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This is the Contractor Evolution Podcast. We unpack the systems, tactics, and skills you need to take your fast-growing contracting business to the next level. If you’re here to learn what it takes to scale up, work less, and increase profits, you’ve come to the right place.
Join 40,000+ contractors that learn from Contractor Evolution. New episodes drop every Wednesday.
Trending Episode
Accountability: Are Your People Doing What You Pay Them To Do?
So if you listen to this show with any regularity, it’s pretty safe to say the organism that is your business is evolving. And while that’s an exciting feeling, it also brings about a feeling of uncertainty you’re probably familiar with… are my people doing what I hired them to do? Are they an ROI-generating asset for my business? Or are they just an expense? Are they executing at the level that I was back when I was doing their job (and a million others)? Or are they a costly piece of dead weight?
Learn how Dave runs a tight ship of 24, and how he uses one on one Goal Setting and Review meetings (or GSR for short) to lead his 5 project managers.
So if you listen to this show with any regularity, it’s pretty safe to say the organism that is your business is evolving. And while that’s an exciting feeling, it also brings about a feeling of uncertainty you’re probably familiar with…. Are my people doing what I hired them to do? Are they an ROI-generating asset for my business? Or are they just an expense? Are they executing at the level that I was back when I was doing their job (and a million others)? Or are they a costly piece of dead weight?
I realize that might sound a little cynical. Or like we’re assuming the worst. But I’m sure most of you have had this thought cross your mind at least once or twice.
When your business was small and simple. This question was pretty easy to answer. If you hired a laborer to work alongside you, you could see with your own two eyes that they’re completely effing the D. There’s the door. Bye!
But as your company evolves, roles become more complex and nuanced, layers get added to the organizational chart, truly knowing how people are performing becomes less clear.
So the question becomes…. How do we, as leaders, manage at scale? How do we make sure our individual team members are executing on their individual goals, so that we as a company hit ours?
To answer this question we brought Dave Stephens on the show. Dave’s company, Lida Homes is an 8 figure custom home builder and high end renovation contractor. He runs a tight ship of 24, and specifically in this show we’re going to learn how he uses one on one Goal Setting and Review meetings (or GSR for short) to lead his 5 project managers to create award winning homes and customer experience.
Over the last 3 years, he’s won the Canadian Home Builders Association builder of the year award, and over the last two has received the highest level customer satisfaction award in his Vancouver Island region. Dave directly attributes this success and recognition to the way he leads his team through GSR.
His people do their jobs. Extremely well.
In today’s Episode:
- What a GSR is and why it is important to both quality and growth in your business
- How to use a point system in your GSRs to create black and white accountability
- What a contracting business looks like before implementing GSRs vs after implementing GSRs
- How you can expect your team (especially your PM’s) to respond when you introduce GSRs
- What a great GSR with a project manager specifically looks like
- How to have a hard conversation with an employee who is underperforming
To get your free GSR template (for a Project Manager) go to https://trybta.com/PCDLEP28
Accountability: Are Your People Doing What You Pay Them To Do? - with Dave Stephens
So if you listen to this show with any regularity, it’s pretty safe to say the organism that is your business is evolving. And while that’s an exciting feeling, it also brings about a feeling of uncertainty you’re probably familiar with…. Are my people doing what I hired them to do? Are they an ROI-generating asset for my business? Or are they just an expense? Are they executing at the level that I was back when I was doing their job (and a million others)? Or are they a costly piece of dead weight?
So if you listen to this show with any regularity, it’s pretty safe to say the organism that is your business is evolving. And while that’s an exciting feeling, it also brings about a feeling of uncertainty you’re probably familiar with…. Are my people doing what I hired them to do? Are they an ROI-generating asset for my business? Or are they just an expense? Are they executing at the level that I was back when I was doing their job (and a million others)? Or are they a costly piece of dead weight?
I realize that might sound a little cynical. Or like we’re assuming the worst. But I’m sure most of you have had this thought cross your mind at least once or twice.
When your business was small and simple. This question was pretty easy to answer. If you hired a laborer to work alongside you, you could see with your own two eyes that they’re completely effing the D. There’s the door. Bye!
But as your company evolves, roles become more complex and nuanced, layers get added to the organizational chart, truly knowing how people are performing becomes less clear.
So the question becomes…. How do we, as leaders, manage at scale? How do we make sure our individual team members are executing on their individual goals, so that we as a company hit ours?
To answer this question we brought Dave Stephens on the show. Dave’s company, Lida Homes is an 8 figure custom home builder and high end renovation contractor. He runs a tight ship of 24, and specifically in this show we’re going to learn how he uses one on one Goal Setting and Review meetings (or GSR for short) to lead his 5 project managers to create award winning homes and customer experience.
Over the last 3 years, he’s won the Canadian Home Builders Association builder of the year award, and over the last two has received the highest level customer satisfaction award in his Vancouver Island region. Dave directly attributes this success and recognition to the way he leads his team through GSR.
His people do their jobs. Extremely well.
In today’s Episode:
- What a GSR is and why it is important to both quality and growth in your business
- How to use a point system in your GSRs to create black and white accountability
- What a contracting business looks like before implementing GSRs vs after implementing GSRs
- How you can expect your team (especially your PM’s) to respond when you introduce GSRs
- What a great GSR with a project manager specifically looks like
- How to have a hard conversation with an employee who is underperforming
To get your free GSR template (for a Project Manager) go to https://trybta.com/PCDLEP28
Master Class: Ultimate Hiring Funnel Series
So look - it is no secret that hiring is hard. Like really hard. Especially in our construction and trade industries. Labor shortages are a real thing, and yes, perhaps Millennials and Gen Z’ers aren't as gritty as older Generations may have been. And also yes, the government has paid a bunch of people to stay at home for over a year-and-a-half leading to a super lethargic Workforce. We get it. But look, it is what it is and can’t do much about the above factors. What you can do though is build the best hiring funnel in your market. Over a 6-part series, we explain in plain English how you can think like a marketer and start building an Employer Brand that attracts top talent. Whether you are a seasoned pro or just starting your business if you want to build your dream team, this series is for you.
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Categories
How to Be a Profit First Contractor - Shawn Van Dyke
The majority of construction and trades businesses net less than 5% profit a year. Profit First for Contractors author Shawn Van Dyke is on the show today to teach us the cash management model designed to increase profitability and change the way you think about your business’ finances.
Did you know that the vast majority of construction and trades businesses net less than 5% profit a year?
In case you were wondering—that’s not good.
Our guest on the show today is Shawn Van Dyke, author of Profit First for Contractors and The Paperwork Punch List.
In this episode, we break down the Profit First for Contractors (or PFC) cash management model, including a prescribed framework for implementing PFC in your business right away.
If you change the way you manage your finances, you’ll also change the way you think about money flowing in and out of your accounts. And in turn, you’ll make better decisions that benefit you and your business.
Steal These Prioritization Methods to Get More Done - Harry Max and Wes Bright
Prioritization is one of the most important skills you can learn in business. It’s also one of the trickiest to master. Harry Max and Wes Bright are on the show to break down the systems, methods and mindset you need to set clear priorities and get more done.
How good are you at prioritization in your business?
It’s ok. You can be honest.
The truth is that prioritization seems straightforward, but in reality it’s much more complex than it appears, especially in the context of a business like yours – which is inherently dynamic, ever-changing, and unpredictable.
Issues come out of nowhere. Circumstances change. People quit. Clients cancel. Unexpected weather roles through.
How are you supposed to get anything done when you’re constantly putting out fires?
Our guests today have some practical strategies that can help.
Harry Max is the author of Managing Priorities: How to Create Better Plans and Make Smarter Decisions. And Wes Bright is his partner at Peak Priorities. They consult with some of the biggest companies in tech, and today, they’re going to level up our priority management toolbox in a major way.
Is Your Sales to Production Handoff Killing You? - Charlie Bethell
After years of endless callbacks, cash crunches, and frustration, Charlie overhauled both his marketing and production systems and optimized them to sell and produce over 500 projects a year. Today, he’s on the show to tell us how he did it.
How did Plus Construction owner and Breakthrough Academy Member Charlie Bethell go from endless callbacks, cash crunches and frustration to selling and building 500 decks a year?
Systemizing and optimizing. And a lot of it.
Today, Charlie’s on the show to talk about his digital marketing strategies, which bring in 60% of the businesses annual leads, and the massive changes he made to his sales-to-production handoff.
In other words, we’re diving into the secrets of a high-volume contractor.
The Profitability Mindset of Wealthy Contractors - Brian Kaskavalciyan
You can have dialed-in job costing, a rock solid budget, and the world’s best accountant. But according to Brian Kaskavalciyan, most contractors are missing the other half of the wealth-building equation: having the right mindset.
Running a highly profitable contracting business has two sides of the coin.
You need the profitability skill sets: budgeting, job costing, pricing strategies, accounting best practices, and so on.
We’ve discussed these plenty on the show.
The other thing you need is the “profitability mindset.”
This has very little to do with spreadsheets and bookkeeping and everything to do with your attitude towards money, your belief and self-worth, and your ability to practice what our guest on the show today calls wealth attraction.
Brian Kaskavalciyan, aka The Wealthy Contractor, is back on the show for the second time to talk about how to clarify your why, get control of your mind and develop the sense of deserving that so many contractors are missing.
Turn Your Field Staff Into Customer Service Pros - Mark Matteson
Do your technicians, laborers, and field staff excel at customer service? Do they know how to build rapport? De-escalate an angry customer? Can they upsell and bring in more revenue for the company?The fact is, whether you like it or not, your reputation, and the success of your business, depends on the people you have out on the front lines.
Here’s a question you’ve probably pondered before.
Do your technicians, laborers, and field staff excel at customer service?
Do they know how to build rapport? De-escalate an angry customer? Can they upsell and bring in more revenue for the company?
The fact is, whether you like it or not, your reputation, and the success of your business, depends on the people you have out on the front lines.
Our guest on the show today is Mark Matteson. He’s a personal development speaker and author of 6 books, including his best-seller Freedom From Fear.
Before the big stages, though, Mark spent the first half of his career in the field as an HVAC tech and salesperson. He translated those formative years into a customer service excellence curriculum he teaches to many of the biggest HVAC companies on the continent.
And today he’s going to teach us how to get our whole team aligned around providing exceptional customer service at every stage of the buyer journey.
IT’S TIME TO GET OUT OF THE DAY-TO-DAY
If you are a 7 figure contractor who has the vision to scale to 8 figures without adding more stress, then learn how to replace yourself with this proven management system. Take the 10-day ‘Evolved Contractor’ challenge and identify the methods that will scale your business.
MEET THE HOSTS
BENJI CARLSON
Benji gained insights into the trades as a 4-year franchisee with College Pro Painters, earning accolades for having the most productive staff in the franchise network. Since then, Benji has run in-depth business assessments with over 1000 contractors and now uses that information to represent the interests of contractors on the show 'Contractor Evolution’ whose goal is to arm smart contractors with the skills they need to grow.
IGOR TRNINIC
Igor has an impressive track record running trade businesses. He started by building up to a GM with College Pro Painters, running a $2.5MM business. He then co-started the franchise SHACK SHINE, which was acquired within 18 months. Igor is a co-founder of Breakthrough Academy, which coaches over 500 contractors (with a combined $1.6B in revenue) on how to systemize their businesses for growth.
HOW DOES A $20M CONTRACTING BUSINESS RUN? WOULD YOU LIKE TO FIND OUT?
Take the 10-day ‘Evolved Contractor’ challenge and identify the methods that will scale your business past 8-figures.
TAKE THE CHALLENGEGET FREE TOOLS & RESOURCES
You don’t need to create everything yourself. Use our FREE tools and templates to crush everything from your hiring process to budgeting.
RECLAIM 5 HOURS PER WEEK TOOL
- Use this tool to redistribute high-time/low-skill tasks that eat up your entire workday
- Reclaim time in your week to focus on the business, not in the business
- Understand where you make the company money so you can double down on what is best for the business (and usually what you’d rather be doing anyway)
- Potentially open up free time for things outside of work, like friends and family
STRATEGIC PLANNING TOOL
- This one-page strategic planning tool is quick to build with our pre-populated template
- Easy to understand and share so you can get your whole organization aligned and pulling in the same direction
- Makes you look like a strategic planning genius, and gives your team confidence that the company is heading in a positive direction
IDEAL CANDIDATE PROFILE + JOB POSTING
- Use this tool to stop hiring employees that street you out and cost you time, money and your sanity
- Figure out who you’re actually trying to recruit that will bring a solid ROI for the position (#IdealCandidate)
- Build sexy job posts that appeal to competent candidates and repel the rest
- Lay clear expectations so you won’t have to fight fires because of future confusion about responsibilities