Shawn Van Dyke

The Highlights

Shawn Van Dyke‘s journey into the construction industry started like many others—through education. However, after obtaining a master’s degree in structural engineering, Shawn decided that wasn’t the career path that was meant for him.

“I realized, I don’t think I want to be an engineer anymore. I knew how to read a set of plans, but I didn’t really know how things got built.”

Fast forward nearly two decades, Shawn is now an accomplished construction business expert, author, and keynote speaker who’s on a mission to revolutionize how the trades are perceived. Join us as we dive into insightful discussions on profit prioritization, effective leadership, strategies for hiring, and much more.

combating financial turmoil

One of the common challenges for construction business owners is having inadequate funds for tax payments at the end of a quarter or year, and Shawn points out the sobering reality that even a business appearing profitable on paper can spiral into financial turmoil without proper tax planning.

To avoid such predicaments, he stresses the need to set aside profits and allocate funds for taxes and suggests that business owners calculate a percentage based on the previous year’s tax payments and total revenue.

“It’s your responsibility as the business owner to make sure you’ve got some kind of money set aside. For example, we’ve got 10% for profit, 5% for taxes, and a portion for owner compensation.”

This approach ensures that profit remains protected and tax obligations are met without fail and encourages business owners to take charge of their financial destiny.

hiring above the line

When it comes to growing your team, Shawn emphasizes the importance of hiring individuals who exceed one’s own expertise. A concept he coins as, “above the line.”

By hiring those with specialized skills, owners can free themselves from the shackles of day-to-day operational tasks and ultimately scale their business and impact. Shawn’s approach disrupts the prevailing narrative that the business owner must be the backbone of every operation. Instead, he advocates for leaders who can relinquish control and empower their team to shine—fostering a culture of innovation and growth.

“If you hire above the line, you get freedom. If you hire below the line, you just get help. If you find that person that’s smarter than you, then you’re on a path to success.”

achIEving Operational Excellence

In 2020, Shawn launched Built to Build Academy—an on-demand business training program that addresses the intricate challenges that construction business owners face head-on. Through carefully curated modules, Shawn provides a strategic framework tailored to the distinct needs of business owners and their teams.

“It’s a framework of operational systems and training where we take our clients through what we call the ‘contractor journey’. You go from the doer to the thinker to the communicator to the leader.”

Built to Build Academy offers three different memberships to enroll in—providing everything from basic community access to 1-on-1 sessions with Shawn. This gives clients the tools they need to streamline processes, optimize resources, and achieve sustainable excellence in their operations.