Episodes

Yahara Vasquez owns and operates Built By Her Construction @building_by_her out of Carson, Washington. With a degree in architectural engineering, she’s decided that the jobs that came with the degree were not for her. She loves working with her hands. Between that and wanting to be more available for her children, Yahara built her own home and she started a contracting company. She’s doing some work for the public but venturing into spec home building. While she says her role at home is fairly traditional, her career path is anything but traditional given her Mexican heritage. She doesn’t care because she wants young girls to see her in that position and is organizing to have young women to work Saturdays on her spec to learn skilled trades. I can’t wait to check in with Yahara Vasquez in a couple years to see where she’s gone! Host: Mike Knoche Website: The Contracting Handbook Instagram: @thecontractinghandbook YouTube: @thecontractinghandbook TikTok: @tchmikeknoche Contribute…

Randy Jones revisits @thecontractinghandbook for a quick catch-up on the growth of his construction company @fineremodeling.de in this episode of Mike Knoche’s Furious Fifteen. Randy was my second guest on the podcast back in May 2021… We hit upon: -relying on a sales manager -qualifying subcontractors -challenges to growth -“letting go” -his most challenging project to date It’s an action packed 19 minutes with a bunch of random, yes/no, non-quantifiables at the end! It’s another great episode with a ton of insights for anyone operating a construction company, be it general contracting or specialty trade contracting. Host: Mike Knoche Website: The Contracting Handbook Instagram: @thecontractinghandbook Venmo: Mike-Knoche-1 info@thecontractinghandbook.com Guest: Kyle Stumpenhorst Instagram: @rrbuildings YouTube: @rrbuildings Facilitating new construction company startups, supporting the building community with new ideas and affirmation, and ushering in the next generati…

Post frame builder, Kyle Stumpenhorst @rrbuildings, joins Mike Knoche @thecontractinghandbook where we hit upon, not only always doing our best but: -creating enduring video content that will always help -using social media to link up with the right customers -the incorporation of building science into the workflow and fiscal tradeoffs -having more knowledge than the inspector -why he no longer subs out work -not heeding the red flags It’s another great episode with a ton of insights for anyone operating a construction company, be it general contracting or specialty trade contracting. Host: Mike Knoche Website: The Contracting Handbook Instagram: @thecontractinghandbook Venmo: Mike-Knoche-1 info@thecontractinghandbook.com Guest: Joe Mitchell Instagram: @joe w mitchell Facilitating new construction company startups, supporting the building community with new ideas and affirmation, and ushering in the next generation of builders is the mission of The Contracting Handbook podcas…

Meet Joe Canning aka @canadiancarpenter and hear the story of how a guy with a degree in 3D graphic arts leaves that life behind for a career in skilled trades. With a wife, four mouths to feed, and no work available in his field, Joe went to work as the laborer under 13 framers..it’s another case of the 4-year degree fallacy. So tune into to hear about Joe as an apprentice and the journey to the beard we all know and love. Then, we take a stab at the impact of Instagram influencing on the indu...

Talk about dedication to team building, creating opportunity to learn skilled trades, and the future of craftsman, carpenter by trade, Joe Mitchell of Finish Point Trim. Finish Point has an incredible apprenticeship program and, if you think it sounds great, they are happy to share their blueprint with you. A testament to their dedication to recruiting more young people into the skilled trades. We dive into the idea that some people are unteachable, what it takes to coach, and why it ultimatel...

If you’ve ever wanted to start your own trade contracting business or level up the one you have, you need to hear Des’s story. From the Home Depot pamphlet that taught him the siding installation techniques to picking up a couple contractors and building a business with 10 install crews running simultaneously. Part of learning the ropes was observing the mistakes of others to avoid those errors down the road. Des takes inventory. He focused his crews on a consistent product that was bonus driven for reduced waste and beating deadlines. Des also got in front of another common issue for trade contractors- cashflow. He saved and accrued a company “float” that allowed Sublime Siding to always keep the ball rolling. It also allowed him to carry on when one of his partners went under and couldn’t pay him. Now, financially secure he’s downsized and become the guy you’re all familiar with, The Siding Guy. The Siding Guy was intended to be fun, a creative outlet, but has become a bit of a p…

The Nuance of Navigating Clients 1. When I started out in Season 1 of the podcast, I said I learned through trial by fire, I’m not from a construction family. It was the school of hard knocks all day long. I always strove for definition in my work so I could express what I was doing for clients i.e “know what you’re selling” and understand why I was doing it for myself i.e. a need to understand purpose. 2. When I started my business I wanted to be different. Yeah yeah, don’t we all but I meant in the sense that I wanted people to think about contractors differently where I live. To remove the stigma on some level. Was that idealistic, yes. Naïve, a bit. How exactly was I going to do this? Not be a sleazy contractor? Do good work? Follow through with what I said? Be reliable? That’s what everyone says. And, also, those were already characteristics I had. I’ve always been an if you’re on time you’re late kinda guy. Ok, I wanted to create a positive overall experience. I started s…