Whether you're a plumber, electrician, builder, motor mechanic, landscaper, tiler, glazier, painter, carpenter, concretor or any of the myriad of trades and contractors that keep the world running, this podcast has been produced with you in mind. Your host, Nicole 'Nic' Cox, was born into a tradie family and has first-hand experience of the gut-busting, money stress and pressures that trade businesses can place on their owners and their families! Nic strongly believes in the opportunity that exists for all tradie business owners to create a flexible, financially secure business for now and for their families' future. She interviews guests on a range of topics such as marketing, finance, human resources, legal issues, mindset, motivation, physical and mental health, industry updates and more! Nic loves a laugh and a good story, so tune in for a unique look at how to 'get off the tools' and break the cycle of financial hardship and stress to create the trade business you really wanted!
What do you think? Good use of taxpayer dollars or cheap (but expensive) vote-buying exercise? Head over to the Facebook group for Tradies In Business and tell us what YOU think! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Some people have all the luck... and some take a little while to learn their lesson. Today's real tradie guy episode is with a bloke who's an example of both! Josh Waddington has had some hard knocks and hard lessons and thankfully, he's now leading other young tradies to do things differently and learn from his mistakes. Thanks to Blude Dog Training, Josh is now giving back to the industry and young people alike. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Steve Lewis is a no-B.S. kind of guy. He also believes websites and 'copy' should be the same! Today's episode is a fantastic chat about all things trades, customers, speaking plainly and getting website and social media clicks to make your phone ring! Waz and Nic rate this as one of their top 10 guest interviews so have a listen to see why! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Waz and Nic dig into a sometimes confronting subject of what to do or say if someone says "no" when asked if they're ok. We're all told we need to ask but how many of us are truly equipped to handle what happens next? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Wouldn't it be cool if you could pay someone to take risks for you? To take the fall off your mountain bike or attend that crappy meeting with a disgruntled customer. The reality is, you can! Maybe not the mountain bike and the avoidance of conflict but you CAN pay companies to take certain risks for you. Think crashing your car or losing your house or the risk of having your tools stolen. There are some risks that have even greater consequences than losing property - like losing the ability to ...
How can such a fantastic time of year cause so much stress for so many? Every year that goes by seems to bring tighter deadlines, more issues to deal with and a raft of unreasonable client demands. Rather than go chug a carton of egg nogg to help cope, why not check out today's episode where Waz and Nic share their top 7 tips for making the silly season stress-free AND get you ready to refresh and hit the New Year with everything you've got! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
A question that gets asked often in the Tradies In Business community is, how do you know when to quit your day job and go 'full time' in your trade business? Waz and Nic take a look at this in today's FIF. The gang also revisit charge rates and how (and whether you should!) raise them. Oh, and there's the usual Friday toilet humour! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
As they say, whoever 'they' are, there's only two certainties in life... death and taxes. Oh and maybe the fact Waz will always laugh at his own jokes. Anyway, the duo tackle taxes today and speak personally with Marcus Chew from the Australian Taxation Office. Marcus is a Director of Small Business and explains what the Taxable Payments Reporting System is, why you need to pay attention to it, how it could benefit you and why we should all be doing the right thing! See omnystudio.com/listener f...
The title says it all really. Who could be surprised that Waz gets ghosted as we're pretty sure it isn't the first time! Plus, the gang reckon they've got a cracking idea for talk-back radio and they need your help to make it happen... See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
We talk about mental health a bit here on the podcast because it's a subject close to our hearts and it's also a massive issue for ALL Australians. One company is taking mental health, and that of it's employees, so seriously that they've got their own in-house mental health advocate and he's our guest on today's real tradie guy episode! James Hill not only fills the role of Mental Health Advocate for Energy Queensland but he's also a tradie AND recently won the individual award for services to ...
Waz and Nic love to hear stories from guests on the podcast. From marketing gurus to mental health advocates, finance whizzes to neurosurgeons. There's been hundreds of guests here over the years. One thing that doesn't happen all that often is hearing Waz and Nic be interviewed themselves! Recently, Waz was invited to be a guest on the TradeMutt podcast - 120 Grit. Dan and Ed from TradeMutt have built a business around their very unique workwear, but their mission is to start conversations and ...
Waz and Nic were recently interviewed on the Bright Spenders podcast with Anthea Falkiner. We thought we'd share the chat with you as there's some great tips on how to diversify your trade business income, surviving (and thriving) in a recession or downturn, identifying your niche and how to get customers buying from you more than once. Some of the audio is a bit quiet so apologies for that but it's worth the listen as there's some chunky stuff in this conversation! See omnystudio.com/listener f...
It's a question we get asked often here at Tradies In Business. The answer might seem obvious to some and you might think it involves responses like "marketing" or "hiring good staff" and the like. With more than 20 collective years working with trade business owners and small business, Waz and Nic reckon it's none of those things and their insights might surprise (and upset!) you... See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Warning! Waz and Nic go off on even more tangents than usual in this FIF episode! The crew are talking time-wasting, watches, curly cord kinks and more... See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In the final of our 3 part 'Builder special' series, we take a look at problem clients and how to avoid them. Sadly, some jobs just seem to go South and for many builders it's a mystery as to why! Nic and Waz unpack the anatomy of a nightmare job, what the causes could be and how to rectify and avoid them in future. Even if you're not a builder there are some great lessons and tactics in this episode to avoid those horror jobs that get you wondering why you even bother with this gig! See omnystu...
Don't you just love moving house? No. Neither do we. Which is why Coxie was amazed by the dealings she had with a removalist recently when planning to relocate her entire house full of stuff! We also dig into some of the hate for online businesses and see if there's a way to turn this around... Waz has a great example of a local business who's tackling it head on. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
We love a good Kiwi joke. What we love even more is a Kiwi who's doing great stuff in their business and today's Real Tradie Guy interview is a classic example. After recognising a gap in the market, James Berryman along with his very patient wife Linda, launched their own niche business... installing rangehoods! James talks about how this came about, some hard lessons along the way, some of the milestones achieved and the secret to doing all this without any formal business training. James and ...
In the second of our three part series focused on the builders, Nic and Waz look at some more simple (but not easy) changes that you can make to avoid some of the headaches with finding and converting quotes into paying jobs. With many hours spent quoting and adjusting quotes and trying to win clients, only to be told 'you're too dear' we thought it was time to unlock some secrets to changing this for good! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
What's more intimidating than running an automotive mechanical business? Buying one off your dad...when you're his daughter! Check out the latest of our 'real tradie' series with another inspiring woman, Lydia Stjepanovic. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Can you imagine doing your trade training not once, but twice!! Our guest Mal Barnes from Chek Air had to do when arriving in Australia from the UK. Mal and his wife Jill run a successful air conditioning business but in order to get his Australian qualifications, he had to work all day and then attend Tafe at night. Join us as Mal shares his highlights from his time in the industry as well as some fantastic tips on how to have a great team! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
What's worse than not getting paid for a job? Not getting paid because YOU didn't do the paperwork or manage your systems better... Today we chat with Malisa from MBooks about more than just bookkeeping. While it's invaluable to have a good bookkeeper on your team, Malisa talks us through the pitfalls (and horror stories) of retentions in the construction industry. What they are. How to get them right. And how to get paid when they're due! If you're unsure about this area of your business then y...
What do you do when you're a girl, and you're handy? Create your own business called Handy Girl of course! Now with more than 15 women all working on the tools as handy-people, Kim is looking at taking her business national! Not only is Kim an inspiring business woman working in a male-dominated field, she's helping give women a shot at striking the balance between motherhood, work and doing something they enjoy. She's got a great story and is another of our awesome 'real tradie wives'... with a...
Ever wondered what it takes to don the big foam mascot suit for a footy team? Well, wonder no more because Coxie and Waz interview 'Buck The Bronco' otherwise known as Justin Geange. Justin's a former Qld Rail plumber and got the gig in the big horse suit for the Brisbane Broncos more than 10 years ago! In that time he's also been on one of Australia's top talent shows, changed career and sadly, made an attempt on his life. Justin's story is bigger than all that...kind of like the man himself! H...
Waz and Nic continue the FIF theme of not being a wanker... this time by doing the right thing with your insurances and especially income protection. WAY too many trade business owners (and tradies in general) don't know enough about and don't have enough cover for the times where they injure themselves or get sick and can't work for an extended period. The impact of this on the business and their family can, in some cases, be catastrophic. The guys share some tips, bust some myths and give some...
This one's just for all you builders out there. One of the pet hates of the builders we talk to is the amount of time you put into quotes only to be shunned by your prospective clients for a cheaper price, seemingly 'better' quote or some other unknown reason. With Nicole's experience as The Builder's Wife and Waz's years of working with building companies and in the industry himself, we decided it was time to share our learnings with you on this topic. This is a 3 part Builders' Special Series,...
Nicole and Waz were always taught that "nobody likes a big-noter". Because of that, neither of them have ever done a good job of sharing their success stories. Sadly, many trade business owners are the same! They're doing amazing work, have happy clients and yet... they struggle to post about it on social media, put client testimonials up or to even just be confident enough to tell people how good they are at their trade!This is a big issue and Waz and Nic see if they can come up with some answe...
We are loving the 'real tradies' interviews that have shown up lately here at Tradies In Business HQ. Today's guest is no exception. Wojtek Stainwald is the son of Polish migrants and his last memory of his home is being woken up in the middle of the night as a young boy... to flee Poland and cross the border for a new life. From there to his new life in Australia, Wojtek has developed a 'no bull' attitude and approach to business, staff, money and relationships. And while Wojtek is a straight t...
Staff can be tough to find, lead, motivate and retain. Waz and Nic have had their fair share of positive and... learning... experiences with team over the years, both in their own businesses and with their clients and members. Find out the lessons they've picked up over the last 10 years or so. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What do you do when your dad needs help with the finances in his business? Well, you become his business partner of course! After he experienced some rather tough business lessons, Nicole Hurkens' dad took her on as his business partner. Nicole is a whizz with the numbers and finance side of the business as a CPA accountant so she helped really turn the business around! While doing so, she's also had to come to terms with her father's illness and manage a family AND a second business. Another in...
Mar-kuh-ting... that's how Waz sounds it out anyway. While marketing is done to DEATH on just about every podcast known to man, Waz and Nic find a bloke who's got it down to just one page! Although he wrote a whole book on the subject, Allan Dib reckons the best marketing plan fits on a page. We think that's a good way to keep it simple and get it done. See if you agree! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
