Toolbox for the Trades

Mark Pyrah, President and Director of Client Care at Peak Landscape with 20+ years in the industry, shares how personal anxiety guided his shift from task-focused manager to purpose-driven leader. He discusses reframing finances toward free cash flow, using SOPs to reduce overwhelm, and building custom AI assistants to decentralize decisions and empower field teams.

Brett Voccola, Manager of Apprenticeship at Encon Heating & AC who built Encon University, explains how his company grows its own talent. He discusses recruiting from technical high schools, work-based learning partnerships, and a training curriculum tailored to company standards. Brett also covers early recruitment, mentorship layers, and the timeline that leads to young licensed technicians.

Abhishek Mathur, CTPO at ServiceTitan and former leader at Microsoft, Meta, and Figma, builds AI tools to boost productivity. He talks about AI as a force multiplier, real-world AI voice agents and routing that handle spikes, and the vision of an AI operating system that automates logistics and business insights. Practical adoption tips and why now is the moment for trades to try AI are also covered.

Keenan Baird, owner of GreenRoots and one of the few Board Certified Master Arborists in the country, dives into the “missing middle market” and the urgent need for modernizing the tree care industry. Keenan shares his journey from dragging branches in the Arizona heat to running a tech-forward operation in Nashville. He reveals how investing in a CRM and building a custom, transparent estimating formula allowed him to process a year’s worth of revenue in a single week following a devastating ice storm. This episode is a masterclass in differentiation, speed-to-lead, and why understanding your indirect and fixed costs is the only way to avoid drowning in a competitive market.Join us as we discuss: [1:49] Key differences between general landscaping and arboreal services[8:13] Why tech and professionalization is so far behind in the tree care industry[12:17] Breaking into the arboreal “middle market” and finding your community[20:43]How Aspire helped Keenan drive a year’s worth of revenue in one weekCheck out these resources we mentioned during the podcast:AspireAP Story on KeenanYou can find this interview and many more by subscribing to Toolbox for the Trades on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or here.Know a business that could use a bit of muscle from ServiceTitan? Refer them here!Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Toolbox for the Trades in your favorite podcast player.Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

In this episode, Chris and Joe Hoffmann, the CEO and COO of Hoffmann Brothers, reveal the strategy behind building a service empire. They detail their journey of scaling a $9 million family business into a $160 million powerhouse. The brothers discuss the transition from independent careers in the Marines and engineering to taking over their father’s company, emphasizing the importance of humility and “three-hat” framework for managing family dynamics. They share raw insights into their biggest change management mistakes, their “building blocks” approach to granular budgeting, and how they successfully replicated their St. Louis playbook in the Nashville market.Join us as we discuss: [5:29] How a process playbook helped the Hoffmanns nearly 20x their business [10:30] Getting everyone in the family business to row in the same direction[21:58] Other tools and strategies that complemented Hoffman Brothers’ rapid growth[29:05] Leaning on a private equity-like approach to building a service empireCheck out these resources we mentioned during the podcast:Nexstar NetworkYou can find this interview and many more by subscribing to Toolbox for the Trades on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or here.Know a business that could use a bit of muscle from ServiceTitan? Refer them here!Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Toolbox for the Trades in your favorite podcast player.Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Yocelin Reynoso-Prado, Branch Manager of the L.A. Division at SouthWest Landscape and a 2025 Lawn & Landscape Employee of the Year finalist, joins the show to discuss her rapid rise in the industry and her focus on operational due diligence in landscaping. Coming from a background in medical billing and finance, Yocelin brings a unique perspective to field operations, emphasizing proactive communication and the power of being a “partner” rather than just a vendor to property managers. She details her journey with AI, from initial skepticism to using it as a “teammate” for reporting and sales analysis, and offers profound advice for women looking to claim their authority and lead with compassion in the trades.Join us as we discuss: [3:08] What separates great landscaping leaders from the rest of the field[7:29] How Southwest is using AI in their day-to-day workflows[12:22] Why transparent communication is the key to long-term success[16:20] Advice to women seeking leadership roles in the landscaping industryCheck out these resources we mentioned during the podcast:Lawn & Landscape 2025 Employee of the Year WinnersYou can find this interview and many more by subscribing to Toolbox for the Trades on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or here.Know a business that could use a bit of muscle from ServiceTitan? Refer them here!Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Toolbox for the Trades in your favorite podcast player.Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

What if helping other contractors grow could earn you real rewards? In this episode, we’re joined by ServiceTitan leaders Naomi Menzer and Ellen Rohr to break down two powerful ways contractors can engage with the ServiceTitan community: the referral program and the brand ambassador program. From cash bonuses and cars to brand-building opportunities and industry visibility, Naomi and Ellen explain how these programs work, who they’re for, and why community-driven contractors tend to benefit the most.Join us as we discuss: [4:06] The ins and outs of ServiceTitan’s referral program[7:24] Why the referral race to win a new truck is closer than you think[13:01] What makes a great ServiceTitan brand ambassadorCheck out these resources we mentioned during the podcast:ServiceTitan Referral ProgramAspire Referral ProgramFieldRoutes Referral ProgramServiceTitan’s Referral Winner 2025Become a ServiceTitan Brand AmbassadorYou can find this interview and many more by subscribing to Toolbox for the Trades on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or here. Know a business that could use a bit of muscle from ServiceTitan? Refer them here!Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Toolbox for the Trades in your favorite podcast player.Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Allie Riley, operations lead who implemented ServiceTitan and AI voice agents; Brooke Riley, multi-decade plumber who modernized workflows since 1999. They discuss moving from paper to fully AI-powered operations. They cover automating inbound calls, running an office-free AI location, using Dispatch Pro and Contact Center Pro, and motivating teams to adopt automation.

In this episode, we sit down with Travis Wills, Sr. Director of Client Success at Aspire Software, to explore what it takes to grow without chaos. From starting in landscaping as a teenager to becoming employee #19 at Aspire, Travis has seen firsthand how systems, mindset, and people shape success. We dig into why keeping it simple is often the fastest path to scaling, why change management matters more than software features, and how emotional attachment to old processes can quietly slow growth.Join us as we discuss: [5:26] How keeping it simple matters for scaling[9:50] Taking the emotions out of big changes in your business[17:21] How Aspire to Greatness is elevating the industryCheck out these resources we mentioned during the podcast:Sign up for Aspire to Greatness here!From Paper Trails to Digital Portals: Scaling a Landscaping Business With Intention with Tiffany Martin PetersYou can find this interview and many more by subscribing to Toolbox for the Trades on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or here. Know a business that could use a bit of muscle from ServiceTitan? Refer them here!Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Toolbox for the Trades in your favorite podcast player.Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Justin Blaine, Co-owner of Carter Services in Torrance, CA, provides a unique perspective on banking on the resilience of the trades by detailing his transition from a professional M&A advisor to an owner-operator. Drawing on lessons from his three years in minor league baseball, Justin discusses the necessity of humility, work ethic, and managing failure when entering a new industry. He shares the fascinating story of how he went from being a customer to the owner of a 50-year-old family business that specializes in multiple home service trades. Justin reveals how he navigated a challenging first year of ownership by leveraging technology to learn the business quickly and implementing a “hospitality first” mindset to drive a 45% revenue increase in year two.Join us as we discuss: [1:42] Justin’s pivot from minor league baseball to M&A and the trades[14:58] Transitioning from customer to owner of a home services business[25:23] Cultivating a growth mindset with your team and “unreasonable hospitality”[37:25] The future of private equity and why the trades is accessible to everyone Check out these resources we mentioned during the podcast:AthletesTouchUnreasonable Hospitality by Will GuidaraSetting the Table by Danny MeyerYou can find this interview and many more by subscribing to Toolbox for the Trades on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or here.Know a business that could use a bit of muscle from ServiceTitan? Refer them here!Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Toolbox for the Trades in your favorite podcast player.Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.