Michael Pallozzi sits down with Phil Risher, founder of Phlash Consulting, about how trades business owners can grow revenue by turning marketing from a black box into a measurable system. Phil shares how his unique path—from pest control ride-alongs to enterprise fleet sales to featured finance blogger—led him to help home service companies scale from $1M to $10M+ and even exit to private equity. You’ll hear the three key questions private equity buyers ask (and how to build systems around them), why tracking your return on ad spend is essential, and how to use automation to convert leads and re-engage past customers.

Tune into this episode to also learn:

• The three questions every home service business should answer to grow and scale.
• How to use email and text automation to improve lead conversion rates.
• Why most businesses overspend on ads without tracking returns—and how to fix it.
• How to double revenue even when competing against much larger companies.

What we discussed

• [00:01:38] Phil’s background: from pest control ride-alongs to enterprise fleet management and digital content.
• [00:03:36] Helping a $3M company scale to $5M and exit to private equity by combining marketing and operational systems.
• [00:04:48] The 3 key questions a private equity buyer asked—and how they shaped Phil’s business model.
• [00:06:58] Why most marketing agencies fail to prove ROI and how Flash ties ads to closed revenue.
• [00:09:33] Strategies for building online presence when starting from scratch.
• [00:10:55] Using secondary platforms (Yelp, Angie) to avoid competing directly with industry giants.
• [00:11:46] Improving estimate close rates from 46% to 58% using nurture sequences.
• [00:12:44] How retargeting past customers by email drove $250K+ in revenue.
• [00:17:40] Building a fully remote team and winning Inc. 5000 Best Workplaces.
• [00:23:47] Why client count is Flash’s key business metric—and how the team rallies around it.
• [00:25:06] Phil’s personal turning point from earning “enough” to multiplying his talents for greater impact.
• [00:27:18] The goal: becoming the kind of CEO who can lead a $10M company.

3 Things To Remember

1. Marketing is not about spending more—it’s about tracking results and fixing conversion leaks.
   

2. Retargeting past customers with the right offers can drive substantial new revenue.
   

3. Building a company that wins culturally and operationally starts with hiring intentionally and leading with clarity.

    

Memorable moments

(00:05:35) “That’s the three questions he asked me when he bought the business—and I said, I’m going to build a system that answers those questions for every client.”

(00:12:44) “That email generated $257,000 of revenue just by doing those emails.”

(00:25:06) “It’s my job to go and multiply these talents and create these opportunities and help more people.”

Useful Links

Connect with Michael Pallozzi: mpallozzi@hfmadvisors.com | LinkedIn

Connect with Phil Risher: LinkedIn

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