Season 1

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

In this episode, I cover why I think its important to get control of diet, stress, and sleep as it relates to your personal performance and the success of your business. In a busy career like contracting, it's easy to …

Bryan Kaplan is all about improving your business efficiency and understanding your financials. He and Mike discuss the "planning fallacy", picking up on "breadcrumbs" (the little things) left by your clients, using the cloud to your advantage, and repetition. If …

Face it, you don't have a plan for organizing your thoughts, details, receipts, plans, or anything. In this episode, Mike walks you through some basic organizing that, though its only a few minutes to listen to, will take a good …

In the second half of the interview, Mike and Aron talk about the importance of relationships with trade partners, trusting your gut with clients, quality vs. number of employees, the cost of labor and warranties when things go sideways, and …

Aron talks about the development of Big Dog Construction. Aron, a self described teacher (checkout his instagram page @bigdogconstruction.gm), describes the various ways he has run construction companies from 16 employees to his current three. He and Mike agree, it …

In this episode, Mike discusses the four human time wasters in order of worst and most pernicious to just plain innocent. Listen to Mike explain ways to identify and mitigate for human time wasters and why you should never work …

Tim Waring, director of Arden Vale Homes, an award winning design-build firm, comprehends the variables of the design build process and has a structured approach. After describing their company history and structure, he lays down Arden Vale's succinct and distinct …

The title says it all. Mike takes a good look at the builders he worked for, works around and himself in this new episode. Listen in to hear about his experience and what you could learn from this industry veteran.

Andrew starts off explaining the structure of Masters Roofing and how they came to be. In 13 short years they have done 9000 roofs with annual sales in the 8-9M range. Mike and Andrew talk about customer care, warranty of …

Today Mike discusses your company credibility. What do you do to gain credibility for your company? How do you maintain it? From media presence, to awards, certifications, and being genuine- check out this veteran builders take on earning public trust.

In this episode, Mike talks about the pitfalls of wearing too many hats when you're trying to run your small business. The consequences for your overall health and state of mind are substantial. Listen in while Mike talks about his …

Award winning interior designer, Carmen Hansberry, ranks among the top 3 interior designers in Perth, listen to her story and find out why. She's awesome! Mike and Carmen discuss assessing clients for readiness and address the eternal struggle of getting …

Mike talks about the key "must do" components when you go to visit with your clients for the first time. This episode is the logical next step in the progression from the previous two episodes of what to do and …

This episode is a candid conversation between a general contractor with a crew (Mike Knoche) and a foreman that runs a crew (Marcus Nagtegaal) but we have never met before recording. We talk about the contractor-foreman relationship, the pitfalls of …

Today I talk about five things you should never do when you are talking to a client for the first time (or ever for that matter). Tune in to hear what I have learned and implemented after 16 years of …

Mike lists and discusses what he knows to be six essential takeaways when your first phone call with a client. This is the result of 16 years of taking calls from clients. Tell us what you think or what you …

Mike asks Steven to discuss the expansion of his business in number of employees and having operations both in Aukland, on the North Island, as well as Nelson, on the South island. Steven shares his insight and very personal experience …

Listen as Mike talks about whether to expand company size for growth or stay small and elite. This episode sets the stage for Thursdays interview episode.

Today, Mike talks about your company definition again. This time about how you personalize your company, that everyone is not your client, and how it relates to company/personal goals. The second installment of a three part series.

Mike asks questions, Randy answers questions. Randy and Mike talk about the importance of client and employee relationships, what they've found to be effective, and how to strike a WORK-LIFE balance. Randy shares his advice for his younger contractor self …

Mike waxes philosophical about defining your company through directing your efforts to get work you want to be doing, public perception, and business basics like your company name. It's the first in a three part series.

In this first show, Mike will tell you all about his idea and where he plans to take the program. He talks about the schedule and who his first guests will be.

In this episode Mike talks about why you need to do your homework when you take on work that you are unfamiliar with, why not knowing everything can be a strength, why it should never be an excuse, and that …

Mike asks Sean questions, Sean answers questions. It's a fun conversation about how Sean has achieved a stellar reputation for Apex Home Design. Find out the secrets to Sean's success here! Sean asks our next guest, "how do you find …

Show host, Mike Knoche, briefly describes The Contracting Handbook Podcast