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.

@JaredDHardin I subcontract within larger scopes, like paver sealing. Also I pretty consistently run 3 crews that are subs. Be sure to lock in sub agreements and COIs w additional insured

I'm looking to connect with someone who owns a business that subcontracts all the work. Who should I reach out to?

@ethanwrighttx @JaredDHardin Literally any roofer in FL

@JaredDHardin Literally any roofer in Texas

@nickgraynews I should do this more. I see the same folks day in and day out but generally keep in my zone. Thanks for the great story!

I’m at the gym and there’s an older woman in her 70s laid out She’s taking up the prime space in front of the dumbbells just stretching out I am mad because I want to lift over there 😡 Now she’s picked up 10 lbs weights. Sigh She’s barely doing a bench press but maybe she’ll be done soon Oh she’s up to 20 lbs now I squeeze through to start my warm up Honestly she’s actually doing a nice little set. I still wish she would move but I respect the grind I lug some weights across the gym and set up my own bench press area I let her have all the space she needs I glance over between sets and she’s just knocking it out. No headphones no music just in the zone, set after set She’s lifting heavier now After 20 more minutes I see that she is wrapping up “Hey!” I say She looks over a little surprised because I was quiet the whole time “That was a great set. You crushed it!” She’s smiling and I walk over to say Hi Her name is Lisa and she works out with a trainer on FaceTime once a week “My trainer mostly helps me with balance stuff,” she tells me. “But you don’t need to worry about any of that!” I tell her I’m on my computers too much and that I also work out with a trainer once a week He keeps me honest, I say. Otherwise I would skip the workout or be on my phone the whole time We laugh and chat some more. She just moved here I tell her about the subsidized DXA body scans at the University of Texas and she takes a picture of my phone with the information to call them She thanks me for saying hello on her way out I recognize in her eyes that happiness when someone friendly strikes up a conversation I should do that more She’s leaving now and the gym is wide open I’m glad I said hello I walked in here mad about the space she was taking up But I’m finishing my sets now feeling inspired by Lisa Gas up your fellow gym rats. We can all use a little encouragement on the road to good health

I’m mentoring a 24 yo with real sales and entrepreneurial chops. His plan: - stay at a trade supplier for 4 yrs in hope of promotion - max out 401k and IRA - buy house - side gig for extra cash My suggestions: - start UW small ETA - set aside dry powder - bet on yourself

I’ve been a COO for over a decade. Here are 10 truths I’ve learned over the last 10 years: 1. Visionaries are actually smart, not just big thinkers. 2. Operations is the entire business. 3. Everyone needs accountability. Especially your top players. 4. There’s no such thing as too much data. 5. COO is the loneliest position in the company. 6. Anyone can be developed. Not everyone has what it takes. 7. Your worst employee is your/our fault, not theirs. 8. Sales people drive the business, not ops people. 9. Partnerships are even harder than you could ever imagine (biased opinion) 10. #2’s are more important than most Visionaries/CEO’s understand

@therobertbrooks 🔥 🔥

2nd best sales day today, 1 day after another record breaking month. New sales guy that started this week went 3 for 3 today all closed on the spot. Hired a 2nd install crew that starts Monday. Starting to feel some momentum..

@JackieHirsch_ Those are the ones that get through the spam filter…. Also note that about 80% appear to be intermediaries “I have a family office” etc. Very few appear to be actual real proprietary searchers who share genuine story / background.

@JackieHirsch_ Haha I’m not selling and I get at least 10+ per day

One of my business sellers is receiving 3-5 Buyer outreaches everyday! He told me he would love to sell his business just to not receive these outreaches by people he know can’t close the deal.

I need to buy a row of these in Orlando. Like in 10 months when this lease expires.

Ms. Kim has been doing alterations for me and my family for over a decade. She’s literally watched our kids grow up. What I respect most? Priorities. Every summer, she closes her Winter Park shop and takes her entire family (12 of them!) back home to Vietnam for 6 weeks. Family. Culture. Loyalty. Amazing woman. And a staple in this community. 👏

GOAL:

@sam_allsopp_ Are you guys still on Zoho on the backend?

Going to end April over $5.5m in revenue sold. 162% growth vs April 2025. How? Very simple - Get the wrong people off the boat and the right people on the boat.

@bairdk What precipitated the accelerated deal flow? Seller expectations? Distressed deals? I underwrote some a couple years ago, and cap Rates were lower than interest rate which made no sense to me to pursue.

Haven't bought a storage deal in 2.5 years. 3 weeks ago, I still had nothing in the pipeline. Today, I've got 175,000 sq ft under contract to close in May and June. It's slow until it's fast.

I knew I hired this guy for a reason to close our ETA acquisition 2 yrs ago!

$1M+ EBITDA Goal is worthy. In home and biz services anything below that implicitly means IMHO that you haven’t yet outsourced every job to your team. Reinvest in future growth via marketing, capex and talent. Defer your current income for your future self! LFG @Nads_Shariff !

This is the way. And there lots of paths but I agree 100% with this one.

This morning at the gym! When I was a kid, everyone wanted the Orange Krate… but I had a crush on the Pea Picker 💚 That green hit different. So much so that I painted my crap bike w green with latex paint, ugh. Still think the Pea Picker was the better bike esp w the stick shifter.

@JackieHirsch_ @jamesonhaslam @paulswaney3 Big Deck Energy + Big Duck Energy 😂

@jamesonhaslam @paulswaney3 Very kind of you Jameson. We talked about how we both follow you and love what you do. I also talked about @1JoeSpringsteen company Mallard Systems.

Wow amazing podcast have you ever heard these guys? Agree with everything they say, smartest people ever, must listen @paulswaney3 @JackieHirsch_

Everyone posting steak dinners*. Meanwhile: frozen nuggets + veggies in the air fryer, grinding at the shop. No time to waste on BS lunches. This is what “eating in” looks like before you earn the feast. * @irentdumpsters deserves to post steak dinners.