Contractor Evolution

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/EP293

Take our five minute quiz and get a custom Contractor Growth Scorecard: https://trybta.com/DL293

Learn more about Spencer and Entreprenutcases: https://entreprenutcases.com/

Talk to enough contractors and you hear the same sentence.

"This isn't fun anymore."

Sometimes it comes from the guy who is grinding to make payroll. But just as often it comes from the guy whose business is finally working, who has the trucks and the team and the margin, and who feels absolutely nothing about any of it.

Spencer Sheinin has seen both versions up close. He is a CPA, the founder of Shift Financial, and the author of Entreprenumbers. He has owned businesses since 2000, across four companies and 300 employees, and he spent roughly twenty years running work that was never really connected to him.

He is now writing a book called Entreprenutcases based on interviews with owners who found real meaning in their businesses and the ones who lost it along the way.

In this episode, Spencer and Danny dig into why the business stops being fun. The grind that only works for so long. The moment survival is handled and the fight disappears. And what Spencer calls robot mode, the programming that keeps us chasing bigger and faster instead of better.

Then he gets practical. Three archetypes of purpose-driven businesses, two questions every owner needs to answer, and the formation moments in your own history that point to the answer.

Danny gets into his own version of it too, including the year he quit painting to fly helicopters and what that taught him about being underwhelmed.

Fair warning: Spencer is not here to convince anybody. If money is the whole point for you right now, he says that is fine, and he will be around when it stops being enough.

Spencer is offering free live coaching on his own podcast to help owners find their purpose. Learn more at https://entreprenutcases.com/

00:00-Intro

04:39-Root Causes of Disconnection 

09:56-Recognizing Signs of Burnout

22:20-Three Archetypes of Meaning

29:21-Money vs Authentic Purpose

36:22-Finding Personal Purpose

48:02-Organizational Impact of Alignment

52:46-Practical Steps for Entrepreneurs

Get a copy of our AI Guide For Contractors and learn the 4 highest leverage AI workflows for trades businesses: https://trybta.com/DL292

Get Grant’s free Claude skills for your business here: https://skillmatch.zite.so/

Most contractors are drowning in AI options.

New tools every week. New features buried inside the tools you already pay for. No clear answer on which ones are worth your time.

Grant Fuellenbach implements project management systems for contracting companies at GoFirst Consulting, and he uses AI to do it faster. He also hosts the Beyond the Bid podcast.

So we asked him a simple question: what should a contractor actually be using right now?

His answer was three tools, and two of them are free.

Grant walks us through NotebookLM (he calls it the underserved GOAT), Prompt Cowboy, and Claude Cowork. Then he actually walks through the work, with examples: a company brain built from SOPs and training videos, an estimate pulled together from a photo and a few measurements, and an SEO audit that runs on a schedule without him touching it.

If you have ever lost a night to an AI rabbit hole and come out with nothing, start here.

Find Grant on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grantfuellenbach or reach him at [email protected].

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/EP292

00:00-Intro

01:49-AI in Contracting & Workflows

10:01-NotebookLM & Second Brain

21:59-Prompt Cowboy & Efficiency

25:50-Claude Co-Work & Automations

31:23-Demo of NotebookLM

38:45-Final Recommendations

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/EP291

Get a copy of our AI Guide For Contractors and learn the 4 highest leverage AI workflows for trades businesses: https://trybta.com/DL291

Tyler Folkman has been working in the AI space for nearly twenty years.

You read that right. While most of us were just getting used to having a website, Tyler was working on next level technology.

Today, he’s the Chief AI Officer at JobNimbus. He helps provide roofers with the tech they need to make operations quicker, easier and more profitable.

Here’s why we wanted him on the show:

Many of you are starting to incorporate AI into your business.

The result is that we end up wasting a ton of time going down rabbit holes that lead nowhere, maybe even putting our information at risk along the way.

Today, Tyler is walking us through a clear roadmap to using AI to build systems once, properly, so you can power your business with good processes and accurate data.

And if you’re not a roofer, don’t worry.

Everything we discuss today is relevant to any business owner in the trades.

Subscribe to Tyler’s AI newsletter here: https://www.tylerfolkman.ai/

00:00-Intro

04:08-Contractor AI Adoption

13:30-Practical Workflows & Estimating

22:16-CRM AI Integrations

30:08-Managing Data Security Risks

40:25-Staying Current with AI

49:22-Future of AI in Contracting

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/EP290 

Take our five minute quiz and get a custom Contractor Growth Scorecard: https://trybta.com/DL290

There's a lot of noise about selling to private equity in the trades right now. Some of you may even be considering this as your exit strategy.

But how much do you REALLY understand what’s involved in arguably one of the biggest decisions of your life?

Our guest today Tyler Goodhue has been involved in the acquisition of over 200 businesses, primarily in the trades, and he's here to discuss the part nobody talks about publicly.

What actually creates value, what quietly destroys it, and how to avoid settling for a bad deal.

Today, he’s walking us through what actually happens when you decide to sell to private equity. The whole process: the good, the bad and the ugly.

00:00-Intro

02:27-Why Private Equity Loves Trades

08:04-P.E. Acquisition Strategy

11:58-Factors Driving Company Valuation

24:57-Evaluating Owner Reliance Risks

38:20-Common Seller Misconceptions

46:07-Key Contract Deal Terms

53:48-Planning an Optimal Sale

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/EP289

Get a free contractor Lead Source Attribution template and example here: https://trybta.com/DL289 

While contractors and construction business owners are busy scrambling to get our websites ready for AI search, Phil Risher is asking a much bigger question: Will your website even matter in 3 years?

Phil is a digital marketing specialist who works exclusively with contractors. 

He's been watching in real time as AI search puts an end to everything we thought we knew about modern marketing.

Traffic is dwindling. SEO is changing. And websites... well, they might be dying.

Instead, Phil says AI agents will dominate contractor digital marketing strategies in just a few years.

In today's episode, Phil shares his predictions, what they mean for the construction industry, and what you need to start building today to survive the next decade.

00:00-Intro

02:03-Recent AI Shifts 

03:41-Changing Website Traffic 

07:32-Measuring Marketing Success 

12:43-Gathering Customer Data 

24:25-Building Trusted Brands 

31:38-Evolving Ad Landscape 

34:56-Selecting Right Agencies

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/EP288

When ChatGPT released in 2022, we all knew the start of a new era in tech was coming. 

But we couldn't possibly comprehend just how much our industry was about to change.

Although robotics are a few years away from replacing field labor, pretty much every other area of a contracting business has been totally disrupted.

Today, I've brought on DJ Carroll, a former contractor known for scaling home service companies through disciplined AI and automation, to share his opinions on where the industry is now, where it's headed, and the skills and concepts we HAVE to understand if we want our businesses to survive what he calls the next industrial revolution.

This is not a philosophical conversation. DJ gives some real, actionable advice any contractor can implement in the next week.

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Learn more about DJ Carroll: https://carroll.media/about/

00:00-Intro

04:12-Hype Versus Reality 

08:28-AI Adoption & Memory Capacity 

19:43-Marketing Use Cases 

28:32-Building AI Ads

34:50-Adopting Voice Services 

40:17-Creating Company SOPs 

45:23-Upcoming AI Advancements

To get the Project Management resource bundle, click here: https://trybta.com/DL287

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/EP287

Caleb George produces $34M in projects with just three project managers.

Scott Kelley’s team can run a million dollar project without asking him a single question.

What do these two builders have in common? Exceptional project management systems.

In this roundtable discussion, I sat down with Caleb George of Chris George Custom Homes, Scott Kelley of Evolution Design Build, and Jordan Coolidge from Buildertrend to break down the difference between projects that run profitably without owner involvement and projects that require constant firefighting to cross the finish line.

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Caleb and Scott are Breakthrough Academy Members who have worked with their coaches and contractor community group to achieve exceptional results. To learn more about becoming a Breakthrough Academy Member, click here: https://trybta.com/EP287

Check out Buildertrend: https://buildertrend.com/

Learn more about Chris George Custom Homes: https://www.chrisgeorgecustomhomes.com/

Learn more about Evolution Design Build: https://evobuildgroup.com/

00:00-Intro

07:37-Biggest Contractor Issues 

09:59-Broken Process Signs 

15:38-Defining PM Roles 

26:18-Implementing Balanced Accountability 

35:49-Optimizing Project Communication 

57:51-Streamlining Planning Capacity 

1:12:11-Advice for Contractors

To learn more about becoming a Member, click here: https://trybta.com/EP286 

Take our five minute quiz and get a custom Contractor Growth Scorecard: https://trybta.com/DL286

At just 30 years old, Riley Rivers owns a $7M dollar landscaping business, pulling in $120K in profit every month.

Multiple divisions.

Massive contracts.

Complex operations.

And he does it all in less than 40 hours a week.

In this episode, I'm talking to Riley to find out how he built his company, including the key decisions he made as he scaled.

If you're ready to step out of the day-to-day and become a real CEO, Riley's story is a must listen.

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Riley is a Breakthrough Academy Member who has worked with his coach and contractor community to build a business he loves running. To learn more about becoming a Member, click here: https://trybta.com/EP286 

Learn more about Rivers Landscaping: https://www.riverslandscapingmt.com/

Episode highlights:

• Learn which systems enabled Riley to more than double his revenue without sacrificing profitability.
• Get insight into Riley’s hiring strategies when it comes to adding high-impact leaders into his organization.
• Discover how Riley built his team culture… by letting his team build his culture. Find out how he stepped back and let his people establish the company’s core values and the tactics used to live them out.

00:00-Intro

01:55-Journey to $3 Million 

07:12-Evolution of Roles 

09:41-Strategy for Growth 

11:49-Identifying Core Gaps 

21:01-Org Structure Strategy 

30:18-Cultivating Company Culture 

40:22-Leadership and Management

Grab a copy of Bob's Top 10 Tax Tips For Self-Employed Contractors: https://trybta.com/DL285

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/EP285 

Ever run out of money despite making millions of dollars?

This is the situation Bob Gauvreau has seen hundreds of contractors fall into.

Revenue is up, profit may even be up.

But they run out of cash unexpectedly and when they get hit with an unexpected bill or expense…

…they crumple. 

In today’s episode, Bob walks us through a foolproof system for managing your cash flow so financial stress becomes a thing of the past.

Episode Highlights:

• Learn why your P&L might be lying to you, and which metrics actually matter when it comes to the health of your business
• Understand where cash gets “stuck” and how to avoid accidentally spending the cash you need to pay the bills.
• Discover the foolproof system for managing your cash flow and forecasting potential issues 90 days in advance (no more being jump-scared by your bank balance)

Get in touch with Bob: https://gauvreaucpa.ca/

00:00-Intro

02:18-Cash Flow vs Profit 

08:32-Tight Cash Impact 

15:36-Optimizing Cash Inflows 

23:04-Accounts Receivable Systems 

29:38-Managing Cash Outflows 

43:57-Owner Compensation Rhythm 

47:24-Financial Process Organization

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/EP284

Take our five minute quiz and get a custom Contractor Growth Scorecard: https://trybta.com/DL284

Joel Retherford made an extra $1.6 MILLION in the first four months of this year. 

How? By hiring for one simple role. 

In today’s episode, I’m talking to Joel to understand:

• How hiring a project manager helped him produce an entire year’s worth of revenue, in 4 months
• The hiring process he used to find a rockstar capable of driving all that value
• And why so many contractors completely botch their project management, and how to stop killing your profit as you grow.

If you’re struggling to scale and want to stop bottlenecking your operations, this episode is for you.

00:00-Intro

01:25-Overcoming Personal Operational Bottlenecks 

09:20-Hiring An External Candidate 

12:19-Managing Internal Staff Friction 

21:02-Presenting A United Front 

26:44-Unlocking Strategic Owner Advantages 

31:19-Timing The Project Manager 

36:41-Structuring Tangible ROI Goals