Podcast Guests

Mike and Brian are joined by Josh Sutton, President of Elite Roofing & Restoration Services for the 100th episode! Starting out as a pilot for 15 years, the global economic crash in 2008 pulled him back to the Dallas area where he went to work for a small family roofing company. In 2018, he decided to strike out on his own and start Elite Roofing & Restoration Services. With 98% of his business coming from referrals and working with homes in the $1 to $5 million range in the Dallas area, he’s quickly built a business that lives up to the Elite name. Huge shoutout to Josh for joining us on our 100th episode!

Mike and Brian are joined by Jim Prichard, CEO & President of Clean Living Construction Cleaning. For Jim, it all started as a way to piss off his parents by not going to college or joining the military! He started doing construction cleaning, especially knowing that there were not a lot of companies doing what he was looking to do. He started in southern Marin where his girlfriend (now wife) lived because there were bigger homes and more money in that area. He started getting busy and his wife ended up quitting her job to come work with him in the first 10 years of the company. Now with 30 employees, business development in place, and a specific niche in the ultra high-end market, they’ve more than doubled their annual revenue in the last 5 years. Check out their journey and how a strong employee culture, work ethic, excellence in their craft and positivity are the reasons for their success. Now, because they do what they say and their standards and quality are high, their clients never call anyone else again.

Mike and Brian are joined by Johnny Savage, Chief Estimator of DBR General Engineering. With a name like Johnny Savage, you’d think he was wrestling with the WWE, but he opted to take his larger than life personality to the trades. Growing up on the jobsite with his dad and his grandfather, who owned a masonry company, he eventually went to work in the trades when he graduated high school. After a missionary stint in the UK where he met his wife and was pulled in the trades there as well, Johnny came back to the States working in the Midwest and then back to the San Diego area. While working and learning each trade, he found that he loved estimating. Now a Chief Estimator with DBR, he trains and leads a group of estimators on how to correctly do the job. If you’re interested in not change ordering your clients to death, Johnny Savage is your man!

Mike and Brian are joined by James Ellis, CEO of Arundel Group Holdings, LLC. Beginning his career in 1983 as a field engineering intern and technician while in college, James moved up the ladder (pun intended) quickly and eventually started his own company – Petra Engineering. With clients like Home Depot, Chick-Fil-A, Waffle House, and Target, Petra was sold after a number of years. At that point, what is now known as Arundel Build Contractors was started and moved to Texas eventually becoming a part of Arundel Group Holdings, LLC. – a family of companies that complement one another in the construction space based out of Dallas, Texas.

Mike and Brian are joined by Steven Cabaj, President of ETS. Graduating college with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, he went straight to work as a Systems Engineer for his dad’s company, Electronic Control Systems. The company had grown to 200 employees after 20 years before his father sold off the company. Shortly after selling off the company, Steven started ETS in 2016 which specializes in low voltage installation of building automation systems. The specialty was realized after his partners, who were project managers – essentially boots on the ground – with the former company, found that to be a major pain point that needed to be addressed. Check out Steven’s episode to learn how they were able to overcome their biggest obstacles to starting the business, how they were finally awarded projects, and how they’ve been able to grow to 30 employees in just a few short years!

Mike and Brian are joined by Felipe Engineer, Lean Director of McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. and Podcast Host of The EBFC Show. Felipe graduated with a degree in electrical engineering and went right to work as a Project Engineer for a large construction company. After a few years in the Midwest, Felipe made the move west and went to work for McCarthy and, through the process of working there, adopted the Lean methodology. Lean thinking is a way to design systems to minimize waste of materials, time and effort in an effort to generate the maximum possible amount of value – making it Easier, Better, Faster, and as a result, Cheaper. Hence the EBFC Show – or the Easier, Better, Faster, Cheaper Show. Felipe is a leader in Lean Thinking in Construction – so, if you’re interested in cutting the waste and finding better solutions to close out jobs faster and cheaper, then Felipe Engineer is your man.

Mike and Brian are joined by Jed Hirsch, President of Jed Hirsch General Building Contractors, Inc. Since he was a little guy, all he wanted to be was a carpenter. Christmas and birthday presents consisted of drills and tools. In fact, the building department made a habit of stopping by his childhood home in Hollywood to inspect his latest projects in the backyard. Eventually fulfilling his calling as a carpenter, he moved to Santa Barbara and worked for 20 years in carpentry. In 2000, he got his contractor’s license, opened up Jed Hirsch General Building Contractors, and took on the new role with enthusiasm. Today, Jed Hirsch General Building Contractors holds themselves to the highest possible standards, striving for excellence in every project they take on – specializing in building, remodeling, upgrading and accenting fine homes in the Montecito, Santa Barbara, Carpinteria, Santa Ynez, and Goleta areas.

Mike and Brian are joined by Michael Furry, Founder of The Yard Lab and Project Engineer at GCI General Contractors. Growing up in a small town like Michael’s when he was young, you either found yourself working in the bar or working construction. That said, he did both… busing tables and construction. After graduating college, he tried his hand as a comedian and realized quickly he needed to make money which led him back to the trades. Now as a Project Engineer at GCI and Founder of The Yard Lab, he’s an analytics guru in the construction industry!  

Mike and Brian are joined by Stephen Potter, Owner/Operator of Potter’s Custom Floors. Stephen started as a kid working for his girlfriend’s stepdad’s hard wood flooring construction company. Eventually, he made the jump to be master of his own destiny and start his own company. The purpose – to focus on the excellence in his craft and avoid the corporate rush. In addition, he’s created systems and a playbook to keep him organized for each job – talk about unique! Especially for a one man show. On top of all that, he’s an award winning flooring contractor – winner of the 2020 NWFA Wood Floor of the Year!

Mike and Brian are joined by Katherine Burk, Owner of Katherine Burk Consultants, LLC and representing CTJ Energy Solutions. With 27 years in the oil and construction business in Texas, Katherine started her own consulting company in June, 2020. Katherine Burk Consultants creates video narratives from the unique daily perspective of real blue collar workers in a way only she can really tell. Knowing that tradesman are what keep our country running, she’s able to feature the capabilities of the oil and steel fabrication industries. Huge thanks to Katherine for joining us!