Most trades and construction businesses don’t struggle because the work isn’t good. They struggle because growth exposes the weak links: the wrong hires, messy systems, and bottlenecks that quietly kill momentum.
In this episode of Built. Trusted. Chosen., I spoke with Roggen Frick, CEO of Bear Iron Works, a construction equipment manufacturer serving excavation crews across the US. What I loved about Roggen’s story is how practical it is. He didn’t start with some perfect plan. He started with a real need, tested a product, learned fast, and then rebuilt the business properly once the bottlenecks were obvious.
Here’s what stood out.
Start scrappy, validate demand, then rebuild properly for “round two”
Roggen’s first version of the business was intentionally lean. He was welding products while studying, doing deliveries himself, and learning marketing by necessity. That “round one” gave him something most people skip: real feedback from the market.
Then reality hit. Trying to run a company and finish a degree at the same time started to break things – including his ability to focus. He made the call to pause, finish the foundations, and come back stronger. The lesson is simple: start fast to learn, but don’t confuse a scrappy proof of concept with a scalable operation. Use round one to uncover the problems. Use round two to build the systems.
Shipping and logistics can kill sales, so treat it as a core capability
This was one of the most honest parts of the conversation. Roggen said the business only works because they can sell across state lines, and that immediately makes logistics a make-or-break problem.
If shipping costs are too high, you don’t just lose margin – you lose the sale. He described how hearing “it’s going to be two to three thousand dollars to ship it” can stop a customer instantly. That’s the kind of friction that doesn’t show up in a spreadsheet until it’s hurting you.
For construction businesses, this principle shows up everywhere: scheduling, procurement, lead times, subcontractor coordination, delivery, site access. The operational constraints are often the real growth ceiling, not demand.
Hire major players by filling your gaps, not hiring clones
When Bear Iron Works started building the team, the first hire was an experienced fabricator with a higher skill level than the founders. That alone is a strong move: if the product is your reputation, you want quality embedded early.
Then came the bigger hire: a manager specifically to solve logistics. Not someone with the same background. Not someone who fit the “usual mould”. Someone who could do what they couldn’t.
This is the hiring shift most owners resist. We hire for familiarity, then wonder why nothing changes. Roggen’s approach was the opposite: “We’ll teach you the manufacturing system. Your job is to figure out shipping.” Clear outcome, clear ownership.
Build trust with honesty and transparency, plus reward-based safety
Roggen’s foundation for trust was simple: honesty. Not just when things are going well, but being transparent about the good and the bad.
He also talked about safety in a way that actually builds loyalty: not a culture of punishment, but a culture of recognition. Rewarding people for doing things right sends a different signal. It tells the team: we’re looking out for you, we want you going home safe, and we genuinely care about your life outside work.
That combination – honest communication plus safety done the right way – is how you get a crew that has your back.
Retention comes down to time, benefits, and money, with time often winning
Roggen shared a framework I think every construction leader should write on the wall: time, benefits, and money.
Pay matters. But it’s rarely the only lever. They invested in healthcare benefits, and they implemented a four-day work week (four ten-hour days) so the team gets a three-day weekend, every weekend. For employees with families, that time is a serious value-add, and it becomes part of why they stay.
The nuance here mattered too: the hardest people to retain were younger welders who could chase high hourly rates elsewhere. That’s real. You won’t win every retention battle on pay. But you can win on lifestyle, predictability, and how it feels to work there.
Build systems so the business runs even when you’re not there
One of the final points Roggen raised was about building the business remotely. He had to move away, which forced him to create systems and train people so operations could run without his hands on it every day.
That constraint is a gift for anyone who takes it seriously. If you want freedom, you need repeatable processes, clear responsibilities, and people who understand the “why”, not just the task list. Otherwise, the business only works when you’re physically present – and that’s not a business, it’s a job with overhead.
Next step
Roggen is the CEO of Bear Iron Works, a US-based manufacturer of construction equipment built to support excavation and construction crews. He’s grown the business by pairing practical systems with a people-first culture focused on honesty, trust, and safety.
Website: https://beariron.com
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