The Builder’s Edge - Mastering the Business Side of Building

Deanna Lucas
  • 5.0 (11)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Weekly

Are you a small business owner, contractor, or entrepreneur in the construction industry struggling to manage and grow your business? The Builder’s Edge is here to help you create the business you want, one that doesn’t consume your life but works for you. Hosted by an industry veteran with over 30 years of experience, this podcast dives into the real challenges business owners face, too few leads, too many leads with no system, overwhelming workloads, pricing struggles, staffing headaches, and managing your reputation.

  1. 5d ago

    The Wealth-Building Rules Most Americans Were Never Taught

    Ready-to-use description following your three-block format, including guest links, four highlights, chapters, and five hashtags. What if the reason you're not building wealth isn't how hard you work, but the financial rules you were never taught? In this episode of The Builder's Edge, host Deanna Lucas sits down with financial educator, author, and Financial Literacy Group founder Ronald Harris to challenge the traditional American Dream and explore how everyday Americans can rethink debt, retirement planning, financial independence, and generational wealth. For business owners, entrepreneurs, working families, and anyone wondering why a good income doesn't always lead to lasting financial security, this conversation explores the difference between earning money and building wealth. Ronald shares insights from more than 20 years in the financial industry, including how banks and wealthy families approach money, the importance of understanding interest rates and cash flow, and why financial literacy can change long-term financial decisions. You'll also hear about concepts from Ronald's book, The New American Dream, including tax-advantaged wealth strategies, indexed universal life insurance, hybrid financial arbitrage, retirement income planning, and building a financial legacy that extends beyond your lifetime. Whether you're approaching retirement, growing a business, managing credit card debt, or trying to create a better financial future for your children, this episode will encourage you to ask smarter questions about where your money goes and what it's building.   What You’ll Learn → Why hard work doesn't always create wealth: Discover how income, cash flow, interest payments, financial education, and long-term planning affect the money you're able to keep. → How wealthy families approach money differently: Explore Ronald's perspective on life insurance strategies, tax-advantaged financial structures, and making money serve more than one purpose. → How to rethink debt and retirement planning: Learn about identifying financial leaks, understanding high-interest debt, budgeting tools, and evaluating your options before retirement. → How to build a legacy beyond your business: Understand why succession planning, financial education, family wealth, and intentionally preparing the next generation matter.   If you've spent years building a successful business, does your online presence reflect your experience, reputation, and expertise? Join Deanna's free five-day challenge to discover opportunities to strengthen your business's online visibility. Set aside 30 minutes this week to complete your American Dream Reality Check. Ask yourself what you're building, where your money is going, what financial questions remain unanswered, whether you're relying too heavily on one source of income or retirement savings, and what kind of legacy you want to leave. Subscribe to The Builder's Edge with Deanna Lucas for more conversations about business ownership, financial education, entrepreneurship, leadership, and building a future that lasts.   Learn more about Deanna Lucas through the following links: AI Visibility Scorecard Builders Visibility Blueprint DND Website DND Youtube Email Template for 5 Star Reviews Facebook Facebook Group LinkedIn Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  2. Oct 22

    Why a 5-Year Contractor Can Beat a 25-Year Veteran Online

    Your contracting business might have 25 years of experience, but what happens when homeowners search Google or ask AI who to hire, and your competitors show up instead?   In this episode of The Builder's Edge, Deanna Lucas sits down with Jim Klauck, founder of Checka Pro and a broadcasting veteran with more than 40 years of experience, to reveal how contractors can turn expertise into online visibility, customer trust, and a stronger reputation.   If you're a builder, roofer, HVAC contractor, plumber, electrician, or home service business owner, this conversation will help you understand why being great at your trade isn't enough if homeowners can't discover what makes you different.   What You’ll Learn: → Why a contractor with five years of experience and an active video presence may attract more attention than an established contractor with 25 years of expertise. → How podcasts, video interviews, and educational content help demonstrate your knowledge, personality, credibility, and authority before a homeowner calls. → What your contractor website should communicate, including a visible phone number, an introductory video, and helpful content that answers homeowners' questions. → How to create a simple 60-second contractor video using a real customer problem, the solution you delivered, and the results, even if you're uncomfortable on camera.   TAKE THE BUILDER'S EDGE CHALLENGE Spend 15 minutes searching for your business the way a homeowner would. Then record one short video answering a question your customers frequently ask. Want to discover what Google and AI can find about your contracting business? Join Deanna's FREE 5-Day AI Visibility Challenge, starting with a 30-minute kickoff and fit call. Booking details and Jim's information are in the show notes. Connect with Jim Klauck Email: Jim@theradiopitchman.com Phone: (281) 398-7767 Schedule a Discovery_Call with Jim: https:// calendly.com/jimklauck/check-a-pro-discovery= call     Learn more about Deanna Lucas through the following links: AI Visibility Scorecard Builders Visibility Blueprint DND Website DND Youtube Email Template for 5 Star Reviews Facebook Facebook Group LinkedIn Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  3. Oct 15

    Stop Wasting Money on Google Ads: Fix These 7 Mistakes

    Are your Google Ads getting clicks but not bringing in customers? You could be wasting hundreds or even thousands of dollars on Google Ads without realizing where your advertising budget is going. In this episode of The Builder's Edge, Deanna Lucas sits down with Google Ads expert Mark Kelly of Inbound Revenue to uncover the biggest Google Ads mistakes local service businesses make and how to fix them. If you're a contractor, landscaper, tree service professional, roofer, or local business owner struggling with Google Ads lead generation, this conversation will help you understand how to attract qualified leads, reduce wasted ad spend, and turn website visitors into paying customers. Learn how Google Ads for contractors actually works, why your campaigns might be attracting the wrong searches, how negative keywords protect your advertising budget, and why your landing page and conversion tracking are just as important as your ads. Mark also explains realistic Google Ads budgets for service businesses, how to identify profitable services to advertise, and why clicks and impressions don't tell the whole story. Whether you're managing Google Ads yourself or hiring a Google Ads agency, this episode gives you practical strategies to make smarter marketing decisions and generate more valuable opportunities for your business.   You’ll Learn: → Discover why search campaigns, high-intent keywords, geographic targeting, and negative keywords are critical for local Google Ads success. Learn how to stop paying for irrelevant searches and protect your marketing budget. → Mark explains how advertising budgets vary across landscaping, roofing, mobile detailing, and other service businesses, plus how to evaluate your cost per lead, conversion rates, and return on advertising spend. → Learn why dedicated landing pages, mobile-friendly websites, trackable phone calls, contact forms, and accurate Google Ads conversion tracking can make the difference between buying traffic and generating real sales opportunities. → Discover how to identify your most profitable services, track leads all the way through the sales process, pause underperforming keywords, and scale campaigns that consistently attract the right customers.   Learn more about Deanna Lucas through the following links: AI Visibility Scorecard Builders Visibility Blueprint DND Website DND Youtube Email Template for 5 Star Reviews Facebook Facebook Group LinkedIn Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  4. Oct 8

    Why Your Facebook Ads Aren’t Working

    What if your Facebook ads aren’t failing because Facebook doesn’t work, but because you’re testing them the wrong way? In this episode of The Builder’s Edge, Deanna Lucas sits down with advertising strategist Neil Shoney to break down a smarter Facebook and Instagram ads strategy for contractors, home builders, and service-based businesses. Neil explains why running one campaign, one audience, and one ad can turn your advertising into a gamble, and how his 2-5-5 method creates multiple opportunities to discover winning Facebook ads, audiences, and messages.  You’ll learn how Facebook remarketing works, why warm audiences can produce strong ROI, how much small businesses should actually spend when testing Meta ads, and why spending more money won’t necessarily give you useful data faster. Neil also explains how landing pages can improve lead quality, how to diagnose whether your ad or landing page is the real problem, why link click-through rate matters, and when it makes sense to increase your Facebook advertising budget. If you’ve wasted money on Facebook ads, or you’re thinking about running your first campaign, this conversation will help you stop guessing and start building a measurable advertising system.   You;ll learn: → Why remarketing can be one of the easiest Facebook advertising opportunities for contractors and service businesses by putting your company back in front of people who have already visited your website or interacted with your business. → How Neil’s 2-5-5 Facebook Ads Method uses two campaigns, five audiences, and five ads to create multiple chances to identify winning audiences, messages, and creative instead of relying on a single ad. → Why Neil recommends many new advertisers begin around $20 per day and evaluate performance over several days instead of assuming that a larger Facebook ad budget will automatically produce better data faster. → How to use link click-through rate to diagnose your advertising funnel: if people are clicking the Facebook ad but not becoming leads, the problem may be the landing page rather than the ad itself.   Learn more about Deanna Lucas through the following links: AI Visibility Scorecard Builders Visibility Blueprint DND Website DND Youtube Email Template for 5 Star Reviews  Facebook Facebook Group LinkedIn   Learn more about Deanna Lucas through the following links: AI Visibility Scorecard Builders Visibility Blueprint DND Website DND Youtube Email Template for 5 Star Reviews Facebook Facebook Group LinkedIn Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  5. Oct 1

    Your Employees Are Wearing Your Reputation

    Your employees are wearing your reputation every time they pull up to a customer’s home. Before they explain their experience, show their craftsmanship, or even say hello, customers are already forming an opinion about your contracting business based on how your team looks. In this episode of The Builder’s Edge, Deanna Lucas sits down with Jace Stevens, founder of Onward Customs, to break down how employee uniforms, custom apparel, contractor branding, brand identity, and visual consistency influence customer trust. If you own a construction company, home service business, or blue-collar company, you’ll discover why branding is much bigger than putting a logo on a shirt. Jace explains why clean, consistent employee apparel can make a smaller contractor look more established, why putting phone numbers and every service you offer on a shirt may actually weaken your brand, and how your uniforms should connect with your trucks, website, business cards, signs, social media, and customer experience. You’ll also hear how companies can provide professional branded apparel without constantly buying large bulk orders or wasting money on unused inventory. If you want customers to see the quality of your company before your crew ever starts the job, this conversation is for you.   You’ll learn: → Why your employees become the face of your company faster than many business owners realize, and how their appearance influences the first impression customers form about your professionalism. → Why simple, consistent contractor uniforms can create stronger brand recognition than shirts overloaded with phone numbers, services, colors, and marketing information. → How a clear brand identity connects your employee apparel, truck wraps, website, signage, business cards, social media, and customer experience so everything tells the same story. → How employee apparel portals and clothing allowances can help growing contractors control uniform costs, reduce wasted inventory, give employees appropriate choices, and maintain consistent branding as the company grows.   Learn more about Deanna Lucas through the following links: AI Visibility Scorecard Builders Visibility Blueprint DND Website DND Youtube Email Template for 5 Star Reviews  Facebook Facebook Group LinkedIn   Learn more about Deanna Lucas through the following links: AI Visibility Scorecard Builders Visibility Blueprint DND Website DND Youtube Email Template for 5 Star Reviews Facebook Facebook Group LinkedIn Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  6. Sep 24

    Bank Said No? Do These 3 Things Before You Give Up

    The bank said no to your business loan. Now what? A business financing rejection doesn’t always mean your project is bad, your company is too risky, or your opportunity is over. Sometimes the problem is your equity, credit, collateral, experience, project timing, or use of funds. Other times, you may simply be talking to a lender whose lending model was never designed for your deal. In this episode of The Builder’s Edge, Deanna Lucas talks with Jordan Blanchard, co-founder of X-Caliber Capital, about what business owners, contractors, developers, and entrepreneurs should do after being denied business financing. Jordan brings more than 40 years of banking and government lending experience and explains how lenders evaluate commercial loans, USDA OneRD loans, SBA financing, construction financing, equipment financing, and large business expansion projects. You’ll hear what lenders actually want to see before approving a loan, why equity matters, what makes a project “shovel-ready,” how credit and collateral affect the decision, and why one lender can reject a project another lender is willing to finance. If you’re trying to grow your business, purchase equipment, build a facility, expand locations, or finance a major project, this conversation can help you approach your next lender better prepared. You’ll Learn: → How to tell whether a lender rejected your business because of a weakness in the deal or because the loan simply didn’t fit that lender’s programs, lending limits, policies, or risk tolerance. → Why equity, project readiness, industry experience, credit, collateral, and a clearly defined use of funds can dramatically affect a commercial lending decision. → How USDA OneRD loans, SBA loans, conventional business loans, construction financing, and other funding sources can fit very different types and sizes of projects. → What to do after multiple lenders say no, including asking for specific feedback, correcting weaknesses, preparing a concise two-to-four-page project summary, and finding a lender whose financing model fits the opportunity. Learn more about Deanna Lucas through the following links: AI Visibility Scorecard Builders Visibility Blueprint DND Website DND Youtube Email Template for 5 Star Reviews Facebook Facebook Group LinkedIn   Learn more about Deanna Lucas through the following links: AI Visibility Scorecard Builders Visibility Blueprint DND Website DND Youtube Email Template for 5 Star Reviews Facebook Facebook Group LinkedIn Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  7. Sep 17

    Could Your Business Survive 4 Weeks Without You?

    What would happen to your business if you disappeared for four weeks? Would your employees know what to do, would customers still be taken care of, and would projects keep moving, or would every decision, question, and problem come straight back to you? In this episode of The Builder's Edge, Deanna Lucas talks with Dr. Sabrina Starling, business psychologist, founder of Tap the Potential, international bestselling author, and creator of The 4 Week Vacation. Sabrina explains how contractors, builders, and small business owners can build a profitable business that runs without the owner being involved in every decision. You'll learn why chasing revenue can actually make your contracting business more complicated and less profitable, how identifying your best 20% of clients can simplify operations, why hiring A-players based on core values matters, and how systems help you delegate without losing quality. Sabrina also explains the power of $10,000-an-hour activities, the strategic work only the business owner can do, and why moving out of day-to-day firefighting is essential for sustainable business growth. If you're overwhelmed by employees, customer issues, jobsite problems, constant phone calls, or a business that cannot function without you, this conversation will show you a different way to build. Highlights: → Discover why complexity is the enemy of profit and how narrowing your services and focusing on your most profitable customers can make your construction business easier to manage. → Learn how the 80/20 principle can help contractors identify their best clients, reduce difficult projects, improve profitability, and create repeatable systems their team can actually follow. → Understand Sabrina's $10,000-an-hour concept and why your highest-value work may not be answering emails, visiting jobsites, or solving employee problems, but thinking strategically about where the business should go next. → Learn how to hire A-players, delegate around clearly defined results, use accountability and metrics, and manage outcomes instead of micromanaging employees so your team can perform without constantly depending on you. Learn more about Deanna Lucas through the following links: AI Visibility Scorecard Builders Visibility Blueprint DND Website DND Youtube Email Template for 5 Star Reviews Facebook Facebook Group LinkedIn Learn more about Deanna Lucas through the following links: AI Visibility Scorecard Builders Visibility Blueprint DND Website DND Youtube Email Template for 5 Star Reviews Facebook Facebook Group LinkedIn Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  8. Sep 10

    The Hidden Business Problem Costing Contractors Referrals

    What if one of the biggest problems in your construction business is something you’ve completely normalized? Scattered emails. Text message approvals. Handwritten notes. Forgotten decisions. Clients calling because they don’t know what happens next. Contractors, builders, architects, remodelers, and residential construction firms deal with these communication problems every day, but the cost can be much bigger than a few wasted minutes. Poor construction communication can lead to lost time, frustrated customers, project mistakes, damaged trust, fewer referrals, disputes, and hours of unpaid administrative work. In this episode of The Builder’s Edge, Deanna Lucas sits down with Nola Solomon, founder and CEO of Renoverse AI, to explore how artificial intelligence can help construction businesses organize project communication, automate administrative tasks, document decisions, manage project information, and create a reliable single source of truth. Nola shares how problems during her own home renovation inspired Renoverse AI and why construction companies don't necessarily need another complicated software platform. They need better ways to connect the emails, texts, files, tasks, conversations, and project management tools they're already using. If you run a construction, remodeling, architecture, interior design, or service-based business and want to save time while creating a better customer experience, this conversation is for you. Highlights: → Why communication problems become invisible: Discover how construction business owners can become so accustomed to scattered emails, texts, handwritten notes, and disconnected systems that they stop recognizing the damage those workflows create. → How AI can reduce construction admin: Learn how AI assistants can capture tasks, draft emails, organize documents, search project files, record job-site notes, and turn everyday conversations into actionable project information. → Why documentation protects your business: See how a centralized project record and clear audit trail can help contractors document homeowner decisions, approvals, project changes, responsibilities, and important conversations. → How better communication creates more referrals: Learn why customer experience and trust matter so much in residential construction—and how giving clients greater clarity can reduce anxiety, prevent misunderstandings, and strengthen the referrals that drive many construction companies. Learn more about Deanna Lucas through the following links: AI Visibility Scorecard Builders Visibility Blueprint DND Website DND Youtube Email Template for 5 Star Reviews Facebook Facebook Group LinkedIn Learn more about Deanna Lucas through the following links: AI Visibility Scorecard Builders Visibility Blueprint DND Website DND Youtube Email Template for 5 Star Reviews Facebook Facebook Group LinkedIn Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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Are you a small business owner, contractor, or entrepreneur in the construction industry struggling to manage and grow your business? The Builder’s Edge is here to help you create the business you want, one that doesn’t consume your life but works for you. Hosted by an industry veteran with over 30 years of experience, this podcast dives into the real challenges business owners face, too few leads, too many leads with no system, overwhelming workloads, pricing struggles, staffing headaches, and managing your reputation.

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