Crowie is sharing the key lessons he learnt in business throughout his years as the owner of an electrical company, and in the years of helping others make their sparky business succeed. Itâs a little bit of this and little bit of that and a whole lot of⌠You canât do everything, recognise when itâs too much. Let go to grow. If youâre a home at 1-pm doing admin, as yourself âhave I hit a ceilingâ, recognise its and relieve the pressure if you feel you have. Thereâs a difference between not havin...
Oct 28, 2023â˘16 min
Crowie is sharing the key lessons he learnt in business throughout his years as the owner of an electrical company, and in the years of helping others make their sparky business succeed. Itâs a little bit of this and little bit of that and a whole lot of⌠Things in writing last forever, be careful what you put in text or email, thereâs no tone or texture, it lets the reader determine and assume context. You lose the human in in the written word. You need to see both sides to come to a fair and r...
Oct 25, 2023â˘15 min
Crowie is sharing the key lessons he learnt in business throughout his years as the owner of an electrical company, and in the years of helping others make their sparky business succeed. Itâs a little bit of this and little bit of that and a whole lot of⌠Being kind is important, and it applies to you too! A business needs to be foundational profitable The tide doesnât just turn, you need to grab it by the b**** Holidays will give you perspective so treat yourself like an employee Quotes, schedu...
Oct 21, 2023â˘16 min
Crowie is sharing the key lessons he learnt in business throughout his years as the owner of an electrical company, and in the years of helping others make their sparky business succeed. Itâs a little bit of this and little bit of that and a whole lot of⌠Know your titles, you arenât the ârough in lordâ anymore Before you had to do one thing perfectly, now you need to know how to do everything. If something isnât working, itâs because somethingâs wrong A big turnover doesnât mean your electrical...
Oct 18, 2023â˘17 min
Crowie is sharing the key lessons he learnt in business throughout his years as the owner of an electrical company, and in the years of helping others make their sparky business succeed. Itâs a little bit of this and little bit of that and a whole lot of⌠People donât think about you nearly as much as you think they do. Shoulda, coulda, woulda. Find a close group of people that will champion one another. You need to learn to understand all kind of people. The one thing that will help you immense...
Oct 14, 2023â˘16 min
Sparky Coach Group came about to help electrical business owners succeed and grow their business. In the Lessons In Business Series Crowie talks about his start in the industry, what he learnt and what he found as being the biggest lessons for him. In Part 1 Crowie talks about: * How it all started, from the insurance business to living for the surf! * Delivering pizzas as the Domino Lord * How a big mistake served as his turning point. * The power of timing and getting into a trade or any busin...
Oct 11, 2023â˘18 min
Once we get past the WWE discussion and the awesomeness of the Attitude era plus a quick rant about Will Smith and Wild Wild West. The boys discuss stepping back, taking a breath and reassessing in order to move forward and success in your business, and in life. In this episode Cam and Crowie talk... How great was Stone Cold Steve Austin? Raze V Raise, one is to knock down and the other to build up. How knocking down existing structures to rebuild correctly. Donât grow on a lie. Most people have...
Oct 07, 2023â˘15 min
Championing Small Business: Letting go of insecurity in your business by seeing the abundance of opportunity in the electrical industry. Thereâs enough cake for us all! Itâs time to let go of the scarcity mindset and see whatâs out there. In this episode Cam and Crowie talk... Why holding on to certain ways of thinking will hold you back. Sharing knowledge is the key to getting anywhere in business and life. What is and isnât IP in the electrical business? Avoiding tall poppy syndrome. Thereâs s...
Oct 04, 2023â˘14 min
After another shout out to the bakeries in the area the boys get into what is and isn't included. The sauce, if you will. So are you making sure your staff members know what is and isn't included in a job? In this episode Cam and Crowie talk... Before multi-tools, the demo chisel. Little changes make a big difference to the bottom line. Can you staff recognise the difference in standard v non-standard installs? How can you train your staff and make sure they are equiped for every job. Is the inf...
Sep 30, 2023â˘15 min
You donât want to give up trade secrets, your numbers and every detail of your business, making sure your staff, customers and even family know the whyâs and howâs can make your life easier and more enjoyable. In this episode Cam and Crowie talk... Why transparency is important. What you can, and should, share with people. How understanding increases trust and therefore productivity. People donât know, what they donât know. Numbers are important, explain them - to staff and customers! Transparen...
Sep 27, 2023â˘17 min
Cam confirms he cannot rap, or sing. More importantly, he and Crowie talk about closing the day, itâs so important, particularly when youâre feeling like things arenât going well, or the work isnât coming to your business. In this episode Cam and Crowie talk... Avoiding âwoe is meâ. Closing the day can increase the work you have. You must get back to everything, in some way or another. You have to communicate with both potential or current customers. People talk, the more you communicate with ot...
Sep 23, 2023â˘13 min
You either already have, or will one day, have an apprentice yourself and youâll definitely come across someone elseâs .These young, eager and new kids in the industry have feelings, they have opinions and they are impressionable. In this episode Cam and Crowie talk... Manners are free and it costs nothing to be kind. Why probation is important, apprentices are always in a trial period, they are trialing you and youâre trialing them. Has anyone gotten married in a roof space? Apprentices are peo...
Sep 20, 2023â˘15 min
Do you ask yourself, how can I get more money in my electrical company? Well one way is actually sending your invoices, sending them regularly and sending them correctly. A few weeks ago we delved into the importance of invoicing and Cam and Crowie talked about mistakes theyâve made and what they do now to avoid payment issues. Off the back of that a lot of people asked us âdo you really invoice that often?â - and yes absolutely! In this episode Cam and Crowie talk... Invoices are your number on...
Sep 16, 2023â˘13 min
Cost Plus - one of Crowies favourite topics! Cost Plus is not a dirty word and it absolutely can work for you and your team. There are a few pros and cons and often as a tradie or electrician you don't have a choice. Cam and Crowie look at when it works, when it doesn't and how to get the benefits. In this episode Cam and Crowie talk... The cost plus doesn't mean it's a free for all. How to avoid the "efficiency penalty". Managing the admin side of it correctly. How to get your hourly and materi...
Sep 14, 2023â˘20 min
Cam âVanilla Sliceâ McCracken and Greg âThe (self-appointed) Lordâ Crowe let you in one some of their hilarious mistakes and some that were big lessons. All of them were an opportunity to learn for them and now for you too. In this episode Cam and Crowie talk... Elodies ice cream order. Self-deprecation doesnât help anyone. Confronting mistakes. How Crowie became the Tech Lord. Have some humour and positivity. Thereâs always a takeaway so the question is, what is it? Is it as simple as a laugh o...
Sep 09, 2023â˘16 min
Disclaimer: Cam asks for Samsung sponsorship and we think he should get it! Share you thoughts. In this episode Cam and Crowie talk... Supernintendo and the 64. The days of Goldeneye. Why you shouldnât play boardgames with Crowie. How to set boundaries with your phone. Whatâs your most important tool at work? Is your phone a positive tool or a negative influence? Are you using all those apps? If somethings urgent theyâll call and if itâs in an email it can, and should, wait until Monday! We all ...
Sep 07, 2023â˘17 min
âComparison is the thief of joyâ - a shout out to Cams Mother-In-Law Angie for this pearl of wisdom heâs kept with him. Itâs easy to focus on others flaws but situations can change quickly and while youâre focused on your neighbours dying lawn youâll forget to water your own. In this episode Cam and Crowie talk... Everyone has good and bad days, including you. Focus on your growth not the competition, if you look too much in the rear-view, youâll be overtaken. Looking at things with perspective ...
Sep 02, 2023â˘12 min
Thereâs lotâs going on in this one, from a band thatâs big in Japan to The AWE Solution, the message is - in the time it took you to complain about something, you couldâve dealt with it. In this episode Cam and Crowie talk... Under stress you become a different person. To reply or not to replyâŚ. Ask yourself: how important is it, how long will it take, are any 3rd parties involved? Check yourself, are you compelling because of the thing in front of you or other issues at work, home etc. Can you ...
Aug 31, 2023â˘15 min
Crack a cold one and get ready for a laugh with this one as the boys go slightly off topic with a plethora of stories. They do go over some seriously good tips on scheduling and how to âcontrol the uncontrollableâ. In this episode Cam and Crowie talk... How to schedule and what makes it easier. More options will increase your ability to schedule. Burleigh is in fact on the Gold Coast. Even if your schedule is sorted on the Friday, chances are itâll be off by lunchtime on Monday. Massaging your s...
Aug 26, 2023â˘14 min
At the end of the day business is a numbers game, and if you get them right youâll be able to grow and move in any direction you want. Itâs important to know where they come from, what they are for and that theyâre correct - and if you arenât sure, get help, because numbers are something you need to be on top of all the time. In this episode Cam and Crowie talk... Price er point v hourly? How to work those out. 3 x 2hr jobs on on day is a lot, but do the numbers reflect that work? You are govern...
Aug 24, 2023â˘15 min
When we say Van Talks we mean those all important chats you used to have with your boss or colleague that taught you so much more than just the job at hand. Those mornings on the way to site, back home or even on smoko. Itâs about creating a team, a chance for people to chat and know each other and learning from them. In this episode Cam and Crowie talk... Communication between staff members. You got trained by someone so now its time to create an environment where you can teach the next generat...
Aug 20, 2023â˘15 min
We all know itâs hard to find a tradie these days and you may not have the time to hire an apprentice and get their skills and approach in sign with what you need right now, but beware of the fast-hire trap. Hiring the first person thatâs in front of you because youâre desperate wonât solve your existing problems and it will raise a whole lot of new ones. In this episode Cam and Crowie talk... How creating a âhurdleâ in the interview process can weed out some people who wonât fit your job requir...
Aug 17, 2023â˘21 min
A hard conversation only gets harder the more time passes. IT can be a performance review where you know your feedback will be more negative than positive, it can be an accident that occurred or somethings gone wrong and you need to tell your client or it might be something personal. We all have hard conversations that others have had with us and as a boss youâll be the one doing the tough talks. In this episode Cam and Crowie talk... How hard conversations become more difficult as time passes S...
Aug 13, 2023â˘17 min
Losing your temper can definitely happen but as you start and grow your electrical business that simply isnât an option - even when youâre frustrated beyond belief. Sometimes we lose our temper anyway, and thatâs when you need to recognise it, go back and fix the damage youâve now caused or situation you let get out of hand. In this episode Cam and Crowie talk... When you see others lose their temper - what have you thought! Stressful days and how to stay consistent throughout them. How to recog...
Aug 10, 2023â˘14 min
Peak movie time, Leos law and more references you may or may not get. So how does Wedding Crashers relate to your electrical business. This is part two of the importance of sweat equity, previously Cam and Crowie discussed the importance of you putting in the time and effort to start and grow your business but there comes a point where you need to switch over to working smarted not harder or more. In this episode Cam and Crowie talk... From SWEAT TO SMART. Opportunity cost or BCA. Find staff, ke...
Aug 06, 2023â˘18 min
This week it's all about job notes. Why you need them, how to do them and how to make them a part of your automatic process. Aside from the physical doing of the job, the notes of what you did, when and with what are so important particularly for client communication and invoicing. PLUS you may go back to that client or site in the future and you'll have these to refer back to. In this episode Cam and Crowie talk... The difference job notes make and how they avoid business admin issues. The carp...
Aug 03, 2023â˘13 min
The boys are enjoying a great beer and discuss customers, in this case - bad customers. Every electrician will have an experience with a non-ideal customer where, for one reason or another, things simply donât go to plan. In this episode Cam and Crowie talk... 99% of dealings are great, but inevitable youâll have experience with a bad apple. How to identify a customer that isnât ideal for your business. How to deal with a âbad customerâ situation. Non-ideal customer vs bad communication. If you ...
Jul 30, 2023â˘14 min
Have you every had a long night but left a glass of water on the bed side table (maybe even a Baroca ready to go on the side!) and woken up to it, thinking âYes! Thank you past me!!!â. The little things we do right now can make such a difference in the future. In this episode Cam and Crowie talk... Working hard and ending up out of work. Breaststroke, Shannon Knoll and Vanilla Ice Stop, collaborate and listen! Diligence in planning and being proactive. Finding work as an electrician. Be in the m...
Jul 27, 2023â˘16 min
You gotta grip it to rip it! So when you're starting your electrical business you'll be putting in long hours, doing most or all the tasks involved in running your business and more than likely putting your business before everything else. That is sweat equity and every business owners - definitely the successful ones - know about it, because they've been there. That begs the question, is it important and will it be worth it. Sweat equity is no joke, it comes from knowing what it's like to have ...
Jul 23, 2023â˘17 min
It's always an afterthought! "The thing" you'll get to when you get to it. A day passes, a week, suddenly you forgot altogether. Clients are even chasing you for the invoice - and you can barely remember what you did. This has happened to everyone! In this episode Cam and Crowie talk... My first invoice! What their invoicing process was vs how it is today. Tradify, Xero and MYOB - have a process! Sending invoices definitely increases the chance of them being paid! Invoicing and cash flow, they g...
Jul 20, 2023â˘24 min
