The Business Case for Empathy: Leadership That Drives Ownership

What if the systems inside your business could become the spark for entirely new companies? In this episode, Chase Hazelwood, Owner of Go-Forth Home Services and Leah Hazelwood, CEO at Go Forth Marketing, share how they transformed the internal strengths of a home services business into a growing ecosystem of ventures spanning marketing, HR, wellness, and even high-volume printing. They break down the mindset shift that helped them see opportunity where most leaders see limitations, why systems are the real foundation for scale, and how culture becomes a competitive advantage when you design workplaces people don’t want to leave.

Director of Technical Operations Zachariah Boardman returns to share HomeShield Pest Control's strategy for achieving total customer alignment across their teams. Zach shares how he identified a crucial gap between sales, service, and support efforts after reviewing his company’s online feedback. He introduces his "Three S's" framework to bridge this divide, emphasizing that selling should feel like an extension of support and education, not a transaction. Zach dives into best practices for follow-through (not just follow-up), the importance of active listening and mirroring the customer's communication style, and how intentional micro-trainings can sharpen staff skills, ultimately improving retention and reputation.

J.D. Jaramillo, owner of and general manager at Friendly Pest Solutions in Tampa, FL, joins the podcast to share his journey from starting small to scaling to over 2,200 customers. J.D. explains the critical importance of creating a solid business foundation by developing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for everything from treatment processes to sales proposals. He advises new owners on how to translate knowledge into documented procedures and emphasizes involving team members in the process. J.D. also discusses how FieldRoutes technology brought structure, automation, and critical transparency to his operations, highlighting the essential role of technology in supporting a growing team and maintaining high-quality customer service.

Taylor Olson, CEO and co-founder of Applause, shares how his personal and professional journey into the service industry led him to create a powerful technician performance management tool — Applause. Taylor explains how they help pest control businesses drive customer satisfaction and employee engagement through automated recognition and instant rewards. He also discusses core features like automated Google reviews, NPS scoring, and how tipping directly impacts customer retention and technician motivation. Discover how their new Scorecards feature integrates data from FieldRoutes and telematics to give managers and technicians real-time transparency, leading to measurable gains in retention and significant cost savings by reducing issues like accidents and reservices.

What if your next big business breakthrough isn’t in a spreadsheet but in a conversation? In this episode, Thomas Harris, CEO at Uinta Pest Solutions, joins us to talk about how networking and conferences changed everything for his business. He shares how connecting with other owners helped him grow from a one-person operation to a thriving company built on relationships and referrals. Thomas breaks down his simple three-part strategy for every event, explains how he’s turned local meetups and Facebook groups into consistent lead sources, and talks about why getting out of your routine is just as important as refining it.