The Builder Myth That’s Costing You
As a custom residential builder, you’ve likely heard it from every corner of the industry: “Want to make more money? Just do more marketing and take on more projects.”
So you’re sold marketing hacks, tips on increasing your leads, and strategies to promote yourself as the ‘go-to’ builder.
This advice isn’t just misleading – it’s potentially devastating to your business and wellbeing.
The relentless pursuit of more work has builders working longer hours, managing larger teams, and juggling more projects than ever before. Yet many are still struggling with cash flow problems, non-existent profits, and no free time.
The real cost isn’t financial. It’s the missed family dinners, cancelled holidays, constant stress, and the nagging feeling that despite working harder than ever, you’re still treading water.
You’re putting out fires daily, desperately trying to keep clients happy, pay your bills, and maintain your team while watching your own salary and satisfaction plummet.
What we’ve discovered working with hundreds of builders is that true profitability comes from building smarter systems, knowing your numbers, scheduling effectively, and working with the right clients using proven processes. This approach has helped our members create more profitable businesses while taking on fewer projects and reclaiming their time.
Watch as Amelia and Duayne break down this industry myth and share how our members are transforming their businesses by focusing on what truly matters.
Watch the video now, or read the transcript below. Be sure to also subscribe to the Live Life Build YouTube channel.
Amelia
So Duayne, one of the biggest problems we see in the industry is that builders often believe that the key to having more money in their business is just to have more jobs. And it’s something that the industry really perpetuates as well, this idea that if we just chase more projects, then we’ll make more money, and then we’ll be more profitable, and then everything’s okay.
Duayne
Yeah. And it’s a terrible way to be because when you’re in that mindset, like everyone thinks more jobs, more money, that’s going to solve all their problems, but in reality, it can actually be digging you in a deeper hole.
We see it all the time, like builders are just working all hours. Everyone’s saying they got no time just because they are doing more work, it doesn’t fix their cash flow. It doesn’t fix any of their problems. So ultimately, by trying to get themselves into a better situation, they’re actually digging a deeper hole.
Amelia
Instead, what we’ve seen with the builders that we work with is that when they actually start to systemise their businesses, when they start to know their numbers, be able to schedule their time and work with the right clients using the right process, they’re actually able to be far more profitable doing less work.
It’s quite extraordinary, and we’ve seen quite a few members be able to put this into action in their business, and inevitably, then they have a business that’s less stressful to run. They can often have a smaller team. They’ll be able to work on less projects, but be able to create more profit in their business.
Duayne
I think it’s one of those things you’ve got to slow down to go forward, but it’s very hard to understand how to slow down when you’re treading water just trying to keep the wheels turning. You’re trying to get the cash flow to build up, you’re trying to pay your bills, you’re trying to keep your team happy. You’re trying to put out… like you’re putting out fires every day.
So it’s a very stressful time, but as we know now from the hundreds and hundreds of builders that we’ve worked with, that recipe is just a disaster. It never ends well. So yeah, by working on your systems, working on your processes. The whole time you’re developing systems, working on processes, listening to content, surrounding yourself with the right people, that’s probably a really big one. Your mindset is shifting.
So you start to understand, you start to see the little wins that you start to have when you start to spend time on different areas of the business. And before you know it, you’re in a position where you’re thinking like shit, what’s going to go wrong? Like it can’t just run this well. And it’s not that everything’s… like you’re still having those same sorts of issues, but your mindset is constantly changing because you’re putting the time into the things you should be putting them into.
“I think it’s one of those things you’ve got to slow down to go forward, but it’s very hard to understand how to slow down when you’re treading water just trying to keep the wheels turning. You’re trying to get the cash flow to build up, you’re trying to pay your bills, you’re trying to keep your team happy. You’re putting out fires every day.”
– Duayne
Amelia
Yeah, do you want to share the story of Matt? Because I know that Matt, one of our ELEVATE members, has had huge success in his business from rethinking about how he has a profitable business, and it not just being about more jobs equals more money equals more profit.
Duayne
Yeah, well, Matt’s story is pretty unreal, but we’ve got a lot of members in ELEVATE that had very, very similar stories. Matt was definitely just stuck in that zone where and look, let’s face it, everything out there promotes turnover. Everyone just wants to promote marketing, promote turnover, without talking about the issues that are actually happening behind the scenes.
So yeah, Matt’s story, like his is pretty extraordinary, like he was turning over double digits in the multi-million dollars. But in the 18 months or so that he’s managed to work on himself, work on his business, he’s reduced his turnover by over three and a half million dollars. He’s actually halved the size of his carpentry team, and he’s actually done more work, and he’s made the first profit in over seven years in business. So it’s extraordinary what happens when you know what to work on?
Amelia
Yeah, and inside ELEVATE, we have our successful builder solution where we talk about the key to profitability. And this is profitability year on year. It’s not just a flash in the pan / overnight success. You know, one year you’re great, the next year you’re not. The key to that profitability is knowing your numbers, scheduling your time and working with the right clients in the right process. And so when we give builders these tools, it’s amazing what they’re able to achieve in their businesses. And like Matt, like Ryan, like other members that we have, they’re able to then create these businesses that are lower stress for themselves. They get to have holidays, they get to step away from their businesses, and they’re making more profit than they ever have before.
Duayne
Yeah, and it’s this industry can be very challenging, because everyone it’s very easy to have quick wins, like if you don’t know what you don’t know, and you win a couple of jobs, and they all of a sudden, for you, it might be a job that’s double the value of your last job you’ve done.
So all of a sudden, in your mind, you think that everything’s all good, everything’s going well. But reality is, if you’re not knowing what you don’t know, the bigger jobs are creating more problems, worse cash flow. So yeah, it’s incredible. What happens when you surround yourself with the right people. When you know what to work on.
Amelia
A profitable builder knows how to work smarter, not harder.
What’s your best next step in becoming a successful, profitable builder?
The journey from constantly chasing projects to building a business that supports your life doesn’t happen overnight, but it does happen when you focus on the right areas.
At Live Life Build, our Successful Builder Solution provides the framework that’s helped hundreds of builders like Matt transform their businesses – reducing turnover while increasing profit, cutting team size while improving output, and most importantly, regaining control of their time and wellbeing.
True success isn’t about how many projects you’re juggling or how large your team has grown. It’s about building a business that delivers consistent profitability year after year while supporting the lifestyle you actually want to live.
Are you ready to stop working harder and start building smarter?
Our ELEVATE program gives you the systems, support, and community to consistently grow profitability, improve quality, and enhance wellbeing – without taking on more projects or working longer hours.
Learn more about ELEVATE here >>> Become a profitable builder.