We hadn’t been to a Nexstar Network event since the group’s early days after legendary contractors Frank Blau Jr., George Brazil and other forward-thinking home service business owners banded together to start what was then called Contractors 2000 in 1992.

In the more than three decades since, the organization has established a stellar record of helping its members in the PHC and electrical contracting markets achieve success through comprehensive business training, proven business systems and dedicated business coaching. The organization’s 130 employees stand ready to help its more than 1,000 members – who in turn employ more than 250,000 people – through transformative training, expert one-on-one coaching and sharing with other committed tradespeople.

“We’re member-owned,” says Julian Scadden, the organization’s CEO, “and that’s a big reason why we’ve continued to be a trusted industry resource more than 30 years. At our core, everything we do to serve our members helps them discover their success. Nexstar’s purpose is to continue to support our members as they grow their businesses, fuel their local economies and support their communities.”

Scadden has been in the home services industry himself for more than 20 years. What’s more, he’s worked for two Nexstar member companies, started his own Nexstar member business before joining Nexstar 11 years ago. Scadden was originally hired as an implementation coach, then managed the training and events team before spending three years as vice president of operations. In 2020, Scadden took over from Jack Tester, Nexstar’s founding CEO and well-known business coach, to lead the group.

While we attended the Nexstar Network’s 32nd Annual Super Meeting, Sept. 24-27, in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, we sat down with Scadden to find out more about him and the organization:

PHC News: Since this is our first time meeting, please tell us about yourself.

Scadden: Back when the organization was just getting started, I was a high school dropout. School just was not the place for me. Of course, I wanted a job and wanted to make money so I started out as a ditch digger for a mom-and-pop plumbing company in Colorado.

That company was acquired and merged with five other businesses. I was there for eight years and became a manager. So in the formative years of my 20s, I learned how to run a home services business. I learned numbers. I learned metrics. I learned how to make money. I learned how to keep money. And I also learned how to run off a lot of people. Because everyone knows you’ve got to be thick-skinned and aggressive and tough and all those things, right?

So looking back from what I know now, I wouldn’t say that what I learned there was a business culture that I would want to repeat. I say that very intentionally that it wasn’t a great experience for me nor was it the style of leadership I prefer or would like to see throughout our industry.

I ended up being recruited by some contractors within the organization who wanted to leave and start their own business – and one of the first things they did was join Nexstar. And that was so different in terms of the owners’ behavior and the culture they created at the company. 

As you can imagine, I’m very biased toward Nexstar and the work we do. But to go from my first job that was very much a top-down corporation and thinking that’s how a contracting company had to be, then to see how a Nexstar contracting company could be, well, that was a complete 180-degree difference, and I really loved the difference Nexstar made.

I learned a lot from working at that Nexstar business about the type of leader I wanted to be. Sure, you always have to be tough with the numbers, but you can also be loving to employees by offering a lot of training and a plan to develop everyone to new opportunities that they may not have thought they could have for themselves. That’s more in sync with my own personal beliefs and my own style. So I was just instantly attracted to the Nexstar philosophy.

I did go on to work for one more company that was also a Nexstar member before I decided to start my own business and, of course, when I opened up my own shop, I knew I needed to be a part of Nexstar.

And when I exited my business, all I wanted to be was a Nexstar coach.

PHC News: That’s an interesting career track. But how exactly did you make such a transition?

Scadden: Not as hard as you may think. Jack Tester, who was then the CEO of Nexstar, was also my business coach. The company I started grew and did very well under Jack’s guidance. So when I did leave the business, I started my own consultancy, but I’d always keep in touch with Jack, and he knew I wanted to be a Nexstar coach. One day Jack called and asked, hey, you still want to be a coach? Heck, yeah. That was in 2013. I ended up relocating from Atlanta to Minnesota for the opportunity.

Jack was busy growing the organization and we were busy growing our training and that presented more opportunities for me. Jack helped me every step of the way. I always figured Jack had many years to go at Nexstar, but one day he told me he was planning to step down in another year and if I ever thought about becoming the CEO, now was the time to speak up. I never dreamt that I’d be running an organization I had admired so much for so long.

PHC News: In the three years that you’ve been CEO, how has Nexstar changed?

Scadden: I would say that we started to add coaches that are more specialists. When I was a member, the coaches were all generalists. When I was running my business, for example, I went to Jack and he talked to me about how to develop a marketing strategy. And he also talked to me about staffing and managing a call center. Any number of other business functions, it was Jack as the coach.

While our members always have looked at us for innovation, it’s not just a one-way street. What Nexstar has also done lately is to go out to our members and learn what they’re doing. And if those successful processes are scalable, we repackage it and then present it to our members at large. As a result, we now have specialists that we can deploy to help each function in our members’ businesses. After all, accountants and inventory managers need coaches, too.

Take inventory. It’s probably one of the largest pieces of the balance sheet. But when’s the last time one of our members did an actual physical count? What’s the process for replenishing the trucks? How about what to do to handle warranties? We have an Inventory Management Coach who can really help with all of these processes.

As for other changes, I’d also say that in these past three years in particular we’re all learning how to navigate. During the pandemic, we had to help our members navigate how to enter their customers’ homes safely and how to safely run a service call. While we are past that now, just consider how big of a change that was.

And we’re all still navigating. Just look at how how technology is affecting everyone. Artificial intelligence is the latest technology buzzword.

If you go back to the days of Frank Blau, however, you’ll remember that Frank was always preaching about efficiencies. Back then, Frank may have focused on financial efficiencies, but technology is just another way to make businesses run as efficiently as possible.

So in preparation for this Super Meeting, we went to members who are using AI. We brought in a consultant a year ago for our own internal operations, and we asked, what would you to do focus AI to the home services market. He put together a framework for the members in part from what was already working for our members.

Our members are growing at an accelerated rate and it’s all built on the foundation that Frank gave us of being strong operators. And now we’re see member businesses get into all kinds of entrepreneurial endeavors that I never would’ve imagined

PHC News: So what’s your next stage for Nexstar?

Scadden: The plan is simple: keep serving our members and pursue our mission of helping the world’s best tradespeople become the world’s best businesspeople. When I took over, I kept service levels and engagement top of mind. If a member needs a coach whether that’s by phone or an onsite visit, we make that happen as quickly as possible.

But one other thing I’m also keeping in mind is how to keep growing this organization. And maybe instead of adding another new member, we stay hyper focused on offering services to help our members grow. Here’s the future, at least one version: We have members now that need to start becoming the teachers. They have reached a level of business acumen where we are going to start transitioning more members into member mentors and become more aggressive than we have historically at helping the smaller contractors improve their operations. 

Nexstar Network Hosts 32nd Annual Super Meeting

More than 900 members and vendor partners attended Nexstar Network’s annual Super Meeting, with its theme, “Built to Scale,” held September 24–27, at the Walt Disney World Dolphin Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

Key note presentations, included well-known social media marketing expert Gary Vaynerchuk (better known as Gary Vee) and Rocky Ozaki, CEO of NoW of Work Inc. who walked attendees through artificial intelligences, one of the biggest transformation facing all of us. ITR Economics Consulting Principal and Chief Economist Brian Beaulieu gave one of the best rundowns on the economy we’ve ever heard. The meeting concluded with remarks from the Governator, himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger. While Hurricane Helene prevented him from attending in person, Schwarzenegger appeared via Zoom.

Over the course of four days, the event featured dedicated spaces and times for members to meet with their business coaches, as well as multiple social and networking events. Every day the event was designed to help owners in the trades make connections, learn how to take their businesses to the next level, and harness emerging technologies in the industry.

Breakout sessions taught by Nexstar coaches and trainers as well as Strategic Partners focused on AI and other new technologies, operational marketing, creating efficiencies, and working to improve business practices. Participants at Super Meeting also attended a jam-packed, two-day Strategic Partner trade show, Strategic Partner-sponsored social activities, speed-networking events, a Women of Nexstar reception, a nonprofit fundraising fireworks and dessert party for Explore The Trades, and other networking functions.