Your reputation walks into the room before you do. So who's going to vouch for you when it gets there?

Recorded live at the Women in Construction event in Sacramento, Heather and Jerry sit down with Debbie Holden, Vice President of Expansion & Development at the Rancho Cordova Community Food Hub, former Sacramento Regional Builders Exchange board chair, and the self-described (and LinkedIn-official) Super Connector of the Sacramento construction community.

Debbie shares how she works a room full of strangers, why she always looks for the person who seems lost, and why she'd rather "ditch the pitch" and get people talking about themselves. The conversation gets into why a text isn't a relationship, why handwritten notes and phone calls still win, and how an 18-year connection with Heather and Steve turned into Tankersley Build Co building the Community Food Hub.

They also talk about being the only woman in the room, using being underestimated to your advantage, finding an advocate who believes in you, and why the best relationships Jerry has in construction are with women project managers and owners.

The industry is smaller than you think. Never waste a lead, pay it forward, and remember that one conversation can change everything.

In this episode:

• What it actually means to be a super connector

• How to walk into a room where you don't know anyone

• Why you should look for the lost person, not the big group

• Ditch the pitch: getting people to talk about themselves

• Why texting is transactional and real relationships need more

• Referrals, reputation, and lending your name to someone else

• Don't burn a bridge: why construction is a small, tight-knit industry

• Being underestimated as a woman in construction and using it as the underdog

• Finding an advocate and asking the questions others won't

• What men in leadership can do to create more opportunities for women

• Preparing before a conference and following up after

• Getting involved with SRBX and paying it forward

Where to find Debbie Holden & the Community Food Hub:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbieholden

Rancho Cordova Food Locker | Community Food Hub: https://www.ranchocordovafoodlocker.org

This episode is brought to you by:

Republic Eagle Vision

https://www.republiceaglevision.com

The Build Line is a construction business podcast hosted by Heather Tankersley and Jerry Brewer, featuring real conversations about building better companies, better teams, and better projects.

You can build the company, make the money, and hit every goal... but will you still be healthy enough to enjoy it?

Dr. Sam Robinson, founder of Altaura Health, joins Heather and Jerry to talk about the part of entrepreneurship that never shows up on the P&L: what years of stress, long hours, poor sleep, bad nutrition, and constantly putting the business first can actually do to your body and mind.

They get into why stress is more than just a feeling, why construction has normalized some seriously unhealthy habits, and why working harder isn’t always the answer. Sam talks about sleep, exercise, nutrition, recovery, preventative medicine, and learning how to actually shut the business off.

The conversation also gets into the booming world of health optimization—GLP-1s, TRT, peptides, hormones, bloodwork, and how to separate legitimate medicine from confident-sounding health advice online.

Sam shares why he left traditional insurance-based medicine to start Altaura Health, his approach to improving healthspan, and why the goal isn’t simply living longer. It’s staying strong, capable, sharp, and healthy enough to enjoy the life you worked so hard to build.

If you’re a contractor or business owner who keeps telling yourself you’ll focus on your health “when things slow down,” this one is worth your time.

Where to find Dr. Sam Robinson & Altaura Health:
Altaura Health: altaurahealth.com
Dr. Sam Robinson: drsamrobinson.com
Instagram: @dr.samrobinson

The Build Line is brought to you by:

Buildertrend — buildertrend.com
Build Bar — build-bar.com
Republic Elite Integration — republiceliteintegration.com
Katlyn Slocum Design — katlynslocumdesign.com

This episode is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for individualized medical advice.

What actually makes a construction company “luxury”? Is it the size of the project, expensive finishes, or the market you work in?

Heather and Jerry challenge the idea that luxury is simply about price. In a market like Sacramento, where contractors are constantly compared on cost, building a premium brand means delivering something clients can actually feel: trust, communication, planning, attention to detail, and confidence that the job will be done right.

They talk about why some contractors struggle when they move from larger markets, why your reputation doesn’t automatically travel with you, and why the subcontractors you surround yourself with become an extension of your brand.

Heather and Jerry also break down the difference between price and value, how to uncover what a client actually values, and why contractors in smaller or more price-sensitive markets have to become better at identifying and winning the right projects.

You don’t necessarily need a better market. You might just need to become a better fisherman.

In this episode:
• What “luxury” actually means in construction
• Why luxury is an experience—not a finish package
• Price vs. value and understanding what clients actually care about
• Why your subcontractors are part of your brand
• The details that separate premium builders from everyone else
• Why reputation doesn't automatically transfer to a new market
• Building a premium company in a price-driven market
• Why you don't need more fish—you need to become a better fisherman

Thank you to our sponsors:

Buildertrend
https://buildertrend.com

Republic Elite Integration
https://www.republiceliteintegration.com

Build-Bar
https://build-bar.com

Katlyn Slocum Design
https://www.katlynslocumdesign.com

The Build Line is a construction business podcast hosted by Heather Tankersley and Jerry Brewer, featuring real conversations about building better companies, better teams, and better projects.