Retooled | lilAgents

Retooled, a lilAgents podcast, is a show where we talk with business leaders about how they've equipped their organizations to adapt to change over time. Our goal is to share real stories other owners can learn from.

Episode 9 · out now · 35:25

Dennis Blackburn on why his best leads come from other contractors

Dennis Blackburn of Blackburn Build on keeping exteriors work in-house, winning repeat work from contractors, and the AI renderings that caught him off guard.

Play the episodeAlso on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts

Hosted by David V. Kimball and Dylan Baker.

Episodes.

Each one comes with the full video, chapters and a searchable transcript.

Episode 1 · 35:03Cody WeightFounder and owner, Solitude HomesHow Cody Weight made 100 homes feel like 20

Episode 2 · 43:09Jesse MillerOwner, Solid Value ContractingJesse Miller built a contractor CRM in six days

Episode 3 · 33:14Sean KurtzOwner, Michigan Rose ConstructionSean Kurtz on winning jobs by sending the number first

Episode 4 · 40:54Christopher Woods Sr.Owner, Pop's PreservationChristopher Woods Sr. on the crawl spaces other contractors won't touch

Episode 5 · 41:47Kelly CowanPrincipal, Kelly Cowan DesignsKelly Cowan on why the best trade for a contractor is a law degree

Episode 6 · 39:09Ronnie KahanPresident, Apollo Painting & WallcoveringRonnie Kahan on running up to 120 painters by hiring from within

Episode 7 · 47:02Isaac LeBaronPresident, LeBaron ExteriorsIsaac LeBaron on why over-promising is roofing's biggest problem

Episode 8 · 52:00Jonathan KlemmCEO and Founder, Quality BuildersJonathan Klemm on why saying no is a contractor's superpower

Episode 9 · 35:25Dennis BlackburnPresident and Owner, Blackburn BuildDennis Blackburn on why his best leads come from other contractors

What you get as a listener.

Every episode is built around one real business changing how it runs, told by the person who runs it.

The specific systems

Guests walk through the exact process they stopped doing by hand, what it looked like before, and what handles it now.

Tools and real numbers

You hear what the setup involved, what it cost, and how long it took before the owner trusted it, so you leave with details you can borrow.

Told by operators

The guests are operators, and the conversation stays on what changed, what broke, and what they would do differently.

Your hosts.

Retooled is hosted by the two people who started lilAgents. David V. Kimball has been building online since 2006 and has spent most of that time hosting shows or being a guest on them. Dylan Baker spent eleven years in B2B sales before co-founding the company, and talks with business owners every day about how their operations actually run.

David behind the mic

Over 10 million lifetime video views across his YouTube channels
Roughly 41,000 combined followers
Hosted Beyond Tweeting for 20 episodes
Co-hosted MS Mobile Show for about 80 episodes, at about 500 downloads an episode
Nearly a decade of theater and improv

Be a guest.

We are looking for owners and operators who changed how the work gets done in their business. Which tools you used does not matter. What matters is that you did it and can talk about it plainly.

About 30 minutes, remote, no prep
Clips made for your own channels, ready to post, or cut your own from the recording
A featured episode to share, and the full recording to keep, as long as you don't upload the whole episode publicly yourself

Tell us what you retooled.

A few sentences is plenty. If it is a fit, we will reach out to set up a time.

Thanks. We read every pitch and will be in touch if it is a fit.

That did not go through. Please try again in a moment.

Think you belong on Retooled?

Send a couple of sentences about your business and the work you stopped doing by hand. If it is a fit, we will take it from there.

Pitch yourself

Book a call