Construction Champions Podcast

Most contractors say they can't find good people. But what if that isn't the real problem? In this episode, Ron Nussbaum sits down with Sy Kirby to discuss what's actually working in construction today. From building a recognizable brand to attracting top talent, using AI to streamline operations, and creating systems that scale, this conversation is packed with practical advice from s...

America is celebrating 250 years. Think about that. The history. The battles. The victories. The failures. Every great nation and every great company has one thing in common: A story. In this special July 4th episode, Ron Nussbaum challenges business owners to think differently about reputation, legacy, and the story they're writing every single day. Because if you don't tell your story…So...

You finished the work. The customer is happy. The invoice was sent. So why haven't you been paid? In this episode, Ron Nussbaum sits down with George, co-founder of Monk, to tackle one of the biggest challenges in construction: Getting paid on time. From broken payment systems and long payment cycles to administrative delays and cash flow problems, this conversation dives into why contractors...

Partnerships don't fail because of paperwork. They fail because nobody had the hard conversations first. In this episode, Ron Nussbaum shares lessons from both successful and failed partnerships and breaks down the four critical questions every business owner needs to ask before bringing on a partner. This isn't legal advice. It's the conversation that should happen before the attorney...

A full schedule doesn’t mean you’re profitable. And being “busy” doesn’t mean your business is healthy. In this episode, Ron Nussbaum sits down with returning guest Mick Hawes to break down one of the biggest hidden problems in construction: Most contractors don’t actually understand pricing. From “hope strategy” estimating to hidden overhead costs, this conversation dives into why so many constru...

Gas prices go up… And suddenly every contractor says they need to raise prices. But when gas prices dropped? Nobody lowered them. That’s the real problem. In this episode, Ron Nussbaum breaks down one of the biggest hidden issues in construction: Most contractors don’t actually understand their pricing. From fuel costs to labor to overhead, this episode dives into why so many construction companie...

Most contractors blame the market. These guys built success in one of the hardest construction markets in the world. In this episode, Ron Nussbaum sits down with Daniel Monteiro and Trevor Munson from Reedy Contracting Group to break down what it actually takes to succeed in high-pressure, high-speed construction environments like New York City. From culture and leadership to systems, risk managem...

Most construction delays don’t start in the field. They start long before the project even begins. In this episode, Ron Nussbaum sits down with Scott Reynolds from UpCodes to break down one of the biggest hidden killers in construction: Code compliance and permitting mistakes. From plan reviews to inspections to rework, they dive into why projects get held up, how communication breaks down between...

Most contractors are still doing takeoffs the same way they did 20 years ago. Manual. Slow. Taking nights and weekends. And it’s costing them bids. In this episode, Ron Nussbaum sits down with Shiva Dhawan, CEO of Beam Ai, to break down how AI is changing pre-construction and how contractors can go from manual estimating to automated workflows in as little as two weeks. If you’re missing bids or y...

There’s a problem in the construction industry…And it’s not contractors. It’s the people selling to them. In this episode, Ron Nussbaum calls out one of the most frustrating and overlooked issues in construction today, predatory services, consultants, and “experts” taking advantage of real business owners. From Facebook groups to “helpful advice,” too many people are pushing products instead of so...

Most contractors don’t fail because of big mistakes. They fail because of small ones. Showing up late. Messy trucks. No structure. No standards. In this episode, Ron Nussbaum breaks down why discipline in the small things is the real difference between average and elite construction businesses. Because how you do the little things…is exactly how your company does everything. Connect with Ron Linke...

Most construction business owners are chasing revenue. More jobs. More trucks. More chaos. But what if that’s the exact reason you’re not making money? In this episode, Ron Nussbaum sits down with Paul Maskill to break down the truth about profitability in construction and why revenue doesn’t equal success. From simplifying your numbers to identifying the real drivers of profit, this conversation...

Callbacks aren’t just costing you money… They’re destroying your reputation, your schedule, and your future work. In this episode, Ron Nussbaum breaks down the real impact of callbacks and why most contractors are thinking about them completely wrong. From opportunity cost to lost trust, Ron dives into what “error-free excellence” actually looks like and how you can start eliminating callbacks in...

In this episode of Construction Champions, Ron Nussbaum sits down with Austin Trautman to break down one of the most misunderstood concepts in construction right now: how a home actually functions as a system. Austin introduces a powerful way to think about buildings, treating them like a human body. The walls act like skin. The ventilation system acts like lungs. And when those two don’t work tog...

What if the biggest problem in your construction business… is simply not doing what you say? In this episode, Ron Nussbaum breaks down the number one thing that separates struggling contractors from those with more work than they can handle. It’s not better tools. It’s not more marketing. It’s not even pricing. It’s integrity and execution. From missed meetings to poor communication to unfinished...

Everyone in construction is chasing software like it’s the silver bullet. But what if it’s not? In this episode, Ron Nussbaum breaks down one of the biggest misconceptions in the industry that software alone will fix your business. After spending years in both construction and software, Ron shares the hard truth: Software is only 20% of the solution. The real work? Systems. Processes. Accountabili...

Everyone in construction is chasing AI right now. Faster workflows. Smarter tools. Less work. But here’s the truth nobody is talking about…AI doesn’t fix broken businesses. It exposes them. If your data is messy, scattered, or not tracked at all, AI will not make you better. It will make you faster at being wrong. In this episode, Ron breaks down the real problem in construction today, and why mos...

In this episode of the Construction Champions Podcast, Ron challenges the entire construction industry to take on 75 Hard, the mental toughness program created by Andy Frisella. Ron shares how the program helped him rediscover discipline, mental toughness, and leadership clarity and why construction leaders need this kind of structure now more than ever. Connect with Ron LinkedIn: https://www.link...

Hiring is one of the biggest decisions a contractor will ever make. But most construction business owners hire based on stress, workload, or gut feeling, not numbers. In this episode of the Construction Champions Podcast, Ron Nussbaum sits down with financial expert Timothy Wingate to break down the critical numbers contractors must understand before hiring employees. If you hire too early, you de...

Most contractors think staying busy means they’re winning. It doesn’t. In this episode of Construction Champions, Ron Nussbaum breaks down why “keeping the crews busy” is the most dangerous lie in construction. Revenue does not equal profit. Big jobs do not equal healthy cash flow. Being busy does not mean you’re building wealth. Ron explains: The revenue addiction plaguing construction The differ...

Most construction business owners know they need SOPs. Almost none of them have SOPs their team actually uses. In this episode of Construction Champions, Ron Nussbaum sits down with Butch Santucci to break down why SOPs fail in construction, why most contractors overcomplicate them, and how to build systems that actually get followed in the real world. Butch explains why trying to document everyth...

Most construction businesses don’t lose money because of bad work. They lose money because of communication breakdowns. In this episode of Construction Champions, Ron Nussbaum breaks down the five biggest communication failures he has seen over nearly four years of studying, building, teaching, and fixing communication inside construction companies across the country. Ron doesn’t just call out the...

Insurance work can be incredibly profitable or it can completely destroy a contractor if it’s done wrong. In this episode of Construction Champions, Ron Nussbaum sits down with Galen Hare, owner of Insurance Claim HQ, to break down the most common legal and contractual pitfalls contractors fall into when dealing with insurance claims. Galen explains why vague contracts and sales-driven contingenci...

Contractors hear it all the time: know your numbers. But no one ever explains what that actually means. In this episode of Construction Champions, Ron Nussbaum breaks down construction business numbers in a way most contractors have never seen before, not from accounting reports or complicated spreadsheets, but from a simple, practical funnel perspective. Ron explains how every construction busine...

The home services industry has a reputation problem and it’s not because contractors don’t work hard. In this episode of Construction Champions, Ron Nussbaum sits down with Bobby Gibbons, a home-services operator who has seen the industry from every angle: employee, salesperson, technician, and business owner. Bobby breaks down why customers don’t trust contractors, why companies race to the botto...