Built. Trusted. Chosen.
Featuring proven leaders and marketers in trades and construction
Real, unscripted, unedited and raw lessons from trades and construction founders, leaders and marketers. We dig into growth, scaling, hiring, margins, and how to be built, trusted and chosen.
Episodes
22 episodes
Why “My Way or the Highway” Fails in Construction | Trevor Blondeel
Running a trades or construction business is hard enough without disengaged crews, missed expectations, and constant frustration on site.In this episode of “Built. Trusted. Chosen.”, I sit down with executive coach Tre...
The Tax Depreciation Playbook for Property-Focused Trades and Construction Leaders | Jarrel Dugay
Trades and construction businesses often help create value in investment properties, but many owners and project teams do not fully understand how that value can flow through into tax deductions and cash flow. That gap can mean missed opportuni...
Why “Energy Efficient” Homes Still Make People Sick (and How to Fix It) | Craig Leonard
Most homes pass inspection. Very few are built for health.In this episode of Built. Trusted. Chosen., I sit down with Craig Leonard, a third-generation builder who completely rethought his approach to construction after mould contaminati...
The Exit-Ready Blueprint for Trades & Construction | Anita Marshall
If you run a trades or construction business, it’s easy to wake up one day and realise the business cannot run, or sell, without you.In this conversation, I’m joined by Anita Marshall from Gold Coast Business Brokers, and we unpack what ...
The Demographic Forces Reshaping Trades and Construction in Australia | Simon Küstenmacher
Trades and construction businesses are getting hit from every angle: rising costs, hiring pressure, housing shortages and constant negative headlines. The danger is making short-term decisions based on panic instead of seeing the bigger forces ...
From Chaos to Order: Delegate Admin, Win More Work | Janine Fraser
Most trades and construction businesses don’t struggle because the work isn’t good. They struggle because the day gets swallowed by calls, admin, quoting, follow-ups, and the never-ending “I’ll get to that later” list, and the business pays for...
Hire Ops Before Sales, the Trade Business Move Most Owners Get Wrong | Peter Wesley
If you run a trade or construction business, you’ve probably felt it: plenty of work, plenty of effort, but cash is tight, the phone never stops, and the business only works when you do.In this conversation, I’m joined by Peter Wesley to...
How Builders and Trades Scale with Systems, People, and Purpose | Jay Meacham
Most trades and construction businesses don’t stall because the work is bad. They stall because leadership, cash flow, systems, and people start breaking under growth.In this episode, I sit down with Jay Meacham to unpack what cha...
The Hiring + Culture Playbook for Construction Teams That Stay | Roggen Frick
Most trades and construction businesses don’t stall because of workmanship. They stall because the business gets bottlenecked by people, process, and the unsexy stuff like logistics.In this episode, I sit down with
The 30-90 Day Marketing Reset for Trades & Construction Companies | Laura Zahariou
Most trades and construction businesses don’t have a marketing problem, they have a clarity problem. When messaging is vague, everyone competes on price, margins shrink, and trust is harder to win.In this episode, I sit down with Laura Z...
How Trades & Construction Owners Stop Doing It All and Become the CEO | Chris Gilman
In this episode of Built. Trusted. Chosen., I sit down with Chris Gilman to unpack the turning point that forced him to stop running his business “in his head” and start building a real company with people, systems, and accountability....
Charge for Value (Not Hours) to Win More Profitable Construction Clients | Brad Hebner
In this episode of Built. Trusted. Chosen., I sat down with Brad Hebner to unpack what actually gets trades and construction businesses chosen, even when they’re not the cheapest. We talked about breaking the hourly-rate mindset, why n...
The Pre-Feasibility Shortcut Builders Use to Build Trust Before the First Site Visit | Avi Kaufman
Zoning, overlays, hazards, setbacks… for builders, the “can we even build here?” question can kill momentum before the job even starts.In this episode of Built. Trusted. Chosen., I sat down with Avi Kaufman from FutureLot to unpac...
Stop “Doing It All”, Build Systems That Let Your Trade Business Grow | David Forster
If you’re leading a trades or construction business and it still relies on you for every decision, every fix, every “quick question”, you don’t have a team problem. You’ve got an operating system problem.In this episode of Bu...
Storytelling That Gets Trades and Home Services Found in the AI Era | Kyle Bailey
AI is flooding the market with “good enough” marketing. For trades and home service businesses, that makes it harder than ever to stand out and get chosen.In this episode, I sat down with Kyle Bailey to unpack why storytelling is no long...
The Cash-Flow Traps That Sink Construction Businesses (And How to Avoid Them) | Dustin Young
In construction, growth can look incredible right up until cash flow collapses. You can be flat out, fully booked, and still get sunk by payment terms, big material outlays, and poor forecasting.In this episode, I sat down with Dustin...
The 3 Pillars That Take Trades and Contractors From 7 Figures to 8 | Dan Bamper
Most trades and construction businesses don’t fail because they’re bad at the work. They fail because they take the wrong jobs, price from scarcity, and don’t have the numbers to see what’s really happening until it’s too late.In this ep...
Stop Hiring “Warm Bodies” in Construction and Start Hiring for Fit | Traci Austin
Most trades and construction businesses aren’t struggling because the work is hard. They’re struggling because hiring turns into “whoever shows up”, expectations stay fuzzy, and trust gets chipped away in a hundred small moments.In this ...
How AI Cuts Noncompliance and Cost Blowouts in Construction Projects | Dennis Dixon
Most trades and construction businesses don’t lose money from one big mistake. They lose it from a hundred small “interpretation” mistakes that turn into RFIs, rework, delays, and budget blowouts.In this episode, I sat down with Dennis ...
From change orders to clarity: de-risking construction projects | Eugene Gershman
Trust in construction is getting hammered, and when clients shop like it’s online retail, everyone loses. Lowest bid wins, corners get cut, change orders explode, and reputations get dragged.In this episode, I’m joined by Eugene Gershman...
From Tools to Team: Scaling Trades & Construction Leadership | Dr Andy Neillie
Most trades and construction businesses don’t stall because of a lack of work. They stall when the owner becomes the bottleneck due to a lack of leadership.In this episode, Dr Andy Neillie breaks down the real-world leadership shifts th...
.png)
Escape the Owner Prison and Build a Sellable Trades Business | Richard Walsh
If you’re in trades or construction and the business can’t run without you, you’re not “busy”… you’re boxed in.In this conversation with Richard Walsh, we unpack what really keeps contractors stuck on the hamster wheel, and how to rebui...
