Jimmy Talks Construction

Why is it becoming so difficult to do business in Victorian construction? Annie Kessel, Executive Director of the Civil Contractors Federation Victoria, joins James on Jimmy Talks Construction for a wide-ranging conversation about the pressures facing contractors across the state — from fuel prices and rising costs to government red tape, labour shortages, housing, infrastructure and the future of...

Jed Coinu from CUDA Group joins James on Jimmy Talks Construction to talk about leaving school in Year 10, going straight into a carpentry apprenticeship and eventually building his own construction and maintenance business from the ground up. What started with flyers, Facebook community pages and literally walking into shopping centres asking for work has grown into CUDA Group — a business servic...

Craig from EDI Tree Services joins James on Jimmy Talks Construction to talk about building a tree business from the ground up, surviving cancer as a teenager, leaving school early and eventually finding a career he genuinely loves. What started with mowing lawns and taking on the occasional tree removal has grown into EDI Tree Services — a Mount Gambier-based operation handling residential, comme...

Dylan from Welsh Industries joins Jimmy to talk about building an earthmoving and civil construction business from the ground up. From selling firewood while still at school and buying his first machine, to taking on the small jobs bigger contractors didn’t want, Dylan breaks down the journey of growing Welsh Industries into larger civil projects, plant hire and tendered work. They get into the re...

Matt Garland has seen the construction industry from both sides of the fence. In this episode of Jimmy Talks Construction , Jimmy sits down with Matt Garland from Nawkaw Australia to talk about his journey through construction, from studying construction management and working for major builders to helping establish operations in London and eventually moving from the head contractor side into the...

Damien and Tara from DA Bricklaying join Jimmy Talks Construction to talk about taking bricklaying from the jobsite to the world stage. Damien has represented Australia in major bricklaying competitions in Las Vegas, laying an incredible 737 bricks in just one hour. But behind the competition is a much bigger story about building a trade business, managing a crew, working alongside your partner an...

Aaron Witt - the man behind BuildWitt and one of the biggest names in the “Dirt World” - joins Jimmy for a wide-ranging conversation about construction, business, leadership, social media and where the industry needs to go next. Aaron takes us back to working on the railroad, launching BuildWitt in 2017 and turning a passion for construction photography into a business and brand recognised across...

Angus Walker started ANA Asphalt in his early 20s with a mate, a bobcat, a couple of rollers and a plan to make some extra cash. Today, the business employs more than 100 people, runs multiple paving and profiling crews, a sizeable fleet of trucks and equipment - and is taking its next step into asphalt manufacturing. In this episode of Jimmy Talks Construction, Jimmy sits down with Angus to unpac...

Samantha from Blue Dog Cranes joins Jimmy for a conversation about building a crane business, creating a strong team culture and what it actually takes to maintain high standards as a company grows. Before cranes, Samantha worked in event management, running major e-commerce conferences and events in Australia and Las Vegas. Then, after her husband Ben saw an opportunity to do things differently i...

Can content compress a 20-year reputation-building journey into just six? Charley Li, founder of Plot Joinery, joins Jimmy to unpack how brand, trust and operational discipline helped a young architectural joinery business compete against companies with decades of experience. Charley shares how he went from studying construction management and failing to win a single client with his first business...

Mathew Ryan from Ryan Developments joins Jimmy to explain how turning over approximately $3.5 million forced him to confront the difference between running a busy building company and running a profitable one. Mathew shares his journey from completing his carpentry apprenticeship in Whittlesea to building Ryan Developments into a specialist custom-home and knockdown-rebuild company operating acros...

In this episode of Jimmy Talks Construction, James sits down with Michelle Cirson, founder of Subcontractor Legal and The Subbies’ Toolbox, to unpack the contractual and commercial traps costing Australian subcontractors millions. Michelle explains why retentions are often used to support builder cash flow, how Security of Payment legislation works, why being the “good bloke” can leave subcontract...

Max Eagles, owner of X1 Plumbing, joins Jimmy Talks Construction to share how his first plumbing business failed—and what he changed before starting again. In this episode, Max and James discuss: The difference between being a good plumber and running a profitable plumbing business Quoting a $40,000 job when the next price was approximately $70,000 The apprentice mistake that flooded an entire bas...

In this episode of Jimmy Talks Construction, Jimmy sits down with Andrew Deveson, co-founder and director of Kapitol Group, for one of the biggest conversations we’ve had on the podcast. Andrew shares the full story behind Kapitol Group’s rise — from starting with zero employees, zero revenue, and putting everything on the line, to building one of Australia’s most talked-about construction compani...

In Episode 52 of Jimmy Talks Construction, Jimmy sits down with Rhys Cooper, Managing Director of Cooper Civil, a southeast Queensland civil excavation business known for GPS excavation, Cat Next Gen gear, late-model machines and high-quality operators. Rhys shares his story from growing up in New Zealand, working in forestry, travelling across Australia operating machinery, spending years in the...

In Episode 51 of Jimmy Talks Construction, Jimmy sits down with Garath Vella from Lorden Vella to talk about the real business of building: margins, risk, hiring, subbies, COVID, cash flow, and what it actually takes to start and grow a construction company in Melbourne. Garath shares his path from plumbing, site supervision and project management into co-founding Lorden Vella during one of the mo...

In Episode 50 of Jimmy Talks Construction, Jimmy sits down with Joel Griffs from Heidi Build for a brutally honest conversation about carpentry, construction business, insurance work, and why scaling isn’t always the answer. Joel shares how Heidi Build has carved out its place by taking on custom carpentry, structural steel, excavation, concreting and insurance repair work, rather than following t...

Jimmy sits down with Mitch from Slimline Excavations to talk about leaving underground coal mining, buying a 1.7T digger and building an excavation business. They cover coal mining, subdivisions, mountain bike trail projects, helicopters in construction, training operators, hiring the right crew, pricing mistakes, business mentors and why you cannot be half-in when running a construction company....

In Episode 48 of Jimmy Talks Construction, Jimmy sits down with the three directors of Arrow Civil to talk about starting a new civil construction company in Melbourne, leaving a major contractor the right way, building a business with integrity, and backing yourself in a tough market. A great episode for anyone in civil construction, earthmoving, subdivisions, infrastructure, project management,...

In Episode 47 of Jimmy Talks Construction, James Starbuck sits down with Daniel from Complex Facade to talk high-rise construction, facade installation, scaling a subcontracting business, labour productivity, and the brutal reality of growing from apprentice to operations manager in the tier one construction space. This episode dives into Daniel’s journey from being the boss’s son and a self-descr...

James Starbuck sits down with Emmanuel Al-Jinavo, founder of Feed4Ward, for a raw construction business conversation about tradies, subcontractors, cash flow, unpaid invoices, and bad clients in the Australian construction industry. Emmanuel shares his journey from running a plumbing business to building Feed4Ward, a platform designed to help tradesmen review clients, avoid serial non-payers, and...

Dirty Business Bonus Episode, live from Las Vegas. In this special bonus episode, we sit down with Brian Hayden, winner of the CAT Global Operator Challenge, to talk all things operating, heavy equipment, and what it takes to compete at the highest level. Brian breaks down how he got started in the industry from a young age, growing up in the family business at Hayden Excavating in Maine, before w...

In Episode 45 of Jimmy Talks Construction, James Starbuck sits down with Toby, Managing Director of C&N Plumbing Services, a South Australian commercial plumbing contractor celebrating 10 years in business. Toby shares his journey from apprentice plumber to commercial plumbing business owner, including the hard lessons learned through domestic plumbing, commercial projects, remote work, civil...

In this episode of Jimmy Talks Construction, James Starbuck sits down with Steph Apostolides (Melbourne Chippy Chick) — carpenter, content creator, and founder of Trady Lady Hire. Steph shares her journey from working with her dad on-site to becoming one of the most recognised female tradies in Australia. The conversation dives into the realities of working in construction, the challenges women fa...

Jordan Chivers runs WL Chivers Plumbing - a 17-man Melbourne maintenance and emergency plumbing business that turns up in under an hour, 365 days a year. From a 14-year-old operating a Takeuchi TB108 to running one of Melbourne's go-to emergency plumbing outfits, Jordan has been on the tools since before he was out of Year 9. In this episode, Jimmy sits down with him - Managing Director of WL Chiv...