REVx 2026, The Peak Profit Summit, brought leaders from the home improvement, remodeling, and home services industries together at The Westin Chicago Lombard in Lombard, Illinois, from June 2 to 4, 2026. The event gave owners, executives, sales leaders, marketing teams, installation leaders, and HR teams a place to talk about profit, growth, leadership, and the systems that help companies get better.
During a panel interview at the summit, Greg Cummings, CEO of Power100, spoke with Joe Swett, CEO and Founder of Sunrise Irrigation, about one of the deeper lessons behind home services business growth: a company becomes stronger when its people can see a real future inside it.
Joe shared that one of his early questions as a leader was not only how to grow Sunrise Irrigation, but how to create real earning power and strong benefits for the technicians doing the work. He wanted to know how an irrigation tech could make $100,000 a year, then $200,000, then even $300,000, while also having a real path to grow with the company. His message was simple and human.
“I want to take care of them. It’s a two way street.” Joe Swett, CEO and Founder, Sunrise Irrigation.
Power100 is the only unbiased third-party platform that recognizes and elevates the top leaders and most impactful companies in the home improvement industry. Through Greg’s conversation with Joe at REVx 2026, that mission came through in a clear way by showing how strong leadership, better systems, and real team opportunity can shape the future of the contractor space.
At REVx 2026, The Peak Profit Summit, Greg Cummings spoke with Joe Swett, CEO and Founder of Sunrise Irrigation, during a panel interview that brought a very human lesson into a room built around profit, systems, and leadership. The summit gave contractors many ways to think about growth, but Joe brought the focus back to the people who make growth possible every day.
Greg Cummings, CEO of Power100 moderates REVx 2026 with Guest speakers Joe Swett (Left), CEO and Founder of Sunrise Irrigation and Nick Zindel (Center) President and CEO of ZINTEX Remodeling Group
His message was not built around a quick fix. It was built around a question every serious home services leader has to face. How do you create a company where good people can stay, earn more, build a future, and grow with the business?
Joe said one of his early driving questions was, “How do I get an irrigation tech to make 100 grand a year? How do I get to make $200,000 a year? $300,000 a year?”
That kind of thinking made the conversation stand out because it showed that home services business growth is not only about sales numbers. It is also about building a real path for the people doing the work.
Learn more about Greg Cummings and his work with home improvement leaders.
Joe’s main point was clear. People work with more purpose when they can see where the work can take them. A job becomes stronger when it feels like a path. A team becomes stronger when people know that effort, skill, and loyalty can lead to real growth.
For Joe, this meant thinking beyond a normal pay plan. He was not only asking how to fill technician roles. He was asking how to create an irrigation technician career path that could give people a real chance to earn, lead, and build a better life. That mindset changes how a leader looks at labor. The team is not just there to complete jobs. The team is part of the company’s future.
When technicians can see strong earning power, good benefits, and room to grow, the work starts to mean more. They are not just helping the company hit a goal. They are also building something for themselves and their families. That creates deeper buy in, stronger effort, and a better reason to stay.
Joe’s message gave contractors a clear reminder. If leaders want great people to act like the company matters, they must show those people that their future matters too.
Learn more about Sunrise Irrigation and its work in Florida home services.
Joe also made it clear that care cannot only be a good feeling. A leader can want to take care of the team, but the company still needs the right structure to make that care last. Better pay, stronger benefits, and real growth paths have to be built into the way the business works.
He asked a key question during the interview.
“What systems and process would you put in place to make that happen?”
That question connects directly to the larger REVx 2026 message. Profit is not only about charging more or selling more. It is about building systems that make the right things possible.
This is where Joe’s lesson becomes very practical. A company cannot promise big opportunity if the business model cannot support it. Leaders have to look at pricing, scheduling, training, service quality, customer value, and team performance. Each part has to work together so the company can take care of people without weakening the business.
That is what makes this lesson powerful for contractor leadership. Care and profit do not have to fight each other. When leaders build the right systems, the company can protect both the people and the bottom line.
Explore the REVx 2026 Peak Profit Summit and its focus on stronger business systems.
Joe used a simple phrase that carried a lot of meaning. “It’s a two way street.”
That idea gave the interview its leadership center. The company creates opportunity for the team, and the team helps the company grow in return.
This kind of thinking helps shift a business away from a one sided view of work. Employees are not only asked to produce. They are invited to grow. In return, their growth helps the company become stronger, more stable, and more ready for the future.
Joe explained that when technicians can see opportunity and growth, they begin to align their own goals with the company’s goals. That is an important point for employee retention in home services. People are more likely to stay when they feel like they are part of something that is also helping them become better.
A two way culture also helps create pride. Team members do not feel like they are only working for someone else. They feel like they are building with the company. That changes the energy of the workplace. It can shape how people train, how they serve customers, and how they support each other.
See how Dave Yoho Associates supports business growth and leadership systems.
One of the strongest parts of Joe’s story was the resistance he faced. He said one of the biggest challenges was that he was “told no a lot.”
Home ImprovementLeaders at the REVx 2026 Event, Greg Cummings (Left) and Power100 Nick Zindel (Right) President and CEO of ZINTEX Remodeling Group
That gave the conversation real tension because it showed that his model did not come from easy agreement. It came from pushing past old limits.
Leaders are often told what cannot work. They are told that certain pay levels are too high, certain benefits are too hard, or certain growth paths are not realistic. Joe did not ignore those concerns, but he also did not let them end the conversation. Instead, he kept asking how the company could build a better way.
That kind of thinking matters in a home improvement profit summit because better profit often starts with better questions.
Joe’s lesson was not about chasing big numbers without a plan. It was about refusing to accept weak answers too quickly. Strong leaders test the limit, study the business, and keep working until they find a path that helps both the team and the company.
Learn more about Dave Yoho Associates and their work with home improvement companies.
Joe also spoke about wanting to give “old school benefits.”
That phrase added another layer to the interview. He was not only talking about paychecks. He was talking about stability, care, and the kind of company people can trust.
Pay and benefits send a message. They tell employees whether the company sees them as replaceable workers or as people worth building around. When leaders create stronger earning paths and better support, they show the team that the company is serious about them.
This can become a real culture strategy. A technician who feels cared for is more likely to care about the work. A team member who sees a future is more likely to protect the company’s name. A person who feels respected inside the company is more likely to carry that respect into the customer’s home.
That is why better compensation is not only a money issue. It is a leadership issue. It helps attract people who want a career, not just a short term job. It can also help build trust across the whole team because people see that the company is willing to invest in them.
Visit Sunrise Irrigation to learn more about its services and team driven growth.
REVx 2026 focused on profit, systems, leadership, and growth. Joe’s panel interview gave those themes a human face. His message showed that profit building is not only about sales and margins. It is also about people, opportunity, and the systems that help a team grow with the company.
That made his perspective one of the most practical lessons from the summit. He was not speaking in theory. He was sharing the kind of question that shapes real business decisions.
His answer came back to systems, care, and long term thinking. When leaders build clear paths for the team, they do more than improve morale. They build a stronger company from the inside. They give people a reason to stay, learn, serve, and grow.
For contractors, Joe’s message was a reminder that the future of home services will not only belong to companies with the best sales plan. It will belong to leaders who know how to build opportunity into the business itself.
Learn more about how Power100 recognizes leaders who raise the standard in home improvement.
Sunrise Irrigation’s work beyond REVx 2026 gives more weight to Joe Swett’s message about building a company where people can grow. The company was named a finalist in the South Tampa Chamber’s Business of the Year Awards in the Innovation category, a recognition that points to how the team is pushing the irrigation space forward with new ideas, strong service, and a clear focus on better ways to work. For a company in a trade that can often be overlooked, that honor shows that innovation does not only belong to tech firms or large national brands. It also belongs to local service companies that are willing to improve how they serve customers, train teams, and support their community.
Sunrise Irrigation finalist in the South Tampa Chamber Business of the Year Awards in the Innovation category
Sunrise Irrigation was also named to the 2026 Tampa Bay Business Journal FAST 50, which recognizes some of the fastest growing private companies in the region. That growth matters, but the deeper story is what the growth is being used to build. Since day one, the company’s mission has been bigger than irrigation. It has worked to raise the value of the skilled trades, create real career paths, and build a place where people can grow, lead, and support their families. That makes Joe’s REVx 2026 message even stronger. When he talks about giving technicians a path to earn, grow, and stay, it is not just an idea. It is showing up in the way Sunrise Irrigation is being recognized across the Tampa Bay business community.
For contractors watching from across the home improvement and home services industries, Sunrise Irrigation offers a clear example of what happens when growth is tied to purpose. The company is not only expanding. It is helping change how people see the trade, how team members see their future, and how a service business can make a stronger impact in its market. That is the kind of leadership Joe Swett brought to REVx 2026, and it is why his message about opportunity, systems, and care carries real credibility.
Joe Swett’s message at REVx 2026 gave home improvement and home services leaders a clear reminder that growth is not only measured by revenue. It is also measured by the future a company creates for its people. When technicians and team members can see a real path to earn more, learn more, and grow with the business, the company becomes stronger from the inside.
His lesson was both practical and hopeful. Taking care of people takes more than good intent. It takes systems, planning, and leaders who are willing to ask better questions. When those pieces work together, opportunity becomes part of the company culture, not just a promise.
Greg Cummings’ interview with Joe helped bring that message into focus for the wider industry. The contractors that build lasting companies will not only chase better numbers. They will build better paths for the people who make those numbers possible.
Joe Swett’s REVx 2026 message reminded contractors that when leaders build a real path for their people, they also build a stronger path for the company.
Power100 covers the leaders and lessons shaping the home improvement industry. Joe Swett’s message at REVx 2026 matters because it shows that strong leadership is not only about revenue. It is also about building companies where technicians and team members can see a real path to earn, grow, and stay. That kind of story fits Power100’s focus on leaders who raise the standard for teams, customers, and the wider contractor space.
Power100 does more than share event highlights. It turns key conversations into lessons that owners, executives, and managers can use. Greg Cummings’ interview with Joe Swett helped bring out a practical message for home services business growth: companies become stronger when they build systems that help their people grow with the business.
Joe Swett’s main message was that leaders should build companies where people can see a future. He shared how Sunrise Irrigation thought about helping technicians earn more, grow inside the company, and align their personal goals with the company’s growth. His message was clear: opportunity should come before output.
Technician growth matters because the people doing the work shape the customer experience, service quality, and long term company strength. When technicians see a real future, they are more likely to stay, improve, and care about the company’s goals. That creates stronger employee retention in home services and helps the business grow from the inside.
Joe meant that the company and the team grow together. When a company creates better earning paths, stronger benefits, and real opportunity, the team responds with more effort, loyalty, and alignment. It is not only about what employees give the company. It is also about what the company builds for them.
Joe wanted to challenge the idea that field roles should have limited income potential. He asked how an irrigation technician could make $100,000, $200,000, or even $300,000 a year because he wanted to build a real irrigation technician career path. His point was that great people are more likely to stay when they can see real financial growth and personal growth.
Yes. Better pay and benefits can become part of a stronger culture when they are backed by clear systems. They show employees that the company values them and wants them to build a future. When people feel cared for, they are more likely to care about the customer, the work, and the company’s long term success.
Joe Swett’s REVx 2026 message was important because many contractors are trying to grow while also keeping good people. His lesson showed that growth is not only about chasing better numbers. It is about building better systems, creating better opportunities, and taking care of the people who make growth possible.
Power100 is the only unbiased third-party platform that recognizes and elevates the top leaders and most impactful companies in the home improvement industry. Led by Greg Cummings, Power100 was built to give great CEOs, standout companies, and trusted industry partners the recognition they deserve while helping the home improvement space grow with stronger trust, better visibility, and more support for the leaders who are raising standards for teams, homeowners, and the future of the contractor community.
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Power100 is the nation's premier CEO ranking and media platform for the home improvement industry. Using a proprietary 5-layer evaluation system, Power100 identifies and celebrates the top CEOs, companies, and strategic partners driving innovation, customer satisfaction, and leadership excellence across the country.
