Guest: Jake Huotari, Co-Owner, Aspire Home Services (Maple Grove, MN)
Host: Ken Baden, CEO/Owner of Baden Consulting and Potomac Custom Remodeling

Key takeaways

• Flexibility and a good attitude are core to Jake's leadership philosophy: "Blessed are the flexible, for they will not be bent out of shape."
• Jake and Josh started at Aspire as a small insurance restoration team. After the 90-day program with Ken, they ended 2025 just under $4M.
• Jake says retail runs about a 60% margin after commissions, and that insurance claims can move from about 45% to 75% margin using financing and upgrade tie-downs.
• Retail is a value-based proposition. Your ability to articulate value determines your ability to charge a premium.
• Retail businesses are worth roughly 4 to 5 points more to private equity and investors, according to Ken.
• Starting retail doesn't take a huge budget. Begin with one or two canvassers and add as profit allows.
• Hiring with a personality and temperament profile takes the mystery out of finding reps who will actually close.
• Jake says that when his team deviated from the scripting in July, their close rate dropped from 34% to 18%. It recovered as soon as they went back to it.
• Aspire's team now includes 7 sales reps, 8 canvassers, 2 phone staff, a job site coordinator, and a production specialist, which Jake says is a framework for a $15M business.
• Jake sees insurance carriers squeezing contractors through slow pay and scope disputes. He says fewer than half of last year's roughly 4,000 Minnesota contractors remain.
• About 3 in 10 roof replacements are insurance-driven and 7 in 10 are for other reasons, according to Ken. Very few roofers go after that 70%.
• Jake's advice on what made it work: follow directions, and put in the work.
• Jake's caution: "This is not get rich quick, this is get rich slow."

Mentioned in the episode: Blue Collar Baller event (Dallas, 2023), one-sit close, canvassing, DISC-style hiring profile, CRM and cost-per-lead tracking, financing on insurance claims, private equity interest, NLP-based scripting.

Connect with Jake: https://www.facebook.com/jakehuotari
Connect with Ken: thekitchentablepodcast.net | Badenconsulting.net | DiversifiedRoofer.com | PotomacCustomRemodeling.com