The Builder Nuggets Podcast
Duane Johns & Dave Young
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Listen to The Builder Nuggets Podcast where builders and remodelers share the elements of success needed to transform your business into a valuable asset that thrives using less of your time. Discover how to predictably scale your business, free yourself from day to day operations and develop your exit strategy and legacy.
Duane Johns and Dave Young will show you how to build a thriving business that allows you to spend more time doing what you love. Enjoy the stories, strategies and tactics that have helped hundreds of contractors like you build better lives.
Available episodes
Newest first
Oldest first
4 days ago
EP 09: Building a Workforce
Here’s an unfortunate truth about the construction industry: Building a workforce of highly qualified workers is a very difficult task.
It’s even harder finding young kids who decide construction is a better route for them than college — our culture and school systems have brainwashed kids from a young age that college is the only way to succeed. The reality is there are many forms of education, other than college, that can lead to a successful career.
That’s the problem Darren Ash, executive director at The Roc, is trying to solve. In this episode, he explains how to get young kids excited for construction — and how to hire young people for your construction business.
Show highlights include:
* Why a college degree doesn’t cut it in the “new economy” (and 3 things you need to land a high-paying job) (2:35)
* How construction jobs unlock freedom while college tuition may trap you in debt (5:11)
* The counterintuitive reason draconian labor laws hurt young ambitious people the most (and how to get exceptions to these rules) (7:53)
* How tough love builds can build a better company culture (14:50)
* The insidious way schools, and our culture, can brainwash young kids away from profitable opportunities (18:05)
* The “Each One Take One Approach” that helps you find highly qualified construction apprentices for your business (21:00)
To get the most out of this podcast, head over to buildernuggets.com and join our active community of like-minded builders and remodelers.
Feb 23, 2021
EP 08: The Unsolvable Problem
Building high end custom homes is a tough business. You could try to do it all yourself, but that won’t scale.
So how do you expand your business without sacrificing the quality you’re known for? You have to master the art of building relationships and surround yourself with the right people.
In this episode, custom home builder Jeff Smith discusses the importance of self-development, building bulletproof relationships with trade partners, mentoring the next generation workforce, and how all of this will allow you to scale your success.
Show highlights include:
* Why trade school may be a better option than college and how to take the next step for your career (4:01)
* The surprising reason skilled tradesmen may out-earn physicians in the future (4:56)
* How to maximize your contracting business by using romance (7:48)
* Why more “hustle and grind” may actually shrink your business (10:39)
* How to attract and keep the highest quality trade contractors and avoid working with those that don't meet your core values (26:42)
* The secret to forging rock-solid business relationships that go beyond getting paid (32:45)
* A simple question that will have trade contractors fighting each other to work for you (39:42)
* The “Two-Way Leadership” model that ensures your success (43:55)
To get the most out of this podcast, head over to buildernuggets.com and join our active community of like-minded builders and remodelers.
Feb 16, 2021
EP 07: Free Estimates Are Too Expensive
If you’ve been in the building business for any length of time, you’ve experienced the hamster wheel of free estimating. It’s become standard practice because clients have become conditioned to expect it. Actually they expect 3 of them.
Unfortunately free estimates are killing the construction industry. They do a disservice to both the customer and the builder.
Design build professional Paul Kowalski joins us to discuss how free estimates can consume your time and how to elevate yourself above the competition.
Show highlights include:
* Why free estimates can put your business in the red (2:03)
* Free estimates can mislead clients and lead to missed expectations (3:04)
* The reason free estimates devalue the service you provide (7:05)
* The “Design-Build” method frees you from free estimates forever (8:35)
* 3 fundamental questions free estimates fail to address (11:36)
* Why free estimates can be stressful to your team and be cause for turnover (20:10)
* How free estimates open the door for competitors to steal your clients (27:52)
* The “Chunking” approach that makes clients excited to pay you for your work (40:32)
To get the most out of this podcast, head over to buildernuggets.com and join our active community of like-minded builders and remodelers.
Feb 9, 2021
EP 06: It Takes a Village
There are always excuses for not getting involved in your community. Time, money, effort. Builders also don’t want to be seen as greedy, just in it to make a buck.
But your community needs you. You can share your skills and talents in a way that benefits everyone.
In this episode, consultant and community manager Whitney Brown discusses how to find the right projects to get involved in, how to help your community without coming across as selfish, and how to motivate your team to make your community a better place.
Show highlights include:
* The Win-Win Method for local involvement that benefits the community and your business (4:33)
* How to give back to your local community without feeling like an opportunistic leech (5:58)
* Why publicly sharing the ways you give back is win for you and your community (6:20)
* The Community Marketing checklist every builder needs to successfully get involved with their local community (12:03)
* Why your budget doesn’t matter for genuine community involvement (29:21)
* The easiest way to start getting involved with your community even if you’re new to the area and have never done it before (32:58)
To get the most out of this podcast, head over to buildernuggets.com and join our active community of like-minded builders and remodelers.
Feb 2, 2021
EP 05: From Risk to Reward
A construction business involves risk. Building on speculation, working with the wrong clients, and other traps that builders may fall into. Making the wrong decision can send you spiraling into debt, lead to fatigue, or put you out of business.
In this episode, building industry thought leader Matt Risinger discusses how to find the right clients, the importance of collaboration and how to avoid debt so your business can thrive.
Show highlights include:
* How to find the perfect partner that can propel your business forward faster than you could alone (6:58)
* The “Free Marketing” method to building a thriving business when you have no existing relationships (8:42)
* The prolific creator’s secret for pumping out great content that connects to the clients you want to work with (10:25)
* How video content lays the groundwork for successful client relationship while you sleep (12:25)
* Software that can help you get out of debt no matter your current financial situation (17:05)
* A bulletproof method for eliminating time-wasting clients from the start (20:40)
* How to build the team that lets you step out of your business and enjoy your life (28:05)
* The “Noble Builder” model that helps every company in your market succeed (37:45)
To learn more about Matt Risinger you can find him at the https://buildshownetwork.com or follow him on Instagram @risingerbuild
To get the most out of this podcast, head over to buildernuggets.com and join our active community of like-minded builders and remodelers.
Jan 26, 2021
EP 04: Life Plan
Life goes by faster than you expect it to. If you don’t live intentionally, you’ll regret all the things you missed out on.
A life plan helps you avoid regret. Better still, your life plan also helps you create the business you’ve always wanted.
In this episode, award-winning remodeler Steve Barkhouse joins us and we discuss how your eulogy may be the key to the life of your dreams, the importance of company culture, and how to ensure you meet all your goals in life and business.
Show highlights include:
* The busy contractor’s secret to finding time to enjoy life when you run an all-consuming business (5:13)
* What writing your own eulogy teaches you about your life (even if you’re still alive) (6:53)
* A simple way to attract employees that will help you build your business legacy (9:41)
* Why misunderstanding priorities harms your life and business (11:40)
* The surprising reason a life plan is better than a business plan to achieve professional success (17:28)
* How to find the peers and mentors who will push you to levels of success you could never reach alone (23:08)
* A radical way to stop your cell phone from controlling your life (31:51)
To get the most out of this podcast, head over to buildernuggets.com and join our active community of like-minded builders and remodelers.
Jan 19, 2021
EP 03: Highest and Best Use
You started your business because you’re the best at what you do. Even if you have a team, you’re probably still the best at most tasks in that business.
But if you spend time doing things that don’t directly grow your business, you’re wasting time. Worse, you’re setting up your business to fail.
You have to determine the highest and best use of your time.
In this episode, we discuss how to figure out the tasks you’re best suited for and how to train a killer team to take care of the rest, so your business can dominate your market.
Show highlights include:
* How finding your HABU makes you and your team run like a well-oiled machine (1:28)
* How the “Delegate & Elevate” chart helps you rekindle your love for work (5:06)
* The secret to spending all your time following your passions (and still getting all the work done) (6:23)
* A shockingly simple way to get your employees to treat your business like it’s their own (8:35)
* Why doing less leads you to accomplish more in your business (11:40)
To get the most out of this podcast, head over to buildernuggets.com and join our active community of like-minded builders and remodelers.
Jan 12, 2021
EP 02: You Can't Scale Chaos
Many builders and remodelers start their own company because they’re good at what they do. It makes perfect sense… until you realize everything involved in running a business.
There aren’t enough hours in a day, and you find yourself completely overwhelmed as the business descends into chaos. Your dream has become a nightmare.
Employees can help, but throwing the wrong employees into the mix can make things worse. So how do you lift yourself up out of the chaos?
In this episode, author and business coach Scott Beebe discusses the importance of vision and a roadmap, the things that are holding your business back, and a bulletproof hiring process for bringing on rockstar employees.
Show highlights include:
* Why the project management role in your business is prone to chaos and how you can restore order (4:34)
* The counterintuitive reason you shouldn’t start a company doing something you’re good at (4:53)
* 4 terrifying words that can kill your business instantly (5:57)
* Why principles trump strategies for sustainable business growth (8:31)
* How the “Spinach Factor” can calm a chaotic company (35:21)
* Two essential success tools you need to implement from day 1 to build a thriving business (10:44)
* Why employee failure is your fault and how to turn every team member into an A player (18:29)
* How the 1-page Master Process Roadmap will transform your business forever (25:26)
Why trying to 10X your business will destroy it (36:21)
For more on Scott and his coaching programs for contractors, visit https://www.mybusinessonpurpose.com/
To get the most out of this podcast, head over to buildernuggets.com and join our active community of like-minded builders and remodelers.
Jan 4, 2021
EP 01: Under Construction
Entrepreneurship can be a lonely and difficult journey. But it doesn't have to be!
The Builder Nuggets community is composed of successful industry leaders like yourself. Award winning builders, remodelers, business coaches, industry experts, and fellow podcasters have come together to share their secrets of success. Our mission is to improve our businesses, our lifestyles, and to move the industry forward by focusing on collaboration over competition.
In this premiere episode of the Builder Nuggets podcast, we discuss the importance of creating a business that thrives using less of your time and why trying to do it all yourself may lead to fatigue and frustration.
Show highlights include:
* The power of the mastermind and sharing with like minded peers
* Negative elements steal your time and steal your focus (5:09)
* How to achieve the breakthroughs that lead you to the business of your dreams (9:10)
* A mission to help fellow builders (18:50)
* We continue to discover and share new elements of success all the time (21:05)
It’s all here if your willing to put in the work (22:15)
To get the most out of this podcast, head over to buildernuggets.com and join our active community of successful builders and remodelers.