Felipe Freig

COST PLUS BUILDERS YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED...

I used to walk into sales meetings thinking my job was to impress people.

I’d talk about our company, our experience, our projects, and why we were different.

I thought I was crushing it.

I wasn’t.

The biggest shift in my sales career happened when I realized clients don’t care nearly as much about me as they care about solving their problem.

Think about it like going to a doctor.

You don’t sit down and ask where they went to school or listen to a 30-minute presentation about their credentials.

They ask questions.
They listen.
They diagnose the problem.
Then they prescribe a solution.

That’s what great salespeople do.

Ask better questions.
Listen carefully.
Take notes.
Make people feel understood.

Because if a client doesn’t feel understood, they’re not going to buy from you.

I couldn’t wake up at 8:00 AM for school…

Now I wake up at 4:30 AM for work without an alarm.

Funny how it’s not about the time. It’s about having something that actually pulls you out of bed.

When you’re building something that’s yours, early mornings stop feeling like a punishment and start feeling like an opportunity.

What’s the earliest you’ve ever woken up for something you were excited about?

Comment “COACH” if you’re building a business and want help getting to the next level.

1. Forget Google ads! Post on Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn instead. Sounds old school, but this is literally how we landed all of our work in year one. Don't sleep on it.

2. Sponsor local events. Find businesses in your area looking for sponsors, it gets your name in front of real people, in your community, face to face. That's worth more than any algorithm.

3. Referrals are everything. Offer a discount when someone sends a job your way and you close it. Word of mouth is still the most powerful marketing tool out there.

4. Yard signs work. Put one up at every job site. Neighbors notice. Neighbors talk. Neighbors hire you. Simple as that.

5. Drop your business cards locally. Leave them at the spots homeowners already shop, hardware stores, paint stores, home décor shops. Put yourself where your customers already are.

6. Follow up with every past client. A simple check-in can lead to repeat work, referrals, reviews, and new opportunities you would have missed otherwise.

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Not long ago, my phone wouldn’t stop ringing until 8 or 9 o’clock at night.

Clients kept calling because they didn’t know what was happening on site.

The problem wasn’t the clients.

The problem was that I had no system.

I was managing projects from memory instead of process. Every update depended on me, and every question landed on my phone.

Then we implemented a simple system.

Now our team updates clients through daily logs. They can see exactly what happened on site, what’s coming next, and where their project stands at any time.

One simple system eliminated hours of interruptions, reduced stress, and gave me back peace of mind.

Most business owners don’t have a people problem.

They have a systems problem.

Let’s be honest. How often do your clients check in because they don’t know what’s going on?

Check out my coaching program at the “VERSA METHOD” if you’re ready to build systems that help your business run smoother.

A little snippet from our walking podcast coming out soon on YouTube with , software running over 10,000 users, and said something most people in this industry won’t say out loud.

Cost plus is not transparent. It just looks that way.

They tell you it’s cost plus 10 percent and your brain hears “fair.” What you don’t see is everything happening underneath that number. The real margin is way higher than 10. And here’s the part that gets me labeled the bad guy for saying it.

I don’t blame them.

You cannot run a real construction company on 10 percent. Not one that answers the phone when things go sideways. Not one that eats the cost of a mistake instead of vanishing on you. Not one that’s still standing in five years to honor the work it put its name on.

A builder making real money is a builder who can show up for you. That’s not greed. That’s survival. And survival is what keeps your project from becoming someone else’s problem.

The lie was never the margin. The lie is pretending the margin is 10.

Everyone says they want success.

Few people actually want what comes with it.

The long days.
The missed weekends.
The uncomfortable conversations.
The pressure of making payroll.
The setbacks.
The criticism.
The responsibility.

Most people want the outcome.

A small percentage fall in love with the process.

That’s the difference.

The people who win aren’t always the most talented.

They’re the ones who learn to enjoy the grind when nobody’s watching.

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Most tradespeople start a business thinking they’ll do more of the trade they already know.

That’s the mistake.

Knowing drywall, framing, electrical, or plumbing doesn’t automatically mean you know how to run a successful company. The trade gets you in the game. Learning leadership, systems, sales, customer experience, and operations is what helps you win.

The moment I stopped thinking like a worker and started thinking like a business owner, everything changed. I was finally able to step back, build systems, improve the customer experience, and create a company that could grow without relying on me for every little thing.

Work on your business, not just in it.

Check out my coaching program at the "VERSA METHOD" where I help business owners and trades level up their business.

“What if things don’t work out?”

It’s the question that stops most people before they ever start.

What if the business fails?
What if people judge you?
What if you lose money?
What if you’re not good enough?

But here’s the better question:

What if it does work out?

What if that idea changes your life?
What if that risk creates opportunities you never imagined?
What if the business grows bigger than you thought possible?
What if the thing you’re scared to start today becomes the thing you’re most proud of tomorrow?

Every successful entrepreneur has stood at that crossroads. The difference is they moved forward anyway.

The life you want is usually sitting on the other side of a decision you’ve been avoiding.

Look into my coaching program the "VERSA METHOD" if you’d like my help building a stronger business, creating better systems, and achieving the goals you’ve set for yourself.