Beers With Contractors

In this episode of Beers with Contractors, host Will and Terry recap meeting listeners at the National Foundation Repair Association Conference and discuss Will’s Bedrock Academy event, then welcome guests Rachael and Leslie from Oblyss. They explain how Oblyss was created to solve foundation repair contractors’ pain points with disconnected tech stacks by consolidating scheduling, estimating, pro...

This episode of Beers with Contractors highlights common mistakes contractors make when starting and running their businesses and the lessons learned from costly real-world failures. Key themes include using clear, adequate contracts instead of informal paperwork, staying on top of lien timelines, and structuring payment terms to maintain leverage and avoid paying too early. Guests discuss trade-s...

In this remix episode of Beers with Contractors, the guests discuss why contractors should treat financing as a company-level commitment rather than leaving it to sales reps, including absorbing associated costs appropriately and marketing payment options early so customers expect them and can choose between cash, promotions, and monthly payments. One host shares an HVAC quote experience where add...

In this episode of Beers with Contractors, host Will and Terry recap their fifth Construction Camp for Kids event and welcome longtime friend Alfonso Nieves of Fox Blocks (Airelite Plastics), an insulated concrete form (ICF) expert who trains contractors nationwide and with the National Home Builders Association. Alfonso explains how he entered the ICF industry, the technology’s origins in Canada...

In this episode of Beers with Contractors, hosts Will introduces employment attorney Tracy Melvin of Melvin Law to discuss common employment-compliance pitfalls for construction and home services companies, especially around payroll and overtime. Tracy explains her HR-to-law background, employer-side focus, and ties to construction, then highlights frequent mistakes like misclassifying workers as...

In this episode of Beers with Contractors, Will and Terry discuss how contractors can build effective systems and processes by borrowing from academic training models Terry uses in construction education. Terry explains the importance of designing training around different learning styles (auditory, visual, hands-on), using a repeatable sequence of explain/demonstrate/do/feedback, and running an a...

In this episode of Beers with Contractors, Will and Terry catch up on summer plans and progress on a bar build, then run a Q&A from their audience. They discuss why offering customer financing matters in home services, question the value of 0% options, and mention using GreenSky while noting alternatives like Hearth and Interbank, plus why they don’t discount for cash payments. They compare ch...

In this episode of Beers with Contractors, host Will and Terry welcome Jae Wells, founder of American Standard Foundation Repair and president of the National Foundation Repair Association (NFRA), to discuss his path from medical school to building a foundation repair company approaching 20 years and his long involvement in the association. Jae explains why the $26B foundation repair industry lack...

In this episode of Beers with Contractors, Will discusses how contractors should navigate employee raise requests by benchmarking wages to local market data and using performance pay to tie higher earnings to measurable results. He clarifies performance pay versus historical piece-rate pay, referencing the Fair Wages Act (1938) and compliance risks around minimum wage, overtime, and worker classif...

In this episode of Beers with Contractors, Will and Terry discuss Terry being “voluntold” to judge the Oklahoma Parade of Homes, touring about 60 homes from Edmond to Blanchard around a $1.2M price point and evaluating categories like staging, layout, craftsmanship, finishes, technology, and lot desirability, while noting energy efficiency wasn’t a focus and that judges largely agreed on top picks...

Will introduces a “mix-up” compilation episode of Beers with Contractors after a multi-city speaking sprint, focusing on lead generation and marketing takeaways from past guests. The clips cover how home-service contractors should approach a first $5K–$10K marketing spend by setting up Google listings, using Google/Facebook ads, building listings across sites, and layering PPC/SEO/SEM, home and ga...

In this episode of Beers with Contractors, hosts Will welcomes back Jeff Gabelsberg of Jolly Goat Garage Doors, a central Oklahoma residential and commercial garage door company, to discuss his background and how he grew the business through systems, processes, and knowing his numbers. Jeff recounts a difficult childhood, limited formal schooling, and entering the trades through a remodeling job t...

In this episode of Beers with Contractors, hosts Will and Terry discuss why contractors form partnerships and the different types—family, operational, financial, and strategic—emphasizing that partners should share a clear end goal and defined contributions. They stress setting an operating agreement before formation to establish equity splits, decision authority, deadlock resolution, salary/work...

In this episode of Beers with Contractors, hosts Will and Terry share updates ranging from Terry’s restaurant renovation project—featuring a massive black walnut bar slab and plans for event/office space—to Terry’s trip to the AGC National Convention in Orlando with four OU Construction Science students. They discuss conference highlights including AI tools for bidding, accounting, inventory track...

In a combined episode featuring Christian Olson of Footprint Capital with hosts Terry and Will, the group explains the difference between private equity (PE) and investment banking and why contractors should understand it when considering a sale or partnership. Olson describes PE as capital raised from institutions to invest in privately held businesses on a 3–5 year return timeline, while investm...

In this episode of Beers with Contractors, hosts Will and Terry interview Jeff Peters, a national home service sales trainer and host of the Elevate In-Home Sales podcast, about what actually drives success in in-home sales. Jeff shares how he entered sales through a foundation and concrete repair company, became a top producer, and moved into coaching. He challenges common misconceptions that bei...

Hosts Will and Terry discuss construction workforce recruiting, arguing that young people aren’t lazy but approach work differently due to technology and changing expectations. Terry, now at the University of Oklahoma after OSU, shares how many students secure internships as early as freshman year and how companies that show loyalty often lock in top talent through repeat internships and part-time...

In this episode of Beers with Contractors, host Will answers the common question “how do I scale my construction company?” by explaining a simplified “flywheel” model for home services businesses: starter gear (cash, assets, technology) drives marketing, then call center, sales, production/installs, accounting, and sometimes service, with leftover money reinvested to keep the wheel spinning. He em...

In this episode of Beers with Contractors, host Will and Terry joke about which trades bash each other the most, then welcome return guest Brandon Sprenger, a former field tech and now commercial/industrial HVAC outside sales executive with Intech Solutions in Atlanta. Brandon explains key differences between residential and commercial HVAC especially identifying the real buyer across owners, prop...

In this episode of Beers with Contractors, hosts Will and Terry sit down with fourth-generation mason and Trinity Brick sales pro Zach Easley. They discuss why brick usually shouldn’t be painted, how masonry has evolved amid labor shortages, and efforts to rebuild interest in the trades through programs like Construct My Future, OU Construction Science, and Mid-Del Tech. Zach shares how hands-on t...

In this episode of Beers with Contractors, hosts Will and Terry welcome Mark Winhoffer, head of the customer success team at Rilla, an AI-driven feedback tool for sales teams. The discussion includes the importance of using polite language with AI, Rilla's application in improving sales performance, and how it provides real-time, actionable feedback. The team also dives into humorous anecdotes...

In this episode of Beers with Contractors, host Will discusses the future of digital marketing for contractors with special guest Mike Stiers from Greenbaum Stiers. Mike fills in to provide expert advice on lead generation, AI integration in advertising, optimizing conversion rates, and leveraging local community engagement to combat larger competitors. The conversation delves into strategies for...

In this episode of Beers with Contractors, host Will navigates a Q&A session, offering insights based on his entrepreneurial journey. Starting with a personal story of transitioning from a job to a business in home services, he shares lessons learned over 22 years, including the importance of processes, making tough leadership decisions, and maintaining a balance between operations and sales....

In this engaging episode of Beers with Contractors, hosts Will and Terry sit down with Alosha Pederson, the owner of Endless Poxybilities Concrete Coating, a leading concrete coating company. They discuss the challenges and journeys of starting and scaling a business in the concrete coating industry. Alosha shares insights on the importance of branding, the role of CRMs, and the strategic growth t...

In this episode of Beers with Contractors, hosts Terry and Will welcome Hunter Culp, Chief Business Officer of Abundant Home Services. They discuss Hunter's innovative approach to home maintenance, which emphasizes proactive system upkeep over reactive repairs. Hunter shares insights from his extensive background in insurance and outlines the subscription-based model his company uses to provid...