Most trade businesses don’t struggle because their team can’t do the work.
They struggle because the business model incentivises the wrong behaviour.
On this episode of Built. Trusted. Chosen., I sat down with Michael Fortenberry, a construction company owner and founder of Protiv. We unpacked culture, labour budgets, systems, and why hourly pay quietly works against productivity in trades and construction.
If you’re scaling beyond “solo truck mode”, this conversation matters.
The First Growth Hurdle: Work Happens Without You
Michael described the first real inflection point in a contractor’s journey.
It’s the first job that happens when you’re not physically there.
When you’re off selling, estimating, or managing something else and someone else delivers the work on your behalf.
That’s when the shift must happen from customer-first thinking to people-first leadership.
If your team is delivering the service, they are now the centre of the equation. Take care of them properly, and they take care of your customers. Ignore that reality, and quality, communication and performance slip.
Scaling requires a shift from being the best tradesperson in the room to building systems and culture that work without you.
Hourly Pay Incentivises Inefficiency
This was one of the most confronting parts of our discussion.
As Michael put it simply: people respond to incentives.
If you pay people by the hour, what are you incentivising?
More hours.
When your entire pay model is built around time, don’t be surprised when jobs stretch, overtime creeps in, and efficiency drops.
It’s not malicious. It’s logical.
Employees care about their money. Not yours.
If you want different behaviour, you need different incentives.
Show the Crew the Labour Budget
One of the most practical shifts Michael implemented was radical transparency.
Instead of hiding labour budgets inside the office, he showed them to the crew.
If a job had a defined labour budget, the team could see it. They could track how they were performing against it. If they beat it, they shared in the savings.
That changes everything.
Now the question on site becomes:
“Are we making money on this job?”
When your crew can answer that question, you’ve unlocked a new level of engagement.
They think differently about preparation, communication, organisation and sequencing. Because now efficiency isn’t your problem. It’s their opportunity.
Quality Improves When Rework Hits the Bonus
This isn’t about working faster.
Michael was clear on that.
It’s about working more efficiently and getting it right the first time.
In his model, if a job requires rework, that eats into the bonus pool.
Suddenly, quality isn’t just about pride. It’s financial.
When callbacks cost the crew money, attention to detail rises. Planning improves. Communication improves. Preparation improves.
It creates what many call ownership thinking.
The crew starts to treat the labour budget like it’s their own money. Because in effect, it is.
Culture Is a Financial Lever
We also spoke about company culture and how misunderstood it is in trades.
Culture isn’t pizza parties.
It’s your company’s personality.
Michael outlined different types of cultures, from hierarchical and performance-driven to family-oriented or elite.
The key is authenticity.
If you’re a structured, KPI-driven leader, don’t pretend you’re a loose, creative family business. Build a culture that reflects who you genuinely are.
Because culture is one of the strongest financial drivers in a company.
People may join for money. But they stay for culture.
And if your incentives, systems and leadership style align with who you are, the business becomes far more sustainable.
Next Step
If you’re a contractor trying to scale, start here:
Know your numbers.
Be honest about your culture.
Align incentives with the behaviour you want.
When your people understand how they make money on a job, everything changes.
Guest bio:
Michael Fortenberry is a construction company owner and founder of Protiv, a performance-based compensation software built for contractors. After scaling construction businesses in New York City, he developed systems to align labour performance with profit.
Want to be a guest on Built. Trusted. Chosen.? Book here:
https://uplift360.com.au/built-trusted-chosen-podcast-guest-booking/