The Construction Leading Edge Podcast

EPISODE 289: There is one part of your construction business that could lead to profit bleed, but they never show up on an invoice. That is your customer experience! Focusing on creating a great customer experience roadmap could differentiate you from your competitors. But where do you start? In this week's episode, Leyah Valgardson, our Director of Customer Success, and I will discuss why customer experience matters whether you're a homebuilder or a commercial contractor. Today, Leyah and I talk about the symptoms of customers having a bad experience, the three steps to creating a good customer experience and journey, and action items you can do today to improve your customer journey and make it a company culture. Let's jump right in! Key Takeaways: Why customer experience matters (03:08) Your customer is buying an experience (09:06) Reasons to have a customer experience strategy (15:06) Symptoms of a customer having a bad experience (18:53) Customer experience vs. customer journey (25:06) Have a clear customer journey roadmap (26:39) Setting expectations clearly and consistently (38:26) Seeking ways to wow your customers (48:06) Positive ripple effects of providing great customer journey (1:00:57) Action items you can do today (1:07:21) Additional Resources: - Apply to work with the Construction Leading Edge team HERE - Learn how to get out of your business and make it run without you HERE - Visit Construction Leading Edge for more HERE -- The Construction Leading Edge Podcast helps construction business owners maximize their revenue, eliminate chaos, systematize their work, and win back their time. Follow us on your favorite podcasting platform so you never miss an episode!

EPISODE 288: How do you attract top talents to your construction business? You'd be surprised that it isn't just about the money; it's something else. So in this week's episode, I sat down with Isaac Barlow, the CEO of busybusy, a top-ranked GPS time tracking software that provides what every construction business owner wants in a tracking app. Today, Isaac and I talk about what high performers really want and how having this in place will help you recruit top talents in the industry, improve your company's productivity, increase your profitability, and create a culture of excellence. He also shares some tips on handling obstacles and resistance in construction businesses and the role of faith and persistence in getting to where his company is today. Tune in now to learn more! Key Takeaways: Intro (00:00) How busybusy started out (02:52) Describing the business roadmap and handling obstacles (11:52) Does construction have to be chaotic? (19:24) Root causes hiding underneath the construction chaos (21:24) Why should you invest in a good pre-construction system? (24:45) Common misconceptions about a construction manager's role (27:47) Some of busybusy's best features (31:37) How important is having access to job site data (34:06) How to improve productivity in construction businesses (40:46) Construction business trends that might surprise people (45:54) Cultivating company culture with busybusy (49:23) Episode wrap-up (57:55) Additional Resources: - Schedule a FREE breakthrough session now with our team HERE - Learn how to get out of your business and make it run without you HERE - Visit Construction Leading Edge for more HERE Connect with Isaac Barlow: - Connect with Isaac on LinkedIn HERE - Check busybusy for more information HERE -- The Construction Leading Edge Podcast helps construction business owners maximize their revenue, eliminate chaos, systematize their work, and win back their time. Follow us on your favorite podcasting platform so you never miss an episode!

EPISODE 287: Here's what no one is talking about - good construction companies are actually good pre-construction companies. Instead of giving away free estimates, they charge for doing them to bring great value to their clients, even at the early stage of the construction process. So in this week's episode, Construction Leading Edge's Systematize Your Construction Business (SYCB) coach Monish Khadye speaks with Daniel Hickey, owner and project manager at Hickey Construction. Daniel shares how his construction business went from earning $550k to $2M in just a few years - all thanks to solid pre-construction and rigorous handoff processes. He also talks about how he was kicked out of his business in a good way, the positive ripple effects that his customers and team have seen after putting in the right systems and processes, how the SYCB program impacted his business and family life, and more. Let's get this started! Key Takeaways: Meet Daniel Hickey of Hickey Construction (03:17) What helped Daniel grow his construction business? (06:51) On delegation and accountability (12:12) The advantages of having a pre-construction process (14:56) From working 10-12 hours a day to 5 hours or less (17:06) On having clarity on what to achieve (26:59) "If you've got that drive, you can do it." (32:17) Handoff and pre-construction tips (34:17) The ripple effects of a rigorous handoff and pre-construction process (45:22) Life after doing all the work in the SYCB program (56:48) How to systematize your construction business (1:20:31) Additional Resources: - Schedule a FREE breakthrough session now with our team HERE - Learn how to get out of your business and make it run without you HERE - Visit Construction Leading Edge for more HERE Connect with Daniel Hickey: - Reach out by sending your email to daniel@hickeyconstruction.ca - Check Hickey Construction for more information HERE -- The Construction Leading Edge Podcast helps construction business owners maximize their revenue, eliminate chaos, systematize their work, and win back their time. Follow us on your favorite podcasting platform so you never miss an episode!

EPISODE 286: Bringing in a family member into your construction business and transitioning leadership is more challenging than you'd think. But our guests for today had cracked the code and can now go on vacations without being on their phones or laptops. In this week's episode, Construction Leading Edge's Systematize Your Construction Business (SYCB) coach Monish Khadye speaks with Tru Builders' owners, Max and Lori Christiansen, and their daughter/senior designer, Cassie Parra. Today, Max, Lori, and Cassie share their lessons on how they made it through the 2008 slowdown, navigating business transition, and the systems and processes that make their construction business successful. They also talk about the lessons they've learned from joining the SYCB program and its ripple effects on their business and lives. Tune in now to learn more! Key Takeaways: How Tru Builders started (03:30) On handing the business over to your kids vs. them earning it (08:41) Being a designer is more than just the aesthetics (12:58) Failures and lessons that set Tru Builders for later success (17:43) On creating transparency with clients and charging the right amount (29:47) Systems and processes that are working well for Tru Builders (36:42) Lessons they learned from SYCB that made all the difference (44:55) How are life and business different now after joining SYCB (52:27) Tru Builders' 12-month and 5-year visions (1:00:03) Three crucial systems to accelerate your business results (1:06:08) Additional Resources: - Schedule a FREE breakthrough session now with our team HERE - Learn how to get out of your business and make it run without you HERE - Visit Construction Leading Edge for more HERE Connect with Tru Builders: - Check Tru Builders' website for more info HERE - Follow them on Instagram HERE - Got any questions? Send your email to max@trubuildersaz.com, lori@trubuildersaz.com, or cassie@trubuildersaz.com -- The Construction Leading Edge Podcast helps construction business owners maximize their revenue, eliminate chaos, systematize their work, and win back their time. Follow us on your favorite podcasting platform so you never miss an episode!

EPISODE 285: Are you part of or considering joining a family construction business? Do you find it hard to handle a family partnership? Our guest for today has learned it the hard way. In this week's episode, Systematized Your Construction Business (SYCB) coach, Monish Khadye, sits down with construction business owner and SYCB mentee Jake Lewendal. Jake built Momentum Development after coming out from two business partnerships, one of which was a family partnership that took a toll on his family. Today, Jake shares some key learnings from his family partnership, the best practices when considering joining a family business, and a few crucial things you must do upfront when setting up a business partnership. He also talks about handling hard conversations and rejections, the positive ripple effects he has experienced in life and business after joining SYCB, and more. Let's jump in! Key Takeaways: How Jake got into the construction world (03:16) The biggest shift that turned him from failure to success (08:57) How their family construction business broke down (15:24) On filling up the void with a business partner (21:20) Tips for people who are a part of or considering joining a family partnership (31:43) What he believes to be true in business that others find unconventional? (43:57) How Jake's strengths became his weaknesses (45:56) Crucial questions to ask when starting a construction business (1:02:56) How to deal with rejection and build a rejection-proof routine (1:04:07) The main construction problems he had before joining SYCB (1:16:54) Most impactful things he learned from the SYCB program (1:25:13) How to systematize your construction business (1:42:39) Additional Resources: - Schedule a FREE breakthrough session now with our team HERE - Learn how to get out of your business and make it run without you HERE - Visit Construction Leading Edge for more HERE Connect with Jake Lewendal - Reach out to Jake by sending your email to jake@momentumdevelopmentmt.com - Follow or DM Jake on Instagram HERE - Follow Momentum Development HERE -- The Construction Leading Edge Podcast helps construction business owners maximize their revenue, eliminate chaos, systematize their work, and win back their time. Follow us on your favorite podcasting platform so you never miss an episode!

EPISODE 284: Do you feel like you don't get anything out of your team meetings? What happens if your meetings continue to be ineffective? General Stanley McChrystal, a retired U.S. Army general and book author, cracked the code on how meetings helped them win the war on Al Qaeda. In this week's episode, we'll talk about the best practices when conducting team meetings and how you can apply them to your construction business so you can make it run without you. Today, you'll also learn the connection between good team meetings and the culture of accountability, the ripple effects of ineffective meetings, and a success story from a construction business owner who's started implementing the strategies you'll be learning today. Let's jump into it! Key Takeaways: The operations and intelligence brief (02:47) Teaching people how to think vs. telling people what to do (05:54) You don't have time to wait for the 100% solution (09:11) The benefits of using empowered execution (11:58) Common issues with meetings (16:19) What are the ripple effects of ineffective meetings? (20:48) Best practices for construction team meetings (22:54) Three crucial systems to run effective team meetings (32:36) How to accelerate your results (35:26) David Hopkins' Systematized Your Construction Business (SYCB) success story (40:57) Additional Resources: - Schedule a FREE breakthrough session now with our team HERE - Learn how to get out of your business and make it run without you HERE - Visit Construction Leading Edge for more HERE -- The Construction Leading Edge Podcast helps construction business owners maximize their revenue, eliminate chaos, systematize their work, and win back their time. Follow us on your favorite podcasting platform so you never miss an episode!

EPISODE 283: Are you stuck in the day-to-day operations of your business? Do you worry that your business wouldn't be able to run without you? Then I have two things for you - communication and delegation. In this week's episode, I want to share communication and delegation hacks to help you get out of operations so you can truly operate as a visionary. Listen in as I talk about the leading dominoes that will improve your organization's operational process, how to effectively communicate and delegate to your team, and a Systematize Your Construction Business (SYCB) success story featuring Andy Shelton of Birch Home Builders. So if you're a construction business owner looking to systematize your business and make it run without you, tune in now. You don't want to miss this! Key Takeaways: Are you a Trevor or a Logan? (02:40) Your brain is probably the root cause of communication problems (05:24) The Forgetting Curve study explained (07:10) Why you need to communicate less? (10:22) What is asynchronous communication? (13:06) How to effectively train your team (17:01) Think differently about delegation (23:24) How to delegate to your team (24:55) The five levels of delegations (30:22) A quick recap (34:06) Systematize Your Construction Business' (SYCB) success story (40:04) Additional Resources: - Want to learn more about what you could achieve with our SYCB program? Check out these success stories HERE - Schedule a FREE breakthrough session now with our team HERE - Learn how to get out of your business and make it run without you HERE - Visit Construction Leading Edge for more HERE -- The Construction Leading Edge Podcast helps construction business owners maximize their revenue, eliminate chaos, systematize their work, and win back their time. Follow us on your favorite podcasting platform so you never miss an episode!

EPISODE 282: How do successful construction business owners get out of a slump? What do you personally do when things aren't going well? Most of us would tend to focus on the negative things and just go into a downward spiral trend. In many cases, we start spouting off self-fulfilling prophecies, which eventually get worse as they happen. So in this week's episode, I want to share how great entrepreneurs think about adversity and how they overcome it. I talk about the Stockdale Paradox, how to get control of the story you're telling yourself, what a mental hygiene exercise is, and some proven strategies for turning trials into triumphs. Tune in now to learn more! Key Takeaways: What most of us would do when things don't go well? (01:12) There are no good or bad things (03:59) Separate observable facts from the story you're telling yourself (05:59) Detach from what's going on in your head (06:42) Cultivate the habit of gratitude (07:45) Control the controllables (08:52) Reframe the situation (10:09) The Stockdale Paradox explained (12:39) Take extreme ownership of the situation (17:00) The catastrophizing strategy (19:03) How to do a mental hygiene exercise (20:53) Episode wrap-up (23:13) Additional Resources: - Schedule a FREE breakthrough session now with our team HERE - Learn how to get out of your business and make it run without you HERE - Visit Construction Leading Edge for more HERE Books Mentioned: - Good to Great by Jim Collins - Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill - The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday -- The Construction Leading Edge Podcast helps construction business owners maximize their revenue, eliminate chaos, systematize their work, and win back their time. Follow us on your favorite podcasting platform so you never miss an episode!

EPISODE 281: Learning to say no to the people or things that don't serve you or your business gives you room to say yes to those that do. And we've invited someone who just skyrocketed his construction business by saying no and focusing on the people. In this week's episode, I sit down with Mikhail Gannage, president of Gannage Design & Construction. Mikhail went from being a long-time robotics engineer to running their family-owned construction business. According to Mikhail, by being selective in what projects he and his team take on, they have seen tremendous business growth - something they haven't seen in years. So he's here to share the main root cause of his company's profit bleeding and the systems and changes he implemented that grew his construction business from 2% to a whopping 15% net profit. He also talks about the connection between an accountability chart and a good handoff to profitability, the benefits of being in a mastermind group of construction business owners, and why working less makes him a better leader. Tune in now to learn more! Key Takeaways: From robotics engineering to construction business owner (01:06) Best advice for those taking over a family business (04:42) Business problems Mikhail was dealing with (09:59) The main root cause of profit bleeding and its ripple effects (13:08) Most impactful systems and changes that grew his business (23:32) Dealing with one big hairy audacious goal (29:49) On accountability chart, good handoff and profitability (35:36) A peek into his construction business's numbers (42:07) Benefits of being in a mastermind group (49:15) Why do construction business owners isolate themselves? (53:35) Why working less means doing more? (56:32) The biggest question to ask when starting a business (58:36) One final piece of advice (1:01:39) Additional Resources: - Schedule a Breakthrough Session with our team HERE - Register for The ADVANCE Live Meetup | March 30-31, 2023 | Austin, TX HERE - Visit Construction Leading Edge for more HERE Connect with Mikhail Gannage: - Follow Gannage Design & Construction on Instagram HERE - Reach out to Mikhail at mikhail@gannageconstruction.com - Visit Gannage Design & Construction website for more info HERE -- The Construction Leading Edge Podcast helps construction business owners maximize their revenue, eliminate chaos, systematize their work, and win back their time. Follow us on your favorite podcasting platform so you never miss an episode!

EPISODE 280: Success isn't determined by your age, gender, location, or any of those similar factors; it is the formation of habits that will. In this week's episode, I've invited Leyah Valgardson, Director of Customer Success here at Construction Leading Edge, to unpack the three core habits of success that successful construction business owners do. Leyah and I also talk about what really is success and happiness, how to build those habits of success as a construction business owner, creating accountability with like-minded people, and more. Let's dive in! Key Takeaways: Introduction (00:00) What is a habit? (01:28) Success and happiness defined (04:10) Follow an effective morning routine (14:50) The power of gratitude (27:14) What is mindset, and how important is it? (29:29) Managing your inner critic (39:30) Prepare, plan, and execute (51:18) On execution being so hard (56:51) Strategies to create accountability (1:00:06) Episode wrap-up (1:05:58) Additional Resources: - Listen to "The Hidden Dangers of Procrastination & How to Conquer It" episode HERE - Listen to the "5 Things Successful Entrepreneurs Manage That Nobody Warned You About" episode HERE - Schedule a Breakthrough Session with our team HERE - Register for The ADVANCE Live Meetup | March 30-31, 2023 | Austin, TX HERE - Visit Construction Leading Edge for more HERE Books Mentioned: - The 5 AM Club by Robin S. Sharma - The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg - The Obstacle Is the Way by Ryan Holiday - The 10x Rule by Grant Cardone -- The Construction Leading Edge Podcast helps construction business owners maximize their revenue, eliminate chaos, systematize their work, and win back their time. Follow us on your favorite podcasting platform so you never miss an episode!