Blue Collar Nation
Eric and Larry of Super Tech University, supertechu.com, have years of blue collar service business ownership. They know, all too well, that running a blue collar business is not for the faint of heart. For that reason, the Blue Collar Nation Podcast is dedicated to making the lives blue collar service business better. With humor and an unfailing optimism, Larry and Eric invite guests from all areas to the blue collar world to share ideas and help owners run their businesses more effectively.
Episodes
322 episodes
Dress To Kill: How Uniforms and Grooming Affect Sales
In this episode, Larry and Eric break down the ins and outs of why how we present to clients matters to our bottom line. They go deep about dress codes, uniforms, grooming, and how to teach your team why looking good matters.
Upping the Game in Home Services with Kayla McGowan
Larry and Eric sit down with Kayla McGowan, editor of R&R Magazine to discuss all matters within the trades and how getting the proper training for your team, industry networking, and exposure t...
Win the Morning, Win the Day | Home Service Business Systems & Leadership
Struggling with late starts, missing tools, and chaotic mornings in your home service business?In this episode of the Blue Collar Nation Podcast, Eric and Larry from Super Tech University break down the proven morning systems they used ...
High Performance Environments
Strong Environments. Strong Teams. Strong Outcomes.Building a high-performance culture starts with leadership—and it starts before the workday even begins. In this episode of the Blue Collar Nation Podcast, Eric and Larry break down wha...
Operations Isn’t Paperwork — It’s the experience your customer feels.
In this episode of the Blue Collar Nation Podcast, Eric from Super Tech University takes the mic solo while Larry is off traveling. Eric dives deep into one of the most overlooked drivers of success in home service businesses—operations.
5-Star Job-Site Conduct
In this episode of the Blue Nation Podcast, Eric and Larry break down the “theater of business” — the intentional, step-by-step approach to delivering five-star service before ever stepping inside a customer’s home.Designed for h...
Accountability, Follow-Through, and the Why: The Leadership Shift Home Service Companies Can’t Ignore with Nate Cisney
On this episode of the Blue Collar Nation, Eric and Larry sit down with Nate Cisney and Stacy Sargent of Restoration Made Simple for a high-energy, no-fluff conversation about what actually moves the needle in home service busines...
Managing a Business Development Representative
Building a strong referral network can be one of the most powerful ways to grow a service business—but it also comes with challenges many owners aren’t prepared for. In this episode, Eric and Larry dive into the realities of managing Business D...
Creating Fruitful Meetings
In this episode of the Blue Collar Nation Podcast, Larry dives into a practical topic that every home service business owner faces: meetings. While meetings often get a bad reputation for being long and unproductive, Larry explains how the righ...
How to Train a Service Manager
Promoting your best technician into management sounds like the right move—until it backfires. In this episode, Eric and Larry break down the costly mistake of promoting based on loyalty instead of leadership fit, and how it can damage team cult...
A Strategy for a Challenged Tech
In this episode, Larry from Super Tech University breaks down a practical, no-nonsense system for handling difficult team members without letting emotions take over. If you’ve ever had an employee who’s underperforming, causing frustration, or ...
Reviewing and Reprimanding Team Members
In this episode of the Blue Collar Nation Podcast, Eric and Larry tackle one of the toughest—but most important—skills in running a home service business: having hard conversations with your team.From avoiding conflict to losing...
The Sales System That Doubled Revenue: Josh Gillow’s Core 10 Playbook
Most contractors don’t have a sales problem — they have a system problem.In this episode, Eric and Larry are joined by Josh Gillow, founder of YES Express and Master Plan Outdoor Living, who shares the painful sales failure that changed ...
Getting Paid for What You're Worth
It is a never ending struggle in the restoration industry to get paid what we are worth, for all the work we have done, and in a timely manner. This week Eric and Larry sit down with Becca Dopher of SFY,
Gaining Wisdom In Entrepreneurship
In this weeks episode, Larry and Eric sit down to discuss the positives and negatives that come with running a business at a certain age and how to stay on the cutting edge of new business practices.TITLE SPONSOR:
Knowing Your Business Data with Mandy Rewis of JOC Analytics
In this episode, we sit down with Mandy Rewis, Director of Business Development and Strategy at JOC Analytics, to explore how business intelligence tools are revolutionizing the re...
Thriving in HVAC for the Next Decade with Service Nation founder Matt Michel
Matt Michel joins Eric and Larry to talk about the future of the HVAC industry for the next 10 years. We tackle topics such as how tariffs will affect HVAC sales, the importance of soft skills to grow a great service company, and how the smalle...
What Does It Feel Like to Work for You
Most service company owners spend an inordinate amount of time working on and worrying about client experience....as they should. However, do they put the same amount of effort into creating an amazing work experience for their team? Larry and ...
Winning Every Call: Mastering Soft Skills to Thrive in a Tight Economy
Join this insightful conversation with Eric and Larry as they discuss how home service businesses can maximize each service call's effectiveness by prioritizing technician training and soft skills, especially during a tightening economy....
The Perfect Service Call
We are always on the quest of trying to get our techs to perform "the perfect service call" so we get all the repeat business, referrals, and those coveted Google reviews. In this episode, Eric and Larry go step by step through the action...
Inspect to Impress: In-Home Inspections That Close New Sales
In this episode, Larry and Eric break down the art of the in-home inspection—not just to diagnose problems, but to educate the client, build trust, and lead them naturally to a confident buying decision. If you’re in ...
From Coal Mines to CEO: The School of Hard Knocks with Bill German
In this inspiring episode of the Blue Collar Nation Podcast, Eric and Larry sit down with Bill German, co-owner of New Way Restoration and proud graduate of the "School of Hard Knocks." Bill shares his powerful journey from working in ...
The 15-Minute Fix: How Daily Morning Meetings Can Transform Your Service Business
In this impromptu Zoom session, we dig into one of the most underrated performance boosters in the home service industry: the daily morning meeting. Discover why 10–15 minutes each morning can reduce turnover, improve communication, and create ...
From Grassroots Beginnings to Industry Leader: The Story of Kevin and Allklean's Culture of Excellence
In this engaging episode, Eric and Larry sit down with Kevin Bunce. Kevin shares his inspiring entrepreneurial journey from dropping out of college to building a thriving company in the restoration industry. He discusses the importance of culti...
Leading the Next Generation: Managing Gen Z in Home Services
Gen Z is changing the workforce - and that includes your home service team. They don't respond to fear-based leadership or "back in my day" lectures. In this episode, Eric and Larry break down how to effectively lead and manage Gen Z employees ...