Feed Me Your Construction Content
Building a home is one of people's most significant investments and can be challenging. Feed Me Your Construction Content podcast aims to simplify the home-building process by providing valuable insights from experienced industry experts. Hosted by a homebuilder and lead designer, this podcast will cover everything from homebuilding basics to advanced construction techniques, design trends, and real-life case studies.
The podcast will also feature interviews with builders, architects, engineers, and other professionals in the industry, providing listeners with valuable tips and tricks to help them join the homebuilding industry. Whether you are a first-time home builder or an experienced professional looking to learn more, Feed Me Your Construction Content is the perfect podcast for anyone interested in homebuilding.
Key topics to be covered:
- The Basics of Homebuilding
- Common construction materials and techniques
- Design trends and styles
- Best practices for project management and budgeting
- Sustainable and energy-efficient building practices
- Building codes and regulations
- Interviews with industry professionals on their experiences and insights
- Career opportunities in the home-building industry
Target audience:
Feed Me Your Construction Content podcast targets anyone interested in homebuilding, including first-time homebuyers, DIY enthusiasts, and professionals in the construction industry looking to expand their knowledge. The podcast aims to be accessible to people of all backgrounds and experience levels, providing insights and tips for everyone interested in homebuilding.
"Feed Me Your Construction Content: Your go-to podcast for valuable insights and tips on homebuilding and joining the industry."
Feed Me Your Construction Content
Safeguarding Your Reputation in Professional Referrals
We appreciate any and all feedback so feel free to send a text.
Discover the hidden pitfalls lurking in the world of construction and learn how to avoid them with expert insights from our latest episode. We promise to illuminate the often-overlooked importance of professional oversight, highlighting the chaos that ensues when plans go awry. From a draftsperson's critical error to the resulting blame game, we unravel the complexities that underscore the value of skilled builders, contractors, and project managers. Explore the concept of the "I don't know shit" charge, a testament to the expertise contractors bring to the table, and the risks of DIY approaches that often lead to costly mistakes.
But that's not all—our conversation extends beyond construction mishaps to address the nuances of making professional referrals. Understand the potential reputational risks associated with recommending others, through a real-life plumbing predicament. We examine the ramifications of tying your reputation to another's performance and discuss strategies to safeguard your interests. Additionally, we touch on the broader theme of providing aid, cautioning against the legal vulnerabilities that can arise from well-intentioned actions. This episode is a must-listen for anyone involved in the construction industry or seeking to navigate professional relationships with greater foresight and prudence.
Carolyn can be found on LinkedIn at:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolyn-mcmahon-937b89158
Joshua can be found on LinkedIn at:
www.linkedin.com/in/joshuamcmahon15
Email for feedback, questions, complaints, etc:
mcmahonjoshua15@gmail.com
Daily Journal: https://amzn.to/41p9aKE
I love that. I love that.
Speaker 2:Hey y'all, Welcome back to another episode of Feed Me your Construction Content. I'm Carolyn McMahon.
Speaker 1:I am Joshua McMahon, or Josh McMahon, depending on what region you're in.
Speaker 2:Or how long they've known you.
Speaker 1:Yes, very, very true.
Speaker 2:That's true, I can call you Josh.
Speaker 1:Well, you know what it really is, or wait a minute Moo.
Speaker 1:No, no, as long as I don't call you late for dinner is that you can call me Josh. Typically, if you call me Joshua, then I'm probably in trouble. But I think this is how I've started to break it down in my own mind. It's basically if you are a friend of mine, then you can call me Josh, and if you're a friend of ours and you call me Joshua, so it's kind of saying like, look, if you're in my inner circle and you're my chosen you're, you're, you're a friend, then yeah, you've got the, you've got the ability to call me Josh. But if you're not, you need to respect what my mother decided and call me Joshua.
Speaker 2:Okay, respect for moms.
Speaker 1:Well, that's what I'm thinking.
Speaker 2:Okay, so so we're back on the mics after a small unexpected pause, so we appreciate the 17 loyal listeners that still downloaded. Last week you know not to get into the weeds we had a very unexpected death in the family, so we're still kind of reeling from that. We had a very unexpected death in the family, so we're still kind of reeling from that, but we're focused on work so we can, you know, get through it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean personal stuff happens. It's not, it's not planned and it's damn sure not good. And this is, this is our personal hobby. We enjoy showing up for you every week and doing this stuff and we actually felt bad. We were talking about on Wednesday night and we're like just gonna have to miss a week. We got something more important to deal with. So thanks for hanging in there.
Speaker 2:All right, so we're gonna get it on.
Speaker 1:Let's go with this. This is something interesting that a buddy of the show friend of the show reached out to me and said hey, here's the scenario, tell me how you would play this out. So I'm going to give you the scenario and then we'll start to kind of paint the picture of this episode. So he reaches out and says I referred a draftsperson to a friend of my wife's who was looking to do an addition on the house and I'm saying, oh, okay. And then he says the draftsperson drew the house to where they shrunk the room by eight inches, essentially putting the block of the brick on the wrong side of the point, right when they were drawing it, and the framer potentially caught it, or the or the Mason caught it, I'm not sure who, I'm not sure what stage it's in.
Speaker 1:Customer is furious and it makes you wonder one let's, let's start by setting the stage. If you're a builder or a contractor, you're a valuable asset in American society and we devalue ourselves and we devalue ourselves and then customers devalue us. And what do they say? If they can do it, I can do it. I'm glad you've got HGTV, I'm glad you've got YouTube. What it takes to do this job is not as easy as you think. It doesn't matter how smart you are.
Speaker 2:Well right, it's the oversight that you're paying for.
Speaker 1:My God, yes, because you know what I'm thinking. The moment this is brought to me eight inches off. Okay, was the foundation poured or laid? Was the foundation laid? Was the footer poured? What stage are we in? Okay, I already got ideas on how to fix this. I don't even know what situation it is out there, but I'm already solving this problem.
Speaker 2:It doesn't even exist in my own world Right.
Speaker 1:Because we've been doing it for so long. It's not my first time hearing this opportunity, so it's very easy to start saying A, B, C and D.
Speaker 2:Right. So so our friend who recommended this gosh to his wife's friend, ouch, so you know who. Who is the asshole in this scenario?
Speaker 1:Well, who do you?
Speaker 2:think the customer is going to blame? Oh well, I mean the, the, the wife, her idiot husband who referred someone that he has worked with, and wow, Well, I'll tell you.
Speaker 1:What happens is the customer is not going to take the high road and they're going to start saying and painting a picture of these contractors, this drafts person, this person that referred them. They are going to start blaming everybody, every single buddy they're going to blame, and the frustrating thing is, potentially you're getting this project done for 20 or 30% less than what you should be paying for it. Now, hopefully that's not the case and hopefully all the contractors charge the rate they need to charge, knowing there's not a competent project manager involved.
Speaker 2:Right, the I don't know shit charge.
Speaker 1:That's exactly right, we are all familiar with the PETA, but you're not familiar with the I don't know shit charge. You've got to put that in your bids, guys. I mean, come on, let's go.
Speaker 2:I mean yes. So listen, the takeaway is you need to add a new line item to your bid.
Speaker 1:You absolutely do. So what's happening is the friend of the show is saying, well, the drafts person should be at fault, because they should know better, they should have done this stuff. And I'm saying, yeah, maybe you're right, the builder would have caught it. Because that was my first question who's the builder? Oh, they're doing it on their own.
Speaker 2:Well, this is their fault, Right? That's like the person who acts as their own attorney. Yes, that's exactly right. They have a fool for a client, kind of thing.
Speaker 1:That is exactly right. What you do for a living is what you're great at doing. That doesn't mean because you watched a show on YouTube, that you can do this, something else, I can't go be a lawyer. I mean I can talk a lot and I might have a good opportunity to work my way through it, but not a chance.
Speaker 2:But we watch a lot of suits.
Speaker 1:We do, but I still don't think I could pull it off.
Speaker 2:Okay, all right, noted.
Speaker 1:So it just got us thinking about how often do we give out referrals? Because sometimes maybe a client comes to you and says, hey, I want to do this $25,000 project. I say, hey, that sounds great, my minimum project is $150,000. So this isn't in my wheelhouse, but this crew over here, they're great at this kind of stuff. That happens all the time, even on the building side. Superintendents, project managers, build the house, maybe for a production builder or custom builder. They get everything finished. Client says what do you recommend for painting? I want to repaint the house. Oh my God, yeah, you should reach out to this person. Do you realize the vulnerability you're creating, not for yourself, but for the builder you represent?
Speaker 2:Oh right.
Speaker 1:Because, listen, it's not coming back to the person with no money. It's coming back to the people who have deep pockets and who do not want a negative social media review.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because people don't know how to differentiate. It's like, oh gosh, the superintendent recommended this painter and they just did a terrible job, I mean. So they're really going to pause and go gosh. Well, it's not the builder's fault.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:And you know, and what's funny about that architect like thing that you said? I know I don't know any architects that would pay for a flub up like that.
Speaker 1:I mean honestly there's no chance we we've paid architects $50,000 for things they're not going to pay because something was misdrawn. It is your responsibility as the builder or the general contractor to ask questions, send a request for information, send an RFI and say I don't understand the detail here. Right, this foundation doesn't line up with this framing and you could paint this perfect picture how the architect really jacked it up. Nobody cares. They're still getting paid to go fix their own mistakes and you're not getting paid to tell them what they did wrong.
Speaker 2:I'll get this. I just sidebar here. So we're, you know, we're doing those custom builds that I talked about and we're working for someone who is an architect.
Speaker 1:Oh, yeah Great.
Speaker 2:Right. So you know she's drawing her own plan, excellent. So we're going through the layers and pages of the layers and you see this elevation, there's the amazing windows across the front, all this beautiful thing. And then we turn to the second floor page and he's like where's that window? And I was like in a fiberglass tub and I was like what the? And not only did she drew it, we drew it too.
Speaker 1:But that that's what happens. You start to get blind to things, you overlook things because you're you're thinking on this much higher level, right that you, just you miss the most obvious thing. And people say, even the person who missed it was like damn, how did I miss that?
Speaker 1:God, I'm a buffoonoon but folks, it's human nature. That's why you need those checks and balances so when the architect drafts person makes a mistake, you don't rub their face in it and say they're an idiot. You work to solve the problem so you can continue moving forward right, right exactly and if the architect or drafts person has the same type of mindset, they'll say my God, thank you for bringing that to my attention. I missed it. How can I change my process to be a little better on the next one?
Speaker 2:Well, keep us informed on how this plays out with this error.
Speaker 1:Well, I think we will keep you informed. I think it's an interesting issue because I know for a fact I've done it in my past where I've recommended trades and didn't think anything of it. I'll give you an example of I was doing a bathroom remodel, but the only part I was doing was really the tile. I installed the cabinets, the vanities and I installed the tile. The customer had their own plumber and I'm good because I don't want anything to do with plumbing at this stage. Okay, well, the customer they can't get their plumber to show up, they won't answer the phone. Josh, do you know anybody that can do the plumbing? I said you know what? As a matter of fact, I've got a buddy that does plumbing.
Speaker 2:No, I don't know anybody.
Speaker 1:I get the guy involved. He comes in. I say, hey, this is between you, the plumber, and you, the customer. All I'm doing is marrying you two up and you do. You Plumber comes in, does his thing, screws up a bunch of stuff. You know who the customer is looking at the plumber, exactly who they should be looking at. You know what the plumber says Josh is the general contractor you need to call him.
Speaker 2:No, he did not.
Speaker 1:That's SOB, hunt me out to dry. I didn't get paid. I even told the customer. I said I didn't get paid for the work he did. I have no reason to be warranting it. I'm not. I'm not Like I have no liability here. And they said, josh, we're just desperate, we just need help to know where to go. And I said, no problem, I will do the research and try and help you get the answers you need.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1:I never got it paid for it. I got to thank you. The customer was really grateful for it, but they could have turned really nasty. I've never talked to that individual again that plumber.
Speaker 2:Jesus.
Speaker 1:That's real story, that happens and you have to be careful. So you have to value you, you have to value your time, you have to value your service. There is a reason you're marking up what somebody else is doing because you're liable for the work.
Speaker 2:Right, right. So it's no good deed goes unpunished. I'm sorry, but why would I recommend someone who I'm not 100% sure of? And let's take it another step. We're talking professional referrals, that kind of thing, but has anyone ever referred somebody for a job? Oh sure Personal right, they, they got hired and they were a dumpster fire Right. And you're like is this the same person that you recommended? Because they're just terrible and they're not showing up to work, and blah, blah, blah, blah yeah I mean, I've never had that problem you've never had that problem referring somebody, and I'm correct.
Speaker 1:I just I don't know anybody you just don't refer anybody that's right well, I think you're following the rules that we should be applying because certainly I've.
Speaker 1:I've have recommended people for jobs and I always said, hey, hey, look, I know the person, he's a friend of mine, but I wouldn't say he's a friend of ours, right? The old mafia saying if it's a friend of mine, it's just me, and him A friend of ours, is like he's part of the family. So I'm not saying he's a friend of ours, okay, I'm just saying he's a friend of mine. So you need to do your own due diligence and you make your decision. Now, if I had personal knowledge, how they worked, their weaknesses, their strengths, and I could pass on that level of detail. Now it's a different discussion. So I do think you have to be careful, personally and professionally, and there's five reasons that we touched on that we're kind of touching on as we go, the first one being reputation. I think that that goes without saying, doesn't it? If you recommend somebody, you recommend a contractor. That contractor does substandard work. They don't do a good job. The customer yes, they're mad at that person, but they're also mad at you for putting them in their bed.
Speaker 2:Right, you're linked together.
Speaker 1:Absolutely so. If you don't want to be held accountable for what somebody else is doing, you should just say, hey, I'm sorry, I don't know anybody, right, and it's okay. It's okay, don't feel bad, there are plenty of contractors in the sea. The Google is great. Just say, hey, go Google contractors near me, whatever you're looking for, and then look at the reviews.
Speaker 2:Go GTS, it GTS, that's right.
Speaker 1:Go GTS, it, gts, that's exactly right. The second reason is it's a loss of competitive advantage. And this could sound, you know, maybe not so obvious. But say, go back to that example of you got a $25,000 project and I'm $150,000 minimum project contractor. Well, the moment I pass you on to that other contractor that does $25,000 jobs, they knock it out of the park, they crush it. That customer raves about them, loves them.
Speaker 2:You know what just happened? They're never calling you.
Speaker 1:You will never hear from them again. You might get a thank you from that person who got the work and that person who got the work and that person who got the work they're going to be doing. The addition in the future is 350,000. They might be building their future home. Even though they might not do that type of work today, they're growing into it with great customers that you've sent them.
Speaker 2:Right, you've made that connection, that kind of free marketing, that free procurement, everything I mean, like we used to do it religiously.
Speaker 1:People were home builder. People would come to us for remodeling, say we don't do remodeling, this is your go to. And the irony of this is that person we sent them to for remodeling he built houses. Oh my God, I said, has he ever sent us anything? Oh no, we don't need him to send us anything. I'm sorry, wait a minute. We're spending X dollars on marketing and we're giving away our leads.
Speaker 2:I don't think so. So it's like hmm no, I'm sorry, I don't know anyone.
Speaker 1:Again.
Speaker 2:I don't know anyone.
Speaker 1:I think it's noble, that it's a good deed and that's great, but when you go out of business or something happens to you, I don't see many people sitting around waiting to bail you out.
Speaker 2:Maybe that's where we'll go get our jobs.
Speaker 1:Yeah, maybe so. The third thing is lack of control, and this just goes back to the same stuff. The moment you refer somebody else, you have got zero control. I want to be able to recommend somebody, but I need to be in control still, because if I'm going to be held accountable, then I'm in control. I need to know what the specs are, I need to know what the budget is, I need to know what the expectations are. If I don't know all of that, I can't be held accountable.
Speaker 2:Right and you're not going to because again you go back to that. You're not being paid to do it, You're not being paid to get that warm, soft. Oh that they're doing the right thing.
Speaker 1:So again don't do it Right, because you can't hold me accountable to something that I don't tee up for you and if I can't be in control, you're not holding me accountable. I'm sorry. So I cannot put myself in that position because I need to be in control. I'm sorry. That's most of us, if I'm right. The fourth one. Everybody needs to pay attention to this. There are legal ramifications with this. If a customer has a job that goes south, they could easily start pulling more people in. Well, they referred me to this builder and this builder did X to me, or this contractor did Y to me.
Speaker 1:Lawyers, what do we love to do in America? We love to sue. I don't have anything else to do. I don't have anything to do. I'm going to go out there and sue some people. So it's going to happen. Don't have anything to do. I'm going to go out there and sue some people, so it's going to happen. So you are going to be held liable for something you didn't even do and even you know. Maybe worse than that, if it's possible. It's a social media bad review.
Speaker 2:Right, Because again folks can't separate the two.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Public opinion is just as bad as going to court. I actually I would rather go to court than try to fight something on social media.
Speaker 2:Oh, god, you can't.
Speaker 1:You lost, you already lost. You just need to take the high road, say your piece and move on and just know that you got to eat that L.
Speaker 2:Right, and it's tough on social media because you want to respond in kind and then you just look like an a-hole and it doesn't matter.
Speaker 1:I don't think there's any response. That's good enough. And yes, I think some people will say that was a good response. That person's probably crazy, but a lot of them are going to say, oh yeah, there's some truth to that. I saw the way he was driving. You know people are crazy folks. We all know this. We've been building or doing contracting for long enough. We know people are crazy. We know buyers are liars. You got to protect yourself, so pay attention to this. The last point is delusion of brand or relationships.
Speaker 2:Well, right, that's a huge. For me, that's a huge one.
Speaker 1:That's the biggest thing for me and that's why we saved it for last. Delusion of brand. Yeah, I think that all makes sense, but the relationships. Listen, a builder or contractor is what they are because of their relationships with suppliers and trade partners. If you have poor relationships with your trades, I'm going to show you a poor quality product, bad timeline, bad margins whatever you want to say Bad reviews. Good relationships is what drives it.
Speaker 1:Therefore, if you're recommending your trades to other builders because you're saying I want to make sure I'm taking care of them, I want to do right by these other trades because I want them to do good, you need to be careful, because what if you put that trade in a position that they lose? Hey, you sent me to that builder. They're terrible. They treat me like crap over there. You're tied to that builder because you're friends with that builder. Why would you recommend me to that builder if you're not one of him? Like you're telling me, you're this guy and I feel that you're part of my team, but you gave me to this builder. That just ran me through the ringer.
Speaker 2:Or the builder who you're friends with, were like why would you do this to me? Why would you connect me to these people? I can't do anything right. Blah, blah, blah, blah.
Speaker 1:It's so true and I think is to kind of close this out. We've got to pay attention to this and if you're listening to this, I would highly encourage you to go to your production meeting or your sales meetings and tell your people stop referring trades. I'm telling you, it's not that we want to be greedy, it's that we want to be protected.
Speaker 2:Or not the greedy you want to be helpful.
Speaker 1:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:But again, at the end of the day, at what cost?
Speaker 1:I'll tell you a story. When I was in California I was there for a short time when I was in the military I saw a car drive off the road. It was like he missed his exit or something and he was like. It looked like he was airborne. I'm exaggerating it in my own head as I'm thinking back 20 years ago, but I'm like I'm not stopping and I want to be the guy who stops and helps, because that's who I am. But in california, being from the east coast, I was like I'm not stopping, I'm not getting involved in whatever. That is because this guy could say I cut him off and then he had a swerve and and he went off in the ditch. Now he said I don't want to be in that mess, okay, so what do I do? I keep on going up the road and go do my thing, because I don't want to be held liable or accountable to something of that nature. I didn't have a camera we didn't even have cameras back then to do that kind of stuff.
Speaker 2:Well, right, and so it's similar, you know, to the, the recommendation. Just like you don't want to give aid, because what if you know gosh, you give life-saving efforts and you hurt somebody, or god, yes, right.
Speaker 1:How many people have been sued for that? Breaking ribs or something it's like what?
Speaker 2:are you talking about maneuver? Goes really really wrong yeah, you.
Speaker 1:You should not have given me the Heimlich. You should have allowed me to choke to death in that restaurant. I'm going to sue you for your good deed.
Speaker 2:Exactly, what Exactly?
Speaker 1:That's crazy talk, but that's America, and it's not just America, I think, it's the world. So, in home building, hey, let's pay attention to that stuff. Let's get to our people, let's be careful, let's protect our brand, let's protect our team. Until next time, see ya.
