Epi 195: If You Treat Your Staff Like THIS, You Will Lose Everything

Marti sits down with Simone McKenzie, CEO of Core Refurbishments in Western Australia. Simone opens up about the brutal reality of staring down a $250,000 debt and nearly going bankrupt. She explains how keeping underperforming staff and tolerating toxic clients almost cost her the entire business.…

Epi 194: If You Price Jobs Like THIS, You Are Bleeding Margin

Owen sits down with Rick, founder of Estimating Online, to expose the brutal truth about pricing building projects. For years, the industry relied on pumping out free estimates and playing the volume game, hoping to land a few contracts. Rick explains why this outdated model treats your expertise l…

Epi 193: Stop Posting Project Photos And Start Doing THIS Immediately

Owen sits down with Leon Sokolski, founder of Lokal Engage, to break down why having a pretty website is actually bleeding your building company dry. Leon explains how to turn your digital presence from an online brochure into a 24/7 sales rep that protects your margins, filters out tire kickers, a…

Epi 192: Why You MUST Fire The Team That Got You Here (with Craig O'Leary)

Owen sits down with Craig, General Manager of HazardCo Australia, to unpack the brutal reality of scaling a construction team and protecting your business. Craig explains why the old "she'll be right" attitude toward site safety is a massive liability that can rip a building company apart. Instead …

Epi 191: If You Only Post Finished Projects, You Are BLEEDING Money (with Stanley Henry)

Marti sits down with Stanley Henry, founder of The Attention Seeker in Auckland, New Zealand. Stanley's agency transforms standard companies into viral powerhouses, generating up to 10 million organic views a month. He explains why builders who rely purely on word of mouth are actually just subcont…

Epi 190: Why Hiring Carpenters To Estimate Is A Mistake

Owen sits down with Haydn, founder of Price to Plan, who transitioned from running his own building company to managing a team of 25 staff and 18 estimators. Haydn shares the story of how a nine-month recovery from surgery forced him off the tools and into the office, where he realized most builder…

Epi 189: The Risk Of Ignoring AI In Construction (with Dmitry of Handoff AI)

Owen sits down with Dmitry Alexin, founder of Handoff.ai, to discuss how artificial intelligence is finally fixing the most painful bottleneck in construction: estimating. Dmitry explains why "file cabinet" software is outdated and how AI agents can now handle the heavy lifting of back-office admin…

Epi 188: How To Hit A 90% Quote Conversion Rate

Marti sits down with Steve Glover from Paragon Homes in Toowoomba, Queensland. Steve shares his journey from battling in the "race to the bottom"—where the winner was whoever had the smallest number on the page—to running a high-end architectural building company with nearly $20M in revenue. Steve…

Epi 187: Stop The Brain Drain: How To Keep Tradies In New Zealand

Marti sits down at the Beehive with Chris Penk, New Zealand's Minister for Building and Construction, to tackle the regulatory roadblocks slowing down sites across the country. Chris discusses the government's push to make building faster, easier, and more affordable by attacking the root causes of…

Epi 186: Why "Word Of Mouth" Is A Dangerous Construction Business Model

Marti sits down with Nick Avery from Avery Construction, a Victoria-based building company specializing in high-end architectural new builds ($2M–$4M+). Nick shares his journey from starting out "flying by the seat of his pants" after being denied a pay rise, to running a sophisticated operation th…