the home service industry, with a sharp focus on commercial contractors. It was not the obvious move. That is exactly why it matters.

Kevin grew up around the trades, watching his uncle run a commercially focused construction company. The rhythms of job sites, bids, and long-term relationships were familiar. Gabe came from a deeply technical world with experience at Google and Autodesk and no direct background in the trades. Together, they formed a partnership that blends lived industry exposure with elite technical execution.

Modern Edge was not born from a grand master plan. Kevin and Gabe describe how they “accidentally” began doing AI strategy consulting for construction and real estate firms. What started as curiosity quickly revealed a massive gap. Commercial contractors were underserved by modern marketing tools, especially in B2B environments where relationships, timing, and trust are everything. They saw an opportunity to bridge the educational gap and bring practical AI into an industry that is essential yet often overlooked by Silicon Valley.

Bootstrapping was a deliberate choice. Instead of raising capital and chasing growth at all costs, they built for profitability from day one. Every decision had weight. Every feature had to matter. That discipline shaped their product and their mindset. They talk candidly about the pressure and clarity that comes from building without a safety net.

One of the most compelling parts of the conversation centers on AI-driven email marketing for commercial contractors. In B2C, marketing is often high volume and transactional. In B2B, especially in the trades, it is nuanced and relationship-based. A single well-timed email can unlock a multi-year contract. AI allows contractors to personalize outreach, craft compelling subject lines, and stay top of mind without adding administrative burden. Kevin and Gabe share examples of intriguing subject lines that spark curiosity and drive opens, proving that small shifts in messaging can create outsized results.

They also reflect on the advice that shaped them. The best advice was to focus on long-term thinking and to build something real. The worst was overly confident, absolute guidance not grounded in data or context. For Kevin, books that reshape perspective have played a key role in how he approaches business and resilience.

By the end of the episode, one thing is clear. The trades are not behind. They are on the brink of transformation. Founders like Kevin and Gabe are not trying to disrupt contractors. They are equipping them. For commercial leaders who want to grow smarter, market better, and compete at a higher level, this conversation is one you will not want to miss.

To connect with Kevin and Gabe or request a demo from Modern Edge, they invite listeners to reach out directly to www.modernedge.io and start the conversation.

Support the show