Cleaning Up - Home Services Brand Builder Podcast

Chad E. Foster is a motivational keynote speaker, sales/finance leader, and inspirational change agent who works at Red Hat/IBM. He was the first blind executive to graduate from Harvard Business School’s Program for Leadership Development. Despite going blind while attending college in his early twenties, Chad started at Accenture and has built a career in the technology industry where he has directed financial strategies and decisions resulting in more than $45 billion in contracts. He speaks to corporate audiences and professional athletes to help them develop resilience in the face of uncertainty. He has been featured with NBC, Forbes, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, USA Today, Thrive Global, Chief Executive Mag and continues to inspire audiences across the world with his personal story.

Listen in as Ron and Chad dive deep into what it takes to overcome challenges, and hear why it's important to choose the right story to believe.

Jason Phillips is a leader in the home improvement industry. Hailing from Plano, TX, he is CEO and President of Phillips Home Improvements, and renewing homes is his passion. While his career began humbly, Jason quickly saw opportunities to improve the customer service and quality of workmanship that homeowners were receiving industry-wide and resolved to provide a better experience. A WOW experience.

Early on, he decided he could help others earn better livings and enjoy a more life-giving work culture if he were boss. So he started his painting business, poising his company to create WIN-WIN situations for homeowners, team members, and vendors alike. With carefully timed additions of roofing, gutters, siding, and replacement windows over the past 21 years, Jason continues to create WIN-WIN situations.

Take a listen as Ron & Jason talk about the nitty-gritty of starting a business, and even though Jason is in the home improvement business that is not his focus.

Mike Michalowicz is the entrepreneur behind three multi-million dollar companies and is the author of Profit First, Clockwork, The Pumpkin Plan, and his newest book, Fix This Next. Mike is a former small business columnist for The Wall Street Journal and regularly travels the globe as an entrepreneurial advocate.  He is an active partner in multiple companies, including an American manufacturer, a business growth consultancy, an augmented reality tech firm, and a certification organization for accountants, bookkeepers, and business coaches.  In this episode, Mike and Ron go deep into the business of entrepreneurship and the harsh reality of what it takes to survive and succeed.

On this episode of the Cleaning Up Podcast, we have Ellen Rohr. Ellen was a Plumber’s Wife now she is the Business Makeover Expert® Ellen got involved in her husband’s company after his partner died unexpectedly. It seemed like lots of money was moving through the company, but at the end of the month, there was never any money left. Thankfully, Ellen found terrific mentors, savvy contractors who taught her how to keep score in business, how to put a simple business plan together, and how to make money.

She started Bare Bones Biz, a venture capital and consulting company in 1995 to help folks of all ages turn their big ideas into successful businesses.  Ellen is also a successful franchisor, helping launch a plumbing franchise to 47 locations and $40 million in sales in under 2 years.  Ellen is currently the president of Zoom Drain and Sewer, LLC. She takes ordinarily dry-as-dust business basics and makes them simple and fun. 

Ellen is also the author of four business basics books:  Where Did the Money Go?, How Much Should I Charge?, The Bare Bones Biz Plan, and The Weekend Biz Plan.

Gigi Butler, entrepreneur and founder of Gigi’s Cupcakes, admits her story of success is full of sweet irony. Gigi opened her first Gigi’s Cupcakes location just off Music Row in Nashville, Tennessee in 2008. Gigi’s Cupcakes is now the largest cupcake franchise in the world.

With an entrepreneurial spirit that needed an outlet at the age of 15, Gigi opened her first business, Gigi’s Cleaning Company, which she continued to grow once she moved from California to Nashville in 1994. She cleaned houses during the day and sang at downtown Nashville honky-tonks at night. After a decade of pursuing a career as an entertainer, the heartaches of the music industry hit home.

Gigi decided to step back and focus on her financial future. While building a sweet empire was never part of her plan, Gigi realized that her culinary and business skills could take her places she never dreamed about. She decided to take a chance on her other passion – baking.

Gigi’s autobiography “The Secret Ingredient: Recipes for Success In Business and Life” was released in December 2018. Gigi shares her personal success story, her hard-won business acumen, and the life-changing inspiration that she’s gained from a challenging life. Each chapter includes a piece of business advice and a delicious sweet and savory recipe. The book is available at gigibutler.com, or on Amazon, or anywhere books are sold!