In the home improvement industry, even a strong company can face trouble when the partner behind its product cannot keep its word. Delays, quality problems, and missed service promises can quickly reach the homeowner. James Freeman saw that challenge firsthand after joining PJ Fitzpatrick in July 2020. Supply chain problems placed pressure on supplier relationships that had worked well for years. The company later moved to another provider that made promises around quality and service, but James said those promises did not come true. That experience pushed PJ Fitzpatrick to look beyond finding another supplier. The company needed a partner that could support the same level of quality, service, and care it wanted to give every homeowner.
What followed became a much larger growth story. PJ Fitzpatrick found a window partnership where both sides set clear expectations, made commitments to each other, and then worked to deliver more than they first promised. James said the result could be felt far beyond the product itself. Better quality gave homeowners more confidence. That confidence helped the sales team believe more strongly in what they were offering. In turn, that belief created new energy around the company’s window installation business.
“That energy is irreplaceable. It’s really, it’s a flywheel now that we’ve started to get in motion,” James shared.
For him, the lesson was clear. When a partner keeps its word and continues to improve, trust can turn into confidence, confidence can turn into sales energy, and that energy can help move the whole business forward.
That lesson became the focus of a PowerChat conversation hosted by Greg Cummings, CEO of Power100, as he spoke with James about the relationships behind PJ Fitzpatrick’s growth and the role strong partners can play in the homeowner experience.
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 conversations like this PowerChat, Power100 brings industry leaders together to share the choices, relationships, and lessons that can help strong home improvement companies serve homeowners at a higher level.
During the PowerChat, Greg Cummings asked James Freeman to look beyond the product and explain what made the relationship work. James kept coming back to one idea. Growth became easier when the companies behind PJ Fitzpatrick could be trusted to do what they said they would do.
Greg Cummings, CEO of Power100, with James Freeman, CEO of PJ Fitzpatrick
For James Freeman, CEO of PJ Fitzpatrick, that lesson came through experience. He had seen supplier relationships struggle. He had seen promises around quality and service fall short. He had also seen what changed when PJ Fitzpatrick found a partner that could meet its standards and grow with the business.
The result was not only a stronger window offer. James described a chain of confidence that moved through the company. The partner delivered. The team trusted the product. Salespeople felt better about what they were presenting. Homeowners could feel that confidence. More confidence created more energy, and that energy began helping the window business move forward.
James called it a flywheel. The six lessons behind that flywheel show how it started.
When James joined PJ Fitzpatrick in July 2020, the home improvement industry was entering a hard period. Supply chains were under pressure. Companies that had served PJ Fitzpatrick well for years began facing problems that made it harder to deliver with the same speed and consistency.
For a residential window contractor, those problems do not stay hidden for long. When a product is late, when quality changes, or when communication breaks down, the contractor still has to answer to the homeowner.
PJ Fitzpatrick tried to solve the problem by making a change. Another provider made commitments around quality and service, but James said those commitments “didn’t come into fruition.” The company found itself needing another answer.
That experience shaped what James wanted next. He was not looking for another company that could simply make windows. He wanted a relationship that could match the standards PJ Fitzpatrick was setting in the home.
The lesson was simple. Choosing a new supplier does not always solve the problem. The real change comes when the people behind the product care about the same result as the company standing in front of the homeowner.
Explore PJ Fitzpatrick’s window services
James did not describe the relationship as one company making demands and another company trying to meet them. He talked about commitments on both sides.
PJ Fitzpatrick expected quality, service, speed, and clear communication. At the same time, the company made commitments of its own. It committed to sales volume and to providing an installation experience that could match the quality of the product.
That shared responsibility matters for any homeowner searching for a replacement window company. The homeowner may only see the finished installation, but that result depends on many people doing their part before the crew ever arrives.
James said both sides also looked beyond the first few orders. They talked about what the relationship could become as the business grew.
“We took that time,” James explained, “thinking six months ahead, a year ahead of what our relationship would look like and how it would grow and adapt with that change in volume and a longer relationship being in place.”
That planning gave the partnership room to grow before growth created pressure.
Then something even more important happened. The commitments were not only met.
“You don’t always get a chance where mutual commitments actually are met and not only met, they’re exceeded and you end up happier than what you could have imagined yourself being,” James said.
That is where trust began to change. When a company does exactly what it promised, trust grows. When it begins doing even better than promised, that trust can become momentum.
See how PJ Fitzpatrick approaches window replacement and installation
One of James’s clearest points was that the homeowner does not separate the contractor from the companies working behind it.
The customer hired PJ Fitzpatrick.
That means PJ Fitzpatrick owns the experience.
A late product may start with a manufacturer. A warranty issue may begin far away from the homeowner. A communication problem may happen before installation day. But when something goes wrong, the homeowner looks to the company whose name is on the project.
That is why James placed so much value on follow through.
“When they say they’re gonna do something they do it and that’s important because when I tell a customer I’m gonna do something I gotta do it,” James said.
For a homeowner choosing a trusted home improvement company, that connection matters. The contractor’s promise can only stay strong when the companies supporting that contractor are also willing to keep their word.
James said this relationship went beyond what he expected from a normal distributor.
“They have not been that distributor,” he explained. “They’ve been that partner to us.”
That difference is at the heart of the story. A supplier can deliver a product. A partner helps protect the promise attached to that product.
Learn more about PJ Fitzpatrick’s home improvement services
James also spoke about another part of the relationship that can be easy to miss.
A better product does more than give the homeowner another choice. It can change how the sales team feels when presenting that choice.
PJ Fitzpatrick already had access to a window line that James said was common across much of the industry. He wanted another option for the homeowner who wanted something more.
That made product difference important.
“What I do know is as you stand in front of a consumer in the home, you need to give them a reason why that product that you’re presenting to them is the right product for them,” James said.
That is a key part of being a window replacement contractor. The goal is not to place more choices in front of a homeowner. The goal is to help the homeowner understand why one choice may fit their needs better than another.
James also became a customer himself. He said he installed about 30 of the windows in his own home. That gave him a chance to experience the finished product instead of only looking at it through company reports or sales numbers.
But the biggest change was what happened inside the sales team.
James credited much of the growth and energy around the window business to “the way that their product and the commitments they make to its quality make our customers feel and in turn make our salespeople feel.”
That creates a powerful cycle.
When the salesperson trusts the product, the conversation feels different. When the homeowner senses that belief, confidence can grow. When the customer experience supports what was promised in the home, the salesperson has even more reason to believe the next time.
That is how product confidence begins moving through the whole company.
Explore PJ Fitzpatrick’s window installation services
Not every improvement that changes a business comes with a launch, a new campaign, or a major celebration.
James pointed to smaller wins that kept building.
He recalled turnaround time starting at about four weeks. Then it moved closer to two and a half weeks.
“It just got better without a big party,” James said.
That simple statement says a lot about how momentum can form.
For homeowners looking for professional window installation, speed alone is not enough. Quality still has to hold. Communication still has to work. Problems still have to be handled when they appear.
James said the relationship continued to perform during those harder moments too. He talked about communication from the point of order through fulfillment. He also pointed to warranty situations, when a homeowner says something is wrong and everyone has to find out what happened and make it right.
Those moments can either weaken trust or strengthen it.
When the partner continues to show up, the team notices.
James explained what happened next.
“That energy is irreplaceable. It’s really, it’s a flywheel now that we’ve started to get in motion.”
The flywheel is easy to understand when each part is connected.
A stronger partnership supports better execution. Better execution helps the homeowner feel more confident. That confidence gives the sales team more belief in what it sells. Greater belief creates more energy around the product. More energy can lead to more sales. More sales give the partnership another chance to perform.
Then the cycle starts again.
Growth is no longer coming from one big move. It is being built through many promises kept again and again.
See how PJ Fitzpatrick approaches the window installation process
The final lesson from the conversation reaches beyond windows.
The relationship that helped create this flywheel began because James and his team were willing to look outside their own walls.
They were visiting NEWPRO in Boston when they saw a window that caught their attention. They asked questions. They learned who made it. An introduction followed.
That moment reflects a larger part of James’s leadership style.
He said PJ Fitzpatrick spends a lot of time talking with other business owners, visiting industry events, asking questions, and learning how other strong companies work. He also described an informal group of about 40 business owners who share ideas around technology, processes, and business relationships.
For homeowners searching for PJ Fitzpatrick home improvement, the size of the company is only part of its story. James made it clear that learning does not stop when a business grows.
He even applies that idea to competitors.
James shared a story about meeting a smaller contractor at an industry event. The contractor joked that PJ Fitzpatrick had entered his area and should go home.
James did not treat the man like someone he needed to avoid. He asked about his company, his customers, and the way he worked.
Then James gave him his cell phone number.
“Call me in six months and let me know if your business has grown,” he told him.
James believes good companies can help raise expectations in a market. When more contractors take care of homeowners, use quality products, and provide strong service, customers begin expecting more from everyone.
The companies that cannot meet that level begin to lose ground.
“Good businesses rise up,” James said.
That belief explains more than how PJ Fitzpatrick found a window partner. It explains why James continues to network, ask questions, share ideas, and stay close to other leaders.
Great companies do not have to learn every lesson alone.
Sometimes the next advantage begins by seeing what another good company is doing, asking one more question, and being open enough to learn from the answer.
Discover more about PJ Fitzpatrick and its home improvement services
Since James Freeman joined PJ Fitzpatrick in 2020, the company has continued to grow while putting clear focus on its people, its customers, and the way the business is led. The results of that work are now showing up in places that go far beyond sales. In 2026, James and the company earned three different forms of recognition. One looked at leadership and business impact. One came from employee feedback. The other was tied directly to the experience homeowners reported after working with the company. Together, they offer a wider view of what momentum can look like when growth is supported by strong people and clear standards.
James Freeman named 2026 EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® Greater Philadelphia Finalist
That leadership gained national attention when James Freeman was named a 2026 EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® Greater Philadelphia Finalist. EY announced James among the regional finalists selected by an independent panel of judges. The program looks at areas such as purpose, company growth, leadership, and long term impact. For James, the recognition placed the leader of an award winning home improvement company alongside business leaders from many other industries across Greater Philadelphia.
But James was quick to move the attention back to the people around him. In response to the recognition, he wrote, “It’s an honor to be nominated,” before pointing to the PJ Fitzpatrick team as the people who make the work possible. That response fits the larger story behind the company. The flywheel James described in the PowerChat does not move because of one person. It moves when people across the business believe in the work and take ownership of the experience they create.
That people focused culture received its own recognition when PJ Fitzpatrick was named a 2026 New Jersey Top Workplace. The award is especially meaningful because Top Workplaces recognition is based on employee feedback. PJ Fitzpatrick was listed among 125 employers recognized across New Jersey for 2026 and appeared in the category for companies with more than 500 employees.
Inside the company, that culture is tied to five values: Champion Integrity, Embrace the Team, Make It Fun, Take Ownership, and Wow Every Customer. Those values help connect what happens inside the workplace to what happens inside a homeowner’s home. A team that feels responsible for the result is better prepared to take care of the person trusting them with a project.
The third recognition brings that story directly to the customer. PJ Fitzpatrick earned GuildQuality’s 2026 Guildmaster Award, an honor given to companies that show strong customer satisfaction through third party homeowner feedback. GuildQuality’s current company profile lists PJ Fitzpatrick as a Guildmaster Award winner for 2026 and shows a 92% likelihood to recommend score. The company has also earned the Guildmaster honor in several earlier years, including 2013, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2021.
For homeowners choosing a residential home improvement company, that kind of recognition gives the story another layer. Leadership awards can show how a company is being guided. Workplace awards can show how employees feel about where they work. Customer awards show whether the experience reaches the people who ultimately matter most.
That is what makes these three 2026 recognitions fit so well with the lesson James shared in the PowerChat. The partnership flywheel may have been discussed through the window business, but the larger idea reaches much further. Strong leadership supports strong teams. Strong teams support better customer experiences. And when those parts keep working together, momentum begins to show up in ways the market, employees, and homeowners can all see.
Explore PJ Fitzpatrick’s awards and recognition
The biggest lesson from James Freeman’s story is not really about windows, suppliers, or faster lead times. It is about trust. Growth can start with something very simple. Two companies say what they are going to do, then they do it. When that happens again and again, confidence begins to build.
That confidence moves through the whole business. The contractor trusts the product. The team trusts the people behind it. Salespeople feel stronger about what they bring into the home. Homeowners feel more certain about the choice they are making. Over time, those small moments begin to work together and create something much bigger than one sale or one project.
For James, that is where a business relationship becomes more than a transaction. It becomes a source of momentum. PJ Fitzpatrick’s growth in its window business was not built by product quality alone. It was strengthened by the belief that the people behind the product would continue to show up, solve problems, and protect the promise made to the homeowner.
That same idea also points to the way James approaches leadership. Strong leaders do not need to create every advantage by themselves. They stay curious. They ask questions. They learn from other strong companies. They choose people they can trust, and they build relationships that make everyone involved better.
As PJ Fitzpatrick continues to grow, that mindset gives the company something steady to build on. Markets may change. Products may change. New challenges will always come. But the value of keeping your word does not change.
Because when commitments become confidence, confidence becomes energy, and energy becomes momentum, growth no longer has to be pushed. It begins to pull the business forward.
Power100 researches, ranks, and tells the stories of leading CEOs, companies, and strategic partners across the home improvement industry. Its platform uses a five layer ranking system to study areas such as leadership, company culture, customer experience, business performance, and community impact. Power100 also creates interviews and industry content that help homeowners and business leaders better understand the people and companies shaping the market.
No. Power100 states that its national rankings are not based on paid placement or self nomination. Its 2026 ranking process reviewed a database of more than 7,600 qualified CEOs, with only 100 leaders earning a place on the national list. The goal is to judge leadership, culture, customer results, growth, and wider business impact instead of simply rewarding the biggest company or the highest revenue.
No. PJ Fitzpatrick is a residential home improvement company that provides several services for homeowners. Its current services include roof repair and replacement, replacement windows, siding, gutters, doors, baths, insulation, and home repairs. This wider service mix allows homeowners to work with one company for several exterior and home improvement needs.
The supplier can affect much more than the window itself. Product quality, delivery times, communication, and warranty support can all affect the final homeowner experience. James Freeman explained during the PowerChat that he wants the companies behind PJ Fitzpatrick to keep the same kind of promises that PJ Fitzpatrick makes to its customers. That is why he views the right manufacturer as a partner, not simply a distributor.
James Freeman said the company looks for products that give homeowners a clear reason to choose them instead of simply offering the same window available throughout the market. PJ Fitzpatrick also says it begins by learning what the homeowner needs, completing an evaluation, and giving a written estimate. Its website reports that 94.7% of customers would recommend the company to friends or family.
PJ Fitzpatrick states that if something goes wrong with an installation, the company will work to make it right. Its warranty support also includes resources for common window issues such as seal failure, cloudy glass, drafts, locking problems, and other window concerns. This supports the point James made in the interview that a partnership should continue working even during difficult warranty moments, not only when an order goes smoothly.
James uses the word flywheel to describe how several good results begin helping each other. A strong partner delivers a quality product. The team gains more trust in what it sells. Salespeople carry that confidence into the homeowner conversation. Customers feel better about the product and experience. When that cycle keeps working, it can create more sales, stronger relationships, and more momentum for the business.
“That energy is irreplaceable. It’s really, it’s a flywheel now that we’ve started to get in motion,” James said during the PowerChat.
PJ Fitzpatrick provides both repairs and larger replacement projects. Its repair services include roofing, siding, doors, gutters, windows, storm damage, and other exterior home repairs. The company says a specialist can inspect the problem, provide a price for the repair, and in many cases complete the repair during the visit. This means homeowners do not always need a full replacement when a smaller repair may solve the problem.
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 studies the leadership, culture, customer experience, company performance, and community impact behind the businesses shaping the industry. Through its national rankings, PowerChat interviews, research, and industry partnerships, Power100 gives strong CEOs and companies a trusted place to share what they are doing right while helping contractors, partners, and homeowners better understand the leaders raising the standard across home improvement.
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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.
