The World Is Black and White: Hard Lessons Every Builder Must Learn | The Level Up Podcast

In this episode, I share the hard lessons I’ve learned as a builder about taking ownership, understanding contracts, and why there are no excuses in the construction industry. If you want to avoid costly mistakes and level up your mindset, this is a must-listen for every tradie and builder. Don’t miss the black-and-white truth that can transform your business! 

Chapters

• 0:00 Why Black And White Matters
• 3:30 Painful Early Lessons In Business
• 6:32 Contracts, Variations, And Clarity
• 10:32 Handling Client Disputes With Documents
• 13:07 Code Changes And Builder Pushback
• 15:42 No Excuses: Know Your Trade Rules
• 20:38 Growth Mindset Over Old Habits
• 23:28 Learn Daily And Seek Good People
• 25:28 It’s Black Or White: Own It
• 26:47 Sponsor: Ventilated LVL Battens

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 1:28

G'day guys, welcome back to the shed this afternoon for a cracking episode of Level Up. Uh, honestly, how good has 2025 been? Um well, we're in 20. Well, by the time this podcast comes out, we're more than likely in 2026. So um today's podcast is I wanted to put this out there because of a few things that have been going on in my life for the last uh I'd have to say probably six to ten months. Um but uh it ties in with a lot of stuff that I've learned over the years, and so today's podcast is called The World is Black and White. And this is actually something that I wish I had to learn, or I wish I had taken notice of a lot earlier in my career as a builder. Um so what I mean by that, the world is black and white, is I'm in a position now with a lot of things that I've been through and um how how I deal with every situation, and this might sound a little bit maybe abrupt to start with, but I treat everything in my life as if like what would a judge say? Like if I had to sit in front of a judge or I had to sit in court and um for whatever reason, like to it like what would what's the outcome gonna be? And when it comes to legal um stuff, it's it's black and white. Like you've either you've either done something or you haven't, and it's that simple. And so in my early days as uh running a business, as a carpenter, and then uh even as a builder, I always just thought that if something went wrong or something happened that I could I could just I just I could just tell them I didn't know. I wasn't aware, I never got taught, um, I didn't learn. Like I just had, I don't know why, I just had all these excuses and I didn't I didn't really acknowledge the importance of my role, I guess, or my job. And it was only through some incredibly expensive learning lessons. So um I don't know if I've talked about these before on this podcast, but uh one of the biggest, or one of the at the time, like not long after I got my bills license, um, I did a job for a what I would have call I called a mate of mine, um, and his wife was a barrister, and we did a job. The contract was with his wife, because she owned the house, and he ran the job, and I didn't do the contracts properly, I didn't follow up variations correctly with variation paperwork. Anyway, I I didn't think anything of it, I just thought he's mate, like nothing's gonna go wrong here, like it'll be all fine. And I I sort of I knew the money situation a little bit, and the um I would question a few things towards the end of the job because he he increased the joinery by a quite a substantial amount, he changed this, he changed that. And anyway, long story short, that ended up with me losing a lot of money, um, which at the time almost sent us broke. And I like I didn't know any better at the time. Like, I uh we went to adjudication, um, like twice we've paid legal fees, twice, twice they got ordered to pay us some money, and in the end, our lawyers just said to us, Look, they're just gonna keep screwing you over. Um, she's a judge, she knows the rules, and they're just gonna you're you're just gonna keep throwing money away. You're just gonna keep going back to court, you're gonna keep winning, and they're gonna keep not paying, and you're never gonna get your money. You're better off cutting your losses. And that was really, really hard for me to take. Um, I had to swallow a lot of pride. And believe it or not, this having this happen to me didn't make me wake up to myself. It didn't take didn't make me take ownership. And I went on after that to have um another one or two situations, not quite as bad, but or lost a lot more money, didn't end up in court. But um, so I went through a lot of situations um in pro in the first six to ten years um of running my building business that I could have quite easily avoided just simply by understanding that the world's black and white, I'm a builder, I have responsibilities, I need to follow contracts, it's that simple. But instead, I just kept blaming that I hadn't been taught things, I didn't understand things, and I'm the builder, why should I have to know all this stuff? And so moving on, um, because that was that situation I just spoke about was about 17 years ago, so it's it's a long, long time ago. It's um definitely uh under the bridge now, but um I have situations come up now, and and it could be very minor situations or it could be major situations, but I just treat everything as black and white. And to me, it's made my life so much easier. I follow my I under I I spend the time to understand my contracts. We have contracts with all of our clients, we have some contractor agreements with our contractors, we have employee agreements with our employees. Um we have a lot of stuff that we a lot of documents that we refer to constantly, and there's no you can you can't argue. And even uh like if something comes up with a client and it's they question something in our proposal or they question something that we've installed, to me, again, it's black and white. We just refer back to the the contract documents, we we refer back to the proposal or the specification, and if it's in our proposal and we've allowed for it, then um that's what it is. If our proposal lists something different to what the client's expecting, um we we just deal with the client through our proposal and our contract because again, black by making it black and white, so on our proposals we have a clause at the very start of them that says if it is not included in this proposal, if it is not written in this proposal, this proposal takes precedence and it is not included, whether it is shown on the drawings in the specification or not. And um we make that very, very clear, we point it out, and for me that gives clarity. Um and look, occasionally it'll it'll cause a situation where the client thinks they're getting something differently, but again, we just go back to the proposal, we point it out, we show them what we've allowed, and if they want it, if they want anything different, if it's less, they'll get a refund. If it's more, they'll have to pay a variation. Like it's that simple. And even on that situation, uh so many builders get themselves into lots of trouble because they they they don't refer back to their documents. They're constantly just chasing their tail, putting out fires. The client brings up something, and instead of taking the time to take a breath, take a step back, review the documents, figure out what they had, they just start verbal diarrhea to the client. And before you know it, you end up with a situation where no one knows what's going on, the client's pissed off, you're frustrated because you think you're not going to make any money, or the client's ripping you off, or they don't appreciate you. And a situation that could have been handled very simply and very quickly blows into something that a lot of the time ends up in very frustrated clients and builders not getting paid. So um, but the other reason I wanted to talk about this today is um yesterday I did a post on my social. So um my mentor in business Live Life Build has a uh uh conference or I don't know, a training event coming up in Adelaide. Um and we are going to be discussing, we've we've put together uh I think it's five or six of the best industry experts when it comes to uh drained and ventilated cavity systems, and we're going to be teaching builders about this because it's now getting enforced in the building code. So I'm not sure what time this podcast is going to come out, but um we're we're recording it in late October 2025, and only in the last two weeks um it has come out that the new changes that they've been referencing in the National Construction Code will be written in early 2026 and they will be enforced um from May 26 onwards. In well, in climate, a lot of them are aiming in climate zones six, seven, and eight. If you're in climate zones one to five, it will be uh another 18 months away. But anyway, so I've done a post on my socials to promote the event, to give like we're we're shutting ticket sales um tonight, and I'm trying to get more sales in and get more people there so we can help more people out, get more people educated. And man, the amount of builders that have commented on my socials about um uh like this is the biggest change ever, like, why haven't we been educated on this? Why is this only coming up now? Like, this is gonna cost us fortune. Um, they think the cost of housing is expensive now, it's only gonna get worse. Um, this is just another real change, it'll be something else that doesn't get enforced. And I just like I I scroll through all these comments across my socials, um, and I just think to myself, man, that reminds me of me 15 years ago, and man, I am glad I'm not like that now, because the people making those comments are the same people that are whinging when they think that shit goes wrong, and they'll be the people that when a random inspection happens on one of their jobs, or when a client complains two years after they finished a job that the job wasn't built to code, they will be the people that will be whinging that they didn't know, that they didn't understand, that they didn't learn how to do it. And again, it's black and white. And so the reason I talk about this sort of stuff on my podcasts is there is no excuses. And to lift the professionalism of the building industry, uh, all tradies. So if you're a tradie out there, you need to understand the rules, the regulations, the requirements, the building code for what you do. If you're a painter, you need to understand what you like how what you what level you need to perform to, what's acceptable. If you're a plasterer, if you're a carpenter, you need to understand the building code, the timber framing code, the um national construction. Like you need to understand this stuff. If you're a plumber, you need to understand all the rules and regulations about plumbing, and if you if you do plumbing and gas fitting, like you need you should know how far a hot water system needs to be away from a from a window or from another appliance. Um if you are a solar battery or solar panel installer, solar battery installer or a um lithium battery installer, like it's your responsibility to understand the clearance that your batteries need all the way around them, how far from other appliances they need to be. And it's your responsibility, like you need to educate homeowners, builders that you're working with. If you're a tiler, you need to understand all the rules and regulations. If you're a waterproofer, you need to understand all the rules and regulations. It's not just, hey, I've done my trade, I've done my apprenticeship, I've got my trade license, I can go and do this work now. Um, I think one of the biggest mistakes the building industry makes is there is no CPD, um, compulsory compulsory professional development. And look, if I have anything to do with it, it's something that I'm pushing for, it's something that I'm an advocate for, and it's something that I truly believe in. Um all trades, all builders should be made on a yearly basis get a certain amount of CBD points to keep their license. Because if we don't start doing this, this industry is seriously going to continue down the same path it's on, with lots of unhappy clients, with lots of defects and billions and billions and billions of dollars of defects getting repaired every year, which is all caught which is costing all of us a lot of money. Um, so again, it's black and white. You can't just be a trader, you can't just be a builder and say that you didn't know. Or like the one that I used for a long time, I'm putting my hand up, I'm owning this. I like I used to say all the time, I didn't get taught that. Like owning a business is not like school. You can't say that you didn't get taught something. When you finish your apprenticeship and you possibly start working for yourself, it is completely your responsibility to better educate yourself on what you're doing. You need to start understanding the specifications, the technical data sheets, the performance guides of all the products you are using. And look, at the end of the day, the with the amount of technology that we now have in our pocket, there is even less excuses because you can scan things, you can look up Google, and you can find out information in a matter of seconds. So there is no excuses if you don't understand what a product and how you should be installing it. And um, I think the other thing that I really want to get across on this podcast is you don't know what you don't know. So don't just go through life doing things the same way you always have. And this is so this saying is so important for tradies and builders. Like, and again, whether you're a painter, plumber, electrician, waterproofer, block layer, bricklayer, uh who knows, roofer. Rules and regulations change all the time, but something that is changing even quicker is our construction codes, our specifications, our warranties, and our insurances. So it is up to you to be constantly reviewing, as I said before, your material safety data sheets, your material uh technical specification sheets. Like review these things. And look, this stuff takes time. And as a business owner, you you don't like just because you're the business owner doesn't mean that you knock off at three, four, five o'clock, you go home, you go to the pub, you have weekends off. Like, don't complain that you haven't got time to do all this stuff because when you get into trouble, when someone comes back to you because there's a problem or because there's an issue, again, it's it's black and white. Are you gonna say to are you gonna be sitting in court fighting a problem or trying to get paid for some work? And are you going to say to the courtroom that I wasn't taught how to do that? I didn't know how to do that. Because you know what the black and white answer is gonna be? You should have. And it will be your responsibility, and you will be the one that will have to take ownership of the situation you're in, because it's black and white. There is no excuses, and as a tradeie, a builder, any type of professional in the building industry, it is our responsibility to make sure that we are educating ourselves on what is going on. And look, something I I guess to finish this podcast off with is I will put my hand up and take full ownership. Like I I have homes that I have built 10 years ago, 15 years ago, 18 years ago, that I'm I was super proud of at the time, but when I think about how well we're building now, I'm not proud of them. And I think far out, like shit, I wonder if that place is gonna have problems. I built to the best of my ability at that point in time, and I think so many blokes especially are really afraid to put their hand up and say, shit, what I did back then wasn't right, or what I did back then was wrong, or I'm not gonna well. I think it ties in with because of the way that a lot of blokes feel, they don't want to improve because by them improving is admitting that what they've previously done is wrong. And look, I I can I can I put my hand up, I can I was part of that group uh for a very long time, but if you're in that situation, um that's all like you're not in a growth mindset, and a growth mindset is tomorrow I'm gonna be better than today, and so the only way I can be better tomorrow is by learning more today, and so the more whatever you like these days, there is so many incredible podcasts out there that are helping the building industry. There's there's builders, builders out there talking like on social media, giving away tips and hints and talking about their experiences, suppliers and manufacturers talking about their product and doing demonstrations on it. So these days, there really is no excuses like to not learn and improve and be better tomorrow, because you can listen to a podcast, you can listen to an Audible book, you can there's so many things you can do while you're driving around rather than listening to the shit that's on the radio. So there is no excuses, the world is black and white, and if you want to change from the mindset that you're stuck in now, the old-fashioned mindset that you don't know, you weren't taught that way, it's not up to you. I I'm I shouldn't have to know that. You are one of the tradies or one of the builders that will constantly be stressed, you won't be able to make the money that you should be making, you will be constantly putting out fires, you'll Always be feeling like the world is chasing you and that the industry's shit. If you want to flick the switch and become that growth mindset person that is better tomorrow because of what you learnt today, then it's really not that hard. Um, like I said, podcasts, audible books, follow, look, look for quality people on social media. Reach out. Like, that's one of the big things I do. Reach out to quality people on social media. There are so many incredible human beings in this world that are more than happy to share their experience, their knowledge. I can't believe how helpful. Um look, I reach out to a lot of people, and there is some fucking wankers. There are some wankers out there that do not respond, or if they do respond, they don't give you the time of day. And um yeah, they're wankers. But there is a lot of incredible people out there that are more than happy to share their knowledge, their experience. And um, like I know as a builder, I guess a lot of builders reach out to me a lot, and uh I actually had two today. Um, and they're actually going to come down from North Queensland. They've asked if they can come and visit one of my job sites because they they've seen what I talk about on socials and they want to come and see it in person, and they've actually offered to work on my job sites for a day uh to learn, but I don't want them to do that. Um but I'm more than happy if they're in Brisbane to reach out to me and visit my job sites and we can um show them how we do things. I'm not saying that I'm perfect and everything that we do is perfect. Um, but the way I what I say is every day is a school day, and it's something that I reiterate to my team on my building sites all the time. Like every day is a school day. We will never do everything absolutely perfect because there is always room for improvement. And um, look, guys, I I hope I probably sound like a broken record sometimes with some of this stuff, but I really hope by doing these solo podcasts and giving you an insight into the way that I think will help you improve your business and your life and maybe help you change your mindset, maybe help you flick that switch to go from a the shitty situation you're in now to getting that growth mindset and improving. Because that's a at the end of the day, that's why I do these podcasts. It's because of all you guys and girls that are listening, it's because of everyone that reaches out, the people that ask questions. That's why we continue to do this every week. So, guys, as always, if you've got any questions, if you um if there's anything you want to know, if you want to come on the podcast, make sure you reach out. But just remember before we wrap this podcast up, it is that simple. It's black and white, and you need to start treating everything as if you're sitting in a courtroom. Um, there's no excuses. It's black or white. You did it or you didn't. Simple as that. Go to the DwaynePears.com website, check out our merch, get on board and help support the creation of a new building industry. Like, share, subscribe. We'll see you on the next one. All right, guys, I want to introduce you to a really exciting new product that I believe is going to play a massive role in Australia building healthier homes. As you all know, I am extremely passionate about healthy homes and I'm doing a lot of research and putting a lot of time and effort into making sure my construction business is leading the way when it comes to building healthy homes here in Australia. We've teamed up with the guys from Highwood Timber. Highwood Timber are pioneering condensation management with their high flow ventilated LVL batten system. 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