Ep 167: A Path for Veterans
The Builder Nuggets Podcast
Every job candidate has a set of hard skills and soft skills. Hard skills can be trained, but soft skills are natural inclinations that are difficult to teach. This episode explores how the soft skills that veterans have cultivated in their service career translate well to working in the construction industry. Our guests are from a familiar company, 84 Lumber, and today Joe Jena and Jason Hinsken join us to share how 84 Lumber has thrived by recruiting veterans and retaining them through offering a true career path where they can rise through the ranks. Show highlights include: ...
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Ep 166: Indoor Environmental Quality
The Builder Nuggets Podcast
HVAC design and indoor environmental quality is an often overlooked part of home design and construction. Code continues to sluggishly push forward, but doesn’t reach a high standard for comfort and efficiency in most home builds. Today’s guest is the founder and lead engineer of TE2 Engineering and he works diligently to educate others about how to design beyond code. Ross Trethewey joins us to discuss the key elements of HVAC design, the benefit of heat pumps, and what new technologies are going to drastically change the industry in the near future. Show highlights include: ...
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Ep 165: Getting Intentional
The Builder Nuggets Podcast
Today’s guest shares his journey from the family chocolate business to becoming a sought-after builder in Rhode Island. Jeff Sweenor, founder of Sweenor Builders, delves into the evolution of his business, the importance of intentional client selection, and the transformation of his company culture. This has led to attracting and retaining talented individuals and an incredible opportunity to be involved with This Old House. Through over 30 years of challenges and obstacles, Jeff has learned most lessons that any successful builder has to learn. Listen in and you can learn them too. ...
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Ep 164: Paradigm Changers
The Builder Nuggets Podcast
Human-centric, sustainable, green, high-performance and fully-supportive are the buzzwords of the last few years in custom home design. Today’s guest has been incorporating these elements into her home designs for decades - before there were labels to define the trend. Jenny Pippin, founder of Pippin Home Designs, shares what it means to incorporate the specific needs of clients with the natural harmony of location and space. The popularity of bringing the outdoors in and maximizing efficiency in new homes is only growing in demand. Listen in as we hash out the building science behind the...
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Ep 163: NAHB Economic Update 2024
The Builder Nuggets Podcast
We’ve invited back a special guest to give our annual economic update on the housing industry. Danushka Nanayakkara, Assistant Vice President for Forecasting and Analysis at the NAHB, joins the podcast again to share the annual outlook. Listen in to learn the trends for the next 18 months, where the industry is struggling most, and the direction the interest rates are headed next. Show highlights include: 02:45 Introduction and Background 4:40 What was surprising economically this year? 07:55 Interest Rates and Inflation Outlook 14:35 Affordability...
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Ep 162: The Importance of Home
The Builder Nuggets Podcast
These two childhood friends took a leap of faith and started their own custom home building business over two decades ago and never looked back. Weathering the turbulent Great Recession in ‘08 and, now, Covid, these two home builders have joined us to share the hard lessons they’ve learned and the tools they’ve used to build success. Chris Ehrenfeld and Jason Dell cover the trends that are taking their market by storm, and how they keep their customers happy. Show highlights include: 02:30 Childhood Friends Turned Business Partners 07:35 Bold Construction the journey ...
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Ep 161: 2024 State of the Industry
The Builder Nuggets Podcast
2024’s SORCI Report is an incredibly useful source of data that our guest today helped design at The Association of Professional Builders. Russ Stephens joins us for another year to go over the annual report and share the new industry trends he’s seeing, along with the biggest challenges facing builders and remodelers this year. This is an episode you can’t afford to miss. Show highlights include: 01:15 Introduction of the Guest 02:32 Importance of Participating in the SORCI Survey 05:45 Highlights from the 2024 SORCI Report 07:30 Marketing Challenges for...
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Ep 160: Customer Lifetime Value
The Builder Nuggets Podcast
Doors and windows complete every home, and today’s guest knows first hand how competitive the market is for selling these products. Alan Lockuff, Business Development Manager with Andersen Windows and Doors, shares the benefits of a good company culture, building a strong team, and investing in business development. Even large companies had to build a strong foundation in order to thrive. Show highlights include: 04:00 Alan’s Background 06:55 Andersen Windows and Doors: Changes and Focus 10:15 Identifying Ideal Customers 11:35 Providing Value Beyond Price 14:30...
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Ep 159: It’s a Big Small Industry
The Builder Nuggets Podcast
Distribution partners are integral to the custom home building and remodeling industry, and today’s guest is no exception. Scott Thomas, Director of Sales at Parksite, originally started in the industry as a Tyvek specialist before working his way up. Today he joins us to share his thoughts on the value of distribution partners, the newest industry products, and the importance of building strong relationships. Show highlights include: 00:00 Introduction and Background 02:34 Scott's Journey in the Building Industry 03:24 Transition to Consulting and Salesforce 05:00...
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Ep 158: Your Brand is Your Foundation
The Builder Nuggets Podcast
Standing out in a crowded industry, especially one that struggles with a poor reputation is an age old problem for business owners in the construction field. Building a brand is the foundation for growing your business into something that employees are proud to work for, and clients are proud to work with. Today, Natalie Harper joins the show to share her best tips for success when it comes to not only standing out - but standing up for something bigger. Show highlights include: 2:50 Natalie’s start in PR and all about hockey 5:50 Getting started in marketing ...
info_outlineThe adage of robbing Peter to pay Paul has been a part of the building industry for far too long. It’s eroded the trust of customers and trades who are constantly fearful of their bottom line. Builders and remodelers who manage their finances this way are floundering. Today, our guest is Jake Harris, the Founder and CEO of BuildWallet, who is challenging the industry norms by investing in the technology of the future. Listen in as he shares a new way to partition project money that reinstills trust in everyone involved.
Show highlights include:
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2:10 Attending the International Builder Show
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3:20 How Jake got into the industry and starting his own company
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9:45 Why builders shouldn’t be bankers
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13:45 Inception and how BuildWallet began
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22:25 How does BuildWallet work?
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24:20 How does access work?
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28:00 The perspective of the homeowners, the builders, and the lenders
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34:30 Are users finding success?
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37:00 What happens when parties disagree about the money?
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43:14 What’s coming up next and how to get in touch
You can learn more about Jake at https://www.buildwallet.com/.
Social media:
LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/jake-harris-985a565/
Youtube- https://www.youtube.com/@buildwallet
Or hit us up through our Contact Page at https://buildernuggets.com and we’ll make a personal introduction.
To get the most out of this podcast, head over to https://buildernuggets.com and join our active community of like-minded builders and remodelers.