

Contractor Cents
Ruth King
Discover ideas, tactics, news, and information that matters to your contracting business and you. Increase productivity, profitability, customer and employee satisfaction.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Sep 1, 2025 • 10min
Contractor Cents - Episode 389 - Making Every Hour Count: Billable Hours & Productivity (Part 2)
Happy Labor Day! This two part series revolves around your labor force
which generates your billable hours. Today I discuss different ways to
increase labor productivity.
Free P&L Statement and Balance Sheet
https://tinyurl.com/2rjd6wxu
Ruth King
Twitter - @RuthKing
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthking1/
Podcast Produced by
Nick Uttam
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-uttam-4b33a1147

Aug 25, 2025 • 9min
Contractor Cents - Episode 388 - Making Every Hour Count: Billable Hours & Productivity (Part 1)
Happy Labor Day! This two part series revolves around your labor force
which generates your billable hours. Today I discuss billable hours and the
productivity ratio. Email me (rking@ontheribbon.com) if you would like a
copy of my billable hours template.
Free P&L Statement and Balance Sheet
https://tinyurl.com/2rjd6wxu
Ruth King
Twitter - @RuthKing
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthking1/
Podcast Produced by
Nick Uttam
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-uttam-4b33a1147

Aug 18, 2025 • 19min
Contractor Cents - Episode 387 - Is Your Business Just Income or a True Asset?
Are you looking at your business as an income source or an asset?
Hopefully you said an asset.
And, what if you could identify and predictably reduce taxes?
Sound impossible? My guest, Justin D. Maxwell will tell you how to make
this a reality. He’ll also give you the 5D’s that can kill your business. Justin
is a partner at Big Life Financial who transforms high-performing business
owners into true owner-investors, guiding them to integrate taxes, investing,
protection, and exit planning for generational impact.
Free P&L Statement and Balance Sheet
https://tinyurl.com/2rjd6wxu
Ruth King
Twitter - @RuthKing
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthking1/
Podcast Produced by
Nick Uttam
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-uttam-4b33a1147

Aug 11, 2025 • 18min
Contractor Cents - Episode 386 - Building a Referral Network Across the Trades
Do you know other tradespeople outside your trade? And, why is this
important? Referrals, of course!
My guest, Ted Speers, is the President of The Patch Boys. He’ll explain why
it is good for plumbers, HVAC technicians, drywall personnel, electricians,
and more. And, how to build your referral base.
Free P&L Statement and Balance Sheet
https://tinyurl.com/2rjd6wxu
Ruth King
Twitter - @RuthKing
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthking1/
Podcast Produced by
Nick Uttam
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-uttam-4b33a1147

Aug 4, 2025 • 17min
Contractor Cents - Episode 385 - The Productivity Makeover Your Contracting Business Needs
Productivity. What if you could reinvent productivity in your contracting
business? The top line may not increase…then again it might. Improving
productivity, or reinventing productivity will definitely improve your bottom
line.
How do you do it? My guest, James Hatfield, answers this question. James
started out as the owner of a painting and power washing company and
became passionate about helping contracting professionals save time and
make more money. James is now the CRO at LiveSwitch, a global technology
company that serves the trades and other small businesses.
Free P&L Statement and Balance Sheet
https://tinyurl.com/2rjd6wxu
Ruth King
Twitter - @RuthKing
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthking1/
Podcast Produced by
Nick Uttam
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-uttam-4b33a1147

Jul 28, 2025 • 18min
Contractor Cents - Episode 384 - The Truth About CSRs Part 3: It’s Not Just One Job
This is the last of three episodes that demystifies your CSR, dispatch, and
inside sales roles. My guests are Lynn Wise, CEO of Contractor in Charge,
and Danielle Bartus who leads sales and marketing for Contractor in Charge.
In this episode, Lynn and Danielle discuss the inside sales role.
Free P&L Statement and Balance Sheet
https://tinyurl.com/2rjd6wxu
Ruth King
Twitter - @RuthKing
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthking1/
Podcast Produced by
Nick Uttam
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-uttam-4b33a1147

Jul 21, 2025 • 19min
Contractor Cents - Episode 383 - The Truth About CSRs Part 2: It’s Not Just One Job
This is the second of three episodes that demystifies your CSR, dispatch, and
inside sales roles. My guests are Lynn Wise, CEO of Contractor in Charge,
and Danielle Bartus who leads sales and marketing for Contractor in Charge.
In this episode, Lynn and Danielle discuss the dispatch role – and how AI can
play a role in dispatch.
Free P&L Statement and Balance Sheet
https://tinyurl.com/2rjd6wxu
Ruth King
Twitter - @RuthKing
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthking1/
Podcast Produced by
Nick Uttam
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-uttam-4b33a1147

Jul 14, 2025 • 22min
Contractor Cents - Episode 382 - The Truth About CSRs Part 1: It’s Not Just One Job
This is the first of three episodes that demystifies your CSR, dispatch, and
inside sales roles. My guests are Lynn Wise, CEO of Contractor in Charge,
and Danielle Bartus who leads sales and marketing for Contractor in Charge.
In this episode, Lynn and Danielle discuss the true CSR roles (there are more
than one) and how AI can play a CSR role.
Free P&L Statement and Balance Sheet
https://tinyurl.com/2rjd6wxu
Ruth King
Twitter - @RuthKing
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthking1/
Podcast Produced by
Nick Uttam
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-uttam-4b33a1147

Jul 7, 2025 • 19min
Contractor Cents - Episode 381 - So You Want to Sell Your Business… Now What?
So you think you want to sell your business?
And no, the likelihood of you deciding to sell and actually closing on the sale
in a month is unrealistic. What should you prepare for? What should you
expect? When should you begin?
Join Ruth Mannschrek, who was shocked by the entire sales process, who
gives you the answers to these questions and more…so you don’t have the
same misconceptions and make the mistakes she did.
Free P&L Statement and Balance Sheet
https://tinyurl.com/2rjd6wxu
Ruth King
Twitter - @RuthKing
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthking1/
Podcast Produced by
Nick Uttam
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-uttam-4b33a1147

Jun 30, 2025 • 6min
Contractor Cents - Episode 380 - Happy Fourth Of July!
July 1st is Canadian independence day…so those of you in Canada, Happy
July 1st .
For those of us in the United States, a few days later we will celebrate our
independence day, July 4th .
My wishes for happy independence days.
Free P&L Statement and Balance Sheet
https://tinyurl.com/2rjd6wxu
Ruth King
Twitter - @RuthKing
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthking1/
Podcast Produced by
Nick Uttam
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-uttam-4b33a1147


