“Don’t wait until everything is falling apart before asking for help.”
Some of the most powerful stories in the Live Life Build community come from members who are willing to be honest about how hard it got.
This month’s Member Spotlight features Sam Hamilton, director of SORA Build Co in Wagga Wagga, and an Elevate member since November 2024. Earlier this year Sam was Highly Commended in the Biggest Action Taker Award at the 2026 Live Life Build Awards.
In a single year, Sam’s business doubled its revenue. Then a cost-plus job with no proper contract behind it left him close to losing everything. Today the business is back in profit, rebuilt around better systems and a new name, and Sam says he’s found himself again.
We caught up with Sam to hear more about his story.
For members who may not know you yet, tell us a bit about your business, what you do and where you’re based.
I’m Sam Hamilton, director and owner of SORA Build Co. We’re based in Wagga Wagga and work throughout the Riverina in southern New South Wales.
Our main focus is internal renovations, with the majority of our work being bathrooms, kitchens and laundries. Our projects generally range from around $20,000 to $250,000.
Everything we do is guided by our values of collaboration, consideration, clarity and creativity. We focus heavily on quality, building genuine relationships and making sure our clients feel informed, respected and comfortable, especially while we’re working inside their homes.
What was going on for you before you joined, and what made you decide to get involved?
Before joining Live Life Build, we’d grown too quickly. In the space of a year, we doubled our revenue and built a team of three carpenters and an apprentice, but we didn’t have the systems or processes in place for the team or the business to operate properly.
We also didn’t fully understand our overheads, tax obligations, contracts or how to correctly manage and recover costs on a large cost-plus project. We were working hard and thought we had everything under control, but it soon became apparent that it was an absolute shit show.
The truth is, there was so much about the business side that I didn’t understand. I didn’t know what I didn’t know, and by the time I realised how far out of control things had become, I was already in way over my head.
We took a massive financial hit and had to refinance and put thousands of dollars of our personal equity back into the business just to keep it alive. It has taken us two years to finally achieve positive cash flow again. It has been a long and difficult road, but it finally feels like things are turning around.
At the time, it affected every part of my life. I felt lost, overwhelmed and unsure where to turn. I knew something had to change because continuing the same way wasn’t an option.
I joined Live Life Build because I needed guidance from people who genuinely understood the building industry. I wanted to learn how to properly run and protect the business, understand our numbers and build something sustainable that supported my family instead of consuming me.
Having a community where you can let your guard down, be completely vulnerable and know that people will pick you up when you’re struggling was the icing on the cake. No one is left to walk through it alone.
What actually went wrong on that cost-plus job, and what do you do differently now?
It was a bit of everything. It wasn’t even a proper contract, more of a written agreement between us, and it didn’t clearly set out what each of us understood. There were red flags from the start. He told me early on that he didn’t want to go through contracts. I picked up on it, but I had work on and guys to keep busy, and I should have walked away then.
It was cost-plus off an original estimate, but once we started, the whole scope changed. At the end of the job he tried to hold me to that original estimate. A lot of that comes back to me, my communication and not being authoritative enough. There was so much I didn’t know back then.
Now we use HIA or Master Builders contracts on every job, and I’ve read them enough times that I actually understand them. The same terms run through our proposals and pre-construction documentation from day one, so everything lines up with the contract. No variation goes ahead until it’s costed and signed. And for the last couple of months we’ve been tracking every job with cost codes, timesheets and material allocations instead of a spreadsheet.
If another builder was about to sign their first big cost-plus job? Honestly, don’t. Or if you do, make sure you understand the process on both sides and set your terms from day one.
What’s been your biggest win since joining Live Life Build?
My biggest win has probably been finding myself again and slowly rebuilding my confidence.
It has also helped me become a more present husband and father to Rochel, Mila and Ted. Before joining, I was physically there with my family, but I was so consumed by stress and everything going on in the business that I wasn’t truly present.
The business had taken a massive toll on me, both financially and personally. We found ourselves at the end of a project having lost almost everything we had. After that, I lost a lot of confidence in myself and didn’t know whether we would be able to turn things around. My mental health suffered significantly, and that flowed through to my family.
Since joining Live Life Build, I’ve found my passion and enjoyment in the business again. We’ve returned to profit for the first time in more than two years, completely restructured the business, built better systems and gained far more clarity around our numbers and how we operate.
We’ve leaned in, taken accountability and continued to learn and educate ourselves every day. There is still work to do, but I finally feel like we’re moving forward again.
What gave you that clarity on your numbers?
The Overheads Calculator was massive. That was my main document and I used it all through last year, but on its own it still wasn’t getting me anywhere. It wasn’t until I started using it together with the forecasting tools and actually managing cash flow that it clicked. That was a light bulb moment around April or May, and the last six months is where everything has turned around.
The other big one was realising I was trying to do too much and not executing any of it. Now I pick one thing, get it to a point where I can implement it, implement it properly, and then move on to the next.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give another builder or tradie thinking about joining?
Don’t wait until everything is falling apart before asking for help.
Let your guard down, lean in and be willing to take accountability. You don’t know what you don’t know, and that’s okay. None of us is perfect, and none of us knows everything. There’s no shame in admitting that you need some guidance and support and need to ask for help.
Be open and honest about where you’re at, and be prepared to do the work. If you feel lost and the noise in your head is getting loud, don’t bottle it up. So many people within the community have been through similar experiences, and they’ll help you find yourself again, just as they did for me.
Live Life Build will give you the knowledge, systems and support, but you still have to take action and hold yourself accountable. If you’re prepared to lean into the uncomfortable conversations and make genuine changes, it can completely transform both your business and your life.
What’s next for you and the business?
The next stage is about continuing to build on the foundations we’ve now put in place.
We’ve recently rebranded and now trade as SORA Build Co, because we feel the business needs an identity of its own. We’ll continue strengthening our systems and rebuilding and growing the right team around us.
Right now we’re refining our PAC process. We had a paid proposal before, but it wasn’t really valued. I was giving clients about the same as a proper PAC process would, for a fraction of the fee, so they didn’t respect it as an investment. A few weeks ago it was another light bulb moment. We spend too much time in pre-construction not to be getting something back for it, so that’s our process from now on.
We’ve signed up three in the last week. One fell over after the first round of costings, even though it came in pretty much where I’d told them it would at our first meeting. I’m a people pleaser, and the old me would have spent ages trying to work around them. Now it’s one process, follow it, and if they’re not interested, move on.
We don’t aim to be the biggest builder. We want to build a sustainable business known for quality, creativity and genuine relationships that last well beyond the completion of a project.
I’m also currently working towards my unrestricted builder licence. At the moment, our licence limits us to kitchens, bathrooms, laundries and other internal renovations. Achieving my unrestricted licence will allow us to move into extensions and, eventually, new homes.
Longer term, I’d love to work alongside creative designers and architects on projects that challenge us, allow us to think differently and create something truly unique.
Personally, I want the business to support a better life for my family, with more time together, more holidays and more opportunities to create memories. Most importantly, I want to remain a present husband and father while continuing to build a business I’m genuinely proud of.