The Builder Nuggets Podcast

Conversations have the power to inspire, engage-and even entertain. From late night talk show hosts to award-winning podcasters, great conversationalists can move an audience to laughter or tears, action or stillness, and always keep the crowd wanting more. And so can you.

Show Highlights:

• How watching your favorite movie magnetizes your ideal audience (7:23)
• The single greatest "skill" which transforms you into a great leader (10:10)
• The communication trap to avoid at all costs while you bridge the gap between the multi-generational workforce (18:58)
• How to "thrive" in your professional and personal life (and why it is not a one-size-fits-all magic formula) (30:44)
• Why helping others who are suffering can instantly bring you out of a dark place and rejuvenate you (33:17)
• Alternative tricks to avoid burning out (that does not involve meditation or mindfulness) (34:01)
• How simple conversations lead to life-long, mutually beneficial connections (38:30)
• A simple formula for preventing outbursts during heated emotional discussions (42:08)

To learn more about Lou Diamond visit https://www.thriveloud.com

To connect with Duane, Dave, or one of our show guests head over to https://buildernuggets.com and join our active community of like-minded builders and remodelers.

Show Highlights:

• How being on-the-job earns the respect and admiration of your co-workers (14:00)
• Why building relationships helps aspiring builders jump right in and lead a thriving business (even if you don't have an in) (19:50)
• The single most important thing a legacy builder hesitates to give up as they contemplate passing the torch (24:20)
• How to avoid sacrificing quality when you move from a hands-on, craftsman approach to a long-term management operation. (27:26)
• Why the "touch everything" model hampers growth and prevents you from increasing volume. (28:30)
• How to avoid being a commodity with a simple common-sense idea (you are already doing anyway.) (31:30)
• The biggest fear your founder secretly has when business grows too fast (and how you can effectively deal with it) (32:03)
• How to convince your team you can run the show (even when you have far less experience) (33:30)
• How to give your trades people more responsibilities and why they might enjoy the extra work (33:30)
• How a simple tactical change can save you from taking redundant phone calls all day long (38:06)

To connect with Duane, Dave, or one of our show guests head over to https://buildernuggets.com and join our active community of like-minded builders and remodelers.

Brad Leavitt is our guest on this episode. He is President and Founder of "A Finer Touch Construction" - a Scottsdale based luxury residential and commercial builder. AFT Construction, is known throughout the industry, as an award-winning construction firm and has been nationally published in magazines such as: Fine HomeBuilding, Luxe Interiors and Design, and Professional Builder.

Show Highlights Include:

• How simply asking more questions turns any construction project into a collaborative effort (4:53)
• The "60% Rule" for determining if you should delegate your responsibilities (6:35)
• Why fearing your competitors may prevent your business from growing (11:25)
• Don't be afraid to have some fun and make fun of yourself. It may just open up a world of new business opportunities (18:17)
• Build new relationships and find new clients by playing basketball and golfing (21:28)
• The social media secret for attracting and building a relationship with clients years before speaking to them (24:29)
• How to create an army of "Silent Salesmen" who promote your construction company for free (29:26)

If you'd like to connect with Brad, you can visit his website here: https://www.atfconstruction.com/. For more info on the next Contractors Coalition Summit visit this link: http://contractorcoalitionsummit.com/

To connect with Duane, Dave, or one of our show guests head over to https://buildernuggets.com and join our active community of like-minded builders and remodelers.

Sparking Interest in Construction & Maker Trades for Career-Choosing Women & Girls. She Built This City's mission is to provide industry disruptive programming that sparks interest and builds pathways to lucrative careers in the skilled trades for youth, women and marginalized communities.

Show Highlights Include:

• Why marketing construction careers as an artistic trade will magnetize future talent to the industry (7:35)
• How the culture in construction companies repels women away from it (and how to fix this) (11:03)
• The powerful "Trick and Trading" secret for exciting young kids about the construction industry (13:09)
• A high schooler made $1,000 a month operating drones (and how this opens the door to the construction industry) (15:25)
• How to help more women enter construction (32:09)

If you'd like to connect with and support She Built This City, you can find their website here: https://shebuiltthiscity.org/

To connect with Duane, Dave, or one of our show guests head over to https://buildernuggets.com and join our active community of like-minded builders and remodelers.

As a small business owner/builder there are always new challenges to face and overcome. Jennifer Hoffman shares with us her journey and growth over the last two years.

Show highlights Include:

• How to position yourself for growth (even during times of record-breaking inflation) (4:40)
• How to avoid stretching yourself too thin as the price of material and labor skyrockets (7:55)
• How to guide client's expectations and manage overhead at the same time. (10:30)
• What to include in your preliminary estimate before signing a contract to ensure a happy relationship with your client (17:16)
• How to effectively pivot between a cost-plus and fixed price business model to better position yourself in today's environment (18:35)
• Two reasons why hanging out with other peer groups can fast track your success (and where to find them) (30:40)

To connect with Jenny you can reach her at www.jhoffmanstudio.com

To connect with Duane, Dave, or one of our show guests head over to https://buildernuggets.com and join our active community of like-minded builders and remodelers.

Over the last 4 decades, The Great Game of Business has built a community of businesses that are committed to a better life for themselves and for their employees. People often tell us The Great Game of Business sounds wonderful, but they want to know if it really works. Will it work in a retail business, a Fortune 500 company, a union shop, or a nonprofit? The answer is a simple, yes. Any organization whose performance can be measured with financial statements can play The Great Game of Business. From one guy working in his basement to multinational corporations, The Game will work anywhere, provided you want it to work.

Show Highlights Include:

• The ancient business "secret" first discovered in 1494 responsible for the success of every business (8:19)
• The sneaky "forecast trick" which gamifies business for your teammates and unlocks another level of commitment from them (9:10)
• 3 keys for a great incentive program which ensures your team gets more bonuses (without paying out any unearned bonuses) (14:05)
• How to build a rockstar team of efficient and dependable leaders by asking them a few questions (21:19)
• The "Co-Invest Method" for scaling your business to unprecedented success alongside your best leaders in your company (27:02)
• Why reading this book protects your wallet and sanity whenever negative news cycles rear their ugly heads ( 36:38)

If you'd like to connect with Steve and become a Great Game practitioner, check out their website at https://www.greatgame.com

And you can get free goodies that will transform your business and life by going to https://www.greatgame.com/steve

To connect with Duane, Dave, or one of our show guests head over to https://buildernuggets.com and join our active community of like-minded builders and remodelers.

Show Highlights Include:

• Why having no background in real estate development gives your construction company an unfair advantage (7:02)
• The weird way starting (and growing) a business in a recession is a blessing in disguise (9:00)
• The "School District" secret for never running out of new buyers (10:52)
• Why cultural fit is the #1 best way to find the perfect teammates to grow your business (even if they're under qualified) (25:46)
• Why the remodeling business will boom over the next few years (31:35)

If you'd like to connect with Jenny and the Icon Builders Group, you can visit their website at https://www.icon-group.com/.

To connect with Duane, Dave, or one of our show guests head over to https://buildernuggets.com and join our active community of like-minded builders and remodelers.

New England Design & Construction Founder and CEO discusses what it really means to be an Architect in today's world, and how we can change history to build a brighter future for the industry.

Show highlights include:

• The existing builder/architect relationship is set up to be adversarial (2:01)
• How an 1800s group of architects created the current status quo of building (and how you can improve it) (4:44)
• It's not about picking sides it's about how do we collaborate and communicate better (8:22)
• The odd way builders have lost their social status—and how our industry can get it back (8:34)
• The systemic reason why builders have a bad reputation—how it leaves clients worse off (17:29)
• A simple word-for-word script that makes your projects more successful for the architect, the client and yourself. (25:55)
• How to educate clients and architects on your value as a builder. (32:18)

If you'd like to connect with David Supple you can find him at www.nedesignbuild.com

To view his short video visit: https://youtu.be/bWUkAc66Q-4

To connect with Duane, Dave, or one of our show guests head over to https://buildernuggets.com and join our active community of like-minded builders and remodelers.

Show Highlights Include:

• The "Scrum Method" for managing every project in your company (without any project devolving into chaos) (5:50)
• How to add more cognitive diversity into every project in your construction company (without wasting everyone's time) (12:22)
• Why unleashing a project's chaos onto a board helps every teammate tackle their responsibilities with clarity (20:35)
• How a visual system for project management ensures everybody knows where a project stands and what needs to be done (22:07)
• How to reduce your number of project-destructing "grenades" to zero (24:07)
• The "Backlog" trick for only working on important tasks instead of putting out fires every day (26:08)

If you'd like to connect with John, you can visit Alair Homes Calgary on Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/alaircalgary/ or Byron Brooks' page here: https://www.instagram.com/byron_brooks_yyc.

To connect with Duane, Dave, or one of our show guests head over to https://buildernuggets.com and join our active community of like-minded builders and remodelers.

Show Highlights Include:

• A peaking inflation rate could come as soon as Q3 this year (6:07)
• Housing construction growth will decline in the near term (14:54)
• Why the housing cycle is bending—but not breaking (and how to take advantage of it) (17:41)
• How the economic slowdown will help ease inflation and supply chain problems (23:58)
• The insidious reason you risk losing 30% of your workforce this year (and how to prevent it) (25:06)

If you'd like to stay up-to-date with Conner and ITR's economic forecasts, visit their website at https://itreconomics.com/.

To connect with Duane, Dave, or one of our show guests head over to https://buildernuggets.com and join our active community of like-minded builders and remodelers.