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- A Big Move for Me in 2026
What’s up everyone,
Welcome to another edition of the OAO newsletter. Today, you’re gonna hear all about my 2026 expansion plans.
For now, check out these resources…
What’s the one way to fix all your accounting troubles? Here’s the answer
If you’re playing for scale, the business model matters more than the hustle
JackQuisitions is crushing it after one month on its own—subscribe here
I just launched the “30 Day Double Your Profit Series”—catch up on the first five episodes here
The Key To Scaling
It’s time for a phrase that’ll make you sit up and pay attention: lead generation.
For this ultra-important task, there’s only one agency I trust: Service Scalers. Check this out…
My results are similar. But it’s not just the thousands of leads. It’s the thousands of leads that turn into millions in revenue.
Ready to join me, Brenda, and Adrian (and many more)?
Contact Service Scalers for 1-month free with any 12-month contract...good for any service.
PS: Mention my name so you get super-special treatment ;)
Why 2026 Is Our Multi-Market Year
For the past year and a half, we’ve been laying the groundwork for a major shift at Wilson Plumbing. In 2026, we go multi-market.
This isn't a spur-of-the-moment decision. We’ve been operating with this timeline in mind for a while.
Quietly studying
Talking to multi-location operators
Refining our systems internally.
The goal? To build a $100 million business. And we believe the most reliable path to that is through expansion into new markets.
Here’s how we’re thinking about it and what we’re preparing to execute.
The 'Why' Behind the Expansion
The bigger we get in one market, the more we run into natural ceilings. Being the largest in your local market sounds appealing—until it isn’t. You become the target. Everyone's chasing you. Every marketing effort, every price change, every job posting.
You're the benchmark to beat.
We think there's a real advantage in not being the biggest in a given market, but rather entering a new one with momentum and the right foundation. The play is to capture share quickly, replicate our systems, and build something that accelerates instead of plateaus.
Three Ways We're Planning to Expand
1. Greenfielding
We’ve spent the past year talking to operators who’ve done it right—and plenty who’ve done it wrong. Greenfielding looks a lot more viable for us now than it did even a couple years ago.
Why? Because we have the team.
We know how to generate leads.
We know how to recruit and onboard.
We’ve built a repeatable playbook and leadership pipeline.
That gives us confidence to drop into a new market and hit $10M–$20M in a couple years, without buying someone else’s mess.
2. Strategic Partnerships
This might be the piece I’m most excited about.
We’re taking a page from Rich Jordan and looking to partner with strong operators—folks running $5M+ plumbing, HVAC, or electrical companies—who want help going from $5M to $25M, fast.
We bring:
SOPs and playbooks
Buying power (we’re seeing 30–50% COGS improvements)
Recruiting, training, and back-office support
A team that knows how to grow fast, profitably
They keep running the business. We bring the fuel.
It’s not a PE play. It’s not a suit in a city who’s never turned a wrench. It’s operators helping operators scale and doing it in a way that keeps the team and culture intact.
3. Selective Acquisitions
We’re not ruling out M&A. But now, the bar is higher.
In our current market, we’re still growing organically—around 25% year-to-date—so we’re cautious about introducing friction.
A deal would have to be $5M+ to get our attention, and $10M+ to get us excited. That’s the scale where we see real gains and don’t risk disrupting what’s already working.
And if we do buy, we’ll be surgical. Either it's a platform in a new market, or it's adding meaningful capacity in our current one.
Where We're Looking
We’re focused on the Midwest. That means:
Ohio
Michigan
Pennsylvania (some parts)
Illinois
Indiana
Kentucky
Wisconsin
Minnesota
Maybe Tennessee
These markets are within reach. They're close enough to support with our team, easy to travel to, and offer strong demographic and economic profiles for what we do best.
Why Now
We tried going multi-location before…and we failed. Back in 2021, we were running five locations. We didn’t have the leadership team, the systems, or the discipline to pull it off.
Now we do.
That failure gave me a healthy respect for multi-market expansion. It’s not about revenue size. Nope. It’s about team readiness. We’ve built the back office, recruiting, onboarding, and training systems that can scale. Now it’s time to prove it.
Find and Hire Pre-Trained CSRs
You don’t want to hire just any CSR. That’s a mistake you could end up regretting.
You want to hire the best of the best. And if you’re in the HVAC and/or plumbing industries, one solution is head and shoulders above the rest: Quick Staffers.
Launched by my podcast co-host, Jack Carr, Quick Staffers places CSRs who are already running proven SOPs and scripts from both mine and Jack’s call center. In other words, they know exactly what they’re doing.
Trained CSRs.
Affordable pricing.
Plus $500 off your first placement.
It’s a no-brainer. Bring on CSRs who are ready to hit the ground running.
To say I’m looking forward to 2026 is an understatement. Find me on X and share your expansion plan.
How do you feel about today's newsletter? |
👊 John
Disclosure: This newsletter includes sponsored content. However, all opinions expressed are entirely my own.
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