Owen sits down with Ben Milgate, a carpenter of 18 years who has successfully transitioned into running his own building company, recently acquiring his builder's license. Ben shares his journey from being a "glorified carpenter" focused on weekly pay to becoming a business owner with a holistic view of annual profitability and systems.
They discuss the critical mindset shift required, the importance of truly understanding business numbers (like operating costs vs. margins) , and how implementing specific tools like a WOW pack and project plan doubled his conversion rate almost overnight (from 20% to 40%). Ben also details his expensive lesson learned from not having a robust variation process and how he's strategically using marketing to transition into higher-end architectural builds under his new brand, Arc.
🕒 Timestamped Key Points
- [01:17] 18 years as a carpenter
- [01:55] Joined TPB as carpenter, got license 6 months later
- [02:43] Mindset shift: From weekly pay to annual profit focus
- [03:36] Understanding numbers: Operating costs vs. margins
- [04:22] Raised prices by 12% based on numbers
- [07:00] Using WOW pack/Project Plan doubled close rate (20% to 40%)
- [08:22] Getting off the tools: Now 80% off
- [14:43] First architectural build underway
- [15:24] New brand "Arc" (ARKH) targeting architects
- [29:56] Expensive lesson: The variation process leak
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