Joe Springsteen

It’s been a while, and here’s the update. I’m Joe Springsteen. I run Mallard — an exterior and window cleaning company in Florida — and I’m obsessed with building a durable, high-performance B2B service business in a market that doesn’t forgive sloppiness. We clean apartments, commercial properties, major resorts and portfolios at scale. But what I really build is teams. After acquiring a 30+ year old company in a hot market, one thing became obvious: Service businesses don’t fail because of pressure washers. They fail because of leadership, systems, and financial discipline. I’ve failed on all of those, trust me. So that’s what I work on. Rap Sheet: Owner/Operator, Mallard • Acquired & scaling a legacy exterior cleaning company • B2B focus (asset managers & commercial portfolios) • Occasional speaker on buying and growing service businesses • Builder of teams that execute in the Florida heat Currently: – Scaling commercial services – Reworking systems (CRM, dispatch, payments, field ops) – Negotiating smart partnerships – Building a fleet that makes sense – Obsessed with margins, retention, brand and getting home by 5 Happily married with 4 kids and 2 dogs between us. Business builder. Operator first, talker second. On my feed: Service business economics, ETA strategies, blue collar leadership, B2B marketing, the occasional contrarian take, successes but more failures. No generic shit. Dog and travel photos.

@JackieHirsch_ @SellersCounsel Vice versa for buyer, getting the peg wrong and not projecting enough working capital for the first 90 days in particular could be, not to be dramatic, catastrophic. Especially if buyer doesn’t have access to capital reserves to shore up the shortfall. Know your AR and AP!

“Silent deal killer” Net working capital might be the most boring line on the balance sheet… until it quietly moves 7 figures of value after closing. In most private M&A deals, the real purchase price isn’t final until 60–120 days post-close, when the working capital “true-up” hits. Get the peg wrong, and you don’t just lose on price—you end up funding your own buyer’s working capital needs.

@irentdumpsters Sounds like a guy I know locally. Treats his own son like crap. Calls me asking for leads. WTF. Texted me the other day asking for good photos to put on his new pressure washing website. W…. T… F…

I had a guy who owns a pressure washing company that’s 65 years old and never got past $500,000 in revenue Tell me that I suck at doing business yesterday When I first spoke to this individual, he told me he's never had an employee last three months working with him and was proud of it WTF?

@CTW_SMB My top responses? ✍️ letters in envelopes. What was in them? - addressed to actual owner, scrubbed via state / county records, LI and website - noted their biz (so many get this wrong!) - Brief personal story - Not PE - Want a local family biz; chat?

Good reminders to searchers / business buyers doing outreach There is a TON of other outbound you are competing against Going crazy all weekend w Claude to automate your outbound to a billion SMB owners is not how you'll find one Stand out Personal outreach. Know what you're talking about. No AI. Follow up (in unique ways - handwritten letters, phone calls (a novel idea?!), send gifts, etc.). Or, do your first deal via a great broker or company like @dealonomy @ClintFiore @JackieHirsch_ And THEN use your industry relationships and brand to stand out for future acquisitions

@irentdumpsters No apologies for calling out shitty service sir.

Drink way too much espresso today. Do you have my post notifications on right now i Apologize.

@jasonmpearl @Tribefounders Have fun guys!

Pinehurst #2 with @Tribefounders

@jasonjosephlee @JeffAuerbach3 Dude go back to your dog posts.

People in real estate are dropping like flies right now So many brokers are starving So many syndicators hanging up their cleats So many service providers are begging for work

You think founders and ETA have it rough? Check out the story of Niccolo crushing during the Medici days. And stop bitching.

@Back40Ventures Here’s a great series that @moseskagan put me into. I’m in Book 4 now

If you aren’t using flight time to catch up on the classics you’re NGMI

@irentdumpsters I love all of these posts. And I bet this one really hits home for you.

If I wanted to build another dumpster company, I would be able to do it within 50 cities and not own a single piece of equipment..... I wouldn't buy a truck. I wouldn't buy a single dumpster. I wouldn't lease a yard. I wouldn't hire a CDL driver. I'd build a dumpster rental BROKERAGE. The roll-off dumpster industry does $5 BILLION a year in the US. 99% of operators are stuck in ONE city because they're chained to their trucks and cans. I'd own ZERO equipment and operate in 50 markets before they figure out how to open a second location. Here's the full playbook why brokering beats owning, the exact match domain play, startup costs, and the math to scale coast to coast. 🧵👇

@Nads_Shariff Yep I agree. Ours is purely discretionary — exterior cleaning.

@1JoeSpringsteen I think if I’m calling emergency service I just want to get booked. If I’m calling for home improvement I need to talk to someone

So unpopularly correct. In our home service.

@SMB_HEFF Now go to 5 days / wk but pay a salary non-exempt and add on grocery runs, dinner prep, and random running around like oil changes, etc. Nanny elevated to house manager! Did this for many years (both spouses worked and traveled back then)

Personal nanny 3 days a week: $400 Daycare (requires full time): $900 a week No brainer here…

@SahilBloom Enjoy those years! I miss them w all of my grown kids!

You can keep your fancy watch. I just want to be able to take my son to the playground at 1pm on a Tuesday.

@JaredDHardin @realnaholmes My guess is you’ll get every job that she rides along w you!

@realnaholmes I'm so excited man! She's about to turn 2, and I love the thought of having her show up to estimates with me some day

One of the best / worst things about working from home is having kids. I absolutely love it when I get to take a short break and see my baby girl. But, when she's standing outside my door yelling "dada, dada, dada, dada" 20x, it's so hard not to quit working & go see her.

@ClintFiore @Michaelfiore Wow my 18yo daughter would never do that 😂. Currently in a bougie beach house w her bougie friends and their bougie moms… Kudos to you!

For Spring Break my two oldest teen girls took a friend and drove 6 hours to work all week at our family garden center biz for my bro @Michaelfiore. Totally their idea. Proud to see them hustling and sweating at the family SMB earning some extra $ in their time off school.

@irentdumpsters You are a true example of the power that agency can not only enrich yourself and your clients, but also your loved ones. Your dad must be so proud of you.

First two leads on my dad's Generac business have turned into JOBS. If I can get him out of his W-2 by the end of the year, I should have the #1 son award lol

Welcome home, mofo’s.

At the airport and they won’t board until a final volunteer gets off. Airline offer is up to $4k. Destination Aspen. It’s a Mexican standoff at this point.

@TS_Secrets 😂

@1JoeSpringsteen Im just to cheap to it’s got them.

So why are people spending $500+ on lessons? Ski lessons are a waste of money.🤑 I didn’t put my kids in them. Instead, I spent 3 hours showing them how to snowboard, then let them ride the small slopes and figure it out. Kids learn fast when you just let them try.

@ClintFiore @OneManLBO 🙄

🚨 NEW DEAL ALERT! Boise, ID- Specialty Trade Construction Company 7 employees $2.2M Revenue $1M Adj. EBITDA Minimum Offer $2.7M - 20 year track record. - Incredible margins. Low overhead. Owner runs it from a home office and equipment stays on job sites. - Dominant in their niche in the Boise area with little competition. - Great systems, equipment included, and dialed in team and processes. - SBA eligible. - Ideal Buyer will be in Boise or be willing to move there. Currently available for Dealonomy Premium Members ($99/mo membership) to view only after signing NDA, and will be available for Non-Premium Members to view on March 26th. So sign up for a Premium trial today to view, or wait 10 days, your choice! Great opportunity to make an awesome living working from home and wearing jeans out on work sites in beautiful Idaho. Link to NDA and next steps below. 👇