John Stopka: We Scaled Liberty Pest Control to $1M in Less Than 2 Years, Here's Our Secret!

On this episode of Pest Control Success Stories, Danny Leibrandt sits down with John Stopka, the founder and owner of Liberty Pest Control. John got his start in pest control at just 19, sharpened his sales chops at Orkin, and launched Liberty only a year and a half ago—growing to 1,700+ accounts and on the cusp of $1M/year. He credits the surge to a simple formula: be obsessed, deliver real value, and treat people like people. From winter door-knocking to BNI networking, John focused on getting known—wrapping trucks for maximum brand recall, posting consistently on social, and using permission-based “thank you” posts that double as local proof.

We dig into the sales mindset (value over price, ask real questions, skip the gimmicks), offers that resonate (monthly billing, a mosquito + general pest bundle, going above and beyond with de-webbing and small helpful touches), and the marketing levers that moved the needle—especially Facebook ads he tuned from $100+ CPL down to $10–$15 by building scrappier, native-feeling creatives and the right lead forms. John also shares how delegating early helped him scale to seven employees, why culture and small acts of appreciation create referral flywheels, and how he’s upgrading systems now to support the next phase.

If you’re stuck wearing every hat, John’s message is clear: delegate sooner than feels comfortable, get relentlessly visible in your market, and serve customers, employees, and fellow owners with a “servant’s heart.” He’s aiming for $25M revenue and a future exit—not by being the cheapest, but by being the most valuable and most known.

John Stopka, Founder of Liberty Pest Control:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/john.burkeen.1

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-stopka-1663bb2b4/

Website: https://www.liberty-pest.com/

Danny Leibrandt, Co-Founder of Pest Control Millionaires:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/DannyLeibrandt

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/dannyleibrandt/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DannyLeibrandt

Website: https://dannyleibrandt.com

Podcast Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to John Stopka

05:06 Starting Liberty Pest Control

10:11 Marketing Strategies and Brand Awareness

14:14 Joining Pest Control Millionaires Program

20:47 Hiring and Company Culture

26:48 Lessons Learned and Advice for Owners

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JOIN PEST CONTROL MILLIONAIRES: https://pestcontrolmillionaires.com/