WELCOME TO YOUR ULTIMATE GUIDE ON THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING

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.

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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

Episode 126 62 min
LEADERSHIP, TIME MANAGEMENT

9 Traits That Will Transform Your Leadership - David C. Bentall

Our guest on the show today is David C. Bentall. During his tenure as President & CEO of Dominion Construction, the business doubled in size to just under $300 million in sales.

Our guest on the show today is David C. Bentall.

During his tenure as President & CEO of Dominion Construction, the business doubled in size to just under $300 million in sales. He played a leading role in the development and construction of landmark projects across Canada, including GM Place (now Rogers Arena, where the Canucks play 🏒), the TD Centre Office Complex in downtown Winnipeg, plus many other notable buildings in the Vancouver skyline.

David just authored his third book, Dear Younger Me: Wisdom for Family Enterprise Successors, and in today’s conversation, we focus on 9 transformational leadership traits that anyone can learn.  

Expect to learn:

  • Why the AI revolution will put an even greater premium on critical thinking skills
  • How curiosity can drive innovation inside your business
  • Why being impatient with your organizational growth always backfires

If you want to level up your leadership, watch the full episode.

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Episode 125 29 min
TIME MANAGEMENT

Which Fire Should I Put Out Next? - Mike Michalowicz

My Guest on the Show today is Best Selling Business Author Mike Michalowicz. Mike has written some classics: Profit First, The Pumpkin Plan, Fix This Next, and Get Different, just to name a few. Mike’s body of work is beloved for one simple reason: they work. 

My Guest on the Show today is Best Selling Business Author Mike Michalowicz.  

Mike has written some classics: Profit First, The Pumpkin Plan, Fix This Next, and Get Different, just to name a few.  

Mike’s body of work is beloved for one simple reason: they work. 

Today, we zoom in and hash out one of the fundamental ideas in his book Fix This Next, which he calls The Business Priority Pyramid.  

Mike believes that the biggest problem facing most entrepreneurs is that they don’t actually know what their biggest problem is. And I would tend to agree.

Think about it…

How much time have you invested solving the wrong problems?  

How many hours and dollars have you wasted on stuff that seemed important but really wasn’t in the grand scheme of things? 

Prioritization is arguably the most vital of entrepreneurial skills, and the Business Priority Pyramid is the most no-nonsense framework I’ve found to help us get better at it.

To figure out the right fire for you to put out next, watch this episode.

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Episode 124 44 min
INTERNAL SYSTEMS, LEADERSHIP, STAFF ACCOUNTABILITY, STRATEGIC PLANNING

Critical Communication Cadences For Contractors - Brody Funk

Rhythmical and ritualistic meetings function like the war drums of your business by providing your team with a tempo and a beat to stay in sync with.  Without them, things become chaotic, disjointed, and you find yourself repeating the same conversations over and over.

Rhythmical and ritualistic meetings function like the war drums of your business by providing your team with a tempo and a beat to stay in sync with.  Without them, things become chaotic, disjointed, and you find yourself repeating the same conversations over and over.

Brody Funk is one of our amazing Breakthrough Academy coaches and used communication cadences to scale and exit his two businesses, Super Plumber and 360 Comfort.

Today, we dive into five levels of ritualistic meetings:

  • Annual strategic planning sessions
  • Quarterly reviews
  • Monthly town hall meetings
  • Weekly L10s
  • And Daily Huddles (that must include a “win-the-day” number)

Watch the full episode to learn how to get your meeting schedule on track and keep your team paddling in the same direction.

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Episode 123 59 min
INTERNAL SYSTEMS, LEADERSHIP, STAFF ACCOUNTABILITY, STRATEGIC PLANNING

Mark Bradley: From 0 To 50MM + Founding LMN - Mark Bradley

My guest on the show today is Mark Bradley, Founder and CEO of Landscape Management Network (or LMN for short). Since its inception in 2007, LMN has become the most trusted software in the world for landscape professionals, with over 250K users on the platform. What makes Mark different from most tech CEOs (who’ve spent most of their career on a laptop) is he’s actually rolled up his sleeves and done the work too.  

My guest on the show today is Mark Bradley, Founder and CEO of Landscape Management Network (or LMN for short). Since its inception in 2007, LMN has become the most trusted software in the world for landscape professionals, with over 250K users on the platform.

What makes Mark different from most tech CEOs (who’ve spent most of their career on a laptop) is he’s actually rolled up his sleeves and done the work too.  

Prior to launching LMN, he built one of the biggest landscaping companies in Canada, TBG Environmental. Through some highly strategic vertical integration and a penchant for taking on the hard jobs many other shops shied away from, he grew his company up to 50MM and 300 employees before selling off a few of its divisions and diving into the software world full time.

This guy is a serious player. 

Today’s conversation is about:

  • How your leadership needs to evolve as you scale from 0 to 5MM and then from 5MM to 10MM
  • Why revenue per employee hour is the most profit-inducing KPI and how lean manufacturing principles can help you drive it
  • How to use visible scoreboards in your office to gamify production and keep your crews pushing the tempo on projects
  • And his take on how AI will shape the future of the construction and trades space

Watch this episode to hear about Mark Bradley’s incredible journey.

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Episode 122 67 min
LEADERSHIP

What Does It Mean To Be A Conscious Leader? - Mason Marquis

Today’s conversation is about Conscious Leadership. What it is.  Why it matters.  And how to access more of it. And we’re going to delve into this topic through the experience of Mason Marquis.

Today’s conversation is about Conscious Leadership.  

What it is.  Why it matters.  And how to access more of it.  

And we’re going to delve into this topic through the experience of Mason Marquis.

Mason started his business journey early, founding his painting company Spray Tex in Dallas Fort Worth at the age of 21.  In five short years, he scaled it up from 500K to north 5MM.  An insane drive and will to win drove Mason to grow his business at an unrelenting pace.  

In the midst of building sales teams, dealing with customer issues, developing production managers, and implementing scalable systems, he began to realize something many of you can relate to.  

Growing for the sake of growing wasn’t sustaining him.  

The need to be validated and seen as a success was no longer motivating him the way it used to.  The inherent stressors of business were beginning to pile up inside him.  Frustration was turning into outright anger.  

He didn’t recognize the hardened exterior that had begun to develop.  His business, his relationships, and his sense of purpose were suffering as a result.  Leading unconsciously was beginning to cost him dearly.

The reason Mason is on the show today is because I know for a fact many of you are going through this inner journey as we speak, or are about to.  

And sometimes hearing about someone else’s hardship can help you sort out your own.

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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 CHALLENGE

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