August 21, 2025 • 31 mins
Brian Keller discusses QBC's focus on multi-family projects and their dedication to improving the employee experience in the construction industry. He talks about his personal start in construction, the story behind QBC, and their unique approach to recruit and mentor young talent through local school programs and apprenticeships. Brian also highlights the importance of leadership development, the integration of new technologies like AI and time tracking apps, and offers valuable advice for budding construction business owners. Tune in to hear insights on how to innovate and transform your construction business from a seasoned expert.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey everyone, I'm Loop Perez, your host at the Builder
Upper Show, a podcast where we talk about everything in
construction and trades. Now let's get into it. I would
like to welcome our guest, Brian Keller, CEO of QBC.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Hey, Brian, how's it going today? Great, good to be
with you, lud, Thank you, thank you. So you got
to tell me who is QBC.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
So we are a construction company in the southern Wisconsin area.
We provide labor and materials for multi family projects all
the way from framing labor, trim labor, countertop install flooring materials,
cabinet cabinet materials, and trim materials, primarily for multifamily new construction.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
Awesome, that sounds great. So you know, what's the story
behind QBC. How did you get all started or actually
how did you personally get started in construction?
Speaker 3 (00:57):
So me, personally, I started when I was very young
with my father. He was in construction actually in Wisconsin,
some prairie area, and just kind of grew up in
construction with a lot of siblings, just kind of continued
with that all the way through school and after high
school kind of got out and then started working for
a few different.
Speaker 4 (01:16):
People after high school.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
As far as our company we started twenty seven years ago,
we previously had worked for I had worked for a
number of different companies, but at that time the people
who own QBC were all working together for another company.
But we just felt like that company did not appreciate
the employee as far as like listening to employee ideas,
(01:42):
you know, looking at benefits and different things, making the
employee kind.
Speaker 4 (01:47):
Of more important role in the company.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
We kind of just felt like we were cogs in
a wheel, which unfortunately was pretty common in construction, especially
when I was growing up, and even you know, after
where out of school and all of that, construction workers
typically were not revered at all. And so we started
our company to really put more of a focus on
the employee and to kind of maybe change that stigmatism
(02:13):
of the construction worker and really try to get people
to see it more as a noble profession, something they
could do well with, something that could be a career
for them, and not just something that they had to
do because they couldn't do anything else.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Incredible that really will appeal to the younger generation coming
into the workforce today.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
I feel like that's needed.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
I think you might be one of the very few
people that I've heard trying to change that stigma. You know,
your approach into passing that information along, you know, how
do you get the word out about QBC and you know,
recruiting young talent and letting them know like, this is
our culture and this is how we do things.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
So we currently we work with Wisconsin Ute Apprentice Program
to where there's some local schools that are part of
that program, and so we're working with them giving them
an opportunity to be an apprentice, whether it be for
during their school year, during the summer, with the opportunity
if they want to come on full time after their
(03:16):
kind of apprenticeship.
Speaker 4 (03:17):
Through their school is over.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
We also have a program that we've been doing since
twenty eighteen where I go down to the Beloyd High School.
It's about an hour outside of Madison, and I work
with the construction Level three class and I just kind
of do some assistant coaching with the teacher, helping them
build a small building. We do the framing of it, siding,
(03:42):
the roofing of it, and I just kind of help
coach them a little bit. I typically go down once
a week for a few months while we get that built,
and then I go back in the spring to do
a little recruiting, and then, you know, I've been very
lucky to be able to go down there and do that.
For when COVID was happening, we weren't able to go,
but I did do some training video for them that
they were able to use while I wasn't able to
(04:03):
actually be on site. And then it's just wonderful that
I get to go back down in the spring talk
to the kids, talk to the students, not just about
what we have to offer, but we've kind of developed
it into with myself and the teacher, that we've developed
into kind of a coaching session where whether they whatever
they do after high school, just giving them some kind
of advice and guidance and different opportunities that are out
(04:27):
there that obviously when I was younger, weren't there, didn't
really have the people to kind of come in and
talk to you and teach you on some of these things.
So great opportunity for us to be able to be
part of those couple of programs. We are continuing to
look at other school programs, other work programs where we
can get involved. I know there's some talk of another
(04:49):
area near US, probably about half hour forty five minutes
north of US that's looking to do something similar to
that to really start to get to the kids. The
reason for that is we really want to get to
the kids before they get out of school because we understand,
especially like me, when I got out of school, I
wasn't planning to go to secondary school. So to be
(05:09):
able to give those kids an opportunity to see that
there is something out there, and then really trying to
help them to have the best possible experience coming out
of school getting into the trades that will really kind
of get them excited about doing that possibly as a career.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
That was the best advice when I got out of
high school was somebody actually told me about career opportunities
and construction getting into it and showing a career path
that changed my entire life. So it's like that's something
a path that I went down and I will never
regret it. It was the best experience I've ever had.
(05:48):
I totally support everything that you just said. What I'm
really interested in. I noticed we're only like five minutes
in and I'm already seeing a pattern. You know, how
to go after or that younger generation and appeal to
that younger generation as a company.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
It's almost like you're setting yourself up for success. What
drove you to go.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
Target those younger individuals, like, you know, is there has
there ever been a standout candidate that you had and
you're like, wow, I need a double down on this approach.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Be interesting to unpack that.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
Just that, Yeah, I've worked with you know, some younger
people that have come to work for us didn't necessarily
have a lot of experience. I remember one young person
he was a truck driver for a few years out
of high school and just looking for something different. But
there's an eagerness there that's exciting for us. They're you know,
they're they're really looking for something and someone to maybe
(06:43):
help them guide them a little bit. I know, you know,
I know they do a good job in the schools now,
but you know, like when I was in school, there
wasn't necessarily great advice. You either you know, either went
to college or.
Speaker 4 (06:56):
You're on your own. You know, there wasn't a lot
of direction.
Speaker 3 (06:59):
There wasn't people that came in and kind of talk
to you about it, and just we know that that's
the next generation is our workforce. And if we don't
get out there and start talking to them and recruiting
them and showing them what the opportunities are, we know
we're just we're going to lose them. And you know,
as I get older now and as our leadership gets older,
(07:22):
we know that they're going to need to be replaced
with a younger group. And so one of our big
focuses not just going out and talking to them, but
also being able to show them the opportunity for them
what they could accomplish, say in the next five or
ten years withinside our organization.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
These are interesting opportunities for you. When you get in
front of these students, when you're dropping in on them,
do you ever take a moment to you know, teach
them even just basic life skills or give them any
type of personal advice and just maybe guiding them in
general outside.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
The workforce where they can really look at you as
your mentor.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
Yeah, the last quite the last few years that I've
been going down to the one school. When I go
back in the spring to talk to them, I always
talk to them about like their future, what opportunities they have,
and a big, a big emphasis what I talk about
with them is about becoming more valuable in the workplace
and trying to help them understand that they don't get
paid for their time. They get paid for the value
(08:23):
that they bring to the company, whatever whoever they work for,
and really trying to help them understand that for them
to be successful, one of the key things for them
is really figure out how to become more valuable. Like again,
you know, I try to get them to understand that,
you know, yeah, you can show up for a paycheck
every day, but real value comes from what you can
(08:43):
do to become more valuable on a regular basis. Improve
your skills and prove your mindset and prove you how
you look at things. So I do do I probably
spend half the time in the spring when I go
back down on that one day I'm there for about
an hour, I probably spend half the time talking to
them about you know, planning for retirement, putting money, setting
(09:05):
money aside, and then you know, just their skills as
they go into like soft skills like communication, becoming more valuable,
just helping them really understand all of those things. Because
there's so much opportunity now for younger people, I feel
than when I was younger in the fact that the
world is at their fingertips. Anything they want to know,
(09:27):
anything they want to learn, all they got to do
is grab their phone and within thirty seconds they can
find it.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Soft skills goes a long way, that's for sure.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
What was who was your inspiration to become a leader
and have these type of leadership skills? Did you learn
from somebody? How did you get all this knowledge yourself?
Speaker 3 (09:47):
So in probably around while shortly after the crash, I
had During right after that, I had looked into other
opportunities outside of construction, just because at that time construction
got hit so hard.
Speaker 4 (10:00):
As you know, as well as everybody else.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
But it was something that we were really not anticipating
or expecting to get hit that hard, and so I
actually did. I got it connected with a group that
was doing personal development stuff. There was we'd go to
these different conventions. It was kind of network marketing, and
I know some people like that's a taboo word. But
(10:23):
the great thing that I learned from it was just
being exposed to a bunch of different leadership people, John Maxwell,
Darren Hardy, you know, there's a few other ones. And
one of the big things that I learned when I
came back from those events, was as we were starting
to try and grow our organization, I kind of realized
(10:44):
that I was a pretty crappy leader.
Speaker 4 (10:48):
The thing was is I could really tell everybody what to.
Speaker 3 (10:50):
Do, but I wasn't teaching anybody what to do. And
I was saying John Maxwell was probably the biggest impact
on that. He talked about listening, learning, then leading, which
is a big part of our leadership coaching and training
programs we have. So when I came back, I really
took time. You know, at first, I spent a couple
of years just studying it, researching, reading books, going to seminars,
(11:11):
learning from different people, and mainly because I knew I
needed to become a better leader if I was going
to be able to do anything to help the organization grow,
you know, and my role has always been CEO or
president or you know, I've always been the front person
for the company. So after doing a lot of that
learning and training for a few years, we started to
(11:32):
develop our own leadership training programs. And now I just
got done with another group on the entry level and
we're getting ready to start our next elite level leadership
training program.
Speaker 4 (11:44):
And I just know from all the.
Speaker 3 (11:46):
Experience I've had with all these different people that it's
the only way to grow a successful organization.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
Do all employees have access to these leadership programs that
you're offering.
Speaker 3 (11:59):
Yeah, So typically what happens is the employees will come
to work for us and they're they're made aware of
the programs. As they kind of get going, I'll talk
to their leadership and just say, okay, we're getting ready
to start a class. The classes are typically we do
one session a month roughly, and they're anywhere from eight
to ten sessions. In the first one, the entry level,
(12:20):
there's not a lot of homework with it, but you
know it's showing up paying attention. But the leadership will
start to make recommendations of people they think would really
benefit from it or that they're looking at as candidates
for leadership out in the field. And then now we
do as the same administratively. We try to put everybody
through the program. Once they get through the entry level
leadership program and they've kind of gotten through that and
(12:43):
there's not really a pass or failed, there's kind of
just graduation from it, then they get recommended. Then we
kind of go back to the leadership again. And they'll
recommend who should go on to the Elite Leadership program,
and that one's a little more intense. There's homework with that,
and they really have to commit time and effort to
being part of that program.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
That's a great commitment and investment on your side. As
far as the background with the employees, their culture and
everything that you're bringing in. Do you have any type
of interview process that you go through to kind of
choose these candidates to know what kind of people you're
(13:26):
bringing in and make sure that they're a good culture
fit with the others, Like, do you have any provisions
in place when you're doing this process?
Speaker 4 (13:34):
We do now.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
It used to be I did all the hiring, and
we learned I was not good at that.
Speaker 4 (13:38):
I did not do any of that anymore.
Speaker 3 (13:40):
The challenge I always had is I'm an eternal optimist,
so I believe everybody is a great candidate. And so
what we do now is we have a three step
process where they'll come in and they do an interview.
Our team will ask them a few different questions. I
think they got about maybe a dozen questions that they'll
ask them. One of the biggest ones is, you know
(14:01):
what research did you do on us? Because we want
you to be interested in who we are, and we
really like it to be kind of a dual interview
where they're asking questions of us, we're asking questions of them,
and that part of it is really just starting to
kind of get a feel of the person and if
we feel like they'd be a good cultural fit, and
(14:21):
then you know kind of what their qualifications are maybe
for the role that they're applying for. In the second interviews,
it's typically a different interviewer, usually the person that would
be their like direct report, like the person that would
be supervising them. And then it's going to go into
more skills. There may be even like some activities that
(14:44):
they can do to prove their skills or show their skills,
just to really see if they can do what they
say they can do. And then the third interview is
usually some leadership people and that's all culture. All they're
one is asking questions, targeted questions to find out if
they're the right kind of person that will fit into
our culture.
Speaker 4 (15:05):
And we had established.
Speaker 3 (15:07):
Kind of an employee persona that we wrote up. We
actually had every employee that was currently working sign that
and new employees are supposed to sign that and it
kind of details what kind of employee we're looking for,
and so we really found that to be very helpful
in being able to kind of make sure we're getting
the right people. You're not going to get it right
(15:28):
one hundred percent of the time, I mean, that's just impossible,
but it's definitely allowed us to get a lot better
also in that process, and.
Speaker 4 (15:35):
We've updated our website.
Speaker 3 (15:37):
You know, it's really more about we get it done
and you know, we are moving forward thinking company and
so we're looking for people that that's why one of
the questions is.
Speaker 4 (15:46):
Do you do any research on us?
Speaker 3 (15:48):
Because we want to see if they've gone and seen
who we are as a company to see if they.
Speaker 4 (15:52):
Really fit into that.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
And so that's a big part of our process of
getting the right people on the bus.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
That's a good point.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
So I mean, just take five minutes read our about
us page or read something about us that's on our website.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Come to the interview prepared.
Speaker 1 (16:08):
So just for anybody that's listening that is going to
have an interview set up with you, there's your quick
tip when you're getting into the interview process. But it's
an easy thing to do and it's very short.
Speaker 2 (16:19):
It takes like.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
Five minutes, and then you can get a good understanding
of what QBC is all about. It's good and this.
So the next question would be, and this can be anything.
So as far as business recruiting doesn't matter, is there something.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
That you know today that you wish you knew when
you started?
Speaker 3 (16:43):
I guess being more targeted about like who we were,
what we wanted to create as a company, kind of
where we wanted to go, what we wanted to look like.
You know, when we started, we were four guys working
out of our truck and we knew framing, but we
didn't know anything about business. We didn't know anything about
that kind of stuff and you know and structure and
(17:03):
strategy and you know, projects or projections and budgets and
all of that. So yeah, just you know, like for
anybody that's new looking to start their own business, really
the biggest thing is understanding who you are, who you
want to be, what do you want it to look like,
and really kind of nailing that down. We were always
you know, our philosophy was we're never going to let
(17:26):
anything hold us back, so we're going to look at
opportunities we're you know, we're never going to say no
to something until we really take a look at it.
But I think earlier, if we would have had.
Speaker 4 (17:36):
Just a little more direction, a little more strategy, I
think would have helped.
Speaker 3 (17:41):
Us get kind of get where we wanted to get
to soon a little sooner.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
That makes total sense.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
And when I came across QBC, we met at Associated
Builders and Contractors. It was an event in Wisconsin called
super Con. I met some of your folks that were
in the crowd. I was giving a speech on AI
in construction. Now I want to ask you, being a
member of Associated Builders and Contractors ABC as they call it,
(18:13):
what kind of benefits has that brought your company? And
have you learned anything? Have you applied anything that you've learned?
And it'd be great to get your experience with ABC
so other contractors can hear what you have to say
about that and maybe even consider it as a good
option for themselves.
Speaker 4 (18:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:32):
I think the big thing is the network. So yeah,
like meeting you guys, the opportunities from the network of
people that you're going to meet that you're going to
have the opportunity to go, you know, go to these events,
connect with it. It could change your organization, you know.
Speaker 4 (18:49):
I mean, so I.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
Really encourage people to get involved in those I mean,
you got to show up.
Speaker 4 (18:55):
You know, we like our team.
Speaker 3 (18:56):
You know, we have a few different people that go
to different things for different reasons. But yeah, getting out there,
meeting new people, you know, finding out what's going on
in the market. You know, you look at how much
construction has changed in twenty seven years. I mean it's
you know, we had a cell phone when I started,
but we didn't really use it that much, you know,
(19:17):
and now it's everything. So just really understanding that you
need to get connected with other people, and ABC is
a great way to do that.
Speaker 4 (19:26):
They have, you know, they have.
Speaker 3 (19:27):
Different programs that you can get be a part of.
They have some apprenticeship programs. You know, they have resources
for very various different things that can help your organization.
So yeah, I think it's I think it's a great relationship.
It can be a great partnership. But you got to
utilize it.
Speaker 4 (19:43):
You know.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
It's one of those things like a subscription. If you
don't actually do it and use it, then you're then
you're kind of wasting your time.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
That's a good point, don't just sign up and not
show up, actually be there, attend the meetings, attend the sessions.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
Learn from everybody. Networking is huge. So I totally am
with you on all of that. That's a really good feedback.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
We'll pass that to the ABC teams so they can
share it with everybody too. As far as the I mean,
you brought up something that would be my segue.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
You brought up cell phones?
Speaker 1 (20:17):
Right, how do you leverage technology in your business today?
Speaker 3 (20:23):
Oh my gosh. So if I go back to when
we started, we did all our accounting.
Speaker 4 (20:27):
By hand in a notebook.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
Oh wow, And you know that was just how it
was done. And then we started using QuickBooks and now
we ran into a situation where QuickBooks was just not
performing for us. We have multiple companies and so we're
doing a lot of different things and we need to
be able to put that all in one place. And
we had a couple of we had a couple of
days I think it was a round payroll or something
(20:51):
that they were running and QuickBooks was down and everybody
was coming into my office and complaining about it, and
what do we do? And we're like, Okay, we need
something different. So we went out and reseal ar what
is the number one platform for accounting out there right now?
Speaker 4 (21:06):
And it ended up being net Suite. We went down
that road.
Speaker 3 (21:10):
We just are almost done with our integration from quick
Books over to net Suite. It' spent about six months.
But you know, I encoura again. I encourage everybody. You
need to keep up with what's going on. You know,
we're construction guys. You know, I grew you know, I'm
not a I don't have I had somebody ask me
the other day, well, you sure so seem to know
a lot about some of this stuff. You know, do
(21:32):
you have an accounting degree or And I'm like, no,
I just in construction. But if you are not staying
up to date with what's happening, you are going to.
Speaker 5 (21:39):
Get left behind. I'm constantly telling our team what are
we doing with AI?
Speaker 4 (21:44):
Where are we with a I? How are we using AI?
What is new with AI?
Speaker 3 (21:48):
You know, we're we're trying to incorporate that into our
estimating with this new platform that we're using for our estimating.
I think it's called stack CT, which is another you know,
new thing that we're kind of throwing throwing at the
team right now and it's just for me, it's really
exciting because we're doing all these new things that are
you know, some of it is making us more efficient,
(22:08):
some of it's taking the place of another person we
would have to hire to where we're you know, we're
just being more efficient as a team. And it's super
exciting for me because I feel like we're just getting
started with a lot of it.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
It's so smart.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
I mean, there's these pillars in construction of what you
need in your back office. You have accounting, you have payroll,
you have estimating and utilizing AI to tie all these
things together. You're setting yourself up to be the number
one competitor, So anybody that's not utilizing AI eventually is
(22:43):
going to be left.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
In the dust.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
Your future proofing your company so that you're going to
surpass anybody else out there with high tech, low labor,
more functionality. You have clear visibility and exactly what you're
working on. That's super exciting. So is there anything you
know how gathering data from the field and bringing that
(23:07):
to the back office. You know what tech are you
using today to help enhance all of that?
Speaker 3 (23:13):
Yeah, I would say the most exciting one that we're
working on right now is lumber Lumber five. It's our
new time tracking app. And what's so exciting about it
is that it's real time information for the people in
the field. It's automatic and you know we use again,
we used to do everything by hand, so we would
you know, I was joking with the team the other day.
(23:34):
Everybody filled out a paper time sheet, turned it into me,
and then I would enter it into quick books and
then I would run all the payroll and I would say,
we spend about the same amount of time with ninety
employees as we did with twenty employees. Wow, it just
cuts your and I know with Lumber, I know what's happening.
It's going to cut that time down even more and
reduce the amount of staff we will need to be
(23:57):
able to keep all of that stuff going and functioning.
And we're super excited about how it's going to help
with real time data for the people working in the
field where they can literally look down at their tablet,
pull up a project and look at their cost to
date or they're tracking to date, and they'll give them
real time data.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
That's really exciting and I know personally I can say
it that from the short amount of time that we
met to implementing Lumber and we can officially say that
Lumber is live as of Friday, which is really exciting.
I know the team gave tremendous feedback about your team
and our teams working together. We work very closely in
(24:39):
our partnership and really thrilled to kind of share your
experience with the world because the way that you're going
about enhancing your technology and back office is.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
Really a game changer.
Speaker 1 (24:50):
So it will be a clear cookie cutter template that
other construction companies will want to follow so that they're
enhancing their own processes and operations and workflows.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
So it's you know.
Speaker 1 (25:04):
Kudos to you for taking the risk of implementing new
tech and using AI to enhance. But honestly, like we're
already seeing the benefits that you're looking to get, which
is you know, getting that clear visigibility to real time
job costing. You have an app that the guys want
to use in the field, and it's just an overall
(25:25):
game changer, which is really cool.
Speaker 4 (25:27):
Good job, It's exciting.
Speaker 3 (25:29):
We just ran our first full payroll last last pay
period for last week, and everything went through and everything
went the way it was supposed to go. You know,
we're just excited about that. One big thing for us
is one thing that I'm always telling the team the
speed at which we do and in this world, whether
you're in construction, whatever, whatever you're in, if you are
(25:51):
not understanding the speed at which things change and the
speed at which you need to adapt and grow and move,
you are definitely left behind. So yeah, we love being
at the forefront of you know, for companies like ours
that do you know, testing out all this new technology
and working with all this new stuff. And if we
can be the ones that help, you know, pave the
(26:11):
way for some other companies to look at this stuff
and go, Okay, this stuff works and it can help
it can help me, it can help maybe my small business.
Speaker 4 (26:19):
We love that, I know.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
So lumber does UH tech reviews for construction. Would you
be a company that would be willing to come in
and guide other contractors of course not competitive ones, to
help them figure out technology, adopt the right tech and
see what would be best for their business because you
(26:41):
have all the experience now you have it in place,
you know what you're doing, you know, could you be
a mentor for other contractors?
Speaker 4 (26:48):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (26:49):
Absolutely, yep, Yeah, one of my big things, one of
my big passions at least right now, is really trying
to figure out how to help more maybe smaller business
or people trying to get into small business.
Speaker 4 (26:59):
Whatever it is.
Speaker 3 (27:01):
I just feel like there's maybe not enough resources out
there to help them, and I know one of the
challenges they don't know where to go. So like this
show is great to where you're reaching out letting people
know that there are some you know, some options for them,
some places they can go to either get mentorship, help
you know, ABC, whatever it is, get some guidance.
Speaker 4 (27:19):
So yeah, we'd love to be a part of that.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
Okay, I have an idea. Then, how about this.
Speaker 1 (27:25):
I'm going to invite you to be on stage for
ABC Wisconsin's super Con next year, which is February twenty
fifth through the twenty seventh. Would you be able to
go hand in hand with me and we teach all
the contractors that ABC Wisconsin everything about AI and construction.
Speaker 4 (27:45):
Oh yeah, absolutely, I would love that.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
Okay, awesome, it's so everybody can hear it now. Schedule
for super Con in February at ABC Wisconsin and it's
going to be an amazing event. Sign up for our
session and we'll be giving everybody an awesome speech and
you get to give everybody real life experience on how
it's helping your your business.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
So it's really cool.
Speaker 4 (28:08):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (28:10):
So I guess the most important part right where can
people find QBC?
Speaker 2 (28:16):
How do they find you? How do they look you up?
Speaker 3 (28:18):
So our website is Questbuildingcorp dot com, So Quest Q U, E,
S T and then Building Corp all spelled out. They
can look for me on LinkedIn, Brian Keller. You can
email me at b Keller at Questbuildingcorp dot com. You
can you can find us through those different avenues if
you if you google QBC, there's a good chance you'll
(28:42):
find our website and be able to find out who
we are and how to contact us and how to
get hold of us.
Speaker 2 (28:48):
Awesome, Thanks Brian.
Speaker 1 (28:49):
And before we wrap up, do you have any advice
for new construction owners that you would like to share
with our listeners.
Speaker 3 (28:58):
Yeah, kind of going back a little bit to what
I was saying earlier, just really you got to figure
out who you are, who you want to be, what
you want to do, and then you know I was
talking with somebody earlier today, you need to learn to
understand the numbers and how they all work. And I
would strongly suggest anybody that's looking to start out something new,
any kind of business, whatever it is, but especially new
(29:18):
smaller construction company, find a mentor somebody who can help
you that you could. You know, you got to do
your part. You got to go with questions, you got
to go ready to learn. But find somebody that can
give you some guidance, whether that be somebody in person,
somebody you follow online, you know, even like you know,
watching this podcast, whatever it might be, reading a book,
(29:39):
but find some information to help you get a good
understanding of what you're going to need to know, because
I can tell you from experience, if you if you
don't get ahead of it and learn it before you
need it, the learning curve on that can be painful.
Speaker 1 (29:55):
That's a really good advice Brian, And I mean you
heard it from Brian too.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
He's taken applications.
Speaker 1 (30:01):
Make sure you're submitting him now so that he can
have a conversation with you for that mentorship. I would
take full advantage if I was another contractor out figuring
out what am I going to do for the future,
How can I set up my business for success or,
Should I get started?
Speaker 2 (30:15):
How do I get started?
Speaker 1 (30:16):
These are going to be very important questions that you
should always talk to a mentor first and get guidance
and directions so you're not wasting time. Always learn from
everybody's experiences, that's for sure. Well, thank you Brian for
being a guest on the show. Please everyone like, subscribe, comment,
and share the Builder Upper Show with anyone in the
(30:38):
construction industry.
Speaker 2 (30:39):
We will see you next time. Thank you.
Speaker 5 (30:42):
Thanks.
Speaker 1 (30:53):
If you're a construction contractor and would like to appear
as a guest on our podcast, write us an email.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
It's Lou at lumberfi dot com.
Hey everyone, I'm Loop Perez, your host at the Builder
Upper Show, a podcast where we talk about everything in
construction and trades. Now let's get into it. I would
like to welcome our guest, Brian Keller, CEO of QBC.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Hey, Brian, how's it going today? Great, good to be
with you, lud, Thank you, thank you. So you got
to tell me who is QBC.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
So we are a construction company in the southern Wisconsin area.
We provide labor and materials for multi family projects all
the way from framing labor, trim labor, countertop install flooring materials,
cabinet cabinet materials, and trim materials, primarily for multifamily new construction.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
Awesome, that sounds great. So you know, what's the story
behind QBC. How did you get all started or actually
how did you personally get started in construction?
Speaker 3 (00:57):
So me, personally, I started when I was very young
with my father. He was in construction actually in Wisconsin,
some prairie area, and just kind of grew up in
construction with a lot of siblings, just kind of continued
with that all the way through school and after high
school kind of got out and then started working for
a few different.
Speaker 4 (01:16):
People after high school.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
As far as our company we started twenty seven years ago,
we previously had worked for I had worked for a
number of different companies, but at that time the people
who own QBC were all working together for another company.
But we just felt like that company did not appreciate
the employee as far as like listening to employee ideas,
(01:42):
you know, looking at benefits and different things, making the
employee kind.
Speaker 4 (01:47):
Of more important role in the company.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
We kind of just felt like we were cogs in
a wheel, which unfortunately was pretty common in construction, especially
when I was growing up, and even you know, after
where out of school and all of that, construction workers
typically were not revered at all. And so we started
our company to really put more of a focus on
the employee and to kind of maybe change that stigmatism
(02:13):
of the construction worker and really try to get people
to see it more as a noble profession, something they
could do well with, something that could be a career
for them, and not just something that they had to
do because they couldn't do anything else.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Incredible that really will appeal to the younger generation coming
into the workforce today.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
I feel like that's needed.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
I think you might be one of the very few
people that I've heard trying to change that stigma. You know,
your approach into passing that information along, you know, how
do you get the word out about QBC and you know,
recruiting young talent and letting them know like, this is
our culture and this is how we do things.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
So we currently we work with Wisconsin Ute Apprentice Program
to where there's some local schools that are part of
that program, and so we're working with them giving them
an opportunity to be an apprentice, whether it be for
during their school year, during the summer, with the opportunity
if they want to come on full time after their
(03:16):
kind of apprenticeship.
Speaker 4 (03:17):
Through their school is over.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
We also have a program that we've been doing since
twenty eighteen where I go down to the Beloyd High School.
It's about an hour outside of Madison, and I work
with the construction Level three class and I just kind
of do some assistant coaching with the teacher, helping them
build a small building. We do the framing of it, siding,
(03:42):
the roofing of it, and I just kind of help
coach them a little bit. I typically go down once
a week for a few months while we get that built,
and then I go back in the spring to do
a little recruiting, and then, you know, I've been very
lucky to be able to go down there and do that.
For when COVID was happening, we weren't able to go,
but I did do some training video for them that
they were able to use while I wasn't able to
(04:03):
actually be on site. And then it's just wonderful that
I get to go back down in the spring talk
to the kids, talk to the students, not just about
what we have to offer, but we've kind of developed
it into with myself and the teacher, that we've developed
into kind of a coaching session where whether they whatever
they do after high school, just giving them some kind
of advice and guidance and different opportunities that are out
(04:27):
there that obviously when I was younger, weren't there, didn't
really have the people to kind of come in and
talk to you and teach you on some of these things.
So great opportunity for us to be able to be
part of those couple of programs. We are continuing to
look at other school programs, other work programs where we
can get involved. I know there's some talk of another
(04:49):
area near US, probably about half hour forty five minutes
north of US that's looking to do something similar to
that to really start to get to the kids. The
reason for that is we really want to get to
the kids before they get out of school because we understand,
especially like me, when I got out of school, I
wasn't planning to go to secondary school. So to be
(05:09):
able to give those kids an opportunity to see that
there is something out there, and then really trying to
help them to have the best possible experience coming out
of school getting into the trades that will really kind
of get them excited about doing that possibly as a career.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
That was the best advice when I got out of
high school was somebody actually told me about career opportunities
and construction getting into it and showing a career path
that changed my entire life. So it's like that's something
a path that I went down and I will never
regret it. It was the best experience I've ever had.
(05:48):
I totally support everything that you just said. What I'm
really interested in. I noticed we're only like five minutes
in and I'm already seeing a pattern. You know, how
to go after or that younger generation and appeal to
that younger generation as a company.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
It's almost like you're setting yourself up for success. What
drove you to go.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
Target those younger individuals, like, you know, is there has
there ever been a standout candidate that you had and
you're like, wow, I need a double down on this approach.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Be interesting to unpack that.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
Just that, Yeah, I've worked with you know, some younger
people that have come to work for us didn't necessarily
have a lot of experience. I remember one young person
he was a truck driver for a few years out
of high school and just looking for something different. But
there's an eagerness there that's exciting for us. They're you know,
they're they're really looking for something and someone to maybe
(06:43):
help them guide them a little bit. I know, you know,
I know they do a good job in the schools now,
but you know, like when I was in school, there
wasn't necessarily great advice. You either you know, either went
to college or.
Speaker 4 (06:56):
You're on your own. You know, there wasn't a lot
of direction.
Speaker 3 (06:59):
There wasn't people that came in and kind of talk
to you about it, and just we know that that's
the next generation is our workforce. And if we don't
get out there and start talking to them and recruiting
them and showing them what the opportunities are, we know
we're just we're going to lose them. And you know,
as I get older now and as our leadership gets older,
(07:22):
we know that they're going to need to be replaced
with a younger group. And so one of our big
focuses not just going out and talking to them, but
also being able to show them the opportunity for them
what they could accomplish, say in the next five or
ten years withinside our organization.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
These are interesting opportunities for you. When you get in
front of these students, when you're dropping in on them,
do you ever take a moment to you know, teach
them even just basic life skills or give them any
type of personal advice and just maybe guiding them in
general outside.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
The workforce where they can really look at you as
your mentor.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
Yeah, the last quite the last few years that I've
been going down to the one school. When I go
back in the spring to talk to them, I always
talk to them about like their future, what opportunities they have,
and a big, a big emphasis what I talk about
with them is about becoming more valuable in the workplace
and trying to help them understand that they don't get
paid for their time. They get paid for the value
(08:23):
that they bring to the company, whatever whoever they work for,
and really trying to help them understand that for them
to be successful, one of the key things for them
is really figure out how to become more valuable. Like again,
you know, I try to get them to understand that,
you know, yeah, you can show up for a paycheck
every day, but real value comes from what you can
(08:43):
do to become more valuable on a regular basis. Improve
your skills and prove your mindset and prove you how
you look at things. So I do do I probably
spend half the time in the spring when I go
back down on that one day I'm there for about
an hour, I probably spend half the time talking to
them about you know, planning for retirement, putting money, setting
(09:05):
money aside, and then you know, just their skills as
they go into like soft skills like communication, becoming more valuable,
just helping them really understand all of those things. Because
there's so much opportunity now for younger people, I feel
than when I was younger in the fact that the
world is at their fingertips. Anything they want to know,
(09:27):
anything they want to learn, all they got to do
is grab their phone and within thirty seconds they can
find it.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Soft skills goes a long way, that's for sure.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
What was who was your inspiration to become a leader
and have these type of leadership skills? Did you learn
from somebody? How did you get all this knowledge yourself?
Speaker 3 (09:47):
So in probably around while shortly after the crash, I
had During right after that, I had looked into other
opportunities outside of construction, just because at that time construction
got hit so hard.
Speaker 4 (10:00):
As you know, as well as everybody else.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
But it was something that we were really not anticipating
or expecting to get hit that hard, and so I
actually did. I got it connected with a group that
was doing personal development stuff. There was we'd go to
these different conventions. It was kind of network marketing, and
I know some people like that's a taboo word. But
(10:23):
the great thing that I learned from it was just
being exposed to a bunch of different leadership people, John Maxwell,
Darren Hardy, you know, there's a few other ones. And
one of the big things that I learned when I
came back from those events, was as we were starting
to try and grow our organization, I kind of realized
(10:44):
that I was a pretty crappy leader.
Speaker 4 (10:48):
The thing was is I could really tell everybody what to.
Speaker 3 (10:50):
Do, but I wasn't teaching anybody what to do. And
I was saying John Maxwell was probably the biggest impact
on that. He talked about listening, learning, then leading, which
is a big part of our leadership coaching and training
programs we have. So when I came back, I really
took time. You know, at first, I spent a couple
of years just studying it, researching, reading books, going to seminars,
(11:11):
learning from different people, and mainly because I knew I
needed to become a better leader if I was going
to be able to do anything to help the organization grow,
you know, and my role has always been CEO or
president or you know, I've always been the front person
for the company. So after doing a lot of that
learning and training for a few years, we started to
(11:32):
develop our own leadership training programs. And now I just
got done with another group on the entry level and
we're getting ready to start our next elite level leadership
training program.
Speaker 4 (11:44):
And I just know from all the.
Speaker 3 (11:46):
Experience I've had with all these different people that it's
the only way to grow a successful organization.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
Do all employees have access to these leadership programs that
you're offering.
Speaker 3 (11:59):
Yeah, So typically what happens is the employees will come
to work for us and they're they're made aware of
the programs. As they kind of get going, I'll talk
to their leadership and just say, okay, we're getting ready
to start a class. The classes are typically we do
one session a month roughly, and they're anywhere from eight
to ten sessions. In the first one, the entry level,
(12:20):
there's not a lot of homework with it, but you
know it's showing up paying attention. But the leadership will
start to make recommendations of people they think would really
benefit from it or that they're looking at as candidates
for leadership out in the field. And then now we
do as the same administratively. We try to put everybody
through the program. Once they get through the entry level
leadership program and they've kind of gotten through that and
(12:43):
there's not really a pass or failed, there's kind of
just graduation from it, then they get recommended. Then we
kind of go back to the leadership again. And they'll
recommend who should go on to the Elite Leadership program,
and that one's a little more intense. There's homework with that,
and they really have to commit time and effort to
being part of that program.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
That's a great commitment and investment on your side. As
far as the background with the employees, their culture and
everything that you're bringing in. Do you have any type
of interview process that you go through to kind of
choose these candidates to know what kind of people you're
(13:26):
bringing in and make sure that they're a good culture
fit with the others, Like, do you have any provisions
in place when you're doing this process?
Speaker 4 (13:34):
We do now.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
It used to be I did all the hiring, and
we learned I was not good at that.
Speaker 4 (13:38):
I did not do any of that anymore.
Speaker 3 (13:40):
The challenge I always had is I'm an eternal optimist,
so I believe everybody is a great candidate. And so
what we do now is we have a three step
process where they'll come in and they do an interview.
Our team will ask them a few different questions. I
think they got about maybe a dozen questions that they'll
ask them. One of the biggest ones is, you know
(14:01):
what research did you do on us? Because we want
you to be interested in who we are, and we
really like it to be kind of a dual interview
where they're asking questions of us, we're asking questions of them,
and that part of it is really just starting to
kind of get a feel of the person and if
we feel like they'd be a good cultural fit, and
(14:21):
then you know kind of what their qualifications are maybe
for the role that they're applying for. In the second interviews,
it's typically a different interviewer, usually the person that would
be their like direct report, like the person that would
be supervising them. And then it's going to go into
more skills. There may be even like some activities that
(14:44):
they can do to prove their skills or show their skills,
just to really see if they can do what they
say they can do. And then the third interview is
usually some leadership people and that's all culture. All they're
one is asking questions, targeted questions to find out if
they're the right kind of person that will fit into
our culture.
Speaker 4 (15:05):
And we had established.
Speaker 3 (15:07):
Kind of an employee persona that we wrote up. We
actually had every employee that was currently working sign that
and new employees are supposed to sign that and it
kind of details what kind of employee we're looking for,
and so we really found that to be very helpful
in being able to kind of make sure we're getting
the right people. You're not going to get it right
(15:28):
one hundred percent of the time, I mean, that's just impossible,
but it's definitely allowed us to get a lot better
also in that process, and.
Speaker 4 (15:35):
We've updated our website.
Speaker 3 (15:37):
You know, it's really more about we get it done
and you know, we are moving forward thinking company and
so we're looking for people that that's why one of
the questions is.
Speaker 4 (15:46):
Do you do any research on us?
Speaker 3 (15:48):
Because we want to see if they've gone and seen
who we are as a company to see if they.
Speaker 4 (15:52):
Really fit into that.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
And so that's a big part of our process of
getting the right people on the bus.
Speaker 2 (15:59):
That's a good point.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
So I mean, just take five minutes read our about
us page or read something about us that's on our website.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Come to the interview prepared.
Speaker 1 (16:08):
So just for anybody that's listening that is going to
have an interview set up with you, there's your quick
tip when you're getting into the interview process. But it's
an easy thing to do and it's very short.
Speaker 2 (16:19):
It takes like.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
Five minutes, and then you can get a good understanding
of what QBC is all about. It's good and this.
So the next question would be, and this can be anything.
So as far as business recruiting doesn't matter, is there something.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
That you know today that you wish you knew when
you started?
Speaker 3 (16:43):
I guess being more targeted about like who we were,
what we wanted to create as a company, kind of
where we wanted to go, what we wanted to look like.
You know, when we started, we were four guys working
out of our truck and we knew framing, but we
didn't know anything about business. We didn't know anything about
that kind of stuff and you know and structure and
(17:03):
strategy and you know, projects or projections and budgets and
all of that. So yeah, just you know, like for
anybody that's new looking to start their own business, really
the biggest thing is understanding who you are, who you
want to be, what do you want it to look like,
and really kind of nailing that down. We were always
you know, our philosophy was we're never going to let
(17:26):
anything hold us back, so we're going to look at
opportunities we're you know, we're never going to say no
to something until we really take a look at it.
But I think earlier, if we would have had.
Speaker 4 (17:36):
Just a little more direction, a little more strategy, I
think would have helped.
Speaker 3 (17:41):
Us get kind of get where we wanted to get
to soon a little sooner.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
That makes total sense.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
And when I came across QBC, we met at Associated
Builders and Contractors. It was an event in Wisconsin called
super Con. I met some of your folks that were
in the crowd. I was giving a speech on AI
in construction. Now I want to ask you, being a
member of Associated Builders and Contractors ABC as they call it,
(18:13):
what kind of benefits has that brought your company? And
have you learned anything? Have you applied anything that you've learned?
And it'd be great to get your experience with ABC
so other contractors can hear what you have to say
about that and maybe even consider it as a good
option for themselves.
Speaker 4 (18:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:32):
I think the big thing is the network. So yeah,
like meeting you guys, the opportunities from the network of
people that you're going to meet that you're going to
have the opportunity to go, you know, go to these events,
connect with it. It could change your organization, you know.
Speaker 4 (18:49):
I mean, so I.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
Really encourage people to get involved in those I mean,
you got to show up.
Speaker 4 (18:55):
You know, we like our team.
Speaker 3 (18:56):
You know, we have a few different people that go
to different things for different reasons. But yeah, getting out there,
meeting new people, you know, finding out what's going on
in the market. You know, you look at how much
construction has changed in twenty seven years. I mean it's
you know, we had a cell phone when I started,
but we didn't really use it that much, you know,
(19:17):
and now it's everything. So just really understanding that you
need to get connected with other people, and ABC is
a great way to do that.
Speaker 4 (19:26):
They have, you know, they have.
Speaker 3 (19:27):
Different programs that you can get be a part of.
They have some apprenticeship programs. You know, they have resources
for very various different things that can help your organization.
So yeah, I think it's I think it's a great relationship.
It can be a great partnership. But you got to
utilize it.
Speaker 4 (19:43):
You know.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
It's one of those things like a subscription. If you
don't actually do it and use it, then you're then
you're kind of wasting your time.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
That's a good point, don't just sign up and not
show up, actually be there, attend the meetings, attend the sessions.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
Learn from everybody. Networking is huge. So I totally am
with you on all of that. That's a really good feedback.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
We'll pass that to the ABC teams so they can
share it with everybody too. As far as the I mean,
you brought up something that would be my segue.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
You brought up cell phones?
Speaker 1 (20:17):
Right, how do you leverage technology in your business today?
Speaker 3 (20:23):
Oh my gosh. So if I go back to when
we started, we did all our accounting.
Speaker 4 (20:27):
By hand in a notebook.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
Oh wow, And you know that was just how it
was done. And then we started using QuickBooks and now
we ran into a situation where QuickBooks was just not
performing for us. We have multiple companies and so we're
doing a lot of different things and we need to
be able to put that all in one place. And
we had a couple of we had a couple of
days I think it was a round payroll or something
(20:51):
that they were running and QuickBooks was down and everybody
was coming into my office and complaining about it, and
what do we do? And we're like, Okay, we need
something different. So we went out and reseal ar what
is the number one platform for accounting out there right now?
Speaker 4 (21:06):
And it ended up being net Suite. We went down
that road.
Speaker 3 (21:10):
We just are almost done with our integration from quick
Books over to net Suite. It' spent about six months.
But you know, I encoura again. I encourage everybody. You
need to keep up with what's going on. You know,
we're construction guys. You know, I grew you know, I'm
not a I don't have I had somebody ask me
the other day, well, you sure so seem to know
a lot about some of this stuff. You know, do
(21:32):
you have an accounting degree or And I'm like, no,
I just in construction. But if you are not staying
up to date with what's happening, you are going to.
Speaker 5 (21:39):
Get left behind. I'm constantly telling our team what are
we doing with AI?
Speaker 4 (21:44):
Where are we with a I? How are we using AI?
What is new with AI?
Speaker 3 (21:48):
You know, we're we're trying to incorporate that into our
estimating with this new platform that we're using for our estimating.
I think it's called stack CT, which is another you know,
new thing that we're kind of throwing throwing at the
team right now and it's just for me, it's really
exciting because we're doing all these new things that are
you know, some of it is making us more efficient,
(22:08):
some of it's taking the place of another person we
would have to hire to where we're you know, we're
just being more efficient as a team. And it's super
exciting for me because I feel like we're just getting
started with a lot of it.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
It's so smart.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
I mean, there's these pillars in construction of what you
need in your back office. You have accounting, you have payroll,
you have estimating and utilizing AI to tie all these
things together. You're setting yourself up to be the number
one competitor, So anybody that's not utilizing AI eventually is
(22:43):
going to be left.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
In the dust.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
Your future proofing your company so that you're going to
surpass anybody else out there with high tech, low labor,
more functionality. You have clear visibility and exactly what you're
working on. That's super exciting. So is there anything you
know how gathering data from the field and bringing that
(23:07):
to the back office. You know what tech are you
using today to help enhance all of that?
Speaker 3 (23:13):
Yeah, I would say the most exciting one that we're
working on right now is lumber Lumber five. It's our
new time tracking app. And what's so exciting about it
is that it's real time information for the people in
the field. It's automatic and you know we use again,
we used to do everything by hand, so we would
you know, I was joking with the team the other day.
(23:34):
Everybody filled out a paper time sheet, turned it into me,
and then I would enter it into quick books and
then I would run all the payroll and I would say,
we spend about the same amount of time with ninety
employees as we did with twenty employees. Wow, it just
cuts your and I know with Lumber, I know what's happening.
It's going to cut that time down even more and
reduce the amount of staff we will need to be
(23:57):
able to keep all of that stuff going and functioning.
And we're super excited about how it's going to help
with real time data for the people working in the
field where they can literally look down at their tablet,
pull up a project and look at their cost to
date or they're tracking to date, and they'll give them
real time data.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
That's really exciting and I know personally I can say
it that from the short amount of time that we
met to implementing Lumber and we can officially say that
Lumber is live as of Friday, which is really exciting.
I know the team gave tremendous feedback about your team
and our teams working together. We work very closely in
(24:39):
our partnership and really thrilled to kind of share your
experience with the world because the way that you're going
about enhancing your technology and back office is.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
Really a game changer.
Speaker 1 (24:50):
So it will be a clear cookie cutter template that
other construction companies will want to follow so that they're
enhancing their own processes and operations and workflows.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
So it's you know.
Speaker 1 (25:04):
Kudos to you for taking the risk of implementing new
tech and using AI to enhance. But honestly, like we're
already seeing the benefits that you're looking to get, which
is you know, getting that clear visigibility to real time
job costing. You have an app that the guys want
to use in the field, and it's just an overall
(25:25):
game changer, which is really cool.
Speaker 4 (25:27):
Good job, It's exciting.
Speaker 3 (25:29):
We just ran our first full payroll last last pay
period for last week, and everything went through and everything
went the way it was supposed to go. You know,
we're just excited about that. One big thing for us
is one thing that I'm always telling the team the
speed at which we do and in this world, whether
you're in construction, whatever, whatever you're in, if you are
(25:51):
not understanding the speed at which things change and the
speed at which you need to adapt and grow and move,
you are definitely left behind. So yeah, we love being
at the forefront of you know, for companies like ours
that do you know, testing out all this new technology
and working with all this new stuff. And if we
can be the ones that help, you know, pave the
(26:11):
way for some other companies to look at this stuff
and go, Okay, this stuff works and it can help
it can help me, it can help maybe my small business.
Speaker 4 (26:19):
We love that, I know.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
So lumber does UH tech reviews for construction. Would you
be a company that would be willing to come in
and guide other contractors of course not competitive ones, to
help them figure out technology, adopt the right tech and
see what would be best for their business because you
(26:41):
have all the experience now you have it in place,
you know what you're doing, you know, could you be
a mentor for other contractors?
Speaker 4 (26:48):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (26:49):
Absolutely, yep, Yeah, one of my big things, one of
my big passions at least right now, is really trying
to figure out how to help more maybe smaller business
or people trying to get into small business.
Speaker 4 (26:59):
Whatever it is.
Speaker 3 (27:01):
I just feel like there's maybe not enough resources out
there to help them, and I know one of the
challenges they don't know where to go. So like this
show is great to where you're reaching out letting people
know that there are some you know, some options for them,
some places they can go to either get mentorship, help
you know, ABC, whatever it is, get some guidance.
Speaker 4 (27:19):
So yeah, we'd love to be a part of that.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
Okay, I have an idea. Then, how about this.
Speaker 1 (27:25):
I'm going to invite you to be on stage for
ABC Wisconsin's super Con next year, which is February twenty
fifth through the twenty seventh. Would you be able to
go hand in hand with me and we teach all
the contractors that ABC Wisconsin everything about AI and construction.
Speaker 4 (27:45):
Oh yeah, absolutely, I would love that.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
Okay, awesome, it's so everybody can hear it now. Schedule
for super Con in February at ABC Wisconsin and it's
going to be an amazing event. Sign up for our
session and we'll be giving everybody an awesome speech and
you get to give everybody real life experience on how
it's helping your your business.
Speaker 2 (28:07):
So it's really cool.
Speaker 4 (28:08):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (28:10):
So I guess the most important part right where can
people find QBC?
Speaker 2 (28:16):
How do they find you? How do they look you up?
Speaker 3 (28:18):
So our website is Questbuildingcorp dot com, So Quest Q U, E,
S T and then Building Corp all spelled out. They
can look for me on LinkedIn, Brian Keller. You can
email me at b Keller at Questbuildingcorp dot com. You
can you can find us through those different avenues if
you if you google QBC, there's a good chance you'll
(28:42):
find our website and be able to find out who
we are and how to contact us and how to
get hold of us.
Speaker 2 (28:48):
Awesome, Thanks Brian.
Speaker 1 (28:49):
And before we wrap up, do you have any advice
for new construction owners that you would like to share
with our listeners.
Speaker 3 (28:58):
Yeah, kind of going back a little bit to what
I was saying earlier, just really you got to figure
out who you are, who you want to be, what
you want to do, and then you know I was
talking with somebody earlier today, you need to learn to
understand the numbers and how they all work. And I
would strongly suggest anybody that's looking to start out something new,
any kind of business, whatever it is, but especially new
(29:18):
smaller construction company, find a mentor somebody who can help
you that you could. You know, you got to do
your part. You got to go with questions, you got
to go ready to learn. But find somebody that can
give you some guidance, whether that be somebody in person,
somebody you follow online, you know, even like you know,
watching this podcast, whatever it might be, reading a book,
(29:39):
but find some information to help you get a good
understanding of what you're going to need to know, because
I can tell you from experience, if you if you
don't get ahead of it and learn it before you
need it, the learning curve on that can be painful.
Speaker 1 (29:55):
That's a really good advice Brian, And I mean you
heard it from Brian too.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
He's taken applications.
Speaker 1 (30:01):
Make sure you're submitting him now so that he can
have a conversation with you for that mentorship. I would
take full advantage if I was another contractor out figuring
out what am I going to do for the future,
How can I set up my business for success or,
Should I get started?
Speaker 2 (30:15):
How do I get started?
Speaker 1 (30:16):
These are going to be very important questions that you
should always talk to a mentor first and get guidance
and directions so you're not wasting time. Always learn from
everybody's experiences, that's for sure. Well, thank you Brian for
being a guest on the show. Please everyone like, subscribe, comment,
and share the Builder Upper Show with anyone in the
(30:38):
construction industry.
Speaker 2 (30:39):
We will see you next time. Thank you.
Speaker 5 (30:42):
Thanks.
Speaker 1 (30:53):
If you're a construction contractor and would like to appear
as a guest on our podcast, write us an email.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
It's Lou at lumberfi dot com.
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