How To Make BUCKETS of Money In SERVICE Businesses
Dropping Bombs
Brad Lea
4.9 • 2.3K Ratings
🗓️ 27 January 2026
⏱️ 66 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
LightSpeed VT: https://www.lightspeedvt.com/
Dropping Bombs Podcast: https://www.droppingbombs.com/
This Dropping Bombs episode features Ian McCarthy, who scaled companies from $0 to eight figures THREE times across landscaping and professional sports. Former accountant turned founder, Ian exposes the fatal pricing mistakes contractors make and the exact financial strategies that unlock explosive growth.
Ian breaks down his "Know Your Numbers" system—how to calculate true overhead, stop copying competitors' rates, and price for actual profit. Steal the exact markup strategies, manpower formulas, and M&A moves that turn guesswork into empire-level growth.
If you're in the trades or looking to scale, this episode pays for itself in one job. Press play before your competition does.
🔗 Connect with Ian McCarthy
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blueclawgroup_/
Website: https://blueclawgroup.com/
Titanic Deck Chair (Book): https://www.titanicdeckchair.com/
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.
Closer School: https://www.closerschool.com/cs
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You can make money on every single job you do and still lose money. A lot of people don't know that. |
| 0:04.5 | Newer contractors are copying rates from other people. They're just winging it because they're |
| 0:08.5 | looking to get a deposit check. Contractors are using pricing that is not custom to their company. |
| 0:13.5 | They don't know their overhead. And so we went from about 280 in revenue in 2018 to 2.6 million |
| 0:19.7 | in 2019. But we did the old Grant Cardone 10x in one year. |
| 0:23.6 | The goal is to have the highest price that you can get in your market and still win work. |
| 0:28.6 | It gives them the whole cheat sheet and make that profitability happen. |
| 0:31.6 | What are some fundamental cores that most people are missing? |
| 0:35.6 | I would say... That's an interesting story most people don't know. |
| 0:40.0 | And I totally believe it. |
| 0:41.6 | I totally believe that. |
| 0:43.2 | It may be... |
| 0:43.7 | But have you done any investigation on that? |
| 0:45.8 | Oh, I know all about that story. |
| 0:51.1 | What it is, Brad Lee, back again with another episode of dropping bombs today you better pay attention |
| 0:56.7 | folks because i got a real treat ian mccarthy in the house what's happening ian hey glad to be here |
| 1:02.6 | folks if you guys don't know who this dude is this guy was an accountant that screwed around |
| 1:07.1 | jumped into a few other businesses and scaled companies to eight figures zero to |
| 1:11.5 | eight figures multiple times one of them in the landscaping business but originally |
| 1:16.5 | an accountant and now you have a program that you help a lot of these home services |
| 1:23.2 | companies with called know your numbers that's which everybody knows, like especially if you watch Shark |
| 1:28.6 | Shark Tank, you got to know your numbers. So where do you think most home services operators, |
... |
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