Built to Build: Blog

If you’re ready to excel in leadership, better your team culture, and set up repeatable systems for growth, then register for the Jobber Professional Development Day.  It is a one-day event of expert and actionable advice for construction business owners on March 24, 2021. And it’s 100% free and online.…
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MOST CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS OWNERS ARE STUCK When you started your construction business, you didn’t set out to become an unpaid employee in a profitless business.  You didn’t start your construction business so you could do a lot of paperwork, argue with strangers about the price of your estimates, and lose…
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MOST CONSTRUCTION BUSINESSES AREN’T BALANCED You sell a product or service for money. That’s where your business starts. SALES. If you aren’t able to deliver value to your customers and make a profit, then your business is out of balance. Construction businesses, as well as businesses in general, must stay…
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HOW TO HIRE THE RIGHT EMPLOYEES FOR YOUR CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS If you’re having trouble finding the right employees for your construction business, then you’re probably looking for them as opposed to attracting them. Without a systematic way to attract, prequalify, and indoctrinate your next best employee into your company, your…
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HOW TO ORGANIZE YOUR CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS FOR SUCCESS As soon as you read the words ‘organizational chart,’ your brain conjures up an image of some complex flowchart in the back of an employee handbook. You’ll think, “I don’t really need one of those for my construction business”, especially if you…
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HOW TO CREATE ENGAGED EMPLOYEES FOR YOUR CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS Most of your employees are not engaged in the work they do. Sure, they show up and put in their time, but they have little to no passion about the job itself.  They also suck the energy out of your business.…
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In this episode of the Profit First Professionals – Grow My Accounting Practice Podcast – Shawn joins the Profit First OG – Mike Michalowicz and the co-founder of Profit First Professionals, Ron Saharyan to discuss niche specialization, how not to launch a book, and the two things you need to…
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YOUR BUSINESS STARTS HERE Many construction business owners don’t have a marketing plan for their business. The reason many businesses don’t have a plan is because they don’t know where to start. Start with your Profit and Loss Statement (P&L) and reverse engineer your marketing plan from there. (Read this…
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CUSTOMERS ALWAYS ASK THIS QUESTION You’ve talked about the budget with your potential customer, and they have agreed to pay you for the planning and estimating work. (What?!!! You’re giving this work away for free?  Stop. Get this free sales training program.)  The next question customers always ask is, “When…
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NO ONE LIKES DELIVERING BAD NEWS You probably remember the last time you had to call a customer and deliver bad news.  It sucks.  Not just for you, but for the customer, too. The pain of disappointing your customers is compounded when you wait until the last minute to contact…
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YOU MUST MAKE A PROFIT The goal of every business is to make a profit. If that statement makes you feel uneasy, check out this diagram to see what your construction business SHOULDN’T be. You need to identify the opportunities that generate a profit, or you’ll be out of business.…
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BECOME MORE PRODUCTIVE BY DOING LESS We all have the same number of hours in a day. But why is it that some people seem to get more done or be more effective than others?  This was a question I struggled with for a long time so I started researching…
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WELCOME TO THE NEW AND IMPROVED SVD Now it is easier than ever for you to find the business tools you need, apply for a program in the Build to Build Academy, or book me for a speaking gig. DROP IN ON THE CONVERSATION: NEW PODCAST PAGE And, after being asked…
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RISING MATERIAL PRICES & SHUTDOWNS CAUSE DELAYS FOR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS Lumber prices are higher than they have been since 2018, according to NAHB. In fact, the Random Lengths Framing Composite Price is up 50% since April 2020. Higher prices for construction materials, combined with the shutdown of manufacturing plants and…
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In Episode 12 of the Builtby Podcast, Shawn shares some of his proven tactics to turn managers and owners into true home improvement leaders. Listen and learn: Shawns experience in the industry and engineering that helped him become a better business manager. The proven five-step process that Shawn used –…
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HOW (AND WHY) TO SELL YOUR VALUE, NOT YOUR PRICE FREE ESTIMATES ARE NOT FREE Most construction business owners spend countless hours estimating, scheduling, and planning projects for people who never intend to actually buy. All those hours spent chasing clients add up. Free estimates are not free at all.…
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On Season 1 Episode 6 of the EXtreme Carolina Podcast, MichaelLevi Borkman and Shawn discuss Shawn’s path to becoming a construction business coach, his work as an author, as well as the most valuable advice he has received throughout his career.

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR PROFITS IN A COVID-19 WORLD ADJUSTING TO THE NEW NORMAL Mask wearing, social distancing, and zoom meetings are the new normal. These changes are minor in comparison to finding the new normal in your construction business.  How do you take care of your employees’ needs, maintain…
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HOW TO CREATE PREDICTABLE REVENUE FOR YOUR CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS WHAT’S YOUR PLAN? Most construction business owners don’t have a plan when a crisis occurs or the market changes. We get so caught up in reacting to the day to day fires that planning for the future gets delayed.    JUST…
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In this Episode of the Contractor Growth Network Podcast, Shawn details the Craftsman Cycle, how a friend convinced him to run his business, and why every contractor should be charging for professional services. Plus, how you don’t have to have a contracting background to run a successful contracting business.

BUILDBOOK WEB APP: COMMUNICATION SIMPLIFIED FOR YOUR CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS POOR COMMUNICATION COSTS MONEY Poor communication is the number one reason construction businesses lose money.  It’s hard to keep track of all the calls, texts, emails, and face-to-face interactions that happen throughout each project.  Forget one detail, and you may have…
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In Episode 96 of the Market Proof Marketing Podcast, Shawn discusses how trades and craftsmen are faring in the current business climate, and how, with the right construction risk management plan, they can build a recession-proof business for today and years to come. He covers: The biggest question… what have…
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BUILT TO BUILD ACADEMY OUTTAKES DON’T TAKE YOURSELF TOO SERIOUSLY Nobody’s perfect. Watch the video to see what is usually “fixed in post” in our weekly videos. In the Built to Build Academy, we don’t take ourselves too seriously. We save the seriousness for mentoring and creating confident construction business…
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BUILT TO LEAD: HOW TO RUN YOUR CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS ON AUTOPILOT THERE ISN’T ENOUGH TIME TO DO IT ALL A lot of construction businesses fail.  You might be tempted to think they fail because they ran out of money. But, running out of money is just a symptom of running…
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BUILT TO GROW: WHY YOU NEED SYSTEMS TO RUN YOUR BUSINESS ARE YOU THE BOTTLENECK OF YOUR BUSINESS? There are four phases in managing a construction business or, what I call, the Contractor Journey: Doer, Thinker, Communicator, and Leader.  If you feel like you’re constantly stuck on the treadmill of…
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