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From College Dropout To CEO
These are the moves Kelly made that had her leading a $15M HVAC biz.
John Wilson
February 26, 2025
Yo,
Welcome back to Owned & Operated.
This week, we’re talking success.
I mean like, $15 MILLION in success.
More importantly: What are the things you could be doing to guarantee your business will succeed.
Are you looking at the right numbers? Have you done the right things to set your team up to win? Let’s get into it.
Today we’re covering:
Why putting the right people in the right places can make or break you
How ruthless budgeting can fuel you for faster growth
The secret to attracting top talent
Check Out O&O Pro
Peer groups have been a really vital part of our growth at Wilson over the last 5 years, which is why I'm stoked to announce the launch of Owned & Operated Pro.
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Access to our Pro Partners with with rebates that will save you THOUSANDS of $$$ each month.
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Frameworks and strategies for hiring, lead gen, and increasing profitability.
Events (both virtual and in-person) with some of the best operators in the game.
No spam, no bots—just real business owners focused on growing smarter.
Grow Your Company To The Next Level
This week I sat down with Moss Heating & Cooling’s CEO Kelly Roberts.
Kelly was a college dropout who stumbled into the HVAC industry by chance after working as few different jobs.
She eventually became the CEO after a few leadership f-ups that caused huge financial losses.
Within 2 years she took the company from the brink of bankruptcy to $15M.
A recovery like that doesn’t come easy. Below are a few of the smart decisions Kelly made that all CEO’s should take into account when it comes to growing your company to the next level.
1. Put People in The RIGHT Seats
Anyone who has the wrong tools for the job can’t build. Kelly took a look at the people sat in the wrong seats and gave them a clear role with clear expectations.
The difference meant no more coasting, better average workload and huge results.
2. Take a Hard Look at Budget
Turns out a lot of businesses are spending on things they have no business spending on.
Every dollar has to count.
Kelly cut back ruthlessly. If the spend isn’t contributing to your growth or profitability, it’s time to look at your options.
3. Build a solid team
After recovering from near-bankruptcy, Moss Heating and Cooling was back on solid ground.
But to stay on track, they needed the best team in the business.
So what did they do?
They paid people what they were worth.
Kelly insisted they offered high salaries, more than their competitors, and with real benefits.
Talent flooded in.
They went from servicing 1,000 homes to 2,000 in a year.
Kelly made a point to ask her team what they needed to succeed.
More training? More resources? She listened and acted. No ego. Just smart leadership.
So if you’re a CEO looking to grow do these 3 things. Be like Kelly.
On The Pod This Week
Listen to the full podcast with Kelly where we spoke about her journey from a college dropout to top executive.
If you’re looking to scale, we cover everything Kelly did to leverage branding, source strong partnerships, and build a solid team. Check it out.
Home Service Growth Hacks
💡 What’s New: Simple script changes that will boost your sales success.
🛠️ Industry Insights: How to keep your HVAC business busy this winter.
🚀 Stay Ahead: How we saved $80,000 by cutting credit card access.
⚡ Shout Out to Avoca ⚡
Last year we started using a new AI tool in our call center and it’s getting us some SERIOUS numbers you should know about.
Call quality is up from 40% to 95%
Booking percentage sitting comfortably at 85%
Averaging 400 calls WEEKLY
Avoca have really helped us improve scripts and grade calls more accurately giving us greater consistency and reducing the performance gap. Check out the results for yourself 👇
Sounds great, right? Book a demo with Avoca and get these results for yourself.
See you in the next one. 👊
John
Disclosure: This newsletter includes sponsored content. However, all opinions expressed are entirely my own.
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