Episodes

In this episode Neel and sits down with Anna Scherbyna, owner of Remotivate, a company that helps entrepreneurs and business owners hire for executive and management roles. Neel and Anna discuss: - what it was for Anna to work in (and build a company in) the remote space in 2017, before it was cool - why growing companies won't only need one type of ops person, they'll need three, each with different price points - the crazy discrepancy at the moment between employers on LI offering ...

In this episode Neel and sits down with Johnny Robinson and Sergio Silesky for a quarterly roundup of what they are seeing in the Remote Local space. Topics covered include: - the effectiveness of Google LSA, both now and in the long term, along with some strategies that can help lift your performance if you're lagging - the "Grand Opening Method" which is about continuing to build a solid lead funnel over time using community marketing - Neel and Sergio's thoughts on keeping your hirin...

In another of his coaching series, in which he offers free coaching on a specific problem, Neel chats with Austin, owner of Denver's Dalmaidtion Cleaning, a residential cleaning service with a focus on pet owners. Neel and Austin discuss: - Ways to surprise and delight and offer a "6 star service" - The importance of top-notch cleaners — it is they, more than thank-you notes and gifts, that will retain customers long-term - Leaning into your niche, in Austin's case, making sure new c...

In this episode Neel and sits down with Patrick Findaro, author of How to Buy a Franchise: Employee to Entrepreneur in 12 Weeks and owner at VettedBiz.com Patrick hosts a podcast, Franchise Findings, in which he talks about all things related to franchises, including conversations with new and experienced business owners as well as overall reports on industry trends. Neel and Patrick discuss: - a little known visa classification that Patrick didn't find out about for some time that offers ...

In this first of a new series in which he offers free coaching on a specific problem, Neel chats with Gordon, a new cleaning services business owner, about why he decided to start franchising. Gordon was also interested in expanding to a new city, and Neel drilled down to ask: - What was the endgame for expansion? - Why did Gordon think expanding was a good strategy? He then went on to give some tips on KPIs that all cleaning services should be checking every week, like - Total nu...

As the simple days of "turn on LSA and watch the leads roll in" seems to recede into the distance, those willing to put in the work on community marketing are going to win. Neel shares some tactics he's employed to success, allowing you to get brand visibility and cash in on people in the neighborhood who need your services, including: - EDDM, a USPS postcard service allowing you to blanket a community - Yard signs, an easy way to get visibility over a weekend - Doorhangers, one more...

In another installment of "fighting traffic by dropping knowledge" Neel shares some thoughts on how to deal with seasonality in your business, whether that's a season of the year or a financial season, like a recession. Neel discusses: - How the challenge in high season, like summer, is often lack of supply to meet demand, which is why businesses need to be hiring now - Why you can't count on a recession to make hiring easier: you need to be focused on optimizing your recruiting funnel ...

In this episode Neel has a conversation with Bunty SomRoy. In 2016 Bunty left the US to try to find a way in to the digital marketing world and spent three years living in Thailand and Indonesia, nose to the grindstone, trying to build his business. As it grew he's been able to travel a lot more and he's "making up for lost time." Some interesting parts of the discussion include: - Regrets: Bunty wants others to enjoy the journey more and not be as heads-down in their businesses as he w...

Even though the word "remote" is part of a "remote local" business, that doesn't mean you have to start it remotely. In this episode Neel makes arguments for both sides, for starting a remote local business in your hometown and for starting it completely remotely. He covers things like: - Why sometimes a local presence can help you win, particularly with community marketing - Why sometimes a local presence can slow your growth — Neel shares how he could have systematized remote hiring f...

In this episode Neel interviews PJ McGeary of Arbor Trail Cleaning. PJ has had a lot of success using Facebook groups to get the word out about his cleaning business and shares his tactics and ideas, including: - the power of city-based groups, which post about all sorts of topics, not just those related to home services - the cadence you can use when posting — and why copy/paste works fine across all the groups you are part of - the type of post to use (always use photos!) and what ...

In this episode Neel and Johnny discuss what they've been seeing on the ground for Remote Local Businesses: - What's happening with Google Local Service Ads (LSA) and how to guard against big swings with them - The power of what Neel calls "community marketing" which can include some tedious — but rewarding — work - A "we're in the neighborhood anyway" tactic that can help you pick up new customers You'll also hear Neel share a story of a woman in Australia who is doin...

As Google tweaks its algorithm and its Local Services ads to deal with AI-created content, you might need to find new ways of reaching customers. In this episode Neel shares five avenues he's exploring right now (and are working). Some include: - Hypertargeting local Facebook groups using discounts, testimonials, and tagging - Using B2B cold emails in your niche - Getting on the ground with flyers and door-knocking in neighborhoods where you already have clients (or want to) To ge...

In this episode Neel offers five different side hustles with low barriers to entry and low cost to startup. While he understandably gives a plug for residential cleaning (hey, if it works, it works) he also shares: - Vending machine routes (get started for around $2500) - Mobile rim repair (he found out about one company doing $20,000 a day in repairs!) - Knife sharpening (door-to-door still works) But wait, there's more. Weekend puppy training! Enjoy the episode.

In the episode Neel sits down with Daniel Thompson of Salt Water Digital. Daniel has been in SEO for many years and took some time to share some insights into SEO for local services businesses, like: - Why Google My Business is harder to get verified now, and why some legitimate reviews are getting flagged and hidden. - The proof of work your agency should be showing you. - Whether local service businesses should be using Reddit, TikTok, Facebook, or Instagram ads. Enjoy the episo...

When you pay for someone else's experiences you can move farther and faster than you would have on your own, allowing you to leapfrog the competition. In this episode, Neel shares a few of the key practices he's gotten through business coaching (see more here), including: - The need to delegate, automate, and systematize (he sets aside time every day to do all three) - Why proactive planning helps you start working on your 10 year goals now - How its often the small effort on key lev...

During a break from the Conquer Summit Neel took a few moments to share some tactics he plans to implement to push his sales up at the MaidThis location in California this year. One of the pain points driving this change is an increased cost of labor, which Neel had not kept a close eye on. In the episode he discusses: - The difference between recurring customers and re-occurring customers (and why he'll be chasing more of the latter this year) - The ideal ceiling for labor costs in a h...

In this episode Neel and Johnny talk about the different hires you need to make as you grow your remote local business. They discuss: - the first hire you make and what areas they need to help with - how roles have to change as you move past $100k to $500k in annual revenue: people need to be more specialized - why the biz owner should be a marketing strategist, not a marketing executor You'll also hear them discuss margins and how many team members you'll need to hit $1M in annual r...

On this episode, Neel sits down with Weh'yee Barkon of Internally, a firm that helps connect organizations with talented people in Africa. Neel and Weh'yee discuss: - the lack of opportunities available to well-educated, multi-lingual workers in Africa - the consumer education necessary to overcome the bad "brand image" of the continent - the absolute bargains to be had for workers (a full-time 40-hour/week worker can cost $500-$1000 USD a month!) Even though he w...

In this episode Neel and Johnny share three books that they enjoyed reading in 2022. — They both show love for Alex Hormozi's $100M Offers, which they've mentioned multiple times on the pod this year. — Johnny mentions his tendency to reread books, one of which is Scaling Up. — Neel mentioned Prisoners of Geography, a book that's helped him see the world a bit differently on his travels. You'll also hear both Neel and Johnny reflect on Russell Brunson's Trilogy of books ...

Neel recently moved a lot of stuff into Notion. One of those things was an ongoing list he keeps of business ideas. In this episode he shares a few of them and why he thinks they might be good bets, including: — Drone window cleaning — Full service mancave setup — Snowbird homewatch services — Hoarder/crime scene/meth house cleanup (seriously!) Believe it or not, there's even a real estate play in those hoarder/meth home examples.

In this episode Neel and Johnny discuss in detail what it's been like for Johnny to scale Home Services Academy. They chat about: — The importance of marketing and sales being in sync, particularly in the early days of the business. — How appointment setters can help drive a greater show rate for prospecting calls (Johnny also shares his pay rate). — How Johnny and his team learned by doing when it came to qualifying leads. Johnny also shares how his dramatic growth over peers who...

Some years ago Neel met Itamar Marani, a former Israeli Special Forces soldier, who in the course of conversations shared risk analysis and mitigation tactics he had been taught. This includes looking at the magnitude, immediacy, and probability of an event happening, as well as mitigating tactics that can be used to deal with that event, like: — distance — barriers — deterrence — countermeasures Neel walks through these using a hypothetical "man has a knife and wants to hurt y...

It's a bit of a switch up this week, as I get interviewed by Chase Warrington of the About Abroad pod. For those who get my newsletter or listen to the pod regularly, this episode will be a great summary of the last few months and what I do at MaidThis Franchise, but also serves as a great conversation between Chase and me, covering: — Some of the most important lessons travel can give you. — Sustainable remote work and creating community (something Chase works on every day). — When ...

In this episode Neel shares his experience of hiring and working with dozens of remote team members since 2013. He shares: — Which platforms you can use to find remote talent (Upwork, Dynamite Jobs, We Work Remotely) — What countries he's had great experiences with (South Africa, Honduras) — Which countries have talent "on sale" because of inflation (Venezuela, Argentina) — Why all great hires start with solid job descriptions (learn more here) Enjoy the episode!