This week on Dirt Talk, Aaron and Alex talk staying vs. leaving when it comes to a job, as well as what kind of trust leaders should give to those that they lead. (Hint: it's a lot.) To connect with other people who listen to this show, use and search for the hashtag #betterdirtworld and join in on the conversation. If you have questions/comments/concerns, reach out to DirtTalk@buildwitt.com . Stay Dirty!
The people have spoken: more guests who are learning how to get their dirt businesses up and running. That topic is by and large the most common request from our listeners, and so today, we're happy to introduce you to Kristine Muller, Co-Owner and Vice President of Muller Excavating in Fowler, IN. She was kind enough to come on Dirt Talk and have a candid conversation about her place in the Dirt World and the steps her company takes to build it the right way from the beginning. This week, Krist...
Aaron and Alex are podding in Dirt Talk Studios at the BuildWitt HQ this week, and are bringing the heat. Talking about hot air balloons. After Aaron details his latest travel across the Midwest and Southwest, Aaron and Alex discuss a few listener questions: examples of the best and most engaging safety meetings and why there are some aspects to the Dirt World that may turn away some young folks looking to start their careers (it's not the "millennials don't want to work anymore" garbage). Thank...
This week's guest is Luke Payne, whose day job is marina sales, though he's been building his dirt company Black Iron Dirt in Fargo, ND. Black Iron Dirt is starting to make a name for themselves in the region with their black skid steers, so OF COURSE, Aaron was gonna love this guy. Luke and host Aaron Witt discuss skid steers, doing old things in a new way, and the advantage of being your own investor. Though there were a few technical difficulties with the conversation, the episode is a great ...
On this week's Monday episode of Dirt Talk, Aaron has to sadly (but with a hopeful ending) recount how he accidentally rolled the BuildWitt Skid Steer aka "The Earth Moover" onto its roof last weekend. Aaron was totally safe thanks to the CAT safety features (#notsponsored), but the 259 is gonna need some time in the shop. Afterwards, Aaron and Alex spend some time talking about addressing an unsustainable workload and why new business owners might not want to take whatever job they can get when...
Dirt Talk had our very first guest in the Dirt Talk Studios this week, which is very exciting. He's also arguably our youngest guest to date. Watch the episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naImfk4rPrY This week, our guest is Dylan Taylor, a 20-year-old laborer and construction management student from MN. Dylan is a pretty special guy for a lot of reasons: he's already worked 2 summers as a laborer for Duininck Inc. , he just started a 2-year college program for construction management, ...
Aaron and Alex are back in Dirt Talk Studios, coming to you "live" from the BuildWitt HQ. Not live, but... well, you get it. After opening the floor for Aaron to vent about the comments he gets when he posts photos of remote-controlled equipment, he and Alex discuss what to actually post photos of when you're trying to build your brand online (the answer is whatever you're working on) and what kind of lessons (good and bad) that Aaron has learned since starting BuildWitt. To connect with other p...
This is part 2 of a 2-parter! Aaron and Alex had the enormous pleasure to have Sal Frisella as a guest on Dirt Talk. Sal is the President of 1st Phorm , a health and fitness company based out of St. Louis, Missouri, but that's not why he's the guest this week (okay, maybe a little). He's on the podcast this week because he's got a well-documented love and appreciation for the trades and blue-collar work. He owns a few pieces of equipment and takes every opportunity to hop in his Bobcat and move ...
Alex and Aaron are coming to you from the 1st Phorm HQ in St. Louis, MO. The guys are in town to record with Sal Frisella (President of 1st Phorm) and figured while they were there, they might as well take the mobile podcast rig out for a spin. This week, Aaron talks about his travel out West, and then the guys talk construction equipment in James Bond films, general contractors (and why Aaron isn't fully qualified to weigh in on them), and small dozers vs large dozers. To listen to the episode ...
This is part 1 of a 2-parter! Aaron and Alex had the enormous pleasure to have Sal Frisella as a guest on Dirt Talk. Sal is the President of 1st Phorm , a health and fitness company based out of St. Louis, Missouri, but that's not why he's the guest this week (okay, maybe a little). He's on the podcast this week because he's got a well-documented love and appreciation for the trades and blue-collar work. He owns a few pieces of equipment and takes every opportunity to hop in his Bobcat and move ...
This week, Aaron is in the Dirt Talk Studios while Alex is traveling - a real switcheroo after all of the traveling Aaron has been doing. Aaron recounts his East Coast trip this past week, and then the guys discuss questions about companies that don't allow their employees to post photos of their job sites and how leaders can best help their team members get in roles their best suited for. For the entire month of September, we’ll be doing a drawing of all submissions each week to win $100 to the...
Once again, this podcast manages to stumble into bringing on an expert in their field as a guest. Everyone welcome Britton Lawson, Director of Construction Technologies at Veit & Company . Britton, a self-described "technology nerd/equipment enthusiast," started his career as an operator and because of his interest in technology, he's often found himself as an early adopter and expert when it comes to construction technology. This week, host Aaron Witt has a conversation with Britton to disc...
Happy Monday, ladies and germs. So. After emphatically stating that they were officially done recording podcasts at Aaron's house... this episode was recorded at Aaron's. Aaron and co-host Alex talk a little bit about the trials and tribulations of all of the inspections needed to open up a new office space for your company before Aaron goes into talking about the BuildWitt Skid Steer and why it was a great idea for BuildWitt to get it. Later, the guys discuss the challenge of getting insurance ...
We've finally tracked down the person who was around for the very very beginnings of BuildWitt (other than Aaron Witt)... introducing Mr. Kevin McCawley, who used to ride around the American Southwest and take photos with Aaron as they would shoot photos of any job site they could find. Now, Kevin is a med school student at the University of Michigan, but he was kind enough to sit down and help tell some behind-the-scenes stories of the birth of "BuildWitt" as we know it. Co-host Alex Horton joi...
After months (and months and months and...), the guys are in the BuildWitt offices recording a podcast in Dirt Talk Studios. Big moment. Alex and Aaron talk about Aaron's "Rules for the Office"... before having to stop recording because the restaurant down below is too loud to record. So, they come back 16 hours later to pick it up, and Aaron talks about the Founding Members aspect of BuildWitt Leaders. They then discuss a few listener-submitted topics about being included in all company events ...
Sean Coghlan aka @shamrockseanj on IG is the Owner/Operator of Shamrock Earthworks Ltd. in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Over the years, his company has done a little bit of everything, but they've made quite a name for themselves by building beautiful custom rock retaining walls. Seriously, those guys are out there building awesome rock puzzles. Sean was kind enough to hop on a call from a job site and catch up and talk dirt with co-host Aaron Witt. This week, Aaron and Sean went DEEP on the Dirt T...
This is the last podcast that co-hosts Aaron and Alex will record at Aaron's dining room table! Moving forward, all of our in-person podcasts will be recorded in the new BuildWitt Studios! This week, the guys discuss the merits of hiring someone to clean one's house, and then they talk about how to get access to job sites to take photos (be honest and authentic with whoever is in charge!) and what kinds of progress is being seen in the BuildWitt mission to make the Dirt World a better place. To ...
Goodfellow Bros. has been around for a while. Started by 3 brothers after the end of World War I, the company has since worked to be one of the most trusted contractors in the industry. This week, we were lucky enough to be joined by Goodfellow Bros. CEO Chad Goodfellow, the fourth generation of family leadership at GBI. Chad grew up in the industry like many of the folks in our industry and though he's the CEO now, he spent many summers learning the industry as a laborer. He was kind enough to ...
Aaron Witt went to a Grand Prix... in his neighborhood? Aaron and his co-host Alex talk a good bit about the interests and eccentricities of Nashville, TN. Later, they talk about how to get access to job sites to take photos (hint: be upfront and authentic) and some signs and trends that show that the BuildWitt mission of "Make the Dirt World a Better Place" might be on to something. To connect with other people who listen to this show, use and search for the hashtag #betterdirtworld and join in...
Brock Johnson reached out to us and shared his story... and whaddya know, he is now this week's guest on Dirt World. Brock is an interesting combo: not only is he a full-time operator working in northern MN, but he also started Prograde Excavating and spends his weekends building his own business. He certainly works a lot these days, but it's all towards a greater purpose: more freedom and flexibility for himself and his family. In this episode, host Aaron Witt and Brock talk about the challenge...
Happy Monday, Dirt World. This week, Aaron and Alex sit down to discuss why "lifers" in the Dirt World sometimes discourage their kids from coming into the industry, landfills, and what one of our BuildWitt Partners ( Veit ) is up to. If you want to visit the Veit website, go to veitusa.com . To connect with other people who listen to this show, use and search for the hashtag #betterdirtworld and join in on the conversation. If you have questions/comments/concerns, reach out to DirtTalk@buildwit...
The Dirt Talk guest this week is from "across the pond," as it were: Nick Drew of Digger Man Blog fame. This week, Nick was kind and gracious enough to share his Saturday evening with us and, as Aaron Witt says, "shoot the poop." Aaron and Nick discussed Nick's construction background prior to focusing on writing about the Dirt World, what he misses (and doesn't miss) about the work, and how trolls on the internet don't deserve any recognition at all. Enjoy! Check out earthmoversmagazine.co.uk/d...
G'day, fellow Dirt World people. Aaron and Alex geek out a little about the BuildWitt Team meeting that happened a few weeks ago. They eventually discuss small ways that teams/organizations can introduce training into their company culture and why some industries rely on migrant workers vs others. Thanks for the questions - please keep them coming! To connect with other people who listen to this show, use and search for the hashtag #betterdirtworld and join in on the conversation. If you have qu...
Marcus Sheridan is a new friend of ours, but boy, are we glad we brought him around! In his words, he's an "International Keynote Speaker on Digital Sales/Marketing, Ranked #1 LinkedIn Voices for Entrepreneurship, Author of They Ask, You Answer...and a Dang Good Follow on LinkedIn"... and sharpened all those tools moving some dirt early on. He is one of the first speakers we brought on to be featured on the BuildWitt Leaders platform, and the more we've gotten to know him and vice versa, the mor...
Happy Monday, Dirt World pals. Dirt Talk-erinos? We're working on it. Alex and Aaron geek out about how BuildWitt Leaders is going, as well as their excitement over the last few episodes of the podcast recordings in Aaron's house. This week, the guys dig in about how people start a dirt world business without debt (and how debt can be a useful business tool) and when Aaron first started to understand the need for change in Dirt World culture. To connect with other people who listen to this show,...
Molly Abbott of ban•spas Consulting is our guest this week. ban•spas is an organizational consulting + interior design firm based in the Arizona desert, and Molly was kind enough to work on a pretty big BuildWitt project: she designed and planned out the new BuildWitt Offices in Nashville, TN. Since she and Aaron Witt are the 2 people most intimately familiar with the space, it made sense to get them to talk about the entire process! And since we got a handful of requests asking to hear an episo...
Happy Monday! This week, Aaron and Alex chat at Aaron's home "studio"... but this is one of the last times ever, as the new BuildWitt Studios are almost complete! Can't wait to share photos and videos of the new space with the Dirt Talk community. On this week's episode, Aaron and Alex discuss what it takes to transition from doing landscaping work to excavation, Aaron's interest in owning a warehouse, and the naming rights of the BuildWitt skid steer. We're SO excited to be sharing the link to ...
As a general rule, we at BuildWitt LOVE to engage with people who love the Dirt World as much as we do. So, when we first started chatting with David Cutler through email, LinkedIn, etc, it was clear immediately that he's got the passion for our industry running through his veins. And as the podcast team was building out the guest list, it just started to make more and more sense to bring David on the show, and we sure are glad we did. David Cutler is a Senior Estimator/Project Manager with Benc...
This week, Aaron is in Montana, taking some much-needed "time off". As you'll hear, though, he still stays pretty involved. Aaron talks about how he's spending his time alone out in the mountains, and Alex and Aaron commiserate on endless shipping delays. Aaron and Alex also answer a few listener-submitted questions. They discuss building relationships with new co-workers, being honest with customers, and Aaron's preferred boots and hardhat (we are not advertising, we swear!). To connect with ot...
Wally Adamchik literally runs the website constructionleadership.com. Suffice it to say, Wally is well-versed and well-traveled when it comes to leadership in the Dirt World. Wally's company FireStarter Speaking and Consulting works with companies all over the U.S., helping them to build better companies through better leadership, better operations, and better culture. Wally was kind enough to sit down with Aaron and Alex to talk all things Construction Leadership. Truly. It's one of the longest...
