Careers Under Construction keeps it real—sharing personal stories of grit, growth and how to build meaningful careers from the ground up. Host Justis Pederson sits down with leaders who open up about the wins, the struggles and the lessons that shaped their success. Produced in our professional studio in Winnipeg, Manitoba, you can watch or listen on Spotify, Apple and YouTube.
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Powered By: The Pederson Group (TPG)
Stan Higgins was working in executive search when he saw an ad on Kijiji for a helical pile dealership.
He had no background in construction. He bought the dealership anyway and started VersaPile in 2011.
In this episode of Careers Under Construction, Stan talks about:
Why his mom started her own search firm out of her house in 1999
How he tested the competition before buying in
Why he handed his phone to his first salesperson
What 5 dealers talked about that the other 95 didn’t
Why the owner can become the bottleneck in the early years
Why he eventually walked away from two-thirds of his business
What his wife’s RCMP career taught him about leadership
What companies get wrong when working with Indigenous communities
What he saw at a psychedelic retreat that he can’t unsee
The eating struggle he kept secret for years
How he and his wife worked through a planned separation
The pipe bag an elder handed him, saying, “I’m being told this belongs to you,” and how it survived his mom’s house fire
🎙️ Listen to Stan’s full story on Careers Under Construction. Out now.
#Entrepreneurship #Construction #Leadership #Business #Manitoba
29 Sept 2026
How to Pitch a Prime Minister in 10 Minutes: Sorella Strategies
After 14 years in government, Sandra Hodzic realized she couldn’t do it anymore and it was time to go.
Today, she runs Sorella Strategies, a government relations firm that helps organizations understand government decisions and policies and prepare for what’s ahead.
In this episode, Sandra talks about:
Why she left government twice and what finally made it stick
How she translates government jargon into plain language clients can use
Why she brings her own folding chair to rooms that weren’t built for her
Her work on First Nations citizenship and why it feels personal
Why she might run for office one day and why she might not
The difference between being nice and being kind
Learn how she walks into rooms with prime ministers and international leaders and makes every moment count when she has 10 minutes or less.
22 Sept 2026
Ryan Behie: 60 Days’ Notice After His Best Year
Ryan Behie had just come off his best year yet.
Then, on a Tuesday morning right after the August long weekend, the phone rang: 60 days’ notice. No cause. No explanation.
He’d been with the company 11 years. He opened their Winnipeg office himself — first and only person there on day one.
At home: a wife, a mortgage and a first-born who wasn’t a year old yet.
He told his team himself. Then he called his clients.
One of them stopped him mid-sentence. They hired Ryan, they said. Not the company he worked for.
Two or three weeks later, he was filing the paperwork for his own brokerage.
A year after that, on his own, he sold a major shopping centre — representing both sides of the deal and helping the out-of-province buyer line up financing and property management.
In this episode, Ryan talks about starting out on a draw against commission, photocopying the Yellow Pages to find tenants on Pembina Highway, earning his CCIM designation, and why he still skateboards.
If you’re buying, selling or leasing commercial space in Manitoba, connect with Ryan at Behie Real Estate Inc.
Who has been a guest on Careers Under Construction
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Dana
Dale Weise
Jenna
Ashley
Jaime Mann
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