Vision Comes First: The Power of Coaching and Mentorship in Field Service

Mark Hummel shares how business coaching saved him from a government career trajectory he didn't actually want-and now helps hundreds of service business owners escape the technician trap that's keeping them stuck. His background managing large-scale disasters and emergency response taught him that systems, processes, and team building transcend industries-skills he now applies helping inspection companies grow from solopreneurs to enterprise operations. His counterintuitive insight: business vision means nothing without life vision first. "It actually starts with a life vision, a reason to excel in business in the first place. What's going on outside your business is contributing to function or dysfunction underneath the hood." Mark identifies the #1 issue plaguing small businesses: lack of clarity-not absolute clarity (which he calls an unrealistic goal), but being "clear enough to take a step" repeatedly. Most owners either have long-term vision but no idea what to do today, or they're clear on today but have no idea why they're doing it. His prescription: focus on one to three most important priorities maximum. "If we have more than three high-level goals, we're basically going to accomplish nothing. If we have three, we'll typically accomplish a couple. If we have one, we'll typically nail it." His coaching methodology centers on "people, culture, numbers" and the SOG model (Service, Operations, Growth)-building businesses where owners can become irrelevant through systems that run without them. The transformation he loves most: watching the light bulb moment when technicians realize they'll never achieve their goals operating as technicians, and they shift into owner mentality forever. With 300 clients ranging from $147/month mastermind memberships to $2,000/month enterprise coaching, Mark emphasizes coaching isn't for everyone-only those ready to execute. "You don't need a coach to change your life. What it does is give you a shortcut, cut out trial and error of spinning your wheels for years, sometimes decades." His "2 by 2 exercise" forces owners to carve out two hours twice weekly for future-oriented work (installing systems, processes, people) rather than just in-the-business technician work. This simple discipline-combined with daily huddles, weekly leadership meetings, and quarterly strategy assessments-creates the rhythms that transform chaos into scalable growth. Expanding beyond inspections into pest control and faith-based entrepreneur coaching, Mark's ultimate message: "Whatever you do, don't do it alone. Find a mentor, a friend, somebody who can just talk to you about what you want to do."