Growing a company isn’t about doing more jobs. It is about building simple systems that make each job smoother for your team and easier for your customer. In this episode of Titans of the Trades, Cory Byron, owner of Vancity Electric in Vancouver, explains how he aims for a $2M, highly systemized shop he can run without constant firefighting.
Cory’s approach starts with a clear target. “We want to be a $2M, highly systemized business.” That single sentence sets scope, pace, and choices. It is the filter for what to do now and what to ignore. If a task doesn’t move the business toward that target, it doesn’t make the list. This matters in construction where demand can pull you in ten directions at once.
He uses a “one lever per year” plan. Pick a function that needs work, then focus on it for a full season. One year it was SEO. Another year, the hiring funnel. Another, branding. This cadence prevents half-built processes and forces completion. It also creates compounding gains because each finished system supports the next. If you run a construction company, this method keeps you from starting five initiatives and finishing none.
Cory is blunt about culture. In the trades, you have a people business. Crews need certainty. That means checklists that are real, not “pencil-whipped.” When a checklist becomes a habit, new hires ramp faster, rework falls, and supervisors spend less time chasing small errors. Culture isn’t a poster. It is how well your team trusts the system to back them up. For construction leaders, that is the difference between a busy season and a burned-out season.
When something falls through the cracks, Cory and his partner pause and say, “We don’t have a system for that.” Then they build one the same day if possible. The size of the fix doesn’t matter. Small is fine. For example, after a home electrical inspection, Vancity often needs to send a letter to the insurance company. That task used to be ad-hoc. Now it is a Jobber form tied to the job. The tech fills it out in the app. It emails with the invoice. Done. No extra chase, no missed paperwork, no time sink. This tiny move eliminates friction for employees and clients alike.
Cory also draws a clean line between DIY and outsourced work. You can learn the basics of SEO, but should you run it yourself? Probably not. Treat SEO like a budget line. If you invest $20k this year, track the leads and revenue you didn’t have before. Hold the agency to the scoreboard. The same logic applies to bookkeeping. Cory wishes he had offloaded money management sooner. The right person handling payables, receivables, and taxes is worth far more than it costs because it frees you for $10k/hour founder work.
Then there is coaching. If your coach will log into your Jobber, build a custom field, or map your client data flow, you will see results faster. That kind of support suits construction leaders who value tactical help over theory.
AI and automations came up too. You don’t need to become an AI engineer. But hiring a specialist to set up a few high-value automations can save hours each week. The key is to know enough to manage the effort and to measure the outcome. Again, track it like a line item. Did it remove steps? Did it speed up scheduling or estimates? Keep what works. Cut what doesn’t.
If Cory could go back to 2008, he would do two things on day one. First, hand off the books to a pro. Second, hire a coach. Both moves would have saved years of trial and error. They would also have reduced stress on his team and at home. That honesty is refreshing. Many owners learn these lessons the hard way.
Here is your field test from the episode:
- Pick one lever to pull for the next 90 days. Hiring, SEO, branding, or job flow. Commit.
- Walk one recent job from lead to invoice. Note every delay and re-entry.
- Turn the most painful gap into a 10-minute fix. A form. A template. A trigger.
- Decide what to outsource. Bookkeeping and SEO are strong candidates.
- Track each spend like a budget line with defined outcomes.
Want the detailed walkthrough of Cory’s Jobber setup, how he maps information flow, and the exact metrics he watches on his SEO line? He shares the play-by-play in the episode. Listen in to grab the templates and the simple wording he uses with his team. Small, steady systems are how you scale a company without losing your weekends.
Connect With Cory:
Website: https://vancityelectric.ca/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cory-byron-vancity-electric/
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