Knowledge Marketplace
My First Million

My First Million

The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.

Back to Playbooks

Scale local service business from $13M to $140M revenue

Service business owners in HVAC, plumbing, electrical, or similar trades

7 years

What Success Looks Like

10x revenue growth while maintaining service quality and building systematic training programs

Steps to Execute

1

Acquire father's existing $13M HVAC business in 2016

2

Systematically identify and address operational bottlenecks

3

Create 'Hoffman University' - dedicated training facility for employees

4

Implement additional holiday policies to improve retention

5

Scale through systematic process improvement rather than just hiring

6

Document and share learnings through content creation

Checklist

Purchase or inherit existing profitable service business
Analyze current operational constraints
Invest in dedicated training infrastructure
Implement employee retention programs
Create systematic improvement processes
Build content presence to attract talent and customers

Inputs Needed

  • Existing profitable service business
  • Capital for training facility investment
  • Willingness to systematize operations
  • Long-term commitment to the industry

Outputs

  • 10x revenue growth over 7 years
  • Systematic training programs
  • Industry leadership position
  • Employee development pipeline

Example

“Chris Hoffman took over father's St. Louis HVAC company at $13M revenue in 2016, built Hoffman University training facility, implemented systematic improvements, grew to $140M by 2023 while sharing journey on Twitter.”