Podcast · Business

Modern Craftsman

by Modern Craftsman · English · Business

The Modern Craftsman is a podcast for builders who think beyond the jobsite. Hosted by Nick Schiffer and Tyler Grace, this show explores what it takes to build a better business, a stronger team, and a more sustainable career in the trades. Each episode features real conversations about leadership,

New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 1 hr
Latest: 12 Oct 2026
Language: English

Latest episode

12 Oct 2026 · 1 hr 18 minNew

421 How Residential Builders Balance Craft And Profit

Download your free Vision & Scaling Plan here modern-craftsman.kit.com/vision-worksheet Nick and Tyler catch up with Colby Blauvelt four years after he began transforming his family's production plastering company into a highly specialized, craft-driven business. The work has changed, the team has grown to 15 people, and now the challenge is figuring out how to protect the standard that built the brand while creating a business that can actually scale profitably. They get into pricing complex work, saying no to the wrong projects, tracking labor, building better field systems, choosing the…

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Earlier episodes 29 most recent

5 Oct 2026 · 1 hr 7 min
420 What Wealthy Clients Actually Expect From Residential Builders
Download your free Vision & Scaling Plan here modern-craftsman.kit.com/vision-worksheet Nick and Tyler sit down with Grant Bowen of Peak Projects to unpack what an owner's rep actually does and what builders can learn from projects where the stakes, budgets, and client expectations are exceptionally high. Grant explains how to manage complex residential projects from due diligence through construction, how high-net-worth clients evaluate builders, why concise communication and transparent financial reporting matter so much, and how trust is built long before construction begins. The…
20 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 29 min
419 How Maturity Changed The Way Gary Katz Sees Architecture
Download your free Vision & Scaling Plan here modern-craftsman.kit.com/vision-worksheet Nick and Tyler sit down with Gary Katz to talk about American Mantelpieces, a project that began nearly three decades ago and became something much bigger than a book about fireplaces. Gary reflects on craftsmanship, architectural proportion, rejection, persistence, and how years of studying the work helped him understand not just what looks right, but why it looks right. The conversation expands into how a craftsperson's perspective changes with experience, why finishing imperfect work can be more…
13 Sep 2026 · 50 min
418 Knowing how to utilize in-house labor in residential construction
Download your free Vision & Scaling Plan here modern-craftsman.kit.com/vision-worksheet Nick and Tyler sit down with Jeff Sweenor to talk about what it actually takes to keep framing, finish carpentry, cabinetry, masonry, and other trades in-house. Jeff breaks down the constant balance between quality, productivity, overhead, scheduling, hiring, and knowing when a specialized subcontractor can simply do the work more efficiently. The conversation also gets into how Sweenor Builders tracks each division, develops skilled craftspeople, and decides which capabilities are worth continuing to…
7 Sep 2026 · 43 min
417 Building My Own House Without Chasing Perfection
Download your free Vision & Scaling Plan here modern-craftsman.kit.com/vision-worksheet Tyler is back with an update on where his house build actually stands, what has gone according to plan, and where he has intentionally chosen practicality over perfection. He gets into framing the house, crawl space and insulation decisions, managing costs, working alongside a framing crew, upcoming windows and rough-ins, and the lessons he is learning from being both the builder and the client. It is also a look at everything happening around the project, from TRG and Modern Craftsman to family, work,…
31 Aug 2026 · 45 min
416 Nick And Tyler Walk Through 45WO & The Reality of Building A Home without Compromise
Download your free Vision & Scaling Plan here modern-craftsman.kit.com/vision-worksheet This house looks calm. Precise. Almost effortless. Behind that simplicity is an enormous amount of coordination, fabrication, experimentation, and restraint. Nick and Tyler walk the completed home from front door to mechanical room, breaking down the details that made it possible, from full-height doors and flush transitions to custom millwork, stone fabrication, integrated ventilation, dropped framing, hidden storage, and thousands of hours of finish work. Nothing here happened by accident. It was a…
E415 · 24 Aug 2026 · 1 hr 20 min
415 Custom Residential Building Doesn't Have To Mean Expensive
Download your free Vision & Scaling Plan here modern-craftsman.kit.com/vision-worksheet Nick and Tyler sit down with Architect David Hornstein to talk about what has been lost as residential construction has become more specialized, more layered, and more expensive. Drawing from decades as a carpenter, builder, architect, and product designer, David makes the case that highly custom work can still be efficient if the people doing it understand the entire process. They get into the master builder mindset, the value of having experienced people on site, why communication gets diluted through…
17 Aug 2026 · 1 hr 29 min
414 Who Should Carry The Cash Burden In Residential Construction? with Shane Durkin
Nick and Tyler bring Shane Durkin back, with Brad Leavitt joining the conversation, to challenge one of construction's most persistent problems: how project money moves and who should actually carry the financial risk. They get into deposits, escrow accounts, credit card rewards, cost-plus construction, project-level accounting, lien waivers, trade payments, and the hidden complexity that comes from running millions of dollars of client funds through a builder's business. Shane explains how LedgerWise separates project finances into their own accounts while Brad, Nick, and Tyler push on the…
E413 · 9 Aug 2026 · 41 min
413 The Five Systems Every Construction Company Needs
Most builders start by taking every job, doing everything themselves, and figuring out the business after the work is already underway. Nick & Tyler pull together the five systems that helped them move from owning a job to building a company: pre-construction, numbers, production, lead vetting, and team. From Contractor to Company Workshop: https://www.moderncraftsman.co/workshop-registration Sign up for the Modern Craftsman Community: 👉🏻 MC Community Sign-up Sign up for the newsletter: Newsletter Sign-up This episode was compiled from conversations originally heard in episodes 380, 384,…
6 Aug 2026 · 9 min
Offcut 412: Why Builders Keep Going When the Job Should Stop
A job can turn into a completely different house when major design changes arrive after framing starts. Charles Ochello, Nick, and Tyler talk about the pressure to keep moving, the cost of avoiding a full stop, and why the big decisions need to be settled before construction begins. Charles' Website: https://www.vitruviusbuilt.com From Contractor to Company Workshop: https://www.moderncraftsman.co/workshop-registration Sign up for the Modern Craftsman Community: 👉🏻 MC Community Sign-up Sign up for the newsletter: Newsletter Sign-up Show Notes: 00:00 Bringing the Design Team in Too Late 01:34…
E412 · 2 Aug 2026 · 1 hr 31 min
412 Why Starting Over Can Be Worth the Risk with Charles Ochello
Charles Ochello walked away from emergency medicine to build luxury homes in Park City. He talks about the financial runway, the insecurity of starting over, and how lessons from the ER shaped the way he manages high-stakes projects and clients. Charles' Website: https://www.vitruviusbuilt.com From Contractor to Company Workshop: https://www.moderncraftsman.co/workshop-registration Sign up for the Modern Craftsman Community: 👉🏻 MC Community Sign-up Sign up for the newsletter: Newsletter Sign-up Show Notes: 00:00 The Work You Wake Up Thinking About 02:29 The Financial Reality of Leaving…
30 Jul 2026 · 13 min
Offcut 411: The Real Midlife Crisis Is Giving Up
A midlife crisis might not be losing control. It might be reaching a dead end, quitting on creativity, and deciding there's no better version of yourself left to build. Mark D. Williams talks about risk, fulfillment, expensive lessons, and why the next bet can matter even when it doesn't fully check out on paper. Full Episode: https://youtu.be/A6S_eqGEstA Mark's Website: https://www.mdwilliamshomes.com Mark's Podcast: https://www.curiousbuilder.com From Contractor to Company Workshop: https://www.moderncraftsman.co/workshop-registration Sign up for the Modern Craftsman Community: 👉🏻 MC…
E411 · 26 Jul 2026 · 1 hr 16 min
411 The Risk of Building What You Believe In with Mark D. Williams
Everybody wants to build the project they believe in, right up until the risk gets real. This episode gets into what it looks like to take a swing on a house that does more than one job, why Mark D. Williams built Mysa Hus the way he did, and how the project became part business play, part creative reset, and part bet on the future. Mark's Website: https://www.mdwilliamshomes.com Mark's Podcast: https://www.curiousbuilder.com From Contractor to Company Workshop: https://www.moderncraftsman.co/workshop-registration Sign up for the Modern Craftsman Community: 👉🏻 MC Community Sign-up Sign up…
23 Jul 2026 · 15 min
Offcut 410: Why Everything Falls Apart When You Hire
The business starts leaking money when the plan in your head never makes it to the people doing the work. Nick and Tyler talk about teaching clearly, building repeatable systems, and why shadowing someone only works when they eventually have to do it themselves. Sign up for the Modern Craftsman Community: 👉🏻 MC Community Sign-up Sign up for the newsletter: Newsletter Sign-up Show Notes: 00:00 The Lesson That Changed the Business 02:47 You Don't Know It Until You Teach It 05:32 Every Step You Forgot to Explain 07:22 Why Apprenticeship Still Matters 13:16 Builders Keep Reinventing the Wheel…
E410 · 19 Jul 2026 · 1 hr 7 min
410 The Education Builders Never Got
Most builders learn the trade first and figure out the business by taking hits for ten years. Nick and Tyler talk about college, online education, fake gurus, systems, financial clarity, and what builders should actually invest in before the business gets away from them. From Contractor to Company Workshop: https://www.moderncraftsman.co/workshop-registration Sign up for the Modern Craftsman Community: 👉🏻 MC Community Sign-up Sign up for the newsletter: Newsletter Sign-up Show Notes: 00:04:15 The Problem With Builder Education 00:14:55 Are Online Courses Any Better? 00:22:49 Builders Never…
12 Jul 2026 · 45 min
409 Five Takes on Building a Better Business
This compilation pulls from recent guest conversations with Mark O'Brien, Shane Durkin, Mike Romanowicz, Morgan Molitor, and Michael Holmes Jr. Five different perspectives, but a shared thread runs through all of them: risk, money, systems, tools, identity, and what it really takes to build a better business. Sign up for the Modern Craftsman Community: 👉🏻 MC Community Sign-up Sign up for the newsletter: Newsletter Sign-up Show Notes: 01:00:00 Five Takes on Building a Better Business 01:00:35 EP 406 Mark O'Brien 01:06:47 EP 407 Shane Durkin 01:18:00 EP 403 Mike Romanowicz 01:24:49 EP 402…
9 Jul 2026 · 27 min
Building the House Between Jobs | Midweek with Tyler
Tyler gives another update on the house build while juggling client work, family, site prep, foundation details, and the next round of framing decisions. He gets into the reality of self-performing a build while life, work, and money keep moving. Sign up for the Modern Craftsman Community: 👉🏻 MC Community Sign-up Sign up for the newsletter: Newsletter Sign-up Video Version: Show Notes: 0:14 Midweek From the Build 1:15 Working Around the House 4:43 Foundation & Crawl Space 10:15 Framing the Floor 13:02 Exterior Plan & Windows 17:37 Partners & Products 22:19 Building a Real House 24:02 Course…
E408 · 5 Jul 2026 · 59 min
408 Why Builders Need the Right People Around Them
Putting yourself out there comes with opinions, cheap shots, and plenty of people who think they know the whole story from one post. Nick and Tyler talk about online criticism, support systems, comparison, family, friends, and finding the people who actually want to see you win. Sign up for the Modern Craftsman Community: 👉🏻 MC Community Sign-up Sign up for the newsletter: Newsletter Sign-up Show Notes: 00:00 Who Said I Invented This? 00:13 Pretending Everyone Else Has It Figured Out 03:38 Getting Lit Up on Facebook 06:35 When Online Comments Don't Hurt Anymore 10:44 When People Close to You…
E407 · 28 Jun 2026 · 1 hr 53 min
407: Why Builders Shouldn't Be the Bank with Shane Durkin
A lot of builders run millions of dollars through the business without a clear view of what they actually make. Shane Durkin talks through construction finance, project money, cash flow, profitability, and why builders need better systems than acting like the bank for every job. Shane's Websites: https://www.buildpatriot.com http://www. ledgerwise.com Sign up for the Modern Craftsman Community: 👉🏻 MC Community Sign-up Sign up for the newsletter: Newsletter Sign-up Show Notes: 00:00 The Builder's 16% Slice 00:23 Meet Shane Durkin 05:14 Tyler's Superior Walls Foundation 10:37 From Maryland to…
E406 · 22 Jun 2026 · 1 hr 27 min
406 Hard Lessons From Big Risks with Mark O'Brien
Some projects stop making sense on paper long before the story is over. Mark O'Brien talks through bankruptcy, real estate risk, New York red tape, private equity, treehouses, 45 White Oak, and why the experience can still be worth chasing. Mark's website: https://buildmeabrownstone.com Sign up for the Modern Craftsman Community: 👉🏻 MC Community Sign-up Sign up for the newsletter: Newsletter Sign-up Show Notes: 00:00 The Treehouse That Sold the House 00:15 Meet Mark O'Brien 03:52 Losing It All and Starting Over 22:54 New York Red Tape and Carrying Costs 33:15 Why Keep Taking the Risk? 47:02…
18 Jun 2026 · 32 min
What the House Build Is Teaching Me | Midweek with Tyler
Tyler's house build is moving from layout and excavation into foundation prep, and every step is teaching him something new. This one gets into site work, drainage, equipment costs, and the real stress of building your own place while learning the land as you go. Sign up for the Modern Craftsman Community: 👉🏻 MC Community Sign-up Sign up for the newsletter: Newsletter Sign-up Video Version: https://youtu.be/rW_7THRb8Bw Show Notes: 0:13 Project Update 2:05 The House Build So Far 7:31 Superior Walls Prep 14:36 Crawl Space & House Plan 18:03 What the Build Is Teaching Me 21:54 Getting to…
7 Jun 2026 · 1 hr
405 Real Questions Builders Are Asking Right Now
Some of the best builder questions are the ones that do not always get asked out loud. This episode has questions that come straight from the MC Community and gets into pricing tiers, labor rates, first admin hires, dead leads, subcontractor agreements, and the systems that help make a construction business easier to run. Sign up for the Modern Craftsman Community: 👉🏻 MC Community Sign-up Sign up for the newsletter: Newsletter Sign-up Show Notes: 00:00 Square Foot Pricing Has Limits 00:28 Questions From the Builder Community 02:13 Tiered Pricing in Precon 09:35 Can Square Foot Pricing Work?…
31 May 2026 · 49 min
404 Trying Not to Slip Back Into Grind Mode
Some seasons get heavy fast, even when you built the business to avoid that. This episode gets into Tyler's house build, money pressure, family guilt, decision fatigue, and trying not to fall back into the old grind-at-all-costs version of yourself. Sign up for the Modern Craftsman Community: 👉🏻 MC Community Sign-up Sign up for the newsletter: Newsletter Sign-up Show Notes: 00:00 When It Feels Impossible to Move Forward 00:12 Guest Fell Through 04:05 Calling the Vendor 06:00 Life Hits 110 MPH 08:14 Avoiding Old Grind Habits 10:03 Carrying the Weight After the Job 13:17 Cutting the List Down…
28 May 2026 · 33 min
The House Build Just Got Real
Tyler gives an update on his personal home build, from permit headaches and erosion control to layout, equipment, and finally moving dirt. This one gets into the pressure of building your own house, self-performing as much as possible, and turning years of trade experience into a family home. Sign up for the Modern Craftsman Community: 👉🏻 MC Community Sign-up Sign up for the newsletter: Newsletter Sign-up Video Version: https://youtu.be/YFG1z032FkQ Show Notes: 0:19 AI Beyond Productivity 2:37 The Mental Load 5:04 Organizing the Chaos 12:15 Clearer Thinking 21:16 AI as a Mirror 25:21 Getting…
24 May 2026 · 1 hr 20 min
403 Stop Building Every Job From Scratch with Mike Romanowicz
Custom building gets messy fast when every project starts from a blank page. Mike Romanowicz talks through Den, prefab housing, better lead qualification, and what builders can learn from a product-based approach to pricing, systems, and client expectations. Den Outdoors: https://denoutdoors.com Sign up for the Modern Craftsman Community: 👉🏻 MC Community Sign-up Sign up for the newsletter: Newsletter Sign-up Show Notes: 00:00 Productized Housing 00:20 Meet Mike Romanowicz 03:59 Product First, Founder Second 05:45 Building in Public 09:22 The A-Frame Kit Lesson 14:11 The First Product Bet…
21 May 2026 · 31 min
The Most Human Use of AI
Most people talk about AI like it's just there to save time, write faster, or build better systems. This episode gets into the quieter side of it: using AI to organize your thoughts, cut down the mental noise, and get clearer before the day runs you over. Sign up for the Modern Craftsman Community: 👉🏻 MC Community Sign-up Sign up for the newsletter: Newsletter Sign-up Video Version: https://youtu.be/NUkdSkNq8QU Show Notes: 0:19 AI Beyond Productivity 2:37 The Mental Load 5:04 Organizing the Chaos 12:15 Clearer Thinking 21:16 AI as a Mirror 25:21 Getting Your Day Back 29:44 Wrap & Community…
17 May 2026 · 1 hr 11 min
402 How Builders Should Actually Use AI with Morgan Molitor
AI is not just for writing nicer emails or cranking out generic captions. This episode gets into how builders can use AI, construction software, agents, and connected tools to clean up admin, qualify leads, track money, improve communication, and make the business side less of a mess. Morgan: https://construction2style.com Sign up for the Modern Craftsman Community: 👉🏻 MC Community Sign-up Sign up for the newsletter: Newsletter Sign-up Show Notes: 00:00 AI Is Already Doing the Work 03:47 Where Builders Should Start 06:54 Chat, Claude & Better Prompts 11:32 AI Inside Construction Software…
10 May 2026 · 1 hr 5 min
401 Building a Name That's Actually Yours
Working in a family business comes with a lot of pressure, especially when your last name already means something in the industry. Michael Holmes talks through the Holmes legacy, finding his own lane, taking risks, and what it looks like to build something that actually feels like his own. Sign up for the Modern Craftsman Community: 👉🏻 MC Community Sign-up Sign up for the newsletter: Newsletter Sign-up Show Notes: 00:00 Who Michael Holmes Is Now 04:53 Growing Up Without Dad Around 10:29 Being the Dad He Needed 18:08 Getting His Dad Back 20:15 Stepping Out of the Family Shadow 29:00 Building…
7 May 2026 · 32 min
Build a Business That Gives You a Life
This Midweek is about what happens when life forces you to step back and ask what all the work is actually for. Tyler talks about loss, family, and building a business that creates enough freedom to be present for the parts of life you don't get back. Sign up for the Modern Craftsman Community: 👉🏻 MC Community Sign-up Sign up for the newsletter: Newsletter Sign-up Video Version: https://youtu.be/fALKjhyTuLo Show Notes: 00:43 Time Moves Fast 02:57 A Wake-Up Call 07:31 Making Better Decisions 12:06 Learning From Loss 14:20 Work Isn't Everything 16:43 Building Around the Life You Want 21:10…
3 May 2026 · 1 hr 5 min
400 Where Modern Craftsman Goes From Here
After 400 episodes, the conversation shifts toward what Modern Craftsman should become next. This episode gets into why the show is moving away from surface-level interviews, what kind of guests and stories they want to bring in, and how deeper conversations can create more value than another round of standard industry talk. Sign up for the Modern Craftsman Community: 👉🏻 MC Community Sign-up Sign up for the newsletter: Newsletter Sign-up Show Notes: 00:00 A Curveball at 400 02:33 Why the Podcast Is Changing 09:23 Why the Old Guest Model Fell Flat 14:11 The Kind of Conversations We Want 23:41…

About Modern Craftsman

Modern Craftsman is a English business podcast from Modern Craftsman. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.

Publisher: Modern Craftsman
Language: English
Category: Business
New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 1 hr
Latest episode: 12 Oct 2026
Feed: RSS — paste into any podcast app
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1225683280
Rights: Modern Craftsman

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