The Contracting Handbook: Builder & Trades Construction Podcast W/ Mike Knoche of Straight Ahead Construction
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- Business
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Facilitating new construction company startups, supporting the building community with new ideas and affirmation, and ushering in the next generation of builders is the mission of The Contracting Handbook podcast. Through sharing information about how we operate our businesses and live our construction lives around the world, we elevate the construction life.
Please leave a review on iTunes, your Apple podcast app, or if you’re in the android world, rate it on Spotify and leave a review on Podchaser or directly on the website.
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Yahara Vasquez of Built By Her Construction: Architectural Engineer to Spec Homes & Breaking with Tradition
Yahara Vasquez owns and operates Built By Her Construction @building_by_her out of Carson, Washington. With a degree in architectural engineering, she’s decided that the jobs that came with the degree were not for her. She loves working with her hands. Between that and wanting to be more available for her children, Yahara built her own home and she started a contracting company. She’s doing some work for the public but venturing into spec home building. While she says her role at home is fairly traditional, her career path is anything but traditional given her Mexican heritage. She doesn’t care because she wants young girls to see her in that position and is organizing to have young women to work Saturdays on her spec to learn skilled trades. I can’t wait to check in with Yahara Vasquez in a couple years to see where she’s gone!
Host: Mike Knoche
Website: The Contracting Handbook
Instagram: @thecontractinghandbook
YouTube: @thecontractinghandbook
TikTok: @tchmikeknoche
Contribute:
Venmo: Mike-Knoche-1
info@thecontractinghandbook.com
Guest: Yahara Vasquez
Instagram: @building_by_her
Facilitating new construction company startups, supporting the building community with new ideas and affirmation, and ushering in the next generation of builders is the mission of The Contracting Handbook podcast. Through sharing information about how we operate our businesses and live our construction lives around the world, we elevate the construction life. Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts if you have an iPhone or on Podchaser if you are an Android to help spread the word about this 100% Independently Recorded and Produced Construction Podcast! Rate us on Spotify! -
Furious Fifteen: Randy Jones returns to talk company growth, adding a sales manager, and his biggest challenges at 12 years...
Randy Jones revisits @thecontractinghandbook for a quick catch-up on the growth of his construction company @fineremodeling.de in this episode of Mike Knoche’s Furious Fifteen. Randy was my second guest on the podcast back in May 2021…
We hit upon:
-relying on a sales manager
-qualifying subcontractors
-challenges to growth
-“letting go”
-his most challenging project to date
It’s an action packed 19 minutes with a bunch of random, yes/no, non-quantifiables at the end!
It’s another great episode with a ton of insights for anyone operating a construction company, be it general contracting or specialty trade contracting.
Host: Mike Knoche
Website: The Contracting Handbook
Instagram: @thecontractinghandbook
Venmo: Mike-Knoche-1
info@thecontractinghandbook.com
Guest: Kyle Stumpenhorst
Instagram: @rrbuildings
YouTube: @rrbuildings
Facilitating new construction company startups, supporting the building community with new ideas and affirmation, and ushering in the next generation of builders is the mission of The Contracting Handbook podcast. Through sharing information about how we operate our businesses and live our construction lives around the world, we elevate the construction life. Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts if you have an iPhone or on Podchaser if you are an Android to help spread the word about this 100% Independently Recorded and Produced Construction Podcast! Rate us on Spotify! -
Kyle Stumpenhorst on "What's good enough?", Saying "No", and Red Flags
Post frame builder, Kyle Stumpenhorst @rrbuildings, joins Mike Knoche @thecontractinghandbook where we hit upon, not only always doing our best but:
-creating enduring video content that will always help
-using social media to link up with the right customers
-the incorporation of building science into the workflow and fiscal tradeoffs
-having more knowledge than the inspector
-why he no longer subs out work
-not heeding the red flags
It’s another great episode with a ton of insights for anyone operating a construction company, be it general contracting or specialty trade contracting.
Host: Mike Knoche
Website: The Contracting Handbook
Instagram: @thecontractinghandbook
Venmo: Mike-Knoche-1
info@thecontractinghandbook.com
Guest: Kyle Stumpenhorst
Facilitating new construction company startups, supporting the building community with new ideas and affirmation, and ushering in the next generation of builders is the mission of The Contracting Handbook podcast. Through sharing information about how we operate our businesses and live our construction lives around the world, we elevate the construction life. Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts if you have an iPhone or on Podchaser if you are an Android to help spread the word about this 100% Independently Recorded and Produced Construction Podcast! Rate us on Spotify! -
Joe Canning, The Canadian Carpenter: The Impact of Influencers and His Entrance Into Trades
Meet Joe Canning aka @canadiancarpenter and hear the story of how a guy with a degree in 3D graphic arts leaves that life behind for a career in skilled trades. With a wife, four mouths to feed, and no work available in his field, Joe went to work as the laborer under 13 framers..it’s another case of the 4-year degree fallacy. So tune into to hear about Joe as an apprentice and the journey to the beard we all know and love.
Then, we take a stab at the impact of Instagram influencing on the industry as a whole. At the end of the day, Joe wants to make the framing process easier for anyone willing to listen and learn. He’s been reviewing tools long before Instagram was a thing and points out some flaws in that sort of promotion. Is he teaching the kids if its cool to be in the trades or that its cool to be an influencer.
We don’t dwell on the labor deficit but take a look the reasons why it seems like “everyone is soft”. We were raised to be tough but that has lead to a generation of parents that don’t challenge their kids.
Joe is not afraid to talk about his ADHD. It’s not a block. It’s just a different way of thinking. He also empathizes with those suffering from anxiety but you got to deal with it in what ever way possible. Bottom line: Discipline, people!
Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts if you have an iPhone or on Podchaser if you are an Android to help spread the word about this 100% Independently Recorded and Produced Construction Podcast! Rate us on Spotify!
Host: Mike Knoche
Website: The Contracting Handbook
Instagram: @thecontractinghandbook
Venmo: Mike-Knoche-1
info@thecontractinghandbook.com
Guest: Joe Canning
Instagram: @canadiancarpenter
Music Credit: Tell Nobody (The Contracting Handbook theme) by Tiny Pancake Breakfast
Drew Frick- lead guitar
Scott Crass- bass
Brady Anderson- drums
Mike Knoche- rhythm guitar and vocals -
Joe Mitchell of Finish Point Trim: Crew Leadership and Client Conflict
Talk about dedication to team building, creating opportunity to learn skilled trades, and the future of craftsman, carpenter by trade, Joe Mitchell of Finish Point Trim.
Finish Point has an incredible apprenticeship program and, if you think it sounds great, they are happy to share their blueprint with you. A testament to their dedication to recruiting more young people into the skilled trades.
We dive into the idea that some people are unteachable, what it takes to coach, and why it ultimately boils down to our leadership. Joe Mitchell believes in having employee agreements instead of the standard set of rules. It there is a rotten apple, they escalate quickly to place them back in the open market rather than “horde a problem”.
On clients, its on us to learn to serve them how they want, intently listening and executing. We serve to educate as well, and when they are wrong, we let them be wrong with dignity.
This is one of the most inspiring talks about leadership and the need to focus on skilled trades that I have had to date. Don’t miss it and please leave a review!
Host: Mike Knoche
Website: The Contracting Handbook
Instagram: @thecontractinghandbook
Venmo: Mike-Knoche-1
info@thecontractinghandbook.com
Guest: Joe Mitchell
Instagram: @joe w mitchell
Facilitating new construction company startups, supporting the building community with new ideas and affirmation, and ushering in the next generation of builders is the mission of The Contracting Handbook podcast. Through sharing information about how we operate our businesses and live our construction lives around the world, we elevate the construction life. Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts if you have an iPhone or on Podchaser if you are an Android to help spread the word about this 100% Independently Recorded and Produced Construction Podcast! Rate us on Spotify! -
The Siding Guy, Desmond Tse: "Best practices for trade contractors"
If you’ve ever wanted to start your own trade contracting business or level up the one you have, you need to hear Des’s story. From the Home Depot pamphlet that taught him the siding installation techniques to picking up a couple contractors and building a business with 10 install crews running simultaneously. Part of learning the ropes was observing the mistakes of others to avoid those errors down the road. Des takes inventory. He focused his crews on a consistent product that was bonus driven for reduced waste and beating deadlines.
Des also got in front of another common issue for trade contractors- cashflow. He saved and accrued a company “float” that allowed Sublime Siding to always keep the ball rolling. It also allowed him to carry on when one of his partners went under and couldn’t pay him.
Now, financially secure he’s downsized and become the guy you’re all familiar with, The Siding Guy. The Siding Guy was intended to be fun, a creative outlet, but has become a bit of a pain for owner, Des, because everyone wants the siding guy on their job!
Des is a man with a plan. It didn’t take him long to know he was business oriented, despite the stigma of shame surrounding being a tradesperson he felt when he started out. As you may have seen on social, he is always strategizing and trying to shave seconds off every task.
Customer Reviews
This should not be free!
Big fan of this podcast. Mike does a great job of bringing in a variety of industry related guests. He branches out in areas that I would not usually seek out on my own. Always learning and growing from the information I get here. Thank you, Mike, for bringing this podcast to the construction industry!
Very Helpful!
I started listening to The Contracting Handbook two weeks ago and love the show. Finding good information is next to impossible in this industry. What Mike Knoche does for this industry is so valuable and I greatly appreciate it.
Hoping that some future episodes will talk about numbers as that’s where I struggle a lot being a new contractor. I don’t honestly know what labor rates for certain installs go for and it’s been a very hard learning process. Great podcasts!
Desmond
Love listening to Desmond, so down to earth and a wealth of knowledge! It’s awesome to follow him on ig for the tips and tricks he has learned over the years!