

The Construction Leading Edge Podcast
Todd Dawalt
This podcast is dedicated to helping construction business owners eliminate chaos, maximize profit, and reclaim their freedom.
Designed for leaders who are ready to step out of the daily grind and take control of their business, The Construction Leading Edge Podcast delivers actionable strategies on systematization, time management, increasing profitability, and business growth. Whether it's stopping profit bleeds, building high-performing teams, or creating systems that allow your business to run without you, each episode will leave you with practical tools to unlock more profit, freedom, and impact.
Join Todd Dawalt every week for solo episodes packed with insights and guest interviews featuring industry experts who've mastered the art of building self-sustaining businesses. If you're ready to stop wearing so many hats and start leading your business like a visionary CEO, this podcast is for you.
Designed for leaders who are ready to step out of the daily grind and take control of their business, The Construction Leading Edge Podcast delivers actionable strategies on systematization, time management, increasing profitability, and business growth. Whether it's stopping profit bleeds, building high-performing teams, or creating systems that allow your business to run without you, each episode will leave you with practical tools to unlock more profit, freedom, and impact.
Join Todd Dawalt every week for solo episodes packed with insights and guest interviews featuring industry experts who've mastered the art of building self-sustaining businesses. If you're ready to stop wearing so many hats and start leading your business like a visionary CEO, this podcast is for you.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Apr 26, 2021 • 58min
Recruiting Mistakes to Avoid & Who Should Tell Your Story with Brandon Patterson | E209
EPISODE 209: Here's what you're going to get out of this construction podcast episode: - Things to stop doing if you want to recruit and hire young people. - What do most people get wrong about the skilled labor situation? - What is CREW Collaborative? - How the Build My Future event is different from other career fairs. - What ISN'T working when it comes to attracting young people? - What are some out of the box approaches Brandon recommends? - Why you need to stop letting people tell your stories and some advice on how you can get started. - Keys to retaining employees once they come on board. Resources mentioned in this construction podcast episode: GoSite: Take Control of Customer Reviews - https://www.gosite.com/podcast Approval: Get Paid Faster Based on Project Milestones - https://www.withapproval.com Construction Financial Masterclass: Master the financial side of the business - https://buildermasterclass.com/cfo 3 Questions to Help You Get Paid for Estimates: https://buildermasterclass.com/script How to connect with Brandon Patterson: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonmpatterson/ Iowa Skilled Trades - www.iowaskilledtrades.com Crew Collaborative - https://crewcollab.org/

Apr 19, 2021 • 1h 6min
How to Get Out of Your Own Way with Bryan Kaplan | E208
EPISODE 208: What you'll get out of this construction podcast episode: - The Art Of Delegation: How To Get Out Of Your Own Way - Addition Through Subtraction: How To Compound Your Results - Cost-Plus vs. Fixed-Cost projects. - The top one or two root cause problems builders and remodelers should focus on. - Putting systems and processes in place. - The problem with free estimates Resources mentioned in this construction podcast episode: Fieldchat: Messaging built for construction teams - https://get.fieldchat.com/edge GoSite: Take Control of Customer Reviews - https://www.gosite.com/podcast Construction Financial Masterclass: Master the financial side of the business - https://buildermasterclass.com/cfo 3 Questions to Help You Get Paid for Estimates: https://buildermasterclass.com/script How to connect with Bryan Kaplan: Bryan's website - https://constructionconsulting.co/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/constructionconsulting.co

Apr 13, 2021 • 1h 12min
The CEO Mindset Shift & Stopping a Failure Cycle with Kristin Larson | E207
EPISODE 207: What you'll get out of this construction podcast episode: - Kristin Larson's top priorities as a CEO of Southwest Industrial Electric. - The keys to growing from 10 employees to 50, and the failure cycle she had to stop. - The few things on her financial dashboard she uses to keep tabs on her business. - A mindset shift that is common to most successful construction business owners. - How Southwest Electric uses games to achieve targets. - Communicating to a resolution with family members. - The system they SimPro for managing projects and maintenance work. - A situation where they made a mistake with a client, and how they dealt with it. totally honest with a customer when we make a mistake. Resources mentioned in this construction podcast episode: Fieldchat: Messaging built for construction teams - https://get.fieldchat.com/edge GoSite: Take Control of Customer Reviews - https://www.gosite.com/podcast Construction Financial Masterclass: Master the financial side of the business - https://buildermasterclass.com/cfo 3 Questions to Help You Get Paid for Estimates: https://buildermasterclass.com/script How to connect with Kristin Larson: Company website - https://www.southwestelectric.com/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristin-larson-718106b7/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/southwestindustrialelectric/

Apr 8, 2021 • 1h 1min
Become the Red Bull of the Construction Space with Spencer Powell | E206
EPISODE 206: What you'll get out of this construction podcast episode: What does Spencer Powell mean when he says to become "the Red Bull of the construction space." How the "script has flipped" when it comes to sales and marketing. Marketing activities that are mistakes and wastes of time. What a marketing funnel is, and the keys to a good one. Why did Spencer write an open letter to Houzz? Where you should focus efforts and resources to get the most bang for your marketing buck. How to get started creating content for your website and social media. A genius strategy for building referral partner relationships. The "Do More of What's Working" philosophy. The difference between the design of your website and the performance of your website. Spencer's new book - The Remodeler Marketing Blueprint Resources mentioned in this construction podcast episode: Fieldchat: Messaging built for construction teams - https://get.fieldchat.com/edge GoSite: Take Control of Customer Reviews - https://www.gosite.com/podcast 3 Questions to Help You Get Paid for Estimates: https://buildermasterclass.com/script The Remodeler Marketing Blueprint Book - https://remodelermarketingblueprint.com How to connect with Spencer Powell: Builder Funnel website - https://www.builderfunnel.com LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencerwpowell/

Apr 3, 2021 • 28min
8 Flawed Fixes for Cash Flow Problems | E205
EPISODE 205: 64% of construction companies fail in the first five years, usually because of cash flow problems. In this construction podcast episode you'll learn about: 8 mistakes construction business owners make when trying to solve their cash flow problems. What "Right to Left" operation looks like, and how it solved cash flow problems for one business. Some of the most common side effects of cash flow struggles. Details on The Construction Financial Masterclass - https://buildermasterclass.com/cfo What will you learn in this Masterclass: 1. Optimize your bookkeeping setup. 2. How to analyze your financial statements. 3. Pricing your work for profit 4. Maximizing your cash flow Get all the details on the Construction Financial Masterclass at https://buildermasterclass.com/cfo

Mar 29, 2021 • 1h 10min
Modular Construction: The Problems it Solves and Opportunities It Creates with Ken Semler | E204
EPISODE 204: What you'll get out of this construction podcast episode: - How can going modular help builders deal with the current lumber price situation? - "All modular homes are prefab homes but not all prefab homes are modular homes." What does that mean? - What's in it for the homeowner in the way of indoor air quality? - What is the business opportunity in the modular business? - A few misconceptions and myths about modular? - How are permitting and inspections handled on modular homes? - If a builder wants to build either a spec or custom modular home, how would they get started? - What is going on at the macro-level in the industry? - Escalation clauses and contingency fee in financing to mitigate the risk of skyrocketing lumber prices. - The confusing "M" words. - Is modular is a type of home or a construction method? - Modular math allows for speed. Resources mentioned in this construction podcast episode: Fieldchat: Messaging built for construction teams - https://get.fieldchat.com/edge GoSite: Take Control of Customer Reviews - https://www.gosite.com/podcast Be Your Own CFO Masterclass: Master the financial side of the business - https://buildermasterclass.com/cfo 3 Questions to Help You Get Paid for Estimates: https://buildermasterclass.com/script Impresa Modular: https://impresamodular.com/ Connect with Ken Semler on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kensemler/

Mar 22, 2021 • 1h 2min
Managing a Million sq. ft Project: How These Superintendents Do It | E203
EPISODE 203: What you'll get out of this construction podcast episode: - Unique challenges of a project that is over 1,000,000 sf on a 125 acre site. - How to get people to fill out daily reports. - The tools two superintendents from Willmeng Construction are using to keep up with hundreds of employees on a massive project. - How they're using FieldChat and ProCore to revolutionize their operation. - A few ingenious ways to use QR codes on your jobsites. - Tips for getting people on board with using new technology or processes. - Some of the common misconceptions about being a construction superintendent, and what Jeremy and Derek think it's about. Resources mentioned in this construction podcast episode: Fieldchat: Messaging built for construction teams - https://get.fieldchat.com/edge GoSite: Take Control of Customer Reviews - https://www.gosite.com/podcast Be Your Own CFO Masterclass: Master the financial side of the business - https://buildermasterclass.com/cfo 3 Questions to Help You Get Paid for Estimates: https://buildermasterclass.com/script

Mar 15, 2021 • 55min
Top Four Profit Bleeds & How to Stop the Bleeding | E202
EPISODE 202: What you'll learn about in this construction podcast episode: "Stop screwing around with symptoms" How to get to the root cause of just about any problem. The "Systems Mindset" and what it looks like. Top 4 Profit Bleeds most contractors suffer from. Two big profit bleeds that can't be quantified, but are incredibly expensive. Answer to the question, "Where do I start putting systems in place?" Right to Left Thinking Five areas of your business to systematize, and how to get some quick wins. Resources mentioned in this construction podcast episode: CoConstruct Masterclass - Eliminate bleeds to maximize your bottom line profits - https://buildermasterclass.com/coconstruct 3 Questions to Help You Get Paid for Estimates - https://buildermasterclass.com/script GoSite: Take Control of Customer Reviews - https://www.gosite.com/podcast Apparatus Contractor Services: Bookkeeping, Payroll and Financial Reporting for Small Construction Businesses - https://goapparatus.com Be Your Own CFO Masterclass - Master the financial side of the business - https://buildermasterclass.com/cfo

Mar 8, 2021 • 41min
Navy SEALs and Point of Sale Thinking | E201
EPISODE 201: What does a Navy SEAL strategy for raiding insurgent houses have to do with minimizing chaos for you? I'll try to explain... What you'll learn about in this construction podcast episode: How a "touch it once" system helped Navy SEALs catch more insurgents during the war on terror. How "Point of Sale Thinking" will help you eliminate chaos in your business...even if you never use a cash register. How to use technology to automate your remembering and reminding. What an automated sales process looks like. How to set up a change order request process. An ingenious way of eliminating the headache of tracking PTO and vacation time. Resources mentioned in this construction podcast episode: The Sales Autopilot Funnel - How to automate your sales process - https://buildermasterclass.com/autopilot Be Your Own CFO Masterclass - Master the financial side of the business - https://buildermasterclass.com/cfo CoConstruct Masterclass - Eliminate bleeds to maximize your bottom line profits - https://buildermasterclass.com/coconstruct Work The System: The Simple Mechanics of Making More and Working Less by Sam Carpenter Extreme Ownership: Jocko Willink and Leif Babin

Mar 1, 2021 • 53min
The Art of Selling Art to Project Owners with Martha Weidmann | E200
EPISODE 200: Martha Weidmann - CEO and Co-Founder at NINE dot ARTS | Art Consultants and Curators. NINE dot ARTS uses the power of original art to transform spaces (office buildings, multifamily, large land developments, healthcare facilities, to name a few, into experiences. They bridge the gap between arts and business. What you'll get out of this construction podcast episode: - Martha's advice on selling to developers and project owners. -How does art pay for itself? - The difference between spaces and experience, and the business case for investing in that. - Creative placemaking. - A few difficult project situations she has worked through. - What makes a contractor successful, and why she hired the most expensive GC on her own commercial renovation project. Resources mentioned in this construction podcast episode: Bosch Bluehound Asset Management - https://bluehound.boschtools.com/ 3 Questions to Help You Get Paid for Estimates - https://buildermasterclass.com/script Mastermind Group for CoConstruct Users - https://buildermasterclass.com/cogroup How to connect with Martha Weidmann: Company website - https://ninedotarts.com/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/martha-weidmann-b112396/


