He Charged $25 an Hour. Now He’s Young Master Builder of the Year

Join The Builder to Developer Program: https://buildertodeveloper.com/ At 24, Tom was charging $25 an hour and selling materials at cost. Ten years later he's a Young Master Builder of the Year, runs a team that doesn't need him on the tools, and builds his own developments. What changed wasn't the work. It was the numbers. Tom White of T White Building was Ryan’s very first Strategiq client. Ryan & Lisa sat down with Tom to go through the decade between those two points. They cover the first budget Tom didn't understand, the difference between markup and margin, how he handled a client who sent lawyers to Tom before signing a contract, building a team out of mates, and the cash-funded house at Long Jetty that taught him what happens when you chase a lower tax bill. **In this episode:** - Why a revenue-only model feels like winning until one bad job wipes you out - Markup vs margin, and why "slap 10% on and hope" doesn't work - How to hold your price, and what happens when you push back. - Strengths-based leadership, hard conversations, and getting yourself off the tools - How profit, not tax minimisation, unlocks home warranty insurance and development finance - Treating your own developments exactly like a client job, variations and margin included **Chapters** 00:00 Cold open 00:52 Tom: Strategiq's first client, ten years on 03:16 Starting out with no vision 04:28 The turning point: a first budget and P&L 07:53 Markup vs margin: $25 an hour, no markup 09:24 Revenue model vs profit model 10:48 The big blows that built the belief 12:14 Lessons from ten years of knowing your numbers 13:05 Tools: Buildxact, Wunderbuild and Xero 15:21 Holding your price and building self-worth 17:00 The Mr Meticulous story 18:30 Leadership: building a team out of mates 21:16 How to have hard conversations 24:28 Attracting and keeping the right people 26:11 Getting off the tools: clear role descriptions 29:19 Profit, tax, home warranty insurance and finance 34:36 The Long Jetty house: why paying cash backfired 37:22 Client work vs your own developments 39:48 How Tom runs a feasibility 42:10 Advice to junior Tom **Follow us here:** Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/strategiqadvisory Website: https://strategiqba.com.au/ Join The Builder to Developer Program: https://buildertodeveloper.com/ **Listen or watch here:** 🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0K3na6MgfUw00IqTonXADF?si=3866f9b3b80f4d86 🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-strategiq-chess-podcast-profit-property-and-prosperity/id1836836524 🎧 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh5j7Ri-KfiOGCSDpVNbiWcFK8DfYtvnD If you're a builder-developer who's busy but not sure where the money is going, subscribe for more conversations on profit, structure and development strategy.