Construction Champions Podcast

Why Contractors Lose Money When They Scale | Connor Watumull, Miter Growing a construction business doesn't automatically mean making more money. More projects, more employees, and more revenue can create bigger problems when you don't understand what's actually happening inside your business. In this episode of Construction Champions, Ron Nussbaum sits down with Connor Watumull, co-fo...

Most contractors think they need more leads to grow their construction business. But what if the real problem is how you're selling the leads you already have? In this solo episode of Construction Champions, Ron Nussbaum breaks down why contractors struggle to close jobs, why selling on price or value alone can hold your business back, and how understanding what your customers actually want ca...

Your employee called out. Someone quit. A truck broke down. You're short-staffed. The schedule is packed. Those are real problems. But they're your business problems, not your customer's problems. In this solo episode of Construction Champions, Ron Nussbaum tackles an uncomfortable mistake construction and home service companies make every day: using internal business problems to expla...

Can building a personal brand actually help grow your construction business? For Pat Miller, the answer has been yes. Pat is the owner of Blue Diamond Construction, a 30+ year construction industry veteran, author, podcast host, and returning Construction Champions guest. Since her first appearance on the show, a lot has changed. Pat launched her own podcast, wrote a bestselling memoir, built a gr...

What does 30 years in construction teach you about running a successful contracting business? A lot of lessons learned the hard way. In this episode of Construction Champions, Ron Nussbaum sits down with contractor Robert "Bob" Leon to break down five areas he believes every contractor needs to get right: Leads. Estimating. Closing. Project management. Profitability. Bob shares what he&#...

Idle time on job sites is the silent killer nobody talks about and it's costing construction companies millions. In this episode, Eshan Jayamanne, CEO and founder of Krane, breaks down why procurement is quietly driving your schedule, your cost, and your design and why most GCs don't see it coming until it's too late. We cover: Why supply chain is the #1 leading indicator of how a project actually...

Contractors love talking about leads. Facebook ads. SEO. Marketing. But none of that matters if you can't answer the phone. In this solo episode, Ron Nussbaum shares a recent experience hiring contractors for a project at his own home and why the biggest problem wasn't price. It was everything that happened before the estimate. From unanswered phone calls to text-message "quotes"...

Every contractor wants to grow. More revenue. More crews. More jobs. But what if growth is actually making your problems worse? In this episode, Ron Nussbaum sits down with Robert Hall and Jesse Carnicom, founders of RoofAid USA, to discuss why so many construction businesses struggle when they try to scale. From leadership and systems to profitability and business structure, they explain why the...

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...