Join Kenny Baden, the host of The Kitchen Table, as he sits down with John McCambridge, his mentor in the roofing and remodeling industry, for an exciting episode. Discover John's incredible philosophy of giving time freely to others to help them succeed and find happiness. Hear about the benefits of travel and the importance of building relationships in the industry. Learn about John's incredible journey from starting a small handyman company, without financial backing or business education, to growing into a thriving enterprise with revenue over $40 million per year. Kenny and John also discuss the importance of key performance indicators (KPIs) in business management and scaling a company and the value of attending conferences and networking events and building a network of people in the industry who can offer support and guidance when needed. Don't miss this inspiring episode with these industry leaders. Subscribe and leave a review to keep up with The Kitchen Table.
TIMESTAMPS:
[00:00:03] Mentorship and Relationships in the Workplace
[00:03:24] John’s newfound love for travel
[00:06:25] Benefits of Hiring Smarter Team Members
[00:09:46] Building a successful business from scratch.
[00:13:34] The Importance of Financial Indicators
[00:16:40] Importance of KPI Tracking for Business Growth
[00:19:47] Scaling a Business: Tips and Challenges
[00:23:15] Scaling a Business with Good Systems in Place
[00:26:43] The Importance of Effective Communication in Call Center Hiring
[00:30:03] Importance of 1-on-1 meetings with direct reports
[00:33:17] Tips for opening an office in Northern Virginia
[00:36:26] Overcoming uncertainty and the importance of mentorship.
[00:39:32] Importance of Healthy Habits
[00:42:32] Morning Routines and Success
[00:45:37] Importance of Mentors in the Industry
[00:48:39] The Value of Industry Conferences for Networking and Growth
[00:51:40] Connecting with Industry Leaders and Owens Corning
[00:54:29] Overcoming MLM Struggles and Moving Forward
QUOTES:
00:51:50] I would say you can find my company online. We are called MLM Home Improvement, and you could just look us up online and you'd be able to find us. If you wanna find me, I'm I'm on Instagram. If you're if you're if you're looking to follow me, but it's mostly just my my boring personal life, you'll probably end up just donating to a charity that I'm I'm talking about for a a run or something I'm doing. I'm at John at John the fourth, and you can find me there.
[00:04:05] I've tried to do some traveling as I've gotten a little bit older. And I think realized that there's some things I'd like to do in my life and see some different places.
[00:35:10] I'd rather have, like, hey, our firm date is to have an office by the end of 20 23.
[00:33:55] It's always good to have as put together as a plan as you can. That includes management. Because if you don't, you're never going to feel confident in it.
[00:44:32] I need some time when everybody else isn't working to get some stuff done. That's it. I need some quiet time.
[00:20:14] So I'll start out by saying that the first year, we started getting into Exteriors. We did 26 roofs.
[00:25:52] I know your business model is very different than than mine. Mine would be maybe more closely related to I don't know. Probably what would be considered traditional, but not that yours isn't, but we know what the differences are in the nuances.
[00:53:22] But that's such a big benefit to me. Right? Because we use the same manufacturer.
[00:36:04] You're gonna have to have a good system for training those people.
[00:26:07] there's things that I've added that you do that I I would have never thought of or that it's almost like a Frankenstein of the 2 models now.
[00:05:46] John is systems guru, and I love that about him. I respect the hell out of that. Like, he's been able to systemize, compartmentalize, scale, and subsequently do exactly what any entrepreneur wants to do, which is essentially replace oneself, and so you're not on the day to day grind.
[00:47:29] And we're all in different places. And whether you know it or not, Kenny, you probably help me more than.
[00:18:23] Scaling is I think the term is, like, literal or the definition is, like, uninhibited growth.
[00:44:28] Let's not Let's knock it into wake up times, but here's what I do know.
[00:35:46] Ultimately, you know, we've got to make sure that we have a plan, I guess. I guess that's what I'm really saying is -- Yeah. -- have a plan.
[00:31:41] If I'm not giving a clear message and clear training and clear a path towards success, how do I expect that person to know what they're doing.
[00:09:22] I think it was good for me because it helped me to see that I could get through anything if I was willing to put the work in.
[00:53:59] Owens Corning is a wonderful company. I am lucky to have found them.
[00:48:46] Going to specific conferences in your industry and just walking up to those people who you maybe look up to or haven't talked to, most people I found are super nice, man. They're super nice and they're super willing to help.
[00:06:12] That's gotten better over the years. I definitely am in contact with people every day.
[00:21:05] There's been exponential growth and it's it's come from scaling, like you said.
[00:50:02] Well, you better find some people that have been to z and are willing to help you get there. Otherwise, you're gonna have to.
[00:15:23] What a gut punch that was? Like seeing, like, oh my god. Like, not only did we we thought we set the bar super high and we were doing something. Man, we could have I don't know.
[00:27:06] is there anything you could advise to say like, okay. Well, I would start with piecing together
[00:50:48] But the value, man, that's there in the networking and people like yourself I don't know. If you're looking to try to find a cheat code or there isn't 1, but like finding somebody who's willing to help you is is You gotta have that. You gotta have that. And you don't know that 1 thing you're gonna hear. Could literally be in passing it on the on a trade floor at a show, the 1 thing that changes the trajectory of your entire operation. So it's definitely worth looking into it.
[00:53:06] If you affiliate yourself or you attach yourself to somebody that's willing to help you know that they're then named as a direct representation or byproduct.
[Unknown] The value of mentorship.
[00:04:38] Going to different countries, meaning different people, you get to see that although we are all very similar, we're all very different in many ways and it's helped me to learn a lot and to experience life in ways that I did not know I wanted to earlier on in my life.
[00:16:00] You are 1 of those guys. If people are listening today, Kenny is is doing everything he can to be successful and you're trying to learn from people who are ahead of you.
[00:38:23] If you're getting into business, if you're starting a business, if you're you know, in your first couple years and, like, we've talked about, can you just grinding it out and and you feel like you're not on top of you're eating properly, you're not exercising properly, you're not doing some of these things that maybe you hear people doing in books, that's okay.
[00:12:29] Just growing that gross sales number is not what this is all about. You know, it's a great thing, but you can do 40000000 dollars in sales and make no money.
[00:43:23] And because so I read all these things, I talked to people like you, I picked your brain, I care about what the answer is.
[00:10:18] We went from being a small handyman company to doing renovations, kitchens, bathrooms, and eventually we would build up to doing design build work all over Washington DC and Maryland and Virginia.
[00:01:37] John's 1 of the part of 1 of the biggest remodeling firms in the East Coast you know, we work with the same manufacturer and they treat those guys his company, like, you know, they're just the biggest thing ever.
[00:01:15] I have paid to be in rooms John genuinely helps and has helped me just out of the kindness of his heart. He could have very easily told me pound sand kid, you're an up and coming competitor, get lost. He has done everything but that.
[00:39:01] I wouldn't eat or drink any liquid really for until 3 in the afternoon. I would get up and I would just go. I was afraid to eat because I knew if I ate a, I was stopping. It was gonna slow me down.
[00:31:19] So spending that time is a key is key for success with growth.
[00:55:26] John MLM wonderful company. If you're listening, you need any services, anything like that. I mean, they're amazing.
[00:06:52] And to be honest with you, they're they're probably better at it than I and that's something that I always looked for and something we can talk about is is hiring to you know, you mentioned hiring to replace yourself.
[00:38:03] They usually, you know, keep up appearances, but they also always preach reading.
[00:17:25] Reporting is is not up there on the list. However, eventually, whether it's through pain or through Other ways, you're gonna realize you should be focusing on it.
[00:23:51] And if you want to continue getting 5 star reviews and being that that company that's known for customer service, you can't just blow them off even if it's not something you did wrong.
[00:31:12] But get off my back. Let me do what I gotta do sometimes. I forget some of the things I have to do. And it's good to get that reminder from a manager.
[00:43:41] But to your to your point of, like, dude, it's okay. If you do mess up or you it's okay. If for me, I mess up almost every week.
Episode Links
Connect with Ken Baden
Connect with John McCambridge
Other Materials
These materials help you promote your podcast. Quotes can be used for audio & video grams or quote cards. Blog and social posts will help your website and social media presence.
