Podcast
The Good Builder Podcast
Hosted by The Good Builder · EN
This week in home building news! Catch up with Az and a colourful array of guests, to hear about who's killing it, who's innovating, and who's getting into strife in the world of new home construction.
12episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
The Daily Dose #307 | The Youngest Builder in NSW, 30 Years On | Brad Acheson Stroud Homes Dubbo
4d ago00:58:01Tap to summarizeBrad Acheson had his builder's licence before his 21st birthday. Possibly the youngest in New South Wales at the time. He spent the next two decades building under his own name in Dubbo, up to 35 homes a year, with a reputation the whole town knew.Then he handed that name over and joined Stroud Homes Dubbo.Not because the business was failing. Because he was the business. Every answer, every decision, every holiday booked around which hotel had the best Wi-Fi. He wanted systems that would set him free.Three and a half years on, Brad came back from a week away and was caught up by 11am. The business had run without him.In this episode he sits down with Az to unpack what that shift actually took. Systemising a building company without losing what made it his. Why a franchise community beats going it alone. And the moment that caught the host off guard: the first guest to thank his wife on the show.Asked what makes a good builder, Brad doesn't reach for volume, margin or systems. He says empathy. Anyone can build a house. Not everyone builds it for the person who has to live in it.Listen now.In this episode:Getting a full builder's licence at 20 years and 11 months, and what the trade looked like coming up through TAFE and on-site trainingTwenty-odd years running his own company off his own back, and hitting the ceiling every solo builder hitsThe real reason he joined a franchise: not failure, but the fact that he was the business and couldn't step away from itSystemising a building company so the work doesn't depend on one person holding it all in his headThe holiday test: a week away, then caught up by 11am the day he got backWhy the franchise community beats going it alone, and what builders share when there's no competition in the roomThe role his wife Lisa plays, and the first wife shout-out in the show's historyWhat actually makes a good builder, in Brad's wordsThe line that sticks: anyone can build a house. Not everyone builds it for the person who has to live in it.Guest: Brad Acheson, Stroud Homes Dubbo Host: Az, The Good BuilderFor more: https://franchise.stroudhomes.com.au/Podcast sponsor:This episode is proudly supported by MyConstruct. The Aussie Construction Software Built By Aussies Builders. Try it free for 30 days at myconstruct.com.#thegoodbuilder #constructionindustry #buildingbusiness #australianbuilding #stroudhomes #dubbo
Transcribe →
The Daily Dose #306 | The Builder and the Designer: Where It Works and Where It Breaks With Vicky Cutler
6d ago01:10:23Tap to summarizeMost builds get into trouble long before anyone picks up a hammer. They get into trouble in the design.In this episode of The Good Builder, Az sits down with Vicky Cutler, a registered architect across New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria with more than twenty years in residential design, and the founder and director of Cutler and Co.Her argument is simple. The builder should be in the room from the start, not handed a finished set of drawings and asked to price them.Vicky makes the case against tendering and for collaboration from inception. Get a builder involved early, get a real cost breakdown, and design something that can actually be built to budget. She explains where the old tension between architects and builders comes from, how it cracks open on site, and why most of it traces back to working in isolation and ego.The conversation covers the early decisions that quietly cost builders later, from construction method to site access. It covers the render that looks the part but cannot be built, and what that does to a client's trust. And it covers the practical side most builders overlook, including charging for time in the early stage like any other consultant.For builders, trades and suppliers, the takeaway is direct. A good designer alongside you does not add cost. It takes a large share of the stress, the rework and the risk off the table.Vicky also shares what she is building now, from commercial work across the coast to a boutique resort in Sri Lanka, and what a real working partnership between a builder and an architect looks like when both leave the ego at the door.Show notesMost builds get into trouble long before anyone picks up a hammer. They get into trouble in the design.Az sits down with Vicky Cutler, registered architect across New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria with more than twenty years in residential design, and the founder and director of Cutler and Co. Her case is simple: the builder belongs in the room from the start, not handed a finished set of drawings and asked to price them.What we get into:Why working in isolation is the root of most builder and architect tensionThe argument against tendering, and what to do insteadThe early decisions that quietly cost builders later, from construction method to site accessThe render that looks the part but cannot be built, and what it does to client trustWhy builders should charge for their time in the early stage like any other consultantHow a good designer can take a large share of the stress, rework and risk off the tableThe state of women in construction, and why Queensland needs to lift its gameWhat Vicky believes makes a good builderChapters00:00 Why the builder and the designer need to meet 01:52 Meet Vicky Cutler and Cutler and Co 03:47 Residential vs commercial: designing for how people live 07:12 What architects really do beyond the drawings 14:34 The early decisions that quietly cost builders later 17:30 Where the architect and builder tension comes from 19:19 The case against tendering 21:49 Why builders should charge for their early stage time 27:51 Renders that sell vs renders you can build 36:13 How a good designer takes the stress out of a build 43:00 Leaving the ego at the door 50:45 Women in construction and lifting Queensland's game 1:01:45 What makes a good builderGuest: Vicky Cutler, Founder and Director, Cutler and Co https://cutlerco.com.au/Follow The Good Builder for more conversations with the people building a better industry.Sponsor: This episode is brought to you by MyConstruct. The software platform built by Australian Builders for Australian Builders. Get yiour 30-day trial at https://myconstruct.com/
Transcribe →The Daily Dose #305 | What Do You Do That Only You Can Do? With Dan from A Thousand Feet Deep
1w ago00:58:09Tap to summarizeMost leaders stay flat out doing work that someone else on the team could do, while the work only they can do never gets touched. That gap sits at the centre of this conversation.Az sits down with Dan from A Thousand Feet Deep, the culture and leadership business he leans on most, to work through a question that sounds simple and turns out to be the hardest one a leader can answer. What do you do that only you can do?They get into the difference between chasing symptoms and finding the root cause, why leadership is influence before it is anything else, and why a core purpose keeps shifting as a business moves through seasons. Dan makes the case that culture is how you do what you do, not smiling faces and a beer on a Friday, and that the strongest cultures are forged rather than left to evolve. The Penrith Panthers and the Melbourne Storm are his proof, clubs that kept winning while losing their best players every year because the standard lived in the system instead of one or two people.It is also an unusually honest episode. Az is candid about feeling stuck, unmotivated and unsure of his next move, including the three weeks he spent building things that were never his job to build. If you're busy but going backwards, this one names the problem and points to a way through.Sponsor:This episode of the Good Builder Podcast is proudly supported by MyConstruct, the job and client management platform built by Australian builders for Australian builders. Visit https://myconstruct.com/ for your 30-day trial.
Transcribe →The Daily Dose #304 | Your People Are the Business | Julie Bolitho on Hiring, HR and Workforce Planning
2w ago00:31:39Tap to summarizeAsk most builders who runs their HR, and the answer is "me."That's the problem.In this episode, Az sits down with Julie Bolitho, a recruitment and HR specialist who has spent close to 30 years in the building industry. She started at sixteen in a land surveying office, studied drafting at TAFE, and went on to work across the HIA, Apprenticeships Queensland and the Australian Industry Trade College before founding Dedicated Staffing Solutions. She knows a building business from the inside.The throughline of this one is simple. Your people are your most important asset, and getting recruitment right is everything.Julie and Az get into the real stuff. Why so many women in the industry undersell themselves, and why they need to back themselves more. Where builders get unstuck hiring friends and family. What candidates using AI on their resumes actually looks like from the other side of the interview table. And why a tidy LinkedIn profile matters more than tradies might think.There's a strong section on workforce planning too. With the trade shortage and 2032 on the horizon, Julie makes the case for bringing on apprentices, trainees and cadets now — and mentoring them under your best people so you're not caught short later.They also talk leadership. The kind that shows up when the conversations get hard, not just when the beers come out.And when Az asks what makes a good builder, Julie's answer is one worth sitting with: someone who embraces change, looks after their people, and knows when to step up, step aside, and step down.A genuinely useful conversation for anyone who employs people in this industry.What we coverWhy your people are the real core of a building businessWomen in construction, and why backing yourself mattersWhere builders get unstuck hiring friends and familyCandidates using AI on resumes and cover letters, and how to see through itWhy LinkedIn and social profiles matter for tradiesWorkforce planning ahead of the trade shortage and 2032Using apprentices and trainees to replicate your best peopleLeadership when times get hardSkilled migration and local trade pathwaysSponsors This episode is proudly supported by MyConstruct, construction management software built by Australian builders, for Australian builders. Start a 30-day free trial at myconstruct.com
Transcribe →
The Daily Dose #303 | Honesty Builds the Business | Matt from Vanstyn Constructions
2w ago00:40:24Tap to summarizeMatt was never the classroom type. He left school without much love for books or essays, and for years he moved through job after job trying to find his place.What he found was the trade.In this episode, Az sits down with Matt from Vanstyn Constructions — a builder who turned hands-on instinct and hard-won life experience into a thriving business. Patios, carports, decks, renovations and extensions, across residential and commercial work in South East Queensland. Fifteen staff. A 4.9-star rating from 70 reviews. And more than a decade in business, in an industry where most don't make ten years.Matt's story is a reminder that life is the best educator.He talks about learning the trade from the ground up, why he came off the tools, and how he built a one-stop-shop that handles council approvals so clients and builders don't have to. He's honest about the trends he's seeing on the ground too — the rise of granny flats and intergenerational living, where the SEQ market is really sitting, and why he has no interest in chasing size for the sake of it.There's also a good conversation about something builders rarely talk about: rewarding yourself for the risk you carry.And when Az asks the question we ask every guest, what makes a good builder, Matt's answer is simple. Honesty. Be clear, be upfront, and be good at what you do.A grounded, practical chat with a builder who knows exactly who he is.What we coverWhy life experience beats formal education in the tradesComing off the tools and building something biggerRunning patios, carports, decks and renovations under one roofHandling council approvals and certification for clients and buildersThe granny flat and intergenerational living trend in SEQWhy bigger isn't always better, and the value of staying manageableRewarding yourself as a business ownerWhat honesty really means for a good builderSponsors This episode is proudly supported by MyConstruct. Construction management software built by Australian builders, for Australian builders. Start a 30-day free trial at myconstruct.com
Transcribe →The Daily Dose #302 | Why Builders Get Stuck Wearing Every Hat With Josh Pierpoint
2w ago00:38:10Tap to summarizeThis week Az is back on the Monday couch with Josh Peapoint from Elevate Estimating.Josh has just returned from two weeks in Bali with his family. No phone. No work. Just time off. That sets the tone for an honest chat about something most builders never stop to look at: the way they actually run their business.The conversation starts with pricing. Diesel is coming down. The fuel levies that went on through the year are starting to come back off. Josh shares what he is seeing across builders around Australia, why suppliers have handled the volatility better than the headlines suggest, and what builders should be factoring in when they project costs six to twelve months ahead.From there it turns to the bigger issue.Most builders are not struggling because they lack skill. They are struggling because they are wearing every hat at once. Estimating. Drafting. Marketing. Client communication. Site work.Spread that thin and the cracks start to show. Cash flow slips. Stress builds. And in an industry with the highest rate of insolvency in the country, that pressure has real consequences.Az and Josh talk through what changes when builders stop trying to do it all and start putting the right people in the right roles. They cover trust, delegation, working on the business instead of in it, and why getting this right flows straight through to your health and your family.A practical conversation about building a good business, not just a good product.What We CoverWhere fuel prices and levies are heading, and what to factor into your quotesWhy the mainstream headlines do not tell the full story on costsThe real reason so many builders feel stretched and stuckHow wearing too many hats links straight to cash flow and burnoutWhy estimating sits at the heart of a profitable businessGetting the right people in the right roles, and learning to trust themWorking on your business instead of in itLooking after your health and showing up for your family#TheGoodBuilder #TheDailyDose #ConstructionAustralia #BuildingIndustry #Estimating #BuilderBusiness #Tradies #ConstructionPodcast #CashFlow #BuilderMentalHealth
Transcribe →
The Daily Dose #301 | The Grim Reaper Who Tries to Keep You Alive First
3w ago00:50:45Tap to summarizeWhen an insolvency practitioner walks into the room, most builders assume it is the end. Hand over the keys. Pack it up. Game over.But that is not how Chris from Jirsch Sutherland works.In this episode, Aaron sits down with an insolvency practitioner who has worked on more than 2,000 matters. They call his kind the Grim Reaper of the building industry. The twist is that his first job is to keep your business alive, not bury it.Chris explains the difference between insolvency, liquidation, and bankruptcy in plain terms. He walks through what a liquidator does first when a company is in trouble, which assets you can and cannot keep, and why so many trade companies are really sole traders in disguise. There is also the three ways out of bankruptcy most people never knew existed.It is an honest look at the side of building no one wants to talk about. Cash flow, tight margins, and why construction sits at the top of the insolvency list year after year.If you have ever felt the squeeze of December and January, or wondered what your real options are when things get tight, this is the conversation to have before you need it.And his answer to what makes a good builder? Know your numbers. Fix your systems. The good operators never need to meet the Reaper.Links:https://www.jirschsutherland.com.au/Sponsors: A huge thank you to MyConstruct. Construction software built by Australian Builders, for Australian Builders. Visit myconstruct.com for your 30-day trial.
Transcribe →
The Daily Dose #300 | Building Twice the Code: Dan Saunders on Healthy Homes, EcoPanel and the Super Home Movement
3w ago00:54:44Tap to summarizeOur first New Zealand builder steps onto the couch, and Aaron reckons he summed up everything TGB stands for in about thirty seconds.Dan Saunders started building in 1993 and formed DS Construction in 2002. In 2012 he built the first 8 Homestar-rated home in Australasia, the highest rating going at the time. Since then he's built close to 30 high-performance "super homes," helped get the Super Home Movement off the ground, and co-founded EcoPanel, a prefabricated wall system that can get a house closed in inside a week.This one covers a lot of ground that lands the same on both sides of the Tasman:Why Dan calls the building code "the worst house you're legally allowed to build" — and why he walks away from jobs that won't go above itThe link between cold, damp homes and New Zealand's childhood respiratory problemsWhere to actually spend your money: the thermal envelope, not the stone benchtopThe numbers on healthy homes — every $1 spent saves $4 in the health system, and an energy-efficient build can wipe out an $11,000-a-year power billEcoPanel and prefab: how a job gets framed, wrapped and ready for roof in two to three weeksNew Zealand's first zero-carbon home, built eight tonnes below zeroShared pressure points: $3-a-litre diesel, road user charges, and the post-COVID timber and plasterboard shortagesHis link with Future Builder's Kyle Zanetto and Luke DaviesAnd the simplest answer we've had to "what makes a good builder": good grounding, good morals, and leaving a bit of skin in the game for the next guyDan's coming back as a regular, so consider this the first of a few.Find Dan's work and EcoPanel in the links below.LinksDS Construction: https://www.dsconstruction.co.nz/EcoPanel: https://www.ecopanel.co.nz/Super Home Movement: https://www.superhome.co.nz/#TheGoodBuilder #HealthyHomes #SuperHomeMovement
Transcribe →The Daily Dose #299 | The Live Map Tracking Every Property Price Drop in Australia
3w ago00:29:50Tap to summarizeExisting property prices are starting to move. And it matters more for builders than most people realise.In this Monday episode, Az is joined again by Emily Pollard from Nesta Builder Brokers to make sense of what is happening in the market right now.They start with DropBee (dropbee.au), a live dashboard built by a developer on Reddit that maps property price drops across Australia as they happen. At the time of recording there were more than 1,600 price drops across Queensland alone.From there the conversation opens up. Why homes under one million are holding while the two to three million dollar end is softening. How existing property prices feed straight into land values, feasibilities and build costs. And what builders and developers running put and call contracts should be watching when it comes to market uplift.It also gets honest about the human side. Mortgage stress, the pressure to always go bigger and better, and whether the family home has quietly become a show pony instead of somewhere to actually live.Practical, grounded, and worth a listen if you build, sell or develop in the current market.Sponsor calloutsThis episode is proudly sponsored by MyConstruct. Built by Australian builders, for Australian builders. Manage your jobs, contracts and client communication in one place instead of across text messages and spreadsheets. Start your 30 day trial at myconstruct.com
Transcribe →The Daily Dose #298 | Where AI Actually Helps Builders (And Where It Quietly Hurts)
4w ago00:42:08Tap to summarizeMost builders have tried AI by now. A lot of them have also quietly pulled it back.In this episode, Az sits down with Anisha and Nayan from ScaleUp Smart to talk about what's really happening with AI in building businesses across Australia.The pattern is clear. Builders go all in. They hand over estimating, marketing, follow-ups, even answering the phone. Then they bring most of it back in-house.The reason isn't that AI can't do anything. It's that building is rarely black and white. Every job is different. Every client is different. AI doesn't know your business, your market, or what Mrs Smith actually wants from her home.Az is honest about his own experience too. When The Good Builder started, he went full AI and ended up with cold outreach emails inventing services the business never offered. The fix was simple. Use AI as a tool. Keep a human checking the work.Anisha and Nayan break down how ScaleUp Smart actually uses AI day to day, across estimating, admin, and project coordination, and why a person always has the final say. They also share practical, low-risk ways builders can start using AI without losing the relationships that win the work.If you've felt the pull of AI and the pull back, this one will make sense of it.WHAT WE COVERWhy so many builders go all in on AI, then quietly bring the work back in-houseThe real gap: AI doesn't know your business, your clients, or your marketAz's own cautionary tale of AI inventing services in cold outreach emailsHow ScaleUp Smart uses AI across estimating, admin, and project coordination, with a human always signing offWhy customers can now spot AI content and why it can read as lazyPractical, low-risk ways builders can start using AI todayWhat makes a good builder when the tools change fast but the standards shouldn'tHOUSEKEEPING (sponsor callouts)This episode is brought to you by MyConstruct, the construction management software built for builders. Start a 30-day free trial at myconstruct.com#TheGoodBuilder #AIforBuilders #ConstructionAI #BuildingBusiness #AustralianBuilders #ScaleUpSmart #ResidentialConstruction #BuilderTips #ConstructionTech #TradesBusiness
Transcribe →