Crawl Spaces Aren’t Fun, But Getting Good Reviews Are — with Howard Jones

Emergencies don’t wait for office hours, and neither does Howard Jones. As the owner-operator of Healthy Home Environmental, he steps into flooded rooms and damp crawl spaces with a simple promise: fast response, straight talk, and work done the right way. We explore what that looks like behind the scenes—where planning, education, and trust separate real pros from rushed jobs.

Howard explains why there’s no such thing as an ironclad mold guarantee and why honest post-job testing is the only responsible way to talk about spore counts. He lays out the operational playbook that keeps clients calm and projects on track: staging materials ahead of time, moving quickly to prevent microbial growth, and staying personally involved on site. Instead of pouring money into ads, he invests in relationships with realtors, homeowners, and adjusters. That network, built over decades, powers a steady flow of referrals and five-star reviews without the hype.

We also get real about leadership and lifestyle. Hiring for punctuality and grit, Howard leads by example and isn’t afraid to crawl where the work demands. He shares why staying small by design helps maintain quality, how a single bad job can dent years of goodwill, and what it takes to keep boundaries when the phone never stops ringing. There’s heart here, too—family as inspiration, pride in a son’s successes, and the quiet discipline of showing up even when it’s hard.

If you care about building a service business that lasts, you’ll find practical lessons on reputation management, client education, moisture and mold best practices, and the power of doing the simple things well. Subscribe, share this with a fellow owner, and leave a quick review to help more listeners find stories that cut through the noise.

Thanks for Listening. You may contact me or our team at https://billgilliland.biz/

All the best!
Bill

Thanks for listening. Please hit the subscribe button, leave us a 5 star review, and share this podcast. You can reach me at [e-mail] or at https://billgilliland.biz/

All the best!

Bill

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_01 (01:13):
All righty, welcome to this week's episode of Epic
Entrepreneurs.
I am Cliff McCray, filling infor Bill Gimelan with your local
business training and coachingfirm, Action Coach Business
Growth Partners.
I'm excited to have Howard Joneswith Healthy Home Environmental
as the focus for our EpicEntrepreneurs podcast episode
today.
So, Howard, please introduceyourself and tell us a little
bit about yourself and yourcompany and what you do for the

(01:35):
community.

SPEAKER_02 (01:36):
Uh hi, my name is Howard Jones.
I'm the district project managerand uh owner operator of Healthy
Home Environmental.
Uh we do uh water damage, flooddamage, mold remediation, uh
crawl space encapsulations.
Um we have 24-hour response.

(01:57):
Uh we, you know, we we we'regonna be there with a uh very
educated and common senseapproach to uh any issues that
you might have when it comes touh water and mold.

SPEAKER_01 (02:09):
Perfect, perfect.
Any guarantees involved?

SPEAKER_02 (02:12):
Uh well, you know, with with uh with the work as
far as mold, as far asguarantees, uh, we can do
testing after uh the job hasbeen completed, and that will
give you some empirical data tosay that you know that will give
you what the spore counts are atthat particular time.
The thing about mold is mold isan evolving issue because I

(02:32):
could clean it and theoreticallyyou could have an issue the next
day, and then the spore countsare gonna change, of course.
So uh the if anyone is tellingyou they can give you an
ironclad guarantee, they'rethey're pulling your leg because
it is all mold is definitelyit's gonna be contingent on
conditions because uh again,conditions can change from day

(02:55):
to day.

SPEAKER_01 (02:56):
Okay, perfect.
All right.
So if you had to start yourbusiness from square one
tomorrow, what would you dodifferently?
Man, uh that's a good one, huh?

SPEAKER_02 (03:09):
Yeah, that is a good one.
I I I don't know if uh if Iwould do anything different.
Uh, I worked for another companyfor a number of years, and um I
really realized that you know,even though it it's not uh, I
mean, it's it's mold, water,damage, it's a people business.
And uh having personalrelationships with realtors and

(03:31):
homeowners and insuranceadjusters uh have really
propelled me forward in uh beingan entrepreneur.

SPEAKER_01 (03:41):
I'm sorry, could you go ahead and repeat that again?
Yeah, kind of cut out there fora second.

SPEAKER_02 (03:45):
Uh I said uh it's it's really uh trying to
cultivate personal relationshipswith not only homeowners but uh
realtors and uh insuranceadjusters.
Uh that's that is a primary uhconcept that needs to be
cultivated if you're gonna havea successful business in this
business.

SPEAKER_01 (04:04):
Okay, perfect.
All right.
So, what have your biggestlearnings been as an owner and
employer since you started yourbusiness?

SPEAKER_02 (04:13):
Uh every job uh is different.
Um, and you're you're reallyonly known for your last job.
Um, and so that's why I try totake uh every job as if it's
gonna be my my first job, andand I'm trying to make a a uh a
lasting impression no matter howmany jobs I've done.

SPEAKER_01 (04:33):
Okay, okay.
So so basically, you know, youyou treat every job like you
know, like like your lifedepends on little guests, as
you're saying.

SPEAKER_02 (04:41):
I mean, because it really does.
Uh because uh I mean, I couldhave a thousand great jobs that
nothing went wrong, and I couldhave one bad job when that could
literally tear you down.

SPEAKER_01 (04:52):
Yeah, and especially how word of mouth gets out these
days, Google reviews, stuff.

SPEAKER_02 (04:55):
Yeah, it exactly, exactly.
And I I really don't do a lot ofum advertising uh just because
of my I've been doing this for20 plus years, and so the
relationships that I cultivateduh during those 20 years have
really propelled me.
So I really don't do a lot of umadvertising.
It's just word of mouth uh frompeople who have been happy with

(05:18):
the work that I've done, tellingother people about it when they
are confronted with a similarsituation.

SPEAKER_01 (05:24):
Okay.
That's a great way to runbusiness, yeah.
So, what are some commonmisconceptions about running a
business and how do you addressthem?

SPEAKER_02 (05:34):
Uh, that it's uh that it's all peaches and cream.
Uh, I mean, everything falls onyou.
You either get it done or youdon't get it done.
Um I I I don't think anyonewould really think that running
a business is easy.
Um but it can be a little bitmore challenging when you're on
your own business because uheverything is on your shoulders.

(05:56):
So if I don't get out there andget work done, then you know the
money isn't coming in, and thenyou know, you're in trouble.

SPEAKER_01 (06:04):
Okay, okay.
What have you attributed to yourgrowth so far in your business?

SPEAKER_02 (06:11):
Uh a common sense approach in treating people uh
the way that they should betreated.
Uh there's a lot of room for uhmistreatment, especially in the
the mold industry, because uhthere are a lot of variables
that if you just don't know, youjust don't know.
And so you can be takenadvantage of uh because of that

(06:32):
lack of knowledge.

SPEAKER_01 (06:34):
Okay.

SPEAKER_02 (06:34):
So so really being knowledgeable about what you're
doing and all that and and justjust treating people fairly.

unknown (06:42):
Okay.

SPEAKER_01 (06:43):
So how do you balance your personal life with
the demands of running abusiness?

SPEAKER_02 (06:47):
I mean, it's not easy, but you just have to uh I
guess you know, you have to begood at scheduling.
Uh I have uh, you know, my my myfamily, and and family is a
very, very important to me.
Uh, but then again, you know,you you have there's things that
you just have to take care of.
And so uh they're verysupportive of me and what I do.

(07:10):
And so you you can't be in twoplaces at one time.
So you have to just try toprioritize this best you can.

SPEAKER_01 (07:17):
Okay.
And speaking of family, youknow, I don't, you know,
obviously we've we've talkedbefore about your son.
Would you like to give him aquick shout out on what he does?

SPEAKER_02 (07:25):
Uh sure would.
Uh Hayden Jones, uh sophomorelinebacker from the University
of Alabama, roll tied.
Uh uh, he is a uh great player.
He's he's from obviously he'sfrom Asheville.
He went to Christ school.
Uh he was an under armor allAmerican.
Uh, and now he's uh a linebackerfor the University of Alabama.

SPEAKER_01 (07:48):
Yeah, that's awesome.
That's awesome.
Yeah, so um and now as far asyou know keeping your balance,
balancing your personal lifewith the demands of running a
business, how do you handlevacations?

SPEAKER_02 (07:58):
Uh I don't I don't even know what that is.
Oh uh it it it is very hardagain.
If if you're if you're runningyour own business, if you're not
here or there, uh then youyou're you're not there.
And so uh it's very hard to tryto schedule something like that

(08:19):
because like I mean, ifliterally if when and if I just
go to football games down in uhTuscaloosa, my phone will start
blowing up of people wanting tocontact me and wanting to see
me.
It's almost like they have asixth sense of knowing I'm
trying to get out of town andtrying to get a little me time,
and so it it's really hard to dothat.

SPEAKER_01 (08:41):
How long does that drive typically take?

SPEAKER_02 (08:44):
Uh about six and a half, seven hours, depending on
traffic in Atlanta.
Uh, you have to go through, youdon't have to go through
Atlanta, but that's a that's theshortest route.
Uh and if you don't get there atuh uh you know any time before
two or three o'clock, it startsto get you know kind of hectic
going through Atlanta.

SPEAKER_01 (09:03):
Oh yeah.
I feel like Atlanta's alwayspretty busy.

SPEAKER_02 (09:06):
I mean, it it really I mean at no time is there not
traffic, but it's just that ifyou can get there early enough,
the traffic isn't as bad.

SPEAKER_01 (09:16):
Okay.
Okay, perfect.
So you know what qualities yousaid you do have some employees.
What qualities do you look forin employees and how do you
foster a positive and productivework environment?

SPEAKER_02 (09:28):
Um hard working, uh punctual, um dependable.
Uh we I I run a tight ship, butit's laid back at the same time.
Uh, I wouldn't ask them to doanything that I wouldn't do
myself.
Um, I'm generally on every jobsite uh at some point um to

(09:50):
answer questions or to you knowtry to uh uh talk to the guys
about what needs to be donetoday and uh you know how how
the job is coming along.
Um really again, it's just uhtreating them as as if like I
would want to be treated as a asan employee of someone.

SPEAKER_01 (10:10):
Yeah.
And make sure they actuallyenjoy coming to work every day,
right?

SPEAKER_02 (10:16):
I mean, I don't I don't know if they actually
enjoy it.
Uh I I don't know many peoplewho actually, you know, if they
can look at their job and justsay, man, I really love doing
it.
But uh in in life, you know,some things just have to be just
have to get done.
And uh we do a lot of work incrawl spaces, and crawl spaces
for the you know, for the mostpart, are not fun places to be.

(10:38):
But if that's the job, thenlet's go ahead and do it and do
it well and then get done withit and go to the next one.

SPEAKER_01 (10:44):
Yeah, no, understood.
All right, so we'll move on nextto the quick fire round.
So basically, what I'm gonna do,I'm going to say one word, and
you basically give me the firstthing that comes to your mind,
the first thought that comes toyour mind when I say this word
in regards to running yourbusiness.

SPEAKER_02 (10:58):
Okay.

SPEAKER_01 (11:00):
Education.

SPEAKER_02 (11:02):
Pivotal.

SPEAKER_01 (11:05):
Okay.
Any more thoughts on it?
It doesn't, you don't have to dothat.

SPEAKER_02 (11:08):
Yeah, I mean, what especially uh the mold and water
damage?
I I think that there's a lotmore that goes into it uh than
than most people think.
Uh knowing uh what to do andwhen to do it and uh is is very
I mean you have to be educatedin and knowing what you're doing
if you want to do the job theright way.

SPEAKER_00 (11:30):
Planning.

SPEAKER_02 (11:32):
What was that again?

SPEAKER_00 (11:33):
Planning.

SPEAKER_02 (11:35):
Planning.
Uh first word, that's necessary.
Planning is necessary becausewhen you're trying to put
schedules together, uh, whenyou're trying to get everything
ordered, uh, so that you're notwaiting around and and kind of
twiddling your thumb, that's avery, very huge part.
You have to have you have tohave to be on your toes when

(11:55):
you're planning this what I do.

SPEAKER_01 (11:58):
Yeah, and especially you got people waiting on you
and waiting for you.

SPEAKER_02 (12:01):
Exactly.
Time time is time is of theessence.
And so with water damage,especially uh, because the the
water damage can turn intodifferent things if if you're
not you know attacking it uh asaggressively and and as quickly
as you can from the beginning.

SPEAKER_01 (12:18):
Inspiration.

SPEAKER_02 (12:20):
Uh my mother.
My mother.
Uh she is a great woman.
Um I I really can't say enoughabout her.

SPEAKER_01 (12:34):
So yeah, no, I I'm with you on that.
I I I'm the same way.
Everything I do is in regards tomy mom.
She, you know, she did the mostshe could do with what we had
growing up you know back in theday.
And you know, I I thank her forthe work ethic she instilled in
me.

SPEAKER_02 (12:46):
So exactly.
That is, I I couldn't have saidit any better myself.
That's exactly she's myinspiration.
And and my and my uh three sons,my my family, all my family,
really.

SPEAKER_01 (12:58):
Commitment.

SPEAKER_02 (13:05):
Oh man, first word.
I've got so many words comingcommitment.
Uh it's hard uh sometimes to betotally uh committed.
Um but it's something that youhave to do.
I mean, just uh like I said,there's sometimes I I don't want
to be crawling in crawl spacesevery day, but I'm committed to

(13:29):
to making my business a success,so that you have to do it.
Uh so it's hard, but it's justuh it's a necessary thing.
You either either do it all theway or don't do it all.

SPEAKER_01 (13:42):
Agreed, agreed.
So, what words of advice wouldyou offer to other business
owners who are looking to grow?

SPEAKER_02 (13:49):
Um, if you find success, just keep doing what
you're doing.
Uh uh, I I think that it mightnot find you when you want it
to, but if you keep pluggingalong, uh then good things
happen to you if you're ifyou're doing the right thing.
Uh, I mean, because there's beentimes where business has gotten
slow and you're wondering, okay,this is all on me, and then all

(14:12):
of a sudden, you know, jobs thatI looked at months ago are
calling, and then all of asudden I'm in a scheduling
conflict because I have too muchgoing on.
So you just have to just justkeep plugging along and and good
things are happened.

SPEAKER_01 (14:25):
Okay, okay.
And anything in particular you'dlike to highlight?

SPEAKER_02 (14:30):
Uh I mean, if if you have any water damage or or mold
issues, uh just uh give me acall.
I I do a lot of talking on thephone, uh, answering questions,
and not necessarily even lookingfor you know to get a job out of
it, uh, because a lot of peopleare just seeking information
from someone that they cantrust.

(14:51):
And so uh I I'm I'm hopefullythat's a uh something that I can
give them.

SPEAKER_01 (14:58):
Okay.
Now, what's the next big thingfor a healthy home
environmental?

SPEAKER_02 (15:03):
The next job.
The next job is the next bigthing.
Uh I don't uh necessarily thinkI'm gonna uh have to uh expand.
I would rather stay small and doand have my hands in in
everything than to get too bigand to let it almost get away

(15:23):
from me, if that makes sense.

SPEAKER_01 (15:26):
Okay, okay.
All right, perfect.
And lastly, what's the best wayfor someone to get in contact
with you?

SPEAKER_02 (15:32):
The best way is to actually call or text me.
I'm a I answer the phone.
I actually answer the phone.
And if you text me, I really getback to you uh as quickly as
possible.
So uh you can get contact me atuh 828-606-2685.
That's 828-606-2685 and text atthat number, and I will get back

(15:55):
to you.

SPEAKER_01 (15:56):
And I can personally attest he does answer his phone.
He's he's wonderful.
All right, well, thank you, Mr.
Jones.
Fantastic.
I really appreciate you comingon today, and thank you for
being a part of the communityand all you're doing.

SPEAKER_02 (16:07):
I appreciate you for having me.
Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_01 (16:10):
Yeah, we certainly wish you continued success and
happy 2026.

SPEAKER_02 (16:13):
All right, thank you.
Roll time.

SPEAKER_01 (16:15):
All right, thank you.

SPEAKER_02 (16:16):
All right, bye bye.