What if you built an eight-hundred-thousand-dollar business with solid profits, only to be told by a business broker that you didn’t actually own a company—you just had a glorified job?
Our guest today arrived in America twenty-five years ago speaking broken English, working in a car wash and driving trucks before building a premier custom window treatment firm from scratch. For seventeen years, he was convinced that no one else could meet his quality standards, trapping him on every job site.
But when a move across the country forced him to run operations remotely, he made a series of bold shifts that let him expand into new markets and build a truly scalable business that runs without him.
Welcome to today’s episode of Your Business Growth Podcast. I’m your host, Jeremy Shapiro, author of Your Business Growth Playbook, and my guest today is Roger Magalhães.
About Roger Magalhães
Roger Magalhães is an entrepreneur, author, speaker, and the founder of Shades In Place. Arriving in the United States from Brazil in 2000 speaking broken English, he worked at a car wash and drove trucks before founding Shades In Place in Boston in 2006, building it into a premier custom window treatment company with over 800 five-star reviews.
For seventeen years, Roger operated as a classic owner-operator until a business broker pointed out that his business was actually a glorified job. A relocation to Florida in 2023 forced a strategic breakthrough: Roger raised his prices, niched into high-end clientele, and built a remote management system utilizing a virtual assistant to coordinate directly with local installers.
Today, Roger operates Shades In Place remotely across multiple markets, including Boston, Tampa, and the Florida Panhandle. He is also the founder of Trading Up Consulting, host of the No Strings Attached podcast, and the 2022 recipient of the Barry M. Portnoy Immigrant Entrepreneur Award. His debut book, Nobody Told Me That: How Storytelling Creates Trust, Influence, and Impact at Work and in Life was published in September 2026.
Connect with Roger Magalhães
Speed Round Answers:
- All In Lead Source: Online reviews
- Books: Autobiographies like Shoe Dog by Phil Knight and Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
- Unlikeliest Mentor: BNI (Business Networking International)
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Roger Magalhães Episode Transcript
Coming Soon!
Like This Episode? There’s More!
Subscribe!
Your Business Growth Podcast is available on all major podcast platforms. Subscribe today!
Get the Book!
Pickup the #1 Best Seller, Your Business Growth Playbook today online or at your local bookseller!
Meet Jeremy!
Book your Blueprint Discovery Call with Jeremy today and get back to the growth you deserve!