Live from IBS with Matt Risinger
This week on The Building Code we are LIVE from Las Vegas at the International Buildersโ Show! Listen to this episode to hear Paul and Tom talk with Matt Risinger of Risinger Build as they discuss building science and growing your network.
Links and more
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 top residential construction management platform this year? Pick up Buildertrend project planning pro tips on the newest season of โThe Better Way, a podcast by Buildertrend.โ Subscribe and stream all six bingeable episodes on your favorite listening app now.
Follow us on social:
Listen to โThe Building Codeโ 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.
Tom Houghton:
Youโre listening to โThe Building Code,โ your guide to a better way to run your business. Iโm Tom Houghton.
Paul Wurth:
Iโm just Paul.
Tom Houghton:
Heโs just Paul today.
Paul Wurth:
That was one of your best, right there.
Tom Houghton:
Thanks.
Paul Wurth:
That was really good.
Tom Houghton:
Thank you. Itโs just the show vibe because weโre here at the-
Paul Wurth:
The showmanship.
Tom Houghton:
International Buildersโ Show-
Matt Risinger:
You sure it wasnโt this, Tom? The giant coffee that Paul just downed.
Paul Wurth:
Yeah, the huge coffee.
Tom Houghton:
That voice you may recognize. Itโs the voice of none other than Matt Risinger joining us. Hi Matt, how are you?
Matt Risinger:
Great, Tom. Thanks for having me on today.
Tom Houghton:
Yes. Welcome Back to the podcast. We had you on earlier. We loved that episode.
Matt Risinger:
I know, not that long ago. I was talking to nerdiness on that episode.
Tom Houghton:
Building science.
Paul Wurth:
I like that.
Matt Risinger:
I love it.
Paul Wurth:
Are you our first repeat?
Tom Houghton:
No.
Paul Wurth:
Oh no.
Matt Risinger:
Oh, thanks a lot Paul. Youโre our best ever, not.
Tom Houghton:
No, but he is our 50th podcast guest.
Paul Wurth:
Hey, thatโs even better.
Matt Risinger:
Thatโs a big deal.
Tom Houghton:
50th episode, this one.
Paul Wurth:
Milestone city.
Tom Houghton:
50th episode this one, five-zero.
Matt Risinger:
That is a big deal, thanks for having me on boys.
Paul Wurth:
Back where it started. This is a big show for you. This is a big weekend for you. We were just talking about that.
Matt Risinger:
Itโs like the Super Bowl for me, Paul.
Paul Wurth:
Super Bowl.
Matt Risinger:
Every minute of my day is scheduled, but itโs super fun. As my YouTube channel has grown, I remember a couple of years ago, five, six years ago at 3,500 subscribers on my YouTube channel Iโd come here and Iโd walk down the halls and be like, โHey, youโre Matt Risinger, right? And Iโd be, โHow do you know me? Like, what? How have I met you before?
Paul Wurth:
Yeah.
Matt Risinger:
And honestly, five years later, when a lot of people say that to me, Iโm still like, โHow do you know me again? Oh yeah, yeah. You watch my videos.โ And itโs getting creepier though. People really know a lot about me.
Paul Wurth:
Iโve always wondered, because you donโt say this, but youโre basically a celebrity inside this industry.
Matt Risinger:
Itโs weird.
Paul Wurth:
It just is what it is. So how have you settled into that? Is it just still a little awkward, as you said?
Matt Risinger:
Itโs still a little awkward because Iโm just a dorky builder-
Paul Wurth:
Right.
Matt Risinger:
Doing these videos thatโฆ Itโs funny, my mission honestly, is a little similar to Buildertrend. Iโm doing it to help people and Iโm really passionate about it because Iโve made a lot of mistakes and Iโve made a lot of errors that Iโve paid for. And Buildertrend fits right in with that. Because Iโve also made a lot of financial and business mistakes, change order mistakes that Buildertrend help me solve. And thatโs not a paid commercial. Thatโs just honesty is I think thatโs one thing that people about my videos is Iโm real honest with my mistakes and my failures and saying, โHey look, I jacked this up. Hereโs what you should not do. Hereโs what I did. And hereโs how to do it better.โ And Iโm generally pretty positive on my videos, but I try to be critical of myself in the past and errors Iโve made. And I think people appreciate that. Iโm willing to talk about my failures and not just my successes.
Paul Wurth:
Well, they appreciate it on two levels. One, they probably made the same mistake is as you. So thatโs that shared sort of empathy, but also itโs like, โOkay, I hope I donโt do that.โ So thatโs like business coaching.
Matt Risinger:
Yeah.
Paul Wurth:
Everybodyโs making mistakes,
Tom Houghton:
Yeah.
Paul Wurth:
I got a Tom.
Tom Houghton:
I got one funny for yโall, though. So This is the creepiest thing thatโs ever happened to me, probably. Iโm at โThe Builderโs Showโ this morning at 7 a.m. I had to meet someone before the show opens? Not many people out front, right by where the big IBS logo is.
Paul Wurth:
Yep.
Matt Risinger:
And this, this woman comes up to me. Whoโs a little older than me and thereโs a man next to her, but heโs slinking back a little bit. She goes, โOh my gosh, Matt Risinger, itโs so nice to meet you. My husband and I are builders and this part of the country. And we watch all your videos on Friday nights. Itโs like date nights. And weโre having a threesome with you on the couch.โ And her husband had this, โI canโt believe my wife just said that. And please tell me that she didnโt just say that.โ And he wouldnโt even shake myโฆ I was trying to be likeโฆ
Paul Wurth:
Well yeah, itโs a little awkward now.
Matt Risinger:
Laugh it off. Itโs super awk- I was like, โDid you really just say that to me?โ
Tom Houghton:
Wow.
Matt Risinger:
That is the most awkward thing ever.
Tom Houghton:
Heโs heโs a married man, folks, stay back.
Paul Wurth:
You could have explained watching Matt Risinger on Friday nights, a hundred different ways.
Tom Houghton:
A lot of different ways.
Matt Risinger:
But not that way.
Paul Wurth:
Not having to use threesome.
Matt Risinger:
My hope is that she meant the three of us were on the couch talking building science.
Paul Wurth:
I assume so.
Tom Houghton:
Thatโs exactly what was happening.
Matt Risinger:
Thatโs my thatโs what Iโm going to assume she meant by that.
Paul Wurth:
Letโs not go down that other side of what that could of meant.
Tom Houghton:
What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.
Paul Wurth:
Yes we are in Las Vegas. There you go.
Matt Risinger:
I was thoroughly creeped out and now I just told the world on your podcast.
Paul Wurth:
Yeah there you go.
Tom Houghton:
You heard it first.
Matt Risinger:
Even though the guy was I was with I was like, โDonโt ever talk about this, ever.โ Now here, Iโm telling everybody about It.
Paul Wurth:
Thatโs a good story, though.
Matt Risinger:
It was a pretty good story.
Tom Houghton:
Thousands of listeners. Theyโre a part of it now.
Matt Risinger:
A 100,000 people just heard that story.
Paul Wurth:
And growing. So whatโs your week look like?
Matt Risinger:
Bunch of appearances, a bunch of cool stuff. Giving a bunch of talks. I love giving talks at IBS because people that know my videos then get to hear from me. And honestly, itโs crazy being a YouTuber. Iโm almost 50, right? Iโm not some 25 year old, whoโs out there with a selfie cam. But all these people know me. And then speaking of YouTube this past year, Iโve had the privilege of meeting another giant YouTuber of this guy named Matt Carriker whoโs got a channel called Demolition Ranch and Off the Ranch. And man, when I met him, I got another a hundred-thousand subscribers because all his 10 million people were introduced to me, or 3 million on the channel I was on. And a bunch of them are in the building world and started following me.
Matt Risinger:
Crazy giant year of growth in 2019. Had a great year for my building company. Had a great year for my video company, my YouTube channel did really well. So IBS is super fun. Itโs kind of my Super Bowl every year.
Paul Wurth:
Well you also launched a new website.
Matt Risinger:
Weโve got a brand new venture, Buildshownetwork.com.
Tom Houghton:
The Build Show Network.
Paul Wurth:
The Build Show or Build Show?
Matt Risinger:
Buildshownetwork.com.
Paul Wurth:
Whatโs whatโs the reasoning behind that? Tell us a little bit about it.
Matt Risinger:
Well, a couple things, YouTube doesnโt give me a lot of metrics and only gives me a certain number of ways to partner with people and to talk about things. Honestly, on my videos, I like to talk about whateverโs interesting to me at the time. I donโt want to do just advertorials or be a corporate slave. I want to talk about whatโs interesting, how to build a better house, how to help people build better houses, the business of building better houses. Of course, Iโm a products guy too, I love interesting products and things that are going to help you with that. But by having my own network, now I can get other builders to also, who are really smart in other parts of the country and have a different style. Whether itโs an architectural style or whether itโs a building style, they can also shoot there.
Matt Risinger:
So I coined it Netflix for builders, right? You can go to this website. And right now, five days a week, youโve got a brand new video every single day from one of our four people. And weโre just adding a fifth guy as of the show. This is the first time Iโve talked about it again, named Steve Bakzec. Whoโs an architect in Boston. Really smart architect, does great building science. Heโs joining us on Buildshownetwork.com and now heโll have a video too. So now six videos, brand new from job sites around the country on Buildshownetwork.com.
Tom Houghton:
Thatโs awesome.
Paul Wurth:
And so these are educational, basically?
Matt Risinger:
Mainly focused on education.
Paul Wurth:
Okay.
Matt Risinger:
Helping builders build better houses.
Paul Wurth:
Right.
Matt Risinger:
With the underlying core of educating people on durable, healthy, comfortable, efficient. All those things on building a better house.
Paul Wurth:
Okay, cool.
Tom Houghton:
I love it.
Paul Wurth:
So we got to check that out.
Tom Houghton:
Just all in the name of making the whole industry better.
Matt Risinger:
Yep.
Paul Wurth:
So weโre in the next build and yeah. Every booth in this next build area is about technology. And I think besides being a business and making money and being profitable as a software company or a technology, I honestly have talked to a lot of vendors and a lot of us are at our head space now of like, โItโs time that this industry gets the technology thing.โ We lift it up. Letโs, letโs make sure everybody knows that we are a forward-thinking industry.
Matt Risinger:
Yep.
Paul Wurth:
Thatโs what weโre all about. Honestly. Thatโs really what drives us beyond the business side of it.
Tom Houghton:
Yeah.
Matt Risinger:
Wouldnโt you say youโre seeing that this week though, Paul? Iโve met a lot of builders here, theyโre second generation, the 25- to 35-year-olds taking their dadโs company over or their momโs company as mom and dad are retiring out of the business. Weโve got this next generation of builders that are savvy.
Paul Wurth:
Yep.
Matt Risinger:
And pretty soon gone are going to be the days that the concrete sub faxes their invoice into the builderโs office. Believe it or not, I talked to a buddy yesterday, that was that. And he was talking about how to get them away from the fax. And the guy started texting him a picture of his invoice that he hand wrote. Weโre getting there slowly-
Tom Houghton:
Baby steps.
Matt Risinger:
But I feel like weโve got this really young generation of builders that are 25, 35, 40 years old that are really smart savvy. Theyโre looking to us as the older builders. Iโm lumping myself in that older builder category.
Paul Wurth:
Ouch, self-inflicted wound there. Youโre still young.
Matt Risinger:
25 years in the business this year, Paul. So, Iโve been around the block.
Paul Wurth:
Okay, well then experience.
Tom Houghton:
Yeah, experience.
Matt Risinger:
I learned 10, 15 years ago before there wasnโt YouTube from builders that were 10, 15 years older than me. I had a mentor relationship with them, on several guys that I went to lunch with once a month. And these are guys that are now in their mid-60s at the time they were mid-50s. And I was talking to them about problems I had on the job site. What do I do about this? I got this issue with the client or the contract or a change order, or this issue with a sub whoโs dealing with X, Y, and Z. How do I deal with that? And thatโs what my YouTube channel does. And honestly, thatโs what your podcast does, too right? Youโre getting builders on that are talking about their specific issues on the job site. How Buildertrend is part of that solution.
Tom Houghton:
Absolutely.
Paul Wurth:
Yeah, the feedback we get typically from our listeners is that they love hearing a story of that shared pain.
Matt Risinger:
Absolutely.
Paul Wurth:
And that connects everybody. And we always talk about this podcast as it doesnโt have to be about our product-
Tom Houghton:
No, not at all.
Paul Wurth:
Thatโs one side of our business. Iโm more interested in talking about our people.
Tom Houghton:
Yup.
Paul Wurth:
And then hearing from our clients and hearing their story. I mean, thatโs really what makes the listeners go in this one.
Matt Risinger:
Youโre great people, Paul. Iโve got to say.
Paul Wurth:
Whatโs That?
Matt Risinger:
That is the difference over here. Weโve used some other software and similar technology before we came to you guys and itโs theโฆ You guys have some awesome people.
Paul Wurth:
Yeah.
Matt Risinger:
I mean, hereโs a story. One of my office, a woman who works in my accounts payable, when our Buildertrend, inside person had a baby, she sent her a gift from our office and had us all sign it because she knows her so well and appreciates her help so much. She sent her a baby gift.
Paul Wurth:
Wow. Thatโs awesome. Well, thank you for that.
Matt Risinger:
For sure.
Paul Wurth:
Thatโs a testament to our founders and all the leadership at our company. I mean, we do have great people. The feedback we get at this show, we love being here.
Tom Houghton:
We do.
Paul Wurth:
Because itโs one of the only times besides Buildertrend University that we get to actually in-person meet our clients.
Tom Houghton:
Yep.
Paul Wurth:
And they always say the same thing like, โMan, your people are great. Theyโre so young and energized and they care.โ Which is crazy. I donโt know the secret behind it. Maybe itโs just Omaha, something in the water.
Tom Houghton:
Itโs good people there.
Paul Wurth:
Itโs good people there.
Tom Houghton:
Yeah.
Paul Wurth:
That should be the new slogan for Nebraska-
Tom Houghton:
For Nebraska, good people are here.
Paul Wurth:
Because they gave a really bad one now. Nebraska, thereโs good people here.
Matt Risinger:
Thereโs nothing else to do is that the slogan of Nebraska?
Tom Houghton:
Itโs not for everyone.
Matt Risinger:
Itโs not for everyone, thatโs the slogan: โItโs not for everyone?โ
Tom Houghton:
Thatโs current yeah.
Matt Risinger:
Thatโs terrible. Thatโs literally the slogan, Tom?
Tom Houghton:
Itโs an acquired taste.
Matt Risinger:
We need to work on that.
Paul Wurth:
Itโs terrible.
Matt Risinger:
Nebraska needs some branding, maybe Buildertrend can help with that.
Paul Wurth:
What was it before that?
Tom Houghton:
They won an award actually for it, that campaign though.
Matt Risinger:
No way.
Tom Houghton:
Yeah, because to maybe to spend this in a little bit marketing conversation here, obviously not the best marketing choice, but the backlash from it, the outcry from it was so huge. National attention across multiple media channels.
Paul Wurth:
Itโs like North Dakota came on the slogan for their anti-drug. It says, โMeth, weโre on it.โ
Tom Houghton:
Yeah.
Paul Wurth:
Like weโre on top of taking care of problems, but it seems like weโre on meth. Thatโs true too.
Matt Risinger:
Thereโs no such thing as bad press.
Tom Houghton:
True story.
Paul Wurth:
There you go.
Matt Risinger:
Thatโs hilarious.
Paul Wurth:
We digressed.
Matt Risinger:
I got a bad press story for you real quick, itโs kind of funny. Thereโs another YouTuber where this guy named Meet Kevin. Thatโs made several videos on what an idiot I am.
Paul Wurth:
Wow. Nice, very nice of him.
Matt Risinger:
Yeah. You know what itโs of funny though because itโs actually gave me a bunch of new subscribers because heโs got 200,000 subscribers. And Iโve been working on this remodel on my Texas house and heโs an investment real estate guy.
Paul Wurth:
Okay, yeah.
Matt Risinger:
And so he was watching my video on camera, pausing it and saying, โNow hereโs where Matt is an idiot doing this, this and this.โ But you know what? Itโs gained me probably 20, 30,000 subscribers. Heโs made four or five videos. And every time he publishes one, I get a text message from 15 builder friends, โHave you seen this video, Matt? This guyโs raking you.
Paul Wurth:
Geeze.
Matt Risinger:
Iโm like, โHey, thereโs no bad press.โ
Paul Wurth:
Thats true.
Matt Risinger:
So crazy enough he reached out on Instagram to me. He was like, โHey man, I hope thereโs no hard feelings. And funny enough, in every video, even though he rakes me heโs always like, โOh, and by the way, Mattโs a great builder. And heโs just not doing this, this or this well.โ So he reaches out to me and says, โHey, Iโm going to be in Las Vegas this week.โ I was like, โDude, letโs meet up.โ I had dinner with him on Monday night.
Paul Wurth:
So you actually met Kevin.
Tom Houghton:
You broke bread.
Matt Risinger:
I met him. I had dinner with him.
Paul Wurth:
Well, no, his nameโs Meet Kevin.
Matt Risinger:
His nameโs Meet Kevin.
Paul Wurth:
So you met Kevin. You missed that joke I just did.
Tom Houghton:
Yeah, I was moving on to the bread joke.
Matt Risinger:
โฆ heโs actually a super nice guy. And we had a great chat. Heโs hilarious.
Paul Wurth:
Thereโs an angle there. Nobody knows if you guys become rivals online, but youโre actually friends-
Matt Risinger:
Yeah, totally.
Paul Wurth:
Just like that. Youโll create some really good press.
Matt Risinger:
Some good buzz. So thereโs no bad press is what Iโm saying.
Paul Wurth:
So I think you should go meet Kevin again. Video him videoing you.
Matt Risinger:
Thatโs right.
Paul Wurth:
Talk about him and thatโs just a whole-
Matt Risinger:
itโs a whole thing, itโs just a repost on Instagram that just keeps getting-
Paul Wurth:
Exactly.
Matt Risinger:
Reposted in the mirror.
Tom Houghton:
Yeah.
Paul Wurth:
Oh man. Thatโs great.
Tom Houghton:
Speaking of mirrors.
Paul Wurth:
Oh, good transition.
Tom Houghton:
Thanks.
Matt Risinger:
Oh man, Tom knows..
Tom Houghton:
Letโs talk about some of the great-
Paul Wurth:
What a pro.
Tom Houghton:
Products that we have here at the International Buildersโ Show. Iโm sure youโve been around the trade show floor. Itโs massive.
Matt Risinger:
Thereโs a lot to see here.
Tom Houghton:
You havenโt recovered to the International Buildersโ Show. You need to come check it out.
Matt Risinger:
Yep.
Paul Wurth:
You should. Next year itโs in Orlando.
Tom Houghton:
Yes.
Paul Wurth:
I think the rotation is every two years now. So thatโll be in Vegas, Vegas, which we just had them in Orlando, Orlando. But itโll blow your mind how big it is, right?
Tom Houghton:
Yeah.
Matt Risinger:
Yes.
Paul Wurth:
Thatโs probably the first thing.
Matt Risinger:
Itโs crazy.
Paul Wurth:
I think some many people have told me this, if you just walked a normal pace down every aisle, try to see every vendor, you couldnโt do it in three days.
Matt Risinger:
Is that right?
Tom Houghton:
Yeah.
Paul Wurth:
Yeah, so thatโs how big it is.
Matt Risinger:
Thatโs crazy.
Tom Houghton:
So Iโm sure youโve seen a lot of great products around, in the building science world what are you excited about right now?
Matt Risinger:
Oh man, thatโs a great question, Tom. I havenโt seen any breakthrough this year. I was here two, three years ago and this is super nerdy, but have you ever heard of AeroBarrier?
Tom Houghton:
We talked about it actually on our last podcast.
Matt Risinger:
Did we?
Tom Houghton:
Yeah.
Matt Risinger:
AeroBarrier is a relatively new product. Itโs an aerosol-ized caulk that fills all the cracks and crevices in your house and really air tightens your house. And I saw it here first at a show. They were in the junkiest cheapest booth in the back that I happened to walk by one day and was like, โWhat is this?โ And itโs a total game changer and theyโve blown up. in the two, three years since then. I havenโt seen that AeroBarrier product yet this year, thatโs the game changer.
Matt Risinger:
But I have seen a lot of incremental stuff that Iโve liked. And honestly, one of the things I love about the builders show is all the vendors that you might consider in one spot. For instance, builders, when it comes to showrooms for windows and doors, thereโs a million of them around town and you have to drive forever to see them all whereas here, if I want to go see Anderson, Jeld-Wen, Marvin them. Boom, theyโre all in one area.
Matt Risinger:
I can visit each one and say, โOkay, I got this project this kind of budget. What do you fit? Whatโs new? What are the differences? Whatโs the fit and finish of this and that. And visiting those is really fun. So for instance, Jeld-Wen has a new product thatโs a composite window. Iโm going to use it on my personal project. Itโs really crisp. It has very crisp wood, interior feeling, but itโs a composite product. Itโs basically wood, fiber and polymer together combined, but theyโve done a really good job and theyโve got black on black, which builders love.
Tom Houghton:
Nice.
Matt Risinger:
Thatโs what Iโm using on my house.
Paul Wurth:
Why do builders love black on black?
Matt Risinger:
Itโs a super-hot trend is black windows with black interiors. Black on the outside, black on the inside.
Paul Wurth:
Oh wow.
Matt Risinger:
And the one thingโฆ Whatโs up Brad from AMT Construction walking by we got a celebrity, right here.
Tom Houghton:
Wow.
Paul Wurth:
All the celebrities in the house.
Tom Houghton:
Weโre talking about you.
Matt Risinger:
Celebrity, weโre talking about you, Brad, celebrity.
Brad:
[inaudible]
Matt Risinger:
Heโs a total celeb.
Paul Wurth:
Yes he is.
Matt Risinger:
Anyways, the black-on-black thing though, a lot of window manufacturers will have black outside, but when you open the window, itโs a big white channel.
Paul Wurth:
Oh, thatโs what I was confused about. So itโs just, the whole thing is black.
Matt Risinger:
The whole thing is black.
Paul Wurth:
Not the glass.
Tom Houghton:
Not the glass.
Matt Risinger:
You donโt black out glass itโs not quite as exciting. You could spray paint it if you want to.
Paul Wurth:
Put a little tint on there. So I have a question, Iโve always wondered this. If you were saying, โYouโre a builder, youโd never been to the International Buildersโ Show hereโs why you should come.โ When youโre going to those window manufacturers are you trying to get to know them in general? Are you trying to find out new products? Or like you said, I wouldnโt have thought of this, youโre actually talking about a specific project that you want.
Matt Risinger:
Yeah. Itโs both Paul. A lot of itโs specific projects you have in mind and thatโs the beauty of these kinds of shows is you got, a remodel on a new build and this coming up and youโre trying to figure out what do I recommend? What do I do? What are the options out there? Oh I ran into this vendor and even though they wereโฆ I didnโt even know them. I never heard their name and they had some really nice products.
Matt Risinger:
And sometimes you walk by something and realize, โOh, that could solve a problem for me. Thatโs really cool.โ
Paul Wurth:
Yeah, so itโs like awareness.
Matt Risinger:
Youโre in the tech area here, right?
Tom Houghton:
Yeah.
Matt Risinger:
You have an issue with, whatever it is, change orders or billing clients or invoicing or AP or AR. Hey guys, Buildertrend, how would this work in my business, I do $2 million of remodeling, would this even help me? And then you guys will sit down with a person for 15 minutes and ask them about their business. Okay. Letโs see whether this would help you or not.
Paul Wurth:
Thatโs exactly right, yeah.
Matt Risinger:
And having that face to faceโฆ And I do that, whether itโs a window manufacturer, a technology company. The key though is finding someone knowledgeable and Iโll tell you, Iโll give you guys credit. When you come to the Buildertrend booth you talk to someone whoโs knowledgeable. And several booths weโve been really frustrated at the show like, โOh, Iโd actually donโt know the answer to any of those questions.โ And our one tech guy has five people waiting to talk to him.
Paul Wurth:
[crosstalk] lead from you.
Matt Risinger:
Sorry. Youโre like, โWhat? No. I need to talk somebody knows what theyโre talking about.โ One of my guys specifically mentioned NanaWall and they went to the NanaWall booth and some dude there wasโฆ Hugo is with me, one of my builders was like, โDude, that guy was unflappable. He could not be flapped. I asked them 10 questions that were really hard questions. He knew the exact answer to all of them.โ He was the legit knowledgeable guy there.
Tom Houghton:
Thatโs good.
Matt Risinger:
Thatโs what builders like.
Tom Houghton:
Yeah.
Matt Risinger:
Especially if you can get a card from that guy too.
Paul Wurth:
Heโs your contact from now on?
Matt Risinger:
Yeah, you got a question, all right, maybe youโre not based in Austin like I am, but I can call you and go, โHey, I got this issue with this house. What product do I need? Whatโs how do I fix this?โ Or, or frankly, Iโve got an issue with your product. How do I get some service on it or whatever. And then you have a name and a face.
Paul Wurth:
So that got me thinking when youโre a builder, as you are now.
Matt Risinger:
I am a builder.
Paul Wurth:
Yes you are.
Tom Houghton:
He checked that box.
Paul Wurth:
Check. How do I want to phrase this? What value do you bring in new ideas to your client? Or is there value there? Does that make sense? Like for me, Iโm not really interested in new ideas. I probably have it in my head already. If I was going to build a house, I want that.
Matt Risinger:
Sure.
Paul Wurth:
But is there a value, I guess saying as my builder, โHey Paul, have you thought about this awning with the copper?โ And showing people that.
Matt Risinger:
Yeah, thatโs a great question Paul. Well, it really depends cause weโre such a diverse community among builders. So for me, Iโm an old school general contractor where I donโt do any design work. I donโt do any interiors. All I do is build for you.
Paul Wurth:
Right?
Matt Risinger:
And my value to you, if youโre my client, is that youโve already hired an architect. Youโve already hired an interior designer. Iโm going to review those plans with a really critical eye and go, โHey, this selection, this type of architecture, this, whatever, Iโve had this, this, and this issue with it. Iโm willing to do it, but I really want to make this, this or this change to make sure that we donโt have a problem down the line.โ Or have you thought of this, which is a similar look that may not have this issue or even of course, every builder deals with budget, right?
Matt Risinger:
Guys, Iโve said this several times, even in my talks. No matter what your price point is, whether youโre building $50,000 kitchens or $5 million houses, the first budget you present to a client is always too much.
Tom Houghton:
Yeah.
Matt Risinger:
And they never can understand why you would recommend taking their six-car garage down to a four car garage to save money because I have to have it. Their $250,000 media room, could we drop 50,000 on that budget? No, I need that media room. I canโt live without that.
Paul Wurth:
Right.
Matt Risinger:
So, weโre always dealing with that pressure from clients. And thatโs where our value comes as builders. But there are a ton of builders here. My buddy, Nick Schiffer at and NS Builders, heโs doing some design build, heโs building cabinets, heโs doing all kinds of stuff for clients. Heโs not really doing design build per se. On some of his jobs, he is. He brings a lot of value and those other aesthetic issues that he brings and heโs a savvy guy and thereโs a lot of builders like him that are doing design as well as build.
Paul Wurth:
Yeah.
Matt Risinger:
And I think for those builders, this isnโt even a more critical show to not miss.
Paul Wurth:
To bring that strategy, new product. Have you thought about this?
Tom Houghton:
Yeah, itโs great because itโs a great place to meet other builders, right?
Matt Risinger:
Thatโs the other thing we havenโt even talked about. Itโs awesome.
Tom Houghton:
Exactly. Weโre even seeing that here at the booth? I just had a conversation earlier with Chris Gorman from Chris Gorman Homes. Chris was here and we had, some people had stopped by the booth said, โWhatโs Buildertrend?โ And heโs a Buildertrend user and he immediately jumped in before I could even start saying, โLet me tell you about Buildertrend.โ
Paul Wurth:
Yeah, thereโs a lot of cool meetup stuff here. Did you guys do something recently?
Matt Risinger:
Yeah.
Paul Wurth:
What do you guys do?
Matt Risinger:
So, Monday night before the show started about 25, 20, 30 builders, probably just builders. Nothing else, no manufacturers, met for dinner.
Paul Wurth:
Awesome.
Matt Risinger:
And weโve been doing that for two or three years now. And the groupโs grown a little bit, itโs all dudes that I know from Instagram. And sometimes Iโm like, โOh, youโre in Northern Build Pro. Iโve no idea what you look like, but I love your Instagram feed. Youโre awesome.โ And man, this communityโฆ I think thereโs not too many markets. Thereโs not too many industries in America that have the common comradery that builders have. But honestly it hasnโt always been that way.
Paul Wurth:
Right.
Matt Risinger:
When I started in this business 25 years ago. And then when I transitioned 15 years ago to my own company, thereโs a lot of hesitant people to share their secrets, to talk to the competition. Even people in other markets. But we also didnโt have Instagram 15 years ago.
Paul Wurth:
Right there wasnโt a medium to do this.
Matt Risinger:
So, now I can ask a builder in Idaho, โHey, what do you charge? How do you do your pre-construction agreements? Whatโs your strategy on change orders?โ And he doesnโt feel the pressure of, โHey, I might compete for the same job next week with this guy.โ He knows I have no skin in the game. Heโs not going to lose any business to me, vice versa. So we can be really real and honest with each other and honestly care about each other. And man, thatโs your brother love right there.
Paul Wurth:
Thatโs huge.
Matt Risinger:
Builders who care about each other and are willing to share those quote, unquote โsecretsโ with each other.
Paul Wurth:
When I was on the front lines, selling this 14 years ago, it was a lot of, โHey, donโt tell somebody Iโm using Buildertrend.โ There was no sharing at all. And then this has really changed that, which is great.
Matt Risinger:
Itโs been good.
Tom Houghton:
Speaking of sharing, letโs transition really quick. We got some questions from some of our followers.
Matt Risinger:
Oh yeah. Letโs do it Tom.
Tom Houghton:
You ready to answer some questions?
Matt Risinger:
Q and A baby.
Paul Wurth:
Oh my.
Tom Houghton:
We go. So from @Greensidedesignbuild, they ask, โDo you Matt, plan to address or spotlight any healthy home initiatives on your channels?
Matt Risinger:
Oh man.
Tom Houghton:
Thoughts about that?
Matt Risinger:
Oh man. Yeah, thatโs a great question. Who was that from again?
Tom Houghton:
From @Greensidedesignbuild.
Matt Risinger:
Greenside Design Build. All right. So not to knock his name, because heโs got the word green in his name, but one little comment I would make is when I started my blog, which was before YouTube, even like 2007, I called myself Matt Risinger in the green building blog. And if you came to IBS in 2005 to 2008, every manufacturer is was talking about how green they were. Thereโs a bunch of green booths. A bunch of pictures of the planet on there.
Paul Wurth:
Yeah.
Matt Risinger:
And so I started this bog, Matt Risinger in the green building blog and I and green building is basically high performance building, but Oh, by the way, weโre also doing things in a sustainable way, in a smart way, in a healthier way. But the word green is totally dead in my mind. People wonโt pay for green. They never did. Thatโs why we transitioned out of it. Itโs a buzzword that means nothing now.
Matt Risinger:
So then we transitioned to high performance houses and weโre still in that phase right now where a lot of us talk about ourselves as high performance builders. But I think the new thing that weโre going to start talking about more and more is actually healthy builders. Builders who build healthy. I heard somebody quote yesterday and Iโm sure I canโt tell you who attributes the quote to, but they basically said our houses are basically sheds for our families to store our families. If youโre going to store your family somewhere, when you want to store them somewhere, thatโs healthy.
Tom Houghton:
Sure.
Matt Risinger:
Of our days on earth, 40% of them or something are spent in our bed. So how healthy would you want your bedroom air quality if youโre going to spend 40% of your lives hours there?
Tom Houghton:
Yeah.
Paul Wurth:
Wow.
Matt Risinger:
If you keep those things in mind, I think thereโs a lot to be said about building a healthier, smarter house with really good indoor air quality. Thatโs going to be a place that your kids, whether they have asthma or not, are really healthy and thriving. And itโs interesting too, on a side note to that. Have you seen the Sekisui House guys that are here? Thatโs that Japanese company that did the show house thatโs off property here. Japanese company that bought Woodside homes in America a couple of years ago. Woodside is a largish production builder and the offsite house thatโs built right outside of town that I visited last week before the show started, the Sekisui House or the Chowa house. I forgot what they call it. Anyways, their whole point is a really healthy house is a happy house. That you should grow in age in place and should be just as healthy 30 years from now as it is today.
Matt Risinger:
That really resonates with me. And itโs funny how sometimes, not always, sometimes the Europeans, the Japanese are a little ahead of us on this.
Tom Houghton:
Yeah.
Paul Wurth:
Yeah, for sure.
Tom Houghton:
And itโd be interesting to see how theyโre marketing their new houses in Japan or Germany or some of these other places and what theyโre using to sell. Because when you go to those markets, they are not building 200 square foot houses. I mean, they are building probably 500 and up per square foot or more. And for them itโs all about the envelope, the shell, the durability, the healthiness. Whatโs this going to be like when I pass it on to my grandkids someday? Because Iโm not thinking about this because Iโm going to move in three years. Iโm thinking about this because my third generation Risingers are going to live in this house. Thatโs a whole different mindset.
Paul Wurth:
Yeah that is. Thatโs cool. So youโre already thinking about grandkids, huh?
Matt Risinger:
I hope so, man. My oldest just turned 14.
Paul Wurth:
Oh man.
Matt Risinger:
But I turned 50 this year, Paul. I know youโve been acting like this is-
Tom Houghton:
50th episode, 50 year old Matt. There you go.
Matt Risinger:
Hereโs the, hereโs the funny story on that though. Iโm actually 47, but one of the guys I work with, Peteโs like, โHey man, happy 50.โ And I was like, โDude, Iโm only 47.โ Heโs like, โMatt, if I asked you what time it was and it was 12:47, would you tell me itโs 12:47? You would say itโs 12:50, wouldnโt you?โ
Paul Wurth:
Oh man.
Matt Risinger:
Heโs like, โYou get it on the back end though. When youโre 53, people are still going to say, โHey, itโs 1250.โ
Tom Houghton:
Yeah.
Paul Wurth:
Youโre 50.
Matt Risinger:
So for the next six years, Iโm 50 years old.
Tom Houghton:
I love it.
Paul Wurth:
Iโm 50. And they had like a skit [crosstalk 00:27:24].
Matt Risinger:
Who was that actress on Saturday Night Live who did that?
Paul Wurth:
Yeah, Iโm 50.
Matt Risinger:
Iโm 50.
Paul Wurth:
Weโll get that little clip, no weโll probably have copyrights. Probably, I canโt do that. Yeah.
Matt Risinger:
Probably canโt. Thatโd be awesome.
Tom Houghton:
Just YouTube it.
Matt Risinger:
Go to YouTube.
Tom Houghton:
And then while youโre there, why donโt you subscribe to Mattโs channel-
Paul Wurth:
Oh nice.
Tom Houghton:
In case you havenโt subscribed.
Paul Wurth:
And Buildertrendโs.
Matt Risinger:
Good transition, Tom.
Tom Houghton:
And Buildertrend.
Paul Wurth:
Subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Tom Houghton:
Oh yeah to our YouTube channel. We absolutely do. We have got some great content on there now.
Matt Risinger:
YouTube.com/Buildertrend?
Tom Houghton:
Yes, thatโs us.
Matt Risinger:
Excellent.
Tom Houghton:
How about you? Why donโt you share yours?
Matt Risinger:
YouTube.com/MattRisinger.
Tom Houghton:
Boom. There you go.
Paul Wurth:
Letโs go.
Tom Houghton:
Hey, I think weโve got time for maybe one or two more questions, is that cool with you Matt?
Matt Risinger:
Oh I like it, Tom, letโs do it.
Tom Houghton:
Okay. Ritchie Home Builders, they asked, โHow do you introduce Buildertrend and all of its features into your team? What did that look for you?โ
Matt Risinger:
Oh man. So Iโve got a bigger team than I used to have a few years ago. So Iโve got basically four chiefs that run my two companies. I have a company that does my videos and my video production in my website. And I have another company thatโs my home building company. And man, my chiefs did an amazing job. And I had what I would call a champion. I had a team of people choose Buildertrend this wasnโt a, โHey, Mattโs telling me I have to do this.โ And that was critical for my success.
Matt Risinger:
I basically had a four-man team or I should say a two woman, two man team that chose Buildertrend. And so that crew really were the ones that implemented Buildertrend. But Iโll tell you, it was critical for us is we had to of your guys come down and as offsite consultants and Iโm sorry, I donโt remember their names. They were amazing. They spent two full days with us and that was probably two or three months after we implemented it. And that was critical to success. That is money well spent. It wasnโt that much money as a builder. You should definitely spend that money to have the onsite.
Paul Wurth:
Thereโs something that when somebody comes into your environment and really understands physically how you guys do things as well as your processes. I think things click a little faster that way.
Matt Risinger:
Yeah.
Paul Wurth:
Itโs worth the investment. Yeah.
Matt Risinger:
The uptake after that was really quick and really good for us.
Paul Wurth:
Thatโs great.
Tom Houghton:
Yeah. Good stuff. One last question.
Matt Risinger:
Yeah lets do it, Tom.
Paul Wurth:
Final one.
Tom Houghton:
This is from Ben Horning of BH Design and Build he asked, โWhat is your favorite thing about Buildertrend?
Paul Wurth:
Besides the podcast.
Tom Houghton:
And besides us which is part of the podcast.
Paul Wurth:
Besides Tom.
Tom Houghton:
And you.
Paul Wurth:
Okay.
Matt Risinger:
Mainly Paul, but a little bit, Tom.
Paul Wurth:
There you go, nice.
Matt Risinger:
For me, honestly, the biggest issue that Buildertrendโs helped me with is change orders and change order management. I have lost, I canโt tell you how many thousands of dollars on bad change order issues. Whether it was that they didnโt get written up early enough, whether they didnโt get signed. Thereโs a whole podcast episode where I could spill the beans on my dumbness over the years with change orders, because Iโm a cost-plus builder. Just cause you think you have a cost-plus contract, thatโs a really good one that says hereโs the cost. You pay them and then you pay me. That doesnโt mean you actually happens that way.
Paul Wurth:
Right?
Matt Risinger:
And so having Buildertrend and a really organized and technology solution to change orders, I mean, thatโs a game changer for us.
Paul Wurth:
Thatโs one everybody shares that pain. I mean, I think if youโre in construction for any amount of time, youโve gotten dinged on change orders.
Matt Risinger:
No doubt. And whether youโre a $50,000 kitchen remodeler or a $5 million builder, you are going to get dinged on a change order and itโs going to be painful.
Paul Wurth:
The pain scales. So just cause you itโs $500 on a $50,000 change order, that hurts.
Matt Risinger:
Oh man.
Paul Wurth:
A couple of hundred thousand on or whatever.
Matt Risinger:
And thereโs a million mistakes you can make, but having a really organized easy system to do them in the field with your iPad and even get a signature right there. Now you guys have some payment options as well. Like the Rocket Loan guys are here too.
Paul Wurth:
Yep.
Matt Risinger:
And you guys make it really, really good for me.
Paul Wurth:
Thatโs awesome. That was three features that are your favorite within one.
Tom Houghton:
Thatโs good.
Matt Risinger:
It really wrapped back to change orders though. Well, maybe you should think about a change order podcast.
Paul Wurth:
I like it.
Matt Risinger:
Top five dumb things that Iโve done on change orders or not done on change orders. Mark it down, Tom.
Paul Wurth:
Teaser.
Tom Houghton:
Already down.
Matt Risinger:
Q2 2020.
Tom Houghton:
Stay tuned.
Matt Risinger:
Mattโs dumb issues that heโs made over the years.
Paul Wurth:
Itโll be our most popular episode. Wait, how about that? On that episode, weโll all come through. Iโll just talk about mistakes Iโve made in my life.
Tom Houghton:
Iโll do top five things that weโve made mistakes in.
Paul Wurth:
Then maybe Iโll just get my wife on here. Sheโs got it just rattled off.
Matt Risinger:
Thatโll definitely be the biggest downloaded podcast ever.
Paul Wurth:
It will be.
Matt Risinger:
Paulโs personal life, his mistakes.
Paul Wurth:
Paulโs mistakes.
Matt Risinger:
We want to peek under the covers, Paul, and find out.
Paul Wurth:
How do I get it down to five?
Matt Risinger:
Yeah. Thatโs the problem. Me too on change orders unfortunately.
Tom Houghton:
Yeah. Well, if you enjoyed this episode with Matt, donโt forget to check out our other episode with him earlier. We spoke a little bit on change orders.
Matt Risinger:
Yeah a little but.
Tom Houghton:
We talked a little bit more building science, thatโs episode 21. So make sure you check that out. Matt, thank you so much for coming on the show again. We always love chatting with you. We of course wish you success in both of your businesses.
Matt Risinger:
Thanks Tom, I appreciate that.
Tom Houghton:
Donโt forget to check out the Build Show Network. Itโs just buildshownetwork.com.
Paul Wurth:
Yep. Thatโs awesome.
Matt Risinger:
You got it. Thanks guys. Appreciate yโall having me have a good rest of IBS 2020.
Paul Wurth:
Thatโs right. Weโre about halfway through.
Tom Houghton:
Thatโs right.
Paul Wurth:
Thanks Matt.
Matt Risinger:
My gosh, thatโs right halfway through. All right boys. Weโll see yโall later.
Paul Wurth:
Thanks.
Tom Houghton:
Thanks.
Tom Houghton:
Love what you heard? Donโt forget to rate and subscribe to our podcasts so you can hear from more guests that will benefit your business. Also, please check out our show notes page for more information on what we discussed on this episode. You can find it at buildertrend.com/podcast. Thanks for listening, and weโll see you next time on โThe Building Code.โ Appreciate you.
Matt Risinger | Risinger Build
Places You Can find us
Get updates for The Building Code
Be the first to know when new episodes are released.
By submitting this form, you are agreeing to our Terms and Conditions Agreement and Privacy Policy. This site is protected by Google reCAPTCHA
We think you’d also like this
Matt Risinger: 3 times Buildertrend saved my business
Learn how this industry leader transformed his business, discovered greater success and took control of project processes through construction technology.
case study
Sep 20, 2020Risinger Build: QuickBooks 2-way sync makes managing finances a breeze
How Buildertrend became the perfect fit project management and financial system for a construction trailblazer.
podcast
Jul 3, 2019Building science: Matt Risinger
On this episode of The Building Code we are featuring guest Matt Risinger of Risinger & Co. and The Build Show.