How to be a strategic tradie?
What are you talking about, Jon? A strategic tradie? What is that? If you’re anything like me, you’re a bit sceptical when people start talking about being strategic. Your bullshit detector might go off. (Maybe it’s going off now…) Maybe you’re thinking “It sounds...
Employees, Subcontractors or Casuals, Which is best for you?
Someone said to me the other day that they had their tradespeople as subcontractors because that way, if there was no work to do, they didn't have to pay them - to this guy, it was a way of managing risk - he didn’t want to get caught paying wages out if he wasn’t...
Tradies and builders – would it change your business if you were BETTER at business?
Of course, it would, how could it not? Your business would probably be more profitable, less stressful, would run more smoothly and you’d be less tired and more able to have time for yourself, wouldn’t you? But it’s not that easy. You didn’t learn business when you...
How to decide if it’s good business to buy an asset
Should You Buy A New Car? One of my clients came to me the other day with a question - should I buy a new car? It's not a stupid question, accountants are known for saying things like ‘You're going to get a tax bill, maybe you should buy a new car and...
How to Build your Team
Who is on your team? You don't build a successful business on your own. (Obviously, I'm referring specifically to trades and building businesses because I’m a business coach for tradies and builders). You don't build one on your own and it's a mistake to try. You...
How To Manage Your GST
I made this video for Michael, he asked if I had any guides on managing GST on the dope so I said I'd write one for him. These terms are for Australians and our 10% goods and services tax on our quarterly requirement to collect the GST and prepare to our tax...
The Seven Essential Systems for a Successful Trade Business
What Got You Here Won’t Get You There It's true that businesses require different things at the many different stages of their existence. In my first job, the managing director who hired me got replaced after a year by someone better at Managing Directing (that's what...
How to Survive the Coming Recession
It's not really clear that there’s a recession coming. If you believe what Australia's shittier newspapers are saying at the moment, we’re due for a pounding - high-interest rates are going to send us into a big recession and it's going to be awful. But the economy at...
How to be Confident as a Tradesperson
How to be more confident and specifically how to be more confident with your price. Confidence is important. Your customers buy your confidence in a very real sense. Primarily, they buy your confidence that you can do the job and give them what they want and the...
How to delegate effectively
Delegation is an important skill, isn’t it? If you’re growing your business (in fact, it’s the only way to grow your business). You have to get other people doing the jobs you used to do. As your business grows, the jobs get bigger, and your time is less free, so you...
How to Automate Your Bookkeeping
This is a Toolbox Tip and I'm talking about automating your bookkeeping or specifically the processing and payment of receipts, bills, and invoices from suppliers. If you're growing your trade business and you're spending time in Xero or Quickbooks doing this work -...
How To Understand Your Numbers
When we interviewed Dan Pollard, CEO of Fergus he had a lot to say on the topic of numbers, namely that not knowing what his margins were is what undid his business in his early 20s. He said “knowing your gross margin and understanding cash flow makes or breaks your...