Jennifer Todd is a 15-year veteran woman in the construction industry. She was also the youngest Black woman to acquire California’s CSLB General Engineering (A) license. Today, she is the President of LMS General Contractors.

We had her on the show to talk about her experience founding a company and how her law degree helped her navigate the early challenges involved. We also discuss what some are some common pitfalls that contractors have around laws and regulations and how more contractors can reduce their risk by doing their due diligence.

Key Moments:

• Jennifer's backstory and how she got into the construction industry (1:00)
• How Jennifer went to law school while starting a company and the benefits of having a law degree in construction (7:00)
• Some best law practices for new contractors and owners (11:00)
• The power of opportunity and the start of A Greener Tomorrow (19:300)
• Jennifer's three steps for creating more diversity in construction (23:00)
• The opportunity for electric heavy equipment in the future (30:30)

Favorite quotes:

"I’d say that opportunity is my favorite word because someone took a bet on me with absolutely no skill sets whatsoever to do the field and I was able to blossom within my career and now able to give back and do the same thing."

About DOZR

Building Builders is sponsored by DOZR, a rental marketplace for construction equipment. With DOZR, you can find hundreds of heavy equipment rental companies near you in just one click. Join thousands of contractors looking for rental equipment across North America today.

About Jennifer

Website: https://lmsgc.com/

Instagram: @constructionlawgal

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifertoddlms/

Building Builder Links

Website: https://www.buildingbuilderspodcast.com/

Leave a Review: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/building-builders/id1649807378

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy3FNu-uRE6XYaUDHjM5w8A

Instagram: @dozr.rentals

Facebook: @dozr.rentals

Twitter: @DOZRHUB

Priestly Demolition has had its fingerprints on demolition projects across North America for the past 50 years. Having grown to over 500 employees, Priestly has contributed to some historical projects including the Toronto Pearson International Airport and CN Tower. Now, they're working on projects like the Rogers Centre upgrades and remote mines. These projects have involved several unique challenges, making Priestly one of the most innovative companies in demolition. Started as a family business, Priestly continues to operate as a family business. Listen to our episode with Ryan Priestly for more of the Priestly Demolition story.

Key Moments:

• Starting and continuing a family-owned construction business (2:00)
• How the Toronto Pearson International Airport project changed the trajectory of Priestly (5:00)
• Putting a CAT 345 excavator on a plane for a remote project (10:45)
• How software and technology have helped Priestly grow (14:15)
• Why recycling and sustainability are important for demolition companies (19:30)
• How to retain employees in construction (25:00)
• Best advice for people getting started in construction (30:00)

Favorite quotes:

"I don't think you can underestimate the value of being a few minutes early every day, and being willing to stay a little late."

About DOZR

Building Builders is sponsored by DOZR, a rental marketplace for construction equipment. With DOZR, you can find hundreds of heavy equipment rental companies near you in just one click. Join thousands of contractors looking for rental equipment across North America today.

About Ryan

Website: https://priestly.ca/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/priestlydemolition/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D&hl=en

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/PriestlyDemolitionInc

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/priestly-demolition/

Building Builder Links

Website: https://www.buildingbuilderspodcast.com/

DOZR Website: https://www.dozr.com/?utm_source=Podcast&utm_medium=BuildingBuilders&utm_campaign=DOZR

Leave a Review: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/building-builders/id1649807378

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy3FNu-uRE6XYaUDHjM5w8A

Instagram: @dozr.rentals

Facebook: @dozr.rentals

Twitter: @DOZRHUB

The life of an equipment operator has many ups and downs. Whether it's the feeling of having the streets to yourself and new challenges to overcome or the long, dark hours of snow removal in the winter, it's never easy but always rewarding. In this episode, one of DOZR's team members, Scott Clark, talks about his equipment operator life before DOZR and his transition to construction tech.

Key Moments:

• Scott's upbringing and career in construction (0:30)
• His best and worst equipment operator moments and projects (5:00)
• How and when to communicate about safety in construction (8:30)
• Best practices for heavy equipment operators (10:30)
• Signs of a great leader in construction (12:30)
• The challenges of the winter season for equipment operators (16:30)
• Moving from a career in construction to a career in construction tech (23:30)

Favorite quotes:

About Scott

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-clark-160252140/

Building Builder Links

Website: https://www.buildingbuilderspodcast.com/

Company Website: https://www.dozr.com/?utm_source=Podcast&utm_medium=BuildingBuilders&utm_campaign=DOZR

Leave a Review: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/building-builders/id1649807378

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy3FNu-uRE6XYaUDHjM5w8A

Instagram: @dozr.rentals

Facebook: @dozr.rentals

Twitter: @DOZRHUB

People who work in the construction industry don't always get the respect they deserve. That's a problem, especially when 40% of the current workforce is set to retire by 2030. So how does Aaron Witt think we overcome this major challenge? Create better leaders, highlight the traits that make construction unique, and bring a culture of care to the companies that continue to build our world.

Key Moments:

• The beginning of Aaron Witt's story (0:10)
• Why construction workers are more important than ever as infrastructure needs continue to rise (7:00)
• The importance of leadership in the construction industry (13:30)
• How to bring a culture of caring and nurturing to the industry, without losing the importance of grit and hard work (20:35)
• How autonomous machinery will affect the workforce and labor shortage challenges in construction (25:00)

Favorite quotes:

"Everybody is a leader in some capacity. A leader is somebody who influences others. If you’re a parent, you’re a leader. If you’re on a construction crew, you’re a leader."

About DOZR

Building Builders is created and published by DOZR, a rental marketplace for construction equipment. With DOZR, you can find hundreds of heavy equipment rental companies near you in just one click. Join thousands of contractors looking for rental equipment across North America today.

About Aaron

Website: https://www.buildwitt.com/

Instagram: @aaronwitt

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AaronWitt

Building Builder Links

Website: https://www.buildingbuilderspodcast.com/

Company Website: https://www.dozr.com/?utm_source=Podcast&utm_medium=BuildingBuilders&utm_campaign=DOZR

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy3FNu-uRE6XYaUDHjM5w8A

Instagram: @dozr.rentals

Facebook: @dozr.rentals

Twitter: @DOZRHUB

Whether it's understanding cash flow, getting in touch with insurance companies or the right vendors, or even making time to figure out how to grow their company, there are a lot of areas where small contractors and business owners need help. That's why Luke Payne and Luke Eggebraaten have combined their skills and knowledge to create the Dirt Bags Podcast and University. In this episode, we touch on how they got started in the industry, what their goals are, and why they want to help contractors limit their mistakes for increased success.

Key Moments:

• How Luke and Luke got started in construction and the Dirt Bags Podcast (0:40)
• The areas in business where contractors need the most help and resources (6:00)
• Discussing the challenges of cash flow and collecting on AR for contractors and why it's important to set up contracts for success (11:00)
• What are the signs that a contractor is going to be successful? (18:00)
• Why Luke Payne has two excavating companies and how they're approached differently (22:30)
• How contractors who want to grow their business can have good time management and set goals (27:00)
• How contractors and small excavator companies can start investing in marketing (36:00)
• Why attending ConExpo and networking is important for contractors (40:00)

Favorite quotes:

"We don’t have all the answers and we know that. But what we do have is a platform where we can bring on the experts that are smarter than us and can educate the people who are listening."

About DOZR

Building Builders is created and published by DOZR, a rental marketplace for construction equipment. With DOZR, you can find hundreds of heavy equipment rental companies near you in just one click. Join thousands of contractors looking for rental equipment across North America today.

About The Dirt Bags and Their Links

Luke and Luke have built the website https://dirtbagspodcast.com to feature their trusted resources, project management platforms, referrals for good financing companies, dealers, etc. They also have all of the Dirt Bags Podcast episodes on the website as well as all streaming platforms! You can also check them out on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdfAo6IRZiNdXvKsx2pjBlQ

Instagram: @officialdirtbagspodcast

Luke Eggebraaten owns Phaser Marketing as well as Dirt Work Marketing. You can learn more about him and his companies here:

https://phasermarketing.com

https://dirtworkmarketing.com

Luke Payne owns Black Iron Dirt as well as Western Excavation. If you want to learn more about Luke and ahis companies, check out his websites here:

https://blackirondirt.com

https://westernexcavationnd.com

Building Builder Links

Website: https://www.buildingbuilderspodcast.com/

Company Website: https://www.dozr.com/?utm_source=Podcast&utm_medium=BuildingBuilders&utm_campaign=DOZR

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy3FNu-uRE6XYaUDHjM5w8A

Instagram: @dozr.rentals

Facebook: @dozr.rentals

Twitter: @DOZRHUB

If you cannot get a line of credit or access capital, growth as a contractor is next to impossible. With tons of upfront costs like labor, equipment, and fuel, most contractors aren't getting paid until almost 100 days after a job is complete. That's the worst payment timeline in any industry. And sometimes they won't even see the full payment. This leads to worse credit which, of course, leads to a lower chance of getting a line of credit or loans. And in this process, contractors absorb all the risk.

So what's the solution? That's what Zaid and Kevin talk about on this week's episode of Building Builders. They break down the most common payment terms and how contractors can navigate debt-to-equity ratios, access more short-term capital, and use that capital to grow their business.

Other Key Moments:

• Zaid's background, his ties to construction, and why he started Flexbase (0:40)
• What Flexbase is and how it works for contractors (3:54)
• Why accessing cashflow and invoicing is so hard for contractors (9:15)
• Navigating relationships with collecting payment in contracting (12:32)
• Why it's difficult for contractors to get a line of credit (20:08)
• How contractors can leverage short-term capital to manage debt (23:29)
• How to leverage short-term capital to grow your business 3x (28:44)
• Why understanding financing and accessing capital are crucial to growth for contractors (31:35)
• How FinTech and other technologies are affecting construction (33:30)

Favorite quote:

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About DOZR

Building Builders is created and published by DOZR, a rental marketplace for construction equipment. With DOZR, you can find hundreds of heavy equipment rental companies near you in just one click. Join thousands of contractors looking for rental equipment across North America today.

Zaid Rahman's Links

Website: https://www.flexbase.app/

Twitter: @zaidrmn

Building Builder Links

Website: https://www.buildingbuilderspodcast.com/

DOZR Website: https://www.dozr.com/?utm_source=Podcast&utm_medium=BuildingBuilders&utm_campaign=DOZR

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy3FNu-uRE6XYaUDHjM5w8A

Instagram: @dozr.rentals

Facebook: @dozr.rentals

Twitter: @DOZRHUB

Starting to use social media and video content to grow your construction business can be challenging. In construction, there can be negative connotations about social media. These include things like "social media is for girls", "it's a waste of time", or "I don't want people to know what type of equipment we're using to get the job done". And while these may have been concerns in the past, today's guest, Taylor White of Ken White Construction, discusses why these are outdated takes. He's been leveraging video and social media at his third-generation, family-owned business and since then, he's grown the company a lot.

Key Moments:

• The beginning of Ken White Construction and Taylor's history with heavy machinery (1:00)
• How Taylor started using social media and video content to grow Ken White Construction to an internationally known brand with over 200,000 followers (5:55)
• Why showing off the work you're doing on social media trumps the privacy concerns or worry of sharing "the secret sauce" (8:55)
• How social media can be used as a recruitment strategy for talent, not just jobs (16:50)
• Why it can be important to ignore the best practices of marketing when starting with social media in construction (26:05)
• Why making great content is the most important thing (29:25)
• The biggest trends in social media content creation moving forward (32:20)
• The biggest trends outside of social media include electric equipment, remote control, and AI (34:35)

Favorite quotes:

About DOZR

Building Builders is created and published by DOZR, a rental marketplace for construction equipment. With DOZR, you can find hundreds of heavy equipment rental companies near you in just one click. Join thousands of contractors looking for rental equipment across North America today.

Taylor White's Links

Website: https://kwconstruction.ca/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_YV7dZ85Tu18OcYkkWVvvg

Instagram: kwc2000

TikTok: kwc2000

Building Builder Links

Website: https://www.buildingbuilderspodcast.com/

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy3FNu-uRE6XYaUDHjM5w8A

Instagram: @dozr.rentals

Facebook: @dozr.rentals

Twitter: @DOZRHUB

The podcast is sponsored by DOZR

We want to introduce the who, why, and how of Kevin Forestell, the host of the Building Builders podcast.

After growing up around heavy machinery it only made sense that Kevin would go on to start two different businesses in construction. The first company he started was Forestell Designed Landscapes where he expanded a solo operation to one of the largest landscaping companies in Ontario, Canada with over 400 employees. The second company is DOZR, an online rental marketplace for heavy machinery.

In this episode, we take you back to the early days of Kevin's life around heavy machinery and landscaping, which included driving tractors around the family Christmas tree farm. Kevin also talks about the challenges of growing and scaling both landscaping and construction tech companies, the differences and similarities between the two niche industries, and why his experiences led him to start the Building Builders podcast.

Key moments:

• Advice on how contractors can grow and scale their business (1:46)
• Lessons learned from fleet management and the cost benefits of renting vs owning equipment (3:10)
• The story behind DOZR and how the sharing economy ignited an idea (4:30)
• The differences between building a construction tech company vs a contracting business (7:10)
• What to look for when hiring people at your company (10:35)
• How eCommerce and mobile ordering is affecting the construction industry (13:30)
• Why being a contractor-founded business is important to the core values of DOZR (15:00)
• Why we started Building Builders and what to expect moving forward (17:50)

Links

Website: https://www.buildingbuilderspodcast.com/

DOZR Website: https://www.dozr.com/?utm_source=Podcast&utm_medium=BuildingBuilders&utm_campaign=DOZR

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy3FNu-uRE6XYaUDHjM5w8A

Follow on Instagram: @dozr.rentals

Facebook: @dozr.rentals

Twitter: @DOZRHUB

The podcast is sponsored by DOZR

We thought it was time to introduce a podcast built for our industry, by our industry. Time to learn about the innovative solutions that are built for our industry. And time to hear about the amazing projects, companies, and people who have made them.

The construction industry is undergoing rapid change and we want to help contractors and entrepreneurs achieve their maximum potential. The Building Builders Podcast features interviews with leaders in the industry, showcasing the projects they work on every day and the innovative solutions they are bringing to the table.

Hosted by industry veteran Kevin Forestell, the podcast will focus on the intersection of construction and technology and the people and stories within. As Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of DOZR, Kevin’s passion for problem-solving in the heavy equipment industry can be traced back to the beginning of his career as CEO of one of the largest landscaping companies in Ontario, Canada. Today, Kevin is at the helm of the world’s first comprehensive online search for heavy equipment.

As the host of the Building Builders Podcast, Kevin uses his experience to ask relevant and topical questions for entrepreneurs and career-driven employees in the construction, landscaping, and heavy equipment industries. Tune in to hear stories of your industry colleagues and learn about how you can enhance your own business and career.

Welcome to #thebuildingbuilderspodcast.

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Watch the full episodes and clips on Youtube.

Follow along on other social media channels below.

Instagram: @dozr.rentals

Twitter: @dozrhub

The podcast is sponsored by DOZR