Ep. #1: Chuck Staszkiewicz w/ Shai Ades & Olga Bashkatova - How We Lost $500K Doing $12M in Revenue

Welcome to the very first episode of the Home Service Roundtable! I’m Chuck Staszkiewicz. I built my plumbing company from scratch with a $2,000 Craigslist van and zero capital into a $22M business with 130 employees and 65 trucks before I successfully exited. I started this show because I remember what it feels like to have your back against the wall, to be stuck in a truck, and to navigate the ugly, unspoken realities of scaling a trade business. In this premiere, I sit down with my co-hosts—sales and scaling expert Shai Ades and former corporate forensic accountant turned CFO Olga Bashkatova —to lay everything out on the table, including the massive $500,000 financial blindspot that almost wiped us out when we hit $12M in revenue. Together, we're exposing the exact traps that keep contractors trapped, broke, or flying blind. Olga breaks down the biggest accounting lies we tell ourselves as owners, explaining why looking at your bank balance or running cash-basis bookkeeping hides deep financial leaks that destroy profit. From my half-million-dollar pricing realization during COVID to Shai’s lessons on unwritten partnership traps and protecting your assets, this episode is a raw, unfiltered look at what it actually takes to stop being just a technician and start building a real empire. About Me: I'm Chuck Staszkiewicz—entrepreneur, master plumber, and former founder with over 25 years in the trades. After barely graduating high school, I found my calling in plumbing and built a $22M enterprise before retiring at 45. Today, my mission is simple: serve home service business owners, help them break through operational ceilings, and give them the exact playbook to achieve real financial freedom. About My Co-Hosts: Shai Ades is the co-owner of Title Remodeling and founder of One Closed Academy. With 17 years in home services, Shai is a master at door-to-door marketing, building elite sales reps, and scaling blue-collar businesses into multi-million dollar powerhouses. Olga Bashkatova, CPA is a powerhouse financial expert with a heavy background in corporate audit, forensic accounting, and CFO advisory. After analyzing international fraud and working with tech startups, Olga now helps trade contractors master accrual accounting, eliminate money leaks, and build bulletproof financials. Key Topics We Discuss: Our $500,000 Loss at $12M Revenue: How we doubled our workforce to 100 employees during COVID yet still lost half a million dollars—and the exact pricing adjustments that saved the company. Why We Started Home Service Roundtable: My vision for this podcast, how we plan to serve technicians and owners alike, and our plans for a hands-on business grant. From "Chuck in a Truck" to a $22M Exit: My journey moving to Utah, getting fired two weeks before Christmas with a baby on the way, and why I locked in on retiring at 45. The Accounting Lies Contractors Tell Themselves: Why relying on bank account balances or cash-basis bookkeeping leaves you completely exposed to hidden losses and internal theft. Partnership Lessons & Protecting Your Business: The painful cost of handshake deals, how Shai recovered from a bad partnership, and the monthly 4-hour meeting framework that keeps business partners aligned. Forensic Accounting & Preventing Internal Embezzlement: Shocking real-world cases of employee theft in the trades and the hard-close financial checks you need to prevent it. COVID-19 Pivot Strategies: How adapting our sales presentations for outdoor table setups allowed us to dominate the market while competitors stayed home. Our Top Growth Books: Essential reads that shaped our mindsets, including The Miracle Morning, Unbound, and Bob Phifer’s How to Double Your Profits in Six Months or Less. If you're ready to stop guessing and start running your home service business like a true CEO, hit that subscribe button, turn on notifications, and drop a comment below letting me know the biggest challenge you're facing in your business right now. I read every single one! youtube title, podcast transcript, chuck staszkiewicz, home service roundtable, home service industry, trades business, plumbing business, hvac business, contractor scaling, business partnership lessons, forensic accounting for contractors, accrual accounting vs cash basis, contractor pricing strategy, business exit planning, shai arras, olga gershgorin, close closed academy, title remodeling, small business growth, contractor podcast