Chris's friend Jared Thayer joined us this week, and this conversation covers more ground than almost any episode we've recorded. Jared is the owner of Thayer Design Build, a remodeling company he started in 2014, and his story starts with a hard childhood, a mom who disappeared into addiction, and a grandmother who became one of the aces in his deck of cards. From there he built a construction company from scratch, grew it to a ten person team, went through a divorce last year, and is now raising three boys as a single dad with a level of intentionality most of us talk about but never actually practice. We get into pricing and why undercharging is the silent killer of contractors everywhere, health as the foundation for everything else, faith, mountaineering, and the Tony Robbins incantation that Jared led a group of us through in the woods outside Sisters two years ago. He brought that same energy to close out this episode, right before our internet connection gave out mid recording. Some things you can't plan for. This one earns its runtime.

Enjoy the show - Brandon

Restoration, roofing, HVAC, plumbing, landscaping. If you build it, fix it, or maintain it, this show is for you.

Why You Should Listen:

• [2:21] Jared's childhood: a mother lost to addiction and the grandmother who became his lifeline
• [9:37] Losing 90K in overnight billable work and rebuilding from zero
• [13:53] The divorce, raising three boys as a single dad, and why he calls it work life integration instead of balance
• [28:20] The morning routine and health discipline that fuels everything else
• [36:00] The incantation story: a windstorm in the woods outside Sisters and a moment none of us forgot
• [51:09] Charge enough money: the lesson that cost him a good employee and changed how he prices every job
• [56:37] I Am the Voice: Jared leads us through the incantation one more time to close the show

About the Show

Head, Heart, & Boots is for the men and women who build things for a living. Restoration, roofing, HVAC, plumbing, landscaping, and every blue collar trade in between. Hosts Brandon Reece and Chris Nordyke built and scaled real companies in the restoration industry, and they have carried those hard-won lessons into every blue collar trade they work with today. Every week they dig into the head (strategy), the heart (culture and people), and the boots (execution) of running a business worth owning.

This show is the front door to Floodlight Consulting Group, where Brandon, Chris, and the team help trades businesses find the money already sitting inside them and build companies worth far more than the day they started. Same people, same mission, whether you are listening or working with us directly.

Ready to see what that looks like in your business? Start Here!

Owning a business in the trades can be the loneliest job there is. Head, Heart, & Boots exists to change that, because the best leaders don't go it alone, and neither should you.