In this episode of the Contractor Growth Network podcast, Logan sits down with Jef Forward—founder of Forward Design Build Remodel—to unpack what it really looks like to build a remodeling business from the ground up… the hard way.

Jef shares the unfiltered story of his first five years in business—projects going months over schedule, losing money, taking on debt, and nearly reinforcing every negative stereotype about contractors. But instead of quitting, he used those failures as the foundation for what would become a 40+ person design-build firm.

From digging out of financial holes (having just $0.16 for every $1 owed) to learning how to price correctly, hire the right people, and step into leadership, Jef walks through the exact inflection points that transformed his business. He also shares how joining a peer group, embracing sales training, and building a leadership team allowed him to finally step out of the day-to-day and start thinking about the long-term future of the company.

If you're feeling stuck, underpaid, or overwhelmed in your remodeling business, this episode is a powerful reminder that the breakthrough often comes after the lowest point—and that building the right systems, team, and mindset can completely change your trajectory.

Key Takeaways

Failure Early Can Be Your Greatest Advantage → Jef's first two projects lost money, ran late, and delivered poor client experiences. → Those early failures forced him to rethink everything—and ultimately built a stronger foundation.

You Can't Outwork a Broken Business Model → Working more hours didn't fix his problems—it just prolonged them. → Real progress came from learning how to price correctly and understand financials.

Know Your Numbers (Or They'll Control You) → Discovering he had only $0.16 for every $1 owed was a turning point. → Understanding financials like profit, WIP, and job costing changed everything.

Hiring Isn't About Talent—It's About Fit → Early hires were based on skill, not alignment, leading to poor team cohesion. → Building a strong culture became the foundation for long-term growth.

Sales Is About Asking Better Questions, Not Pushing Harder → Jef initially resisted sales training due to fear of being "salesy." → Learning how to guide conversations and uncover client needs transformed his close rate.

Delegation Is the Gateway to Growth → Growth didn't happen until Jef stopped doing everything himself. → Hiring designers, estimators, and project teams allowed him to focus on leadership.

Recessions Reward Decisive Leaders → During 2008, Jef made early, tough decisions that kept the business alive. → Lean operations actually made the company more profitable during that time.

Your Role Must Evolve as the Business Grows → From carpenter → operator → leader → coach → Each stage requires different skills and mindset shifts.

Transparency Builds Stronger Teams → Sharing personal struggles (like his wife's cancer diagnosis) created trust and unity. → Giving the team ownership and permission to fail led to one of their best years.

The End Goal Isn't Just Growth—It's Sustainability Without You → Jef is now focused on building leaders and planning his eventual exit. → Long-term success means the business can thrive without the owner.

🎯 Timestamps

00:00 — Meet Jef Forward and his journey into design-build 04:45 — The brutal reality of his first five years in business 09:08 — Why failing early ended up being a long-term advantage 12:31 — The wake-up call: having only $0.16 for every $1 owed 14:56 — Climbing out of debt and learning to price correctly 19:23 — Early hiring mistakes and why culture matters more than talent 23:57 — Navigating the 2008 recession and making hard decisions early 27:32 — The 5 stages of a remodeling business (and where Jef is now) 29:24 — Overcoming resistance to sales training and building a sales team 37:04 — Building leaders and preparing the business to run without you

In this episode of the Contractor Growth Network podcast, Logan sits down with Bryan Sebring—owner of Sebring Design Build—to unpack what it really looks like to start over from scratch.

After building a nearly $3M design-build company over 20+ years in Illinois, Bryan made a bold decision: relocate his entire life and business to Franklin, Tennessee. No team. No clients. No local reputation. Just experience.

Bryan shares what changed the second time around—from how he structured his business and hired his team, to the mindset shifts that allowed him to hit similar revenue with fewer, better projects. If you've ever wondered what you'd do differently if you could start over, this episode is a masterclass in building smarter, not just bigger. 00:00 — Why Bryan chose to restart a successful business from scratch 04:00 — What Sebring Design Build was known for in Illinois 10:00 — The reality of moving markets and starting over 18:00 — How experience changed his pricing and sales approach 26:00 — Hiring lessons: slow down to speed up 33:00 — Building the right team (and avoiding past mistakes) 40:00 — What stayed the same vs. what changed in his process 47:00 — Projects he refuses to take on (and why) 52:00 — Marketing from zero: reviews, SEO, and positioning 58:00 — Designing a luxury client experience 01:05:00 — The role of peer groups in scaling smarter 01:09:00 — Final advice for remodelers starting or restarting

In this episode of the Contractor Growth Network Podcast, Logan sits down with Barry Gant and Änd Lynn from Seven Day Kitchens to unpack one of the most unusual remodeling business models in the industry: a full kitchen remodel completed in seven days or less.

From the outside, it sounds impossible. Most kitchen remodels take 8–12 weeks and leave homeowners living in a construction zone the entire time.

But Barry explains how their company achieves the seven-day timeline—not through shortcuts, prefab materials, or cosmetic updates—but through extreme planning, specialized teams, and eliminating the downtime between trades that typically drags projects out for months.

The conversation dives into the operational shifts required to make this work, how they built buy-in from subcontractors, why niching into one type of project changed the entire business, and why the seven-day promise has become such a powerful differentiator in their market.

If you've ever wondered what remodeling would look like if the entire process were redesigned around speed, systems, and specialization, this episode is a fascinating look inside a radically different approach to construction.

Timestamps

00:00 — What Seven Day Kitchens actually is (and why people doubt it) 02:10 — The real reason most remodels take 8–12 weeks 03:50 — Removing downtime between trades to compress timelines 06:20 — Why the first kitchen took 5 weeks, but the second took 5.5 days 10:40 — The homeowner experience: why shorter projects create happier clients 13:00 — The design process that eliminates change orders during construction 18:00 — How they get subcontractors to buy into the system 21:00 — Why niching into one type of project changed the business 26:00 — The risk of shutting down a 10-year business to start over 34:30 — The long-term vision: turning the model into a franchise

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Logan sits down with Nick Schiffer, founder of NS Builders, to unpack what it really takes to build a brand so strong that clients wait five years to hire you.

With over 400,000 followers across platforms, NS Builders is widely recognized for high-end craftsmanship and polished content—but this conversation goes far beyond Instagram. Nick shares how intentionality drives everything: from floor transition details and branded clothing to proposal books, employee handbooks, and long-term trust with clients.

If you want to understand how brand, systems, communication, and consistency compound over time to create real market leverage, this episode is a masterclass.

🎯 Timestamps:

00:00 — How NS Builders became a brand remodelers study 03:00 — What "intentionality" actually means in construction 07:30 — Content first: building high-end perception before high-end projects 11:00 — Turning storytelling into long-term client trust 15:30 — Communication as the true differentiator 18:45 — Imposter syndrome and leveling up internal systems 23:00 — The 14-month "Our Process" book and branded documents 30:00 — Cohesive branding across proposals, publications, and touchpoints 33:45 — Why uniforms and branded gear matter more than you think 40:45 — Should every builder build a brand?

This episode breaks down the iceberg beneath the polished projects—showing how internal systems, communication discipline, and relentless brand consistency are what actually fuel the external reputation.

Listen now to learn how intentional branding can transform your building business

Logan sits down with Victor Lebegue, founder of VL Builders, to unpack one of the hardest leadership decisions a remodeler can face: when to shut something down to save what matters most.

Victor shares the story of running two branches of his business in different states—and how market shifts, team dynamics, and leadership realities forced him to close the company he originally built from scratch. From there, the conversation dives deep into culture, hiring, EOS, and what it actually takes to lead people through uncertainty while building a business that can scale without burning out the owner.

If you're navigating growth, leadership strain, or questioning whether your current structure is holding you back, this episode offers hard-earned lessons from the trenches.

🎯 Timestamps:

00:00 — Why leadership and systems matter more than hiring alone 03:00 — Victor's origin story and building VL Builders from necessity 06:15 — Running two companies in different states 09:45 — Why Victor chose to shut down one branch 13:00 — Identifying hunger, ownership, and leadership potential in a team 17:00 — Implementing EOS and creating a shared vision 21:00 — Hiring for want it and get it before skill 26:00 — Visionary vs. integrator roles (and wearing both hats) 31:00 — Culture breakdowns, core values, and leadership failure modes 38:45 — Clarity breaks, stepping back, and leading long-term

This episode is a masterclass in leadership under pressure—covering what most remodelers only learn the hard way: the cost of misaligned teams, the power of shared vision, and why sometimes the strongest move is letting go.

Logan sits down with Sean Beliveau and Cassidy Jones of Slate Creek Builders to break down how they've built an award-winning remodeling team in a small college town—without relying on job boards, recruiters, or desperation hires.

Based in Blacksburg, Virginia, Slate Creek Builders has grown to a 14-person team delivering multi-million-dollar remodels in a market of just 35,000 people. In this conversation, they unpack how community reputation, always-on recruiting, strong systems, and a clearly defined org chart allow them to attract talent before they ever need it.

If you're struggling to hire, retain great people, or build a culture that recruits for you, this episode offers a real-world playbook—especially for remodelers operating in smaller or tighter markets.

🎯 Timestamps:

00:00 — Why Slate Creek attracts talent without actively recruiting 03:00 — Building a high-end remodeling business in a small market 06:30 — How community reputation fuels growth and referrals 10:45 — The pressure (and upside) of working in a small town 14:00 — Why most of Slate Creek's hires come from personal networks 17:00 — Always recruiting—even when you're not hiring 20:45 — Hiring a "unicorn" without a job opening 23:15 — Using org charts to justify new roles 27:30 — How systems give confidence to hire ahead of demand 31:15 — Dividing leadership: vision vs. execution 34:30 — Protecting work-life balance as a core cultural value 38:00 — Learning from bad hires (and why desperation hires fail) 42:00 — Turning a questionable hire into a long-term win 46:30 — Separating emotion from estimating and pricing 50:30 — What Slate Creek looks for in cultural fit 55:00 — Hiring for skilled roles vs. training from scratch 59:30 — Why people stay once they join the team 01:02:30 — The benefits of building a business in a tight-knit community

If you want employees lining up before you post a job, systems that support confident growth, and a culture people genuinely want to be part of—this episode shows what that looks like in practice.

In this episode of the Contractor Growth Network Podcast, Logan sits down with Andrew Nuhfer, founder of AKN Interiors, to unpack how clear communication, structured systems, and expectation-setting fuel high-end remodeling growth.

Andrew shares how he's scaled AKN Interiors to over $3M annually while running 15–20 active projects—without sacrificing the client experience. From pre-construction planning and interior design collaboration to daily logs, scheduling, and post-project follow-ups, this episode breaks down what it actually looks like to run a modern, client-first remodeling operation.

If you're looking to reduce friction, avoid misaligned expectations, and build a repeatable communication process your team and clients can trust, this conversation is packed with real-world insight.

🎯 Timestamps:

00:00 — Andrew's background and why he started AKN Interiors 03:00 — Making the leap from employee to business owner 07:50 — Why planning and expectations matter more than craftsmanship alone 10:00 — Setting pricing expectations early (and why transparency wins) 14:00 — Using past projects to anchor budget conversations 17:20 — Integrating an interior designer into the remodel process 19:45 — Allowances, proposals, and preventing budget surprises 23:20 — Managing 15–20 projects at once without chaos 26:00 — How AKN uses JobTread for daily communication 28:30 — Daily logs, schedules, and keeping homeowners informed 31:10 — Hiring for communication skills, not just construction experience 34:40 — Getting subcontractors aligned with your systems 36:30 — Post-project follow-ups, warranties, and long-term trust 38:00 — Using JobTread as a sales tool before contracts are signed 42:00 — Lessons Andrew wishes he knew earlier about client experience 44:00 — Handling missed expectations and tough conversations honestly 48:30 — Treating remodeling as a partnership, not a transaction

If you want to build smoother projects, stronger reviews, and happier clients—this episode is a masterclass in what that looks like in practice.

In this episode, Logan sits down with AJ Ballantine to break down how Cornerstone Remodeling grew from $2M to $10M in five years—without hiring five times the people. The secret? A radically optimized design process, driven by empathy mapping, technology, and sales finesse.

AJ walks through the systems, tools, and scripts he used to cut his sales cycle, boost his close rate, and wow clients—all while keeping a high-touch, boutique feel. If you're a design-build remodeler struggling with lengthy sales processes, low perceived value, or slow growth, this episode is your blueprint for change.

🔑 Key Takeaways

Optimize, Don't Overhire → AJ's sales team used to close $3M/year—now they close at a $10M pace with the same team → The shift: 6–10 hours to build a high-impact "first pass" proposal that converts faster

Perceived Value > Just Deliverables → AJ's team builds proposals in Canva with floor plans, mood boards, and personalized designer quotes → Clients feel like they're already halfway through the project before competitors even send a bid

Use Tech to Speed Trust → Render's "Invite to Capture" feature lets homeowners scan their space remotely → Clients feel empowered, and your team gets measurements without stepping foot in the home

Empathy Mapping = Sales Gold → AJ's team mapped out client pain points like option overload and lack of clarity → Solutions like curated samples, mood boards, and visual timelines de-stress the process

Charge to Impress → Clients pay 1% upfront for a first pass proposal, then 5% more before design revisions → Conversion after that second payment? 100% (outside of rare exceptions)

🧰 Tools & Tactics Mentioned

• Render – 3D space scanning tool AJ co-developed

• Canva – Used for building visually stunning proposals

• Calendly – Streamlined consult scheduling

• JobTread – Estimating and construction management

• DocuSign – Seamless proposal signing + payments

• Loom – For walking clients through proposals remotely

🕒 Timestamps

• 00:00 – Why growing a business doesn't mean hiring more people

• 01:30 – AJ's background: design + build = natural fit

• 04:00 – How Render's space scanning changed the game

• 07:45 – How to ask clients to scan their space without losing trust

• 10:35 – Case study: A $75K bathroom turned $150K with the right process

• 13:00 – The power of the phone call as a pattern interrupt

• 15:30 – What goes in a "first pass" proposal and how it's delivered

• 20:00 – Using the Moscow Report to align budget and finishes

• 24:00 – Proposal design: how aesthetics drive perceived value

• 26:50 – Creating speed and momentum to outpace competitors

• 30:00 – Including designer mood boards and personal touches

• 35:00 – The metrics: 76% close rate, $1M–$2M months, 6–10 hours per proposal

• 39:00 – The second phase: formal measurements, structural confirmation

• 44:00 – No-surprises contract pricing explained

• 48:00 – Selection process: curated samples over option overload

• 51:00 – Designing for the busy, not the picky

• 54:00 – Solving for process friction: empathy + accountability

• 57:00 – The sales and marketing adjustments that made it all work

• 1:02:00 – Why everything is digital (except the printed permit plans)

• 1:05:00 – How AJ got team buy-in on massive change

• 1:11:00 – 40X and driving a culture of accountability

• 1:14:00 – Start with WHY if you want your new process to stick

💬 Quote of the Episode

"We used to spend $2,000 worth of effort on a proposal and hand over a spreadsheet. Now, we hand them a deliverable that looks like a million bucks—and they're halfway to signing." — AJ Ballantine

Logan sits down with Chris Landis, co-founder of the award-winning Landis Architects/Builders in Washington, D.C. With over 35 years of experience, Chris shares how his architecture background shaped the firm's design-build approach—and what remodelers can learn from their detailed, phased design process.

From feasibility studies and pre-construction agreements to hiring in-house designers and scaling team structure, this episode is a masterclass in how to elevate the design side of your remodeling business.

Whether you're just starting to charge for design or scaling up to larger, more complex projects, Chris offers clear takeaways on how to structure your process, train your team, and charge what you're worth.

🔑 What You'll Learn

• Why Landis' design process includes 3 clear phases: schematic, DD, and CD

• How feasibility studies help pre-qualify projects and set expectations

• What to look for when hiring designers—and how to train them

• How a team leader role bridges sales and design for smoother execution

• Why charging properly for design leads to better clients, work, and profits

• How Landis keeps clients excited and engaged throughout long design timelines

• What it looks like to run a design department that actually makes money

⏱️ Key Timestamps

00:00 – Intro to Chris Landis + Landis Architects & Builders 01:30 – From Wall Street offices to handyman work: how the business started 05:30 – Why drawings matter (and why they should never be free) 11:00 – Overview of Landis' design services: feasibility, pre-construction, full design 15:00 – Three phases of design: schematic, DD, and CD 20:00 – Aligning sales and design with a "team leader" role 27:00 – How Landis prices design and stays ahead on billing 30:00 – In-house vs outsourced design teams: pros and cons 36:00 – Matching designers to project types and geographic regions 38:00 – Keeping clients excited during long design and permitting windows 45:00 – How Landis markets high-end projects (and the power of awards) 47:00 – Design isn't a loss leader—it's a profit center 52:00 – Why charging for design leads to better hires, better clients, and a stronger brand

Logan and Aaron unpack one of the most powerful but underused sales strategies in remodeling: assignment selling. Originally coined by Marcus Sheridan, this method bridges the gap between marketing and sales—by arming prospects with the right information before they ever get on a call.

You'll learn how to apply this approach in your own sales process—whether it's sending project walkthroughs before a meeting, using content to pre-qualify leads, or walking clients through your website in real-time. If you've been creating great content but aren't sure how to use it to actually close deals, this episode will show you how.

What You'll Learn

• What assignment selling is (and isn't)

• Why content belongs in your sales process, not just your marketing

• How to reduce unqualified leads and shorten the sales cycle

• What kinds of content work best at different sales stages

• How to personalize resources based on each prospect

• The difference between automations vs one-on-one communication

• How to ask clients to consume content—without sounding pushy

Key Timestamps

00:00 – What is assignment selling (and why does it matter)? 03:00 – Mapping your sales process to identify content gaps 06:30 – The difference between marketing automation and sales enablement 12:30 – Why production quality matters in sales content 18:00 – Examples of content that actually move the sale forward 25:00 – What happens when a prospect doesn't do their assignment 32:00 – Using your website like a live sales deck 37:00 – Emotional buy-in vs logical overload 43:00 – How to map your process and assign content that supports it 48:00 – How CGN uses this strategy in their own sales calls