Intro:

Welcome to the Construction Disruption Podcast, where we

Intro:

uncover the future of design, building, and remodeling.

Todd Miller:

I'm Todd Miller of Isaiah Industries, manufacturer

Todd Miller:

of specialty metal roofing and other building materials, and

Todd Miller:

welcome to Construction Disruption.

Todd Miller:

Um, we're real excited about today's episode.

Todd Miller:

As always, we have a great guest, so, uh, let's go ahead and get things going.

Todd Miller:

So, of course, here on the show, we cover a wide variety of topics, topics

Todd Miller:

and we have a wide variety of guests and this episode is no different.

Todd Miller:

Today we're talking with Matt Vetter, president of Schafer Construction

Todd Miller:

based in Brighton, Michigan.

Todd Miller:

As head of a construction company that does a wide variety of work from

Todd Miller:

industrial and commercial buildings to multi family religious buildings and

Todd Miller:

everything in between, Matt sees some of the unique and varied challenges

Todd Miller:

that are faced by our industry.

Todd Miller:

And aside from his work at Schafer, he is facing these challenges head

Todd Miller:

on in a number of ways, trying to solve them for our industry and

Todd Miller:

to take us all to a higher level.

Todd Miller:

Um, well, we're going to dig into all that here in just a little bit, but first

Todd Miller:

Matt, Welcome to Construction Disruption.

Todd Miller:

Pleasure to have you here today.

Matt Vetter:

Thank you for having me, Todd.

Matt Vetter:

I've been excited to come on.

Matt Vetter:

I know we, we scheduled this quite a while ago, so I'm glad it's finally here.

Todd Miller:

Well, I am as well.

Todd Miller:

So a lot of times we start the show with a really lame dad joke,

Todd Miller:

and sometimes we have a co host, so we do those in between us.

Todd Miller:

Well, you're going to be the victim of my dad joke today, if that's okay.

Matt Vetter:

Hey fire away

Todd Miller:

Okay, so I I read the other day, um that the

Todd Miller:

average dog barks 267 times a day.

Todd Miller:

It seems to like a lot I have one that barks probably a lot more

Todd Miller:

than that and one a lot less Um, of course keep in mind that 267 is

Todd Miller:

only a rough estimate Rough, rough.

Todd Miller:

Got it.

Todd Miller:

Yeah, it's as good as it gets.

Todd Miller:

Anyway.

Matt Vetter:

It's a good estimator joke.

Todd Miller:

Well, we want to focus on things that you're doing today

Todd Miller:

to help our industry because I think you're really doing some unique and

Todd Miller:

special things to benefit our industry.

Todd Miller:

But, um, first of all start out by telling us a little bit about your own history.

Todd Miller:

Um, how you got involved with Schafer Construction and, uh, became head of it,

Todd Miller:

and, um, tell us, give us an overview of the types of work that Schafer

Todd Miller:

Construction, uh, gets involved with.

Matt Vetter:

Sure.

Matt Vetter:

So, um, I started in the construction world when I was 17 years old.

Matt Vetter:

I worked for a residential, uh, framing and remodeling crew.

Matt Vetter:

We did custom homes and additions, remodels.

Matt Vetter:

Decks, garages, you name it.

Matt Vetter:

Um, I did residential work, uh, via that company and another company that I

Matt Vetter:

formed, uh, way back then for a number of years, um, 2008 came around and, and the

Matt Vetter:

residential markets, as everybody knows, kind of took a tailspin to put it lightly,

Todd Miller:

remember it all too well.

Todd Miller:

Yes.

Todd Miller:

Yeah,

Matt Vetter:

yeah, I do too.

Matt Vetter:

Um, Luckily, you know, by, by the grace of God, I had an opportunity

Matt Vetter:

to kind of follow my lap to, to jump ships and move from the residential

Matt Vetter:

world into the commercial world.

Matt Vetter:

Uh, and I spent the next decade building quick serve pizza

Matt Vetter:

restaurants across the country.

Matt Vetter:

Um, you could probably guess which one, but when the economy had

Matt Vetter:

tanked, cheap pizza was a pretty hot.

Matt Vetter:

Item, uh, so we were, we were busy.

Matt Vetter:

We were building hundreds and hundreds of these things a year.

Matt Vetter:

Um, and it was, it was fun.

Matt Vetter:

It was, you know, I made great money, but I traveled a ton and that that kind

Matt Vetter:

of took its toll on me after a while.

Matt Vetter:

So I put roots back down here and in southeastern Michigan, um, headed

Matt Vetter:

up a pre construction department for a large local general contractor

Matt Vetter:

here for a number of years.

Matt Vetter:

And then, uh, as luck would have it, had another opportunity, um,

Matt Vetter:

to come out to Brighton, Michigan and purchase Schafer construction.

Matt Vetter:

So that's what I did.

Matt Vetter:

I kind of jumped on it.

Matt Vetter:

Um, when, when opportunity knocks you, you should open the door every single time.

Matt Vetter:

Love that.

Matt Vetter:

A little quick background on Schafer.

Matt Vetter:

We've been, uh, in operation since 1997.

Matt Vetter:

Um, we build today.

Matt Vetter:

We build literally everything other than single family homes.

Matt Vetter:

So, as you mentioned, a lot of light industrial, uh, office product,

Matt Vetter:

although not as much office today as we, we used to, um, religious

Matt Vetter:

institutions, recreational facilities, um, municipal projects, you name it.

Matt Vetter:

We, we, uh, we'll tackle it.

Matt Vetter:

So it's been, uh, it's been a great last, uh, seven years.

Matt Vetter:

Um, and we're, we're looking forward to the future.

Todd Miller:

How is the construction industry in Southeast Michigan right now?

Todd Miller:

Is it, I mean, there's a lot of work going on and a lot still on the books

Todd Miller:

or what are you seeing out there?

Matt Vetter:

You know, to be honest, Todd, we have not seen any slowdown whatsoever.

Matt Vetter:

We're still feeding off of the pent up demand from the, from the COVID mess.

Matt Vetter:

And that continues to kind of feed our, our, uh, Revenue goals and we'll take it.

Todd Miller:

Well, that's great.

Todd Miller:

And you know, what I find so often is the companies that are doing things.

Todd Miller:

Well, um, they tend to, to weather some of those ups and downs a

Todd Miller:

whole lot better than the others.

Todd Miller:

So good for you.

Todd Miller:

So Brighton, Michigan, there's a ski slope there.

Todd Miller:

Isn't there?

Todd Miller:

Am I mistaken on that?

Todd Miller:

Well,

Matt Vetter:

you're right.

Matt Vetter:

Mount Brighton.

Matt Vetter:

I spent the majority of my childhood and teenage years, uh, snowboarding out here.

Todd Miller:

Oh, awesome.

Todd Miller:

Yeah, my business partner is actually from Northwest Ohio, Napoleon, Ohio, and

Todd Miller:

I believe Brighton is one of the areas his family used to go skiing years ago, so.

Todd Miller:

So one of the things is I picked around on Schafer Construction's website,

Todd Miller:

and it was really thought provoking.

Todd Miller:

through your foundation that you've started that I first came to know you.

Todd Miller:

But as I picked around on Schafer's website, um, your core values really hit

Todd Miller:

me a lot of times core values are just one word and you kind of see the same thing on

Todd Miller:

everyone's site, but, um, yours are really specific and a little bit more defined.

Todd Miller:

So, um, your core values are put the project first.

Todd Miller:

Be the problem solver.

Todd Miller:

Love that.

Todd Miller:

Always embody honesty and integrity.

Todd Miller:

Be respectful and have a 100 and 0 mindset.

Todd Miller:

Um, tell us a little bit about what those core values mean to your company and even

Todd Miller:

how they impact your daily activities.

Matt Vetter:

Um, great question.

Matt Vetter:

Uh, and I love answering it because they mean literally everything to the company.

Matt Vetter:

Um, we made a conscious effort.

Matt Vetter:

About six years ago to really shift our focus from just, uh, you know,

Matt Vetter:

your standard construction company to, to affirm really doing great things.

Matt Vetter:

And we recognize that the way to do that is to build a culture.

Matt Vetter:

And the way to build a culture is to base your company on, on a very

Matt Vetter:

strict and rigid set of core values.

Matt Vetter:

So, uh, we came up with this list and it's changed a bit over

Matt Vetter:

the years, um, but not much.

Matt Vetter:

We, we hire.

Matt Vetter:

By these values, we fire by these values when necessary.

Matt Vetter:

We we vet potential clients and partners by these these core values.

Matt Vetter:

Um, you know, it's it's far more than a pretty picture on the

Matt Vetter:

wall in our conference room.

Matt Vetter:

It really is a a It's our North star, you know, it guides us in everything we do.

Todd Miller:

That's cool.

Todd Miller:

Well, your, your last core value, the have a hundred and no mindset, um, give

Todd Miller:

me a little bit of background or, you know, what that, what that means to you.

Matt Vetter:

Yeah.

Matt Vetter:

So that's the one that everyone asks about and it's actually my favorite.

Matt Vetter:

And, um, so a hundred to zero mindset is, is the mentality that when we commit to

Matt Vetter:

going and doing anything, whether that's going after a prospect, whether it's

Matt Vetter:

a project we've signed, whether it's.

Matt Vetter:

Starting a foundation doesn't doesn't matter if we're going to commit resources

Matt Vetter:

and commit our our brainpower to going after something we're going to fight so

Matt Vetter:

fiercely to win that we want to run the score up on our our opponent 100 to 0.

Matt Vetter:

There are there are no opportunities for for anything less.

Matt Vetter:

It is.

Matt Vetter:

It is.

Matt Vetter:

We are going to crush anyone in our way.

Matt Vetter:

Respectfully, uh, and, and, and win.

Matt Vetter:

And that's, that's how we continue to operate to this day.

Todd Miller:

Oh, I love it.

Todd Miller:

And that, what a great rallying cry that becomes for your entire organization

Todd Miller:

to have that kind of mindset.

Todd Miller:

Um, love it.

Todd Miller:

That's great.

Todd Miller:

You know, one of the things I I've been talking some about lately is,

Todd Miller:

um, I'm seeing a lot in some of the leadership books out there about how

Todd Miller:

core values are really What a lot of companies are focusing on now more

Todd Miller:

than mission, because I think in our fast changing world, sometimes that

Todd Miller:

mission has to stay a little bit fluid, but it's going to be fluid within

Todd Miller:

the boundaries of your core values.

Todd Miller:

Is that kind of what you find?

Todd Miller:

Also?

Matt Vetter:

Yes, because.

Matt Vetter:

The precision it takes to, to set up a mission statement that it can, whether

Matt Vetter:

the time, right, whether your entire existence as a company, it's, it's almost

Matt Vetter:

immeasurable and it's almost impossible to do because the economy is always changing.

Matt Vetter:

The environment's always changing your clientele changes.

Matt Vetter:

There's so many things changing.

Matt Vetter:

And so I think that having that core values really as a structural

Matt Vetter:

piece to stand on, it allows you to Almost manipulate your, your mission

Matt Vetter:

statement as you continue to progress and grow through the industry.

Todd Miller:

Absolutely.

Todd Miller:

I love it.

Todd Miller:

And it's just been interesting how I've seen that.

Todd Miller:

I really first started taking note of it from a lot of leadership

Todd Miller:

things, probably 6, 8 months ago, but just makes a whole lot of sense.

Todd Miller:

And if you can get your entire organization driving

Todd Miller:

behind the same core values.

Todd Miller:

Um, that's going to carry you a long way.

Todd Miller:

So, so back in January of 2021, I believe, which was kind of the height

Todd Miller:

of COVID for a lot of folks, um, like many folks, including those of us

Todd Miller:

here at construction disruption, you decided to start a podcast, uh, that

Todd Miller:

you named the construction corner.

Todd Miller:

Uh, can you tell us a little bit about what you do on the show and

Todd Miller:

what your goal is through the podcast?

Matt Vetter:

Yeah, so just to clarify a bit, I joined an existing show.

Matt Vetter:

Um, one of my very best friends, Dylan Mitchell started it a couple of years

Matt Vetter:

prior to that, I joined as co host in 21.

Matt Vetter:

And, um, you know, our goal in that show is really to, To bring awareness

Matt Vetter:

to the industry that that we both know and love that we all know and love.

Matt Vetter:

Um, we, we had, you know, have a very wide variety of guests on that can speak to

Matt Vetter:

different different areas of construction.

Matt Vetter:

We, we never really focused too heavily on on the commercial versus residential side.

Matt Vetter:

Dylan, my, my co host is an electrical engineer.

Matt Vetter:

I'm obviously a former carpenter, so I'm, you know, one step above a pirate, but,

Matt Vetter:

but I do like to talk from time to time.

Matt Vetter:

So the two of us kind of had that opposite side of the, uh, of the

Matt Vetter:

prospect table mentality to, to go about these conversations.

Matt Vetter:

So it's been, uh, it's been a lot of fun and had a lot of

Matt Vetter:

good conversations through that.

Todd Miller:

Man, that's great.

Todd Miller:

And I find that you can learn so much also, um,

Matt Vetter:

just seconding that you can, you learn a ton by having conversations.

Todd Miller:

So just to tell our audience, um, we are doing

Todd Miller:

challenge words again this episode.

Todd Miller:

No pirate was not Matt's challenge word Um, but kind of keep the ear out

Todd Miller:

for any words that we might use that might be a little bit different That we

Todd Miller:

have both been challenged to work into the conversation Later on the show.

Todd Miller:

I'll tell you whether we were successful or not.

Todd Miller:

So, um, yeah, no, I I I love it.

Todd Miller:

So you've got quite a few episodes under your belt now also with podcast

Matt Vetter:

Oh, yeah, we're, we're, uh, I don't remember a few hundred by now.

Todd Miller:

They build up quick, that's for sure.

Matt Vetter:

Yes.

Todd Miller:

Well, that's cool.

Todd Miller:

We'll keep up the good work.

Todd Miller:

I've been listening to it a little bit here and there, and I want to

Todd Miller:

make it part of my regular listening.

Todd Miller:

My problem is I only have about a 10 minute commute to and from work every day.

Todd Miller:

That would be my podcast time, but it's a pretty short drive.

Todd Miller:

So after that, then, um, just earlier in 2024, and this was kind of where I,

Todd Miller:

uh, first became aware of you, Matt.

Todd Miller:

I saw a press release or something that you had out there.

Todd Miller:

Um, you started something called the Build Better Foundation.

Todd Miller:

And your tagline for the foundation is make the trades cool again, which I love.

Todd Miller:

Um, I assume you started the Build Better Foundation because you saw a

Todd Miller:

concern in the construction industry that you wanted to try to address.

Todd Miller:

Um, in particular, maybe in Michigan.

Todd Miller:

Can you tell us a little bit about what you saw that became

Todd Miller:

the impetus for you to say, hey, I want to do something about this?

Matt Vetter:

It's a systemic problem that frankly, all of us

Matt Vetter:

in the industry are to blame for.

Matt Vetter:

And it's, it's been going on for the past 20 plus years in that we allowed

Matt Vetter:

the public school systems in particular to, to really beat college as the

Matt Vetter:

only option into our, our heads and into now the heads of our children and

Matt Vetter:

their children, um, you know, when I was growing up and when I was in high

Matt Vetter:

school, we had, it wasn't trade school.

Matt Vetter:

Then it was called voc tech and.

Matt Vetter:

It was looked at as it was the option for the burnouts for

Matt Vetter:

the kids who couldn't graduate.

Matt Vetter:

You know, it was, it was, it was low tier option mentality.

Matt Vetter:

And it was, there was never a, a push or even the conversation that there's

Matt Vetter:

alternatives out there to a 4 year degree and construction is obviously, uh, uh,

Matt Vetter:

an industry that while 4 year degrees are, are valuable to some aspect and

Matt Vetter:

what we do, uh, it's not a requirement.

Matt Vetter:

And it, again, it's been going on for forever and it's just something that

Matt Vetter:

kind of has been boiling and boiling inside me for a very long time.

Matt Vetter:

You know, we, we don't have.

Matt Vetter:

Young people flooding into the industry.

Matt Vetter:

Like we need, you know, you asked me earlier how the, how the market is here.

Matt Vetter:

And it's great.

Matt Vetter:

The problem is we have all the projects that we need.

Matt Vetter:

What we don't have is the people to build them.

Matt Vetter:

And, you know, we share for constructions, a paper GC, we

Matt Vetter:

don't self perform anything.

Matt Vetter:

We manage the deals and the projects.

Matt Vetter:

So the labor market for us is not as critical, but But all of

Matt Vetter:

our specialty contractors, our trade partners, they rely on that.

Matt Vetter:

And so what build better foundation is, is aiming to do.

Matt Vetter:

And in our first initiative now is we're actually having a launch

Matt Vetter:

party in a couple of weeks.

Matt Vetter:

We're going to start providing scholarships to, to kids or to anyone

Matt Vetter:

looking to get into either a trade school or even a, you know, a four year CM

Matt Vetter:

program or, or an apprenticeship, um, something that's Just to kind of help

Matt Vetter:

them get a little seed money, whether it's, you know, paying for books,

Matt Vetter:

paying for tools, paying for boots.

Matt Vetter:

I don't, I don't really care.

Matt Vetter:

Um, the goal is just to, to do our little bit that we can to try and help raise

Matt Vetter:

awareness and, and try and get more interest and involvement in the industry

Matt Vetter:

that frankly, we all, we all love.

Todd Miller:

No, I, I hear you and I love and applaud what you're doing.

Todd Miller:

Um, it's funny, you know, a few years ago, um, When unemployment rates,

Todd Miller:

you know, just were running so low and they were telling us, gosh,

Todd Miller:

they're lower than even the number of people who don't want to work.

Todd Miller:

Um, you know, and I think that brought a lot of attention and people

Todd Miller:

started focusing on the construction trades and the shortages, but, uh,

Todd Miller:

you, you hit the nail on the head.

Todd Miller:

We started experiencing this 20, 25 years ago, um, just with a

Todd Miller:

lower influx of new folks into our, uh, Into our great industry here.

Todd Miller:

So, um, yeah, so, so, uh, you know, I, I know that you're raising funds and

Todd Miller:

you're going to start the scholarship program, um, any other, you know,

Todd Miller:

insight as far as what you're doing or, you know, how, how are you managing

Todd Miller:

to gain traction with the foundation and get some interest out there?

Todd Miller:

Uh, I can imagine we've got some listeners are saying, wow, I

Todd Miller:

ought to start that in my area.

Todd Miller:

Um, tell us a little bit about, you know, how you get off the this

Todd Miller:

off the ground and make it happen.

Matt Vetter:

Um, it's not been easy.

Matt Vetter:

Um, contrary to popular belief or to my mistaken belief, setting up an actual 501

Matt Vetter:

C3 is a tremendously difficult process and go figure the IRS doesn't, doesn't

Matt Vetter:

make it easy for you to not pay taxes.

Matt Vetter:

So, um, it's been kind of a labor of love that took frankly, almost a

Matt Vetter:

year before we were able to launch.

Matt Vetter:

Um, you know, social medias.

Matt Vetter:

Great.

Matt Vetter:

Um, as much as I, I love to hate it, it, it helps us get our word out.

Matt Vetter:

It's, it's how I met you, Todd.

Matt Vetter:

And, um, you know, that, that's, that's been huge for us.

Matt Vetter:

Podcasting is, is another, uh, media choice where, you know, it's,

Matt Vetter:

it's low cost, but it's high reach.

Matt Vetter:

And it's, it's just a matter of, of.

Matt Vetter:

You know, a pyramid stack.

Matt Vetter:

And if we can have one conversation today, but you've got 50 or a hundred or however

Matt Vetter:

many listeners, you know, the hope is each one of those listeners might take a piece

Matt Vetter:

of this and then go talk to somebody else.

Matt Vetter:

And it just keeps kind of spider webbing from there.

Matt Vetter:

So we don't do a lot of, you know, typical marketing yet.

Matt Vetter:

Um, obviously as a startup, we're, we're pretty strapped for, for budgeting.

Matt Vetter:

We want to put most of the money that we have into actually, you know, Helping

Matt Vetter:

those folks who are trying to get into the industry versus, you know, spending it

Matt Vetter:

on, on ad spend or, or things like that.

Todd Miller:

Well, and it's interesting.

Todd Miller:

So I'm involved with a national trade organization that started

Todd Miller:

a scholarship program recently.

Todd Miller:

And, um, interestingly, as, as we looked at it.

Todd Miller:

Um, our initial scholarships are not even requiring you to be in the trades.

Todd Miller:

I think we want to get there eventually, but we were initial like, we're not

Todd Miller:

sure we can even give away these scholarships if we restricted to that.

Todd Miller:

Um, and we were restricting it to children or grandchildren

Todd Miller:

of, Members of the organization.

Todd Miller:

Um, but so I, I, I agree with you.

Todd Miller:

These things take a little bit of time, but on the other hand, um, that's kind

Todd Miller:

of what makes you a change maker out there and what drives some changes.

Todd Miller:

So I'm kind of curious.

Todd Miller:

I mean, what is it in you?

Todd Miller:

I mean, you, you could.

Todd Miller:

Live just fine.

Todd Miller:

You could, you could still be building, building pizza stores, but you know,

Todd Miller:

you could live just fine, uh, heading up Schafer construction and not have to have

Todd Miller:

all these other things on your plate.

Todd Miller:

What is it that kind of drives you personally saying, Hey, I want to, I want

Todd Miller:

to be a bigger part of change than this.

Matt Vetter:

Um, that's pretty deep question, Todd.

Matt Vetter:

I wasn't it's a good question.

Matt Vetter:

You know, I, I candidly, I've done really well in my career and, and I've, I've

Matt Vetter:

proven to myself, I've proven to my, my family and my, my friends that this

Matt Vetter:

is a, not just a viable career choice, but it's a potentially very lucrative

Matt Vetter:

and very successful career choice.

Matt Vetter:

And you're right, I could, I could do nothing else and I could do less

Matt Vetter:

than I do and still be perfectly fine.

Matt Vetter:

But, you know, it seems sounds a little cheesy, but I want to make my mark, right?

Matt Vetter:

We built great buildings and that's, that's fine and good.

Matt Vetter:

We.

Matt Vetter:

We build a lot of cool stuff at the construction company, but if I can

Matt Vetter:

do a very small part, if we through the organization can do a small part

Matt Vetter:

to then boost the industry, that's allowed us to find this success.

Matt Vetter:

It's like a, it's like a triple win for me.

Matt Vetter:

So that's kind of, it's that a hundred to zero mindset, right?

Matt Vetter:

I, I don't want to stop.

Matt Vetter:

So I like stacking up the chips.

Matt Vetter:

I like seeing the wins and if I can promote and provide an

Matt Vetter:

opportunity for somebody else to also then see those wins and that's.

Matt Vetter:

That's all I can ask for.

Matt Vetter:

That's great for me.

Todd Miller:

Yeah, I love it.

Todd Miller:

And you're right.

Todd Miller:

It's so easy.

Todd Miller:

And, you know, I'll even have people come into my life or saying, Todd, slow down.

Todd Miller:

You got to do less right now.

Todd Miller:

I'm doing what I'm driven to do and why I feel like I'm called to do.

Todd Miller:

Um, well, I'm kind of curious, you know, speaking of that,

Todd Miller:

how do you balance it all?

Todd Miller:

Um, where do you find the space and the place to kind of recharge

Todd Miller:

yourself and be able to keep all this, all these plates spinning?

Matt Vetter:

So I get asked that all the time and people say the same thing, you

Matt Vetter:

know, you need to slow down, you need to find more balance and, um, I'm not going

Matt Vetter:

to swear on your podcast, but I find that the term work life balance is BS.

Matt Vetter:

There, there is, when you're an entrepreneur, there is no such thing.

Matt Vetter:

There is no such thing at all.

Matt Vetter:

What, what there is though, is finding.

Matt Vetter:

A way that you can satisfy all of your needs and the needs of those

Matt Vetter:

around you who, who rely on you while still keeping the ship afloat.

Matt Vetter:

And, and I think that's different than balance in my mind anyways.

Matt Vetter:

So, um, you know, I've got three, three boys and a wife and some dogs.

Matt Vetter:

And, you know, there's, there's a lot of, of needs out there.

Matt Vetter:

There are a lot of buckets that I need to fill, but, um, in my mind, I can't do.

Matt Vetter:

Any one of those without all of the others.

Matt Vetter:

Also.

Todd Miller:

Yeah, I think that's interesting.

Todd Miller:

You know, I, especially in the summer, I tend to be a pretty big baseball fan.

Todd Miller:

And of course, my team is the Reds.

Todd Miller:

You you might be more of a Tigers fan up there, but, um, yeah, Yeah, it's

Todd Miller:

interesting as I watch those players, I love seeing, you know, the stories

Todd Miller:

about them personally because of what it takes to them to be, you know,

Todd Miller:

an elite level athlete like that.

Todd Miller:

And, you know, make no mistake about it.

Todd Miller:

They are.

Todd Miller:

I mean, they're doing things every day that the rest of us could never

Todd Miller:

dream of doing, even though we may look at it and think we could.

Todd Miller:

Um, and yet, you know, You know, you talk about them and how do they achieve

Todd Miller:

work life balance, and I agree with you.

Todd Miller:

It's kind of baloney.

Todd Miller:

Um, and I'm not sure where I'm going with this, but, but I guess, you know, you talk

Todd Miller:

about, okay, well, they're an athlete and they're doing what they're called to do.

Todd Miller:

Well, those of us in business are doing what we're called to do also.

Todd Miller:

Um, and it takes commitment and it takes a lot of drive and

Todd Miller:

perseverance and a lot of hard work.

Todd Miller:

So, um, kudos to you.

Matt Vetter:

All right.

Matt Vetter:

Thank you.

Matt Vetter:

And you're right.

Matt Vetter:

I mean, I'm more of a basketball guy myself.

Matt Vetter:

I'll relate things to Michael Jordan or to Kobe Bryant.

Matt Vetter:

You know, those two, they were in the gym at three o'clock in the morning and they

Matt Vetter:

were in the gym immediately after games.

Matt Vetter:

And, you know, there's a different mentality.

Matt Vetter:

You have to have to be successful as an owner and not everyone needs that.

Matt Vetter:

We don't, we don't want everyone to be an entrepreneur or a leader of a company.

Matt Vetter:

We need people that just want to work and there's nothing wrong with that, but

Todd Miller:

absolutely.

Matt Vetter:

You know, and I just think that's, that's part

Matt Vetter:

of the burden that we bear.

Matt Vetter:

As entrepreneurs is, is the lack of that, that, you know, admitted

Matt Vetter:

work life balance concept.

Todd Miller:

Yeah.

Todd Miller:

Interesting.

Todd Miller:

Well, I'm kind of curious who have been some of the strong mentors or positive

Todd Miller:

influencers in your life, uh, along the way, anyone in particular come to mind.

Matt Vetter:

Uh, my father is a huge one.

Todd Miller:

He

Matt Vetter:

suffered a massive setback professionally when I was in high school.

Matt Vetter:

Uh, and rather than, you know, tucking tail and admitting defeat and, and.

Matt Vetter:

You know, laying down for the rest of his life.

Matt Vetter:

He turned it around and and Started his own company.

Matt Vetter:

Um, that, which was kind of my first real taste of, of entrepreneurship.

Matt Vetter:

And I saw that and I thought, wow, my, you know, dad's his own boss.

Matt Vetter:

How, how the heck do you do that?

Matt Vetter:

Mm-Hmm, . Um, so, you know, that that was a, a pivotal moment in my life.

Matt Vetter:

And, you know, I've, I've learned a lot through those experiences.

Matt Vetter:

Certainly.

Matt Vetter:

Um, I have other mentors along the way too, but, you know, I, I would say is a,

Matt Vetter:

a, a kind of life altering, uh, moment.

Matt Vetter:

That, that was it.

Todd Miller:

Yeah, very interesting.

Todd Miller:

Well, you and I, you're a lot younger than me, but you and I have very

Todd Miller:

similar stories because I've got similar experience with my father also.

Todd Miller:

So, uh, very interesting.

Todd Miller:

Well, Matt, it's been a great time talking to you.

Todd Miller:

We're kind of close to wrapping up, but we kind of call the business

Todd Miller:

end of things and here in a little bit, we'll give you a chance to

Todd Miller:

share all your contact information.

Todd Miller:

Um, but is there anything we haven't covered today that you wanted to be

Todd Miller:

sure and share with our audience?

Matt Vetter:

No, I think we've touched on it.

Matt Vetter:

You know, obviously my my big focus right now outside of the construction

Matt Vetter:

company is is the build better foundation.

Matt Vetter:

So any, any, any way anyone can help either financially or or just helping to

Matt Vetter:

get the word out is is always appreciated.

Todd Miller:

Cool.

Todd Miller:

And I'm sure you'd love to talk with folks who may want to start something

Todd Miller:

similar in their regions to and share with them what you've learned.

Todd Miller:

That's cool.

Todd Miller:

Well, and I will tell you if you're someplace in Southeast Michigan

Todd Miller:

and looking to have a building built, uh, Schafer construct should

Todd Miller:

be a great option to talk to you.

Todd Miller:

So that's cool too.

Matt Vetter:

We do that too.

Todd Miller:

Well, before we close out, I am going to invite

Todd Miller:

you to take part in something we call our rapid fire questions.

Todd Miller:

They're not really that rapid, but we'll do them as quick as we can.

Todd Miller:

Um, so these are seven questions kind of out of the blue that you have no idea.

Todd Miller:

We're going to ask, um, are you up to the challenge of rapid fire fire away?

Todd Miller:

Cool.

Todd Miller:

And I think I said, we're going to ask, I guess it's going to be me.

Todd Miller:

Um, but anyway.

Todd Miller:

Number one, what is a product or service that you've purchased in recent years

Todd Miller:

that has been a real game changer for you?

Todd Miller:

Sort of a, where have you been all my life

Matt Vetter:

moment?

Matt Vetter:

Uh, I joined a entrepreneurial mastermind called the Arate Syndicate

Matt Vetter:

about four years ago, and it has been an absolute game changer.

Matt Vetter:

I wish I had started.

Matt Vetter:

Much sooner.

Todd Miller:

So for our audience that doesn't know, tell us a little bit

Todd Miller:

about how that mastermind group works.

Todd Miller:

Does it meet once a week, once a month virtual, I assume?

Matt Vetter:

Yeah, it's virtual meetings.

Matt Vetter:

Primarily.

Matt Vetter:

There's a, there's a call 3 times a week on on zoom.

Matt Vetter:

There's a, I'm sorry, 3 times a month on zoom.

Matt Vetter:

Uh, a Facebook group.

Matt Vetter:

And then a few times a year, there are opportunities for in person meetups.

Matt Vetter:

Um, all of which I've done all the above.

Matt Vetter:

And it's from a, from a business ownership perspective, it is, it is

Matt Vetter:

1000 percent changed the trajectory of,

Matt Vetter:

of where Schafer construction

Matt Vetter:

is going and, and where we were.

Matt Vetter:

And it's, you know, It's been a very beneficial thing.

Todd Miller:

Uh, cool.

Todd Miller:

Good for you.

Todd Miller:

That's great.

Todd Miller:

Question number two, if you could have any superpower, what superpower

Todd Miller:

would you choose to have and why?

Matt Vetter:

I've always thought flying would be cool.

Matt Vetter:

Um, I don't really know why maybe, maybe to cut down on my commute, maybe.

Matt Vetter:

So I don't have to fly commercial.

Matt Vetter:

Uh, so I guess until I get my, my first jet.

Matt Vetter:

Um, being able to just to fly like Superman would be, would be kind of fun.

Todd Miller:

There you go.

Todd Miller:

Sounds good to me.

Todd Miller:

Okay.

Todd Miller:

Question number three.

Todd Miller:

Do you have a bucket list vacation?

Matt Vetter:

Um, I have a lot of bucket list vacations.

Matt Vetter:

Um, my wife and I are, she's a very similar mindset to me and we're,

Matt Vetter:

we're always working on something.

Matt Vetter:

So we, we've become very good at kind of coupling our travel options with,

Matt Vetter:

um, Our entrepreneurial ventures.

Matt Vetter:

So everywhere we go to where we always are going kind of with the

Matt Vetter:

look in the eye of, you know, how can we turn this into something new?

Matt Vetter:

How can we turn this into either another business or an opportunity?

Matt Vetter:

And so really any, anywhere we go that we haven't been yet, our

Matt Vetter:

bucket list adventures to us.

Matt Vetter:

Good deal.

Todd Miller:

Well, this next one is a would you rather question.

Todd Miller:

Would you, would you rather have spaghetti for your hair

Todd Miller:

or maple syrup for your sweat?

Matt Vetter:

Um, boy, that's equally, equally disgusting.

Matt Vetter:

I think I would go with, uh, with maple syrup, I guess.

Matt Vetter:

And I don't have a good answer.

Matt Vetter:

I like maple syrup more than I like spaghetti.

Matt Vetter:

We'll leave it at that.

Todd Miller:

See, I would take the spaghetti because I haven't

Todd Miller:

had hair in about 30 years, so I'd have to go with that.

Todd Miller:

Okay, another would you rather question.

Todd Miller:

Would you rather have a permanent clown face or would you rather always

Todd Miller:

have to wear giant clown shoes?

Matt Vetter:

I'm a shoe guy.

Matt Vetter:

I'd go with the shoes.

Matt Vetter:

I like my my Jordans and my my cowboy boots, but I I'd add

Matt Vetter:

some clown shoes into the mix.

Todd Miller:

There you go.

Todd Miller:

Love it.

Todd Miller:

Okay.

Todd Miller:

Next to last question.

Todd Miller:

If you could have dinner with any historical figure, who would

Todd Miller:

you choose to have dinner with

Matt Vetter:

historical figure?

Matt Vetter:

I would probably go with, uh, you know, a John Adams or a Paul Revere type.

Matt Vetter:

Type figure just to kind of pick their brain on, you know, what, what their,

Matt Vetter:

what their mindset was, what their, uh, what their core values were when

Matt Vetter:

they were, you know, working on, on the revolution and the constitution

Matt Vetter:

and that phase of our country's existence, that'd be pretty neat to me

Matt Vetter:

to understand more on a deeper level, especially given where we are today.

Todd Miller:

Yeah, I agree.

Todd Miller:

Cool.

Todd Miller:

And I love the flag.

Todd Miller:

You said, uh, they're behind you.

Todd Miller:

You said a friend made that for

Matt Vetter:

you.

Matt Vetter:

He did.

Matt Vetter:

I have a good friend.

Matt Vetter:

He, uh, he owns a company unrelated to woodworking.

Matt Vetter:

Um, but he's also a pretty accomplished woodworker.

Matt Vetter:

So he made this and shipped it up from, uh, shipped it over from New Jersey.

Matt Vetter:

Uh, and it's, it's hung on my wall ever since.

Matt Vetter:

Wow, that's beautiful.

Matt Vetter:

Thank

Todd Miller:

you.

Todd Miller:

Last question.

Todd Miller:

What would you like to be for remembered for at the end of your days?

Matt Vetter:

I think that's easy.

Matt Vetter:

Everybody wants to be remembered for making a difference making a positive

Matt Vetter:

change You know and that's that kind of goes along with the question you asked

Matt Vetter:

me earlier and why I do all that I do um You know, it'd be pretty boring to

Matt Vetter:

me to just live a mediocre existence.

Matt Vetter:

That's never interested me.

Matt Vetter:

Um, never been a guy that wanted to punch a clock and, and go sit down and, and, you

Matt Vetter:

know, watch TV every night so I can turn my time into, into valuable production

Matt Vetter:

and make, make a positive impact.

Todd Miller:

Good for you.

Todd Miller:

Well, you are well on the path to making that difference and

Todd Miller:

you are making that difference.

Todd Miller:

So it's been great.

Todd Miller:

So Matt, thank you again, um for folks who want to get in touch with you or learn

Todd Miller:

more about Schafer construction

Todd Miller:

or the construction corner podcast or The build better

Todd Miller:

foundation, uh, what are the best ways for them to do that?

Todd Miller:

And we'll put this information in the show notes as well, by the way.

Matt Vetter:

I appreciate that todd Um easiest way to get a hold

Matt Vetter:

of me is my my personal linkedin.

Matt Vetter:

It's Matt Vetter Pretty easy to find.

Matt Vetter:

Uh, the website company website is Schafer Construction.

Matt Vetter:

net.

Matt Vetter:

Um, through that site, you can get to the build better foundation also.

Matt Vetter:

So it's all a pretty easy one stop shop.

Todd Miller:

Cool.

Todd Miller:

Well, we encourage everyone to check that out and, and especially

Todd Miller:

check out what Matt's doing through the build better foundation.

Todd Miller:

And, uh, it's an important part of, uh, continuing our industry and

Todd Miller:

hopefully improving it on our industry.

Todd Miller:

And, uh, so check that out for sure.

Todd Miller:

So Matt, I have to ask you, did you get your challenge word in?

Matt Vetter:

I sure did.

Matt Vetter:

I used precision when I talked about the precision of making

Matt Vetter:

crafting a mission statement that can withstand the test of time

Todd Miller:

and you did it.

Todd Miller:

Well, you're right.

Todd Miller:

I remember it now, but went right over my head at the time I worked mine in,

Todd Miller:

which was traction didn't use it that way.

Todd Miller:

But for all you business owners out there, Matt and I were

Todd Miller:

talking about the book traction.

Todd Miller:

Great business leadership book, business management book.

Todd Miller:

So we highly recommend that if you're looking for something.

Todd Miller:

Matt, this has been great.

Todd Miller:

Thank you so much.

Todd Miller:

It's been really good to get to know you and to learn more about what you're doing.

Todd Miller:

Keep up the great work.

Todd Miller:

I

Matt Vetter:

appreciate it, Todd.

Matt Vetter:

It's been fun.

Todd Miller:

Well, thank you to our audience for tuning into

Todd Miller:

this very special episode of Construction Disruption with Matt

Todd Miller:

Vetter of Schafer Construction

Todd Miller:

based in Brighton, Michigan.

Todd Miller:

Please watch for future episodes of our podcast.

Todd Miller:

Don't forget to leave a review on Apple podcasts or YouTube.

Todd Miller:

Um, we always have great guests just like today, and we appreciate that.

Todd Miller:

Um, but until the next time we're together, keep on disrupting and

Todd Miller:

challenging, looking for better ways of doing things, and don't forget to

Todd Miller:

have a positive impact on everyone you encounter, make them smile, give them

Todd Miller:

encouragement, so God bless and take care.

Todd Miller:

This is Isaiah Industries signing off until the next episode

Todd Miller:

of Construction Disruption.

Intro:

This podcast is produced by Isaiah Industries, manufacturer of specialty

Intro:

metal roofing and other building products.