Smart Money: A Contractor’s Guide to Staying in Business

Описание: Todd Torbert, President of Level 1 General Construction (DFW), walks through his path from avoiding construction altogether to building a roofing and storm-restoration company that evolved into a boutique general contractor. He shares what he learned working in finance and insurance, why he left a large storm-chasing roofing outfit to start Level 1 with “a business card and a dream,” and how he’s balanced ad-driven growth with living below his means so the business survives the bad years, not just the good ones.
We get into the real highs and lows: feast-or-famine hail seasons, a polar vortex that wiped out profit, losing a key operations manager, and intentionally shrinking the company to focus on better projects and repeat clients. Todd also talks about his mission “to positively affect people emotionally, spiritually, financially, and physically—leaving people, places, and things better than I find them,” and offers blunt advice to younger roofers and GCs on money, education, and work ethic.

Chapters
00:00 – Intro & who Level 1 serves
00:56 – Origin story: construction family, finance & insurance, roofing
04:38 – From hail storms and feast-or-famine roofing to full-service GC
11:51 – Toughest stretch: COVID, Texas polar vortex, 170 jobs in 3 days,
13:15 – Living below your means, trucks, and surviving bad years
17:10 – Lessons around money, risk, and working on vs. in the business
20:03 – Daily routines, early mornings, and avoiding burnout
21:21 – Marketing mix: print & TV vs. SEO, Google Ads, and Facebook
28:06 – Bottleneck without an operations manager
29:29 – Advice to young roofers & GCs: education, trades, Spanish, and work ethic
31:11 – Where to find Todd & Level 1 General Construction

Guest: Todd Torbert — President & Co-Owner, Level 1 General Construction
Host: Owen Gagne
Sponsor: Plutus Agents — Custom workflows. Built for your team.

Connect with Owen
LinkedIn:   / owengagne  

Connect with Todd & Level 1 General Construction
Website: https://level1gc.com
Email: [email protected]

#construction #remodeling #roofing #DFW #contractors #smallbusiness #entrepreneurship