Rewind about three years ago where the leverage was a little bit different.

Like the employers had, the leverage, as far as simple supply and demand.

You put an open job out there and you'd usually get applicants.

And, was fairly easy to fill positions.

Fast forwarding to the present day it's just supply and demand has flip flopped.

Welcome to the Construction Disruption podcast, where we uncover the future of building and remodeling.

I'm Seth Heckaman of Isaiah Industries, manufacturer of specialty metal, roofing, and other building materials.

And today my co-host is Todd Miller, president of Isaiah Industries.

Our goal here at Construction Disruption is to provide timely and forward looking information regarding the construction world.

We have great conversations, spanning innovations, as well as trends and practices, building materials, the labor market, uh, and leadership.

Uh, today's guest is Sam Beiler, CEO, and co-founder of Boostpoint, a social media ad creation platform for

Sam, welcome to Construction Disruption.

Thank you so much for joining.

Hey, thanks for having me.

So Sam, we've known you for a little while, uh, originally met back in your Equipter days and have watched you yeah,

Uh, to begin though, for our listeners who, who haven't met, you, uh, share a little bit about your story and how

A hundred percent.

Yeah.

So I'll try to give the, the concise version of it.

Um, but I, I grew up in the construction industry.

Um, my, my dad, you know, started a roofing company back in the eighties and that's what I was doing, like coming outta high school and stuff.

Um, and then the, the Equipter part of my story and kind of where I fit into to that company.

There was, um, as, as dad was coming up with the idea of the Equipter, and for those that aren't familiar with the Equipter it's like a self-propelled

Um, and so that, that company started, um, you know, early 2000s and, and, you know, I, I'm trying to figure out what I want to do in my career.

It's like, Hey, here's, you know, family business, you know, you start working there and, um, and then.

Late teen years, like 18, 19, you know, started getting a little bit interested in like more business side of

And so spent about a two year stint in sales, direct sales and, um, learned a, a ton there.

Um, naturally I'm, I'm kind of a, a, an introvert and that kind of got me out of my introvert box,

But, um, yeah, it, it definitely helped hone some of the things that I, you know, even routine today.

Um, but then the thing we were trying to figure out back, oh man, this would've been you know, seven, eight years ago.

After we really had product- market fit at Equipter.

You know, great customer reviews.

Um, the, the product was getting close to perfected.

I mean, no products ever perfect.

They're always making improvements even, even on the Equipter today, but you know, it was, it was there.

Um, and the challenge was, Hey, how do we, how do we get this in the hand of more contractors?

You know, just that, that simple question, you know, the sales model is direct to end users.

So it's not necessarily like a, a dealership network, like some trailer manufacturers or car dealerships,

Um, and so marketing is something we had experimented with different types of tactics and stuff like that, and nothing like really clicked.

We knew we had an idea that could scale, but you know, nothing really just made that happen like, like we were anticipating.

So, um, I, I, I started, you know, just being more curious around marketing and advertising, um, then took over the marketing

You know, this was again about seven, eight years ago and really started leaning into um, more modern ways of advertising.

I mean like this, this simple frame of mind where I was at, there was like, Hey, we have a limited budget, but

Um, and so we had done like, you know, trade shows, a lot of, um, you know, more traditional types of advertisings.

And not so much on the, the digital side.

Um, and then, you know, this was right when Facebook started becoming a thing for businesses, it was like

And, um, but we long story short, we really leaned into that and that really helped grow our brand nationally.

And I mean, we went and grew super rapidly, kind of on the backs of some of those newer um, methods of marketing and advertising.

And then fast forwarding, a little bit kind of on the backs of some of that success that we saw with our own company,

Um, and started seeing like some of the, the holes and the reasons why, I mean, practically, like for, you know, a lot of construction

Um, or maybe the confidence or budget to go to a larger marketing agency to figure it out for me.

And that was then the light bulb moment of Boostpoint where it was like, Hey, I, I feel like we can

And then, so that put me on the journey of founding Boostpoint.

Very cool.

Well, yeah.

What a incredible example of what the power of good marketing and tapping into those new, kind of forward-thinking options are with Equipter.

It's like, it seems like every roofer in the country now has one or is envious of those roofers that

What's that been like for your family?

Family business for 30 years and, you know, roofing and then all of a sudden happen into not happen.

Worked really hard to get into this and, and the success that's come.

Yeah, it it's been, it is, it's been amazing.

It's been a really great journey.

Um, I mean it it's, it's one of those.

Um, one of the things I love about America and the entrepreneurial journey that's available for anyone.

And I feel, uh, like my dad was really able to lean into that and, um, and really build something really great and bring the family into that.

And it's been a great experience, yep.

I mean, really, if you talk about disruptors, the Equipter has been a huge disrupter in the roofing industry, it really has.

So, uh, kudos to your family.

It has.

And I think, I think some of that gave me, like, I, I wasn't necessarily one of those entrepreneurs that grew up 10, 15 years

Um, and that type of story, but it just kind of grew on me and it's like, I see it's, it's the environment that I've always been in.

And so the idea to, to start a software company, um, was it, it, it definitely, uh, felt like risk and, um, and all the things

Um, just because of like, you know, that's, that's what, I've, what I've experienced and seen other people do around me.

Sure.

Well, yeah, being so close to the power of an idea and what can happen gives you all the more confidence I'm sure.

And, uh, why not your idea?

That's awesome.

And yeah, these two introverts here commiserate with you and the need to being forced to break that box when you have to go out and sell something.

So you have no other choice.

No other choice.

Right.

So, so I knew, uh, Boostpoint originally founded as this platform for, you know, small businesses, home service companies to generate consumer leads.

Um, but watching you the last couple years, there's been this, uh, pivot to leveraging that software and, and technology and expertise to

So, uh, tell us how that happened and, and what that looks like then today.

Yeah, so when we founded Boostpoint about three and a half years ago, like our mission was to

Um, and at that point, you know, when you talk to the average construction company or company as a whole, the

Like we need to build revenue.

Um, and then this thing called COVID happened and kind of flipped the labor market.

As we know it.

Um, and then we just started hearing from our customers and other, other, other companies it's like the biggest barrier to growth changed

Um, and so we, we listened to that and, and we were like, Hey, we feel like our platform can solve that problem as well.

And, and so, I mean, there was just kind of a chain of events that kind of led us to really leaning into that primarily.

I really believe it as a brand, as a company, like you, you want to do one thing better than everybody else versus trying to do,

Um, and so we decided it was about a year, year and a half ago that after we, you know, saw some success with companies leveraging our

gonna lean into and build the company around and, and tackle this problem, the labor shortage problem and how companies can leverage

Awesome.

So what, what are some of the details?

What does that look like?

And on the nuts and bolts of how Boostpoint helps and would love to hear like a case study or story about, you

Absolutely.

Yeah.

So I may preface it with kind of what I've seen happen in the, in, in the, the, the labor field and, and, and, you know, you rewind about three

Like the employers kind of had, had the leverage, you know, as far as simple supply and demand.

You know, you, you put a, uh, an open job out there and you'd usually get applicants.

And, you know, it was fairly easy.

Not, not always, but like to, to fill positions.

It wasn't, you know, for the most part, it was, you put the word out there and organically, you could often fill positions.

Um, and fast forwarding to the present day it's just supply and demand has flip flopped.

And so it's just harder, which means you need to get in front of prospective employees sooner.

Um, and because like people aren't searching online job boards, like they used to.

You know, it used to be like, you know, five years ago, Hey, you need to fill your position, throw something on Indeed, throw

applicants and you could, you know, filter through those and find a couple key good employees where that's not the reality anymore.

What we help, what we found through leveraging Facebook, Instagram, and the advertising platform of, of these.

You can in a most, in the most cost-effective way, get in front of your prospective employees, even before they're searching for a new job.

The reality is that 73% of, uh, of, of candidates are in this category of passive candidates.

So they're not actively searching job boards, like Indeed, ZipRecruiter, um, and other platforms.

Um, but if they'd be presented with an opportunity, they'd seriously consider it.

And that's often where some of your best employees are, you know, where they're already working.

Maybe they're not even looking for a new opportunity, but then the big question for companies is how do we get in front of those people?

Um, and so that's where our platform really comes in.

So, um, as far as like the, the practical, like how we jump in and help.

You know, a, a HR team or talent acquisition team, or whoever manages hiring for a company can easily jump into our platform

Facebook and Instagram without having a ton of like previous like Facebook ads experience or marketing experience as a whole.

And our platform, you know, within five, ten minutes, you can launch a very targeted job ad, um, targeting the right people

And then we also have a, a messaging component, automated like text messaging to engage candidates as they're coming in.

Cuz then the second thing is like, all right, now that you've increased your applicant flow with qualified candidates.

How do you connect with them quickly?

Engage with them, you know, schedule interviews and ultimately get them hired.

So our platform helps, you know, attracting, but then also, you know, through the hiring journey to connecting with

Wow, that's powerful.

And that, that stat, 73% are passive job seekers.

That's, you know, changes the perspective for sure.

Yeah, it's huge.

Like one example of a client we just talked to this week, they just started on our platform like three, four weeks ago, I believe.

And they had, they were kind of like banging their heads up against their wall, cuz Indeed was the big source that they were leveraging prior.

Um, and just applicant flow just was declining and declining and getting more and more expensive, um,

And, and they started with our platform.

And within the first two weeks, they were able to generate over 70 applicants and filled their three to five positions

Um, and so it's been, it's been a, a really fun experience, you know, solving this problem for, for a lot of different companies.

Yeah, that's awesome.

It was, uh, Frank Farmer, a past guest on the podcast and, and one of our dealers who also is a consultant for home improvement companies.

Uh, he had a webinar last week about his hiring and recruiting practices.

And he made the point, similar point, that your ideal candidate is not out there looking for a job.

They're looking for someone else.

And you know, the Wall Street Journal, this either this morning or yesterday had a, an article with the headline, pretty

And so it's becoming not only are they not looking, but you know, even so they're in such dire need that, uh, the good ones are

So you have to break through and get that message proactively in front of 'em like you're helping people do.

Yeah, that's, it's crazy.

Just like it, it, the, like some of the stats behind what we feel every day in the hiring market is, I mean, you rewind about a year ago.

There were about 7 million job openings in the US.

Fast forwarding to now there's I believe over 11 million was March or April's numbers.

And unemployment is down to about 3.7% and pre-COVID unemployment was 3.5%, uh, unemployment.

So it's just like, those are the numbers that behind what we experience every day, that makes it difficult to find key employees.

Yeah, no doubt.

So as you're in the trenches with these clients, and it's a challenge for every organization, uh, regardless

Um, but I'm curious as you're in the trenches, working with them, trying to solve this problem, what, um, what has

Are there some key characteristics or practices for those that are making their way through?

There are, great question.

First it's first of all, a mindset shift.

Um, the employers that still have this mindset of, we have the leverage, like we're the best company.

People should just be, you know, knocking on our door to work for us, um, because we're better than everybody else.

Um, that's just no longer the case, where really you need to think about it more like you think about

You know, and think about it more in that way.

It's like what types of, what types of strategies and resources do you put behind customer acquisition and kind of build those...

Again, the, the easiest way to maybe communicate it is like, Hey, if, if, if you have a, a pretty complex and robust sales strategy, you know, map

How to engage with them and actually have a real conversation with them and then how to ultimately, um, you know, hire

Um, but that's kind of the, the easiest, like parallel, I think for our audience that would make sense.

It's like, Hey, think about how do, how do you attract customers in your sales funnel and just create a version of that for recruiting

Sure, it's long been said the most valuable, uh, asset a company has, is a lead.

And you know, now though, in today's day and age, people are even, uh, more scarce and we need to figure it out, so that is great advice.

So as people dive into Boostpoint and changing that mindset, understanding they need to have proactive marketing and outreach strategy.

What, what are some of the best practices you've seen of crafting that ad, positioning that ad?

What platforms, you know, uh, those, um, yeah.

What have you seen work the best?

So, I mean, there's a lot of different channels out there.

Um, and when you think of traditional media, digital media and all of that.

And, um, the reason we really leaned into the Facebook and Instagram platforms is because those are currently

Um, and so, I mean, you just look at that active user base it's it's um, two thirds of the US population that still has a active

And so it's like, those are still like, there's still older platforms.

There's some newer platforms coming up, you know, TikTok, Snapchat, and stuff like that.

But as far as the right here, right now, where you're gonna get the best bank for your buck is, is still the Facebook and Instagram platform.

So, so it's, first of all, just defining the platforms, um, you know, that, that you feel are best for your company, but then.

It's again, thinking strategically kind of like you do about, you know, customer marketing and advertising.

It's like you don't, you, you need to be creative with the types of, you know, ads you're putting out there.

Like instead of just copying and pasting a job description, you know, over to a Facebook ad, you think about like,

You know, what type of headlines ad copy, um, you know, more, more writing it in a way of, instead of, Hey, these

It's more, Hey, what are the things that are attractive about the position?

And write more about that versus like traditional like job descriptions where it's more, Hey, you need to do this, you need to do this.

You need to have these requirements.

Um, and you know, those things.

And then secondarily it's, it's understanding, um, what's the least amount of friction where you can still qualify applicants?

Like some people think, oh, any platform you just throw something out there.

Um, and people will just start responding, you know, regardless of, of like what conversion method you're using.

And so what we've found works really well is leveraging, um, Facebook and Instagram's internal conversion pages.

You know, think about just the details of conversions.

Like if you're sending someone, if your call to action is to call this number or go to this website and find our careers page, you probably

Again, think about someone on lunch, break, scrolling through their Facebook page.

Like, are they, are they gonna actually call somebody and have a conversation.

Like just the way people communicate are different these days.

And we need to think about that even with recruiting.

Again, some sort of like quick apply experience, um, for the conversion.

And then ultimately it's like, you need to connect with these people as soon as possible.

It's just the same.

Like I know we know this all like in lead generation with connecting with customers.

It's like, you know, if you're following up with your day, your leads the next day or two days later, they're basically dead.

You know, but if you can connect with them within minutes, you know of, uh, of converting that's when you actually have a real

And it's just the same with candidates and applicants applying for your open positions.

Sure.

Yeah, it becomes it's more and more obvious how paralleled this, uh, mindset needs to be.

So write an ad that either gains them pleasure or helps them avoid pain and what's in it for them.

And then yeah, get in touch with them quickly and easily.

Yep, that's it.

That's it.

Excellent.

So, uh, as, uh, as someone signs up with Boostpoint, I imagine that your team, um, helps your clients along through this process.

So I'm, I'm curious, what does that customer experience look like for a small business working with Boostpoint

Yeah, a hundred percent.

So, um, you know, once someone is like, Hey, you know, this seems like it might be a good fit for us.

You know, we, you can go to boostpoint.com, find out about it, maybe schedule a demo.

But then if someone is, you know, engages with us, like, Hey, we, we have open positions that we need to fill.

Um, we have a customer, so we have, first of all, a platform, you know that we've built.

We are a software company that is super user-friendly.

You create an account and, um, it's pretty self explanatory, you know, just leveraging the software and the platform itself.

But then we do have a customer success team as well.

That does a handful.

We have a custom onboarding experience, you know, we help, you know, you even tailor some of your first ad templates, you know.

Hey show us some of your job descriptions.

We'll go ahead and write several ads for you.

Um, so that you're well equipped for, with even high-converting ads.

Um, and then, but it's pretty simple.

It's like, you know, getting your ads live as soon as possible and making sure you're equipped with the knowledge to, to do this on you

Awesome.

I know, yeah, definitely of interest and a huge value to many of the people who are listening and, uh, hope

Um, switching gears a little bit, I'm curious.

Uh, just, diving back into your story of starting Boostpoint.

Um, I'm sure it's been quite the adventure of, of diving into this, setting out starting a business, uh,

I know.

Uh, so curious, looking back on the last three and a half years, you know, what have you learned, uh, founding and running a startup?

And what advice would you have for another young person?

Uh, considering some sort of entrepreneurial pursuit.

Um, it's, I mean, it's definitely something that's like really close to my heart.

As far as like entrepreneurism, like starting a business myself, you know, going through all those

Like you never really get out of that phase.

I don't think in a business.

Like I even look at my dad in their business.

It's like you, no matter what, you'll have ups and downs, and it's not just the, the start of a business, but I do think it is a little concentrated.

within the first several years of, of starting a business.

And I think maybe a couple things of, uh, advice is like, you know, before you start a business, you, you wanna make sure you're

Um, because, you know, I, I feel, I, I do appreciate the education and the excitement around entrepreneurialism.

Like I talked to, you know, people that were starting businesses 20 years ago, and it wasn't like the cool thing to start a business, you know?

Um, so I do appreciate that, but I think some of the things that I would caution with that is like

Simply because of they're in love with the idea of starting a business versus actually being a master at their craft and, and

Great advice.

I think, yeah, it seems like the, uh, not to knock anyone, but like Grant Cardone just tells you to go out and do it.

And there are some elements though of you wanna make sure you have something to go out and do and can do

You do and it's, it's, it's, it's that like, you need both of those things.

Like you need to have the guts to jump off a cliff and figure it out on the way down.

Um, but you do need to know what you're doing, you know, and have a strategy around that, um, to actually build something meaningful.

I'm curious, Sam, are there any books you've read or people you've followed or podcasts you listened to or anything that have

Yeah, I'd, I'd say there are some.

I'm, I'm not an avid reader.

I will be completely honest about that.

Um, but I feel sometimes we need to consume content or be around people that get us outside of our, the limitations of our own mindset sometimes.

Um, and I think back of like, you know, four or five years ago, there were some particular things that I

Like practically, one was a podcast that I like binge listened to.

It was the Masters of Skill podcast by Reed Hoffman.

And, um, back then, like I did a lot of traveling, spent a lot of time on the road at my time at Equipter.

And I just like, listened to these stories, entrepreneurial stories of, you know, different tech startups, Airbnb,

And just heard the snippets of their, of their stories.

And it sparked a lot in me of ideas, but then also just the, the guts to actually do it.

You know, when you actually see other people doing it and being successful in it, um, it gives you sometimes

Sure, certainly can give you that desire and confidence as well.

Yeah, I definitely, I'm more of like a story learner.

Like you gimme a book, that's all like full of the exact tactics of like how to do it and all of that stuff.

I'll usually disengage pretty early.

Um, sometimes I wish I could get through books like that a little bit easier, but I, I, I'm a pretty practical learner where I like, I see it.

I see the general story and it's like, that's usually how I, uh, learn.

Uh, you know, uh, kind of dovetailing that question.

Mentorship has come up consistently on episode after episode of how key that has been in the development of, you know, successful people.

And obviously growing up in the family business, watch, you know, watching your dad, working with your dad, that's had to be a key relationship.

But I'm curious, have there been other really important relationships along the way that have helped you get to where you are?

Yes for sure.

Um, I, I'm a fairly young guy.

I'm about 30 years old and I'm definitely sel-admittedly say I know very little and the more I learn, the more it

Um, and it things that have helped fill those gaps for me though, I'd say above anything else have been relationships, you know, actual relationships

And I really, I really recommend, like, I don't even often put the relationship mentor, like as a title on it.

Um, I feel like some people are quick to do this, like, oh, here's my advisors or here's my mentors.

And it's just more something, you know, to check off the box.

But do you actually have real deep, meaningful conversations with people that, that make a difference?

And I, I'd even like rec like sometimes is we want to have like the highest caliber of, of mentors.

It's like, oh yeah, Grant Cardone is one of my mentors.

Or like, cuz I met him one time or I read his books or something like that.

Like I think it's more value if you find people that you can actually have genuine relationships with, um, and have real conversations.

Um, versus, you know, trying to have a big name in your back pocket to impress people.

It's not a ego thing.

Like it needs to be a real value.

Sure sure.

Because it to really glean anything from it, you have to, you know, have that humility.

You, you know, you referenced earlier, the humility you, uh, are, have front and for, uh, forward for yourself

And if ultimately learning is just an ego thing, you gonna short circuit yourself along the way.

Um, so that's awesome and refreshing and yeah.

As someone who prays to have a level of humility and operate that way, to me, it seems like a no-brainer, cuz this everything

Yeah, it takes a level of humility and transparency.

That's scary a little bit as well.

Like, um, putting on a facade of everything's always okay will also be a way to short circuit real value.

Like you need, if you do have relationships with mentors, advisors, you need to be willing to completely transparent,

Um, and you need to talk about those things.

Something about being vulnerable, right?

It's uh, yeah, you can't, if you're not honest in the first place.

That's awesome.

Thank you for sharing all that and, uh, being vulnerable here of, uh, in that same way.

Uh, well, this has been great, love hearing your story and, and, uh, you know, uh, picking up these tips and tactics from you.

Um, we are reaching the end of, end of our time.

Um, but before we wrap up, uh, did want to invite you to participate in something we have fun doing

Uh, so our listeners are accustomed to it at this point, but as always, if Sam agrees, he does not know, uh, what these quick hit,

A hundred percent.

I'm always down for everything.

Awesome here.

So we'll alternate these questions here.

I'll let Todd go first.

And there, I don't think I've said there's seven of 'em.

I'll count on my fingers.

Have to bear, uh, bear with us through seven.

Okay, question number one.

What is your favorite hobby?

Okay.

Used to be like photography and videography now it's food.

Cooking or just eating?

Cooking.

So like, like, I mean, this time of year now we're getting into smoking meats, grilling, all of that, but this winter a lot, it

Awesome.

Very cool.

Question number two.

Uh, do you prefer the top or bottom half of the bagel?

Top all the way, like, especially on everything bagels.

So my, my, my wife, she, she, she's learned the art of sourdough.

About four years ago, like she teaches classes and has a whole brand around it right now.

Shout out there retbakes.com.

if anyone's wondering, but she makes sourdough bagels, everything bagels.

And it's the top all the time, big slather cream cheese, let's go.

I'm there with you.

Question, oh, what was her website again?

Lemme make sure I hear that right.

Retbakes, R E T bakes.com.

Awesome.

I, I thought you said rat bakes at first and I'm more I'm thinking, I'm thinking that just doesn't sound good.

Retbakes.com, check it out.

Question three.

Um, if you could trade places with anyone in the world, who would you trade places with?

Myself.

Yourself.

Awesome.

I have four young kids right now, like a wife.

We just had our 10th year anniversary and I pretty much have the best life in the world because of those humans.

Oh, that's cool.

Awesome, bliss.

So, where do you want to take all those humans on a bucket list vacation?

Australia.

That one's been on my bucket list for like 15, 20 years.

Like ever since I was like a teenager, I'm like, I wanna go to Australia, but never been yet.

That's a long flight, but a neat place to visit.

Okay.

Next question.

What's the worst haircut you've ever had.

A buzz cut.

cut, huh?

Definitely a buzz cut.

Last one was probably when I was like 13.

Question number six.

Uh, this is a, yeah, a standby, old standby question here in rapid-fire.

If you had to eat a crayon, what color would you choose?

My dogs go for red.

So let's go red.

it must be better than the other colors according to them.

Okay.

That's the most unique answer we've had.

I like that.

Haven't had dogs before that ate crayons, so good, good deal.

Okay.

Last question.

What is the best advice you've ever received from someone?

Ooh.

Alright.

I'll choose this one.

That that's a hard question.

That's a hard question, but, but what comes to mind is, and there's a number of, of, of folks that have

It is you, you have to believe in yourself.

Like whether you're starting a business or what, whatever you're doing.

Like you have to have the core belief of, of, of that, you can do this.

That's a good answer.

Awesome.

Or good advice like it.

Powerful.

Well, thank you so much, Sam.

This has, uh, been a pleasure, and blessed me to have this conversation.

Is there anything that, uh, we haven't talked about that you would like to cover before we wrap?

I don't think so; this was great.

I really appreciate this.

It was a great time, really enjoyed it.

Thank you again, uh, for those that wanna get in touch with you directly, or, or boost point, what's the best way to do.

Yeah, more info on Boostpoint, just go to boostpoint.com and then, uh, for LinkedIn, I'm fairly active on LinkedIn.

So, uh, maybe connect with me there.

Just LinkedIn/SamBeiler.

I think it is, uh, B E I L E R.

Thank you.

Uh, again, Sam, and thank you.

Those of you for listening and tuning into another episode of Construction Disruption with Sam Beiler of Boostpoint, uh,

Uh, please watch for future episodes of our podcast as always, we have many more great guests on tap, and don't forget if

Uh, so thank you again.

God bless and take care.

This is Isaiah Industries signing off until the next episode of Construction Disruption.