Joe Borowski didn’t plan to become a concrete contractor—but the market had other ideas. In this episode, Ryan Deemer sits down with the owner of Hawthorne Excavating to talk about how pouring a single hot tub pad turned into 90% of his workload. Joe shares what it’s like managing growth, staying hands-on, and slowly building a real business—not just a job.

He also gets real about what it takes to keep standards high without burning out, how he’s setting up two crews for future expansion, and why communication matters more than fancy equipment.

Takeaways:

✅ Joe got his start as a union operator at 18—but bought his first excavator instead of a new truck.

✅ Concrete wasn’t the plan, but customer demand made it impossible to ignore. Now it drives most of his revenue.

✅ He’s learned more from redoing jobs the right way than from the ones that go perfectly.

✅ Joe is shifting from operator to leader, learning how to train, trust, and let others figure it out.

✅ He's realizing time—not money—is the most valuable asset in business, and he's starting to build processes to reclaim it.
Why It Matters:

If you’re in excavation or hardscaping, learning to offer concrete—or partner with someone who does—can unlock bigger, better-paying jobs and more referrals.

Links:

🔹 Visit Hawthorne Excavating LLCs’ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/HawthorneEx

🔹 Shop American-Made Attachments: https://skidsteernation.com/

🔹 Need More Leads for Your Excavation Business? Visit Throttled Up Marketing: https://www.getthrottledup.com/