Upcoming Events
Snowfighters Institute Webinars: Join us live for monthly webinars built to help snow pros run stronger, more profitable operations. All sessions run 10:00 to 11:00 AM.
Finding & Managing Subcontractors | Tuesday, August 11, 2026 How do you find subcontractors who actually show up when it snows?
Capacity Planning | Tuesday, September 8, 2026 How do you determine your true operational capacity?
Recruiting | Tuesday, October 13, 2026 Why can't you find good people to hire, and what can you do about it?
Incentive Compensation & Rewards | Tuesday, November 10, 2026 Are your bonuses and rewards actually driving the results you want?
Client & Employee Appreciation | Tuesday, December 8, 2026 Are you truly appreciating your clients and employees, or just going through the motions?
In-Person Event
GROW! Snow | September 22 to 23, 2026 An in-person event built for snow leaders and their teams. Two days of snow-specific breakout sessions, a facility tour, and content designed to drive real change at your business. Details coming soon.
Scott Lesak, President of Kasel Rocks Facility Services in Allentown, Pennsylvania, joins Phil to share his journey from professional track cyclist to firefighter to president of a mid-sized industrial snow operation. From starting a business with his dad at 15 while racing bicycles, to pivoting from high-end residential design build into recurring-revenue commercial snow, to running roughly 45 loaders across the entire eastern half of Pennsylvania, Scott shares hard-won lessons on communication, culture, and the personal transformation that reshaped how he leads. He also opens up about his firefighting years, his recovery from PTSD and alcohol, and why the change you want to see in your business starts within you.
Connect with Scott on LinkedIn
Key Learnings
Hire for Attitude, Not Experience - Skills can be taught, but the willingness to learn and show up upbeat is what actually predicts whether someone will grow into a great team member.
Recurring Revenue Multiplies Your Selling Effort - Selling $1.5M in one-time design build work every year gets you $1.5M, but selling $1.5M in three-year contracts stacks to $4.5M in revenue by year three.
12-Month Billing Reduces Snow Risk - Guaranteed 12-month billing on seasonal contracts is what makes it safe to invest in the loaders, plows, and equipment growth requires.
Relationships Beat Production in Sales - Clients don't care how you plow snow or cut grass, they care that it's done, so the relationship side of the sales process matters more than showing off your production process.
Not Everyone Thinks Like You Do - The older you get, the more you realize your thought process is unique, which means clarity and repetition in communication matter more than you think.
Communication Is a True Competitive Advantage - Sending weather forecasts, game plan updates, and real-time production updates keeps clients informed and separates you from every other contractor claiming the same service.
Get Ahead of Damage Before Clients Find It - When operators chip a curb or hit anything on site, having a system that puts a photo in front of the client within five minutes builds long-term trust instead of eroding it.
Standardize Your Scope and Never Sway - A detailed standardized scope with site maps, pile locations, plow directions, and priority areas removes ambiguity and delivers a consistent experience site to site.
Sell Snow as an Insurance Policy - When clients understand you're keeping their site safe against liability, they're often willing to pay considerably more than they paid the previous provider.
Standards Prevent Slip and Falls - Refusing to sway from a high standard scope is how a snow operation goes 20 years without a single slip and fall claim.
Get Plugged Into the Industry - Organizations like SIMA and events like Snow Alliance at Storks connect you to people who've already figured out what you're trying to figure out, and most operators are willing to help.
Ask Questions and Turn Vendors Into Mentors - The best mentorships often start informally, from a garden center you buy mulch from to a subcontracting relationship, if you're willing to be curious and ask why.
Culture Isn't Health Insurance and PTO - Real culture is caring enough to have the borderline uncomfortable conversation when someone seems off, and being willing to give people in recovery a real chance to grow.
Put People First, Then Clients, Then Profits - When you take care of people, they take care of clients, and clients take care of profits every single time.
You Are the Roadblock - The change you want to see in your business starts within you, so drop the ego, get humble, and look internally at what has to change.
Reflection Questions
Are you selling one-time work every year and starting over, or are you building a recurring revenue base that compounds over time?
How proactive is your damage communication with clients, and could you consistently get a photo of any issue in front of them within five minutes?
Where in your business are you blaming outside factors when the real roadblock is the way you think, act, or communicate?
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