Crushing It In Construction

Welcome back to the Crushing It In Construction Podcast! Today I'm joined by Andrew Moir, Managing Director of ArcStructural, a Tier One structural steel contractor delivering some of Australia's biggest commercial, infrastructure, and data centre projects. And he didn't get there the easy way. He grew up sweeping factory floors for his dad, then spent four years in the Army, including a deployment to Afghanistan. When he came back, it was straight into the family business, thrown into complex projects long before he felt ready for them. We talked about what the military taught him about leadership, why accountability is still one of the biggest things missing in construction, and how giving people responsibility means accepting they'll make mistakes along the way. We also got into what excites Andrew about the industry at the moment, and why he believes building great people matters just as much as building great projects. Let's get stuck in! Connect with Andrew Moir: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-moir-99017b243/ Website: https://www.arcstructural.com.au/ Connect with Jordan Skinner: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanaskinner/ Website: https://moonshotmedia.com.au/ Do you have a strong Pre-Tender Advantage? Take the quiz to find out: https://jordan-t1avo3yi.scoreapp.com

Welcome back to the Crushing It In Construction Podcast! Today I’m joined by Adam Cooper, the President of Ascent Consulting. Adam started out in the industry as an electrician. He then worked his way up through project management and eventually stepped away from the job site to help contractors run better businesses behind the scenes. Over the past decade, he’s worked with hundreds of construction companies across the US, helping them put structure around things most businesses just “figure out as they go.” We got into private equity rolling into construction, why it works in some parts of the industry and completely falls apart in others, and what actually makes a construction business valuable enough to sell in the first place. We spoke about systems, why most businesses are far more owner-dependent than they think, and what needs to be in place if you ever want to step away without everything slowing down. Adam also shared how he nearly became a chemical engineer… which probably would’ve led a very different life. Connect with Adam Cooper: Website: https://ascentconsults.com/ Podcast: https://ascentconsults.com/construction-hot-takes-podcast/ Connect with Jordan Skinner: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanaskinner/ Website: https://moonshotmedia.com.au/ Do you have an influential personal brand? Take the quiz to find out: http://www.constructingaleader.com/quiz

Welcome back to the Crushing It In Construction Podcast! Today I sat down to have a chat with Eric Anderton. He is the man behind the Construction Genius Podcast and has spent the last two decades helping contractors figure out something most of them were never trained to do: lead people. Since 2004, he’s worked closely with construction leaders across the US, helping technically skilled builders make the shift from building projects to building teams. We talked about the difference between hard bid environments and negotiated work, why many contractors believe price is everything, and how mindset often plays a bigger role in winning better projects than strategy alone. Towards the end, we also dug into where the industry is heading, the next generation entering construction, and why Eric believes the combination of skilled trades and emerging technology is going to create enormous opportunities over the next decade. If you’re trying to build better leaders inside your company, this is one worth listening to. Connect with Eric Anderton: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andertoneric/ Website: https://www.constructiongenius.com Podcast: Construction Genius Connect with Jordan Skinner: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanaskinner/ Website: https://moonshotmedia.com.au/ Do you have an influential personal brand? Take the quiz to find out: http://www.constructingaleader.com/quiz

Welcome back to the Crushing It In Construction Podcast! This week, I’m joined by Alastair McDonald from EDG Projects: a building design and project management firm based in Echuca. Growing up in a farming family in regional Australia, Alastair learned early what it means to take ownership of your work, especially when the risk is real and the consequences can land directly at your feet. Now, as CEO and Director of EDG, that same mindset continues to influence his leadership. We talked about EDG’s humble beginnings in Alastair’s parents’ spare room, what it took to build a serious business outside the major capitals, and how EDG stays involved from the designing process to construction on site. Alastair also shared his perspective on post-COVID quality in the industry and how he approaches developing people without creating bottlenecks in the business. This one is about patience, accountability, and building something that lasts. Connect with Alastair McDonald: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alastairmcdonald/ Website: https://edgprojects.com.au/ Connect with Jordan Skinner: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanaskinner/ Website: https://moonshotmedia.com.au/ Do you have an influential personal brand? Take the quiz to find out: http://www.constructingaleader.com/quiz

Welcome back to the Crushing It In Construction Podcast! This episode is a bit of a crossover between construction and technology, and it’s one I’ve been looking forward to. I sat down with Jeff Sample, who works with Bluebeam and is also the host of the ConTechCrew podcast. Jeff has spent the last decade operating at the intersection of construction and technology, helping contractors make sense of tech without the hype. Jeff’s time working inside a masonry contractor gave him a clear view of how technology actually lands in the field, not just how it is sold. That experience shaped how he thinks about tech adoption, process, and where most construction businesses go wrong. We talked about why construction tech exploded so quickly, how venture capital misunderstood the industry, and why many contractors became sceptical after being sold tools that promised everything and delivered very little. Jeff also shared what genuinely excites him about where construction is heading, including the shift toward prefabrication and design for manufacturing, and why that change could reshape the industry far more than any new app. Connect with Jeff Sample: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ironmanofit Podcast: https://thecontechcrew.com/ Connect with Jordan Skinner: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanaskinner/ Website: https://moonshotmedia.com.au/ Do you have an influential personal brand? Take the quiz to find out: http://www.constructingaleader.com/quiz

Welcome back to the Crushing It In Construction Podcast! Today, I’m joined by Tyler Vander Vegt from DM Construction. Tyler’s story is a good reminder that construction careers don’t always start with some grand plan. His dad wasn’t even in construction. He was in corporate operations and equities. Then the 2008 crash hit, everything shifted, and they ended up finding a masonry business for sale on Craigslist. Yeah, Craigslist. That business was Dutch’s Masonry. Tyler came in a couple of years later as the second employee. Fast forward to today, and they’ve rebranded to DM Construction, expanded into multiple states, and grown into a full turnkey exterior cladding contractor doing $20M to $25M a year. We talked about what it’s like building a business in cold-weather markets where wrapping buildings is normal, and how something that keeps crews productive can also turn into a safety nightmare if it’s done wrong. Tyler’s big on being intentional. Knowing who you are, what you do best, and being willing to walk away from the wrong work, even when it’s tempting to say yes just to keep people busy. Tyler’s also training for a full Ironman next year, which feels pretty on brand for someone who likes doing hard things the hard way. Connect with Tyler Vander Vegt: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyler-vander-vegt-58388446/ Website: https://www.dmconstruction.com/ Connect with Jordan Skinner: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanaskinner/ Website: https://moonshotmedia.com.au/ Do you have an influential personal brand? Take the quiz to find out: http://www.constructingaleader.com/quiz

Welcome back to the Crushing It In Construction Podcast! Today, we’re sitting down with Wally Adamchik, a leadership speaker, coach, author, and consultant who works closely with construction and infrastructure companies on the people side of the business. He grew up around construction, spent ten years in the Marine Corps, and now helps leadership teams develop the skills they’re rarely taught but constantly expected to have when the pressure’s on. A big part of this conversation is about how leadership actually gets learned in construction. Most people are promoted because they’re good at the work, then expected to figure everything else out as they go. Wally’s big on the idea that leadership isn’t about having all the answers. We talked about why middle management is the real leverage point in construction, the impact of ego and burnout on teams, and why investing in people is no longer optional if you want a sustainable business. We also covered Wally’s time as the University of Notre Dame’s mascot… and it’s exactly as entertaining as you’d expect. Connect with Wally Adamchik: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wallyadamchik/ Website: https://www.wallyadamchik.com/ Connect with Jordan Skinner: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanaskinner/ Website: https://moonshotmedia.com.au/ Do you have an influential personal brand? Take the quiz to find out: http://www.constructingaleader.com/quiz

Welcome back to the Crushing It In Construction Podcast! Civil construction has communication and cost-control problems. Everyone knows it. Very few people actually try to fix it. That’s what led James Baker to build Varicon, a construction management software platform designed specifically for civil contractors. James didn’t come into tech chasing hype or investor buzz. He came into it frustrated. After years of working as a contractor for principals and administering contracts, he kept seeing the same issues everywhere. Too much admin. Too much paper. Too many spreadsheets. And way too much friction killing relationships and cash flow. So, Varicon was born. In this episode, we talked about James growing up in Tasmania, chasing elite rowing overseas, working in Brazil during the oil and gas boom, and how seeing construction from every angle gave him a clearer view of what was broken. And somehow, we also ended up talking about home-brewing beer... and how it nearly landed him a trip to Antarctica. Connect with James Baker: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jameshsbaker/ Website: https://varicon.com.au/ Connect with Jordan Skinner: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanaskinner/ Website: https://moonshotmedia.com.au/ Do you have an influential personal brand? Take the quiz to find out: http://www.constructingaleader.com/quiz

Welcome back to the Crushing It In Construction Podcast! This week, I caught up with Vinay Reddy, a civil engineer who runs one of Southern California’s fastest-growing construction management and landscape architecture firms, RE Services. Vinay thought he had it figured out: computer engineering, then Silicon Valley. But after too many late nights in the lab and a humbling realisation that he just wasn’t cut out for code, he found himself standing in front of a drywall contractor at a Uni career fair. They talked. He got an internship. And from that moment on, construction just made sense. This episode mostly touches on the messy stuff, like starting a business from scratch, how to stay sharp and smart, and why most clients still don’t understand what a billable hour actually includes. Vinay also shared how his parents’ relentless work ethic shaped his leadership style… and why building a team of A-players has been the backbone of RE Services’ growth, (and could be the key to yours, too). Connect with Vinay Reddy: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vreddype/ Website: https://reddyengineering.com/ Connect with Jordan Skinner: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanaskinner/ Website: https://moonshotmedia.com.au/ Do you have an influential personal brand? Take the quiz to find out: http://www.constructingaleader.com/quiz

Welcome back to the Crushing It In Construction Podcast! Today I’m joined by Mark Ballinger from Payapps. Mark’s story isn’t what you’d expect. He came from finance and tech, landed in construction by accident, and found himself deep in one of the industry’s biggest headaches: getting paid on time. Now he leads strategy for Payapps, the Autodesk platform bringing builders and subbies on the same page when it comes to claims, variations, and cash flow. We talked about the tug-of-war over payments, why late pay isn’t always about bad intent, and how the industry’s drowning in red tape that kills efficiency. Mark’s all about consistency, clarity, and creating one source of truth everyone can trust. He’s convinced that if you want to bring AI into your business, you’d better fix your processes first. Mark also hates Vegemite. So take that how you will. Let’s get into it. Connect with Mark Ballinger: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-ballinger-645b5a1/ Website: https://www.payapps.com/ Connect with Jordan Skinner: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanaskinner/ Website: https://moonshotmedia.com.au/ Do you have an influential personal brand? Take the quiz to find out: http://www.constructingaleader.com/quiz

Welcome back to the Crushing It In Construction Podcast! Today, we're sitting down with Josh Smyser, the owner of TNT Tuckpointing Building Restoration,LLC. Josh's journey is a powerful case study in how a completely different professional background can become your greatest business advantage. He was a certified public accountant (CPA) working for a major firm. But when a family tragedy struck, he was thrust back into the family trade business he never planned to run. So, how did he apply an accountant's mindset to transform a small, traditional tuck pointing operation into a multi-million dollar company? He explains how his financial background provided a roadmap from chaos, why he shifted to cost-based pricing, how he's using AI to build a leaner company, and why hiring for attitude not skill is the key to scalable, drama-free growth. Connect with Joshua Smyser: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-smyser Website: https://www.tnttuckpointing.com/ Connect with Jordan Skinner: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanaskinner/ Website: https://moonshotmedia.com.au/ Do you have an influential personal brand? Take the quiz to find out: http://www.constructingaleader.com/quiz

Joining us today is Nate Carlisle, the founder who turned a $7,500 bet into a multi-million dollar framing empire. But to understand how he built his business, you first need to understand what he had to leave behind. Nate grew up in a controlled, fundamentalist cult where entrepreneurship was discouraged and the outside world was off-limits. His story isn't just about business growth; it's a profound lesson in building personal and professional freedom from the ground up. He isn't afraid to get real about the hard stuff: how cash desperation creates a race to the bottom, why the right partners are everything, and what it's actually like on the other side of high-profile, high-cost business coaching. Sharing how Tecton Framing broke every mold, this episode digs into the raw realities of overcoming your circumstances—whether they're financial, cultural, or self-imposed. For Nate, it all comes down to resilience, smart cash management, and trusting your own gut over the hype. Sounds like the kind of truth we all need to hear, right? Let's get started. Connect with Nate Carlisle: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nate-carlisle-7bb66b14a/ Website: https://www.tectonco.com/ Connect with Jordan Skinner: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanaskinner/ Website: https://moonshotmedia.com.au/ Ever wonder if you're being paid what you're worth? Or if you're paying your team fairly? Martin from Built & Byron's recruitment surveys 500+ actually employed construction pros (not just job-seekers) to reveal real Melbourne salary benchmarks. 👉 Grab the free Salary Insights Report: www.buildingenvironsrecruitment.short.gy/Salaryinsightsreport Do you have an influential personal brand? Take the quiz to find out: http://www.constructingaleader.com/quiz

Welcome back to the Crushing It In Construction Podcast! Joining us to unpack this bold idea is Anna Verghese, Founding Director of client-side consultancy Cerulean. Anna has a radically different view on stability, and she's built her entire career on it: true security isn't given to you by a company, it's built by you through calculated risks, global experience, and betting on yourself. Sharing how her journey from massive projects in Dubai to landing in Australia with no job offer led to a thriving business, this episode dives into the post-COVID realities of work - proving just how fragile the traditional career path really is. For Anna, it's all about self-reliance, transferable skills, and entrepreneurial courage - that's how we build a truly secure future. Sounds pretty necessary, right? Let's get started. Connect with Anna Verghese: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-verghese-au/ Website :https://www.ceruleanppl.com/team/anna-verghese Connect with Jordan Skinner: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanaskinner/ Website: https://moonshotmedia.com.au/ Ever wonder if you're being paid what you're worth? Or if you're paying your team fairly? Martin from Built & Byron's recruitment surveys 500+ actually employed construction pros (not just job-seekers) to reveal real Melbourne salary benchmarks. 👉 Grab the free Salary Insights Report: www.buildingenvironsrecruitment.short.gy/Salaryinsightsreport Do you have an influential personal brand? Take the quiz to find out: http://www.constructingaleader.com/quiz

Welcome back to the Crushing It In Construction Podcast! This week, we're sitting down with Sean Rice from Proterra Group - an accidental founder who never set out to run an 80-person business. Starting with a single 6-month contract and a personal credit card used to cover his first payroll, Sean has navigated market crashes, painful downsizing, and the complexities of bringing in - and later buying out - business partners. Sharing how he built a business serving 45+ local councils without a master plan, this episode is a deep dive into resilient leadership, strategic pivots, and why sometimes the best businesses are built by accident. For anyone who’s ever bootstrapped, bet on themselves, or wondered how to lead a team through tough times - this one’s for you. Let's get started. Connect with Sean Rice: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/s-rice/ Website: https://www.proterragroup.com.au/ Connect with Jordan Skinner: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanaskinner/ Website: https://moonshotmedia.com.au/ Ever wonder if you're being paid what you're worth? Or if you're paying your team fairly? Martin from Built & Byron's recruitment surveys 500+ actually employed construction pros (not just job-seekers) to reveal real Melbourne salary benchmarks. 👉 Grab the free Salary Insights Report: www.buildingenvironsrecruitment.short.gy/Salaryinsightsreport Do you have an influential personal brand? Take the quiz to find out: http://www.constructingaleader.com/quiz

Welcome back to the Crushing It In Construction Podcast! This week, Jordan sits down with Nic Parish - a man who went from designing chairs in college to co-owning and running his family's heavy civil, trucking, and dumpster businesses in Mississippi. But this isn't your typical "third-generation success story." Nic's grandfather famously sat him down and begged him: "Please don't do this. Go do anything but this. You do not want this life." He ignored the advice, bought in, and quickly learned why he got the warning. The pressure of the business led him to a dark place where the only way out felt like suicide -a story he shares with shocking honesty. We dive into how that moment became a catalyst for change, forcing him to take 10 days off (the "best career decision he ever made") and ultimately leading him to implement the EOS system that transformed everything. Let’s get it started! Connect with Nic Parish: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicparish/ Website: https://www.burnsdirt.com/ Connect with Jordan Skinner: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanaskinner/ Website: https://moonshotmedia.com.au/ Ever wonder if you're being paid what you're worth? Or if you're paying your team fairly? Martin from Built & Byron's recruitment surveys 500+ actually employed construction pros (not just job-seekers) to reveal real Melbourne salary benchmarks. 👉 Grab the free Salary Insights Report: www.buildingenvironsrecruitment.short.gy/Salaryinsightsreport Do you have an influential personal brand? Take the quiz to find out: http://www.constructingaleader.com/quiz

Welcome back to the Crushing It In Construction podcast! After a chaotic few weeks of scheduling nightmares (thanks, end-of-financial-year madness), we’re finally back with a banger of an episode. I sat down with Kyra Naylor - CEO of Naylor Commercial Interiors and third-generation leader of her family’s Dallas-based architectural finishes biz. Kyra’s story isn’t your typical "grew up in the trades" tale. She was the kid in cowboy boots translating for supers on job sites, detoured through law school, then got yanked back into construction when COVID hit. Now? She’s running the show with a mix of old-school grit and next-gen strategy like slashing 500 weekly bid requests to focus on clients who actually pay. We cover Texas's boom-or-bust construction market, why election years bring projects to a standstill, and when "being nice" at work goes too far. Plus: the raw truth about inheriting a family business - from tough firings to construction-style networking. Let’s get started! Connect with Kyra Nylor: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyra-naylor Website:https://naylorcommercial.com/ Connect with Jordan Skinner: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanaskinner/ Website: https://moonshotmedia.com.au/ Ever wonder if you're being paid what you're worth? Or if you're paying your team fairly? Martin from Built & Byron's recruitment surveys 500+ actually employed construction pros (not just job-seekers) to reveal real Melbourne salary benchmarks. 👉 Grab the free Salary Insights Report: www.buildingenvironsrecruitment.short.gy/Salaryinsightsreport Do you have an influential personal brand? Take the quiz to find out: http://www.constructingaleader.com/quiz

Welcome back to the Crushing It In Construction Podcast! At 14, Kazan Hadden was training with Liverpool FC's youth squad. By 18? Injured, broke, and living in a caravan. Today, he's the founder of Nickaz Australia - a construction business that's thrived for three decades without ever chasing tenders. We're digging into how getting cut from football taught him more than any business degree, why he keeps 15 full-time trades when everyone else subcontracts, how childhood trauma became his unfair business advantage and the $200,000 mistake that changed how he hires forever. Real stories from a builder who's been through the fire. Hit play. Connect with Kazan Hadden: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kazan-hadden-nickaz/ Website: https://nickaz.com.au/ Connect with Jordan Skinner: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanaskinner/ Website: https://moonshotmedia.com.au/ Do you have an influential personal brand? Take the quiz to find out: http://www.constructingaleader.com/quiz

This week we're sitting down with Todd Bacon, Managing Director of Central Coast-based Collaborative Construction Solutions. Todd's got some strong opinions about our industry, and he's not holding back: from tradespeople who've never seen standard installation guides to clients accepting mediocre work, we're facing a quality crisis that starts with training and ends with expectations. Sharing how CCS operates differently, this episode takes us inside the challenging world of live-site construction - schools, hospitals and shopping centers where the public never stops moving around your work. Todd proves why this niche might just be the ultimate test of a builder's skill and patience. For Todd, it's about balancing growth with sanity, investing in proper planning, and remembering to step away occasionally (even if that means battling boredom on a bike trainer). That's how we build better businesses - and a better industry. Sounds refreshingly honest, doesn't it? Let's get started. Connect with Todd Bacon: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/todd-bacon-639b67b/ Website: https://collaborative.com.au/ Connect with Jordan Skinner: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanaskinner/ Website: https://moonshotmedia.com.au/ Do you have an influential personal brand? Take the quiz to find out: http://www.constructingaleader.com/quiz

Welcome back to the Crushing It In Construction Podcast! For Episode 112, we’re sitting down with Kane Keefe, the visionary Managing Director behind Alliance Building Construction. Based in Toowoomba but operating across Queensland, Kane took the unconventional path - launching during COVID’s toughest months, then systematically purchasing complementary businesses like a 30-year-old earthworks company rather than chasing traditional tenders. He reflects on this bold journey, sharing how buying competitors became his secret to unlocking 8 figure scale, why vertical integration beats the race-to-the-bottom tender cycle, and how everything changes when you transition from employee to owner with real skin in the game. Let’s dive in. Connect with Kane Keefe: Instagram: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kane-keefe-3ba53368/ Website: https://alliancebc.com.au/ Connect with Jordan Skinner: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanaskinner/ Website: https://moonshotmedia.com.au/ Do you have an influential personal brand? Take the quiz to find out: http://www.constructingaleader.com/quiz

Welcome back to the Crushing It In Construction Podcast! This week, we’re sitting down with Brodie Haughton, Managing Director of Solidity, a company that’s redefining foundation engineering with screw piling. Now, screw piling might sound like a niche dark art (because it is), but Brodie’s taken this overlooked corner of construction and turned it into a multi-million-dollar business. And he did it by creating demand, not just fighting for scraps in an existing market. This is a masterclass for business owners who want to spot and dominate a niche, bootstrap like a madman, survive cash flow nightmares, and use vertical integration to lock out competitors. If you’ve ever thought, "There’s no room left to innovate in construction," this episode will prove you wrong. Let’s dive in! Connect with Brodie Haughton: Instagram: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brodie-houghton-86909984/ Website: https://www.solidity.com.au/ Connect with Jordan Skinner: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanaskinner/ Website: https://moonshotmedia.com.au/ Do you have an influential personal brand? Take the quiz to find out: http://www.constructingaleader.com/quiz