Blue Collar StartUp

In this episode of Blue Collar StartUp, your hosts Mike Nelson of Five Towers Media and Derek Foster of Daigle Cleaning Systems interview Jack Miller and Dan Pratt of Jack Miller Contractors. Join them as they discuss the building science mindset, innovation in the construction field, team growth and the processes behind it, and much more! 1:01 Thanking Sponsors 2:12 Introducing Dan and Jack 4:35...

In this episode of Blue Collar StartUp, your hosts Mike Nelson of Five Towers Media and Derek Foster of Daigle Cleaning Systems interview Mason Lord, co-owner and founder of Hudson Valley Preservation and Trades Up. Tune in as they talk about giving kids hands-on experience with tools, handling the stress of building a business, and much more! 0:15 Introduction 2:38 New Sponsors 3:53 Introducing M...

In this episode of Blue Collar StartUp, we're mixing things up a bit. When the podcast first launched, we released a series of professional tips called Blue Collar Blueprints. These previously exclusive episodes contain valuable insights that we’re excited to share with you! In addition to our regular interview episodes, we’ll be bringing these Blueprints to our listeners as well. This episode fea...

In this episode of Blue Collar StartUp, your hosts Mike Nelson of Five Towers Media and Derek Foster of Daigle Cleaning Services interview Nick Schkrioba, sales consultant with the professional employer organization, Peoplease. Listen in as they talk about workers comp models, maintaining a high retention rate, modern software, and much more! Want to connect with Nick and learn more about Peopleas...

In this episode of Blue Collar Startup, your hosts Mike Nelson of Five Towers Media and Derek Foster of Daigle Cleaning Systems interview Matt Whitbeck, owner of Whitbeck Construction. Listen in as they explore the experiences of a first-generation business owner, the challenges of growing faster than one can access education and resources, maximizing the lifespan of construction projects, and muc...

In this episode of Blue Collar StartUp, your hosts Mike Nelson of Five Towers Media and Derek Foster of Daigle Cleaning Services interview William Day, assistant project manager at Jersen Construction. Tune in as they explore strategies to incentivize careers in the trades for future workers, the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously, the business development side of a construction co...

In this episode of Blue Collar StartUp, your hosts Mike Nelson of Five Towers Media and Derek Foster of Daigle Cleaning Services interview Shaw DuBourg, owner of Symmetric Electric. Tune in as they discuss the challenges of starting an electric company in a new state, navigating the market, the benefits of being part of a union, the importance of patience when launching a business, and much more!...

In this episode of Blue Collar StartUp, your hosts Mike Nelson (Five Towers Media) and Derek Foster (Daigle Cleaning Services) interview Matthew and Pete of Rifenburg Construction. Tune in to hear them discuss teamwork in the workplace, connecting with young people to grow the blue collar workforce, large scale project logistics, and much more! Want to connect with Blue Collar StartUp? Reach out t...

In this episode of Blue Collar StartUp, your hosts Mike Nelson (Five Towers Media) and Derek Foster (Daigle Cleaning Services) interview Nick and Kayla, owners of Trojan Home Services. Tune in to hear them discuss being self-taught, working full time while starting a new business, balancing out work with your partner, and much more! 0:50 Introducing Nick and Kayla 2:26 Painting and Home Services 3...

In this episode of Blue Collar StartUp, your hosts Mike Nelson of Five Towers Media and Derek Foster of Daigle Cleaning Systems, interview CEO of Peak Advisory Jakob Kirschner. Tune in to hear them discuss the importance of having good data in accounting, how the size of a small business can affect their finances, and much more! We want to showcase your blue collar business! Connect with us at har...

In this episode of Blue Collar StartUp, host Mike Nelson interviews Scott Lawler, Chief Estimator at LeChase Construction. Tune in to hear about why Scott wanted to be an estimator, how school shaped his career path, finding construction opportunities, and more! Contact Scott at Scott. Lawler@lechase.com with any questions or inquiries you might have. 0:15 Opening Thoughts 0:53 Introducing Scott L...

In this episode, your hosts Mike Nelson of Five Towers Media and Derek Foster of Daigle Cleaning Systems interview Devon Camenga of Camenga Construction for a second time. Devon goes into depth about his experiences balancing new and old customers, transitioning from the education field, how he takes on apprentices, and more!  0:18 Reintroducing Devon Camenga 2:21 Handyman vs General Contractor 4:...

In this episode, your hosts Michael Nelson of Five Towers Media and Derek Foster of Daigle Cleaning Systems talk with Kaydance about her experience going to the BOCES program in Saratoga, how she landed her job in South Dakota right out of trade school, her family's collision shop, and more!  0:42 Introducing Kaydance 1:20 The BOCES Collision Program 3:04 Why choose this path? 3:58 Kaydance’s pare...

In this episode, your hosts Michael Nelson of Five Towers Media and Derek Foster of Daigle Cleaning Systems talk about their expectations and goals for the Blue Collar StartUp Podcast in 2025 and talk more about Derek’s experience starting a business from scratch.  0:15 Excitement for 2025 1:03 Opening thoughts 5:28 Inspiring news from podcast listeners 6:40 First goal of 2025 8:29 More 2025 goals...

Your hosts Derek Foster from Daigle Cleaning Systems and Michael Nelson from Five Towers Media sit down with Scott McKenna and Stacy Spector from Catamount Consulting. Learn more about Catamount Consulting on their website https://catamountconsultingllc.com

Our Hosts, Derek Foster and Michael Nelson, chat with Mike Muscolino of AMC Construction & Management.

In this episode, our hosts Mike Nelson and Derek Foster interview Joe Cerrone of Cerrone Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning! Joe is the second person to head the operations of Cerrone, after his father... What advances did he bring to the business? What's stayed the same? What did he learn along the way? Listen to this episode to hear the answers, plus much more! Welcome to Blue Collar S...

In this episode, our hosts Mike Nelson and Derek Foster talk with Mike Colvett and Casey Cornell of Cornell's Auto Parts! Cornell's is doing something very special... They boast the claim that their auto operation is heavily recycling-based, reusing car oil, parts, metal, carpeting, and more from their cars! How is this possible? How did they get started doing this? Hear the answers to tho...

In this episode, our hosts Mike Nelson and Derek Foster interview Josh Brown and Zach Moore of Brown Design & Construction! Both of them have other full-time jobs that they still take part in... And yet, the side hustle they started up out of curiosity has taken off like wildfire! What's their secret to success? How do they balance work responsibilities? What's their training? Find out...

In this episode, our hosts Mike Nelson and Derek Foster interview Zay DuPree, the one-man mastermind behind DuPree Heating & Cooling! When people think of a one-man operation, they typically picture an old dude with a beat up truck and a couple fans in the truck bed... But Zay couldn't be further from that vision. Fully insured and thoroughly professional, Zay proudly stands by the quality...

In this episode, our hosts Mike Nelson and Derek Foster interview Rachel McDermott, the second-generation proprietor of Dancing Grain Farm Brewery! Dancing Grain runs a special operation - fully family-owned, they source every ingredient that goes into their brews at their own farm, without using any pesticides... This is as Blue Collar as it gets! Listen to this episode to hear their incredible s...

In this episode, our hosts Mike Nelson and Derek Foster interview Paul Lachar, owner and mason at Top Course Masonry! The whole family's in on this foundational construction dream... But there's no dysfunction here. Paul and his crew have served the region with pride for over 20 years, and there's no end in sight! Listen to this episode to hear about his experience, how he keeps the fa...

In this episode, our hosts Mike Nelson and Derek Foster interview Michael Turcotte, proprietor of Turn Cycle Solutions! Michael built and grew his New Hampshire-based business with the usual hard work and hiring team members to cover his own weaknesses... But he also made the unique decision to hire people with similar strengths to his own. Why would he replace his own strengths with a costly empl...

In this episode, our hosts Mike Nelson and Derek Foster interview Dean Leber, a top leadership consultant at The Leaders Group! The corporate world is full of bloated questions - "What's the difference between a mission and vision statement?" and "How do I empower my employees to become good leaders?" These questions seem jejune on the surface, but Dean has real, authentic...

In this episode, our hosts Mike Nelson and Derek Foster interview Chris Manzela, co-owner of BradManz Landscaping! Chris has been working since he was only 14 years old, but he's progressed a long way since then - from $3.75 an hour bussing tables to owning his own business and a massive football fan cave, Chris' steps forward have not been small! What's his secret? Listen to this epis...