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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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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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