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Home Contractor Evolution

Contractor Evolution | Construction Law Fundamentals: 5 Ways to Keep Your Butt Out Of Hot Water

You want to keep your A$$ out of trouble. 

All ventures, big and small, face some form of legal risk and whether you realize it or not, the business of contracting is on the riskier end of the spectrum.

You put thousands of hours of work every year into growing your company, not to mention the millions of dollars that get spent in the pursuit of growth. To do all of that on a shaky legal foundation is like building your dream home on sand.

Because of this, smart entrepreneurs put effort and money behind proactive, preventative legal work, so that they can feel confident that the effort and money they are putting in is working to build something that will last. 

Our guest on the show for this episode is Trent Cotney, Partner at the firm Adams & Reese.  

Trent has been practicing construction law for 23 years and runs a large team of lawyers within the firm that specialize in various specifics of construction law.  He’s written two books related to OSHA defense for contractors and is the General Counsel for the National Roofing Contractors Association. Needless to say, he is the best in the business when it comes to protecting yourself, and all things legal in our industry.

In today’s conversation, we get into:
  • Some of the most typical legal risks that a contractor faces and how to prevent them
  • What a contractor needs to know about corporate structure and how to protect themselves
  • Why when you cut and paste contracts from google you could be seriously screwing yourself
  • How manuals and SOP's in your business serve a much bigger function than just getting the work done
  • How to cover your butt when it comes to safety on site
  • Why you need a crisis management plan and what goes into one so chaos doesn’t break out when things go sideways

Learn more about Breakthrough Academy, here!

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Episodes

Episode 291    

If you’ve spent any time playing around with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini etc., you’ve probably noticed how easy it is to put a ton of work into something that ended up being inaccurate, too complicated or more work than it’s worth. Tyler Folkman has worked in AI for almost 20 years, and in this podcast episode, he shares the roadmap for using AI in ways that actually benefit our business, our people, and our bottom line.

Contractor Evolution | What Happens When You Sell To Private Equity?

Episode 290    

There's a lot of noise about selling to private equity in the trades right now. If you’ve considered making it your exit strategy, there’s a few things you should know about the process. Today, private equity insider Tyler Goodhue is on the show to walk us through what actually happens when you decide to sell to private equity. The good, the bad and the ugly.

Contractor Evolution | The REAL Impact Of AI in Construction (And How To Prepare)

Episode 288    

When ChatGPT released in 2022, we all knew the start of a new era in tech was coming. But we couldn't possibly comprehend just how much our industry was about to change. Today, I've brought on DJ Carroll to talk about where the industry is now, where it's headed, and what we HAVE to learn to survive what he calls the next industrial revolution.

Contractor Evolution | : $7M Playbook: Build A Profitable Landscaping Company

Episode 286    

At just 30 years old, Riley Rivers owns a $7M landscaping business, pulling in $120K in profit every month. And he does it while working less than 40 hours a week. In this episode, he reveals the systems and people he put in place to make it happen.

Contractor Evolution | The Formula For Consistent Cash Flow In 7-Figure Contracting Businesses

Episode 285    

Ever run out of money despite making millions of dollars? This is the situation Bob Gauvreau has seen hundreds of contractors fall into. Revenue is up, profit may even be up. But they run out of cash unexpectedly and when they get hit with an unexpected bill or expense… …they crumple. In today’s episode, Bob walks us through a foolproof system for managing your cash flow so financial stress becomes a thing of the past.

Contractor Evolution | How Hiring ONE PERSON Doubled This Contractor's Business

Episode 284    

Alabama builder Joel Retherford finished 2025 at just under 3 million. By May 2026, he was already at 2.4. The only reason he was able to do this was by hiring a rock solid project manager. In this episode, he’s walking us through the process he used to recruit this critical hire, and how this one role is scaling his business while getting him out of the day to day.

Contractor Evolution | How This Contractor Made $200K From Change Orders

Episode 283    

Does your team see change orders as a necessary evil or an opportunity for profit? Texas builder Eric Olson used to make 2% on a year’s worth of change orders, largely because his project managers weren’t trained or incentivized to ensure they were in the company’s best interest before moving forward. After putting a system in place and aligning his team around it, Eric made 20% profit on change orders the next year. A 10X increase that came from an intentional focus on a “problem area” of the business.

Contractor Evolution | She Sold 600 Homes In A Year. Here's How $100M Contractors Scale.

Episode 282    

Most contractors struggle to close a million in sales. Today’s guest, Charlene Barrett used to sell hundreds of millions every single year. In this episode, she’s revealing the secrets to scaling operations without losing the quality of your work and customer experience.

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