Dirt Talk by BuildWitt

Jeremy Whitaker is the Director of Training & Recruitment at C.W. Matthews Contracting out of Marietta, Georgia. It’s something of a unique position, but as you’ll learn from the podcast, Jeremy has the unique background and career path to match. He worked for multiple years a carpenter, a phys ed teacher, a musician/worship leader before he ever began teaching and training young people in construction. After a varied career, he felt the call on his life to combine his passions and experiences and joined up with C.W. Matthews to scale his construction education efforts. This week on Dirt Talk, host Aaron Witt and Jeremy Whitaker chat about what a career looks like when the two constants are “Jesus and construction”. Jeremy then shares his experience and expertise with engaging high schoolers in the Dirt World and why the current education system discourages students from going into blue-collar careers.If you want to learn more about the work that Jeremy Whitaker is doing with C.W. Matthews, you can get more info at cwmatthews.com. If you have any questions or feedback, email the Dirt Talk crew at dirttalk@buildwitt.com.Stay Dirty! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ken Rusk is the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Blue Collar Cash: Love Your Work, Secure Your Future, and Find Happiness for Life, entrepreneur, and blue-collar advocate “showing that there’s no degree required for comfort, peace, and freedom.” Ken never went to college and instead spent his younger years digging ditches and working in construction. Through hard work and patience, he’s become a very successful entrepreneur and now specializes in mentoring and coaching folks in goal setting, life visualization, career paths, and sound financial planning. Ken is passionate about helping people achieve their dreams regardless of their educational background or past.This week on Dirt Talk, host Aaron Witt and Ken Rusk discuss the myths associated with the necessity of college and the systems in place to discourage young people from pursuing blue-collar careers. Ken speaks on why he felt called to write his book Blue Collar Cash and why he never considered himself an author, even after writing a book. Aaron and Ken also discussed the value of empowering teams to discuss and solve business problems independently from “the boss.”To learn more about Ken Rusk and to order a copy of his book, go to kenrusk.com.If you have any questions or feedback, email the Dirt Talk crew at dirttalk@buildwitt.com.Stay Dirty! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s not really a stretch to say that Ryan Neal is a Caterpillar equipment expert. After a career as an equipment operator, he joined the corporate arm of Caterpillar as a Senior Product Demonstrator Instructor. He worked his way up over the course of 16 years and is now the Market Professional for Large Excavators. In addition to it sounding like an awesome job, it IS an awesome job. And thankfully, he was kind enough to stop by the BuildWitt HQ with his family a few weeks ago to chat on the podcast.This week on Dirt Talk, host Aaron Witt and Ryan Neal discussed a number of Dirt World topics: nuclear/wind/solar energy, the challenges of communicating the importance of technology, and why it’s important to know that a good work ethic can be learned. Thanks to Ryan and his family for the visit and time on the podcast. You can follow Ryan Neal on LinkedIn or on IG at @rneal1977.If you have any questions or feedback, email the Dirt Talk crew at dirttalk@buildwitt.com.Stay Dirty! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aaron Witt recaps his experience at CONEXPO 2023 a few weeks ago. He lays out the difference between his first CONEXPO, when he essentially snuck in and 2023, when he spoke at an event each day that he was there. He also wrestles with the bizarre nature of being something of a celebrity among parts of the Dirt World, and why that requires an intentional mindset shift.If you have any questions or feedback, email the Dirt Talk crew at dirttalk@buildwitt.com.Stay Dirty! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The BuildWitt relationship with Nic Parish (VP of Operations + Contracting for Burns Dirt out of Columbus, Mississippi) had quite the start. Nic emailed the podcast team and led with this: “A few other business owners and I started a nonprofit geared towards recruiting in our industry a few years ago called FORGE. Please check us out at www.forgeyourpath.com. Starting this nonprofit led me to be appointed by the governor of Mississippi to a 5-person committee to redesign workforce development in Mississippi”.I don’t want to say it was a flex, but it was certainly a good hook. Nic was one of the first guests on the podcast in our new podcast studio (check out episode DT107), and we’re excited to have him back on the pod. This week on Dirt Talk, Nic Parish and host Aaron Witt catch up on what’s been going on with Burns Dirt AND BuildWitt before digging into their respective roles in the shared mission to make the Dirt World a better place. They chat about why Nic feels he has a responsibility to help his competitors in certain areas, why approaching employee development requires real intentional care and not just a bonus here or there, and why Burns Dirt decided to add topographic art to their trucks and machines. (Editor’s note: They look cool as hell. Check it here: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cidt5s9MZ50/)Thanks to Nic and the entire Burns Dirt team. If you want to learn more about them, follow @burnsdirt on IG or check out burnsdirt.com.If you have any questions or feedback, email the Dirt Talk crew at dirttalk@buildwitt.com.Stay Dirty! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In another installment of “Questions and Questionable Answers” with host Aaron Witt, Aaron and co-host Alex Horton review questions sent in by listeners. This time, the guys answer questions like “should everyone start on a shovel before becoming an operator?”, “where does manufacturing fit into the Dirt World?” and “is it valuable to go to college for construction management?” They also discuss Aaron’s foolproof plan to track books he wants to read. It’s uh... pretty simple.Thanks as always to our listeners and especially those who send in questions! Keep ‘em coming, friends.If you have any questions or feedback, email the Dirt Talk crew at dirttalk@buildwitt.com.Stay Dirty! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steve Goodfellow is the Chairman of the Board for Goodfellow Bros after years as the CEO. Goodfellow Bros Inc was founded in 1921 by Steve’s grandfather and uncles. Joining the company at 17, Steve knew early on that his career path was always going to be with the family company. The company now has an HQ in both Hawaii AND Washington. This week on Dirt Talk, host Aaron Witt was kindly invited to speak at a Goodfellow Bros Company Meeting in Hawaii. In addition to giving a presentation, Aaron got to sit down with GBI Chairman Steve Goodfellow and chat about Steve’s history with the company. Steve shared stories of failure, lessons learned, and hard-earned advice to young people entering the Dirt World.Thank you to Steve and the entire Goodfellow team for your hospitality! Learn more about the company at goodfellowbros.com.If you have any questions or feedback, email the Dirt Talk crew at dirttalk@buildwitt.com.Stay Dirty! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ben Warren of Warren Land Solutions is back on Dirt Talk. We last heard from Ben in the summer of 2021 when he and Aaron recorded a podcast at Aaron’s dining table. My how things change.This week on Dirt Talk, host Aaron Witt and Ben Warren relate the opportunities and challenges that come from growing and leading a business in your late 20s. Ben again drops nuggets of wisdom throughout the episode as the guys dig into the importance of communicating the “what” to a team and then allowing the team to discover the “how,” as well as discussing the creative ways his company finds to get rid of or sell wood from land clearing jobs.Follow @warrenlandsolutions on IG to keep up with Ben and Warren Land Solutions.Big thanks to our friend Ben for the good conversation!If you have any questions or feedback, email the Dirt Talk crew at dirttalk@buildwitt.com.Stay Dirty! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Eric Jumper, a key member of BuildWitt, as he and host Aaron Witt navigate the complexities of the construction industry. They predict trends for ConExpo 2023, including the rise of battery tech, while critiquing the notion that more robots are the solution to workforce issues. They discuss the importance of hands-on training and how automation has created gaps in skill development. Humorously, they debunk the hype around VR and emphasize that real innovation requires more than just tech gimmicks.

Shane Patterson started his career selling tires and making good money. Life was good… until he realized that the Dirt World was calling. So he took a job as a haul truck driver to get out from behind a desk, and over the span of 18 months, he earned more and more responsibility (and the accompanying skills) by asking directly for it when he saw how he could help the team. Shane would go on to realize that he could take the soft skills learned from sales and the technical experience he was learning from his construction job and build something for himself. So with a total of 2 side jobs under his belt, he took a chance with his wife and started Patterson Excavating in Zionsville, Indiana. With a focus on growing and leading the people that he brings into the company, he’s been able to experience firsthand just how hungry the new generation coming into the Dirt World is to build things that last.This week on Dirt Talk, Shane Patterson joined host Aaron Witt in the BuildWitt HQ to discuss the importance of asking for what you want, communicating to a team the specifics of why growing a company helps everyone involved, and why Shane is so passionate about instilling in his employees the drive to accomplish huge goals. The guys also discuss a boots-on-the-ground perspective of the challenge and opportunity of bringing young people into a more traditional industry.Check out more about Patterson Excavating at pattersonexcavation.com or follow them on IG at @pattersonexcavating.If you have any questions or feedback, email the Dirt Talk crew at dirttalk@buildwitt.com.Stay Dirty! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices