219. How Faith Turned a Heart Attack Into a $5 Billion Business

0:00Imagine this, you're lying in a hospital bed. You've just survived a massive heart attack. You feel like you've hit rock bottom spiritually, physically, and financially. In the quiet of that room, you have a conversation that changes everything. You feel God asking you a simple question, do you want to stay or do you want to go? John Stuart Hill chose to stay. But the path wasn't easy. He left his stable job with only one paycheck left to his name. He walked away from security to fight a battle against a dark industry armed with nothing but yellow legal pad and a divine sense of purpose. He faced death, he faced doubt, he faced a market that didn't believe in him.

0:37Today, he is the founder of Good Contractors List, backing billions of dollars in work and acting as a voice of truth for homeowners who have been burned. I'm Ryan Atkinson, and you're listening to the UpFoot Podcast, where we uncover the stories of entrepreneurs who turn their deepest pain into their greatest purpose. Today, John opens up about the hospital bed conversation, how faith fueled him when his bank account was empty, and how he manages to run a multi-million dollar business without losing his soul. I am so excited for this conversation today. John, thank you so much for being here.

1:04Thanks so much, Ron. I appreciate you having me. For listeners that have never heard of the good contractors, what do you do? We protect homeowners from bad contractors. And simply put, we actually separate the good guys from the bad guys, and we guarantee their work to the homeowner. So that's really what makes us way different than anything else out there, is we take responsibility for the people that we promote. Give us a metric on this. What's like something you're like, oh man, like I'm super happy we achieved this, did this, doesn't have to be revenue. What's a metric for you? Well, what's funny is in the beginning, I was told by a lot of business people that my business model was awful.

1:41They're like, that's the worst business model I've ever heard. You're limiting who you can sell to because you're just selling it to good contractors. And you're putting yourself at greater risk by guaranteeing every job that they do. That model is going to crash and burn before you get out of the chutes. And to date, after 14 years of doing this here in Dallas Fort Worth, we have backed over$5 billion in work. And to date,$127 ,000 that we've paid out of pocket. I think the process worked. I would say so. And we're going to talk more about building this business and some of the takeaways that you can share here.

2:18But let's go back now. What originally pulled you into this world of like contractor advertising back when you're like selling yellow page ads? Like, tell us more about this. Back in the day when I was selling yellow pages, you're pretty young. I mean, do you remember the yellow pages when they used to deliver a book to your house that had all these ads in them? I remember yellow pages. I wish I remember them a little bit more. I know what they are, though, of course. People need to keep these thick books and the white pages up in the front that had everybody's phone number in it. In the back, they had ads in these yellow pages.

2:48And so I used to sell the ads that went into the yellow pages. And I met with a bunch of different contractors that, you know, that I sold ads to. And there was a couple of times that I was there and I could overhear like a training going on. And I would hear some of the stuff that I was like, oh, my gosh, this is bad. Contractors can look however they want to in this ad. They're saying all these great things about themselves, and I'm hearing them talk about how they ripped off somebody, and they're laughing and joking about it. It was like I kind of got a little insider scoop way back then. It's like somebody's got to do something to protect homeowners because the guys that had all the expensive ads were some of the biggest crooks.

3:28And so that was my original concept of how contractors can present themselves however they want to. And so that's what got the idea started. Okay. So that got the idea started, but what actually pushed you to like do this then? Tell you a little bit about my backstory. At that moment, when I had the heart attack, I had been praying for two months for God to take me off the planet. I was like, God, I don't want to be here anymore. I looked back at my life and I had nothing but disappointment. Three failed marriages, never had a career, didn't have any education. It felt like I was going to go nowhere.

4:03And at the time I was selling coupons. That's where I was in life. I'd never made more than$50 ,000 in a whole year to that point that I can remember. And I was just kind of looking back and I looked at my future and I just, I just didn't feel hope at all. I didn't see any direction that I was going to go. And so while I was out selling coupons one day, I was talking to a plumber who said, you know what? I don't think I want to pay for this coupon, you know, the ad by myself. He goes, but I know an electrician that I fully trust. And I have a roofer that I fully trust that I wouldn't mind sharing an ad with.

4:39And it just kind of something clicked in me. And I was like, well, you're a trusted guy. And you know other trusted contractors that's not going to take advantage of people. And so I thought, well, you know, what if we just built like a website, simple website, and this was in the town of Mansfield, Texas, a simple website where you could be the plumber. This other guy could be the electrician. And we just get about 10 different kinds of services on there. And then y 'all could buy the coupon together. And, you know, y 'all could go in together to buy advertising. Then the next two nights I couldn't sleep.

5:12I was just like, you know, even though I had no background in business, I felt like God was downloading this plan in my head. And I was like, I have to do this. He's telling me this is what my purpose is. This is one of the things that's going to be what I do. And so the next day, I finally, I walked into my office. I was in outside sales. So I could have kind of tested the waters to see if it would work, right? See if anybody would buy it. But I did not want to take money from the guy that was paying me my$35 ,000 a year to sell coupons. And so I went into the boss and I said, man, I've got this idea.

5:49I feel like I have to do it. I'm not going to do it on your dime. And I quit. And so I said, I'm just going to have to go out there and see if this works. No website, nothing. I walked out with a yellow legal pad and a pen, and I just started going out and started talking to contractors about, let's separate the good guys from the bad guys. And beyond that, as a group, we're going to guarantee that everyone on this list is good to the homeowner. And so before I ever had a dime, I didn't collect anything yet. I was already, we're going to guarantee your work. I had one paycheck coming to me, no money in the bank, no savings account, no safety net.

6:28And I just stepped out in faith doing what I felt like God had downloaded in my mind. And I was just sharing the vision. And contractors loved it. They said, man, if you can make that happen, I want to be there. And they started writing checks. Wow. I'll be there. And so for several months, I didn't even have a website. As I was collecting money, I was paying my bills and setting money aside so that I could pay for a website to be designed, you know? Yeah. I want to ask about the moment like you quit, like knowing what you know now, obviously, obviously hindsight's 2020, you're obviously doing very well.

7:03Would you recommend a listener that's like, once again, an entrepreneurship, if they have this idea, would you recommend that they like just jump or like, would you recommend they have revenue under them? How would you approach that just for listeners that are thinking of like taking that jump? Cause you just jumped without a safety net, which is I applaud you. I did. I did. And honestly, and maybe my situation is a little bit different, but I didn't feel like it was a good idea. I felt it was a God idea. You know, it was one of those things I felt deep in my spirit. And so my suggestion is don't jump at every good idea you have.

7:36I mean, I still have good ideas that weren't God ideas. You know, that happens a lot. Weigh the options, but if you know it in your heart, just do it. You'll regret if you don't. Are you working a nine to five, but dream of entrepreneurial freedom? Look no further than the Uplip Academy, the number one entrepreneurial platform with 20 plus step-by-step courses taught by active business owners, live workshops, hands-on skill training, a business idea database, and a thriving entrepreneur community to keep you accountable. Click the link in the description below to join the Uflip Academy today and make this the year you stopped dreaming and started building your business without guesswork.

8:18You're talking like a lot about God and the spirit. Like where does that come from? Yeah. Tell us more about like, where does that come from? So on the day that I had my heart attack, like I said, I'd been praying for two months that God would just take me off the planet. And that night when they figured out it was my heart, they originally thought it was pneumonia because my lungs were full of fluid and it was during a freeze. And so I was a smoker. And so they took all those little things and said, okay, you've probably got pneumonia or bronchitis or something like that. And they admitted me to the hospital.

8:45Well, later that night, the doctor says, I just don't understand this. You don't have the symptoms of pneumonia that I'm seeing. We're going to have to do some more tests. And And when they ran those tests, they found out it was my heart. And so in the middle of the night, during one of the heaviest freezes in Dallas, Fort Worth, that roads were shut down, they asked me to have my family come back up to the hospital. And I was, I just, I don't understand. It's too dangerous if you are just going to run more tests. So I really didn't know the gravity of the situation. You know, they were wanting them to come up there because they wanted to say that she was like, they need to come up here so they can say their goodbyes.

9:19Because it was, it was a massive attack. And so I overheard a conversation out in the hall and it was, don't you have to get permission from the director to move him to ICU? And the doctor said, not in this case, he's tombstone. And that word like set me back. I was like, am I dying? You know, I was just like, wow. Okay. Well, I started thinking, man, I've been praying for death and here it is. I feel like all I would do is probably pass out. Like I would never even know what happened. And so I was kind of like, okay. And then this voice, it's not an audible voice. And so the reason I say this is because it came from something outside of me that said, John, do you want to stay or do you want to go?

10:03It was a question that he was putting my life in my own hands. That's what it felt like. And I really thought about it because I was ready to go. I mean, I got, I was just like, I don't know if I'm a Christian or not. I don't know where I stand on any of this stuff, but I just don't want to be here anymore. And what was louder than my desire to leave was the thing that really kept me here. And it was God saying, if you want to stay, if you decide to stay, I'll be with you and I'll give you a purpose. And that word purpose, just like I couldn't get rid of the thought. And so I finally took about an hour for the cardiologist to make his way in through the icy roads, just kind of put together what I really wanted.

10:45And I said, okay, God, I'd like to stay if that's okay with you, but I want to be remembered for doing something good. I want to live every day, not just be alive. And I want to touch as many people as I can the rest of the time I'm on this planet. And louder than any voice I've ever heard inside, so be it. And it was like, that moment changed my life because I went in looking at the past and all the failure and all the things and all the disappointment, looking to the future and seeing no hope to just knowing two new things, really. God was going to be with me and I had a purpose. No clue what that was, but I knew that I knew that I had a purpose.

11:30And so when I walked out of the hospital, still in the same job, still the same outward stuff, but my inside said, I have a purpose. God's going to have to be the one to get me there because I don't know how to do it myself. And I depended on God to push me, to lead me, to pull me into those places that he wanted me to be. And I had to trust that he would. And so I feel like the old man, that identity that I was before I went in there, loser, disappointment, all those things died on that table. Now I was a man of purpose, whether I knew what it was or not. And so that's why I have to bring God into it, because I did not start the good contractors list as a businessman or with anything going for me in that department.

12:17So how has that moment shaped you and as you're building today? I'm sure there is a lot of purpose-driven behind what you're doing, but talk to us more about, if you are gonna start a company, why is it important to have that purpose in mind when you are building something? Talk to us more about that. Yeah, and a lot of people go, what's your why? My why is my purpose and I can't define it. You know, it's like a lot of people, I want to be able to retire and have a house and a car and you can have the dream board and all those things that you're shooting for. But when you live a life of purpose and you realize that God is actually directing your steps, then if the business crashes, that's somehow part of your purpose.

12:59If it's successful, that's somehow part of your purpose. And when you live a life of purpose, it's not easy. It's not fun, but you take the direction that it goes. You make good decisions every day and you try your best to do what you think is right. But ultimately, if you have faith that you're doing what God's called you to do, it's going to work out the way that he wants it to. So my advice would be to let that inner voice guide you into what it is that you're wanting to do next. if someone is like trying to understand their purpose have it be with entrepreneurship or just like honestly like life in general here how would you recommend that they do that because i think having like a purpose-driven mindset is super important especially when starting your own company so i'm curious like how should someone like find that purpose if they feel like they don't have a purpose what i've learned is it's not about me and the more that i really truly care about how it impacts people, the better it becomes.

13:59So if you can just make small steps every day to do something that's going to impact people in a positive way, you'll start seeing things start to line up. And so what this world needs is more people who are genuine, who genuinely care. And so every question that I ever had as I was building this company wasn't how much more could I make? It was how much more could I give? And it seemed like the more that I give to the people that mean something, you know, like the homeowners that I'm protecting, you know, I'm going to guarantee this work. That's money that comes out of my revenue. It's not an insurance policy.

14:33There's not a bunch of hoops you got to walk through. It's a guarantee that if I've picked the wrong guy for this list, if we brought a contractor on here that isn't good, then I'm taking responsibility for that. And so I wanted to give more than I ever took from anybody. And that's the way I feel about it with contractors. I want to give more to a contractor than I take from them. And if that works with everybody involved, that's what you call a community, you know? And so that's really what I feel like my purpose is here on earth is to help build community that brings about a safer world. And so for contractors, I'm going to pull the good contractors out.

15:11I'm going to put them on the pedestal and I'm going to let them work together to make sure that that community stays pure. Homeowners and contractors together have kept me from having to pay more than I made. You know, I mean, like people told me you don't want to guarantee the work of a contractor because you can't trust contractors. Well, that's a lie. You can't trust all contractors. Yes. but there are some really good people out there. And I've met so many of them along the way that just want to do a good job, that want to go home proud of the job that they've done and that want to know that they haven't ripped off anybody.

15:46They gave somebody something of value and made someone else's world better. I like the concept here of you give more than you take. I really like that concept. Talk to us more about that. And I mean, obviously when you're like leading a business or whatnot, it's hard. Like sometimes you have to like scramble and like get what you need. out of somebody and sometimes like, you know, you will give more than you take. Can you give us an example of like giving more than we take and like why it's important for someone starting their own company that should have that same mindset? I'll take a look at what's out in the market right now.

16:16Like we're the only people that has ever had a full boat of contractors from all the fields of service that have been backed by a guarantee. Nobody else has done it. It's kind of a unique thing. But what is typical in the business world for contractor resources is they want to sell leads. Contractors need leads so that they can close business so that they can make money, right? I mean, so the thought process is let's go ahead and build a platform where we can collect leads and sell them. And so they sell as many leads to as many contractors for as much as possible. And that's how you make money on contractors, right?

16:56Well, we did just the opposite. And I'll tell you, I'm not afraid to say it. We charge a$500 setup fee and$250 a month, flat period. And what we are trying to do is bring the good contractors together, have them bring their good contractors in their community. And this is across the United States. This could be a small town. This could be a big city. But bring other good contractors together, band together, all saying the same thing. We're part of a movement of good contractors protecting homeowners. And so go to the goodcontractorslist.com to find your contractors. We give them all the tools necessary and they create a, what I like to call a community driven lead ecosystem.

17:39So because they band together, because they come together as a collective, the collective has authority. You know what I'm saying? It's like in that market, when people start hearing about this group of people who just do things right, and there's a guarantee that they're going to do things right, homeowners start going there. And so instead of trying to take more, whether they get 10 leads or 100 leads or whatever from their own work in bringing homeowners to the table, I don't charge them a dime extra. And so that's an example. That doesn't make sense. You mean you're willing to drive 100 leads to a contractor and him not have to pay more than$250 a month?

18:21I mean, it's worth it just to be able to say, I'm a contractor backed by a guarantee. But what I'm trying to get people to move out of is this, you know, contractors forever. The only thing they've ever known is self-promotion. And that only gets them so far because they're still lumped in with all the bad guys. And so some of them use that$25 ,000 guarantee and say, trust me because I'm backed. And what I want the world to see is, no, trust us because we are backed. And I don't want to get kicked off this list. And the truth of the matter is, is we've kicked lots of contractors off the list from everything from just being consistently rude.

19:01We've knocked people off the list for that. And here's something else we do. We go to the home. If there's a disagreement between a homeowner and a contractor, we go to the home. We send an inspector. We do what we need to do to find out who's telling the truth. because sometimes it's the contractor who is in the right and did everything right and the homeowner is trying to get something for free so it works both ways when it's a community working together the light shines and that's what it's like it's like a big light in this really dark industry and that's what i'm trying to do i want to be a light in the world i want people to see that there are genuine good people out there and i want to help people find those good people I like it.

19:40Super, super good. Before we dive into our fan blitz questions here, I just want to give advice for like beginners. Uh, like, so what would be, you know, one more piece of advice you would give to someone starting to service business with like limited money, but they have like a really strong mission that like similar to like what you have here. As soon as you can try to develop some kind of structure. I was out there on my own as a founder. I'm a founder visionary. I'm a visionary guy. And fortunately my wife, she could handle quick books and all that stuff. And so we've managed to stay healthy and good here in Dallas-Fort Worth, but I didn't understand the structure of going bigger or doing anything else.

20:17So even at those beginning stages, you have to identify, are you a dreamer that can do this? Because there's a lot of things that I had to do that I wasn't good at because there's two different groups here. There's the founder visionary, and then there's the integrator. And sometimes they're an opposing force, but I know that now, Like we recently in the last year, I brought on a partner who's an integrator. And so sometimes I hate his guts. And sometimes sometimes I realize, gosh, I'd be in so much trouble if I didn't have this guy. And I know that feeling. And so it's like it's like recognizing your own weaknesses and trying to find other people that are better than you.

20:56So I think Henry Ford, it was that was saying, you know, it's like I don't have all the answers, but I know someone who does. And that's kind of the thing about it is you want to surround yourself with people who are smarter than you. That wasn't hard for me. So it was like, that's easy to find people smarter than me. And so as soon as you can, just have somebody to help you through things. The second thing that I would say is don't listen to people who are trying to bash you, like bash your idea. Because there is as many people that would encourage you. There's probably twice as many people that would go, I don't know.

21:29I mean, I literally had people tell me that's the dumbest model I've ever heard. And all I knew is that, well, this is the model that I'm supposed to go with. So I'm doing it. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Follow your heart. But as soon as you can find somebody who kind of fills in those blanks. And like I said, I depended on God for that. It took 14 years for him to send that guy to me. But it's happening now. And so I guess that's my two things for sure. I like it. Well, let's dive into our Fan Blitz questions. And these are questions submitted from our community. listener. If you guys want to join in on world-class conversations, send us an email at podcast at upflip.com and submit your questions there.

22:04And we'll take any for our next episode. So John, here's our last five. Are you ready for them? I guess so. I'm not a fat. Let's do it. What is the biggest red flag homeowners should look for when hiring a contractor? Promising the world. Everyone's going to do it, but I think that it's whenever they overpromise, they're kind of overcompensating for something I feel like. So one, they need to go ahead and do their own investigations first. What is the biggest blessing of disguise you've ever experienced in business? You know, there's so many mistakes I've made that turned into some awesome things.

22:38And that's one of them is actually you can't trust anybody. You just got to sometimes go with what your heart says. What is one scripture or quote that carries you through the hardest times? It is Galatians 2 20 says that I have been crucified with Christ. It's no longer me that lives, but Christ that lives in me. And now I live by faith in the one who loves me and died for me. That's a really good quote. Two more for you. What is one thing you do daily to keep your ego in check? Remember who I am. I think it's just real easy. I'm not that brainiac, you know, I'm still me. And it's real easy whenever your identity isn't wrapped up in what you've done.

23:21It's more about how does God live through me? And so I've checked it all the time. Is this me or is this my ego? Last one for you. If you had to pass one lesson down to your grandkids about purpose, what would it be? If I could just get them to know who Jesus is, I would want that more than anything because the sooner we can learn to stop with self, let self die and let him live. I mean, life is just so much better. I hope they don't ever have to go through that. But I think we all have to go through something to get to the point where it's like, it's not about me. I really want you to do something like that in my life.

23:57So that's the one thing. Well, John, thank you so much for your time today. If someone's like, holy smokes, I need to talk with John, learn more about what you're doing. Where can they connect with you and do so at? Like I said, this is a movement. So we need everybody's help on this. If you go to the good contractors list, if you're a homeowner that knows a contractor that you know is quality, that's going to do the right thing every single time. Go to thegoodcontractorslist.com and go to refer a contractor. We actually pay out$125 referral fee if that contractor meets our qualifications and decides to join.

24:29So there's that. And if you are a contractor listening to this and you're like, I'm the guy, I'm the guy that will do those things. I'm the guy that won't sleep if I don't do the right thing. Then I want to hear from you and we can start your safe contractor community just with you and we'll start building out your network right there and you may never have to pay for leads again. Listeners, that was a great episode with John. Three quick takeaways for you. Purpose beats credentials. You gotta have a purpose before you actually build something that'll help you get through the hard times. Number two, give more than you take.