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As you know, Ariat is the official Dirt Talk podcast sponsor. And at this point, we've talked plenty about their footwear, their workwear. But now it is winter, and boy, is it cold. It was 17 degrees this morning. I had to warm the truck up. But just because it's cold does not mean the work stops. So to get the job done, you need the best, warmest workwear possible. And Ariat has a long list of outerwear, amazing jackets, pants, and other goods available now. You can shop at their website, ariat.comdirttalk that is ariat.comdirttALK for the first time ever, I am thrilled to say we have an official sponsor for the Dirt Talk podcast, and that's Ariat. I've worn Ariat boots on every job site I visited over the years, traveling in them across five continents. More importantly, I have yet to find a single project where working folks, unlike me, are not wearing Ariat boots and workwear in every condition imaginable. And there's really good reason for that, and that's because it's phenomenal stuff.
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And the more I've learned about Ariat.
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And the company, the more I've loved their brand.
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So with this, Ariat is offering any.
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Dirt talk listener 10% off their next Ariat order at ariat.com dirttalk that's 10% off boots, jeans, and workwear@arianiat.com dirttalk or at the link in this episode's description. With that, let's get to the show.
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Hi, everybody. Welcome back. Another Monday episode of the Dirt Talk podcast. I am happy to have you here. We are going to be. I am going to be answering some questions that have been submitted. I really appreciate those that have submitted questions. If you have questions now or after listening to this episode, you can send them to dirttalkillwith.com goes right to me and Harrison, and maybe I'll read your questions on the podcast in the future. So I've got four questions here I pulled yesterday. The first is from Dave P. Thank you, Dave, for sending this in. Hey, Aaron, you partnered with John Deere to support making training videos, correct? Yes, that's correct. You made a few comments, like when you were allowed at one of Caterpillar's facilities. Has Caterpillar pulled back from you since you announced the John Deere partnership? If so, do you regret partnering with an oem? I know you still have a great relationship with many cat dealers. Love your podcast. Best one I follow. Thanks, Dave. Really appreciate that.
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We.
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And I want to be kind of savvy on how I respond to this. I did want to respond to this though. Our, the future of our business is software. It's training software. We've been working on it for two and a half years. We have Bill with Training 4.0, the fourth version of the product, coming out end of this year, Q4 of 2024. And by the end of this year we should have about 30,000 users on the platform. And we aim to significantly grow over the next few years and make it the premium training offering within the dirt world. It's all video based, it's all micro lessons. We've developed not just the platform, but over 1500 training videos ranging from how to inspect the undercarriage on an excavator to how to handle conflict to how to better budget better. There's a lot of really, really remarkable stuff on there now. And we're really proud of not just the product, but the content available on the platform. And to build software, it's expensive. Go figure. So we have raised investment. I've talked about this a little bit on the podcast. In the past, we've raised investment. We've raised two rounds of investment from a select group of heavy civil contractor construction company owners and then five cat dealers, which have all been really, really great for us. And the success of the platform is largely rooted in our ability to remain neutral. So when the cat dealers invested with us, they invested in us partially because being with us, associated with us in a way allows them to reach beyond their territory and their brand, to reach into the industry as a whole. And we always were up front saying, hey, this is not going to be one OEM exclusive to one OEM and will never be and it can't be to be really successful. And I think the OEMs oftentimes get caught up in, in thinking that like customers have just one kind of equipment. But very rarely do I ever go to an operation with one kind of of machine. It doesn't really ever happen. And I think the best dealers and brands out there acknowledge that and work with that rather than push against it. So that's what all of these dealers expressed. These dealers have been nothing but, but, but complimentary in what we've done. And I got to shout them out. Wheeler machinery in Utah, Carter Machinery in Virginia, Ohio, Cat in Ohio, Gregory Poole in North Carolina and then Ziegler in, in Minnesota. They've all been just remarkable, remarkable, remarkable. As we started developing this content years ago, it's taken us. There's been a big learning curve associated with trying to figure out how to make training content. Go figure. We've invested a lot into figuring out the formula and we're still figuring out to this day. We were making videos in a pretty, I don't want to say haphazard, but in whatever way we could. And so Thompson Machinery here locally really helped us out. They would rent us equipment for free, quote unquote, and would let us use the machines out behind their dealer. We, we, we did some, some, some stuff in Arizona with some, some miscellaneous equipment companies. We've done work with a bunch of different contractors like, hey, do you have machines we could use? We have not done a lot of it in that official of a capacity, but we've used industry experts the entire way and it's, I think, the best training content available in the industry, period. So it got to a point though, where we needed a more controlled environment and we approached then a few OEMs about this and asked, hey, if we could, can we use your facilities, use your product experts and use your equipment to produce our training videos? And John Deere was the OEM that said, hey, we would love to work with you all. You can use our facilities in the Midwest and in Arizona, you can use our equipment, you can use our product experts. And we understand it's not going to be specific to John Deere if you do greater training, for example, but we want it to be John Deere equipment. And so that's what we've done. We've done scraper training, loader training, grader training, and maybe one other kind of machine with John Deere. And it's been a great relationship. So hopefully that relationship continues and hopefully we continue working with other manufacturers of every flavor into the future because that's again, the only way it's successful. And the manufacturers are trying to do their own training, which is, which is great, but they're, they can only come at it from their perspective, whereas we can come at it from the end user's perspective, which is, hey, I might have different machines, I might have different technology, I might be in different places, which allows us to be what we believe, the ones to really aggregate the industry's training content and then distribute it on a much wider scale. Because not only do we have this great platform, great content, but we have this, this brand, this reach, like this podcast, for example. We have a lot of people engaged with us, so we can get this into the hands of a lot more people than in the traditional ways. So all of this to say we have great relationships with not just the dealers, cat dealers that have invested with us. But cat dealers worldwide, we have great relationships with John Deere dealers. Like we're doing work with, with RDO right now, talking with, with Brandt. We have great relationships with John Deere at the corporate level and with other manufacturers. Just had a talk with, with Komatsu. Lee Bears had me out to their facilities. I'm in talks with Hitachi about visiting their facilities right now. I've done a little bit with Volvo in the past. So we've, we've been everywhere. We'll continue to be everywhere. I have been. I've said a lot of comments about the whole being not being allowed at cat facility things anymore because I, I'm just, I'm butthurt and I'm a child. But yeah, I used to go to cat facilities all the time. Tanaha is one of my favorite places. Edwards is one of my favorite places. We've done a ton of stuff at, at both Tanaha and Edwards. But it was maybe a year and a half ago the door just completely shut on me being able to visit those facilities at all. Because now Caterpillar corporate classified me as an influencer. I don't actually know what that means, but so now I need corporate approval to go to these places and I can't get corporate approval. So that's the problem. When I talk to people at Caterpillar, they're like, what are you talking about? I'm like, I don't know. I don't know where this is coming from. I don't know why. So even the people at Caterpillar are confused. Everybody I've dealt with at Caterpillar has been nothing but great. I have nothing but good things to say about every OEM we've worked with. It's not like there's bad people anywhere. Bad companies, they're all great. But as of now, I'm not permitted at Tanaha. And however, that has nothing to do with our work with John Deere. And we continue to be engaged with John Deere and be open to engaging with any manufacturer that wants to work with us. We want to work with everybody and we'll continue to work with everybody. Future State, so. So we're really, really excited. I'll hopefully be talking more about training as we, as we go. We've not talked about it a ton over the past few years. We're definitely much more known for our social media efforts and our marketing efforts, but training and software is definitely the future of our business, supported by events like the Ariat Dirt World Summit. And now that we have a Real high quality product and a real high quality library of content. We're going to be able to I think have a lot of fun next year. So we're really excited. I'm loving the software thing and it's the way for us to go. Impact a majority, if not the entire industry at a massive scale. Impact right now tens of thousands of people, soon hundreds of thousands of people, eventually millions of people when it comes to their training and development. And before you get all, all, all, all worked up, we're not, we're not substituting this for in person training, seat time, existing training programs. This is completely complementary to what non union contractors are doing. Union contractors are doing, technology companies are doing, associations are doing, manufacturers are doing. We're here to provide just another solution and great content which is, which is largely lacking in this world. And instead of every construction company going around and trying to make their own training content which is very expensive, very time consuming, we're trying to do a lot of the basics for them because laying pipes. Laying pipe and excavators and excavator. Yeah, there's different ways to do it in different regions but the basics of the basics and that's what we're trying to give people is, is the basics first and foremost. So we've, we've had great results so far and we're, we're full bore, full bore right now. So that was a little bit on our partnership with some of the OEMs and a little bit on build with training. So again thank you. Dave P. Second question we recently received is from Dave W. Another Dave. I recently tore my bicep off at work which sounds very painful. Sorry to hear that Dave. They're fixing it slowly. I'm a heavy mechanic, welder, fabricator. Besides the obvious OSHA 30, are there any other certifications or qualifications you think I should attack while on the couch for six to nine months? I have a cdl. Just curious about what about others you hear being required to move up the ladder or that open up doors to better paying jobs. I can't specifically speak to certifications, qualifications. Honestly within this world there aren't very many that are recognized or will help you move up. Based on what I've seen and heard, my mind first and foremost goes to if you can't practice your craft, obviously because you've torn your bicep one.
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And.
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I know you said on the couch, but I would look at that as an opportunity. I can't use my arm, but I can still walk. So are there opportunities to get yourself healthier while you're out, because I would take that opportunity to get healthier and to walk, even every day. Spend time on your feet, moving around, so that when you do go back to work, you're in a better position from a physical standpoint, which will make you perform better when it comes to being a fitter or welder, fabricator, whatever that is. So that's where my mind first goes. Second, then how can you learn more while you're out? All right, cool. I'm out six to nine months. What books can I read? What podcasts can I listen to? How can I communicate more effectively? How can I figure out how to. How to lead more effectively? Those of the things if you can figure out. I've talked about this at length, and we'll continue to talk about this. You can be the world's best fabricator, welder, mechanic. But. But you'll be stuck in a certain position if you want to move up. You'll be stuck if you can't effectively communicate, influence others and lead. So if you have that spare time, you can look at it like, man, this sucks. I can't do my job for six to nine months. And it does suck, but you can look at it like it's just nothing but shit. Or you can say, you know what? Yeah, I can't do my job. I can't use my arm, but I can still get myself to be in a much better position. This is actually this time as a gift, and I'm going to use it to its fullest. So if I were in that position, I would be trying to get physically better, healthier, despite my injury, and I would be trying to become mentally better and a better leadership, a better leader and communicator, because if you can do those things, you will be able to move up the ladder, no question in my mind. So, hey, I can't do my job now, but when I get back, I'm going to get the skills I need to move faster than ever before. I've seen this. I just talked with Nick Lavery. He was on the podcast not long ago. You know, the guy gets his leg amputated, all of a sudden he's out for a long time. What does he do? Well, he can't at first walk, right? But he can strengthen his mind because he's like, hey, I want to get back into Special Forces, and I want to be better than ever, and I have to be better than ever. And he got super, super focused on that opportunity. He saw it as an opportunity, doubled down on what he could do, which was a lot of mental training. So sure, you can focus on what you can't do or you can focus on what you can do with that time off. And that's what I would be doing. It's easier said than done, but I think that's the best thing you can do. So Dave W. Thank you. Hopefully you can heal that bicep up and you will be at work no time. Hopefully you're a better leader then better individual then and hopefully you can move up that ladder. And just by asking this question, just by listening to the people we have on this podcast, feels like you're on the way. Next up from Dylan Kaelin on Instagram. He sent me this on Instagram just this morning actually. What are five books you'd recommend and why do you like them? I feel like I've talked about books before, but I will talk about it again. First book that comes to mind is Extreme Ownership. If you haven't read that book from a leadership standpoint, boy is that a good one. I have reread it a lot of times over. It is absolutely gold and will completely change your life and how you view your life and how you view personal responsibility. So I would definitely suggest Extreme Ownership if you've read that. The next book from Jocko specifically I would recommend is Leadership Tactics and Strategies. It's a book that's way more tactical than Extreme Ownership and is not really a book you read cover to cover. It just gives you a bunch of stuff to think about and apply at your day to day work or in day to day life with your family, whatever it is. And it's just really practical and simple. So that's why I most enjoy that one. For the sake of leadership. Then we have how to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. Ah, boy oh boy is that book. That's another one I have read many times over. It is so simple and so powerful and the title, I think it catches people up a little bit like, oh, you know, I don't really need to win friends. I don't really need to influence people. If you are somebody that interacts with human beings, it's probably one of the best books ever written on the subject. And it was written like in the 20s. It was written in the early 1900s but is still among the best sellers today and has been around for over a hundred years, which anything for around a hundred years means it can. Yeah, it's probably pretty good information and it is pretty, pretty good information. So that's that's the next one I really have enjoyed. And finally, I'll talk about a book I'm reading right now. It's called it's yous Ship and it's written by Michael Abrashoff. He was a captain in the US Navy and he talks about how he took over a destroyer that was a miserable place to work and made it a great place to work. And it's just a fun book to read. It has a bunch of great examples. As you can tell probably by the books I've referenced. I read a lot of leadership, a lot of business. I'm trying to be a better leader. I'm 29 years old. I have a lot of ground to make up. I have a growing organization that I lead. I need to be worthy of that growing organization. And so if I can read a book and learn from others on how they've done it and implement those lessons within my business and life, I can move that much faster. So those are some of books that come to mind. Most importantly, though, I've made reading a habit. I've made it an essential task in my day to day life. I've always read, but for the past five years I've read 10 pages of any book every single day, seven days a week, 365 days a year for the past five years. And it's been great because the books that I've read just continue to stack and stack and stack. It's not too much, so it's enough that I have something to digest and think about every day, but not too much like, oh, this is just too many lessons to think. It's usually a lesson I can take away and chew on. And again, it's a habit that makes it consistent so that I continuously do it. If you're not reading, you are missing out on just so much. So, so much. I couldn't imagine my life without reading. And if you're not reading, I couldn't recommend it more for obvious reasons. Finally, last question submitted over Instagram a while back. If one wants to move up, how can they find promotions or new jobs? Number one, this is what I would do. Based on employing 60 plus people here at the company at Build with One, I would make myself be really damn effective. If you ask for promotion and you're really effective and good, I'm probably as your manager gonna be much more receptive to you asking about it. So first and foremost I would ask yourself, am I promotable? And look at yourself in the mirror and really take inventory. Don't lie to yourself. Cause that only screws you, really. Take inventory and make it a goal to be. You know what? When I ask for promotion, I want it to be. I don't want them to have a choice because I'm that damn good and I've performed that damn well and I've earned this thing. So that would be number one. I would take 100% responsibility. I would ensure I'm doing absolutely everything I can. I probably wouldn't be doing everything I can. So I would again, take inventory of what I could do better if I didn't know. I would ask my leader. Hey. And have that conversation with them. Hey, I want to move up. I'm hungry and I know I can probably do better. So what can I focus on to perform better? I would get their feedback, I'd seek that feedback, which would be powerful. And, and I would have that conversation with them in general as well. To, to express. Because you, you, you get what you ask for. To, to express your desire to move up. Hey, I, I, I'm a, I'm a, I'm a, you know, a crew leader now. I want to be a superintendent. How, Mr. Superintendent Jeff, how, how do I become a superintendent? What do I need to do? How do I get there? Are there positions available? When, when might be positions available?
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You know, have that conversation.
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Express that desire.
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You have to ask for what you.
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Want and you have to earn what you want. So earn it, ask for it. Have that conversation. Be patient. It might take years to get to that position. That's okay. However, if you are working for an asshole, which is possible, or if you are working for a shitty company, which is possible, I would still do everything you can to be a top performer. And then I would go out and look for great companies. I would go online and I mean, a lot of the companies I have on this podcast are led by, you know, the leaders I have on this podcast. Probably a good place to start. Check out some of the people featured here and what companies they lead and where they're at. I would look around on the Internet at the companies in your area and look around on social media. I think a lot of companies that are active on social media are probably some of the better companies. I would poke around on LinkedIn, find some people that work for those companies that you're looking at and message them, reach out to them. Hey, what do you think about this company? Hey, I'm, I'm again a young crew leader. I want to be a superintendent. I've done X, Y and Z here at this company. I'm working on this job. I've wanted to move up here, but there just aren't opportunities. So are there opportunities at your company and how could I potentially get one of those opportunities? If you just apply, you're probably not going to get in. So you got to find those key people. You've got to reach out to them. You could omit the company you work for. You could keep it anonymous, whatever it is. But people are very easy to access nowadays. And if you're not taking initiative, you're leaving a lot on the table. So that's what I would do. I, one, would ensure that I am worth promoting. Two, I would seek feedback regardless. Three, I would have that conversation with whoever I report to. Four, I'd be patient. Five, if there's really a dead end where I'm at, I would then start looking for a great company in my area, asking around, doing my research and investing time and finding the right place for me. Because it's gonna take time. It's, it's hard to find that right place. And it should be hard if it is a right place. Uh, but again, a lot of the companies that you see online that we're featuring are those great companies. Sargent Corporation, Emory Sapp and sons, Hoopa, C.W. matthews, Pettico Schmidt. You know, there, there's, there's a lot of Shrek, a lot of, a lot of great companies. Good fellow. That, that, that first come to mind. And if you need help finding great companies in your area, you can reach out to me anytime. I'm happy to give you my recommendations or tell you who I would go to work for in that area. So that is enough for today. Question and answered. If you have anything that you would like me to answer in the future, I don't think anything's off limits, honestly. Send me the question. Send it to Dirt Talk or my email. Aaron A a r o nilwood.com. we'd love to hear from you. And we will see you. Or, or not. I, I, I never see you. You'll see me on the next one. Stay dirty.