Today Mike reviews what he has distilled as the 16 most important take home messages from his 17 interviews with contractors, consultants, accountants, and authors of the construction industry. He also highlights messages from the 20 topical episodes he produced based on his 16 years as a general c…
In this second installment of my talk with Kyle Hunt of "Remodelers on the Rise", we hit upon the importance of being genuine with your clients but then we turn to working your numbers once under contract. This continuation from the previous episode dives into tracking your numbers from estimate t…
Today, Kyle Hunt, host of Remodelers on the Rise (podcast) and founder of Remodel Your Marketing joins Mike for a lively chat about running your contracting business. Kyle has been coaching his clients for 14 years and really cuts to the chase! In this first installment of the interview, Mike and K…
In the second installment of my talk with Kendra Ferguson, we delve into finances and accenting best practices from the perspective of a general contractor and that of a CPA raised by contractors. Kendra's insight into construction specific accounting practices are vast. She explains job costing to…
In this talk between Mike Knoche and Kendra Ferguson they discuss why you should hire accounting out immediately. The story unfolds with Mike sharing how he finally realized he needed someone else to do this (Uncle!) and Kendra shares a recent story about a roofing company that had been losing mon…
Wow, I can't believe a grown can do so many unacceptable things on a job site! Here I list ten of my top actions that happen on job sites that I try to convey before they happen. The challenge is that it seems like these things should be instinctual but THEY'RE NOT FOR SO MANY PEOPLE! I sound angr…
In this episode Mike draws on his 16 years experience listening to customers on cold calls, at first time site visits, under contract and between contracts and the signals that scream for you to get out!
In this episode there is advice on setting wages and talking about how you find employees. Mike tells you his preferences and some good stories about wages in other countries and being part of the Bad News Bears of finish carpentry
Author and remodeling consultant, Jim Molinelli joins Mike to talk about his work in preparing clients for contractors. This information is invaluable to contractors because we can glean from his techniques how to prepare our clients for their budgets. We go on to discuss his book series. I've read…
Today, Mike tells some stories about his employees and asks you to think about how you're going to use them. It's not that good.
In the second part of this interview, we get into a discussion on scope of work as it relates to budget and billing. Daniel has a great sense of how to manage money, client expectations, subcontractors, all while managing his own time to keep up with his wife and 8 children!
Today, Daniel Preston of Clay Contracting talks with Mike about his start as an apprentice to a mason, his years wearing tool bags and then moving into a management position for new custom home construction. His company is a cost plus builder with no employees and subcontracts all of their work. We…
Here, I outline ten essential tasks to do on Fridays!
Andy Bannister tells Mike what he loves most about his work. His response? Maybe somewhat unexpected. Mike and Andy talk about burnout in the industry, life-work balance, and health in the construction industry. It's a personal conversation and probably a conversation not many builders have with on…
Andy Bannister describes how his company went from 1 to 67 employees. We talk about what factors allowed him to grow that business. Then Andy tells Mike about how they survived the crash of 2008. It's an interesting story of making a bold move and having it pay off. We spend a large part of the tal…
Mike tells couple stories about working with friends and the lessons learned.
In this second installment of my talk with Kat Willer we talk about the importance of good communication, woman in the trades, and women owned general contractors. There's a story about sticking to her guns with a contract. Dealing with men as a female contractor. Did you know that only 3% of gener…
Today, Kat Willer tells her story about how she came to run her remodeling company, Revision Remodel and Design. It's a great tale of a self made contractor. She asked all the right questions. She is passionate about her career and respects her customers hard earned money. She's a quick study in th…
This episode is a description of how to take the information gained at your sight visit and transforming it into an informative, attractive, comprehensible presentation in the form of a proposal for you clients. It relies on the listen of Episodes 12, 22, and 27 as well. Employing this good practic…
In this episode, Matthew and Mike talk about supply chain issues relative to managing expectations and contractual clauses. Matthew has a good story about that! They go on to talk about what keeps Matthew inspired and motivated today after building and running his firm for the last 15 years. He sha…
In this episode, Matthew Coates describes his current business structure and it's evolution. Matthew describes biophilia and its relation to building and design. He goes on to describe the architects role in the project in relation to the client and the general contractor. Mike and Matthew have a r…
In this episode, I line you out on how to best estimate time for your proposals. I outline best practices to avoid the costly mistakes associated with under estimating time involved in a job!
Today, Mike talks to Vinnie Vecchio of The Unstoppable Tradesman about nutrition and health of construction workers. In this second installment, Vinnie talks about our excuses for not making changes and healthy lifestyle choices, key strategies for stress management, and nutritional strategies for …
Today, Mike talks to Vinnie Vecchio of The Unstoppable Tradesman about nutrition and health of construction workers. Vinnie explains the basics of nutritional lifestyle change, weight loss, fitness, and how they are influences by sleep and stress. Vinnie is full of eye opening information about how…