The Construction Life

What an amazing show we have today, Bethany King, threw herself into real estate after being laid off a job she loved, quitting a safe, secure, soul sucking federal government job, realizing as a millennial she needs to make more money to be able to buy her own home one day, she asked herself several questions and went searching for all the answers. Then came Tik Tok and she used the platform to build her network and in turn create sales, all the while never selling herself. She focused on sharing what she was learning with anyone and everyone that would listen and relate to her as a single mom. As we all know there are so many of us in the exact same real estate, mortgage approval, making ends meet, boat.

Don’t miss this great show and we promise you, the insight on this show will make you move your ass and go after what you deserve to have in your life.

Bethany shares so much and she knew that she needed to increase her income in a short amount of time, that way she can look a lot better on paper when it came time to apply for that mortgage. She brings up a huge point that has been shared on this show several times, Gen Z and Millennials are using today’s tech-based platforms to create wealth, they are looking at NFT’s, Crypto and more and they are doing the research and figuring out the opportunities.

Tik Tok. First thing to do is consume what’s out there, forget the polished IG world and focus on you, your personality, real you, that’s who is building a great following. She began by sharing her every day, what’s going on in her professional life, showing followers her deals and what she did to make those deals and the income attached to that deal. Then came the questions and questions create future posts, you never have a shortage of content ideas because your following will feed the content train for you. Basically, show the world with your actions. Bethany uses social and works the behind-the-scenes actions to benefit her, she uses her pillars, 3-5 of who you are, she focuses on 5 key hashtags that connect her to her current followers and new potential followers and the algorithm works for her.

With the pandemic coming to an end, well an end to everyone that has had enough, Bethany is suggesting buyers look at getting back into the condo market, it’s because people are going out again and downtown has all the things you want to do. Not the same for homes, still way too expensive and the approvals are even more difficult to achieve.

Bethany doesn’t spend a dollar on traditional ways of advertising and promoting, she use today’s tech and it has worked very well for her. The best way to run your business is to act like you’re not running your business.

Shared and Discussed Links

https://zapier.com

Thank You so much Bethany for sharing so much. Find Bethany at the following @bethanyxking on Tik Tok and IG and www.king-realestate.ca and contact Bethany on her email at [email protected]

Want to reach out to Manny, text him on his mobile, 416 433-5737 and or email him at [email protected] or [email protected] Please let him know who you are and then ask away.

TCL has and always will be about giving back to the construction industry.

On with the show, Fix It Friend with Jeremy Ross next level of Handyman Services. 6 years in construction after studying and working in the mechanical engineer field, he had enough of the office environment and wanted to get his hands dirty, that is how Fix It Friend began. Of course, Jeremy had some concerns, lack of confidence if he would be accepted into the industry and would establish tradespeople share, we all went through that, that’s the beauty of construction, it truly is a community, and we want to help others. Ultimately every older tradesperson knows they need to pass on these lessons because there are more leaving then entering this industry.

Jeremy and his right-hand person Jessica have perfected the Fix It Friend system, from people leaving an inquiry on the website, submitting a scope of work, assessing things, arriving on site and fixing it for them. Most clients are just so happy to have someone there to take care of things. At times there could be a little bit of tension with significant others who either tried to fix it or has no idea how to fix it but Jeremy understands how to involved the clients enough that it becomes a collaborative effort. Over the years Jeremy has built a solid list of tradespeople and other professionals that he can reach out to get 2nd opinion and tradespeople are always willing to share with him, adding more value to his business and his clients.

Passion vs Profit comes up again, it’s been gaining a lot of interest and Jeremy brings up some amazing points, it’s an important conversation that everyone in this industry should be having on a daily basis.

About a year into Fit It Friend Jeremy had the passion and desire for a workshop, and he came across an opportunity, he called it The Hub TO. Jeremy came across a 6000 sq ft abandoned unit and found the owner, worked out a deal to lease it, he spilt up the place into 11 separate units for a community of makers, a woodworker, a hairdresser, an actor and so on. He’s been able to fill 10 of the 11 units and he’s created something that’s so valuable to everyone in our industry and I suggested you should open another, open it in the west end. What an amazing idea. Towards the end of the show the conversation gets very interesting, we discuss the next generation, parenting failing on making construction an attractive career choice, the construction cap when it comes to making money, immigrants from the 60’s to today providing for their big families, where homes, kids futures, cars, weddings were all paid for by hardworking tradespeople.

Please leave a google review for Jeremy and his team and please support his small business.

Shared and Discussed Links

https://www.kitchenfix.ca

https://www.thehubto.com

https://www.instagram.com/tc.installations.inc/

https://www.instagram.com/marescarpentry/

https://www.instagram.com/fabio.andrade51/

Thank You so much Jeremy for sharing so much. Find Jeremy at the following @fixitfriend on IG and www.fix-it-friend.com and contact Jeremy on his email at [email protected]

TCL has and always will be about giving back to the construction industry.

We open the show with a few shout outs to the many tradespeople that reach out on social, emails and through the industry. Thank you everyone for making the show the huge success it is as we make our way to over 1 million downloads. I have always said it is all because of our guests and the tens of thousands of listeners. Thank you so much.

This show is all about the numbers behind running a construction business and Kyle, a 29-year-old has a lot of great advice for the young and old tradespeople in this amazing industry. Kyle a George Brown graduate has been in business for 8-9 years, began his career with a partner, that lasted a couple of years. From there he began 2X2 Construction and it’s a family business. In the beginning Kyle found it difficult to reach out to other trades to ask any question, gain any knowledge in fear of being dismissed. The good people in construction will always make time to reply, focus on the good, ignore the self-centered social media fame driven trades, the renoactors, the tourists.

We get right into it.

Accounting

Payment Schedules

Contracts

Change Orders

Scope of Work

Allowances

Job Costing

Employees

Cash Flow Projections

Next Hire

New Tools

Company Vehicles

Company Growth

Markup vs Margin and Kyle shares quite a lot how he designed his graphs behind his numbers and well worth having a close listen and even reach out to Kyle.

Shared and Discussed Links

Made an error discussing a recent chat I had with Bob Peel from Brafssco, I apologize I called hi Bob Foot, no idea why. Anyway, Bob will be on the show and he has a lot to share about building a building, building a brand and loads of info on marketing and sales, watch for a future show with him. I worked with Bob way back in my marketing days and just so happen that Kurt Snell of @karpenter24 reconnected us after he did an amazing reno project at Bob’s home.

Thank You so much Kyle so much for sharing so much. Find Kyle and his team at the following @2x2construction on IG and www.2x2construction.ca and contact Kyle on his email at [email protected]

Want to reach out to Manny, text him on his mobile, 416 433-5737 and or email him at [email protected] or [email protected] Please let him know who you are and then ask away.

Find Carlito @theconstructionliferenos and reach out to him at [email protected]

Reach out to Joe and Trevor at the following info. www.venturesxcanada.ca find them on Social Media @venturesxoakville reach them at 289 644-2393 and email [email protected]

TCL has and always will be about giving back to the construction industry.

Something a little different on the show, the worktables are being turned around, Greg and his brother Justin from Generation Construction, 1.5 years into the business of being a GC are going to ask Manny questions about all kinds of scenarios that we GC’s go through on the daily. We are going to bring up a lot of things and some you may not want to hear but it should be spoken, as you know construction social media has always been about filters and everyone only discussing the good, at TCL we talk about the good, the bad and the downright nasty parts of the construction life.

Welcome to the Mentorship show.

How do we overcome the insecurities of construction?

How do you get over negative situations?

How to start the day?

Where can you find the greater support, through close friends and family over strangers?

How considering new trades, what to avoid when looking to hire and expand?

Are you properly assessing your business?

Can you over invest into your business?

We discuss profit, what percentage should you be after?

How much time should you give a new potential client?

How much should you spend on advertising?

How many quotes should you be working on?

Why are you in this business? Price vs Passion?

Partnerships are they good or bad?

Why did you choose construction as your career?

Where did you love for construction come from?

Why are tradespeople client’s therapist?

We discuss legal situations for every contractor

Employees or sub-contractors?

Why do contractors want to take on so much work? Will it make you more profitable?

Are you making more money because you have a lot of work?

Will there be a recession later this year or early next year?

Material costs keep going up, what can we do about it?

Planning for retirement?

Working on suppliers and building better relationships

How to handle call backs

The competition vs the community of construction

Can you be a millionaire if you’re a contractor?

Every single tradesperson in construction should have a side hustle.

Shared and Discussed Links

https://www.instagram.com/roseridgebuilders/

https://www.instagram.com/binsplus_disposal_solutions/

https://www.instagram.com/thetileguy.gta/

https://www.instagram.com/pound4poundframers/

https://www.graphis.com

https://sanremobakery.com

Thank you Greg and Justin. Find Generation Construction at the following @generationconltd on IG and www.generationconstructionltd.com and contact Greg on his email at [email protected]

Reach out to Joe and Trevor at the following info. www.venturesxcanada.ca find them on Social Media @venturesxoakville reach them at 289 644-2393 and email [email protected]

TCL has and always will be about giving back to the construction industry.

Brock from Advanced Property Solutions is back on the show, check out his first appearance on TCL Show #153, and this time he has brought a new friend, Dalton Cousineau from Southpaw Stoneworks and we are going to be talking Brocks first year as a GC and how Dalton is taking masonry and stone skills to new levels.

New Podcast to check out – Michelle Farrugia has been on TCL twice now and she’s doing her own podcast called Cognitive Capital Podcast and find it on iTunes, Spotify and YouTube, great show about finance, real estate and entrepreneurship.

We open the show with a few shout outs and then discuss the rising fuel costs but not in a negative, at TCL we present where all these fuel costs are coming from, who has their hands in the cookie jar.

On with the show, it begins with Dalton sharing how he began at 5 years of age and he has Lego to thank for his interest in stone work. His grandfather is the one that pushed him, encouraged him, and gave him and hour to pick up the skill. Dalton doesn’t really consider himself a mason, he looks at his skills more of a stonesmith artist. An interesting question comes up, our guests today are mid 20’s, we ask what do you think you will be like 25 years from now? It’s important to take care of your body and mind and maintain a healthy lifestyle is what Dalton shares. Brock shares what his first year as a GC has been and he recently hired a 3rd full time person to the crew. Things are good for him.

We discuss the difference between handyman and professional tradesperson, conversation get’s interesting here. Brock and Dalton share an estimate that they were both going to do and in the end they decided to walk away from being involved, basically the client wanted a handyman price but a professional scope of work. They share that the client wanted the detailed work to be done for 75% less than they were quoting, when a client speaks to you that way, walk and walk fast.

We bring up Recession Depression talk and discuss how the last two years has been great for construction and we are hoping that everyone in construction has been working just as hard on the business as on the tools, in preparation for a possible recession or even worse the next great depression. Are tradespeople buying fewer tools? Maintaining their current tools? Looking to sell tools they don’t really use? There is something going on and for good reason.

The conversation gets gritty with discussing the future of construction and trying to figure out why trades are so quick to want to get higher, bigger without learning all that they can. Where they step into what Brock calls, the “analyse paralysis”. Dalton ends the show with his thoughts on sharing insight to other trades, “fear is tasty” jump in with both feet and make it happen.

Shared and Discussed Links

Book - The Bitcoin Standard by Saifedean Ammous

Book – Beat the Bank by Larry Bates

https://www.tremcosealants.com/markets/residential/weather-resistive-barrier-systems/enviro-dri/enviro-dri/

Thank you Brock and Dalton. Find Brock and Advanced Property Solutions or APS at the following @advancedpropertysolutions on IG and advancedps.ca on FaceBook www.advancedps.ca and contact Brock on his email at [email protected] for your next project. Find Dalton and Southpaw Stoneworks at the following www.southpawstoneworks.com [email protected] and his IG @southpawstoneworks

TCL has and always will be about giving back to the construction industry.

What a show we have today!! Let’s discuss a new product that has changed the way you consider cladding and decking, we have Constantine (Kosta) Karolidis, the GM and he shares how it all began and how it’s going.

But first, a few shout outs and a lovely story about a lazy and talentless renoactor.

On with the show.

Kosta runs us through this new product to Canada and the many benefits attached to working and designing with it. Kosta literally dove into this business, upon graduating from university, the day after, his Dad asks him, so when are you getting a job? He secures employment with Rinomato Group and from there got into New Tech Wood and like most of us in construction he had a labour shortage trying to build the brand, this was the beginning of Covid and nobody wanted to work, Kosta began asking his university friends, lawyers and programmers in training to help him out.

New Tech Wood is in 55 different countries, Canada is the largest growing market right now. With so many colors, styles of cladding, fencing, and decking, use the product inside and out. Kosta also discusses that they can make color match bird houses, chairs, all kinds of furniture and other custom pieces so your entire design can match.

Green book talk and we discover the fines attached to making too much noise and a table saw can get as high as 150 Decibels and when you factor in that an ear drum can rupture at 150 DB.

One of our fav and constant topics comes up again, millennials and is the stereotype still out there? Kosta shares some insight and of course, Manny and Carlito add to the talk.

Shared and Discussed Links

https://torinodrywall.ca

https://countryhomes.ca

https://rinomatogroup.com

https://vellamo.com

https://www.bromonlumber.ca

https://reliabuild.ca

What an amazing show with Kosta, Thank you. Find him on IG @newtechwoodcanada and [email protected] and the website is www.newtechwood.ca

Want to reach out to Manny, text him on his mobile, 416 433-5737 and or email him at [email protected] or [email protected] Please let him know who you are and then ask away.

Find Carlito @theconstructionliferenos and reach out to him at [email protected]

TCL has and always will be about giving back to the construction industry.

Part Five –50–59-year-olds. #FitnessFridays with Dimitri Giankoulas

Our last show of this series and Dimitri gets right into it. Yes, you still need to be active, but at these ages you need to be careful on the level of active. At this age there are a lot of failing body parts and putting too much stress on joints can create bigger problems, especially since older people don’t heal as quickly. Functional strength is what you are after at this age, learning to improve your mobility from everyday movements, getting up from the floor, lifting from a chair, twisting, and all of this stems from pain.

Spinal Hygiene Exercises – A T W Y that Dimitri has discussed on each of these shows. Working with a The TRX System, also known as Total Resistance Exercises, refers to a specialized form of suspension training that utilizes equipment developed by former U.S. Navy SEAL Randy Hetrick.

We discuss as one gets older getting to an extreme overweight is dangerous and it should always begin with a full assessment, the data, from there the proper coach can learn the best course of action to achieve their goals.

Diet is critical, if you haven’t built up your life with proper healthy details from your 40’s to your 50’s to your 60’s your body isn’t thermo genetically active, it takes your body at that age longer to process the foods. Anyone that is overweight means no carbs for breakfast, it’s like overfilling a half glass of water. Eating carbs for breakfast will only store it and convert it into sugar and it becomes more fat. As for lunch, it’s the same at any age, protein, carb, and fat. For dinner, eliminate the carb and focus on the protein and a little bit of fat.

Exercise, Dimitri can tell what you have been doing for decades simply by looking at your side profile, no ass and hamstrings, means weakness in the lower back, means you have not been doing any lower body movements and that needs to change, you will require those two key areas for mobility. The conversation of mental health comes up, at that age mental health is important. Training will help; the injection of dopamine will help. Depression kicks in when people are not happy. Dimitri’s coach would always say, Growth or Decay, which one are you?

Reach out to Dimitri and consider getting a coach to help you live a healthy longer life.

Mind Set, Nutrition, Training, and Trouble Shooting.

Check out his app on Apple and Android

Shared and Discussed Links

https://www.trxtraining.com

What an amazing show full of truth, pain, fitness, health, exercises and more, I thank you so much Dimitri for sharing so much on your life for our construction lives, educating our listeners on everything to do with your body, mind, and soul. Thank you. Find him on IG @puremotivationalfitness and @dimitrigiankoulas and contact him for your next exercise booking at [email protected] and his website is www.puremotivationalfitness.com and find his YouTube channel at Pure Motivational Fitness where he shows you key details to live a happy, healthy construction life.

Want to reach out to Manny, text him on his mobile, 416 433-5737 and or email him at [email protected] or [email protected] Please let him know who you are and then ask away.

Part Four –50–59-year-olds. #FitnessFridays with Dimitri Giankoulas

This show begins with life stresses, as you get older, you have challenging moments in life, a divorce, separation, loss of a parent or parents, loss of employment and how this can affect your health, mentally and physically. At 50 you need to ask yourself are you doing this for your kids or yourself? Yes, you need to be a role model for your children, but you also have to be selfish, I am 50 now, I want to live a high-quality life for the next 30 plus years, that requires discipline and work.

Heart Health, stress contributes to bad heart health, I’ve got all these things happening, life, do I get drinking, taking up vices and hurting myself and others or do I jump into exercise, but where do I begin? It all begins with data, your foundation, where are you at right now? Actual work, begin with Calisthenics, that will allow your body to build, adapt, and grow, again, calisthenics are exercises that use your own body weight. Dimitri discusses proportions, he wants the 50’s to work the back more than the front, 60/40 split and it’s because the world is designed for the back, pull and push actions throughout our day.

Adaptation is a beautiful thing for the human body. Take a human without fuel and make it work out, it will have to adapt, and you want the body to adapt and in your older year’s adaptation can become negative, where they wake up and start the day incorrectly, have a cigarette, coffee, donut, that is all adaptation. In your 50’s it’s a wakeup call, you can decide to wake up and live life to the fullest or you can give up and accept this is my life, no matter what, it falls on you to make that decision. Will you conform to life, or will you transform?

Dimitri feels the fear at 50 is more detrimental than when you were in your 20’s. In your 20’s, your 30’s, you can make those mistakes, you can have those failures, take your 40’s to fix things and carry on. But in your 50’s it’s easy to have that mindset, I’m old, I can’t do it, my life is ok, I’m fine. Your 50’s doesn’t have to be that way. Move 3X per week for 45 mins, walk the dog, swim, exercise, you have to meal prep Sundays and Wednesdays, and you must journal, make 10 mins of your life belong to you, reflect on you and your life, every day by yourself. You will do this for 90 days and we promise you, your life will change, and you will see weight loss, you will feel better, move better, be a better human being.

We wrap up this show discussing breathing, look into 3B Breathing, Brace Before your Breath.

Check out his app on Apple and Android

What an amazing show full of truth, pain, fitness, health, exercises and more, I thank you so much Dimitri for sharing so much on your life for our construction lives, educating our listeners on everything to do with your body, mind, and soul. Thank you. Find him on IG @puremotivationalfitness and @dimitrigiankoulas and contact him for your next exercise booking at [email protected] and his website is www.puremotivationalfitness.com and find his YouTube channel at Pure Motivational Fitness where he shows you key details to live a happy, healthy construction life.

TCL has and always will be about giving back to the construction industry.

Reach out to Joe and Trevor at the following info. www.venturesxcanada.ca find them on Social Media @venturesxoakville reach them at 289 644-2393 and email [email protected]

Part Three –40–49-year-olds. #FitnessFridays with Dimitri Giankoulas

We begin with mindset, because everything begins with mindset, if you wake up in the morning and the life, your body, your work, you have, isn’t what you want, your mindset will dictate how the rest of the day, that week, that month, that year turns out. In your 40’s your margin for error is smaller and smaller, you can’t continue with the bad habits, those habits will catch up to you and will make your life even more difficult down the line.

Sit down and write out what is great about your life and write down what is terrible about your life, be honest, be brutally honest and write it down on paper, that connection to paper will connect your mind to the truth about you. The truth is most people jump into a healthy lifestyle without a plan, they just start and 30 days later they stop, it’s even worse in your 40’s. They just don’t K N O W what and how to do it. They need data about their bodies, they need to know where they are, what their body is telling them, then with that data they can come up with a plan and handle a healthy lifestyle for the rest of their life.

The words “I know” are the negative words in your life, the moment you tell yourself I know you brain shuts off and doesn’t want think. Use words like, I will, I am, I shall, I’ll try, these will help you learn and move forward. Training in your 40’s you have to consider mobility, foam rolling, relaxation, lacrosse ball, stretching, yoga, because your body is older, your joints are older, your muscles are weaker and smaller, you have to slowly ramp up as you get back in or continue to train. A good coach will design a program for you based on body type, based on age, and based on muscular dysfunction, most people are afraid of doing any muscle training with the concern of bulking up, in your 40’s you have to really train to bulk up. This issue is this age group focusses on so much cardio, which is great, but they also need the muscle training.

Dimitri dives deep into the eating and foods, portions, all kinds of great tips here. Leads us to MHG – Medical History Goals coaches need to know what prescriptions and health issues you are currently on, extremely important to share this information with all coaches.

Check out his app on Apple and Android

What an amazing show full of truth, pain, fitness, health, exercises and more, I thank you so much Dimitri for sharing so much on your life for our construction lives, educating our listeners on everything to do with your body, mind, and soul. Thank you. Find him on IG @puremotivationalfitness and @dimitrigiankoulas and contact him for your next exercise booking at [email protected] and his website is www.puremotivationalfitness.com and find his YouTube channel at Pure Motivational Fitness where he shows you key details to live a happy, healthy construction life.

Want to reach out to Manny, text him on his mobile, 416 433-5737 and or email him at [email protected] or [email protected] Please let him know who you are and then ask away.

TCL has and always will be about giving back to the construction industry.

Reach out to Joe and Trevor at the following info. www.venturesxcanada.ca find them on Social Media @venturesxoakville reach them at 289 644-2393 and email [email protected]

Part Two –30–39-year-olds #FitnessFridays with Dimitri Giankoulas

It all begins with weight, the scale, is the old way of tracking your gains and losses, it’s truly about body composition, a reflection of tissues in relation to each other, fat and lean muscle tissue. In your 30’s your body begins to change, add life, marriage, kids, work, stress and watch your fitness drop and be pushed to the end of the line, worst thing to do.

Food, find out what your body needs in nutrition, for example, Dimitri needs 1.5 grams of protein per his weight, multiply that 1.5 by your weight at 195 pounds and that’s 292 grams of protein per day with his training routine. It’s simple, you eat more than you burn, you gain weight. Opening a business is harder than tracking and training your body for life. Adaptation of the body is a normal process, as you train and reach your goals, your body will get smarter resulting in what got you to lose those first 20 pounds will not work trying to lose those next 20 pounds, you must shock the body to reach those new goals.

The biggest killer in North American is metabolic syndrome, a cluster of abdominal obesity, high cholesterol, insulin resistance, and high triglycerides. Avoid all of these and you will live a happy, healthy, quality life. If you don’t exercise, it will affect your sex drive, that is a fact, it will affect your testosterone levels, stress will contribute to lower libido. Alcohol increases in your 30’s because you want to celebrate life’s milestones and most men turn to beer and beer is the worst of the bunch.

It's not about what the scale says, not about the weight you are today, it’s about Resting Heart Rate. Calculate your RHR by counting your beats per minute, subtract 70 which is the average, multiply that figure by 60 minutes in an hour, multiply that number by 24 hours in the day and you get your total beats per day, that is how many EXTRA heart beats per day, EXTRA work your heart has to work, these EXTRAS lead to health issues down the road.

Check out his app on Apple and Android

What an amazing show full of truth, pain, fitness, health, exercises and more, I thank you so much Dimitri for sharing so much on your life for our construction lives, educating our listeners on everything to do with your body, mind, and soul. Thank you. Find him on IG @puremotivationalfitness and @dimitrigiankoulas and contact him for your next exercise booking at [email protected] and his website is www.puremotivationalfitness.com and find his YouTube channel at Pure Motivational Fitness where he shows you key details to live a happy, healthy construction life.

Want to reach out to Manny, text him on his mobile, 416 433-5737 and or email him at [email protected] or [email protected] Please let him know who you are and then ask away.

TCL has and always will be about giving back to the construction industry.

Reach out to Joe and Trevor at the following info. www.venturesxcanada.ca find them on Social Media @venturesxoakville reach them at 289 644-2393 and email [email protected]