The Home Service Expert Podcast

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Why the Wealthiest Investors, Nobody Talks About, Are All in This Industry

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May 8, 2026

Guest

Cody Sperber

Cody Sperber, real estate investor and Navy vet behind Clever Investor and Floor Daddy, built multiple eight‑figure businesses and flipped thousands of properties. He discusses scaling from wholesaling to rentals and flooring, why blue collar businesses attract private equity, the difference between cashing checks and building enterprise value, and the power of discipline, repetition, and people skills in trades.

01:33:57

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insights

INSIGHT

AI Compliments But Doesn't Replace People Skills

Real estate and home services remain people businesses where relationships and negotiation can't be replaced by AI.
Cody uses tech to scale but stresses conversational skills, offers, and relationship-building win deals.

insights

INSIGHT

Why Blue Collar Is The New Rich

Blue collar businesses are the new rich because they scale, are buyable, and attract private equity.
Cody realized many flooring companies are unknown brands, creating huge marketing and consolidation opportunity.

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ADVICE

Build Enterprise Value Instead Of A Lifestyle Business

Focus on enterprise value rather than lifestyle cash extraction when building companies you want to sell.
Cody half-exited his education business, reinvested proceeds, and used it to secure family financial goals.

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From Navy Vet to Creative Real Estate

00:34 • 2min

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First Deal, Mentorship, and Momentum

02:52 • 2min

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Scaling: Wholesaling to Rentals to Development

05:17 • 3min

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Marketing, Social Media, and Real Results

07:59 • 24sec

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Technology, AI, and the People Business

08:23 • 51sec

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Why Blue Collar Is the New Rich

09:14 • 46sec

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Choosing Flooring: Market Opportunity

10:00 • 5min

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Education Business Exit and Enterprise Value

15:01 • 3min

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Taking Chips Off the Table for Family

18:20 • 3min

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Immigrant Hustle and Discipline

21:30 • 5min

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Thoughts on Peers: Grant, Pace, Carlos, and More

26:05 • 12min

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Running Multiple Businesses and Staying Focused

38:32 • 8min

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Family, Upfront Conversations, and Systems

46:27 • 5min

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Marriage, Divorce, and Rebuilding Character

If You Started Over With $10M

01:00:31 • 5min

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Network, Masterminds, and Proximity

01:05:13 • 10min

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Floor Daddy Two‑Year Mark and Growth Challenges

• Mentioned in 82 episodes

The Power of One More

Ed Mylett

#31

• Mentioned in 315 episodes

Never Split the Difference

Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It

Tahl Raz

Chris Voss

VOSS/RAZ

This book, written by former FBI hostage negotiator Chris Voss and co-author Tahl Raz, provides a masterclass in influencing others through negotiation. It distills the Voss method, revealing skills such as establishing rapport, creating trust with tactical empathy, and transforming conflict into collaboration. The book is filled with real-life examples from Voss's career, illustrating how these techniques can be applied in both professional and personal life to achieve goals and defuse potential crises.

#20

• Mentioned in 395 episodes

The Psychology of Money

Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, and Happiness

Morgan Housel

In 'The Psychology of Money,' Morgan Housel delves into the psychological and emotional aspects of financial decisions. The book consists of 19 short stories that illustrate how personal history, worldview, emotions, and biases influence financial outcomes. Housel emphasizes the importance of behavior over knowledge in managing money, highlighting the power of compounding, the dangers of greed, and the pursuit of happiness beyond mere wealth accumulation. He advocates for a frugal lifestyle, long-term perspective, and a balanced approach to investing, stressing that financial success is more about mindset and discipline than about technical financial knowledge.

#1580

• Mentioned in 28 episodes

The Greatest Salesman in the World

Og Mandino

The book tells the story of Hafid, a young man living in ancient Jerusalem, who learns the secrets of success from a wealthy trader through 10 ancient scrolls. These scrolls contain principles such as forming good habits, persisting until success, controlling emotions, and acting now. The book emphasizes that becoming a better person is key to achieving success in sales and life. It is known for its inspiring and motivating principles, which are relevant even today, and has been credited with changing the lives of many readers.

#3933

• Mentioned in 13 episodes

The Private Equity Playbook

Adam Coffey

🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ 💎 Top 5 Takes for this Episode! 1. People overestimate what they can do in one or two years — and massively underestimate what they can do in five to ten. Stick with the boring work. 2. Blue collar is the new rich. AI won't replace the trades. Private equity loves scalable home service. Most people couldn't name three flooring companies. That's the opportunity. 3. The real game isn't revenue — it's enterprise value. Lifestyle businesses extract cash. Legacy businesses build an asset worth selling. 4. Master the mundane. Discipline over dopamine. Repetition over inspiration. That's the only secret. 5. There's nothing more dangerous than a wealthy man who gets bored. The same hunter energy that builds empires can destroy everything. Channel it right or it eats you alive. -- 🕐 TIMESTAMPS 🕐 -- 00:00 - Introducing Cody Sperber — The Clever Investor 01:30 - From Navy vet to flipping houses off a napkin

03:39 - 14 months, $30K in debt, and one deal that changed everything

04:57 - Collapsing time: 14 months to 2 months to 3 weeks

06:09 - From wholesaling to rentals to real estate education

07:47 - Why real estate teaches entrepreneurship faster than anything

10:03 - Real estate is a people business — AI can't replace that

11:36 - Why Cody was the best marketer in real estate

16:02 - Why blue collar is the new rich

17:16 - Why Cody chose flooring: most people can't name two companies

18:10 - Selling the education business: first time playing the right game

18:27 - Enterprise value vs. lifestyle business

19:00 - Getting emotional at the Service Titan debate about private equity

20:03 - Why taking chips off the table was about parents, not profit

22:01 - The American dream is still real — immigrants prove it

41:24 - Why authenticity beats selling courses every single time

46:17 - Having kids doubled his income — the hunter mindset intensified

46:42 - The upfront conversation every entrepreneur needs with their partner

48:34 - The system that made marriage and business work together

50:37 - 18 years and a divorce: 'We friendzoned each other'

52:06 - The most dangerous thing a wealthy man can do when he gets bored

53:26 - Having everything on paper and feeling completely empty inside

55:11 - The year and a half that rebuilt his character from the ground up

58:05 - One piece of advice for your 20s: Master the mundane

58:35 - People overestimate 1-2 years. They underestimate 5-10.

59:22 - Why Cody loves failure and what he tells his team

1:00:47 - If you had $10M and your network — what would you build?

1:22:29 - Floor Daddy at 2 years: three crash and burns, $1M+/month

1:23:53 - Tommy's close: financial discipline and the 15% EBITDA rule

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