What if the biggest fix for your workforce shortage wasn’t another hire, but a training academy you built in-house?

In this episode of Titans of the Trades: Stories of How to Win from Construction Powerhouses, Ryan Englin talks with Danielle Wernert, Owner of Upskilled Consulting and a leader in trades education, about how home service contractors can develop their own internal universities, even if they’ve never done it before.

Danielle shares her story of going from an executive assistant to running one of the first home service academies in the industry, and how that experience evolved into helping businesses nationwide build training programs that actually work. You’ll learn how to fill your training classes, overcome tech resistance, and turn seasoned techs into effective mentors.

Whether you’re just getting started or ready to take your academy to the next level, this episode will give you a practical roadmap to launch, scale, and succeed.

Episode Takeaways

• [00:25] Danielle’s journey from executive assistant to industry training expert.
• [01:54] How she built one of the first in-house training academies in the home services space.
• [03:53] Why “ride-along training” is failing new hires, and what to do instead.
• [05:29] The critical mistake most companies make: not training the trainers.
• [07:21] What to do if you’re afraid to train because “they might leave.”
• [10:35] How gamified training boosts engagement and knowledge retention.
• [16:11] Capturing tribal knowledge before your top techs retire.
• [19:17] How to overcome team resistance to new training tech and processes.
• [23:07] How to fill your training classes - Danielle had 2,000 applicants for 43 seats.
• [26:32] Details on Danielle’s upcoming book and how to connect with her directly.

Connect With Danielle:

Website: https://upskilledconsulting.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-wernert/

Support the Podcast:

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What if the labor shortage in construction could be solved by tapping into a powerful, often overlooked workforce? In this episode of Titans of the Trades, Ryan Englin talks with industry leadership expert Dr. Gretchen Gagel, CEO and Founder of Greatness Consulting, about why bringing more women into construction isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s essential for the future of the trades.

Dr. Gagel shares her incredible journey from being disowned for studying engineering to leading multimillion-dollar construction projects and now authoring a groundbreaking book: Building Women Leaders. She opens up about unconscious bias, microaggressions, and how businesses can transform their culture to be more inclusive, respectful, and productive…for everyone.

If you’re serious about building a sustainable workforce and evolving leadership in the trades, this episode is your blueprint.

Episode Takeaways:

• [00:16] Why Gretchen left a Harvard acceptance to study engineering and never looked back.
• [02:01] What inspired Building Women Leaders, and why it’s not just for women.
• [04:47] Understanding unconscious bias and how it shows up on job sites and in hiring.
• [08:36] Tips for recognizing and reducing unconscious bias in your company.
• [14:31] Is construction getting better for women? Here's what the data says.
• [16:52] What makes women in the trades feel exhausted and how leadership can change it.
• [17:27] The small ways male allies can make a big difference in workplace culture.
• [20:38] Advice for aspiring women leaders entering the trades.
• [24:28] How construction businesses can take real steps toward inclusion and representation.

Connect With Dr. Gagel:

Website: https://gretchengagel.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gretchen-gagel/

Book: https://www.amazon.com/Building-Women-Leaders-Blueprint-Construction/dp/1394251386

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 investing in your employees' personal dreams actually improve performance and company culture?

In this powerful episode of Titans of the Trades, Ryan Englin sits down with Collin Jewett, Dream Manager at The Annex Group, to talk about what it really means to care for your people. Collin shares how his role, focused solely on helping employees pursue their personal goals, is transforming team morale, engagement, and retention in the construction and property management space.

They dive into the logistics of running a Dream Manager program, how to scale it, and why you don’t need a big budget to start creating space for personal growth in your workplace.

Whether you’re in construction, the trades, or any people-first business, this episode will challenge you to rethink leadership.

Episode Takeaways:

• [00:32] What is a Dream Manager and how does it fit in a construction company?
• [01:31] From engineer to employee advocate: Collin's journey into coaching and development.
• [05:09] How The Annex Group launched its Dream Manager program and how it actually works.
• [07:48] Why separating job performance from personal goals matters more than you think.
• [08:38] The first step any company can take to implement a Dream Manager mindset.
• [12:25] The simple metrics that show if your team is really growing.
• [15:03] What triggered leadership at The Annex Group to invest in this initiative.
• [17:38] Managing relationships with 130+ employees.
• [22:35] Why presence matters more than strategy.

Connect With Collin:

Website: https://www.theannexgrp.com/

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

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.

Is your CRM slowing down your sales team? In this episode of Titans of the Trades, Ryan Englin reconnects with Adam Honig, CEO of Spiro.ai, to explore why traditional CRMs are broken, especially for industries like construction and manufacturing. They dive into how AI is transforming the sales process by capturing tribal knowledge, reducing manual data entry, and making your salespeople more productive without sacrificing the human touch.

Adam shares the story behind Spiro’s creation, inspired by the film Her, and how AI-driven automation is solving real-world problems that construction and manufacturing leaders face every day - from sales team retirements to labor shortages and lack of customer data transparency.

If you're in construction, manufacturing, or any blue collar industry that relies on people and relationships to close deals, this is a must-listen.

Episode Takeaways:

• [01:38] Adam introduces Spiro.ai and why it's not your typical CRM.
• [03:53] How AI helps automate the parts of sales everyone hates, like data entry and follow-ups.
• [06:00] A generational shift: younger leaders are driving AI adoption in manufacturing.
• [07:58] The tribal knowledge crisis - how AI can capture what your retiring sales team knows.
• [09:32] Spiro as the Iron Man suit for your sales team.
• [11:31] How Spiro pulls from emails, meetings, and ERP data to surface smart recommendations.
• [13:02] Balancing automation with the human touch in relationship-driven industries.
• [17:09] The future of AI in business communication: Think Star Trek, not spreadsheets.
• [20:27] How AI might collaborate across companies to solve problems more proactively.
• [22:48] Where to connect with Adam and explore Spiro’s anti-CRM platform.

Connect With Adam:

Website: https://spiro.ai/

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

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.

What if the difference between your best month ever and losing a loyal customer came down to one phone call?

In this episode, Ryan sits down with David Powers, a Chief Experience Officer at Rooter Hero Plumbing and CX Riot Radio host, to dig into how most home service companies get call centers wrong - and how it’s costing them more than they think. 

David shares what he’s learned from decades running call centers (starting at age 17!) and now leading the ultra-efficient, ultra-human customer support engine at Rooter Hero.

You’ll learn:

• Why treating employees better always leads to better customer service.
• What a 5-minute response window does for conversion rates.
• How real-time data (even on a smartwatch!) is changing the game.
• The biggest mistake small shops make when it comes to incoming leads.
• And what AI should (and shouldn’t) be doing in your service business.

If you think having “just one CSR” means these lessons don’t apply to you, think again. David’s insights prove this stuff matters whether you have 1 tech or 100.

Connect With David:

Website: https://rooterhero.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidjpowers2/

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 Carl Veillette, CPO at Newforma. Carl dives deep into his journey from architecture to leading innovation in construction software. Discover how he's helping blue collar teams modernize without losing their roots.

Carl shares the real challenges of merging startups with legacy companies, the importance of cross-platform collaboration between job sites and offices, and how Newforma is building a Google-style search engine for construction knowledge. This is a must-listen for anyone in construction, engineering, or leadership roles looking to future-proof their operations.

Connect With Carl:

Website: https://www.newforma.com/

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

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.

Joe Crisara, known as "Uncle Joe" in the trades, went from being $471,000 in debt to building one of the most respected coaching businesses for service contractors. 

In this episode, Joe, America’s Service Sales Coach at Service MVP, shares the hard lessons he learned as a contractor, the moment a customer changed his life, and how tiered pricing transformed his business. 

If you're tired of running on low margins or struggling to close deals, this is the conversation you've been waiting for. Joe unpacks premium, mid-range, and economy pricing strategies that actually convert - and shows you how to emotionally connect with customers so they want to buy. 

This one’s packed with game-changing insight.

Connect With Joe

Website: https://servicemvp.com/

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

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.

What happens when homeowners start expecting HVAC quotes with Amazon-level speed? In this episode of Titans of the Trades, Ryan Englin sits down with Josh Koplin, Co-Founder of EDEN, to talk about the seismic shifts hitting the residential HVAC industry.

Josh shares how EDEN’s instant quoting tool is flipping the script, giving consumers the transparency they crave while delivering more qualified leads to contractors. But it’s more than just software. Josh dives deep into modern buying behavior, why traditional sales models are breaking down, and how AI-driven search is about to upend local SEO as we know it.

If you're a contractor wondering how to adapt to the new digital-first customer, or you’re trying to stay competitive in the face of AI disruption, this episode is packed with insights you can’t afford to miss.

Connect With Josh:

Website: https://www.e-denhomes.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-koplin-57654230/

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 business owners are great at building things, but not at building wealth. In this episode, Ryan Englin talks with Aaron Mills, Founder and CEO of DAAXIT, a firm helping contractors clean up their financials and scale smarter. 

Aaron shares how he took an electrical contractor from $30M to $90M and sold it at a 12x multiple, then realized most construction companies don’t even know if they’re profitable.

Aaron also explains:

• The #1 financial tool contractors overlook.
• Why rollercoaster profits signal inaccurate books.
• How one client cut 50% of their workload and saved their marriage.

If you’re running your business off your bank balance or waiting until tax season to know how you did last year, this conversation is for you. Learn what a WIP schedule is, why your net income might be lying to you, and how a fractional CFO can help you work less and make more.

If you want to build a business that supports your lifestyle, not swallows it, this is your episode.

Connect With Aaron:

Website: https://daaxit.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-mills-11902272/

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.

What does it take to build a thriving business from the ground up and successfully pass it to the next generation? Elvin Hurst Sr., Founder of Kountry Kraft, shares his incredible journey - from milking cows on the family farm to running a custom cabinetry business with over 100 employees. 

In this episode, Elvin Sr. reveals:

• The Christmas gift that launched his business.
• How he maintained quality craftsmanship through decades of change.
• His secrets to hiring and retaining great employees in a shifting job market.
• What it takes to transition a business to the next generation.

Visit the Website: https://www.kountrykraft.com/

If you're a business owner looking to grow, lead, or transition your company to family members, this episode is a must-listen!

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.