CHANGE ORDERS how to get paid for them without killing the relationship With Colleen Stanley
Release Date: 03/12/2026
He Shut Down His Factory for 8 Days. Here’s What Happened.
Cabinet Maker Profit System Podcast I Business Owners I Cabinet Makers I Architectural Millwork I Furniture Makers I Business ideas I Tips I Business Coach Dominic Rubino
What happens when you shut down a factory doing roughly $30,000 a day in throughput and refuse to start it again until you understand the problem? That's exactly what Brad Cairns did. In this episode, Dominic Rubino sits down with Brad to unpack an extraordinary Lean manufacturing “stop and fix” inside Brad's MDF cabinet door factory. The problem started with a number Brad couldn't ignore: roughly $40,000 in costs associated with glue squeeze-out over about 60 days. Rather than continuing to adjust, compensate and work around the problem, Brad decided to put the...
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You’re Not Losing Jobs Because of Your Price
Cabinet Maker Profit System Podcast I Business Owners I Cabinet Makers I Architectural Millwork I Furniture Makers I Business ideas I Tips I Business Coach Dominic Rubino
Why do contractors lose jobs on price? And when a customer says your estimate is “too expensive,” is price really the problem? In this episode, Dominic Rubino sits down with entrepreneur, contractor, and business coach Adam Sylvester to break down one of the biggest challenges facing contractors and home-service business owners: losing deals because of price. The surprising reality? You shouldn’t expect to win every job. Dominic and Adam discuss why your close rate matters, how to think about gross profit on every project, and why discounting a job can quickly erase...
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I Sold the Job at 45% Margin… Where Did the Money Go?
Cabinet Maker Profit System Podcast I Business Owners I Cabinet Makers I Architectural Millwork I Furniture Makers I Business ideas I Tips I Business Coach Dominic Rubino
You sold the job at a 45% gross margin. You estimated it correctly. So why is there no money left at the end? In this episode, Dominic Rubino sits down with Nick Slavik to tackle one of the most frustrating problems facing cabinet makers, millworkers, contractors, and trades business owners: the gap between the profit you estimate and the profit you actually keep. Nick explains why a profitable estimate is only the beginning. The journey from lead → estimate → sale → administration → project management → production → closeout creates multiple opportunities for...
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Why Most Cabinet Shops Aren’t Making Enough Money
Cabinet Maker Profit System Podcast I Business Owners I Cabinet Makers I Architectural Millwork I Furniture Makers I Business ideas I Tips I Business Coach Dominic Rubino
Why are so many cabinet shops bringing in revenue but still struggling to make enough money? In this episode, Dominic Rubino sits down with business coach and former cabinet shop owner Pete Fico to break down one of the most important parts of running a successful cabinet business: PROFIT. Pete shares lessons from his own entrepreneurial journey, including growing a cabinet company from just over $3 million to nearly $11 million in sales. They discuss the difference between gross profit and net profit, why cabinet shops need to track their numbers, and how seemingly small...
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Your Employees Think You Make More Money Than You Do
Cabinet Maker Profit System Podcast I Business Owners I Cabinet Makers I Architectural Millwork I Furniture Makers I Business ideas I Tips I Business Coach Dominic Rubino
Your employees may think you’re making far more money than you actually are. In this episode, Dominic Rubino sits down with Steve Baker from The Great Game of Business to discuss one of the biggest disconnects between business owners and their teams: understanding how the business actually makes money. Steve shares how The Great Game of Business helps companies teach employees to think, act, and feel more like owners without simply handing over equity or revealing every private financial detail. You’ll learn why revenue, gross margin, net profit and cash are often...
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How to Save Hours of Labor on Historic Renovations
Cabinet Maker Profit System Podcast I Business Owners I Cabinet Makers I Architectural Millwork I Furniture Makers I Business ideas I Tips I Business Coach Dominic Rubino
What if you could save HOURS of labor on historic renovations without tearing out the original architectural details? In this episode of CMPS, Dominic Rubino sits down with Kyle Neuroh to explore how laser cleaning technology can change the way contractors approach historic renovations, cabinet refinishing, stair restoration, architectural millwork, and other labor-intensive work. Kyle explains how pulse-laser technology can remove finishes while preserving the underlying surface and detailed profiles that can be difficult to restore using traditional sanding, scraping, or...
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I Want My Kids to Take Over the Business. But They Can’t Afford It.
Cabinet Maker Profit System Podcast I Business Owners I Cabinet Makers I Architectural Millwork I Furniture Makers I Business ideas I Tips I Business Coach Dominic Rubino
What happens when you want your kids to take over the family business but they can’t afford to buy it? Selling a family business to the next generation isn’t as simple as naming a price and handing over the keys. The owner still needs to get paid, the next generation needs to be ready to lead, and the business needs to remain profitable throughout the transition. In this episode, Dominic Rubino sits down with business exit expert Greg De Simone to unpack practical ways owners can structure a family business transition. Greg explains how seller notes can work, why they...
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Why Overtime Is Killing Your Business Profit
Cabinet Maker Profit System Podcast I Business Owners I Cabinet Makers I Architectural Millwork I Furniture Makers I Business ideas I Tips I Business Coach Dominic Rubino
Overtime isn’t the problem it’s the symptom. If unnecessary overtime keeps eating into your profits, simply telling your team to stop working extra hours won’t solve the underlying issue. In this episode of Cabinet Maker Profit System, Dominic Rubino explains how business owners can find the real cause of their overtime problem and begin fixing it with a practical order of operations. The problem typically comes back to three areas: flow, scheduling, and ownership/accountability. Dominic walks through how to make overtime visible in your numbers, identify...
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Your Customers May Never Visit Your Website Again
Cabinet Maker Profit System Podcast I Business Owners I Cabinet Makers I Architectural Millwork I Furniture Makers I Business ideas I Tips I Business Coach Dominic Rubino
What if your next customer never visits your website? AI is changing the way customers search for, research, and potentially choose local businesses and Phil Risher believes contractors and home-service business owners need to start preparing now. In this episode, Dominic Rubino sits down with Phil Risher of Phlash Consulting to break down the shift from traditional Google searches and keywords toward conversational AI, AI recommendations, and eventually AI agents. For years, businesses focused on ranking #1 on Google. But Phil argues that the next competitive advantage...
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Legacy or Burden? What Are You Really Leaving Your Kids?
Cabinet Maker Profit System Podcast I Business Owners I Cabinet Makers I Architectural Millwork I Furniture Makers I Business ideas I Tips I Business Coach Dominic Rubino
What Are You Really Leaving Your Kids? Most business owners dream of leaving something meaningful behind. But if your company depends on you every day, are you really leaving a business… or just handing your family another job? In this episode, Dominic Rubino explains one of the most important numbers every owner should know: Revenue Responsibility Per Hour (RR/H). You'll discover why owner dependency quietly limits growth, how to identify the work only you should be doing, and what it takes to build a company that can thrive without you. Whether you plan to pass...
info_outlineHow do you charge for change orders without hurting the client relationship?
In this episode, Dominic Rubino sits down with Colleen Stanley to unpack one of the most common profit leaks in construction and contracting: poor change order communication.
This conversation is especially helpful for construction and contracting business owners who deal with scope creep, client pushback, repeated jobsite issues, and uncomfortable pricing conversations.
Colleen breaks down how better communication, better expectation-setting, and better leadership can make those conversations easier and more professional.
In this episode, you’ll hear about:
✅ Why change orders should be discussed before they happen
✅ How to set expectations without sounding negative
✅ Why clients react badly to surprises
✅ How better communication protects trust and profit
✅ The power of giving clients choices
✅ Why recurring problems usually point to a broken system
✅ How mentorship and delegation connect to stronger leadership If you work in cabinetry, millwork, remodeling, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, or general contracting, this episode will give you practical ideas you can use right away.
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More about Colleen Stanley:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colleenstanleysli/
Company LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/salesleadership-inc./
Personal / Company Website: https://www.salesleadershipdevelopment.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/colleen.stanley.716/
Company Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SalesLeadership/
Books Page: https://www.salesleadershipdevelopment.com/resources
Also check out:
Cabinet Maker Profit System: https://www.cabinetmakerprofitsystem.com
Profit Toolbelt: https://www.profittoolbelt.com/
Contractor Wealth System: https://www.contractorwealthsystem.com/
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