Matt and Tony Jones –
TRJ and Sons Construction
From having their carpenters clean the shed to $2.5 million revenue and 6.5% net profit in a year.
AT A GLANCE
Where things were at
Matt and Tony’s Sydney building business had gone quiet. Not a little quiet — so quiet their carpenters were cleaning the shed. That shed was very clean.
They needed work. They needed a strategy. And they needed someone to help them build both.
We started with marketing and it worked. Work started coming in. The team got busy. But despite being busy, the profits weren’t showing up. Revenue was moving, the tracker was showing activity — and yet the net profit just wasn’t there.
What we worked on
We had a difficult conversation. I showed Matt and Tony in the Big Numbers Tracker and in Xero that the profits we were expecting weren’t there. Uncomfortable for everyone, but necessary.
They told me they were making 20% margin on every job. But they had no system to actually verify that on completion. Jobs were finished and they moved straight to the next one without checking the numbers.
We pulled a quote and matched it against the invoices. The estimator had allowed $750 for rubbish removal. The skip invoices came to nearly $2,000. Just for skips. That gap, multiplied across every job, explained everything.
They were charging a 20% margin — but on estimates that were outdated and wrong. The margin existed on paper. It wasn’t making it to the bank.
- New estimator — brought in someone transparent about how estimates were built so the numbers could be tested and improved
- Job cost tracking system — timesheets and costs recorded against each job so estimate accuracy could be checked in real time
- Rate increases — brought charges in line with other local builders once the estimate base was solid enough to support it
- Structured proposal process — a proper sales approach to win work at the right margin, not just the cheapest quote on the table
- Big Numbers Tracker — revenue, gross profit and net profit tracked consistently so there were no more surprises at the end of a job
What happened
They increased their rates gradually — it felt terrifying at first, but the profits went up every time. Both Matt and Tony were able to give themselves pay rises. They pulled $200,000 in cash out of the business for a property investment.
The business finished the year at $2.5 million with a 6.5% net profit after those pay rises. They’ve put their prices up again. The target for next year is $3.2 million at 11% net. We’ll get there.
From carpenters cleaning a shed to a $2.5 million business making real profit. That’s what fixing the estimating and building the tracking system actually did.
“They were charging a 20% margin — but on estimates that were out of date and wrong. No wonder there was no profit.”
— Jon Dale, Small Fish Business Coaching
What made the difference
The problem wasn’t the margin percentage — it was the number the margin was being applied to. Rubbish removal budgeted at $750, actual cost nearly $2,000. That kind of gap, repeated across labour, materials and site costs on every job, wipes out profit completely.
You can’t fix what you can’t see. The job cost tracking system was what made everything else possible. Once Matt and Tony could see where the estimates were wrong, they could fix them. Once the estimates were right, the margin they were charging was actually a margin.
The price rises felt scary. They always do. But when your cost base is accurate and your proposal is professional, clients don’t baulk the way you think they will. Matt and Tony raised rates more than once and kept winning work. That’s what happens when you back yourself with the right numbers.