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How Melissa Grew Revenue 80% Without Working More Hours - LJ Nelson Construction · Contractor Business Builder Podcast

• 0:00
  Welcome here, Melissa, glad to to be talking with you today.
• 0:03
  So you've been, we've been working together now for a
• 0:06
  little bit under a year and just wanted to get your inputs as far
• 0:10
  as where things are at kind of before you got started with the
• 0:14
  coaching program and and some of the kind of big wins and
• 0:16
  transformation that that's happened.
• 0:18
  Can you share a bit about where things are at with the business
• 0:23
  and the reason that you, you know, we're seeking out other,
• 0:28
  you know, coaches to help you with your, your business?
• 0:30
  Yeah, So I'm new to project management and construction and
• 0:34
  I was working as a a project engineer and then was hired by a
• 0:40
  new company as a project manager, small company doing
• 0:43
  large remodels. And I actually got a degree from
• 0:47
  UCLA and construction management, but I didn't
• 0:50
  actually feel like it very equipped me to run jobs and to
• 0:55
  estimate. Well, like we learned to take
• 0:57
  offs to, you know, and we looked there, there was, you know, a
• 1:00
  foundation. But actually to hit the ground
• 1:03
  running with this, I wasn't prepared.
• 1:05
  And so from an organizational standpoint and from an
• 1:09
  estimating standpoint, I felt like I needed some help.
• 1:12
  So that's what I started looking for, a coach.
• 1:15
  So you were starting a new business and you know your
• 1:18
  partner Lonnie has many years of experience.
• 1:22
  Can you maybe describe how you got the business up and running
• 1:26
  and and what specifically you felt you needed help with them
• 1:29
  to to get things moving in the right direction?
• 1:31
  Right. So, yeah, it's a unique
• 1:33
  situation. So I am in business with my
• 1:35
  love, my partner. So basically we kind of had to,
• 1:40
  we started, he already had a, a license he wasn't really using.
• 1:43
  And so we, he, he already has another business that they do
• 1:47
  ground up. They already have a project
• 1:48
  manager and we wanted to work together for a couple of
• 1:51
  reasons. One, we enjoy working together
• 1:54
  and two, was getting my certification and now I am
• 1:57
  certified as a building biologist for new construction,
• 2:01
  meaning we build homes that are like beyond green, so low
• 2:05
  toxicity, moisture control, low EMF.
• 2:07
  So we wanted to have a business that where we could pull that
• 2:10
  piece in. So I kind of had to create the
• 2:13
  business from the ground up minus already having the
• 2:17
  business license. So I needed coaching in that
• 2:20
  regard. And I also needed coaching and
• 2:23
  estimating and takeoffs and whatnot.
• 2:26
  And I can't remember what your original question was.
• 2:28
  I'm not sure if I covered it. Yeah, no, that, that definitely
• 2:32
  covers it. That's, that's good.
• 2:33
  I wanted to just kind of paint the picture of, of how like
• 2:36
  where you guys started because when we started our coaching
• 2:38
  today and you know, you have a strong professional background
• 2:41
  and you have the business license and there's a
• 2:43
  construction background there. But the, the business was, was
• 2:46
  pretty much from scratch and, and getting things going for new
• 2:50
  from the first time. So there was kind of a lot of
• 2:52
  work with getting those those really key systems in place and
• 2:57
  working through it, estimating being one of the first ones that
• 2:59
  we worked on. Now, from what I understand, you
• 3:02
  did take a look at a whole bunch of different coaches.
• 3:06
  What what were kind of the concerns with like reaching out
• 3:09
  and getting help with the business and and why did you
• 3:11
  choose to go with like rabbits all creators and myself over
• 3:14
  some of the other options out? There I did maybe I I talked to
• 3:18
  a couple of other people and I I guess I just well, I always go
• 3:24
  with my intuition. I mean, that's the truth.
• 3:26
  I sorry, but like the truth is like, and it's been quite a
• 3:33
  while. So to be honest with you, I
• 3:35
  can't recall exactly why I chose you, but I know that it was
• 3:40
  likely part intuition and part what you how, how you presented
• 3:46
  what you offer. Because at that point, to go
• 3:49
  back to your question, at that point, we were working on a job
• 3:54
  and the construction software that I was using ended up being
• 3:57
  really not good. I got kind of a, a probably like
• 4:01
  a lower priced construction software program because we
• 4:04
  didn't really need much, but it was full of flaws and so there
• 4:07
  were a lot of errors and stuff. So I ended up taking everything
• 4:10
  off of that and putting it onto an Excel spreadsheet and then
• 4:13
  working off of that. So by the time I got to you, I'm
• 4:16
  like, so you were the one who you gave me construction
• 4:20
  software ideas like these are a few companies that I like and I
• 4:24
  ended up going with one of them and I've been, I've been really
• 4:26
  happy with with them. So that's kind of where it
• 4:29
  started with us, but I don't know, you know, I think when I,
• 4:33
  when I did finally choose do you, we really hit the ground
• 4:37
  running to the point where I was like, Oh boy, this is good
• 4:40
  because I'm actually a board certified health and Wellness
• 4:43
  coach. So coaching is something that
• 4:45
  I'm familiar with and setting short term goals and long term
• 4:49
  goals is something unfamiliar with and accountability.
• 4:52
  And so for me, accountability was a huge piece in this because
• 4:56
  I'm here, I am trying to start this business and, and keep this
• 5:00
  job running, but also to refine it and to make it better and
• 5:06
  more profitable and so on. And I needed to be accountable
• 5:11
  for this work. So meeting every two weeks, it
• 5:14
  kind of pushed me to go, oh, I gotta turn my homework in.
• 5:16
  One of the things I like that you have is the dashboard.
• 5:20
  So I could just save the dashboard and always have access
• 5:23
  to it, which allowed me to access our, you know, our
• 5:27
  running sheet of what we were working on and all the files,
• 5:33
  you know, and it kind of has everything there.
• 5:35
  It's a lot. And it's also very thoughtful.
• 5:39
  So I, I really appreciated that. So I, I know I made a really
• 5:43
  good decision in choosing you. I know I made the best decision
• 5:45
  in choosing you. And, and I think a big part of
• 5:47
  that is just your thoroughness and your understanding of
• 5:52
  computers. I have a fairly good
• 5:55
  understanding. You know, I can, I, there's much
• 5:58
  I can do, but you take it a step further, which I really
• 6:01
  appreciate because I have had to consult with you a few times and
• 6:05
  take Derek. I'm lost here.
• 6:07
  Yeah, sometimes the the coaching does take on a bit of tech
• 6:10
  support for sure. It it can get overwhelming with
• 6:13
  all the different technologies or softwares and trying to make
• 6:17
  things work together. And everyone has their own
• 6:20
  little quirks and and things like that.
• 6:21
  But, but yeah, it's been a wonderful experience working
• 6:24
  together. Definitely.
• 6:25
  And we designed our whole program around what you said.
• 6:28
  So it's good to to get that feedback and we have to try to
• 6:31
  make things as simple as possible.
• 6:32
  It can. There's a lot in the program, so
• 6:35
  trying to make it like a good design essentially to keep it as
• 6:39
  simple as possible, have everything in one place as far
• 6:42
  as access and, and just think through like we move fast, but
• 6:46
  in a logical sort of order and, and keep things on track.
• 6:49
  And then of course, as you mentioned, the accountability to
• 6:52
  make sure that we're not just talking a bunch and things kind
• 6:55
  of just get pushed to the, you know, one week, one month after
• 6:58
  another, but we're actually getting things done and, and
• 7:01
  implementing proper steps. And so you mentioned a lot
• 7:06
  there. What do you feel is like now
• 7:08
  looking back, some of the sort of the biggest wins as far as
• 7:12
  things we implemented or even maybe some of the the mindsets
• 7:16
  or skills that you've learned working together?
• 7:19
  If I had to use one word, it would be structure.
• 7:22
  And I think that's probably where people, where people fail
• 7:27
  in, in, in, in this is having a structure, especially in, in
• 7:32
  contracting in this type of work because there's so many things
• 7:36
  to keep track of. And if you don't have structure
• 7:41
  and if you're not organized, there's going to be issues down
• 7:46
  the line. And then you're really not going
• 7:48
  to understand your profitability if you're not keeping track of
• 7:51
  things really well. So I would say that that
• 7:54
  structure, yeah, was is probably one of the things that I gained
• 8:01
  the most. And then having access to so
• 8:04
  many spreadsheets, I didn't have to create them all in my own.
• 8:07
  And some of them I don't need, but a lot of them, I a lot of
• 8:10
  them I've used. And you offer your spreadsheets
• 8:13
  for me to copy and recreate into with our logo and information.
• 8:18
  And then I can of course, go back and change things.
• 8:20
  But that saves, that saves time, which saves money.
• 8:23
  I love your, I can't remember what you call it, but your
• 8:27
  profit estimating sheet, what's it called when you when you put
• 8:30
  in the number and it calculates it for you for your to put into
• 8:33
  your different bank accounts. Oh yes, the like allocation.
• 8:37
  Revenue allocation sheet, it's really helpful because we like
• 8:42
  to keep a certain amount of money in our operating account
• 8:47
  and then whatever's leftover I can, I can put it into your
• 8:52
  sheet and it just calculates, you know, if you put $50,000 in
• 8:55
  there, it calculates exactly how much you put in your tax
• 8:57
  account, which is another thing I actually really appreciate it
• 9:00
  is as you helping us kind of realize and understand like
• 9:03
  different accounts. So having a tax account and
• 9:06
  having a a profit account and and and and owners share
• 9:11
  essentially account and operating expense account and
• 9:15
  making sure you're allocating into the proper accounts.
• 9:18
  That was helpful. But I I would say structure.
• 9:21
  Structure was was pretty helpful.
• 9:24
  Definitely. Well, that, that's fantastic.
• 9:26
  And yeah, the revenue allocation, a little bit of
• 9:29
  setup involved with different accounts and you know,
• 9:31
  spreadsheet and what that. But really once you have used it
• 9:34
  a bit, it's, it's a pretty simple system and it just helps
• 9:37
  you keep your cash flow and bank accounts, you know, operating
• 9:41
  the way that they should be. And then what you mentioned
• 9:44
  about structure is huge. I think that's where a lot of
• 9:46
  contractors kind of go off to the wayside of the, you know,
• 9:50
  they build out systems, they get software and they make progress,
• 9:53
  but it's all a little haphazard and it's not organized as like a
• 9:58
  whole for the entire business for one function to move into
• 10:01
  the next. So, so really super important
• 10:04
  now for, you know, contractors out there that are thinking of
• 10:08
  getting help, they're feeling overwhelmed, maybe stuck.
• 10:10
  What what would be your advice for them?
• 10:15
  I would say that it's really good to take a step back from
• 10:19
  your business and figure out what's not working.
• 10:24
  And if it's the organizational piece, I think that's where you
• 10:28
  come in and that's where you're really helpful because you can
• 10:30
  kind of start with someone, You can meet someone where they're
• 10:33
  at and start from there. Because your program is kind of
• 10:36
  set up that way where you can skip modules or you can kind of,
• 10:39
  you know, there is a sequence, but you can also help somebody
• 10:43
  where they're at in the moment to get, to get on their feet
• 10:45
  again and to get like reorganized or rather organized
• 10:50
  likely so that they can move forward with the next steps in
• 10:54
  organizational and, and being organised.
• 10:56
  So we are a referral based business only.
• 11:00
  We don't do any advertising. Our last client has recommended
• 11:04
  us to probably 4 people and she's basically like, if you
• 11:09
  don't hire them, you're an idiot.
• 11:11
  The reason that she says that is not only because we're kind and
• 11:15
  we're, we show up and we do what we say we're going to do is
• 11:18
  because we're organized. And when we give them a
• 11:20
  schedule, we start the project, we say this is a schedule.
• 11:23
  Obviously schedule changes, but we always give our clients a
• 11:26
  schedule and we, we meet that schedule, meet that deadline.
• 11:30
  We're stacking trades. We're always looking at the
• 11:32
  schedule, figuring out how we can get people in and make this,
• 11:35
  do this and, and to stay positive.
• 11:38
  So I think for contractors, kind of like new contractors or
• 11:42
  contractors trying to like figure out how to do better
• 11:46
  organizational, being organized is so important and the clients
• 11:50
  will love you in the end. I mean, it's our kind of goal
• 11:54
  for our clients to really like be so happy that they hired us.
• 12:00
  Doesn't happen that often. You know, you want to leave a
• 12:02
  job and your clients to be like, heck yeah, I'll, I'll refer you
• 12:06
  all day long. And and you can't do that if
• 12:10
  you're not organized. Wonderful.
• 12:12
  Well said. And yeah, a testament to being
• 12:17
  professional with organization in your company, as you
• 12:21
  mentioned, like it's more than just wanting to do good work for
• 12:26
  your clients. It's really about creating an
• 12:28
  experience and having a business that operates really well so
• 12:31
  that they're more than happy to to refer you afterwards.
• 12:35
  And I, I know you guys, you know, have a strong referral
• 12:40
  mechanisms in, in your business where clients are just ecstatic,
• 12:44
  love the work, love you guys and are more than happy to, to refer
• 12:48
  you to, you know, the next person that that needs some, you
• 12:50
  know, remodeling services or what have you.
• 12:53
  So very cool. And then we'll just touch on a
• 12:55
  little bit. But you, you guys also, I think
• 12:57
  you like you found your niche as far as just your style and your
• 13:00
  business, but also with the building biology, you're really
• 13:03
  providing something unique to the marketplace.
• 13:07
  Do you want to talk a little bit about that?
• 13:08
  You know it's one of your passions.
• 13:10
  Yeah, yeah. So homes are can be kind of a
• 13:15
  toxic soup and a lot of people aren't really aware of that and
• 13:18
  a lot of people get sick from their homes.
• 13:20
  I think it's 70% of homes have mold in them and some people are
• 13:23
  very reactive to that. And so I myself am reactive to
• 13:29
  that, which is what got me into this field and health coaching
• 13:32
  and nutrition and and there are other options.
• 13:35
  So especially, you know, we're, we're in California north of the
• 13:40
  the big fires and the Palisades. And when those homes burnt, all
• 13:45
  that toxic waste, a lot of it went out into the ocean to build
• 13:49
  back homes. Better is to build mass wall
• 13:52
  construction. So we're not building homes
• 13:55
  with, you know, tons of stick framed homes with papered
• 13:59
  products on in the walls, which inevitably will mold if you
• 14:04
  have, you know, if you don't have an airtight home.
• 14:07
  So we build, we will build homes with basketball construction,
• 14:10
  also build stick frame homes, but we're very mindful of the
• 14:13
  materials that we use. So choosing mineral based
• 14:17
  paints, even even no VOC paints have plastic in them.
• 14:21
  So choosing products like using American clay on the walls
• 14:27
  that's hygroscopic so it can take in moisture vapor and then
• 14:31
  release it and creating an environment with you know,
• 14:36
  creating the indoor environment with low electromagnetic field.
• 14:38
  So hardwiring possible not having a, just a Wi-Fi on all
• 14:43
  the time, being able to have a switch to turn off the Wi-Fi or
• 14:47
  even turn off some of your electrical outlets.
• 14:49
  So that's, that's what we do. So it's, we're really kind of
• 14:53
  traditional builders bringing in these elements.
• 14:56
  And then, you know, our, our goal is really to, to build
• 15:00
  building biology homes that they're legacy homes.
• 15:03
  So we, you know, you go to Europe, those homes are built
• 15:05
  with mass lock construction and they last forever.
• 15:09
  And so those are the types of homes ultimately like to build.
• 15:12
  Wonderful, yes, so important and, and the things a lot of
• 15:16
  people don't really know about or, or, or don't understand.
• 15:19
  So yeah, commend you for, you know, the great work you're
• 15:21
  doing and, and all the, you know, happy clients that you
• 15:24
  have and, and all the, the effort you put into to really in
• 15:28
  a short period of time, build out the systems in your
• 15:31
  business, provide wonderful experience and really dial
• 15:34
  things in. So really appreciate working
• 15:36
  with you Melissa and and you sharing your experience today.
• 15:39
  Thanks, Derek. It's been it's been great
• 15:41
  working with you as well.