In this episode of the Profit Tool Belt show, host Dominic Rubino walks us through the 3-year transformation of a kitchen renovation company that scaled from $1.8M to $5M — all while the owner worked less, made more, and finally took real vacations.

The Before Picture

Bob (not his real name) started out as a tile setter. Like many tradespeople, he grew into doing bathrooms, then kitchens, eventually running a $1.8M company — but he was drowning. No time. Low profits. Total chaos.

The Mindset Shift

With coaching, Bob realized the key to growth wasn’t doing more projects — it was doing better projects with better systems. He stopped thinking like a tradesman and started acting like a CEO.

Key Fixes That Made the Difference:

• Strategic Planning: Set real sales and profit goals, then reverse-engineered a growth plan.
  
• Job Costing & Time Tracking: Found $60K in unbilled work just by measuring labor hours by phase.
  
• Foreman & Culture Training: Trained field leaders and created accountability without micro-managing.
  
• Estimator SOP: Reduced bottlenecks and increased accuracy in bids.
  
• Targeted Marketing: Shifted from “take-what-comes” to intentionally choosing higher-profit jobs.
  

What Went Wrong (and How It Was Fixed)

Waiting too long to replace an underperforming estimator cost the company 14 months of momentum. But with the right systems and team accountability, the business bounced back stronger.

The After Picture

• Revenue: $5M
  
• Job Size: $66K → $200K
  
• Team: Lean, skilled, and proud
  
• Profits: Predictable
  
• Time Off: Real vacations, not guilt-trips
  
  

Want to scale like Bob?
Listen to the full episode and grab tools like the Go Back Calculator and Estimator SOP by texting Dominic directly at (315) 903-7853.

Connect with Us:

• Website: Profit Toolbelt Podcast
• Instagram: @ProfitToolbelt_
• Facebook: Profit Toolbelt
• YouTube: @profittoolbelt4527