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Business Strategy, Industry Trends, Specialization

Revolutionizing Concrete Protection: Using Content Marketing to Drive Serious Growth

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Revolutionizing Concrete Protection: Using Content Marketing to Drive Serious Growth Brent Rollins, Vice President of Business Development at Spray Lock Concrete Protection, discusses Concrete Protection Techniques that revolutionized his company. Learn how the company solves concrete moisture issues by applying a spray that blocks water and reduces vapor transmission. This prevents costly damage to flooring and coatings. Concrete’s porous nature makes it vulnerable to moisture, which can bring harmful contaminants into the material, damaging both the concrete and reinforcing steel. Brent shares his journey from working in the concrete industry to joining Spray Lock in 2017, where he embraced the company’s mission to provide integrity-driven solutions. He and his team use media, including a podcast and YouTube videos, to educate the industry, promote their products, and build trust through practical content. This approach has helped them grow their business significantly over the years. If you’re thinking of getting into concrete work, joining the association will give you a leg up. Here’s the link: https://www.concrete.org/ Concrete Protection Techniques from a Longstanding Pro in the Industry By sharing industry knowledge, they’ve cultivated a loyal following, including contractors and engineers who appreciate their educational content. Despite being in a niche market, Spray Lock’s digital presence has made their sales process smoother, helping them secure 10-20 projects annually from people who have already learned about their products online. The company’s commitment to helping the industry and maintaining a clear, engaging message has led to year-over-year growth of 20%. “We want to be a resource for the industry, and if we happen to sell products along the way, great – but helping where we can is our core philosophy.” – Brent Rollins Topics Transcript Topics Discussed Concrete Moisture Control Spray Lock Concrete Protection uses a spray-applied chemical solution to block water and reduce moisture vapor transmission, which is crucial for long-lasting concrete flooring and coatings. Concrete Maintenance Challenges Concrete maintenance is technical and requires precision; improper installation or failure to manage moisture can result in costly repairs down the line. Spray Lock’s Unique Product Spray Lock’s solution forms a protective barrier that prevents water movement in concrete, a major contributor to damage, and improves its overall lifespan. Digital Content Strategy for Niche Markets By leveraging media like YouTube and podcasts to educate the concrete industry, they positioned themself as both a product leader and a valuable resource. Storytelling for Business Growth Spray Lock uses storytelling and practical advice in its content to engage its audience, showing real-world applications and problem-solving, which helps build brand credibility and trust. Concrete’s Relationship with Water Concrete’s porous nature makes it susceptible to water damage, including harmful contaminants like deicing salts and sulfates that can deteriorate the material over time. Environmental Impact on Concrete Concrete construction is heavily influenced by environmental factors, such as temperature and humidity, which can lead to issues like cracks or structural failure if not properly controlled. Ready to Grow your Business? Incredible guests so far, and more episodes are on the way. Watch those Podcasts here: Discover how Alex Post led Nastase Contracting to grow fivefold in just three years, crediting their close-knit, collaborative culture for the company’s continued success. Dawn Forest co-founded SkyWater in 2022 with her husband, Mark, focusing on direct relationships with commercial clients instead of relying on insurance work. Voice Transcript Mark Lamberth: Hello, welcome to another episode of the Contractor Grow Show. This is Mark. I’m your host, and today I have the pleasure to speak with Brent Rollins, who is the Vice President of Business Development over at Spray Lock Concrete Protection in Chattanooga. Brent, thanks for being with us today. Brent is going to teach us Concrete Protection Techniques that are changing his business and the indstry. Brent Rollins: Thank you, mark. I really appreciate the opportunity. Mark Lamberth: Fantastic. You guys have got a lot of different stuff going on. I’m excited to hear just all about some of the different aspects of the business. You’ve got just a big footprint online of your own podcast, all kinds of YouTube videos. Excited to get into all of that. Maybe you could tell us before we go in here regarding spray lock concrete protection. What is the problem that spray lock concrete protection solves? Okay. I’ve done some concrete work myself. Maybe explain to our audience what you guys, what problem that solves. Brent Rollins: Sure enough, concrete’s number one enemy for many, many reasons is moisture and moisture movement through concrete causes a lot of problems. Specifically with flooring and coatings, especially. Our product is a penetrant that is spray applied to the concrete surface. It goes in and reacts chemically to close that void structure that is in all concrete to shut down liquid water movement, and also to reduce water vapor transmission to levels that even the most moisture sensitive flooring and coatings don’t care. So it takes water vapor transmission levels down below what’s required for a moisture mitigating epoxy. So that performance is really what our company is all about, and the products, once folks use them, the products really sell themselves because it’s such a great solution for the industry. Mark Lamberth: Interesting. So I’ve done a fair amount of concrete work myself as a contractor, did a lot of construction, didn’t do a ton of specific concrete work. Myself was around it a lot and did some finishing work and things. So something that someone may not know, even at my level of skill, I’ve learned more about this over time, is that pouring concrete and doing concrete work is technical. You got to get it right or you’re going to have failure down the road sooner or later. Is that correct? Brent Rollins: Absolutely, yeah. It’s something that I get, people joke with me all the time. Friends of mine will ask me questions about what it is that I do, and I travel all over the world and go see people. I just got back from South Africa,

construction growth strategies thumbnail
Business Strategy

How a Bold Acquisition Fueled 5x Growth for This Omaha Construction Company

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How a Bold Acquisition Fueled 5x Growth for This Omaha Construction Company In this interview, Alex Post, VP of Commercial Construction at Nastase Contracting, shares the company’s journey from a small residential business to a rapidly growing commercial contractor.  He’s got some pretty interesting construction growth strategies to share with us today. Founded in 1977, the company initially focused on residential exteriors and insurance restoration. However, the team saw potential in commercial construction, especially wall systems, and pivoted toward larger projects in 2020. The company’s real turning point came in 2022 when they acquired a competitor, dramatically accelerating their growth. With the acquisition came seasoned managers and experienced install crews, giving Nastase the expertise needed to handle larger and more complex projects. Construction Growth Strategies from inside the Industry Despite the challenges, Nastase Contracting has grown five times over in the past three years. Alex credits the company’s close-knit, collaborative culture for its success, and he’s confident the company’s trajectory will continue upward. By focusing on the commercial and exterior markets, Nastase has successfully navigated the challenges of growth while remaining profitable and true to its roots. Want to hear more construction growth strategies from other Podcast guests? Access those here: “We were doing fine getting the projects, it was getting through the projects that was the hard part—quality control, installation, and making sure everything ran smoothly.” – Alex Post Topics Transcript Topics Discussed History of Nastase Contracting Founded in 1977, Nastase Contracting originally focused on residential construction and later expanded into commercial projects, driven by a vision for growth. Transition from Residential to Commercial The company pivoted from small residential jobs to large-scale commercial construction, starting with multifamily housing and eventually specializing in wall systems like James Hardy siding and metal panels. The Impact of COVID-19 on Business The pandemic led to a drastic change, with Alex Post transitioning from a general contracting role to working full-time with Nastase, driven by the need for a new revenue stream. The Power of Acquisition These construction growth strategies are something we haven’t heard yet. Acquired a competitor, gaining experienced staff and valuable contracts. Challenges and Growth After Acquisition The acquisition, while risky, paid off by expanding the team’s expertise, and Nastase quickly scaled operations, improving their bidding processes and project execution. Culture and Team Dynamics Despite rapid growth, Nastase maintained a close-knit team, fostering collaboration and trust, essential for managing the business’s expanding responsibilities. Decisions and Strategy for Scaling Strategic decisions, like focusing solely on commercial and exterior projects, helped streamline the business, shedding unprofitable sectors and positioning the company for growth. Learn Strategies that Work. We’ve hosted amazing guests, with plenty more to come! Watch those Podcasts here: See how Dawn Forest highlights the benefits of commercial contracts, offering more control over pricing and fewer emotional challenges compared to residential projects. David Shafshak’s field experience laid the foundation, but his move to project management allowed the company to scale, building a strong team of electricians and supervisors. Audio Transcript Mark Lamberth: Hello and welcome to another episode of The Contractor Grow Show. My name is Mark, I’m your host, and today I have the pleasure of speaking with Alex Post:, who is the VP of commercial construction at NATA Contracting in Omaha. Alex, thanks for being with us today. Results from our clients and other remodeling contractor reviews are on our Case Study page. Alex Post: Yeah, no problem. Excited to be here. Mark Lamberth: Yeah, fantastic, my man. Cool. Well, it looks like you guys are doing some really cool stuff over here in Omaha. Maybe you could tell us a little bit about the history of the company, what you guys are up to right now. Alex Post: Yeah, so just a quick minute history. The company was started in 1977 by one of my partner’s fathers, and he ended up buying the company out in about 2016 17 from his dad. They did a lot of residential exterior construction. They were doing interior construction, bathrooms, basements, kitchens, that sort of thing. And Nick bought it from his dad. Jerry and Nick had a dream to get it a little bit bigger or grow it bigger. And over the last, I’ve been here about, well, technically working here about five years, four years if Covid was kind of pushed it to make a change. Alex Post: So there’s three of us that own it now. Nick is still majority owner, and then there’s Chuck Hall and me also that are minority owners in the business. So the company’s always focused on residential exteriors, insurance work, that sort of thing, restoration. That was always the bread and butter. I have a general contracting background in commercial. I was working for a GC at the time and in about in 2020 thought I was going to get laid off because we did pretty much all interior office and when everything got shut down, we weren’t allowed to do any construction in any of those. Also. Alex Post: So Chuck has been my best friend since kindergarten. He is been the best man at my wedding. We’ve known each other since we were four years old essentially. And Nick Nata is his brother-in-Law, and he is seven years older than us, and he had started dating his sister when they were in sophomores in high school. So pretty much known Nick all my life. And so I called them, they were the first call I made and I was like, yeah, I think Chuck and I talked all the time being really good friends and stuff, and he was running the books for Nick and doing kind of strategy, financial strategy. And he came over in 2018 I think, and kind of voiced my concerns and I was like, yeah, I think I’m going to get laid off because of Covid and I’m not really sure what’s going to happen. Alex Post: I kind of had a new house. And so

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Business Strategy, Team Retention

Scaling Your Electrical Business: Leadership, Culture, and Client Referrals with Innovolt Electric

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Scaling Your Electrical Business: Leadership, Culture, and Client Referrals with Innovolt Electric In this next interview on the Podcast, Innovolt Electric, founded by David Shafshak, started as a small operation during the recession and has grown into a successful electrical contracting company. Scaling your Electrical Business isn’t easy, but there is a roadmap to follow. While David’s field experience shaped the early stages of the business, his transition into project management allowed the company to scale, bringing on a highly skilled team of electricians and supervisors. The company offers a wide range of services, including residential, commercial, and industrial work, with a strong focus on project management. Scaling your Electrical Business – tips from Innovolt Electric David and Ariel’s commitment to maintaining high-quality work is reflected in their team culture. With 54 employees at InnoVolt and 16 at their separate AV division, Ventura Systems, they emphasize the importance of a supportive, family-like environment to retain top talent. The company’s success is largely based on referrals and strong relationships, with plans to expand their online marketing efforts in the coming years. Ariel and David also stay deeply connected to their community, seeing involvement in local and Jewish organizations as a key part of their business’s growth and success. To Access NECA for Electricians, Click here. Website: https://innovolt-electric.com/ “Word of mouth is really important to us, so we do prioritize it. We’re out not out there marketing, we know that. So our reputation on our reviews are really important.” ~ David Shafshak Topics Transcript Topics Discussed The Evolution of Innovolt Electric: The company began with David’s hands-on fieldwork, expanding into project management and eventually breaking off to create Innovolt Electric, which now offers residential, commercial, and industrial services. Importance of Experience in Field and Office: David emphasizes the balance between field experience and office management, relying on experienced field supervisors while focusing on project management and customer relations. Launching Ventura Systems for AV & Low Voltage Services: Recognizing a market need, they launched Ventura Systems as a separate company to handle low-voltage and AV projects, which now works closely with Innovolt for integrated solutions. Website and Reviews as Key Marketing Tools: While Innovolt’s Electric’s work primarily comes from repeat clients and referrals, Ariel and David acknowledge the importance of their website and online reviews, especially for growing their service department. Team Building and Retention Challenges: Recruiting and retaining talent is a significant challenge in the contracting industry, but by creating a supportive culture and offering incentives like gift cards for great reviews, Volt focuses on nurturing a loyal core team. The Role of Client Satisfaction in Business Growth: David and Ariel place a high value on client satisfaction, with consistent communication and quick action on feedback driving their positive reputation and high-quality reviews. Community Engagement & Networking: Being involved in the Jewish community and local networking events has helped both David and Ariel build strong business connections and generate referrals, reflecting the synergy between community involvement and business success. Tips to Elevate your Business on the Podcast. Great episodes so far, and there’s so much more to come! Watch those Podcasts here: See how Ami Feller has used her entrepreneurial spirit to thrive in roofing while advocating for more women in the industry. Despite challenges in recruitment, she’s built a loyal, skilled team and continues pushing for change. Andy shares insights on balancing work and life, building strong customer relationships, and how organic word-of-mouth and reviews have fueled his company’s growth. Audio Transcript Mark Lamberth Hello, and thank you for showing up to another episode of the Contractor Grow Show. This is Mark Lamberth, and today I have David and Ariel from Innovolt Electric in Las Vegas. David and Ariel, thank you guys so much for being here today. They share growth strategies that helped them – scaling your electrical business is simple if you follow the roadmap of other successful companies. David Shafshak Thanks for having us. Yeah, thank you. Mark Lamberth Yeah, fantastic. I’ve taken a look at the you guys business. You guys have got what looks like just a great business in Las Vegas. Work with residential, commercial as well as industrial customers. Got a nice team, got a great website, great reviews. Looks like you guys are doing great work in the community. Maybe you could just tell our listeners a little bit about the history of the business and how you guys have gotten to where you’re at today. Arielle Shafshak Okay. Do you want to talk about it because a lot of the path leaves with this guy. David Shafshak Yeah, so I started out digging trenches just like any other electrician. Ended up coming up partnering with, they brought me into the office, learn estimating and project management during the pandemic, during the recession, and I learned the office side of it pretty quick, and then I partnered up towards the end of the recession and created a company with a partner. That partnership didn’t work out too well, and so I broke off from that. We did Volt on its own, so I started out digging trenches and we ended up running it ourselves basically. Yeah, Arielle Shafshak You were service tech, so service side was really his passion. David Shafshak Yeah, I used to do all the service on the field, and then when they brought me into the office, they taught me how to estimate project manage projects, and so I learned that angle of it, and now I don’t really go in the field as much. It’s just managing the projects. So we’ve molded into a lot of competitive bid work type stuff. Mark Lamberth Okay. And you talk on your site about having just a lot of experience. I mean, David, you’ve got a lot of experience in the field. I know Ariel, you’ve got I think maybe some closely related experience in the field doing a lot of audio visual work as well. With the company that

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Specialization

How an Art School Grad became a Specialist in Historic House Renovations

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How an Art School Grad became a Specialist in Historic House Renovations Today, Alfred Lohmann is our guest on The Contractor Grow Show. He’s a craftsman based in Westchester, Pennsylvania, has built a reputation for combining artistry with skilled Restoration and Historic House Renovation. With a background in fine arts from the Corcoran School of Art, Alfred’s journey from art student to restoration expert is a story of creative problem-solving and hands-on craftsmanship. Alfred Lohmann Historic House Renovation Specialtist In this interview, Alfred reflects on how his art school experience shaped his approach to construction, his commitment to working with his hands, and the challenges of balancing a growing family with a demanding career. He also delves into his business philosophy, emphasizing the importance of building a small, intentional team of skilled craftsmen. Join us for an inspiring conversation focusing on Historic House Renovation, passion, purpose, and the art of craftsmanship. Want to listen to more of The Contractor Grow Show? You can Visit our past episodes at any time. This is one of our best episodes yet: Contractor Marketing Tips for 2025 “What turns me on the most about what I do is it really boils down to creative problem solving.” – Alfred Lohmann Topics Transcript Topics Discussed Art and Craftsmanship: Alfred discusses how his background in art school, particularly the focus on process, informs his approach to construction and restoration. Restoration Work: Alfred’s passion for restoration began when he was asked to restore a wooden arched gate in a 300-year-old French villa. Creative Problem Solving: Whether it’s restoring an old structure or crafting new solutions, he sees every task as an opportunity for creative expression. Work-Life Balance: Despite the demands of running a construction business, Alfred stresses the importance of family. Window Restoration: Alfred’s window restoration work has become a key part of his business, making up a large portion of his work in recent years. Audio Transcription Mark Lamberth So for today’s podcast guest, we have Alfred Loman, who’s from Westchester, Pennsylvania, and I’ve been learning more about his story, really interesting from art school. He’s got a cool background of traveling. He is a craftsman taking a look at a lot of his stuff at the work he’s been doing there in Pennsylvania. So excited to have you. Thank you for being here, Alfred. Alfred Lohmann Thanks. Thanks for having me on. Mark Lamberth Yeah, fantastic. So yeah, man, I took a look at your story and take a look at your website and the work that you guys are doing. I noticed something pretty interesting that I thought I would just start off with here on your website. Pretty awesome, man. So it says, it all started in a 300 year old farm villa in the south of France when I was asked by my friends to help them restore, restore the large wooden arched gate to their courtyard. And I was totally hooked after that. Maybe that’s a good intro just to tell us about kind of the story of Alfred Lowmann and the Historic House Renovation work you guys are doing these days. Watch to chat about growing your business? Schedule a call at this link, pick a time that works for you and we’ll be there! Alfred Lohmann Yeah, no, I appreciate the opportunity. Yeah, so I went to art school and graduated from the Corcoran School of Art down in DC and most art school graduates, you graduate and you wander around a bit and just trying to figure out life and what you wanted to do. And I’ve always loved working with my hands. I was never much of a student, although I wouldn’t say school bored me, but I just wasn’t like a bookish guy. And so I had provided for myself, put myself through school, through house painting and moved back home, got into house painting again and just had a killer summer profited really well. And my now brother-in-Law was working with me at the time, and he had this great 1978 west ly bus, VW bus, and we made a killing this summer and we were like, you know what? We’re going to go crazy. We’re going to drive out west, we’re going to make it rich, and either the oil fields or we’re going to drive up to Alaska and get a job on a canning boat or something. And just, we were young and dumb, totally young and dumb. And so long story short, the transmission on the bus blew up. And so Alfred Lohmann Of course, of course. So I was stuck with a wad of cash and nowhere to go and I really was wanting for an adventure. And so some family friends had reached out who were living in the uk. They had moved and bought this farm villa down in the south of France and just randomly offered like, Hey, would you be willing to come down for a spell and exchange room and board for maybe some work? And I was just, yeah, great opportunity just to backpack around Europe for a little bit. And so that’s what they did. And just the last time I really picked up any hand tools of any sort was sculpture class at Corcoran. And they said, well, we have this problem here and we have this beautiful arch door. And what was interesting about the villa was had an open courtyard that the doors led into, and on one side you have the house and the other side of the door is you have this huge brick oven, bread oven, it’s massive. Alfred Lohmann And they really wanted to make the door something special and they said, Hey, we don’t know how to repair this. Maybe you can figure something out. And so they just left me to the task and I just enjoyed the process of it. I enjoyed the creative challenges of just trying to figure it out and a monster was created after that.

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Growth Ideas, Marketing Tips

Welcome to the Contractor Grow Show with Mark Lamberth of Rokket Science

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Welcome to the Contractor Grow Show with Mark Lamberth of Rokket Science In the inaugural episode of The Contractor Grow Show, host Mark Lamberth introduces himself and shares his journey from being a hands-on builder to running a digital marketing agency, Rokket Science, with his wife Haley. This is the place for Contractor Marketing Tips – Mark dives into the two main groups of contractors he sees in the marketplace: those who rely solely on referrals and those who have taken the leap into broader marketing to scale their businesses. As Mark discusses the challenges of growing a contracting business, he outlines three key areas contractors need to focus on to break through their growth ceiling: 1. Website Design – How an outdated website can be costing you 15-20% of your revenue, and why your site should be doing more than just displaying photos. 2. Lead Follow-Up – The importance of responding to leads within minutes to avoid losing potential customers to competitors. 3. Traffic Generation – The need to drive more traffic to your website through SEO and ads to find clients who have never heard of you. Introducing the Contractor Grow Show – Contractor Marketing Tips to Grow your Biz Mark also shares valuable insights on how focusing on these three areas could lead to a 20-25% increase in your top-line revenue. If you’re a contractor looking to grow your business and scale, this episode is for you! Whether you’re at $100k or $5M in revenue, Mark’s tips and strategies can help you unlock new growth opportunities. 👉 **Tune in for expert advice on building a stronger online presence, improving lead conversion, and generating traffic that brings in new clients.** If you’re ready to grow your contracting business and reach new heights, make sure to subscribe and stay tuned for more actionable insights in future episodes. **Let’s build something great together!** Next up, is the podcast from Alfred Lohman of AP Lohman “Most contractors that I talk with, have grown by word of mouth and referrals, and that says all the right things about the business. However, growing the business by referrals is not scalable.” ~Mark Lamberth Topics Transcript Topics Discussed What’s working in the marketplace: for contractors (both online marketing strategies and offline tactics). Getting Highest Multiple on Marketing $$: The proprietary method Rokket Science uses to make you more ROI on every dollar spent with marketing. Team Building: Addressing the shortage of skilled labor, recruiting, training, and retaining employees. Business owners need to learn how to motivate employees, ensure they stay long-term, and build a strong company culture. Internal Struggles of Entrepreneurs: How are you dealing with self doubt, imposter syndrome and all the other struggles of Hustling as an Entrepreneur? Sustainability and Growth: Discussing ways to grow sustainably, both in terms of business revenue and team development. Audio Transcription Mark Lamberth Hello and welcome to the Contractor Grow Show. My name is Mark Lamberth and I’m your host. And in this first episode, I want to talk about the Contractor Grow Show, why we’re here, who we’re going to be talking with, and what you’re going to learn from listening to the show here. So a little bit about my background. I came from a construction background. I’ve built many houses. I’ve done many, many remodels, additions, kitchen bath, remodels. I’ve also done a lot of work in real estate. I’ve bought and sold many, many houses, done a lot of construction and contracting work inside of those houses. We did a lot of remodels, flipping houses back in the day. And in the last 10 years or so, I’ve also had a career in marketing, mainly digital marketing. So building websites, doing pay-per-click advertising for builders, contractors, also search engine optimization, SEO, email campaigns, database reactivation. Mark Lamberth We’ve also been involved in radio billboards, many, many tens and hundreds of thousands of letters of direct mail sent. And what I’ve seen over and over again is that there are many builders out there doing great work, but most of them don’t understand, and in many cases don’t really care to understand marketing or getting the word out there about their services. Most contractors that I talk with, depending on the size of the business that they’re at, have grown by word of mouth and referrals, and that says all the right things about the business. However, growing the business by referrals is not scalable. So when we talk with new business owners, one of the first questions that we ask is, how have you grown the business so far? And there’s almost a big dividing line between types of businesses. One is the business that they’ve only ever grown by referrals or word of mouth. Contractor Marketing Tips are a dime a dozen, unless you implement them. This is where the real gold lives. Mark Lamberth And another is businesses that have gone beyond that and have also got their digital marketing dialed in. So their website looks great and they’re tracking everything they’re doing Pay-per-click. They’re doing SEO as well. They’ve got someone who’s answering the phones, right? The sales process is critical to getting this right. So they’ve got someone who’s answering the phones every time that it rings or they’re getting back to folks within just a few minutes. And those second types of businesses, the ones that have got their digital marketing working right, firing right. Those companies inevitably are larger, they’re systemized better, and they’ve got a better growth path. And so we know that when we talk with a business that has only grown by referrals, that we actually have got a lot more work to do. And part of that work is literally just convincing them the way to grow the business is to do it with strangers, to going out to the marketplace and talking to strangers who have never heard of you before. Mark Lamberth And with the way that things are set up and

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