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Before Richie Zook could lead a Pennsylvania concrete company from Idaho, he had to hand off work he was used to doing himself.
THE WEEK'S CONVERSATIONS, IN ONE EMAIL
Choose the depth that fits your time: the full conversation, a roughly 20-minute CONDENSED edition, or a focused Topics episode.
Join the From The Ground Up Show newsletter: https://fromthegroundupshow.com/newsletter/
Richie explains how he entered a new trade, helped buy Keystone Gun-Krete with seller financing, and brought in an accountant and attorney to evaluate the opportunity. His biggest fear was losing the people who made the business work.
He shares why the company grew around good people, how turned-away work helps him judge equipment demand, and why a $1.2 million pump can become a purchase driven by pride. He also describes testing remote work before the move and handing field responsibilities to a young leader who later became a partner. The conversation closes with costly mistakes, backing employees when customers are wrong, and the advice to be known for who you are, not what you do.
WATCH THIS CONDENSED EPISODE
YouTube: https://youtu.be/gsCzidujVOA
WATCH THE FULL-LENGTH EPISODE
YouTube: https://youtu.be/8aRo_Vaba3k
GO DEEPER WITH FROM THE GROUND UP SHOW
This is From The Ground Up Show CONDENSED: the conversation in roughly 20 minutes. Get more context, stories, and lessons in the full-length interviews.
Watch and subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@FromTheGroundUp-k9p
Listen to the full show: https://pod.link/1846907140
MORE FROM THE GROUND UP SHOW CONDENSED
YouTube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLa9BVKGD64tA
Podcast apps: https://pod.link/6806079674
GUEST & RESOURCES
Richie Zook and Keystone Gun-Krete
https://www.keystonegun-krete.com/
PARTNERS & SPONSORS
This episode includes paid promotional material.
MacArthur Company
https://www.macarthurco.com
Athlete Fresh
https://athletefresh.shop/fromthegroundupshow
ABOUT FROM THE GROUND UP SHOW
Real stories. Hard lessons. Stronger foundations. From The Ground Up Show delivers honest business and leadership conversations and practical lessons for owners, operators, tradespeople, entrepreneurs, and leaders building something that lasts—with hearts, hands, and hustle.
Hosted by Erick Loden, a former commercial roofing company owner and business advisor. From 2014 to 2025, he owned and ran his roofing company, growing annual revenue more than eightfold and operating profit nearly fifteenfold before completing a successful internal sale.
Website: https://www.fromthegroundupshow.com
Have a question for Erick or an upcoming guest?
https://fromthegroundupshow.com/ask-a-question/
Have a story built through hearts, hands, and hustle? Apply to be a guest and tell your story:
https://fromthegroundupshow.com/be-a-guest/
David Michaux left a stable project-management role to build Michaux Metalworks with savings, carefully chosen equipment, and a determination to avoid unnecessary debt. In this focused edition, he explains the internal debate before quitting, the first job that cost him more than $1,000, and the pricing lessons that only came after doing the work. The second half follows the next turning point: hiring his first employee. David explains the pressure of payroll and slow-paying invoices, the relief of work continuing when he leaves the shop, and the humility required to price confidently, learn from mentors, and grow beyond a one-person operation.
IN THIS CONDENSED EPISODE
· Preparing financially to leave a stable job
· Buying used equipment and avoiding unnecessary debt
· Learning from an underpriced first project that lost more than $1,000
· Knowing when there is enough work to make the first hire
· Managing payroll pressure, unpaid invoices, and cashflow
· Pricing with confidence instead of projecting your own budget onto the customer
· Staying humble, finding mentors, and continuing to learn
THE WEEK'S CONVERSATIONS IN ONE EMAIL
Choose the depth that fits your time: the full conversation, a roughly 20-minute CONDENSED edition, or a focused Topics episode.
Join the From The Ground Up Show newsletter: https://fromthegroundupshow.com/newsletter/
WATCHTHIS CONDENSED EPISODE
YouTube: https://youtu.be/Xh-2obfXYiA
WATCH THE FULL-LENGTH EPISODE
YouTube: https://youtu.be/FYSmS8YEIQY
GO DEEPER WITH FROM THE GROUND UP SHOW
This is From The Ground Up Show CONDENSED: the conversation in roughly 20 minutes. Get more context, stories, and lessons in the full-length interviews.
Watch and subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@FromTheGroundUp-k9p
Listen to the full show: https://pod.link/1846907140
MORE FROM FROM THE GROUND UP SHOW CONDENSED
YouTube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLa9BVKGD64tA
Podcast apps: https://pod.link/6806079674
GUEST AND RESOURCES
Michaux Metalworks: https://michauxmetalworks.com/
PARTNERS AND SPONSORS
MacArthur Co.: https://www.macarthurco.com
Athlete Fresh: https://athletefresh.shop/fromthegroundupshow
Real stories. Hard lessons. Stronger foundations.
From The Ground Up Show delivers honest business and leadership conversations and practical lessons for owners, operators, tradespeople, entrepreneurs, and leadersbuilding something that lasts—with hearts, hands, and hustle.
Hosted by Erick Loden, a former commercial roofing company owner and business advisor. From 2014 to 2025, he owned and ran his roofing company, growing annual revenue more than eightfold and operating profit approximately fifteenfold before completing a successful internal sale.
Website: https://www.fromthegroundupshow.com
Have a question for Erick or an upcoming guest?
https://fromthegroundupshow.com/ask-a-question/
Have a story built through hearts, hands, and hustle? Apply to be a guest and tell your story:
https://fromthegroundupshow.com/be-a-guest/
#FromTheGroundUpShow #FTGUSCondensed #DavidMichaux #MichauxMetalworks #WeldingBusiness#SkilledTrades #SmallBusiness
How do you grow from a first acquisition with just 9 employees into an organization of more than 2,000 people?
For Charbel Louis Karam, the answer wasn’t perfect planning. It was learning to evaluate risk, make decisions without having every answer, recognize mistakes quickly, and keep moving.
Charbel is the CEO and Managing Partner of Spectrum Killian Dental Lab Alliance. His unconventional career took him from commercial aviation and aerospace leadership at Airbus and Pratt & Whitney Canada into manufacturing, private equity, entrepreneurship, acquisitions, and the rapidly changing dental laboratory industry.
In this CONDENSED edition of From The Ground Up Show, Charbel explains why leaders must become comfortable making decisions with roughly 70% of the available information. Drawing on his experience flying search-and-rescue and medevac missions, he shares what aviation taught him about pressure, preparation, and calculated risk.
He also describes leaving the resources and security of private equity to run a small business, where cash flow, payroll, and every purchasing decision suddenly mattered. That experience taught him lessons about money and operations that an MBA and years of analyzing businesses could not.
Charbel and Erick Loden discuss recognizing overlooked opportunities, turning founder-dependent craftsmanship into repeatable systems, and building the people and infrastructure required to scale. They also examine why good leaders admit bad decisions, correct course quickly, and refuse to let overthinking become an excuse for inaction.
As Charbel puts it, “You’re not going to PowerPoint your way to success.”
This focused episode brings together the most useful lessons from a much larger conversation about entrepreneurship, acquisitions, leadership, risk, and scaling a company without losing what made it valuable.
Follow From The Ground Up Show CONDENSED in your podcast app, and share this episode with someone building or leading a business.
WATCH THE CONVERSATION
Full episode:
https://youtu.be/rvOcqFISL24
CONDENSED episode:
https://youtu.be/LraZ4Uj2c10
LISTEN TO EVERY FORMAT
From The Ground Up Show:
https://pod.link/1846907140
From The Ground Up Show CONDENSED:
https://pod.link/6806079674
From The Ground Up Show: Topics:
https://pod.link/6808750058
WATCH FOCUSED TOPICS
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLud9Edq6T5ZwT7z38p86WE6DUpEhbbaFU
THE WEEK’S CONVERSATIONS, IN ONE EMAIL
Choose the depth that fits your time: the full conversation, a roughly 20-minute CONDENSED edition, or a focused Topics episode.
Join the From The Ground Up Show newsletter:
https://fromthegroundupshow.com/newsletter/
GUEST & RESOURCES
Charbel Louis Karam on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/charbellouis
Spectrum Killian Dental Lab Alliance:
https://skdla.com
Spectrum Killian on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/skdla
PARTNERS & SPONSORS
MacArthur Company:
https://www.macarthurco.com
Athlete Fresh:
https://athletefresh.shop/fromthegroundupshow
ABOUT FROM THE GROUND UP SHOW
Real stories. Hard lessons. Stronger foundations. From The Ground Up Show features honest conversations and practical lessons for owners, operators, tradespeople, entrepreneurs, and leaders building something that lasts.
https://fromthegroundupshow.com
Former New South Wales Police Detective Sergeant Craig Semple spent 25 years working homicide investigations, drug operations, and outlaw motorcycle gang cases. He loved the danger, the camaraderie, and the hunt — until the pressure he kept hidden began dismantling his sleep, health, identity, and family life.
In this condensed edition, Craig recounts the major organized-crime investigation that capped his career, the warning signs of post-traumatic stress disorder he concealed for years, and the psychological breakdown that ultimately forced him out of policing.
He speaks candidly about depression, the collapse of his marriage, a suicide attempt, and the lesson he now shares everywhere: getting help early can radically change the outcome.
Craig also explains how he approached recovery like a detective. He built a practical wellbeing plan from exercise, meditation, cognitive behavioral strategies, and very small daily actions — including a deceptively simple rule for returning to surfing: just get wet.
This conversation is about the cost of appearing bulletproof, the courage required to ask for help, and how people can rebuild purpose after the identity that defined them disappears.
IN THIS CONDENSED CONVERSATION
• The final investigation: A coordinated operation targeting an entire outlaw motorcycle gang chapter.
• The hidden injury: How nightmares, hypervigilance, sleep deprivation, alcohol, and emotional numbing accumulated.
• The personal cost: Loss of career, identity, control, marriage, and the crisis that followed.
• The early-help lesson: Why a handful of timely sessions might have prevented years of suffering and hundreds of later appointments.
• The recovery plan: How small, repeatable actions helped Craig rebuild direction, momentum, and purpose.
THE WEEK'S CONVERSATIONS, IN ONE EMAIL
Choose the depth that fits your time: the full conversation, a roughly 20-minute CONDENSED edition, or a focused Topics episode.
Join the From The Ground Up Show newsletter: https://fromthegroundupshow.com/newsletter/
WATCH THIS CONDENSED EPISODE
YouTube: https://youtu.be/2C65Adp0z9Q
WATCH THE FULL-LENGTH EPISODE
YouTube: https://youtu.be/5pxPUIFg1BY
GO DEEPER WITH FROM THE GROUND UP SHOW
This is From The Ground Up Show CONDENSED: the conversation in roughly 20 minutes. Get more context, stories, and lessons in the full-length interviews.
Watch and subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@FromTheGroundUp-k9p
Listen to the full show: https://pod.link/1846907140
MORE FROM THE GROUND UP SHOW CONDENSED
YouTube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLa9BVKGD64tA
Podcast apps: https://pod.link/6806079674
GUEST & RESOURCES
Mentality Plus: mentalityplus.com.au
Craig's story: mentalityplus.com.au/my-story
Craig's books: mentalityplus.com.au/buy-book
LinkedIn: Craig Semple
Instagram: @semple_mentality
PARTNERS & SPONSORS
MacArthur Co.: macarthurco.com
Athlete Fresh: athletefresh.shop/fromthegroundupshow
ABOUT FROM THE GROUND UP SHOW
Real stories. Hard lessons. Stronger foundations. From The Ground Up Show delivers honest business and leadership conversations and practical lessons for owners, operators, tradespeople, entrepreneurs, and leaders building something that lasts—with hearts, hands, and hustle.
Hosted by Erick Loden, a former commercial roofing company owner and business advisor. From 2014 to 2025, he owned and ran his roofing company, growing annual revenue more than eightfold and operating profit nearly fifteenfold before completing a successful internal sale.
Website: https://www.fromthegroundupshow.com
Have a question for Erick or an upcoming guest?
https://fromthegroundupshow.com/ask-a-question/
Have a story built through hearts, hands, and hustle? Apply to be a guest and tell your story:
https://fromthegroundupshow.com/be-a-guest/
#CraigSemple #MentalHealth #PTSD #Resilience #Leadership #PoliceStories #FromTheGroundUpShow #FTGUSCondensed
Jonathan Domsky's entrepreneurial journey began with a one-way ticket to China, a chance encounter that became a love story, and a determination to build a life with more freedom. That path led Jonathan and his wife to launch Kidorable from a studio apartment and grow it into a global children's accessories brand.
In this condensed conversation, Jonathan explains how Kidorable grew from $40,000 in first-year sales to a multimillion-dollar business, why the Great Recession forced a painful but necessary pivot toward e-commerce, and how a values-driven culture helped the company scale without losing its humanity.
Jonathan also shares his practical approach to standard operating procedures: train people clearly, give them the confidence to make decisions, and make the first SOP a rule for when not to follow an SOP. It is a candid conversation about entrepreneurship, adaptability, leadership, purpose, and building systems that help people thrive.
Connect on LinkedIn: Search for Jonathan Domsky
THE WEEK'S CONVERSATIONS, IN ONE EMAIL
Choose the depth that fits your time: the full conversation, a roughly 20-minute CONDENSED edition, or a focused Topics episode.
Join the From The Ground Up Show newsletter: https://fromthegroundupshow.com/newsletter/
WATCH THIS CONDENSED EPISODE
YouTube: https://youtu.be/pzwNXIhLPyQ
WATCH THE FULL-LENGTH EPISODE
YouTube: https://youtu.be/aWHllkTAYTk
GO DEEPER WITH FROM THE GROUND UP SHOW
This is From The Ground Up Show CONDENSED: the conversation in roughly 20 minutes. Get more context, stories, and lessons in the full-length interviews.
Watch and subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@FromTheGroundUp-k9p
Listen to the full show: https://pod.link/1846907140
MORE FROM THE GROUND UP SHOW CONDENSED
YouTube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLa9BVKGD64tA
Podcast apps: https://pod.link/6806079674
GUEST & RESOURCES
Jonathan Domsky - Untangled Coaching: https://untangled-coaching.com
Jonathan Domsky on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/business-personal-growth-coach
PARTNERS & SPONSORS
https://www.macarthurco.com
https://athletefresh.shop/fromthegroundupshow
ABOUT FROM THE GROUND UP SHOW
Real stories. Hard lessons. Stronger foundations. From The Ground Up Show delivers honest business and leadership conversations and practical lessons for owners, operators, tradespeople, entrepreneurs, and leaders building something that lasts—with hearts, hands, and hustle.
Hosted by Erick Loden, a former commercial roofing company owner and business advisor. From 2014 to 2025, he owned and ran his roofing company, growing annual revenue more than eightfold and operating profit nearly fifteenfold before completing a successful internal sale.
Website: https://www.fromthegroundupshow.com
Have a question for Erick or an upcoming guest?
https://fromthegroundupshow.com/ask-a-question/
Have a story built through hearts, hands, and hustle? Apply to be a guest and tell your story:
https://fromthegroundupshow.com/be-a-guest/
#Entrepreneurship #Leadership #BusinessGrowth #PurposeDrivenBusiness #FromTheGroundUpShow
What happens when you quit successful corporate careers, travel the world looking for a business idea, and eventually stumble across a beer spa in Poland? Jessica and Damien knew they wanted to build something together—but they didn’t know exactly what. So they left their careers in New York City, traveled through 25 countries over 14 months, and studied unusual business concepts along the way. A coin flip eventually sent them to Eastern Europe, where a rainy day in Poland introduced them to the idea that would become Oakwell Beer Spa. In this FTGUS CONDENSED conversation, Jessica and Damien share how they went from discovering an unconventional idea to actually building the business—including an underfunded construction project, buying used equipment at auctions, working side jobs to keep going, and figuring things out as they went. They also explain what happened when Oakwell opened to far more demand than expected, why they became obsessive about the customer experience, and the lesson they believe every aspiring entrepreneur should understand before turning a passion into a business.
In this condensed episode:
Why Jessica and Damien walked away from corporate careers
Traveling 25 countries in search of a scalable business idea
The coin flip that ultimately led them to Oakwell Beer Spa
Building an unusual concept with limited capital
Getting creative when the construction budget fell apart
Launching to overwhelming demand
Protecting the customer experience while learning on the fly
Why passion alone isn’t enough to build a successful business
THE WEEK'S CONVERSATIONS, IN ONE EMAIL
Choose the depth that fits your time: the full conversation, a roughly 20-minute CONDENSED edition, or a focused Topics episode.
Join the From The Ground Up Show newsletter: https://fromthegroundupshow.com/newsletter/
WATCH THIS CONDENSED EPISODE
YouTube: https://youtu.be/-zBofWKI1qk
WATCH THE FULL-LENGTH EPISODE
YouTube: https://youtu.be/qP81T5NVqwY
GO DEEPER WITH FROM THE GROUND UP SHOW
This is From The Ground Up Show CONDENSED: the conversation in roughly 20 minutes. Get more context, stories, and lessons in the full-length interviews.
Watch and subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@FromTheGroundUp-k9p
Listen to the full show: https://pod.link/1846907140
MORE FROM THE GROUND UP SHOW CONDENSED
YouTube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLa9BVKGD64tA
Podcast apps: https://pod.link/6806079674
GUEST & RESOURCES
https://oakwellfranchise.com/
https://oakwell.com/
PARTNERS & SPONSORS
https://www.macarthurco.com
https://athletefresh.shop/fromthegroundupshow
ABOUT FROM THE GROUND UP SHOW
Real stories. Hard lessons. Stronger foundations. From The Ground Up Show delivers honest business and leadership conversations and practical lessons for owners, operators, tradespeople, entrepreneurs, and leaders building something that lasts—with hearts, hands, and hustle.
Hosted by Erick Loden, a former commercial roofing company owner and business advisor. From 2014 to 2025, he owned and ran his roofing company, growing annual revenue more than eightfold and operating profit nearly fifteenfold before completing a successful internal sale.
Website: https://www.fromthegroundupshow.com
Have a question for Erick or an upcoming guest?
https://fromthegroundupshow.com/ask-a-question/
Have a story built through hearts, hands, and hustle? Apply to be a guest and tell your story:
https://fromthegroundupshow.com/be-a-guest/
#Entrepreneurship #BusinessGrowth #SmallBusiness #FounderStory #HospitalityBusiness #Franchising #FromTheGroundUpShow
Dashaun Bryantwent from flunking out of college and working retail to closing four roofingdeals in his first week. In this focused edition, the Roof Hustlers founderexplains how an unexpected sales job revealed his talent for coaching, why hestarted publishing before the audience arrived, and how he finally chose thebrand over the security of active selling.
THE WEEK'S CONVERSATIONS, IN ONE EMAIL
Choose thedepth that fits your time: the full conversation, a roughly 20-minute CONDENSEDedition, or a focused Topics episode.
Join the FromThe Ground Up Show newsletter: https://fromthegroundupshow.com/newsletter/
IN THIS EPISODE
• Growing up inManatee County, flunking out of college, and working retail before salesentered the picture
• Closing fourroofing deals in his first week and discovering that he could train others towin
• Spotting atraining gap, launching Roof Hustlers, and building an audience throughconsistent useful content
• Growing froma $300 gift-card speaking job to national training work and manufacturer events
• Leavingactive roofing sales, protecting the reputation he had built, and focusingfully on Roof Hustlers
WATCH THIS CONDENSED EPISODE
YouTube: https://youtu.be/JqbVAstlTOc
WATCH THE FULL-LENGTH EPISODE
YouTube: https://youtu.be/MTf-BWMWA4E
GO DEEPER WITH FROM THE GROUND UP SHOW
This is FromThe Ground Up Show CONDENSED: the conversation in roughly 20 minutes. Get morecontext, stories, and lessons in the full-length interviews.
Watch andsubscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@FromTheGroundUp-k9p
Listen to thefull show: https://pod.link/1846907140
MORE FROM THE GROUND UP SHOW CONDENSED
YouTubeplaylist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLa9BVKGD64tA
Podcast apps: https://pod.link/6806079674
GUEST & RESOURCES
Dashaun Bryantand Roof Hustlers: https://roofhustlers.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@roofhustlers6686
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roofhustlers/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@roofhustlers
Facebook group:https://www.facebook.com/groups/roofhustlers/
PARTNERS & SPONSORS
MacArthurCompany offers local building-material service with a dedicated salesperson andthe resources to serve large customers: https://www.macarthurco.com
Athlete Freshis designed to remove sweat, bacteria, and residue from work and athleticclothing. The episode offer is 25% off a first order, and 5% of every purchasegoes to charity: https://athletefresh.shop/fromthegroundupshow
ABOUT FROM THE GROUND UP SHOW
Real stories.Hard lessons. Stronger foundations. From The Ground Up Show delivers honestbusiness and leadership conversations and practical lessons for owners,operators, tradespeople, entrepreneurs, and leaders building something thatlasts—with hearts, hands, and hustle.
Hosted by ErickLoden, a former commercial roofing company owner and business advisor. From2014 to 2025, he owned and ran his roofing company, growing annual revenue morethan eightfold and operating profit nearly fifteenfold before completing asuccessful internal sale.
Website: https://www.fromthegroundupshow.com
Have a questionfor Erick or an upcoming guest?
https://fromthegroundupshow.com/ask-a-question/
Have a storybuilt through hearts, hands, and hustle? Apply to be a guest and tell yourstory:
https://fromthegroundupshow.com/be-a-guest/
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