Good Business with Clay Vaughan
Good Business with Clay Vaughan is a podcast about building companies that actually matter. Not just ones that grow, but ones that last. Ones that honor God, care for people, and create real value in the world.
Every week, Clay sits down with entrepreneurs, executives, and leaders who are walking that road in their own way. The conversations aren’t fluffy or surface-level. They get into the hard stuff—how to lead through chaos, how to build culture when it’s easier to cut corners, and how to keep purpose front and center when profit is shouting in your ear.
It’s a show about the kind of business most people want to run but few actually figure out. You’ll hear wins and mistakes, stories and strategies, but more importantly—you’ll hear what it looks like to run a business that’s both good at what it does and good for the people it touches.
If you want to grow, lead well, and make an impact that outlives you, this is your place.
Good Business with Clay Vaughan
Where Contractors Really Lose Money: Execution, Systems, and Scalable Margin with Josiah Peterson
Most contractors don’t lose money on sales. They lose it on execution.
In this episode of Good Business, Clay and Luke sit down with Josiah Peterson, founder of KBHC Consulting, to talk about what really protects profit in contracting and service businesses.
From job costing and overhead recovery to the 3–5 crew breaking point, seasonality planning, and change orders that drain margins, Josiah shares what he learned scaling and exiting his own business and what he now teaches contractors who want to grow.
We also talk about software, CRMs, routing and scheduling, and how AI and automation will transform trades faster than most owners expect.
If you are a contractor, operator, or service business owner trying to scale without losing control of your margins, this is for you.
Connect with Josiah: Reach out on LinkedIn (as mentioned in the episode).
If this helped you: Like, subscribe, and leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Chapters
00:00 Contractors lose money on execution, not sales
01:15 Why margins disappear (unseen costs, sloppy schedules)
05:24 Mentorship and steady leadership
11:07 Purpose, provision, and pushing through naysayers
13:18 The 3–5 crew ceiling and team runway
16:04 Seasonality planning and consistent pipeline
24:23 Small jobs, better margin, and selling to defined need
31:43 Overhead recovery and true cost of business
36:02 Software, CRM, AI, and integration
40:21 Will robots take over trades?
45:21 Change orders and emotional capital
49:21 Monetizing existing customers and plugging leaks
55:36 The question every leader should ask
Subscribe for more: Good Business exists to help leaders build companies that impact the world for good.
#GoodBusinessPodcast #Contractors #Leadership #Operations #Pricing #SmallBusiness #Entrepreneurship #ServiceBusiness #Construction #Trades
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