Episode 33: Are You Built to Build?

with Shawn Van Dyke

Returning with another episode of the Quit Getting Screwed Podcast, Karalynn reminds us of the importance of self-investment with published author and renowned business consultant Shawn Van Dyke as her guest. Shawn is an expert in mindset and shares with Karalynn the value contractors can gain by investing in their personal and professional lives. From organizing their business systems to spending more time with their families, it is essential to dedicate time, finances, and energy to developing your business. You cannot get out what you do not put in, and Shawn is here to show it. 

For many years, Shawn was a project manager, traveling all over the country to build massive retail spaces. After his second child began getting older, his wife asked him to return home, and he reoriented, opening his own residential remodeling company. Here, he learned that his true talents lay behind the scenes, not with tools in his hand. He owned and operated his own company for another handful of years, making connections with others in the industry and deepening his skills. One of the connections Shawn made was a large residential contractor he had connected with at church. 

One day, this contractor approached him to ask if he would be willing to step into his company and run the systems and paperwork side of the business, effectively making him the COO. He took the job and worked tirelessly to scale the business, especially honing his skills in systems and sales. He flipped the business, once drowning in paperwork and struggling to make a significant profit, around completely, and in doing so, he had an epiphany. “I thought, wait a minute! I could do this for other construction companies, too,” He realized, and he did. Shawn quit shortly after that, went on to write his first book, Profit First for Contractors, and launched the Built to Build Academy after the book caught on. Though unprecedented, the success he saw led him to the life he lives today and has allowed him to help hundreds of contractors.

In Shawn’s own words, his Profit First method works “to simplify cash flow management and is a bomb-proof way to make sure your business is permanently profitable.” He believes the financial elements of running a business can be broken down without even crunching many numbers. Shawn teaches that generating profit is about your numbers second and human behavior first. For this reason, profit first leads with lessons in mindset rather than money. For example, Shawn uses an analogy, “if you have a full tube of toothpaste, you usually squeeze it without giving much thought to how much toothpaste is in the bottle. However, when you are nearly out of toothpaste, you squeeze out as little as you can to make it through the day to preserve your resource. In this analogy, your bank is the tube of toothpaste.” Under Shawn’s Profit First method, practicing frugality and normalizing a mindset of using only what you need is the key to growing and maintaining consistent profitability. 

Shawn dives even deeper into his thoughts and teachings in this incredibly informative episode. This recap is barely scraping the surface. To hear all of the insight he has to share, tune in. If you like what you hear, and want to hear some more, consider subscribing to The Quit Getting Screwed podcast if you like this episode. For more from Karalynn, follow The Cromeens Law Firm on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram. You can also purchase the book that started it all, Quit Getting Screwed, on Amazon.

Episode Link: https://the-quit-getting-screwed-podcast.castos.com/episodes/episode-33-are-you-built-to-build-with-shawn-vandyke

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