Welcome back to the Crushing It In Construction Podcast.And a warm welcome to this week's guest Richard Austin, CEO of Australia's leading fire safety engineering outfit Omnii.Richard is a management expert who has spent his career rising through the ranks of numerous industries, his sights set on seniority.His wealth of insights are now on hand to help you kick forward - covering their cutting-edge use of AI, his tips for connecting effectively with each member of your team, his love of coac...

Welcome back to the Crushing It In Construction Podcast.We're keeping the momentum by welcoming John Carolan into the hotseat, Founder and Director of SKOPE Constructions in New South Wales.John is here to share the rise of SKOPE, his own journey from on-site labourer to managing executive, and most importantly, the impact that a new marketing strategy has had on their business.With the help of Ken Robinson of Persuasive Marketing, they chose to focus on customer success, creating new content...

Welcome back to the Crushing It In Construction Podcast.We're back! And we're kicking things off again by chatting to New York State's finest electrician-entrepreneur, skilled trades advocate, professional race driver and LinkedIn commenter, Doug Winston.Doug chose his path at 18 years old, rejecting uni to follow in the footsteps of his high-earning electrician cousin. Now with 39 years under his belt, he's grown from an apprentice to the President of his own company D&M Electrical.He sh...

Welcome back to the Crushing It In Construction Podcast.Tuning in this week from across the pond is Oregon native, and founder of the ever-growing Baldwin General Contracting, Yohn Baldwin.Yohn shares his story, from childhood life lessons growing up on a farm, to becoming a high-flying touring musician, to packing it in and utilising his range of hands-on skills to grow from solo operation to 100 employees and counting.Ever wonder about the parallels between music and construction? Want to l...

Welcome back to the Crushing It In Construction Podcast.This week's masterclass: video.Too many construction companies are either ignoring it altogether, or churning out cookie-cutter landfill that doesn't show off their business, or do anything for their company culture.So that's why we've recruited James Davies, Marketing Manager of Martin Brothers - the Brisbane landscapers who have already featured on the show back in episode #72.Their content is second-to-none, and does an amazing job of...

Welcome back to the Crushing It In Construction Podcast.And welcome to a fascinating approach for running a top construction business, brought to us by Maz Group Managing Director Marty Craggill.As a two-time Australian Superbike Champion, Marty learned a ton in his racing days that he believes has channelled directly into the way he runs his business. Whether it's the standard of safety, the ability to communicate clearly, keeping calm under pressure, working in a close-knit team, making big...

Welcome back to the Crushing It In Construction Podcast.After being recommended to get him on as a guest 12 months ago, the timings have aligned, and we welcome Stephen Hill into the CIIC hot-seat.Now CEO of BildGroup, Stephen's early plans to become a commercial pilot led him into a side-hustle in construction, before re-aligning his sights, getting an engineering degree and working his way up the ranks.With BildGroup boasting twelve distinct operating departments, Stephen has a lot on his p...

Welcome back to the Crushing It In Construction Podcast.We're joined this week by Sally-ann Eather, Executive Manager of Eather Group in New South Wales.Eather Group have been popping up everywhere recently, not least because they recently won the prestigious Telstra Best of Business National Award, in the Indigenous Excellence category.Sally-ann joins today to talk us through the company's formation, before going on to share with us just what the award has done for the business, and why othe...

Welcome back to the Crushing It In Construction Podcast.Joining this week is Martin Preece from Building Environs Recruitment in Melbourne.Now, recruiters often get a bad rep. But Martin is one of the good ones, and he's here to share everything you need to know to maximise the business-recruiter relationship and scope out the best talent in the industry.This is a masterclass for employers out there - it's time to elevate your online presence, work in lockstep with recruiters, be honest about...

Welcome back to the Crushing It In Construction Podcast.Back again with fresh momentum and more guest interviews in the pipeline, we kick things off again by chatting with Gary McLaughlin of Railtrain Holdings Group.Originally from Scotland, Gary made the move to Perth fourteen years ago to work for a huge Tier 1 operator and run big budget, multi-year projects - before electing to join Railtrain as CEO.He talks us through his reasons for making the switch, and reflects on the invaluable boar...

Welcome back to the Crushing It In Construction Podcast. We're now up to Episode 80! Who better to join for a conversation about the impressive rise of Silverstrand Developments than Managing Director Darren Broderick. Based in Queensland, but operating all over Australia and New Zealand, Darren joined Silverstrand in 2012 - taking the leap from Project Manager to Estimator, before coming onboard as a shareholder in 2015. He reflects on this journey, sharing his insights from the business...

Welcome back to the Crushing It In Construction Podcast. It's time for a different kind of episode today, as we dive into something that every construction company could benefit from: hiring overseas talent. Our expert? Founder and CEO of reputable marketing and lead generation agency GrowthLabz, Will Wang. As Will shares, he has hired over fifty employees from the Philippines over the years, and so he knows exactly what it takes to ensure success, support a happy workforce and save on...

Welcome back to the Crushing It In Construction Podcast. Joining from across the pond is Oregon-based bridge builder Con O'Connor, President of Hamilton Construction. With Hamilton diversifying over the last few years to offer more services and reach a wider target market, Con takes a step back to reflect on the successes, important lessons and business wisdom gained from his time in charge. And he's no stranger to the company, having started as a Project Manager back in 1998. He recounts...

Welcome back to the Crushing It In Construction Podcast. In the hot seat this week is Guy Schweitzer, one of the founding directors of MGN Civil in New South Wales. Now a national company taking on projects from east to west, MGN have grown rapidly since forming in 2015 - as Guy reveals, it really has been an unstoppable journey. He shares how some old-fashioned interpersonal skills landed them an early client who sorted them out with all the necessary accreditation, and how this pivotal...

Welcome back to the Crushing It In Construction Podcast. This week, we've got a special chat with the inimitable Colm Phibbs, Managing Director of CONO Services in Sydney. What makes it special? Well, Colm really tells it how it is - sparing no detail as he recounts the rise of CONO from a risk-taking one-man operation biting off more than he could chew, into a well-structured, successful and reputable company. There's loads to learn from his approach, with tips for starting out with the...

Welcome back to the Crushing It In Construction Podcast. Kicking off 2024 in style, with episode 75, is a chat with none other than Jason De Vos from JDV Projects in Sydney. Since founding the company 25 years ago, Jason has grown JDV from a one-man band into a fully-formed team of construction, fitout and refurb specialists. And it's quite clear from this conversation just how big an emphasis he's placed on instilling and upholding good values in himself, his staff and the relationships...

Welcome back to the Crushing It In Construction Podcast. Joining for one of the last episodes of 2023 is Peter Rahilly, Owner and Director of 2Construct in Melbourne. With heaps of experience delivering high quality projects, Peter has picked up a thing or two about running a business, managing money and navigating an ever-changing industry. Today's episode lays it all out on the table:  How did 2Construct get started?Why are builders and contractors bankrolling jobs instead of...

Welcome back to the Crushing It In Construction Podcast. We have a bit of a different episode for you this week.  Everyone in the construction industry is struggling to attract and retain talent.  And as an industry we; Are attracting less than ⅓ of the job applications compared to 10 years agoHave an aging workforce that is rapidly moving towards retirementAnd our industry is failing to attract enough younger talent So in today's episode, we wanted to give people an actionable method they...

Welcome back to the Crushing It In Construction Podcast. And a warm welcome to this week's guest Jack Martin, CEO and co-founder of Brisbane landscapers Martin Brothers. Jack is brilliant in this episode. He shares a whole bunch of stories from his entrepreneurial career: selling cans out of his school locker, running warehouse parties and tinkering with SaaS businesses, before he joined forces with his brother to mow as many lawns as they could - and it's going pretty well for...

Welcome back to the Crushing It In Construction Podcast. Joining today is Managing Director of Mettle, Marc Kenney. With bases in Queensland and New South Wales, Mettle have become a construction powerhouse - ever since Marc took the reins and revitalised their approach. In the episode, he recounts some lessons from his prior experience as General Manager of Built, and reflects on Mettle's journey from misfiring infrastructure to $170m annual turnover. Most importantly, we touch on an...

Welcome back to the Crushing It In Construction Podcast. It's a milestone moment, as we hit episode 70 in our series. And what better way to mark the occasion, than welcoming this week's guest Mike Paton from EOS Worldwide? EOS has cropped up a couple times in conversations with previous guests, and it was time to get to the bottom of what it's all about - quite simply, it's a system to help businesses run more efficiently and scale. Pretty neat stuff then. But how does it work? Primarily...

Welcome back to the Crushing It In Construction Podcast. Tuning in this week from central Queensland is Principal/Director of Butler Partners, Chris Bloxsom. An industry veteran, Chris has mastered his trade and acutely refined his approach to business - learning lessons from flawed corporate policy and underlining the unwavering importance of managing your cashflow. In our chat, Chris takes us through his story, the foundations of Butler Partners, and numerous philosophies and approaches...

Welcome back to the Crushing It In Construction Podcast. In the hotseat today is Jason Priest, co-founder of WIRED Overhead Solutions. WIRED are doing really well for themselves - and Jason is here to explain exactly how they've gone from fledgling start-up to landing contracts on some of Queensland's biggest ever rail projects. The trick for their success? Writing a business case before they even got started, that laid out a roadmap for what to do when they hit the good, bad and the...

Welcome back to the Crushing It In Construction Podcast. We return back to the stories, tips and tricks from Australia's best in the game by turning the spotlight on Damian Duke, Managing Director at BRL Contracting in Victoria. Damian was always destined for a career in construction, having helped his old man to build cabinets for a bit of pocket money on weekends from a super young age - instilling an enviable entrepreneurial spirit and business know-how. Having started at BRL as an...