What I Learned Building a $300M/Year Blue-Collar Business

In this podcast episode, Tommy Mello shares the journey of building and scaling A1 Garage Door into a $300 million per year home services business. The conversation explores entrepreneurship in blue-collar industries, sales and marketing strategies, overcoming personal and operational challenges, the importance of systems and leadership, leveraging mentorship and coaching, and Tommy's views on the future of home services. He also discusses how his media efforts support the core business and shares insights into work-life balance and personal growth.

Humble Beginnings and Early Hustle

Tommy's entrepreneurial spirit emerged early through diverse hustles such as washing dishes, landscaping, and reselling fitness equipment. His entry into the garage door business came via painting garage doors for local companies, filling a reliability gap in the market. With lessons learned on the job, he partnered with a technician friend, eventually taking over the business and expanding. The early years were defined by grit, long hours, and hands-on problem solving, reflecting a classic hustler mentality foundational to the company's initial growth. Tommy's story illustrates the value of starting small, learning every aspect of the business, and remaining relentlessly resourceful.

The Transition from Hustler to Leader

As the business scaled, Tommy realized that hustling alone wasn't sustainable for long-term success. The company began generating $17 million in revenue after about a decade, but profit and operational discipline lagged. With guidance from his mentor Al Levy, Tommy focused on building structures, processes, and systems. He emphasizes the necessity of letting the "hustler die" so the leader can be born. Delegating effectively, hiring the right talent, and building repeatable systems transformed the business from chaotic to scalable. This shift required painful humility and relinquishing control but was critical for exponential growth and profitability.

The Power of Mentorship and Coaching

Tommy credits mentorship, especially from his coach Al, as pivotal in professional and personal development. Al's tough-love approach challenged Tommy to systematize operations, discipline himself, and focus on profit rather than vanity metrics like revenue alone. Tommy's openness to learning also led to engaging multiple coaches simultaneously for sales, marketing, and leadership skills. He shares a foundational early story about his father teaching him the art of negotiation and embracing rejection, which instilled resilience and persuasion skills. This combination of outside expertise and personal influence laid the groundwork for smart, sustainable growth.

Sales and Marketing Mastery

A significant reason for A1's success is Tommy's deep understanding and obsession with sales and marketing. Despite being a blue-collar business, Tommy invests heavily in demand generation, committing millions to marketing monthly. He highlights the importance of brand differentiation—from old, generic vehicle wraps to a compelling, recognizable design that draws both customers and talent. Tommy's sales philosophy includes avoiding yes/no questions, focusing on relationships, using precise language that reframes price as investment, and training technicians to act like trusted advisors rather than just repair people. Personal brand building and genuine customer engagement—like playing with dogs or offering coffee—are subtle but powerful differentiators that raise average transaction values and loyalty.

Building a Scalable Operations Machine

Tommy emphasizes that great sales and marketing demand equally strong and efficient operations to deliver. He details how the company moved from informal processes and no real office to systematically developing standard operating procedures, training programs, and consistent one-on-one performance reviews. Sophisticated data-driven scorecards and KPIs empower the management team to measure and increase technician efficiency and customer satisfaction. This operational discipline extends to vendor relationships, negotiating volume deals that optimize costs and rebates, thus improving margins. Tommy champions continual staff training akin to sports "two-a-days" to instill excellence and consistency, refusing to settle for half-measures.

Embracing Technology and AI

Tommy's business utilizes advanced technology for further scaling, including AI-driven call center agents that nearly match human booking rates and dispatch software using regression analysis to optimize job assignments based on various factors such as customer satisfaction and technician strengths. These innovations aim to improve efficiency while freezing hiring and reducing turnover by enabling human workers to focus on higher-value tasks. Tommy sees technology as an enabler of growth, not a replacement for people, reinforcing the importance of relationships and customer trust in his service business.

Industry Insights and Market Opportunities

Beyond garage doors, Tommy is fascinated by other home service industries like pest control, HVAC, and windows, noting their unexpectedly high valuation multiples due to predictable demand and recurring revenue models. He explains how companies in these blue-collar sectors have attracted significant investment post-COVID because they deliver essential, demand-driven services with proven growth potential. His vision includes expanding A1's offerings to adjacent markets such as garage flooring, EV chargers, pest control, and front doors, leveraging the existing customer base and financing options. The underlying principle is to dominate one vertical and then unlock other related revenue streams while maintaining operational excellence.

Media, Community, and Industry Influence

Tommy has successfully built a media and educational side business through podcasts, conferences, and online communities like Home Service Freedom. These platforms serve dual purposes: they improve the home service industry at large by lifting standards and profitability, and they provide Tommy with network access and deal-flow opportunities. He uses these channels to connect with other contractors across disciplines, share best practices, and identify potential acquisition or partnership targets for A1. The conferences have scaled significantly, doubling attendance and delivering tangible business growth for participants by drilling into KPIs and operational "knobs." This media influence feeds back into his core business by deepening industry relationships and attracting talent.

Personal Growth and Work-Life Philosophy

Tommy is candid about his personal challenges with communication, especially around feelings and family interactions, as well as his effort to improve in these areas. He stresses that entrepreneurship and business success require a strong "why," the ability to endure failure, and the willingness to be uncomfortable. His daily motivation comes from faith, family, fitness, finances, future self, and fun — six pillars he encourages everyone to set goals around with accountability partners. Despite financial success, Tommy rejects the notion that money alone brings happiness and remains grounded by his blue-collar roots. His goal is to be a great dad and husband while continuing to build meaningful relationships and community.

Leadership and Culture in a Blue-Collar Business

Leadership at A1 goes beyond payroll and training—it includes fierce accountability paired with genuine care. Tommy hires for cultural fit, aiming for above-average performers ("sevens trying to become tens") rather than settling for average. The company culture is demanding yet nurturing, requiring adherence to standards like punctuality and cleanliness, but also supporting employees through robust training and ongoing development. Tough conversations are handled with respect and love, reflecting Tommy's belief that true respect fosters growth. He prioritizes building a personal brand that employees want to represent, customers trust, and competitors respect.

Vision and Future Ambitions

Tommy's vision is ambitious yet grounded in operational reality. He believes A1 can reach $1 billion in revenue within a few years by scaling current markets, expanding services, and fine-tuning processes. The business strives to build long-term relationships through memberships and protection plans rather than one-off transactions. Importantly, Tommy invests heavily in bringing in A+ talent who can elevate the company further. Personally, he looks forward to life milestones like marriage and fatherhood, aiming to balance high-impact entrepreneurship with a fulfilled personal life. He embodies a growth mindset that embraces continual learning, humility, and service.