Skid Steer Nation

Try TULBOXX Free — AI estimating & invoicing for contractors. First 5 estimates free, no credit card: www.tulboxx.com Graduated dead last… Now he’s paid by the same school… And built a business off word of mouth. Christian Lefley finished 77th out of 77 in his class—and now does paid work for that same school district. This episode isn’t about motivation—it’s about what actually matters when y...

Try TULBOXX Free — AI estimating & invoicing for contractors. First 5 estimates free, no credit card: www.tulboxx.com Nicholas White grew up around excavation. His father has been in the dirt business his entire life. He waited until he was almost 40 to join him — and it took a vaccine mandate to finally make it happen. Most guys in excavation started young. Nicholas took the long way around —...

He lost $4K over one line of missing wording. Not bad work. Not bad equipment. Just one mistake in a contract. Daniel jumped into excavation young with “$10K and a dream”… but commercial work hit him hard. One missed detail in a bid cost him thousands—and that was just the start. This episode is about what actually happens when you move into commercial site work: slow pay, tight margins, and contr...

He was mowing customers’ lawns… after finishing their job. Not charging for extras… because he liked them. That mindset almost killed his margins—until he flipped to utilities. Cody Cocas went from small residential jobs to multi-million dollar utility contracts in under 18 months—but not the way most guys think. The turning point wasn’t more leads or better equipment. It was realizing that being...

Most contractors complain about employees. John Seaman fired his entire crew in one day. What he built after that changed how his excavation company runs forever. Running excavation crews in the mountains of North Carolina means steep slopes, landslides, and million-dollar homes sitting on unstable ground. John Seaman built his company around solving the jobs nobody else wants to touch. But the re...

He went from renting a skid steer on weekends to landing $4 million in work in 60 days. But the real shift wasn’t equipment — it was systems. And the biggest lesson? Stop racing to the bottom on price. Jack Eso of RoseBrooke Site Development breaks down how he scaled from a side hustle to a 10-man operation doing site work, utilities, concrete, and full residential packages in North Carolina. This...

He walked away from a VP position with 208 employees. Bought one excavator. No real plan. Then learned the hard way that “booked out” doesn’t mean profitable. Jeremy Whitson left a 21-year career in the automotive industry to build Whitson Farms Excavation from scratch. What he didn’t expect? That cash flow—not equipment—would be the real battle. In this episode, Jeremy breaks down commercial work...

Running a contracting business in a small town isn’t glamorous—and Sheldon Gould doesn’t pretend it is. With over 25 years in lawn care, snow removal, land leveling, and property maintenance, Sheldon shares what it actually takes to survive when competition is tight, prices keep climbing, and growth feels slow. This episode is for contractors who are still showing up every day and wondering how to...

Most excavation and heavy civil contractors don’t fail because of bad work—they fail because of poor cash flow, bad equipment decisions, and overcomplicated growth. In this episode, Nate Morello breaks down how he’s built a lean excavation business by focusing on payment schedules, job rhythm, and technology that replaces labor instead of adding overhead. If you’re running municipal, commercial, o...

Richard Piendak didn’t just survive five decades in paving—he built, scaled, sold, and then kept working anyway . In this episode, Richard breaks down the hard-earned lessons most contractors only learn the expensive way: when to grow, when to slow down, and why simplicity beats size. If you’re trying to build a business that actually lasts—and doesn’t burn you out—this episode will hit home. Take...

You’ve probably underbid a job, got halfway through, and realized you’re working for free. Caley Stecker from C & C Land Management (Holden, Missouri) lays out exactly how he stopped doing that — and why most contractors stay stuck because they’re scared to price like a real business. This episode isn’t a “feel-good” story. It’s a straight-up playbook on pricing, scope control, customer expect...

To kick off 2026, Ryan Deemer shows up in a different way — as the guest on the Blue Collar Business Podcast. And they jump right into a question a lot of contractors have been asking for years: is GPS machine control finally affordable… or is it still just for the big outfits? They talk real numbers, simple setup, and why this kind of tech can help you move dirt faster, cut down rework, and keep...

As we head into a new year, this episode hits on something most contractors feel but rarely say out loud. Mike Johnson runs a snow removal crew, a hardscape operation, and a growing team—but the real shift came when he realized success didn’t matter if he carried stress everywhere he went. Mike breaks down how he reclaimed peace, rebuilt trust in his team, and stopped letting work steal from his h...

Matt Hobbs isn’t a marketing guy—he’s a land-clearing operator who figured out how to use Facebook like a weapon. In this episode, he breaks down the real reason his schedule filled up while others are still waiting on calls. From posting breakdowns and workouts to building a referral network that includes his competitors, Matt shares how being human—not perfect—is what builds trust that wins jobs...

This episode is a break from the usual dirt-business guest… and that’s the point. The Unhinged Rancher runs a ranch with 1,100–1,200 cows and somehow turned yelling at cows, turtles, and skid-steer projects into a real income stream. The best part: he lays out simple content rules that contractors can copy—how to hook people fast, deal with hate comments, and pivot platforms when the algorithm cha...

Most guys in dirt work hit that point where they’re slammed with jobs, but the bank account doesn’t match the workload. That was Mike McQueston—busy, worn out, and wondering where the money was going. In this episode, he breaks down how tightening up pricing, choosing better jobs, and leaning into landfill mowing turned his excavation business from “just getting by” into a real profit-maker. If yo...

Sometimes the hardest part of running a business isn’t the long hours or tough calls — it’s figuring out what comes next. In this episode, Ryan opens up about his own season of reflection: what it means to step back, redefine the vision, and start building with purpose again. No guest this week — just a raw, real talk between Ryan and you about leadership, growth, and the next evolution of Skid St...

When Sy Kirby started SY-CON, he wasn’t chasing fame—he was chasing integrity. In this episode, Sy breaks down how staying true to your word and building respect in the field can open doors that marketing never could. From turning wrenches in a mechanic shop to running crews that handle utilities and excavation across Tennessee, his approach to leadership is brutally honest and refreshingly simple...

Most guys don’t talk about the bad deals they’ve made. But Ryan Haar does, and his story will sound familiar to anyone who’s bought a “great deal” machine that turned into a money pit. Injectors failed, the drive motor quit, and what should have been a win nearly sank him before he got started. But instead of bailing, Ryan stuck with that skid steer, learned the hard lessons, and built Elite Excav...

Brent Boitano didn’t scale his excavation business by taking every job that came his way—he grew by getting crystal clear on what he doesn’t do. In this episode, Brent shares the overlooked power of saying “no,” how he built trust in a small-town market, and why focusing on quality over volume has paid off for Boitano Excavation. Brent also opens up about what it takes to hire people who show up w...

When Andrew Michael left his job as a diesel tech during the chaos of COVID, he didn’t chase scale—he chased control, family, and purpose. What started as renting equipment and testing the waters led to buying his first skid steer and embracing a solo operator model. But what really makes this episode stand out? Andrew’s mindset. This isn't just about clearing land—it’s about clearing mental c...

Joe Borowski didn’t plan to become a concrete contractor—but the market had other ideas. In this episode, Ryan Deemer sits down with the owner of Hawthorne Excavating to talk about how pouring a single hot tub pad turned into 90% of his workload. Joe shares what it’s like managing growth, staying hands-on, and slowly building a real business—not just a job. He also gets real about what it takes to...

Austin Gurney didn’t just quit his job—he quit the idea that being a great operator was enough. After moving to a new state with no contacts, he grew his excavation business fast by focusing on systems, showing up when others wouldn’t, and thinking like a business owner from day one. He didn’t build this to stay busy. He’s building it to last. Takeaways: ✅Built a steady business from scratch in a...

Matt Wolcott didn’t grow up in Tennessee—and he didn’t know a soul when he got there. But in just a year, he went from the “new guy” handing out business cards at gas stations to being the go-to name for storm shelters and mowing tough terrain. His story’s not about luck—it’s about hustle, follow-through, and solving real problems when others bail. Takeaways: ✅Matt wore his company shirts everywh...

Cason Rawson didn’t just build Apex Excavating & Underground overnight — he did it while keeping a cool head through 90-day payment delays and the pressure of feeding twelve families every week. In this episode, Cason opens up about: ✅How he bootstrapped from weekend septic jobs to multi-million-dollar bids. ✅The hard truth about government work: you’d better have four months of payroll in t...