The business podcast for contractors

How does your team function when you’re not watching?

Do they get stuff done on time, as good as if you did it yourself?

Or do they miss deadlines, point fingers and leave clients underwhelmed?

If you’re feeling less like an owner and more like a babysitter, you may have an accountability problem. Your team’s performance is inconsistent, their focus is all over the map, and no one really knows who’s supposed to do what, when.

Back in April, we co-hosted a webinar on staff accountability with the one and only Tommy Mello. His staff accountability secrets were so good, we decided to replay the session on Contractor Evolution. In this episode, he gives away his tried and tested methods of holding people accountable without micromanaging or pointing fingers.

Listen in to learn how you can steal Tommy’s accountability system to create a solid performance culture for your team.

Let’s get to it.

Small Average Job-size businesses (or small AJS for short) have a unique set of obstacles to growth that most other contractors never have to confront. If you’re a junk removal business, do landscape maintenance, window cleaning, pressure washing, gutter cleaning, Christmas lights, or are a service plumber or electrician, you’ll know what we’re talking about.

Scaling to a million a year, $500 a time, is no small feat.

Basic napkin math reveals a lot of jobs for a lot of clients.

Barry Hartman is the co-founder of 505 Junk, a pay-by-weight junk removal business here in Vancouver. Since 2011, he’s worked relentlessly to crack the code on small AJS growth.

In the last few years, he has. This year, they’ll do 6 million dollars with an AJS of about $866.

Do the math on that.

If you’re a Small Average Job Size contractor or home service business, there are 4 things you need to master in order to scale.

Check this episode out to learn them all.

Growing your construction, trades, or home services business is no easy task.

You’ve got:

• Tricky customers
• Shrinking labor market
• Cash flow crunches
• Fly-by nighters who constantly underbid you

…It’s brutal.

So it helps to know which stage of growth you are at, which comes next, and how to get there faster.

This is why, after working with over 1,500 businesses, we’ve studied and developed the 4 Contractor Growth Phases.

Curious about which phase you’re in? Listen to the full episode to find out!

We spend a lot of time on this show on systems, best practices, and tactics.

But Today’s conversation is a human one.

Our very own BTA Member, Brady Williams of Ox Glass, went through one of the most terrifying and harrowing experiences you will ever hear about.

On June 8th, 2023, while Brady was at a business retreat thousands of miles away, his son James (back home in Utah) fell backward off a third-story balcony straight onto his head.

Shattering his skull, puncturing his lung, and damaging a number of other vital organs.

He was given minimal chances of survival. Even if that did happen, James’s normal life was completely off the table.

If you want systems or tactics, come back next week.

Today’s conversation is about James’ miraculous battle for survival, Brady’s experience as a father, and how the OX Glass Team rallied around to support a family in their time of need.

Do you ever feel misunderstood by employees, partners, vendors, and stakeholders when discussing the future—the vision, the strategy?

That “mental image,” to you at least, feels unbelievably clear, precise, detailed, and exciting.

How could anyone NOT get this?

How could you NOT be fired up about this?

Cameron Herold is back on the show to lay out the solution to your visionary woes.

His 2018 book, Vivid Vision, became an instant classic in the small business community because it completely transforms how you approach strategy and visioning in your business through the painted-picture exercise. And today, I get to pick his brain.

Expect to learn:

• What most of the traditional planning tools like mission statements and one-page plans get wrong
• How to create a painted picture step by step – a super fun and rewarding exercise
• How to roll out your painted picture with your team, turn it into your rallying cry, and reverse engineer the steps to execution.

Cameron’s a great podcast guest; that’s why we had him back; you’re gonna love this one.

The labor shortage is not improving anytime soon. This is why smart contractors invest in their employer brands.

Many businesses competing over a small supply of talent drives up its price and gives your would-be employee a sea of options. Ensure your business is the best choice for them by building a world-class employer brand.

How you package and communicate your place of work to potential employees matters more now than ever.

Our guest on the show today is Andrew Hansen, founder and CEO of Site Partners, A specialized marketing agency that works exclusively with the industrial sector. Over the last 5 years, he’s shifted from helping businesses get customers to helping them find talent.

Buckle up for an employer brand deep dive….