To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/EP206

Grab your free strategic planning template here: https://trybta.com/DL206

You may be thinking:

Is this an episode of Contractor Evolution…

…on a FRIDAY?

Yup.

After over 200 episodes, we thought it was time to introduce a new face—our co-founder and visionary Danny Kerr.

And what better way to do that than by bringing you some BONUS content you can enjoy alongside our regular releases?

Starting with a bit of a throwback.

Today, we’re re-releasing an episode we made back in 2021, hosted by Danny and his fellow co-founders Igor and James, covering all things strategic planning.

Oddly enough, it has become one of our most popular episodes.

If you’ve never given it a listen, now’s your chance.

Episode Highlights:

• In this BONUS episode, take it back to 2021 with us and delve in to strategic planning with Danny, Igor and James.
• Understand why you SHOULDN’T be planning in a boardroom with whiteboards and laptops - and where to go instead
• Learn the 3 things you should come away with once you’ve completed your Annual Strategic Plan

00:00-Intro

01:56-Why is Strategic Planning important?

15:02-What are you trying to achieve with your strategic planning?

17:27-What is the step-by-step process for annual strategic planning?

42:36-What do you do after you've got a strategic plan?

45:13-Sharing your plan with your team

53:56-Purpose of quarterly reviews

58:05-Wrap up

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/EP205

To learn more about Todd, check out https://toddherman.me/

Whether we realize it or not, we all play characters in our lives. The idea that we should unashamedly show up as the “best” version of ourselves in all settings sounds good, but in reality, it is a gross oversimplification of the truth.

Think about it….

There’s:

• You the CEO
• You the friend
• You the salesperson
• You the mum or you the dad
• There’s you the amateur train collector or video game enthusiast

We have different versions of ourselves. Does that make you disingenuous or inauthentic? Not at all. We’re all multifaceted beings, and if you can’t see that, you’re not paying attention.

Our guest today is Todd Herman. His book The Alter Ego Effect explains WHY understanding and investing in these different archetypes of the self is one of the most powerful performance cheat codes available to us. Today’s conversation is about how to harness it.

Episode Highlights:

• Understand the Alter Ego Effect and how it can be used to exponentially improve your performance in every aspect of your life.
• Learn how to identify the different versions of you, their strengths, and how to harness them at the right time to achieve the right results.
• Get tips from Todd Herman, performance coach to billionaires and elite athletes, on creating your own alter ego, designed to help you succeed in whichever area of your life is lacking.

00:00-Intro

01:48-Clark Kent vs. Superman: Understanding the Alter Ego

05:14-Where does the term "Alter Ego" come from?

07:40-Using the Alter Ego to improve performance

10:19-Why everything is a performance

19:42-How to create an Alter Ego

30:36-Alter Ego examples

34:15-How to get started on your Alter Ego(s)

41:17-Activating your Alter Ego

47:18-What business people can learn from athletes

51:42-Connect with Todd

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/EP204 

Openness and transparency are values MANY of us espouse. But how open and honest are you really?

Does your crew understand budget hours vs. actual hours?

How about the projected gross profit on the project they just started?

How about last year's net profit?

In today’s episode, we’re talking to Creative Roots Landscaping founder Ryan Markewich along with three of his team members: Jacob Markewich, Rik Van Espen and Zac Neufeld.

They run their landscaping business, Creative Roots, completely open book. Every person on the team is taught and shown every metric the business tracks and knows how every dollar is made.

This conversation is all about the employee perspective on open book management. What it does for the culture they work in, their feelings about work and its effect on performance.

Episode Highlights:

• Learn how open book management works in practice, using friend of the show Ryan Markewich’s highly successful Creative Roots Landscaping as a case study.
• Get the perspective of three team members—what openness and transparency does for their culture, sense of purpose and performance.
• Hear how Ryan’s strategy has resulted in high retention rates, exceptional talent, and a work environment that has people lining up at the door to be a part of.

00:00-Intro

01:36-About Open Book in Creative Roots

05:57-What drew the team to Creative Roots?

09:03-What impact does open book management have on the culture?

19:48-Best part of open book management

37:13-Is it true that young people don't wanna work in the trades?

45:56-Advice to business owner wanting to try open book management

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/EP203

Learn more about WorkBetterNow here: https://www.workbetternow.com/

Are you using Virtual Assistants and other forms of offshore talent yet?

Because you probably should be.

Many of the roles in your business can’t be done remotely, sure. 

But could your office manager effectively administrate from Mexico City?

Could you delegate all the lower-level stuff to an executive assistant based in Medellin?

The answer is: maybe.

Our guest on the show today is Rob Levin. He is the co-founder of Work Better Now and the author of the forthcoming book: The New Talent Playbook.

Today’s conversation is a pragmatic road map to how you might install super-talented offshore hires into your company. At the end of the day, what's right for your business is up to you, but we want you to fully understand the scale of talent options that are out there.

Episode Highlights:

• Learn about the breadth of options available to you when it comes to offshore and nearshore talent.
• Hear Work Better Now co-founder Rob Levin’s take on some of the most common arguments AGAINST offshore talent.
• Get ideas for which of the roles on your org chart make good candidates for offshore hiring (hint: there are more than you think).

00:00-Intro

01:41-About The New Talent Playbook

03:41-What is up with the current labor market?

09:00-Where is the labor market headed?

11:33-In the blue-collar context: what roles can be done offshore/nearshore?

23:35-Strengths and weaknesses of offshore talent

24:58-Common concerns about offshore talent: #1: Missing context

28:07-Common concern #2: Language barriers

34:22-Common concern #3: Cybersecurity

36:26-Cost of offshore vs. local

39:27-Idea of divisional assistants

44:02 - How AI empowers VAs and offshore talent

49:48-Recap

52:04-Connect with Rob

Grab a copy of Ellen's pricing tool here: https://trybta.com/DL202 

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/EP202 

Today, we’re welcoming industry legend Ellen Rohr to the show. We couldn’t be more excited.

She’s built and sold two companies. Written a slew of unbelievably helpful books including Where Did the Money Go? and How Much Should I Charge? She’s the founder and owner of Zoom Drain which now has over 50 locations.

This episode is all about pricing. AKA how much you should charge and why. 

Episode Highlights:

00:00-Intro

01:57-About the 2011 book: How Much Should I Charge?

08:45-Why pricing as a passion?

12:36-How most contractors decide what to charge

17:21-The importance of value

21:34-How to figure out what you should charge

29:05-Importance of billable hours

34:22-The best position to be in the market

39:19-How to know when your price is too high

44:27-How to train your sales team to "own their price"

53:39-Pricing analysis and updates in an inflationary environment.

58:01-Fun Hypothetical Question

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Get your free guide to being COACHABLE here: https://trybta.com/DL201 

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/EP201

Today’s episode has a very specific purpose. We’ve gathered four of our world-class business coaches to give advice to contractors who are just beginning to systemize their business with Breakthrough Academy.

If you chose this episode, you are either:

Through conversations with Coach Harold, Coach Ashley, Coach Brayden and Coach Shane, you’ll learn:

Episode Highlights:

00:00-Intro02:16-Why do most people start BTA?04:16-Successful Members vs. those who struggle07:53-New Member red flags09:59-The first six months: what to expect11:36-Mindset tips for faster results12:36-How to implement faster and be more coachable14:45-Importance of the BTA community19:50-How coaches help struggling Members21:23-How to become data-driven23:50-Coaching pet peeves26:01-The first year: what to expect29:22-Best part of being a BTA coach

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/EP200 

Today is a very special day for the team here at Contractor Evolution.

Today, we’re releasing our 200th episode.

We've spoken to some incredible guests, and that has helped us build a following of the coolest listeners in the world.

So... if you've been on the show or just listen to it, we want to express profound gratitude to you.

To say we are humbled and proud would be to say nothing at all.

For this milestone episode, we're going back through some of Benji's favorite episodes and talking through the lessons we took away from the conversations.

Episode Highlights:

00:00-Intro01:40-How To Create A Vivid Vision For Your Company - Cameron Herold10:16-Which Fire Should I Put Out Next? - Mike Michalowicz14:26-Is Blue-Collar Work Making a Comeback? - Ken Rusk20:47-What’s Your Business REALLY Worth? - John Warrilow26:45-Thinking Lean: Eliminate Waste Through Continuous Improvement - Paul Akers31:14-Mark Bradley: From 0 To 50MM + Founding LMN - Mark Bradley34:58-SOP's: Why Your Business Is A Mess & What To Do About It - Tom Hughes41:45-How To Buy Back Your Time - Dan Martell

50:15-Matt Risinger on Hiring - Matt Risinger56:02-Negotiation Tactics for Contractors - Chris Voss01:01:56-Is Wrapping Your Vehicles Worth It? - Dan Antonelli

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/EP199 

Use code TRADE2025 to get $10 off a copy of the Motivated By Appreciation Inventory for Trades here: https://shop.appreciationatwork.com/collections/mba-inventory (limit one code per email, good through March 15, 2025).

Ever wonder why your staff feel “under-appreciated?”

Like—you tell them they’re doing a good job, you take them for lunch every now and then, and you pay them fairly.

And yet there’s always someone who feels like you don’t value their contributions.

Our guest today, Dr. Paul White, has some possible answers. 

He coauthored The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace alongside Gary Chapman, the man who coined the five love languages many of us are familiar with.

The idea is simple: not everyone experiences appreciation the same way. Some like verbal praise, some find meaning in gifts, others need quality time with their manager or team.

This conversation is about how to recognize the best way to appreciate your team, and the tangible impact appreciation can have on your business.

Episode Highlights:

00:00-Intro

01:13-About Dr. Paul

03:01-Appreciation in the trades

08:12-Is blue-collar work underappreciated?

12:43-The psychology of appreciation?

16:03-Misconceptions about appreciation at work

17:52-The 5 Languages of Appreciation

18:21-Words of Affirmation

25:00-Quality Time

31:22-Acts of Service

35:21-Gifts

39:07-Physical Touch

41:09-Tools & assessments for appreciation at work

43:32-How to install appreciation across your organization

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Get your free SOP starter kit here: https://trybta.com/DL198 

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/EP198  

Ever wonder why some contractors scale smoothly to 7-figures and beyond while others constantly get stuck in an operational hellhole?

Clients constantly badgering you…

Crews relying on you to answer every single question…

Margins so depressing they could make a grown man cry…

The good news is, there’s a relatively simple tool that can help you solve most of your operational challenges. 

SOPs (standard operating procedures).

A while back, I co-hosted a comprehensive SOP web class with the one and only Matt Risinger, CEO of Risinger Build and founder of the Build Show Network. We covered everything you need to know about SOPs, based on Breakthrough Academy’s work with over 1500 contractors and Matt Risinger’s own experience scaling two massive companies.

Today, we’re releasing that class as a podcast episode so more contractors can benefit from Matt’s insights.

Episode Highlights:

00:00-Intro02:13-About the web class06:50-What part of your operations frustrates you the most?15:11-SOP Red Flags25:52-Where to start with SOPs35:34-How to build SOPs50:04-Change management58:54-Why SOPs fail01:00:49-The evolution of the entrepreneur01:02:09-Implement SOPs faster with the Contractor Growth Method01:04:53-Q&A

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here:  https://trybta.com/EP197

When times get tough, tragedy strikes or things take a turn for the worst, how do you keep faith that everything will turn out ok?

Today, that’s what our very own Breakthrough Academy coach Ian Ouwerkerk is joining me to discuss.

On August 29th, 2008 on their way to a wedding, Ian, his mum and his dad were T-boned by a car going 70 miles an hour. The accident left Ian with a severed carotid artery plus 11 ribs and both his collar bones broken. And the list of injuries goes on. 

He died and came back multiple times through this harrowing event.

Today, he’s generously opening up about his accident, miraculous recovery and the life lessons he learned from the tragic experience.

We talk about how to cultivate resilience, perspective, and faith in life’s most challenging seasons.

Episode Highlights:

00:00-Intro

01:31-About Coach Ian

08:17-Ian's accident and out of body experience

17:58-The injuries Ian had to overcome

28:27-What got Ian through the recovery process

30:32-Getting back on his feet

39:05-Enduring more bad news

49:07-Core lessons and takeaways from that difficult period

50:56-It's all about faith

01:06:57-The power of impacting others through entrepreneurship

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.