Builders, Budgets, and Beers

Hosted by Adaptive

Business Entrepreneurship InvestingInterviews guests

Website RSS feed

Episodes

Latest episode

Aug 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

The Builders, Budgets, and Beers Podcast is where the construction industry comes to talk about the financial side of building — the decisions, the mistakes, and the systems that separate profitable companies from the rest. From regional GCs and high-volume builders to construction accountants and industry tech leaders, our guests share what's actually working and what they wish they'd known sooner. Produced by the team at Adaptive, it's real talk on the financial operations behind growing, scaling, and running a complex construction business. One budget, one story, and one beer at a time.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

August 19, 202632 min

Building A Future In The Trades with Bryan Eberson

Reece sits down with Bryan Eberson, founder of Eberson Construction and Remodeling, to talk about why the trades may be one of the biggest business opportunities available to the next generation, and what separates simply having a job from building a company with long-term value. Bryan shares how he grew from a one-man operation to a 20-person design-build firm, why field experience still matters, and how investing in people, EOS, systems, and clear ownership helped him stop being the bottleneck. https://ebersonconstruction.com Show Notes: 00:12 Show Intro 00:58 Meet Bryan 05:32 Construction's Opportunity 07:16 Starting Young 10:08 Earn Your Stripes 12:59 Trades And Ownership 16:14 Building To Sell 19:25 Invest In People 21:23 Systems Create Scale 24:10 Owner Bottleneck 26:45 Building The Vision 31:25 Build Something Lasting Find Our Hosts: Reece Barnes Matt Calvano Podcast Produced By: Motif Media

August 12, 202644 min

Making The Numbers Matter To Builders with Tyler Krueger

Reece sits down with Tyler Krueger, controller at Canopy Builders, to talk about why construction accounting has to be more than something owners check at tax time. From a million dollars in the bank that may not actually be yours to milestone billing, clean books, jobsite involvement, and monthly financial reviews, Tyler explains how better accounting leads to better business decisions. They also cover what makes a strong construction controller, why financial teams need to understand the field, and how builders can make the numbers easier for the entire company to use. https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyler-krueger-72b195106 Show Notes: 00:07 Intro 01:07 Meet Tyler Krueger 05:52 Accounting Needs Attention 11:31 When Books Mislead 15:35 The Right Controller 20:19 Get Onsite 25:35 Simplify The Ask 27:17 Make Numbers Engaging 35:06 Accounting Growth Stages 39:42 Relationships And Peer Learning Find Our Hosts: Reece Barnes Matt Calvano Podcast Produced By: Motif Media

August 5, 202633 min

Foundations Of A Better Building Experience with Alex Wolfe

Reece sits down with Alex Wolfe of Wolfe Homes to discuss how builders can grow by getting clear on what their company actually does best. Alex explains why Wolfe Homes stepped back from in-house labor to focus on project management, even knowing it would reduce margin on paper, and how that decision created more leadership capacity. https://wolfehomes.com Show Notes: 00:00 Intro 00:55 Meet Alex Wolfe 03:08 Raving Fan Vision 04:44 Building The Vision 11:38 Elevating Trade Partners 17:50 Creating Client Moments 22:10 Leadership Through Excellence 25:03 Systems And Priorities 26:49 Defining The Core 31:17 Community Drives Growth Find Our Hosts: Reece Barnes Matt Calvano Podcast Produced By: Motif Media

July 29, 202632 min

How Technology Is Reshaping The Construction Workforce with Dexter Bachelder

Reece and Dexter Bachelder, Head of Sales at Speckle, examine whether construction’s labor shortage can be solved by hiring more people alone, or whether contractors need to redesign how work gets done. They discuss using AI, automation, BIM data, and frontline change agents to eliminate bottlenecks, reduce wasted labor, and make better decisions before problems reach the field. Dexter also explains why pairing a tech-forward employee with an experienced operator may be one of the most practical ways to make new tools stick. https://www.linkedin.com/in/dexter-bachelder Show Notes: 00:00 Intro 00:52 Meet Dexter 03:22 Construction’s Labor Gap 07:42 Technology Attracts Talent 11:18 Two Change Champions 14:14 Making AI Table Stakes 18:30 Learning From Projects 20:34 Connecting Construction Data 23:53 Unlocking BIM Data 27:32 Rethinking The Workforce 30:35 Redesigning Construction 31:37 Connect With Dexter Find Our Hosts: Reece Barnes Matt Calvano Podcast Produced By: Motif Media

July 22, 202635 min

When The Job Becomes More Than A Paycheck with Paul Durst

Reece sits down with Paul Durst of Waldman Construction to talk about what happens when a construction business grows past gut feel, old habits, and numbers that live in one person’s head. They cover why purpose still has to connect to healthy financials, how training protects growth, and why better invoicing and delegation can give owners the space to actually work on the business. https://waldmannconstruction.com Show Notes: 00:00 Intro 01:05 Meet Paul 03:27 Learning Financials 06:10 Growth Without Experience 08:32 Finding Your Why 13:00 Financial Responsibility 16:37 Leadership Growing Pains 21:58 Purpose Through Experience 23:07 Training The Team 30:43 Systems Create Space 34:47 Closing Thoughts Find Our Hosts: Reece Barnes Matt Calvano Podcast Produced By: Motif Media

July 15, 202647 min

The Cost Of Becoming The Owner with Chris Ehrenfeld

Reece talks with Chris Ehrenfeld of Bold Companies and Bold Construction about the real risk behind growing a construction business, especially when a builder moves from doing the work to leading the company. Chris shares how he started framing houses to raise capital, built into luxury custom homes, learned from a fixed price contract hit by COVID cost spikes, and changed how he thinks about hiring, systems, and risk. https://www.chrisehrenfeld.com https://www.bold-life.com Show Notes: 00:00 Intro 02:14 Real Estate Advantage 04:55 Framing For Capital 09:34 Artist To Owner 12:22 Finding Better Mentors 16:03 Learning From Mistakes 19:44 Hiring The Right People 24:53 Letting Go 30:31 Fixed Price Risk 33:35 Five Year Vision 35:59 Growth Versus Stability 41:12 The Bold Life Find Our Hosts: Reece Barnes Matt Calvano Podcast Produced By: Motif Media

July 8, 202651 min

Stop Promoting People Into Failure with Andrew Amrhein

Reece and Andrew Amrhein of Precision SME talk about why builders struggle to turn strategy into real execution, and why the missing layer is often management. Andrew breaks down how contractors can connect numbers to meaningful action, avoid promoting good people before they are ready, and use projects instead of hope to test future leaders. He also goes over levels of work, why managers need to translate vision into priorities, and how better systems can keep teams from repeating the same mistakes. precision-sme.com app.precision-sme.com Email: andrew@precision-sme.com Show Notes: 00:00 Intro 01:37 Meet Andrew 05:53 Management Gap 10:37 Numbers To Strategy 12:13 Work Levels 17:36 Projects Before Promotions 21:05 Meaningful Metrics 25:01 Manager Value 33:35 Testing Future Leaders 39:26 Decision Ownership 44:00 Fix The System 48:10 Connect With Andrew Find Our Hosts: Reece Barnes Matt Calvano Podcast Produced By: Motif Media

July 1, 202631 min

When Contractors Become The Bank With Aaron Dearborn

Reece sits down with Aaron Dearborn, president of Amerail Systems, to talk about one of the strangest cash flow problems in construction: why GCs and subs often end up financing the project before owner money arrives. They get into delayed progress payments, deposits, retainage, paying subs early, and how clear expectations can protect relationships without draining your business. https://www.amerailsys.com Show Notes: 00:53 Aaron’s Background 02:44 Building For Growth 04:08 Contractors Become The Bank 07:07 Paying Subs First 10:44 Deposits And Retainage 12:57 Owner Payment Delays 14:39 Customer Fit Matters 19:23 Negotiating Brand Scope 21:30 Reading The Market 24:06 Advice And Relationships 29:30 Connect With Aaron Find Our Hosts: Reece Barnes Matt Calvano Podcast Produced By: Motif Media

June 24, 202641 min

Why Builders Leave Profit On The Table with Russ Stephens

Reece sits down with Russ Stephens, co-founder of the Association of Professional Builders, to talk about why so many builders look successful on paper but still miss the profit sitting inside their business. Russ breaks down work in progress, pricing, overhead, owner pay, and the danger of chasing bigger jobs without understanding what they actually cost. This episode covers how builders can stop guessing at margins, price from true break even, stay focused on the right type of work, and build a company that is worth something beyond the owner’s daily grind. To get a free business valuation report from Russ Stephens and APB visit: https://hubs.ly/Q04jQvzl0 Register for the webinar here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/2517803406883/WN_i02wixcGTJSDljlo4uCRsQ#/registration Show Notes: 00:00 Show Intro 01:10 Meet Russ Stephens 04:14 Know Your Numbers 05:42 Revenue Versus Profit 08:08 Profit Starts Early 10:54 Understanding WIP 16:44 Front Loading Jobs 19:33 Pricing For Net 23:40 Net Profit Webinar 25:42 Owner Versus Employer 28:02 Stay In Your Lane 31:20 Remodeling To New Homes 34:56 Business Valuations 39:17 Build Value Now Find Our Hosts: Reece Barnes Matt Calvano Podcast Produced By: Motif Media

June 17, 202643 min

Stop Making Decisions With Bad Numbers with Scott Franchini

Reece sits down with Scott Franchini of RedHammer to talk about why contractors often blame their software when the real issue is messy job costing, unclear WIP, and financial reports they cannot trust. They cover indirect costs, overhead allocation, budgeting gaps, chart of accounts cleanup, and why bigger software does not automatically create better visibility. This episode is a practical reminder to slow down, understand what you actually need to measure, and build a system your team can use consistently. https://www.redhammer.io Register for the webinar here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/2517803406883/WN_i02wixcGTJSDljlo4uCRsQ#/registration Show Notes: 00:12 Show Intro 00:46 Meet Scott 02:12 Red Hammer Overview 03:06 WIP Foundations 06:23 Budgeting Gaps 09:37 Indirect Costs 13:30 False Profit 16:29 Software Gaps 20:22 Webinar Break 21:35 Setup Before Software 25:38 Reporting First 29:06 Cleanup Timeline 33:34 Smarter Tech Stacks 41:35 Slow Down First Find Our Hosts: Reece Barnes Matt Calvano Podcast Produced By: Motif Media