Association of Professional Builders (APB)

10/09/2026

Good projects and good margins are two separate results, and plenty of building companies get the first without the second.

The gap usually opens early. Scope that was priced light, allowances carried over from an older cost base, then variations that never made it back into the numbers.

Price It Right works the whole line in one day, from the first estimate through to the final invoice. Russ Stephens opens on builder profitability, then Price A Plan on estimating for profit, Xact Accounting on cash flow and job costing, and Wunderbuild on keeping the estimate connected to delivery.

Sydney, Wednesday 30 September. Residential building company owners only.

Save your seat: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/price-it-right-the-margin-masterclass-for-residential-builders-tickets-1995606341287?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true

09/09/2026

Clarity Before the Chaos: Most client problems aren't surprises — they're expectations that were never made clear.

James Russell shares how better transparency and a simple Promise Sheet can help builders reduce chasing, prevent misunderstandings and create a smoother experience for both their clients and team.

09/09/2026

Most builders find out whether their company can fund their retirement at the point where it is too late to do anything about it.

Twenty or thirty years in, and the plan is that it will somehow be worth enough at the end. A company that was never set up to run without its owner is almost always worth less than the person who built it assumes.

Three numbers settle the question. What the company is worth today. What the retirement you actually want will cost. The gap between the two.

Once you can see the gap, you know what to fix, and you still have the years to fix it.

Your free business health check, powered by SORCI, gives you the first of those three numbers, a full valuation of your building company, normally worth USD$1,500 and free while the research is open.

Click the link in our bio to start your health check.

08/09/2026

Needed on site every day? A phone that never stops?

That’s not a building company you own. That’s a demanding job with your name on all the risk.

More hires haven’t fixed it. Longer hours haven’t fixed it. The right project manager hasn’t fixed it.

The problem is structure. The company grew and the people in it, haven’t, so every decision still funnels back through you. Your team waits for permission instead of leading, and if you took two weeks off right now, you already know what would happen.

Define the roles that replace you, THEN replace yourself.

Book a 15 minute call with APB and we will show you exactly where the structure has fallen behind, and map out a version of your company that runs without you.

Link in our bio.

07/09/2026

The welcome dinner at this year's APB Retreat in Bali!

Nobody flew all that way just for the scenery (as nice as it was!).

They all came to get out of the day to day long enough to think clearly about the company they’re building, and to do it with other building company owners that GET IT.

The best conversations of the retreat, started on this night.

05/09/2026

One of the hardest parts of being a coach is seeing the builders who come to us too late.

They're looking for the one thing that turns it around, and that thing does not exist. A profitable building company is built on systems, and putting those in place is hard work.

What makes it manageable is knowing what to fix first. Get the order right and the early work pays for the rest of it.

That order is what a custom analysis of your building company gives you, and is something we're offering for free, for a limited time.

Take part in the SORCI Research, and we'll score your building company across 11 key areas, and ranks the gaps by what each one is costing you, so you know exactly what to tackle first.

Free for a limited time.

Start now: https://hubs.ly/Q04wGM6k0

05/09/2026

A voice in his head asked how he would feel watching someone else do it.

Matt Hall told the room at the APB Summit that the answer was ugly enough to put his resignation on his boss's desk the next morning. He mortgaged the house, took six months off with part of it unpaid, and went to Europe to train with no promise any of it would work. His reasoning was that success was never guaranteed for anyone, while failure was guaranteed if he never went.

Most business owners have a move they keep deferring until the numbers feel safer. Name yours, then work out what another year of waiting actually costs you.

05/09/2026

We are so proud to share that APB has been named one of Australia's Top 100 best places to work for 2026!

This is the 5th year in a row we've been recognised for such an achievement, and the thanks as always, has to go to our incredible team!

So massive shoutout to the entire team behind the scenes for making APB more than just a workplace, but a truly great place to work.

03/09/2026

This fortnight's APB Digest has the research that scores your company across 11 areas and ranks where you are losing the most, a market valuation included. Russ is also on the Inspired Builders Podcast on profit and pricing, and APB has been named one of Australia's Best Workplaces.

Get your building company scored across 11 areas with a market valuation included, plus Russ on profit and pricing and a margin masterclass in Sydney.

03/09/2026

You cannot afford to learn this industry from your own mistakes. You will run out of money before you have learned enough.

That is Russ Stephens on why building is different from most industries: the losses are large, they are hard to come back from, and even the builders who survive five years pay for it in opportunity cost.

Russ joined the team at Bizcideo on the Inspired Builders Podcast to talk about it.