How To Scale Your Construction Business to 8 Figures - Brian Hess

SPEAKER_00 0:04

This is the Beyond the Story Podcast, a show that goes way beyond the story. And now, Subesti. Brian Hess, what's up, dude? What's happening, brother? Hey, man, another Breakfast with Champions connection moves to the podcast where we go beyond the story. I absolutely love that community, and I love waking up at well, most days I love waking up at some ungodly hour of the morning to just uh be inspired, motivated, and educated with uh with some incredible human beings.

SPEAKER_01 0:50

Yeah, no question, man. It's it's been a great run, dude. I uh I jumped on. I took the call from Glenn back in January, and Glenn said, Man, I got this idea. I've always had this idea in my mind, and you know, of this breakfast table. And uh I always thought about doing it on Zoom, but now this thing called Clubhouse came out, and this is the place we're gonna do it. And I said, All right, brother, just let me know where you need me and what you need me to do. I'm in. And then he called me like a couple days later and said, 5 a.m., bro, can you do 5 a.m.? And I was like, oh shit, man.

SPEAKER_00 1:24

We're gonna stretch a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 1:26

Yeah, man. Nine months later, it's changed my life, man. I uh, you know, started getting up even earlier than I was before, uh, and as a result of you know having that time slot. Got healthier, went to the gym every day, uh, reframed everything. So my morning routine is even better than it was before and uh happy to happy to have met so many incredible people like yourself throughout that journey. And uh it's been awesome, man. Just been an incredible run and uh feels like it's just getting started.

SPEAKER_00 1:54

Absolutely. If you're listening, it's going, what in the hell is Breakfast with Champions? There's a link in the show notes at the description of this podcast episode. Please join us every each and every morning, Monday through Friday at 5 a.m., 6 a.m. on Saturdays. A lot of really cool stuff going on over there on Clubhouse. So I like to tell people's story on this show. I like to back up a little bit, to add some context and go back to the beginning of the story. Sometimes that's right after high school, sometimes that's right after college. But what where was the beginning of the story for you that really brought you to present day where you're currently doing the work you're currently doing right now?

SPEAKER_01 2:27

Yeah, great question, man. That's a great way to frame that question. You know, uh, I I literally recently I mentioned to you before we jumped on here that we have uh events through top contractor school. And I was I was flying to the event in top con uh in Florida for top contractor school in June. And I literally, man, it was like a flash in my mind on the plane. I was on the plane by myself and I was thinking, it was really 2009, man, where I, you know, I'd always been, you know, successful by most people's definitions, you know, from a you know, corporate job standpoint, I was always doing well, you know, been through some things in my life like most people, right? And and uh, you know, so I was I was divorced and I was like, you know, working this job and I was going from you know relationship to relationship, just kind of like nothing seemed to be going right, you know. And I remember back in 2009 thinking to myself, like, man, are are all the things or all the dreams that I had as a kid of all the things that I was gonna do, having a family, all this stuff, like, is none of that gonna actually happen, you know? And I remember being in a pretty dark place. And uh I I like to say to people, you know, when you when you find that place, man, it's either a springboard or or you know, the old quote is the difference between a rut and a grave is the di the depth of the hole and how long you stay there. And you know, so for me, I found myself in a rut, and you know, I just made the decision that that wasn't gonna be how the story ended, you know, and and you know, for anybody out there listening, it's not how your story has to end either. You know, it's an it's a simple decision in that moment. And so it was like, you know, in that moment, man, I was like, this isn't how it's gonna end. I'm gonna, I'm gonna do whatever it takes to be able to make these dreams that I've always had a reality. And so, you know, I didn't know how to get out of that working for people space. You know, it was all that I knew. You know, I was working for a corporation. I ended up moving from, you know, Pittsburgh down to South Florida, uh, ended up taking a job with a construction company where I kind of learned the ropes of this world of construction. So I went from a corporate job in technology, stepping into construction, which I knew nothing about, uh, but in a in a small business that was in Miami, and I learned the ropes of small business. And I fell in love with it, man. I was like, man, uh entrepreneurship, or in that case, intrapreneurship, gives you a lot of control, right? It gives you a lot of creative ability and things like that. And so again, it took me, you know, many more years before I finally said, enough is enough. I'm gonna go do this on my own. Uh, and you know, three years, just over three years ago, I opened two companies at the same time, which for anybody out there listening is not a good idea. I wouldn't recommend it, but I was silly enough to do it. Uh, and you know, so I started the pavement group and top contractor school right around the same time. Uh, just about 15 months ago, I joined a digital marketing company called Lead Revenue that services contractors amongst uh lots of other companies. And um, so the entrepreneurial journey, man, has been, you know, just two feet in, jump all the way in and figure it out as you go, kind of thing, like most entrepreneurs do. I think that's part of the definition of entrepreneurship, right? Jump in and figure it out as you go. Sure. And uh the rest is history, man. It's been an incredible run for the last three years. I wake up every day getting to do uh what I love with who I love to do it with, and uh I would change it for the world.

SPEAKER_00 5:48

That's amazing. So three years, that's a you know, that's that's not a lot of time on there to be able to make the amount of progress that you did. And then in addition to that, you've taken on a couple of different ventures. What was the basis for the motivation to say, you know what, I've got something that works here. I found my lane in construction, I've found a very successful space there, but I believe there's more. What what was that nudge that said there's something else that could be done here? And then from the coaching side of things, you're really pouring back into the community that you're really a part of.

SPEAKER_01 6:19

Yeah, it it was uh kind of two things, man. I've always been a big culture guy, you know, from a company culture standpoint. And everywhere that I worked, you know, regardless of how good the company was, there was always something about the culture that didn't quite align with me, right? And I think everybody can relate to that. If you've ever had a job, there's something that you would change that's not quite in line with your values or the way that you would do things or the just the way that you believe is right, you know. And the second part was uh I was a very technology forward guy, having spent, you know, most of my professional career in technology, and there wasn't a lot of it. And most of the people that I worked uh with or for, you know, they were always kind of putting the brakes on technology because the companies were, you know, kind of aged, right? They weren't they weren't modern companies, and so it was a major shock to those companies to implement technology. And it allowed me uh the opportunity to kind of see things from a different lens. You know, I I just said to myself, if I'm gonna get the culture with the technology that I want, I'm probably gonna be forced to do this on my own. And I I really, man, to be honest, I tried to put it off for as long as I could. Like, you know, I bounced around from place to place trying to find a home that would probably feel right because, you know, like most entrepreneurs, I was afraid, you know, like had multiple kids. My wife, you know, stayed at home with the kids, and so it was a huge risk for me to take the leap. But I just got to a point where it was uh, you know, kind of a fork in the road. And I said, man, it's now or never. I'm gonna look back on my life and have a lot of regrets if I don't do it. And uh, you know, couldn't be happier that I did. You know, it's it's the greatest uh learning lesson about yourself that you could ever take the journey of entrepreneurship and uh you know makes you a better version of yourself, keeps you committed to you know what it is that you believe. You have to remind yourself of that every single day and stay true to those principles as you as you build and expand. Um, you know, to your point, I I built top contractor school in order to give back to the community that's been able to give so much to me and my family. And uh to be able to teach people the things that I have learned about technology, about culture, about leadership and sales and marketing and all those things, uh, into an into a uh an industry in construction that really lacks that training, right? It really lacks the ability uh to keep up with the times. You know, it's really an age-old industry that struggles to move forward when it comes to technology. And so we're trying to build a community around top contractor school that that embraces that and really uh thrives from it.

SPEAKER_00 9:01

Love it, dude. I absolutely love it. That's firing on all cylinders, in my opinion. And, you know, you nailed it entrepreneurship. They're they're in a better way to cut your teeth with life. Forget business with life. There's so much to learn with becoming an entrepreneur. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world mainly because of the freedom, but also the freedom to be able to create new ideas and and build new communities and impact people's lives through these crazy ideas that we come up with uh as entrepreneurs. Speaking of crazy ideas, you said you had an idea to start a podcast. Um, not not uh well, how long ago was that?

SPEAKER_01 9:38

I was uh a couple years, two years ago in July.

SPEAKER_00 9:41

So two years ago, you're right at 400 episodes you said you just hit, which is ridiculously commendable.

SPEAKER_01 9:47

Just north of that, yeah. Just north of 400.

SPEAKER_00 9:51

Hey, who's counting, right? I mean, and you're also doing this five days a week. So, you know, hats off from a podcaster to a podcaster, that's some serious um commitment. Number one, number two, you know it's not like you don't have anything else going on. Most people struggle to get one episode out on a weekly basis. You're cranking out five per week on here. What was the thought process behind, you know what, I as if I don't have enough going on with life, family, work, business, let's start a podcast.

SPEAKER_01 10:19

Yeah, I I I think I always had, you know, a lot to say. Uh, you know, I started to look into podcasting and just, you know, the impact that it had the ability to make. And, you know, it's it started with an idea of, you know, in the morning, man, I I grew up in a place where, you know, everybody kind of made their coffee, turned on the news, and that's how they started their day. And I always thought, man, what a what a terribly poisonous way to start your day, right? To listen to all the bad news first. And, you know, so my my idea of starting the podcast was, you know, I always, throughout my whole life, man, I always had people saying, like, man, you always just have such a positive perspective or such a different way of looking at things. And so when I started it, uh, you know, it's I it's called morning perspective. So I do it live on Facebook five days a week. That syndicates over to the podcast, the perspective podcast. Uh, and when I started it, my idea was to just, you know, help other people start their day a little bit brighter, you know, uh on a brighter note with a different perspective. And to give them, you know, walking into work. I used to do it at 7:30 in the morning live on Facebook. Now it's 8 a.m. Eastern uh on Facebook, and then it syndicates over. But, you know, it that's how it started was just this idea that, you know, if I could help other people start their day a little bit better, what I didn't realize was how much it would help me start my day better, right? Like, you know, regardless of how, you know, rough that morning is or how much I don't feel like getting out of bed, uh, by the time I'm finished with that podcast, man, I'm in a great headspace because I'm delivering a message that, you know, helps other people, that is, you know, kind of reframing their morning. And in turn, it's reframing mine. Uh, and you know, I I did a lot of monologues, you know, just me talking into a camera. I've since implemented just uh just about a month ago, uh, you know, kind of a series in there called Powerful Perspectives, where I interview, you know, high-level entrepreneurs, world changers, things like that, about how perspective, how the way that they looked at their life has helped them, you know, change change the entire path that they were on, you know, took them to a new level in their life, things like that. So had some pretty good, great guests uh so far and have some pretty incredible ones coming up. Uh that and it's it's so interesting, man, the growth that comes from interviewing people, which I'm sure you can relate to.

SPEAKER_00 12:42

Yeah. I mean, we were just talking about this briefly before we started recording that you know this is the most incredible bridge builder, relationship builder, community builder that you can have for your brand, your business, your personal brand, whatever it might be, because of the opportunity to engage and having an engaging conversation. The only ask is, can we have a conversation and can I talk about you or can we talk about this, that, and the other? And uh it's just I 20 years old podcasting is right around 20, right over 20 years old, and it's just now gaining popularity. So good old technology surprising us once again coming out of the woodwork after it's been around for two freaking decades. Uh, but it's replacing radio, and it's uh like you said, it is um it is an accountability tool as well. If you're committed to recording once a week, once a day, whatever it might be, you're you're up and at them if you're if you're truly committed to that and you're truly committed to not being negligent to the people that do show up to consume your content, because that's obviously the other side of the coin to to be able to consider. So that's that's just an incredible that's probably one of the best podcasting stories I've heard. And you're when next time someone gives me an excuse, I'm gonna say, let me tell you about my boy Brian Hess real quick, okay? We'll talk about Busy. Busy's cute, okay? That's adorable. Let me tell you what he did in the past two years with his podcast. So keep keep rocking uh and and rolling with that. So the the the uh the contractor school that you got you've created because you want to pour into people's life. What type of stuff do you get do you do you help contractors with um with that opportunity?

SPEAKER_01 14:18

Yeah, I I would say uh all angles of business coaching. Uh I would consider myself an expert. You know, I've studied a lot and you know put the time in to become uh extremely knowledgeable in sales, marketing, leadership, uh things like that, you know, business processes, organization, you know, general business coaching, but those areas, you know, business growth is really what I would say, you know, top contractor school does the best, you know, from from growth and then being able to control that growth, right? With with internal processes and technology and the implementation of that. Um, that is that is what we pride ourselves on. You know, if if you come and sign up with us, you know, what what we're gonna do is help you grow your business, help you recruit better, get better people in the door, get better exposure, market better, sell better, and ultimately make more money.

SPEAKER_00 15:10

Love it, dude. Love it. Well, dude, the work that you're doing uh clearly matters. It's it's making a difference in other people. It shows that you've got an act of service within your mission of what you're doing. It's not just about you, it's not just about the success of your business. It's what you are able to, who you're able to bring into the circle uh to be able to share that that that success with. And then that pours over uh into things like a podcast and building this community, these other businesses and brands. And it feels to me, and correct me if I'm wrong, like you are just getting started.

SPEAKER_01 15:41

Yeah, I I would agree, man. I I I just said this to somebody this morning. I said, man, it's funny. The more you learn, the more you realize you don't know anything. Uh and and the people that think they know anything, everything are really the dumb ones, right? Like, you know, the it's it's interesting how that works. The more, the more you learn, uh, the more you get into it, the more you realize, like, dude, I've literally barely scratched the surface of what's possible. And I think that continues to grow exponentially, right? As you start to master some things, you realize how far behind you are in others. And then it's just about the pursuit of closing the gap in those areas. So yeah, I would agree completely.

SPEAKER_00 16:19

Awesome, dude. Well, such a great conversation, man. I am so encouraged as a podcaster, as a seasoned podcaster, a fellow seasoned podcaster. I'm really encouraged by your story. I helping people make their podcast launch dreams a reality. There's every different variable of different businesses that that that come through my door. So I'm always encouraged to see to hear other stories of saying, you know what, I just made a I'm just made a decision uh to do it, and I've done it. And the result of that is 400 plus episodes and endless opportunities that I'd be here till next Thursday uh telling you about. So um good stuff, man. I really enjoyed our conversation. I know we're gonna get a chance to hang out in a few weeks in uh Lexington, Kentucky. I've never been to Kentucky before, but I guess that's all changing here uh in November. So I look forward to to getting some FaceTime in with the actual FaceTime in, like in person, uh, which has been pretty rare for all of us these past couple of years on here, but I'm excited, man.

SPEAKER_01 17:12

Me too, man. Look forward to it for sure, brother. And uh thanks for having me here today and and giving me the opportunity to tell my story.

SPEAKER_00 17:19

Hey, man, it's been my absolute pleasure. I look forward to you and I connect. I know we're gonna make some moves too, and I'm really excited about that. That's the uh that's the beauty of podcasting, ladies and gentlemen. So you have to come back sometime soon. I'm sure I'm gonna have you back on the show. We're gonna make some moves together here, and it all started uh with our friends over on Breakfast with Champions. So if you're not on Clubhouse, you need to join us at 5 a.m. then. Come back soon, will you?

SPEAKER_01 17:40

Sounds good, brother. I'm in. You tell me when. Thanks, brother. I appreciate you, man.

SPEAKER_00 17:44

Until next time, friends. Thanks so much for tuning into this episode of the Beyond the Story Podcast. Be sure to appreciate it. If you haven't done so already, make sure you're subscribed to the show. This way you'll get updates as new episodes become available. If you feel so inclined, please leave us a review. Be sure to appreciate it. Signing off from the podcast, launchlab.com studios. We'll talk to you next time.