DIY business building is even more common than DIY construction.

Some lessons in construction and business are expensive. Learning on the fly isn’t the most reliable way to build anything. Construction skills are often passed down through experience, but business lessons usually aren’t. The result? Expensive mistakes that could have been avoided.

Another Saturday morning. More coffee. More builders around the table.

This week, they gather to tackle more issues behind their business struggles: pricing, communication, and lost profit. What begins as a discussion turns into a turns into a challenge. Stay in the rut, or take intentional action to build something better.

Early on a Saturday morning, a few contractors gather around pushed-together tables, coffee cups in hand. What starts as casual conversation turns into something real.

"What are the biggest problems you've dealt with in your business?"

"Losing money on jobs, employees not showing up, unhappy customers, equipment breaking down, jobs falling behind schedule, not being able to find good help, not having enough time to do everything…and on and on the list goes."

Running a construction business can feel isolating. Sometimes the best clarity starts with a simple conversation.

It’s 9:00 on a Saturday morning, and Gene is sitting in a booth at the local coffee shop having a cinnamon roll and a cup of coffee.

What should be enjoyable downtime isn’t. It’s hard for him to enjoy himself when all he can think about are all the problems over the past year. He can’t quit thinking about everything that he’s gone through, the projects that ran behind, the help that didn't show up, the truck breaking down at the worst possible time, and the massive tax bill.

There would certainly be fewer headaches if he were working for someone else. Instead, all of it rests squarely on him. Even now, sitting there with a warm cinnamon roll and coffee, the weight of the business pressed down on him and he wonders if the effort is worth it.

I can’t do everything myself.

That realization usually shows up right when momentum starts to build. There's more opportunities, more interest, which means more work.

If I’m going to help construction companies build their businesses and continue doing construction… I’m going to need some more help.

Delegating sounds simple, but hiring well is hard. Rushing to fill a role rarely ends well, yet staying stretched too thin isn’t a plan either.

Sometimes the next step forward isn’t doing more, it’s getting the right support in place so the business can grow without burning out the person running it.

"What should I do first?”
“There are so many things to choose from.”

Too often, days are spent fighting fires instead of making real progress. Firefighting feels productive, but it’s one of the worst ways to prioritize.

With a limited amount of time, knowing what’s urgent, what’s important, and what truly matters requires clarity, preparation, and intentional decisions.

Hot fires are a good way to get burned. The better prepared you are, the less intense the fire, and the faster it can be put out.

I Know, This Sounds a Little Backward

Most people plan by guessing how much time or effort something will take and then wonder why they’re always rushed or behind.

Planning backward flips that on its head by starting with where you want to end up and mapping the steps needed to get there. Whether you’re managing your time or building toward a major business goal, this approach puts you back in control. Start with the outcome, work backward, and take action today.

There are certain moments in life that split everything into before and after.

For me, one of those moments came after my accident in 2012.

Before then, I had concluded that my bland, ho-hum life was simply what it was. I was just trudging through life with little hope that things would ever be different. Mentally, I felt stuck in a rut with no way out.

That feeling of being stuck was real, but it wasn’t the end of the story.