The Building Code

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.   What is one of the most important aspects to consider when starting a construction business? “That is the biggest item that a builder could focus – just building as strong of a team of superheroes that you could possibly build. And what we've learned, too, is those people are worth their weight and some of them more expensive and that sort of thing. And as long as it makes sense for your client and your product and what level of fit and finish you're going to do. You’ve got to go after those folks, and you’ve got to create an environment where they can grow and evolve and build along with you. And so, that's also been one of those things that we've learned.”   Why should other builders choose Buildertrend to support their business? “It's actually added a ton of value to what we do. It's been a huge resource for our clients and our sub base. And I'll tell you, props to you guys. I'll say this for most of the people that listen to the podcast probably are Buildertrend users. But those folks that aren’t, if you're not using Buildertrend yet, you’re stuck way behind the times because I truly believe that Buildertrend is going to be the dominant software forever in our building industry. The rate at which you guys evolve and the rate at which you make changes to help benefit us, the rate at which you receive and make those changes from our feedback, has just been phenomenal.”     LINKS AND MORE   Related content: Check out the last episode of “The Building Code” to learn more about some upcoming enhancements being made to Buildertrend’s invoicing process. Subscribe here, and never miss an episode. Got podcast topic suggestions? Reach out to us at podcast@buildertrend.com.   The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend: Looking to improve how your team plans projects with the world’s No. 1 construction management software this year? Pick up Buildertrend project planning pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now. Follow us on social: Instagram and Facebook: @Buildertrend Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.

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 Buildertrend,” Emma Dickinson, product manager, joins Zach and Charley to talk about the upcoming updates to the Invoicing feature and how it’ll bring the best of both CoConstruct and Buildertrend together.   Tune in to hear more about how the new invoicing workflow will help streamline financial processes and create a better experience for homeowners.   What are the key takeaways? What’s new with invoicing?: The update to the Invoice feature will introduce a new workflow for adding costs that are elsewhere in Buildertrend. When creating an invoice, users can pull in costs from estimates, selections and change orders into a single invoice.   How does it benefit homeowners?: Needing to invoice costs from multiple features and sending three separate invoices creates confusion for clients. The update will eliminate the confusion by allowing costs to be collected and sent to homeowners in a single invoice document.   How does it save users time and money?: The biggest benefit is that users can easily check a single invoice to make sure they haven't missed any costs. This means it'll be less likely that they miss costs that should’ve been invoiced to their clients. The other big benefit is the amount of time saved. Instead of invoicing from three features, it’ll all be done from one.   Why is this cool for Buildertrend users? Creating construction invoices is an essential piece of running a successful business. And keeping numbers accurate requires simple workflows and organization. That’s why our Product team has worked hard to create a new invoicing experience that will streamline the process and make it easier for homeowners.     LINKS AND MORE   Related content: Check out the last “Inside Buildertrend” episode to hear about the many learning and training opportunities we offer our customers.   Subscribe to “The Building Code,” and never miss an episode. Got podcast topic suggestions? Reach out to us at podcast@buildertrend.com. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend: Looking to improve how your team plans projects with the world’s No. 1 construction management software this year? Pick up Buildertrend pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now.   Follow us on social: Instagram and Facebook: @Buildertrend   Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.

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 and how to legally protect your business from unforeseen challenges.   HOW HAVE CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS CHANGED WITH THE LACK OF SUPPLY AND INCREASED DEMAND OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS?   “If we're drafting a contract today, we're putting in an escalation clause that essentially says, ‘Look, I've included X amount for, let's say, electrical fixtures. But if that number goes up by 10%, I'm going to provide an affidavit showing my clause, and then we're going to submit a change order, so we get some more money.’ But just a few years ago, nobody was thinking about that. So, we're getting calls from property owners and from contractors on the property owner side. It's, ‘Hey, my contractor wants another 10 grand, and we had a fixed price contract. What's up with that?’ And from the contractor's point of view, it's, ‘Well, we had a pandemic. And that's disrupted everything, and my costs are going through the roof.’ So, there's a lot of brewing disputes on that particular issue.”   WHAT IS YOUR FIRST PIECE OF ADVICE FOR CONTRACTORS LOOKING TO LEGALLY PROTECT THEIR BUSINESS?   “I start with contracts. Contractors get into the business typically because they're mechanics, they want to build things. They don't like paperwork. The unfortunate, sad truth is the paper side of the business is at least as important as your ability to build things. You can't ignore the paper side and that generally starts with the bidding process and then the contract. And then you're going to draft a contract, or you're going to get a contract. You’ve got to read the darn thing. And it might be a small telephone book, but what contracts are about is they’re about shifting risks between the contracting parties. So, if you get a contract, when you're reading it, every provision you should look at it and think, ‘Okay, what just got pushed over to my plate? What am I responsible for? What's it going to cost me? Did I include that in my bid or not?’ And if you read a provision, you don't understand it, circle it, send it back to the party that sent it to you, and say, ‘Hey, you know what? I'm reading this thing and I can't make heads or tails out of it. What did you have in mind?’ Start a conversation. Don't be afraid to negotiate.”     LINKS AND MORE   For legal resources and to learn more about The Green Law Group, check out their website.   Related content: Check out the last episode of “The Building Code” to hear about the many different training opportunities (link to ep. 148) Buildertrend has to offer. Subscribe to “The Building Code,” and never miss an episode. Got podcast topic suggestions? Reach out to us at podcast@buildertrend.com. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend: Looking to improve how your team plans projects with the world’s No. 1 construction management software this year? Pick up Buildertrend pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now. Follow us on social: Instagram and Facebook: @Buildertrend Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.

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 of “Inside Buildertrend,” Taylor Henne, customer education coordinator, joins Zach and Charley to talk about how our Customer Success team works to make Buildertrend education exciting.   Listen in to learn more about all the different training opportunities offered virtually, online and in-person to make every contractor’s experience enjoyable and convenient.   What are the key takeaways?   What is Buildertrend University?: Buildertrend University is a two-day conference held at Buildertrend’s headquarters. It’s targeted at construction pros who are already using our software and want to get the most from their investment. Customers will learn how to use features and develop operations and processes within their business through classes and one-on-one training.   What is Buildertrend on the Road?: Buildertrend on the Road is a one-day regional conference full of education and inspiration. It offers hands-on training to advance tech skills – but that’s just the beginning. There will be networking opportunities, insights from leaders in the industry, and an exciting expo of Buildertrend experts and additional services.   What other kinds of learning opportunities are offered?: Buildertrend offers numerous training opportunities that include: recorded and live webinars, convenient on-demand content through Buildertrend Learning Academy, Onsite Consulting services, and unlimited one-on-one training with our account executives.   Why is this cool for Buildertrend users?   We know that our customers are super busy, so we created training options that can be conveniently accessed at any time. Offering different types of educational resources gives users the opportunity to learn however and whenever works best for them.     LINKS AND MORE   Register today and join us in Atlanta on Tues., May 3 for Buildertrend on the Road.   Related content:   Check out the last “Inside Buildertrend” episode to hear how our award-winning Customer Success team uses customer feedback to improve support strategies and enhance our quality assurance processes.   Subscribe to “The Building Code,” and never miss an episode. Got podcast topic suggestions? Reach out to us at podcast@buildertrend.com. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend:   Looking to improve how your team plans projects with the world’s No. 1 construction management software this year? Pick up Buildertrend pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now.   Follow us on social: Instagram and Facebook: @Buildertrend   Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.

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 BUILDERS RAISE THEIR MARGINS? “Well, what are these guys on the higher margins doing that the guys on the lower margins aren't? And it's overlaying that data and being able to prove. I think, we always say margins are linked to marketing, and we are able to prove that the guys who spent more than 1% on advertising their building company were the guys that were achieving much higher margins. And it's facts like that. As a coach, you can talk about best practice, but to have hard data that no one can really refute or argue with and show, well, this is what the guys are doing. These are the successful guys. This is what they're doing. And these are the results they're getting. That's a fantastic takeaway for us because it really does help with, yeah, showing builders the way forward.”   WHAT IS ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING FINDINGS YOU TOOK FROM THIS YEAR’S REPORT? “I think one of the key findings really came about in terms of the use of project management software, like Buildertrend, because what we found is that 65% of residential building companies are now using dedicated project management software. Now, to put that into context, that figure stood at 34%, just 12 months prior – that is a staggering swing. So, it's a massive trend in our industry. And I think it clearly demonstrates that builders, residential builders are becoming more professional year on year - which is fantastic to see.”   LINKS AND MORE To learn more about The Association of Professional Builders, visit their website.   Download the “The State of the Residential Construction Industry 2022” now for comprehensive data that can help you make better business decisions.   Get these exclusive offers from the APB: Industry Benchmarks KPI’s Action Plan (Free – $500 value) Professional Builders Secrets book (Free + Shipping) Listen to the Professional Builders Secrets Podcast Related content: Check out the last episode of “The Building Code” (insert link) to hear about how our award-winning Customer Success team uses customer feedback to improve support strategies and assure a quality experience every time. Subscribe here, and never miss an episode. Got podcast topic suggestions? Reach out to us at podcast@buildertrend.com. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend: Looking to improve how your team plans projects with the world’s No. 1 construction management software this year? Pick up Buildertrend project planning pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now.   Follow us on social: Instagram and Facebook: @Buildertrend Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.

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 Customer Success, joins Zach and Charley to discuss the huge impact customer feedback has on the way we run our business.   Hear about how our award-winning Customer Success team here at Buildertrend uses customer feedback to improve support strategies and enhancement of our quality assurance processes.   What are the key takeaways?   Who is our Customer Success team?: Customer support is a top priority for us here at Buildertrend, and our Customer Success team is one of the best in the business with a record-breaking customer satisfaction score of 99%. They’re focused on reactively supporting our customers through incoming phone calls, chats and emails.   How many customers are helped each day?: On average, our Customer Success team takes around 450 calls a day. Outside of calls, they answer anywhere from 500 to 600 chats and emails in the same day. But a constant influx of traffic never slows them down. Their average answer rate is around 10 seconds, so customers don’t have to wait long for answers.   Documenting feedback for the future: In addition to phone calls and chats with questions, the Customer Success team also gets feedback about the software. This could be anything from a new feature that was released or something that isn’t in the program yet that customers would like to see. Regardless of what the feedback is, everything is documented for use in future software updates.   Why is this cool for Buildertrend users?   Our Customer Success team members are the ones our customers rely on for unlimited support. The problem-solvers. The teachers. The ones who understand Buildertrend like the back of their hand and are ready to answer questions in merely minutes. They play a huge role in our customers’ accomplishments.     LINKS AND MORE   Related content:   Check out the last “Inside Buildertrend” episode to get the hear all about the addition of the highly requested Global Search feature.   Subscribe here, and never miss an episode. Got podcast topic suggestions? Reach out to us at podcast@buildertrend.com. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend:   Looking to improve how your team plans projects with the world’s No. 1 construction management software this year? Pick up Buildertrend project planning pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now.   Follow us on social: Instagram and Facebook: @Buildertrend   Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.

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 non-white.   Today on “The Building Code,” Zach and Charley learn Paul’s story and why he thinks construction companies can connect the industry’s abounding opportunity to a younger, more diverse workforce.   HOW CAN LACK OF DIVERSITY BE A BARRIER TO YOUNG PEOPLE LOOKING TO ENTER CONSTRUCTION?“One of the things that we try to do is to allow others to see themselves in this industry. Because if you can't see yourself, then you can't see yourself actually being in it. And so understanding the importance of being able to identify with others, not just those entry-level positions, but seeing how far you can go -seeing yourself represented in the very highest positions that this industry has to offer.” HOW CAN A BUILDING COMPANY START APPEALING TO A MORE DIVERSE WORKFORCE?“It's making sure that you do the proper assessment internally first. There's nothing like putting forth a lot of effort and going through all of the steps to get in front of young talent that you're not ready for. And so that's one of the things that we like to stress. It's not a cookie-cutter approach, it's not a cookie-cutter model, so you're not going to do these 10 things and then magically see this pipeline and this diverse pipeline grow overnight. It is really looking at how you do business, understanding that DEI is something that should be interwoven into the fabric of the company - making sure that you are healthy to receive them. You're not going to be perfect. If there's a person there, it's not perfect. But we can be healthy.” LINKS AND MORE   Related content:Learn more about ConstructReach’s success here. Check out Paul’s podcast here.We’re wrapping up Women’s History Month. Here are four tips for celebrating your female construction team members.Miss our last minisode? Listen now to hear about how searching Buildertrend just got easier. Catch our next “Inside Buildertrend” minisode next week. Subscribe now, and never miss an episode. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend: Looking to improve how your team plans projects with the world’s No. 1 construction management software? Pick up Buildertrend project planning pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now. Follow us on social: Instagram and Facebook: @Buildertrend Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.        

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 “Inside Buildertrend,” Josh Swenson, senior product manager, joins Zach and Charley to talk about the release of the highly anticipated Global Search feature.   Hear how the addition of Global Search within Buildertrend will simplify the way contractors and their teams find project information.   What are the key takeaways? What is Global Search?: Global Search is a new search feature within Buildertrend that allows our users to search a variety of things. It'll let them search almost anything from almost anywhere in the platform. It gives users that direct connection to the job information they're looking for quickly.   How is it beneficial for users?: The search feature is available across almost every section in the platform that makes sense to users. The search extends beyond just the job title to cover as much of the platform as possible, reaching several different features. A user can also comb through notes and other fields with the new search to find what they're looking for.   What’s coming next?: There are a number of different phases for this project. Several have been completed, but there are more coming down the pike in terms of adding additional functionality and validating some functionality based on customer feedback. There’s also work being done to extend Global Search to additional features that reach further into the platform.   Why is this cool for Buildertrend users? Time. This feature saves our users precious time. Time is money, and by making it easier to find important information within Buildertrend, we’re removing several steps throughout their day – allowing them to get back to work faster.     LINKS AND MORE   Related content:   Check out the last “Inside Buildertrend” episode to get the inside scoop on the newly refreshed Summary page.   Subscribe here, and never miss an episode. Got podcast topic suggestions? Reach out to us at podcast@buildertrend.com. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend:   Looking to improve how your team plans projects with the world’s No. 1 construction management software this year? Pick up Buildertrend project planning pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now.   Follow us on social: Instagram and Facebook: @Buildertrend   Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.

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 everyday liabilities.   WHAT INSURANCE TRENDS HAS NEXT INSURANCE SEEN THE LAST TWO YEARS?“With the more severe weather that we've seen in the last couple years, we actually have seen more claims for property damage due to weather. That could be wind, hail, freezing temperatures. That's been something we've just been noticing more of. The other trend I'll mention is people talked about this during the pandemic, especially, but a lot of homeowners were doing more home renovations. It's this big demand for construction. Insurance is really important as you take on more projects because really the more work you do, the more risks there are.” WHAT’S A COMMON MISPERCEPTION ABOUT INSURANCE IN CONSTRUCTION? “There's this perception that you buy insurance and you're covered, no matter what kind of work you do, ‘I bought insurance, I should be good for anything.’ But it's actually really important to accurately say what you do when you're doing that insurance application. For example, our general contractors, they do a range of things, and I kind of ask them what are the activities that you do? But for us, for example, and for most insurance companies, something like roofing, that's considered pretty high risk, because if something goes wrong, it's usually a big claim. If you don't tell us that you do roofing, we're not going to cover you for roofing because roofing's expensive in terms of the risk for the insurance company.”   LINKS AND MORE   Related content:Head to Next Insurance’s blog for insightful articles on construction, business and more.   Next has a new mobile app – download it and learn more here. Want to learn more about the Buildertrend-Next Insurance partnership? Visit our site here.Miss our last minisode? Listen now to hear about the new way to prioritize your day with Buildertrend. Catch our next “Inside Buildertrend” minisode next week. Subscribe here, and never miss an episode. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend: Looking to improve how your team plans projects with the world’s No. 1 construction management software? Pick up Buildertrend project planning pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now. Follow us on social: Instagram and Facebook: @Buildertrend Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.      

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 “Inside Buildertrend,” Brad Dinan, product manager, joins Zach and Charley to talk about the newly refreshed Summary page.   Hear how the updated design of Buildertrend’s landing screen makes it easier and faster than ever for builders to prioritize their day.   What are the key takeaways? About the new Summary page: The usage of the original landing screen was very low. Most users would begin there but quickly navigate to another page. With the redesign, the goal was to personalize the experience for each individual user. It gives them the information that’s most important up front, so they can prioritize their day.   Prioritizing your information: The Summary page is the first thing users see when they log in to Buildertrend. With the update, users can now see the overall landscape, a snapshot of what's going on with their projects. The most important information will appear based on set deadlines, so users can decide where they want to start.   Easier account navigation: In addition to quicker navigation from the Summary page to another area of the software, there’s now an activity feed. The activity feed, a feature users love in the mobile app, is now available on the desktop version. This makes it easy to review the most recent and critical notifications first.   Why is this cool for Buildertrend users? Our customers rely on us to equip them with a Summary page that assists with running their business. Being the first screen that our customers interact with, there was very little interaction. With the new redesign, there’s less friction, and critical information that moves jobs forward is front and center.   The new experience gives users easy access to tools for communicating quickly on urgent items that may require more attention.   LINKS AND MORE   Related content:   Check out the last “Inside Buildertrend” episode to learn about the offline Daily Log capabilities.   Subscribe here, and never miss an episode. Got podcast topic suggestions for 2022? Reach out to us at podcast@buildertrend.com. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend: Looking to improve how your team plans projects with the world’s No. 1 construction management software this year? Pick up Buildertrend project planning pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now.   Follow us on social: Instagram and Facebook: @Buildertrend   Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.

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 an idea into the leading residential construction software platform.   Listen back to that episode here. Today, special guest and podcast director/editor John Beck joins Zach and Charley as they each highlight their favorite guest of the last year.   Three Big Takeaways:   Builders who engage employees retain their most talented Benji Carlson of Breakthrough Academy discusses why construction employees need to see how they grow in their organization to remain engaged. Challenging status quo profit margins can unlock new success Russ Stephens of the Association of Professional Builders shares why builders only hold their businesses back when they settle for the margins they’ve always had. Homebuilding in extremes: Save lives first, then structures Bill Gray of LMC Building and Construction in New Zealand explains how a devastating earthquake there in 2011 forced builders to rethink codes.   LINKS AND MORE   Related content:   Want to hear Zach and Charley’s first podcast together? Listen here. Check out Benji’s insights in a new three-part series on growing your construction company.   Miss our last minisode? Listen now to hear using Buildertrend in the field just got easier.   Catch our next “Inside Buildertrend” minisode next week. Subscribe here, and never miss an episode. Got podcast topic suggestions for 2022? Reach out to us at podcast@buildertrend.com. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend: Looking to improve how your team plans projects with the world’s No. 1 construction management software? Pick up Buildertrend project planning pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now. Follow us on social: Instagram and Facebook: @Buildertrend   Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.      

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 second episode of “Inside Buildertrend,” Austin Eilers, a product manager, joins Zach and Charley to chat about the exciting new offline capabilities – specifically offline Daily Logs.   Hear about how these new functionalities will positively impact the user experience when working and documenting information from the field.   What are the key takeaways? The value of customer critiques: We take our customers’ feedback very seriously. When we receive criticism from our users, we take notes, create lists and prioritize updates that will make their experience a better one.   Offline Daily Logs: Now live for select users. This new offline capability will allow information to be added within Buildertrend’s Daily Logs feature without the need for cell service or internet connection.   Offline Time Clock capabilities are next: As we roll out the offline Daily Logs to our users, we're also working on offline Time Clock capabilities that will further improve the way our customers work from the job site.   Why is this cool for Buildertrend users? Gone are the days of remembering to add important information when cell service is restored. With our new offline Daily Logs, you can document project details right away, and they’ll automatically sync when your cellular or internet connection returns. Offline Daily Logs are currently live for some users but will be available for everyone in the near future. And be sure to keep an eye out. There are more offline capabilities coming soon!     LINKS AND MORE   Related content:   Check out the last “Inside Buildertrend” episode to get a recap of the biggest product updates that happened in 2021. Subscribe here, and never miss an episode. Got podcast topic suggestions for 2022? Reach out to us at podcast@buildertrend.com. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend: Resolved to improve how your team plans projects with the world’s No. 1 construction management software this year? Pick up Buildertrend project planning pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now.   Follow us on social: Instagram and Facebook: @Buildertrend   Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.

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 keys to setting up tomorrow’s deal on today’s job site.     WHAT HAS BEING A REFERRAL-BASED BUSINESS LOOKED LIKE AT YOUR COMPANY? “Until a year or two ago, we didn't put any effort on social marketing or social media. And to that point, we have never done paid marketing. We never did it. And I think if you're doing business right, especially in a growing market like Texas, you shouldn't have to. Right? But I would say our referral hovers right around 90% plus or minus. Really rare we get a project that comes from another source like social media or some other avenue where somebody sees us. I joked forever in our company, we didn't even put signs out when we were doing projects. If somebody wants me, they're going to go knock on that guy’s door and say, ‘Hey, you're doing a project. Who's doing it?’ Right? So, brand awareness is, I guess, for some companies it's important. Ours is more relational capital. Relationships are what's important for us.”   WHAT’S THE BEST ADVICE YOU RECEIVED ON BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS? “An early mentor of mine one time said to me that if you just hired great people, your business will take care of itself. And I truly believe that today still. It's really about the people. Over time, as we kind of started putting a few people together to build the company, it centered around that same feeling I had the first time, which is I love our customers. I care about our customers, and we want to do a great job for them. And I think that was evident through some of the first relationships and employees we had, just shared that common thread. And that's what really motivated us and drove us into this business   LINKS AND MORE   Related content: Read more about Wamhoff Design|Build’s success here, and don’t forget to check out the tree farmer Greg mentioned.   Curious about Buildertrend Onsite Consulting? Learn more about our premier training tool here.   Miss our last minisode? Listen here to hear how user feedback drives the Buildertrend’s product and the team powering it.   Catch our next “Inside Buildertrend” minisode next week. Subscribe here, and never miss an episode. Got podcast topic suggestions for 2022? Reach out to us at podcast@buildertrend.com. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend: Resolved to improve how your team plans projects with the world’s No. 1 construction management software this year? Pick up Buildertrend project planning pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now.   Follow us on social: Instagram and Facebook: @Buildertrend   Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.    

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” series, Russ Lane, our director of product, joins Zach and Charley to recap some of the company highlights of 2021.   Hear about user feedback, the React conversion and quick preview on some highly anticipated upcoming feature updates and releases.   What are the key takeaways? User feedback: All our product updates start with our customers. They tell us what they need or how we can make their jobs easier, and we prioritize based on the complexity. From there, updates or new features are built and gradually rolled out.   The React conversion: By modernizing an older framework, this conversion laid the groundwork for current and future product updates and allows our team to deliver the best experience for our customers.   Feature highlights: We’re touching briefly on new and upcoming product releases such as the redesigned Summary page, offline Daily Logs and global search. Listen to upcoming episodes in the “Inside Buildertrend” series for an in-depth overview.   Why is this cool for Buildertrend users? Making building, remodeling and contracting more efficient is what we do. We see, we hear and we understand what our customers need to succeed in the highly competitive construction industry.   With updates and innovations like these, our construction management software continues to provide our customers with the best tools to run their business. Giving our users the best, most efficient experience possible is what we strive for.   Our customers are seeing huge benefits and you can, too. Check out their success stories here.     LINKS AND MORE   Related content:   Attending IBS 2022? Catch our panel, “Beyond Building: Mastering the Demands of a Modern-Day Builder,” on Feb. 8 at 1:45 p.m. ET at W307-C in the convention center. Then swing by the Buildertrend booth – W6370. Demo our software, enter prize giveaways or network during our daily happy hours beginning at 2 p.m.   Got podcast topic suggestions for 2022? Reach out to us at podcast@buildertrend.com. Subscribe here, and never miss an episode. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend: Resolved to improve how your team plans projects with the world’s No. 1 construction management software this year? Pick up Buildertrend project planning pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now. Follow us on social: Instagram and Facebook: @Buildertrend   Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.

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 Schiffer of NS Builders Feb. 8 in Orlando, Florida.Plus, listen in to hear about Katie’s first IBS experience and about a surprise Joe found during a client walkthrough that tested his resolve.   WHAT DEFINES THE MODERN-DAY BUILDER? Katie: “In terms of what is a modern-day builder for me, that goes back to our brand. So for me, I feel like I am my client. Nine out of 10 clients are me in the sense of sort of demographic, where we are in our life. We have kids, we like to cook. We want an open floor plan. How many people have the ability and the want to take down these major projects, which is such a huge disruption in life? But it’s really no different than when you go to get a cup of coffee. They want the same thing from their build team. They want convenience. They want communication. They want a brand, period. So how are we creating a brand?”   WHAT MAKES THE MODERN-DAY BUILDER DIFFERENT FROM THE TRADITIONAL BUILDER? Joe: “I always think is like it's our jobs in this industry to be the professionals. It's our job to, to, to steady the waters because people don't know like it's a messy process…It's a messy business. And I think the modern-day builder, the mountain that we have to climb is how do we make it a customer service-orientated business —not get railroaded by the clients, I'm not saying that. I'm just saying, ‘How do we calm the waters, be process systemized so it can be a fun experience at the end?’”     LINKS AND MORE   Related content: Attending IBS 2022? Catch the panel, “Beyond Building: Mastering the Demands of a Modern-Day Builder” Feb. 8 at 1:45 p.m. ET at W307-C in the convention center. Then swing by the Buildertrend booth – W6370. Demo our software, network, enter prize giveaways or network during our daily happy hours beginning at 2 p.m. Got podcast topic suggestions for 2022? Reach out to us at podcast@buildertrend.com.New “Building Code” minisode drops Feb. 8. Listen as we dive into what’s next at Buildertrend. Subscribe here, and never miss an episode. The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend: Resolved to improve how your team plans projects with the world’s No. 1 construction management software this year? Pick up Buildertrend project planning pro tips on the newest season of “The Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.” Subscribe and stream all five bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now. Follow us on social: Instagram and Facebook: @Buildertrend   Listen to “The Building Code” on YouTube! And be sure to head over to Facebook to join The Building Code Crew fan page for some fun discussions with fellow listeners.