Ask us anything with Buildingsciology

“As builders, you have huge overheads. Massive.” Matt said it mid-conversation and it just sat there, because it is the part people outside the construction industry rarely see. They see the finished home and the invoice. They do not see the cash flow pressure, the holding costs, the insurances, the compliance, the admin load, the delays, and how quickly one wobble in the pipeline can hit a building business. That is where this chat with Jessica Kismet from Climasure, host of the Building Sciology Podcast, really goes.Jessica jumps in as guest host and asks the questions builders usually keep to themselves. Money pressure. Risk. Ego. Family. The emotional load of running a residential construction business in Australia, especially when the market is tight and the margin for error is small. If you are a builder, contractor, or tradie trying to stay steady through uncertainty, this episode will feel very familiar.We talk openly about the financial tightrope and what it means to actually know your numbers. Builder margins, overheads, pricing, and the real cost of delays are not optional knowledge anymore. Post-COVID, “she’ll be right” is not a strategy. This conversation gets into the learning curve, the mistakes, and the shift from running on instinct to running a more sustainable construction business that can last.We also get into bigger industry questions. Would we encourage our kids to become builders? Who is the real villain in the building industry, from legislation to contracts to banks and insurance? How do you set boundaries with clients, protect your process, and avoid the compromises that come back to bite you later? And we finish on the long game of building science, where better outcomes depend on builders, architects, and designers understanding the whole system, not just their part of it.👇 CHAPTER MARKERS 👇00:00 Introduction01:07 Passive House Display Tour02:34 Financial Edge Stories07:02 Learning Business Basics11:31 AI As A Coach13:02 Would You Encourage Kids16:10 Training Paths And Overwhelm20:12 Industry Villains And Red Tape29:56 Midlife Balance And Mortality32:16 Matt On Not Caring40:20 Client From Hell Stories44:37 Vetting Clients No Dickheads46:15 Fixed Price vs Cost Plus49:34 Quickfire Building Science50:55 Failures, Mould, and Leaks56:18 Builders vs Architects Buy In01:01:03 Mindful Moment ApprenticesLINKS:Our Sponsors:Pro Clima - https://mindful-builder.captivate.fm/proclimaMEGT - https://mindful-builder.captivate.fm/megtCR Kennedy - https://www.crkennedy.com.au/Connect with us on Instagram: @themindfulbuilderpodConnect with Hamish:Instagram: @sanctumhomesWebsite: www.yoursanctum.com.au/Connect with Matt: Instagram: @carlandconstructionsWebsite: www.carlandconstructions.com/Mentioned in this episode:Proclima Sponsor