The Contractor’s Edge Podcast - Build Better Businesses

#8 - Romey.ai + JobTread - The AI Agent Every Contractor Needs

On The Contractor’s Edge, Nick interviews longtime collaborator and developer Ryan Roman about the evolution from deterministic automation to AI agents that can orchestrate workflows, arguing AI will be integrated into every domain. Ryan shares how he learned coding to automate repetitive work, then helped automate contractor lead generation end-to-end and later built AI agents to handle client-specific outreach. They discuss contractors’ biggest gaps—speed to lead and follow-up—and introduce Romey.ai, an AI agent deeply integrated with JobTread that instantly texts iMessage-style responses to inbound leads, intelligently follows up, can answer inbound calls after hours, qualifies prospects, and books appointments with round-robin calendar scheduling. They emphasize building SOPs before automating, adopting tools like Claude, and using JobTread’s MCP connector to chat with company data to improve scalability, margins, and work-life balance. -- Romey AI -- https://romey.ai/ [https://romey.ai/] 🔥Get Your Free JobTread Prompt Bible →  https://better-boss.ai/jobtread-ai-prompt-bible/ [https://better-boss.ai/jobtread-ai-prompt-bible/] 🔥 Book Your FREE Growth Audit → https://cal.com/mybetterboss.ai/jobtread-free-growth-audit-call [https://cal.com/mybetterboss.ai/jobtread-free-growth-audit-call] 📞 CONNECT WITH BETTER BOSS: 🌐 Website: https://better-boss.ai 📧 Brittney: brittney@mybetterboss.ai 📞 Phone: (720) 636-9500 📍 Highlands Ranch, Colorado ⚡ We only take limited clients per month. Every single one has given us 5 stars. You didn't start your business to be stuck in the day-to-day. You started for freedom, for family, and for something better. Better starts now. 🔔 SUBSCRIBE for weekly videos on building systems that actually work for contractors. Better Boss | JobTread Certified Implementation Partner Highlands Ranch, Colorado https://better-boss.ai [https://better-boss.ai/jobtread-ai-prompt-bible/]     00:00 AI Agent Interview Mindset 00:18 Welcome and Guest Intro 01:30 Chicago Story and Passion 02:59 Automation Meets AI Agents 05:17 Engineering to Coding Journey 06:19 Automating Jobs and Lead Gen 08:20 Claude vs ChatGPT Talk 08:56 Contractors and Follow Up Fix 10:36 Romy AI Reveal for JobTread 13:37 Instant Texting and Scheduling 15:15 After Hours Calls and iMessage 17:56 Getting Started With AI Tools 20:41 Chatting With Romy and Next Steps 21:33 What to Automate First 22:30 Spotting Bottlenecks and Busywork 22:50 Romi for Lead Follow Up 23:12 AI as a Team Superpower 25:42 Process First Then Automate 27:22 Adapting to the AI Future 29:59 Claude Speed and Government Use 32:31 Contractor Stack with MCP and Romi 34:15 Mission and Community Shoutouts 35:53 Closing Advice and Next Steps

#7 - Contractor Accounting That Actually Helps You Scale w/ Erin Andrews

On The Contractor’s Edge, the host interviews Erin Andrews, CEO of Level Accounting, about building better contractor businesses through proactive monthly accounting, payroll, bookkeeping, and tax planning. Aaron shares her background working largely with trades, frustrations with business owners treating accounting as an afterthought, and issues with once-a-year accountants and an industry talent shortage. They discuss why end-of-year “buy a truck for write-offs” thinking is flawed, what a strong accountant relationship looks like, and what contractors should review monthly: job profitability, gross margin, overhead, net profit, and tax liability. They connect marketing metrics to forecasting, highlight common scaling stress points around $1–$2M, address AR and cash-flow problems, recommend planning ahead with clean books and lines of credit, and cover software ecosystems including QuickBooks Online, JobTread, integrations, and cost codes. -- Erin's Links -- https://levelaccountingfirm.com [https://levelaccountingfirm.com] https://www.facebook.com/erin.h.andrews/ [https://www.facebook.com/erin.h.andrews/]   🔥Get Your Free JobTread Prompt Bible →  https://better-boss.ai/jobtread-ai-prompt-bible/ [https://better-boss.ai/jobtread-ai-prompt-bible/] 🔥 Book Your FREE Growth Audit → https://cal.com/mybetterboss.ai/jobtread-free-growth-audit-call [https://cal.com/mybetterboss.ai/jobtread-free-growth-audit-call] 📞 CONNECT WITH BETTER BOSS: 🌐 Website: https://better-boss.ai 📧 Brittney: brittney@mybetterboss.ai 📞 Phone: (720) 636-9500 📍 Highlands Ranch, Colorado ⚡ We only take limited clients per month. Every single one has given us 5 stars. You didn't start your business to be stuck in the day-to-day. You started for freedom, for family, and for something better. Better starts now. 🔔 SUBSCRIBE for weekly videos on building systems that actually work for contractors. Better Boss | JobTread Certified Implementation Partner Highlands Ranch, Colorado https://better-boss.ai 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 01:07 Aaron’s Origin Story 03:18 Accounting Pet Peeves 05:52 Year Round Tax Planning 09:02 Monthly Metrics That Matter 11:43 Scaling Past Two Million 15:44 Software Stack for Contractors 18:15 Desktop vs Online and Sync Risks 20:17 Cost Codes and Integrations 22:20 Doubling Revenue and Labor Burden 23:49 Labor Burden Basics 24:51 Overhead and Expense Control 25:37 Auditing with AI Tools 26:18 Social Media Origin Story 28:43 Authentic Content Tips 31:26 Answer Questions Strategy 32:51 How to Contact Level 34:39 KPIs That Matter 36:24 AR and Collections Fixes 38:03 Cash Flow and Credit Lines 41:03 Financing to Close More 41:57 Closing Advice and Wrap

#6 - The Reason Most Contractors Stay Stuck w/ Jake Mauldin

In this Contractor’s Edge episode, Nick interviews Jake Mauldin, founder/CEO of Rising Creek Custom Homes, about Jake’s background in construction from childhood, his time as a firefighter/paramedic, and how those experiences shaped his focus on triage, prioritization, and staying calm in chaos. Jake explains why contractors need strong systems instead of relying on Excel, texts, and scattered communication, and why he chose JobTread after other tools fell short. They discuss practical advice for adopting AI and automations by taking small steps, identifying bottlenecks, and buying back time. Jake then announces Tread Connection, a new Circle-based community for JobTread users featuring focused group discussions, partner access, live events, and an MCP-driven audit concept to help users identify gaps and connect with the right experts.   -- Jakes Links --  https://treadconnection.ai/pricing [https://treadconnection.ai/pricing]     🔥 Book Your FREE Growth Audit → https://cal.com/mybetterboss.ai/jobtread-free-growth-audit-call [https://cal.com/mybetterboss.ai/jobtread-free-growth-audit-call] 📞 CONNECT WITH BETTER BOSS: 🌐 Website: https://better-boss.ai [https://better-boss.ai] 📧 Brittney: brittney@mybetterboss.ai 📞 Phone: (720) 636-9500 📍 Highlands Ranch, Colorado ⚡ We only take limited clients per month. Every single one has given us 5 stars. You didn't start your business to be stuck in the day-to-day. You started for freedom, for family, and for something better. Better starts now. 🔔 SUBSCRIBE for weekly videos on building systems that actually work for contractors.   00:00 Systems Over Chaos 00:20 Meet Jake Baldin 01:55 Rising Creek Origin Story 02:38 Early Work Ethic 03:12 From Firefighter to Builder 09:09 Construction Needs Process 11:17 Triage Priorities 15:21 AI for Contractors 16:26 Start Small With AI 18:24 Tech Stack Advantage 19:48 Get Help and Iterate 21:30 Try the $20 Tools 22:41 Resourceful Learning Tips 23:01 Community Gap Discovery 23:34 Facebook Groups Disappear 25:44 AI Routed Conversations 26:51 Tread Connection Reveal 28:01 Platform Choice Circle 28:55 Partners Inside Community 30:56 Live Events Calendar 32:05 Ecosystem Mindset 37:29 MCP Audit Connector 39:59 Feedback Driven Growth 41:00 Marketplace Requests Tools 42:11 Join And Closing Remarks

#5 - Scaling a Construction Company, Connecting AI Safely, & Building Better Processes - Eric Fortenberry, JobTread Founder

Eric recounts being asked to help a five-year-old construction company stuck at a scaling “glass ceiling” due to chaotic, manual paper-and-spreadsheet workflows, leading him to build software that became JobTread; after taking over as CEO, the company grew from $5M to $8M in sales and increased gross profit by 43%, and JobTread launched officially in 2019. He explains his enthusiasm for AI alongside concerns about accuracy, overreliance, and liability when contractors use AI for fixed-price bids, which drove JobTread’s cautious approach and the release of an AI Connector that lets users connect their preferred AI via an MCP/API layer. He emphasizes tracking standardized data for reporting, using AI to analyze historical trends, documenting and training SOPs, focusing on process improvement, avoiding perfectionism, and regularly reflecting as a team to keep scaling, while sharing his mission to help entrepreneurs and encouraging users to attend JobTread advanced bootcamps.   Nick hosts a recap from a JobTread town hall announcing a new AI connection integrated directly into JobTread accounts via MCP, noting strong interest and rapid customer growth. Nick, Johnny, and Tyler discuss how this foundation-based approach lets users layer powerful AI tools (including Claude) over existing workflows without relying on a single narrow feature. They emphasize that AI requires solid processes, good prompting, and consistent double-checking because errors and hallucinations can occur. Practical ideas include using AI to speed up estimating, scheduling, dashboards, insights, and workflow creation by downloading JobTread dashboards/reports/workflows, organizing and uploading them for learning, and then having AI help build or import items while verifying results. They encourage users to start small, get reps in, and push through the learning curve, and invite viewers to book a free growth audit at BetterBoss.ai. 🔥 Book Your FREE Growth Audit → https://cal.com/mybetterboss.ai/jobtread-free-growth-audit-call [https://cal.com/mybetterboss.ai/jobtread-free-growth-audit-call] 📞 CONNECT WITH BETTER BOSS: 🌐 Website: https://better-boss.ai [https://better-boss.ai] 📧 Brittney: brittney@mybetterboss.ai 📞 Phone: (720) 636-9500 📍 Highlands Ranch, Colorado ⚡ We only take limited clients per month. Every single one has given us 5 stars. You didn't start your business to be stuck in the day-to-day. You started for freedom, for family, and for something better. Better starts now. 🔔 SUBSCRIBE for weekly videos on building systems that actually work for contractors.       00:00 Origin Story Chaos 02:57 Building JobTread 05:11 AI Promise And Risk 07:34 AI Connector MCP 15:43 Turning Data Into Insights 21:31 Manual First Then Automate 24:41 Dashboards Need Clean Data 27:25 Shadowing To Fix Process 32:44 SOPs Training And Scaling 35:37 Reflect Improve And Grow 39:27 Mission To Pay It Forward 41:33 Family Team And Mentors 43:07 AI For Students Careers 49:23 Bootcamps And Final Advice

#4 - JobTread's AI Update Will Change EVERYTHING!

Nick hosts a recap from a JobTread town hall announcing a new AI connection integrated directly into JobTread accounts via MCP, noting strong interest and rapid customer growth. Nick, Johnny, and Tyler discuss how this foundation-based approach lets users layer powerful AI tools (including Claude) over existing workflows without relying on a single narrow feature. They emphasize that AI requires solid processes, good prompting, and consistent double-checking because errors and hallucinations can occur. Practical ideas include using AI to speed up estimating, scheduling, dashboards, insights, and workflow creation by downloading JobTread dashboards/reports/workflows, organizing and uploading them for learning, and then having AI help build or import items while verifying results. They encourage users to start small, get reps in, and push through the learning curve, and invite viewers to book a free growth audit at BetterBoss.ai. 🔥 Book Your FREE Growth Audit → https://cal.com/mybetterboss.ai/jobtr... 📞 CONNECT WITH BETTER BOSS: 🌐 Website: https://better-boss.ai [https://better-boss.ai] 📧 Brittney: brittney@mybetterboss.ai 📞 Phone: (720) 636-9500 📍 Highlands Ranch, Colorado ⚡ We only take limited clients per month. Every single one has given us 5 stars. You didn't start your business to be stuck in the day-to-day. You started for freedom, for family, and for something better. Better starts now. 🔔 SUBSCRIBE for weekly videos on building systems that actually work for contractors. 00:00 Town Hall AI Reveal 00:41 Meet Better Boss Crew 02:07 Why This Integration Matters 03:35 Prompting and Verification Basics 05:28 AI Is Not a Threat 07:40 Learning Curve and Reps 10:25 JobTread Use Cases 13:01 Always Double Check Outputs 14:47 Get Hands Dirty and Iterate 15:51 Wrap Up and Free Audit