Dirt Talk by BuildWitt

On this episode, Herb Sargent and I chat about life, anxiety, my recent struggles and his life lessons. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When it comes to excavators, Ryan Neal knows just about everything there is. As Regional Product Application Specialist for large excavators at Caterpillar, Ryan spends his days testing new excavators, talking to customers, and training operators worldwide.After working as an operator in the construction industry for about a decade, Ryan had the chance to become a demonstrator instructor at Caterpillar's Edwards facility in Peoria, Illinois. During his time there, he became familiar with every machine in Cat's product line and flew to countries from Sweden to India to help operators get the most out of their machines.These days, his entire focus is on large excavators and how to make them the best.We talk about Ryan's early days, his travel experiences, how a new excavator goes from drawings to reality, and we touch on the 395, obviously.To learn more about Ryan, give him a follow on Instagram at @rneal1997 or watch him drive a mini excavator through a china shop here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3sdMEgor7E. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, I explain why I went to college, what I think the major mistakes people who go to college make are, and how to get the most out of it if you do go, in my opinion. Like anything else in life, there's a right and wrong way to do college. While it's no longer a requirement for "success" in the year 2020, it's still a fantastic thing to do, if you do it right. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chris Guins (better known as letsdig18) lives for earthwork as an owner/operator for his family's excavating business and himself. At any point in time (weekends included), odds are you'll find him mucking out a pond in North Carolina with a Volvo excavator while wearing cargo shorts.I titled the episode "dirt celebrity" as somewhat of a joke, but thanks to Chris's few hundred thousand YouTube subscribers and millions of weekly video views, a lot of people know who he is.Started somewhat on accident, he began recording his days and posting it to YouTube. Amazingly, it took off, and he's posted videos almost daily every since.We get into how Chris started in the excavating business, what he does day to day, what his thoughts are on YouTube, and discuss his kickass new bucket custom-built for him by AMI.To learn more about Chris, grab some popcorn and search "letsdig18" on YouTube. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the second installment of me talking about my background and experiences in the Dirt World (you all enjoyed the first one more than I thought you would), I pick up back on the railroad.I explain how Skanska nearly fired me for accidentally ripping out an important railroad signal line, how I got a job with Kiewit, how I got a tour of the largest tunneling project on earth, and why I began posting dirt photos on Instagram.As I'm typing this out, there's more than I thought there was in the episode. Part three about my time working in Texas is coming soon. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since I'm a terrible planner, I forgot to schedule someone interesting for this week's episode. Instead, and to your likely disappointment, I opened up the microphone and talked about how I started in construction.I talk about the early years before construction entered my life, how I learned to work hard, how I got my first construction job with no experience, and a few other summer construction adventures leading up to my junior year of college.Whether you're someone looking to learn more about me or looking for a shot in the construction industry, this podcast episode is for you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

*If you don't like swearing, then this ain't the episode for you!*In this week's episode, I sit down with Taylor White, who runs the day to day at Ken White Construction in Ottowa, Canada.I first saw Taylor's videos and photos on Instagram and Youtube. I was immediately curious since he does a damn good job bringing people along on the day to day of a growing family business.Even though he didn't start the business, he's hell-bent on transforming his father's business before him built into a large construction company doing anything from trucking to site development to materials.I love talking to him because he is who he is. While only 25, he has a damn good grip on who he is and how to tell his story.We cover all sorts of topics, from transitioning the business to fitness and mental health.Follow Taylor and Ken White Construction at @kwc2000 on Instagram or by searching "Ken White Construction" on YouTube! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Initially beginning his career as a site development contractor, Isaac Barlow started to see issues with how his business and other construction businesses tracked time and costs associated with each project. With little to no data, no one could accurately manage and estimate work.Once he realized he could potentially create a solution for his company, but many other construction companies, he set out to research why construction companies fail. The number one reason? Not lack of skillset. It was entirely due to a lack of information.What followed is what's now been over a decade long mission to develop a software to help contractors go into battle daily armed with the information to operate their businesses effectively.Busybusy's story is such a cool one, and Isaac explains the whole process of how they developed the software, what the early problems with it were, and how they've rolled it out to thousands of contractors around the world on this podcast.If you're a contractor looking for a better way to track time or to learn more about busybusy, check out https://busybusy.com/! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Listen, we don't expect you to know all this stuff. Ask -- there are people with much more experience here who are here to support you. But the minute you say, 'I got this, and I know this,' you own that. And if you can't do that, then that's a problem. We want you to ask for help and give you whatever support we can, but if you try to be too confident and it doesn't work, then there's a different conversation that has to be had."From a young age, Ford Berg and his siblings napped in the family camper as their parents tirelessly worked together to grow their logging business. Home-school, hard work, and family-time were blended day in and day out, forging a deep understanding in Ford about what it takes to get the job done right and on time.While at Temple University, Ford followed in his parents' footsteps and launched his first business, performing environmental tests in residential developments between classes with his younger brother Luke. During the winters, when construction would slow, he began chasing snow removal jobs to keep a steady cash-flow.As the business quickly grew, Ford ended up leaving college just three classes short of graduation to focus on building Berg into what it is today. Sixteen years later, Berg Construction handles heavy civil construction, municipal utility work, commercial and residential site development, road construction and asphalt paving, as well as landfill construction projects. And wouldn't you know, the entire family – including Ford's parents – all work for the company.The Berg model is simple — find incredibly talented people with prior business ownership experience and let them run with their divisions. Berg Construction supports four different divisions, with talented leadership teams and a field of committed people.Learn more about Ford and Berg Construction by visiting bergconst.com! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dan and I break down BuildWitt and explain what our business does, why our mission is so important, and how we make decisions in this episode. Since we get so many questions as to what BuildWitt is, we thought we'd take a bit of time and break it all down the best we can.To learn more about BuildWitt, check out buildwitt.com! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices