Jimmy Talks Construction

In this episode of Jimmy Talks Construction, Jimmy sits down with Ben Graham, Director of Civil Contracting Solutions QLD, for a brutally honest conversation about building a civil construction business in Queensland.

Ben shares his journey from working on tier one basement projects in Brisbane to being told he couldn’t work in the city for 12 months — and what it actually took to start again from scratch with a 5.5-tonne excavator and tipper combo while raising young kids.

This episode gets into the realities most contractors only talk about off camera:

– Walking away from tier one work and starting over

– Finding work with no following (door knocking, noticeboards, and flyers)

– The expensive lessons that come with bad finance decisions

– Why rates in QLD can destroy margins if you’re highly leveraged

– Wet weather planning, build pads, and selling solutions instead of just machines

– The difference between being busy and actually making money

If you’re in civil construction, earthmoving, excavation, plant hire, subdivisions, or thinking about going from PAYG to running your own gear, this episode is packed with real-world lessons you can actually apply.

If you enjoyed the episode, don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share the podcast - it helps bring bigger guests and better conversations to the channel.

Connect with Ben:

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/civilcontractingsolutionsqld/?hl=en

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Civil-Contracting-Solutions-QLD-PTY-LTD-100086025881406/

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-graham-2a11347b/?originalSubdomain=au

Connect with Jimmy:

🌐 Website: https://starbuckgroup.com.au

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JimmyTalksConstruction

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/starbuckexcavation

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/starbuckexcavation

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-starbuck-13336546/

Buy CONEXPO 2026 tickets now and don’t miss the small business workshop.

https://www.conexpoconagg.com/attend-the-show/registration-and-pricing

Use code STARBUCK20 to save 20% at checkout (valid through to March 2).

In this episode of Jimmy Talks Construction, Jimmy sits down with Jeremy Trengove, founder of Dirt Cartel, to unpack what it actually looks like to go out on your own in earthmoving — when you buy a machine first and worry about work later.

Jeremy shares the real story behind buying a 36-ton excavator with no confirmed contracts, having a major job pulled at the last minute, and making thousands of phone calls just to keep the machine working. From mining to civil, wet hire vs dry hire, equipment finance panic, and the brutal learning curve of hiring your first operator — nothing is sugar-coated.

This episode dives into the realities most operators don’t talk about:

• Buying big gear before you’re “ready” — and the debt pressure that comes with it
• Losing work after contracts get undercut by bigger players
• The mental stress of repayments when the phone stops ringing
• Why versatility (wet hire, dry hire, regional work) keeps small operators alive
• Mining vs civil: freedom, lifestyle, and why Jeremy walked away
• The truth about Chinese machines vs Tier 1 brands (and what actually matters)
• Why effort, attitude, and adaptability matter more than machine colour
• Hiring operators, site politics, and how one bad fit can lose you a job

If you’re an excavator owner-operator, earthmoving contractor, civil operator, mining operator thinking about going solo, or anyone considering buying machinery, this episode is a must-watch. It’s an honest look at risk, resilience, and backing yourself when there’s no safety net.

If you enjoyed the episode, don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share. These conversations only happen because operators are willing to speak honestly about the hard parts of the job.

Connect with Jeremy:

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedirtcartel/

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeremy.trengove/

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremy-trengove-99ba10318/

Connect with Jimmy:

🌐 Website: https://starbuckgroup.com.au

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JimmyTalksConstruction

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/starbuckexcavation

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/starbuckexcavation

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-starbuck-13336546/

Buy CONEXPO 2026 Tickets NOW, and don’t miss my small business workshop on the Friday!

https://www.conexpoconagg.com/attend-the-show/registration-and-pricing

Use code STARBUCK20 to save 20% at checkout.

Valid through to March 2nd

In this episode of Jimmy Talks Construction, Jimmy sits down with Daniel O’Callaghan, Director of Nature Build in Bendigo, to unpack a raw and honest story of growth, pressure, passion, and resilience in the construction industry.

Daniel shares how a regional Australian builder ended up building a world-class pond for Aquascape in Georgia, USA — for Shaquille O’Neal, the reality of scaling a business to seven staff, and the moment the pressure nearly led to a nervous breakdown.

This isn’t a highlight reel. It’s a real conversation about what happens behind the scenes when things go right — and when they go very wrong.

This episode covers:

- How a Bendigo-based builder landed an international Aquascape project in the US

- What scaling a construction business to 7 staff actually feels like (mentally and financially)

- Loving the work — but nearly burning out from the responsibility

- Losing $100,000 on a single job and the lessons that came with it

- Why mistakes, stress, and hard conversations are part of building something meaningful

If you’re a builder, landscaper, contractor, or construction business owner, this episode will hit close to home. It’s about ambition, pressure, mistakes, and why some people keep going — because they genuinely love what they do.

If you enjoyed this chat, don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share the podcast. Follow James and Daniel for more real conversations about building businesses, careers, and lives in construction.

Connect with Daniel:

🌐 Website: https://www.naturebuild.com.au/

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/naturebuild_insta/

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/naturebuildau/

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naturebuildau/?originalSubdomain=au

Connect with Jimmy:

🌐 Website: https://starbuckgroup.com.au

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JimmyTalksConstruction

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/starbuckexcavation

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/starbuckexcavation

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-starbuck-13336546/

Buy CONEXPO 2026 Tickets NOW, and don’t miss my small business workshop on the Friday!

https://www.conexpoconagg.com/attend-the-show/registration-and-pricing

Use code STARBUCK20 to save 20% at checkout.

Valid through to March 2nd

In this episode of Jimmy Talks Construction, Jimmy sits down with Toby Glass, Director of Tascon Civil Construction, who’s flown over from Wellington, New Zealand, to talk business, growth, and the realities of surviving in the Tier 1 civil space.

Toby breaks down his journey from growing up around concrete and infrastructure work, studying construction management, walking away from uni frustration, and eventually buying into the family business at just 23 years old. Now six years in, Tascon operates in a tight niche delivering specialist structural concrete, retaining walls, and complex civil packages for Tier 1 and Tier 2 contractors.

This episode dives deep into the real conversations contractors are having right now:

- Taking over a family business young and navigating leadership with family involved

- Surviving economic slowdowns and managing uncertainty in the forward pipeline

- Why niche, “fiddly” civil work can be more profitable than chasing volume

- The brutal reality of Tier 1 contracts, variations, delays, and liquidated damages

- Why marketing and LinkedIn content suddenly matters when work dries up

- Soft skills on site, dealing with engineers, and why attitude can cost (or save) serious money

- Hiring, labour shortages, generational differences, and why effort still wins every time

If you’re a civil contractor, subcontractor, site manager, engineer, or business owner trying to grow in the Tier 1 space — or just stay alive during tougher cycles — this episode is packed with hard-earned lessons, no-BS insights, and stories every contractor will recognise.

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share the podcast. Follow Jimmy and Toby to stay up to date with more real conversations from inside the construction industry.

Connect with Toby from Tascon:

🌐 Website: https://www.tascon.co.nz/

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tasconcivil/

💼 LinkedIn: https://nz.linkedin.com/in/toby-glass-51971117a

💼 LinkedIn: https://nz.linkedin.com/company/tascon-2019-ltd

Connect with Jimmy:

🌐 Website: https://starbuckgroup.com.au

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JimmyTalksConstruction

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/starbuckexcavation

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/starbuckexcavation

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-starbuck-13336546/

Buy CONEXPO 2026 Tickets NOW

Don’t miss Jimmy’s small business workshop on the Friday.

👉 https://www.conexpoconagg.com/attend-the-show/registration-and-pricing

💥 Use code STARBUCK20 to save 20%

Valid through to March 2nd

In this episode of Jimmy Talks Construction, Jimmy sits down with Brenton Davey, Managing Director of Control Tech Solutions, to unpack a no-BS story of how a business scales from shovels and a trailer to running vacuum excavation trucks on major projects.

Brenton explains how working in NBN fibre rollout led to his first opportunity, why new safety requirements pushed the industry toward NDD / vacuum excavation, and the moment unreliable subcontract trucks forced a make-or-break decision: buy the first vac truck or stop moving forward.

This episode dives into the real stuff construction business owners deal with:

• Buying equipment before you have work lined up (and the panic that comes with it)
• The truth about equipment finance and why “just sell it” isn’t a real exit plan
• Scaling into bigger projects and the one question clients always ask: “How many trucks can you supply?”
• Cash flow chaos, tax surprises, and the brutal lesson Brenton learned after discovering $600,000 in work that wasn’t invoiced

If you’re a contractor, plant owner, vac truck operator, civil crew, or construction business owner, this is packed with lessons on growth, invoicing systems, cash flow management, and surviving the scaling phase.

If you enjoyed this chat, don't forget to like, subscribe, and share the podcast. Follow James and Brenton to keep up with more stories, insights, and behind-the-scenes of building successful businesses from the ground up.

Connect with Brenton:

🌐 Website: https://www.controltechsolutions.com.au/

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/controltechsolutions/

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100042535813715

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/controltech-solutions-pty-ltd/about/

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brenton-davey-34ba65121/?originalSubdomain=au

Connect with Jimmy:

🌐 Website: https://starbuckgroup.com.au

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JimmyTalksConstruction

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/starbuckexcavation

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/starbuckexcavation

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-starbuck-13336546/

Buy CONEXPO 2026 Tickets NOW, and don’t miss my small business workshop on the Friday!

https://www.conexpoconagg.com/attend-the-show/registration-and-pricing

Use code STARBUCK20 to save 20% at checkout.

Valid through to March 2nd

In this episode of Jimmy Talks Construction, Jimmy sits down with Phil Yates, founder of Versatile Plant Hire & Contracting, to talk about what it really takes to build and operate a successful plant hire and contracting business in regional Western Australia.

Operating out of Kalgoorlie, Phil shares insights from the frontline of civil construction, mining support, and heavy equipment hire, where reliability, reputation, and resilience matter more than hype.

If you enjoyed this chat, don't forget to like, subscribe, and share the podcast. Follow James and Phil to keep up with more stories, insights, and behind-the-scenes of building successful businesses from the ground up.

Connect with Phil:

🌐 Website: https://vphc.com.au/

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VersatilePlantHire/

💼 LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/phil-yates-8919697b

Connect with Jimmy:

🌐 Website: https://starbuckgroup.com.au

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JimmyTalksConstruction

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/starbuckexcavation

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/starbuckexcavation

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-starbuck-13336546/

Buy CONEXPO 2026 Tickets NOW, and don’t miss my small business workshop on the Friday!

https://www.conexpoconagg.com/attend-the-show/registration-and-pricing

Use code STARBUCK20 to save 20% at checkout.

Valid through to March 2nd

George Passas (Founder of Pascon & Builder Elite) - Jimmy Talks Episode 29

In this episode of Jimmy Talks Construction, Jimmy sits down with George Passas, founder of Builder Elite and Pascon, for an honest, no-BS conversation about the realities of running a construction business when everything goes wrong.

George opens up about being locked into high-risk construction contracts during COVID, how poor contract structures nearly destroyed his business, and the brutal reality of losing over $1,000,000 in a single year. He breaks down what that period taught him about risk management, cash flow, leadership, and why trust is everything in the construction industry.

If you enjoyed this chat, don't forget to like, subscribe, and share the podcast. Follow James and George to keep up with more stories, insights, and behind-the-scenes of building successful businesses from the ground up.

Connect with George Passas

💼 LinkedIn (George): https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgepassas/

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/george.passas/

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/georgepassasofficial/ Facebook

🌐 Personal Website: https://georgepassas.com/

Million Dollar Days Podcast

🌐 Official Site: https://milliondollardays.com.au/

🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/million-dollar-days/id1716294586

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MillionDollarDaysPod/featured

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/milliondollardayspod/

Connect with Jimmy:

🌐 Website: https://starbuckgroup.com.au

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JimmyTalksConstruction

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/starbuckexcavation

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/starbuckexcavation

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-starbuck-13336546/

Buy CONEXPO 2026 Tickets NOW, and don’t miss my small business workshop on the Friday!

https://www.conexpoconagg.com/attend-the-show/registration-and-pricing

Use code STARBUCK20 to save 20% at checkout.

Valid through to March 2nd

In this episode, Jimmy has a chat with Colm Phibbs, the MD at Cono Services. Colm talks about first moving from Ireland to Australia during the Global Financial Crisis, and building his business from then, to now being a large company which offers bulk excavations, civil, and plant hire services in some of Sydneys biggest projects.

If you enjoyed this chat, don't forget to like, subscribe, and share the podcast. Follow James and Colm to keep up with more stories, insights, and behind-the-scenes of building successful businesses from the ground up.

Connect with Colm:

🌐 Website: https://conoservices.com.au/

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conoservices/

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/conoservices/

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colm-phibbs-cono-services/?originalSubdomain=au

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cono-services/posts/?feedView=all

Connect with Jimmy:

🌐 Website: https://starbuckgroup.com.au

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JimmyTalksConstruction

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/starbuckexcavation

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/starbuckexcavation

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-starbuck-13336546/

Buy CONEXPO 2026 Tickets NOW, and don’t miss my small business workshop on the Friday!

https://www.conexpoconagg.com/attend-the-show/registration-and-pricing

Use code STARBUCK20 to save 20% at checkout.

Valid through to March 2nd

In this episode, Jimmy has a chat with Mark Kelly. They first met at CONEXPO a few years ago, where Mark was trying to kick start some small business education for himself. They also dive into culture behind business’, especially the importance of manners.

If you enjoyed this chat, don't forget to like, subscribe, and share the podcast. Follow James and Mark to keep up with more stories, insights, and behind-the-scenes of building successful businesses from the ground up.

Connect with Mark:

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-kelly-27427223a/

Connect with Jimmy:

🌐 Website: https://starbuckgroup.com.au

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JimmyTalksConstruction

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/starbuckexcavation

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/starbuckexcavation

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-starbuck-13336546/

Buy CONEXPO 2026 Tickets NOW, and don’t miss my small business workshop on the Friday!

https://www.conexpoconagg.com/attend-the-show/registration-and-pricing

Use code STARBUCK20 to save 20% at checkout.

Valid through to March 2nd

In this episode, Jimmy has a chat with Jim Penman. An Aussie icon founder of Jim’s mowing, and the wider Jim’s group. Jim discusses why he chose the franchise model and how he built a business that has created more millionaires in Australia, than any other. He also touches on politics and his most recent research project he has been funding.

If you enjoyed this chat, don't forget to like, subscribe, and share the podcast. Follow James and Jim to keep up with more stories, insights, and behind-the-scenes of building successful businesses from the ground up.

Jim’s New Book!

https://jimpenman.com.au/books/

Connect with Jim:

🌐 Website: https://jimpenman.com.au/

📸 Instagram: instagram.com/thejimpenman/

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JimsGroupAUS/

💼 LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/company/jimsgroup

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JimsGroup

Connect with Jimmy:

🌐 Website: https://starbuckgroup.com.au

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JimmyTalksConstruction

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/starbuckexcavation

📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/starbuckexcavation

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-starbuck-13336546/