Background
Justin Steubs grew up on job sites alongside his father, a union carpenter for 50 years, and earned a B.S. in Construction Engineering Management from Oregon State University in 2000. He has worked in construction and real estate his whole career. Today he is an author and entrepreneur based in Southern California, bringing an operator's view to schedules, budgets, crews, subcontractors, and the systems that keep projects and companies moving. He hosts the podcast Faith, Business & Politics and is the author of Good News to Great News and Scammed: You Work. They Take. (published under the pen name Justin Michael Steubs).
Career at a glance
Owner and builder leading construction projects in the Coachella Valley, running field and office work with crews and subcontractors.
Residential builder and construction supervisor in the Palm Desert area, delivering custom and vacation homes.
Commercial real estate and investment work in Portland, Oregon.
Project engineering and field support at Howard S. Wright (now Balfour Beatty) on large institutional projects in Portland.
B.S. Construction Engineering Management, Oregon State University.
Where Justin focuses
Construction & project delivery
Planning, field coordination, subcontractor management, and getting work done on real jobsites.
Real estate development
How projects move from idea through design, budget, and build, seen from the operator's side.
Project management
Scope, schedule, cost, and communication when many trades and stakeholders are involved.
Operations & systems
Repeatable processes for small and midsize construction and development businesses.
Entrepreneurship under pressure
Owning outcomes when weather, labor, materials, and cash flow collide.
Faith & work
Integrating conviction with day-to-day business practice, through essays, the podcast, and speaking.
Topics Justin writes and talks about
- •What "operator" really means on a construction project
- •Managing subcontractors without losing the schedule
- •Contingency as a plan, not padding
- •Institutional versus residential project culture
- •Operations and software that actually help a small builder
- •Integrity and hard conversations on the job