Never give up. Never, ever give up. We're told repeatedly that this is the key to success and yet sometimes it can also be our downfall. Knowing when to 'quit' can be tough but can also lead to greater success then sticking at something. Rather than flogging a dead horse, if we have the skill (and the guts) to make the decision to move on we can often free ourselves from the suffering and exhaustion that goes with staying on the wrong path. Michaela opens up about a very tough and very personal ...
Dec 21, 2015•25 min•Season 1Ep. 13
Imagine spending your whole life working towards a dream only to have it shattered on the eve of seeing it come to life? Well, Selina Scoble experienced just that at the 2000 Olympics. As an Australian Olympic Volleyball team member, Selina badly sprained her ankle the night before the opening ceremony and her Olympic campaign. Doctors told her she couldn't play but with some incredible determination and a meeting with the late Peter Brock, she went on to play 4 of the 5 games! Fast forward 10 y...
Dec 17, 2015•47 min•Season 1Ep. 12
Michaela's back from retrieving her escaping dog and shares an update on her experience with the company that actually called her back! The guys also take a look at one marketing trick that can take away buying resistance from your Read More The post TBS115 UPDATE: The escaping dog gets trained appeared first on Tradies Business Show . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Dec 14, 2015•18 min•Season 1Ep. 11
Stood up by both Michaeala AND today's guest, Wazza decides to go it alone on the mic. It got him thinking about some simple tips on how to make sure you're on time, more often and also how to make Read More The post TBS113 How to be punctual and dealing with no-shows appeared first on Tradies Business Show . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Dec 07, 2015•11 min•Season 1Ep. 9
When will this end? Why can't I catch a break? What did I do to deserve this? Ever had those questions in your head? Perhaps even said them out loud a time or two? Well, you're not alone. It's common to feel like you've killed the proverbial Chinaman sometimes in your trade business but fortunately there's something simple you can do about it. Change your mind. Yep. Just change your mind. There's no quick fix, secret sauce strategy to dealing with staff issues, customer complaints, supplier slow...
Dec 03, 2015•30 min•Season 1Ep. 8
It's D Day. Dog day that is. Michaela's destructive dog, Ella, has finally chewed her last couch. Or has she? In this episode, Waz and Michaela take a closer look at dog training, marketing and what the heck all this has to do with you running a better trade business. Waz also shares a story of some local area marketing he saw that worked so well, the business pulled down their website! At least that's what we hope happened... The post TBS111 Cats, Prozac, escaping dogs and why you could be you ...
Nov 30, 2015•25 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Planning seems like a luxury to many but time and again we see business owners who fail to hit their goals, largely because they didn't have a plan! Waz and Michaela took time out recently to work on (exciting!) plans for 2016 for the Tradies Business Show and Tradies Business Toolkit, among other things. It got them thinking, what if people simply don't know how, or why, to plan? Well, they share their own tips on why, how, when and what to plan so you can get cracking now and make 2016 a truly...
Nov 26, 2015•19 min•Season 1Ep. 6
In an industry of stereotypes one woman has made a mark. You'd think the daughter of a plumber would want to do anything but plumbing when she was old enough. That's exactly what Bec from The Plumbette did though, join her father in their family plumbing business! As well as being a lady tradie, Bec had an eye for marketing and business so she helped her dad improve their already solid business. Unfortunately, Bec was faced with a tough decision recently and we chat to her about how she handled ...
Nov 23, 2015•43 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Coming up with a name for a new business or idea can be tough. Nic and Alex de Bonis thought long and hard about the name of their new app before settling on - Wurble. "It was about the only thing we could come up with that wasn't already registered" they said! In any case, it's a memorable name and is certainly an app every tradie should be checking out (and downloading... it's free!) With backgrounds in IT and marketing, this brother and sister duo have come up with something unique for the tr...
Nov 19, 2015•38 min•Season 1Ep. 4
In case you've somehow missed the biggest sports news in ages, Ronda Jean Rousey is an American mixed martial artist who just had a twelve fight winning streak broken. She was the first UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion and was undefeated in her first twelve fights. She has won eleven of her fights in the first round and in 2015, Rousey was ranked number one of fifty Most Dominant Athletes Alive. So what happened? Well, she got knocked out in the second round of her most recent fight in Melbourn...
Nov 16, 2015•10 min•Season 1Ep. 3
If you hate quoting, or even if you don't but wish you could simply get more of those quotes accepted then you need to listen to this episode. There's an often overlooked strategy that almost every trade business could put in place that has frequently doubled the conversion from enquiry and quote to customer. Waz and Michaela take a look at how you can implement this strategy in your tradie business and also talk about the riskiest decision Waz ever made! The post TBS106 Double Your Conversion R...
Nov 12, 2015•18 min•Season 1Ep. 2
When's the last time you caught a taxi? Most of us have experienced the long queues, crap service or worse still, no-shows from taxi cab companies that seem to treat us like cattle rather than customers. I little while ago, a new player entered the 'on demand' transport service. They don't own a single vehicle, have no staff, pay no licensing and are giving the taxi industry a real shake up. If you've not heard of them, you might want to try them next time you need a ride... Uber are really sett...
Nov 09, 2015•23 min•Season 1Ep. 1
Work-life balance. We all want it. But what the hell is it, and can it even be achieved in this day and age? In this episode of the Tradies Business Show, Waz and Michaela dig deeper into this concept (and argue a bit!) to find out if this holy grail of business ownership exists. You might think the answers are simple but think again...and listen in to find out! The post TBS104 Is Work Life Balance Possible or is it BS? appeared first on Tradies Business Show . See omnystudio.com/listener for pr...
Nov 05, 2015•28 min•Season 1Ep. 41
To celebrate the Melbourne Cup today in Australia, we try and draw as many links between horse racing and business success as possible. Certainly some lessons in here and some laughs about how corny we are! The post TBS103 Betting on your business - the Melbourne Cup edition appeared first on Tradies Business Show . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Nov 02, 2015•18 min•Season 1Ep. 41
Ever wished there was a simple formula to getting your trade business to succeed? Well maybe this is it. With just 2 steps to success, Taryn from Hivizco (great play on words Taryn!) has taken her clients from 'beigeness' in Read More The post TBS102 How to have a highly visible trade business with Taryn Thomas appeared first on Tradies Business Show . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Oct 29, 2015•30 min•Season 1Ep. 40
Fair Work. Those two words are enough to send shivers through the toughest tradie's body. If you've ever employed staff, you've probably had to let somebody go at one time or another. If so, you may have had the spectre of an unfair dismissal claim hanging over you, even if it was only in your mind. It's a real risk when employing people but it doesn't need to be the big, scary monster it's made out to be. There are things you can do to not only protect yourself in the event you do have a claim ...
Oct 27, 2015•29 min•Season 1Ep. 39
We made it. One hundred, not out. To be honest, we never even thought about getting this far with the Tradies Business Show. It's been an amazing journey so far (yes, we're continuing!) and we're super excited about all the cool guests we've had on the show, the real tradies, the hot seat victims and the random rants and ramblings of Waz and Michaela along the way! Wazza has been saving up some bloopers since the early days and to celebrate our 100th episode, he's put them together for your list...
Oct 22, 2015•14 min•Season 1Ep. 38
"You've got mail!" Remember when that was exciting? Hollywood even made a movie about it back when email was new, cool, exciting and fast! These days, mention the word 'inbox' and it's enough to fill people with dread, drain the colour from their face and get their blood pressure spiking. There's even a term for it - inbox fatigue. While we're not here to get you to inbox zero, we do have some tips for managing your email inbox so it's less overwhelming and gets back to being a great business to...
Oct 22, 2015•26 min•Season 1Ep. 37
Our most popular episodes are when we chat with 'real tradies' who are implementing the things we talk about on the podcast. This time it's Taryn and Dave Thomas' turn from Thomas Joinery and Shopfitting. In just 7 years they've gone from a startup to having 12 employees and numerous large contracts. Dave and Taryn share with us: How they made their hiring decisions The key ingredients to their success How they almost went under and why Why Dave needs to let go and The number one reason Dave wor...
Oct 19, 2015•40 min•Season 1Ep. 36
What? Oh sorry, just checking my Facebook notifications... Happens a lot and not just for me! (Yes, as the editor of the show, I get to write the truth here! Wazza) I'll admit it, I do check my social accounts Read More The post TBS098 Is social media killing your productivity? Wazza is getting banned appeared first on Tradies Business Show . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Oct 15, 2015•16 min•Season 1Ep. 35
"It's better to give than to receive" Ever hear that line when you were growing up? Well, this little book will bust open a few myths about giving, sales, win:win and more. It's written in the form of a parable (which Michaela loves...not!) so it's easy to take the lessons. Like any good business book, there's 5 Laws - for this title, it's the Laws of Stratospheric Success (bit wanky but worth remembering them) and the authors do a good job of giving simple examples of how to apply the principle...
Oct 08, 2015•12 min•Season 1Ep. 34
Plumbers unite! Ok, maybe that's a bit extreme, but the Master Plumbers Association sure are working hard to bring plumbers together. Why? Well, plumbing can be a complex, compliance-heavy game and without adequate support, plumbers could find themselves on the wrong side of local and state governments. Not to mention the wrong side of your customer's cheque book! Master Plumbers are also working hard to ensure unlicensed operators are dealt with and discouraged to ensure the tradies doing the r...
Oct 05, 2015•21 min•Season 1Ep. 33
It feels good to make others happy. They smile, you smile. All is good with the world. But what if we told you making other people happy could be bad for your health? Pleasing others is something we're probably taught as kids but some of us take it a bit far. So much so that we can end up putting others first all the time and sacrificing our own happiness in the process. This can lead to burnout, resentment, poor performance and even the opposite of pleasing - aggression. In today's episode the ...
Oct 01, 2015•20 min•Season 1Ep. 32
You've probably heard the definition of insanity before... doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome? Sadly, many of us actually do this without realising it and in today's episode we take a look at a story that illustrates this point. Wazza also gets back into using his favoured analogies so order is restored! The crux of this episode is learning to recognise the real problems in your business and your life and solving them. All too often we end up blinded by problems...
Sep 28, 2015•17 min•Season 1Ep. 31
Margin. GP. Markup. Gross Profit. Net Profit. Revenue. Sales. What the heck do all these things mean and are they even different? Unfortunately it's a question not every business owner can answer. In fact, no many business owners can tell the difference between all these, how they relate to each other and how they all lead to one very important outcome: CASH! We put together a quick episode to (hopefully) give you some more clarity about margin and markup in particular as they have a huge impact...
Sep 24, 2015•14 min•Season 1Ep. 31
It can be terrible to be stuck in an abusive relationship. Even mental, emotional abuse can be debilitating and paralysing. But what if there's only one person in that relationship and the abuser and the victim are both yourself? It's a sad reality that many of us are in the habit of 'kicking our own a*#e' when we mess up. From something as simple as dropping our keys or breaking a glass to more significant events like losing money or making a poor choice about an employee or a customer. It's an...
Sep 21, 2015•24 min•Season 1Ep. 30
It's out. Warrick has been having an affair on Michaela. Better yet, we get Wazza's new podcasting flame on the Tradies Business Show to spill the beans! Seriously though, Wazza and Jay are launching a new podcast called Throw Buddha Read More The post TBS090 Buddha, BBQs and How To Lead A Team with Wazza's Mate Jay appeared first on Tradies Business Show . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Sep 17, 2015•40 min•Season 1Ep. 29
Holidays. You remember what they are right? Sadly, many tradies don't take too many holidays but in this episode we look at some ways you can increase the chances of a break this Christmas. If you already shut down over Christmas we also talk about how you can make this Christmas break more enjoyable, both financially and from a time and distraction perspective! The post TBS089 How To Get Ready For A Real Holiday This Christmas appeared first on Tradies Business Show . See omnystudio.com/listene...
Sep 14, 2015•13 min•Season 1Ep. 28
In this episode of The Tradies Business Show you get twice the value...and we have twice the fun! We put one of our listeners in the Tradie Hot Seat for a bit of a grilling (all done lovingly of course) but Andrew from Midas Maroochydore and Accelerate Auto Electrics has achieved some amazing stuff in the past few years as well. We take a look under the hood of this two-businesses-in-one setup and find out how Andrew and wife Briohny have got things running sweetly since they bought the Midas st...
Sep 10, 2015•49 min•Season 1Ep. 27
Do you have a 'bucket list'? A list of things to do before you die? If you do, perhaps some of them seem a bit far fetched, or don't actually motivate or inspire you to do anything differently on a Read More The post TBS087 40 Things To Do Before You're 40 appeared first on Tradies Business Show . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Sep 07, 2015•17 min•Season 1Ep. 26
