- The Path Less Traveled
- Topics
- Memberships
#26 Peak Season Doesn't Reward Hustle. It Rewards a Plan.
Peak season doesn't wait for you to be fully staffed, so this issue is about running your engine hard when demand spikes: reschedule low-priority maintenance calls, stretch hours with a clear win-win, and stand up flex crews to hit the surge with the team you already have. And underneath all of it sits a bigger point: chasing revenue and booking rates isn't in tension with people-first values, it's what funds them. Profit is the engine that makes everything else possible, so run your KPIs and your peak season plan with conviction, not apology.
#25 Five Things I Stopped Doing That Made Me a Better CEO
This edition covers the discipline of subtraction -- what I stopped doing that made me a better CEO, and why the gap between a marketing tactic and a business model decision is worth understanding before it costs you a decade. We go honest on AI: what it actually means to say "people first" when the technology requires fewer people, and what fourteen months of real implementation looks like when the pitch deck version runs out. And for roofing operators, the insurance market is shifting faster than most sales processes have adjusted -- this one has the data and the argument for why financing is no longer optional.
#22 Build vs. Buy: A Framework for Thinking About AI
This issue covers the build vs. buy decision in AI — a framework from venture investor Mike Volpi that cuts through the noise: only build if it creates a real competitive advantage, buy everything else, and never confuse a prototype with a production-ready tool. We also go deep on the service wrapper — the six-step system around the technical work that our customers actually write reviews about.
#20 I Spent $4.2 Million on Google Last Year. Here's What I Actually Know About Whether It Worked.
Most home service operators can tell you what they spent on Google. Very few can tell you what they actually got for it. The companies that win long-term aren't just the ones who spend the most on marketing — they're the ones who convert that spend into lasting relationships, and then build a membership base that makes the next call free.
#19 The Most Important System in Your Business That Nobody Sees.
This week’s TPLT dives into a simple idea: the best operators win by mastering the fundamentals. From using “old-school” marketing like equipment stickering and cross-trade awareness, to building a reliable financial foundation, to leveraging tools like Netic and GreenSky to drive efficiency and close more deals—we explore practical ways to grow smarter, not just bigger. The common thread? Systems that remove friction, increase visibility, and help great teams execute at a higher level.
#17 Our $500K Mistake. A 10% Conversion Lift. One Big Lesson.
This week’s issue is all about turning operational discipline into competitive advantage — from uncovering a hidden $500,000 filter expense to leveraging AI call scoring, smarter financing with GreenSky, and more rigorous ServiceTitan reviews. If you’re serious about scaling profitably, mastering your data, tightening execution, and pulling the right growth levers, this one’s for you. Plus: a teaser on mastering YOUR data and a few favorite tweets from the week.
