

Turnaround Boardroom
Paul Maskill, Blue Collar Business Advisors
Most $3–10M home service businesses don't fail from lack of sales.
They fail from hidden financial leaks, broken pricing, and decisions that quietly destroy cash flow and valuation.
The Turnaround Boardroom is a private conversation for growth-minded operators who know their business is underperforming—but still believe it can be fixed.
This show dissects:
• Why profit disappears despite rising revenue
• How labor, pricing, and overhead silently crush cash flow
• What banks and buyers actually see when they look at your numbers
• And what decisive owners do to reverse the damage
Hosted by a turnaround-focused CFO who works behind the scenes inside $3–10M home service companies, this is where real financial conversations finally happen.
If your business looks successful on the outside—but feels tight, stressful, or fragile underneath—this show is for you.
They fail from hidden financial leaks, broken pricing, and decisions that quietly destroy cash flow and valuation.
The Turnaround Boardroom is a private conversation for growth-minded operators who know their business is underperforming—but still believe it can be fixed.
This show dissects:
• Why profit disappears despite rising revenue
• How labor, pricing, and overhead silently crush cash flow
• What banks and buyers actually see when they look at your numbers
• And what decisive owners do to reverse the damage
Hosted by a turnaround-focused CFO who works behind the scenes inside $3–10M home service companies, this is where real financial conversations finally happen.
If your business looks successful on the outside—but feels tight, stressful, or fragile underneath—this show is for you.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Dec 23, 2024 • 28min
031: Revenue Feeds Your Ego, Profit Feeds Your Family with Jim Cosmas
Jim Cosmas is the founder of The Blue Collar Wave where he specializes in transforming home service businesses through expert coaching and consulting. Jim's focus is on refining operational efficiencies and strategic marketing to elevate company's market presence and most importantly their bottom line. Jim is a big believer that revenue feeds your ego but profit feeds your family. His #1 goal is to help serious home service business owners operate more efficiently, maximize every opportunity and close more sales. In his interview with Paul Maskill, Jim focuses on: What are most companies missing when it comes to leads? How can we create a better sales process? What is causing profit issues in our business? Transform from a stressed out, uncertain business owner, to a confident, respected CEO with clarity of your financial health. Visit today: https://thebluecollaradvisors.com/price

Dec 16, 2024 • 28min
030: How to Build a Recruiting, Training and Retaining System with Clif Savage
Clif Savage, founder of Service Leader Systems, helps businesses tackle mismatched talent issues. He shares can't-miss recruiting strategies tailored for the trades and emphasizes the importance of having a structured hiring system. Clif discusses transforming Day 1 onboarding into a memorable experience and improving workplace branding to attract better employees. He also addresses creating clear career paths and the vital role of reflection in business for enhanced efficiency and growth. Tune in for actionable insights!

Dec 9, 2024 • 30min
029: The Biggest Barriers When Scaling Beyond $5 million with Doug Thorpe
Doug Thorpe joins Paul Maskill on today's podcast. With over 30 years of experience supporting businesses of all sizes, Doug has dedicated his career to empowering leaders and owners to achieve their full potential. He has been instrumental in driving growth, fostering personal and professional development, and building high-performing teams. We discuss: How to be a world class leader of your company. The difference between leadership and amanagement. Why you need to start caring more for your teammates. Why egos kill most good businesses. The importance of aligning your actions with your vision and goals. Transform from a stressed out, uncertain business owner, to a confident, respected CEO with clarity of your financial health. Visit today: https://thebluecollaradvisors.com/

Dec 2, 2024 • 14min
028: Five Financial Mistakes to Avoid When Selling Your Business with Paul Maskill
In this week's podcast, Paul hosts his monthly solo show where he shares with you five financial items to have in place in order to maximize the sale price of your business: Clean Books Consistent Profit Minimal Add Backs Liability Awareness Low A/R Don't wait another day to start achieving more money, time and freedom. Schedule a call today and I'll perform a financial assessment of your business: https://thebluecollaradvisors.com/call/

Nov 25, 2024 • 30min
027: Using AI Voice for After Hours and Overflow Calls with Charlie Felker
Charlie Felker is the co-founder of Free-2-Grow. He joins Paul Maskill on the podcast today. Their mission is a 24/7 AI voice solutions tailored for your home service business. Free2Grow ensures you never miss a sales call again. In this episode, Charlie talks about: How long does it take to train an AI voice bot? The exponential improvements in AI voice. When will AI voice replace traditional CSRs. What is the current booking rate for AI voice CSRs? What is the future of AI voice in the home service trades? Transform from a stressed out, uncertain business owner, to a confident, respected CEO with clarity of your financial health. Visit today: https://thebluecollaradvisors.com/

Nov 18, 2024 • 31min
026: How to Scale to Multi-Unit Home Service Locations with Craig Jooste
Craig Jooste joined Paul Maskill on this week's episode. Craig has been in the homes services business for over 20 years. He co-founded the Local Handyman Group and grew the brand nationally as their CEO. Craig then sold the Local Handyman Group in 2023 and started growing Genie Senior Services as their President. Craig has a business coaching program call The Foundational Four which is purpose built for home services businesses. Understanding the foundations of business – What are non-negotiables? How do we get over the big hump between $1mm and $mm in revenue? When is the right time to add multiple locations? Where do most business owners get stuck in scaling? What are the Foundational Four of business growth?

Nov 11, 2024 • 27min
025: What's Going to Happen with the HVAC Economy with Alec Stevanovski
In this week's interview, Paul Maskill sits down with Alec Stevanovski. Alec is the founder and editor of Homepros, a digital media company covering the business of HVAC. They publish a free, email newsletter every Tuesday and Friday morning covering the biggest news impacting the industry. Some of the topics we focus on are: How can we navigate the uncertainty of the economy? What's happening with private equity and HVAC acquisitions? What are some of the biggest industry insights in 2024? Transform from a stressed out, uncertain business owner, to a confident, respected CEO with clarity of your financial health. Visit today: https://thebluecollaradvisors.com/

Nov 4, 2024 • 16min
024: The Difference Between Bookkeepers, CPAs and CFOs with Paul Maskill
In this week's podcast, Paul hosts his monthly solo show where he shares with you the difference between bookkeepers, CPAs and CFOs. All companies need all three professionals and in order to have built in accountability, it usually makes the most sense to have all three be different people. A bookkeeper focuses on the past - they make sure all your transactions are accounted for correctly. A CPA focuses on the past - they make sure you are staying compliant with your taxes. A CFO focues on the future - they make sure you have a financially healthy business that produces consistent, positive cash flow. Don't wait another day to start achieving more money, time and freedom. Schedule a call today and receive a complementary financial assessment of your business: https://thebluecollaradvisors.com/call/

Oct 28, 2024 • 23min
023: Scale Your Business & Profits Using Virtual Assistants with Brandon Lazar
Today we're joined by Brandon Lazar, a seasoned entrepreneur and strategic visionary with over 15 years of dedicated experience in the home service industry. In 2023, Brandon successfully sold his exterior cleaning business, achieving a seven-figure sale. He is known for his innovative management approach, including the implementation of performance pay and virtual assistants to boost operational efficiency. After his successful exit, Brandon founded NinjaVA and BonusUP, two dynamic companies at the forefront of providing virtual assistant services and revolutionizing performance pay software. In our interview, we dive into: Why should we consider using VAs for all of our admin, CSR, dispatch and email work. What can a VA do is a Home Service Business? What can't a VA do? What's the best way to teach a VA to do new tasks? What are best practices in onboarding a new VA to your team? Transform from a stressed out, uncertain business owner, to a confident, respected CEO with clarity of your financial health. Visit today: https://thebluecollaradvisors.com/

Oct 21, 2024 • 30min
022: Eliminate White Van Syndrome and Build a Brand That Stands Out with Dan Antonelli
Dan Antonelli is the President and Chief Creative Officer of KickCharge Creative, an award-winning New Jersey-based branding agency that specializes in helping home service businesses redefine themselves and stand out with disruptive brands. Dan is a nationally recognized speaker and expert on home service branding, with several books on branding to his credit, including Building a Big Small Business Brand and his new Amazon best-selling book, Branded Not Blanded: KickCharge Your Home Service Brand. His signature wrap style that integrates disruptive branding has served as a model for superior home service fleet branding throughout the world. In this podcast, we discuss: What is White Van Syndrome? What does Dan say to people who say "mascots are overdone"? Why should you never use initials or your name in your brand? Many companies do all the things and ignore branding, why should we put brand at the forefront? What can a disruptive brand do the financials, marketing spend, etc. of the business? Transform from a stressed out, uncertain business owner, to a confident, respected CEO with clarity of your financial health. Visit today: https://thebluecollaradvisors.com/


