Episode 158: Today on “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley are chatting with Bill Smithers, president of CBUSA and returning guest on the podcast. As a veteran in the construction industry, Bill had years of experience in both production and custom home building before starting CBUSA, a group purchasing network for professional builders. Tune in to the full episode to hear his insights on inflation and how it will continue to affect the construction industry. Read the show notes for this episod...
Aug 18, 2022•30 min•Ep. 158
Episode 157: On today’s episode of “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley are chatting with Ernie Goss, Ph.D., principal investigator, professor of economics and holder of the Jack MacAllister Chair at Creighton University. Ernie is world-renowned for his economic expertise and has published more than 100 research studies focusing primarily on economic forecasting. Listen to the full episode to hear his insight on when the economy will turn around and where it’s heading next. Will the pricing of ...
Aug 04, 2022•39 min•Ep. 157
Episode 156: Today on “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley are joined by Paul Atherton, a business coach at Breakthrough Academy a company that provides smart and innovative solutions for contractors. Paul focuses on helping business owners develop the skills, systems and community necessary to set their companies up for success. Tune in to the full episode to hear about the top five areas you should be focusing on for continued success in project management and business growth. Why would a con...
Jul 07, 2022•35 min•Ep. 156
Episode 155: Today on “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley are joined by Piper Stromatt, director of interior design and partner at Boutique Living by Curate in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Piper was born into the construction industry and decided to take the route of design working for a residential construction company right out of school. Listen to the full episode to hear about what it takes to start a career in the construction industry, some of the latest evolving design trends and how Builder...
Jun 30, 2022•37 min•Ep. 155
Episode 154 Every other Thursday, we give our listeners a glimpse into the inner workings of our business with our new “Inside Buildertrend” series on “The Building Code.” What are our teams working on? What features are coming up, and how will they benefit our users? What data and research are being collected behind the scenes? Tune in as we take a look inside Buildertrend. How is Buildertrend impacting the future of payments in the construction industry? On today’s episode of “Inside Buildertr...
Jun 23, 2022•16 min•Ep. 154
Episode 153: Today on “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley are live from Buildertrend University with Austin McKnight, co-owner of Southern Creek Homes in College Station, Texas. Austin and his brother founded the company in 2015, and it wasn’t long before they realized they needed to implement construction software if they were going to be successful. Listen to the full episode to hear about their experience at Buildertrend University and how Buildertrend is helping them scale their home-build...
Jun 16, 2022•27 min•Ep. 153
Episode 152: Every other Thursday, we give our listeners a glimpse into the inner workings of our business with our new “Inside Buildertrend” series on “The Building Code.” What are our teams working on? What features are coming up, and how will they benefit our users? What data and research are being collected behind the scenes? Tune in as we take a look inside Buildertrend. How does Buildertrend define and prioritize the customer experience? Today on “Inside Buildertrend,” Scott Hale, customer...
Jun 09, 2022•17 min•Ep. 152
Episode 151: Today on “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley are chatting with Adam Copenhaver, co-founder of CopeGrand Homes in Charleston, South Carolina. Adam and his twin brother Ben founded the company in 2015, expanding to their second location in the Greenville, South Carolina, area in 2020. Tune in to the full episode to hear about the formation of their superhero team and why project management software has been so instrumental in sustaining their company’s continued growth and success. ...
May 12, 2022•42 min•Ep. 151
Episode 150: Inside Buildertrend – invoicing Every other Thursday, we give our listeners a glimpse into the inner workings of our business with our new “Inside Buildertrend” series on “The Building Code.” What are our teams working on? What features are coming up, and how will they benefit our users? What data and research are being collected behind the scenes? Tune in as we take a look inside Buildertrend. What do users need to know about the upcoming invoicing feature update? Today on “Inside ...
May 05, 2022•18 min•Ep. 150
Episode 149: One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to construction contracts. Can you guarantee that your business is protected from all angles? In this episode of “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley discuss the importance of construction law and safeguarding contracts with Scott Green, the managing partner at The Green Law Group. Scott shares his top three ways to be the best contractor from a legal perspective. Listen to the full episode to hear more about creating construction contracts an...
Apr 28, 2022•30 min•Ep. 149
Episode 148: Inside Buildertrend – making learning fun Every other Thursday, we give our listeners a glimpse into the inner workings of our business with our new “Inside Buildertrend” series on “The Building Code.” What are our teams working on? What features are coming up, and how will they benefit our users? What data and research are being collected behind the scenes? Tune in as we take a look inside Buildertrend. How do our many educational opportunities help our customers? On this episode o...
Apr 21, 2022•18 min•Ep. 148
Episode 147: Today on “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley discuss “The State of Residential Construction Industry 2022” report with Russ Stephens, co-founder of the Association of Professional Builders. Russ shares his thoughts on the benefits of making future business decisions backed by data. Listen to the full episode to hear more about the APB’s report, the data predicting new market challenges for the industry and how to prepare for a potential slowdown in building. HOW CAN DATA HELP BUIL...
Apr 14, 2022•33 min•Ep. 147
Episode 146: Every other Thursday, we’ll give our listeners a glimpse into the inner workings of our business with our new “Inside Buildertrend” series on “The Building Code.” What are our teams working on? What features are coming up and how will they benefit our users? What data and research are being collected behind the scenes? Tune in as we take a look inside Buildertrend. How will the new Global Search feature help our customers? Today on “Inside Buildertrend,” Tayler Ross, director of Cus...
Apr 07, 2022•18 min•Ep. 146
Episode 145: Paul Robinson Construction’s in a labor shortage, and the industry’s only growing older. Construction consultant group ConstructReach found over half of the construction workforce is over 46 years old . Racial minorities have traditionally been underrepresented in construction, according to ConstructReach. But ConstructReach founder and CEO Paul Robinson says the opportunity to reverse that trend and address this labor shortage is here: 44% of millennials and 49% of Generation Z are...
Mar 31, 2022•40 min•Ep. 145
Episode 144: Inside Buildertrend – global search Every other Thursday, we’ll give our listeners a glimpse into the inner workings of our business with our new “Inside Buildertrend” series on “The Building Code.” What are our teams working on? What features are coming up and how will they benefit our users? What data and research are being collected behind the scenes? Tune in as we take a look inside Buildertrend. How will the new Global Search feature help our customers? On the fourth episode of...
Mar 24, 2022•16 min•Ep. 144
Episode 143: Next insurance Insurance: It’s not often front of mind when the daily demands from your jobs keep piling on. But when something bad happens, it’s the safety net every builder needs. Today on “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley showcase Buildertrend’s newest partner, Next Insurance, an online insurer of over 300,000 small businesses. Product manager Susan Tieh joins the podcast to highlight how Next quickly delivers a range of coverages protecting builders against construction and ...
Mar 17, 2022•24 min•Ep. 143
Podcast Episode 142: Inside Buildertrend – summary page Every other Thursday, we’ll give our listeners a glimpse into the inner workings of our business with our new “Inside Buildertrend” series on “The Building Code.” What are our teams working on? What features are coming up and how will they benefit our users? What data and research are being collected behind the scenes? Tune in as we take a look inside Buildertrend. How will the new Summary page help our customers? On Episode No. 3 of “Insid...
Mar 10, 2022•17 min•Ep. 142
Episode 141: Happy Birthday to “The Building Code!” Hosts Zach and Charley spend this episode celebrating memorable guests who’ve shared their construction insights the past year as the podcast turns 3. Now 141 episodes in, “The Building Code” has featured a variety of hosts and guest hosts and spotlighted guests from the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Episode 1 launched in March 2019 with Buildertrend co-founders Dan Houghton, Jeff Dugger and Steve Dugger reflecting on how they turned...
Mar 03, 2022•36 min•Ep. 141
Podcast Episode 140: Inside Buildertrend – offline capabilities Every other Thursday, we’ll give our listeners a glimpse into the inner workings of our business with our new “Inside Buildertrend” series on “The Building Code.” What are our teams working on? What features are coming up and how will they benefit our users? What data and research are being collected behind the scenes? Tune in as we take a look inside Buildertrend. How will the new offline Daily Logs help our customers? On this seco...
Feb 24, 2022•18 min•Ep. 140
Podcast Episode 139 Greg Wamhoff’s not worried about his next sale because his residential construction business in Tomball, Texas, has a self-sustaining sales engine: their finished work. Nine of every ten clients come referred to his company, Wamhoff Design|Build . In this episode of “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley learn how Greg turned a telephone and the leads on a dry erase board into an outfit finishing 50 custom homes a year. Referrals power Greg’s business, and he’s sharing his key...
Feb 17, 2022•29 min•Ep. 139
This special episode drop kicks off our new “Inside Buildertrend” series for “The Building Code.” Every other Thursday, we’ll give our listeners a glimpse into the inner workings of our business. What are our teams working on? What features are coming up and how will they benefit our users? What data and research are being collected behind the scenes? Tune in as we take a look inside Buildertrend. What happened inside Buildertrend in 2021? In this premiere episode of the “Inside Buildertrend” se...
Feb 08, 2022•14 min•Ep. 138
Construction’s never been easy. But in 2022, the job duties have expanded well-beyond building. On this episode of “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley preview an insightful panel at next week’s International Builders’ Show with industry pros Joe Christensen of Cardinal Crest Homes and Katie Kath of Jkath Design Build + Reinvent . Joe and Katie each share how they define the modern-day builder, the subject of an IBS 2022 panel they’re leading along with Buildertrend CEO Dan Houghton and Nick Sc...
Feb 03, 2022•31 min•Ep. 137
Hectic building conditions in 2021 forced builders to rewrite their plans on the fly as they adapted to historic materials scarcity and labor shortages. So how should they prepare for profit and growth in 2022 and beyond? In this episode of “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley learn the best construction goal-setting strategies from Doug Howard of Remodelers Advantage. Doug shares how remodelers and home builders can approach scaling and the ways construction software like Buildertrend can brin...
Jan 20, 2022•29 min•Ep. 136
Construction software has helped thousands of builders optimize their operations, and it’s also powering life-changing charity right in Buildertrend’s backyard. On 2022’s first episode of “The Building Code,” Lynette Farhart of Project Houseworks tells Zach and Charley all about the Omaha nonprofit’s mission to help seniors with free home repairs. Lynette describes how the Buildertrend helped them better serve seniors and the benefits of the Estimate and Time Clock features for her team’s fundra...
Jan 06, 2022•27 min•Ep. 135
As builders close out a frenzied construction year, we’re highlighting Buildertrend patterns from the past year and how construction software factored into 2021 home building. On this episode of “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley examine the data trends from a historic construction year with Buildertrend data analyst Kayla Schmitt. Kayla also offers insight into a service Buildertrend is testing to help builder’s reach their business goals. WHAT’S A TREND THAT SURPRISED YOU? “One element that...
Dec 16, 2021•27 min•Ep. 134
Solid financials keep builders in fighting shape to handle the day-to-day and big picture challenges thrown at the construction industry. In this episode of “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley pick up financial pro-tips from Carla Merrill, a consultant who helps builders integrate their financials with software like Buildertrend and CoConstruct. Carla offers practical advice for builders looking to better organize or order their books to protect their profits and reputation. WHAT ARE THE KEY P...
Dec 02, 2021•44 min•Ep. 133
Higher turnover. An aging workforce. Surging demand. Construction businesses face a trio of challenges stressing their workloads and their workers. So how are construction owners attracting and keeping their best talent? In today’s episode of “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley discuss how builders can empower their workforces with Benji Carlson of Breakthrough Academy . The Canada-based construction company consultant seeks to help transform honest, hardworking contractors across North Americ...
Nov 18, 2021•45 min•Ep. 132
Advances in technology, foresight in construction, and Americans’ growing desire to age in place have expanded the installation of home elevators and stairlifts in the U.S. And Arrow Lift , with its 13 locations nationwide, has been a leader in this accessibility transformation. On today’s episode of “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley learn all about home accessibility from Pete Newstrom, Arrow Lift’s vice president of finance and accounting. Plus, Pete shares how Arrow Lift has reaped the re...
Nov 04, 2021•30 min•Ep. 131
Chris Ledet Homes has thrived in southeast Louisiana despite the ups and downs of the building economy and routine setbacks from hurricanes. A secret to their longevity? Customer service that connects with the homeowner and extends well behind move-in. On today’s episode of “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley talk to owner Paul Ledet about what it takes to create customer relationships that withstand the stresses of construction. Ledet also shares his thoughts on taking over his father’s busin...
Oct 21, 2021•33 min•Ep. 130
Slammed by surging demand, pool builders and other outdoor contractors head into an off-season as busy as ever. So how should they seize that downtime to set up their 2022 season for success? Today on “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley uncover how outdoor contractors can optimize their marketing and sales processes in the off-season with Corey Halstead, co-owner of Halstead Media . Corey helps outdoor contractors increase their sales and has worked in all facets of the industry, including on ...
Oct 07, 2021•37 min•Ep. 129
