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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
Tersh Blissett’s Automation Pro Tips - Tersh Blissett
If you’ve ever been stuck doing repetitive and monotonous tasks and thinking that there must be a better way, you’re right. Today, Tersh Blissett joins us on the show to talk about the five types of automations every contractor needs to save time, make more money and simplify their operations.
How are you using AI and automation in your business? Maybe you use ChatGPT for idea generation or have some automated reminders going out through your bookkeeping software or CRM.
If so, that’s great. But the reality is there is a lot more you could be doing. And it doesn’t all require in-depth programming knowledge or tech skills.
Today’s conversation is with Tersh Blissett. He’s an AI and automations expert for trades and construction, Host of the Service Business Mastery Podcast, owner of two HVAC companies, and founder of Trade Automation Pros.
We discuss the five types of automations all contractors need and three of the most clever ways he’s seeing AI deployed in the trades today.
If you’re tired of monotonous and repetitive tasks but aren’t sure where to start with automations, this episode is a must-listen.
Essentialism for Contractors - Greg McKeown
It’s 2025, and figuring out what’s really important to you in business and in life is harder than ever. Today, we’re lucky to have Greg McKeown, author of Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, on the show to teach us the essentialist framework for narrowing our focus, discovering our true desires, and achieving our biggest goals.
Do you know what you want this year? Or next year? Or in five years?
In this distracted world we’re living in, it can be pretty hard to drown out the noise, algorithms and influencers and figure out what it is that you want. And how to go get it.
Our guest on the show today is Greg McKeown, author of one of the most beloved books in the small business world: Essentialism: the Disciplined Pursuit of Less. He’s here to teach us how to define and achieve what’s truly most important to you by narrowing your focus and aligning your actions with the highest priority—the most essential—goals in business and life.
Late last year, Greg released a new workbook to help readers work through the concepts of an essentialist lifestyle, and we’re lucky enough to get a preview into what the process looks like on the show.
7 Lies to Stop Telling Yourself in 2025 - Benji Carlson
We all have those voices in our heads, telling us lies about who we are and what we do—holding us back from greatness. Here’s seven unhealthy thought patterns it’s time to let go of in 2025.
For the first episode of 2025, Benji is speaking from the heart.
Today, he’s calling out seven lies to stop telling yourself in 2025. And, really, seven lies we all need to stop telling ourselves.
We hope this episode helps you break unhealthy thought patterns. About your business. About your family. And most importantly, about yourself.
New year, new you. And new us, too.
The Private Equity Playbook: What Contractors Can Learn From Big Business - Adam Coffey
Have you ever wondered how the masters of big business scale up to nine-figures and beyond? Today’s guest, bestselling author and private equity expert Adam E. Coffey shares the secrets of scaling—from mindset to tactics.
Have you ever wondered how the masters of big business scale up to nine-figures and beyond?
Today’s guest is Adam E. Coffey, author of 3 bestsellers: The Private Equity Playbook, The Exit Strategy Playbook, and Empire Builder: The Road to a Billion. After 10 years as an executive at General Electric, he was hired as the president of three private equity-backed service companies where he completed 58 acquisitions and facilitated billions of dollars in successful exits.
In this episode, Benji picks his brain about how small-to-medium sized contractors like you can apply the concepts of The Private Equity Playbook to their business systems and operations. And trust us, there is a ton to be learned from our conversation.
Simple Numbers for Contractor Growth - Greg Crabtree
The world of business accounting can be frustrating and confusing. In today’s episode, bestselling author Greg Crabtree breaks it all down into simple numbers, core metrics, and easy-to-understand tactics.
We’re gonna make an educated guess and say you didn’t get into business because you love accounting.
So when it comes to financial management—budgeting, forecasting, and tracking the right metrics for success—you’d be forgiven for getting a little lost in the jargon and differing opinions on the “right” way to do things.
Our guest on the show today is Greg Crabtree, author of Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits!
Greg’s approach to financial controls and profitability is refreshingly simple and easy to understand. He distills the confusing world of accounting into incredibly simple metrics and lays out the core areas of business you need to focus on.
If you’re looking for a simple explanation of which numbers you should care about and how to optimize them for business growth, consider this episode your starting point.
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