This is part two with Melvin Baird, with A Better Crawl. The excellent conversation with Melvin continues, with discussion of Orca’s, business motivation, building his new home, and other things that just make a conversation great as you delve into the mind of someone who has built a successful business. Don’t forget to check out ... Read more Sour…

Melvin Baird owns and operates “A Better Crawl” across the sound from Seattle. This was an enjoyable discussion as Melvin explained about what he does as a company, how he got started, and as always – challenges and successes. In order to serve customers well, parameters of soil types, venting, grade, humidity (and more) are ... Read more Source…

Part Three of this interview with Billy Cline was absolutely ending on a high note. Billy has struggled, and is now reaping the rewards of hard work, AND more importantly the changing mind set – along with mentorship. Already a successful company, Billy is in the process of expanding to new markets inside Texas, and ... Read more Source…

We continue with Billy Cline in part two (of three). Billy talks about growing his business by listening to podcasts, and mentorships. He has formed strong relationships with movers and shakers in the construction world, and has found that listening to those that have succeeded before him has helped dramatically. Billy also cares greatly about ... …

Billy Cline runs a successful door installation and repair company located in the Dallas, Texas area. Billy has had serious struggles growing his business, and had to make hard decisions. Today, his business is growing, and some unique expansion is in process. Sharing experiences both good and challenging, tales from the very beginning, Billy provi…

The conversation with Brendan Vande Kamp continues in part two. Brendan runs a sawmill, builds log cabins, and does a few other things associated. Brendan is diligently marketing his company, growing his influence, exerting excellence upon his endeavors. Don’t forget, this is part two, so listen to part one first! Source…

Log To Lumber is a business owned and operated by Brendan Vande Kamp. The two main services are milling lumber, and building log cabins. Brendan travels a very wide area to mill lumber, and is based out of Virginia. Likewise, the travel to assemble/build the cabins are also dependent on the project. I met Brendan ... Read more Source…

Jay and I talk about his current business, Jays Doors, mindset, employees, future expansion, and some struggles as a businessman in part two. In the prior episode, part one, we talk about how he got started, training, impact his father had, narrowing down his business focus and more. Contact Jay Bergfeld via his website at: ... Read more Source…

Jason (Jay) Bergfeld operates Jay’s Doors & Trim out of Castle Rock, Washington. We explore how Jay got started in woodcraft, training through the years, starting a handyman business and narrowing down his focus to Doors and Trim. Jay had a substantial impact by his father, as his father was taking Jay along on jobs ... Read more Source…

This series “The State Of Blue Collar” within the Blue Collar Voices Show is to explore the state of the Blue Collar workforce and industry. In this first episode, I talk about the decline of Blue Collar, and the importance of Blue Collar to our survival. SourceJohn Chapman

This is part two of the great conversation with John Bruggen. We actually get to where he cut off fingers in this episode.He also shares some humorous times with his crew.Listen to part one, then come back and listen to this episode. The whole conversation with John was informative and entertaining. Source…

John Bruggen builds Timber Frames. Located in Kansas, John has built frames in a number of states surrounding. John Bruggen is quite the story teller, and we went so long that I broke this up into two parts. We discuss the timber framing process, the business, work life balance and the importance of safety. Yes, ... Read more Source…

Adam Drewes chats with John Chapman on this episode of the Blue Collar Voices Show about some of his experiences as a business owner, in the area of concrete work. Adam specializes in flat concrete, stamped concrete and dabbles in Nuclear Shelters. SourceJohn Chapman

After a very, very long hiatus, the show is rolling again. The initial interruption was a move, covid, time and Internet access challenges which lead to a lull for a while, which in turn lead to a lack of priority juxtaposed with other things going on in my life. Of course, it was all MY ... Read more Source…

Chade Turner, who runs Turner Painting is the guest on this episode of the Blue Collar Voices show. After talking with Chade, it is quite apparent that Gratitude, Passion, Character and Community are more important to him than anything else. At least, that is MY take. Chade LOVES to paint, and he is very, very ... Read more Source…

In today’s show we are talking with Patrick Holehan. Pat has been a practicing gunsmith for a LOOOOOONG time. His love affair with guns started as a young child. He completed 3 years of college education in gunsmithing – 2-year standard course, 3rd year more advanced. From there, he worked a few different jobs learning ... Read more Source…

Lorraine Woodwark is passionate about immigration reform, the constitution, and the rights of Americans. Lorraine talks on the Blue Collar Voices Show to explain how Illegal “immigration” is detrimental to American workers, wages, and of course the impact on the Blue Collar workforce. We discuss her personal experiences (Lorraine immigrated to the …

Zdenek Ulman is a diver. He runs a successful diving business up in New York City area. Before that, he started and ran a successful construction company. Before THAT, he didn’t even live here in the US. He came to visit only, and then spent 15 years as an illegal alien – while starting and ... Read more Source…

Matt Radford is a roofer. He’s worked as a roofer, he’s owned his own business as a roofer, and now he is a roofing consultant. He like many of us, has had challenges and been beat around a bit by life. But he kept getting back up. Matt started out stacking the refuse in the ... Read more SourceJohn Chapman

Steve Pellegrino is a knifemaker. His skill set is way more diverse, but he is definitely a consummate, and passionate, knife maker. His specialty is Cutlery, which is being used by homemakers to Gourmet Chefs. I was searching online specifically for Knife Makers, and I came across Steve. I messaged Steve, and he was absolutely ... Read more Source…

Peter Erdei builds high-quality custom pieces. And of those pieces, many of them are very high end, unique and stunning tables. As is most destinations in life, Peter arrived at this one after experiencing many different things in life. We talk about some of those experiences on the show. Matter of fact, we talk about ... Read more Source…

Rich Bradbury started as a rancher as a kid, worked in the Oil Fields in technical roles, worked on a ranch in Russia, and is back where he started, ranching in Oregon. His overall strategy involves adding leased land, managing, raising cattle on his ranch and with a group to produce high-quality beef, AND he ... Read more Source…

Marc LeConte is the owner and operator of High Quality Home Maintenance located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Clocking in over 25 years in business, not counting the years spent building up the client list before officially launching – Marc has built relationships with his customers and a reputation that keeps him as busy as he ... Read more Source…

Trent Hendricks is owner/operator of Cabriejo Ranch which he runs with his wife and a whole passel of kids (you won’t believe how many!). They raise grassfed cattle and sheep in more than just a sustainable manner, but in a Holistically Managed Regenerative model. Trent has a huge focus on “Regeneration” which seems to be ... Read more Source…

Nathan Brown is the Owner/CEO of Old World Timber, a reclaimed wood wholesale and distribution company, located in Lexington, KY. We talk about sourcing old wood from both old buildings, from overseas, from rivers. Nathan tells his story of how he started Old World Timber, how it grew from a small project to a significant ... Read more Source…

Jason Maldanado has recently published a book about safety titled, “A Practical Guide to the Safety Profession: The Relentless Pursuit” This book is based on experiences that Jason has had in his career in the safety profession. The actual writing of this book was inspired – almost demanded – by his father. In this podcast ... Read more Source…

Chris Crawford is the owner and operator of Spring A/C in Houston, Texas. Putting to use the skills learned over many decades, Chris operates Spring A/C with an intent to not only serve his customers, but his technicians as well. In this podcast episode, Chris talks about his experiences from starting work in the family ... Read more Source…

Hey Guys, today, I have three podcasts to recommend for you, that I think are informative, entertaining, and are just “well worth” the listen. And of course, check the show notes for links to these podcasts. These are also Blue Collar podcasts, and I definitely enjoy them – I’m betting that you will as well. ... Read more Source…

Chris Guidry is a Google Adwords expert. He can train you to run successful Adwords campaigns to get your phone ringing, and traffic to your website. Doesn't matter what trade or profession, the approach makes the difference. Listen to Chris talk about Adwords, and how it can help you, on this episode. Source…

Manny Pasillas is a CNC Service Engineering Consultant, and doing so as owner and operator of Tech CNC. Services offered are: Certified: CNC Service and Repair, On-Site Contract, Process Engineering Improvement Consulting, Spindle Rebuilds, Regional or World Wide Company Relocation Specialist, Company Restructuring Consultant and Sales. Manny messa…

This was a really quick episode. A monologue. Simply a callout out for Craftsmen to interview. Had been a few weeks since my last episode, as I’d been working on a project. Hello guys, and welcome to the Blue Collar Voices show. It’s been a few weeks since my last episode, as I’d gotten really ... Read more Source…

This is part two with Robert Chickey. Listen to part one here: https://bluecollarvoices.com/podcast/robert-chickey/ Robert Chickey is a wood finishing expert. Not your typical expert, either. Roberts’ specialty is solving seemingly impossible wood finishing issues. But. With a twist. Robert Chickey is a student of wood finishing from not only today…

Robert Chickey is a wood finishing expert. Not your typical expert, either. Roberts’ specialty is solving seemingly impossible wood finishing issues. But. With a twist. Robert Chickey is a student of wood finishing from not only today but all the way back 300+ years ago. Robert knows how to duplicate the finishing effects the way ... Read more Sour…

Justin Yoke gets into all kinds of interesting places. Down into a coal mine, on a river, in a manufacturing facility - you never know where. Justin is a lifting specialist who really gets a first-hand look at the problem(s) his customers are trying to solve.On this episode, I talk with Justin about a few of his adventures working as a frequent on-…

I talk with Michael Paterno, on this episode of the Blue Collar Voices show. Michael is currently an owner/operator running a Hot Shot transport service using an F350 and trailer. However, he has spent years driving full-size Semi trucks. The Hot Shot business is a little different, but there are quite a few similarities. In ... Read more Source…

AMERICAN DIESEL TRAINING CENTERS Timothy Spurlock is the president and co-founder of American Diesel Training Centers. His co-founder is Chris Ellis, Chief Operating Officer. On this episode, Tim shares with me so much freakin’ goodness. We talk about how he came to launch the diesel training centers, success, what the state of the economy is ... R…

I talk with Nathan Tuomi (pronounced: “Too Me”) in this episode of the Blue Collar Voices show. Nathan has ran his own business FOREVER. Well… how about 34 years or so. We talk about what it takes to stay in business, the importance of college, the economy – and touch briefly on politics. One takeaway ... Read more Source…

I talk with Jacob Guttman, CEO of “Nail It Handyman” in this episode of the Blue Collar Voices Show. Jacob has a serious entrepreneurial perspective, which has resulted in excellent business growth. We talk mostly about business, marketing, and mindset. This impacts how businesses grow and thrive. The marketing perspective Jacob shared from his suc…

In this first episode of the Blue Collar Voices Show, I introduce the show and talk about the types of guests you can expect me to interview, as I dig into various interesting careers and choices. At the end of the show, I play a brief sound bite from my first guest coming up in ... Read more SourceJohn Chapman