Systems, Not Seminars | Repeatable, Scalable, Sustainable.

What does it take to build a dominant restoration company in today’s market?

In this episode of Titans of the Trades, Ryan Englin sits down with Sebastian Williams, Partner at Sasser Restoration. Sebastian didn’t grow up in the industry. He started in high-level consulting in New York City before making a bold move into the trades. From two vans and a handful of employees to a multi-state operation, Sasser has tripled in size by focusing on one simple principle.

Hire the best people. Train them well. Retain them.

But this isn’t theory. It’s a blueprint. Sebastian shares how process, technology, and leadership discipline helped Sasser Restoration scale across North Carolina, Texas, and California. He also explains the mistakes they made early on, especially when moving too fast with technology, and how they built buy-in from field teams who weren’t comfortable with digital tools.

If you’re a business owner, contractor, or trades executive who wants to:

• Improve your hiring process.
• Reduce turnover in your company.
• Build a culture that actually drives performance.
• Implement technology without alienating your team.
• Create confident field leaders who don’t need constant supervision.

This episode will give you practical insight you can apply right away.

Sebastian breaks down how to connect core values to performance reviews, how to create accountability without micromanagement, and why training and “scrimmaging” your team may be the missing piece in your business growth strategy.

If you want to build a company that dominates its market, this conversation is a must-listen.

Key Takeaways

• 00:01 – Why a former NYC consultant walked away from corporate life to build a business from scratch.
• 03:37 – Starting with two vans, wearing every hat, and why getting “mud on your boots” matters.
• 05:28 – The biggest mistake new leaders make when bringing technology into a company.
• 08:14 – Why tech resistance in the trades isn’t about attitude, it’s about confidence.
• 12:20 – How inventory tracking and process upgrades saved money and increased team buy-in.
• 15:48 – “That’s their job” vs. building a team-first culture.
• 18:41 – Why disaster response businesses must master process before the emergency call comes in.
• 19:42 – The power of training and “scrimmaging” your field teams before real-world chaos hits.
• 26:54 – Sasser’s bold goal to double its well-trained team members and why growth starts with people, not revenue. 

Connect With Sebastian:

Website: https://sasser247.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sebastiancainwilliams/

Support the Podcast:

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If you own a construction company, you already know safety isn’t optional. It’s required. By OSHA. By your general contractors. By your insurance carrier. And by your own standards as a leader who wants every employee to go home safe.

But here’s the real question.

Is your construction safety program actually protecting your company?

In this episode of Titans of the Trades, Ryan Englin sits down with Eric Wick, Founder of Safety Team Technologies, to break down what most contractors are missing when it comes to construction safety training, OSHA compliance, and workers’ comp risk.

Eric started his career as an insurance broker. He saw firsthand what happens when construction companies treat safety like a binder on a shelf instead of a living system. Workers’ comp premiums skyrocket. Attorneys get involved. OSHA inspections turn into citations. And owners are left exposed.

That’s why he built a digital construction safety training platform that helps contractors:

• Automate OSHA-required safety training.
• Track and document compliance.
• Reduce workers’ compensation premiums.
• Protect against serious and willful misconduct claims.
• Deliver training in both English and Spanish.
• Gamify safety to improve engagement in the field.

If you’re tired of chasing down paper attendance sheets, relying on pencil-whipped toolbox talks, or wondering whether your IIPP would hold up in court, this episode is for you.

Construction safety isn’t about checking a box. It’s about building a culture that protects your people and your bottom line.

Key Takeaways

• 00:01 – Why construction safety training is more than a compliance checkbox and how it impacts your bottom line.
• 01:14 – How Eric used his insurance background to identify major gaps in contractor safety programs.
• 04:09 – The real reason most construction companies struggle to implement OSHA safety training consistently.
• 05:32 – How digital construction safety training replaces lost paperwork and unreliable tailgate talks.
• 06:48 – Why gamification and quizzes improve safety culture and employee accountability.
• 08:25 – The “triple threat” contractors face: workers’ comp spikes, lawsuits, and serious legal exposure.
• 10:32 – Why your IIPP binder collecting dust could cost you everything.
• 12:01 – How documented safety training can help reduce workers’ comp premiums at renewal.
• 18:23 – Simple ways to use leaderboards and incentives to strengthen your construction safety culture.

Connect With Eric:

Website: https://oursafetyteam.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-wick-90491132a/

Support the Podcast:

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What does it take to build a construction company where people want to stay, grow, and lead?

In this episode of Titans of the Trades, Ryan Englin sits down with Omar Rawji, President and CEO of Prism Construction, a second-generation construction firm delivering complex projects across Canada. Omar shares how Prism has built a strong culture rooted in humility, ownership, and care, and why those values guide every hiring, firing, and leadership decision.

You’ll hear how Prism approaches structured onboarding that lasts months, not days, why mentorship has to be intentional to work, and how leaders can hold people accountable without operating from fear or scarcity. Omar also breaks down what real leadership looks like in construction today and why emotional intelligence matters more than technical skill when developing future leaders.

If you’re struggling with retention, leadership development, or onboarding in construction, this episode will challenge how you think about people, culture, and long-term growth.

Episode Takeaways 

• 00:01 – Why culture and onboarding matter more than ever in construction.
• 02:39 – Omar’s journey as a second-generation construction leader.
• 05:36 – How to interview for humility, ownership, and care.
• 07:30 – Why accountability builds trust instead of pushing people away.
• 10:17 – The role of emotional intelligence in construction leadership.
• 12:25 – Why mentorship is critical as the workforce continues to age.
• 14:12 – What a structured onboarding plan really looks like in construction.
• 18:54 – How Prism prepares onboarding before day one even starts.
• 22:40 – What’s next for Prism Construction and why employee growth matters.

Connect With Omar:

Website: https://prismconstruction.ca/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/omar-a-rawji/

Support the Podcast:

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Construction recruiting is changing fast, and “post a job ad and hope” isn’t a strategy. In this episode of Titans of the Trades, Ryan sits down with JJ Owen from the Skilled Careers Coalition to break down what’s actually working to attract Gen Z into skilled trades careers.

JJ explains the “connection gap” that sits underneath the labor shortage, and why authentic storytelling matters more than another “earn while you learn” ad. You’ll hear how Skills Jam uses social platforms like TikTok and YouTube to put real student and jobsite stories in front of the next generation, and how contractors of any size can follow a simple playbook to start building trust, awareness, and a future pipeline.

If you’re serious about construction recruiting, this conversation will challenge your assumptions, and it’ll give you practical steps you can implement without becoming a full-time content creator.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why construction recruiting is a marketing problem first, and a labor problem second.
• How to stop competing with college and instead make trades careers aspirational.
• The role parents play in shaping what kids believe is “a good career.”
• What kinds of videos actually work on TikTok and YouTube for skilled trades recruiting.
• A simple contractor playbook for telling better stories and building a long-term pipeline.

Key Takeaways

• 00:00 — Why construction recruiting gets easier when you stop chasing “experienced only,” and start building interest early.
• 01:15 — JJ’s mission: set the story straight that skilled trades are skilled careers, and the opportunity is real.
• 03:07 — Why comparing the trades to college backfires, and what to highlight instead for construction recruiting.
• 05:26 — The “third rail” pathway: trades need a megaphone like college and the military already have.
• 07:05 — Parents shape curiosity early, and what you say at home can accidentally eliminate careers for your kids.
• 09:39 — The “going pro” mindset: why kids chase sports dreams, but rarely get encouraged to go pro in the trades.
• 15:09 — The Skills Jam story that hits hard: “bad news bears” students winning titles and landing life-changing jobs.
• 16:49 — TikTok that actually drives action: how Skills Jam moved ~500K people to partner sites in Q4 2025.
• 19:02 — A practical contractor playbook: build the profile foundation, find a Gen Z storyteller, and show the work.

Connect With JJ:

Website: https://skilledcareers.org/

Website: https://skillsjam.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jjowen4/

Field Guide: https://skills-jam.kit.com/76e8362b15

Support the Podcast:

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Company culture isn’t a perk. It’s the operating system of your business.

In this episode of Titans of the Trades, Ryan Englin sits down with Trey McWilliams, third-generation HVAC contractor and CEO of Blue Cardinal Home Services Group, to unpack what it takes to build a culture that actually scales.

Trey grew up in the trades. He rebuilt his family HVAC business from the inside out, replaced almost the entire workforce, and turned it into a culture-driven organization that attracted talent, retained people, and created real opportunity. Today, he works with home services companies across the country as they prepare for growth, partnerships, and exit.

This conversation goes deep into the reality most owners face but rarely talk about: Culture drift. Leadership blind spots. Hiring the wrong way. Losing accountability as you grow.

Trey explains why culture always reflects the leader, why internal marketing matters more than external marketing, and how his “brand ambassador” role became the backbone of employee engagement, customer experience, and long-term loyalty.

If you lead an HVAC, plumbing, or construction company and want to scale without losing your people, this episode will challenge how you think about leadership, hiring, and accountability.

Key Takeaways

• 00:00 – Why third-generation businesses often lose their edge.
• 01:11 – Culture always reflects the leader, not the mission statement.
• 02:52 – The hard truth about replacing almost your entire workforce.
• 04:30 – When growth creates opportunity, but also real risk for owners.
• 06:36 – Why culture breaks once leaders stop being intentional.
• 08:47 – The “brand ambassador” role that changed everything.
• 11:03 – Why internal marketing beats external marketing every time.
• 16:34 – The link between employee experience and customer experience.
• 19:14 – Hiring for attitude over skill in HVAC and plumbing.
• 22:50 – What leaders must prepare for over the next decade.

Connect With Trey:

Website: https://www.bluecardinalhomeservices.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bluecardinalhsg

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trey-mcwilliams-161348158/

Support the Podcast:

If you found this episode insightful, please subscribe, share, and leave a review. Your support goes a long way in helping us bring more impactful discussions your way.

Most construction and home service companies want the same thing:

• Crews that move faster.
• Quality that stays high.
• Fewer callbacks.
• Techs who act like owners.

But if your technicians are paid hourly, your incentives are not aligned. Hourly pay rewards time, not outcomes.

In this episode of Titans of the Trades, Ryan Englin sits down with Ryan Shank, CEO of ShareWillow, to break down how incentive plans can drive the behavior construction leaders want without giving away equity.

Ryan explains what ShareWillow calls the “compensation layer of record.” It sits between your operational data (like ServiceTitan) and your payroll. It turns metrics like labor efficiency, callbacks, reviews, and average ticket into a simple scoreboard your team can actually understand.

You will also hear why most incentive plans fail. They get too complex. No one trusts the numbers. No one knows what they are earning. Motivation dies.

This conversation walks through a practical approach to incentive design that pays for itself. When technicians win, the business wins, and customers win.

If you lead a construction, HVAC, plumbing, restoration, or service business and you want higher output from the same headcount, this episode is for you.  

Key Takeaways 

• 00:00 – How to motivate technicians to think like owners without equity.
• 00:57 – Why hourly pay misaligns tech behavior with company goals.
• 01:40 – The win-win incentive model: faster jobs, better quality, better customer experience.
• 03:25 – Why leaderboards and scoreboards change behavior fast.
• 04:54 – “Effective hourly rate” and how it stops technicians from leaving for small raises.
• 06:23 – The origin story: why labor performance is the real growth constraint.
• 11:15 – Incentives should pay for themselves through improvements, not extra budget.
• 14:17 – What “acting like an owner” looks like inside a customer’s home.
• 20:11 – The massive gap between top performers and the bottom group, and why it matters.
• 25:43 – How ShareWillow builds plans from your data, benchmarks, and a metrics hub.

Connect With Ryan:

Website: https://www.sharewillow.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-shank-94508328/

Support the Podcast:

If you found this episode insightful, please subscribe, share, and leave a review. Your support goes a long way in helping us bring more impactful discussions your way.

In this episode of Titans of the Trades, host Ryan Englin sits down with Jonah Canter, a former tech start‑up strategist turned construction industry leader at Canter Construction, to explore what it takes to build a profitable trades business and one that you don’t have to live in 24/7. 

If you’re a construction executive in the blue‑collar space wrestling with recruiting, training, culture, growth, or breaking free from the truck yourself, you’ll want to tune in.

Jonah shares:

• How his startup background gave him a fresh lens on the trades.
• The marketing shift that enabled hiring better talent.
• Why hiring attitude beats skills and how he trains top people in eight weeks.
• The strategy of working on the business v. in the business.
• How to position your construction firm to market and recruit like a luxury brand.

Whether you’re a contractor who grew up in the field or someone new to the trades, this conversation delivers actionable insights to help you evolve your leadership and company.

Takeaways

• [00:46 ] Jonah’s background: startup world to construction and why he chose the trades.
• [04:13] How he built a lead‑generation pipeline via real estate agents rather than paid ads.
• [06:34] Why marketing your construction business like a luxury brand matters for recruiting and growth.
• [10:55 ] How a strong marketing presence helps attract high‑quality employees.
• [14:39] The principle: you can teach trade skills. You can’t force mindset or attitude.
• [16:11] Training a young estimator over eight weeks by shadowing, ride‑alongs, and conversation.
• [22:37] Building a culture: treating employees as adults, encouraging questions, avoiding yelling.
• [25:12] Creating a business that runs without you: stepping back, hiring smart, having systems.

Connect With Jonah:

Website: https://www.canterconstructionsc.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonah-canter-b581b89/

Support the Podcast:

If you found this episode insightful, please subscribe, share, and leave a review. Your support goes a long way in helping us bring more impactful discussions your way.

Insurance costs. Risk management. Communication gaps. Mental health challenges. In this episode of Titans of the Trades, host Ryan Englin sits down with Michael Culnen, Founder and CEO of Construction Concepts, to tackle the biggest operational blind spots in construction today. Michael brings decades of experience helping contractors build smarter insurance programs, strengthen internal communication, and protect both their balance sheets and their people.

You’ll discover why most contractors get taken advantage of at renewal, how communication breakdowns between the field and office slowly erode performance, and why mental health isn’t a “soft topic,” it’s a business issue. Michael breaks down real, actionable strategies you can begin applying this week, whether you lead a crew of 10 or 500.

If you’re tired of rising workers comp premiums, confusing insurance jargon, and teams working in silos, this episode is a must‑listen.

Compelling Takeaways:

• 00:00 – Why insurance really matters more than most contractors think.
• 02:35 – The worst time to discover you don’t have the right coverage (and how to avoid that trap).
• 04:37 – How Construction Concepts was built to solve real industry pain points.
• 07:00 – The misunderstanding most contractors have about comparing insurance quotes.
• 10:19 – When trust becomes complacency and how that costs you on renewals.
• 15:12 – A practical change to close the field‑to‑office communication gap contractors ignore.
• 18:54 – How mental health impacts your workforce and performance in construction.

Connect With Michael:

Website: https://constructionconcepts.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelsculnen/

Support the Podcast:

If you found this episode insightful, please subscribe, share, and leave a review. Your support goes a long way in helping us bring more impactful discussions your way.

Can you spot the future leaders on your team?

In this episode of Titans of the Trades, Ryan Englin sits down with John Snyder, CEO of Net Friends, to talk about the power of internal growth in the trades. John didn’t start Net Friends, he climbed his way up from an entry-level tech to CEO, and now he’s helping others do the same with a five-phase career path system that’s changing how companies retain and grow talent.

If you’re a construction business owner or blue collar leader who wants to stop losing your best people, this episode is packed with tools, values, and frameworks you can use today. From EOS implementation to developing leadership partnerships that work, John shares how he’s built a scalable and values-driven culture.

What You’ll Learn:

• How to identify and grow leadership from within your company.
• Why core values are your best people filter and how to keep them alive.
• How Net Friends built a thriving career path model that creates clarity and retention.

Key Takeaways with Timestamps:

• [03:00] John Snyder’s climb from entry-level tech to CEO of Net Friends.
• [06:00] The secret to a successful business partnership that lasts a decade.
• [10:00] The overlooked importance of celebrating employee milestones.
• [14:00] The 5 Behaviors of a cohesive executive team and how John unknowingly mastered them.
• [15:30] How EOS brought clarity and structure to their growing business.
• [17:00] Why the People Analyzer tool transformed their hiring and management strategy.
• [19:00] Net Friends’ core values explained and how they guide every decision.
• [27:00] A Slack channel that reinforces company values daily, without management oversight.
• [28:00] The five-phase career plan that keeps employees engaged and growing.
• [36:00] How to support “rock stars” who don’t want promotions but still want to contribute.

Connect With John:

Website: https://www.netfriends.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnsnyder-netfriends/

Support the Podcast:

If you found this episode insightful, please subscribe, share, and leave a review. Your support goes a long way in helping us bring more impactful discussions your way.

In this episode of Titans of the Trades, Ryan Englin welcomes Ben Kossow, the CEO of Riley Construction, for a powerful conversation about servant leadership, building culture from the job site up, and how process can create a safer, more productive, and more people-centered construction company.

Ben’s journey from entry-level project engineer to CEO is inspiring on its own, but what really stands out is his dedication to mentoring others, empowering frontline workers, and staying grounded in core values. You’ll hear how Riley Construction’s “in-step” system creates clarity on every project, how culture lives in job trailers as much as the boardroom, and why employee engagement is the next big opportunity in construction.

If you’re a construction leader ready to scale, invest in your team, and build a workplace people love, this is an episode you can’t miss.

Key Takeaways & Time Stamps:

• 00:58 – Meet Ben Kossow: From project engineer to CEO in 26 years.
• 03:21 – “Riley-tizing” systems: How Riley Construction customizes best practices into their own.
• 04:56 – Visual project management: Big Mac diagrams and the power of visual planning.
• 06:16 – Walking the trailer: What clients and tradespeople see that proves culture isn’t just talk.
• 07:55 – Safety through planning: How Riley’s lean approach proactively reduces risk.
• 10:03 – Defining culture: How Hi-Fi (Humility, Integrity, Flexibility, Initiative) drives everything.
• 12:36 – Mentoring the next generation: From youth camps to apprenticeships and site visits.
• 19:40 – Measuring engagement: How feedback loops are improving culture and retention.
• 24:40 – Listening in leadership: Why small changes (like better safety harnesses) create loyalty.
• 30:16 – Looking ahead: Why investing in people is the key to sustainable growth.

Connect With Ben:

Website: https://rileycon.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-kossow-leed-ap-aa187511/

Support the Podcast:

If you found this episode insightful, please subscribe, share, and leave a review. Your support goes a long way in helping us bring more impactful discussions your way.