Benji Carlson is an Assessment Specialist at Breakthrough Academy. He has demonstrated a talent for distilling vast amounts of information to address the root of any problem that companies face. Consequently, he has assessed more than 1,000 trades companies and helped them get on the path to scaling. He is also the co-host of the Contractor Evolution podcast, a show that focuses on helping the everyday contractor evolve into a thriving business owner.

In this episode, we talked about hiring, tough conversations, business assessments, clear vision, priority management…

Show notes

• Introducing Benji Carlson. [1:25]
• What Breakthrough Academy is all about and how it helps business owners. [1:55]
• What Benji does as an Assessment Specialist at Breakthrough Academy. [2:54]
• Why a lot of technicians have become business owners in the last few years. [4:51]
• What Benji has noticed in the assessments he has been doing for businesses. [7:47] 
• The first major struggle that most business owners deal with. [11:08]
• The consequences of not having a clear vision for your business. [17:26]
• The second major struggle that most business owners deal with. [21:46]
• Why business owners find it difficult to have tough conversations with their employees. [22:21] 
• Reasons why avoiding tough conversations with employees can be bad for your business. [27:44] 
• The third major struggle that most business owners deal with. [33:02]
• Why there has been a decreasing number of talent supply in the market. [37:18] 
• Distinguishing facts from stories when building a team. [39:31]  
• What Tommy wants his employees to experience in A1. [40:51]
• Why Tommy wants to turn his employees into promoters and recruiters. [41:45]
• How the talent market functions work in the current market. [43:25]
• Why companies should allocate a bigger budget to recruiting activities. [44:07]
• The difference between time management and priority management. [51:11] 
• How to get more information about Benji. [55:03]
• Three books on Benji’s reading list. [55:35]
• Benji’s most important piece of advice to home service business owners. [57:27]

Resources And People Mentioned:

• Breakthrough Academy
• 75-Point Implementation Checklist
• Avoid ‘shiny object syndrome’ using Breakthrough Academy’s 1-Page Strategic Plan
• Unsuck your recruiting process; check out Breakthrough Academy’s 6-Part Ultimate Hiring Funnel Series
• FREE tools from Breakthrough Academy to help you ‘mind the gap’ in your business
• The E Myth: Why Most Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael Gerber 
• Elon Musk
• Mike Tyson
• Sean McVay
• Jack Tester
• Yelp
• Indeed
• Craigslist 
• Glassdoor 
• Career Builder 
• Google Calendar
• Outlook 
• Contractor Evolution Podcast 
• Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
• Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen by Donald Miller
• The Power of No: Because One Little Word Can Bring Health, Abundance, and Happiness by James Altucher and Claudia Azula Altucher