“I’m only as good as the last thing I did, that’s the only thing that matters to me” Is it the Art of the Business or The Business of the Art? Today, the tale of a woman who started her trade career in a vocational program for auto mechanics then found her passion as a self-taught welder. Liste…
“Learn from everything, every experience is an opportunity to learn.” Fiona Plett @herselfcontracting loves working close with her clients to heal their homes. She wants to rid them of the “irritants” that plague their space. Upcycling and re-purposing materials rank high in what to use for proje…
Today, Michael Anschel of @oabuilds joins Mike Knoche for a raucous discussion in the explanation of the Cost of Project Execution (C.O.P.E.) method for estimating. We immediately drop into the issues surrounding single margin multipliers, a general misunderstanding of knowing profit from overhead…
“If you can’t explain something simply to someone else, then you don’t quite have mastery of it.” In episode 101 of The Contracting Handbook podcast, it’s Jon Hilgenberg’s “Craftsmanship 101” on educating and evolving his business. We drop into the universal issue for contractors, how much to ch…
Meet my story telling crew! Twenty-two skilled professionals from all walks sent me their stories in their voices to share in this 100th episode of The Contracting Handbook podcast. As of prepping this post, I have not heard the stories in their entirety.
“It’s important to build a strong reputation and do such good work so you don’t have to work for the sheep.” For those of you who know Harvey Jesso, you know he’s a positive force and reputable contractor, for those who don’t, you’re in for a treat. He’s running two contracting businesses, loves w…
“You must have a number of stories, based on your experience, of how you are going to build a better home so that your clients are going to have piece of mind and less issues.” He may make being an award-winning custom homebuilder in Vancouver look easy, but it wasn’t always that way. Today, your…
“If you’re gonna do something, do it right.” Most of you already know that Tom Lawson is a straight shooter and in this new podcast, we talk life lessons in many capacities. We head straight into billing for experience and not time. We got their from a previous conversation with Brant Taylor @the…
Janeen Oliver is “not your average concrete rep” because it’s all about being hands on, boots on the ground with the crew and then working her day job. You already know this if you follow @concrete_diva and if you don’t, today Mike Knoche of The Contracting Handbook podcast hosts Janeen to hear h…
“I’ve got two kids and when they are my age, I want them to be able to drive by the houses and show their kids, Grandpa built that. That’s as important to me as anything.” Jason Bekebrede, of Monticello Custom Homes, has his client process dialed. He likes to get with the clients before the desig…
“If you think you’re there, then you need to check yourself because you’ll never be, there’s always new materials comin out, new ways of doing things, a new trick… always learning.” For those of you that don’t know Dan Ford, Dan started as a one-man freelance carpenter band and now he’s got a desi…
“We know that people make the decision based on money and not the environment but there is this beautiful environmental narrative that is very impactful” This is a talk how the building industry decided that installed resources no longer had value. It was a time of abundance. It’s the economics of…
“My values are in the right order… my children come first, above anything else and that is why I went into business, to create freedom in my world, to turn up better as a mother.” If you know Krystal Brookes, you know she values family first and being balanced. Line up your values in the right ord…
“Get good at your trade and then worry about how you’re going to manage people. If I didn’t know what to do in the field, I wouldn’t be able to do what I’m doing now” You guys might know Evan Sparks @e_s_sparks from his previous handle where he was a budding IG influencer, but did you know he’s rel…
The Contracting Handbook podcast is all about the builders and skilled tradesmen and tradeswomen in the construction industry from all over the world. Here you’ll meet the tradespeople who took a leap of faith from working th...
“The more people tell you no and the more challenging it seems, the more you’re going to thanks yourself later on for growing as a person” Niya gave it a go in a career that has included advertising, health care and accounting… but they were boring. As soon as she mastered what was required, they …
“I want my employees to retire happy someday, same as I do.” Are you acting like a real company? You guys that know your guy, Jake Bruton, know he does so with his company @aarowbuilding . For the rest of you who don’t know him… Jake is a high-performance home builder, and he knows and wants it …
In this episode, Mike introduces a bunch of his guest from the upcoming season. It's all the fun, sincere, off the cuff typical sounds bits you've come to know! Please listen and share in your stories!
Today I'm asking everyone who has an instagram account to go my @thecontractinghandbook and report it. Scroll down for instructions. I'm also gonna tell you about a crazy Alaskan Wildfire Season and a story about my travels in Africa. Here is the contents of my email to the crew! Dear TCH friends…
My IG was hacked Remember those phishing scams where a Nigerian Prince would tell you that he wanted to share his fortune with you, just send bank information.. Well, he’s got a new focus! Alas, the Nigerian Prince has taken over my Instagram account. I never thought it could happen to me. By the e…
The Contracting Handbook host, Mike Knoche, introduces the pod to new listeners and updates the podcast for everyone!