November 3, 2025 • 11 mins
We share a simple plan to keep projects moving while you take real time off for the holidays. From mapping jobs to setting firm boundaries with crews and clients, we focus on clear expectations that protect schedule, margin, and your sanity.
• mapping active, starting, and closing jobs over the break
• building a quick timeline without a formal gantt
• calling subs to confirm workdays, deliverables, and return dates
• aligning homeowner permissions for on‑site holiday work
• stocking materials and tools before stores close
• setting one‑call boundaries and clear escalation rules
• preparing solo operators to unplug without stalling progress
• planning a Monday walk‑through to reset and reassure
Contact me, reach out, go to the ProStruct360.com website and go to contact us and reach out to me. Get signed up for the retreat coming up in just a few months, January 11th through 13th of 2026.
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
Mark as Played
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, andtoday it is an episode of
Coaching Cuts.
These are our shorter formedpodcasts that have uh cover
(00:23):
topics that I usually coverone-on-one in coaching sessions.
So anytime stuff comes up incoaching sessions and multiple
people are asking aboutsomething, I like to take note
and cover them during ourcoaching cuts podcast.
So today we are talking aboutprepping for the holidays.
This time of year, we did alonger forum podcast uh a year
or two ago about this topiccoming into November.
(00:47):
Uh, and we like to cover thistopic pre-Thanksgiving because
Thanksgiving, Christmas, NewYear's, uh, fall or winter
break, coming into spring breakaround the corner, all of these
are times that we're taking timeoff of work uh and trying to
rest, relax, be with family.
And if you don't do it properly,those times become stressful.
(01:10):
You have clients calling,unexpected, unmet expectations
from customers, you got crewsthat are upset.
So today we're gonna talkthrough what you should be doing
right now to prepare forThanksgiving break and what you
should be doing a week or twoout from any sort of holiday to
make sure it goes smoothly andwe keep our reputation, we don't
(01:31):
lose money, and we can take thetime with our families as we
need.
All right.
First and foremost, number onething you should start doing is
planning out the next few weeksof your work.
We need to lay out gantt chartsof the jobs.
And if you don't gant chart, ifyou don't have kind of the
longer version of projections ofwhat you're doing, at least
(01:52):
going into these breaks andthese periods where you're gonna
be off work, take time and atleast try to do it uh pen and
paper on what jobs you have.
So we need to look at your jobs.
If you're in ProStruck 360software, you pull that out and
we go through our jobs.
What jobs have landed, what areapproved, what should be
starting, what clients areexpecting us to get started, uh,
what jobs are currently goingthat aren't gonna get closed out
(02:15):
in the next week or two.
Uh I'm looking at what is extwhat should be going on during
the break, during the time off,what might be getting started
right before then, what might beclosing out all over those days.
And I want to lay out and circlethe jobs that will be continuing
during that break or starting orneed communication during it.
(02:36):
So I now I've boiled my list ofall these jobs down to here are
the seven jobs, here are the tenjobs, here are the five jobs
that I have either going,starting, closing out, need
follow-up, whatever it is.
And I'm gonna start looking atthose jobs.
Okay, what on these jobs am Idoing over the break?
So uh my example ofThanksgiving, I'm taking
(02:56):
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday off,maybe Thursday, Friday off, and
that weekend, whatever it is, Iam now looking at, okay, what
jobs in two weeks, three weeksam I going to be doing on that
Thursday, Friday, and over thatweekend?
What will be open?
Who's gonna be where?
Now that I've laid those jobsout, I know what jobs they are,
I know what ones uh I can expectto be on.
(03:18):
Um, I might have a job startingDecember 1st that I need to
start prepping for, that I needto think about ahead of time.
Uh, whatever it is, I'm layingout earlier before the week of
or the week before to figure outwhat is needed for those.
All right, so I've got thatlist, I've got it all laid out,
what is happening?
Next thing I'm doing, I'mlooking at the crews, my
(03:39):
vendors, labor, subs, whoever'sgonna be out at those projects
around that time, who is itgonna be?
Uh, non-Americans often that areworking for us don't celebrate
Thanksgiving.
They just want to keep workingthrough that week.
Or you might have someone thatdoesn't celebrate Christmas or
wants to just plow through thenew year and keep working every
(04:00):
single day.
Whatever it is during the break,we we need to plan for our jobs
to continue without us being onsite uh or managing or available
those days.
So I'm looking at those crews,and the first thing I'm doing is
saying, okay, here are my fivejobs of these.
These are the three jobs that weprobably will be swinging
hammers doing work at the jobsite during the break.
(04:21):
I'm gonna look at what crews areon these jobs and who's gonna be
there.
And I'm gonna start callingthrough these crews.
I'm gonna call up Bob'sPlumbing, who's doing a full
replumb on a property that thatweek for me, let's say.
Bob, hey, this is this is Clark.
I want to check in with you.
I know Thanksgiving's a coupleweeks out.
What are your hours?
What are your schedules?
Where do you think you're gonnabe at?
What can you promise me will bedone by the time you break for
(04:43):
Thanksgiving?
And when will you be comingback?
Let's have a conversation ofwhat the job's gonna look like,
what the job site is.
And I'm taking notes.
All right, so on 123 MainStreet, Bob is gonna be out
there.
He's gonna be uh Wednesday's isgonna be his last day.
He'll be back on that followingMonday.
He's gonna be hopefully to thisuh point uh uh by that
Wednesday.
Who else is gonna be out there?
(05:04):
Oh, Steve is gonna be there.
He's running um some sheetrockupstairs for us, so I'm gonna
talk to Steve.
So I'm calling all of my crewstwo weeks out to say, hey, what
does it look like?
What are your plans?
Are you gonna be working?
Are you not gonna be working?
Uh if I got a general crew,let's say there's a crew that
says, Hey, we're working throughThanksgiving.
I don't have family around, I'mjust gonna keep keep going.
(05:26):
I need the money, I need to getthese jobs done.
I say, no problem, we can we cantalk about that uh as we get
there.
Let me talk with my client, letme make sure that they're okay
with us being in the property atthat time.
Uh and so now after I understandwhat the crews are gonna be
doing, working throughThanksgiving, taking the time
off, uh, or if I maybe I'mplanning for a vacation of my
own, and so I know they're gonnabe working those weeks, I'm
(05:47):
talking about what work they'regonna be doing while I'm gone.
I want to know exactly while I'mnot here, what do I need to prep
for?
So if there's an issue thathappens while I'm taking a
holiday or vacation, I I canhave it prepared for.
All right, so now I've talked tomy crews, now I've talked
through uh I have a game plan ofthese are the jobs I'll be on,
(06:08):
these are the crews that'll beon site.
The last step is calling myclients and saying, hey, listen,
this is our game plan.
We, you know, Thanksgiving istwo weeks away.
I want to make sure that we'reall on the same page.
I know this is your personalhouse, but we're tearing your
kitchen up already.
So are you okay with my guysworking through Thanksgiving?
Or hey, just so you know, we'reWednesday's gonna be our last
day, we're taking Thursday andFriday off.
(06:28):
Um, this this is uh what you canexpect being done by Wednesday.
Uh any questions that you have,and oftentimes you get requests
that you don't expect, right?
Like, hey, I know that you guysare storing all your stuff at
this location, but if you can,can you move all that to the
garage during uh since you'regonna be gone for five days?
Can you make sure that this areais clear?
(06:49):
Can you make sure that, hey, Iknow that you wanted to get that
stuff done?
Can you go ahead and paint thedining room so I can have dinner
in there?
I know that's kind of out oforder, but if you can get that
area squared away for us, right?
And so you start having thoseconversations with your clients
about what they need, what theirexpectations are.
And even if they want us to keepworking, hey, we're not gonna be
there those days, right?
(07:10):
So if I am have having a crewwork through the holiday or uh
while I'm on vacation, I'msaying, okay, listen, what are
your plans for Thanksgiving?
Is it okay if my guys are here?
Uh or that's an investmentproperty.
Um, is it fine for us to keepworking there?
All right, so we know what workshappening, we've talked to the
crew, the vendors that are gonnabe on site.
We've now talked to the clientand we have a game plan of
(07:32):
everything, and everyone knowswhat's going on.
The last step that we do in thisis I'm gonna call my crews
Monday, Tuesday.
I'm gonna say, hey, listen, uh,I'm gone Thursday, Friday.
I know you're gonna work throughthe holiday.
That's not a problem, but I'mnot working through the holiday.
And when you're on site,oftentimes that means I'm
working.
So here's what we're gonna dofor the break.
(07:52):
Wednesday, I need you to cut outaround three, and I need you to
go to Home Depot, go to Lowe's,go to the supply house, buy
everything you're gonna need forThursday, Friday, Saturday,
Sunday.
I do not want you to be callingme on those days.
I think Home Depot and Lowe'sare closed on Thanksgiving Day.
Um, but I do not want to beworking myself.
So let's do a walkthrough on theproject.
(08:14):
I want you to tell me what youthink you're gonna be doing.
I want to answer every questionyou're gonna have.
And during my break, you areallowed one phone call.
Save it.
Make one purchase and one phonecall.
So don't call me every day.
You have you're allowed to callme once.
So let's talk today, Wednesday,about what's happening Thursday,
Friday, Saturday.
Give me one call Fridayafternoon, Saturday morning,
(08:35):
whatever it is.
I will answer one phone callfrom you with questions.
Go to Home Depot on Saturdaymorning and I'll make one phone
sale for you for a purchase, orgo ahead and make the purchases,
keep the receipts, and I'll payyou back for them.
Whatever it is, I am preppingthem that I'm not available.
Even though they're on job site,they are available.
That doesn't mean I'm available.
(08:55):
So I'm calling my crews, I'msitting down with them, I'm
walking the job sites Tuesdayand Wednesday before
Thanksgiving, and I'm laying outwhat they should be doing, what
they should be purchasingWednesday afternoon, and what
their expectations should be ofme while I'm gone.
And I say the same thing to thehomeowner.
Like, listen, my guys areworking here.
If something goes wrong, feelfree to reach out, shoot me a
(09:17):
text.
If you have any questions, I'llbe back here to walk the job
site Monday morning.
So we can walk it then, makesure everything is still on
track.
But I'm gonna be taking sometime off and I'll be away from
my phone a lot of the break.
So uh if I don't answer, ittakes me a day or two to get
back to you.
Just know that uh it you'restill important to me, right?
And so we're having thatconversation with the client,
(09:38):
we're having the conversationwith the the crew the day
before, day two days before thatwe're taking the time off.
If you were doing this as aone-man show or as a company
that that is running things,this will allow you the freedom
to take these vacations andholidays and that sort of thing.
Now, it's a different level onceyou have an employee, once you
have project managers, how we dovacation.
(09:59):
That's a if you come in thecoaching program, we'll we'll
walk through that.
We have a full spreadsheet ofhow you do it and what you do
and how you pass off jobs.
But if you're a one-man show, asolo preneur that is out there
doing work, this is the strategyto do it.
I don't, I'm not passing offwork because it's all still on
my plate.
I want to make sure that thingskeep going while I'm not here
(10:20):
and that I answer everyquestion.
So Thursday, Friday, Saturday ofmy Thanksgiving break, I don't
have phone calls the whole time.
I can just unplug and be with myfamily.
If you have any questions aboutthis, anything to add to this,
contact me, reach out, go to theProShruk360.com website and go
to contact us and reach out tome.
I'd love to have a phone callwith you, talk about it, also
get signed up for the retreatcoming up in just a few months,
(10:43):
uh, coming up January 11ththrough 13th of 2026.
So thanks so much for listening.
Hope this helps, and we'll talkto you next week.
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, andtoday it is an episode of
Coaching Cuts.
These are our shorter formedpodcasts that have uh cover
(00:23):
topics that I usually coverone-on-one in coaching sessions.
So anytime stuff comes up incoaching sessions and multiple
people are asking aboutsomething, I like to take note
and cover them during ourcoaching cuts podcast.
So today we are talking aboutprepping for the holidays.
This time of year, we did alonger forum podcast uh a year
or two ago about this topiccoming into November.
(00:47):
Uh, and we like to cover thistopic pre-Thanksgiving because
Thanksgiving, Christmas, NewYear's, uh, fall or winter
break, coming into spring breakaround the corner, all of these
are times that we're taking timeoff of work uh and trying to
rest, relax, be with family.
And if you don't do it properly,those times become stressful.
(01:10):
You have clients calling,unexpected, unmet expectations
from customers, you got crewsthat are upset.
So today we're gonna talkthrough what you should be doing
right now to prepare forThanksgiving break and what you
should be doing a week or twoout from any sort of holiday to
make sure it goes smoothly andwe keep our reputation, we don't
(01:31):
lose money, and we can take thetime with our families as we
need.
All right.
First and foremost, number onething you should start doing is
planning out the next few weeksof your work.
We need to lay out gantt chartsof the jobs.
And if you don't gant chart, ifyou don't have kind of the
longer version of projections ofwhat you're doing, at least
(01:52):
going into these breaks andthese periods where you're gonna
be off work, take time and atleast try to do it uh pen and
paper on what jobs you have.
So we need to look at your jobs.
If you're in ProStruck 360software, you pull that out and
we go through our jobs.
What jobs have landed, what areapproved, what should be
starting, what clients areexpecting us to get started, uh,
what jobs are currently goingthat aren't gonna get closed out
(02:15):
in the next week or two.
Uh I'm looking at what is extwhat should be going on during
the break, during the time off,what might be getting started
right before then, what might beclosing out all over those days.
And I want to lay out and circlethe jobs that will be continuing
during that break or starting orneed communication during it.
(02:36):
So I now I've boiled my list ofall these jobs down to here are
the seven jobs, here are the tenjobs, here are the five jobs
that I have either going,starting, closing out, need
follow-up, whatever it is.
And I'm gonna start looking atthose jobs.
Okay, what on these jobs am Idoing over the break?
So uh my example ofThanksgiving, I'm taking
(02:56):
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday off,maybe Thursday, Friday off, and
that weekend, whatever it is, Iam now looking at, okay, what
jobs in two weeks, three weeksam I going to be doing on that
Thursday, Friday, and over thatweekend?
What will be open?
Who's gonna be where?
Now that I've laid those jobsout, I know what jobs they are,
I know what ones uh I can expectto be on.
(03:18):
Um, I might have a job startingDecember 1st that I need to
start prepping for, that I needto think about ahead of time.
Uh, whatever it is, I'm layingout earlier before the week of
or the week before to figure outwhat is needed for those.
All right, so I've got thatlist, I've got it all laid out,
what is happening?
Next thing I'm doing, I'mlooking at the crews, my
(03:39):
vendors, labor, subs, whoever'sgonna be out at those projects
around that time, who is itgonna be?
Uh, non-Americans often that areworking for us don't celebrate
Thanksgiving.
They just want to keep workingthrough that week.
Or you might have someone thatdoesn't celebrate Christmas or
wants to just plow through thenew year and keep working every
(04:00):
single day.
Whatever it is during the break,we we need to plan for our jobs
to continue without us being onsite uh or managing or available
those days.
So I'm looking at those crews,and the first thing I'm doing is
saying, okay, here are my fivejobs of these.
These are the three jobs that weprobably will be swinging
hammers doing work at the jobsite during the break.
(04:21):
I'm gonna look at what crews areon these jobs and who's gonna be
there.
And I'm gonna start callingthrough these crews.
I'm gonna call up Bob'sPlumbing, who's doing a full
replumb on a property that thatweek for me, let's say.
Bob, hey, this is this is Clark.
I want to check in with you.
I know Thanksgiving's a coupleweeks out.
What are your hours?
What are your schedules?
Where do you think you're gonnabe at?
What can you promise me will bedone by the time you break for
(04:43):
Thanksgiving?
And when will you be comingback?
Let's have a conversation ofwhat the job's gonna look like,
what the job site is.
And I'm taking notes.
All right, so on 123 MainStreet, Bob is gonna be out
there.
He's gonna be uh Wednesday's isgonna be his last day.
He'll be back on that followingMonday.
He's gonna be hopefully to thisuh point uh uh by that
Wednesday.
Who else is gonna be out there?
(05:04):
Oh, Steve is gonna be there.
He's running um some sheetrockupstairs for us, so I'm gonna
talk to Steve.
So I'm calling all of my crewstwo weeks out to say, hey, what
does it look like?
What are your plans?
Are you gonna be working?
Are you not gonna be working?
Uh if I got a general crew,let's say there's a crew that
says, Hey, we're working throughThanksgiving.
I don't have family around, I'mjust gonna keep keep going.
(05:26):
I need the money, I need to getthese jobs done.
I say, no problem, we can we cantalk about that uh as we get
there.
Let me talk with my client, letme make sure that they're okay
with us being in the property atthat time.
Uh and so now after I understandwhat the crews are gonna be
doing, working throughThanksgiving, taking the time
off, uh, or if I maybe I'mplanning for a vacation of my
own, and so I know they're gonnabe working those weeks, I'm
(05:47):
talking about what work they'regonna be doing while I'm gone.
I want to know exactly while I'mnot here, what do I need to prep
for?
So if there's an issue thathappens while I'm taking a
holiday or vacation, I I canhave it prepared for.
All right, so now I've talked tomy crews, now I've talked
through uh I have a game plan ofthese are the jobs I'll be on,
(06:08):
these are the crews that'll beon site.
The last step is calling myclients and saying, hey, listen,
this is our game plan.
We, you know, Thanksgiving istwo weeks away.
I want to make sure that we'reall on the same page.
I know this is your personalhouse, but we're tearing your
kitchen up already.
So are you okay with my guysworking through Thanksgiving?
Or hey, just so you know, we'reWednesday's gonna be our last
day, we're taking Thursday andFriday off.
(06:28):
Um, this this is uh what you canexpect being done by Wednesday.
Uh any questions that you have,and oftentimes you get requests
that you don't expect, right?
Like, hey, I know that you guysare storing all your stuff at
this location, but if you can,can you move all that to the
garage during uh since you'regonna be gone for five days?
Can you make sure that this areais clear?
(06:49):
Can you make sure that, hey, Iknow that you wanted to get that
stuff done?
Can you go ahead and paint thedining room so I can have dinner
in there?
I know that's kind of out oforder, but if you can get that
area squared away for us, right?
And so you start having thoseconversations with your clients
about what they need, what theirexpectations are.
And even if they want us to keepworking, hey, we're not gonna be
there those days, right?
(07:10):
So if I am have having a crewwork through the holiday or uh
while I'm on vacation, I'msaying, okay, listen, what are
your plans for Thanksgiving?
Is it okay if my guys are here?
Uh or that's an investmentproperty.
Um, is it fine for us to keepworking there?
All right, so we know what workshappening, we've talked to the
crew, the vendors that are gonnabe on site.
We've now talked to the clientand we have a game plan of
(07:32):
everything, and everyone knowswhat's going on.
The last step that we do in thisis I'm gonna call my crews
Monday, Tuesday.
I'm gonna say, hey, listen, uh,I'm gone Thursday, Friday.
I know you're gonna work throughthe holiday.
That's not a problem, but I'mnot working through the holiday.
And when you're on site,oftentimes that means I'm
working.
So here's what we're gonna dofor the break.
(07:52):
Wednesday, I need you to cut outaround three, and I need you to
go to Home Depot, go to Lowe's,go to the supply house, buy
everything you're gonna need forThursday, Friday, Saturday,
Sunday.
I do not want you to be callingme on those days.
I think Home Depot and Lowe'sare closed on Thanksgiving Day.
Um, but I do not want to beworking myself.
So let's do a walkthrough on theproject.
(08:14):
I want you to tell me what youthink you're gonna be doing.
I want to answer every questionyou're gonna have.
And during my break, you areallowed one phone call.
Save it.
Make one purchase and one phonecall.
So don't call me every day.
You have you're allowed to callme once.
So let's talk today, Wednesday,about what's happening Thursday,
Friday, Saturday.
Give me one call Fridayafternoon, Saturday morning,
(08:35):
whatever it is.
I will answer one phone callfrom you with questions.
Go to Home Depot on Saturdaymorning and I'll make one phone
sale for you for a purchase, orgo ahead and make the purchases,
keep the receipts, and I'll payyou back for them.
Whatever it is, I am preppingthem that I'm not available.
Even though they're on job site,they are available.
That doesn't mean I'm available.
(08:55):
So I'm calling my crews, I'msitting down with them, I'm
walking the job sites Tuesdayand Wednesday before
Thanksgiving, and I'm laying outwhat they should be doing, what
they should be purchasingWednesday afternoon, and what
their expectations should be ofme while I'm gone.
And I say the same thing to thehomeowner.
Like, listen, my guys areworking here.
If something goes wrong, feelfree to reach out, shoot me a
(09:17):
text.
If you have any questions, I'llbe back here to walk the job
site Monday morning.
So we can walk it then, makesure everything is still on
track.
But I'm gonna be taking sometime off and I'll be away from
my phone a lot of the break.
So uh if I don't answer, ittakes me a day or two to get
back to you.
Just know that uh it you'restill important to me, right?
And so we're having thatconversation with the client,
(09:38):
we're having the conversationwith the the crew the day
before, day two days before thatwe're taking the time off.
If you were doing this as aone-man show or as a company
that that is running things,this will allow you the freedom
to take these vacations andholidays and that sort of thing.
Now, it's a different level onceyou have an employee, once you
have project managers, how we dovacation.
(09:59):
That's a if you come in thecoaching program, we'll we'll
walk through that.
We have a full spreadsheet ofhow you do it and what you do
and how you pass off jobs.
But if you're a one-man show, asolo preneur that is out there
doing work, this is the strategyto do it.
I don't, I'm not passing offwork because it's all still on
my plate.
I want to make sure that thingskeep going while I'm not here
(10:20):
and that I answer everyquestion.
So Thursday, Friday, Saturday ofmy Thanksgiving break, I don't
have phone calls the whole time.
I can just unplug and be with myfamily.
If you have any questions aboutthis, anything to add to this,
contact me, reach out, go to theProShruk360.com website and go
to contact us and reach out tome.
I'd love to have a phone callwith you, talk about it, also
get signed up for the retreatcoming up in just a few months,
(10:43):
uh, coming up January 11ththrough 13th of 2026.
So thanks so much for listening.
Hope this helps, and we'll talkto you next week.
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