{"id":43359,"date":"2025-07-01T20:31:03","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T20:31:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=43359"},"modified":"2025-07-01T20:31:07","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T20:31:07","slug":"he-went-from-471k-in-debt-to-teaching-others-how-to-succeed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=43359","title":{"rendered":"He Went From $471K in Debt to Teaching Others How to Succeed"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n Entrepreneur <\/p>\n

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Joe Crisara didn’t set out to be a business coach. Like most tradespeople, he started with a toolbox, some hands-on skills and the dream of working for himself. But six years into running his own company, he found himself $471,000 in debt and on the brink of bankruptcy. That’s when a loyal customer \u2014 someone who’d seen how the stress took a toll on Crisara \u2014 finally asked, “How’s it really going?”<\/p>\n

That simple, gut-punch of a question became a turning point.<\/p>\n

Crisara realized he wasn’t just selling parts or labor. He was in the business of trust, confidence and peace of mind. Once he owned his mistakes, Crisara spent decades learning how to fix them \u2014 not just for himself, but for thousands of other service providers across the country. He founded Service MVP, a podcast and membership community, to provide contractors with the sales training and support he wished he had when he was first starting out.<\/p>\n

Related: Her Show Was Canceled \u2013 But the Setback Taught Busy Philipps a Powerful Lesson for Creators and Entrepreneurs<\/b><\/p>\n

One of Crisara’s biggest lessons is to stop thinking of your work as a line item. Customers assume they’re paying for a part or a few hours of labor, but Crisara insists the parts are free: “I always tell people\u2026100% of what you’re putting out there is your service. That’s the product. You are only providing service, and the parts are free.”<\/p>\n

Crisara encourages service providers to educate customers on their pricing structure. When done right, this kind of conversation doesn’t feel like a sales pitch. It actually builds trust and often diffuses price objections before they even come up. “It’s a burden that the service provider carries,” he says. “It’s your job to give that 30-second economics lesson to customers when they start to take you down a path that draws you into doing substandard work at a lower price.”<\/p>\n

When it comes to pricing, Crisara doesn’t sugarcoat it. He breaks down the ideal service business like this:<\/p>\n