Amy Powell
Author of Making Construction Fun Again

“It’s just not fun anymore.”

What would you do if you heard that said about your industry?

For Amy Powell, it was a refrain that appeared, time and again, in the construction industry. It was the same from those new to the industry, the burned-out, and the long-established voices: Where did the fun go?

So Amy went out to try and answer it – and bring fulfilment, enjoyment, and wellbeing back to the industry that builds our world.

Her first book would be both a diagnosis of the problem, and a call to restore pride, connection, and meaning to an industry increasingly defined by burnout and disconnection.

And we were more than thrilled to help her bring it to life.

Chasing more than prestige

Amy founded Well Works as a construction-focused leadership and communication training company. Built on years of working in and alongside the construction industry, Amy’s business was doing well, and able to reach a good number of people; she had a busy enough schedule.

But she also hoped to reach more people and mend the construction industry she loves. 

“I could keep doing virtual trainings, focus on trades and subcontractors, or expand into HR,” she explains. “There were so many paths – speaker, trainer, designer. I could have filled any gap, depending on the kind of clientele I wanted to reach.”

But that question – “Why isn’t our industry fun anymore?” – just kept going round and round Amy’s head. She couldn’t rest without getting the answer to as many people as possible. 

The solution was to develop a book. It was a chance to scale her impact effectively; it would be an affordable way for her industry colleagues to see her vision; and it would, she hoped, plant seeds of hope in an industry where wellbeing had long felt out of reach. Amy also says it could also be a way to remind people of “how awesome our industry is if you choose to see it that way.”

Finding the Better Book Project

When Amy decided it was time to write her book, she wanted to make something digestible for busy construction workers.

So she started looking at different support options.

One company promised a quick turnaround and big launch events, but that wasn’t what she wanted. She wanted to create something she’d be proud of – so taking her time to get it right was important. And it needed to have her fingerprints over every page.

Her friend and Colorado local Kon Apostolopoulos had completed our intimate book incubator, The Better Book Project, previously, and recommended the small group book coaching programme. It wasn’t long before Amy signed up.

With the weekly book coaching calls, Amy was able to sound out her progress, work through challenges, and get support from professional book coaches and editors (as well as her fellow BBP participants, who brought their own challenges and questions to the table). 

The coaching, accountability, and guardrails were exactly what she needed. Amy has seen firsthand that “self-directed learning has low completion rates!” 

“But when you’re in it with other people, those rates skyrocket. The accountability was critical.” The goal-setting and coaching kept her on track. “Otherwise, I don’t think the book would be here today,” she admits.

“It’s that meeting every week and thinking, I did something,” she says. “The coaching and guardrails mattered – they kept me honest, focused, and progressing.”

The evolution of an idea

Amy expected her final chapters to mirror workshops she already ran. But interviews with people across the industry shifted her perspective: instead of forcing pre-set content, she let the conversations lead, and surprising themes surfaced.

Pride, connection, and the reality that “the problems are the same even when projects are different” became the core of the book. Ideas Amy had loved ended up staying in the draft or shelved for later work, and Making Construction Fun Again reshaped itself around what readers truly felt ‘wasn’t fun’. 

She leaned on her network, her ability to speak from the gut and the heart, and her knowledge gained from years of workshops and conversations. While she didn’t feel like she was a good storyteller, she came to realise that construction had actually honed her communication skills because it demands clear understanding in often noisy environments and across different education levels. “And I thought, maybe I can do this.”

Reaching the world

Her book launched softly, by design.

Amy wanted it to grow like a seed, not a quick-sprouting tree. Within two months, readers were already bookmarking and referencing it. LinkedIn posts appeared from people she didn’t know, calling it a “must read.” One company even bought copies for all its executives.

“It’s about people,” Amy says. “And it’s already being used as a resource.”

For Amy, the biggest impact has been personal growth. “It gave me confidence for my next big project,” she says. “I even miss the writing – the cadence, the consistency, the purpose.”

Her next challenge is already forming: building curriculum for communication in construction, complete with facilitator guides and new content. “I’m tired of waiting for others to do it,” she says. “So I’ll take it on.” 

With self-publishing options available, she believes there’s no reason to hold back. “Don’t discount yourself. Get out of your own way. If it’s important enough, you’ll do it. And the industry is crying out for your insight.”

“​​I can’t thank you enough for your support, advice, lessons and wisdom that allowed me to fully experience this incredible journey of writing and publishing a book. Thank you!”