Why builders are craving real connection — and how the right community can change everything
By Aaron Ng
Founder, The Good Builder
If you’ve ever sat at your desk at 10pm wondering how the hell you’re going to make payroll, finish that job, or face your clients tomorrow…you’re not alone.
But it can feel like you are.
That’s the brutal truth about running a building business. For all the site noise, supplier calls, and contract chaos, the role itself is deeply isolating. You’re the one carrying the stress. You’re the one keeping the lights on. And too often, you’re the last one to ask for help.
We felt that in a big way during our recent chat at the Level Up Experience with two blokes who’ve been through it all, Matt Grieve and Hamish Clarke.
From GFC-era debt to software startups and second chances, the journey Hamish shared was raw and real. But what stood out most wasn’t just the comeback. It was what made it possible: Community.
“We just stepped in and helped.”
For Hamish, the turning point wasn’t financial. It was emotional.
He’d closed his building company. Made some “financial errors.” Made sure everyone got paid. And then he disappeared for a while.
“I shrunk quite hard,” he said. “I’m sort of at the moment coming back out of the shadows.”
That reconnection started with something small: a local builder’s breakfast group hosted by Duayne Pearce.
“We just started talking about how everyone talks about doing something and never does,” said Hamish. “We both looked at each other and said, let’s just take action.”
From there, Friday coffees became a ritual. Then a support system. Then a springboard into building something new for the industry.
As Hamish put it:
“The Brekky group has been a game-changer. You’ve got 20 blokes in a room ready to drop the ego and learn. If someone’s business nearly dies overnight, we just step in and help.”
“Running a business can be such a lonely place.”
Matt, a builder known in The Good Builder community for dropping knowledge bombs on wet weather delays, client management, and software insights, and more didn’t hold back either.
He spoke openly about the psychological toll of the role, and the importance of simply being in the room with others who’ve been there.
“You’re in a shed like this with a couple hundred people, builders who’ve experienced the same thing. If you’re going through something, chances are 80–90% of them have too. And the other 10 will.”
That line hit hard. Because it’s true.
“There’s no shame in it.”
Hamish also pulled back the curtain on how brutal the industry can be, and how little support there is when things go wrong.
“During the big GFC, my builder went broke. I was a young chippy and had a $60,000 debt. I just got stuck into it… and said, let’s go be a builder.”
But years later, when things fell apart?
“I sold my house for it. That was probably my biggest learning. I owe a few people a lot in terms of support. They got me through it. I’m still married, still got my kids.”
He added something we don’t hear enough:
“It can happen to anybody. And in the game of building, the magnitude of the error… there’s no shame in it.”
“It all started with taking action.”
That’s the thread that ran through the whole conversation. They didn’t just talk about doing something. They actually did something.
They carved out time every Friday. They shared ideas. They leaned on each other.
And now? They’re building tech to help remove the exact roadblocks that put so many builders under in the first place.
“We’re going to be the digital business partner that’s not looking for a profit cheque,” said Matt. “We’re here to assist as builders who know what you’re feeling, when you’re feeling it.”
Final Word: You Don’t Have to Go It Alone
If you’re feeling like no one else understands what you’re going through, someone does.
And they’re probably only one message, one event, or one podcast away.
Start by joining a community. Maybe it’s a Friday breakfast. Maybe it’s a group chat. Maybe it’s here.
Because you don’t just owe it to your business.
You owe it to yourself.
🎧 Listen to the full episode on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube.
📍 Join the builder community at thegoodbuilder.com.au
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