How Construction Company Owners Build Long-Term Wealth | High Performance Build with Highspire
- Audree Grubesic
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
Building a successful construction company is challenging. Building long-term wealth through that company requires a different mindset and strategy. In a recent episode of High Performance Build, host Mark Wille spoke with Paul Atherton, Co-Founder of Highspire, about how construction owners can leverage their businesses to create lasting financial security.
Unlike many service-based industries, construction companies are uniquely positioned to operate a business, acquire assets, and add value to those assets simultaneously. This creates multiple income streams and opportunities for equity growth that are rarely available elsewhere.
Atherton shared real-world examples from Highspire’s founding partners, who collectively built more than $1.5 billion in real estate assets over periods ranging from 10 to 17 years. One partner started a construction company at 48 years old after a long career in law enforcement. Another began at 22 during the 2008 downturn. Despite different starting points, both followed the same disciplined path of reinvesting retained earnings into real estate while scaling their construction operations.
A core element of this strategy is building a self-managed company. Atherton outlined five stages of business maturity, beginning with the owner-operator model and progressing to a fully delegated organization with leadership overseeing sales, operations, and finance. Most construction companies stall in the early stages, but those that build systems and leadership capacity unlock greater scalability and long-term value.
Throughout the discussion, Atherton emphasized the importance of steady, conservative growth. Maintaining healthy leverage, avoiding unnecessary risk, and focusing on strong fundamentals allows owners to build a stable foundation before expanding. Over time, this approach leads to compounding benefits such as property appreciation, rental income, tax advantages, and increased equity.
Whether an owner is early in their career or decades into the industry, the opportunity remains the same. By building a self-managed company and becoming their own customer, construction owners can create sustainable wealth and long-term freedom.
Learn more at Highspire.com and explore additional industry insights at OffsiteDirtNetwork.com.
FAQs
What is Highspire and who is it for?
Highspire is a consulting firm that works with construction company owners who want to build long-term wealth. They help owners create self-managed businesses and deploy retained earnings into real estate so their companies can become their own customers.
Why are construction companies uniquely positioned to build wealth?
Construction companies can operate a business, acquire assets, and add value to those assets at the same time. This creates multiple income streams, tax advantages, and equity growth opportunities that are not available in most other industries.
Do you need to start young to build wealth through construction?
No. As discussed in this episode, successful examples include owners who started in their early 20s as well as those who started in their late 40s. The key factors are disciplined growth, strong systems, and a long-term strategy rather than age or timing.