Builder Stories
by Eric Fortenberry
Latest episode
Build Your Brand for the Search Results of 2028 | Brian Javeline of…
Build Your Brand for the Search Results of 2028 | Brian Javeline of…
About this podcast
Welcome to Builder Stories, the podcast where builders, remodelers, and contractors share their personal and business journeys. Come learn from the stories of successful entrepreneurs who share how they got started, how they found success, and the lessons learned along the way.
Your host, Eric Fortenberry, has successfully built two businesses, one in software and one in construction. He is now the Founder and CEO of JobTread Software, a construction estimating and project management platform that has helped thousands of builders and contractors sell and manage over $1 billion in construction jobs.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 163 episodes
- Build Your Brand for the Search Results of 2028 | Brian Javeline of My Online Toolbox · 49 min · Episode 163Brian Javeline launched an online estimating and invoicing platform in 2005 and ended up teaching marketing to contractors. Now he sees another shift coming in how homeowners…
- The Seminary Student Who Built a Luxury Remodeling Firm | Stephan Sardone of Sardone | McLain · 57 min · Episode 162Stephan Sardone was planning to move to Papua New Guinea when he started doing tile work to get through seminary. He had no business training and wasn't worried about making…
- Automate the Obvious, Personalize Everything Else | Steven Ross, Renovating KC Design and Remodel · 1 h 0 min · Episode 160Steven Ross and his brother Ben started Renovating KC in 2020 and "did everything the wrong way." One early mistake cost them $90,000 on a single project. Five years later the…
- Running a Legacy Pool Company Like a Startup | Jillian Childs of Craft Master Custom Pools · 54 min · Episode 150Jillian Childs went from running field marketing at Tesla to owning a South Florida pool company with her husband, Christian. They took over 150 open projects on day one, and…
- How to Invest in Marketing When You Cant Fully Prove It's Working | Ashley Wainscott of Simply Home · 54 min · Episode 158Ashley Wainscott built Simply Home for years on referrals and relationship marketing alone. In recent years she made a real investment in SEO, paid ads, and video content, even…
- How to Eliminate Surprises Before Construction Starts | Morgan Thomas of Homestead Builders Group · 58 min · Episode 159Morgan Thomas spent 15 years in commercial and residential construction before launching Homestead Builders Group in Healdsburg, California, with her business partner. Her…
- Where Americans Are Moving and the Homes They Want to Build | Jared Davis of Architectural Designs · 50 min · Episode 157Jared Davis left Stripe to take over a family business that sells house plans to builders across the US and Canada. Today Architectural Designs represents 28,000 plans from…
- Meet the 30 AI Agents Running in the Background of a Remodeling Company | Jeremy Wood of Neil Kelly Company · 1 h 5 min · Episode 156An agent is just a program that runs on a timer and does one job for you. IT Director Jeremy Wood has about 30 of them working inside of a large, 80 year old design build firm…
- Turning $100,000 in Debt Into a Thriving Remodeling Business | Todd Milton of Milton Construction Company · 52 min · Episode 199Todd Milton inherited his father's sterling reputation as an Appomattox, Virginia home builder, then nearly ran the company into the ground. He then attended a two-day conference…
- Rebuilding the Business Every Time You Outgrow It | Canon Baldridge of Integria Construction · 1 h 0 min · Episode 154Canon Baldridge started Integria in 2023 with no connections in California and no book of business to fall back on. Every hire since has forced him to redefine his own role, from…
- How to Price Work Correctly and Sell it with Video | Dan Flansburg of Flansburg Construction · 46 min · Episode 153Dan Flansburg started his New Jersey remodeling company in 2011 with a truck, a set of tools, and no business plan. For three years in the middle of that run, several of his…
- Win More Remodeling Jobs by Mastering the Sales Conversation | Tyler Hunsberger of Hunsberger Builders · 51 min · Episode 152Tyler Hunsberger has won a NARI Contractor of the Year award and earned a spot on Pro Remodeler's 40 Under 40. He is a fourth-generation contractor who has spent nearly 15 years…
- Turn Your Craft Into Content | Mike Coffey of Coffey Custom Builds · 1 h 1 min · Episode 151Mike Coffey grew his social media audience from nothing to more than 120,000 Instagram followers. Here, he reveals how contractors can use social platforms to build trust, show…
- Running a Company You Grew Up In | Kelly Kirk of Greymark Design + Build · 59 min · Episode 150Kelly Kirk took over Greymark Design + Build a few weeks after her mother, who founded the company, passed away. Leslie King was a larger-than-life figure and a well-known…
- Inside the Playbook of a Successful Design Build Firm | Bryan Sebring of Sebring Design Build · 1 h 2 min · Episode 149Bryan Sebring didn't just grow a business, he rebuilt one from scratch. After running his company in Chicagoland for over two decades, Bryan moved to Franklin, Tennessee and…
- When the Exit Goes Wrong | Vince Nardo of Master Roofing Solutions and TimeProof USA · 56 min · Episode 148Vince Nardo helped grow his family's cabinet refacing shop into the largest home improvement company on the West Coast with 700 employees. The company operated in multiple states…
- How Contractors Get Found Online, Straight From Google | Jane Dzielski of Google · 59 min · Episode 147Jane Dzielski has spent nearly a decade at Google turning massive datasets into answers about how consumers make decisions. She knows what people type when they need a…
- The Three Moves That Got Him Out of the Weeds and Back to Building | Dustin Hippensteel of True Grit Roofing · 51 min · Episode 146Dustin Hippensteel spent years convinced he had to do everything himself. Then three decisions quietly changed how his entire business runs. None of them cost much, and none were…
- How to Step Back From Your Business Without Watching It Fall Apart | Felipe Freig of Versa Method Coaching · 30 min · Episode 145As the leader of Versa Homes, Felipe Freig builds multimillion dollar homes for executives and entrepreneurs. He dialed in the systems behind those builds so completely that he…
- How to Turn a Stalled Business Into Your Most Profitable Year | Corey Plourde of Core Remodeling Services · 1 h 0 min · Episode 145Corey Plourde spent eighteen years climbing the corporate sales ladder before walking away to build his own remodeling company. Years later he hit a wall he could not see past…
