The Contractor Fight with Tom Reber

Tom Reber
  • 4.8 (405)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

Stop stressing out about your contracting business and take back control. The Contractor Fight is bringing respect and dignity back to the trades one contractor at a time. Discover how to market, sell, and consistently produce your projects at a profit with industry expert and powerful motivator Tom Reber. Stop stealing from your family. Earn what you're worth. Build a business that serves you.

  1. 23h ago

    The Real Reason You Aren't Making 50% Gross Profit

    Find out what's costing your contracting business jobs and profit: https://bit.ly/ContractorFightScorecard_fgp1 Are you bidding jobs at 50% gross profit but still wondering where all your money goes? Most contractors think they know what a job costs. They estimate labor, add materials, calculate their price, and assume there's enough margin left to make money. But what about the drive time, material runs, unexpected delays, cleanup, and all the work that happens before and after the actual production? Those costs don't disappear just because you forgot to include them in your estimate. In this episode, Tom Reber breaks down how to bid jobs at 50% gross profit using a simple three-phase system he's relied on for over 20 years: Prep, Build, and Finish. Tom explains why accurate estimating starts with understanding your actual production costs, not guessing how long a job should take or copying what other contractors charge. He also shares how a $50 million contracting company was losing $12,000 every week simply because it wasn't accounting for crew drive time. You'll learn how to track production rates, account for overlooked job costs, and use real numbers to build estimates that protect your margins. And if you've ever thought customers won't pay what you actually need to charge, Tom explains why the problem might not be your price. It could be your production efficiency, your sales process, or the customers your business is attracting. In this episode: Why contractors lose money before a job even beginsThe three-phase estimating system: Prep, Build, and FinishHow one $50 million company was losing $12,000 a week in unaccounted drive timeWhy tracking actual production rates leads to more accurate estimatesThe difference between the art and science of estimatingHow overlooked cleanup and finishing costs eat into your marginsHow to calculate a selling price at 50% gross profitWhy a 50% markup is NOT the same as a 50% gross profit marginWhat to do when customers won't pay the price your business needsHow comparing estimated and actual job costs improves future bids Chapters: 00:00 — Why contractors struggle to hit 50% gross profit 00:44 — Phase 1: Prep and the hidden costs before production 01:58 — Phase 2: Build and tracking actual production rates 04:25 — The art and science of estimating 05:36 — Phase 3: Finish and the hidden cost of cleanup 06:43 — How to calculate a 50% gross profit selling price 08:22 — Why 50% markup isn't 50% gross profit 09:26 — Why customers might not pay your price 11:40 — How to improve estimates using actual job costs 12:42 — Your fight: Find out what you're giving away Your challenge: Take one recently completed job and break it into three phases: Prep: What did it cost to get the job ready? Include material runs, drive time, setup, and everything that happened before production.Build: How long did the actual work take compared to your estimate? Account for your real labor, materials, and equipment costs.Finish: How much time and money went into cleanup, walkthroughs, punch lists, and completing the job? Compare what you estimated against what actually happened. Where were you accurate? Where did you underestimate? What costs did you completely overlook? Use what you learn to improve your next estimate. Remember: If a job costs $5,000 to produce, you need to sell it for $10,000 to achieve a 50% gross profit margin. And don't confuse that with a 50% markup. They're not the same thing, and mixing them up can seriously underprice your work. But even the right gross profit margin doesn't automatically guarantee your business is profitable. Your jobs still need to generate enough revenue to cover company overhead and produce a net profit. If you're doing plenty of work but still struggling to make money, inaccurate job estimates might be just one part of a bigger problem. Take the free Contractor Fight Scorecard to identify what's holding your contracting business back, uncover where your biggest opportunities are, and figure out what deserves your attention first. It takes about three minutes. https://bit.ly/ContractorFightScorecard_fgp1 The math behind 50% gross profit is simple. The hard part is knowing what your jobs actually cost. Stop guessing, start tracking, and build your prices around the numbers your business needs. #ContractorPricing #GrossProfit #ContractorBusiness

  2. 4d ago

    They Almost Gave Up on Their Contracting Business - Here's What Changed

    See if you've built a business worth having: https://bit.ly/BuildABusinessWorthHaving_itf1 Craig and Naomi spent years running an electrical contracting business that kept them busy but left them with little profit and almost no freedom. Craig was doing everything in the field. Naomi was handling the office. They were bringing in revenue, but the money was disappearing as quickly as it came in. Then a serious car accident exposed just how dependent the business was on Craig. They were faced with a decision. Change how they ran their business or potentially walk away from everything they'd built. In this episode of Inside The Fight, Tim and Derek sit down with Craig and Naomi, owners of Titan Electric LLC in Northeast Ohio. They share how they went from struggling to make a profit and questioning the future of their business to building a growing electrical company that's giving them more financial stability and freedom with their family. After generating $300,000 in revenue last year, they're now projecting approximately $750,000 for 2026. But the biggest change isn't how much money they're bringing in. It's that they're finally building a business that doesn't require them to sacrifice their family to keep it running. Check out Craig and Naomi's electrical contracting business, Titan Electric Services: https://www.titanelectricservices.com/ They break down: • How a serious car accident exposed the danger of building a contracting business that depends entirely on its owner • Why working nonstop and generating revenue wasn't translating into actual profit • How changing their pricing and implementing 50% gross profit principles helped them build a more financially stable business • Why pre-qualifying customers stopped Craig from wasting time chasing estimates and underpriced jobs • How they went from running everything themselves to hiring employees, adding service vans, and moving into a shop • Why raising their prices felt like a huge risk and what actually happened when they did it • How knowing their daily operating costs and tracking their numbers gave them financial peace of mind • Why learning to delegate responsibilities is essential to building a business that can grow without consuming its owners • How they started reclaiming time with their three daughters and measuring success by more than revenue Chapters 00:00 From Owner-Operator to Building a Real Business 02:31 Changing the Mindset That Keeps Contractors Stuck 05:29 Why Being Busy Doesn't Mean You're Profitable 06:51 Stop Chasing Customers Who Aren't Right for Your Business 14:34 When Your Contracting Business Puts Your Family at Risk 18:27 From $300K to a Projected $750K in Revenue 23:17 How Knowing Your Numbers Creates Financial Security 30:27 Why You Can't Keep Doing Everything Yourself 37:24 What Actually Happened When They Raised Their Prices 40:11 Measuring Success by the Freedom Your Business Gives You Craig and Naomi's story isn't just about growing revenue. It's about learning to charge what their work is worth, building a team they can depend on, and creating a business that no longer requires them to do everything themselves. Because a successful contracting business shouldn't leave you exhausted, financially stressed, and missing the moments that matter most. The goal isn't just to build a bigger business. It's to build a business worth having. Tom Reber is the founder of The Contractor Fight. He is the host of Contractor Fight TV, an entrepreneur, speaker, podcaster, and former HGTV host. For over 20 years, Tom has helped hundreds of thousands of contractors build businesses worth having by helping them become the kind of people capable of building them. On this channel, you'll find straight-talk training on sales, pricing, profit, leadership, and mindset for contractors who want to build a Strong You, a Strong Home, and a Strong Business. The first fight is always with yourself. Join The Fight. 👊

  3. Oct 12

    Do you know what it actually costs to operate your contracting business for one hour?

    See what needs your attention in your contracting business: https://bit.ly/BuildABusinessWorthHaving_cto Do you know what it actually costs to operate your contracting business for one hour? Most contractors know what they charge customers. They know what they pay their employees. But they don't know what one billable hour actually costs their business. And that difference could be costing them thousands of dollars in profit. In this episode, Tom Reber breaks down how to calculate your true hourly operating cost so you can stop guessing and start understanding what your contracting business needs to produce. Using an example with four field employees, Tom walks through how to calculate realistic billable hours, allocate company overhead, and account for the true cost of field labor. The result? A business paying an employee $30 an hour could actually be spending $92 per billable hour before making a single dollar in profit. Understanding this number doesn't tell you what to charge. It tells you what your business actually costs to operate so you can make better decisions about your jobs, your crews, and your profitability. In this episode: Why paid hours and billable hours aren't the same thingHow to calculate your team's realistic annual billable capacityHow overhead and labor burden determine your true hourly operating costWhy a $30-per-hour employee could cost your business $92 per billable hourThe difference between operating cost and what you should charge customersHow wasted time and inaccurate estimates affect your profitability Chapters: 00:00 — What does one billable hour actually cost your business? 00:31 — The difference between paid hours and billable hours 01:32 — Calculating your team's realistic billable capacity 02:44 — Calculating overhead cost per billable hour 03:59 — Calculating your true field labor cost 04:45 — The $92-per-hour operating cost example 05:58 — The difference between operating cost and selling price 06:42 — Your fight this week: Calculate your number Your challenge: Pull your numbers from the last 12 months and figure out three things: What does it actually cost to keep your contracting business running?How many billable hours can your team realistically produce?What does your field labor actually cost after accounting for labor burden? Take your annual operating costs and divide them by your realistic annual billable hours. Then add your burdened field labor cost. That's your estimated cost per billable hour before profit. If you've been setting prices based on what competitors charge or what you pay your employees, it's time to understand what your own business actually costs. And if this exercise revealed that you're guessing at important numbers, there may be other areas of your business that need attention. Take the free Build a Business Worth Having Scorecard to uncover what's holding your contracting business back and identify where to focus first. It takes about three minutes. https://bit.ly/BuildABusinessWorthHaving_cto Knowing what an hour costs your business isn't the same as knowing what to charge for it. But you can't make smart pricing decisions until you understand your costs. #ContractorPricing #ContractorProfit #ContractorBusiness

  4. Oct 5

    Contractor Finances: 6 Numbers You Can’t Afford to Ignore

    See what needs your attention in your contracting business: https://bit.ly/BuildABusinessWorthHaving_cf1 Contractor finances are about more than revenue. You can run a $2 million, $5 million, or even $10 million contracting business and still not know if you’re actually making money. Revenue tells you how big your business is. It doesn’t tell you how healthy it is. In this episode, Tom Reber breaks down the 6 numbers every contractor needs to know to understand the financial health of their business: revenue, gross profit, overhead, net profit, cash flow, and owner’s compensation. These numbers show you what your work is actually producing, what it costs to run the company, how much profit is left, whether you have enough cash to cover what’s due, and what the business is ultimately producing for you. If you want to get control of your contractor finances, you don’t need to become an accountant. You need to understand your numbers well enough to make better decisions. In this episode: The 6 financial numbers every contractor should knowWhy revenue alone doesn’t tell you whether your contracting business is healthyHow gross profit shows what your jobs are actually producingWhy Tom pushes contractors to bid at a minimum 50% gross profitHow overhead affects what your business needs to produce every dayWhy more revenue doesn’t automatically mean more profitThe difference between net profit and cash flowHow accounts receivable can leave a profitable contracting business short on cashWhy owner’s compensation matters when measuring what the business actually produces for you Chapters: 00:00 — Contractor finances: Is your business healthy? 00:43 — #1: Revenue 01:36 — #2: Gross profit 02:44 — Build a Business Worth Having Scorecard 03:09 — #3: Overhead 04:00 — #4: Net profit 05:18 — #5: Cash flow 06:04 — #6: Owner’s compensation 06:56 — How the 6 financial numbers work together 07:44 — Find the number you don’t know Your challenge: Pull your P&L and your receivables and find all six numbers: Revenue. Gross profit. Overhead. Net profit. Cash flow. Owner’s compensation. If there’s one you can’t answer, start there. You can’t make good decisions with numbers you don’t know. Getting control of your contractor finances doesn’t mean becoming an accountant. It means understanding your company well enough to know what the business is actually producing for you. Take the free Build a Business Worth Having Scorecard to see where your business needs your attention right now: https://bit.ly/BuildABusinessWorthHaving_cf1 The goal isn’t just to build a bigger contracting business. It’s to build one that’s actually worth having. #ContractorFinances #ContractorFinance #ContractorProfit

  5. Oct 1

    He Built a Contracting Business That Gave Him His Life Back

    See if you've built a business worth having: https://bit.ly/BuildABusinessWorthHaving_itf1 Jarrod was working sunup to sundown at least six days a week. He had moved to Colorado with his wife to build a new life, but instead of having the freedom to enjoy it, most of his time was consumed by work. Today, that's starting to look very different. In this episode of Inside The Fight, Tim and Derek sit down with Jarrod, owner of Alpine Design and Remodeling, to talk about how he went from grinding six days a week, not knowing his numbers, and struggling to step away from work to building a contracting business he can actually be proud to own. They break down: • Why working sunup to sundown six days a week was costing Jarrod more than just his time • How learning his numbers changed the way he thought about growing and scaling his business • Why moving from Minnesota to Colorado forced him to get uncomfortable and make major changes in his life • How coaching helped Jarrod build confidence, communicate better, and change the way he saw himself • Why head trash can limit what contractors believe they can accomplish and what they're willing to charge • How Jarrod went from feeling like he couldn't afford to take a day off to stepping away from the field without worrying about it Chapters 00:00 Jarrod's Move to Colorado and Starting Over 02:58 Building a Business Worth Owning 05:56 What Wasn't Working Before The Fight 08:32 How the Grind Was Affecting His Home Life 10:35 Realizing There Was a Better Way 14:32 The Coaching Moment That Changed His Identity 19:23 The Change Jarrod Resisted the Most 23:21 Learning to Track the Numbers That Matter 25:21 What His Business Allows Him to Do Now 33:42 The Head Trash Holding Contractors Back Jarrod didn't just need a better business strategy. He needed to change the way he thought about his business, his time, and what was actually possible for his life. Because building a successful contracting business isn't just about working harder or generating more revenue. It's about building something worth owning. Tom Reber is the founder of The Contractor Fight. He is the host of Contractor Fight TV, an entrepreneur, a speaker, a podcaster, and a former HGTV host. For over 20 years, Tom has helped hundreds of thousands of contractors build businesses worth having. He does this by helping them become the kind of people capable of building them. On this channel you will find straight-talk training for your business. We cover sales, pricing, profit, leadership, and mindset. Our goal is to build a Strong You, a Strong Home, and a Strong Business. The first fight is always with yourself. Join The Fight. 👊

  6. Sep 28

    Why You’re Trapped in Your Own Contracting Business

    https://bit.ly/BuildABusinessWorthHaving_tob Successful, Miserable, Trapped You got the trucks, the crew, and the revenue number you used to dream about. From the outside, it looks like you’ve made it. But you can’t take a week off. Every important decision comes back to you. And somewhere along the way, you stopped thinking about what the business could become and started focusing on getting through the day. In this episode, Tom Reber explains how a contractor can build a successful business and still feel miserable and trapped inside it. The usual scoreboard measures revenue, trucks, and head count. It doesn’t tell you whether the business pays you well for the roles you’re filling, gives you a life outside of work, or can function when you step away. In this episode: Three signs you may be trapped in the business you builtWhy a business that can’t run for a week without you has a serious problemHow you can be the highest paid employee and the lowest paid ownerWhy being great at your trade can lead to years of reacting instead of buildingHow to define what you need the business to pay you and how much time you’re willing to give itWhich roles to start moving off your plateWhy healthy margins give you room to make those changes Chapters: 00:00 — You hit the goal, so why do you feel trapped? 01:56 — Sign #1: The business can’t run a week without you 02:47 — Sign #2: You’re the highest paid employee and lowest paid owner 03:40 — Sign #3: You stopped imagining what’s next 04:14 — How you became the person who solves everything 05:35 — Successful, miserable, trapped 06:03 — Decide what the business is for 06:24 — Decide which roles you’ll leave 06:47 — Fix the margins that make change possible 08:40 — Your business doesn’t have to be a life sentence Your challenge: Write down two things: what you need this business to put in your pocket and how many hours you’re willing to work. Then look at the roles you’re filling right now. Which one makes the best use of your time? Which ones need someone else in the seat, and when will you make that happen? A bigger business won’t automatically give you a better life. You have to decide what worth having means to you and build toward it. Take the free Build a Business Worth Having Scorecard to see which problems are costing you the most: https://bit.ly/BuildABusinessWorthHaving_tob The business you have today doesn’t have to be the business you’re stuck with forever.

  7. Sep 21

    The Real Reason You're Burnt Out (It's Not the Work)

    https://bit.ly/BuildABusinessWorthHaving_rbo Why More Revenue Won't Fix Your Burnout You’re doing $1 million, maybe $2 million a year. You’ve got a crew. Your trucks are wrapped. People in town know your name. And somehow, you’re more exhausted than when you were running the business solo. In this episode, Tom breaks down why contractor burnout isn’t always the result of working too hard. It’s what happens when you keep working hard without making real progress. More revenue. More employees. More leads. More responsibility. But you’re still selling the jobs, solving customer problems, making every important decision and putting out fires every week. On paper, the business has grown. In reality, it still depends on you. Taking a vacation doesn’t fix that. Hustling harder doesn’t fix it either. The solution is building a business that can operate without everything running through you. In this episode: • Why hard work alone isn’t what burns contractors out • How more revenue can still leave you running in place • Why your business should depend less on you as it grows • How constantly saving the day keeps the business from progressing • Why taking time off doesn’t fix the underlying problem • The importance of building a sales process that doesn’t live in your head • Why your crew needs standards they can execute without you • How training people to make decisions gives you back your time • Why better visibility into your numbers matters • Why a growing business should eventually become easier to run Your challenge: Look at your business and identify where it still depends on you like it did in year one. Sales. Production. Customer problems. Money. Day-to-day decisions. If everything still has to go through you, more revenue isn’t going to solve the problem. You have to build a business that needs less of you in the right places. Take the free Build a Business Worth Having Scorecard to see what needs your attention and identify the bottlenecks keeping you from getting ahead: https://bit.ly/BuildABusinessWorthHaving_rbo You’ve already proven you can hustle. The next level isn’t more of you. It’s building a business that can grow without everything depending on you.

  8. Sep 17

    His $2.7M Contracting Business Runs Without Him

    See if you've built a business worth having: https://bit.ly/BuildABusinessWorthHaving_itf1 Most contractors build a business that depends on them being there every day. Taylor built one that allowed him to move to another state. After years of working nonstop, struggling to trust his team, and feeling like he always had to be the one to come to the rescue, Taylor made a massive change. He moved from Arizona to Idaho while his contracting business stayed in Arizona — and continued to grow. In this episode of Inside The Fight, Tim and Derek sit down with Taylor Payne, owner of Total Precision Builders in Casa Grande, AZ, to talk about how he went from being a workaholic who couldn't step away from the business to running a $2.7 million contracting company from another state. They break down: • How Taylor built a contracting business he could run from another state • Why learning to trust his team was one of the biggest hurdles to gaining freedom • How knowing his numbers, job costing, and understanding his margins changed the way he runs his business • Why charging more and targeting a 50% gross profit forced him to rethink his pricing • How pride kept him from admitting what wasn't working and implementing what he already knew • Why Taylor put his first Mile High Profit Summit trip on a credit card when he felt like he couldn't afford to go • How failing to implement kept him stuck even when he had the tools to move forward • Why building the right team means no longer tolerating people who aren't aligned with your standards • How Taylor went from making money the priority to valuing his freedom, family, and time Chapters 00:00 How Taylor Runs a $2.7M Business From Another State 03:20 Moving to Idaho While the Business Stayed in Arizona 06:53 The Real Reason Taylor Needed More Freedom 10:35 What The Fight Changed in His Business 14:18 Discovering the 50% Gross Profit Mindset 18:45 Why His Old Business Couldn't Continue 22:06 Learning to Track the Numbers 27:32 The Coaching Moment That Changed His Sales 31:26 Pride, Failure & Starting Over 36:53 Taylor's Biggest Implementation Mistake 46:08 Why He Refuses to Go Back 50:15 What Contractors Need to Stop Tolerating A successful contracting business shouldn't require you to be physically present every day just to keep it running. When you know your numbers, build the right team, implement proven systems, and stop making yourself the answer to every problem, you create something bigger than revenue. You create freedom. Tom Reber is the founder of The Contractor Fight. He is the host of Contractor Fight TV, an entrepreneur, a speaker, a podcaster, and a former HGTV host. For over 20 years, Tom has helped hundreds of thousands of contractors build businesses worth having. He does this by helping them become the kind of people capable of building them. On this channel you will find straight-talk training for your business. We cover sales, pricing, profit, leadership, and mindset. Our goal is to build a Strong You, a Strong Home, and a Strong Business. The first fight is always with yourself. Join The Fight. 👊

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Stop stressing out about your contracting business and take back control. The Contractor Fight is bringing respect and dignity back to the trades one contractor at a time. Discover how to market, sell, and consistently produce your projects at a profit with industry expert and powerful motivator Tom Reber. Stop stealing from your family. Earn what you're worth. Build a business that serves you.

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