6 Months to Skilled Labor? This System Proves It’s Possible with Mike Brewer | E393
The Construction Leading Edge Podcast
Release Date: 05/26/2025
The Construction Leading Edge Podcast
🚀Is Your Construction Business Ready to Scale? Take the free online assessment ☎️Schedule your free business evaluation call with our team – EPISODE 394: If you’ve ever felt trapped by your construction business, like everything will fall apart the moment you step away, you’re not alone. Meet Stan. After 35 years of building a thriving construction business, he was ready to retire. But there was a problem—his business couldn’t survive without him. All the systems, knowledge, and decisions lived in his head. Retirement? Impossible. The business wasn’t...
info_outlineThe Construction Leading Edge Podcast
🚀Is Your Construction Business Ready to Scale? Take the free online assessment ☎️Schedule your free business evaluation call with our team – EPISODE 393: What if the answer to your labor shortage isn’t in job ads or recruiters—but your warehouse? Today’s guest was done fighting for tradespeople. Instead of poaching skilled plumbers, he built a training program from scratch. Brewer Craftsman Academy turns complete rookies into $60-$80K/year professionals in just six months—and it’s working. His company now builds 23% of homes with workers who had zero experience just...
info_outlineThe Construction Leading Edge Podcast
🚀Is Your Construction Business Ready to Scale? Take the free online assessment ☎️Schedule your free business evaluation call with our team – EPISODE 392: Why do some contractors scale to $10M and beyond, while others stay stuck? Most construction business owners believe that working harder and saying “yes” to everything is the key to growth. But here’s the truth: saying yes to every job is how you build revenue, but saying NO to the wrong ones is how you build a profitable construction business. In this episode of The Construction Leading Edge, we’re unpacking the five key...
info_outlineThe Construction Leading Edge Podcast
🚀Is Your Construction Business Ready to Scale? Take the free online assessment ☎️Schedule your free business evaluation call with our team – EPISODE 391: You’ve built your construction business on word of mouth and referrals. Things were booming—until they weren’t. Now what? If your phone isn’t ringing as much, and you’re worried about what the future holds for your construction business, you’re not alone. Many contractors are facing the same challenge. But there’s good news—there’s a better way to generate leads (no cold calling required!). In this episode...
info_outlineThe Construction Leading Edge Podcast
🚀Is Your Construction Business Ready to Scale? Take the free online assessment ☎️Schedule your free business evaluation call with our team – EPISODE 390: Are you constantly up at night thinking if your team has ordered the correct items? How do you have the confidence that things are getting done? Most construction business owners spend their days chasing updates instead of leading their teams. If that sounds like you, then there’s a crucial piece missing from your operations: a single source of truth. In this episode of The Construction Leading Edge, I’ll share a powerful story...
info_outlineThe Construction Leading Edge Podcast
🚀Is Your Construction Business Ready to Scale? Take the free online assessment ☎️Schedule your free business evaluation call with our team – EPISODE 389: Are you constantly learning new business strategies, but nothing ever changes? A lot of construction business owners are stuck in a loop—chasing the next strategy, the next big idea—hoping it will finally be the thing that works. But here’s the truth: if you keep trying the same thing that isn’t working, then there’s something that you believe that isn’t true. In this week’s episode, we’re diving deeper into the...
info_outlineThe Construction Leading Edge Podcast
🚀Is Your Construction Business Ready to Scale? Take the free online assessment ☎️Schedule your free business evaluation call with our team – EPISODE 388: Do you ever feel like your business is costing too much? Jake Lewendal of Momentum Development knows that pain too well. Jake, a Bozeman-based builder, grew up sweeping floors on job sites. He eventually co-founded a construction company with his father-in-law—-only to watch this relationship crumble under the pressure of a poorly-structured family partnership. In this week's episode of The Construction Leading Edge...
info_outlineThe Construction Leading Edge Podcast
☎️Schedule your free business evaluation call with our team – EPISODE 387: Does it ever feel like your construction business is sinking? That moment when you wonder, “Is this even worth saving?” You’re not alone. Every business owner hits that wall. But here’s something most people miss: It’s not your circumstances that are causing the problems—it’s the story you’re telling yourself. In this week’s episode of The Construction Leading Edge podcast, I’m sharing nine powerful strategies that will help you break free from a business slump. We’ll cover: → What most...
info_outlineThe Construction Leading Edge Podcast
☎️Schedule your free business evaluation call with our team – EPISODE 386: Do you feel like your construction business is running you instead of the other way around? Do you constantly bring your work home? For many construction business owners, weekends also mean emails and phone calls. Often, family dinners turn into business meetings. But not anymore! In this week’s episode of The Construction Leading Edge podcast, I sit down with two of my favorite Canadians—and students of our Systematized Your Construction Business (SYCB) program—Laughlin and Ross Franklin. Originally...
info_outlineThe Construction Leading Edge Podcast
☎️Schedule your free business evaluation call with our team 👉Join our free masterclass on how to get paid for estimates – EPISODE 385: Do you feel guilty charging for estimates when others offer them for free? Today’s guest believes you shouldn’t. In this week’s episode of The Construction Leading Edge podcast, I sit down with Alex Gregg, owner of Gregg Homebuilding—a Tennessee-based company specializing in both custom and spec homes. Today, Alex breaks down how he grew his business through strategic decisions, a clear vision, and robust internal systems. You’ll learn: ...
info_outline🚀Is Your Construction Business Ready to Scale? Take the free online assessment HERE
☎️Schedule your free business evaluation call with our team HERE
–
EPISODE 393: What if the answer to your labor shortage isn’t in job ads or recruiters—but your warehouse?
Today’s guest was done fighting for tradespeople. Instead of poaching skilled plumbers, he built a training program from scratch.
Brewer Craftsman Academy turns complete rookies into $60-$80K/year professionals in just six months—and it’s working.
His company now builds 23% of homes with workers who had zero experience just a year ago. How exactly did he do it?
Join me in this week’s episode of The Construction Leading Edge with Mike Brewer, founder and CEO of Brewer Companies, as he reveals how a simple shift in perspective turned into a game-changing strategy for solving the skilled labor crisis.
Listen in and discover:
-
How Mike turned a tagline into a powerful business philosophy
-
What helped him avoid business collapse—three times
-
Why professionalism isn’t just a buzzword, but a leadership principle
-
How the academy boosted retention from 10% to 70%
-
Why do they provide financial management training for their new hires
-
The power of staying in your lane and understanding your limits
..and much more!
Ready to change your workforce strategy?
Tune in now!
Key Takeaways:
Introduction (00:00)
Meet Mike Brewer, founder of Brewer Companies (03:10)
The game-changing tagline (05:34)
Solving the skilled labor shortage head-on (09:09)
Brewer Craftsman Academy’s training success & retention outcomes (12:56)
Inclusion of women in the academy (25:24)
The secret behind the academy’s high success rate (32:03)
Transitioning from technician to CEO (41:41)
What Mike learned from nearly losing the business three times (49:48)
Importance of coaching and the EOS model (54:20)
Episode wrap-up (57:58)
Additional Resources:
⚡Is Your Construction Business Ready to Scale? Take the free online assessment HERE
⚡Schedule your free business evaluation call with our team HERE
–
⚡Follow Brewer Craftsman Academy on Facebook HERE
⚡Fast-track your plumbing career at Brewer University HERE
⚡Learn more about the Brewer Companies HERE
–
⚡ Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn
⚡ Subscribe to our YouTube channel HERE
⚡Visit The Construction Leading Edge for more information HERE
--
The Construction Leading Edge Podcast helps construction business owners maximize their revenue, eliminate chaos, systematize their work, and win back their time.
Follow us on your favorite podcasting platform so you never miss an episode!