Lifestyle Tradie Special Edition Magazine

WANT TO LOVE YOUR BUSINESS AGAIN?

Hi, we’re Andy and Angela Smith, co-founders of Lifestyle Tradie and Dr. DRiP Plumbing. We teach tradies in business, just like you, how to break the cycle of chaos — long hours, hiring and cash flow dramas, debt collection, and constant bickering.

When you started your trade business, it was a proud moment. You’d finally be in control. Best of all, it was your ticket to a better lifestyle for you and your family. More freedom. But now, the self-doubt has crept in. You had no idea how busy and lonely you’d be feeling at the same time.

How do we know this? We’ve been there, too.

When we started our own trade business, Dr. DRiP Plumbing in 2000, it went gangbusters. It quickly grew into a multimillion-dollar business. At the peak, we had a team of 17 tradies, with eight vehicles on the road. We were on top of the world, right?

Wrong. Our lives were in complete chaos.

Like flicking a switch, we went from making $50,000 a month to losing $50,000 a month. At our worst, we had $188,000 outstanding. The dire situation was soul-destroying for both of us and it took a heavy toll on our marriage. Everything we’d worked hard for was hanging in the balance.

We had no systems. Andy kept everything in his head. BIG mistake. Before our eyes, the business was spiralling out of control — and we were financially, emotionally and physically spent. We had no idea how to fix it and nowhere to go to get help, which completely weighed us down.

After hitting rock bottom in business ourselves, we climbed out the hard way, learning our biggest lessons through expensive trial and error. Based on this experience, we’ve developed Lifestyle Tradie’s award-winning trade business education hub and community.

Here’s the thing. It’s the best business people who are successful, not the best tradies. TAFE only taught you the rules and regulations. Your first boss only taught you how to swing a hammer. You’ve never been taught how to become a business owner, until now.

You don’t have to reinvent the wheel.

Lifestyle Tradie Membership is for you — plumbers, electricians, builders, landscapers, painters, glaziers, air conditioning technicians, and more — if you want to reclaim that proud moment, where anything is possible.

To your success, Andy & Angela Smith

REAL TRADIES, REAL RESULTS

With the help of Andy and Ange, we redesigned our business model and have completely turned our business around. In the past couple of years, our revenue has increased by 279 per cent and we have tripled our profit. Lifestyle Tradie has introduced us to a world of “working smarter, not harder”. We are back to loving our business, customers and newfound freedom. We can’t thank Lifestyle Tradie enough!”

Christie and Steve Baran, Voltair, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

In just 3.5 years, we’re on track to turnover $5.5 million. We’ve got 20 technicians and 17 trucks on the road in Adelaide and Perth. We haven’t even begun yet, to be honest. Lifestyle Tradie has helped shift my mindset to be more systems orientated. It’s not about just smashing a job out, it’s about having structure around everything we do. Systems have given us the freedom to focus on the big picture, without spending time on the small nitty-gritty things”.

Simon Mucha, Same Day Trades, South Australia, Australia

In our first 18 months as a start-up trade business, we turned over $1.2 million with a solid profit margin. We’re on track to hit $2.5 million this financial year. Next year, our aim is to hit $5 million. It all comes down to the systems and procedures we’ve learned from Andy and Ange and the Lifestyle Tradie community.”

Kieren and Jackson, Lexity Plumbing & Electrical, Victoria, Australia

From the start, Lifestyle Tradie’s 6 Week Cycle planning process for us was fantastic. It helped us to focus on the things we really needed to do. Previously, we’d start one thing and not finish it. Then we’d start another thing and not finish it. Nothing ever got done. With Lifestyle Tradie, the plan Andy and Ange set up for us was so good. Immediately, the things we implemented in the field and the things we implemented on-the-job increased our turnover by 300-400 per cent on 80 per cent of our jobs. It was just a game changer.”

Ashley Woolf, Woolf Plumbing & Gas, Western Australia, Australia

What do you want your business to be? Bigger? Better? More profitable?

What do you want your business to be? Bigger? Better? More profitable?

As a Lifestyle Tradie member, you’ll be in the driver’s seat to build a trade business based on your goals, with the Lifestyle Tradie team and community right there beside you to lean on and support you.

The problem is, you started out knowing the rules and regulations from TAFE and you’ve been taught how to swing a hammer by your old boss. The trouble is, nobody taught you how to run a profitable trade business.

Now, you’re flying by the seat of your pants, trying to figure out how to keep up with technology, charge the right hourly rate, manage your cash flow, marketing, customer retention, and debt collection.

Take back control of your trade business with Lifestyle Tradie.

Inside our Lifestyle Tradie Membership, you’ll solve these problems

LONG HOURS

Working long hours in your trade business because you’re wearing lots of hats? Start spending your time on profitmaking activities.

HIRING ISSUES

Going through hell trying to hire the right people — and keep them long term? Start systemising your onboarding process and workflows.

CUSTOMER BLUES

Attracting the wrong kind of customer, who questions your rates and expects you’re available 24/7? Start working with A-grade customers.

MISSING OUT?

Missing out on key milestones and experiences with your family? Start enjoying more freedom and phonefree holidays.

How Lifestyle Tradie Membership will

help you

Want to start up, scale up or sell up?

It’s the best business people who are successful, not the best tradies. You have a choice: start from scratch trying to work things out yourself through trial and error, or, fast-track your freedom with tried-and-tested strategies you can copy, modify and apply in your own trade business for immediate and long-lasting results. What’s it going to be?

In our book, Start Up, Scale Up, Sell Up, we highlight the key challenges you’re facing, why you’re facing them and how you can make a breakthrough through Lifestyle Tradie Membership.

Want to start up, scale up or sell up?

Consider these 6 benefits

Build a trade business you love (again) that generates more profit and gives you the lifestyle and freedom you want.

Attract the right team members who want to stay with you for the long-term because your systems and processes support them.

Finally get to grips with the technical side of managing and growing your trade business — saving you time and money.

Take out the guesswork by focusing on the exact steps you need to follow to create an unbreakable business model.

Tap into the collective knowledge and experience of our community in our Facebook group, in-person events and masterminds.

Access our library of educational and training resources — how-to and motivational videos, fact sheets, templates and checklists.

What’s inside Lifestyle Tradie Membership?

Access to our resource library

We have a huge library of trade-specific content, presented in an easy-to-use format. You’ll see content under our four core principles: Platform, Profit, Marketing and People. From how-to training videos, webinars and templates, to checklists, flow charts and presentations.

Learn what you need, when you need to, from wherever you want.

done-for-you systems

Lifestyle Tradie members have access to done-for-you systems in the form of concise one-page flowcharts. These flowcharts are designed to provide you with immediate speed to implement, remove errors, and save you time and money. A flowchart shows the steps that make up a business process — and represents a way of doing things. This is how you systemise your trade business.

Accountability and ongoing support

When you join as a Platinum member you receive a specifically-designed 6 Week Cycle plan as a roadmap towards nailing your initial goals. You’ll also receive access to Andy’s personal mobile. Need a sounding board? Call Andy. Experiencing a business emergency? Call Andy. Plus, surprise bonus resources for every member.

A thriving, supportive community of peers

Our community is at the heart of the Lifestyle Tradie Membership. Through our in-person member events and masterminds, as well as our active Facebook group, you’ll be supported by like-minded trade business owners to celebrate your wins and brainstorm any challenges.

Inside the Lifestyle Tradie Membership, you’ll master your business model

Lifestyle Tradie Business Model™

Platform

Foundations dictate the strength of everything. A house built on sand will crumble. A body without muscle is easily injured. A relationship with baggage eventually breaks. If your trade business lacks strength in its foundation, you’ll never break the cycle of chaos and have control.

Get a reality check on your own business foundations.

Here’s a sample of what you’ll cover:

Design your future

Understand where you are today and get clear on where you want to be in the future. This module is about putting you in the driver’s seat to develop a plan for your life and business.

Advance your technology

Improve your business’s profitability and competitiveness with the right technology. This module is about gaining more control, efficiency and productivity while freeing up your time.

Streamline your systems

Set team expectations, improve scalability and boost the value of your business. This module is about converting the information stored in your head into business systems.

Profit

What’s the point of being a business owner if you’re not making a profit? You may as well go back to working for your old boss. Most trade business owners ‘think’ they understand their finances. Do you know the true figures on how much money you’re making, spending and keeping?

Make your financial decisions based on fact (not fluff).

Here’s a sample of what you’ll cover:

Master the fundamentals

Get your finances in check, from profitable pricing structures to setting financial targets. This module is about learning money management basics, including our ‘rules of business’.

Know your numbers

Clarify your true financial data in real time for more certainty and control. This module is about reviewing your financial data to help you make informed decisions.

Monitor your metrics

Grow your financial intelligence to safeguard your business for tomorrow. This module is about measuring your financial performance to help hit business targets.

Marketing

Throwing money into a scattergun approach to marketing? Are your marketing efforts turning into conversions? What else should you be doing to help your trade business stand out, for long-term survival in this competitive landscape? It starts with having a plan.

Make informed decisions about your marketing efforts.

Here’s a sample of what you’ll cover:

Lay the foundations

Learn the core principles of marketing to inform your business’s marketing plan. This module is about transitioning your marketing from scattergun to a scheduled approach.

Execute on campaigns

Discover online and offline marketing ideas to attract and retain loyal customers. This module is about how to develop a well-rounded marketing strategy you can action.

Exceed customer experience

Increase your average-dollar sales with specific customer experience techniques. This module is about understanding the win-win tactics of trust-based selling.

People

The quality of your leadership and ability to hire and retain a great team will underpin your trade business’s reputation, stability and customer service experience. Get the essentials to build a loyal and effective team to take your business from an ordinary to an extraordinary one.

Improve your leadership capabilities to make an impact.

Here’s a sample of what you’ll cover:

Transform your team

Fine-tune your existing leadership skills to guide and inspire those around you. In this module, you’ll learn how to uplift your effectiveness as a leader with confidence and consistency.

Leverage your time

Power up your productivity and profit through prioritisation and delegation tactics. This module is about allowing you to focus on profit-making activities and harmony in life and business.

Strengthen your leadership

Create a high-performing team with better hiring, onboarding and retention strategies. This module is about getting the right employees onboard and keeping them long term.

Member-only live events

When you’re a Lifestyle Tradie member, one of the first things you’ll do is lock in the dates for our live member-only events, Re-Ignite and Re-Unite. (You’ll get to know them as R&R.) These two-day events are designed to be interactive, motivational learning experiences.

At each event, you’ll be wowed by the calibre of presenters. Some of our recent R&R presenters include seven-time world women’s surfing champion, Layne Beachley, author and athlete, Dave POW Tabain, and gold medal-winning speed skater, Steven Bradbury.

One of the biggest highlights of R&R is the social activities. From themed-dinners to casual catch ups, it’s a chance to build camaraderie with like-minded trade business owners. We have lots of fun together, too. (Take a look at the photos on the next page.)

Best of all, you’ll come away feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the next four months with new strategies, goals, clarity and focus.

Facebook private group

Being a trade business owner can be lonely, especially when you’re trying to resolve a problem, choose a tech platform, navigate an issue within your team or just have someone to lean on when times are tough or celebrate the wins with. That’s what our private Facebook group is for.

Power Hour online training

Every second month, we present live Power Hour online training sessions on topics relevant to you and your trade business. Recent sessions include a masterclass on job management software, debt collection, team structures, P&L — and much more. In the live presentation, you’ll get the chance to ask your personal questions. And, if you can’t make it, the recordings are posted on the members’ training portal, My Lifestyle Tradie.

Masterminds

Meet up with fellow Lifestyle Tradie members, your trusted circle of peers, for both in-person and virtual masterminds throughout the year. In small, intimate groups, you’ll keep each other accountable, challenge ways of thinking, brainstorm new ideas and seek support. Masterminds are an invaluable opportunity to share wisdom and collective knowledge.

Our business is systemised and we have a great team who knows what is expected of them. As a husband and wife team, we’ve found clarity and a passion for business again.”

Tony Welsh and Tristan Wise, H2Pro Plumbing, Victoria, Australia

Our biggest win (aside from the growth) has been a two-week holiday away from the business with our family. No phone calls, no emails, no disasters, no mess to clean up. That’s huge for us. We’re already planning another holiday.”

Paul and Naomi, PWC Property Works, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

Thanks to what I implemented with Lifestyle Tradie, I sold my business for double what I ever thought possible. Life’s good!”

— Andrew Baker, former owner of AB Electrical, New Zealand

I’ve streamlined the business, implemented upfront pricing and have become completely paperless, which has resulted in an improvement of our cash flow by 438%.”

Ben Van der Kooy, Beautiful Plumbing, Western Australia, Australia

Thanks to Lifestyle Tradie, I’m now in complete control of my business with systems, procedures and technology in place. I can hang out with my family and take long holidays without worrying about the business. I now have my time back and I’m living the life I’ve always dreamt of!”

Tony Isgrove, Isgrove Painting and Decorating, New South Wales, Australia

What makes Lifestyle Tradie Membership different?

Husband-and-wife team

We’re a husband-and-wife team who’ve created a strong working relationship across our two businesses, after struggling to find the balance in the early days of entrepreneurship.

We owned a trade business

We owned and operated a trade business for 21 years. You know those challenges you’re facing? We totally get it because we’ve probably faced them too. Now, we’ve got the runs on the board on how to resolve them.

Peer support

One of the biggest drawcards of our membership is the Lifestyle Tradie community. Being a tradie boss can be lonely. Connect and hang out with fellow trade business owners for peer support.

Access to expertise

From our online training library to live, member-only events and masterminds, you’ll have access to trade-specific expertise you can apply in your own business to gain big results.

We walk the talk

If you’re going to talk the talk, you’ve got to walk the walk, right? Everything we teach was perfected through trialand-error in our own trade business. That’s why we know it works.

We’re friendly & down-to-earth

We genuinely want to help you achieve your goals. Andy and Angela, together with the Lifestyle Tradie team, are friendly and down-to-earth. We go the extra mile for our members.

Hosted by Andy and Angela Smith, previous trade business owners, award-winning trade business educators and founders of Lifestyle Tradie. ‘The Tradie Show’ is educational, full of banter and sometimes a little controversial.

What do I get with my membership?

Lifestyle Tradie’s multi-award winning educational services are delivered through our Platinum Membership. Gain exclusive access to our robust trade specific online resource library, member-only live events, have your burning questions answered in the mastermind, attend online training sessions, and tap into direct support.

Please find below a summary of Lifestyle Tradie’s educational services to fast-track your results.

KEY FEATURES

Getting started session

This 60-minute session is designed for you to work with Andy 1:1 to identify where you are now and where you want to be in 3 - 5 year’s time. You’ll discuss key challenges and solutions so that together there is clarity on the actions to take. Nothing more motivating to know that the wheels are in motion.

Tailored 6 Week GameplanTM

The team will design and provide your first 6 Week GameplanTM thanks to the discussion from the Getting started session. This will ensure you hit the ground running working specifically on solutions to build the best business model for immediate and long-lasting results.

EVENTS/COMMUNITY

Member-only live events

Three times a year (March, July and November), you’ll have the opportunity to join Andy and Angela and fellow Lifestyle Tradie members at ReIgnite and ReUnite (R&R) – a learning and social experience, running across two full days, to reset your goals and mindset.

Masterminds

Three times a year, you’ll get together with Andy and fellow members to ask your burning questions and get help in solving them. You’ll share new ideas and get peer expert support. Plus you can apply the learnings to fast-track profit and freedom.

Member-exclusive Facebook community

This is a private group for members only (& partners) to ask questions, seek support and celebrate wins. Access to an incredible, unique group of people who have your back and can relate to what you’re going through. Join Andy’s Facebook live to engage with the community on topical issues and ask any questions you may have.

TRADE-SPECIFIC CONTENT

Access to our business education portal

Gain immediate 24/7 access to our online resource library, your ultimate tradie toolkit for transformation. This supports our systematic approach and success roadmap to result in a structured, systemised and profitable trade business. There are four core principles:

6-week cycle sessions

We work with you to identify and correct the challenges limiting the efficiency and growth of your trade business. During our 6-week cycle sessions, you will identify, prioritise, and plan the actions to correct the challenges you face and continuously improve your business in a Sprint-Rest-Reset cycle.

Team access to our education portal

Your team can also gain access to the online portal that includes tried-and-tested business strategies you can copy, modify and apply in your trade business. Let us help you educate, delegate and upskill.

‘Ultimate freedom’ done-for-you systems

Gain access to our library of done-for-you systems in the form of flowcharts designed to provide you with immediate speed to implement, remove errors, and save you time and money.

Power Hour online training

Bi-monthly live, online training with Angela to go deep across topics within our four core business principles of Platform, Profit, People and Marketing. Learn the detail and ask questions in these interactive sessions to gain progress in your business.

How-to training videos

Learning ‘what and why’ is important, but the ‘how’ is most critical. Andy and Angela step you through the ‘how’ to operating a profitable trade business.

Trade-specific checklists and templates

Our checklists and templates are designed for you to copy, modify (if necessary), and apply! We’ve done all the work for you.

Access to a community of smart, savvy & supportive trade business owners

A game changing advantage to join a community of trade business owners who have a wealth of knowledge to brainstorm challenges and celebrate wins.

They collectively provide advice, share real examples of execution and celebrate your wins both online and at face to face events. Never feel isolated or alone making decisions ever again.

Day-to-day support

If you have a question or need some support, the Lifestyle Tradie team is available via phone or email. Tap directly into our tradie coach who has over 15 years of hands-on experience in trade.

Direct access to Andy

Need a sounding board or experiencing a business emergency? Andy is ready to help calm any crisis and talk out your next action steps to get you back on track.