Builders, Budgets, and Beers Podcast

We sat down with Paul Sanneman, founder of Contractor Staffing Source and a straight-shooting industry veteran. Paul shared some tough love about where most builders are missing the mark on recruiting and how the industry is evolving with AI.

Learn how Levi Joseph of Ladisic Fine Homes stays competitive by streamlining back-office processes, building strong vendor relationships, and effectively managing costs. Practical insights for builders looking to improve efficiency and profitability.

Discover how to build a successful construction business by mastering the business side of the industry. Learn from Chris Atwood's insights on setting a vision, knowing your numbers, delegating, and leveraging community support to achieve growth and profitability.

Learn the three pillars of successful spec home building—understanding the market, mastering your numbers, and securing the right investors. Insights from expert builder Scott Turner, with tips on how Adaptive helps manage project financials, control costs, and streamline change orders.

Discover how custom home builders can strengthen project financials by focusing on document control, communication, and managing change orders. Learn insights from Nathan Marsala and how Adaptive’s tools streamline financial management to keep projects on time and on budget.

Discover how builders can leverage Purchase Orders (POs) to streamline projects, manage risks, and stay on budget. In this blog, Tyler Brabec, Founder of Brabec Custom Homes, shares how using POs has transformed his custom homebuilding business and how tools like Adaptive make managing POs easier than ever.

Discover the four stages of financial maturity for builders, as outlined by Luke Holcomb from Apparatus. Learn how to scale your construction business with strategic financial controls and long-term growth planning.

Learn the fundamentals of construction accounting, including how to create a chart of accounts, calculate markups, and manage your profit margins. This guide helps builders understand their financials, price projects correctly, and boost profitability with clear, actionable steps.

Bryan Uhler, Owner of Pioneer Builders, emphasizes the importance of maintaining liquidity in speculative building, highlighting that it allows builders to weather market downturns, adapt strategies, and seize investment opportunities, ensuring financial stability and long-term success in the custom home building industry.

In this episode of the Builders Budgets and Beers podcast we discuss the pros and cons of Fixed Price vs. Cost Plus building models in the construction industry. Builders Brad Robinson, President of Bradford Custom Homes & Remodeling, and Scott Bland, Owner of Jim Bland Construction, debate the merits of each approach, considering factors like risk, profit potential, overhead, client satisfaction, and quality control.

In the construction industry, managing scope creep, change orders, and unaccounted bills is crucial, especially when cash flow tightens towards the end of a project. Adam Martin of Martin Building Group emphasizes the importance of real-time approval workflows to avoid these issues. These workflows ensure that every bill is systematically reviewed and approved at multiple levels, leading to accurate job costing, timely decision-making, and prevention of costly mistakes, ultimately maintaining the project's financial and operational integrity.

Kalpana Oommen has achieved a 92% conversion rate in the competitive construction industry, even with the highest bids, by leveraging her precise project cost understanding and strong operational procedures. Early in her career, she revitalized a struggling company, driving it to $15 million in annual revenue through rigorous financial management, transparent communication, and integrity.

Zack Kelly, founder of Home Builders Financial Partners, a specialized bookkeeping and accounting firm for luxury custom home builders, joined our podcast to discuss Work in Progress (WIP) reporting.

With his wealth of experience, Mark shared some valuable lessons around how to think about debt, which is often called “leverage” because it allows you to buy more stuff. In this post, we’re sharing three key factors to understand when evaluating whether you should take out debt.