Don Bronchick has been in the residential construction game for 30 years. He’s touched 68,000 new homes, signed over $300 million in contracts, and worked with close to 400 builders across his career. He started in the hurricane shutter business in South Florida right after Andrew changed the building codes, grew that company to $24 million a year, then moved into windows and doors. He’s been a subcontractor, a dealer, and a general contractor. The guy has seen it from every angle.
So when Don sits down with Michael Krisa on this episode, he’s not theorizing. He’s telling you what actually works.
The conversation starts with how Don even got into construction in the first place. Turns out it was a side gig at Home Depot in his late twenties while he was trying to support two young daughters. He knew nothing about building materials when they stuck him in that department. But he paid attention. He talked to the contractors who came through. And when his best friend started a hurricane shutter company and needed his first employee, Don was ready.
That story leads into one of the recurring themes of this episode: hiring for character over resume. Don’s friend could have looked for someone with construction experience. Instead, he wanted the right person and figured he’d teach them the trade.
“He wanted the right person, the right character. I’ll teach them construction. I want the right individual who shares my passion, my drive, my energy level, my integrity. Somebody that wants more. But most importantly, who would represent his company and his name at the highest levels.”
Don took that lesson and ran with it throughout his career. He tells a great story about a guy named David who showed up at his shop looking for installer work. David drove a Honda Accord, owned nothing but hammers and screwdrivers, and had zero shutter experience. Don sent him away. A few days later, David came back standing next to a brand new F-250 with a shopping list of tools he was picking up that afternoon. That’s the kind of commitment you can’t teach. David eventually became an area manager running a hundred installations a month.
From there, the conversation gets into what builders actually want from their subcontractors. Don’s take is that most subs get this completely wrong.
“If you were to ask a hundred subcontractors what’s the biggest hurdle to getting into a builder, I think 90 percent would say price. Why? Because they’re not skilled at doing business with builders. They don’t understand what builders truly want from them. So they default to price as an issue, and that’s their crutch.”
Builders are risk-averse. They want consistency. They want to know you’re going to show up when you say you will, communicate when things go sideways, and not paper their job site with extra work orders trying to claw back margin. Don puts it simply: “What the buyer wants is no grief.”
He shares a story about winning over a crusty old project manager named Jody who made it clear from day one that he didn’t like Don or his company. Eventually, Don asked him what changed. Jody’s answer was short.
“Because you guys always did what you said you were going to do. And you’d be surprised how few people do.”
Don also shares his policy of never charging dry run fees. Not once in 68,000 homes. His reasoning is simple: builders remember who makes their life harder, and they remember who makes it easier.
“If you get hired on price, you get fired on price.”
The few hundred bucks you might squeeze out of a charge isn’t worth the relationship damage.
There’s a good section on company culture and why transparency matters. Don would share revenue targets, P&L information, and contract wins with his whole team, not just management. He wanted people to feel like they were part of something, not just clocking in.
“The more you keep your folks in the dark, the less you will get from them as far as helping you navigate to where you want to go.”
When employees understand the business, they make better decisions. When they feel invested, they stick around.
Michael and Don also dig into the difference between being a trade partner and being a transactional vendor. A vendor nickel and dimes. A trade partner understands the bigger picture and acts accordingly. Don asks subcontractors what business they’re in. They say plumbing, electrical, HVAC. His response:
“No, you’re not. You’re in the service business. And the sooner you embrace that concept and permeate that throughout your entire company, you’re going to be stuck.”
He tells a story about a project manager named Paul who asked him to fix an installation issue that wasn’t even his fault. Don did it for free. His field manager thought he was being weak. Don asked him a simple question.
“Which is more valuable to our company: 500 bucks in labor, or making a friend out of Paul?”
They’re still friends today. That’s the point.
“You cannot make friends by reaching your hands into people’s pockets every single time.”
The episode wraps up with Don’s core advice. If you’re looking for shortcuts and instant gratification, you’re in the wrong industry.
“This industry is the proverbial marathon. It is never a sprint. I treat every job as an audition for the next one. Your reputation is your resume.”
The contractors who win are the ones willing to invest in relationships over years, communicate constantly, own their mistakes, and resist the urge to squeeze every dollar out of every interaction. As Don puts it: “Silence breeds distrust.” So pick up the phone. Show up. Do what you said you were going to do.
About Don Bronchick
Don Bronchick is the founder of BuilderBeast Consulting LLC and author of Built from the Ground Up. A keynote speaker and construction industry authority, Don has sold over $300 million in contracts and led organizations that installed work in more than 68,000 new homes. He has built and scaled multiple construction businesses from startup, with experience spanning manufacturing, distribution, subcontracting, and direct-to-builder operations. Don holds general contractor licenses in multiple states and speaks nationally for home builder associations, trade associations, and industry conferences. His focus: helping trades and suppliers build disciplined, profitable businesses.
Don’s book, Built from the Ground Up, is available on Amazon.
You can find him at Builder Beast Consulting (https://builderbeastconstulting.com)
or connect with him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/don-bronchick-7968436/
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