Toolbox for the Trades

Raffi Elchemmas and Jennifer Massey are dedicated individuals with an important mission — to help normalize talking about and raising awareness for mental health in the construction industry.There are about 5,000 deaths by suicide a year in construction in the U.S. There are several challenges to consider, such as the job being physically demanding, the high probability of injury in the workplace, environmental factors, the long hours, and the traveling required. But there are resources and support in place to help people in the trades to deal with mental health issues.As senior members of the MCAA and the United Association, respectively, Raffi and Jennifer stop by to share their professional experiences with us and highlight the importance of addressing mental health in construction.Join us as we discuss: [10:54] The importance of mental health in the construction industry[35:01] Warning signs that someone may be having mental health challenges[49:01] Available resources and support for those struggling with mental healthCheck out these resources we mentioned during the podcast:MCAA United AssociationOSHACIASPMCAA’s Mental Health Awareness and Suicide Prevention VideoMCAA’s Mental Health Awareness and Suicide Prevention Video (Spanish)American Foundation for Suicide PreventionServiceTitan for Commercial ContractorsYou 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.

Kelsey Whittenberg fell in love with being an electrician. She loves to understand how everything works and how to use both her technical expertise and tools to help solve problems in the field.She also posted videos on social media as a creative outlet while she was at job sites, and that quickly burgeoned into a great passion.As an industrial Electrician at Weifield Group Contracting, Kelsey provides professional electrical solutions across different industry sectors and also actively promotes her company on social media. She stops by to share her professional journey with us and talks about the challenges and opportunities she sees as a female technician. She also explains what motivated her to become active on social media and how her content has helped build a great community online.Join us as we discuss: [6:56]: Kelsey’s experience as a female technician[20:58] What inspired her to build a social media presence[34:30]: Advice to people who want to become influencers on social mediaCheck out these resources we mentioned during the podcast:Weifield Group ContractingThespicysparkykelsey (TikTok)ServiceTitanYou 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!Register for Pantheon 2025 - see you in Anaheim!Prometheus Award NominationsListening 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.

Sheena Palacios was truly built into the trades in every aspect since her father, brother, husband, and other family members are electricians by profession. For her, the trades are a passion and an opportunity for her to return that appreciation for something she didn’t have before.She is also a strong believer in data transformation and how data is a treasure trove that can be leveraged by teams to make impactful decisions. It also comes down to understanding, setting up, and streamlining your processes and workflows for greater success.As the owner and ServiceTitan Solutionist at NIFT Business Solutions, Sheena is on a mission to empower teams in the trades to make smart, data-driven decisions. She stops by to share her entrepreneurial journey with us and talks to us about how she found her niche in the trades.Join us as we discuss: 07:41: How to ensure a successful onboarding process20:56: Why IKEA's showroom is a perfect analogy for ServiceTitan workflows 24:09: Advice for customers struggling with their ServiceTitan accountsCheck out these resources we mentioned during the podcast:NIFT Business SolutionsConnect With SheenaServiceTitanYou 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!Register for Pantheon 2025 - see you in Anaheim!Prometheus Award NominationsListening 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.

Jackie Sorensen knows a thing or two about working in a family business and dealing with gender stereotypes in the trades. She’s passionate about making the trades more attractive and accessible to young women and is actively involved in local activities within her community.As the President of Thorson Heating, Jackie and her team endeavor to deliver exceptional heating and air conditioning services to customers in the Sioux Falls area. She stops by to share her entrepreneurial journey with us and talks about the challenges as well as opportunities running a family business. She also tells us how she promotes the HVAC profession to young women and provides some valuable advice for other female business owners.Join us as we discuss: [10:56]: Why Jackie decided to buy her family business[27:06]: How Jackie makes the trades more attractive for young women[38:27]: Jackie’s advice for other female business ownersCheck out these resources we mentioned during the podcast:Thorson HeatingServiceTitanYou 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!Register for Pantheon 2025 - see you in Anaheim!Prometheus Award NominationsListening 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.

Richard Lewis truly believes that building genuine connections with people in the trades is the key to long-term sustainable growth. His experience in the finance industry has also helped him to identify opportunities for growth across different sectors in the trades. He’s also enabled business owners to take a different approach to partnering with investors to grow their service business.As the Founder and CEO of Redwood Services, Richard is on a mission to build a robust ecosystem of partners in the trades across the United States that focuses on collaboration, operational excellence, and a people-first culture. He stops by to share his entrepreneurial journey with us. He highlights examples from his experience that motivated him to do things differently and explains why he believes in investing in partnerships.Join us as we discuss: 05:24: What makes Redwood different from other private equity firms12:00: Why Richard felt the partnership process could be done differently22:19: What an ideal investor partnership looks likeCheck out these resources we mentioned during the podcast:Redwood ServicesServiceMasterRite WayServiceTitanYou can find this interview and many more by subscribing to Toolbox for the Trades on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or 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.

Ken Midgett, Plumbing Market Director at Interplay Learning and former plumbing entrepreneur, is passionate about continuous learning in the trades. He shares insights on creating a robust training culture that not only boosts business growth but also enhances employee confidence and retention. Ken discusses his journey in turning a high school plumbing program into a prime choice for students, the importance of leadership in training, and innovative strategies for motivating teams. His approach underscores that investing in training is essential for long-term success.

Devynn Thompson entered the trades with her husband after he decided to establish his own plumbing business.They faced many challenges along the way and realized they had to learn from their mistakes and embrace constructive criticism from their employees.By connecting with people in the trades, going through training, having a coach who keeps them accountable, and learning how to delegate tasks, they managed to grow and transform their business into the success story it is today.As the Operations Manager of Thompson Family Plumbing & Drain, Devynn is on a mission to deliver professional plumbing services to customers in California and Arizona. She stops by to share her entrepreneurial journey with us and how she learned to become a better leader. Devynn also shares her thoughts on comparison anxiety and elaborates on the importance of adopting a thriving mindset.Join us as we discuss: 05:06: How Devynn went from apprentice to business owner17:00: How to address comparison anxiety31:46: Devynn’s delegation process35:28: The importance of having a thriving mindsetCheck out these resources we mentioned during the podcast:Thompson Family Plumbing & DrainNexstar NetworkMasterClassServiceTitanYou 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.

Rebekah Hatcher entered the trades with her husband after he decided to set up his own business.They faced many adversities in the beginning as they tried to grow, and they even hit a plateau.They then decided to become an Aire Serv franchisee, and with the right training, systems, processes, and a lot of hard work, they managed to scale their business successfully.As the owner of Aire Serv of Aggieland, Rebekah strives to deliver professional HVAC repair and maintenance services to homeowners and businesses in the Brazos Valley in Texas. She stops by to share her entrepreneurial journey with us, how becoming a franchisee has positively impacted her business, and some of her most memorable marketing campaigns.Join us as we discuss:[08:57] How becoming a franchisee impacted growth[15:34] How the internal culture has changed and a key takeaway[27:10] Rebekah’s most memorable and successful marketing campaignCheck out these resources we mentioned during the podcast:Aire Serv of AggielandMarketingProfsCanvaServiceTitanYou 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.

Many family business owners eventually pass the leadership torch down to their children. Oftentimes, those transitions work out smoothly.But what about when they don’t?Mike Prencavage, Jr., Owner of The Family Plumber, dreamed of taking the reins of the family business after college, but he had to “fight like hell” with his father to see his vision come true. Now, he’s leveraging technology and networking to elevate his family’s legacy for future generations.Mike gives us a candid look back at his tumultuous shift into his current ownership role and how he’s bringing a new-school mindset to old-school values.Join us as we discuss:[7:31] Navigating a rocky family business takeover  [23:25] How to show future generations value in trades businesses[40:10] Bridging innovation and new ideas with traditionCheck out these resources we mentioned during the podcast:Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors AssociationNexstar NetworkInterplay LearningContractor MagazineYou 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.

Lance Bachmann had a tough childhood and had to work his way up.After spending several decades in advertising, he decided to start his own full-service digital marketing agency. He learned from his past mistakes, sold the business, shifted his mindset, and seized on different opportunities as he added different companies in the trades to his growing portfolio group.Over time, he not only became a great leader but also someone who had an innate talent to help companies scale and become incredibly profitable.As the owner of LB Capital Group, Lance is on a mission to change the roofing industry to make it more of a demand and retail business for greater success. He stops by to share his entrepreneurial journey with us, his take on technology, and what his golden business principles are.Join us as we discuss:[06:47] The “Why me?” versus the “Why not me?” mindset[10:44] How Lance decided he was going to change the roofing industry[16:27] Lance’s take on technology[18:41] Lance’s top golden business principlesCheck out these resources we mentioned during the podcast:LB Capital GroupTommy MelloIsmael Valdez1SEOServiceTitan Masterminds Facebook GroupYou 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.