I was obsessed with hitting $10M.

And when we finally got there… everything broke.

In this solo episode, John breaks down what it actually looks like to scale a trades business from $1M to $40M over the last decade — including the messy middle no one talks about.

If you’re trying to grow past $1M, push to $10M, or build a $100M platform, this episode maps out the three stages every operator goes through:

• $1M–$5M: Survival & Scrappiness
• $5M–$20M: Structure & Systems
• $20M+: Scale, EBITDA & Expansion

This is the unfiltered version of building a trades business — no playbook, no perfect plan, just figuring it out one step at a time.

If you’ve got big ambitions but no clear roadmap yet… you’re in the right place.

📈 What You’ll Learn:

• The exact playbook we used to grow from 8 employees to 200+
• Early-stage marketing and sales moves that drove 70% growth
• How to structure acquisitions without relying on banks
• The 4 core pillars of a scalable business (HR, Marketing, Accounting, Leadership)
• How to think about growth when you’re past $20M

Host: John Wilson https://x.com/WilsonCompanies

More Solo Content https://www.youtube.com/@JohnWilsonStudio

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John Wilson, CEO of Wilson Companies
Jack Carr, CEO of Rapid HVAC

📌 Disclaimer: Some links may include UTM parameters or affiliate relationships, meaning we may earn a commission if you make a purchase. Episodes may feature sponsors, but all opinions expressed are our own.