Hello and welcome to my site! There’s not much here yet – but – just like building a new home, you have to start at the foundation. I’ve been dreaming about putting together a place where those new to the industry can go and learn the business for some time now.
This is the start of that dream.
When I started in the home building business – way back in 1993 (fresh out of college – thinking I knew everything about everything), I quickly found out how little I knew. I joined my father’s home building business, and was soon immersed in on-the-job learning. My father thought that the best way to learn was to just jump in and try to stay ahead of the rush.
He likened his theory of learning to putting pipes together as a plumber would. “It’s my job to turn on the water. It’s your job to stay ahead of it.” And did he ever turn on the water! From the time I started through the time our home building companies winded down, I was able to be involved with the management of over 1,000 new homes.
Since my start in 1993, I’ve been through the ups and the downs of this incredible industry. I learned it the hard way – a lot of trial and error.
Since 2017, I’ve been fortunate enough to consult with home builders all across North America. In that time, I’ve been able to see how all types of homebuilding businesses structure their processes. Some are great. Some are not-so-great. But I’ve learned a lot from every experience, and I see a lot of common issues arise.
One of the most common is the turnover of employees. Every industry faces this. A bit more in recent years. But homebuilding is a bit of a unique business. It’s one of the few businesses that still heavily relies on people – and it’s an industry that’s a bit slow to change to new and improved processes/tools.
Right now, Home Builders are struggling to find anyone to fill their key positions. So, they are looking outside of the industry to hire. Great people are out there. Great people are hired. The problem is that those great people just don’t understand the basics of the homebuilding industry.
And Home Builders just don’t have the time to teach their new people about the industry. Instead, those great people are experiencing the same thing that happened to me way back in 1993. They show up and are told: “Welcome to xyz Builders! Here’s your desk. Get to work.” Then, it’s up to the new employee to just figure it out.
Yep! That’s the look the new employee gets when they realize they need to figure things out as they go.
That look and feeling is why I’ve wanted to build this site! I’m planning on adding stories, tips, educational opportunities and other ways for those new to the industry to learn and grow their careers.
But I’ll need your help! I want to know what you want to know. If you see a place to add your email to the site, please do so. Leave a comment below – or – drop me a line at brad@bradhaubert.com and give me some ideas and questions you have. Let’s build an amazing site together!
Awesome start to your new blog, Brad! I know you can help a lot of people. Let me know if you get accounting questions. Always happy to help you educate people new to this great industry!
Many thanks, Patti. Will be sure to do so!