In this episode, Scott and Meredith talk about breaking the "rules" in your industry and why that is often the fastest path to differentiation. Scott shares how kitchen & bath CRATE challenged common construction norms like big upfront deposits, vague timelines, and heavy reliance on subcontractors. Meredith shares how Here Comes The Guide competes against a much larger competitor by leaning into trust, a non-commission sales model, and couple-first product decisions. The core message: the best business innovations usually start with asking, "Why does it have to be this way?"
Business owners competing against bigger, better-funded competitors
Operators in "old school" industries where customers expect chaos
Leaders who want a clearer differentiator than "better service"
Founders who feel a pull to do things differently but are nervous to commit
Anyone redesigning customer experience, sales, or delivery workflows
How "breaking rules" becomes a real competitive advantage
CRATE's approach to deposits and keeping customers "cashflow ahead"
The on-time completion guarantee and why it changes trust instantly
Why having all materials before demo is the speed cheat code
Using a day-by-day schedule to reduce chaos and drift
Why CRATE moved toward self-performing work instead of subs
Meredith's trust-based guarantee in advertising and sales
Competing as David vs Goliath through service and differentiation
How risk and fear show up for founders, and why you need an outlet
00:06:34 — The meeting tool both companies now rely on
00:11:30 — How "putting a kitchen in a box" became a real business model
00:16:36 — Why big upfront deposits create an adversarial customer relationship
00:20:39 — How to keep the customer "cashflow ahead" to increase trust
00:22:23 — The on-time guarantee that forces the system to improve
00:26:58 — The two practices that make projects finish faster
00:28:58 — Meredith's biggest differentiator when competing with a PE-backed giant
00:33:40 — The control and trust benefits of self-performing work
00:40:47 — How childhood patterns shape founder risk tolerance
00:46:20 — The 15-minute "industry rule audit" you can do today
If you want a real advantage, fix the parts of your industry that customers have learned to tolerate.
A "bigger life" usually requires choosing trust and courage over safety and convention.
Do a 15-minute industry rule audit: list what customers hate about your industry, then pick one "rule" you can redesign.
Fireflies (AI meeting recording, transcripts, summaries)
Gantt schedules (day-by-day project plan format)
Jobs to Be Done by Stephen Wunker
Meredith's The Currently Reading Podcast
Scott Monday and Meredith Monday Schwartz are siblings and operators who have spent 15 years challenging each other's business philosophies. On Monday Next, they unpack real decisions business owners face, from systems and execution to people and culture. No guests. No fluff. Just honest conversations about what actually works.
Monday Next on IG: @MondayNextPodcast
Monday Next on YouTube: @MondayNextPodcast
Scott on LinkedIn: @scottmonday
Scott on IG: @scottmonday
Scott on TikTok: @scottmonday
Scott's Substack: scottmonday.substack.com
Meredith on LinkedIn: @meredith-monday-schwartz
Meredith on IG: @MeredithMondaySchwartz
Meredith's Podcast for Book Lovers: The Currently Reading Podcast
