Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino | Las Vegas, NV
You’ve put in the work. Now bring it to Vegas. This exclusive pre-event for program enrollees is where the RAISING GOATS community comes together in person to build on everything you’ve been developing — trading hard-won lessons, pressure-testing your thinking against the best in the business, and tackling the real situations that separate good operators from great ones. Paul Kelly, Tommy Mello, Chad Peterman, and your other program mentors lead an afternoon of candid conversation and live roleplay. Then it’s up to the Skyfall Lounge to close the day, celebrate, and trade ideas among the people who are on this journey alongside you.
Wednesday, February 24th
Welcome!
Paul Kelly
Paul Kelly kicks off the RAISING GOATS pre-event and sets the tone for the afternoon ahead. A quick welcome, a look at what’s in store, and a thank-you to the members who make this community what it is.
Review of RAISING GOATS Principles, Lessons to Date
Paul Kelly
Before we build on it, we revisit it. Paul walks through the core RAISING GOATS principles and the biggest lessons the group has uncovered so far — a grounding session that gets everyone on the same page and ready to go deeper.
How to Raise Other GOATS
Mark Matteson & Brigham Dickinson
The best leaders build more leaders. Mark Matteson and Brigham Dickinson dig into how to develop the people around you — turning strong employees into the kind of self-driven, high-performing team members who raise the whole company with them.
How Real Contractors Are Evolving Their Business with RAISING GOATS
Drew Cameron
Theory is one thing; results are another. Drew Cameron highlights real contractors who’ve put RAISING GOATS to work — what changed, what it took, and what their businesses look like on the other side.
Break
New GOATS vs Old GOATS: Roleplaying Crucial Business Situations
Paul Kelly, Tommy Mello, Chad Peterman, Chris Yano, Drew Cameron, Mark Matteson & Brigham Dickinson
The afternoon’s centerpiece. Two teams of members take on a high-stakes business scenario live on stage — coached in real time by Paul Kelly, Tommy Mello, Chad Peterman, Chris Yano, Drew Cameron, Mark Matteson, and Brigham Dickinson — and arrive at very different answers. Equal parts entertaining and instructive, it’s a front-row look at how the best operators think through the calls that don’t have easy answers.
Q&A Session
Paul Kelly, Tommy Mello, Chad Peterman, Chris Yano, Drew Cameron, Mark Matteson & Brigham Dickinson
Open floor. Bring your toughest questions for the full panel of GOATS mentors and get candid, unfiltered answers drawn from decades of building and leading home services companies.
Wrap-up, Review & Your Strategy Roadmap
Paul Kelly
Paul brings it home, pulling the day’s biggest takeaways into a clear, personal strategy roadmap — so you leave not just inspired, but with a plan you can put to work the moment you’re back.
Break
Skyline & Spirits at the Skyfall Lounge
Close out the day 64 floors up. Skyfall Lounge sits at the top of Mandalay Bay with floor-to-ceiling views of the entire Strip, and for one night it’s ours — craft cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and the Vegas skyline lit up end to end. Toast the day with your fellow GOATS, the mentors who’ve been in the trenches with you, and other leaders shaping the future of the industry.
The premier educational conference for the HVAC Industry! Over 1,000 contractors, distributors, manufacturers and service providers in attendance.
Paul Kelly
Former Owner of Parker & Sons | Head Instructor for RAISING GOATS
Paul has 35+ years’ experience and an extensive background in the HVAC and plumbing industries and has held prominent positions in accounting and finance, sales and marketing and operations, including V.P. of Sales and Marketing and V.P. of Operations for national and regional home service companies. He has visited over 100 companies over his career, helping them grow their business and profitability.
In 2004, he bought Parker and Sons, an HVAC and plumbing company, doing business in Phoenix, AZ. Under Paul’s leadership, the company grew from $7 million in revenue a year to over $250 million. Parker & Sons is now part of a larger industry-leading group of home services companies, called the Wrench Group, where Paul also formerly served as the Southwest Region’s CEO.
Paul’s unique background and simplified approach to growing a business, has led him to be one of the most successful leaders and companies in the home services industry. His specialty is taking something complicated and reducing it down to something very simple… making it easier to implement.
He enjoys sharing his success with others, as others have done with him throughout his career.
Mark Matteson
Best Selling Author | TEDx Speaker
Mark Matteson started his career as an HVAC technician in 1976. He is one of those rare professionals who can say he is publisher, speaker, consultant, podcaster and best selling author and mean it. He has attracted the biggest and most profitable HVAC contractors (six “Contractors of the Year”), distributors and manufacturers as well as such organizations like Microsoft, t-mobile, John Deere, Conoco-Phillips, Aflac, New York Mutual Life and many other Fortune 500 companies on three continents.
Mark’s presentations are always tailored to your objectives, content rich, interactive and fun. Using self-effacing humor, he pulls the audience into the learning, transferring soft skills that translate to higher profits, lower turnover and your team wanting more. Whether it’s an all day seminar, focused workshop or webinar, you will learn about the best practices of the finest contractors in the world. He has written five books and ten e-books.
Drew Cameron
President, Flow Odyssey and Energy Design Systems, LLC
Drew Cameron is North America’s most sought-after sales and marketing strategy and success advisor to Home Services Contractors as the founder and CEO of Flow Odyssey (formerly HVAC Sellutions), president and co-owner Energy Design Systems, and EGIA Contractor University founder, trainer, and board member. Drew is a renowned author, speaker, educator, coach, consultant, software developer, philanthropist, and a Contracting Business International Consultant award winner and NCI Influencer award winner.
Brigham Dickinson
President & Founder of Power Selling Pros
Brigham Dickinson is president and founder of Power Selling Pros, a leading coaching and training firm dedicated to teaching businesses to wow more customers. Brigham started Power Selling Pros when he saw that call handlers needed assistance consistently converting calls to bookings. As a result, Brigham answered the need by creating the Pattern For Excellence, a sequence of principles that guides call handlers through all stages of a call, from greeting to closure. Since 2009, Power Selling Pros’ growth comes through referrals alone, thanks to the proven call-handling process and their high level of customer satisfaction.
Tommy Mello
Founder & CEO, A1 Garage Door Service
Tommy started his Garage Door company with $50K in debt and had to learn how to run his business the hard way: making all the mistakes in the book and working 80+ hours every single week.
He didn’t have anyone in the industry to look up to, so in 2017 when he reached $25M in revenue, he decided it was time to share everything he learned with other home service entrepreneurs.
Since then, he has become a best-selling author, a top 0.1% podcast host, an Inc Magazine columnist, and a keynote speaker. His garage door company has grown to $250M with over 700 employees in 19 states.
Chad Peterman
President & CEO, Peterman Brothers
Chad Peterman is the President and CEO of Peterman Brothers. Since taking the reins in 2015, Chad’s work has been met with acclaim from within his industry and earned him national recognition.
In 1986, Chad’s father started Peterman Heating, Cooling & Plumbing in Beech Grove, IN. When Chad joined his father in 2011, the business had grown from a one-man operation to 21 employees and annual revenues of around $4 million. Today, Chad and his brother have taken their father’s business to the next level. Peterman Brothers now has over 700 employees across eight locations. Headquartered in Indianapolis, IN, the company is an industry leader with revenues of over $120 million dollars. The source of their success is no secret—Chad believes that in order to thrive, leaders must focus on their greatest asset: their team.
A testament to what Chad and his brother have accomplished, Peterman Brothers has been named in the Indianapolis Business Journal’s Fast 25 in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. In 2022, Chad was listed on the Top 40 Under 40 by ACHR News.
In addition to his book titled The Empowerment Project, Chad spreads his message on his popular Can’t Stop the Growth podcast.
Chris Yano
Founder, RYNO Strategic Solutions
Chris is the Founder of RYNO Strategic Solutions, a leading Digital Marketing company that has focused on the home services industry since 2008. He is also the host of the popular Home Services Podcast, To The Point. Chris is an experienced business owner, investor, and philanthropist with a heart for the trades. He’s done over 500 keynotes, breakouts, and webinars on successful digital marketing best practices for home services companies during his tenure.
In 2018, Chris created a partnership with Gary Vaynerchuk, CEO of VaynerMedia, arguably one of the best social/branding companies in the world, to bring a strong social/brand approach to the home service industry.
In order to attend, you must be enrolled in the RAISING GOATS program.