Success in the home services industry rarely happens overnight. For Victor Rancour, CEO of Rocket Group and co-founder of Profit Rocket, it began with something surprisingly simple: answering a Craigslist job posting.
What followed was an extraordinary journey — from earning minimum wage and searching for direction to becoming one of the country’s top HVAC sales professionals, building a thriving HVAC company, selling it to private equity, and now helping contractors nationwide scale their businesses.
In Episode 25 of Home Service Headquarters, Victor shares the lessons he’s learned along the way and offers practical advice that contractors at every stage can apply to their own businesses.
A Career That Started With a Craigslist Ad
Before entering the trades, Victor admits he had little direction. He worked a variety of jobs, from changing oil to construction, while trying to figure out what career path made sense.
Everything changed when he stumbled across a Craigslist ad for an HVAC technician position.
He didn’t even know what HVAC stood for.
What caught his attention wasn’t the industry, it was the opportunity. The company offered paid training, a service truck, and a salary that far exceeded anything he had earned before.
That single decision would completely reshape his future.
“It was probably the best thing I ever did.”
Learning Sales at the Highest Level
Victor’s first employer, Service Champions, immersed him in one of the most sophisticated sales organizations in the home services industry.
There he learned:
- Structured sales processes
- Customer education
- Premium pricing
- Consistency
- Professional training
Within a year, he became one of the company’s top-performing technicians.
But more importantly, he learned that great companies don’t compete on price — they compete on value.
That lesson would influence every business he built afterward.
Building a Business From Scratch
After moving to another HVAC company and gaining exposure to operations, marketing, and business management, Victor realized something important:
If he could help improve someone else’s company, he could build his own.
His first office? A pizza shop parking lot. His first payment? Processed through the pizza restaurant because he didn’t yet have merchant services. Like many entrepreneurs, he figured things out as he went.
Within months, the business surpassed $1 million in revenue. Within a year, it reached $5 million. Later, it would exceed $12 million before ultimately being acquired by private equity.
Pricing for the Business You Want
One of Victor’s biggest messages throughout the episode centers on pricing.
Many contractors undercharge because they’re pricing based on today’s expenses rather than tomorrow’s growth.
As businesses expand, overhead increases dramatically. Without adjusting pricing, companies often find themselves generating more revenue while becoming less profitable.
“You can’t price for the company you are. You’ve got to price for the company you want to be.”
Instead of asking what competitors charge, Victor encourages owners to calculate what they need to charge to support the company they’re trying to build.
Coaching Contractors Through Profit Rocket
After growing his own business, Victor launched Profit Rocket to teach contractors the systems, sales strategies, and operational processes that fueled his success.
What began as sales training quickly expanded into comprehensive business coaching, operational playbooks, and implementation resources.
The experience revealed another challenge facing contractors.
Knowledge wasn’t the problem. Execution was.
Many business owners knew what they should do — they simply struggled to implement it consistently. That realization ultimately inspired Victor’s next venture.
Rocket Group: A Different Kind of Partnership
Rather than simply advising business owners, Rocket Group partners directly with contractors to help scale their businesses.
The Rocket Group team works alongside owners to improve operations, recruiting, branding, marketing, financial reporting, and leadership while allowing business owners to focus on what they do best.
The results have been impressive.
Victor shares examples of businesses growing from under $2 million to more than $12 million in just a few years while dramatically improving profitability.
Private Equity Isn't the Enemy
Private equity often generates mixed opinions within the home services industry.
Victor offers a more balanced perspective.
He believes private equity has created tremendous opportunities for contractors by providing meaningful exit strategies and helping owners realize the value of businesses they’ve spent decades building.
However, he also believes contractors shouldn’t feel pressured to sell before maximizing their company’s potential.
“Build a business private equity wants to buy — but don’t build one you have to sell.”
For Victor, the goal is creating businesses that are valuable enough to attract buyers while remaining profitable enough that owners can choose whether selling makes sense.
Culture Still Matters
Despite his focus on growth, Victor repeatedly returns to one principle: People matter.
Whether it’s rewarding employees, investing in training, or creating opportunities for professional development, he believes exceptional culture creates exceptional customer experiences.
“Treat your people well, they’ll treat your customers well, and your business will grow.”
It’s a reminder that sustainable growth isn’t built solely through marketing or sales. It comes from developing great teams.
Looking Ahead: Brick by Brick
The episode concludes with a preview of Victor’s new book, Brick by Brick, a marketing guide written specifically for home services contractors.
Rather than promoting a single marketing channel, Victor shares practical lessons from years of testing strategies across multiple businesses and markets.
The goal is simple: help contractors avoid expensive mistakes and invest in the marketing channels that generate the greatest return for their stage of growth.
As he explains, every business — from startup to established company — can benefit from understanding when and where to invest its marketing dollars.
Final Thoughts
Victor Rancour’s story demonstrates that success in the home services industry isn’t reserved for people born into the business. It’s built through continuous learning, disciplined systems, strong leadership, and the willingness to adapt.
From answering a Craigslist ad to leading a growing portfolio of home services companies, Victor has experienced nearly every stage of the contractor journey.
For anyone looking to build a stronger business, his lessons on pricing, marketing, culture, and implementation provide a practical roadmap for long-term growth.
Make sure to follow Home Service Headquarters on your favorite podcast platform to hear more stories and best practices for your home services business.
Watch Episode 25
Get in Contact With Victor Rancour, the Rocket Group, and Profit Rocket
Rocket Group: https://rocketgroupholdings.com/#section-bCN-zLLaWS
Profit Rocket: https://callprofitrocket.com/
Brick by Brick by Victor Rancour – direct purchase link or find it on Amazon
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victor-rancour-51605a48/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victor.rancour/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victor_rancour/
This episode of Home Service Headquarters is sponsored by Project 2 Payment. From CRM and scheduling to estimates, invoicing, and payment processing, Project 2 Payment gives home services businesses the tools they need to streamline operations, improve cash flow, and scale with confidence.
