EP56: Build Systems or Hire? What to do first.

Doubled revenue, drastically increased margins, hired a GM so he could get off the tools for good. That sounds like a pipe dream for most trades business owners. But for Kieran Conroy it’s his reality. Before Kieran joined us he was working 60 hours, his gross profit was only 20% and his home life was quickly deteriorating. Check out the episode to find out how he very quickly turned things around.

Doubled revenue, drastically increased margins, hired a GM so he could get off the tools for good. That sounds like a pipe dream for most trades business owners. But for Kieran Conroy it’s his reality. Before Kieran joined us he was working 60 hours, his gross profit was only 20% and his home life was quickly deteriorating. Check out the episode to find out how he very quickly turned things around.

How do you get over the guilt of getting off the tools? If you want to grow a successful business, there’s a point when you’re going to need to step off the tools. But that could cause some problems. So check out this episode to learn how to do it without doing more damage than good.

It’s too easy as a business owner to get pushed around in your dealings with other people. If you’re guilty of anything like this, you’re probably aware of how badly it is affecting your business. And you know you need to make changes but taking back control can seem like a really difficult thing. So check out this episode and learn how to do it.

In striving to be the best, it’s easily to lose track of the fundamentals and just like in the trades, if you ignore the fundamentals your work won’t be any good. So check out this episode for a list of mistake which trades business owners make ALL the time so you can be sure to steer clear of them.

Do you have staff that make mistakes, are inefficient, or have no initiative? It can be frustrating for sure and ends up costing you a lot of money. Especially because these are super simple and avoidable mistakes. Check out this episode to put an end to it and save yourself from wearing the cost of it all.

Tradesmen and technicians make the best workers. We leave school and get straight into it while everyone else is fluffing around at College. We’re hard as nails so no job is too big or too tough. The problem is that nobody teaches us how to run a business. At least that used to be true… check out the episode to learn all about it.

$9 Million in revenue per year, 70 guys in the workforce, operating in three different states. Let’s peep through the cracks of a business that started from scratch, and grew into an empire. Mat Alexander from Plumbuilt, is living proof that the sky’s the limit.

“What if I spend the money to grow my business and the work drops off?” It’s impossible to own a business without having some level of fear and uncertainty. But it’s important you don’t let these feelings consume you. So let Tony and Phil take you through dealing with the fear of the work drying up.

When you grow, you think your profit margin will just keep moving.  But you can get into real trouble if you don’t understand that this isn’t the case, and what to do about it. Phil and Tony recorded this episode to put all the fears to bed.

You only get to spend each hour of your workers’ time once. But so many businesses don’t measure what work is most profitable. Too many trades business owners are flying blind when it comes to the money side of things. That means they’re neglecting their margins, which is the best proven method of RUINING your business. So the guys sat down and recorded a podcast about it.

In business, saying yes to a job means that you say no to another one. Saying yes to doing a job also means you’re saying no to watching your kid play sports. Or spending some quality time with friends and family. The problem is that humans are hardwired to saying yes. But you NEED to stop. So the guys sat down and recorded an episode about it.

Do you ever feel like you’re just shy of unlocking the secret to skyrocketing your business? Well, the Stacey’s were there not long ago. Once struggling business owners. Now the proud heads of a business which gives more profit and freedom. How did they turn the tables in just a year? Check out the episode to find out.

Are you struggling to get paid? Sometimes it isn’t as easy as it should be. Getting paid is a fundamental in business. But exactly how you can guarantee this is often glossed over. That is why Tony & Phil sat down and recorded an episode on how to get paid, and get it on time.

Ungrateful employees are the worst. They think you’re just some rich prick who they can mooch off even though you’re fighting to stay in the green. And they don’t respect you enough to see what you really do for them. Everyone has workers like this. So Tony and Phil sat down and recorded an episode on it.

Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently. Henry Ford said that. We’re not outright failures just because we have chequered business pasts. What sets us apart is our ability use losses and challenges to fuel us and set us on the path to success. Tony and Phil know that mindset is make or break in business, so they sat down and recorded this episode on it.

You might be thinking, “great workers aren’t out there” and you might feel like hiring is a bit of a lottery. If so, you might of fallen victim to one of the 5 huge hiring mistakes. You want to avoid these mistakes when building a great team, so Tony and Phil sat down and recorded this episode.

Mistakes are bound to happen from time to time. But most owners don’t understand the financial implications of mistakes that require rework to be done. There are a bunch of other down stream issues that cause big issues. Check out the episode to learn about them.

Parts of AI are exciting, parts are scary. But it is important to understand how it might affect trades, subcontracting, and construction businesses. That’s why Phil and Tony sat down and recorded this episode. Because while we don’t think AI will be building houses start to finish any time soon… There’re actually a few ways that AI can make running your business a whole lot easier.

Revenue has doubled, they have a motivated and productive team, they’ve opened a new division, they’re working on the tasks they enjoy doing, and profits are up $60k per month. That’s Tas & Sam’s story over the last 4 years. And we interviewed them to find out how they did it. They share their behind the scenes tips and strategies they’ve used in their business that’ll help yours as well.