Podcast Guests

Today, Brian is joined by Marc Revetta, President, Owner, and Founder of Marc Revetta Construction. Working for a gas station in high school, Marc went to work for his buddy’s uncle in construction. Instantly falling in love with the idea of building and the freedom to work outside on a daily basis, he opted to leave everyone else’s dream for him of being a firefighter and go into construction. Initially pulling nails out of wood, he was trained to be a framer. Coupling the pressure of getting projects done quickly and fighting a massive fear of heights, Marc had some decisions to make – to succumb to that fear or push forward with his new passion. Fast forward a few years later and after working for several companies, Marc finally stepped out on hiw own starting Marc Revetta Construction. If you’ve got the itch to jump into construction but aren’t sure how to get started, this is your episode! Huge shoutout to Marc for joining the show!

Mike and Brian are joined by Margaret Totty, President of Los Angeles Housing Compliance. In Las Vegas at 20 years old, she went to work for a General Contractor specializing in restoration working as an administrative assistant and receptionist. Eventually making her way to Los Angeles, Margaret went to work for a large General Contractor and found a role that suited her perfectly – finding jobs for others. Now, as the founder and President of Los Angeles Housing Compliance, their mission is to do just that – foster hiring and job opportunities for those local to the job site by creating a bridge between the local community and the contractors coming in to do the work. Not only that, their job candidates are already coming from groups and schools that teach the trades as well as getting them physically fit for the contracting job they’re training for. In essence, they’re turning around entire communities and all within the construction space!

Mike and Brian are joined by Nadine Weiss, President of Complete Demolition, Inc. With a successful background in sales and business, Nadine was asked by her father to help an ailing demolition side business he had started years prior. Now, four years after she took the reins of the company, she’s increased Complete Demolition’s revenue tenfold… that’s 1000% sales growth in four years! How did she do it? Well… here’s a teaser – she put safety as the top priority. She learned the demolition trade, and she learned it well. She hired a competent and hardworking office staff. And so much more. This is the construction business version of Extreme Makeover!

Mike and Brian are joined by Kirk Page, President of KPS Alarms and KPS Fire Sprinklers. Talk about a seminar on leadership, if you’re a contractor and you run a business, or you want to run a business, or you’ve been thinking about it… this is your episode. With the motto of “Love for Customers, Love for Team, Love for Profit”, KPS has found a deeper calling beyond just installing alarms, home theaters, and fire sprinklers systems. They’ve tapped into a deeper desire to find purpose in the business, with their customers, and in their daily actions. Now with 200 concurrent projects and 3 locations in Southern and Northern California, that desire to tap into their deeper calling is translating to massive sales and profit. So, again, if you’re looking for success, you’re probably looking for the wrong thing. Focus on your purpose, lead others well with grace and truth, and the rest will follow.

Mike and Brian are joined by Steve Paxton, President of Astro Sheet Metal Co, Inc. Now president of the company, Steve is the grandson of the original founder, John Paxton, and grew up running the halls of the original building where they began in 1967. Now, leading the third generation, as well as a host of employees, Steve and their leadership team have made sure that Astro Sheet Metal is well positioned for the future with legacy in mind. Their focus as a company – custom metal fabrication for large commercial projects in the Dallas area. If you’re interested in learning about building a legacy for future generations while doing what you love, this is for sure your episode!

Mike and Brian are joined by Serko Khatchadourian, President of Quadrant, Inc. Growing up in Lebanon, Serko was involved in construction because of his father – a career engineer. In Lebanon, unlike the US, engineers are involved throughout the entirety of the project and are the last line of defense in terms of quality. While he has a college background in engineering, Serko opted to be out in the field, got his contractor’s license, and started Quadrant, Inc. – a contracting company that specializes in high end custom ground-up residential construction. And just like his father, that same attention to detail that he learned growing up in Lebanon is inherent in every one of his projects here in the US – from the very start to turning over the Certificate of Occupancy. And, every now and then, he’ll subject his wife to a detour on the way to dinner to see his work and how it’s creating memories for a new family.

Mike and Brian are joined by Todd Pearson, President of All Bay Paint. Growing up with a father in construction, he was the youngest and smallest between him and his brother, and because of that, he was the one that was tasked with fitting in tight spaces. Fast forward to now, that unique skill of learning to be nimble and fit in tight spaces has helped him tremendously as the owner and president of All Bay Paint. At the beginning, Todd and his business partner, 10 years ago started All Bay Paint. But, with the departure of his partner last year, Todd has kept meticulous care of his employees, staying agile enough to acquire new jobs and new clients, while retaining a very high level of quality and craftsmanship. As a result, they’ve learned the right type of clients to work with thay not only pay handsomely, but very quickly. Not a bad deal! Looking back, it seems that having a huge big brother was a blessing… minus the noogies of course!

Mike and Brian are joined by Pete Grant, CEO of Safesite. Growing up in Australia, Pete started working in construction as a laborer. But working on different jobsites afforded him some very unfortunate experiences – including seeing near miss accidents and a few deaths, even a good friend of his dying on the job. As a result, he started Safesite, a technology designed to monitor and perpetuate safety on the job and it’s super easy to use. Add to the fact that you can have instant reports if OSHA decides to drop in on you on any particular day. Now with close to 4,000 clients regularly using the app on the jobsite, they’ve created a sister company, Foresight, that writes Workers’ Compensation and utilizes Safesite to get money back to the clients that are actively using the app! And you can be rewarded, even with a checkered claims past. While it’s not construction, it’s definitely related and can revolutionize your business.

Mike and Brian are joined by Ivan Montano, Vice President of Operations of Leading Edge Construction Services, Inc. Graduating from high school, Ivan found a job as a laborer for a construction company and fell in love with the industry. Now, 10 years later, Ivan helps lead a construction company as VP of Operations. With as many as 65 projects happening at any one time, Leading Edge Construction Services uses cutting edge technology to do everything they can to keep everyone in the loop. And they’re growing tremendously with projects all over the Bay Area. This is where the younger generation in construction shines!

Mike and Brian are joined by Tim Nobles, Owner and President of Nobles Construction Components. As a motocross rider for 12 years, Tim needed a job that was flexible, would give him weekends off, and didn’t mind if he came in on a Monday with a broken leg. Pair that with the fact that his dad was a carpenter, construction was the easy choice. But with the 2008 downturn that lasted several years, the company he worked for went under allowing him an opportunity to take a risk – to which he’s no stranger to – and start his own custom pre-fabricated flooring company. Add a bit of luck (depending on who you’re talking to… listen to the episode and you’ll get it) and Nobles has taken off with facilities in Northern California that would easily dwarf most of their competitors combined! Now with close to 50 employees, Tim’s company has more work than they could dream of!