The Blue Collar Future

Today I am joined by Jacob Godar. He is a landscaping professional in the midwest and Florida. He owns Scooters Lawn Care, where they do landscape maintenance as well as installs. He has a ton of insight for landscapers, and he also has a coaching group and corresponding podcast! The conversation with Jacob was awesome, and I hope you guys get as much out of it as I did. Follow Jacob on instagram @jacobgodar, @scooterslawncare. Find his coaching group and podcast, GrowComm, at Jacobgodar.com/grow-comm

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Those of you that know me or have listened for a while know that I have a business building websites with my wife. While this podcast is separate from that business as an entity and its message, I still have a lot to talk about and on when it comes to this topic and especially concerning the trades.

I have come up with 4 things that a website can do for you. And I hope this clears up some common questions I get about them.

I will also be covering a little bit about marketing and advertising, however we don't offer ads or in depth SEO at the moment and I plan on bringing someone on the podcast that can speak to it from their expertise.

1. 24 hour salesman: Imagine having someone working for you in sales, that is constantly working. That is your website. With a good website, you can bring in a lot of leads and even prequalify candidates. But with a bad or subpar website, it will almost turn someone away from working with you.

2. Showcase work and tell people what you do: I've talked a lot about social media showcasing your work and what you do, which is true, but it is mainly for catching peoples attention and getting them interested to then go to your website and get in depth information and pictures on previous projects

3. Prequalify Candidates: With a website, the sky is almost the limit. You can have a form built that allows project information to be entered by an interested customer, and based on their inputs, you can either allow them to automatically set up a call, give them a rough estimate, or even tell them that you don't take on projects of their size! This can cut down on the amount of phone calls and the questions asked when you do get them

4. Employee portal: This one is a little more advanced but I thought it was worth mentioning. You can get an employee portal built into your website that allows employees to track hours, see important information for safety and trainings, SOP's, etc.

I'll leave you with a quote I heard from Tom Reber to think about. And I'm paraphrasing here "Y'all will go out and spend 40, 50, 60k on a piece of equipment that makes money for your business. A tool. And then someone will quote you at 20k for a website and it'll blow your mind. A websites main job is to bring in leads, and to bring you jobs. To literally make you money. It is a tool, and for a business that a usual job is 20k+ for materials and labor, it sure makes a lot of sense to spend the money on a website that will bring you those jobs"

I hope you liked this episode and got something out of it

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You can follow us on instagram @bluecollarfuture and @jadenrrobison.

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Today I am joined by my friend Marko Ilicic. He flew in to Utah from New Jersey for the week and got in touch with me to come on the podcast. This is the first in person podcast I've done and we went quite a bit over time! I appreciated Marko being my guinea pig to test out how my podcast will work with this in person studio from Building Utah Youth. Marko is a substation electrical engineer in New Jersey and he does a lot of construction projects with his dad in his off time. Marko is from a family of immigrants of Croatian descent and the work ethic I've seen from him is incredible. On top of that, he is starting an apparel company called brave US. Taking heavy inspiration from Braveheart, and we've had some good conversations about what that means to live brave, and live free. You can find Marko on instagram @marko_ilicic and his apparel company @braveusapparel

If you like this episode, subscribe and share! Also leave a rating and review, it helps out a ton.

You can follow us on instagram @bluecollarfuture and @jadenrrobison.

Follow Building Utah Youth on instagram @buildingutahyouth

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The world right now is super stressful. Its hard to know what to think or what to do. Home life can be stressful, work, politics, the world, etc. On top of that, a lot of trade jobs can be very intense and physically demanding which often times leads to hightened arguments and fights. Its hard to know when enough is enough. I know I struggle with this in particular. Most of these situations arise from the high stress nature of the job, and other existential background circumstances there might be, along with the desire to do a good job. Something a coworker says might just not sound right in that moment and set you off. In this episode I go over 4 things to think about and do to manage your stress levels.

1. Understand The Cause: Physically demanding work, long hours, and hazardous conditions. These factors can lead to stress and burnout, which can impact both your physical and mental health.

2. Self-care: It's essential for you to take care of yourself. Prioritize your health. Eat a balanced diet, get enough rest, exercise regularly, and taking breaks throughout the workday can go a long way in managing stress.

3. Find some techniques for managing stress on the job: When working in physically demanding jobs, it can be challenging to manage stress while on the clock. Deep breathing, visualization, and meditation can be incorporated into a busy workday can help you alleviate stress in the moment. Take a moment to take a breather and understand that everything is not as serious as it seems. Its important to remember that when you get angry, a lot of it is due to stress and wanting to do a good job. Typically when stress levels are high, its easy to get angry and if you are in an argument with someone, remember that you both want the same thing

4. Create a positive work environment: Having a positive work environment makes stress management very easy. This is something that I struggle with and I know a lot of listeners do. Positive work environment can be the difference between an employee staying or leaving.

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You can follow us on instagram @bluecollarfuture and @jadenrrobison.

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Today I'm joined by Dylan Bain. A Financial advisor and coach with a wealthy amount of knowledge about money and the psychology behind it. I met Dylan at an event in maine in 2021 and had the privelege of hearing him speak at the same event in 2022. He has some powerful experiences and I was honored for him to come on. Managing money and finances in business is one of the hardest parts about running a business. Dylan came to speak from a background in a blue collar family. Money matters in the trades as much as anywhere else. You can find dylan on instagram @rejectdomestication and his business @fiscallysavage. He also has a podcast all about finances here Fiscally Savage Podcast! I hope you get something out of this episode. If you like it, subscribe and share. It helps a ton! Also, leave a rating and review!

Its obvious that the last few years have been rough for a lot of people. Construction has been through the roof but suppply chain problems, shortages and restrictions have made everything a pain. And now with the economic uncertainty going around, its fair to say that there is a lot going against people nowadays. Here are 5 things that are affecting the construction industry right now, and some things you can do about them. Some of them are a little obvious, but sometimes its just the reminder we need.

1. Labor shortages: There is a shortage of skilled labor in the construction industry, leading to increased competition for workers and higher labor costs. There are 384K jobs available just in construction. The Labor shortage in my opinion has been due to years of people pushing young kids to go to college, as well as the idea that a college degree is necessary for so many jobs. It is one of the single biggest problems with the workforce today. We are slowly coming to a place where that doesnt matter anymore. Start showcasing how good it can be to work in these jobs, and change the culture and we can attract more people.

1. Rising material costs: The cost of materials like lumber, steel, and concrete has been rising, which can impact construction budgets and schedules. Materials always rise, with the rise of inflation. The pandemic with the supply chain issues raised prices even more. Always make sure that you have material costs worked into your budget and contracts.

2. Technology advancements: New technologies like drones, 3D printing, and Building Information Modeling (BIM) are changing the way construction projects are designed, planned, and executed. A lack of awareness of new technologies could put you out of business as other companies will implement and you will be left behind. But this won't be an overnight development so start researching now, and implementing new tech into your trade. Theres something to be said about doing things the old fashioned way but with new technology

3. Project management challenges: Effective project management is critical to the success of construction projects, and there are many challenges involved in coordinating workers, materials, and equipment. Having people under you(or if you are in this position, yourself) to handle projects is crucial. Keep track of time, stay on top of scheduling people and plan for delays and problems.

4. Economic uncertainty: Economic uncertainty can impact construction projects, as businesses and governments may delay or cancel projects due to financial concerns. The best thing to do here is to move forward. Don't worry about it, keep spending, keep working. The moment you start worrying about an economic collapse, you pull back and slow down to conserve time and money, and when that happens you aren't out getting jobs and end up in a worse position. Our brains tend to lead us towards whatever we are focused on. Generally speaking you will feel the effects of an economic downturn more the more you focus on it

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In this episode Jaden is joined by Jake Moss. Jake is a general contractor in Arizona with a passion for construction. He aims to change people's mindset towards joining the trades. He shares his revenue goal of $3 million this year and his plans to hire more people to help expand and grow his business. He focuses on remodels, new custom homes, and small to medium commercial jobs, advertising through various channels to fill his pipeline daily. Jaden and Jake discuss the challenges of expanding a contracting business and the benefits of hiring employees to manage important tasks and grow the business. They acknowledge the difficulty of balancing work and family life but agree that expanding the business is necessary for success. Jake speaks to the importance of getting out of ones comfort zone.

I hope you like this episode, I know I did! You can find Jake on instagram @jakemossthebuilder and his company @m2industriesllc

In this solo episode Jaden discusses 5 reasons that everyone should be utilizing social media to build their personal or business brand. We tend to hear "brand" and automatically think business, however, your personal brand is just as important or more! It is who you are. The more recognition you have the better. Here are the 5 reasons you should use the social media to build it

1. Free!: Everyone knows how hard it is to manage bills and fronting a bunch of money for different things isn't always possible
2. Omniprescence: A top of mind awareness that people will have about you. When people see your posts all the time, you'll always have a top of mind awareness for things that pertain to you.
3. Quality of work: Great way to showcase the quality of the work you do. It doesn't matter if you're a business owner or an employee.
4. Client connection(networking): Networking with people and connecting with them is easier than ever.
5. Easy to use: The barrier to entry is so little, its surprising that people are sleeping on this!

The moral of the story is use this tool to push your brand and network. The more you mindlessly scroll, the more it is just controlling your time and energy.

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If you have a topic you want me to cover, DM me on instagram @jadenrrobison

Jaden is joined by Pat Daly, founder and president of Coastal Electric, a union electrical contractor in Boston. He started his electrical contracting company in 2018 with no business plan, no partners, no capital and no backlog of work. Coastal Electric is now a 50+ man electrical company doing over eight million dollars in sales and has consistently doubled in size since its conception. Pat is more than business owner that "got lucky"... there were many ups and downs through the past few years of building his business. He attributes his success to building a great team around him as well as keeping himself committed to working out and consistently learning how to expand his business, mindset and network. It has been an honor to get to know Pat. I hope you like this episode as much as I did. You can find him @daly_pat96 and his business @coastal_electric on instagram.

If you are interested in getting involved with the podcast, reach out to @jadenrrobison on instagram

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Welcome to the Blue Collar Future Podcast!

This show is all things trades related! There has been a shift away from Blue Collar work, but a trend back is starting

Its time to raise awareness to the importance of these jobs, as well as the benefits and stability!

We look into business and time management, health and fitness, technology integrations and more! To better prepare you for the future.