Toolbox Talk

It is important to know if you’re losing money between quoting jobs and getting paid. If you quote with a 30% gross margin but you don't see 30% in your P&L, something's wrong and you should fix it. You should set up systems so you do it for every job (yes you should)If you can’t do that yet, do some spot checks. It’s not hard (just takes work) - compare your quote and the predicted in...

You should measure profitability on jobs after they’ve finished.  And you should compare it to what you thought it would be when you quoted it. The point, of course, is to check if the job made as much as it was supposed to and if it didn't, it’s for you to figure out why. Specifically, for you to spot things that keep going wrong and affecting your profits and fix them so they stop doing that...

I taught this workshop in my recent client Intensive - how to measure job profitability. It’s part of my program - they paid to get it. You’re getting it here for free. Most people don’t measure job profitability. It feels like an admin burden that gets in the way of doing work you get paid for, it’s hard to do well (or, at least, it takes effort and attention) so people put it to one side and foc...

If you want to do the work that will grow your business - the businessperson work that moves the needle and makes you more money - BUT you’re too busy doing the other shit to do that, then you have a problem, don’t you? You’re caught in the busy trap where you’re too busy doing work to do the work that will actually give you the business you want. This week’s video is an extract from my recent Cli...

If you don’t, guess whose fault it is?   Yes, it’s yours - it’s always yours – you’re the boss, who else is there?   You could blame the economy …   Albo … Trump … Putin   Customers and their unreasonable demands around pricing   Competitors and their stupid race to the bottom   Or you could look at yourself and ask, “Do I do enough of the stuff that drives profit?”   “(Do I act like a businessper...

Hi Tradies, memory isn’t that great. You can’t rely on it. If you want a successful business that gives you more money, time and freedom, you need to act more like a businessperson and less like a tradie. And that means not relying on fallible memory — yours, and everyone else’s: customers, staff, suppliers and partners. I see a lot of things done on handshakes and verbal agreements. Instructions,...

If you’re keen to build a business that gives you more money, time and freedom, it’s likely that holidays factor in there somewhere. Money - pay for holidaysTime off - go on holidaysFreedom - nobody bothers you on holidaysI might be projecting a bit but who doesn't want that! One way to have more holidays is to book them and go. It beats getting to September and wondering why you’re grumpy. I’...

If you want a better business — more money, more time off, and more freedom — you’re going to have to work on the business, not just in it. That’s the shift: more businessperson, less tradie. Jobs still need to go well. Customers still matter. But they need to go well for your business, otherwise you end up busy… and broke. Running a good business means:Getting more of the right jobs (marketing)Wi...

Hi Tradie, how's business? That's a pretty open question, isn’t it? Usually, the answer to that is pretty basic, isn’t it?"Not great""Pretty good""Good, we're booked out till Easter"But they're just conversational responses, aren't they? They're not real answers to the question. I'm a business coach, obviously, so I am interested in a real...

Make a Plan to Hit Your Goals Why make a plan? To hit your goals, it's in the title of this video. If you've been following this series, you’ll have made some goals, so now you have to decide how you're going to make them happen. And that’s where the impact filter comes in. It’s a simple tool to use to help you plan projects and get them off the ground. Grab the Impact Filter worksheet...

Are you goal setting, tradie? Many tradies and builders start their businesses without clear goals, focusing initially on just surviving. Without direction, businesses can become overwhelming, with more work, stress, and insufficient financial reward. No one starts a business to be overworked and stressed, but without goals, you might end up there. The good news: it's not too late to change th...

Are you behaving like a Tradie or a Businessperson? I’m talking specifically about becoming more conscious of your behaviour - how you act at work, as the trade business owner. You should be aware that you need to act like a businessperson if you want your business to be better: more money, more time and more freedom. How do you do this, though? First, assess yourself, download the Tradie VS Busin...

Is Your Business Giving You What You Want? Most tradies want the same three things: More Money, More Time, More Freedom. That’s exactly what the Trade Business Lifestyle Ladder measures. It helps you assess how well your business is serving you across Money, Time and Freedom. There are eight levels — from Problem Business at the bottom to Beautiful Business at the top — and they’re realistic: a fe...

Every year at this time, the same pressures show up:“Needs to be finished by Christmas…”“We need to hit lock-up before the break…”“We’re behind — can you catch us up?”It’s all pressure to cram work in before the holidays. It helps them, and it usually costs you — overtime that trashes your margins, a wrecked schedule, inefficiencies, and lost opportunities. And often it’s not even fair; they want...

Tradie, are you ready for Christmas? (Do this now while there is still time!) Get the Quick Christmas Cash PlanYou need to be ready for the shutdown period - don't get caught out - get the template and get organised.--------------------------------------Get the Quick Christmas Cash Plan for Trades and Builders here: https://www.smallfish.com.au/tradies/christmas-cash-plan/If you want more mone...

First, what NOT to do:  Don't let them tell you how it's going to work (they understand bookkeeping, not your trade business).Don't let them batch process your stuff because it's convenient for them. Don't let them set it up the 'traditional' way (rather than the trade-specific way). What you SHOULD be doing:  Accurate & timely information in your accounting system...

Remember — you’re not just a tradie anymore. You’re a business owner. And it’s your job to make sure your business is trading profitably. A lot of people don’t do this properly. Don’t be one of them. Here’s a simple monthly money check-in I do with all my clients — and I want you to do it too.✅ Step 1: Log into your accounting software(Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks — I’ll use Xero as the example)✅ Chec...

I'm sure you're not but a recent encounter with a brush turkey when I was walking my dogs prompted me to prompt you to make sure you don't act like one. The turkey has built a nest near the path & chased us away, flinging dirt at us to deter us from getting to close to the nest. It's not very effective as a deterrent—we didn't care. I notice lots of tradies spend time on st...

What is the TRUE COST of your TRADESPEOPLE?A lot of tradies and builders misunderstand how much their people actually cost their business, and, because of that misunderstanding, they undercharge for the labour they're selling. Labour is one of the biggest costs in a trades business, and if you don't charge enough, you won't be profitable. You have to put time and energy into understand...

Bookkeepers and Accountants. I don't hate them, they are important & necessary. However, there's a problem with them. For most tradies and builders, they are the people you go to for advice, particularly advice about your money. But the truth is, they are not very good at that. Both bookkeepers and accountants have a focus on compliance & saving - saving money, saving cost or savin...

More money (profit), more time (off work), and more freedom (from work, stress, responsibility) are what you want. And they are possible. You need to get good at business, not just your trade. You need to make time for working ON your business (not just IN it). You need to build the systems and structure that will give you a business that's profitable and enjoyable. A net profit of 10% (on top...

Bookkeepers and Accountants. I don't hate them, they are important & necessary. However, there's a problem with them. For most tradies and builders, they are the people you go to for advice, particularly advice about your money. But the truth is, they are not very good at that . Both bookkeepers and accountants have a focus on compliance & saving - saving money, saving cost or savi...

Trades business owners find themselves without work in the pipeline all too often. Choosing to focus on other, seemingly more important parts of their businesses because at that moment they had work. But when the work suddenly dries up it's a lack of consistent marketing activity that we have to focus on as the culprit here. This is a common mistake though and maybe more so for tradies than ot...

If you run a trade business and get your work from other businesses, not individual people, then you need to be doing business-to-business marketing. Before you dismiss marketing and say you don't do it, consider this: you're doing some form of marketing, or you wouldn't get any business. And for most businesses, business to business marketing is required. Say:- If you're a builder...

Marketing is a big topic, isn't it? And there are so many elements, so many potential areas of focus. So it's super easy to get overwhelmed about what marketing is right for your business. And that's the question this week - what marketing should you be doing? The answer is - it depends... a vague answer I know. Basically, the marketing you do is based on the type of trades business yo...