Scaling the smart way: Effective strategies for handling 35+ home builds a year

Courtney Mattern (00:05):

Hey everyone. Welcome to “The Building Code.” I’m your host, Courtney Mattern, joined by no one. That’s right, it’s my first day stepping into co-host the podcast since Zach Wojtowicz left the show left, left Buildertrend. We miss him dearly. But now, I think that I’m being bullied. I’m being hazed by Charley. It’s my first day. There isn’t a welcome party. I’m on my own. Make sure you write in to The Building Code Crew, let Charley know how you feel. For anybody who’s new to the podcast, you might know me from filling in, subbing in on the podcast. My team actually works behind the scenes to produce the podcast, and I spent the last five years having the best job just getting to meet customers, often handpicking them for the podcast.

(00:52):

Lucky for me today, even though Charley’s not here, I am joined by one of my favorite customers, Steven Sanders-Myers. He’s from Brightwater Homes, based in Atlanta. They’re a semi-custom production builder based in Atlanta, also working in Charleston. They do about 40 to 50 homes a year. Steven’s a repeat guest on the pod. We love him so. We’re going to talk a little bit today about tips and strategies for managing multiple projects at once. How do you scale? How do you make sure that you innovate? I’m so excited he’s here. Let’s go ahead and get him in here.

(01:30):

Hi Steven. Welcome back to “The Building Code.”

Steven Sanders-Myers (01:33):

Hey, how’s it going?

Courtney Mattern (01:34):

Good. It’s so nice to have you back. What have you been up to?

Steven Sanders-Myers (01:37):

It’s great to be here. Building, building. Never a dull day, that’s for sure.

Courtney Mattern (01:42):

Well, for all of our listeners at home, you’ve been on the podcast before, but for anybody new who’s tuning in, why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself, and about Brightwater Homes?

Steven Sanders-Myers (01:54):

Sure. I’ve been building for about 22 years now. I’ve seen most different avenues of residential construction over the years. And then, I’ve been with Brightwater in the purchasing role for the past eight. Brightwater is a 14-year-old company with a real emphasis on architecture and design, and sustainability. We have all those departments in-house, and really key in on how they play off each other to build some really curated, thoughtful, extremely nerdy, from a building science side, homes.

Courtney Mattern (02:35):

How many homes is Brightwater doing right now?

Steven Sanders-Myers (02:39):

We’ll do 35 to 40 a year. We’re in the Atlanta market and we’re in the Charleston market. We’re split, probably 50/50, 60/40 year to year between those two markets.

Courtney Mattern (02:39):

Do you have teams in both markets?

Steven Sanders-Myers (02:52):

Everything operationally is in our office, architecture design, purchasing, accounting, pre-construction, so on. And then, we have field teams in both markets. We talk to our field team here in Atlanta that’s 45 minutes away, and we talk to our field team in Charleston that’s five hours away, but it’s a similar process for both.

Courtney Mattern (03:12):

So, not far from each other?

Steven Sanders-Myers (03:13):

No, not far at all.

Courtney Mattern (03:15):

In this episode, we want to talk a little bit about some strategies for managing multiple production home projects, and doing it efficiently. Why don’t you start off by telling us, what are some of the challenges that you and your team has in managing a large number of projects all at once?

Steven Sanders-Myers (03:35):

Well, just unique characteristics of each. We build, like I said, 35 to 40 homes a year, and there’s nothing the same in the finish of them across the board. You have a unique site, you have a unique elevation, unique finishes, and you have to treat every home as a one-off from what’s getting installed and how it’s getting installed.

Courtney Mattern (04:05):

Steven, how long have you been in the construction industry? I know, if people already know you, you’re the purchasing manager at Brightwater Homes, oversee estimating. How long have you been in the industry?

Steven Sanders-Myers (04:18):

22 years total. Actually, I started out framing houses, and just fell in love with the overall process of building homes right out of college. I started framing, from there, got into construction management, owner production level just as an assistant builder, and the passion continued to grow, and I moved from there. I’ve done production, I’ve done custom homes, I’ve done historical renovations around Atlanta, renovations and additions. I’ve worked just through the downturn a little bit, with some foreclosure renovations, just having to fill the gaps where you can as the market turned down some, but then ultimately, back to new construction, where my real passion is.

Courtney Mattern (05:00):

Sure. You talked a little bit about the challenges that you see with managing multiple projects at once. Over the last 20 years, in your time in the construction industry, have those challenges evolved, or do they stay the same?

Steven Sanders-Myers (05:15):

Definitely evolved. Zoom out, you can say, well, supply chain and labor constraints, but zooming in, the specifics of those has definitely increased. Obviously, the year that we shall not mention, 2020 and 2021, were brutal.

Courtney Mattern (05:35):

It’s a blur.

Steven Sanders-Myers (05:35):

Yeah, that’s right, and they opened up new cans of worms with how those struggles can show themselves. We learned a lot from that, but still to this day, the market has changed some, and just how we have to approach ordering, how we have to really be diligent of looking probably further out with materials and sourcing. And then on the labor side, because our labor pool is aging out, the younger employees that are backfilling that are not getting the training, the education they need, so it takes more on us to do on-site training and preparation with them to get the same results that maybe you would’ve gotten just from a standard crew showing up 15 years ago.

Courtney Mattern (06:24):

We know that Brightwater Homes, you’re longtime Buildertrend users, and we want to talk about technologies and innovations you’re using to make the work navigate these problems. We can talk about Buildertrend, but I’m really interested, what new technologies is your team using right now? Just for everybody at home listening, my team just went out to visit Steven and his team in Atlanta. We spent a week capturing video, getting to see some of the builds in real life, so watch for that on the Behind the Business series on our social media. It was really fun. Thanks again for having us, and having …

Steven Sanders-Myers (07:03):

Yeah, it was a great time.

Courtney Mattern (07:04):

Not just to see how you’re using Buildertrend, but all the ways that you’re innovating. Let’s talk about those new technologies that you might be using now. Obviously, Buildertrend’s probably one of them, but there’s probably more, too.

Steven Sanders-Myers (07:18):

Yeah, there are, but I can keep the emphasis there with the Buildertrend usage, and really, while in our office, we do utilize Excel, we utilize Dropbox, and a number of different technologies and software programs. Our communication to the field is a consistent, Buildertrend is your platform. Whether you’re on the app, or on your phone or iPad, or you’re on the computer, everything that we send to them is through the Buildertrend portal. Outside of communication, we still use traditional email and text for communication, but documentation, purchase orders, checklists, to-do’s, so on is all through that, and that gives us a consistent platform to go to them, like I mentioned, when we’ve got our building teams 45 minutes or five hours away. They know they can have the same experience by us laying out a consistent process of, if you need X, here’s where it’s going to be. They know every single time they can go there, and our great team here in the office is working feverishly to make sure that there’s consistent and accurate data for those teams.

Courtney Mattern (08:26):

As we were just talking before the episode got started, our team about how millennials are finally able to enter the market, and they’re buying, building houses, have some of your processes and the tools that you’ve adopted, are they to cater to a younger audience of homeowners? Are you noticing a change in their expectations for what kind of tools and technologies you’re using?

Steven Sanders-Myers (08:54):

You’re talking about the process of building a house, or more the technology built into the homes themselves?

Courtney Mattern (08:57):

Either. I think the younger generations are really into sustainable homes, so the technologies that you’re building into these semi-custom production homes, or just what their expectation is for how you’re communicating with them.

Steven Sanders-Myers (09:14):

I’m going to say we’re still learning and growing to get that in from the communication side. That’s something where we … I feel like that’s something that’s hard to stay in front of, unless you’re right on the cusp of it. We’re applying some new things in relaying info for sign-offs and so on, and how we’re approaching it. And then, our curated design process that we use, it gets ahead of that just through forward-thinking, but doesn’t lean into that future or more progressive technology as much. Now, in the homes themselves, we do have smart home capabilities in every house, so numerous of the items are connected through a central platform.

(10:02):

And then, as far as sustainability goes, we are a 100% net-zero, or zero energy ready home builder. All of our homes are built in with that either ability to add solar to it, or already have a solar array there, which also connects to the home platform. They can look at solar generation, so you could hop on and see, “Well, it’s a sunny day, I just generated this many kilowatt-hours, which overproduced from my house, and I’m getting a credit.” Or, if it’s a cloudy date, you’re going to see production down some. Pretty cool to see that coming through the inverters, to be able to track the science. The house becomes a thing that you can actually experience with. That’s pretty cool.

Courtney Mattern (10:50):

What are some of the trends and the technologies that are most in demand, that clients are looking for?

Steven Sanders-Myers (11:02):

As far as that, I’m not as much on the market research side, so I can’t really speak as much to what buyers are asking for on that side. We still have a lot of buyers that really get more into wanting their specific finish or tweak to the curated design that we’re looking at. We put a lot of thought into that on the front end, thinking about the livability, and just the immersive nature of our homes. I can’t really give a good answer from that side. My head is so into numbers, and construction and business process, I don’t hear too much of that specific feedback.

Courtney Mattern (11:45):

Well, each of the homes that Brightwater builds, the experience for the client probably feels super personalized, but there’s a lot of work that goes into making sure that you’re meeting deadlines, you’re being efficient, and you’re getting a lot of builds done. What are some tools that you use, or maybe even things that you do to streamline operations, that help make the experience feel super personalized, but ensures that you’re meeting those business goals of getting projects done?

Steven Sanders-Myers (12:17):

No, that’s great. It’s all around process. When you think about production-minded, that is a process of literally, almost think about a factory of building a house. Whereas, what we’re doing, while we have higher volume, it’s not production level volume, but it’s higher volume than a five homes a year custom builder. We have to employ some kind of production mindsets into how we build, and it’s really about process. We look at how we can be efficient through doing so many of the steps of what we do, but then inside that, we leave room for the entrepreneurial mindedness, and the freedom for each department to achieve inside that process the way they see fit. What that does is, it removes the robotic, or micromanagement of the potential that can come with processes, and accentuates the ability to have consistent results for the process.

(13:25):

As far as our buyers go, we strive to treat them all the same from the process side, but then, we know that each one is going to get a very custom, immersive experience. We talk about it, we know a buyer is coming in, so let’s get to know, what’s their favorite drink? What music do they like? What are some things like that, so that we can craft their experience when they come into our office, or when we’re having a meeting with them around where they’re going to be, so it really feels to them like a unique experience that was made custom for them. For us, while we have those customizations, we have a process that’s driving all that from one to the next.

Courtney Mattern (14:09):

The homes, we’ve seen them online, our team’s been out to visit, they’re beautiful, they’re gorgeous, they’re high quality. There’s a lot of craftsmanship that goes into them, and I think sometimes when people think of production homes, or multiple builds in a year, that you aren’t going to get something special. What parts of the process help make sure that you are able to put those special touches on the house?

Steven Sanders-Myers (14:39):

That goes back to passion. If you’ve heard of CAIRNS, it’s spelled C-A-I-R-N-S, it’s a stack of stones. It’s trail markers. Each letter has a respective trait, or directive that we follow as a company. One of the A’s is impact. Apologies for the language, you bleep if you need to, but we give a shit. That’s ingrained in every one of our team, that we are passionate about what we do, and we pour so much into each build. We’re thinking about every exterior, sometimes overthink about it laughingly, but really, how each home is going to work, both with itself and different elements of it, but how that’s going to play to the next house, to the next house. One, how whoever buys that is going to live in it, but then also, how they’re going to interact with their neighbors from this porch looking at this porch, and windows and landscaping, and so on. I would say it goes back to passion. We care so much about creating a unique, quality product.

Courtney Mattern (15:49):

It’s funny that you say it like, we give a shit, because a slogan that we have had around here. Our sales team has it emblazoned on T-shirts from back in Buildertrend days of past. I think having passion ensures that you aren’t staying complacent probably as a business, you are striving to be innovative. The year ahead, every year has uncertainties. What are you looking ahead at as potential challenges, or maybe processes you have now that you already know that you’re going to have to tweak, or you’re going to have to innovate on?

Steven Sanders-Myers (16:31):

Just comment on the first part, Charlie Bostwick, who founded and who is our owner of the company, really has led with that, of it being an inclusive environment. While yes, he’s the owner, he’s always in communication with the leadership team and really with anyone in the company, of where we’re going. There’s a lot of transparency with who we are and what we want to be doing. And then, that lends more to the passion as well because everyone understanding more about why. The great principle, know your why, and when you know that, it allows you to have more passion to better do what you do. Looking forward, I know the whole talk about automation has continued to be on just the, “It’s coming, it’s coming. This year, the automation is really going to take off.” I think I may even have said it at the last podcast I was on.

I’m a firm believer that it’s going to have to become more of a role in how we build. If you look at Sam Rashkin’s work through the Energy Star program, a lot of the core ways that we build a house is the same way we built them 150 years ago, and it’s time to elevate that. It’s time to look at elements where we really can think outside the box by getting out of a traditional box that we build, and control some of those processes through, probably some offsite and then deliver to the site. That’s where I’m just constantly looking at, where can we build a better product from a building science and execution side? I think we’re going to start implementing that in the coming years.

Courtney Mattern (18:15):

Let’s play a game. Since I’m here solo, and Charley wasn’t here to help me host my first podcast as official host, I’m going to change things up, we’re going to play a game. Let’s do, do you think it’s a fad, or do you think it’s the future? Let’s talk about some of these buzzwords that are in the industry. Let’s start with AI. Is it a fad, or is it the future?

Steven Sanders-Myers (18:45):

Right now, I think AI is just a robust search engine. If you really look at what it’s doing, it’s just a search engine. I would say in its current capabilities, it’s a fad, but I think that AI will be the future as the capabilities and potential of it continue to be realized. I know that’s a political answer.

Courtney Mattern (19:06):

I wish it could fold my laundry.

Steven Sanders-Myers (19:07):

That’s right. Well, that’s the Tesla robot. Elon’s robot is coming out, and there will be doing that supposedly. I think that will be the future, but further out. I think we’re probably 15, 20 years from that being a reality for changing everyday life.

Courtney Mattern (19:24):

Okay, let’s do another one. Fad or the future, virtual reality model homes?

Steven Sanders-Myers (19:31):

Nice. I think it’s a fad. They’re cool, but it takes a lot of investment to build them out. While it’s a great experience and a cool thing when you see the potential for it, there’s a lot of costs upfront to do it. And then, the experience of it, again, it’s very cool and kitschy, but that said, I want to go through it, but I still think that we’re a textile. We live in the real world, I’m living in a real house, I want to be able to touch and feel and experience that. I think that some builders are going to use it extremely successfully, but as a whole, I don’t see it getting to mass market.

Courtney Mattern (20:10):

I think you’re onto something there about the touch and the feel. I can’t imagine walking through a house without running my handle along the countertop, or opening all the drawers.

Steven Sanders-Myers (20:18):

That’s right.

Courtney Mattern (20:19):

And there’s something to say, too, I think the more people touch, the more they want to buy once they can hold it and feel it.

Steven Sanders-Myers (20:27):

Yeah, and there’s something about energy. We are beings that have a sense of energy and stuff. If you’re just looking, even though it’s 3D, you’re in a headset, there’s only so much that can transfer that. When you walk into a home, you feel the essence of that, of what is there. Maybe that’s getting a little weird, but I really think that that carries through. There’s so much energy and passion that goes into building that house, and I think that’s transferred there. When you walk into it, there’s an experience of being there.

Courtney Mattern (20:56):

You feel it, it for sure. Okay, we’ll do one more. Fad or the future, 3D printed homes?

Steven Sanders-Myers (21:04):

Nice. I’ll go more fad than future, really regionally. Some regions have great access to the materials that are needed for 3D printing of the cement, and the different mixture that’s there. Maybe Arizona, maybe some of the Midwest where it can set up, you’ve got a lot of flat ground, you can set that machine and go to it, I think there’ll be some great success to fill what’s needed, but I don’t see it being future on any kind of mass market. I don’t think that it fits the bill for the topo and the type of homes, and the complexity that we would need to fit in a mass market, or I would say even a production market from a cost perspective, or a production entry level home because of the abundance of lumber and force that we have. I think that the costs and efficiencies that are going to come about through factory and offsite stuff will far outpace 3D printing.

Courtney Mattern (22:13):

For sure. Well, let’s talk about something you do think is the future. First, let’s set the scene. What are the goals for Brightwater Homes? Are you happy at the 45, 50 mark for new home builds? You guys have lofty goals for the future ahead?

Steven Sanders-Myers (22:35):

There’s a great quote, and apologies to whoever said it, I read in a book somewhere, but it said, “Better, more, new.” We’re doing something good, do it better. Let’s be great at what we do, and then do more of it. Continue to do more of that. When you’re rocking and rolling with that, then look for something new. I think sometimes when we grasp at always doing something new, we can lose sight of really executing well on what we know. And then, there’s overall breakdown that has unintended consequence of going there. That’s not saying we shouldn’t go after new things, but it’s being intentional and aware of what we’re going after, while also not losing sight of what we know that we’re good at. We know that we’re good in the range that we do. We’re not looking to go to build $10 million homes, or $500,000 homes, because we have our niche of semi-custom, this type of product.

(23:33):

As far as volume, again, with where our team’s been on the markets we’re in, we have a good place, so we stay. Our management team, and Charlie does a great job on looking for lots, and keeping a couple of years ahead of that. Right now, we’re enjoying it. I think we’re going to keep cranking where we are. Not to say that five, 10 years, we couldn’t look bigger than that, but after, again, 2020 and ’21, ’22, it’s been a bit of an exhale. I’m just going to ride the bike. I’m just going to cruise a little bit, and then we’ll see about really ramping down here in the coming years.

Courtney Mattern (24:19):

I think that’s great just business advice in general for any type of construction business or small businesses. Think about, what is it that your company brings to the world that’s so special? Don’t lose sight of that even when there might be opportunities or trends out there. Is there any technology or tool that might be a buzzword, but you really do think is the future right now? What are you excited about that you’re like, “This might seem trendy now, but people, get on board?”

Steven Sanders-Myers (24:52):

I wouldn’t say trendy, but microgrids, it’s coming. If you look at the overall energy of the country, I think our output right now, or our overall generation as a country is one terawatt. I think we have plans in place to double that, to go up to two terawatts in five or 10 years, and that’s just way too slow for the energy needs that are going to be there with the increased computing power that’s needed for AI, for Bitcoin mining and different things like that. EVs, there are so many EVs coming into the market. We need more energy, and traditional methods aren’t going to get us there. As that happens, you’re going to see more strains on the overall grid, which is going to say, “How can we defeat this?” It’s going to be microgrids. There’s not a lot of them out yet, but the success stories of microgrids popping up around the country are amazing.

(25:56):

Just recently, there was a hurricane that came across the Panhandle, and hit over in Texas, it hit Houston and stuff. There’s a chain of convenience stores that have done microgrids on their stores, power’s out in Houston for two weeks or something, but all those stores remained in power because they had their microgrids in place. Similar thing you’ll see in some of the whole neighborhoods, if you think a fifty-home development, they all have batteries, they all have solar, they have a community battery backup. The whole neighborhood could be out, or the whole surrounding community could be out, but that neighborhood is going to have sustained power to keep them going. I think that within five, 10 years, that’s something you’ll see. There won’t be a new neighborhood that’s not being built without some aspect of a microgrid.

Courtney Mattern (26:41):

That was a hot topic, even here in Omaha a couple of weeks ago, we had a storm, straight line winds …

Steven Sanders-Myers (26:46):

That’s right.

Courtney Mattern (26:47):

We had our biggest power outage in history, over 200,000 people lost power, myself included. I have 100-year-old house, I was like “A generator sounds real good right now.” What would be your advice to semi-custom production home builders who might be reluctant, they’re like, “We’ve got a good thing going here, just build in the standard home,” why be innovative? Why think about the future, and what clients might need in the homes, and find a new process to scale, and make sure that you’re able to innovate?

Steven Sanders-Myers (27:25):

From offerings from smart home features and stuff like that, you’ve got to know your market. If your buyers aren’t necessarily asking for it, and your sales aren’t happening, or aren’t lagging because you need that, there’s not necessarily an incentive to go that route. I think on the building science side of how the home is built, that is something that most buyers aren’t going to know to ask for, and I think that’s just a responsibility that we have as builders is to look at, how are these homes going to be performing on an energy level, on a livability level, 10 years from now, 20 years from now, 40 years from now?

Courtney Mattern (28:02):

100 years from now?

Steven Sanders-Myers (28:03):

That’s right, 100 years. It’s something that, if we think too short-sighted as builders, we’re going to build a product, build a home, and then, we sold it, we’re not going to think about it again. I believe that we have a responsibility to use the building science and the materials and processes that are afforded to us now to build a better product, and the challenge I would put out to any builders that are balking at looking at maybe changing up your envelope, or upgrading your system equipment would be, give me a call, and let’s really look at the numbers. Breaking it down, you really can move your dollars from here to here to make a better envelope, to do a better build house that’s going to perform so much better but not impact your bottom line. Ultimately, it’s going to make you shine because down the road, people are going to be talking about that house being better built and performing better.

Courtney Mattern (29:04):

The cream always rises to the top. An old college professor, I quote him on that. Okay, now you’ve convinced some builders who are listening probably to be like, “I need to stay on top of what the latest trends are, and the latest technologies to innovate and scale the business.” How do you stay updated? How do you make sure that you are thinking ahead and on the cutting edge? Is it organizations that you belong to? Are there other podcasts, books that you’re reading? We love a book referral on the podcast.

Steven Sanders-Myers (29:42):

I love books. For me, it’s just an overall desire to always be learning. Definitely podcasts. I’ve got five or 10 building ones, so I’m always looking and listening to that. Definitely newsletters and stuff like that, keeping tabs on that, IBS and different things. But really, just talking to other builders. We’re also a part of the CBUSA network here in Atlanta and in Charleston and talking to other builders about what their experience is, what they’re doing and what they’re employing, and sharing information. “Here’s what we’re doing. Oh, interesting. You tried that? How did that work out? How did that product affect your overall?” And then, when something makes sense, we’ll work it in.

Courtney Mattern (30:26):

You mentioned CBUSA. When this episode airs, it’s going to be just a week or so before The Summit by CBUSA, which is our all-user conference. For anybody listening, CBUSA is one of our Buildertrend companies. It’s a group purchasing organization. We’ve got chapters all across the country. Check it out. What are you most looking forward to about coming to the summit?

Steven Sanders-Myers (30:51):

Well, outside of the Minnesota Vikings football game, just getting to talk to builders from across the country. The Summit is put together, it’s, in my opinion, probably the best conference of the year in content, as far as speakers, and the way that they pack in two or three days of just really, really top level content. It’s talking to other builders. There’s such a great arena builders in the CBUSA network across the country, and learning from these individuals that have been doing it longer than I have, and at a higher level than I have. I’m excited to talk to them, maybe some I haven’t spoken to in a year. Some of them I’m sure I haven’t met yet, and there’ll be meeting new ones. I’m looking forward to hearing some more stories.

Courtney Mattern (31:42):

Yeah, that’s my favorite part of working in the construction industries, it’s still super human. There is something special about getting face-to-face with other builders in other markets, hearing about what their challenges are. Also, speaking of great content, I mentioned at the beginning of this episode that our team came out to visit y’all for the Behind the Business series. Before we wrap our episode, is there any tease you want to give on that? Anything to get the people going, so they tune in to you’re Behind the Business?

Steven Sanders-Myers (32:16):

All kinds of business secrets. You want to run more efficiently? We get into the weeds a lot. I’m sure they’re going to edit it out quite nicely, but we hit some really, really good topics around sustainability, around technology, and I think there’ll be some great takeaways.

Courtney Mattern (32:36):

For sure. For everybody listening, make sure you’re in our podcast fan group on Facebook, following us on social media, so that if you want to hear more from Steven, you make sure you catch the Behind the Business series. Steven, thanks so much for coming back to “The Building Code” and hanging with me on my first hosted show.

Steven Sanders-Myers (32:57):

Thanks for having me. Great job. You did very well.

Courtney Mattern (33:01):

Thanks. Do you want to rate this performance on a scale of one to 10?

Steven Sanders-Myers (33:06):

Sure. Let’s go 8.5. You did great. There’s always room to get better.

Courtney Mattern (33:12):

I know. I think that I need a partner. I need that co-host to give me a hard time, to make it even more fun. I think by the time Charley gets back, I might have the studio redecorated, change the whole look and feel, maybe change the name of the podcast. I don’t know, I won’t get carried away.

Steven Sanders-Myers (33:26):

You’ve got to make them pay for not showing up.

Courtney Mattern (33:29):

Well, thanks Steven. I’ll see you in Minneapolis, and until next time, this is “The Building Code.”

Steven Sanders-Myers (33:35):

Sounds good.

Courtney Mattern (33:35):

We just heard from Steven Sanders-Myersat Brightwater Homes in Atlanta. It was great to have him on to talk about tips and strategies for managing multi-production home processes, but my favorite part of the episode really was hearing about how passion is still really important when you’re building your business and what drives you forward, and using that passion to decide, how do you want to innovate on your company? Where do you want to go next? You don’t want to get caught up in fads. You want to be focused on the future. I hope that there were great takeaways for everyone who tuned in. Thanks everyone for coming along with me, hosting my first episode sans Charley. You heard it here first, I got an 8.5 out of 10. I’ll work on that. It’s great to have you here. Can’t wait to see you next time.

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Make sure that you rate, review and subscribe our podcast. That’s how it makes it easier for more people, more builders like you to find the podcast. Head to Facebook, join The Building Code Crew. You can rate my performance, too, on a scale of one to 10. As long as it’s a 10, I’ll believe you. I just told my production crew, too, I’ll work on a sign-off. It might not be as good as Zach’s, but if you have any ideas for a great sign-off, drop them in the comments, post them below, and I’ll see you next time on “The building Code.”