Why Growth Almost Broke This Trades Business (And What Saved It) feat. Daedalus Construction | S1E3
Most trades businesses don’t break because the work is hard.
They break because the pressure compounds faster than the company is prepared to handle.
In this episode of Builders, Makers, Doers, Andy and Elliot sit down with Michael McKeone, owner of Daedalus Construction, to unpack what nearly 50 years in concrete teaches you about resiliency, leadership, and sustainable growth in the trades.
Concrete is unforgiving.
Once the trucks are rolling, time is already running out.
That reality forces a level of preparation, leadership discipline, and decision-making that most businesses never develop — until it’s too late.
For construction, manufacturing, and specialty trades owners, this conversation goes far beyond concrete.
It’s about:
- When not growing is the smartest move
- Why preparation beats toughness every time
- How leadership failures show up as labor burnout
- Why owners become the bottleneck without realizing it
- What it actually takes to build a business that lasts decades
In Episode 3, we unpack:
- Why “growth at all costs” nearly collapses trades companies
- How slowing down can increase long-term profitability
- Why preparation is a leadership responsibility — not a crew problem
- How owner involvement quietly limits scale and resilience
- What it really means to step back without losing control
This episode isn’t about concrete.
It’s about building a company that can survive pressure, complexity, and time.
If you own — or plan to own — a trades business, this is a conversation you can’t afford to ignore.
Chapters
00:00 – Why concrete exposes leadership failures02:10 – “You’re already out of time” (the reality of trades work)
05:45 – Why preparation beats toughness
09:50 – Growth that nearly collapsed the company
12:30 – Slowing down to protect the team
19:05 – Stepping into leadership at 25
24:15 – Why great trades work is an orchestra
28:35 – The real job of ownership
32:40 – Vision, leadership, and long-term resilience
37:45 – Final reflections and lessons learned
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