Blue Collar StartUp - Episode 19: Anthony Caruso (Caruso Builders)

In this episode, our hosts Mike Nelson and Derek Foster interview Anthony Caruso, the main man behind Caruso Builders of New York! They discuss Anthony's start at 20 years of age, how he grew his business to work on multi-million dollar homes, how his company dealt with the COVID crisis and the labor shortage, and more in this in-depth episode!

Welcome to Blue Collar StartUp, the podcast!

Our Mission is Simple: To facilitate the growth and development of Blue Collar businesses. We will showcase REAL Blue Collar businesses in interviews, and use these stories to help educate and empower the next generation of trades workers to become Blue Collar business owners!

Anthony Caruso - Caruso Home Builders

00:16 - Introduction
00:56 - A Brief History of Anthony Caruso and Caruso Builders
05:09 - Before Construction: When it Was Time to Go Blue
08:56 - Starting Blue at 20: Blue and Green!
09:54 - Employees and Subcontractors: Who Does Which Job?
11:37 - What Goes Into a Three-Million Dollar Home: Come Visit the Blue Collar Mansion!
14:18 - Bunker-Buildin’: Hope For the Best, But Prepare For the Worst!
16:18 - The COVID Hurdle: Changed Many Lives, For Better or Worse!
18:15 - Expanding Slowly, But Surely
21:17 - Speculating Land: A Not-Often-Offered Advantage that Caruso Builders Offers!
22:28 - Scoping Out Customers: You Shouldn’t Do Business With Everyone!
25:39 - Tradesman Shortages… May Only Get Worse! Those Who Remain Will Control the Market!
28:12 - Average Ages: The Blue-Collar Market is Strongest in the 40s and 50s!
30:14 - The Caruso Secret: No Hesitation! No Surrender!
32:13 - Routines & Obligations: Not Much Free Time!
34:48 - What Time is Okay to Text? “Scheduled Send” is a Fantastic Innovation for Night Owls and Early Birds!
36:58 - Editor’s Note: I Can Verify That He Really Does Do This.
37:23 - Work Ethic, Where Have You Gone? How Are People Making Things Work Without It?
40:12 - Goal-Setting and Scaling: Planning Ahead
42:54 - Anthony’s One Key Piece of Advice: Never Give Up! Plan For Success and You’ll Have It!
43:44 - Closing Remarks: How to Get in Touch