The Site Shed | Systems, Strategy and Growth for Tradies and Contractors

The way people learn nowadays has evolved. Try asking the younger group in your tradie business how they want to learn, and you’ll see how diverse learning modes are now from before. Gen Z tends to have shorter attention spans, and the traditional way of learning in a classroom setting no longer seems to be the best fit for them, thus the need to introduce new ways of learning that are beneficial...

People are our best assets, and leaders who understand this concept will aim to lead people effectively; however, you do not become an effective leader overnight, nor are the skills or traits inborn. Becoming an effective leader requires hard work, and it can be frustrating at times if you are clueless about where you’re supposed to start. The good news is that there are areas of focus that you ca...

Running a business without being involved in the daily operations sounds like a dream to most business owners, tradies, in particular.  But, a business owner who lacks this desire or vision is bound to endanger himself, his business, and the people who work for him. If your business is so dependent on you, there is little to zero chance of scaling it and making it more profitable, which will resul...

The last thing you would want to experience after all the money and hard work you’ve put in a project is getting screwed over terms stated in a contract you weren’t aware of in the first place. You can only wish that you knew of those things before you signed anything. Unfortunately, this dilemma is common among tradies and contractors. The only way to make sure you never have to go through that o...

Most of the time, contracts tend to be the most challenging part of entering a business, and this is where we mostly fail. When we see a contract five pages long, we lose our interest in reading it and lean towards signing without even taking a look — not knowing this will be our downfall. Contracts are very crucial in whatever business or trade you are in. In part one of this miniseries, Karalynn...

Digital giants, Facebook and Apple, are at war! What does this mean for the consumer? Who will be largely affected by the changes that these tech giants will implement? What strategies should we have in place to make sure that our businesses will not suffer?  In this podcast episode, my guest Ilana Wechsler, gives us the details regarding the feud happening between Apple and Facebook. She talks ab...

Since The Site Shed podcast’s launch in 2016, my journey has been nothing short of amazing. The interviews I have conducted with numerous experts in their respective fields provided me with hacks, tools, and lessons that I have benefited from and have helped others tremendously. I do not see myself stopping just yet as there is just so much ahead of us.  In this week’s episode, I talk about all th...

Tradies and contractors have been programmed to do one thing - to work hard. And while it’s not exactly a bad thing, this belief could be holding you back from really reaching the kind of life and freedom that you want. But what if I told you that there is a better way?  In this last episode of our series with Shawn Feurer, we talk about the better way to reach your goals. Shawn explains what the...

Trying hard and working harder has its limits. Mind-blowing results are a product of the power of one’s mind. Yes, you read that right! The mind is a powerful tool for getting the results you want. We always tend to associate success with one’s external efforts without acknowledging that everything starts internally, in the mind.  We have a fascinating discussion with my guest Shawn Feurer. In the...

Would you believe me if I told you that you are not in charge of your life? Most people won’t believe this. But, if you take the time to look at your daily activities, you’ll find that how we think and feel are products of the subconscious mind that is at work ninety-five percent of the time. Most of these thoughts and programs in the subconscious hold us back from really doing and being the best...

Most tradies don’t realize this, but there is a story to be found in every project you do. A simple job can become an engaging story that you can use to market your business. You just need to know how to look for them and how to transform them into the right content. In the last part of the Building Trust and Rapport by Becoming a Great Storyteller series, we invite Bill Mueller and I talk about t...

How you communicate your story is just as important as the story itself. To tradies, their day-to-day tasks are just part of their job, but this is actually interesting information to potential customers. What you say and how you can say it can be the deciding factor between you and your competitor. This week, we have the second episode in the Building Trust and Rapport by Becoming a Great Storyte...

Storytelling is ingrained in our DNA because how else would we bring people and each other, together? It sets the ground for the relationships we build which are very important in any trade. However, as effortless as it sounds, tradies don’t put much thought into the potential of a great story to be a deciding factor in earning the customers’ trust. We welcome you to the first episode of the serie...

Running a business isn’t about rolling up your sleeves and doing things on your own. Sure, it may be fulfilling to achieve success after you’ve worked hard for everything, but to what extent? In this episode, Tom Martin of Virtual Trade Assistant, and I will cover the importance of outsourcing in facilitating business growth. We will also help you understand when and what you should outsource in y...

The funny thing about success is that people think of it as an overnight thing instead of a journey. Most people don't see the hard work that owners and the team have put in to thrive. It is important to note that many factors are in play when it comes to success, and only those who are willing and disciplined enough will get to taste and experience it firsthand.   In this week’s podcast epis...

Scaling a business is what business owners dream of. And to get to that point, many components are involved as one thing always impacts another. However, it’s worth noting that although the journey towards success isn’t always a breeze, with a lot of hurdles to be overcome, it’s all worth it once you see the work pay off.  This is what we discuss in my conversation with Patrick Readyhough. He is t...

Everyone knows the importance of setting goals, but achieving them is a different thing for most people. One can create a goal today and forget about it the next month or give up on it, especially when it gets tricky. If this seems to be the case with you, you need not fret. There are practical ways to go about it so you can see your goals come to fruition!  In this podcast episode, I talk with on...

When COVID hit last year, there was this sense of panic. Many business owners thought of the worst, tradies not exempted - closing down their businesses. But we’ve seen resilience throughout last year, and many have survived even thrived. Now that a new year has come, is there still a sense of doom and gloom, or are things looking up?  In this week’s podcast episode, I talk once again with Michael...

Do you ever feel like meetings are not important? This dread of meetings may be because of the lack of structure that provides value to these sessions. The good news is that you don’t have to dread it any longer, as there is a way to make sure that you can get the most out of it - tap into the geniuses of people, break down ideas, and solve problems; all of which will propel your business forward....

Business transitions due to physical or mental limitations caused by untoward incidents are a painful reality. Most business owners find that the only viable solution once this happens to them is that they have to close shop and go out of business which doesn’t always have to be the case. You can survive and have a thriving business, given that you seek the help you need to go through this transit...

Change is scary, mostly if the change happens due to conditions, whether physically or mentally. While it is true that we do not have control over the things that happen to us, we have a say and a responsibility to adapt and plan. The growing issues around health nowadays, including the importance of addressing mental health problems, stifles business owners. Still, with proper guidance and the ri...

We don’t want chaotic turnovers; we want smooth transitions when it comes to an exit. Most business owners dream of it but don’t see the need to plan today, which is not the wisest thing to do. Whether an exit for you means selling your business or staying as the owner but having someone manage it for you, a graceful exit is possible.  In today’s podcast episode, the third and final of the Exit St...

Are you making your business valuable and saleable enough? Buyers look into the value of your business before they even consider buying it. And if you want a successful exit from your business, it’s time to put in the work needed to build value. Aim to understand the factors involved in creating a more valuable business that buyers will want to buy.  In today’s podcast episode, I talk once again w...

Most trades business owners are not aware of the fact that they can sell their business. A reason why an exit strategy is not something they plan on doing until later. But from the moment you opened your business, you can already start planning your exit strategy, starting with identifying why you want to exit your business, so you can gear up towards making your business saleable when the time co...

The journey towards a successful business is not without challenges. The good thing, however, about doing business today is that there are a lot of tools available to help with growth. There are so many business owners though who think that utilising these tools will only mean another expense and a waste of time when it’s actually the opposite as it could translate to more savings and more time on...