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 Fair 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

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.

I walked into this recording annoyed about studio cables, and somehow it turned into one of the most honest conversations Brandon and I have had on this show.

We talk about the pressure in modern business culture to be always on and always awesome, and why the gurus only ever talk about their struggles in the past tense. Brandon brought in Arthur Brooks' framework of the three macronutrients of happiness: enjoyment, satisfaction, and meaning. We use it to take a hard look at grind culture, the myth that more revenue leads to more happiness, and what we've seen after years of working with owners in the trades. Some of them hit every financial goal and still don't know what to do with themselves when they get home. Whether you run a restoration company, a roofing crew, or any trades business, if you've ever wondered why the win doesn't feel the way you thought it would, this one is for you.

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

Hope you enjoy the show -Chris

Why You Should Listen:

• [0:30] The pressure to be always on and always awesome, and why suppressing your emotions costs more than you think
• [8:36] Arthur Brooks' three macronutrients of happiness, and why chasing pleasure isn't the same as enjoyment
• [12:57] Satisfaction: why the reward comes from the struggle, not the prize
• [24:19] Financial success and happiness: what we've seen across years of client work
• [28:41] The owner who builds the business, installs the GM, and has no idea what to do with themselves at home
• [33:35] Why relationship is the superpower in a world of AI and automation
• [35:22] Meaning: what happens when you sell the company your identity is built on

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.