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Apr 2025
28m 48s

Building, Running, and Growing a Civil E...

ISAAC OAKESON
About this episode

If you’re the entrepreneurial type of civil engineer with (big) plans to open your own “shop” some day and scale it, this episode pulls the curtain on everything you need to know for that journey.

For this one, we sit down with Kevin Franson, one of the owners and the General Manager at Franson Civil Engineers — a water resources engineering firm based in Utah.

Kevin gets into the real stuff that helped scale the firm to two offices and a growing team — hiring strategies, company culture, handling conflict, how to stay competitive, and a lot more to apply at your firm, now or when you start it. 😉 📈

Also, he dives into the ONE thing you need to get crystal clear about before going down that route: the difference between being a great civil engineer…and being a great civil engineering business owner. 💡

(Hint: you cannot be both! 😣)

So, if you’ve ever thought about starting your own firm someday, this is your roadmap.

No fluff. No textbook theory. Just in-the-trenches advice from someone who’s been doing it since the 90s! 💪 🥾


🧠 TUNE IN TO LEARN:

    • 2 Things You Needed to Know Yesterday If You Want to Start a Firm
    • The 4 Quadrants of Civil Engineering Firms to Know Before Getting Started
    • The Engineering vs Business Side of a Firm: Which One Are You in?
    • Why You Should Start a Firm With the End in Mind...From the Get-Go
    • The BIG Problem Firms Are Facing Today in the Civil Engineering Industry
    • 2 Ways Civil Engineering Firms Can Stay Competitive Today
    • The One Skill Firms Are Looking for in Job Candidates (And Yours Should Too!)
    • The SINGLE Interview Question Structure to Filter the Competent Candidates
    • The Importance of Company Culture to Building a Firm (And How to Create It)
    • The Right Way to Recognize the Work of Employees…And It's Not Money
    • How a Company Should Manage Conflicts and Arguments


    🔗 RESOURCES MENTIONED:

  • The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC)

    Brigham Young University

    Utah State University

    The University of Utah

    Utah Valley University


    📧 CONNECT WITH KEVIN:

    LinkedIn

    Franson Civil Engineers

    Franson Civil Engineers Contact Page

    Open Positions at Franson Civil Engineers


    🎁 CEA FREEBIES:

    The Civil FE Startup Guide

    The Civil PE Startup Guide

    FREE CFM® Course Module


    🖥️ OUR REVIEW COURSES:

    Civil FE Review Course

    Civil PE Review Courses

    CFM® Review Course


    📚 OUR PRACTICE EXAMS:

    FE Practice Exams

    FE CBT Exam Simulator

    PE Practice Exams

    PE CBT Exam Simulator

    CFM® Practice Exam

    FE Environmental Practice Exam

    PE Environmental Practice Exam


    📱 CONNECT WITH CEA!

    Website

    Newsletter

    Free CEA Community

    LinkedIn

    YouTube Channel

    support@civilengineeringacademy.com

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