March 8, 2024 • 20 mins
Join us for another She Builds Nation Special episode on The Builder Upper Show in celebration of Women in Construction Week & International Women's Day!
This time, we're thrilled to have Coralee Beatty from Thrive HQ as our guest! Drawing from her past trade experience and as a Fractional COO, business consultant, and leadership trainer today, Coralee brings a wealth of insights, dedicated to empowering construction business owners and helping them realize their visions.
In this episode, Coralee delves into her personal journey, providing valuable perspectives on how construction companies can actively contribute to fostering a more gender-inclusive environment. From practical strategies to uplifting stories, this promises to be an engaging and enlightening discussion.
This time, we're thrilled to have Coralee Beatty from Thrive HQ as our guest! Drawing from her past trade experience and as a Fractional COO, business consultant, and leadership trainer today, Coralee brings a wealth of insights, dedicated to empowering construction business owners and helping them realize their visions.
In this episode, Coralee delves into her personal journey, providing valuable perspectives on how construction companies can actively contribute to fostering a more gender-inclusive environment. From practical strategies to uplifting stories, this promises to be an engaging and enlightening discussion.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Welcome to another special edition for womenin construction. This is episode seven.
Amlu you'r host of The Builder UpperShow, a podcast where we talk about
everything in construction and trades. I'mhappy to bring back our co host,
Meghan, a former construction owner.Hi everybody, Hi everyone, and I
(00:26):
would like to welcome our guest,Coraley Beattie, a fractional COO in construction
at Thrive HQ. Coraley, howare you doing today? I'm doing well.
Thank you good. Let's get rightinto it. What is your story
and what inspired you to make adifference in the construction industry. My story
is a long one. I've beenin the industry for almost twenty eight years,
(00:49):
and it's interesting because where I startedwasn't what you'd expect. I loved
construction my whole life. I lovedit. I love the smells, I
loved being on site. I lovedan doubt on site was me being like
a little girl wandering on construction sitesin my neighborhood. And it never occurred
to me when I graduated high schoolto actually pursue construction as an option for
(01:11):
a career, like it just doesn'tdidn't even cross my mind. So I
went on to university and took criminologyand psychology, and I wanted to help
kids in the criminal justice system.That was kind of where I was headed.
And after four years of university,I realized that I couldn't help these
kids because I could not at allidentify with their journey, their growing up,
(01:34):
what they had been through, Likeit just wasn't something I could understand
because I was from a very normalfamily and suburbia, middle class, very
you know, average, and alot of these kids weren't. So that's
when I started questioning, like whatam I thinking? What am I doing
because the other part of it isvery emotional, like it's very hard to
leave those types of things at theoffice kind of thing. So I was
(01:55):
like, I don't know if thisis the right thing. So I ended
up dropping out of university in likeover a weekend. I was in university,
I was working at a job,and I was on this path,
and then all of a sudden,I was just like, maybe this isn't
what I want to be doing.And I looked into our local technical school
and they happened to have space intheir class starting like the week and a
half before. So I was likeI was already a week and a half
(02:17):
late, and it's like, Oh, if I need to do this,
I need to do it now.I quit university, quit my job,
started school on Monday, and Itell you it was the best decision ever
because it was the first time inthe history of my education that I was
like, I loved what I waslearning. So that was kind of how
I went from the love of construction, not even thinking of it, and
then going into construction and then soI started out as a building technician for
(02:40):
the first ten years of my career. In that time, I met my
husband and together we started a plumbingcompany because he's a plumber by trade,
and we had that business. Ithink I had the business for a few
years when I retired from the engineeringfirm and started working full time with my
husband in the business we're building.So I kind of took on the role
(03:01):
of business growth and figuring out allthe back end stuff, and he was
kind of the technical person. Wehad the business for fifteen years and we
sold it just over six years agonow. And what got me on to
what I'm doing now is I sawa need, you know, for women
(03:22):
specifically at the time. Is whatI was focusing on was that we don't
have people tending to all the needsthat women in business in the construction industry
need. Like all the coaching thatI was part of, it was me
and a bunch of dudes, likeit was always surrounded by a bunch of
men, And I think that althoughyou can address the business issue there,
there's so many other issues that goon for women as business owners in the
(03:44):
construction industry that are just not acknowledged. And those are things like you're managing
a house, you're managing a family, all the outside of business things,
so you also need to be tendingto because typically we're the primary caregiver of
the home as well, So there'sall these things and I saw that that
part wasn't being addressed. So thatwas kind of the way that I started
(04:05):
into focusing on women specifically in theirbusinesses. And it's been very very satisfying.
All the people I've met, theincredible women I've worked with, it's
been a very satisfying journey. That'sawesome. So I guess that answers the
question then of when you did getinto construction. It started at a very
early age and just kind of builtover time. And then it evolved into
(04:28):
everything that you are now and kindof where it's led you just in your
industry too. So that's a greatstory. Thank you so much for sharing
that. And then I mean,I guess it could kind of even answer
when you made the decision to gofrom construction owner to mentor was there like
a I guess a standout moment foryou where you took that transition and you
went, hey, I need todo this when you came out of even
(04:53):
closing that plumbing company to kind ofthe position that you carry now in the
way that you carry it. Yeah, it's been a journey of a lot
of growth and development for me personallyand profession with what I'm doing. And
originally when I sold the business,I was like what am I going to
do next? I mean, wedidn't sell it for retirement funds like we
(05:14):
you know, we sold it andwe were had a few years to figure
out what we wanted to do next. And in that time I went through
a lot of personal well growth,like I said, but also a lot
of kind of dark space because allof a sudden the identity that I had
attached to my business, because Itell you, the business was who I
was in all those years that wasgone right, and so I had this
(05:38):
really hard time when like figuring outwho I was. You know, yes
I was a mom, and yesI was a wife, and I was
a business owner, but I'm notnow and what am I going to do
next? And where do I fitin? I know I could do anything
right, and I had a reallybecause I'm a very goal oriented person.
I like, you know, Ilike being able to work towards something and
have drive and all of those things. And I didn't have any of that.
(05:59):
Like I did not know what Iwas going to be doing next or
what I wanted to achieve, LikeI just had any goals. And it
was very hard. And it wasone morning, because I'm kind of an
early riser, I was laying inbed and it was this is a year
and a half after selling our business, and I was laying in bed and
(06:20):
I was just it was like thislight bulb went off for me, and
I was like, I want tohelp other women that are going through what
I'm going through. What I wasgoing through was, you know, I
lost my spark. I didn't knowwho I was, I didn't know what
I wanted to do, and Ifelt really like I was floating in this
empty space and I knew that therewas so much life to live and I
(06:43):
didn't know how to do it.I was like, I want to be
a coach, and so I startedout life coaching originally, and just through
probably the eight months of getting coachtrained as a coach and learning more about
the world of service, I realizedthat what I wanted to do was work
with women and business owners because Ireally missed when I was doing the life
stuff, I missed the business part. So I thought, I want to
(07:04):
be, you know, help womenbusiness owners. And then when I'm trying
to identify my niche as like Igun thinking like I could work with SPA
women or you know, in industrieswhere there's lots of women, because there
be a lot more options. Andthe reality is when I was really being
true to myself and selecting the groupof people I was going to work with,
(07:26):
I knew it had to be womenin construction, It's who I was.
And it all came full circle rightback to the reason I left university,
which was I couldn't identify with thosekids here I am twenty ish plus
years later, twenty five years later, and I'm like, oh, these
are the people I can identify with. I get it. I've been through
this journey, and these are thepeople that I'm really meant to help because
(07:50):
I did the journey. I've gonethrough the pain, and I made it
through to the other side. Andnow I want to help other women and
in the fractional coopacity that I'm workinghelping with you men as well, but
just help them get through to theother side those tough times, those tough
times. So then I guess thatleads right into everyone's favorite question that's usually
(08:13):
a totally overloaded one and has anendless list to it, but always having
to just kind of pick something.What are some of the common challenges that
construction owners face today? And howdo you specifically help them overcome it?
Yeah, so there, it's afewfold here. You know, people who
are kind of even three to fiveyears into their business, oftentimes they are
(08:39):
a very skilled person. They havetheir skill and they recognize a way that
their job could be done better.They are an employee and they're like,
I see how this can be donebetter. My employer doesn't care about their
customers, they don't care about theirpeople. They don't care whatever, and
I could make more money doing iton my own. So they go it
on their own, and they don'thave than under standing of what it takes
(09:01):
to run a business. I hadcorporate experience and for eight years or seven
years at the time when we startedour business, and I still had no
idea how a business ran when itcame to the point of building it to
a point where I actually needed tomanage it more intentionally. So I think
that that's probably one of the biggestthings, is we get in with our
skill without the understanding of how torun a business. I think that's where
(09:22):
it starts, and then we growand we just pile this mess of work
onto a very weak foundation, anddoing that just it takes over your life.
It takes over everything. You areworking to live period, you know,
and no idea to live working.Yeah, I think you had it
(09:45):
right. Okay, you're working tolive instead of living to work exactly,
So you know, it does takeover your life. And that's what happened
to us. And in the earlylike two thousands, when we were in
this stage business coaches on every othercorner, so I didn't even know they
existed. I didn't know how Iwas going to get out of it.
I didn't know how I was goingto survive. And I think a lot
(10:05):
of people have that issue where theyjust don't know how to get out and
they're not used to investing in themselves. They you know, they might invest
in their marketing, they might doall these things to get the work,
but then they get too much workand they don't know how to deal with
it, and then they don't knowhow to invest in themselves in their business
in a way that's actually going tohelp them. So that was me when
(10:26):
I learned about it. I foundbusiness coaches like, oh the answer,
thank you, and so I hiredmy first business coach. And what I
see is that people are waiting toolong to get help, Like whether it
be an men helper or a consultant, a coach, a mentor any kind
of help. We wait too longand then you know, we're almost the
(10:48):
point of burnout. And it justis this wheel. So that's kind of
one category of people, and thenyou kind of scale it up when the
fractional work that I do is inbigger companies and their problems, although they
have the same symptoms as such asfar as usually the owner is doing too
(11:09):
much. He's too involved, she'stoo involved in the business. They're still
having their hands into everything, andthey can't trust their people to let,
you know, let go of responsibility. They don't know how to delegate and
they're still doing everything, and thatreally really stalls their growth and their ability
to scale. That is probably thebiggest problem I see, because when you
(11:31):
can learn to trust your people,put processes in place that you know you're
running by your processes and not byyour people, then you can start to
build the trust. And when youstart hiring properly, Like, there's just
so many pieces that go into thepuzzle of running a successful business that when
you start to see how all thesethings can come together and recognize that when
(11:52):
you hire properly and onboard them andgive them what they need, they become
very invested, They become productive,they become loyal, and they want to
be there. You can trust them, they can have confidence. Like,
it's just all of the pieces thatgo in place that we just we don't
know how to do as leaders ofa construction business. I think I would
have to completely agree with you ona total side note, I owned a
(12:13):
painting company a few years ago,and honestly, if I would have known
you at that time or even hadsome form of knowledge of everything that I've
learned today, specifically to what you'retalking about, it would have been a
game changer for me because it wasjust that it was the legalleies of everything.
It was the fact that I hadthis overload of work coming in.
I was the sole provider of thehome, I was the sole provider of
(12:35):
the company. I couldn't trust myworkers, and the hiring out and everything
that just kind of compiled into one. I was like, nope, put
the brakes on, and I did. I got so burned out at the
end of it. I'm just likethe passion that I'm the love that I
had for something to even start thecompany. It was just like, you
(12:56):
know what, I'm just gonna setthis aside, and so definitely something then
that I wish I would have knownthat I know today. So I love
that. I think that your viewon that and what you're doing is remarkable
and it's it already has helped somany people and it's going to continue.
And again speaking from experience, becauseif I would have known you then,
(13:18):
I wouldn't have been sitting on thispodcast video. Well, you know,
and to answer the question how Ihelp the people like to answer that part
of the question is, you know, I think that that's the biggest thing.
Is that because there are so manythings going on in our head all
at the same time, I justhelped to pull in the reins and focus.
Yeah, let's focus on this thingthat needs to get done now.
Like there was one one company thatI recently was working with that when I
(13:41):
came in in the fractional COO positionwith their company, they needed like they
needed in mid person, they neededa financing person. Like there was things
that needed to be put in placeright away before I could get into the
weeds and the depth of what Ineeded to do, like so that we
got their software in place, wegot some key employees in place, say
those were in helping hire them.That was kind of the stuff that I
(14:03):
did to help them just okay,stabilize, now let's start working on your
business. That was that was thething. So it really is finding out
where the key pressure point is indealing with that first, just so we
can alleviate some of that pressure andallow you to breathe and focus to be
able to move forward and put thosepolice pieces into place and actually start creating
(14:26):
a business. I agree. Iagree, categorizing and prioritizing is absolutely absolutely
necessary and being able to progress ina proper and efficient way. So,
as far as I know, yousaid some softwarees and things like that that
you've implemented to help, how wouldyou then encourage contractors to embrace technology and
then in so doing stay ahead inthe industry. I think that it's so
(14:52):
interesting because there are some companies thatI've worked with that are quite big that
don't have yet just a project managementa proper project management program software in place,
let alone anything else. And Itell you, like I am as
far as technology goes, I'm kindof like catching up, like I've always
(15:16):
never I kind of ran out oftechnological space in my brain in like Windows
ninety five, you know. Sosince then I'm just like, Okay,
I can't keep up with all howall this stuff works. I'm just gonna
keep using it and hope for thebest. So, you know, with
AI, like the advancements of AIand using that in your business is incredible
(15:37):
platforms just to help ease your burdenof all of your systems, whether it
be your project management, running yourpayroll, you know, just communication within
your team, time keeping of course, your finances like everything. There's just
there's things that you can use.There's tools that you can use that aren't
Excel and you know Google platform.Although they can certainly work, it's a
(16:00):
lot more work than it needs tobe. And in the early days when
you can't afford all these big programsor even smaller programs, those are absolutely
adequate. Yeah, as soon asyou're in a position to not have to
use them, I absolutely recommend you, know, getting on some of the
technology that will make your life easier. You don't have to be the expert
(16:21):
on it. Like get people tohelp you that have right that knowledge.
That's awesome. No, that's great, I guess for you, just more
personally. I would also love toknow too. I know I shared a
little bit about what I wish Iwould have known. Is there something that
you would that something that you knowtoday that you wish you would have known
when you started out where to start? Well, I think one thing that
(16:47):
I've learned over my years and mygray hairs, everything will always work out.
Everything will always work out you.It may not be how you antiate
it may not be how you wantit will work out, because worrying about
(17:07):
that outcome only destroys your present moment. And I think that it takes away
so much peace and just living lifewhen you worry so much about not having
the money or not being able toor finding the work or doing all those
things. They're all real. Iunderstand that I have been there numerous times
(17:29):
in my years, and just dothe next thing. Just do the next
thing, because worrying about the outcomeand not assuming the best, yeah,
just really takes away the present moment. That's what life is. Life is
right now. I agree, Iagree completely. That was actually pretty inspirational.
So I would love to then say, if there's something else that you
(17:52):
have for any entrepreneurs who want tojoin the construction industry, just a shout
out something of encourage. Men,Oh, I you know. This is
the thing is that I think thatthere's so much fulfillment and satisfaction and potential
in this industry for anybody. Anybodycan find a spot here. Everybody can
(18:14):
find a spot here, whether youare in technology or whether you're a skilled
trade labor, whatever it happens tobe, there is something for everyone,
And I truly love the fulfillment andthe satisfaction that you get of, you
know, building something, not justyou know, for me, building businesses,
but also when I was in thefield and you know, contributing to
(18:37):
projects going up, just the satisfactionof driving by those projects saying you know
I contributed to that, I waspart of that. You know. I
think that when we realize that there'sso much more to this industry than just
dirty, dusty sites and you know, undesirable people like I think that that's
(18:57):
still a reputation that we have andit's just so much more than that.
And I think that when this comesback to you know, my one of
my mattresses, that mindset is everything. I truly believe that. And when
you want to do something, youabsolutely can. There are so many people
that have come before you to showyou success and how it looks and how
(19:18):
you can achieve it that you don'tneed to figure it out. I just
have the confidence that this is whatyou really want to do. If you
really want to do it, it'sabsolutely attainable. You just keep on going.
I keep on doing it. No, I love that. And then
do your side note, do yourkids or anybody. You guys drive past
something, then they're like, oh, mom, did that? Or you
(19:41):
get to call that out? Isthat something that you get to your kid?
I don't so much anymore. Asone of the commutes that we used
to do all the time, we'ddrive by all the time, and I
really only wanted to point it outonce because I'm like, I don't need
to be that parent that says everytime, you know, that's the one.
So I don't drive by a lotof my projects that I've contributed to.
However, when we have had theopportunity, I pointed out once or
(20:03):
twice, if I drove a newone, I'd probably say something kind of
casually because my kids are older nowand they don't have the same excitement about
you did that. Yeah, yeah, quite the same. No, that's
awesome. I love it. Andto do something with your own hands and
you sit back and look at it, it's different from it's an artwork.
I completely agree. I want tothank you so much for being a guest
(20:26):
on this show, and to everyoneelse watching, please like, subscribe,
comment, and share the Builder UpperShow with anyone in the construction industry and
we will see you all next time. Thank you. Thank you so much.
(20:48):
If you're a construction contractor and wouldlike to appear as a guest on
our podcast, write us an email. It's Lou at lumberfi dot com.
Welcome to another special edition for womenin construction. This is episode seven.
Amlu you'r host of The Builder UpperShow, a podcast where we talk about
everything in construction and trades. I'mhappy to bring back our co host,
Meghan, a former construction owner.Hi everybody, Hi everyone, and I
(00:26):
would like to welcome our guest,Coraley Beattie, a fractional COO in construction
at Thrive HQ. Coraley, howare you doing today? I'm doing well.
Thank you good. Let's get rightinto it. What is your story
and what inspired you to make adifference in the construction industry. My story
is a long one. I've beenin the industry for almost twenty eight years,
(00:49):
and it's interesting because where I startedwasn't what you'd expect. I loved
construction my whole life. I lovedit. I love the smells, I
loved being on site. I lovedan doubt on site was me being like
a little girl wandering on construction sitesin my neighborhood. And it never occurred
to me when I graduated high schoolto actually pursue construction as an option for
(01:11):
a career, like it just doesn'tdidn't even cross my mind. So I
went on to university and took criminologyand psychology, and I wanted to help
kids in the criminal justice system.That was kind of where I was headed.
And after four years of university,I realized that I couldn't help these
kids because I could not at allidentify with their journey, their growing up,
(01:34):
what they had been through, Likeit just wasn't something I could understand
because I was from a very normalfamily and suburbia, middle class, very
you know, average, and alot of these kids weren't. So that's
when I started questioning, like whatam I thinking? What am I doing
because the other part of it isvery emotional, like it's very hard to
leave those types of things at theoffice kind of thing. So I was
(01:55):
like, I don't know if thisis the right thing. So I ended
up dropping out of university in likeover a weekend. I was in university,
I was working at a job,and I was on this path,
and then all of a sudden,I was just like, maybe this isn't
what I want to be doing.And I looked into our local technical school
and they happened to have space intheir class starting like the week and a
half before. So I was likeI was already a week and a half
(02:17):
late, and it's like, Oh, if I need to do this,
I need to do it now.I quit university, quit my job,
started school on Monday, and Itell you it was the best decision ever
because it was the first time inthe history of my education that I was
like, I loved what I waslearning. So that was kind of how
I went from the love of construction, not even thinking of it, and
then going into construction and then soI started out as a building technician for
(02:40):
the first ten years of my career. In that time, I met my
husband and together we started a plumbingcompany because he's a plumber by trade,
and we had that business. Ithink I had the business for a few
years when I retired from the engineeringfirm and started working full time with my
husband in the business we're building.So I kind of took on the role
(03:01):
of business growth and figuring out allthe back end stuff, and he was
kind of the technical person. Wehad the business for fifteen years and we
sold it just over six years agonow. And what got me on to
what I'm doing now is I sawa need, you know, for women
(03:22):
specifically at the time. Is whatI was focusing on was that we don't
have people tending to all the needsthat women in business in the construction industry
need. Like all the coaching thatI was part of, it was me
and a bunch of dudes, likeit was always surrounded by a bunch of
men, And I think that althoughyou can address the business issue there,
there's so many other issues that goon for women as business owners in the
(03:44):
construction industry that are just not acknowledged. And those are things like you're managing
a house, you're managing a family, all the outside of business things,
so you also need to be tendingto because typically we're the primary caregiver of
the home as well, So there'sall these things and I saw that that
part wasn't being addressed. So thatwas kind of the way that I started
(04:05):
into focusing on women specifically in theirbusinesses. And it's been very very satisfying.
All the people I've met, theincredible women I've worked with, it's
been a very satisfying journey. That'sawesome. So I guess that answers the
question then of when you did getinto construction. It started at a very
early age and just kind of builtover time. And then it evolved into
(04:28):
everything that you are now and kindof where it's led you just in your
industry too. So that's a greatstory. Thank you so much for sharing
that. And then I mean,I guess it could kind of even answer
when you made the decision to gofrom construction owner to mentor was there like
a I guess a standout moment foryou where you took that transition and you
went, hey, I need todo this when you came out of even
(04:53):
closing that plumbing company to kind ofthe position that you carry now in the
way that you carry it. Yeah, it's been a journey of a lot
of growth and development for me personallyand profession with what I'm doing. And
originally when I sold the business,I was like what am I going to
do next? I mean, wedidn't sell it for retirement funds like we
(05:14):
you know, we sold it andwe were had a few years to figure
out what we wanted to do next. And in that time I went through
a lot of personal well growth,like I said, but also a lot
of kind of dark space because allof a sudden the identity that I had
attached to my business, because Itell you, the business was who I
was in all those years that wasgone right, and so I had this
(05:38):
really hard time when like figuring outwho I was. You know, yes
I was a mom, and yesI was a wife, and I was
a business owner, but I'm notnow and what am I going to do
next? And where do I fitin? I know I could do anything
right, and I had a reallybecause I'm a very goal oriented person.
I like, you know, Ilike being able to work towards something and
have drive and all of those things. And I didn't have any of that.
(05:59):
Like I did not know what Iwas going to be doing next or
what I wanted to achieve, LikeI just had any goals. And it
was very hard. And it wasone morning, because I'm kind of an
early riser, I was laying inbed and it was this is a year
and a half after selling our business, and I was laying in bed and
(06:20):
I was just it was like thislight bulb went off for me, and
I was like, I want tohelp other women that are going through what
I'm going through. What I wasgoing through was, you know, I
lost my spark. I didn't knowwho I was, I didn't know what
I wanted to do, and Ifelt really like I was floating in this
empty space and I knew that therewas so much life to live and I
(06:43):
didn't know how to do it.I was like, I want to be
a coach, and so I startedout life coaching originally, and just through
probably the eight months of getting coachtrained as a coach and learning more about
the world of service, I realizedthat what I wanted to do was work
with women and business owners because Ireally missed when I was doing the life
stuff, I missed the business part. So I thought, I want to
(07:04):
be, you know, help womenbusiness owners. And then when I'm trying
to identify my niche as like Igun thinking like I could work with SPA
women or you know, in industrieswhere there's lots of women, because there
be a lot more options. Andthe reality is when I was really being
true to myself and selecting the groupof people I was going to work with,
(07:26):
I knew it had to be womenin construction, It's who I was.
And it all came full circle rightback to the reason I left university,
which was I couldn't identify with thosekids here I am twenty ish plus
years later, twenty five years later, and I'm like, oh, these
are the people I can identify with. I get it. I've been through
this journey, and these are thepeople that I'm really meant to help because
(07:50):
I did the journey. I've gonethrough the pain, and I made it
through to the other side. Andnow I want to help other women and
in the fractional coopacity that I'm workinghelping with you men as well, but
just help them get through to theother side those tough times, those tough
times. So then I guess thatleads right into everyone's favorite question that's usually
(08:13):
a totally overloaded one and has anendless list to it, but always having
to just kind of pick something.What are some of the common challenges that
construction owners face today? And howdo you specifically help them overcome it?
Yeah, so there, it's afewfold here. You know, people who
are kind of even three to fiveyears into their business, oftentimes they are
(08:39):
a very skilled person. They havetheir skill and they recognize a way that
their job could be done better.They are an employee and they're like,
I see how this can be donebetter. My employer doesn't care about their
customers, they don't care about theirpeople. They don't care whatever, and
I could make more money doing iton my own. So they go it
on their own, and they don'thave than under standing of what it takes
(09:01):
to run a business. I hadcorporate experience and for eight years or seven
years at the time when we startedour business, and I still had no
idea how a business ran when itcame to the point of building it to
a point where I actually needed tomanage it more intentionally. So I think
that that's probably one of the biggestthings, is we get in with our
skill without the understanding of how torun a business. I think that's where
(09:22):
it starts, and then we growand we just pile this mess of work
onto a very weak foundation, anddoing that just it takes over your life.
It takes over everything. You areworking to live period, you know,
and no idea to live working.Yeah, I think you had it
(09:45):
right. Okay, you're working tolive instead of living to work exactly,
So you know, it does takeover your life. And that's what happened
to us. And in the earlylike two thousands, when we were in
this stage business coaches on every othercorner, so I didn't even know they
existed. I didn't know how Iwas going to get out of it.
I didn't know how I was goingto survive. And I think a lot
(10:05):
of people have that issue where theyjust don't know how to get out and
they're not used to investing in themselves. They you know, they might invest
in their marketing, they might doall these things to get the work,
but then they get too much workand they don't know how to deal with
it, and then they don't knowhow to invest in themselves in their business
in a way that's actually going tohelp them. So that was me when
(10:26):
I learned about it. I foundbusiness coaches like, oh the answer,
thank you, and so I hiredmy first business coach. And what I
see is that people are waiting toolong to get help, Like whether it
be an men helper or a consultant, a coach, a mentor any kind
of help. We wait too longand then you know, we're almost the
(10:48):
point of burnout. And it justis this wheel. So that's kind of
one category of people, and thenyou kind of scale it up when the
fractional work that I do is inbigger companies and their problems, although they
have the same symptoms as such asfar as usually the owner is doing too
(11:09):
much. He's too involved, she'stoo involved in the business. They're still
having their hands into everything, andthey can't trust their people to let,
you know, let go of responsibility. They don't know how to delegate and
they're still doing everything, and thatreally really stalls their growth and their ability
to scale. That is probably thebiggest problem I see, because when you
(11:31):
can learn to trust your people,put processes in place that you know you're
running by your processes and not byyour people, then you can start to
build the trust. And when youstart hiring properly, Like, there's just
so many pieces that go into thepuzzle of running a successful business that when
you start to see how all thesethings can come together and recognize that when
(11:52):
you hire properly and onboard them andgive them what they need, they become
very invested, They become productive,they become loyal, and they want to
be there. You can trust them, they can have confidence. Like,
it's just all of the pieces thatgo in place that we just we don't
know how to do as leaders ofa construction business. I think I would
have to completely agree with you ona total side note, I owned a
(12:13):
painting company a few years ago,and honestly, if I would have known
you at that time or even hadsome form of knowledge of everything that I've
learned today, specifically to what you'retalking about, it would have been a
game changer for me because it wasjust that it was the legalleies of everything.
It was the fact that I hadthis overload of work coming in.
I was the sole provider of thehome, I was the sole provider of
(12:35):
the company. I couldn't trust myworkers, and the hiring out and everything
that just kind of compiled into one. I was like, nope, put
the brakes on, and I did. I got so burned out at the
end of it. I'm just likethe passion that I'm the love that I
had for something to even start thecompany. It was just like, you
(12:56):
know what, I'm just gonna setthis aside, and so definitely something then
that I wish I would have knownthat I know today. So I love
that. I think that your viewon that and what you're doing is remarkable
and it's it already has helped somany people and it's going to continue.
And again speaking from experience, becauseif I would have known you then,
(13:18):
I wouldn't have been sitting on thispodcast video. Well, you know,
and to answer the question how Ihelp the people like to answer that part
of the question is, you know, I think that that's the biggest thing.
Is that because there are so manythings going on in our head all
at the same time, I justhelped to pull in the reins and focus.
Yeah, let's focus on this thingthat needs to get done now.
Like there was one one company thatI recently was working with that when I
(13:41):
came in in the fractional COO positionwith their company, they needed like they
needed in mid person, they neededa financing person. Like there was things
that needed to be put in placeright away before I could get into the
weeds and the depth of what Ineeded to do, like so that we
got their software in place, wegot some key employees in place, say
those were in helping hire them.That was kind of the stuff that I
(14:03):
did to help them just okay,stabilize, now let's start working on your
business. That was that was thething. So it really is finding out
where the key pressure point is indealing with that first, just so we
can alleviate some of that pressure andallow you to breathe and focus to be
able to move forward and put thosepolice pieces into place and actually start creating
(14:26):
a business. I agree. Iagree, categorizing and prioritizing is absolutely absolutely
necessary and being able to progress ina proper and efficient way. So,
as far as I know, yousaid some softwarees and things like that that
you've implemented to help, how wouldyou then encourage contractors to embrace technology and
then in so doing stay ahead inthe industry. I think that it's so
(14:52):
interesting because there are some companies thatI've worked with that are quite big that
don't have yet just a project managementa proper project management program software in place,
let alone anything else. And Itell you, like I am as
far as technology goes, I'm kindof like catching up, like I've always
(15:16):
never I kind of ran out oftechnological space in my brain in like Windows
ninety five, you know. Sosince then I'm just like, Okay,
I can't keep up with all howall this stuff works. I'm just gonna
keep using it and hope for thebest. So, you know, with
AI, like the advancements of AIand using that in your business is incredible
(15:37):
platforms just to help ease your burdenof all of your systems, whether it
be your project management, running yourpayroll, you know, just communication within
your team, time keeping of course, your finances like everything. There's just
there's things that you can use.There's tools that you can use that aren't
Excel and you know Google platform.Although they can certainly work, it's a
(16:00):
lot more work than it needs tobe. And in the early days when
you can't afford all these big programsor even smaller programs, those are absolutely
adequate. Yeah, as soon asyou're in a position to not have to
use them, I absolutely recommend you, know, getting on some of the
technology that will make your life easier. You don't have to be the expert
(16:21):
on it. Like get people tohelp you that have right that knowledge.
That's awesome. No, that's great, I guess for you, just more
personally. I would also love toknow too. I know I shared a
little bit about what I wish Iwould have known. Is there something that
you would that something that you knowtoday that you wish you would have known
when you started out where to start? Well, I think one thing that
(16:47):
I've learned over my years and mygray hairs, everything will always work out.
Everything will always work out you.It may not be how you antiate
it may not be how you wantit will work out, because worrying about
(17:07):
that outcome only destroys your present moment. And I think that it takes away
so much peace and just living lifewhen you worry so much about not having
the money or not being able toor finding the work or doing all those
things. They're all real. Iunderstand that I have been there numerous times
(17:29):
in my years, and just dothe next thing. Just do the next
thing, because worrying about the outcomeand not assuming the best, yeah,
just really takes away the present moment. That's what life is. Life is
right now. I agree, Iagree completely. That was actually pretty inspirational.
So I would love to then say, if there's something else that you
(17:52):
have for any entrepreneurs who want tojoin the construction industry, just a shout
out something of encourage. Men,Oh, I you know. This is
the thing is that I think thatthere's so much fulfillment and satisfaction and potential
in this industry for anybody. Anybodycan find a spot here. Everybody can
(18:14):
find a spot here, whether youare in technology or whether you're a skilled
trade labor, whatever it happens tobe, there is something for everyone,
And I truly love the fulfillment andthe satisfaction that you get of, you
know, building something, not justyou know, for me, building businesses,
but also when I was in thefield and you know, contributing to
(18:37):
projects going up, just the satisfactionof driving by those projects saying you know
I contributed to that, I waspart of that. You know. I
think that when we realize that there'sso much more to this industry than just
dirty, dusty sites and you know, undesirable people like I think that that's
(18:57):
still a reputation that we have andit's just so much more than that.
And I think that when this comesback to you know, my one of
my mattresses, that mindset is everything. I truly believe that. And when
you want to do something, youabsolutely can. There are so many people
that have come before you to showyou success and how it looks and how
(19:18):
you can achieve it that you don'tneed to figure it out. I just
have the confidence that this is whatyou really want to do. If you
really want to do it, it'sabsolutely attainable. You just keep on going.
I keep on doing it. No, I love that. And then
do your side note, do yourkids or anybody. You guys drive past
something, then they're like, oh, mom, did that? Or you
(19:41):
get to call that out? Isthat something that you get to your kid?
I don't so much anymore. Asone of the commutes that we used
to do all the time, we'ddrive by all the time, and I
really only wanted to point it outonce because I'm like, I don't need
to be that parent that says everytime, you know, that's the one.
So I don't drive by a lotof my projects that I've contributed to.
However, when we have had theopportunity, I pointed out once or
(20:03):
twice, if I drove a newone, I'd probably say something kind of
casually because my kids are older nowand they don't have the same excitement about
you did that. Yeah, yeah, quite the same. No, that's
awesome. I love it. Andto do something with your own hands and
you sit back and look at it, it's different from it's an artwork.
I completely agree. I want tothank you so much for being a guest
(20:26):
on this show, and to everyoneelse watching, please like, subscribe,
comment, and share the Builder UpperShow with anyone in the construction industry and
we will see you all next time. Thank you. Thank you so much.
(20:48):
If you're a construction contractor and wouldlike to appear as a guest on
our podcast, write us an email. It's Lou at lumberfi dot com.
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