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.

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?

See the full webinar list →

GROW! Snow 2027 | September 14 to 15, 2027 in Madison, Wisconsin Registration is open now. Grow! Snow is built for snow leaders and their teams, with snow-specific breakouts, a facility tour, and content designed to drive real change at your business. The 2027 Shark Tank competition will return with another full-circle prize package, so if you want to pitch your growth plan to a panel of industry partners for a chance to win equipment, coaching, and weather data support, this is the year to start preparing.

Claim your seat now: snowfightersinstitute.com

Vince Torchia, Vice President of The Grow Group, joins Phil for a behind-the-scenes look at the partnership powering the next chapter of Snowfighters Institute. From the origin story of GROW (the three-day event in Savannah this February), to the ACE Peer Groups now running 19 strong across the country, to a preview of Grow! Snow 2027 in Madison with Shawn Carrington, Vince shares why this partnership exists and how the Snowfighters community is being built out. Also previewed: a new membership bundle, Inner Circle 2027 in Grand Rapids, monthly webinars, and the growing network of Snowfighters peer groups.

Key Learnings

Accessible Education Beats Fancy Facilities - Marty's model at Grunder Landscaping works because the shop is relatable, not showy, and visitors leave thinking "I can do this" instead of "that's out of reach."

Peer Groups Make the Industry Feel Small - Being in a group of 10 to 15 companies gives you a network that an event of hundreds can't, and that's where real business growth happens.

Second-Level Leaders Deserve Their Own Rooms - The new peer groups for salespeople, operations, and finance teams let non-owners build their own networks and come back energized to drive their departments forward.

Teams Change Everything at Live Events - When owners bring their teams to GROW instead of attending alone, the whole company comes back aligned and ready to execute together.

Accessible Doesn't Mean Light - Grow! Snow 2026 proved contractors want real, substantive education with clear takeaways, not just happy hours and sprinkled content.

Validation Matters as Much as New Ideas - Half of what attendees get from events like Grow! Snow is confirmation that they're already on the right track, which is just as valuable as learning something brand new.

Reflection Questions

Are you bringing your team to industry events so they come back with the same motivation and content as you, or are you attending alone and trying to translate it later?

Where in your business could a peer group of 10 to 15 non-competing owners (or your sales, ops, or finance leaders) help you solve problems faster than figuring them out on your own?

• (00:00:00) - Start
• (00:00:20) - Welcome and Introductions
• (00:01:03) - How Vince Got to The Grow Group
• (00:02:48) - Behind the Marty Grunder Model
• (00:06:02) - What The Grow Group Does
• (00:06:51) - The Origin of GROW
• (00:11:44) - Why Peer Groups Work
• (00:15:59) - The Next Chapter for Snowfighters
• (00:17:54) - Inside Grow! Snow 2026
• (00:20:26) - Grow! Snow 2027 in Madison
• (00:21:28) - The Membership Bundle Coming Soon
• (00:23:42) - Inner Circle in Grand Rapids
• (00:25:42) - How to Get Involved

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.

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?

See the full webinar list →

GROW! Snow 2027 | September 14 to 15, 2027 in Madison, Wisconsin Registration is open now. Grow! Snow is built for snow leaders and their teams, with snow-specific breakouts, a facility tour, and content designed to drive real change at your business. The 2027 Shark Tank competition will return with another full-circle prize package, so if you want to pitch your growth plan to a panel of industry partners for a chance to win equipment, coaching, and weather data support, this is the year to start preparing.

Claim your seat now: snowfightersinstitute.com

Katie Roell, Senior Marketing Manager at BOSS Snowplows, joins Phil to recap the inaugural Shark Tank competition at Grow! Snow 2026 and share why BOSS wanted to go beyond equipment to support contractors in a more holistic way. From the full-circle prize package (equipment, coaching, weather data), to the Vancouver-based winner ParaSpace who took a 10-hour Uber from Chicago just to be there, Katie makes the case for why the next version of this competition at Grow! Snow 2027 in Madison, Wisconsin is worth planning for now.

Key Learnings

Contractors Need More Than Equipment - Snow pros rarely open conversations with equipment needs, they open with labor, salt, deployment decisions, and ROI on technology, so support packages should reflect what actually moves a business forward.

Commitment Separates Winners - A 10-hour Uber ride from Chicago to Dayton with three teammates isn't a travel plan, it's a signal, and that kind of commitment is often what sets the winners apart.

Full Circle Beats a Logo on a Screen - Bringing partners together to deliver equipment support, coaching, and weather data creates real impact for a contractor, while slapping a logo on a sponsor slide creates nothing.

Pitch Clarity Wins Rooms - Two minutes is enough time to communicate how you'll grow if your message is clear, your plan is feasible, and you can show how a package like this changes your trajectory.

Low Snow Markets Need Different Playbooks - A business expanding into snow in Vancouver needs different contract structures, staffing plans, and equipment mix than one in a traditional snow belt, and that's where coaching matters most.

Prepare Your Pitch Early - This episode is the heads up, so if growth is on your 2027 roadmap, start building your two-minute pitch now and plan to bring your team.

Reflection Questions

If you had two minutes in front of a room of industry partners to pitch how you want to grow, could you deliver a clear plan today, or do you need to start working on it now?

Where in your business are you investing in equipment when the real growth lever is coaching, data, or partnerships you haven't built yet?

• (00:00:00) - Start
• (00:00:21) - Welcome & Meet Katie with BOSS
• (00:01:11) - Inside the Shark Tank Idea
• (00:03:27) - How We Judged the Pitches
• (00:05:54) - Why BOSS Went Beyond Equipment
• (00:08:01) - Meet the Winner: ParaSpace
• (00:10:31) - Supporting a First-Year Snow Business
• (00:11:16) - What’s Changing for 2027
• (00:13:12) - BOSS at Equip Expo
• (00:15:00) - Grow! Snow 2027

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.

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?

See the full webinar list →

Eddy Zakes, CEO of Earth Development, joins Phil to share how a commercial snow and landscape company based in Green Bay has grown into a 15-state operation built almost entirely on a service partner network. From acquiring the business in 2021 with no snow industry background, to defining core values and brand promises in a February Airbnb in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, to a negligent homicide lawsuit that reshaped how he thinks about documentation, Eddy shares the operational, cultural, and structural moves that make Earth Development different in a space known for burning subcontractors.

Connect with Eddy:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eddyzakes/
• Website: earthdevelopmentinc.com

Key Learnings

Don't Mess Up What You Bought - When you acquire an attractive business, your first job is to learn it and not break it, because you bought it for a reason and every employee is better at their job than you are on day one.

Brand Promises Have to Be Reciprocal - If you promise clients you'll be reliable, responsive, and partnering, you need service partners, employees, and even clients showing up the same way, otherwise the promises collapse.

Service Partners Are a Two-Sided Marketplace - In every community, there are only a handful of great service partners, so protect that trust because if you burn them, you lose access to everyone they know for years.

Recruit Service Partners a Year in Advance - Have conversations with potential partners in new markets before you have work for them, so when the customer expands, you're not starting from zero.

Insurance Is the Fastest Disqualifier - The level of insurance a contractor carries is what separates serious commercial snow and ice pros from the people just dabbling.

Service Verification Isn't Going Away - Instead of grumbling about the proliferation of apps, embrace them as the tool that protects your company when the worst-case lawsuit hits.

Document Every Decline - Recorded phone calls saved Earth Development in a negligent homicide lawsuit tied to a client refusing extra salting, so build the systems that document what happened and what was refused.

Fair and Generous Beats Suspicious - Lead with a posture of generosity, backstop it with fairness, and accept that you'll occasionally get taken advantage of because the alternative is living suspicious of everyone.

Be a Resource, Not the Eye in the Sky - Monitor service partners nonstop, but show up alongside them during storms with field operations supervisors instead of playing gotcha after the fact.

High Expectations Attract the Right Partners - Great service partners want to be part of an elite performance environment, so don't apologize for the accounta...

• (00:00:00) - Welcome and Guest Intro
• (00:00:40) - Inside Earth Development
• (00:02:59) - Six Years of Growth
• (00:05:08) - The Service Partner Model
• (00:07:49) - Core Values and Brand Promises
• (00:13:13) - Recruiting Great Partners
• (00:23:32) - Why Service Verification Matters
• (00:28:56) - Running a 15-State Operation
• (00:31:49) - Fair and Generous Leadership
• (00:36:54) - From Light Bulbs to Snow
• (00:44:10) - Do You Love Snow?
• (00:45:35) - Wrap Up