One KPI can tell you how your business is performing—and still lead you completely in the wrong direction.

In this From The Ground Up Show: Topics episode, Charbel Louis Karam explains why leaders should never evaluate a company through a single metric. Drawing on his experience as both a pilot and a business executive, he compares running a company to reading the instruments in an aircraft cockpit: any one gauge viewed in isolation can give you a dangerously incomplete picture.

A company can appear highly profitable while quietly losing customers. Sales can look impressive on paper while the business struggles to collect the cash. Customer growth can be exciting without producing sustainable profit.

Good leadership requires understanding how multiple pieces of information work together.

Charbel and Erick Loden also examine another common leadership trap: paralysis by analysis. Leaders will rarely have 100% of the information they want. At some point, they must identify which information actually matters, accept the remaining uncertainty, and make the decision.

This focused conversation explores why there is no single perfect KPI, how profitability can hide deeper problems, why a $30 million contract isn’t worth much if the customer never pays, and what pilots can teach business owners about interpreting information under pressure.

The goal isn’t to collect every possible piece of data. It is to understand how the right indicators work together well enough to make an informed decision.

Follow From The Ground Up Show: Topics in your podcast app, and share this episode with a business owner or leader who would find it useful.

WATCH THIS TOPIC ON YOUTUBE

https://youtu.be/tkngK7yIUe8

WATCH THE COMPLETE CONVERSATION

Full episode:
https://youtu.be/rvOcqFISL24

CONDENSED episode:
https://youtu.be/LraZ4Uj2c10

LISTEN TO EVERY FORMAT

From The Ground Up Show:
https://pod.link/1846907140

From The Ground Up Show CONDENSED:
https://pod.link/6806079674

From The Ground Up Show: Topics:
https://pod.link/6808750058

THE WEEK’S CONVERSATIONS, IN ONE EMAIL

Choose the depth that fits your time: the full conversation, a roughly 20-minute CONDENSED edition, or a focused Topics episode.

Join the From The Ground Up Show newsletter:
https://fromthegroundupshow.com/newsletter/

WATCH MORE FOCUSED TOPICS

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLud9Edq6T5ZwT7z38p86WE6DUpEhbbaFU

GUEST & RESOURCES

Charbel Louis Karam on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/charbellouis

Spectrum Killian Dental Lab Alliance:
https://skdla.com

Spectrum Killian on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/skdla

PARTNERS & SPONSORS

MacArthur Company:
https://www.macarthurco.com

Athlete Fresh:
https://athletefresh.shop/fromthegroundupshow

ABOUT FROM THE GROUND UP SHOW

Real stories. Hard lessons. Stronger foundations. From The Ground Up Show features honest conversations and practical lessons for owners, operators, tradespeople, entrepreneurs, and leaders building something that lasts.

https://fromthegroundupshow.com

An MBA can teach finance. Private equity can teach you how to analyze a business. Neither fully prepares you for the moment payroll is due, the bank account is nearly empty, and every dollar suddenly matters.

In this From The Ground Up Show: Topics episode, Charbel Louis Karam explains why some of the most valuable business lessons of his career didn’t come from his MBA, finance education, or years in private equity. They came during his first year of running a small business.

After leaving the resources and security of private equity, Charbel went from discussing multimillion-dollar investments to worrying about cash flow, customer payments, payroll—and whether the business could justify buying more coffee cups.

That experience changed how he thinks about business and leadership.

Charbel explains the relationship between sales, costs, profit, and cash—and why booking revenue means little if the company cannot collect and deploy the cash intelligently. He also makes the case that aspiring executives should spend time inside a small business, where limited resources force leaders to understand how a company actually works.

The lesson goes beyond money. As companies grow, leaders can become detached from the details. Charbel argues that capable executives remain curious enough to understand the “fibers” of their organizations—from how employees perform their work to what customers experience when interacting with the business.

The scale of the numbers may change as a company grows. The fundamentals don’t.

Follow From The Ground Up Show: Topics in your podcast app, and share this episode with an entrepreneur, executive, or business owner who would find it useful.

WATCH THIS TOPIC ON YOUTUBE

https://youtu.be/8zfaT-EMjQo

WATCH THE COMPLETE CONVERSATION

Full episode:
https://youtu.be/rvOcqFISL24

CONDENSED episode:
https://youtu.be/LraZ4Uj2c10

LISTEN TO EVERY FORMAT

From The Ground Up Show:
https://pod.link/1846907140

From The Ground Up Show CONDENSED:
https://pod.link/6806079674

From The Ground Up Show: Topics:
https://pod.link/6808750058

THE WEEK’S CONVERSATIONS, IN ONE EMAIL

Choose the depth that fits your time: the full conversation, a roughly 20-minute CONDENSED edition, or a focused Topics episode.

Join the From The Ground Up Show newsletter:
https://fromthegroundupshow.com/newsletter/

WATCH MORE FOCUSED TOPICS

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLud9Edq6T5ZwT7z38p86WE6DUpEhbbaFU

GUEST & RESOURCES

Charbel Louis Karam on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/charbellouis

Spectrum Killian Dental Lab Alliance:
https://skdla.com

Spectrum Killian on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/skdla

PARTNERS & SPONSORS

MacArthur Company:
https://www.macarthurco.com

Athlete Fresh:
https://athletefresh.shop/fromthegroundupshow

ABOUT FROM THE GROUND UP SHOW

Real stories. Hard lessons. Stronger foundations. From The Ground Up Show features honest conversations and practical lessons for owners, operators, tradespeople, entrepreneurs, and leaders building something that lasts.

https://fromthegroundupshow.com

What is the hardest part of building a $10 million roofing company? According to Sheldon Murphy, it isn’t roofing—it’s people.

After growing TSM Roofing from nothing to more than $10 million in annual revenue, Sheldon explains why recruiting, training, retaining, and leading the right people became the company’s greatest challenge.

In this clip, Sheldon Murphy and Erick Loden discuss:

• The hardest part of growing a roofing company from zero to $10 million

• Why hiring and retaining good employees is more difficult than roofing

• How leaders establish the energy and culture of a growing company

• Why Sheldon believes in leading from the front

• TSM Roofing’s transition from W-2 installers to subcontractor crews

• Why performance and consistency matter more than simply finding available labor

• How honest, long-term relationships with crews improve the customer experience

• Why treating subcontractors fairly creates loyalty and sustainable business growth

Sheldon also explains how partnering with a dependable subcontractor and using larger roofing crews helped TSM Roofing complete jobs faster, impress customers, and accelerate its growth.

Building a successful contracting company requires more than mastering the trade. Eventually, growth depends on your ability to attract good people, develop leaders, establish clear expectations, and create relationships that benefit the company, its crews, and its customers.

What has been the most difficult people-related challenge in your business—recruiting, training, retention, or leadership?

THE WEEK'S CONVERSATIONS, IN ONE EMAIL

Choose the depth that fits your time: the full conversation, a roughly 20-minute CONDENSED edition, or a focused Topics episode.

Join the From The Ground Up Show newsletter: https://fromthegroundupshow.com/newsletter/

WATCH THIS TOPICS EPISODE

YouTube: https://youtu.be/_2DAPm9WMwA

WATCH THE FULL-LENGTH EPISODE

YouTube: https://youtu.be/jPXT_mpOKOM

GO DEEPER WITH FROM THE GROUND UP SHOW

From The Ground Up Show: Topics features complete, focused episodes built around one useful question or lesson. Get more context, stories, and lessons in the full-length conversations.

Watch and subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@FromTheGroundUp-k9p

Listen to the full show: https://pod.link/1846907140

MORE FROM THE GROUND UP SHOW: TOPICS

YouTube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVzToS_5Hj6o

Podcast apps: https://pod.link/6808750058

FROM THE GROUND UP SHOW CONDENSED

Explore the conversations in roughly 20 minutes.

YouTube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLa9BVKGD64tA

Podcast apps: https://pod.link/6806079674

GUEST & RESOURCES

https://tsmroofs.com/

623-213-8267

PARTNERS & SPONSORS

https://www.macarthurco.com

https://athletefresh.shop/fromthegroundupshow

ABOUT FROM THE GROUND UP SHOW

Real stories. Hard lessons. Stronger foundations. From The Ground Up Show delivers honest business and leadership conversations and practical lessons for owners, operators, tradespeople, entrepreneurs, and leaders building something that lasts—with hearts, hands, and hustle.

Hosted by Erick Loden, a former commercial roofing company owner and business advisor. From 2014 to 2025, he owned and ran his roofing company, growing annual revenue more than eightfold and operating profit nearly fifteenfold before completing a successful internal sale.

Website: https://www.fromthegroundupshow.com

Have a question for Erick or an upcoming guest?

https://fromthegroundupshow.com/ask-a-question/

Have a story built through hearts, hands, and hustle? Apply to be a guest and tell your story:

https://fromthegroundupshow.com/be-a-guest/

#FromTheGroundUpShow #RoofingBusiness #Leadership #EmployeeRetention #BusinessGrowth