<description>Everyone in the concrete world knows the Baker name, but very few know the real story.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;This episode finally gets it on record. Dan Baker walks through how the company started with three brothers, $500, and a truck that needed a hill to start — and how it grew into ENR’s #1 concrete contractor in America.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;Dan lays out the moves, the mistakes, the risks, and the mindset shifts required to grow from residential slabs to major industrial, stadiums, and billion-dollar work. If you're trying to scale a concrete company, this episode is a roadmap. &lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;WHAT YOU’LL LEARN&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;What allowed Baker to jump from residential flatwork to commercial and industrial work&amp;nbsp;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;The key moment that changed the company’s trajectory forever&amp;nbsp;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Why the first stadium project lost seven figures — and what Dan did next&amp;nbsp;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;When to hire someone smarter than you (and why you may have to pay them more than yourself)&amp;nbsp;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Why Dan says contractors must “either know or should have known” when things go wrong&amp;nbsp;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;How to build a reputation that actually carries you into bigger work&amp;nbsp;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;CHAPTERS &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;00:00 – Why this is the most requested interview in show history &lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;01:24 – The real origins of Baker Concrete in 1968 &lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;09:59 – Learning concrete the hard way (and the right way) &lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;17:40 – The A-frame job that changed everything &lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;23:27 – Turner hands Baker the total-package blueprint &lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;26:50 – What it truly takes to “cross over” in this industry &lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;37:25 – Losing a million dollars on a stadium — and still going after the Bengals &lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;42:50 – Becoming (and staying) #1 &lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;48:11 – Dan explains the “Amish Marines” mindset &lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;50:17 – People. Honor. Grit. Baker’s core in one sentence. &lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;GUEST INFO &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;Dan Baker &lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;Founder, Baker Concrete Construction &lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;Bio: &lt;a href="https://www.concretelogicpodcast.com/guests/daniel-l-baker/" target="_blank"&gt;https://www.concretelogicpodcast.com/guests/daniel-l-baker/&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br /&gt; Company: Baker Construction Enterprises &lt;br /&gt; Website: &lt;a href="https://www.bakerconstruction.com" target="_blank"&gt;https://www.bakerconstruction.com&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;SUPPORT THE PODCAST &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If you learned something from this conversation — consider donating. It keeps the show independent and education-first: &lt;a href="https://www.concretelogicpodcast.com/support/" target="_blank"&gt;https://www.concretelogicpodcast.com/support/&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;PODCAST PARTNERS&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;INTELLIGENT CONCRETE&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;br /&gt;Want advanced concrete training, petrography education, mix-design science, and materials research? &lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;Visit Intelligent Concrete at: &lt;a href="https://www.concretelogicpodcast.com/intelligent-concrete" target="_blank"&gt;www.concretelogicpodcast.com/intelligent-concrete&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;CONCRETE LOGIC ACADEMY &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Early access to episodes, PDH courses, technical deep-dives, and a place to sharpen your concrete knowledge: &lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="https://www.concretelogicacademy.com" target="_blank"&gt;https://www.concretelogicacademy.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;KUIU&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;br /&gt;KUIU gear link (first orders get 15% off): www.concretelogicpodcast.com/KUIU &lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;CREDITS &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Produced by: Jodi Tandett &amp;amp; Concrete Logic Media &lt;br /&gt;Music by: Mike Dunton — &lt;a href="https://www.mdunton.com" target="_blank"&gt;https://www.mdunton.com&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;CONNECT WITH US &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Host: Seth Tandett &lt;br /&gt;LinkedIn: &lt;a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethtandett/" target="_blank"&gt;https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethtandett/&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br /&gt;YouTube: &lt;a href="https://www.youtube.com/@concretelogicpodcast" target="_blank"&gt;https://www.youtube.com/@concretelogicpodcast&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br /&gt;Website: &lt;a href="https://www.concretelogicpodcast.com" target="_blank"&gt;https://www.concretelogicpodcast.com&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Like, subscribe, comment, and share the show. Let’s keep it concrete.&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;</description>

Concrete Logic

Seth Tandett

EP #140: Building the #1 Concrete Contractor in America: Grit, Growth & 50+ Years of Lessons

NOV 27, 202561 MIN
Concrete Logic

EP #140: Building the #1 Concrete Contractor in America: Grit, Growth & 50+ Years of Lessons

NOV 27, 202561 MIN

Description

Everyone in the concrete world knows the Baker name, but very few know the real story.&nbsp; <br />&nbsp;<br />This episode finally gets it on record. Dan Baker walks through how the company started with three brothers, $500, and a truck that needed a hill to start — and how it grew into ENR’s #1 concrete contractor in America.&nbsp; <br />&nbsp;<br />Dan lays out the moves, the mistakes, the risks, and the mindset shifts required to grow from residential slabs to major industrial, stadiums, and billion-dollar work. If you're trying to scale a concrete company, this episode is a roadmap. <br />&nbsp;<br /><strong>WHAT YOU’LL LEARN&nbsp;</strong><br /><ul><li>What allowed Baker to jump from residential flatwork to commercial and industrial work&nbsp;</li><li>The key moment that changed the company’s trajectory forever&nbsp;</li><li>Why the first stadium project lost seven figures — and what Dan did next&nbsp;</li><li>When to hire someone smarter than you (and why you may have to pay them more than yourself)&nbsp;</li><li>Why Dan says contractors must “either know or should have known” when things go wrong&nbsp;</li><li>How to build a reputation that actually carries you into bigger work&nbsp;</li></ul>&nbsp;<br /><strong>CHAPTERS </strong><br />&nbsp;00:00 – Why this is the most requested interview in show history <br />&nbsp;01:24 – The real origins of Baker Concrete in 1968 <br />&nbsp;09:59 – Learning concrete the hard way (and the right way) <br />&nbsp;17:40 – The A-frame job that changed everything <br />&nbsp;23:27 – Turner hands Baker the total-package blueprint <br />&nbsp;26:50 – What it truly takes to “cross over” in this industry <br />&nbsp;37:25 – Losing a million dollars on a stadium — and still going after the Bengals <br />&nbsp;42:50 – Becoming (and staying) #1 <br />&nbsp;48:11 – Dan explains the “Amish Marines” mindset <br />&nbsp;50:17 – People. Honor. Grit. Baker’s core in one sentence. <br />&nbsp;<br /><strong>GUEST INFO </strong><br />&nbsp;Dan Baker <br />&nbsp;Founder, Baker Concrete Construction <br />&nbsp;Bio: <a href="https://www.concretelogicpodcast.com/guests/daniel-l-baker/" target="_blank">https://www.concretelogicpodcast.com/guests/daniel-l-baker/</a> <br /> Company: Baker Construction Enterprises <br /> Website: <a href="https://www.bakerconstruction.com" target="_blank">https://www.bakerconstruction.com</a> <br />&nbsp; <br /><strong>SUPPORT THE PODCAST </strong><br />If you learned something from this conversation — consider donating. It keeps the show independent and education-first: <a href="https://www.concretelogicpodcast.com/support/" target="_blank">https://www.concretelogicpodcast.com/support/</a> <br /> <br /><strong>PODCAST PARTNERS</strong> <br /> <br /><strong>INTELLIGENT CONCRETE</strong> <br />Want advanced concrete training, petrography education, mix-design science, and materials research? <br /> <br />Visit Intelligent Concrete at: <a href="https://www.concretelogicpodcast.com/intelligent-concrete" target="_blank">www.concretelogicpodcast.com/intelligent-concrete</a> <br /><strong><br />CONCRETE LOGIC ACADEMY </strong><br />Early access to episodes, PDH courses, technical deep-dives, and a place to sharpen your concrete knowledge: <br />&nbsp;<a href="https://www.concretelogicacademy.com" target="_blank">https://www.concretelogicacademy.com</a><br /> <br /><strong>KUIU</strong> <br />KUIU gear link (first orders get 15% off): www.concretelogicpodcast.com/KUIU <br /> <br /> <br /><strong>CREDITS </strong><br />Produced by: Jodi Tandett &amp; Concrete Logic Media <br />Music by: Mike Dunton — <a href="https://www.mdunton.com" target="_blank">https://www.mdunton.com</a> <br /> <br /><strong>CONNECT WITH US </strong><br />Host: Seth Tandett <br />LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethtandett/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethtandett/</a> <br />YouTube: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@concretelogicpodcast" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/@concretelogicpodcast</a> <br />Website: <a href="https://www.concretelogicpodcast.com" target="_blank">https://www.concretelogicpodcast.com</a> <br /> <br /><strong>Like, subscribe, comment, and share the show. Let’s keep it concrete.</strong>&nbsp;