Summer’s Silent Killer: What Top Builders Know (That Most Don’t)

Posted on 24 June 2025 by Rodric Lenhart

“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” — Albert Einstein

1932:

In 1932, while the world was drowning in the Great Depression, a man named Charles Merrill saw something others didn’t.

Most businesses were scaling back. Laying off. Retreating.
But Merrill—the co-founder of Merrill Lynch—was quietly positioning himself for a surge.

He studied what consumers would want once the dust settled.
He began investing in safe, middle-class products—like grocery store chains.
By the time the economy recovered, Merrill was a household name… and rich beyond belief.

While others were licking their wounds, he was playing long-term offense.

The Parallel Today:

Every summer, the same thing happens in construction:

Phones slow down
Clients hit pause
Teams shift into autopilot

And most builders tell themselves, “It’s just the season.”

But top builders don’t think this way:
Summer is the setup season. The planning you do now determines how fast you scale in the fall.

Here’s What the Best Builders Are Doing Right Now:

1. Locking In Fall/Winter Pipeline
They’re not “hoping” for leads post-Labor Day—they’re working the magnet side of the $20M Triangle …becoming a sea of one, segmenting their lead pipeline, organizing golf and lunches with realtors and developers, lining up specs, clarifying their offer positioning and more…

📈 A Harvard Business Review study found that companies who proactively plan during off-seasons grow 37% faster during peak cycles than those who don’t.

2. Auditing and Adjusting the Team
They’re not waiting until things blow up—they’re fine-tuning meetings, reviewing roles, and letting underperformers go.

✅ A Gallup poll revealed that companies who conduct mid-year team recalibrations see a 20% improvement in productivity over 6 months.

3. Building the Owner, Not Just the Business
They’re taking time off—but it’s intentional. Reading. Thinking. Refining vision.
You can’t lead a million-dollar team with a burned-out brain.

Here’s What Most Builders Are Doing:

Skipping meetings
Chasing small fires
Reacting instead of planning
Saying “We’ll figure it out later”

But when later comes…and it’s usually too late.

The Point:

The damage doesn’t happen in the summer.
The consequences just show up in the fall.

Your Move:

You’ve got two choices:

Coast through summer like most builders…
Or use it like Merrill did: to quietly prepare for a growth explosion.

Want help mapping out the next 90 days so you don’t fall behind?

👉 Let’s hop on a 20 Min Blueprint Call—we’ll walk through exactly where you are, what’s holding you back, and what to fix first.

Always in your corner,
Rodric

Your First 3 SOPs: What to Systemize Before You Scale

Posted on 17 June 2025 by Rodric Lenhart

Your First 3 SOPs: What to Systemize Before You Scale

TLDR: Don’t build a bigger business on a broken foundation. You may say “duh” to some of these things… but if any of them are EVER missed…something could be better… this quick guide will help you take full control.

Most builders think scaling starts with better marketing or more leads.
But here’s the truth:
More jobs will break your business if it’s held together by memory, sticky notes, and 6 a.m. texts.

Before you worry about getting more, let’s get your business ready to handle more.
Here are the first three SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) every custom home builder should lock in before they scale.

SOP #1: The Job Start Checklist

Why It Matters:

The chaos you deal with at the end of a project?
It usually started in the first 72 hours.

When every job starts differently, you’re relying on memory instead of systems. That leads to confusion for your team, frustration for your clients, and rework that cuts directly into your margins.

✅ What To Include:

Pre-construction meeting with project manager, client, and/or superintendent
Permit confirmed and posted
Dumpster, porta-john, temp power installed
Site secured (fencing, signage, locks if needed)
Materials staged or delivery dates locked in
Full job folder set up (plans, budget, contact info)
Job start email sent to client with expectations and communication cadence

⚙️ How to Implement It:

Use a simple Google Doc or template in your project management software.
Assign ownership — usually your PM or lead super.
Review the list during your internal job kickoff meeting.
Require a photo checklist to be completed and uploaded to the job file.

Pro tip: Have your PM take a 3-minute video walking the site at Day 1. It becomes your baseline reference in case of damage, sub disputes, or delays.

SOP #2: Weekly Job Update Protocol

Why It Matters:

Clients don’t ghost you when they’re happy — they ghost you when they’re stressed and feel out of the loop.

One of the biggest stressors for high-end clients is a lack of communication. And most builders overpromise, under-communicate, and hope the client doesn’t ask too many questions. That’s a recipe for micromanagement and bad reviews.

✅ What To Include:

A templated weekly update sent to each client with:

Summary of this week’s progress (bullet points, not paragraphs)
Updated job photos (before Friday so they can show their friends over the weekend)
Any delays or material issues
What selections or approvals are still needed
What’s coming next week
Open questions or change orders pending
Updated completion date (or confirmation that it’s still on track)

⚙️ How to Implement It:

Use a shared template in Google Docs, Notion, Buildertrend, CoConstruct, or even email.
Set a non-negotiable deadline: “All job updates go out by Friday at 2 PM.”
Add a recurring calendar reminder for your PMs.
Review a few of them yourself to ensure quality tone and professionalism.

Pro tip: Keep a “communication log” on each job. If a client ever says, “You never told me that,” you have a clean record.

SOP #3: The Change Order Process

Why It Matters:

The average custom home has 25–50 changes from the original scope.

Most builders handle these like this:

Client asks for something
You say, “Yeah, we can do that.”
You forget to document it
Weeks later, your team installs it, but nobody billed for it
Profit margin? Gone.

A good change order system does two things:

It keeps you profitable
It protects the relationship

✅ What To Include:

Client request format (email, portal, or official request form)
48–72 hour turnaround time for pricing
Documented scope of change
Cost & time impact clearly laid out
Client approval (digital signature or signed PDF)
Work doesn’t proceed until it’s approved
CO tracked against original budget

⚙️ How to Implement It:

Create a standardized form (Google Form, Typeform, or inside your PM software).
Train your team to never agree to a change on the spot. Instead, say:
“We’d be happy to explore that. Let me get a change order started and we’ll send you pricing.”
Batch COs and review them every week in your internal team meeting.
Use unique CO numbers (e.g., CO-001, CO-002) to keep clean records.

Pro tip: Build a CO tracker spreadsheet. At any point, you should be able to tell:

How many changes have been requested
How many were approved
Total net gain/loss from changes

Extra Pro Tip: Start tracking CO’s for TIME today… if you don’t know why this is important… just ask.

The Real ROI of SOPs:

These 3 systems alone can:

Save you 5–10 hours/week
Reduce project overruns
Increase profit margin by 5–15%
Lower your stress and client drama

But more importantly…
They give you options.
You can delegate, grow, or even exit one day — because your business doesn’t just live in your head anymore.

✅ Next Steps:

This is just one part of the 3 Laws and 9 Levers of the $20M Builder Triangle – want to watch the whole training that was previously reserved for my private clients?

👉 [Watch The Training]

Always in your corner,

Rodric

If Your Business Stops When You Step Away, Read This

Posted on 4 March 2025 by Rodric Lenhart

Your Business Is a System—But Is It Working for You?

There’s a quote I love from Thinking in Systems (if you haven’t read it, do it):

“An important function of almost every system is to ensure its own perpetuation.”

In other words—your business is doing exactly what it was built to do.

And that’s either a good thing… or a big problem.

Because whether you realize it or not, your business is already a system. The real question is:

What kind of system have you built?

For most custom home builders, the system they’ve created:
❌ Keeps them stuck in the day-to-day
❌ Makes them the bottleneck in every decision
❌ Falls apart the second they step away

And that’s why so many builders hit a wall.

They’re doing good work, they’ve got a team, revenue is up…

But it still all runs through them.

That’s not a business. That’s a job with overhead.

The Fix? A Business That Runs Without You

If your business stops moving the second you step away, that’s a sign you need better systems—not more hours in the day.

The right systems don’t just keep things running. They allow you to:
✅ Step back without the wheels coming off
✅ Scale up without stealing more of your time
✅ Build a team that handles the details so you can focus on growth

That’s the goal. That’s the Builders Freedom Blueprint.

Your Business Is Costing You More Than You Think

Every day your business runs like this—where you’re the bottleneck—you lose time, money, and sanity.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

If you’re tired of running in circles, let’s spend 20 minutes together mapping out a game plan to fix it.

No fluff. No wasted time. Just a clear path forward to make your business run for you—not because of you.

👉 [Book Your Builders Blueprint Call Here]

Your business should grow without running you into the ground.

Let’s make that happen.

To building the right systems,
Rodric (No More Weeds) Lenhart

Tag: custom homebuilders

Summer’s Silent Killer: What Top Builders Know (That Most Don’t)

“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” — Albert Einstein

1932:

The Parallel Today:

Here’s What the Best Builders Are Doing Right Now:

Here’s What Most Builders Are Doing:

The Point:

Your Move:

Your First 3 SOPs: What to Systemize Before You Scale

Your First 3 SOPs: What to Systemize Before You Scale

SOP #1: The Job Start Checklist

Why It Matters:

✅ What To Include:

⚙️ How to Implement It:

SOP #2: Weekly Job Update Protocol

Why It Matters:

✅ What To Include:

⚙️ How to Implement It:

SOP #3: The Change Order Process

Why It Matters:

✅ What To Include:

⚙️ How to Implement It:

The Real ROI of SOPs:

✅ Next Steps:

If Your Business Stops When You Step Away, Read This

Your Business Is a System—But Is It Working for You?

What kind of system have you built?

The Fix? A Business That Runs Without You

Your Business Is Costing You More Than You Think

Don’t spend another week trapped in the grind.

let’s build the business—and life—you’ve been dreaming of.

The Builders
Freedom Forumula

Contact Us

“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” — Albert Einstein

1932:

The Parallel Today:

Here’s What the Best Builders Are Doing Right Now:

Here’s What Most Builders Are Doing:

The Point:

Your Move:

Your First 3 SOPs: What to Systemize Before You Scale

SOP #1: The Job Start Checklist

Why It Matters:

✅ What To Include:

⚙️ How to Implement It:

SOP #2: Weekly Job Update Protocol

Why It Matters:

✅ What To Include:

⚙️ How to Implement It:

SOP #3: The Change Order Process

Why It Matters:

✅ What To Include:

⚙️ How to Implement It:

The Real ROI of SOPs:

✅ Next Steps:

Your Business Is a System—But Is It Working for You?

What kind of system have you built?

The Fix? A Business That Runs Without You

Your Business Is Costing You More Than You Think

Don’t spend another week trapped in the grind. let’s build the business—and life—you’ve been dreaming of.

The Builders Freedom Forumula

Contact Us

Don’t spend another week trapped in the grind.

let’s build the business—and life—you’ve been dreaming of.

The Builders
Freedom Forumula