Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Tackling the Labor Shortage in a Competitive Market
109 Plays1 year ago
In this episode of The Better Contractor podcast, host Brent Oberlink is joined by his wife and business partner, Aney Bailor to tackle the most pressing issues in the contracting industry: the labor shortage and low bids. With demand skyrocketing and skilled workers in short supply, many contractors find themselves in a bind. Brent and Aney offer actionable strategies for attracting and retaining talent and they explore how businesses can stay competitive despite the challenges with low bids. Whether you're a small business owner or leading a large crew, this episode is packed with bold insights to help you navigate these turbulent times.
Recommended
Transcript
Building Positive Company Culture
00:00:00
Speaker
You're building the culture. You give a great work environment to your team. And because you're not though doing low bid, you end up paying them better. So if you're producing more income, you should also be paying at a higher standard, if especially if you're de demanding a higher standard. To me, that's where this all starts. But if you're not educating your customer on on the difference of your company versus low bid company, and they think for some reason that the quality of work, any of that is going to be the same if they pick you or them.
00:00:28
Speaker
You're not educating them. You're not marking yourself correctly. But education needs to go beyond that, um, for what you're doing. If they're looking at, Welcome back to another edition of the better contractor. You will see there is no professor. on today. So this is, is this podcast or you know it with no professor? Geez, Travis, we still love you. We really do. Anyway, today I have my wife instead in business partner, Annie. Well, first time in the podcast on the episode, what, 32 or three. So sorry. I've not been on before. That's all right. Do you want to say thank you for the subscribes lately? no How many did you say we had last week? Goal was 75.
00:01:24
Speaker
We're at 300 and something. So thank you. Please keep doing that. Hopefully this is a podcast that is helpful, something that is changing some stuff in the contracting world. If it is and you like it, please share it, please subscribe.
Challenges in Contracting Industry
00:01:38
Speaker
So today's podcast, we're gonna talk a little bit about two things I dealt with today. Tight labor market, not firing people, not enough people for jobs. I know all of you are dealing with that because I've heard enough feedback from contractors that that is not an uncommon thing right now.
00:01:53
Speaker
um then the competitive bidding. So basically people, whether that's an individual customer, you're dealing with a single person, or you're dealing with a procurement department, you're dealing with like a regional office. A lot of people want you to do a lot and they want you to do it real cheap. And that is not usually that possible. So how can we as contractors come together, address these things as a group, number one, and and change the market, change the mindset,
00:02:22
Speaker
Stop viewing blue collar industry as the one place where I can nickel and dime. A lot of industries, you have a product, you just sell it. You sell on eBay, you sell on Amazon, you sell online, it is $39.99. Nobody really thinks much of it, they pay you $39.99. We've got to stop making the contracting space, the one space that for whatever reason people think, hey, I know he said it was this much, but sure that can get him to come down 10%. Or I'm gonna put all you guys out for bid.
00:02:49
Speaker
you't push sure Well, the reality is, though, with that, that the one area, if they do not give an increased price, the area where that cuts is employee raises. Because everything else in our line of work, the price keeps going up, the equipment gets more, the gas gets more, the insurance gets more. The only thing is that employee raise. So that is where it's going to give because every other industry out there McDonald's, any of them, they're continuing to give raises. Yeah, the dollar burgers now. Well, $3. Exactly. Because they can increase their product that they're selling. They can just increase it. Yes. But being restricted by a contract doesn't allow you just a willy nilly increased price for that. Yeah, they have to get on board. Yeah. So this podcast, we're gonna deal with this stuff. You guys gotta get on board. So one of the things all of you are struggling with, I'm sure is a tight labor market. So
00:03:45
Speaker
Atlanta Corp, if we struggle with it. Every single business owner I know is struggling with it. But what can one do about it? Why does it exist? What's going on? ae I am curious where all the employees have gone. So because we used to have stacks of applications. Yeah, free podcasts. We're just talking about that that we've been in business, I think 16 years and 13 of those 16.
00:04:09
Speaker
We never ran ads for help. Um, we had a stack literally two, three inches deep at all times. And now it's ads running. You may have a stack of three or four, it seems like. So, and a lot of times those are qualified and sometimes they're not qualified. So, but what, what do you think has changed? It seems like it's happened since COVID, but why do you think that might be the case?
Post-COVID Job Market Shifts
00:04:35
Speaker
I don't know. I don't know if maybe the, um,
00:04:38
Speaker
The stimulus money that was given out a allowed people who were wanting to start their own businesses enough extra cash to be able to start their own. um And so they're out doing their own thing. Yeah. I guess the bigger question here then for everybody listening is not necessarily why, but then what do you do about it? So you're a company, you're a business owner, you're a manager. What do you do with this situation? Because it is, it's hindering growth.
00:05:08
Speaker
Um, it's hindering, you know, the used to when you would hire, okay, we got this position open. You interview, let's say six, eight candidates for them are no good. You narrow it down to four more and you narrow it out to your best one. Now it seems like a lot of companies are like, Hey, this guy applied. All right. You got a job tomorrow. Well, it's, it's creating a unique set of problems though, because there's a trickle down effect with all of this.
00:05:35
Speaker
You have contracts that don't care about how long the employees have worked on for you um or the seniority, but some contracts do. So, the newer the employees, the less of a chance that you're going to get some contracts if you have to show how many years they've been on.
00:05:52
Speaker
But it also affects safety. It affects the cohesiveness of the unit whenever they're working together. um Having a team that works together, you you start learning what everybody, how they work, their style of working, anticipating when things are going to go sideways, protecting
Team Dynamics and Training
00:06:08
Speaker
each other's backs. And when you don't have that longevity with a team, safety can become an issue because there's constantly new people training and getting underfoot because they messed up the flow and the rhythm.
00:06:19
Speaker
So that is creating a set of problems that in the long term is going to have a negative effect on companies. Yeah. I think there's two, the younger generation seems to be a little bit more where the older generation was like, find you this ideal job and then stick with it for 30, 40 years. Loyalty. It was a lot of loyalty. The younger generation seems to want a culture where they're at as well. It's like they want to know who they work for. They want to work somewhere they could be proud of.
00:06:48
Speaker
So I think one of the fixes for this is actually putting a forth a lot more effort, corporations and companies, of trying to build a culture, hiring on that, firing on that culture. But first you gotta have one. right A place where these people want to go. So if you're passionate about like tree care, climbing trees, um one of our clients on the video marketing side, they do great. It seems like I'm having culture where like the people there love what they do, they're passionate about it. But they've built a culture around the idea that what you're doing is actually a very skilled trait. Like there's a lot of people that would never climb a tree. um They're scared to death of it. What you're doing is neat. It's a, it is a skill. A lot of people cannot do it. Then you're out there with a chainsaw and ropes and rigging and trying to take a tree down. So they've built this culture and I'm being proud about that. And you know, so anyway, but that's a culture they have. um But you mix that, I think with pay and then we'll get into bidding in a minute. But when you mix that with pay, then that's a whole nother thing.
00:07:48
Speaker
Well, I can't remember the amount of time. But when you give people raises, the goodwill that you elicit from that raise lasts for weeks before people who are unhappy um are unhappy again. You can't. So that's not a sustainable thing within a company to keep giving raises to keep everybody happy. um And if you have a fixed contract, you're not going to be able to do that anyway. So you do have to have something that makes them feel that the company actually cares about him. However, that requires participation on the employees part. And I think that largely this is looked at as an issue from management and from ownership of make me feel valued. When the reality is, is that maybe there needs to be some cu communication and conversation from the employees to management and ownership of this is what would make me feel valued. Because we can throw a bunch of stuff against the wall and see what sticks.
00:08:47
Speaker
And we're going to keep some, but we're still going to lose some. So if they took an active role in, this is what I want the company I work for to look like. Like have some ownership, have some skin in the game. Tell us what does a company look like that's perfect for you? Because if we're making changes, we may as well make changes that keep the current employees. And I mean, why continue getting new employees is going to want different things when we could create a family unit structure.
00:09:16
Speaker
that their hat that the people we have are happy with and feel appreciated. Well, I think like you said, I think it's getting that family that culture.
Cultivating Employee Passion
00:09:24
Speaker
Mixing it with good pay though, like if you can work somewhere where you're passionate about what you do in the industry, whether it's tree, whatever, disconstruction, whatever, but you're passionate about that industry and that's where you want to be. But you also like where you work because they have a good culture.
00:09:39
Speaker
And they're also at the top end of that pay that eliminates the need for you to go look elsewhere because one of those three is not there. Right. You know, so if I like where I work, which is the lowest paid, which you expect the most of me, probably going to look for another job at some point. But I think too, that it, do they know that where they work has a culture because sometimes whenever you're the person on the ground in the field all the time, like there is this thought that they don't, they don't actually know what's going on out here.
00:10:08
Speaker
They forget that you've actually worked out in the field. Like you used to run the weed eater. You used to get out there sweating and working hard and you know what it's like and you know what they're going through and how hard it is and how much you appreciate that. But since we've grown and we have new employees, there's a lot of employees that we have now that have no idea that you used to work in the field. So they don't think you understand. And maybe out there working, they also don't understand how much culture is actually happening back home, how much we're working to create a culture that and is good for them, and that's better than any other company out there. So how do you let them know that? How do you let them know how amazing it is when they're on the road all the time? Yeah, and to give some reference to this, Solana Corp works in multiple states, higher in multiple states. So yeah, so I hear what you're saying, but yeah, it makes it hard sometimes whenever
00:11:06
Speaker
got, you know, it's easier to build culture, like when, like even the people that work around us all the time, it's one thing to build culture whenever you're there, and you're eating lunch together. Hey, what are you doing? It's Friday night, let's go do something. That's easy. That's how you build culture. When you have employees that are five states away, you've almost reduced like almost can only be done via social media, right? You know what I mean? Because how else can you be so many different places at once? But it still puts you as a office person versus an infield person. And how could you possibly understand Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Some, some of that's a mindset of the individual too though. Right. I'm not realizing that there was something existed before they even got hired. Um, but I think with the industry and as a whole though, one other point I had was like the blue collar proud thing. I've heard that referenced a few times in different social media channels. We've used a variation. It's kind of becoming a little thing. I think Mike Rowe was the one that the guy used to be dirty jobs. I think it's what he was saying before.
00:12:04
Speaker
But he kind of brought that to light of like saying, hey, it's actually what you're doing is actually actually something you can be proud of your your industry, your skills. Some of you make way more than people that went to college for four years. And you may make more your whole life because of the the trade you're in. But I think also bringing that back into the mix will help the labor market a little bit of bringing some pride back into the industry. Instead of only thinking, Hey, the only way I can make six figures or decent money at all is I have to go to college in order to do it.
00:12:33
Speaker
when there is another avenue and it's not really been talked about until just recently. like No, but what is very important with that though is employees understanding that what are you bringing to the table? Like you have to bring something to the table as well. It can't just be one person in any relationship. If one person is always the person showing up and bringing something, that relationship is not going to last. So what traits do you have that make you ah perfect employee? Yeah. And are you showing up with those every day when you come? And are you being positive for your teammates? Are you the cheerleaders for the company that you're working for? Because if you are not cheerleaders for your company, here's the reality. You if you are working from a place for a place, and you're getting a paycheck from them, you should be their biggest cheerleader. If they're treating you good,
00:13:28
Speaker
and and they're doing you good, then you should be who's doing their advertising for them. You should be out there saying, you know what, you need to join our team. You need to be positive. You need to be, if there's a problem, then you're the solution because I'm an employee of this company and I can handle it. I can, I can figure this out and you need to come work for us because my company has our back. My company's amazing.
Role of Team Leads in Morale
00:13:50
Speaker
If your company's not that way, they need to move on to find a new place. But if your company is good,
00:13:55
Speaker
be their cheerleader and be positive with the guys on the cruise, positive reinforcement. When guys do a good job, it goes so far. There was two guys that just got a job and talking to them. That was one thing that they said was it is awesome to get good job at a boys when we do so not just the negative, when we do something wrong and having a positive team lead is huge. And that person's attitude will affect the whole crew. I think that goes back to a little bit. We've talked about in the podcast before leadership versus management.
00:14:25
Speaker
So a lot of people will get promoted to a managerial or leadership position because they were good at what they did. So in this industry, someone was good at operating and they've been here 5 or 6 years. Oh, well, this Foreman position opened up. So now you're a Foreman. When there was no thought given to whether or not they actually have leadership abilities or maybe they're good at certain things, maybe they're managing well, doesn't mean they lead well.
00:14:50
Speaker
But I think that goes back to a little bit of having that more positive mindset. So I look at like different foremen over the years. The ones that have the best crews are the ones that show up every day with a can-do attitude who are positive and who don't gossip and have all the drama that falling around all the time. Because they show up at the job site and ultimately they know deep down this is their job site. So if it sucks or they don't like it, chances are it may not actually even be the company's fault because you're the one actually in control of that day on that site.
00:15:19
Speaker
If it sucks, it's probably actually partially your own fault. Well, and they can do a lot on the front end
Core Values in Hiring and Management
00:15:25
Speaker
for the guys and managing actually for the team back home by one of their guys brings a problem. Okay. If you're bringing me a problem, then you bring me three solutions. And one of those solutions, you need to be part of the solution and have their guys actually be problem solvers and bring them a problem. But with a solution gives them buy-in and makes them active.
00:15:45
Speaker
in the solution for that problem. And then by the time they get back home, the whole attitude has changed because there there's excitement that we had this problem and we've already figured it out. We don't need you guys to do anything for us because we solved it ourselves. Yeah. And i guess that gets that buy in that you need as a foreman as an employee. But that The foreman has to be like that every day of the week, not just when they're being audited or whenever. That goes for any managerial position, even leadership or ownership like ours. There's some days you don't want to do anything, but you, if you're in a leadership position, and you have to do it anyway. So having that mindset as a foreman is important as well. And understanding that people are watching even when you don't think they are. But yeah, you're definitely setting the tone for your company, for the owner, you're setting the tone for your crew. If you're a foreman,
00:16:34
Speaker
always stay in that tone and driving that mindset that day, the positive and negative, the culture, the core values, all that stuff. So for the tight labor market, if you go back and you look at like, okay, how can I make this a little bit better? Improve your culture, hire the right people, put the right people in the right positions so that your management team, if you've got core values, you got a certain certain culture you've set, you still gotta get that out into the field. This is something we struggle with. I'm not saying we got this perfect by any means.
00:17:02
Speaker
But there is a culture that has to make it out to your field of employees as well. Question. Okay. So you're a guy and you're working for a company. Like you've got a whole bunch of bros and you get to hang out with them on the weekend. I mean, the people you work with, you actually hang out with more than than anybody else. So it stands to reason that like, if you've got some buddies that you really enjoy hanging out with, why wouldn't you want to bring them on?
00:17:28
Speaker
Oh yeah. That wouldn' and would make work so much more enjoyable if you've got people you like. You get to actually spend every day working with them too. So then the question is, to the employees, how many times do you use talk about the place you work and try to get other people to come work there? And if the answer is, I never even think about it, then why? yeah Like, why aren't you promoting where you work? Because if you're promoting us, that is growth. If we grow, you have a job.
00:17:57
Speaker
job security. So if they don't have the tools that they need from you to promote the company, then they need to be given that. Yeah. That makes sense because like even our first few years, like when I was in the field, like, man, it made a huge difference, especially on traveling cruise. If you have a crew of friends, and you get back to the hotel at night and just sit around, have like, there was one crew, I remember, I think he told you this one, like, I remember leaving, going to bed that night, and like, my abs hurt, laughing so hard, and just all the dumb stuff. um But that makes such a huge difference on satisfaction on the road, and being on the road that much easier. When you're creating community. Yeah. Which is really what they're what
00:18:42
Speaker
everybody is craving. And when we was talking about paychecks, and that raises don't give satisfaction for very long. The community aspect of a business is actually what satisfies people longer, feeling like they belong to part of something. Yeah. um And to a community. Yeah. So we brought up pay a little bit too, in this one. So I'm gonna tighten the next point just a little bit.
00:19:05
Speaker
So we brought up pay because I think really, if you've got a culture, you've got to build a place where people want to be. And one of the things, everybody actually is working because they want funds. They they want money. They're not doing it just because they like you so much as a boss. So you've got to be able to pay them better than I think the industry average. So that brings me to the next point.
Impact of Low Bidding Practices
00:19:23
Speaker
A little bit of a pet peeve in mind is competitive bidding. So while you're contractors, you deal with competitive bids probably quite a bit.
00:19:30
Speaker
Atlanta Corp. We don't do it. So, we pick people based off of the relationship. We select vendors like I was just talking to no videographer about something we did. It's a project we have for actually filming a few years ago. We actually went with the high bid. So, anyway, because we want quality over price.
00:19:51
Speaker
but that is not the case in a lot of contracting industries. You're building a house. You may be building a huge two, three million dollar house, but for whatever reason, a lot of people still want to go to the lowest bid. Why you would build a house with that magnitude and want to go cheap, I don't get it. Why you would want a tree contractor doing trees over the top of your house and go low bid and maybe not even have insurance, I don't get that. Well, the distinction though, being low bid is different than I mean, high bid, high bid, I'm sorry, high bid is different than fair bid. Just because you're the highest bid, and people are taking lowest bid, doesn't mean that your price wasn't fair, and that there isn't a genuine reason for it to be that price. When I say competitive bid, I'm referring to low bid. But yes, you you have to go out and see bids is how things work. No, best value i'm I'm saying that when people just go off lowest bid, the immediate thought is is that the people who had a higher bid were
00:20:49
Speaker
came in just too high. And that's not the reality. If they can show their work and justify those numbers, then you really need to delve into why is this person so cheap? What am I actually getting? And what are these people providing for that cost difference? Yeah. I had one person explain at one time, like they usually try to get, let's say five bits, for example. So when they get the five bits, they toss the cheap one and they toss the high one because both of those are probably mistakes. And then they focus on the center three and then they pick the one with the best value.
00:21:17
Speaker
So you're getting rid of your, your two mistake bids most likely. I know even with us, like if we get one that was awarded by low bid, we usually second guess it real quick before we hit accept because I'm like, Oh, that means we probably messed up somewhere. But my point with the competitive bidding and in the labor market and all of that is so many customers, like we deal with a lot of commercial and industrial type customers and a lot of contracting is that way, but they still want a good job. They still want you to have competent people.
00:21:48
Speaker
They prefer you to be safe. They prefer not to have too many incidents happen on the job site. You still have to carry insurance. They got to carry insurance. But then they do low bid. So they' they've cut the feed out from the contractor by doing this low bid scenario where the contractor has cut all things out and then they still want a premium. It's like going to a car dealer. I don't want to name names. I don't want to post. Anyway, you're going to into a car dealer that's cheap. You go in and you ask for like a Bugatti. That's literally what it's almost like. It's dumb. But anyway.
00:22:17
Speaker
Well, and and that is, that's the one side of it, but contractors don't have to do that. and contract an extra point you guys don't have to do this Contractors that are doing lowest bid and you are cheapening the industry that you were in and you are making it where a bad name will be gotten.
00:22:42
Speaker
because you are not gonna be able to do the quality of work or have the quality of employees whenever, yeah, you're getting contracts. Good for you. I mean, yay, you took a contract away from somebody. That doesn't mean that you're gonna be here in a few years because you're lowest bid, you got a contract. That doesn't mean that you're paying your employees good or that you have good equipment or that you're doing anything for safety. And you are making the industry weaker by doing that. We run into it all the time. So we run into,
00:23:11
Speaker
I had a call today about a similar situation where we had bid it, we had lost the bid. And one of our guys is in the area. He's like, you'll never guess who's doing the word. They tell me the company name. And then he describes the job site, Jimmy. So all the things in the ah RFP that request for proposal, it lists all these requirements that the contractor must have. You got to have all these safety rules. You got to have all these different things for your crew when you're on site. So he literally drives by and none of us being done, like none of it. Well, all they're doing, all those companies are doing,
00:23:40
Speaker
is virtue signaling. Oh, we put this bid packet out to you. Well, we're just saying we care about it, but we don't. Exactly. So they feel good that they put it in there, but then they take the lowest bid knowing that these people are never going to be able to deliver on all of that. Well, I mean, legally, they probably, yeah.
00:23:54
Speaker
So these companies that do this, though, are just making it that much more difficult to do what they say they care about. They say they care about safety and quality. But then when they don't actually verify that these contractors who signed everything and said they're going to do all this in your job site, if they don't verify they're doing it in the field or they don't enforce it in the field, and they choose low bid, it it makes it almost impossible for contractors who are actually doing what they're supposed to be doing, doing what they say they will do. It makes us way too expensive. Well, I think we have noticed a shift in people that we're dealing with through these contracts, where before people in those positions were people who used to actually work in the industry. They've been in the field working, they understand what goes in into it. Now, there are new graduates who have never worked in this field. They're office people, but they have a degree that is not related to it at all. And bottom line is, if they can save the company money,
00:24:54
Speaker
When it comes time for review, they're going to say, I saved the company this much money. And the company is going to ask, well, how did you do this? Well, I did lowest bid contractors only. I mean, maybe it was a mess and maybe there was a bunch of problems, but that's on that contractor, so I don't have to worry about it. So the person in that position that these companies are hiring is actually essential to passing down the importance of. It can't just be on paper.
00:25:21
Speaker
They need to actually hire people in these positions that understand the job that they're hiring people for, and that understand the what a contractor is, what they bring to the table, and all the tools that they need in their belt to be able to do it safely. I think back to one of our first bigger customers, who ended up also being kind of a mentor through the years.
00:25:41
Speaker
He ran a very tough ship and I grew to respect it and appreciate it way more than I ever thought I would, but at his, where he worked, like none of this stuff flew. He didn't do lowest bid for the most part. I mean, he would make sure you were competitive, but you didn't have to be the cheapest. When we worked for Ed, um, like you, you did not skip corners. If you skip corners, you were removed. A lot of people don't do that anymore, but I think it's partially it goes back to.
00:26:05
Speaker
They're having trouble finding contractors in labor because they're using those bid model. Nobody's got help. Nobody's got crews. So we get what we get, but this all can be fixed in a way. It just takes time and it takes everybody coming together on it, but the companies have to stop hiring low bid and then not enforcing any of the RFQ. Well, and RFP, whatever you want to call it. They need to under there is value in these old timers who have worked in industries.
Value of Industry Experience
00:26:36
Speaker
Whatever industry that you're in, there are people that have retired and they're sitting at home and they are a wealth of knowledge. You pick any industry, they have information for you as a contractor that could help you. They have information for you as the person who's awarding contracts. Go find them, go search them out and say, hey, how can I run this so that we are getting the most bang for our buck with our contractors, but where we want them to be successful. Companies should want their contractors to make money. They're not doing it for free. Nobody's working for free, but they want you too they they want to. They want to get a lot of of labor for no amount of money.
00:27:22
Speaker
That's not fair. If they want these contractors to be in business five, 10, 20 years from now so that they're seasoned contractors and they become seasoned, then they have to pay them to keep them in business. So ask these old timers, how do I balance this? How do I balance what the company is wanting me to save money on and making sure the contractors are getting what they need? I'm sure there's a bunch of old timers that would do some, some counseling for these people and give them some ideas.
00:27:50
Speaker
These procurement departments are sometimes who's making these decisions, not necessarily the guys in the regional office or whatever, depending what industry you're in. But a lot of procurement people now have made it to where they try to so simplify it to where it is just a price thing. It's a bunch of different scenarios. So you can almost figure out who is best through a spreadsheet. I'm telling you, if you're not going to the field, you have no idea what these people are actually doing in the field.
00:28:13
Speaker
And that that becomes frustrating too. If you have someone making a decision based off some statistics and some data through some kind of verification website or whatever, it doesn't actually tell you anything about the contractor, how they work in the field, how they perform. Are they actually doing any of the stuff inside the safety manual that you verify that they have? Well, if that's not actually taught, actually done at training or actually you know, audited in the field to make sure people are doing it. It doesn't matter that they have a 200-page safety manual. But people aren't putting forth that effort. I don't want to say that's incompetence. It's kind of laziness in choosing your vendors and contractors though. Well, that's got to change too though. Like that's another thing that needs to change is actually verifying who's working for you. Do they actually do a good job? Are they actually doing quality work? Are there people? Have they
00:29:06
Speaker
Is their whole entire team like short service employees? Like are they sending you a bunch of newbies? How they conduct their business? What's their management team like? Did they give back to the community? Like no, that stuff seems to matter. There's other stuff that seems to matter in this virtue of signaling world we live in. But those things that actually verify that the company is actually a good company and they' they're the best there are, don't seem to be at the forefront right now for some reason. And if these companies really care about season and um Because some of them actually won't let you bid on things if you don't have them. Okay, you want seasoned employees, we will keep our employees, but I need you to award a ward raise to the employee. Like, you give me a bump on this contract, but all of that goes to the employees. That'll keep the employees, you're not willing to do that, then you actually don't care about having seasoned employees. Yeah. So then you don't need to penalize me if I don't have them. Yeah.
00:29:59
Speaker
So we had one contractor, this is a good example of all of this. We had one contractor, I won't say where it's at or anything, where we took the contract from a kind of a competitor um who the client loved the staff, just really didn't care for the company, the turnover and the equipment. So we were honest that we said, hey, we'll bid it, but we're probably not going to be your lowest bid if you actually want this stuff addressed.
00:30:26
Speaker
So we ended up paying the guys kind of a premium for that position at that specific job site for that specific client. And they only worked for that client. um Got them a little bit newer, better equipment, basically set them up for success. You know, and the client had been so burned in the past by the low bids, you know, turnover and all that stuff. They were like, we're done with it because we're spending so much time with this contract, you know, the scope of work not being met, deadlines not being met.
00:30:54
Speaker
It's just constantly an eyesore out here. So we came in, did all that, did not come in cheapest, got the work. But that is a good example of someone recognizing, you know what, this whole little bit, they just, it's not working. Right. But to get to them to that point, they, like you said, they had been burned. It was a disaster. Why do companies have to get to that point before they realize that this isn't working? Yeah. And I think there's a little, I think there's more people that feel that way.
00:31:23
Speaker
As long as they have the funds to pay you more as a contractor, there's more companies that feel that way. But I think you've got to market yourself differently. You've got to stop playing a little bit of game. You're getting high-right people. You got to pay them correctly. But you got to actually start doing that stuff and conveying this message. Because if nobody's conveying this message, we're all just going to be these little bit contractors everywhere. Well, as a contractor, I feel like you cannot be afraid to say no and step away. Yeah.
00:31:52
Speaker
and There's power in that. There is power in saying, I actually care more about my company and my employees than to be lowest bid. Because I know the quality of work that we bring to the table. And if I'm going to bring that quality of work and bring that quality of employees, you're going to pay me for that. And I'm not going to put them at risk of doing something cheaply or wrongly because you want lowest bid. yeah The people in that office need to be fighting
00:32:23
Speaker
up the ladder for more money of for their department so they can get crews and businesses in there that's good. If they start fighting for that, they'll get more awarded for their divisions. But if they're quiet and they never fight for it, and and that entire company says, oh, well, this department over here, we can give them less money. They always make it work. They're going to keep giving less and less money. But you have a department that stands up and says, actually, we need this much more to get this much done. They are the ones that are going to have to start fighting for it.
00:32:53
Speaker
yeah Yeah, I was thinking when you're talking of a ah few clients who actually want to we've never worked for we bid them a few times never were successful. But we learned early on on bidding to kind of go this to your example. Sometimes in our world RFPs are they're emailed out. Usually everybody's blind carbon copy but once a while they they'll forget and everybody you can see everybody bidding.
00:33:16
Speaker
So when that is the case, I'll go through and just look at all the different companies listed. And usually I can tell you just from that, whether or not they're a low bid only in its, you know, outfit. So a lot of times there's there's some of them. we'll We'll literally look through there. Like the one we bid twice, we didn't win any one. They started looking at their bid process. but So we don't even bid anymore. Like they'll send us the RFP. We just say basically, thank you. Keep us in mind the future. But right now we're not interested.
Contractor-Client Communication
00:33:42
Speaker
But we're not interested because we know it's going to be a waste of time to bid it.
00:33:46
Speaker
When you look at who's bidding it, it's all your really, really cheap contractors. A lot of them were known, aren't doing the job correctly. Then we'll have another client that's in a bid and you're like, Oh, that's company. So, so I respect them. I respect this one. I respect this one. Those we bid. Well, I think that it is one thing to point out with this is when you're talking about bid process and everybody goes through a bid process when you're doing something, that's not free. Yeah.
00:34:11
Speaker
Some of our, that's some up there some of the, bichas saw some of the bid packages we've sent people out on, like there's hours and hours and hours of man, like man hours on the ground collecting data. So we can put it together in a, in the packet and send it back. If the, like, why put that much time, that makes the cost of everything go up to bid something and then not get it to put that much time into that bid process. That means you're pretty accurate whenever you do it. So every time they do that and it goes nowhere,
00:34:42
Speaker
the prices just go up. And like, why are your prices so high? Because you don't know what you're doing. Yeah, we paid our estimated department 400,000 last year. Exactly. Yeah. And yeah, but that client there was kind of driving home there was every time we have talked to them, they're always upset about like, how things are going. And you know, they finished a project last year or whatever. It's like, well, really, I'm not shocked. Because it how you pick your contractors and how you do your bidding. So, but I think that the point of that for me anyway and you can elaborate too. The point of that for me is you you have to market yourself differently though. So when you have those situations and we do do this not honestly with this customer. So I get this customer this is funny. They no joke they do low bid. They narrow it down to the two lowest bids and then they auction it. They auction your lowest bid. I've never heard of that before. So as soon as they told me that then I was honest with them and I said actually
00:35:39
Speaker
We're not interested. you We're not doing the lowest bid and then auctioning off the lowest bid. I've never even heard of that before. Crazy. That is ridiculous. Anyway, yeah. So they so they get what they get. And and they're in our world, their pipelines are one of the worst looking pipelines out there. so But all of these people, what they're doing is they they are putting good companies out of business. 100% they are. therere Every time that they mess around and do something like this and give it to some yo-yo that's lowest bid, it's terrible.
00:36:09
Speaker
A company went out of business. yeah That's good. That is does good work. But if they don't have contracts, they can't stay in business. So keep keep giving it to lowest bid. And here before long, there will not be any seasoned people out there. And you're going to scratch your head going, what do we do now? Yeah. So to finish up that point, though, and that's a good point, too. Nobody would walk into a car dealership and say, hey, this is my criteria for my car. I want air conditions to eat. I want a panoramic center. I want all these things.
00:36:39
Speaker
You fully expect to get charged for that. No. Well, why not? Yeah. For whatever reason, the contracting industry, a lot of people's like, they think you should just throw it in for free upgrades. Yeah. So when the customer is requesting all of these different things and you're bidding to actually, and you're bidding to fair, if they're low bid and they're not actually verifying, you guys have got to start calling them out. So when I say market it, market yourself as the premium contractor.
00:37:07
Speaker
But when you have people that are doing that kind of stuff, customers, vendors, whatever, start calling that stuff out though. Like we do call it out. but We've literally had some where they like, we have all this criteria. They were just somewhere cheaper. You know, we're literally like, go ahead. But for new baby contract contractors, you guys need to be aware that if you are bidding something and They want, they want lowest bid and and you do lowest bid because you're trying to get in the game and then they try to get you to do stuff outside of that scope of work. You got to say no, because you're going to end up shooting yourself in the foot and it's going to be bad but yeah from the, from the, from the get-go. Yeah. And so you guys are young. We did this when we were young. You may have to be lowest bidder to get started.
00:37:53
Speaker
because you don't you don't have any history. You've got nothing else going for you besides hey, cheaper. he Give us a try. But don't stay there. But don't stay in there very long. Yeah. Like don't like it's time to put your big boy pants on and actually be a real company. yeah And yeah, make make your make your sales process your marketing process not hey, we're cheap. Make it more about hey, we do good work. We have good guys gals.
00:38:15
Speaker
But obviously you you have to deliver too though. You can't just market that. Actually step up and be a competitor with people who are serious in your industry and give them a fair shake. Like go toe to toe with them and do a fair bid and actually be a competitor. Let's see, put yourself, if you've grown up and and you're a big boy company, then act like it. Charge a fair amount. Don't undercut your competitors.
00:38:44
Speaker
Like, yeah, you're in competition with them. But if you're playing dirty like that, undercutting to take away, you're not a big boy and you're not playing a big boy table. You're just playing dirty. Yeah.
Ethics and Company Practices
00:38:56
Speaker
And it hurts the whole industry. It does. oh And quite honestly, the rest of the contractors in the business don't respect you for doing it. You may get a contract away from them, but nobody respects you. And what's going to happen is you're going to get a group of employees that work for you that's going to be the same way. Because what you're doing is you're cheating people out of jobs by um doing low bid. You are. Because you can't deliver a good job for low bid. Nobody can. And you're going to get employees that do the same thing, but they're going to be cheating you because you're going to get low bid in employees. And so you're going to be paying them top wage, and you're not going to be getting top quality work. yeah Because that is the standard you're setting for your employees by doing that. Well, and keep in mind, when you do that with employees, and you're you're hiring cheap because you're better than cheap. Gosh, starting with some calculations on how much you're spending on retraining, rehiring, having messed up, so you got to go back and fix.
00:39:50
Speaker
liability, work comp issues, all of that stuff. Like you'll be surprised how many dollars an hour that is per employee. Well, and employees, like you need to take notice. The company that you're applying for, how do they handle their business? Are they lowest bid? You need to make yourself aware of who you want to work for as a company. And there needs to be some questions asked. Like how do you company approach your business process? Like what is your ethics with business? You need to check that out.
00:40:19
Speaker
and work for companies that actually have. Yeah, most companies you can tell if they're a little bit just by looking driving by. Like if they've got a bunch of old trucks and everything's untidy and everything's dirty. You can almost tell if you drive by like a respectable contractor, you'll notice this newer equipment, things are clean. But that's not the only thing that you know, but that is almost all because you could have all new equipment. And the reason they have all new equipment is because they cut corners. Like they say they're going out and doing, that doesn't last long you know, spray, but they're spraying with water to save that money.
00:40:48
Speaker
those employees know that and employees you need to be aware that if you are working for a company that's like that, eventually one day they're going to do that to you. If you're working for a company that has any dishonesty at all along the lines, if they promise something to somebody and they don't deliver, one day they are going to do that to you. So find a company that's honest and work for them because that is the place that you want to land long term. Yeah, it's a lot more enjoyable to work for a company that actually lives out what they preach. One that does not.
00:41:17
Speaker
So let's tie this together a little bit. So I like to always think, how can we help the listener? So a lot of our listeners are managerial positions, ownership positions. Some are just in the field in general, but tight labor markets, competitive bidding, what are some things you think that could help that listener? That's struggling with the same stuff 90% of us are struggling with. So one big issue, which is never going to be able to be fixed if you're in this line of work where you're dependent on being awarded contracts is that your business is completely dependent on somebody else saying you are going to survive and be successful because you have to be awarded the contract. You can't force that. These companies, and the the world changes, the industry changes, everything changes. You get into election season and everything changes. like it's
00:42:16
Speaker
There's all these ups and downs. what makes What gives longevity to a company? And that's the thing, like people who have been in business a long time, like I think about Mr. Plummer here in town. Man, that man is amazing. He has been in business a long time and he's continuing to grow it. There's so much wisdom, I feel like, that he would have to be able to tell new business people.
00:42:47
Speaker
it's It's amazing to me. And every time that I go in there, that man is in there working still. And he's got some years on him. yeah And he works harder than a lot of people I see our age that's actually working out in the, he puts more hours in still. and But that's why he's growing. bit And he's clearly continued to pivot over the years and do it smart and do it lies.
00:43:15
Speaker
um But I am sure that there are people that you could think of in your communities that are the wise people that have lasted, have lasted the ups and downs, have lasted the diff, you know, economic issues and all of that. Go talk to them. Like they're not unapproachable. They've been burned in life, I'm sure. And people like, why are business owners so hateful and crotchety when they get old? Well, because they've been burned because they, they put their heart and their soul into their business.
00:43:47
Speaker
and they get sued for no reason, or whatever it is. So yeah, there's a reason they're that way. But that doesn't mean they're unapproachable. But yeah a lot of times those business owners want to know that you actually don't want something for free. Yeah, you actually are valuing this information. And that's what you're wanting from them. Because everybody wants something from them. That's their everybody does.
00:44:13
Speaker
Be the person that actually just wants to talk to them and say, I want advice yeah because I value what you've done with your company. And I i want to have ah a business that's here when I get to be your age and pass it down and pass it down.
Educating Clients on Value
00:44:29
Speaker
So that's a good place to start is getting people who have survived because that's hard to do. It's ah hard to survive. There's a lot of pivots, especially the person you mentioned, they're 80. I would say definitely that.
00:44:42
Speaker
I think in the contracting world, I think you got to start being honest too and calling out the, so when you have someone come to you with low bid or or a group or organization, if I'm assuming you're not doing like an individual, let's say you're doing an organization and they only do low bid over and over and over and you know it. Don't bid it, like stop. yeah And then when they ask why, a lot of them will ask, why are you not interested? interested And I've literally done this before.
00:45:09
Speaker
I literally have responded because you're low bid is why we're not interested interested or because you auction your stuff off, which is crazy. Anyway, eventually if you're a contractor that is good and you actually get a business that is like where people want to do business with you, you're the best in your industry or whatever you do and they know it, they're going to want to do business with you. If you tell them we're probably not going to do business together because you only pay a little bit and that's not going to be me. I actually can't run my business the way I want to run it.
00:45:39
Speaker
under that model, they have to eventually evaluate, are we okay choosing the lowest bid? Are we okay doing that? Or do we need to revise and restructure internally to be able to choose contractors that are actually out in the field doing a good job? So I think you've got to say something. And most people won't, because they don't want to piss those people off. But at the end of the day, if you just say no, or you don't bid it, or you bid it high, you know you're not going to get it anyway.
00:46:04
Speaker
You haven't told a story. Educate. You have to educate. You have to educate and you cannot assume that just because somebody is in a position of authority to award a contract, that that means that they have a clue what's going on. Oh, 100%. Because nine times out of 10, they actually may not have a clue what's going on. Yeah. So I think call that stuff out in a respectful way, obviously. But then I think too, if you know, there are a few states, all these guidelines and you know, the contractors that are bidding it aren't going to do them, call it out.
00:46:35
Speaker
Why not? It's only hurting yourself either way. So call it out in a respectful way. Everybody is calling everybody out for things all the time. For things that don't matter all the time. These things actually matter. But again, there's a tasteful way to do it where you're elevating the industry as a whole. You're elevating your company. There's a tasteful way to do it. I think so you do that. You're building the culture. You give a great work environment to your team. And because you're not doing low bid,
00:47:03
Speaker
you end up paying them better. So if you're producing more income, you should also be paying at a higher standard, if especially if you're de demanding a higher standard. To me, that's where this all starts. But if you're not educating your customer on on the difference of your company versus low big company, and they think for some reason that the quality of work, any of that is going to be the same if they pick you or them, you're not educating them. You're not marking yourself correctly. But education needs to go beyond that um for what you're doing. If they're looking at,
00:47:33
Speaker
this large lump sum they're going to have to pay. And they're shocked by it. You need to tell them that, well, but this amount means that next year you're not paying X, Y. Like down the road, show them a map of how this is in the long run, going to save them money. Myers-Briggs, we love Myers-Briggs personality test. That is an amazing tool for relationships, for leadership, anything. If you haven't taken that as an owner, a business owner, you need to.
00:48:03
Speaker
You need to have your management staff take it. After you take it, you need to listen to the audio book. It talks about how you receive information and deliver information, because you can talk to somebody all day long. And if you are not talking to them how they are going to hear you, you may as well not be talking. So you need to think about the people that you are talking about talking to with these contracts. Are they hearing you? Do they even understand what you're talking about? Because and you with I know the way that I approach things,
00:48:32
Speaker
I have a certain delivery that, that I use that delivery is not for everybody. If I really truly want to engage and have a conversation with somebody, I need to read that person and deliver that information in a packet that they're going to hear me understand. If not, then I may as well not waste because so part of having conversation where people are going to hear you is putting enough effort into making sure they're actually listening and hearing you with that.
Effective Business Communication Techniques
00:48:58
Speaker
Are you talking to people in your industry?
00:49:01
Speaker
they're actually hearing you. If you're not, you're wasting your time. So then effort needs to be put by you to learn how to communicate better with people. And that will have a wide range of benefits to employees, management teams and everything. But learning how to communicate with people is going to be huge. It is. And like I said, do it tastefully earlier. That's what I'm referring to. So I don't know that I've ever made a customer mad by being honest about why we couldn't bid a project. Most of the time, the way I word it, they seem to be understanding is somewhat respectful that well we understand. You do an amazing job of pre-framing though. Like you can fire people and they'll send you a thank you card. so with that No, I mean, they don't get mad at you. Seriously, sometimes you fire people. I'm not even in the room. I'm not even.
00:49:50
Speaker
been around and if they don't get mad at you, they get mad at me. That's what I told you. You made me do it. I see. It all makes sense now. Not really. Not really. Free framing is powerful. and It's all still honest but yeah. Free framing is powerful. What else? We got it for the listener. Oh, I have something. I heard in one of the podcast episodes, you fat shamed someone. I did not. I don't do that. I need to know which episode this was because I, I don't know the number. So having a podcast and stuff like that is always interesting for a feedback that you get. Right. Taking out a contest or anyway, I think all I said was basically be the best version of you and fitness. So my whole thing is you should be the best version of yourself and faith, fitness, family, and work.
00:50:42
Speaker
I mean, clearly you need to go to the gym more because you're failing in that area. Episode 26. All right. So go listen to episode 26. Find out where I fat shamed and and give us some feedback on that. I didn't fat shame. I wouldn't do that. It is still funny to get feedback though on how people like to me, it was so clearly the context was a positive thing. not Not a negative thing, but it is interesting to see how people tell you so But with that, that is where I'm going to tie the point in with the Myers-Briggs and the communication. And this is it. If you remember nothing else from this podcast, remember perception versus intent. And that is huge. That's where most relationships and conversations break down. So where we meet we're having a wonderful conversation. We leave. I walk away going, man, that was amazing. You walk away going, man.
00:51:40
Speaker
that was how dare she we had the same conversation and our perception of it is different my intent was never to be that way but you perceived it that way yeah so make sure that when you're talking to somebody and you have some people that they're never gonna tell you that you hurt their feelings or that you whatever yeah do a temperature check with your people every once in a while and be like you okay Do you understand what I am trying to communicate to you? If they had a misunderstanding, make sure you leave a door open in some space for them to tell you, Hey, I don't know if you meant it this way, but this is how I took it. Is that what you meant? And then you maybe like, yeah, that's exactly how I took it. And you need to work on that. Or, um, no, I didn't mean that at all. But then also on the other side of that is the sensitivity with which people listen to things has gotten ridiculous. And I think, uh, culturally.
00:52:34
Speaker
country, we have people that are thinking largely with the feelings and they're feeling forward and instead of actually thinking and putting thought into it. And there is nothing wrong with feelings. Feelings are are valid and they're there for a specific reason, but they are there to commentate, not command. The minute that they start commanding your actions is whenever they become problematic. So that needs to happen on both sides. But understanding that within a whatever we say on here,
00:53:04
Speaker
know that the heart of it is we want you guys to be better. We want you guys to be the best versions of yourself. We both, we care about that greatly. We want your businesses to thrive. Even if you're a competitor, we want you to thrive. Well, certain ones. Yeah, there's some we'd be okay if you fail. Just be real. Most of you, most of you, 99% of you, we want you to have 99%.
00:53:27
Speaker
one percent But, you know, understand that if there's something that's said that is off-putting to you, go back and listen to it again. And if it's still off-putting to you, go back and listen to it again because maybe there's a nugget in there that you actually need. Maybe there's a nugget that you need to lean into and you need to approach from a different way. And maybe we're the people that's going to tell you things that nobody else is telling you because we actually don't care if you get your feelings hurt.
00:53:56
Speaker
I mean, because here's the thing. If something somebody says that you don't, respect the person you don't respect says something, why does it bother you? For something to bother you that greatly, you have to have respect for that person. And if you don't have respect for that person, what they say shouldn't matter. yeah But I guarantee you that if something I say upsets you or hurt your feelings, I actually don't care because it is coming from a place of genuine love and affection of wanting you to be a better person. Yeah. i look it down That's all I care about. And I'm okay being the bad guy that people get upset at if it's going to make them a better person. Yeah. A lot of people have issue with like the direct honesty anymore though. This is turning into psychology. All guys now.
00:54:42
Speaker
Maybe this should be another podcast.
Storytelling in Company Communication
00:54:44
Speaker
And it should be carried on because everybody should have some type of tiptoeing through psychology if you're dealing with people. I agree. You know, there's so many different approaches to take, understanding your own personality, understanding theirs. You can pick up on it pretty quick with most people of how they would prefer things to be delivered. It's not that you're lying to them or you're changing who you are. You're just delivering the same message in a different format. Right. There's a difference in being aware and being To me, if you think that everyone is going to receive things exactly the same as you receive them, you're probably not all that intelligent, number one and number two, you're going to be a highly ineffective leader. and So people matt so the the purpose of communication obviously is to tell a story, tell a message, but if you're not doing it effectively, right you're just running your mouth. So take away though, from all of this is, yeah, let's summarize. is It is hard to have longevity with a company.
00:55:40
Speaker
And it is hard whenever you can't get the employees and there's lowest bids going around. So you have to tell your story as a company. Because if you don't tell your story, other people are going to fill in the blanks to tell it for you. And your employees are actually busy out there working. They are on the ground doing this stuff. They may not actually have time to put into understanding what you're about or what all you're doing. So you have to tell your story effectively enough that your employees hear it too.
00:56:10
Speaker
They need to have pride in the company they work for. and And part of that is understanding that, hey, in the community that we're working in, this company actually does XYZ. They put back into, they show up, they do this, they do that. Give them the things that they should be proud of so that they can be your cheerleaders. Your employees should be your cheerleaders. And if they're not, that's two things. You're hiring the wrong people. You've got people who have poor attitudes and you need to get rid of them.
00:56:39
Speaker
or you're not giving them the tools they need to be your cheerleaders. Yeah, I would agree with that. For me driving at home, and you as the owner, manager, whatever leadership needs to be the cheerleader of your company. That means also that you need to be the standard bearer. So whatever standards that you're going to represent, core values you're going to represent, you must also be lifting those out. You know must be doing those, tying that into the communication part. You have to communicate that stuff.
00:57:08
Speaker
So when you have this tight labor market, you have these competitive bids, you have all these different issues. Communicate doesn't just only mean communicate positive. Here's all the great things we do. Market, here's all the great things we do. Communication is not just the positive things. It's also changing some of the things in industry. So I'm telling you guys, this is an issue in the contracting world that has been for years.
Reviving Pride in Blue-Collar Work
00:57:29
Speaker
It ebbs and flows a little bit depending upon what industry you're in, the market situation. But enough of you are not calling out the stupidity of low bids. Well, and you're not saying no. So when there are a lot of companies that do, don't get me wrong. There are several companies I respect. They don't even mess around with low bids at all. The imagery for a second, you know, that, um, that black and white picture where there's those workers that's on that big, um, I beams in New York city from like the 1920s. Right. Right. To me, that's the iconic picture of like this not build America.
00:58:06
Speaker
Like, there's pride here. let's Like, we know how to handle stuff. We're Americans. We can do this. We take pride in what we do. The quality, I mean, years back, um some of my friends that are from overseas, they would say, you know, we were so excited when we would get a shipment of product in from the United States because we knew it was going to be awesome. Like, there was even pride over there of stuff that we would do because they knew it was just exceeded.
00:58:36
Speaker
We are not doing that anymore. And it's trickled down now to this type of work. Oh, for sure. So we went from products going from being quality to crap. And now we've got hands on industries going from being quality to crap. How much longer are we going to do this to ourselves? And if you are a company that is doing this, shame on you.
00:59:02
Speaker
Shame on you. What are you doing to continue giving pride to the blue collar workers of this country? Because that's what built it. And that's what's going to sustain it. And all of this stuff that was built by those men, it doesn't last forever. yeah We have to continue building and continue building. And if you are building crap, it is not going to last. It is not going to last. And then guess what? Instead of there being an iconic picture of men up on an I-beam that built something that lasted, there's going to be a picture of your men building something that's crap and falling apart. The quality of things in certain industries has definitely fallen apart. Yes. So don't participate. Yeah, don't participate in it. So going back to the communication part, you should also be marketing that. So if your company is great and you're not the ones doing what you just said, you need to market it and so let people know there isn't, there's a guy following his name. I cannot think of his name right now or to give him a shout out.
00:59:54
Speaker
but he builds like super quality homes. The dude's jacked like when he does his Instagram stories as real. It matters. It matters. It just does. He's got his stuff together. You can tell he has his stuff together. Anyway, the dude builds homes. Like even I look at his reels, I'm like, I didn't know you can even build a cabinet that looks like that. Like it's just unreal quality. But what he's doing is he's just highlighting his So they're custom home builders and they're luxury home builders and that's it. They don't touch anything else. My point with him is he does such a good job of telling the story. This is who we are. This is what we build. If this is what you're wanting, we're your company. If it's not what you're wanting, we're not your company. We're going to be way overpriced if we don't even want your remodel project. Number two. Again, that goes back to marketing, which is why we also started doing marketing as a better contractor. This is storytelling through video.
01:00:48
Speaker
photography, letting people know, hey, this is what company X stands for. This is what our work quality looks like. This is our job site. And then it goes back to when you mentioned like blue collar. Build, let's start building a community though. And that's what we're trying to do at TBC, better contractor, building a community that has some pride back into this industry, back into the work. And if you've got a company that you think meets that criteria, you're not doing that. Send it to us. yeah Tell us how you are being that.
01:01:16
Speaker
in your area. Tell us how your company stands out. We'll tell people about it, well but actually, actually be that. Don't just sell us a bill of goods because it all looks pretty on paper, but you guys get out there and you do a half donkey job and everybody knows it because then we'll call that up. Well, yeah. And we're always looking for podcast guests either way. So if you own a company like this,
01:01:42
Speaker
And you're more of the elite one in your industry, or you are listening, you know of one messages and shooters. Like that's the people we want to have in the podcast. Cause most likely those are the people who have figured something out here that everybody's struggling with. They may be able to give you that negative wisdom. Like, Oh, that's the difference maker between where I'm at and where he's at. um So that luxury home builder is building one home costs more than some builders build all year long, like in multiple homes. He's obviously figured something out.
01:02:10
Speaker
If you guys know that person, send them our way. and We'd love to have those kind of people in the podcast.
American Pride in Contracting
01:02:16
Speaker
So, but in the vein of, you know, America pride and blue collar, it's one thing to get out here on 4th of July and everybody put their American flag socks on and have the flags flying in the back of their truck and their ripped shorts with their American flag shirts. What does that mean? What does it mean anymore?
01:02:42
Speaker
This is how that gets elevated again. And that goes for the companies and it goes for the employees. Like it has to be both coming together. Like the system between the two of a Oh, us against the man and you're going to have a boss unless you have your own business, like employees, like you're going to have a boss. You actually, you actually need someone to do the marketing, do the bidding, yeah sign the contract, take the risk. You're actually going to have someone do that. So get over yourself of thinking that it's us against them because we're fighting for you every time that we're getting a contract that is so that you have a job so that there's food on the table because you have a job to provide for your family and hopefully give you a good life.
01:03:22
Speaker
So what does American pride mean? And it needs to come from the company, needs to come from the employees. And if both people start showing up more, then all of this gets elevated. And that blue collar pride actually means something again, because I can say things all day long. But if there's no meaning behind it, it's just, it's a slogan on a t-shirt. So if it's a slogan on a t-shirt to you, kindly exit, because we actually need people who live it.
01:03:50
Speaker
Every one of these companies, if you're working for a company, they actually need you to show up and live that. They want to be proud of the employees that they have. And companies, your employees want to be proud of you.
Aligning Actions with Company Values
01:04:03
Speaker
So if you guys are not showing up and performing and giving 110% every time you get there, it's not enough. It just isn't. Yeah. And again, that goes back to communicating. Guys, whether you're an owner, whether you're manager, whether you are an employee, if you are not talking about this stuff, and this stuff is just going one or and out the other on this podcast, you're not making, you're not a changemaker. So what you want to be is a changemaker, essentially, be the people that start talking about this stuff and start elevating the industry, start start talking positive about blue collar work, start being the people that are making this cultural change inside the contracting world,
01:04:44
Speaker
be those actual people. you can You can sit around shooting the shit, complaining about how terrible it is out here, and look at all these young whippersnappers, how terrible, there's no work ethic. That's not what I'm seeing. There there is there are hard workers, there is. And if if you have problems with what's going on, then that likely means that you contributed to it. Because every younger person out here had an older person that raised them. So if they don't have a good work ethic, then that means you didn't give them one.
01:05:13
Speaker
So you can't complain about the issues that you've created. Well, that kind of goes, that kind of goes back to a little bit. Just being aware that most likely if you have any age on you at all, you are leading someone else. Yeah. That's the next generation. You know, and another employee that just got hired on. Take it seriously. You're somebody's leader, whether you want to be or not most likely. So take that seriously. Actually promote, have pride in your work. The pride in work thing has always been kind of a thing for me. Like I don't understand.
01:05:43
Speaker
I could be, if I had to be, I could be a janitor somewhere. That place is cleanest place ever. Not just strictly because my name's on it. And there is an element that is removed now where it's like culturally we've created this us versus something like you were just talking about. It's not really that way. It's not actually really that way. It shouldn't be. Like we're actually a team. It takes you, it takes me, it takes everybody to feel it. The person taking out the trash out is just as important because if nobody's taking that trash out, it gets real stinky.
01:06:13
Speaker
So culturally, we've created this thing that there's this us versus them thing that never should exist. We're all on the same team. And if I'm doing well, most likely you're doing well. And if you're doing well, most likely I'm doing well. Stop playing the dumb games. Because like there is a lot that goes into both sides. But for business owners, like there's a lot of risk. like Ton of risk. The debt that you take on, the insurance, the risk of all of that, like that's what the owner carries.
01:06:40
Speaker
And the owner carries every day knowing that all of those families are dependent on on on them doing the right thing. There's a lot that goes into ownership. yeah If you want ownership, go get ownership. But if you don't want ownership, then you show up. And you support that owner every way that you can to make sure that that company is growing and doing amazing things. But you have to decide what you want as a person. If you want ownership, seriously, go get it. It's out there for you. You can make it happen because this is America. And that's what we do here.
Elevating the Contracting Industry
01:07:13
Speaker
If you want something, you go do it. But you don't hang out at somebody else's vision and passion and work that they have created and make it difficult for them to live their dream.
01:07:25
Speaker
So our goal at TBC is to elevate the industry, create some pride, which you guys need to take that on. Right? Yeah. But it can't be short lived. It can't be short lived. No. But elevate the industry. This is a cool industry. Contractors in general, like Noah and I were talking the other day, we were driving by some big job site, had all this earth moving equipment. That stuff's cool. Yeah. I drove down here and I seen some attorney dude walking out of his car to the courthouse. I'm like, that's really not that cool. It's kind of boring. Like walking from his car.
01:07:56
Speaker
and into a whorehouse every day to argue probably some BSKs that he doesn't even believe in. but no Nothing against him. I would have loved to have been an attorney. Nothing against that. You didn't do it because you didn't want to wear a tie every day. That is true. I hate you. I would have wore like a mascot or something. Something not as like, anyway. Point is, there's pride in that their work. Attorneys, there should be pride in your work and you need to be the one communicating that, how cool it is. Companies like TBC, i'm like share our podcasts.
01:08:24
Speaker
There's other podcasts out there that are elevating the industry as a whole. and We're foundation. So like if the blue collar industry like all of a sudden just doesn't become a thing anymore, this world is a lot different because we're the ones actually out here changing doing stuff. And seriously, go apply somewhere. Like there's companies that need you. So go apply. Yeah. I would like a stack of applications by next week. Joking, but kind of for real. No, seriously. I want to stay. Anyway.
01:08:55
Speaker
If you like the podcast, share the podcast. Thank you for the subscribes. Continue doing those. Hopefully this thing was impactful and provided some nuggets of wisdom. If anything else, it provided you some motivation to maybe go make a change. Tell some of these little bit people to stick it. Yeah. Don't be afraid. And actually do something this week. Like,
01:09:21
Speaker
ah Apply something you learned from this podcast this week. Just take one step forward with something different. Do it different. You don't have to do it the way it's always been done. yeah But if you apply something that you learned, tell us about it. Tell us, hey, you know what? This is what I heard this week. It really hit home. And I just want you to know I now am now applying this in my business. Yeah. And then tell us about it. We want to hear about it. In the next podcast with my wife, Annie, we will maybe do something with psychology because I feel like we almost went there. And it's a passion of both of ours.
01:09:50
Speaker
I think anything in leadership, you got to be able to understand, got to have an emotional intelligence of some sort to be able to lead effectively. And you got to be able to communicate. So we talked about communicate a lot on this one. Next one was to do psychology. So um good guys, thank you. Love you. Appreciate you. Thanks. Catch you next time.