@SlimBrick @RavinBuilders @the_ladyplumber are crushing on social but I know they aren't the only ones who have had success. Share your best insights or ask some questions!

Let’s be real — everybody has a “that one time” story.

Underbid a job? Trusted the wrong client or person?

What’s the most expensive (or painful) mistake you’ve ever made — and what did you learn from it?

Could’ve cost you time, money, sanity… or all three. We’re here to learn from each other (and maybe laugh a little too, we hope! ).

Drop yours

Alright, let’s settle it.

What keeps you running on the job site?

• Coffee (hot or iced?)
• Monster? Red Bull? Celsius?
• Or you one of those superhumans that drinks water?

Be honest. What’s in your cup?

The world around us runs on skilled hands. Hands that build, repair, and keep everything moving. But too often, the people behind that work go unrecognized. It’s time that changed. Tradespeople show up, do the hard stuff, and take pride in doing good work. Their work deserves to be celebrated. With help from ‪Mike Rowe, a longtime advocate of the trades, we’re making sure it is.

Big shoutout to our internal crew for all the strategy, coordination, and creative work behind the scenes—and to our amazing production partners who brought this video to life

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Check out more about Do Good Work HERE

Really neat story highlighting what Jarod Coffman of Coffman Construction is doing to give back. Love it.

Hit the link

https://companycam.com/blog/building-for-a-cause-trip-to-tijuana-with-jarod-coffman

Share your stories about how you got into the trades in this thread!

Met with PBD today on our monthly call for Energize Us Edu.

These were the lines that he shared with me about our current state:

• “Watch your language—the world will gives it to you back.”
• “Overwhelmed? The man upstairs says: give him more, he can handle it, or give him less”
• “You need the BEST people to handle pressure. Find the pulse on your team, their pain threshold, remove negative or “real talk” mentality, focussed on negative aspects calling it real talk.”

Gods listening:

Don’t ask for more if you fold when it shows up.

I wanted to share this with you all.

What do you think ?

I would like to submit Basic Economics by Henry Haslit.

For a home services business, ranking in the top 3 of a Google search is as good as gold.

Once you’re in the Map Pack, you can expect consistent, organic leads for your business because:

• 90% of your potential customers use Google to search for services
• 85% of them are clicking on the top three results in the Map Pack
• 74% of those clicking will make contact or buy something within 24 hours

Here are a few tips from our recent webinar with Merchynt CEO Justin Silverman and host John Talman that your business can use today to start climbing the local search rankings.

https://companycam.com/blog/3-local-seo-tips-for-contractors

At CompanyCam, we want to provide real value to the amazing contractors we serve—because we think good contractors deserve way more recognition than they get.

You build things that last. You solve problems. You show up when it’s hard. And that deserves a spotlight.

That’s what the Good Contractor Podcast is all about: telling the real stories behind the job—what it took to get there, the lessons learned, and what keeps contractors like you pushing forward.

It connects contractors from across the country and the world—because hearing someone else’s story can remind you that you’re not alone. You hear a guest share something that happened to them and think, “Man, I thought I was the only one”

That sense of connection? That’s what this community is about, too.

It’s honest, unfiltered, and built for the people who do the work. No fluff, no B.S.—just real stories from real contractors who’ve built, struggled, learned, and come out better for it.

Listen now on Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/6G2QO4LRC4IyDTlAugbce4


Prefer YouTube?
https://www.youtube.com/@goodcontractor


On Apple Podcasts?
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/good-contractor/id1738919721

Regardless of trade, what would you say is the absolute best advice you ever received as it relates to business, your craft or heck, even just life?

Fire away!

What’s Your Go-To Line When a Customer Is Being Difficult?

We’ve all had those moments where a customer tests your patience — late pay, micro-managing, unrealistic expectations…
Could be a calm, professional line you always go to or it could be something hilarious you only say in your head...

Hit reply and let us know your go-to — someone else might need it this week

I’ve met a lot of contractors over the years.

And there’s always that one guy...

Every story ends the same:
“Customers always do this.”
“Employees don’t want to work.”
“This industry’s just broken.”

Then they top it off with:“
Hey… that’s just how business is.”

But here’s what I’ve learned: Sometimes what you're calling a ‘normal problem’…is really a pattern you haven’t taken ownership of yet.

Because when you change how you view problems.
You stop blaming, start building, most importantly, you start leading.

So I want to hear from y'all, What problem are you owning this week?

You’d never start a job without a contract, estimate or anything in writing, right?

So why are you trying to build a business… run a team… or chase your goals… without a contract with yourself?

It's so funny how business taught me so many different life lessons and how they all play a part.

So I created this breakdown for myself whenever I want a new goal, or ones starting their own business.

Do you all think business plans are valuable ?

Hey everyone just curious where the community stands with AI right now.

I’ve seen a lot of folks using ChatGPT to look stuff up (like Google 2.0), but I’m wondering if anyone here has gone deeper?

• Has anyone tried to build or train their own GPT yet?
• Or customized prompts/workflows to actually support your day-to-day?

We’ve been working on building a custom GPT model trained on contractor logic — estimating, soft skills, job-site communication, pricing, SOPs, etc. For our company now, instead of broad knowledge.

I see huge value in contractors having their own smart assistant, not just a chatbot. Something that speaks the language of our company.

Is that something you’d use or find helpful?
Curious to hear what direction you guys are taking.

When I started contracting, I just want to jump in and hit the ground running.

Ive got the skill. Ive got the drive.
But there's a catch .... Growth costs more than money.

It costs:
Your time
Your sleep
Your weekends
Your peace of mind
Sometimes even your relationships

You want to bring on a new guy?
Cool.
Are you ready to train him, lead him, and carry the pressure when he’s not producing yet?

You want to buy a new truck or tool?
Cool.
Are you ready for the stress that comes with the financing, maintenance, or overhead that doesn't go away?

This is when I began to ask myself:

What am I willing to give up to get where I’m going?
Am I ready for the weight that comes with more responsibility?Can I handle the pressure without breaking myself?

Where do you all stand on this ?

I dont know if you all can relate to this, but ever since starting my business, I have been obsessed with the study of my mind.

I dont mean the corny, self help, realization of past trauma and not just motivation.

I’m talking about the beliefs that shape our decisions, the ones we don’t even realize are holding us back.

It's crazy to see so many individuals on instagram always talk about being real, raw and authentic and then it doesn't carry any weight, because they dont focus on who they are.
On surface level they say everything right and then it doesn't bear fruit.

There's always truth in acknowledging hard times, but a hyper focus on only the negative pisses me off.
This is why most businesses don’t fail because of lack of skill.
They fail because of limiting beliefs. How they view the industry and work.

If you’re not asking better questions about yourself, you’ll keep repeating the same patterns.

So let me ask you:
What belief do you have or struggling with?

“Where do you see yourself in 5, 10, 15 years?” Take a minute to think about it ....

Now let me hear it please.
Before we begin, I'll be giving a little history lesson, so if this isn't for you. I won't take offense...

Guess what, if you have a vision, if you have a plan, you are already ahead of the curve.
If you dont .... Then you are not alone !

Most of the time, the answer is…
“I just want to make it through this week.”
Or, “If I can survive the year, I’ll be good.”

You are doing everything you need to stay alive and I solute you. But thinking like that holds us all back. It keeps us stuck in survival mode, making the joy of contacting a threat. Always reacting, never building or planning for the future.
So we did the research.Turns out the oldest company in the world, not just in trades, but in any industry, happens to be a contracting company.

Kongo Gumi. Japan. Founded in 578 AD.
For over 1,400 years. Let that sink in.

In the U.S., it’s DF Pray, since 1830. Still building today.

Here’s the point:

If it’s been done — it’s possible.
The question is:
Are you building something that can last?

Everybody says the same thing:
“Just buy a used truck, it’s cheaper.”

Yet, That same truck breaks down 3–6 months later.
Now your jobs are delayed. You’re borrowing vehicles from your spouse or rental.
You’re stressed out and behind on bills. And suddenly the “cheaper option” is costing you way more.

Here's my personal take:
You quit your job ... You are betting 100% on yourself, to care for your livelihood.
If you’re betting your whole future on this business — why risk it with a vehicle that might leave you stranded?

I hate blaming others, or the lack of accountability. So if I can control one variable — like my ability to show up to the job, that will pay me for my services... I’m going to do it.

But that's just my opinion. My hot take, What do you all think?

I created this visual for myself to follow and share whenever anyone is deciding to get a vehicle.

Let’s be honest, it takes a certain kind of crazy to walk away from a steady paycheck, health benefits, a pension, and 401(k)…

…just to trade it for stress, uncertainty, no consistent work, and no safety net.

And here we are.

Every one of us who left a “sane” path to start our own thing made a decision that doesn’t make logical sense to most people.

We chose the crazy path.

Most people won’t understand that we didn’t choose this because it’s easy.

Either way, When the stress hits, do you question it?
When you look around at people with benefits and security, do you wonder if you made the wrong call?

The number one question I receive is tied directly to the fact, most contractors are still guessing when it comes to pricing.

Overhead.
Profit.
Labor rate.
Trip fees.

They think just because they throw a number they hear their competitors use, thats all that they need.

It may work, but how and what do you divide these funds is just as important for your business health.

If you don’t know how to do the math, you’re not building a business. You’re surviving check to check and think you need more work, when you do not.

So here’s the plan:
This Tuesday & Thursday on IG, I’m walking you through our Contractor Price Builder Worksheet FREE on instagram live.

We will cover:

- How to calculate your real hourly rate
- The difference between markup and margin
- Why profit is a non-negotiable
- And how to price with confidence

Join the session.
Bring your numbers.

We’re just getting this thing off the ground, and that means you’re one of the first people to be here — which is pretty damn cool.

This thread is for YOU. Whether you’ve been in the trades 20+ years or just getting started, we want to hear from you. Doesn’t have to be long or fancy — just drop a few things so we can get to know who’s here.

Here’s a quick format to make it easy — just copy/paste and fill in:

• Name or nickname:
• Trade(s):
• Where you’re based:
• What kind of work you do:
• Biggest win lately:
• What brought you here / what you’re hoping to get out of this community:

Let’s get to know each other and build something solid here.

P.S. Even if you’re just lurking for now — say hey! This is a good place to break the ice.

John + CompanyCam Crew

Time to find out exactly how well Luke (@hansluke) and John (@John Talman) know each other....


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The anticipation is unbearable ... just waiting to find out what will be Luke's first contribution to this new community.

Ready when you are @hansluke