Breaking the mold: Why prioritizing vendor relationships is essential for success

Zach Wojtowicz:

Welcome to “The Building Code,” everybody. Zach Wojtowicz here.

Charley Burtwistle:

And I’m Charley Burtwistle.

Zach Wojtowicz:

Charley, look at you all logo’d out today. You’ve got double dipping.

Charley Burtwistle:

So, you wouldn’t know this, because you were 10 minutes late, but I actually showed up in a rain jacket and a hat, and Courtney yelled at me.

Zach Wojtowicz:

Oh, here we go. You did?

Charley Burtwistle:

And John, luckily, had an extra polo and hat. So, these are both courtesy of John Beck, our wonderful producer.

Zach Wojtowicz:

Got it. So, I was late, but I had the right attire, so I was …

Charley Burtwistle:

I was actually late, too, you were just later. But, yeah.

Zach Wojtowicz:

I would call that a “we’re even.”

Charley Burtwistle:

We’re even. But, Zach, that’s enough about us. Tell our wonderful listeners who we have on the podcast today.

Zach Wojtowicz:

Yeah, of course. Today, we’ve got Tim Coughran. He is out of Denver, Colorado, Alderview Construction. I’m really excited to talk to Tim about what’s going on out in Denver. First off, great place, great people, been there many times, BC on the road a while back.

Charley Burtwistle:

Yeah, I forgot about that. Absolutely.

Zach Wojtowicz:

Yeah, and we’re going to talk a little bit about his business and kind of get into vendor relationships, so let’s not delay any further. Let’s get Tim going. Tim, welcome to “The Building Code.”

Tim Coughran:

Hey, guys, thanks for having me. Looking forward to this.

Zach Wojtowicz:

Good. Have you ever been on a podcast before? I always like to ask.

Tim Coughran:

I have. There have been a couple.

Zach Wojtowicz:

Nice.

Charley Burtwistle:

Yeah, a veteran, an absolute veteran.

Zach Wojtowicz:

All right.

Tim Coughran:

All construction-related ones.

Zach Wojtowicz:

Nice, yeah.

Charley Burtwistle:

Well, and Zach and I actually have another non-construction related podcast that we’re going to start, and we’ll get you on that too.

Tim Coughran:

Yeah, you should.

Charley Burtwistle:

I’m just kidding, we’re not doing that.

Tim Coughran:

I like it.

Charley Burtwistle:

But no, first time on this podcast though, so very excited to have you. Could you tell our listeners just a little bit about yourself and how you got started in construction?

Tim Coughran:

Yeah, so like you said, Tim Coughran out of Denver, Colorado. We kind of work in the Denver metro area. Started Alderview Construction eight years ago. Prior to that, I was in commercial construction, and prior to that, going to school and getting my construction management degree, and before that, I worked in residential. So, kind of always between commercial and residential and that realm.

Zach Wojtowicz:

That’s amazing. Well, and then I love talking to people who kind of have seen the full spectrum, because I think it brings a lot of differences, but also some great insight about maybe what the commercial people do that can apply to the residential thing.

Charley Burtwistle:

Right.

Zach Wojtowicz:

Tell us a little bit about how your team has grown. You started out a little while back. What’s your setup look like now?

Tim Coughran:

Yeah, so I think for us from the very beginning, it was just me from the very beginning. So, I left the commercial world. Kind of realized that that wasn’t the best fit for my personality, wasn’t the best fit for my family, just because there’s a lot of travel. Nothing against commercial, it just wasn’t a good fit for me. There’s a lot of travel, and I wanted something more stable and just wanted to build a better legacy for my family and for the future.

So, I stepped away from a commercial contractor I was working with eight years ago, went out on my own. And I think the biggest thing I noticed when I was with the commercial companies is I just saw that the great ones had a great system and great process behind all them. There was no guesswork of how you do any certain thing. There was always a system or a procedure of how you perform that, or some kind of checklist that you’d perform it. So, when I came into the commercial world, that was something I was like, “I’m definitely going to implement this,” because I saw that there was a need and a lack for that in the residential world.

Zach Wojtowicz:

Yeah, I kind of figured. Every contractor I’ve talked to that started commercial is like, “I’m going to come down and get this thing running like a well-oiled machine, like those big commercial builders.”

Charley Burtwistle:

Right.

Zach Wojtowicz:

When you were traveling, were you going and doing large developments or was it more like highway construction? We have a lot of that in our network.

Tim Coughran:

Yeah. Yeah, so it was a commercial contractor as opposed to doing civil, like a lot of earthwork.

Zach Wojtowicz:

Yeah, okay. Yep.

Tim Coughran:

So, the projects I was on, the first one was actually Sky Harbor Airport.

Zach Wojtowicz:

Oh, okay.

Tim Coughran:

So, we were doing a big terminal addition there and then kind of doing a connection from the train to the different terminals. And then from there, I was doing a big Tilt-Up project, doing a lot of self-performed concrete work.

We were always on the management side, so we’d managed the crews, and then working on an air traffic control tower. So, aviation was kind of where I started in that. And then from there, I went to a company, and we did a big, assisted living project.

Charley Burtwistle:

I love it. So, I always love talking to people like you that start their own company, and I love hearing just a little bit more about the journey. So, you’ve alluded to the initial spark and why you wanted to get into the residential space, start your own company. Could you tell us a little bit about how Alderview came to fruition, maybe some of the early struggles, and where you’re at today?

Tim Coughran:

Yeah. So, I think for me it’s always having the end in mind for me. So, from the beginning, I always knew that, even before I started having children and all that, I knew that I always wanted the family to be the focus of everything I did. So, I wanted it where the business or the career that I had always supported the family and not vice versa. And that really is what drove me into being an entrepreneur. I always had that spirit about me, and I realized that that was the best path, that I couldn’t get that working for somebody else, that I needed to be in control of my own destiny in that aspect. So, that’s how I got started.

I got started in there. I picked residential because of the connections and the relationship with the end user; commercial, we didn’t get that a lot. We were working with these people and you’d meet the owners, but it was always an owner’s representative. It was never really the true owner. You’d see the users of the space, but it really didn’t do much for them. I like the residential because, yes, you have that headache that comes with residential, but you gain this true connection with them and it just makes it more meaningful at the end of the day. You’re building for people who have the same morals, the same standards, the same kind of goals in life, and I love that. I like that aspect of it.

Zach Wojtowicz:

How big is your team now?

Tim Coughran:

So, our team right now, so we have a project coordinator and then we have a project assistant, that’s in our office side that handles that. And then we have a superintendent out in the field. And then we’re getting ready actually to hire two more superintendents by the end of next month.

Zach Wojtowicz:

Wow. I was taking a peek at your website in preparation, and I see you serve pretty much the entire Denver metro, too, so I’m sure no shortage of places, you’re jumping all over.

Tim Coughran:

Yeah, it’s been a good market for us. I mean, just kind of throughout the country, but Denver’s been a really good market, it’s been really stable through the growth, through … Even before Covid, we had a really hot housing market, and then Covid accelerated that in a lot of aspects. And we position ourself, and we try to continue to position ourself, into that luxury space. And in some ways, we’re kind of sheltered from some of the stuff because our price point is just a little bit higher. And I think that’s where we’ve tried to be from the beginning, and we continue to try to cultivate that a little bit more and get into that space.

But we try to keep a tighter geographical area. So, if you took a radius, we really only work within a 35 to 45-minute drive radius from where we’re at. Every once in a while we’ll pick up a project up in the mountains, but that’s only for a repeat client that’s somebody that we’ve worked with in the past.

Charley Burtwistle:

Dang, I was looking at some of the homes on your website, and I was hoping maybe you’d come to Omaha for me, but it sounds like it may be a little far away.

Tim Coughran:

Yeah, exactly.

Zach Wojtowicz:

He’s always trying to get a deal. So, whoever, the first build in Omaha with a great client. Yeah.

Tim Coughran:

I know, right? A nice, some kind of friendship deal? Yeah, exactly.

Charley Burtwistle:

We had that one guest on one time that was talking about in-home elevators. Remember that?

Zach Wojtowicz:

Yep.

Charley Burtwistle:

And I have a two-story house, but it would still be sick to have a little luxury elevator in there.

Zach Wojtowicz:

He gets paid more for the Building Code.

Tim Coughran:

Oh, yeah. We actually did a project with one of those. It’s pretty fun.

Zach Wojtowicz:

Really?

Tim Coughran:

So, it was a glass elevator. It was kind of an age-in-place home that they wanted, and the elevator went three stories. And it was a glass kind of Willy Wonka style glass elevator, from the basement all way up. And it’s pretty cool retrofitting that in there. The glass all came from Canada and one project.

Zach Wojtowicz:

Wow. That just speaks Charley. You need a glass elevator in your house, yeah.

Tim Coughran:

Yeah, see, there you go. We’re right up your alley. You’re looking for an elevator?

Charley Burtwistle:

My little 1,700 square foot house with the elevator in it.

Zach Wojtowicz:

Yeah, yeah, I paid …

Tim Coughran:

An elevator that just goes one story up? Yep, I got it.

Zach Wojtowicz:

Yeah, it cost as much as my house, but it’s sick, right?

Charley Burtwistle:

Yeah.

Zach Wojtowicz:

That’s great.

Tim Coughran:

Exactly, a showpiece.

Charley Burtwistle:

Another really, really interesting thing that I saw on your website while I was looking at those beautiful pictures was that you actually partner with a select group of trade partners and vendors to provide you with a better building experience. Can you share more about this and just how you establish these relationships to start with and then maintain them moving forward?

Tim Coughran:

Yeah, so that’s the core of, really, our business. We really have to have those relationships in order to succeed. So, you look on the website, and you see all these beautiful pictures, we just build those pictures, I didn’t design those. So, if we don’t have the design team behind us, the interior design team, the architecture team, our projects are going to be basic. It’s going to be stuff we’re coming up with. And I never want to be in that position because we want to partner with interior designers and architects that push the envelope of our skillset sets, and we’re having to reach out and say, “How do you put an elevator in a house? Who do we need to contract with? What does the elevator pit look like? What does the structure look like?” And it helps us to be a better builder.

So, to answer your question, from the beginning, having been in commercial, I realized that those relationships, there was never a commercial project where we didn’t have a design team behind us. There was always design support. And so, in residential, I felt it needed to be the same way. So, from the beginning, I looked at the interior designers and the architects as the clients that I’m working with. Because if those are the people that I’m going to have repeat jobs with, I need to establish relationships with them.

Zach Wojtowicz:

Right.

Tim Coughran:

Because a lot of times, they’re coming in before us as the builder, and they’re the ones that are representing our company, speaking about us, and then we come to the table, and we already have a rapport with them. And that’s huge. I mean, that’s been, from the beginning, I’d say that’s really what’s accelerated our company from the beginning, is just having that vision and saying, “We need to partner with these people and we need them to sell us. So, then when we come to the table, there’s already that trust factor built in.”

Zach Wojtowicz:

Right.

Tim Coughran:

Because it’s hard to establish that trust, right? Especially as a contractor, there’s always that notion that you’re getting ripped off or this guy’s shady and whatnot. And it’s breaking that mold in our industry and educating clients that, no, you could have a contractor that works in a team setting, that’s professional, that has forms, that has systems, that has organization and has transparency.

Zach Wojtowicz:

That’s super interesting, too, because, in a way, it’s kind of your sales pipeline it sounds like. You didn’t mention in kind of your staffing model that you have a sales team necessarily.

Tim Coughran:

Nope.

Zach Wojtowicz:

You’re attaching to these designers who are bringing you the work and you have this symbiotic relationship. That’s a really interesting business strategy.

Charley Burtwistle:

Right.

Tim Coughran:

Yeah, I think it’s worked well for us. For me, from the beginning, it’s hard, right? You’re trying to establish jobs, you’re trying to get anything that you can take, but at the same time, you’re trying to be selective and picky because you don’t want to brand yourself a certain way. So, if you don’t want to do kitchens the rest of your career, then why are you branding yourself towards kitchens.

Which is so tough in the beginning, because you need the revenue, you need to keep the business going, but it’s selectively posting the pictures that highlight your project in such a way, spending the extra money to have a photographer. And maybe it’s a small job in the beginning, and it’s just a bathroom, but maybe you can highlight some little detail and not show the whole space and still make it look grandiose though, right? And that’s a challenge. It’s trying to cultivate it such a way not to be fake. I mean, you want to be authentic about the whole thing, but cultivate it in such a way that it fits the image that you’re trying to portray. That’s your logo, that’s your forms, your email, even down to your email signature. It’s all branded in such a way to attract those type of clients.

Zach Wojtowicz:

I wonder if Courtney’s fist bumping over here.

Charley Burtwistle:

I was going to say, I …

Zach Wojtowicz:

We talked about brand. Oh, oh, oh!

Charley Burtwistle:

… I was literally just thinking, “You’re …”

Zach Wojtowicz:

That’s our brand and content director.

Charley Burtwistle:

“… You’re speaking our language, for sure.” The same exact issues or, I’d say, opportunities that we have. We actually just launched a new brand. When was that?

Zach Wojtowicz:

January.

Charley Burtwistle:

January. And we’re rocking it.

Tim Coughran:

Oh, nice. What’s that one? Oh, like a new logo and everything, like rebranding?

Zach Wojtowicz:

New logo.

Charley Burtwistle:

Yeah. But then they go as far as just the copy on our websites, and ensuring that we’re always using a consistent tone in our message to our customers and everything.

Tim Coughran:

Cool.

Charley Burtwistle:

And it’s exactly what you were just saying, if you’re not trying to be a certain thing, then why do you have any material on that thing? Know what you’re good at, know what you want to do, and know what sort of customers you want, and speak to that. So, a lot of overlap between what you just said and what Courtney’s been preaching at Buildertrend.

Tim Coughran:

Yeah, preach it.

Zach Wojtowicz:

Yeah, she keeps yelling at us to make sure we’re wearing our brand right.

Tim Coughran:

Well, I think that’s a huge thing. Because some people might look at it and be like, “Oh, that’s so silly,” that I have the same font on every single form. And it’s like, that stuff matters. It really does matter to the clientele that we’re trying to craft our business after. I mean, you think of a larger company like an Apple or a Google. Can you imagine if they had email signatures that were different coming from different people, like it was formatted differently, or if people had different Instagram handles, and they were posting differently or it was set up differently?

Zach Wojtowicz:

Right. Yeah, it’s funny, those little things, it’s part of the experience, and that experience will gravitate.

Tim Coughran:

It is, it really is. And I think we live in a generation where they care more about the experience now than previous generations did. I mean, you talk to most people in our clientele that are in that 30 to 45, 50 range, and most of them are the experience based. They all like traveling, and they like doing that because of the experience that travel brings, and they’re looking for that in companies, too. They’re looking for companies that provide a better experience and a better process.

Zach Wojtowicz:

And it creates the value, and then they’ll be willing to pay more for it, too, right? It helps you upsell and generate more revenue on top of that.

Tim Coughran:

Mm-hmm.

Zach Wojtowicz:

So, it’s kind of this compounding effect, and those little details add up to … They’re easy to do, they take a little extra time, but what you get in return is just 10x.

Tim Coughran:

Oh, totally. It’s like pushing a proposal together. Imagine pushing a proposal, and say it’s a high number that’s above their budget, and that there’s spelling errors in there and things like anal things, like if it’s not lined up perfectly on the columns and little things like that. And all of a sudden they’re like, “We’re paying you how much?” But then if you have that it’s formatted nice, it looks all consistent, they’re looking at that and saying, “Okay.”

Zach Wojtowicz:

Right.

Tim Coughran:

It helps sell it a lot better, for sure.

Zach Wojtowicz:

The next thing that we were going to talk about … Well, that was a fun little tangent. Doing a brand? Not on the script.

Tim Coughran:

It went down that road. That’s all right.

Zach Wojtowicz:

Yeah, I love it.

Tim Coughran:

It’s important.

Zach Wojtowicz:

Yeah, for sure. What are some of the things that you learned as you were kind of up and coming, like mistakes that maybe … Maybe this was one of them, that your branding does matter, and your image, and who you’re trying to attract. Are there any other lessons that you picked up as you continue to scale your company?

Tim Coughran:

Yeah, I think that’s a great question because no one ever wants to talk about failures and mistakes. I mean, I think those failures we learned the most from. So, for me, if I could go back and change anything, it would be learning how to say no earlier on. I think as the company matured, and our clientele matured, and they got more sophisticated, our product got more sophisticated, obviously gave you that confidence, and you see that you have money in the bank, you’re not worried of living from job to job, you’re seeing that we could say no.

But from the beginning, it’d be learning how to say no. Now, we have non-negotiables, and we have certain areas where we’re like, “This is a non-negotiable. We don’t negotiate on this item.” And it could be something as simple as shower glass, and it’s like, “No, we always do Starphire shower glass because it’s a clear, you’re not going to get that green tint. That’s a non-negotiable. So, we’re not going to price up a cheaper glass system; that’s a non-negotiable. If you’re going to work with us, that’s how it is.”

And a lot of that comes over time, but it’s crafting it in such a way and saying, “Okay, these are mistakes we’ve made, and now these are areas that we just don’t negotiate on this. We can negotiate on some other items, but these we don’t negotiate on.” I wish I would’ve done that earlier on in the business, just had more of the confidence to say, “Nope.” But in the beginning, you’re just hungry for it and you’re like, “Ah, that doesn’t really fit perfectly. Yeah, we’ll take that job.” And then at the end you’re like, “Why did we take that job? It did not go well.”

Charley Burtwistle:

Yeah, the classic, if you’re trying to do everything, are you really doing anything? Zach and I were actually just talking about that in a meeting this morning. It’s like focus on two or three key things that you want to excel at and do those really, really, really damn well and don’t worry about the rest.

Tim Coughran:

Totally, and all the rest of it will fall into place. So, it could be simple as if we’re doing a new build or, say, a high-end renovation, it could be as simple as four bullet points, and it could be like, “Okay, the client has to be a great client.” We have to have a good relationship with them and hit it off in the beginning. If they’re asking us questions where they just don’t trust us and it’s really questions, that’s a non-negotiable, it has to have that relationship. That could be one.

It has to be a location that we’re proud to build in. It can’t be in an area that we’re worried about crime or theft or things, and where it’s a long drive and distance. That’s going to put a lot of strain on the team.

It has to have a great design. If there’s not a great design and a great design team, then that’s a non-negotiable, we don’t want to be part of that project.

We have to be proud and want to post that on our social media as well. If not, then why are we working on that project?

Charley Burtwistle:

I’d love to hear a little bit more. I love that sentiment by the way. I’d love to hear a little bit more about how you view your client relationships. So, we talked a little bit about the upstream and your designers and architects and stuff that you work with, but once you actually sign the contract, you get started on the build, what’s that sort of back and forth like?

Tim Coughran:

Yeah, so from the very beginning, and this is, I guess, another lesson learned is, I wish I had a better vetting process in the beginning. A lot of times, I think at the beginning, as contractors we start off and we’re really scared and are hesitant to ask or we’re fearful to ask about price. Budget’s always a scary thing when you’re talking to people, and it’s like, “Well, I don’t want to talk about budget because they’re going to think that I’m going to try to upsell them on different things.” But turning the conversation around and saying, “No, the budget is a tool, just as much as the schedule is a tool, and let’s discuss that from early on.”

And so, one thing we do that’s really important is we try to vet our subcontractors. We vet them and we ask what size of company they have, what their staff makeup looks like, make sure they have, obviously, the stuff like insurance, all that stuff that’s non-negotiables, but also trying to get into the meat of their company, what neighborhoods do they work in?

And then, say, with the clients, in the beginning on our website, we ask them what neighborhood they’re in, what their budget’s like, do they have an interior designer or an architect already scheduled on the project? And that’s kind of like the first barrier that you have to get through, is that screening process. If you kind of pass that, then it kind of engages the next step of it. But if you answer no on any of those, then we’ll kindly reply and say that we’re not the best fit for you, and we wish you the best of luck.

Zach Wojtowicz:

Yeah, I’ve talked to builders a lot about that, and the ones that are a little newer, they really struggle with that. They’re afraid to turn away people that they think they’re their only option. They might be in a market where they don’t have a total ability to get various labor, but inevitably something happens and then they’re really wishing that they had done their due diligence, or set up processes at least, or had an agreement between the sub about when things needed to be done. And so, it’s so critical, obviously, to the success of construction to make sure your trade relationships are solid. And the best builders really treat them like internal employees, and they really make sure that they are getting what they need in a timely fashion. And I’ve always respected that kind of relationship of that sub/GC dynamic that a mature builder has realized over years with experience.

Tim Coughran:

Yeah, no, I like that. I think you look at it, and it’s like I can’t be the contractor for everybody, nor do I want to be the contractor for everybody. I’m not even a good contractor for myself. If I was going to hire Alderview, I’m not Alderview’s ideal client. I want to be a company that’s only for a select few. It’s not a good fit for everybody. Purposely, it’s not a good fit for everybody. I don’t want to be this catchall company that’s like, “Yes, we go all the way down to the bathroom renovation, all the way up to a $10 million new build.” That’s not going to work for us.

Zach Wojtowicz:

Is there any other advice you would get to a builder that is just getting started? We’ve touched on that quite a bit, but is there any other words of wisdom that you can give to them?

Tim Coughran:

Yeah, I think construction is challenging because you’re working in the business, but then when you’re actually working on the project, you’re not working on the business. And that’s so challenging, I think, for a lot of contractors. And we see this with a lot of our subcontractors, that the owner of the business also has his bags on, and he’s out in the field. But then, when you’re on the field, you’re missing on all the opportunities of networking, you’re missing out on opportunities of finding a great software, like Buildertrend or something like that, to kind of better your system because you’re just down in the trenches with the guys. Figuratively and literally you’re down in the trenches.

So, that was advice I got early on from a mentor of mine is he’s like, “You need to resist that urge. I know you like doing hands on.” I think we all enjoy that construction process. We all like picking up a drill or picking up a hammer and just creating something, right? But you got to resist that urge and focus on the business and hire people to take care of that stuff, not have that pride and say, “I could do it better than everybody else,” because you can’t. There’s somebody else that could do it better. And finding a system and a process that can get you out of the field would be my biggest advice, because that’s going to really hinder your growth if you can’t get out of the field.

Charley Burtwistle:

Right, and you mentioned Buildertrend in there. And we try not to be too salesy on the podcast, but I was kind of digging around in your account before we hopped on here and you guys use the heck out of it. So, I’d love to hear just from your perspective as one of our power users, when did you first decide it was time to bring in a project management software like Buildertrend, and how you went about onboarding and implementing it to streamline your business.

Tim Coughran:

Yeah, okay. Yeah, and I don’t think it’s trying to be sales pitchy at all. I mean, I wouldn’t agree to be on this podcast if I didn’t believe in Buildertrend. And obviously, I’m not getting paid to be on this podcast, but I support things that actually have influenced our business, and Buildertrend has.

So, to answer your question, from the beginning, we always had a system and a process, but it was always a mixture of different systems. So, it was using this format, this software, and they all kind of blended together, but it wasn’t really this cohesive thing. But it worked in the beginning because it was just me doing it. So, I had access to all the forms, I used my Excel files, it was everything on Dropbox, everything like that. But then when I decided, okay, now is the time to continue to grow the team, that’s when I was like, “I need a better system.”

So, I was used to different platforms being in commercial on the commercial side, some of them being your competitors, but most of them not really your competitors because they were more in the commercial space. So, I was used to that and I saw how it functioned and so, it was really a perfect relationship. Once I found Buildertrend, it just harmonized with our structure and our business and so, it was a no-brainer at that point.

And so, we got on Buildertrend about three years ago. And to be totally honest with you, in the beginning, we dabbled in some of the stuff, because we were kind of resistant, and said, “Okay, our forms are formatted a little bit better than Buildertrend.” And there’s still some things where it’s like, “I wish this was formatted a little bit better, or I had a little bit more control of how I’d format my logo, because it’s coming in way too big when I PDF this, and I send it and I’m like, “Dang it. Now, I need to go and fix this,” because those are important, like we talked about. But then it got to a point where it’s like, “Okay, I just need to give up some of those things because the advantages that come from Buildertrend are huge.”

Zach Wojtowicz:

That’s a very common experience for contractors, especially for custom home builders and custom work because they’re so used to everything being able to be changed, like the contract details.

Tim Coughran:

Customizable, yeah.

Zach Wojtowicz:

Yeah, right? Literally the whole process.

Tim Coughran:

Like the schedule, like being able to customize exactly how I want the schedule to show up, I’m limited on Buildertrend.

Zach Wojtowicz:

Yeah, and there’s always this moment of no return. I always like to ask builders like, “What was it? What flipped the switch for you? What made you say, ‘Okay, I’m willing to give up the control because I get X, Y, and Z?'”

Tim Coughran:

That’s a great question. In the beginning, we were just using daily logs. We’re like, “Okay, we see the advantage of daily logs.” We were just pushing our change orders through Buildertrend, just getting the sign off on it. I think the commitment was, last year, we made a commitment as a team and said, “Okay, are we going to be all in on this or are we going to be straddling the fence on it?” And we made a commitment as a team to be all in and so, we brought all of our financials into Buildertrend. And there’s some hiccups. Of course, there is. It’s a new system. There’s some different controls that we don’t have. But the advantages of having it in one place, and our schedule, having it one place, and be able to tie our to-do’s together and assign to-do’s to our clients, that was a game changer for us.

I’ve spoken to different builders about this before, but our clients have such a high expectation for their builders, which they should, they absolutely should, and they have high expectation for their design team and how they want their home to turn out. So, why as builders should we not have a high expectation for our owners? And we do. I have a high expectation for them. If you’re hiring us, we expect you to be savvy enough with technology to be able to respond to to-do’s, be able to respond to assignments, be able to look over selections, be able to make selections and stuff like that, because that’s what you expect of us.

Charley Burtwistle:

Yeah, I love that. And it may be a slight tangent here, but you mentioned other builders. I believe you and Zach are both going to be at a summit next week, two weeks?

Tim Coughran:

Oh, you’re coming out there, Zach?

Zach Wojtowicz:

That’s right. Yeah, I was going to end on that note with you, Tim, that we’re actually going to meet up in Arizona.

Tim Coughran:

Nice. Are you going to golf with us?

Zach Wojtowicz:

Funny story, I’m not a golfer, so I would love to ride on the cart.

Tim Coughran:

I’m not a golfer either.

Zach Wojtowicz:

Well, no one wants to watch me golf.

Tim Coughran:

Exactly.

Zach Wojtowicz:

I’d be mortified. They’d be like, “Oh, the Buildertrend guy.” We have golf greens all over our office, and I’m like the one guy from Buildertrend who’s like, “I don’t know. I don’t think that’s me.” So, I would love to like, “Hey, guys, let’s talk about construction or Buildertrend while I ride in the cart.”

Tim Coughran:

It gets to a certain part of day where nobody really cares anymore it’s just …

Zach Wojtowicz:

Yeah, true. It’s true. I’ll have to Mr. Magoo out there and just suffer.

Tim Coughran:

Well, that’d be nice. I’m excited to see you out there in person.

Zach Wojtowicz:

Yeah. Yeah, it’s going to be great.

Charley Burtwistle:

Yeah, let me know how it is at the …

Zach Wojtowicz:

Yeah, there’s kind of a running … Longtime blisters will know, Charley never gets to leave the office and I’m just gallivanting all over the United States. You can see, he’s extremely frustrated.

Tim Coughran:

You’re the one that gets to wine and dine everybody?

Zach Wojtowicz:

That’s right. But he’s right.

Charley Burtwistle:

I mean, I golf. I would be there, so for wine and dine on the golf course.

Tim Coughran:

Yeah, yeah, next time.

Zach Wojtowicz:

Oh, didn’t make the cut, I don’t know. I don’t know.

Tim Coughran:

No, Zach, is this your first time going, too?

Zach Wojtowicz:

It is.

Tim Coughran:

He had the one in Nashville.

Zach Wojtowicz:

Does he?

Tim Coughran:

Yeah. So, this is our second one going to it, and we love it. I mean, there’s so much information, and the relationship we build with these different builders …

Zach Wojtowicz:

Yeah, I’m pumped.

Tim Coughran:

… Is so valuable. We just, builders across the country and seeing how different builders do people. I mean, even like today, I messaged three different builders that we met at the last one in Huntington Beach, just about very different topics, talking about different things. We’ve done different things with different builders where they have done Buildertrend in certain aspects. So, we’re calling them and saying, “Hey, how are you guys doing out in California with this and Buildertrend? Can we message each other?”

You just can’t get that. It’s one thing, I appreciate the support that Buildertrend has. You guys have great support. It does get challenging sometimes because it’s not people actually using it, it’s not real builders. And not nothing against that, but it’s so valuable when I have other people I can network with and say, “Hey, how are you importing those cost codes?” And, “What cost codes are you using for this?” And, “Have you found a good way to change over this cost code into this aspect, and how are you managing that cost code?

Zach Wojtowicz:

Yeah. I have a feeling I’ll be very popular when it comes to the Buildertrend.

Tim Coughran:

You’re going to get a lot of feedback from people, Zach, while you’re there.

Zach Wojtowicz:

It’s going to be a lot of fun. I love it. I was a consultant for Buildertrend, so I traveled and I’m used to the lions’ den, so I’m ready. Now, 40 at once, we’ll see if I still …

Tim Coughran:

You’ll get it, but it’s because people are passionate.

Zach Wojtowicz:

Yeah, exactly.

Tim Coughran:

If they didn’t care, they’d be like, “Oh, I don’t care about that.” But there’s things we talk with other builders like, “I wish Buildertrend did this,” but it’s nice when I could talk to you guys, and talk in different settings, that would be network like at IBS and things like that and chat more about that.

Zach Wojtowicz:

Yeah, I always have the best time. It’s going to be a ton of fun.

Tim Coughran:

Yeah, you’ll enjoy it. Scottsdale is beautiful.

Zach Wojtowicz:

He’ll be there in spirit, Charley. Yeah. Funny enough, my mom lives there and we’re going to miss each other.

Tim Coughran:

 Oh, nice.

Zach Wojtowicz:

Yeah, she’s coming back as I’m going, so I was like, “Well …”

Tim Coughran:

Oh, darn it.

Zach Wojtowicz:

I know.

Charley Burtwistle:

I’m hanging out with Zach’s mom through that weekend.

Zach Wojtowicz:

Wow, out of context, that’s a clip.

Tim Coughran:

Zach … Yeah, exactly. That’s a little awkward.

Charley Burtwistle:

Well, I’m sure you guys will have a fantastic time. I can’t wait to hear all about it.

Zach Wojtowicz:

I’ll give you the recap.

Tim Coughran:

We’ll tell you all about it. We’ll post things on there like, “Wish you were here, Charley.”

Charley Burtwistle:

Oh, yeah, I’m sure.

Tim Coughran:

Like, “#Blessed.”

Zach Wojtowicz:

Yeah, the next time Tim is on the pod, we’ll give you the rundown.

Charley Burtwistle:

You guys should actually take a pic when you guys are out there together, so that way it’ll be fun.

Zach Wojtowicz:

Oh, we will, for sure.

Tim Coughran:

We will.

Zach Wojtowicz:

I think we’re getting close to time. I’m peeking at my little clock here. Tim, it was fantastic to have you on. Always really, really, I would say, motivational for me to talk to customers like you that are so driven and so much care that goes into their work. It just kind of reminds me of why I come in and work at Buildertrend is to help out people like you. And it was just fantastic to talk, so really appreciate it. Any last words for our listeners before you sign off?

Tim Coughran:

Yeah, no, I appreciate you guys. I appreciate the partnership. I appreciate you guys just being willing to hear different builders and adjust your system and constantly innovating to your product. That goes a long way. It shows that you guys actually care about what you’re trying to deliver.

Charley Burtwistle:

It’s our pleasure.

Zach Wojtowicz:

I was going to say, we’ll clip that and send it to our product team. I’m sure they’ll love the feedback.

Tim Coughran:

Yeah, exactly.

Zach Wojtowicz:

Thanks, Tim.

Tim Coughran:

No, I appreciate being on the podcast. It’s always good to be able to share my story with other people, and I think hopefully that resonates with other builders. I think it’s so hard when you’re down in the trenches and you feel like you’re alone, you’re on this island, and nobody else has these stresses. You’re dealing with all these headaches of materials and pricing and subcontractor labor force, and it gets lonely. It really does. It gets lonely and it gets stressful, and then you’re trying to manage your own personal life and everything else. I think the breath of fresh air is, if you’re able to get outside that and network with other builders, like we’re talking about this summit that AFT is putting on and NS builders and construction2style. You can network with these other people and then you realize, “Wow, these people are going through exactly what I’m going through,” and you get strength in that.

Zach Wojtowicz:

Right.

Tim Coughran:

And then you come back home and you have more motivation. You say, “Okay, we got this. This person is at this other stage, they figured it out. This person’s younger than I am, and I can help them figure it out.” Just helping each other. I think we all just help each other. As we do, we all are going to grow and become better.

Zach Wojtowicz:

I love it. That’s a great message, and I’m in full support. That’s one of my favorite things about the construction industry is how much of a community it really represents. And then, the more that they find each other, the more there’s this really incredible kind of connection. It’s a really unique, tough job. You’re running businesses, you’re running projects, you’ve got unique challenges. So, that’s a great message, Tim. Well, I think that’s it here on “The Building Code.” Tim, thanks again for coming on and we’d love to have you back.

Tim Coughran:

Yeah, thank you guys for having me. It’s been a pleasure.

Zach Wojtowicz:

Charley, another fantastic episode of “The Building Code” as always, a lot of great topics, things on script, off script. We were getting into it with Tim. That was an amazing conversation. What was your favorite part?

Charley Burtwistle:

Yeah, I actually think that was maybe the most we kind of have veered from our questions before, just really, really organically interesting. Gosh, I mean, the moral of the story is I need them to expand their radius that they build and move to build me a house in Omaha.

Zach Wojtowicz:

I appreciate you taking your shot. I mean, glass elevator and all.

Charley Burtwistle:

No, but seriously, their website is absolutely beautiful. I’m sure we can link it in the shownotes there so everyone can go and check it out. But I actually think my favorite part of it was kind of the note we ended on there, and just the community of builders and networking. We say this all the time here at Buildertrend, it’s like, we’re not the only company in the world that’s facing these problems. Other people have had these problems, other people have figured them out, and other people want to share and help you. And I’d say that’s especially true kind of in the residential construction community is that kind of close-knit and want to reach out and help.

Which is why there’s things like the conference that you’re going to next week, and why we do things like Buildertrend University, and why we fly out to IBS in Vegas, is because that’s just … I mean, you learn … Well, maybe I shouldn’t speak for everyone, but I learned more in those two or three days than I did in the rest of the year combined. So, I thought his perspective was great. I thought he was a great guy and a great guest. And we may have to shortlist him for the two-timer club.

Zach Wojtowicz:

That’s right, the distinguished two timer club. Yeah, we’ll just keep … We do need to start having you keep stats for us. You’re the data guy. We should have analytics on our numbies, as you like to call them.

Charley Burtwistle:

Yeah. Yeah, absolutely.

Zach Wojtowicz:

I’m giving you homework live on “The Building Code,” everybody.

Charley Burtwistle:

I’m … We’ll do that this weekend.

Zach Wojtowicz:

They’re like, “Another data poll? That’s all I do for you. Geez. Okay.”

Charley Burtwistle:

I was supposed to run a marathon this weekend, but maybe instead I will work on podcast analytics for you.

Zach Wojtowicz:

I think that throw away work all day for that. I appreciate that. They know this is what you do for me, you do stuff for me.

Charley Burtwistle:

That is what I do for Zach Wojtowicz here on “The Building Code.” I think that about does it. I’m going to try to wrap this one up before I get any more homework.

Zach Wojtowicz:

Ah, that’s a good call. Thank you, everybody, for listening to us today on “The Building Code.” Thank you, Tim, for joining. It was a great conversation. I’ll see you in Arizona. And check us out next time. I’m Zach Wojtowicz.

Charley Burtwistle:

And I’m Charley Burtwistle.