The Home Service Expert Podcast

Brian Franco is a visionary entrepreneur, dealmaker, and private equity investor widely known as "The M&A Guy." He is the Founder and Managing Partner of Meritage Partners, where he has spent over two decades guiding founders, private equity groups, and strategic acquirers through transformative mergers and acquisitions—helping generate billions in successful exits.

Brian is the author of Inevitable Exit, a definitive guide to business succession, strategy, and legacy, and the creator of Empire Builder Studio, a platform focused on scaling companies and preparing them for liquidity events. He also hosts The M&A Guy Podcast, where he shares practical insights on valuation, growth, and exit readiness. Anchored by faith, family, and purpose, Brian blends disciplined execution with long-term vision to help leaders build enduring companies—and exits that truly matter.
 
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Larry John Wright Advertising (LJW) is a full-service creative and media strategy firm based in Mesa, Arizona, helping growth-focused companies turn marketing into measurable revenue.
Founded in 1982, LJW specializes in combining strategic media buying with strong creative execution—placing campaigns across television, radio, billboards, streaming, digital, and social platforms. With in-house production studios creating thousands of ads each year, LJW helps clients move faster, control costs, and maintain consistent messaging.
With decades of experience and a proven track record across industries like home services, automotive, legal, and retail, LJW's mission is simple: help businesses invest smarter and grow faster.
FOR MORE GREAT EPISODES:
The Mello Millionaire - https://open.spotify.com/show/1jsZaiMgWe0EGaPfLtelDW?si=3de6091af58d41b4
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*]:pointer-events-auto scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]" dir="auto" data-turn-id= "request-69613627-173c-832c-8fdb-fe44b5158e91-2" data-testid= "conversation-turn-38" data-scroll-anchor="true" data-turn= "assistant"> Nate Fischer is a technologist and the CTO of Local Optics, a digital marketing and SEO company focused on helping home service businesses dominate their local markets. With a background in software development and search engine optimization, Fischer has built his career at the intersection of data, automation, and performance-driven marketing.
Throughout his work, Fischer has helped contractors and service companies rethink how they approach online growth—moving beyond traditional SEO tactics and toward systems that leverage real-world job data, customer interactions, and proof-based content to drive results. His approach emphasizes turning everyday field activity into scalable digital assets that improve rankings, increase visibility, and generate consistent inbound leads.
At Local Optics, Fischer has played a key role in developing strategies that integrate CRM data, reviews, and multi-channel marketing into a cohesive growth engine. By focusing on measurable outcomes and long-term infrastructure, he has helped businesses reduce reliance on outdated agency models and take greater control over their marketing performance.













 
Timestamps:
 
00:00:00 Cold Open
 
00:00:11 Title Sequence VO
 
00:00:30 Show Notes VO
 
00:01:15 Intro Into Interview
 
01:07:43 Outro


FOR MORE GREAT EPISODES:
The Mello Millionaire - https://open.spotify.com/show/1jsZaiMgWe0EGaPfLtelDW?si=3de6091af58d41b4
Check Out My Social Media:
TikTok
- https://www.tiktok.com/@officialtommymello
Instagram
- https://www.instagram.com/officialtommymello/
Facebook
- https://www.facebook.com/thomasmello/

Ryan Fenn is an entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Chiirp, a software company focused on helping home service businesses convert more leads into booked jobs. A lifelong entrepreneur, Fenn built his career from the ground up—starting with a windshield repair business he launched with just a few hundred dollars and scaling it into a multi-location operation.
Through his early experience in sales and home services, Fenn identified a major gap in the industry: most companies weren't losing revenue because of poor marketing, but because of inconsistent and slow follow-up with leads. This insight ultimately led him to create Chiirp, which automates customer follow-up across multiple channels, including text messages, emails, voicemail drops, and more.
FOR MORE GREAT EPISODES:
The Mello Millionaire - https://open.spotify.com/show/1jsZaiMgWe0EGaPfLtelDW?si=3de6091af58d41b4
Check Out My Social Media:
TikTok
- https://www.tiktok.com/@officialtommymello
Instagram
- https://www.instagram.com/officialtommymello/
Facebook
- https://www.facebook.com/thomasmello/

Interested in a complimentary market scan or ads workshop from Valpak? Click here: http://asktommypodcast.com/Valpak

In this episode of The Home Service Expert, Tommy sits down with Dan Harlacher from Valpak, a marketing expert with over 30 years of experience helping local businesses generate leads and grow through targeted direct mail and data-driven marketing strategies. While many marketers focus only on digital advertising, direct mail continues to be one of the most powerful and underutilized lead generation tools, especially for home service businesses. Valpak has evolved from the iconic blue envelope into a sophisticated omnichannel marketing platform combining direct mail, digital advertising, and advanced audience targeting. Dan breaks down how businesses can use data, targeting, and integrated marketing campaigns to drive measurable ROI and consistently generate new customers.

You'll learn why direct mail still works in the digital age and the biggest marketing mistakes local businesses make. You'll also learn how to target the right homeowners for home services, strategies to increase response rates and conversions, and why omnichannel marketing is the future for local businesses. If you're a home service business owner, entrepreneur, or marketer looking to generate more leads, this episode is packed with practical insights you can implement immediately.
Timestamps:
00:00:00 Cold Open
00:00:11 Title Sequence VO
00:00:30 Show Notes VO
00:01:16 Intro Into Interview
00:58:24 Outro