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#10 Reaching $100M by design. Budgeting best-practices.

#10 Reaching $100M by design. Budgeting best-practices.

We explore our bottom-up budgeting approach, the power of networks like ServiceTitan, and how technology, AI, and strategic partnerships are reshaping the way we operate. As always, practical insights you can apply—whether you’re building your first plan or scaling toward nine figures.

Christopher Hoffmann
October 20, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 14 minutes

In Today’s Newsletter

Budget season is here: check out our approach.
Things you should do…
The “network effect” - joining ServiceTitan
Blurring lines: technology, customer experience, marketing
AI & Analytics
Deepening our relationship with GreenSky
Favorite Tweets from the past week

All of your leadership problems. Solved with the right hire. Uncommon Elite.

My friend and former Army 160th pilot, Christian Ruf, is helping business owners build high-performing teams by placing special operations veterans - think Navy SEALS, Army Rangers, Green Berets - in senior operations roles inside of businesses like yours. Check out his business, Uncommon Elite, and let him know that Chris sent you.

What’s on my mind?

Budget season is here: Check out our approach.

It’s that time of year again—budget season at HB Solutions Group.

Around here, we don’t build our budgets from the top down. We build them from the bottom up.

That means we start with the fundamentals of how revenue is actually generated. At its most basic level, revenue is a simple equation:

Opportunities × Conversion Rate × Average Ticket = Revenue.

We look at how many opportunities our marketing and call center teams can realistically book, what our conversion rates look like in each trade, and what our average ticket is for each type of job. From there, we build a plan that reflects the reality of our business, not just an arbitrary revenue target.

This approach works better for three big reasons:

1️⃣ The team trusts the numbers.
When goals come from math and not from “magic,” people believe in them. It’s not a number pulled out of thin air—it’s built on real, measurable drivers of performance.

2️⃣ It creates shared ownership.
When we include the team in setting goals for booked calls, conversion, and average ticket, everyone has a hand in building the plan—and that means everyone feels responsible for hitting it.

3️⃣ It helps us diagnose problems fast.
If we miss budget in a given month, we can pinpoint why. Did we not generate enough opportunities? Were conversion rates down? Or was our average ticket low? This level of clarity allows us to course-correct quickly and intelligently.

Every company needs a plan. But the best plans are the ones that are simple, transparent, and empower shared accountability.

At HB Solutions Group, that’s what we’re aiming for this budget season—a plan built from the ground up, understood by everyone, and executed together.

-Chris

One of my “high moments” from a recent weekend was pulling these tomatoes from the garden with my kiddos

My daughter takes 3 bites of a carrot for every one bite she feeds to the horses…

Training never stops at Hoffmann Bros University!

Surreal to be partnered with the iconic STL Cardinals at their RoofTop Section.

One of the most rewarding charitable partnerships we have at HB is with Stray Rescue of Saint Louis. They do incredible work for our furry friends in need.

Things you should…

1. If you find yourself solving every problem for your team, you should start asking better questions instead. Great leaders don’t provide all the answers—they develop people who can think.

2. If your company meetings feel like a one-way broadcast, you should turn them into conversations. The best ideas usually come from the field, not the front office.

3. If your customers only hear from you when you’re selling something, you should change that. Add value between transactions—trust is built in the space between sales.

Can you do me a favor?

To help me create the best content for you, can you answer this quick (4 question) survey? I promise it won’t take more than 30 seconds :)

Technology Corner with ServiceTitan

The ServiceTitan Network Effect

One of the most valuable aspects of being a ServiceTitan customer has nothing to do with the software itself.

It’s the network effect.

Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of building relationships with some of the brightest minds in the home service industry—leaders of the largest, most successful, and highest-performing contracting businesses in the country. And nearly all of them have one thing in common: they’re running on ServiceTitan.

Through that shared platform, I’ve been introduced to peers who are tackling the same challenges we’re facing—whether it’s optimizing our dispatch process, refining our call center operations, or improving our customer experience. Many of those relationships started because of a connection facilitated by the ServiceTitan team.

They’ve been intentional about creating community—connecting operators who share a mindset for growth, operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Those introductions have led to best-practice sharing, partnerships, and friendships that have made a real impact on how we run our business.

If you’re a ServiceTitan customer, my advice is simple: take advantage of the network. Engage in the user groups. Attend the events. Ask for introductions. The technology is powerful—but the relationships you can build through the platform might be even more valuable.

That’s the real ServiceTitan advantage.

#grateful to have ServiceTitan sponsoring this section of TPLT

CEO: Growth Mindset

Blurring the lines: Technology, Customer Experience, and Marketing

The lines between technology, customer experience, and marketing are blurring—and they’re doing so faster than ever before.

Technology is no longer a back-office function. It’s shaping the frontline of how customers experience our businesses. Every interaction—from the first Google search to the final invoice—is now powered by technology in some way. And the best companies are realizing that this convergence isn’t optional; it’s the new operating reality.

Marketing, once built on creativity and instinct, has become deeply data-driven. AI tools are enhancing our ability to target, personalize, and respond in real time. They’re helping us understand not only what customers are doing—but why they’re doing it.

And as these AI systems begin to interact directly with customers—answering calls, responding to messages, booking jobs—they are no longer just tools; they’ve become extensions of our brand. That means our marketing and customer experience leaders must stay very close to this work. Messaging, tone, and timing all shape how customers perceive who we are.

This convergence demands tighter alignment between technology, marketing, and operations. It’s not three separate silos anymore—it’s one unified customer journey. The companies that recognize and act on this are already pulling ahead.

So, prepare for the future. Don’t wait until the changes force your hand. Stay close to your customers, stay close to the data, and stay close to the technology shaping both.

Because in the years ahead, the winners in our industry will be the ones who master the blur.

At HB Solutions Group, our commitment to long-term, purpose-driven private ownership starts at home. We believe people & profits both matter, and prioritize relationships over ego, and vision over short-term gain.

If you're a business owner looking to transition your life's work to a team that will care for it like family — we’d love to talk.

CyberNetic Labs - bringing powerful Agentic AI tools to the trades

AI & Analytics

As AI continues to reshape how we operate, one thing has become clear: data is the difference between innovation and illusion.

AI tools can automate, optimize, and accelerate—but only if we truly understand how they’re performing. Too many companies are racing toward an “AI-first world” without a clear line of sight into whether these tools are actually producing better results than the human teams they’re meant to operate alongside. That’s not innovation—that’s risk.

At HB Solutions Group, we believe the responsible path forward is one grounded in analytics and accountability. Every AI tool we deploy must be measured against real human performance benchmarks—conversion rates, booking accuracy, customer satisfaction, and revenue impact.

That’s why our partnership with Netic has been so valuable. Netic doesn’t just give us technology—it gives us visibility. Their platform provides comprehensive, timely, and relevant analysis that allows us to evaluate our AI’s performance with the same rigor we apply to our team members.

We can see, in real time, how our AI agents are booking calls, responding to customers, and contributing to revenue—so we can make informed decisions about where to invest, where to improve, and where to pull back.

Don’t be blind. Be informed.

As AI continues to evolve, find a partner who helps you see clearly—because the companies that understand their data will be the ones who win with AI.

A few grabs from our analytics dashboard - just summary level interaction data.

Insights based on day of week - interesting to see when our customers need us most. Understanding time-of-day customers engage is equally as important.

#grateful to have Cybernetic Labs sponsor this section of TPLT

Consumer Financing¹

Deepening our relationship with GreenSky

At HB Solutions Group, we approach every partnership with the same discipline and long-term mindset that we bring to running our business.

Before we select any financing partner, we conduct a thoughtful analysis—evaluating not just rates and programs, but also responsiveness, approval rates, and the overall competitiveness of the solutions they offer to our customers. Once a partner is in place, we continue to monitor performance closely to ensure they’re delivering consistent value to both our customers and our teams.

Over the past several months, one partner has consistently risen to the top in all three categories: GreenSky.

Their team has demonstrated exceptional responsiveness to both our customers and our field teams, strong approval rates across all credit tiers, and financing programs that are highly competitive and easy for customers to access. They’ve made it easier for our customers to say “yes” to improving comfort, safety, and reliability in their homes—a win for everyone involved.

As a result, we are expanding our relationship with GreenSky and bringing them online across all of our brands.

GreenSky has been serving the home services industry for a long time—and we believe they’ll continue to be a trusted presence for years to come. That kind of stability and commitment mirrors our own philosophy: long-term partnerships, built on performance, trust, and shared values.

Here’s to deepening a relationship that helps us better serve our customers, our teams, and the communities we call home.

#grateful to have GreenSky® Home Improvement sponsor this section of TPLT

¹ The views and opinions expressed here are owned by The Path Less Traveled and its author and may not reflect the views of GreenSky®

This Week’s Favorite Tweets

Friends of The Path Less Traveled

Who are the VENDORS that fuel our success?

MARKETING

Choosing a marketing agency that is both (1) competent and (2) CARES about your specific business is hard. Over the last 5 years, I have become great friends with the founder of RYNO Strategic Solutions, Chris Yano, and can say with confidence that his agency is among the few that I would trust with my own brands. If you are searching for a partner, send a note to Jeff Bowab at [email protected] and tell him that I sent you.

PAYROLL & HR

Inova Payroll & HR has been a partner to our companies for over 10 years. They have provided us with a payroll technology platform that has been able to keep pace with the demands of our fast-growing organization (now serving team members across 4 states). Inova’s platform works seamlessly with our CRM, ServiceTitan, and with our accounting back-end, Sage Intacct.

COACHING & TRAINING

If there is one organization - perhaps more than any other - that has fueled our growth over the last 10 years… that organization would be Nexstar Network. I like to say that Nexstar Network has built & refined a “process playbook” that touches on so many facets of our business. Don’t try and re-create the wheel… come and learn from the best. Reach out to my friend Kara Schuster at [email protected] and tell her that I sent you.

#grateful for the “Friends of TPLT” sponsors in this section

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