Episode 147: Cardinal Crest Design Build: Relationships with Business Partners, Employees & Clients with Joseph Christensen & Adam Shaeffer

Written By Greg Villafana

Today Brad speaks with Joseph Christensen and Adam Shaeffer, Co-Founders of Cardinal Crest Homes.

Joseph and Adam, both of whom grew up in the trades, established their build + design firm in 2011. A decade later, Cardinal Crest has completed over 100 projects all over the Greater KC Metro Area in both Kansas and Missouri.

Listen in as Joseph and Adam discuss the keys to a productive business partnership and how the two friends were able to home in on their roles in the company over time.

They also talk about the benefits of promoting honesty, transparency, and open communication not only between the firm and its clients, but also between the leadership team and those they lead within the firm itself.

Finally, our guests speak on the many challenges that the past two years have presented and how they are currently navigating a market on the brink of recession.

Sponsors:

Events:

Topics Discussed:

  • Joseph and Adam’s secret to a great business partnership

  • Conflict resolution

  • The value of having empathy for the client

  • The biggest conflict that Joseph and Adam aim to resolve in 2022

  • The evolution of the company

  • The importance of being as transparent as possible with contracts

  • Why have regular phone calls with clients

  • How Joseph and Adam eventually found the roles best suited for them

  • Cultivating a culture of honesty and transparency among all staff

  • Dealing with turnover and hiring in today’s turbulent economy

  • Why today’s market is unsustainable, and how it can be fixed

  • What Joseph and Adam do for fun

  • What’s upcoming for Ghiloni Custom Builders

Connect with Cardinal Crest Design Build:

Connect with Brad Leavitt:

Key Quotes by Joseph and Adam:

  • Conflict resolution is in every part of business in general, and it’s okay. Conflict is actually good. ~Joseph

  • There’s no way to get good at conflict resolution without doing a ton of it. ~Joseph

  • Dealing with conflict comes down to quality and continuous communication. [...] It goes back to cultivating a good relationship with your clients, being open and honest with your clients, and admitting fault when it’s necessary. ~Adam

  • There are builders with a wealth of knowledge and have amazing systems and processes. They need to share those systems and those processes with clients. ~Adam

  • I refer to my employees as my “colleagues” because we, as business owners, can learn so much from our colleagues. You learn your weaknesses very, very quickly from them if you create a culture and an environment where they’re comfortable voicing their opinions. ~Adam

Greg Villafana
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Episode 148: Austin Peterson: Co-Founder & Financial Planner at Backbone Planning Partners
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Episode 146: The Impact of Builder 20 Group, and Competitive Dynamic Between Father + Son with Vince & Gino of Ghiloni Custom Builders