Most trade contractors don’t start out as business owners. They begin on the tools, working their way up from apprentice to journeyman to foreman. Eventually, many decide to take the leap into ownership. That shift is not just about doing more of the same work. It requires a completely different mindset, set of skills, and willingness to learn.
On a recent episode of The Cost Code Show, Marc Visent, co-founder and CEO of Knowify, shared his own story of pivoting careers. He went from practicing law to building a construction software company.
At first glance, those worlds couldn’t be further apart. But Marc’s lessons are surprisingly relevant to contractors and construction accountants who are facing the same kind of leap from worker to business leader.
Marc explained that while he enjoyed the intellectual side of law, he realized he was more interested in the business challenges his clients were dealing with. Rather than continuing down the legal track, he decided he wanted to become the kind of person his clients were: a business owner.
For trade contractors, the same truth often applies.
You may love the trade you started in, but running a contracting company is not just about being the best electrician, plumber, or drywall installer. It is about learning to price work, manage people, win bids, and make financial decisions.
The skill set is different, and sometimes you have to let go of what you know to grow into what your business needs.
Because Marc didn’t come from the construction industry, he had to listen closely to what contractors told him. Instead of assuming he already knew the answers, he built solutions based on real problems his customers shared.
This lesson applies directly to contractors. If you moved from the field into business ownership, you’re now an “outsider” in some ways. You are no longer one of the crew. That change can be uncomfortable, but it also gives you a new vantage point. You can see bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and financial risks in a way you might have overlooked before.
The trick is to lean into that perspective instead of clinging to your old identity.
For accountants, this same principle applies when shifting from being a compliance-only resource to a trusted advisor. Your outsider view of the construction company’s books can reveal opportunities for efficiency and growth that the owner may not see.
Marc’s pivot from law to software required him to develop technical and business skills he didn’t yet have. It was uncomfortable, but he learned that if he wanted to be a CEO, he had to think differently and stretch himself.
For contractors, the pivot is similar. If you want to grow your company, you need to get comfortable with things like:
It’s not about abandoning your trade. It’s about building on it with a new toolkit.
If you feel stuck between being a great tradesperson and being the business leader your company needs, here are a few steps you can take:
Career pivots are never easy. They require humility, a willingness to learn, and sometimes a complete rethinking of your role. But as Marc’s story shows, stepping into something unfamiliar can open doors to opportunities you never imagined.
For contractors and construction accountants, the lesson is simple: don’t cling to your old role just because it feels safe. Embrace the discomfort of change, because that’s where growth happens.
