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The Deconstruction Podcast: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Jobtable
Construction isn’t just about building—it’s about breaking things down to make them better. The Deconstruction Podcast dives deep into the untold stories, insider insights, and success strategies that shape the construction industry. Hosted by the founders of Jobtable, we tackle topics that matter most to contractors and entrepreneurs, sharing actionable advice and interviewing industry leaders who’ve paved the way to success. Whether you’re looking to grow your business, spark new ideas, or stay ahead in the game, this podcast is your ultimate tool for construction and entrepreneurship. Powered by Jobtable—the world's simplest construction software.
Latest Episodes
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- 4 weeks ago55 min
Contractors: 45% of Homeowners Are Finding You Through AI, Not Google
Homeowners are quietly changing how they find a contractor, and most companies haven't caught up. AI-first searches are converting at more than double the rate of a regular Google search, and if your business isn't set up to show up there, you're losing jobs to someone who is.This episode covers three things hitting contractors right now: the federal government's new $6 billion apprenticeship program and whether it will actually fix the shortage, why 62% of homeowners say they're more likely to move forward on a project when financing is offered, and the shift toward AI-first contractor searches, including the exact steps to start showing up in those results.Jobtable makes it simple to capture reviews automatically after every job, offer financing through Stripe, and keep your business running without extra admin work. 👉 Learn more at https://www.jobtable.comNew episodes every week, subscribe so you don't miss one.00:00 – Intro and listener review02:13 – Canada's $6 billion apprenticeship program07:45 – Why only 1 in 3 apprentices complete certification20:08 – The ratio problem nobody's fixing27:34 – Homeowners are sitting on $180K in equity29:37 – Why financing options win you more jobs41:20 – 45% of homeowners are using AI to find contractors43:42 – How to actually show up on AI search results55:40 – Billboard segment
- Jun 26, 202652 min
Warranty Callbacks Are Costing You $70K a Year (And Nobody's Tracking It)
Most contractors treat warranty callbacks as a cost of doing business and never run the numbers. On a mid-sized HVAC shop doing $1-2M a year, a 5% callback rate can bleed out over $70,000 annually, and almost nobody is tracking where that money actually goes.Kosta and Johny break down why callbacks aren't always the contractor's fault (often it's a manufacturer defect you end up eating the cost for), how to actually track warranty costs by job and by vendor inside your software, and why most trades businesses never bother negotiating supplier pricing even as repeat, predictable customers. They also get into the wave of aging-out boomer contractors with no succession plan, and why every business, whether you plan to sell it or not, should be built to run without the owner.This one's relevant whether you're running HVAC, plumbing, electrical, or general contracting. Job costing, supplier relationships, and exit planning all come up.Jobtable makes it easy to track warranty and callback costs right inside your job costing, so you have real numbers instead of guesses next time you're negotiating with a supplier. 👉 Learn more at https://www.jobtable.comNew episodes every week, subscribe so you don't miss one.00:00 – Intro and listener review from BC contractor01:50 – Recurring jobs and invoices coming to Jobtable02:43 – The real cost of warranty callbacks (HVAC numbers breakdown)05:04 – Why most callbacks are the manufacturer's fault, not yours12:04 – How to actually track warranty costs by job in your software19:36 – Why customers blame you, not the manufacturer, when something breaks28:34 – Negotiating supplier pricing as a repeat customer35:48 – Group purchasing organizations and bulk buying direct39:08 – Boomer contractors aging out with no succession plan48:52 – Why every business needs to run without the owner to be sellable
- Jun 11, 202657 min
Processes, Hiring, and Sales: How Contractors Break the $1M Revenue Mark
Only about 5% of businesses in the US and Canada ever hit a million dollars in revenue. For contractors, the gap between "doing good work" and actually crossing that mark usually comes down to a few specific things that most trade school programs never cover.Kosta and Charlie break down the four walls that keep contractors stuck below a million: no real processes in place, reluctance to hire and get off the tools, no sales system, and weak people management. Charlie draws from 16-plus years building iPLUMB into a multi-million dollar commercial plumbing operation, including the hiring mistakes, the micromanagement phase, and what finally changed.If you're running a trades business and you want more structure, Jobtable helps contractors manage jobs, quotes, scheduling, and follow-ups from one place. Contractors using it report faster approvals and less time chasing paperwork. 👉 Learn more at https://www.jobtable.comNew episodes every week — subscribe so you don't miss one.00:00 – Intro + Listener Review (Preston Funkhauser, GC, Tennessee)01:40 – Why Only 5% of Businesses Hit $1M Revenue02:50 – Processes: The #1 Thing Stalling Contractor Growth06:00 – Hiring: Getting Off the Tools and Trusting Your Team13:30 – The Case for Hiring Back Office Before Another Tradesperson17:20 – Margin Reality: Making 40% Off $1M vs. 10% Off $5M25:50 – Sales: Why Most Contractors Leave Money on the Table33:30 – Quote Follow-Up, Open Tracking, and Closing Rate Data42:00 – People Management: Running Like Clockwork at Scale48:30 – Promoting Your Best Tech vs. Hiring the Right Manager54:00 – Closing Thoughts: Don't Be Afraid to Grow
- Jun 9, 20261h 0m
Gen Z Is Choosing Trades, Raising Prices, and Knowing Your Worth
Something is shifting in who's showing up to job sites. Gen Z is entering the trades faster than anyone expected, and the reasons go deeper than just a labor shortage stat. This episode gets into what's actually pulling younger people away from university and toward skilled trades, whether it's going to last, and what it means for trade business owners hiring right now.Kosta, Johny, and Charlie also get into the pricing conversation a lot of contractors avoid. With 67% of small business owners raising or planning to raise rates in 2026, the question isn't whether to raise your prices, it's how to do it without losing the clients you've worked to keep. They break down how to communicate a rate increase, how to identify the clients who aren't worth keeping anyway, and why competing on price is usually the wrong game.If you're running a trades company and you're still charging what you charged two or three years ago, this episode is worth your time. Jobtable helps contractors manage quotes, invoices, scheduling, and client communication in one place, keeping operations tight so you can focus on the work. 👉 Learn more at https://www.jobtable.comNew episodes every week. Subscribe so you don't miss one.00:00 – Intro & Jobtable shoutout01:45 – Gen Z entering the trades: real shift or overstated stat?05:10 – Why money (not just AI fear) is the real driver09:30 – The stigma around trades is gone14:00 – Smart people are building trade businesses, not just working in them18:30 – How to tell clients you're raising rates25:00 – Comparing apples to apples: why cheap bids cost more in the end43:00 – Why contractors still get lowballed (and what to do about it)51:00 – The professionalism gap and defending your price58:30 – Banner question: No plan B's
- May 27, 202656 min
Wall Street Backing Trades, The Renovation Wave, and Why Contractors Don't Sell
Wall Street isn't investing hundreds of millions in trades training because they care about blue collar workers. BlackRock and Lowe's are doing it because they need electricians, plumbers, and HVAC techs to build AI data centers, and they don't have nearly enough of them. That context changes how you read the "labor shortage" narrative.This episode breaks down what's actually driving the demand for trades right now, why the renovation market is sitting at a record $522 billion for 2026, and why most contractors are completely sleeping on the simplest sales move available to them. Kosta and Johny go through all of it with no filter.If you're running a trades business, keeping your pipeline full is part of the job. Jobtable helps contractors stay on top of quotes, jobs, and invoices without the learning curve of software that wasn't built for them. 👉 Learn more at https://www.jobtable.comNew episodes every week — subscribe so you don't miss one.00:00 – Intro + Jobtable review shoutout01:55 – What's new in Jobtable03:10 – BlackRock's $100M and Lowe's $250M trades training initiatives07:00 – AI data centers: the real reason behind the labor shortage narrative10:25 – A trade skill is the one thing nobody can take from you12:45 – AI outlook: optimism, fear, and software engineer job postings19:45 – Renovation boom: $522B in 2026 and homeowners sitting on equity39:45 – Why contractors don't knock on doors (and why they should)49:30 – Construction has no sales culture — and that needs to change
- May 12, 20261h 26m
Red and True: Why Canada's Construction Workforce Needs Its Own Voice w/ Manny, Construction Life
Most people with a microphone in construction are giving you answers. Nobody's asking questions. That gap, between what gets said publicly about the industry and what's actually happening on job sites across Canada, is what this episode is about.Manny, host of The Construction Life Podcast, joins Kosta and Johny to talk about Red and True, his plan to take a crew across all 10 Canadian provinces and interview real boots-on-the-ground contractors. They cover the retention crisis nobody's naming, development fees that have climbed 600% while wages haven't kept pace, why media-trained voices are making the real problems harder to solve, and why going directly to the trades to fund this thing makes more sense than chasing corporate sponsors who can't speak the language.Running a construction business is hard enough without the industry working against you. Jobtable helps contractors keep the business side organized so they can stay focused on the work. 👉 Learn more at https://www.jobtable.comNew episodes every week. Hit subscribe so you don't miss one.Learn more about Red & True: https://theconstructionlife.com/00:00 – Intro and Why Human Support Still Beats a Chatbot02:34 – Introducing Manny, The Construction Life Podcast05:10 – What Is Read and True13:00 – The Retention Problem Nobody in Construction Is Naming17:00 – Media Training and the Death of Honest Conversation24:00 – What Being on the Ground Captures That a Studio Never Will38:00 – Development Fees Up 600%: Why Construction Is Stalling1:01:00 – Funding the Tour Directly Through the Industry
- May 6, 202651 min
From Electrician to Business Owner: Almost Quit at 6 Months w/ Elber, Made Electric
Most electricians who start their own company know how to wire a house. What they don't know is how to run payroll, fill a pipeline, hire the right people, or say no to work that's bleeding them dry. Elber Gamboa learned all of that the hard way, and he's honest about every mistake.Elber is the owner of Made Electric in the Greater Toronto area, a residential electrical contractor specializing in custom homes and home automation. In this episode, he talks about nearly quitting in his first six months, the cold-call strategy that saved his business, why hiring the wrong personality type cost him more than any bad invoice, and how he's navigating a slow market by doubling down on high-end residential work.If you're running a trades business and trying to figure out how to actually grow it, tools like Jobtable exist to take the admin weight off so you can focus on the work that matters. 👉 Learn more at https://www.jobtable.comChapters / Timestamps00:00 – Intro + listener review02:17 – Meet Elber Gamboa and Made Electric05:07 – The difference between being good at the trade and running a business06:00 – Almost quitting at 6 months: the Facebook group story09:50 – Early marketing that actually worked: property managers, yard signs, neighbor pamphlets12:00 – Scaling to 5 employees, then back down, and what went wrong13:00 – Hiring for personality, not just skill set16:00 – Why Elber has a perfect 5-star Google rating17:30 – Niching into residential, custom homes, and home automation25:00 – How he's staying steady through a slow market27:00 – Networking events, marketing courses, and building relationships before you need them35:00 – Why software is non-negotiable for a growing trades business44:00 – The economic outlook: why maintenance work is recession-proof49:00 – Billboard question
- Apr 23, 202652 min
If We Started Our Trades Company Today, Here's What We'd Do Differently
Most contractors are slow right now. Input prices are up nearly 20%, new construction starts are down, and the guys who are still busy aren't doing anything magical. They just never stopped doing the basics. This episode gets into what those basics actually are, and why skipping them early is what puts companies in trouble when the market tightens.Kosta, Johny, and Charlie break down what they'd prioritize if they were starting trades company from scratch in 2026, including running lean, getting processes in place from day one, and building GC relationships that carry you through slow periods. They also get into the labor shortage numbers that keep getting reported versus what they're actually seeing on the ground — 60 resumes on the desk, guys from union companies applying to non-union, and projects that just aren't there.If your business is feeling the squeeze or you're trying to make sure you never do, Jobtable helps contractors get organized from the start so nothing slips through the cracks. Simple job management, invoicing, scheduling, and more, built specifically for trades companies.👉 Learn more at https://www.jobtable.comNew episodes every week — subscribe so you don't miss one.Chapter Timestamps00:00 – Intro + customer review (Pacific Shine on switching from Jobber)01:30 – Why contractors need an AI-powered website in 202607:48 – If you were starting your trades company today, what would you do?12:17 – Building GC relationships and why it keeps you busy when others go slow17:30 – Construction economy: tariffs, rising input costs, and what's really happening35:38 – The labor shortage myth: 60 resumes and not enough work to hire them48:30 – Spring outlook for Ontario construction51:18 – Charlie's billboard: "No one cares about you"
About The Deconstruction Podcast
Construction isn’t just about building—it’s about breaking things down to make them better. The Deconstruction Podcast dives deep into the untold stories, insider insights, and success strategies that shape the construction industry. Hosted by the founders of Jobtable, we tackle topics that matter most to contractors and entrepreneurs, sharing actionable advice and interviewing industry leaders who’ve paved the way to success. Whether you’re looking to grow your business, spark new ideas, or stay ahead in the game, this podcast is your ultimate tool for construction and entrepreneurship. Powered by Jobtable—the world's simplest construction software.
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