Ex-Detective Reveals: How He Went From $13/Hour to $4.2M in Gutters & Windows
Dropping Bombs
Brad Lea
4.8 • 2.3K Ratings
🗓️ 7 December 2025
⏱️ 74 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This episode sponsored by Bluewater Exteriors
LightSpeed VT: https://www.lightspeedvt.com/
Dropping Bombs Podcast: https://www.droppingbombs.com/
In this raw Dropping Bombs episode, former detective Jimmy Fazekas reveals how he launched Bluewater Exteriors from his garage with $10,000 and scaled it into a multimillion-dollar home services powerhouse. Operating at 50%+ gross margins in gutters, windows, and screen enclosures, Jimmy exposes why overlooked blue-collar industries are goldmines and how private equity is starting to notice.
Jimmy breaks it down: building recurring revenue models, structuring performance pay systems, and the ugly promotion strategy that generates qualified leads without wasting ad spend. If you're ready to escape the wage ceiling and build real wealth through grit and systems, this conversation is your golden-ticket.
🔗 Connect with Jimmy Fazekas
Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jimmy.fazekas/
Business Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bluewaterexteriors
Website: https://www.bluewaterexteriors.com
📚 Books Mentioned:
The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz
Mindset by Carol Dweck
Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz
Buy Back Your Time by Dan Martell
The Wizard of Ads by Roy H. Williams
The Private Equity Playbook by Adam Coffey
Empire Builder: The Road to a Billion by Adam Coffey
Nine Figure Mindset by Brandon Dawson
Books by John C. Maxwell
Books by Tommy Mello
Watch the full-length video version of any Dropping Bombs episode here on YouTube.
Brad Lea is a self-made entrepreneur who turned small-town grit into a multi-million-dollar empire. With over 25 years dominating sales and leadership, he's mentored thousands to outsmart, outwork, and out win their competition. His top-rated podcast, Dropping Bombs, brings raw, game-changing insights from the biggest names in business.
LightSpeed VT is Brad's brainchild—the world's leading interactive training platform. It's built to make your team sharper, faster, and more effective, without wasting time or money. Whether you're a startup or a Fortune 500, LightSpeed VT is how you scale success and dominate your industry. Curious? Check it out:
https://www.lightspeedvt.com/
Brad's also behind Closer School, the go-to program for mastering sales and closing deals like a pro. Want to 10x your income? This is where you start. His book, The Hard Way, lays out the brutal, honest lessons he learned building his empire—your blueprint to winning the game. Get it here: https://bradlea.com/product/the-hard-way/
This isn't just a video. It's a wake-up call. Watch it. Share it. Act on it.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I left the department making 1325 an hour. I always thought detectives make a lot more than that. I didn't want to be broke my whole life. He opened up blue water exteriors. Yep. I with $10,000 and out of my garage at my house. How much the money's it doing? About 4.2. You started with 10 grand. Now it's up to 4.5 mill. How'd you do it? I'm thinking if we can scale the 30 to 50 million |
| 0:21.0 | in the next 10 years, that's where I want to be at. I don't have a quit button. What's the number |
| 0:25.5 | one thing if someone's listening? This got a little startup to look out for. Shouldn't say that |
| 0:30.1 | out loud here on the podcast, but what it is, Brad Lee, back again with another episode of dropping bombs today in the studio folks |
| 0:41.0 | got another real life entrepreneur and a treat for your ass jimmy physicus in the house what's |
| 0:48.5 | going on jay brother glad to be here man what about this studio this beautiful thank you beautiful that's beautiful. Thank you. Beautiful. That's the new, |
| 0:55.1 | it's the new look. It's the new feel. Used to have the anchor desk. Now we're, now we're rolling |
| 1:01.2 | man cave. Man cave. I love a man cave. Guys, if you guys don't know this dude, he is the founder, |
| 1:09.3 | CEO of Blue Water Exteriors down there in freaking Gulf Shores |
| 1:14.8 | area, Alabama. You might hear the accent. He's the CEO of Blue Water Exteriors from Foley |
| 1:21.4 | after being a low-income detective. I'd never heard it ever called a low income detective. |
| 1:27.9 | Low income, yeah. I left the department making 13, 25 an hour. It's pretty low income, |
| 1:33.9 | isn't it? That is low income, but I've never heard of it. I always thought detectives make a lot |
| 1:37.8 | more than that. Well, a little bit different Alabama. So, I mean, maybe here, I don't know. |
| 1:43.7 | You know, was your daddy the sheriff |
| 1:45.4 | or something? No, actually, the cost of living is supposedly supposed to be a little bit lower, |
| 1:52.4 | but 13, 25, you know, to risk your life every day. It was fun, but I realized that I didn't want to |
| 2:00.2 | be broke my whole life. |
| 2:01.4 | Had to be fun, though, right? |
| 2:02.8 | Yeah, we did a lot of cool stuff, man. |
| 2:05.0 | So the dude's a detective or was a detective in law enforcement. |
| 2:08.9 | He decided to basically quit because you don't want to be broke. |
... |
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