The Contractor’s Edge Podcast - Build Better Businesses

On The Contractors Edge Podcast, host Nick interviews Eric Ernisse, founder and CEO of Coastal View Construction in Hawaii, about how adversity and personal development shape success in contracting. Eric shares his path from studying engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder to sailing with his family for seven years through roughly 49 countries, learning planning, patience, and how dealing with people can be harder than storms. Returning to Hawaii, he helped design and build his father’s home and then his own cottage, gaining hands-on experience that led to his contractor’s license and a 12+ year business focused on condo remodels. He discusses learning business systems, speed-to-lead, delegation, investing in coaching, screening for ideal clients, leading employees by understanding their “why,” and keeping perspective during lawsuits and difficult projects by remembering that “this too shall pass.”
 
💥 Eric's Links
https://www.coastalviewconstructionllc.com/
 
🔥 Book Your FREE Growth Audit → https://cal.com/mybetterboss.ai/jobtread-free-growth-audit-call
📞 CONNECT WITH BETTER BOSS:
🌐 Website: https://better-boss.ai📧 Brittney: brittney@mybetterboss.ai📞 Phone: (720) 636-9500📍 Highlands Ranch, Colorado
⚡ We only take limited clients per month. Every single one has given us 5 stars.
You didn't start your business to be stuck in the day-to-day. You started for freedom, for family, and for something better.
Better starts now.
🔔 SUBSCRIBE for weekly videos on building systems that actually work for contractors.
Better Boss | JobTread Certified Implementation PartnerHighlands Ranch, Coloradohttps://better-boss.ai

On The Contractors Edge podcast, the host interviews Nathan Zee Pepmiller, an operations manager in a Minnesota contracting business and creator of JT Power Tools in the JobTread marketplace, about using AI and Chrome extensions to scale contractor operations. They discuss treating AI as a thought partner and coworker, building repeatable workflows that get faster over time, and avoiding “magic bean” expectations by training and reviewing outputs. Nathan shares how switching from BuilderTrend to JobTread inspired him to solve internal “red flags” with extensions like a text formatter, dark mode, job switcher filter, and a budget change log, growing to hundreds of users. They go deep on Claude usage, including role-based “coach” skills tied to SOPs and orchestrator skills that chain focused tasks, plus the mindset shift from admin tasks to critical thinking so teams don’t get left behind.
💥 JT Power Tools https://jtpowertools.com/
Code 7K8K7SYfor 50% off life time!
 
🔥 Book Your FREE Growth Audit → https://cal.com/mybetterboss.ai/jobtread-free-growth-audit-call
📞 CONNECT WITH BETTER BOSS:
🌐 Website: https://better-boss.ai📧 Brittney: brittney@mybetterboss.ai📞 Phone: (720) 636-9500📍 Highlands Ranch, Colorado
⚡ We only take limited clients per month. Every single one has given us 5 stars.
You didn't start your business to be stuck in the day-to-day. You started for freedom, for family, and for something better.
Better starts now.
🔔 SUBSCRIBE for weekly videos on building systems that actually work for contractors.
Better Boss | JobTread Certified Implementation PartnerHighlands Ranch, Coloradohttps://better-boss.ai

On this episode of Contractor’s Edge, host Nick interviews Jordan Rychlik of WES TEX Construction and Remodeling about transitioning from five years as a middle school teacher in Fort Stockton, Texas to joining her husband Jeremy’s business after moving to San Angelo. They discuss the dynamics of husband-and-wife teams, balancing risk and impulsiveness, setting role boundaries at work, and how trust helps partners cover for each other during burnout. Jordan shares why women often excel in operations roles, how she supports Jeremy with organization and tools like JobTread, and the value of investing in professional development, associations, and peer-to-peer communities. The conversation also covers imposter syndrome, “believe it while you brave it,” family life and kids on job sites. 
 
-- Jordan's Links -- 
https://www.westexconstruction.com/
---
🔥 Book Your FREE Growth Audit → https://cal.com/mybetterboss.ai/jobtread-free-growth-audit-call
📞 CONNECT WITH BETTER BOSS:
🌐 Website: https://better-boss.ai📧 Brittney: brittney@mybetterboss.ai📞 Phone: (720) 636-9500📍 Highlands Ranch, Colorado
⚡ We only take limited clients per month. Every single one has given us 5 stars.
You didn't start your business to be stuck in the day-to-day. You started for freedom, for family, and for something better.
Better starts now.
🔔 SUBSCRIBE for weekly videos on building systems that actually work for contractors.
Better Boss | JobTread Certified Implementation PartnerHighlands Ranch, Coloradohttps://better-boss.ai00:00 Best Friends at Work 00:26 Podcast Welcome Guest Intro 01:18 From Teacher to Contractor 02:19 Joining the Family Business 04:12 Risk Balance and Mindset 06:36 Supportive Partner Advice 09:01 Tough Mudder Grit Lessons 10:58 Women as Operations Leaders 15:18 Power Couples and Boundaries 16:48 Burnout Buffers and Disconnect 18:55 Imposter Syndrome Reality 19:35 Imposter Syndrome Truths 20:56 Small Wins Flow State 21:52 Believe It While Brave 22:58 Investing In Community 26:39 Choosing The Right Partners 28:26 Peer Learning Power 31:03 Summer Updates Social Media 32:31 Parenting Work Ethic 35:21 Word Of The Year Expansion

Today we interview Peter Rainey and Elliot Whitstruck of DataX about using AI, automations, and integrations to help contractors running JobTread. They discuss their backgrounds in construction and tech, how DataX began by sharing JobTread cost-group templates and grew into a toolbox of integrations (e.g., Quo communications logging, Zillow lead qualification data, Google cover photos, dashboards, and inventory). They explain commercial-style (AIA/702/703) billing PDFs and automated financial statement PDFs attached to invoices, including multi-job customer reporting. They introduce DataX’s MCP approach for efficient AI access to JobTread data versus brute-force API scraping, and share practical AI agent examples like daily PM status emails (budget vs actual, schedule variance, logs) and receipt-to-job-costing automation via forwarded emails. They also describe DX One, DataX’s own AI model for security, cost control, and team sharing, and emphasize starting with real business problems, solid processes, and customer experience.-- DATAx -- 
🔥Get Your Free JobTread Prompt Bible → https://better-boss.ai/jobtread-ai-prompt-bible/
🔥 Book Your FREE Growth Audit → https://cal.com/mybetterboss.ai/jobtread-free-growth-audit-call
📞 CONNECT WITH BETTER BOSS:
🌐 Website: https://better-boss.ai📧 Brittney: brittney@mybetterboss.ai📞 Phone: (720) 636-9500📍 Highlands Ranch, Colorado
⚡ We only take limited clients per month. Every single one has given us 5 stars.
You didn't start your business to be stuck in the day-to-day. You started for freedom, for family, and for something better.
Better starts now.
🔔 SUBSCRIBE for weekly videos on building systems that actually work for contractors.
Better Boss | JobTread Certified Implementation PartnerHighlands Ranch, Coloradohttps://better-boss.ai
00:00 Daily PM Agent Report00:46 Show Intro and Guests02:00 Peter Origin Story04:28 Elliot Tech Background08:16 Kids and Screen Time11:10 Founding DataX14:03 JobTread Culture and Early Adopters15:41 Top Toolbox Integrations18:42 Financial Statements PDFs21:15 Commercial Billing 702 70323:17 Hidden Modules and Ecosystem Value24:38 Beyond AIA Templates25:14 Building Contractor OS26:04 MCP Buzz Explained27:29 Prototype To Launch28:34 Efficient MCP Design32:44 AI Adoption Tips37:21 Daily Reporting Agents38:48 PM Agent Breakdown41:05 Receipt Job Costing Agent45:28 Solve Real Problems46:50 DX One Private Model48:44 Teamwide AI Rollout50:03 Closing Advice Quotes

Today Nick hosts Nicholas Cormier of Home Builder Marketers, an agency that has generated over $268M in revenue for builders. They discuss why builders don’t need to go viral on Instagram and instead should focus on trust, consistent content, ads, and systems that nurture long sales cycles (often 6–18 months). Nicholas shares his path from construction and car sales to building and restarting his agency, including earning a Forbes Agency Council spot after years of rejections. Key strategies include prioritizing SEO/AEO, building strong Google reviews, running Meta ads for awareness, using email/retargeting to stay top-of-mind, tracking real metrics beyond cost-per-click, and using value-first CTAs like downloadable resources. They also cover how AI tools like Claude can enhance existing expertise rather than replace it.
-- Nicholas Cormier's Links --
https://nicholascormier.ca/
https://www.instagram.com/nicholas_cormier/
----
🔥Get Your Free JobTread Prompt Bible → https://better-boss.ai/jobtread-ai-prompt-bible/
🔥 Book Your FREE Growth Audit → https://cal.com/mybetterboss.ai/jobtread-free-growth-audit-call
📞 CONNECT WITH BETTER BOSS:
🌐 Website: https://better-boss.ai📧 Brittney: brittney@mybetterboss.ai📞 Phone: (720) 636-9500📍 Highlands Ranch, Colorado
⚡ We only take limited clients per month. Every single one has given us 5 stars.
You didn't start your business to be stuck in the day-to-day. You started for freedom, for family, and for something better.
Better starts now.
🔔 SUBSCRIBE for weekly videos on building systems that actually work for contractors.
Better Boss | JobTread Certified Implementation PartnerHighlands Ranch, Coloradohttps://better-boss.ai
 
 
00:00 Viral Myth For Builders00:14 Podcast Intro And Guest02:59 Forbes Feature Perseverance06:02 Agency Origin Story10:00 Lead Gen Strategy Framework11:57 SEO Long Game Advantage15:20 Ad Spend And Tracking Metrics17:10 Marketing Channel Tier List19:10 Answer Engine Optimization20:08 Google Ads Reality Check22:51 Building a Marketing System25:09 CTAs That Give Value28:15 AI as a Force Multiplier32:43 Builder Mastermind Event Idea34:55 Clarity and Closing Advice
 

On The Contractor’s Edge, Nick interviews longtime collaborator and developer Ryan Roman about the evolution from deterministic automation to AI agents that can orchestrate workflows, arguing AI will be integrated into every domain. Ryan shares how he learned coding to automate repetitive work, then helped automate contractor lead generation end-to-end and later built AI agents to handle client-specific outreach. They discuss contractors’ biggest gaps—speed to lead and follow-up—and introduce Romey.ai, an AI agent deeply integrated with JobTread that instantly texts iMessage-style responses to inbound leads, intelligently follows up, can answer inbound calls after hours, qualifies prospects, and books appointments with round-robin calendar scheduling. They emphasize building SOPs before automating, adopting tools like Claude, and using JobTread’s MCP connector to chat with company data to improve scalability, margins, and work-life balance.
-- Romey AI --https://romey.ai/
🔥Get Your Free JobTread Prompt Bible → https://better-boss.ai/jobtread-ai-prompt-bible/
🔥 Book Your FREE Growth Audit → https://cal.com/mybetterboss.ai/jobtread-free-growth-audit-call
📞 CONNECT WITH BETTER BOSS:
🌐 Website: https://better-boss.ai📧 Brittney: brittney@mybetterboss.ai📞 Phone: (720) 636-9500📍 Highlands Ranch, Colorado
⚡ We only take limited clients per month. Every single one has given us 5 stars.
You didn't start your business to be stuck in the day-to-day. You started for freedom, for family, and for something better.
Better starts now.
🔔 SUBSCRIBE for weekly videos on building systems that actually work for contractors.
Better Boss | JobTread Certified Implementation PartnerHighlands Ranch, Coloradohttps://better-boss.ai
 
 
00:00 AI Agent Interview Mindset00:18 Welcome and Guest Intro01:30 Chicago Story and Passion02:59 Automation Meets AI Agents05:17 Engineering to Coding Journey06:19 Automating Jobs and Lead Gen08:20 Claude vs ChatGPT Talk08:56 Contractors and Follow Up Fix10:36 Romy AI Reveal for JobTread13:37 Instant Texting and Scheduling15:15 After Hours Calls and iMessage17:56 Getting Started With AI Tools20:41 Chatting With Romy and Next Steps21:33 What to Automate First22:30 Spotting Bottlenecks and Busywork22:50 Romi for Lead Follow Up23:12 AI as a Team Superpower25:42 Process First Then Automate27:22 Adapting to the AI Future29:59 Claude Speed and Government Use32:31 Contractor Stack with MCP and Romi34:15 Mission and Community Shoutouts35:53 Closing Advice and Next Steps

On The Contractor’s Edge, the host interviews Erin Andrews, CEO of Level Accounting, about building better contractor businesses through proactive monthly accounting, payroll, bookkeeping, and tax planning. Aaron shares her background working largely with trades, frustrations with business owners treating accounting as an afterthought, and issues with once-a-year accountants and an industry talent shortage. They discuss why end-of-year “buy a truck for write-offs” thinking is flawed, what a strong accountant relationship looks like, and what contractors should review monthly: job profitability, gross margin, overhead, net profit, and tax liability. They connect marketing metrics to forecasting, highlight common scaling stress points around $1–$2M, address AR and cash-flow problems, recommend planning ahead with clean books and lines of credit, and cover software ecosystems including QuickBooks Online, JobTread, integrations, and cost codes.
-- Erin's Links -- https://levelaccountingfirm.com
https://www.facebook.com/erin.h.andrews/
 
🔥Get Your Free JobTread Prompt Bible → https://better-boss.ai/jobtread-ai-prompt-bible/
🔥 Book Your FREE Growth Audit → https://cal.com/mybetterboss.ai/jobtread-free-growth-audit-call
📞 CONNECT WITH BETTER BOSS:
🌐 Website: https://better-boss.ai📧 Brittney: brittney@mybetterboss.ai📞 Phone: (720) 636-9500📍 Highlands Ranch, Colorado
⚡ We only take limited clients per month. Every single one has given us 5 stars.
You didn't start your business to be stuck in the day-to-day. You started for freedom, for family, and for something better.
Better starts now.
🔔 SUBSCRIBE for weekly videos on building systems that actually work for contractors.
Better Boss | JobTread Certified Implementation PartnerHighlands Ranch, Coloradohttps://better-boss.ai
00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro01:07 Aaron’s Origin Story03:18 Accounting Pet Peeves05:52 Year Round Tax Planning09:02 Monthly Metrics That Matter11:43 Scaling Past Two Million15:44 Software Stack for Contractors18:15 Desktop vs Online and Sync Risks20:17 Cost Codes and Integrations22:20 Doubling Revenue and Labor Burden23:49 Labor Burden Basics24:51 Overhead and Expense Control25:37 Auditing with AI Tools26:18 Social Media Origin Story28:43 Authentic Content Tips31:26 Answer Questions Strategy32:51 How to Contact Level34:39 KPIs That Matter36:24 AR and Collections Fixes38:03 Cash Flow and Credit Lines41:03 Financing to Close More41:57 Closing Advice and Wrap

In this Contractor’s Edge episode, Nick interviews Jake Mauldin, founder/CEO of Rising Creek Custom Homes, about Jake’s background in construction from childhood, his time as a firefighter/paramedic, and how those experiences shaped his focus on triage, prioritization, and staying calm in chaos. Jake explains why contractors need strong systems instead of relying on Excel, texts, and scattered communication, and why he chose JobTread after other tools fell short. They discuss practical advice for adopting AI and automations by taking small steps, identifying bottlenecks, and buying back time. Jake then announces Tread Connection, a new Circle-based community for JobTread users featuring focused group discussions, partner access, live events, and an MCP-driven audit concept to help users identify gaps and connect with the right experts.
 
-- Jakes Links -- https://treadconnection.ai/pricing
 
 
🔥 Book Your FREE Growth Audit → https://cal.com/mybetterboss.ai/jobtread-free-growth-audit-call
📞 CONNECT WITH BETTER BOSS:
🌐 Website: https://better-boss.ai📧 Brittney: brittney@mybetterboss.ai📞 Phone: (720) 636-9500📍 Highlands Ranch, Colorado
⚡ We only take limited clients per month. Every single one has given us 5 stars.
You didn't start your business to be stuck in the day-to-day. You started for freedom, for family, and for something better.
Better starts now.
🔔 SUBSCRIBE for weekly videos on building systems that actually work for contractors.
 
00:00 Systems Over Chaos00:20 Meet Jake Baldin01:55 Rising Creek Origin Story02:38 Early Work Ethic03:12 From Firefighter to Builder09:09 Construction Needs Process11:17 Triage Priorities15:21 AI for Contractors16:26 Start Small With AI18:24 Tech Stack Advantage19:48 Get Help and Iterate21:30 Try the $20 Tools22:41 Resourceful Learning Tips23:01 Community Gap Discovery23:34 Facebook Groups Disappear25:44 AI Routed Conversations26:51 Tread Connection Reveal28:01 Platform Choice Circle28:55 Partners Inside Community30:56 Live Events Calendar32:05 Ecosystem Mindset37:29 MCP Audit Connector39:59 Feedback Driven Growth41:00 Marketplace Requests Tools42:11 Join And Closing Remarks

Eric recounts being asked to help a five-year-old construction company stuck at a scaling “glass ceiling” due to chaotic, manual paper-and-spreadsheet workflows, leading him to build software that became JobTread; after taking over as CEO, the company grew from $5M to $8M in sales and increased gross profit by 43%, and JobTread launched officially in 2019. He explains his enthusiasm for AI alongside concerns about accuracy, overreliance, and liability when contractors use AI for fixed-price bids, which drove JobTread’s cautious approach and the release of an AI Connector that lets users connect their preferred AI via an MCP/API layer. He emphasizes tracking standardized data for reporting, using AI to analyze historical trends, documenting and training SOPs, focusing on process improvement, avoiding perfectionism, and regularly reflecting as a team to keep scaling, while sharing his mission to help entrepreneurs and encouraging users to attend JobTread advanced bootcamps.
 
Nick hosts a recap from a JobTread town hall announcing a new AI connection integrated directly into JobTread accounts via MCP, noting strong interest and rapid customer growth. Nick, Johnny, and Tyler discuss how this foundation-based approach lets users layer powerful AI tools (including Claude) over existing workflows without relying on a single narrow feature. They emphasize that AI requires solid processes, good prompting, and consistent double-checking because errors and hallucinations can occur. Practical ideas include using AI to speed up estimating, scheduling, dashboards, insights, and workflow creation by downloading JobTread dashboards/reports/workflows, organizing and uploading them for learning, and then having AI help build or import items while verifying results. They encourage users to start small, get reps in, and push through the learning curve, and invite viewers to book a free growth audit at BetterBoss.ai.
🔥 Book Your FREE Growth Audit → https://cal.com/mybetterboss.ai/jobtread-free-growth-audit-call
📞 CONNECT WITH BETTER BOSS:
🌐 Website: https://better-boss.ai📧 Brittney: brittney@mybetterboss.ai📞 Phone: (720) 636-9500📍 Highlands Ranch, Colorado
⚡ We only take limited clients per month. Every single one has given us 5 stars.
You didn't start your business to be stuck in the day-to-day. You started for freedom, for family, and for something better.
Better starts now.
🔔 SUBSCRIBE for weekly videos on building systems that actually work for contractors.
 
 
 
00:00 Origin Story Chaos02:57 Building JobTread05:11 AI Promise And Risk07:34 AI Connector MCP15:43 Turning Data Into Insights21:31 Manual First Then Automate24:41 Dashboards Need Clean Data27:25 Shadowing To Fix Process32:44 SOPs Training And Scaling35:37 Reflect Improve And Grow39:27 Mission To Pay It Forward41:33 Family Team And Mentors43:07 AI For Students Careers49:23 Bootcamps And Final Advice

Nick hosts a recap from a JobTread town hall announcing a new AI connection integrated directly into JobTread accounts via MCP, noting strong interest and rapid customer growth. Nick, Johnny, and Tyler discuss how this foundation-based approach lets users layer powerful AI tools (including Claude) over existing workflows without relying on a single narrow feature. They emphasize that AI requires solid processes, good prompting, and consistent double-checking because errors and hallucinations can occur. Practical ideas include using AI to speed up estimating, scheduling, dashboards, insights, and workflow creation by downloading JobTread dashboards/reports/workflows, organizing and uploading them for learning, and then having AI help build or import items while verifying results. They encourage users to start small, get reps in, and push through the learning curve, and invite viewers to book a free growth audit at BetterBoss.ai.
🔥 Book Your FREE Growth Audit → https://cal.com/mybetterboss.ai/jobtr...
📞 CONNECT WITH BETTER BOSS:
🌐 Website: https://better-boss.ai📧 Brittney: brittney@mybetterboss.ai📞 Phone: (720) 636-9500📍 Highlands Ranch, Colorado
⚡ We only take limited clients per month. Every single one has given us 5 stars.
You didn't start your business to be stuck in the day-to-day. You started for freedom, for family, and for something better.
Better starts now.
🔔 SUBSCRIBE for weekly videos on building systems that actually work for contractors.
00:00 Town Hall AI Reveal00:41 Meet Better Boss Crew02:07 Why This Integration Matters03:35 Prompting and Verification Basics05:28 AI Is Not a Threat07:40 Learning Curve and Reps10:25 JobTread Use Cases13:01 Always Double Check Outputs14:47 Get Hands Dirty and Iterate15:51 Wrap Up and Free Audit