Greg Van Horn @gvh41 Twitter profile | Pikagi

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Greg Van Horn

@gvh41

2,858

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1,095

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Owner and Zee #1 at Bumble Roofing. 3x business owner. Startup building. I dream bigger than I live.

Greater Philadelphia

Joined March 2010

Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

7 months

Why did I become franchisee #1 at Bumble Roofing? Buying a franchise is awesome. It also sucks. And requires a massive leap of faith. There are so many things to consider. Industry, scale, financials, franchisor support. The list is endless. Here’s what was most important to

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

7 months

Inspected a roof. Looked fine. Told the woman she didn't need a new roof. She insisted. Won the bid and asked why. "You're the only one who told the truth. I just didn't like the color."

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

7 months

I was recently negotiating our HOA's landscape contract. Our current vendor wanted 30% annual price increase, 3-year contract, 8 percent annual escalators. He was a huge dick about it so I told him to get lost. After shopping around I realized he was actually the best price.

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

6 months

Can someone explain the dryer vent cleaning business? This ad has 736 comments. Most people are asking "Do you service my area?" There's that much demand for a dryer vent guy?

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

4 months

A new hire asked when I'm implementing a PTO policy because he wants to take every Friday off this summer. What do you do next?

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

8 months

I know a guy who rolled up 3 failing roofing companies. After 6 months they're doing $3 million a month at 20% net profit. How'd he do it? 🧵👇

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

6 months

"Is it always going to be like this?" - my wife Got home at 10pm Monday night after another 17 hour day. My wife looks defeated. She had a tough day at work (she's a beast- PhD in Biomedical Engineering). 14 month old daughter is sick. She's worn out burning the candle at both

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

4 months

A few weeks ago I bid $61,000 on a roof/gutter project at my old wedding venue (owned by the township). 2 weeks ago they called to say "Hey we decided to go through a more formal bidding process, can you submit your quote through {a government bidding portal}..." I declined for

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

5 months

Got a text today from a good friend in medicine. Curious to hear X's thoughts. Agree or disagree?

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

6 months

Advice for anyone trying to sell me something: Tell me who you are, who you work for, what you sell, and how what you sell can help me. Say it to me in one sentence before giving me the opportunity to speak. Don't ask me how I'm doing. Definitely don't ask how my weekend

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

7 months

If you want more terrible negotiation tips you can follow me @gvh41

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

5 months

Reroof job going on yesterday. Lady walks up and tells me she drove over a nail in her driveway. 5 doors down. Thinks it was ours. "You should pay for my tire." (The nail wasn't ours) Because I'm stubborn I walked it out. 1,180 feet away. Do nails have wings? Why is

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

7 months

@sweatystartup I worked with spine surgeons for almost a decade. They disagree on almost everything. The one thing they universally agree on is that you should never see a chiropractor.

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

7 months

@alexforbes__ This is the advice I've been waiting for

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

2 years

@nonmayorpete

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

28 days

Said f*ck it and built my own call center. 14 appointments booked in first 10 days. $60,000 opportunity uncovered. No idea if this will work long term- but early results are promising.

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

2 months

Who on here knows anything about buying an orthodontic practice? Family friend is selling. Philly area Here's what I'm told: $1.5 mil revenue 500k EBITDA 60-70% Invisalign What is this worth?

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

7 months

How would X handle this objection?

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Greg Van Horn

5 months

Stumbled on a vacant car wash. Apparently been empty for a while. Not an affluent area but it's high traffic. Who on X can tell me how to analyze a potential car wash location?

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

3 months

I have a small medical device distributorship that sells to private practice orthopedic surgeons. It wouldn't be hard to scale this to $150k per month at 90 percent margins with the right lead generation in place. Who should I be talking to?

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

6 months

How would you feel about a potential customer giving you a 5-star review after choosing to go with the competition?

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

8 months

This is my VA's second week on the job. My instinct is to help her out. Part of me wonders if this is a scam. What would X do?

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

5 months

I sent a reroof quote for $8,217. Homeowner calls a couple days later to say he's good for the $11,000 price tag. I'm confused, but assume I'm mixing him up with another 11k quote. Thank him for the opportunity. I confirm later his quote is for $8,217. There's only one

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

8 months

Want to buy a home service franchise? Here are my monthly fixed costs from Day 1: Marketing (Google LSA/PPC, Social, SEO, Direct Mail): $11,000 Insurance (Auto, general liability, workers comp): $2,300 Truck Payment (new Ford F150): $998 Software (too many to list): $1,000 SBA

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

6 months

@GretaGFreedom Mom works because she's a boss

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

3 months

I got a call because a brand new roof is already leaking (6 months old). Lady went with the cheapest possible price. I still can't believe what I saw. The roofer is either blind or a criminal. Maybe both. The lady calls the roofer while I'm out there. Asks why it's already

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

7 months

@jasonsresearch 😂 you could look at it like that. Or you could see all the contracts I've re-negotiated and notice I've saved our HOA over $20,000 this year.

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

7 months

Is Angi Leads the biggest scam of all time? Turned on leads 2 days ago. 6 leads for a total of $766.25. So far no one's answered their phone. Is there any hope?

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

6 months

How to sell a roof and lose $3,500: On my third day open I went to inspect a roof. Small flat roof, not much to it. Definitely end of life. I knew shingle pricing like the back of my hand. Not so much on the flat roofs. The homeowner showed me a letter from her insurance

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

7 months

The goalposts have moved. We recently launched as franchisee number 1 at Bumble Roofing. We intentionally started small. Myself, my business partner, and our subcontractors. Our initial goal was to be at a $2 million run rate by month 12. And grow aggressively from there.

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

7 months

I was selling a roof to an ophthalmologist about to retire. We got talking about declining reimbursement rates. "It's tougher than ever to be a physician. We keep getting squeezed by insurance. I'll never let my son go to medical school. I hope he chooses the trades."

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

1 month

This is my kind of energy

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

6 months

@BPD1776 Business before kids is cold 😂

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

6 months

How did I convert "I don't have enough money for a repair" into "Let's move forward with the whole roof"? I don't really know. There's not always a rhyme or reason for why people act the way they do. But I do think I did two things right: 1. Speed Homeowner had an active

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

4 months

@nathankennphoto haha this is correct. Working on it.

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

7 months

@eduschesne1 Just stop picking up the phone when she's off work lol

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

6 months

My advice to anyone thinking about entrepreneurship: Start. The itch won't go away. The compounding effects of success are real. But it requires action. Remember that anything worthwhile in life usually sits right outside your comfort zone. Action is often the hardest

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

8 months

I'm biased but she's pretty sexy 🚀🐝

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

8 months

It’s been a week since I left my W2 and bet 100% on myself. Some early thoughts: It’s not for everyone. The pressure is real and it hits you quick. Especially when a spouse and kids are involved. Pressure is a privilege. You have to believe that. And you have to love it.

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

4 months

@SBurkholder7 I wasn't comfortable with the materials being used in the bid

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

4 months

Did no one learn from Huberman? Guy said nothing. Business as usual. Didn't even acknowledge the accusers. Couple months go by... scandal over.

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

7 months

A day in the life of an owner/operator of a new home service business: 4:04am: Wake up (I’m weird- I can only set my alarm in palindromes) 4:30am: 45 minute mobility + lift 5:15am-6:45am: Work on everything I can’t focus on during selling hours. Proposals, CRM updates,

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

4 months

Showed up for an appointment today not knowing the homeowner got their roof replaced last week. I asked if I could walk around the house to observe the roofer's work. Exposed plywood around the entire perimeter of the roof. No drip edge 🤦🏻 I called the number on the yard

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

8 months

He wrote everything down “If it’s not written it’s not real.” He wrote down all of his standards. He communicated them relentlessly. He got his team’s buy in. Everyone on the same page.

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

7 months

Things I'm not willing to sacrifice as a business owner: My relationship with wife and daughter My honesty and integrity 5 hours of sleep Eating whole, 1-ingredient foods Working out 1x per day Things I am willing to sacrifice: Short term income in exchange for enterprise

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

8 months

He obsessed with the numbers. He reverse engineered his entire sales team’s numbers. Had profit and loss statements hit his inbox DAILY. Implemented KPIs across all functions and held his teams accountable. “You can’t manage what you can’t measure."

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

4 months

Take me back. Pro ball. No car. No money. Riding 12 miles on a $129 Walmart bike so I could be first to the clubhouse. Why do the glory days only reveal themselves in hindsight?

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

6 months

I started my roofing company with a few key assumptions. All of them were wrong. Why do I consider that a success? Assumptions -> Reality: Gross margin: 50% -> 40% Digital marketing spend: Returns money quickly -> takes time to return money Average reroof price:

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

5 months

A year ago I knew nothing about roofs. Now people are trusting me with one of their most important financial decisions. It took a lot of work to get here, but the truth is the team at Bumble Roofing and Empower Brands made it easy to get started. Franchising's not right for

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

6 months

@GoracleOfDelphi I spent a number of years as spine rep at Jefferson in Philly. I have more respect for surgical residents than any other profession in the world. It's the ultimate grind.

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

4 months

Onboarded an executive admin today. (Thank you @SaganPassport ) She's from Colombia and is going to be a star. I set expectations that her work will fall into two primary buckets: 1. Reactive 2. Strategic Reactive tasks will come up daily and require unexpected work on a

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

6 months

Getting the hands dirty this morning 🐝🐝🐝

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

6 months

If you want more advice on how to lose money in business give me a follow @gvh41

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

2 months

@BitluxKyle suburban Philly is the opposite of what you described.

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

5 months

Okay hear me out. In early 2023 my buddy and I started a side hustle selling medical supplies to orthopedic surgeons. Less than a year later we had $100,000+ invested into a new roofing business. We're capitalized to start two new businesses. And we still cash flow

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

5 months

Lessons on toxic chemicals need to be added to school curriculums.

@FredsFarm247

Fred’s Farm | Herbs

5 months

If you drink Celsius energy drinks Must Watch👇🏽👇🏽

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

8 months

He increased time to cash The average time to cash from a sold deal was 3 weeks. Guys weren't getting jobs done and checks cashed fast enough. He doubled his sales team and subcontractor labor pool. All of a sudden appointments could happen same day, roofs could go on same

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

6 months

@thewhitestwolf Yea you're wrong. At least if you're cold calling someone. You only have so much time on the phone. If you don't deliver value in the first 10 seconds you lost. It's way different if you're out to dinner or playing golf and trying to close a deal. Of course there's a place

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

2 months

Now seems like a good time to have a President.

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

8 months

Mind-blowing keynote from Gino Wickman and a lesson for new SMB owners: I naively assumed EOS was for more established companies that have already achieved specific revenue targets ($5-$10 million). I was wrong. EOS principles can be established from Day 1. In fact, a

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

5 months

Who on X can take a concept from a ChatGPT logo and turn it into a full brand?

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Greg Van Horn

4 months

Wrapping up an impressive but challenging week. I'm learning: Onboarding is hard. Management is hard. Quality control is hard. Selling is hard. Marketing is hard. Building systems is hard. It's all hard. But: "Everything worth doing is hard. And the more worth

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

7 months

I offered to do this roof at cost in exchange for featuring the home in marketing materials/videos. She still said no. How much do I suck?

@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

7 months

How would X handle this objection?

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

2 years

@AlpacaAurelius Is there science to support this?

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

7 months

Cold called my wedding venue last week. Walked in the front door and asked questions. They're actively looking for new roof. After multiple emails and calls to township officials, I got the call today to enter the bidding process. Shoot your shot.

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

8 months

$15 million and a desire for more: Spending my day shadowing the owner of a $15+ million roofing company. By all means crushing it. The first 3 hours of his day has been spent meeting on what they need to be doing better. Pushing for more. Proud of where he's at but laser

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

3 months

confirms my thesis. If we can build a successful outbound call center in roofing- we can essentially start any service based business we want.

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

7 months

$13,000 reroof quote yesterday. 18 year old roof, completely worn down. Homeowner really wanted to use the cash for a kitchen remodel. "I guess the kitchen project is on hold. Roof takes priority." Needs > Wants

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

5 months

@xX_Icarus_Xx700 It wasn't even a roofing nail

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

6 months

We stepped through a homeowner's ceiling last week. Four days before he was showing the place to prospective tenants. Patched and painted everything up within 2 days (at no charge to him). Signed a $12,540 reroof 3 days later. What's your best story of turning a negative

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

7 months

Can't build a $100 million business if you're dead. I needed to nail back some aluminum flashing before rain came to win a small reroof job. "If you take care of this for me the job is yours." I climb up to edge of the roof. 35 feet high. 9/12 slope, granules falling off

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

7 months

Looking for advice on a $1,700/month direct mail campaign we're starting in 2 weeks. Mail going out to recent movers, 2,500 homes per batch. Under the current plan, we'll be mailing Group 1 and then re-mailing them 3-4 weeks later. Group 2 would start 3-4 weeks after the

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

8 months

The first place to start If you want to get serious about your health: Eat real food What does that mean exactly? Eat foods with only one ingredient. Period. Full stop. Steak Oranges Sweet Potatoes Olive Oil Black lentils Mushrooms Oatmeal Salmon You get the idea. Do this

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

8 months

Underrated part about a franchise? A lot less lonely. It's special to be part of a larger group all working towards the same goals, sharing best practices, and rooting for each other's success.

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

6 months

Another typical Monday morning in SMB land. By 8:30am: Lost 2 proposals Old cedar shake underneath shingles/plywood on a reroof we started. Messier job than expected. First new hire getting cold feet after signed offer letter. By 12:30pm: 2 proposals accepted. 3

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

8 months

He raised prices "Price doesn't matter. People buy experiences." And with higher prices, the company could afford to pledge they’d do everything right by the customer if something were to ever go wrong. He could also attract and retain top talent with more margin to work with.

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

8 months

Part 2: Want to buy a home service franchise? I had $22,450 in unexpected costs before opening my doors: Attorney fees (FDD review): $2,500. I got ripped off and recommended due diligence selecting the right attorney. The attorney I hired did nothing. SBA Loan broker fee:

@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

8 months

Want to buy a home service franchise? Here are my monthly fixed costs from Day 1: Marketing (Google LSA/PPC, Social, SEO, Direct Mail): $11,000 Insurance (Auto, general liability, workers comp): $2,300 Truck Payment (new Ford F150): $998 Software (too many to list): $1,000 SBA

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

4 months

Conversations over a 6 minute span today: Homeowner who thinks $59,000 is a fair and reasonable price for a roof + solar. Homeowner who called me a "thief" for a $950 repair quote. Roofing is the best.

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

3 months

One of our franchisees closed a ~$900,000 deal in his first quarter of business 🤯 How many other industries can that happen in? Of course I'm biased- but I don't think a franchise system with a higher ceiling exists. DMs always open if you want to chat.

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

4 months

Proud of this one 🐝

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

6 months

Angi getting their $236 one cartoon character at a time...

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

6 months

@WildBillSherman Makes me even more interested 🤣

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

8 months

More observations from shadowing the owner of an $18+ million roofing company: You want big rewards? Gotta take big risks. Fail fast to grow faster. People are your currency. I lost count of how many times I heard about Care Factor. Hold everyone to the highest possible

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

7 months

@Chris_Ryan1 @sweatystartup I've been in dozens of spine surgeries caused by chiropractors. NEVER let them manipulate your neck.

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

4 months

Angi rep clicks a paid ad (twice!) to find our number and try to sell us a service we already use. Absurd way to burn $50.

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

8 months

Do you suffer from “white van syndrome”? It might be time to invest in a rebrand. Here are some key takeaways after listening to @Dan_Antonelli talk about branding: 80% of home service purchases are made and/or influenced by women. Your brand should speak to them first. Dan’s

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

3 months

There's no freedom like getting paid $700/month to hit less than .100 and striking out for the third time so 400 fans could get a free tall boy Happy birthday America 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

4 months

My little bro is looking to knock doors for a pest control company in North/Central Jersey this summer. He's a grinder. Where can he make the most money?

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

2 months

Hot take: it's short-sighted to care so much about profitability in the early days of your business. Is it important to know your numbers? Of course. Is it important to make money? Of course. But when people ask how profitable I am in my first year in business- I usually

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

7 months

When I was a kid we built bike jumps into our local river. We played ding dong ditch. Left fart bombs at people's doors. Had home run derby's until our hands bled. Do kids today experience that same joy?

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

6 months

Follow me @gvh41 as I convince myself to degen into another service business

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

7 months

Am I the only one who sets their alarm in palindromes? Psycho move?

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

8 months

Dealing with some bullshit today? It's All Part of It One of my best friends played 9 years in the Minor Leagues. Mostly between Double A and Triple A. They lived by a phrase that helped them cope with the absurdity of playing 142 games in 158 days: It's All Part of It Only

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

5 months

I'm feeling good about Friday

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

7 months

I played for Jesse Cole during his first year as GM for the Gastonia Grizzlies. Still feel bad about hitting .200 that summer 😂 Jesse is the epitome of everything great about this country. "A chip and a chair" as they say in poker. He started with nothing. And he's built

@JoePompliano

Joe Pompliano

7 months

The Savannah Bananas are the best story in sports. The team's owner, Jesse Cole, went from managing a minor league team with $268 in his bank account to owning his own team that sells out MLB stadiums. So cool.

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Greg Van Horn

6 months

Trying my best to sell roofs and find sales reps at the Philly Home Show today. Anyone nearby with an iron I can borrow? 😂 🐝🐝🐝

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

5 months

Obligatory Murph post. 1 mile run 100 rows (60lb kettlebells- elbow too f'ed for pull ups) 200 push ups 300 air squats 1 mile run 39:23 Thankful for all of those who selflessly put their country first.

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@gvh41

Greg Van Horn

6 months

I get 4-5 calls a week from people interested in Bumble Roofing territories. I don't think there's another home service franchise with as many wide open territories and as high a revenue ceiling. Not to mention a killer franchisor team. But demand is nuts and the major

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