Dirt Talk Podcast

“Senior year, I made a million dollars.” When the BuildWitt crew is universally pumped to have a guest in the studio for Dirt Talk, you know you’ve got a good one. Will Schuler is CEO of Will Power Excavation, based near Indianapolis, IN. He’s only just entered his 20s, but had already built a great business. From the beginning, Will has made it clear that taking care of his employees and ensuring...

Just like Kevin McCallister got Lost there in Home Alone 2 and The Muppets took Manhattan, Aaron Witt and Eric Jumper went to New York and saw some iron. They braved the streets, they saw the dirt, and it was good. They sat down to debrief the trip and weigh in on what it’s like to drive in New York City. Additionally, like usual, there are gas station reviews followed by dozer talk. Don’t forget:...

CJ Shade of Shade Farm Management is a 6th-generation California family farmer from Santa Barbara, CA. In addition to being an avocado guy, he’s also spent plenty of time in equipment, mainly in the agriculture sector. He was kind enough to hop on a call to talk dirt and California farming. This week on Dirt Talk, host Aaron Witt chats with CJ Shade about working hard when you’re young, land clear...

This week on Dirt Talk, the guys discuss a pressing question from the internet: what is a motor grader? Aaron also digs in on the importance of our teams traveling the Dirt World before weighing in on the “perception” of consolidation in the Dirt World.  Don't forget you can watch or listen to Dirt Talk on the BuildWitt app! You can learn more about it at buildwitt.com/buildwitt-app. To connect wi...

Host Aaron Witt introduced Justin Hoerner to co-host Alex Horton via email with the subject line “Young Buck @ a Start Up”. Of course, the wheels immediately began turning, knowing that if Aaron is pumped to have another young guy on the pod, his story is going to be pretty good. Folks, Justin did not disappoint. Justin Hoerner is an Assistant Project Manager (/precon manager/marketer/assistant su...

So there are a lot of fancy restaurants here in Nashville, the home to BuildWitt. But would you ever catch your podcast hosts Aaron Witt and Alex Horton in one? That’s how this episode starts, but there’s plenty more to talk about this week, too, like: *When developing, the workforce can feel at odds with the traditional tough-guy persona of the Dirt World. *Why that persona isn’t doing us any fav...

On the outside looking in, people might think the dirt world and technology are completely unrelated. And while construction is often lagging behind, that doesn’t mean the industry is lacking in technological needs—or advancements.  This week on Dirt Talk, host Aaron Witt sits down with Austin Conti, the co-founder and CEO of Tenna. Conti talks all about his international experience in constructio...

This week on the Dirt Talk podcast, host Aaron Witt and Alex Horton discuss how economic decline affects (or doesn’t affect) the work of the Dirt World. They also dig into how that approach affects how BuildWitt does business. Later, they dig into taking the appropriate amount of ownership in a situation without letting that “ownership” be a detriment and the adverse effects of specific demographi...

The last time we chatted with Matt Moldenhauer, he told the story of how he went from “big-time business consultant” to southern logging business owner. Almost two years later, he’s back to talk about lessons learned and educate our listeners on the logging industry. He also gives a little background to his start in the industry and how he and Aaron got connected years ago. This week on Dirt Talk,...

This week on Dirt Talk, host Aaron Witt, and Alex Horton give some background to the inner machinations of BuildWitt and how/why the company is structured the way it is. They then answer questions about whether job shopping to keep management honest is a good way to keep pay competitive and the differences between construction in Europe and America.  Don't forget you can watch or listen to Dirt Ta...

In some ways, the early days of RAWSO coincided with the early days of BuildWitt. We’ll always love telling their stories, so we know just how lucky we were to sit down with the RAWSO Constructors VP of Operations, Matthew McQueen. Matthew learned work ethic from his dad before joining Eutaw Construction out of college. He moved to Middle Tennessee in 2014 and would later go on to meet RAWSO Found...

This week on Dirt Talk, Aaron and Alex discuss public speaking before diving into how BuildWitt uses investment money and how that can sometimes differ from the contractors in the Dirt World. They then chat about the importance of communicating to all of the people on the team relevant context and allowing the entire crew to “see the scoreboard” as it relates to finance and how work gets done. Lat...

Flash back a few days: Eric Jumper: “Hey man, you should have John Scepaniak on Dirt Talk. He’s a cool dude.” Alex reaches out to John. John: “Yeah, want me to just come to Nashville tomorrow?” The magic of Dirt World folks, y’all. If you want to do things right, do them in person. John Scepaniak is part of the 3rd-generation of Scepaniaks at Wm. D Scepaniak, Inc., one of the nation's leading fami...

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Dirt Talk, Alex and Aaron talk about food and ask a fundamental question: "Can you cook veggies on a hotdog roller?" Aaron talks about his “privilege,” and why BuildWitt is “doomed” because he eats at too many fancy restaurants for breakfast. Later, Aaron talks about the standard of leadership and what it should look like: don’t be a complete jerk before weighing in on ways to acquire...

It was only a short time ago that BuildWitt and C.W. Matthews got connected, and yet there's been a certain buzz among the BuildWitt folks that had been to visit some C.W. Matthews job sites: "you gotta have Dan Garcia on Dirt Talk." With a ringing endorsement like that, it was only a matter of time. Dan Garcia has been President at C.W. Matthews Contracting Co., Inc. for over 9 years. He's clearl...

This week on Dirt Talk, Aaron and Alex discuss some feedback about the structure of Dirt Talk and the complicated relationship that feedback has with creative endeavors, especially when it comes to podcasting (they're super appreciative of the feedback, though!). Later, the guys address at length a question from a contractor looking to start hiring for the first time while trying to button up the...

Sometimes, things just work out. That's how Justin Martin (CEO of Nox Group Companies, which is the umbrella corp over Corbins, among other companies) & David Brown (President of D. Brown Management) ended up on Dirt Talk. It all started with Aaron telling the Dirt Talk crew that Justin happened to be coming to town, and would be a great Dirt Talk guest. And then Justin showed up at the office to...

This week on Dirt Talk, Alex and Aaron talk about traveling to Starkville, MS via the Natchez Trace and the increase in trucks due to e-commerce. They also discuss the challenges of greatly increasing the rail system in the United States. Later, they further investigate the American infrastructure life-cycle before broaching the (sometimes) complicated topic of oil and natural gas and its difficul...

For better or for worse, Mr. Eric Jumper is back to shoot the poop with host Aaron Witt. The guys meander through all kinds of Dirt World topics, but they do spend a good bit of time on the importance of training non-Dirt World folks in the ways of the Dirt World. They also check in about the grandeur of Buc-ee's, Eric's upcoming trip to do some work with Shay Stutsman in CO, and the perils of dre...

Aaron and Alex chat about the possibility of Aaron needing to hire someone to take his CEO role someday, operator comfort, and why it's so important to make it easy for team members to make good decisions. Don't forget you can watch or listen to Dirt Talk on the BuildWitt app! You can learn more about it at buildwitt.com/buildwitt-app. To connect with other people who listen to this show, use and...

This week on Dirt Talk, host Aaron Wit regales co-host Alex Horton with the details of his recent trip to Europe. Aaron loves a play-by-play, and the short version is laid out below. Among other things: Aaron and Angel pregame their trip to Europe They met up with a few guys from Stutsman Gerbaz Inc. out of Colorado who were ALSO traveling abroad In Zurich, they took a trip to see a bridge demo, w...

Aaron and Alex discuss the flaws in the argument that the Dirt World will rebound fine from another recession and then Aaron answers questions about excavation and the “formula” new business owners can use to build their books of business. To connect with other people who listen to this show, use and search for the hashtag #betterdirtworld and join in on the conversation. If you have questions/com...

Nick Schiffer (of NS Builders fame) is back on the podcast, but this time in person! Nick and Dirt Talk host Aaron Witt chat about the complications of separating a personal brand from a business’s brand, the importance of "rising tides raise all ships" in construction, and the positive aspects of working with "competitors" to build a better market for contractors and customers. Nick also discusse...

This week on Dirt Talk, Aaron and Alex talk about Aarons’s Boston marathon run and how sometimes, you need a break from running, and other times, you just need to do the thing. They later discuss Aarons’s trip to Europe and the tremendous earthmoving power of the Midnight Force at Zurich airport. They then answer a few questions about when it makes sense for a small company to merge with a larger...