Building Optimal

Welcome to a mini-episode, the final of three with business coach and construction consultant, Shawn Van Dyke. Shawn is a national speaker and author of Profit First for Contractors , available on Amazon. We covered ‘Attracting Talent’ and ‘Getting Paid for Pre-Con’ in our first two episodes. This time, we cover a few random topics from common bad advice he hears to preparing for the next recessio...

Welcome to the second of three episodes with business coach and construction consultant, Shawn Van Dyke. Shawn is a national speaker and author of Profit First for Contractors , available on Amazon. In this episode Shawn outlines plan to help you get paid for your pre-con work. If you’re not doing it already, this is worth a listen! And if you are, well Shawn may have a few ways to enhance your pr...

Shawn Van Dyke is a business coach and consultant to the construction industry. He travels the county speaking, and he even has authored a book, Profit First for Contractors , available on Amazon. This episode covers attracting talent. We’re doing two more episodes with Shawn, one on getting paid for your pre-construction work, and the other, an episode on bad advice and other timely musings...

It’s an admittedly idiotic name for the episode that we couldn’t resist, in honor of the Seinfeld Soup Nazi, an appropriate flag bearer for this final episode on happy client hacks. This is a reading of our recent article published in our Building Optimal Journal. You can read it  HERE .

This is a reading of our recent article published in our Building Optimal Journal. You can read it  HERE .    

This is a reading of our recent article published in our Building Optimal Journal. You can read it HERE .

Joel Block is a long-time venture capitalist and hedge fund manager who is one of the foremost authorities on creating real estate funds and syndications. Joel joins us to talk about creating syndications and funds for home builders. Be sure to check out Joel’s website, syndicatefast.com . He’s got some great videos on there as well as other helpful services. Also, be sure to check out Joel’s podc...

This conversation with tiny home builder, Bob Clarizio, ranges from hilarious to enlightening. Bob, of Bantam Built Homes , takes us on his journey into the tiny home business and shares some of his hardest lessons and greatest achievements. If you missed Bob’s first interview with us, check it out: https://buildingoptimal.com/25 Show Notes: [1:40] – Bob’s journey into tiny homes. [7:40] &#8...

We’re talking to Vicki Suiter, President and CEO of Suiter Business Builders about everything from interviewing and hiring best practices to managing margins in a difficult industry. Vicki is a speaker, consultant, and coach with more than 28 years helping contractors succeed in their businesses. She’s also an author. Her most recent book is The Profit Bleed: How Managing Margin Can Save Your Cont...

Healthy homes are by no means a new concept, but as of recent they have entered more of the mainstream conversation as the “green” movement has evolved. In this episode, we are visiting with Caroline Blazovsky, a national expert on healthy homes, to learn more about what’s going on and the market opportunities for builders who want to capitalize on the trend. Caroline is the Pres...

Sheri Allshouse is back to share a few commonly overlooked financial accounts that could be costing you money. Sheri is a CPA with an expertise in home building and construction. Her firm is  The Allshouse Group  in Houston, Texas. If you missed  Episode 8: Common Tax Questons  with Sheri, be sure to check it out! If you’re interested in the financial book Sheri recommends, visit:  https://a...

Bob Clarizio, founder of Bantam Built Tiny Homes , has built a substantial audience across YouTube , Facebook , and Instagram . Bob has eight steps to going viral and making it big on social media. He shares these tips with us in this latest episode. Check it out! Show Notes: [2:00] – Bob’s history with social media. [6:58] – Eight things to make a post go viral. [37:20] – Should...

Fernando Pagés Ruiz is a builder, developer, and author of the popular book, Building an Affordable House . He has a deep knowledge of how to save money on your homes, including how to mine the code for savings and how to go beyond the plans to cut costs. Fernando has operations in Colorado, Nebraska, and internationally in Ecuador. You can see his work at hamptonlands.com and read more about his...

Many people get this deceptively simple practice wrong, but it’s an easy fix. In this episode, Jared reads a recent article he wrote for our newly launched, Building Optimal Journal. If you haven’t yet, be sure to check out our new articles, such as Bulletproofing Against Downturns . Show Notes: [0:30] – The two most important reasons for customer deposits. [4:55] – The bes...

They say you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Kyle Hunt shares a few pointers on how to make the “best” first impression we possibly can during that initial call with a potential client. Kyle is the owner of Remodel Your Marketing , a business coach focused on remodelers. For 10 years he’s helped his clients improve their sales process, implement proven marke...

If you thought we were going to let David Gerstel off the hook with a paltry two-episode series, well think again. He’s back with some tips to improve our relationships with our subcontractors (affectionately called trade partners). These are tips he’s developed over his decades of experience in the construction business. For those of you ne’er-do-wells who haven’t listened to Ep...

David Gerstel is back to talk about the decision between hiring in-house crews or subcontractors. We also discuss the advantages of employee-centered companies. For those of you who haven’t listened to Episode 19 with David, he is a best-selling author of several construction books, including his most recent, Nail Your Numbers: A Path to Skilled Construction Estimating and Bidding . He is al...

David Gerstel joins us to talking bidding, estimating, and achieving financial freedom as a builder. David is a best-selling author of several construction books, including his most recent, Nail Your Numbers: A Path to Skilled Construction Estimating and Bidding . He is also a well-known speaker, and will be featured at the JLC Live Show November 28-30 in Portland. In addition to being an expert o...

This is the third episode in a mini-series exploring how to raise money for your projects. In this episode, we explore the logistics and other considerations of how to raise the money and structure your deals. Enjoy the episode! And one more thing…follow us on Instagram and Facebook for more tips and ideas to take your construction business to the next level! Show Notes: [1:48] – The number...

It’s time to enter the wonderful, magical world of…security cameras. Our guest, Nate Carty, explains a simple, affordable system to help with theft deterrence, subcontractor management, client communication, and more. Nate and his brother Chris are the founders of Carty Custom Builders, an Austin-based residential home home builder. Nate is a CFA Charterholder and a graduate of the University of T...

This is the second episode in a mini-series exploring how to raise money for your projects. In this episode, Jared offers tips on how to raise money and structure your deals. To get for free Jared’s deal pro forma template that he mentions at the beginning of the episode, write us a review on iTunes ( Here’s How ) and send us a message letting us know. Enjoy the episode! And one more t...

Peter Yost, one of our most popular interviews to date, returns for a short episode on more great high performance construction tips! Peter is a building science expert and VP of Technical Services with buildinggreen.com To check out Peter’s popular first interview with us, visit here . Peter will be hosting a live webinar on 7/31 over high performance building assemblies. To learn more, vis...

This is the first episode (19 minutes) in a mini-series exploring how to raise money for your projects. In this heavily opinionated, rant-laden (yet valuable) episode, Jared explores a few dangers, dead-ends, and pitfalls to avoid when raising money. Enjoy the episode! And one more thing…follow us on Instagram and Facebook for more tips and ideas to improve your business! Show Notes: [3:00] &#8211...

Nathan Owen, CPA, is an expert is accounting for contractors. In this episode he discusses best practices for subcontractors’ back offices as well as preventing fraud amongst your employees. Nathan’s company, Vine Financial Partners , provides full scope accounting solutions. Enjoy the episode! And one more thing…follow us on Instagram and Facebook for more tips and ideas to improve your business!...

James Rudnicki is a Texas attorney specializing in home building. He actually *wrote* the contracts for the Texas Association of Builders. Bottom line…he knows his stuff, probably as well as anyone. And when it comes to risk management, we can always learn a little more. Enjoy this conversation as we explore contracts, warranty liability, and lien waivers. You will learn a lot, but please don’t do...