Blue Collar Business Podcast

Downtime is a profit leak, but a broken home is a life-altering bankruptcy that many leaders in the trades don’t see coming until the papers are served. In an industry where we pride ourselves on building the world around us, we often let our own foundations crumble under the weight of 70-hour weeks and the "provision" trap. We sit down with executive coach and author Cory Carlson to discuss how to stop the cycle of burno...

Downtime is not a mechanic problem, it is a profit leak that can wipe out a week of work in two days. We sit down with Matt Gillett, founder of Gillett Excavating in Michigan, to tell the truth about what it takes to grow an excavation company from a $500 start into a full service heavy civil construction and underground utilities contractor. The stories are raw because the lessons are expensive, and we want you to steal the learni...

If you’ve ever said, “We can’t find good people,” this conversation challenges the real problem: we’re not building a place good people want to belong. I’m joined by Jonathan Whistman, CEO of WhoHire and founding partner of The Sales Boss, to talk about how blue collar business owners can build a team competitors can’t beat or steal by focusing on identity, standards, and the full human experience at work. 

We dig into why...

A competitor ten times bigger rolls into town, undercuts your price, and takes your market share nearly overnight. Most owners panic, cut margins, and burn out. Ed Katz did something different: he listened to what customers kept asking for, built a system to deliver it, and turned adversity into a breakthrough that transformed commercial moving. 

We talk through Ed’s path from Wall Street to entrepreneurship, why “identify...

If your crews are working hard but the money still disappears, the leak might be communication, not effort.

We sit down with Ron Nussbaum, a Marine veteran and the founder behind BuilderComms and Builder Labs, to talk about the messy truth of construction operations and the myth that software fixes everything. Ron breaks down why the tool is only a small slice of the solution and why the real work is process, discipline, a...

This episode was filmed live at Con Expo in Las Vegas! Join us for this special episode with Chuck Harris!

A lot of construction tech looks great in a demo and then dies on the jobsite. So we recorded this one live from ConExpo 2026 in the CHC Nav booth to talk about what actually sticks when crews are tired, the schedule is tight, and the boss wants ROI now.

Chuck Harris from Benchmark Tool and Supply breaks down what’s ne...

This episode was filmed live at Con Expo in Las Vegas! Join us for this special episode with Khrysanne Kerr!

A locate mark that’s a few feet off can wreck a schedule. A utility strike can change a life. That’s why we sat down with Khrysanne Kerr from the Common Ground Alliance, one of the leaders behind the nationwide 811 Call Before You Dig campaign, to talk through what’s actually happening inside the locate system and what contra...

Want a blueprint for selling your contracting business without losing your identity or your team? We sit down with Kory Mitchell, founder of Iconic Founders Group and former CEO of a 200M environmental firm, to unpack how blue-collar owners can scale with intention, de-risk the books, and exit with clarity and control. Kory shares how he grew from a family asbestos shop to 37 locations through a mix of organic expansion and 13 acqu...

Ready to stop letting software and insurers set your prices? We sit down with restoration veteran and industry advocate Ben Justesen to map out a practical blueprint for blue-collar profit: building your own labor rates, managing WIP with confidence, and turning real culture into a recruiting edge. Ben’s story moves from a $400k patent lawsuit and five years of survival mode to leading markets in pricing by feeding data back into e...

A good pour rewards speed and precision, but building a company takes a different mix. We sit down with Kyle Harris, president of Harris Company Concrete Construction, to trace how a young finisher who loved the rush of pour days became a leader who runs on systems, coaching, and clear numbers, while navigating California’s maze of regulations without losing his edge.

Kyle walks us through the early wins and the 2008 gut p...

Some stories start with luck. Ours starts with sweat, a $20 bill, and a phone camera. Marvin went from picking shingles in small-town Wisconsin to building a trusted asphalt brand and a media engine that opened doors to stages, sponsors, and a wider mission: make blue-collar work visible, respected, and easier to win.

We dig into how simple, consistent documentation; tank fills, applications, cured results, and two-week ch...

Ever feel like you’re wearing every hat, working every hour, and still falling behind? We sat down with Missy Washam and Mayce DelValle of Mpactful Messages to unpack a blueprint that actually scales on the jobsite: connect with your people, empower with clarity, and prioritize what moves profit and life forward. No theory, just tools, stories, and steps you can use today.

We start with connection as the core of leadership...

A night shift, a permit delay, and a fresh pot of coffee changed the way Matthew Gleaves thinks about safety. Sitting in a rescue trailer with harnesses and figure eights on the table, he turned small talk into real training and watched incident rates fall while morale climbed. That moment became the spark for Confined Space Coffee, and a blueprint for building a safety culture that crews actually believe in.

We dig into M...

If you think durable companies are built on flash, this conversation will change your mind. We sit down with excavation leader Matt Bachtel to unpack a 26-year journey powered by humble starts, careful decisions, and an unwavering investment in people. From mowing lawns and delivering filters at a dealership to running multi-crew water and sewer work across Northeast Ohio, Matt shows how steady growth and clean execution beat speed...

Want to know how general contractors decide which subs to trust with real commercial work? We sit down with Baxter Horton, Director of Pre-Construction at Baldwin Shell, to open the black box of estimating, pre-con, and risk management in a way most folks never get to hear. Baxter’s path from trade partner to GC gives him a rare perspective on what actually wins a bid: clear scope, financial readiness, honest conversations, and a s...

Ever feel like the dirt world is being defined by people who’ve never set foot on a job site? We brought in Aaron Witt to flip that script with a clear, practical playbook for blue-collar storytelling, leadership development, and building a pipeline of talent who actually understands the work. Aaron walks through his journey from pipe crew laborer to scaling BuildWitt into training and events that put people first, then shows why t...

Want proof that small, consistent moves can change a business and a life? We open the year with a candid reset: what worked in 2025, what flopped, and why culture, systems, and storytelling will drive everything we do in 2026. No buzzwords. Just real lessons from a crew that learned to document the process, own mistakes, and turn that transparency into relationships, opportunities, and a stronger company.

We walk through t...

The jump from “busy” to “built” is where most blue collar shops stall. We open the hood on that leap, talking through the real costs of scaling past $1M: quality wobbling under volume, crews chasing equipment, cash flow stretched by 90-day waits, and owners buying back time with chaos. The fix isn’t a secret playbook, it’s simple systems, written approvals, and leadership that others can follow when you’re not on site.

Sy ...

You flip the key, the screen lights up, and your machine shows true elevation without a base or a model. That one moment changes everything, no waiting on stakes, no rebenching, no guessing. We brought EasyNav from CHC Navigation into our own excavator and walked through installation, setup, and real-world use with Ryan Deemer, (Skid Steer Nation) and Chuck Harris (Benchmark Tool & Supply) to see how this tech finally meets the...