Tradies In Business

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...

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...

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...

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 omnystudi...

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 epis...

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 p...

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 m...

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...

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 som...

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 r...

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 somet...

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, m...

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...

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 i...

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...

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'...

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...

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/listene...

When it comes to the school of hard knocks, people seem to either take the lessons and move on or they get stuck in their past. Today's real tradie guy has certainly moved on which is an incredible feat given the knocks he's had in his life. From living on the streets at age 16, to learning a trade and building a business and now living on the beach with his fiancee (and their cute French bulldog)...

Waz discovers his new productivity tool isn't working and Coxie confesses to not achieving her ONE goal for the day... See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As a kid Jonathan was fascinated with radio and television. He started out his career at the age of 12, selling air time for advertisements to his mates' lemonade stands in their street! Since then he's spent more than 15 years in television and journalism and now, Johnathan shares his insights with business owners on how to create great stories, videos and how to make them go viral. If you've tho...

Nobody likes being stood up...and today, Waz and Nic get stood up by guests not once, but twice! So they didn't waste their coffee, they decided to record an episode digging into this issue instead. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.