Running a construction business is about far more than projects and profit. As Garrett Goldsberry of Salt Creek Homes puts it: “Yes, it is a business. Yes, this is our livelihood. But there’s also a huge responsibility when you bring someone on board — whether that’s an employee, a subcontractor, or a vendor. It’s our responsibility to support them and their families as well.”

That sense of responsibility is what makes margin protection such a high-stakes issue for builders. When money slips through the cracks, it’s not just a line item on a spreadsheet. It affects hiring decisions, client trust, and the long-term health of the business.

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In this episode (our second with him), Garrett joined Reece to talk candidly about scaling Salt Creek Homes, transitioning from remodels into new construction, and what finally changed when the financial side of the business caught up with the quality of their work.

When “What Works” Stops Working

For the first five years of Salt Creek Homes, Garrett relied on a familiar setup: QuickBooks, Excel, and a lot of manual effort. Budgets lived in spreadsheets. Draws took time. Job costs were tracked, but not without friction.

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And for a while, it worked.

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But as projects grew larger, and as Salt Creek took on their first ground-up spec home, the cracks started to show. Processes that once felt manageable became time-consuming. Mistakes became more expensive. And the mental load of constantly double-checking numbers started to weigh on the business.

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As Garrett shared, growth has a way of exposing inefficiencies you didn’t know were there.

You Can’t “Plus” What You Don’t Cost

One of the most practical lessons from the conversation came down to a simple truth:

If you don’t track every dollar leaving the business, you can’t bill for it... and you definitely can’t protect your margin on it.

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Garrett shared a real example from a recent project: an engineering cost that hadn’t made it into the original budget. Before, that kind of expense might have been missed or quietly absorbed. This time, it was caught immediately, discussed transparently with the client, and billed properly.

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That one catch alone offset months of software costs and more importantly, reinforced a system that ensures costs don’t quietly erode profitability.

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Margin erosion doesn’t usually come from one big mistake. It comes from dozens of small ones that feel easier to ignore in the moment.

Transparency Changes the Client Relationship

Another shift Garrett described was how clean, consistent financial tracking changed conversations with clients.

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Instead of revisiting costs weeks later or explaining why something showed up unexpectedly, draw packages became straightforward. Every invoice was attached. Every charge was visible. Markups were clear. There was nothing to “sell” or explain. The numbers spoke for themselves.

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That level of transparency didn’t just reduce friction. It built trust.

And trust is especially critical for builders doing cost-plus work, where clarity and timing matter just as much as craftsmanship.

Scaling Isn’t About Doing More — It’s About Knowing More

Perhaps the most important takeaway from the episode wasn’t about software at all. It was about confidence.

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Before hiring the next employee, before scaling into new types of work, Garrett and his wife Neely wanted certainty. They wanted to know their numbers were real — not optimistic, not outdated, not dependent on memory or spreadsheets.

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Without that clarity, growth feels risky. With it, growth becomes intentional. As Garrett put it, understanding the financial reality of the business isn’t just about today’s jobs. It’s about knowing you can support the people who rely on you tomorrow.

The Bigger Picture

This conversation wasn’t about chasing efficiency for efficiency’s sake. It was about building a business that lasts.

One where:

• Costs are visible as they happen
• Clients aren’t surprised
• Builders don’t carry unnecessary stress
• And margins are protected by design, not luck

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For builders navigating growth, whether that’s moving into new construction, shifting contract types, or preparing to hire, the lesson is clear: If your systems can’t keep up with your responsibility, it’s time to rethink them.

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