“You can say you can’t afford to hire—but I’d argue you can’t afford not to.” — Caleb Kangas

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

Knowledge Tree Consulting – Leadership and business coaching for construction and trades professionals.

McFarlin Stanford ACE Peer Group – A peer learning group helping landscape entrepreneurs level up operations and leadership.

SynkedUp – CRM and operations software that connects contractors and improves project workflows.

Winning with Accountability by Henry J. Evans – A must-read book for leaders building a culture of clarity and follow-through.

Huberman Lab Podcast – A science-backed podcast for improving personal performance, brain health, and productivity.

The Place We Find Ourselves (Adam Young Podcast) – A podcast about emotional health, self-discovery, and personal growth.

Topics Discussed:

[00:00] Meet Caleb Kangas of Third Space Design Build
How Caleb went from mowing lawns to building multimillion-dollar outdoor living spaces—and why he rebranded to reflect a new mission.

[03:00] The True Growth Bottleneck: The Owner
Why Caleb realized he was the reason growth had stalled—and how peer groups helped him face that.

[06:30] Coaches, Consultants, and Clarity
Why investing in external support is no different than buying a skid steer—it’s a tool to grow your business.

[09:00] Building a Network Through Events
How attending Unilock trainings and SynkedUp events helped Caleb build real industry relationships.

[13:30] Wearing 19 Hats Is Not a Badge of Honour
Breaking down responsibilities and offloading HR and estimating to reclaim time—and sanity.

[17:00] Hiring Remote Admin Support (and Why It Pays Off)
How Caleb outsourced 20 hours/week for ~$1,000/month and freed himself up to close more deals.

[19:30] Why Fast Lead Response Wins More Jobs
5–10 minute follow-up = trust + conversion. Caleb’s team hits every lead with text, call, and email.

[22:30] Shifting Into CEO Mode
Letting go of the day-to-day so he can finally plan for 3, 5, and 10 years ahead.

[25:00] Invest in People > Tools
Third Space is putting budget into designers, not equipment—because people scale faster than excavators.

[28:00] Culture Is the Ultimate Asset
5 weeks PTO, health benefits, meals, and full uniforms—why happy crews = happy clients.

[31:30] Clarity Over Control
How showing a foreman what a great email looks like led to consistently excellent client communication.

[35:00] Sales System Goals for 2026
Why speeding up the design-to-proposal timeline to 7 days could massively increase conversions.

[39:00] The Truth About AI in Landscaping
Caleb’s team is dabbling in AI for content and workflows—but time is the barrier to full adoption.

[43:00] Leading Yourself First
Why self-work, emotional growth, and reflection are critical for becoming the kind of leader your team needs.

Actionable Key Takeaways:

You are the bottleneck. Recognize what you're clinging to that’s holding your business back—and let it go.

Hire the help. A $26K/year admin can help you win hundreds of thousands in new business.

Fast follow-up = massive conversion lift. Responding within 5–10 minutes gives you a serious edge.

Show what good looks like. Don’t just ask for emails, proposals, or processes—model them.

Invest in team, not tools. People unlock scale; machines don’t follow up with leads.

Use culture as a strategy. Uniforms, benefits, PTO, and tacos are small investments with big retention ROI.

Don’t delay on AI. Even if it’s small, start integrating it now—your future team will thank you.