December 8, 2025 • 39 mins
Fred Mancuso walked away from a successful career as a Chef and built FM Contracting in Chicago, IL. This interview is about how he moved from using a paint brush as a side job to running a real general contracting business with systems, subs, and large projects. We discuss his experience at our Annual Planning Retreat last year and how what he learned lead to doubling his revenue in just a year.
• moving from labor to leadership
• learning to leverage subcontractors
• building systems for estimates and agreements
• scheduling site time with intent
• creating a predictable pipeline
• preparing for first project manager hire
• targeting consistent six-figure months
• applying for a Chicago GC license
• doubling revenue through discipline
• the value of community and coaching
If you want to come hang out with Freddie and Clark, we'd love to see you guys at the retreat in January. Go to ProStruct360.com/annual-growth-retreat/ to sign up.
Join us January 11–13 in Nashville for the Chart the Course 2026 Planning Retreat. Sign up now and get three free coaching sessions before the event to finish 2025 strong and hit 2026 with a clear game plan. At the retreat, you’ll tackle systems, hiring, marketing, and leadership alongside ambitious contractors, leaving with a blueprint for growth. Spots are limited—visit prostruct360.com to learn more!
Have a question or an idea to improve the podcast?
Email us at team@prostruct360.com
Want to learn more about our software or coaching?
Visit our website at ProStruct360.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:01):
Welcome to Contractor Cuts, where we cover
the good, the bad, and the uglyof growing a successful
contracting company.
Welcome to Contractor Cuts.
My name is Clark Turner.
Thank you for joining us againtoday.
So today's podcast, I've got avery special guest with me.
A guy that I've known it feelslike forever, but it's been a
(00:24):
year.
His name's Fred Mancuzo.
Good thanks for coming on, Fred.
SPEAKER_01 (00:29):
My pleasure.
My pleasure.
Thanks for having me on thepodcast.
And thanks for flying in to uhto Chicago today.
SPEAKER_00 (00:34):
Absolutely.
So we're in Chicago, home of FMContracting, Freddy's own
construction company.
And today we're going to breakdown what where Freddie came
from, what he's doing, what'sbeen going on.
He's going to give you someinsights, some background on the
retreat.
He came on the retreat last yearas a first timer.
First time we met was on theretreat last last uh January.
(00:54):
Correct.
And then we're going to kind ofcover your ups and downs
starting.
I mean, I think Freddie, Iwanted him to come on the
podcast because you are a verytypical contractor in the way
that you started and the waythat you transitioned, but
you've kind of gone over thehump of the hardest transition.
And so I wanted to kind of focuson what makes that different.
(01:16):
What did you do?
What did what did we build overthe last year that got you out
of the truck and sling and paintall the way to how you're
full-time general contractingnow?
So it's kind of the mostdifficult spot for a contractor
is that transition from doingthe labor to not doing labor
anymore.
And I think you you did it verywell.
Um and so I think that's a greatspot that we're gonna talk about
(01:37):
today.
But let's get started at thebeginning.
Like how did you get into this?
How did you become a contractor?
Where what's kind of your originstory in this industry?
Totally.
SPEAKER_01 (01:46):
Yeah.
So I I grew up in in New York.
My father was a uh a generalcontractor, still is a general
contractor for the past 45years.
He's owned FM contracting since1980.
Wow.
Um so I kind of grew up in thebusiness.
Yeah.
Um my father always wanted me tofollow suit and and and be a
general contractor and show mehe he is uh literally a master
(02:07):
craftsman and uh he he workedfor Home Depot for for 20 years.
Wow.
Uh which was pretty cool whileuh while we were growing up.
Um he had a window and doorcompany.
Yeah.
Um, but then like eventuallylike you know transitioned to
you know building bars andrestaurants and and really honed
in on his craft throughout thepast you know 45 years.
But he was a one-man band.
Yeah, his his his whole entirelife.
(02:28):
Yeah.
So um and still is.
He's he's 65 years old, uh stillworking six days a week.
Wow.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So um yeah, I um he alwayspushed me to, you know, to learn
a little bit here and there.
And I tell you the truth,growing up, I didn't want to get
into the trades.
Yeah, I think.
I I really didn't.
SPEAKER_00 (02:45):
Um, you probably saw the grind that he was in and
under.
And was that it, or was it morejust like I want to try
something different, somethingnew?
Aaron Ross Powell For sure.
SPEAKER_01 (02:53):
Like I think I wanted it was a little bit of
both, I would say.
So I I saw the grind.
I saw that you know he wasworking every day, you know,
getting up early in the morning.
Sure.
Maybe you just wanted to getaway from my mother.
But um he's still working sixdays a week, which is which is
which is pretty crazy.
Yeah, and I I just saw thegrind.
I saw how like how hard heworked all the time.
And I'm like, I always likethought to myself, I'm like, why
(03:14):
did why don't why don't you havea helper?
Why don't you have you knowsomeone to be there with you and
and that you can delegate?
He just was like, I you know,he's like, I don't like working
with anybody else.
He goes, I just I I know what Ineed to do every day.
Yeah.
You know, I talk with thecustomer, I know how to sell
jobs, but I just I really, youknow, I don't I I I hate having
responsibility for somebody elseto show up late or you know, um,
(03:35):
you know, having to, you know,track people down, people don't
show up, and he just he justdidn't want to have that kind of
lifestyle.
SPEAKER_00 (03:41):
I mean it's a totally different skill set too.
Like uh there's a big differenceof doing the work and managing
people and dealing with the backend type stuff.
So yeah, that makes a lot ofsense.
So you didn't want to get intothat.
You know, I didn't.
You got out of the house, yougrew up a little bit in your
twenties.
SPEAKER_01 (03:58):
What did you start doing?
For sure.
Yeah.
So um right out of high school,I actually went to culinary
school.
My my mother's a really goodchef, well, really good cook,
and my my nonna you know taughther pretty much everything.
SPEAKER_02 (04:09):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (04:10):
And um, so you know, I really love to eat, so I was
like, you know, might as well goto culinary school.
So I went I went to my firstculinary school right out of uh
high school called LorenzoWalker.
Um it was just a trade school.
Uh, and then I graduated fromthere, and then I went to
Johnson and Wells University anduh I went there for two years.
I actually didn't graduate.
But um yeah, I was I was workingfull-time, going to school
(04:31):
full-time, and partyingfull-time.
Yeah, I was uh it was in Miami,it was a uh Johnson Wells uh
Miami campus.
It's not there anymore, but youknow, I you know it was uh it
was a little rough for me.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I think I caught pneumonia inthe middle of the summer.
It's just figuring out life,what this is, yeah.
Totally, totally.
And um, you know, growing up,you know, working in the
(04:51):
restaurant business and havingfriends that own restaurants or
friends' parents that ownrestaurants, they're like, don't
get into this, don't get intothis.
And I'm like, but I love eatingand I love you know being
creative and you know, and andhaving a a trade that you know
that I had a passion for, um,which I still do, but in in a
different way now.
I know I just cook at home forOlivia.
Yeah.
(05:11):
So um basically in um uh 2020hit, uh, I I was worked as a
chef for 15 years, and um, youknow, I was working nights,
weekends, holidays, and um I Imissed out on a lot um even
through my marriage.
You know, I I we got married inin 2019, um, but we were
together since uh 2017, and um Ijust I I wanted a different
(05:35):
lifestyle.
I wanted to be able tomanipulate time.
I wanted to be able to, youknow, start my start my own
company and and really uh honein on something that I knew that
I wasn't gonna be married tolike I I just it I I it was beat
up.
But to tell you the truth, whenCOVID hit, it was actually a
blessing for me.
SPEAKER_00 (05:52):
I'm sure.
Oh I mean it's being a chef isgreat, but it's I mean it's a
totally different lifestyle thananybody else has in the world,
it feels like.
Like like to be married and tobe in a relationship and be a
chef and be in restaurants, it'slike opposite schedules, I would
think.
Like she's she's up in themorning and you're not wake
until the afternoon and you'regone when she's ready to hang,
(06:13):
and you just miss each other.
SPEAKER_01 (06:14):
Totally.
So um I think we were we weregonna go out one night and
Olivia was ready to, you know,come pick me up and um from
work.
And uh I was just doing myrounds at the at the restaurant
and um one of the coolers waslike 60 degrees.
So I'm like, oh shit.
I gotta look I I have to callyou know a cooler company.
Yeah.
And I gotta go outside and tellOlivia that I'm gonna probably
(06:36):
be here for the next threehours.
So I did that.
She was literally in tearsbecause this was happening all
the time.
SPEAKER_00 (06:42):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (06:42):
And I went back inside, did what I had to do,
called the company, they cameout, and I was there, you know,
moving stuff over.
I had about$30,000 worth of foodin one cooler and had to, you
know, transfer it over to theother.
And um, so I was probably theretill like one in the morning and
uh came home and obviously shewas upset and you know um I'm
like, I you know, I had to dowhat I had to do.
(07:02):
So I woke up the next morningand I got a phone call from the
restaurant owner at 6 30 a.m.
And I'm like, hey, he goes,Where are you?
I'm like, what do you mean wheream I?
Like I I I left at one o'clockin the morning last night.
I've did my due diligence.
Like I'm falling asleep.
Yeah, literally, yeah.
I'm trying to rest before I gointo work at 12 o'clock.
(07:24):
You need to come back here.
I'm like, No, I'll call one ofmy sous chefs and he can come in
there.
Yeah.
Yeah, no, but you need to comehere now.
I'm like, I'm I'm gonna rest forthe next two hours and then I'll
come in.
Yeah.
And then um I left the house.
I remember Olivia was stillreally upset.
I got on, I think I took a bitduring the summertime, so I took
a bike, I was taking a bike towork uh in Chicago.
(07:47):
And um halfway there, I'm like,what the fuck am I doing?
SPEAKER_02 (07:49):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (07:50):
What am I doing with my life?
Yeah.
So I turned around, I shot myphone off, I went back inside.
I said, I'm I'm not doing thisanymore, Olivia.
And she goes, Really?
And then we went to the mall andspent like a thousand dollars
and I quit my job.
Yeah.
And um that was the turningpoint, I think, of of me kind of
thinking, like, hey, like I needto do something else.
(08:10):
Yeah.
Whether that's you know,painting fences, which I was for
twenty dollars an hour for likeuh three months, um or you know,
um you know, d doing somethingwith my hands or being creative.
Um so COVID hit and um didOlivia have a job at the time?
She did.
(08:31):
Okay, she did, thank God.
Um she was actually workinghere.
Oh, okay.
Yeah.
She was working here at thetime.
So kind of, you know, actuallyactually while she was working
here, she was, you know,starting her her business as
well.
So that's what I had to do.
So basically what I did was I umI went back into the restaurant
business, but I started servingat night.
And then I would I was creatingmy company during the daytime.
(08:51):
And what I would do is I wouldwork, you know, four or five
nights a week, you know, as a asa server, and I would, you know,
get uh enough money that I wouldyou know be able to buy tools
and um and slowly start mybusiness.
And then I would get little jobshere and there, um, you know,
painting for 30 bucks an hour,yeah.
And then like 45 bucks an hour.
And then I was like, oh, maybe Ican just charge per project.
(09:13):
And um yeah, and that's how thethe company kind of started
started.
And I was like, you know, I um Iyou know, uh inevitably I feel
like we turn into our parents.
Yeah.
You know?
So um I just had to kind of ripthe band-aid off and and just
accept it.
SPEAKER_00 (09:30):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, you knew you knew how todo it.
Uh you grew up with paint cannext to you, right?
Pretty much.
I don't know about that.
Holding the other end of the twoby four for dad.
Totally.
Totally.
Yeah.
So you started doing that.
That was what year was that?
This was uh 2020.
Okay.
And so you started full-time uhwell at night waiting tables at
(09:50):
day, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (09:51):
Kind of hustling, trying to figure it out.
Exactly.
Yeah.
Kind of hustling, trying tofigure it out.
And um, you know, if I had tomake any recommendations to to
people that are starting out andare afraid to just pull the
trigger to like start a company,you know, it's it's always okay
to have a little part-time jobon the side.
You know, to kind of, you know,feed, you know, pay the bills,
have a little, you know, playingaround money.
Yeah.
(10:11):
But you know.
SPEAKER_00 (10:12):
What was the hardest part in starting the company?
And uh was I'm guessing that'syour first business that you
owned, because you were workingfor other people as a chef.
What what was the most difficultpart as a business owner, kind
of going out on your own uh andtrying to figure it out?
What what was the hardest thingto figure out?
SPEAKER_01 (11:28):
Well, the hardest thing was to figure out was like
how am I going to support myfamily with just, you know, you
know, possibly getting a jobnext week.
Yeah.
You know.
Yeah.
I I had to really hone in onthinking about marketing and how
I'm gonna do sales, how um howam I, you know, what what
employees or or 1099, you know,employees that I'm gonna bring
(11:49):
on that I know that are gonnarepresent, you know, the
company.
So um yeah, it was um you know,it was a little bit difficult,
but I think it it helped me whenI was, you know, serving at
nighttime that I had that nestegg and then I I I kind of like
you know honed in during thedaytime on the business and
eventually just kind of you knowweaned out of the restaurant
business and went full time.
(12:10):
Yeah.
Which was March of last year?
SPEAKER_00 (12:15):
Wow.
Okay.
So you were that I was I wasgonna ask, I didn't realize when
you actually stopped that secondjob.
It was so you did that for fouryears-hitching.
Yeah.
Wow.
SPEAKER_01 (12:26):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (12:27):
Three and a half.
Three and a half.
What was what made you was therekind of a milestone of how much
money you're making, or whatwhat what was the uh do you
remember the the when you pulledthe trigger to quit the other
job?
What caused that?
SPEAKER_01 (12:41):
I probably I mean, I I kind of held on to the
restaurant business because itwas like, you know, I I just
knew it so well.
And I was working for a reallygreat restaurant here in
Chicago, and I I I enjoyedworking there too.
Um and then just I feel like youknow, those skills were tr
transferable too, you know, youknow, even waiting tables.
I mean, as a chef too,delegating and you know, working
with you know different peoplein different personalities.
(13:03):
And then, you know, waitingtables is you know, you're
you're you're meeting you knowdifferent families every single
day, you're you're you know,you're selling your your product
and you're buildingrelationships, which is the most
important thing.
SPEAKER_00 (13:15):
There's a community with servers and the kitchen
staff as well as the people thatcome in all the time that you
know, your regulars.
Exactly.
SPEAKER_01 (13:22):
Exactly.
So it was a little bit difficultfor me to kind of pull the
trigger, but you know, I think Iprobably could have done it
maybe six months earlier.
Yeah.
But you know, I was onlyworking, you know, three, two,
one day a week.
You know, it just depends.
And I kind of slowly, likeincrementally, like, you know,
worked less and less.
Exactly.
SPEAKER_00 (13:40):
So last March you stepped out, you went full-time.
What what did your company looklike differently three and a
half, four years down the roadthan when you started it?
I mean, was there a big changeor were you kind of doing the
same thing um last March?
Like what was Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (13:55):
I um I I I I met this guy.
So we we bought a home uh herein in in 2023, and uh the first
week we got in, my wife is like,When are you gonna when are you
gonna paint?
When are you gonna paint thehouse?
I'm like, Olivia, we just weliterally just moved in the
house.
Like, you got give me give me afew weeks, you know?
And uh so I I ended up like youknow, incrementally painting the
house, and I was like, you know,it took me a long time because
(14:17):
it was, you know, it was athree-bedroom, two-bath place.
It was quite large.
And um, I was doing this bymyself, and I just never thought
of like, I don't know, my myfather was always a one band
one-man band, and like uh henever like taught me like to
like hire on people or how toeven do so.
So I like I just thought thatwas the way I was supposed to do
things.
And um, but deep down I knewlike I could probably you know
(14:39):
hire somebody else, but they'renot gonna do it as well as I am,
right?
Unless I train them, you know.
Um so I pretty much painted thewhole entire place, except two
bathrooms, and then Olivia wasthreatening me to hire somebody
else to paint those other twobathrooms.
She had a painter on the side.
She probably did, yeah.
Yeah.
So our one of our good friends,they just bought a house at the
same time as us, and they justpainted their house, and this
(15:00):
guy did a beautiful job.
It was- I mean, they theyprobably had like seven or eight
different paints and you know,uh, you know, different accent
walls, and the house lookedgorgeous.
So Olivia's like, why don't whydon't we just call him up and
see if he can just come help us?
And I was, you know, I was doingthe my business on the side and
I was still working at nights,and she still wants me to paint
paint in the house.
And um she ended up calling him,and the guy was very confused.
(15:23):
He's like, Oh, so your husband'sa painter and you want me to
come to the house and paint yourhouse.
SPEAKER_00 (15:29):
And I'm like, Yeah, totally.
SPEAKER_01 (15:32):
That's what probably he was thinking.
And uh we actually met for acoffee, we hit it off.
His name's Joe, and he's beenworking with me now ever since.
Yeah, yeah.
So he came to yeah.
Two and a half years, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (15:42):
Olivia c called in the uh the reinforcement.
He impressed you and he he hejoined the team.
SPEAKER_01 (15:47):
Aaron Ross Powell, he did, he did.
And now he's a full-time uhemployee for me, and yeah, yeah,
where he's my he's my right-handman.
And uh he ended up you know uhhiring his his friend who's been
who he's been working with nowfor the past like forty have
been friends for like forty-fiveyears.
Yeah.
And his name's Joe.
So I got Joe and I got Bojo.
SPEAKER_00 (16:02):
Joe's Joe and Joe.
Joe and Joe.
So that was three and a half,four years by by n last year,
you were you were stillpainting, though.
You were still Yeah, I was uhyes, I was.
SPEAKER_01 (16:12):
I was with the I was with the guys.
So it was painting.
I I I knew how to install doors,windows, so we were doing a
little bit of that.
Um yeah, that was that waspretty much it.
I mean, uh you know, baseboardsif we had to um But you weren't
doing too many renovations atthe time.
Aaron Ross Powell No, no, not atall.
Not at all.
And um not until I joinedProStruct.
(16:33):
Really?
Yeah.
Because um, you know, uh it wasvery difficult for me to even
stop swinging a hammer, youknow, or slinging a paintbrush
or you know, just in general.
Aaron Powell Doing it yourself.
SPEAKER_00 (16:42):
So let's let's back up a little bit with that.
When did you how did you getinvolved with us?
When did you first hear aboutProStruct and what was kind of
like the uh the first touchpoint with us?
Aaron Powell For sure.
SPEAKER_01 (16:55):
Yeah.
So I would say it was aboutmaybe six months.
I was I was full into thebusiness.
I was like, all right, I needto, you know, be listening to
certain podcasts.
And I looked you up on on uhSpotify and it was one of the
first, you know, m uh, you know,contractor podcasts that I saw,
and I started listening to youguys, and it really just
resonated with me.
Cool.
And um, you know, I toldobviously told my wife about it,
(17:16):
and you know, she was actuallylooking for like it was during
the holidays and she was likelooking for for you know a a
gift to to give me and shesurprised me actually with um uh
because I didn't even know wellI I knew that there was a um it
was a retreat and I like maybelike talk talk to her about it
once or twice like prior,because I I I think you guys
promote it like for like I don'tknow, a couple of months pri
(17:37):
prior to.
Um but I told her about it andthen I think it was on Christmas
and she was like, Yeah, I like II I uh you know, surprise me
with um you know with a retreatand and plane tickets and and uh
you know and he's like, yeah,let's go.
SPEAKER_00 (17:49):
Let's do it.
You're happy about it now at thetime, or are you like, Olivia,
what are you doing?
I don't I haven't even talked tothese guys yet.
SPEAKER_01 (17:56):
Not really.
I was I was open to it.
I I feel like I don't know.
You're you're I think you'rejust like a likable guy.
I think I felt like I kind ofquote you on that?
My wife disagreed.
No, no, it's true.
Like I think you know listeningto you for quite some time, you
know, you seem like aneasy-going guy.
I think like uh it would be agood fit, you know, for for me
to come out and and really likehone in on um you know
(18:18):
developing systems and andwriting things down and being
more organized.
SPEAKER_00 (18:23):
Yeah.
So you came on the retreat.
We met before I mean we did likea Zoom, I think.
We did, yeah.
Maybe right right beforehand tokind of get to know each other.
You came on the retreat.
Um tell me about your retreatexperience.
Good, bad, ugly, kind of what'salways your experience.
SPEAKER_01 (18:37):
It was great.
I mean, we were in Nashville, umyou you rented out that really
beautiful space.
Um and um yeah, everybody waslike really, really nice.
Everybody just coming there tolearn and to hone in.
Uh you know, I I've had somefocusing issues, I would say,
uh, a majority of my life.
Um and I was like, you know, howam I gonna really like hone in
and um and be able to focus andwrite things down and set myself
(19:01):
up for the rest of the year?
I was a little I don't know, uhI don't know, I don't know if
nervous is the right word.
I think I was just, you know, Ijust didn't know if I was able
to process or do that.
Yeah.
And um I I think how everythingwas structured um was was
really, really nice.
And plus you brought your yourespresso machine, which uh which
(19:23):
uh really thoroughly helped me.
SPEAKER_00 (19:25):
One of the other guys uh that came on the Sean
who came on the retreat too,who's been with us forever, but
he's he went out and bought thatsame espresso machine that I
brought and now.
I gotta buy one too.
He's texting me, he's like, howdo I use this thing?
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (19:37):
So, anyways, yeah, it was it was a hit, the
espresso machine.
My family's from from fromSicily, so like I um I really
need to buy a really nicemachine so I can just like get
beans shipped and I can start onthe side and it's not a good
thing.
SPEAKER_00 (19:51):
This is I rarely have Starbucks these days
because I've uh uh you gotta bepretentious with the high-end
coffee.
So you came on the retreat, umyou learned some stuff on the
retreat.
I I think uh uh from myexperience of you on the
retreat, you were a sponge.
I mean, I I feel like you didn'tknow what you don't know.
And so, like, there was a lot oftimes on the retreat, um, and
(20:14):
again, it was two days, likeit's it wasn't a week long, but
I remember throughout it, therewas a lot of like, uh, uh, like,
oh my god, yeah, why didn't I ohI that's that's right.
I gotta do that and I gotta dothat.
So I I felt like that on theretreat, you kind of had some
large steps from my perspectiveon in terms of like zooming out
and seeing what bigger pictureshould look like for your
(20:36):
company as opposed to justliving in the weeds and being
like, this is where we're at,and it's all I know.
Cause that right, does that doesthat resonate?
SPEAKER_01 (20:43):
100%.
100% definitely resonates.
Um so I would say off the bat,like I I didn't even know uh
what subcontractors were.
Yeah.
To tell you the truth.
Because like I was like, oh,like now I could I can hire
somebody out and make some moneyon.
Like I can hire a plumber, I canhire an electrician, I can hire
flooring guys that like I canprobably get a cut off of that
(21:03):
too.
And I can start doing otherthings other than you know
painting and installing windowsand doors.
Yeah.
Profound.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
But it's it's silly becauselike, you know, I I obviously
being in the restaurant businessfor so many years, there's these
like little things that like youjust you don't think about when
you're in when you're in it, youknow.
SPEAKER_00 (21:21):
Well, and I think the the original conversation
with you too of that is likeit's and I think where what what
you just said is what where II've seen a lot of guys kind of
go wrong with the subside is andI'm not saying you did this, but
I think that it kind of itthere's a big key to what you
just said.
The a lot of people think, well,I'm just gonna be a middleman.
(21:42):
I'm gonna find the work and I'mgonna sub it out to that guy,
and that guy's gonna do thework.
And there's a difference ofrunning a job as a middleman and
subbing everything out to peopleand running a company as a
general contractor to where it'smy vision, it's my project, it's
my quote, it's my numbers, it'smy client.
Yeah, you're a sub, but I mean,arts all of my subs are in in
(22:06):
our companies are just likeemployees.
Like they're treated well,they're taken care of, we work
as a team, and it's a teameffort.
It's not a you work for me orI'm just subbing this out, you
deal with the client, I I tookmy piece and now you handle it.
But it's a I'm gonna do thispart of the effort, you do this
part of the effort.
And I think that was somethingthat you started sorting out on
the retreat of like, oh, that'stheir role, and that's my role,
(22:28):
and this is that's why thishappens.
And uh I could I could do that.
I can have that guy go do that.
Totally.
SPEAKER_01 (22:34):
Yeah, and I think majority of people too, it's
it's difficult for them to likego out and sell the job and and
get everything set up and geteverything sorted and get
everything organized.
And just like you said before,like people call me boss, and
I'm like, I'm not, I'm not yourboss.
We work as a team, and you know,if you need something, my phone
is always up, my door is alwaysopen.
And um and that's superimportant.
And that's how you havelongevity too, you know, with
(22:55):
with subs and and employees.
SPEAKER_00 (22:57):
Aaron Powell, and the guys that view subs as a
separate thing, a almost a tool.
Um those guys don't make it.
The the the way that you likethe way that I want subs to be
in a company is they are treatedlike they are treated better
than employees.
Because employees, I'm trying topay the least amount and get the
(23:17):
most work out of them.
When I move someone to asubcontractor or when I have
subs set up, I want them to makethe most money because I'm
making a percentage on top ofthat, and I want them to make
good money to where they'recoming back next week.
Totally.
Right.
And so it's it's a it's a itfeels it's the opposite.
If you treat it right, it's theopposite of how it feels on the
outside.
Because I've had a lot of guyslike like you, like with the
(23:38):
Joes, how do we transition themto subs or have how do we you
know you were you were goingdown the path of a bunch of
employees in-house.
Yes.
And I was like, well, now I'vegot I'm I'm now a babysitter,
and now I'm doing all this otherstuff and I'm trying to pay
them, and they did that, andwho's going back to fix it?
Because I already paid them todo it, but they've and all of
that stuff that you werewrestling with, where it's like,
hey, let's treat these guysreally well and make them subs,
(23:58):
or let's let's try to figure outhow to really build the company
this way.
So it's great.
So you left the retreat.
What was the conversation withOlivia the day you were leaving
the retreat?
The first day you got home, yougot back from the retreat, you
walked in the door.
What's the conversation aboutyour company?
SPEAKER_01 (24:18):
I think it was like, hey, like I really need to hone
in on not working like on jobsites.
Yeah.
And I I really need to, youknow, I I didn't even download
your your your software yet, soI downloaded the software and I
really like took time to to toyou know, because I was on I
(24:39):
think it was on Joist orsomething like that at the time.
But this is like, I mean, it'son another another level of of
what you guys do.
And um, I just I knew that Ineeded more structure.
I knew that, you know, and and Ihad a g I had a game plan now
for the rest of the year.
And I knew how much money I wasgonna make or I was gonna shoot
for, which I did.
And I I had a I had a game planof exactly what step by step I
(25:01):
needed to do.
Yeah.
And so, you know, the first youknow, couple of weeks, well, uh
when I when I s when I came backhome, I obviously was working
here and there with them.
And then I was like, all right,now I need to hone in on, you
know, you know, I'll be on jobsites Monday when when we first
start and the last day orFriday.
Yeah.
(25:26):
Just with everybody else, likeyou want you want to be in
control all the time.
But you have to let you havesometimes you you have to let go
if you want to grow.
SPEAKER_00 (25:34):
You're you're also an extrovert and you get you get
energy from being around peopleand meeting and like like we
when we were talking about therestaurant earlier, like what
you got out of being a serverthere was you didn't mention the
dollars.
Like it was a community aspect.
And you lose that a little bit,right?
And and so there's some of thatof strategically building this
(25:56):
of like I'm not gonna fill thatbucket here as much, and that's
okay.
Like if you want to like I Iremember earlier on
conversations like, great, gomeet that client out for coffee
on Saturday, but we're notdriving out there on a Wednesday
just to say hi.
Yeah.
Right.
And so it's like we're only goto the job site when you're
needed at the job site.
And this is when we go and thisis when we don't go.
(26:17):
And I thought that was a bigjump for you in terms of like
clicking like, uh, my time'smore valuable.
Totally.
I can spend my time doing theseother things that makes money
for the company versus drivingaround the town hoping to, you
know, pop in on the job site andjust show my face.
Aaron Powell Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (26:32):
My my life is so much freer too.
Like now I can go to the gym at12 o'clock if I want to.
You know, I I c I meansometimes, you know, shit hits
the fan, right?
Things happen.
But I I I try to structure mydays at night.
I write everything down hour byhour.
Yeah.
This just works for me.
And and I I have so much morefree time now.
(26:54):
And even, you know, free time athome to, you know, if I want to
cook for Olivia or if I want tohave a hobby or I want to do
other things.
Um if I didn't go into theprogram, I would not be where
I'm at right now.
I'm so much more happier.
SPEAKER_00 (27:06):
Cool.
That's awesome.
What's tell me about this lastyear?
Um you came in, you left theretreat.
I think you called me or Icalled you like three or four
days after the retreat, andyou're like, well, I guess I'm
gonna do coaching.
I remember the call.
You're like, all right, allright, I'm gonna do it.
I'm like, I'm like, you don'thave to, bro.
Like that's up to you, man.
(27:27):
We'll see you next time.
I fight with I fight withmyself, that's why.
You are uh you are frugal.
Yes.
And uh that is a good part ofyou.
Okay.
But but generous.
But no, but at the same time,like you invested well.
You know, it's and and you sawit as an investment coming in.
For sure, it is totally aninvestment.
Yeah.
(27:47):
You came in um and you came inon our growth partnership, I
think, on the the middle one.
You didn't come in on thefoundation, you already came on
the growth level.
SPEAKER_02 (27:57):
Yep, I did.
SPEAKER_00 (27:58):
Um which we negotiated and kind of talked
through which one you should beon and for sure.
And then you guide me in theright direction, too.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (28:04):
And uh, oh yeah, this is what you should do.
SPEAKER_00 (28:06):
You know, it's yeah, it's what you feel comfortable
with, you know?
You weren't ready for theexecutive level yet.
I mean, you were you're at aspot to where it was like
training wheels, right?
We gotta get things running, gotto get things moving.
Tell me about the last year, um,kind of from your perspective of
a coaching, but also like growthinternally for your company.
SPEAKER_01 (28:25):
Aaron Powell Yeah.
So I mean I started at themiddle middle tier, and um yeah,
I probably I I mean I I probablyshould have did the I wanted to
do the higher one, but I thinkI, you know, I was making enough
money that I could afford it,but like I was just afraid that,
you know, oh man, this is alarge investment.
The thing is, is when you'remaking an investment with your
(28:47):
and you're the you're making aninvestment with people that have
been there and done that it'sit's good and and especially if
you listen to the podcast too,like this there's so much
knowledge, there's some so manythings that you know you have
been through, you know,everybody else in your in your
in your you know uh surroundingshave or for you know has has
(29:08):
gone through so much um how manyhow many years have you been in
this in this business?
20 years.
I mean and and it shows.
So you know um it was difficultfor me to kind of even make a
decision to to make thatinvestment, but it was it was
probably the best decision Iever made.
Cool.
Probably the best decision Iwas.
I'm not paying him to say this,but I appreciate that.
I um I I needed systems, Ineeded structure, uh, I I needed
(29:32):
a good software that I couldplug everything in, that it it
will you know save everythingfor me and have it organized.
And even with um you know uhsubcontractor agreements and uh
CEAs, I mean I I never eventhought about you know having
these you know uh uh kind ofsystems in my life.
And it's just like I don't knowhow to not have those now in my
(29:56):
life.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So, you know, um i it it took mewhat six months uh until I I
kind of um something like that.
SPEAKER_00 (30:07):
And I like from the beginning I thought you
shouldn't have started inexecutive.
I wanted you to start on thegrowth, the lower level, because
you you didn't have any of thethat stuff.
Like we needed to get the baselevel stuff for you put
together.
And then we, you know, you kindof brought it it got to a spot
to where we both we both I thinkat the same time were like, I
(30:29):
think it's time for sure to go.
Because it's like we we weretalking once a month, and you're
like, I need a lot more thanthis at this point.
And totally.
And at the executive level, anduh, you know, if if you're just
a podcast listener, ourexecutive level is where I'm
kind of a fractional COO for thecompany.
I I'm I'm we meet every otherweek.
It's a uh on call, you know,five days a week.
(30:50):
You need something, text me,we'll talk about it.
So I kinda like we're businesspartners, I just don't own the
company, which is my favoritelevel because then it's I it's
kind of unbridled.
I don't have to throttle back mytime because you're not paying
for it, um, which is great.
Um but when you got to thatspot, it was all right, you've
got everything in place, let'spour gas on this fire.
And let's start working towardsyour first project manager hire,
(31:13):
and let's start working towardsthat.
Like there was a bunch of stuffthat was like, we need to really
start getting we need to doubledown the time spend on working
on the company.
SPEAKER_02 (31:20):
Totally.
SPEAKER_00 (31:21):
So yeah, you I think that was like July, August-ish.
Yeah.
So maybe seven months.
SPEAKER_01 (31:26):
Yeah.
Seven months.
So I'm I'm so I'm so glad that II upped it because I I really
needed the help.
I really needed the guidancetoo, because you know, you get
you have all these problems, yougot, you know, have multi- I had
multiple jobs.
I was, you know, prior to youknow starting um with the
mentorship program, I wasworking on one job.
SPEAKER_02 (31:44):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (31:45):
And I was working with the Joes and I was just
slinging paint, and we werejust, you know, I was I was we
were making good money and it wit was prosperous, but I knew
that this for the long run, thiswas not gonna be you know, this
was not gonna work out.
It's not it was not gonna besustainable.
SPEAKER_00 (32:01):
Yeah.
Well, and you had no you hadzero pipeline.
You were working zero pipeline.
What what job am I doingtomorrow?
Aaron Ross Powell For sure.
SPEAKER_01 (32:07):
That's scary because it's like, you know, uh you
know, am I gonna be able to uhwork next week?
Which I always was.
You know, I uh uh thank God Ihave a wife that you know
marketing.
She's literally a marketinggenius.
And um yeah, and it worked out,but not a lot of people have
that.
And you know, sometimes you haveto invest in yourself to have
that structure to to um you knowhave give that peace of mind,
(32:29):
because then you can look, youknow, a month down the line, two
months down the line, threemonths down the line, and know
that you know I got this set up,I got that set up, and it just
gives you, you know, it givesyou peace of mind, and you just
you feel like you're you knowI'm like a well-oiled machine,
you know.
SPEAKER_00 (32:42):
What what do you think you're you're a year into
this, um you're in the exactsame about almost the same week
as when you signed up for theretreat last year.
SPEAKER_02 (32:54):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (32:55):
Going into the retreat this year, what's the
mindset versus going in lastyear?
SPEAKER_01 (33:00):
Oh man.
It's yeah, I mean it's uh onanother level, I would say.
I mean, I I probably uh uh morethan doubled my my income from
from last year.
Uh I have multiplesubcontractors, I would say,
from you know, that are workinglike full-time with me.
Um guys, I would say, um, whichis awesome.
(33:21):
I'm almost at the point now thatI I'd I I need to hire on a PM,
I'm thinking in the next four tosix months.
I think that'll that'll that'llbe, you know.
So that's what we're gonna beworking on uh um, you know,
coming into the new year.
What I have to get to that pointis what, I'm gonna be making 100
grand uh a month, uh I would sayin in revenue, which we're
(33:42):
almost there.
Um but consecutively for what,three, four months, would you
say?
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's gonna be three months, sixfigures, let's say.
Yeah.
Which, you know, I I I know fora fact, like I know for an
absolute fact that we'll we'regonna get we're gonna get there.
Yeah.
I mean, I'm doing we're doingfull kitchen remodels, we're
doing bathroom remodels, we'redoing additions now.
I just actually um put in for myI didn't have my general
contractor's license here inChicago, but I just actually
(34:04):
mailed it in uh last night.
Aaron Ross Powell Nice.
Nice because I was showing uptoday and you had to get it.
Absolutely.
Exactly.
Exactly.
You put the pressure on the catat the last minute.
I think they showed up to the uhto the post office at like uh
4.58 last night and like justgot it in.
SPEAKER_00 (34:19):
Heck yeah, that's awesome.
Yeah.
Uh so looking forward 2026,we're hiring, we're gonna try to
double from where you're atright now.
Totally.
Uh I'm excited on the retreatbecause and what I like to do on
the retreat is for the guys incoaching, I spend a lot more
time prepping in terms of likewhat's my game plan for you?
Like what do I want for FMcontracting in 2026?
(34:40):
And I think uh there's it's it'skind of turning the volume, uh
volume up everywhere.
I think you've got a lot ofprocesses in place.
I think we there's we don't needto get into the nitty-gritty of
it, but there's a few thatprocesses I really like we've
talked about a lot, like uhhandling payments from clients
and some other stuff that wewant to really, really kind of
tweak those processes for you.
But I think there's a probablyseven to eight things we need to
(35:03):
get in place and then you'reready to hire.
And so I think it's building upthat that pipeline for the first
three, six months of 2026 as weroll around into the new year,
and then as we hit thosemilestones, boom, let's start
interviewing and and bringsomeone in.
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (35:19):
Will you will you come in for for those?
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (35:22):
Well for so part of the executive level is you get a
I I'll I'm like on yourexecutive team.
And so you bring me out uh oncea year.
Um we can do more than once ayear, but I come and like I did
uh with one of our other guysthat we just hired someone a few
months ago.
I went there for the first twoday two days of training, the
new employee.
Yeah, that's awesome.
To where it's like, hey, let'slet's because that's a whole
(35:44):
that's a third job now, right?
You you know how to do the work,and then you start managing the
work, and then hiring andmanaging an employee is a
totally new set of skills thatthat you haven't experienced
yet.
So that's a whole set ofpaperwork, that's a whole set of
how do we onboard, how do youmanage, how do you do weekly POL
meetings every Friday with them,how do we how do we grade them,
how do we give them rate, allthat stuff is what we're gonna
(36:05):
be covering Q1 for FM as westart heading that way.
So I'm super excited about.
Yeah.
So uh final thoughts, and again,this isn't a talk good about
ProStruct.
I I I really appreciate all thekind words, but like final
thoughts about um 2026 for you.
(36:26):
Like what's what's your finallike what are you excited about
2026?
What are the what's the biggoals outside of a higher?
Are you I mean, I I I think wetalked about potentially
doubling your revenue next yearis the goal.
SPEAKER_02 (36:38):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (36:38):
Um I don't know if we'll double.
I think uh my goal for you istwo mil uh in revenue uh revenue
next year, which is a littleless than double, but it'll
probably end up being double.
SPEAKER_02 (36:48):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (36:48):
Um in a higher, I think if we do those things,
that's a that's a slab dunk foryou.
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (36:53):
I I we you just gotta really gotta hone in and
be disciplined because you knowi i if you wanna if you really
want to join um this communityand this team, I mean you you
really gotta you gotta put yougotta put the time in.
Yeah.
You gotta put you gotta yougotta put you know the the man
hours and you gotta really wantit, because you know, you can
lead a horse to water, but youcan't make him drink, right?
Yeah.
(37:13):
So I'm I'm really excited, youknow, the way I was the
beginning of this year to towhere I am now, I mean, it's
it's astronomical.
I mean, um I would have nevereven thought about, you know,
and now I'm even thinking about,you know, uh you know, as a
chef, I was, you know, now I'mthinking about design for
kitchens and stuff too, is likeI know uh thinking about layouts
and and structure for that, andum, which is uh an idea that I
(37:36):
got when at the retreat.
At the retreat, which was whichwas like profound.
It was like uh you know, likethat light bulb aha moment, um,
which was awesome too.
So I'm just um I'm I'm reallyexcited to to jump into the new
year and um and and start newprojects and and and be
disciplined and um and and whenyou're honing in on your craft,
you just you feel moreaccomplished.
(37:56):
Yeah.
You know?
Yeah.
And and by going to to uh tothis retreat, you're gonna 100%
leaving more accomplished.
And that's what else do you whatelse do you want in life?
I mean, you know, if you ifyou're in this business and you
and you want to to grow and youwant to you know uh be
successful, you need to invest.
You need to invest time and youneed to invest money and and
just do it because it's gonna beworth it.
SPEAKER_00 (38:18):
Yeah.
No, no, I uh I I 100% agree withthat.
I think one one thing, if you'relistening to this and thinking
about the retreat, one of thebest things that I think we
haven't talked about and thatthere's no way to like write on
paper a capture is also thecommunity aspect of like the
evenings, of us hanging out andjust talking about music or you
know, like like everything.
SPEAKER_01 (38:38):
Everybody that's in the same industry that are that
are working together, strugglingwith the same stuff, absolutely
building the same exact stylecompanies.
SPEAKER_00 (38:44):
So it's it's a really cool way to come hang
out.
So if you want to come hang outwith Freddie and me, we'd love
to see you guys at the retreatin January.
If you're not coming on theretreat and you just want to hop
on our software, go toProstruct360.com.
If you want to come on theretreat, you can go to
contractorcuts.com.
I will do a 30-minute phone callwith you to make sure that it's
a good fit for you.
We want to make sure that it isevery company that comes, we're
(39:07):
a great fit for them and they'rea great fit for us.
Um, but sign up for a call withme.
I love to talk talk through it.
I answer any of your questionsabout the retreat.
And if you're interested incoaching and you can't come on
the retreat, hit me up.
I'd love to talk to you aboutthat too.
unknown (39:19):
Cool.
SPEAKER_00 (39:19):
Thanks so much for joining me, man.
Absolutely, man.
SPEAKER_01 (39:21):
Thanks for thanks for flying out, brother.
I appreciate you.
SPEAKER_00 (39:24):
All right, we'll talk to you soon.
Cool.
Bye guys.
Bye.
Welcome to Contractor Cuts, where we cover
the good, the bad, and the uglyof growing a successful
contracting company.
Welcome to Contractor Cuts.
My name is Clark Turner.
Thank you for joining us againtoday.
So today's podcast, I've got avery special guest with me.
A guy that I've known it feelslike forever, but it's been a
(00:24):
year.
His name's Fred Mancuzo.
Good thanks for coming on, Fred.
SPEAKER_01 (00:29):
My pleasure.
My pleasure.
Thanks for having me on thepodcast.
And thanks for flying in to uhto Chicago today.
SPEAKER_00 (00:34):
Absolutely.
So we're in Chicago, home of FMContracting, Freddy's own
construction company.
And today we're going to breakdown what where Freddie came
from, what he's doing, what'sbeen going on.
He's going to give you someinsights, some background on the
retreat.
He came on the retreat last yearas a first timer.
First time we met was on theretreat last last uh January.
(00:54):
Correct.
And then we're going to kind ofcover your ups and downs
starting.
I mean, I think Freddie, Iwanted him to come on the
podcast because you are a verytypical contractor in the way
that you started and the waythat you transitioned, but
you've kind of gone over thehump of the hardest transition.
And so I wanted to kind of focuson what makes that different.
(01:16):
What did you do?
What did what did we build overthe last year that got you out
of the truck and sling and paintall the way to how you're
full-time general contractingnow?
So it's kind of the mostdifficult spot for a contractor
is that transition from doingthe labor to not doing labor
anymore.
And I think you you did it verywell.
Um and so I think that's a greatspot that we're gonna talk about
(01:37):
today.
But let's get started at thebeginning.
Like how did you get into this?
How did you become a contractor?
Where what's kind of your originstory in this industry?
Totally.
SPEAKER_01 (01:46):
Yeah.
So I I grew up in in New York.
My father was a uh a generalcontractor, still is a general
contractor for the past 45years.
He's owned FM contracting since1980.
Wow.
Um so I kind of grew up in thebusiness.
Yeah.
Um my father always wanted me tofollow suit and and and be a
general contractor and show mehe he is uh literally a master
(02:07):
craftsman and uh he he workedfor Home Depot for for 20 years.
Wow.
Uh which was pretty cool whileuh while we were growing up.
Um he had a window and doorcompany.
Yeah.
Um, but then like eventuallylike you know transitioned to
you know building bars andrestaurants and and really honed
in on his craft throughout thepast you know 45 years.
But he was a one-man band.
Yeah, his his his whole entirelife.
(02:28):
Yeah.
So um and still is.
He's he's 65 years old, uh stillworking six days a week.
Wow.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So um yeah, I um he alwayspushed me to, you know, to learn
a little bit here and there.
And I tell you the truth,growing up, I didn't want to get
into the trades.
Yeah, I think.
I I really didn't.
SPEAKER_00 (02:45):
Um, you probably saw the grind that he was in and
under.
And was that it, or was it morejust like I want to try
something different, somethingnew?
Aaron Ross Powell For sure.
SPEAKER_01 (02:53):
Like I think I wanted it was a little bit of
both, I would say.
So I I saw the grind.
I saw that you know he wasworking every day, you know,
getting up early in the morning.
Sure.
Maybe you just wanted to getaway from my mother.
But um he's still working sixdays a week, which is which is
which is pretty crazy.
Yeah, and I I just saw thegrind.
I saw how like how hard heworked all the time.
And I'm like, I always likethought to myself, I'm like, why
(03:14):
did why don't why don't you havea helper?
Why don't you have you knowsomeone to be there with you and
and that you can delegate?
He just was like, I you know,he's like, I don't like working
with anybody else.
He goes, I just I I know what Ineed to do every day.
Yeah.
You know, I talk with thecustomer, I know how to sell
jobs, but I just I really, youknow, I don't I I I hate having
responsibility for somebody elseto show up late or you know, um,
(03:35):
you know, having to, you know,track people down, people don't
show up, and he just he justdidn't want to have that kind of
lifestyle.
SPEAKER_00 (03:41):
I mean it's a totally different skill set too.
Like uh there's a big differenceof doing the work and managing
people and dealing with the backend type stuff.
So yeah, that makes a lot ofsense.
So you didn't want to get intothat.
You know, I didn't.
You got out of the house, yougrew up a little bit in your
twenties.
SPEAKER_01 (03:58):
What did you start doing?
For sure.
Yeah.
So um right out of high school,I actually went to culinary
school.
My my mother's a really goodchef, well, really good cook,
and my my nonna you know taughther pretty much everything.
SPEAKER_02 (04:09):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (04:10):
And um, so you know, I really love to eat, so I was
like, you know, might as well goto culinary school.
So I went I went to my firstculinary school right out of uh
high school called LorenzoWalker.
Um it was just a trade school.
Uh, and then I graduated fromthere, and then I went to
Johnson and Wells University anduh I went there for two years.
I actually didn't graduate.
But um yeah, I was I was workingfull-time, going to school
(04:31):
full-time, and partyingfull-time.
Yeah, I was uh it was in Miami,it was a uh Johnson Wells uh
Miami campus.
It's not there anymore, but youknow, I you know it was uh it
was a little rough for me.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I think I caught pneumonia inthe middle of the summer.
It's just figuring out life,what this is, yeah.
Totally, totally.
And um, you know, growing up,you know, working in the
(04:51):
restaurant business and havingfriends that own restaurants or
friends' parents that ownrestaurants, they're like, don't
get into this, don't get intothis.
And I'm like, but I love eatingand I love you know being
creative and you know, and andhaving a a trade that you know
that I had a passion for, um,which I still do, but in in a
different way now.
I know I just cook at home forOlivia.
Yeah.
(05:11):
So um basically in um uh 2020hit, uh, I I was worked as a
chef for 15 years, and um, youknow, I was working nights,
weekends, holidays, and um I Imissed out on a lot um even
through my marriage.
You know, I I we got married inin 2019, um, but we were
together since uh 2017, and um Ijust I I wanted a different
(05:35):
lifestyle.
I wanted to be able tomanipulate time.
I wanted to be able to, youknow, start my start my own
company and and really uh honein on something that I knew that
I wasn't gonna be married tolike I I just it I I it was beat
up.
But to tell you the truth, whenCOVID hit, it was actually a
blessing for me.
SPEAKER_00 (05:52):
I'm sure.
Oh I mean it's being a chef isgreat, but it's I mean it's a
totally different lifestyle thananybody else has in the world,
it feels like.
Like like to be married and tobe in a relationship and be a
chef and be in restaurants, it'slike opposite schedules, I would
think.
Like she's she's up in themorning and you're not wake
until the afternoon and you'regone when she's ready to hang,
(06:13):
and you just miss each other.
SPEAKER_01 (06:14):
Totally.
So um I think we were we weregonna go out one night and
Olivia was ready to, you know,come pick me up and um from
work.
And uh I was just doing myrounds at the at the restaurant
and um one of the coolers waslike 60 degrees.
So I'm like, oh shit.
I gotta look I I have to callyou know a cooler company.
Yeah.
And I gotta go outside and tellOlivia that I'm gonna probably
(06:36):
be here for the next threehours.
So I did that.
She was literally in tearsbecause this was happening all
the time.
SPEAKER_00 (06:42):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (06:42):
And I went back inside, did what I had to do,
called the company, they cameout, and I was there, you know,
moving stuff over.
I had about$30,000 worth of foodin one cooler and had to, you
know, transfer it over to theother.
And um, so I was probably theretill like one in the morning and
uh came home and obviously shewas upset and you know um I'm
like, I you know, I had to dowhat I had to do.
(07:02):
So I woke up the next morningand I got a phone call from the
restaurant owner at 6 30 a.m.
And I'm like, hey, he goes,Where are you?
I'm like, what do you mean wheream I?
Like I I I left at one o'clockin the morning last night.
I've did my due diligence.
Like I'm falling asleep.
Yeah, literally, yeah.
I'm trying to rest before I gointo work at 12 o'clock.
(07:24):
You need to come back here.
I'm like, No, I'll call one ofmy sous chefs and he can come in
there.
Yeah.
Yeah, no, but you need to comehere now.
I'm like, I'm I'm gonna rest forthe next two hours and then I'll
come in.
Yeah.
And then um I left the house.
I remember Olivia was stillreally upset.
I got on, I think I took a bitduring the summertime, so I took
a bike, I was taking a bike towork uh in Chicago.
(07:47):
And um halfway there, I'm like,what the fuck am I doing?
SPEAKER_02 (07:49):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (07:50):
What am I doing with my life?
Yeah.
So I turned around, I shot myphone off, I went back inside.
I said, I'm I'm not doing thisanymore, Olivia.
And she goes, Really?
And then we went to the mall andspent like a thousand dollars
and I quit my job.
Yeah.
And um that was the turningpoint, I think, of of me kind of
thinking, like, hey, like I needto do something else.
(08:10):
Yeah.
Whether that's you know,painting fences, which I was for
twenty dollars an hour for likeuh three months, um or you know,
um you know, d doing somethingwith my hands or being creative.
Um so COVID hit and um didOlivia have a job at the time?
She did.
(08:31):
Okay, she did, thank God.
Um she was actually workinghere.
Oh, okay.
Yeah.
She was working here at thetime.
So kind of, you know, actuallyactually while she was working
here, she was, you know,starting her her business as
well.
So that's what I had to do.
So basically what I did was I umI went back into the restaurant
business, but I started servingat night.
And then I would I was creatingmy company during the daytime.
(08:51):
And what I would do is I wouldwork, you know, four or five
nights a week, you know, as a asa server, and I would, you know,
get uh enough money that I wouldyou know be able to buy tools
and um and slowly start mybusiness.
And then I would get little jobshere and there, um, you know,
painting for 30 bucks an hour,yeah.
And then like 45 bucks an hour.
And then I was like, oh, maybe Ican just charge per project.
(09:13):
And um yeah, and that's how thethe company kind of started
started.
And I was like, you know, I um Iyou know, uh inevitably I feel
like we turn into our parents.
Yeah.
You know?
So um I just had to kind of ripthe band-aid off and and just
accept it.
SPEAKER_00 (09:30):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, you knew you knew how todo it.
Uh you grew up with paint cannext to you, right?
Pretty much.
I don't know about that.
Holding the other end of the twoby four for dad.
Totally.
Totally.
Yeah.
So you started doing that.
That was what year was that?
This was uh 2020.
Okay.
And so you started full-time uhwell at night waiting tables at
(09:50):
day, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (09:51):
Kind of hustling, trying to figure it out.
Exactly.
Yeah.
Kind of hustling, trying tofigure it out.
And um, you know, if I had tomake any recommendations to to
people that are starting out andare afraid to just pull the
trigger to like start a company,you know, it's it's always okay
to have a little part-time jobon the side.
You know, to kind of, you know,feed, you know, pay the bills,
have a little, you know, playingaround money.
Yeah.
(10:11):
But you know.
SPEAKER_00 (10:12):
What was the hardest part in starting the company?
And uh was I'm guessing that'syour first business that you
owned, because you were workingfor other people as a chef.
What what was the most difficultpart as a business owner, kind
of going out on your own uh andtrying to figure it out?
What what was the hardest thingto figure out?
SPEAKER_01 (11:28):
Well, the hardest thing was to figure out was like
how am I going to support myfamily with just, you know, you
know, possibly getting a jobnext week.
Yeah.
You know.
Yeah.
I I had to really hone in onthinking about marketing and how
I'm gonna do sales, how um howam I, you know, what what
employees or or 1099, you know,employees that I'm gonna bring
(11:49):
on that I know that are gonnarepresent, you know, the
company.
So um yeah, it was um you know,it was a little bit difficult,
but I think it it helped me whenI was, you know, serving at
nighttime that I had that nestegg and then I I I kind of like
you know honed in during thedaytime on the business and
eventually just kind of you knowweaned out of the restaurant
business and went full time.
(12:10):
Yeah.
Which was March of last year?
SPEAKER_00 (12:15):
Wow.
Okay.
So you were that I was I wasgonna ask, I didn't realize when
you actually stopped that secondjob.
It was so you did that for fouryears-hitching.
Yeah.
Wow.
SPEAKER_01 (12:26):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (12:27):
Three and a half.
Three and a half.
What was what made you was therekind of a milestone of how much
money you're making, or whatwhat what was the uh do you
remember the the when you pulledthe trigger to quit the other
job?
What caused that?
SPEAKER_01 (12:41):
I probably I mean, I I kind of held on to the
restaurant business because itwas like, you know, I I just
knew it so well.
And I was working for a reallygreat restaurant here in
Chicago, and I I I enjoyedworking there too.
Um and then just I feel like youknow, those skills were tr
transferable too, you know, youknow, even waiting tables.
I mean, as a chef too,delegating and you know, working
with you know different peoplein different personalities.
(13:03):
And then, you know, waitingtables is you know, you're
you're you're meeting you knowdifferent families every single
day, you're you're you know,you're selling your your product
and you're buildingrelationships, which is the most
important thing.
SPEAKER_00 (13:15):
There's a community with servers and the kitchen
staff as well as the people thatcome in all the time that you
know, your regulars.
Exactly.
SPEAKER_01 (13:22):
Exactly.
So it was a little bit difficultfor me to kind of pull the
trigger, but you know, I think Iprobably could have done it
maybe six months earlier.
Yeah.
But you know, I was onlyworking, you know, three, two,
one day a week.
You know, it just depends.
And I kind of slowly, likeincrementally, like, you know,
worked less and less.
Exactly.
SPEAKER_00 (13:40):
So last March you stepped out, you went full-time.
What what did your company looklike differently three and a
half, four years down the roadthan when you started it?
I mean, was there a big changeor were you kind of doing the
same thing um last March?
Like what was Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (13:55):
I um I I I I met this guy.
So we we bought a home uh herein in in 2023, and uh the first
week we got in, my wife is like,When are you gonna when are you
gonna paint?
When are you gonna paint thehouse?
I'm like, Olivia, we just weliterally just moved in the
house.
Like, you got give me give me afew weeks, you know?
And uh so I I ended up like youknow, incrementally painting the
house, and I was like, you know,it took me a long time because
(14:17):
it was, you know, it was athree-bedroom, two-bath place.
It was quite large.
And um, I was doing this bymyself, and I just never thought
of like, I don't know, my myfather was always a one band
one-man band, and like uh henever like taught me like to
like hire on people or how toeven do so.
So I like I just thought thatwas the way I was supposed to do
things.
And um, but deep down I knewlike I could probably you know
(14:39):
hire somebody else, but they'renot gonna do it as well as I am,
right?
Unless I train them, you know.
Um so I pretty much painted thewhole entire place, except two
bathrooms, and then Olivia wasthreatening me to hire somebody
else to paint those other twobathrooms.
She had a painter on the side.
She probably did, yeah.
Yeah.
So our one of our good friends,they just bought a house at the
same time as us, and they justpainted their house, and this
(15:00):
guy did a beautiful job.
It was- I mean, they theyprobably had like seven or eight
different paints and you know,uh, you know, different accent
walls, and the house lookedgorgeous.
So Olivia's like, why don't whydon't we just call him up and
see if he can just come help us?
And I was, you know, I was doingthe my business on the side and
I was still working at nights,and she still wants me to paint
paint in the house.
And um she ended up calling him,and the guy was very confused.
(15:23):
He's like, Oh, so your husband'sa painter and you want me to
come to the house and paint yourhouse.
SPEAKER_00 (15:29):
And I'm like, Yeah, totally.
SPEAKER_01 (15:32):
That's what probably he was thinking.
And uh we actually met for acoffee, we hit it off.
His name's Joe, and he's beenworking with me now ever since.
Yeah, yeah.
So he came to yeah.
Two and a half years, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (15:42):
Olivia c called in the uh the reinforcement.
He impressed you and he he hejoined the team.
SPEAKER_01 (15:47):
Aaron Ross Powell, he did, he did.
And now he's a full-time uhemployee for me, and yeah, yeah,
where he's my he's my right-handman.
And uh he ended up you know uhhiring his his friend who's been
who he's been working with nowfor the past like forty have
been friends for like forty-fiveyears.
Yeah.
And his name's Joe.
So I got Joe and I got Bojo.
SPEAKER_00 (16:02):
Joe's Joe and Joe.
Joe and Joe.
So that was three and a half,four years by by n last year,
you were you were stillpainting, though.
You were still Yeah, I was uhyes, I was.
SPEAKER_01 (16:12):
I was with the I was with the guys.
So it was painting.
I I I knew how to install doors,windows, so we were doing a
little bit of that.
Um yeah, that was that waspretty much it.
I mean, uh you know, baseboardsif we had to um But you weren't
doing too many renovations atthe time.
Aaron Ross Powell No, no, not atall.
Not at all.
And um not until I joinedProStruct.
(16:33):
Really?
Yeah.
Because um, you know, uh it wasvery difficult for me to even
stop swinging a hammer, youknow, or slinging a paintbrush
or you know, just in general.
Aaron Powell Doing it yourself.
SPEAKER_00 (16:42):
So let's let's back up a little bit with that.
When did you how did you getinvolved with us?
When did you first hear aboutProStruct and what was kind of
like the uh the first touchpoint with us?
Aaron Powell For sure.
SPEAKER_01 (16:55):
Yeah.
So I would say it was aboutmaybe six months.
I was I was full into thebusiness.
I was like, all right, I needto, you know, be listening to
certain podcasts.
And I looked you up on on uhSpotify and it was one of the
first, you know, m uh, you know,contractor podcasts that I saw,
and I started listening to youguys, and it really just
resonated with me.
Cool.
And um, you know, I toldobviously told my wife about it,
(17:16):
and you know, she was actuallylooking for like it was during
the holidays and she was likelooking for for you know a a
gift to to give me and shesurprised me actually with um uh
because I didn't even know wellI I knew that there was a um it
was a retreat and I like maybelike talk talk to her about it
once or twice like prior,because I I I think you guys
promote it like for like I don'tknow, a couple of months pri
(17:37):
prior to.
Um but I told her about it andthen I think it was on Christmas
and she was like, Yeah, I like II I uh you know, surprise me
with um you know with a retreatand and plane tickets and and uh
you know and he's like, yeah,let's go.
SPEAKER_00 (17:49):
Let's do it.
You're happy about it now at thetime, or are you like, Olivia,
what are you doing?
I don't I haven't even talked tothese guys yet.
SPEAKER_01 (17:56):
Not really.
I was I was open to it.
I I feel like I don't know.
You're you're I think you'rejust like a likable guy.
I think I felt like I kind ofquote you on that?
My wife disagreed.
No, no, it's true.
Like I think you know listeningto you for quite some time, you
know, you seem like aneasy-going guy.
I think like uh it would be agood fit, you know, for for me
to come out and and really likehone in on um you know
(18:18):
developing systems and andwriting things down and being
more organized.
SPEAKER_00 (18:23):
Yeah.
So you came on the retreat.
We met before I mean we did likea Zoom, I think.
We did, yeah.
Maybe right right beforehand tokind of get to know each other.
You came on the retreat.
Um tell me about your retreatexperience.
Good, bad, ugly, kind of what'salways your experience.
SPEAKER_01 (18:37):
It was great.
I mean, we were in Nashville, umyou you rented out that really
beautiful space.
Um and um yeah, everybody waslike really, really nice.
Everybody just coming there tolearn and to hone in.
Uh you know, I I've had somefocusing issues, I would say,
uh, a majority of my life.
Um and I was like, you know, howam I gonna really like hone in
and um and be able to focus andwrite things down and set myself
(19:01):
up for the rest of the year?
I was a little I don't know, uhI don't know, I don't know if
nervous is the right word.
I think I was just, you know, Ijust didn't know if I was able
to process or do that.
Yeah.
And um I I think how everythingwas structured um was was
really, really nice.
And plus you brought your yourespresso machine, which uh which
(19:23):
uh really thoroughly helped me.
SPEAKER_00 (19:25):
One of the other guys uh that came on the Sean
who came on the retreat too,who's been with us forever, but
he's he went out and bought thatsame espresso machine that I
brought and now.
I gotta buy one too.
He's texting me, he's like, howdo I use this thing?
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (19:37):
So, anyways, yeah, it was it was a hit, the
espresso machine.
My family's from from fromSicily, so like I um I really
need to buy a really nicemachine so I can just like get
beans shipped and I can start onthe side and it's not a good
thing.
SPEAKER_00 (19:51):
This is I rarely have Starbucks these days
because I've uh uh you gotta bepretentious with the high-end
coffee.
So you came on the retreat, umyou learned some stuff on the
retreat.
I I think uh uh from myexperience of you on the
retreat, you were a sponge.
I mean, I I feel like you didn'tknow what you don't know.
And so, like, there was a lot oftimes on the retreat, um, and
(20:14):
again, it was two days, likeit's it wasn't a week long, but
I remember throughout it, therewas a lot of like, uh, uh, like,
oh my god, yeah, why didn't I ohI that's that's right.
I gotta do that and I gotta dothat.
So I I felt like that on theretreat, you kind of had some
large steps from my perspectiveon in terms of like zooming out
and seeing what bigger pictureshould look like for your
(20:36):
company as opposed to justliving in the weeds and being
like, this is where we're at,and it's all I know.
Cause that right, does that doesthat resonate?
SPEAKER_01 (20:43):
100%.
100% definitely resonates.
Um so I would say off the bat,like I I didn't even know uh
what subcontractors were.
Yeah.
To tell you the truth.
Because like I was like, oh,like now I could I can hire
somebody out and make some moneyon.
Like I can hire a plumber, I canhire an electrician, I can hire
flooring guys that like I canprobably get a cut off of that
(21:03):
too.
And I can start doing otherthings other than you know
painting and installing windowsand doors.
Yeah.
Profound.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
But it's it's silly becauselike, you know, I I obviously
being in the restaurant businessfor so many years, there's these
like little things that like youjust you don't think about when
you're in when you're in it, youknow.
SPEAKER_00 (21:21):
Well, and I think the the original conversation
with you too of that is likeit's and I think where what what
you just said is what where II've seen a lot of guys kind of
go wrong with the subside is andI'm not saying you did this, but
I think that it kind of itthere's a big key to what you
just said.
The a lot of people think, well,I'm just gonna be a middleman.
(21:42):
I'm gonna find the work and I'mgonna sub it out to that guy,
and that guy's gonna do thework.
And there's a difference ofrunning a job as a middleman and
subbing everything out to peopleand running a company as a
general contractor to where it'smy vision, it's my project, it's
my quote, it's my numbers, it'smy client.
Yeah, you're a sub, but I mean,arts all of my subs are in in
(22:06):
our companies are just likeemployees.
Like they're treated well,they're taken care of, we work
as a team, and it's a teameffort.
It's not a you work for me orI'm just subbing this out, you
deal with the client, I I tookmy piece and now you handle it.
But it's a I'm gonna do thispart of the effort, you do this
part of the effort.
And I think that was somethingthat you started sorting out on
the retreat of like, oh, that'stheir role, and that's my role,
(22:28):
and this is that's why thishappens.
And uh I could I could do that.
I can have that guy go do that.
Totally.
SPEAKER_01 (22:34):
Yeah, and I think majority of people too, it's
it's difficult for them to likego out and sell the job and and
get everything set up and geteverything sorted and get
everything organized.
And just like you said before,like people call me boss, and
I'm like, I'm not, I'm not yourboss.
We work as a team, and you know,if you need something, my phone
is always up, my door is alwaysopen.
And um and that's superimportant.
And that's how you havelongevity too, you know, with
(22:55):
with subs and and employees.
SPEAKER_00 (22:57):
Aaron Powell, and the guys that view subs as a
separate thing, a almost a tool.
Um those guys don't make it.
The the the way that you likethe way that I want subs to be
in a company is they are treatedlike they are treated better
than employees.
Because employees, I'm trying topay the least amount and get the
(23:17):
most work out of them.
When I move someone to asubcontractor or when I have
subs set up, I want them to makethe most money because I'm
making a percentage on top ofthat, and I want them to make
good money to where they'recoming back next week.
Totally.
Right.
And so it's it's a it's a itfeels it's the opposite.
If you treat it right, it's theopposite of how it feels on the
outside.
Because I've had a lot of guyslike like you, like with the
(23:38):
Joes, how do we transition themto subs or have how do we you
know you were you were goingdown the path of a bunch of
employees in-house.
Yes.
And I was like, well, now I'vegot I'm I'm now a babysitter,
and now I'm doing all this otherstuff and I'm trying to pay
them, and they did that, andwho's going back to fix it?
Because I already paid them todo it, but they've and all of
that stuff that you werewrestling with, where it's like,
hey, let's treat these guysreally well and make them subs,
(23:58):
or let's let's try to figure outhow to really build the company
this way.
So it's great.
So you left the retreat.
What was the conversation withOlivia the day you were leaving
the retreat?
The first day you got home, yougot back from the retreat, you
walked in the door.
What's the conversation aboutyour company?
SPEAKER_01 (24:18):
I think it was like, hey, like I really need to hone
in on not working like on jobsites.
Yeah.
And I I really need to, youknow, I I didn't even download
your your your software yet, soI downloaded the software and I
really like took time to to toyou know, because I was on I
(24:39):
think it was on Joist orsomething like that at the time.
But this is like, I mean, it'son another another level of of
what you guys do.
And um, I just I knew that Ineeded more structure.
I knew that, you know, and and Ihad a g I had a game plan now
for the rest of the year.
And I knew how much money I wasgonna make or I was gonna shoot
for, which I did.
And I I had a I had a game planof exactly what step by step I
(25:01):
needed to do.
Yeah.
And so, you know, the first youknow, couple of weeks, well, uh
when I when I s when I came backhome, I obviously was working
here and there with them.
And then I was like, all right,now I need to hone in on, you
know, you know, I'll be on jobsites Monday when when we first
start and the last day orFriday.
Yeah.
(25:26):
Just with everybody else, likeyou want you want to be in
control all the time.
But you have to let you havesometimes you you have to let go
if you want to grow.
SPEAKER_00 (25:34):
You're you're also an extrovert and you get you get
energy from being around peopleand meeting and like like we
when we were talking about therestaurant earlier, like what
you got out of being a serverthere was you didn't mention the
dollars.
Like it was a community aspect.
And you lose that a little bit,right?
And and so there's some of thatof strategically building this
(25:56):
of like I'm not gonna fill thatbucket here as much, and that's
okay.
Like if you want to like I Iremember earlier on
conversations like, great, gomeet that client out for coffee
on Saturday, but we're notdriving out there on a Wednesday
just to say hi.
Yeah.
Right.
And so it's like we're only goto the job site when you're
needed at the job site.
And this is when we go and thisis when we don't go.
(26:17):
And I thought that was a bigjump for you in terms of like
clicking like, uh, my time'smore valuable.
Totally.
I can spend my time doing theseother things that makes money
for the company versus drivingaround the town hoping to, you
know, pop in on the job site andjust show my face.
Aaron Powell Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (26:32):
My my life is so much freer too.
Like now I can go to the gym at12 o'clock if I want to.
You know, I I c I meansometimes, you know, shit hits
the fan, right?
Things happen.
But I I I try to structure mydays at night.
I write everything down hour byhour.
Yeah.
This just works for me.
And and I I have so much morefree time now.
(26:54):
And even, you know, free time athome to, you know, if I want to
cook for Olivia or if I want tohave a hobby or I want to do
other things.
Um if I didn't go into theprogram, I would not be where
I'm at right now.
I'm so much more happier.
SPEAKER_00 (27:06):
Cool.
That's awesome.
What's tell me about this lastyear?
Um you came in, you left theretreat.
I think you called me or Icalled you like three or four
days after the retreat, andyou're like, well, I guess I'm
gonna do coaching.
I remember the call.
You're like, all right, allright, I'm gonna do it.
I'm like, I'm like, you don'thave to, bro.
Like that's up to you, man.
(27:27):
We'll see you next time.
I fight with I fight withmyself, that's why.
You are uh you are frugal.
Yes.
And uh that is a good part ofyou.
Okay.
But but generous.
But no, but at the same time,like you invested well.
You know, it's and and you sawit as an investment coming in.
For sure, it is totally aninvestment.
Yeah.
(27:47):
You came in um and you came inon our growth partnership, I
think, on the the middle one.
You didn't come in on thefoundation, you already came on
the growth level.
SPEAKER_02 (27:57):
Yep, I did.
SPEAKER_00 (27:58):
Um which we negotiated and kind of talked
through which one you should beon and for sure.
And then you guide me in theright direction, too.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (28:04):
And uh, oh yeah, this is what you should do.
SPEAKER_00 (28:06):
You know, it's yeah, it's what you feel comfortable
with, you know?
You weren't ready for theexecutive level yet.
I mean, you were you're at aspot to where it was like
training wheels, right?
We gotta get things running, gotto get things moving.
Tell me about the last year, um,kind of from your perspective of
a coaching, but also like growthinternally for your company.
SPEAKER_01 (28:25):
Aaron Powell Yeah.
So I mean I started at themiddle middle tier, and um yeah,
I probably I I mean I I probablyshould have did the I wanted to
do the higher one, but I thinkI, you know, I was making enough
money that I could afford it,but like I was just afraid that,
you know, oh man, this is alarge investment.
The thing is, is when you'remaking an investment with your
(28:47):
and you're the you're making aninvestment with people that have
been there and done that it'sit's good and and especially if
you listen to the podcast too,like this there's so much
knowledge, there's some so manythings that you know you have
been through, you know,everybody else in your in your
in your you know uh surroundingshave or for you know has has
(29:08):
gone through so much um how manyhow many years have you been in
this in this business?
20 years.
I mean and and it shows.
So you know um it was difficultfor me to kind of even make a
decision to to make thatinvestment, but it was it was
probably the best decision Iever made.
Cool.
Probably the best decision Iwas.
I'm not paying him to say this,but I appreciate that.
I um I I needed systems, Ineeded structure, uh, I I needed
(29:32):
a good software that I couldplug everything in, that it it
will you know save everythingfor me and have it organized.
And even with um you know uhsubcontractor agreements and uh
CEAs, I mean I I never eventhought about you know having
these you know uh uh kind ofsystems in my life.
And it's just like I don't knowhow to not have those now in my
(29:56):
life.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So, you know, um i it it took mewhat six months uh until I I
kind of um something like that.
SPEAKER_00 (30:07):
And I like from the beginning I thought you
shouldn't have started inexecutive.
I wanted you to start on thegrowth, the lower level, because
you you didn't have any of thethat stuff.
Like we needed to get the baselevel stuff for you put
together.
And then we, you know, you kindof brought it it got to a spot
to where we both we both I thinkat the same time were like, I
(30:29):
think it's time for sure to go.
Because it's like we we weretalking once a month, and you're
like, I need a lot more thanthis at this point.
And totally.
And at the executive level, anduh, you know, if if you're just
a podcast listener, ourexecutive level is where I'm
kind of a fractional COO for thecompany.
I I'm I'm we meet every otherweek.
It's a uh on call, you know,five days a week.
(30:50):
You need something, text me,we'll talk about it.
So I kinda like we're businesspartners, I just don't own the
company, which is my favoritelevel because then it's I it's
kind of unbridled.
I don't have to throttle back mytime because you're not paying
for it, um, which is great.
Um but when you got to thatspot, it was all right, you've
got everything in place, let'spour gas on this fire.
And let's start working towardsyour first project manager hire,
(31:13):
and let's start working towardsthat.
Like there was a bunch of stuffthat was like, we need to really
start getting we need to doubledown the time spend on working
on the company.
SPEAKER_02 (31:20):
Totally.
SPEAKER_00 (31:21):
So yeah, you I think that was like July, August-ish.
Yeah.
So maybe seven months.
SPEAKER_01 (31:26):
Yeah.
Seven months.
So I'm I'm so I'm so glad that II upped it because I I really
needed the help.
I really needed the guidancetoo, because you know, you get
you have all these problems, yougot, you know, have multi- I had
multiple jobs.
I was, you know, prior to youknow starting um with the
mentorship program, I wasworking on one job.
SPEAKER_02 (31:44):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (31:45):
And I was working with the Joes and I was just
slinging paint, and we werejust, you know, I was I was we
were making good money and it wit was prosperous, but I knew
that this for the long run, thiswas not gonna be you know, this
was not gonna work out.
It's not it was not gonna besustainable.
SPEAKER_00 (32:01):
Yeah.
Well, and you had no you hadzero pipeline.
You were working zero pipeline.
What what job am I doingtomorrow?
Aaron Ross Powell For sure.
SPEAKER_01 (32:07):
That's scary because it's like, you know, uh you
know, am I gonna be able to uhwork next week?
Which I always was.
You know, I uh uh thank God Ihave a wife that you know
marketing.
She's literally a marketinggenius.
And um yeah, and it worked out,but not a lot of people have
that.
And you know, sometimes you haveto invest in yourself to have
that structure to to um you knowhave give that peace of mind,
(32:29):
because then you can look, youknow, a month down the line, two
months down the line, threemonths down the line, and know
that you know I got this set up,I got that set up, and it just
gives you, you know, it givesyou peace of mind, and you just
you feel like you're you knowI'm like a well-oiled machine,
you know.
SPEAKER_00 (32:42):
What what do you think you're you're a year into
this, um you're in the exactsame about almost the same week
as when you signed up for theretreat last year.
SPEAKER_02 (32:54):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (32:55):
Going into the retreat this year, what's the
mindset versus going in lastyear?
SPEAKER_01 (33:00):
Oh man.
It's yeah, I mean it's uh onanother level, I would say.
I mean, I I probably uh uh morethan doubled my my income from
from last year.
Uh I have multiplesubcontractors, I would say,
from you know, that are workinglike full-time with me.
Um guys, I would say, um, whichis awesome.
(33:21):
I'm almost at the point now thatI I'd I I need to hire on a PM,
I'm thinking in the next four tosix months.
I think that'll that'll that'llbe, you know.
So that's what we're gonna beworking on uh um, you know,
coming into the new year.
What I have to get to that pointis what, I'm gonna be making 100
grand uh a month, uh I would sayin in revenue, which we're
(33:42):
almost there.
Um but consecutively for what,three, four months, would you
say?
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's gonna be three months, sixfigures, let's say.
Yeah.
Which, you know, I I I know fora fact, like I know for an
absolute fact that we'll we'regonna get we're gonna get there.
Yeah.
I mean, I'm doing we're doingfull kitchen remodels, we're
doing bathroom remodels, we'redoing additions now.
I just actually um put in for myI didn't have my general
contractor's license here inChicago, but I just actually
(34:04):
mailed it in uh last night.
Aaron Ross Powell Nice.
Nice because I was showing uptoday and you had to get it.
Absolutely.
Exactly.
Exactly.
You put the pressure on the catat the last minute.
I think they showed up to the uhto the post office at like uh
4.58 last night and like justgot it in.
SPEAKER_00 (34:19):
Heck yeah, that's awesome.
Yeah.
Uh so looking forward 2026,we're hiring, we're gonna try to
double from where you're atright now.
Totally.
Uh I'm excited on the retreatbecause and what I like to do on
the retreat is for the guys incoaching, I spend a lot more
time prepping in terms of likewhat's my game plan for you?
Like what do I want for FMcontracting in 2026?
(34:40):
And I think uh there's it's it'skind of turning the volume, uh
volume up everywhere.
I think you've got a lot ofprocesses in place.
I think we there's we don't needto get into the nitty-gritty of
it, but there's a few thatprocesses I really like we've
talked about a lot, like uhhandling payments from clients
and some other stuff that wewant to really, really kind of
tweak those processes for you.
But I think there's a probablyseven to eight things we need to
(35:03):
get in place and then you'reready to hire.
And so I think it's building upthat that pipeline for the first
three, six months of 2026 as weroll around into the new year,
and then as we hit thosemilestones, boom, let's start
interviewing and and bringsomeone in.
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (35:19):
Will you will you come in for for those?
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (35:22):
Well for so part of the executive level is you get a
I I'll I'm like on yourexecutive team.
And so you bring me out uh oncea year.
Um we can do more than once ayear, but I come and like I did
uh with one of our other guysthat we just hired someone a few
months ago.
I went there for the first twoday two days of training, the
new employee.
Yeah, that's awesome.
To where it's like, hey, let'slet's because that's a whole
(35:44):
that's a third job now, right?
You you know how to do the work,and then you start managing the
work, and then hiring andmanaging an employee is a
totally new set of skills thatthat you haven't experienced
yet.
So that's a whole set ofpaperwork, that's a whole set of
how do we onboard, how do youmanage, how do you do weekly POL
meetings every Friday with them,how do we how do we grade them,
how do we give them rate, allthat stuff is what we're gonna
(36:05):
be covering Q1 for FM as westart heading that way.
So I'm super excited about.
Yeah.
So uh final thoughts, and again,this isn't a talk good about
ProStruct.
I I I really appreciate all thekind words, but like final
thoughts about um 2026 for you.
(36:26):
Like what's what's your finallike what are you excited about
2026?
What are the what's the biggoals outside of a higher?
Are you I mean, I I I think wetalked about potentially
doubling your revenue next yearis the goal.
SPEAKER_02 (36:38):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (36:38):
Um I don't know if we'll double.
I think uh my goal for you istwo mil uh in revenue uh revenue
next year, which is a littleless than double, but it'll
probably end up being double.
SPEAKER_02 (36:48):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (36:48):
Um in a higher, I think if we do those things,
that's a that's a slab dunk foryou.
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (36:53):
I I we you just gotta really gotta hone in and
be disciplined because you knowi i if you wanna if you really
want to join um this communityand this team, I mean you you
really gotta you gotta put yougotta put the time in.
Yeah.
You gotta put you gotta yougotta put you know the the man
hours and you gotta really wantit, because you know, you can
lead a horse to water, but youcan't make him drink, right?
Yeah.
(37:13):
So I'm I'm really excited, youknow, the way I was the
beginning of this year to towhere I am now, I mean, it's
it's astronomical.
I mean, um I would have nevereven thought about, you know,
and now I'm even thinking about,you know, uh you know, as a
chef, I was, you know, now I'mthinking about design for
kitchens and stuff too, is likeI know uh thinking about layouts
and and structure for that, andum, which is uh an idea that I
(37:36):
got when at the retreat.
At the retreat, which was whichwas like profound.
It was like uh you know, likethat light bulb aha moment, um,
which was awesome too.
So I'm just um I'm I'm reallyexcited to to jump into the new
year and um and and start newprojects and and and be
disciplined and um and and whenyou're honing in on your craft,
you just you feel moreaccomplished.
(37:56):
Yeah.
You know?
Yeah.
And and by going to to uh tothis retreat, you're gonna 100%
leaving more accomplished.
And that's what else do you whatelse do you want in life?
I mean, you know, if you ifyou're in this business and you
and you want to to grow and youwant to you know uh be
successful, you need to invest.
You need to invest time and youneed to invest money and and
just do it because it's gonna beworth it.
SPEAKER_00 (38:18):
Yeah.
No, no, I uh I I 100% agree withthat.
I think one one thing, if you'relistening to this and thinking
about the retreat, one of thebest things that I think we
haven't talked about and thatthere's no way to like write on
paper a capture is also thecommunity aspect of like the
evenings, of us hanging out andjust talking about music or you
know, like like everything.
SPEAKER_01 (38:38):
Everybody that's in the same industry that are that
are working together, strugglingwith the same stuff, absolutely
building the same exact stylecompanies.
SPEAKER_00 (38:44):
So it's it's a really cool way to come hang
out.
So if you want to come hang outwith Freddie and me, we'd love
to see you guys at the retreatin January.
If you're not coming on theretreat and you just want to hop
on our software, go toProstruct360.com.
If you want to come on theretreat, you can go to
contractorcuts.com.
I will do a 30-minute phone callwith you to make sure that it's
a good fit for you.
We want to make sure that it isevery company that comes, we're
(39:07):
a great fit for them and they'rea great fit for us.
Um, but sign up for a call withme.
I love to talk talk through it.
I answer any of your questionsabout the retreat.
And if you're interested incoaching and you can't come on
the retreat, hit me up.
I'd love to talk to you aboutthat too.
unknown (39:19):
Cool.
SPEAKER_00 (39:19):
Thanks so much for joining me, man.
Absolutely, man.
SPEAKER_01 (39:21):
Thanks for thanks for flying out, brother.
I appreciate you.
SPEAKER_00 (39:24):
All right, we'll talk to you soon.
Cool.
Bye guys.
Bye.
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