ISSUE #59 – OCTOBER – NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2020
4 TIPS
MENTAL HEALTH
TO MARKET YOUR TRADE BUSINESS IN UNCERTAIN TIMES
NO, YOU CAN’T SAY “DRINK A CUP OF CONCRETE” ANY MORE PAGE 10
PAGE 18
IS MAKING MONEY YOUR
DRIVING FORCE? PAGE 12
BRIGID & RICHARD PARE REPARE ELECTRICAL & AIR CONDITIONING — VIP DIAMOND MEMBERS SUBSCRIBE TO LIFESTYLE TRADIE ON
MY PET HATE:
COVID-19
SENSATIONALISM IN THE MEDIA
FROM THE DESK OF
Hey Tradies! The bumpy ride continues in 2020, presenting tradies in business with both challenges and opportunities. Our members in metropolitan Melbourne stayed strong throughout the Stage 4 restrictions, and we’ve all been doubling down to build unbreakable, COVID-Safe trade businesses. You’ll agree there’s a sense of optimism among members. For those of you who’ve been joining me in the weekly Facebook Lives, and who participated in virtual R&R in August,
you’ll know everyone’s being adaptable, making some changes, but continuing to look forward to what’s on the other side. Speaking of which, in this edition of Lifestyle Tradie Magazine, we’ve prepared helpful articles that’ll keep you motivated and focused on making improvements to your trade business. For us, we’re in the middle of a brand refresh at Dr. DRiP. It’s important to strengthen your marketing muscle right now. Read more about refining your marketing message on page 16.
Have you connected with Lifestyle Tradie? Here’s two new ways to connect with Lifestyle Tradie:
Also in this edition, our feature on getting ready for a BIGGER year in 2021, staying healthy and positive, a comparison of the major job management systems, plus, is money the driving force for trade business owners? And, more on our virtual R&R in November. First up, read our member profile on Richard & Brigid from Repare Electrical & Air Conditioning. Settle back and enjoy the magazine. You deserve it. Cheers,
Andy Smith
Join our Facebook group, Kick-Ass Tradies www.facebook.com/groups/kickasstradies
Subscribe to our YouTube channel www.youtube.com/LifestyleTradie
Why not jump in and get started!
OCTOBER – NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2020 59TH EDITION
CONTENTS 08
Hello 2021! Getting ready for a BIGGER year ahead
04
Lifestyle Tradie Member Profile
Richard & Brigid
Repare Electrical & Air Conditioning
10
Why “drink a cup of concrete” doesn’t cut it anymore
12 — Tradies in business, is making money your driving force?
06
Upcoming ReIngite and ReUnite 12-13 November • Virtual
14 — Sticky beak into major job management software
18 — Refining your marketing in uncertain times
07
Andy Rant — COVID-19 sensationalism in the media
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Lifestyle Tradie Virtual Event — August 2020
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LIFEST YLE TRADIE MEMBER PROFILE – REPARE ELECTRICAL & AIR CONDITIONING
LIFESTYLE TRADIE
MEMBER PROFILE RICHARD & BRIGID
REPARE ELECTRICAL & AIR CONDITIONING
VIP DIAMOND MEMBERS
2. What do you love most about what you do? Richard is a problem solver – he loves the hard jobs, he revels in the challenge. He’s a very competitive person and loves when people tell him ‘it can’t be done!’
1. Tell us a about your business, life and family. After Richard completed his mature-age apprenticeship, his employer did not offer him a position. So, he started Repare Electrical & Air Conditioning in 2010. Richard was a motor mechanic for 20 years in United Kingdom before immigrating to Australia in 1999 where he met Brigid. The strain on his back was the breaking point – every second weekend he was laid up, unable to move due to pain.
Brigid is more of a homebody. She has five sisters and two brothers. We’re thankful for her parents who babysit and help with sport, if called on. (But we’ve got to book in advance due to the number of grandkids!) The kids keep us both busy between school and sport and their own social lives.
The first year in our business was huge – new truck, apprentice added at six months, tradesman added at one year. Due to the volume of work, Brigid joined the business in 2016 after taking a redundancy from her role in IT project management. Together, we have two children – Alexander (13) and Charlotte (12). Both kids are sports mad and are representative players for clubs and regions. Weekends are spent running between 4-8 games of sport, which can be crazy!
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L I F E S T Y L E T R A D I E .C O M . A U
LIFEST YLE TRADIE MEMBER PROFILE – REPARE ELECTRICAL & AIR CONDITIONING
3. Tell us a little about your life before joining Lifestyle Tradie? (What wasn’t working, what was holding you back or was in your way?) We were at the seven-year mark and had staff doing work but didn’t have any cream on the top. There was no structure and quotes were being done until midnight. Then, it was back to work from 6am. We had some staff turn nasty, which we couldn’t understand, as they’d been with us since early in the business. Brigid, from an IT background, had a massive challenge to convince Richard we needed systems and structure. We did the free, one-day Lifestyle Tradie workshop and completed the application forms by lunchtime!
5. Where do you see your business in five years? Richard would like to be fishing on a beach (ha ha ha). We’d like the business to be turning over $3-4 million per year with a decent profit. We’ve just hired a fulltime office manager, which will be a game-changer to keep the boys accountable. Business will be in an industrial unit and away from our house (next 12 months). We’re not ‘at work’ all the time.
6. What are the top three things you have learnt about business that you would recommend to other tradies and why? Tip 1. JOIN LIFESTYLE TRADIE! – It has changed our lives – not saying it was easy but nothing good is ever easy. Tip 2. Know your numbers – We keep regular contact with our accountant (at least every fortnight) even just for a chat ‘cause he’s a great guy. Tip 3. Chase the work you want to do – Don’t settle for work just because it’s there. That work is generally the least profitable and not your forte!
4. What specific results have you achieved since joining Lifestyle Tradie? We’ve culled the deadwood from our staff and hired new tradesman who are with us in the changes we are implementing. We’ve rebranded with all new signage and profiles etc. We have profit! Turnover decreased the first year we joined due to staff changes but since we’ve added two more guys, the turnover has increased month on month! Debt is reduced, fleet is all new, full signage, new marketing team working with us and bringing in quality leads. Client satisfaction is five stars! Team morale is at an all-time high!
7. Tell us something quirky about yourself that your buddies don’t know? Richard is an international beer stein-holding competition winner – it’s the guns.
8. If we were sitting here one year from now celebrating what a great year it’s been, what have you achieved (together)? (business/life). Business is now out of our property or close to it! We’re planning more family holidays together without Brigid bringing the laptop and phone. Our son has stopped growing – seriously, he’s 193cm at just 13 years of age! Brigid finally gets her dream laundry!
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12th & 13th November 2020 • Virtual
It’s been a one-of-a-kind year, which brings us to R&R this November. Given border closures and ongoing restrictions, we’re going virtual for a HUGE two-day event. You’ll be pleased to know we’ve booked Manly for a LIVE R&R next February. For now, the focus is on the AWESOME virtual event we’ve got planned for you on 12-13 November. Based on your feedback from our virtual event in August, you told us you wanted two days of motivation, inspiration and learning. So, that’s exactly what we’ve done. Over two days, we’re packing in three presenters, along with new content from Andy and Ange. You’ll love the line-up of speakers we’ve locked in for you. Mike Michalowicz, author of Profit First and the new book, Fix This First, will be joining us for an epic presentation on entrepreneurship, beamed in all the way from New Jersey in the USA!
You’ll hear from Justin Jones, aka Jonesy, an adventurer who is constantly pushing the boundaries of human endurance. He’ll share the lessons he’s learnt from being at the forefront of adventure and how they’re applicable to business and life. Even Dick Smith reckons Jonesey’s got one of the greatest adventure stories of the decade! You’ll also hear from Kate Toon, an award-winning copywriter, SEO consultant, author, podcaster, speaker and hula hooper, who’ll present on: Social success for tradies: How to build your brand and win more customers! It’s just the stuff you need right now. Kate’s known for her quirky presentation style and on-point content that isn’t grounded in jargon.
Get ready for a helluva few days!
If you’ve got any questions, just shout out:
info@lifestyletradie.com.au
ANDY RANT – MY PET HATE: COVID-19 SENSATIONALISM IN THE MEDIA
MY PET HATE: COVID-19 SENSATIONALISM IN THE MEDIA I know. It’s hard not to get caught up in the fearmongering created by the media in its reporting of COVID-19. For mainstream media, there’s nothing like a crisis (of any kind) to attract eyeballs to content. And therein lies the reason they’re beating up the COVID-19 headlines and taking a sensationalist angle. I’m bloody tired of it, to be honest — because the panic it causes is contagious. We’ve all seen what happens when panic sets in. People buy lots of toilet paper and start stockpiling other essential items, even when we’re told by authorities they’ll be no shortage of supplies. It’s a vicious cycle. The media thrives on it. Whichever side of the political fence you sit on, all our leaders are under the pump right now. And, for the most part, trying to do what’s best to protect everyone’s health and safety. But they’re being hung out to dry in the media, with journos and commentators throwing stones at them from the sideline. It’s an ugly and unhelpful situation all-around. I check mainstream media (once a day), with an understanding the headline is deliberately written to keep me watching or reading — it’s designed to incite a response. So, with all the fear and panic flying around, I prefer to head to a credible and reliable source to find out what’s happening with COVID-19. So, in wrapping up my rant, steer clear of the media because you’ll only come away feeling defeated because that’s how they want you to feel. Instead, you’ve got the power to stay in control by simply switching it off.
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HELLO 2021! GETTING READY FOR A BIGGER YEAR AHEAD
HELLO 2021!
GETTING READY FOR A BIGGER YEAR AHEAD
It hasn’t been the year we expected. When the clock Get back to basics ticked over to 1 January 2020, who would have The basic principles of business ownership are thought things would play out like this? timeless (and what we teach at Lifestyle Tradie). It’s been a weird one, in many ways — we’re now That’s why we’ve been working hard on delivering elbow-bumping to greet each other, we’re handa new short course for our members, santising like demons, Zoom is our new best friend, Build An Unbreakable Trade and toilet-paper hoarding became a THING. Business, which is about fixing the fundamentals. For many businesses who were over-stretched before the uncertainty set in, they’ve had a hard time weathering the storm, some have failed. For trade business owners, we’re one of the luckier ones. We’re considered an essential service and, for the most part, have continued to work throughout the pandemic. Still, it’s been an exhausting year regardless, for everyone. Hello 2021!
IN THIS ARTICLE, WHAT’S IT GOING TO TAKE TO GET READY FOR A BIGGER YEAR? 8
It’s no surprise that cash flow is KING in business. Why? Because cash flow is the lifeblood of your trade business. The course kicks off with a module called Control Your Cash Flow. Even if you’ve been a Lifestyle Tradie member for a while now (you can access the course through My Lifestyle Tradie), it’s helpful to have a reminder.
L I F E S T Y L E T R A D I E .C O M . A U
HELLO 2021! GETTING READY FOR A BIGGER YEAR AHEAD
Other business basics covered in Build An Unbreakable Trade Business include, increasing conversions, streamlining materials, creating highperformance teams, knowing your numbers, tech and sales. So, your BIGGER year in 2021 starts with nailing the basics.
Get more sleep What, the? In preparation for a bigger year, you’ve got to make your health a priority. Wariness is a thing right now — we’ve had nothing to look forward to in terms of travel and our usual social gatherings. Even though we’re going through this together, it still sucks. Sleep, along with exercise and a focus on self-care and mental wellbeing, will be the pillars of having a bigger year in 2021. But, getting a good night’s sleep is a good starting point because sleep health has a direct impact on our physical and mental health.
Create more opportunities A crisis presents both fear and opportunity. COVID-19 is no different. While it’s been a health and economic experience like no other in our lives for many of us, business owners the world over have been forced to change at a faster pace — and that’s a positive. While the nuts and bolts of what we do as trade business owners hasn’t suffered a massive shift, what’s changed is customer behaviour, customer expectations, even the fact customers are spending more time at home. What does this mean for tradies in business keeping pace? Well, we’ve got to figure out what our customers “value”. It’s about what they’re willing to pay for now — not what we think our customers SHOULD value. While people are spending less money, people are still spending money. How is your business positioned to show value?
With more of us feeling a little anxious and unsettled, it can be hard to sleep. According to the Sleep Health Foundation, sleep is like a butterfly. You can’t reach out and grab it and catch it. It is the same with sleep. If you stay quiet and still, the butterfly will come to you.
So, with 2021 now in sight (YES!), how are you getting ready for a BIGGER year ahead?
For example, your customers are probably browsing online more than ever. How would you rate your business’s digital experience? Are there any other systems or processes you could rethink to uplift the customer experience to help provide more value — and repeat business?
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MENTAL HEALTH – WHY “DRINK A CUP OF CONCRETE” DOESN’T CUT IT ANYMORE
WHY “DRINK A CUP OF CONCRETE” DOESN’T CUT IT ANYMORE For trade business owners, there’s a long-held belief that the “drink a cup of concrete” and “toughen up” approaches are the best ways to handle the struggles of life’s up and downs. But these practices are out of step with current expectations. As a tradie boss, how do you balance the mental health and wellbeing of you and your team with the financial pressures of running a profitable trade business? With mental health issues on the rise, this year’s R U OKAY? DAY in September was an important reminder for us all to consider the culture we’re building in our own workplaces — and it might involve a good look in the mirror.
You learnt from your old boss Most of us tradies in business learnt from our first boss. Even though we may not have agreed with how they did things, it’s the only point of reference we’ve had. The thing is, times have changed since then. Your team is probably from a younger generation than you, and these tradies have different expectations of the leaders they work for. So, while it’s easy to fall back on recycled (outdated) leadership practices from your first boss, being stuck in this mindset is short sighted. 10
Younger tradies will leave jobs more readily than their predecessors. Instead of scratching your head over why your tradies keep moving on, you’ve got to come to the table with what they want:
• Training opportunities • Leaders who seek and value feedback from them • Workplace flexibility (for self-care and emotional health)
• Guidance and inspiration (not directing). How’d you go? Are you always looking for new ways to communicate and connect or is your head still back in the old days? L I F E S T Y L E T R A D I E .C O M . A U
MENTAL HEALTH – WHY “DRINK A CUP OF CONCRETE” DOESN’T CUT IT ANYMORE
Be an employer of choice While you’ve got legal obligations as an employer, under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011, to protect the mental and physical wellbeing of your employees, creating a two-way relationship with your tradies will help position your trade business to be an employer of choice. You already know how competitive it is to secure good tradies!
More expectation, less certainty Back in the day, leaders could at least count on a reasonably stable world, where change unfolded at a much slower pace. These days, the present only exists for about a nano-second. This year is a perfect example of that. As we move towards the “next normal”, will your leadership adapt with it? Your job is more than telling your team what to do and when, where, and how to do it. You’ve got to consider your team’s wellbeing as well as your own. New leaders build trust, but barriers. For example, for an R U OK? conversation to be meaningful it must be authentic and involve a level of trust between people.
The narrative you use will set the tone for who you attract to join your team and how long they stay with you. People who are struggling with mental health aren’t “soft”. They just need some extra support to help them through. And, you’re not “soft” if you’re struggling, too. Everyone hits a tough spot sometimes. R U OKAY?
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TRADIES IN BUSINESS, IS MAKING MONEY YOUR DRIVING FORCE?
TRADIES IN BUSINESS
IS MAKING MONEY YOUR DRIVING FORCE? Why did you start your trade business in the first place? Were you most motivated by money — or was something else the driving force? Do you think of yourself as a tradie who owns a business or do you consider yourself to be an entrepreneur? What makes a business owner separate from an entrepreneur? Well, entrepreneurs want to make more money, are willing to take more risks, look for ways to be inventive, and explore more opportunities. It’s a mindset. On the other hand, business owners often say they’re in it because “I didn’t want to work for someone else” or “It seemed like a natural progression”.
If you’re an entrepreneur, you’ll have made some specific structural decisions with your longer-term view of the business. For example, you want a business that’ll run without you one day. You’re looking to lock-in an exit strategy from early on. For business owners, you’ve created a job and you’re caught working in the business.
ARE YOU PROVIDING A SOLUTION OR IS YOUR BUSINESS YOUR JOB?
In this article, we’ll explore the differences between business ownership and entrepreneurship to work out what’s really driving you.
Which one are you? Do you tend to be reactive and feel like you’re always putting out fires, just want employees to do their jobs, customers to pay on time and software to function as it was designed? Or, do you envisage developing a customer experience that solves their pain points because you’re always looking for a better way to do things? 12
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TRADIES IN BUSINESS, IS MAKING MONEY YOUR DRIVING FORCE?
How important is freedom to you? Freedom is the ability to spend your time and money as you see fit. Mostly, it means growing your business and paying your employees, also giving your family the quality of life you want for them. Money is the medium to achieve this. Having financial freedom is about investing your time and money into things that matter to you: your family, your friends, your hobbies. Freedom means different things to different people. What does it mean to you?
Want to make an impact? Making an impact and leaving a legacy are reasons you may have started your trade business. This puts you in the entrepreneurial camp. If you clearly defined the impact you want to have through your business, you’re more likely to achieve your goals. The key is to have a vision for what kind of impact your business can have and let that be a driving force. For business owners, you’ll be in this: “This is the only thing I know how to do”. See the difference? Having an impact has to be intentional. All the greatest entrepreneurs will tell you their goal is making money, and lots of it. At first, it may seem like greed to those who’ve been living paycheck to paycheck. But it’s the lifestyle that they actually get used to and want to maintain and improve. Money is the medium that gets it to them.
Finally, you’re not getting up in the morning to lose money in your trade business, right? You’re in business to make money. So yes, money has to be a driving force. But there’s more at play. Are you in it because you’re “tired of making someone else money” or are you in it because it’s not JUST a way to make money?
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STICKY BEAK INTO THE MAJOR JOB MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE SYSTEMS
STICKY BEAK INTO THE
MAJOR JOB MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE SYSTEMS
Job management software is always a hot topic of conversation between trade business owners. Why? Because job management software is the glue that keeps trade business humming along, without hiccups (if implemented correctly) — and is the only way you’re off the tools. Just like going to open homes is appealing (who doesn’t love a sticky beak?), most of us tradies in business are interested in what’s happening in the job management software landscape. We want to know we’ve got the best product in place, doing the best job possible. Here’s a snapshot of five of the major job management systems — AroFlo, Fergus, simPRO, Buildxact and Ascora.
1. AroFlo Founded in 2001 by CEO Guy Arrowsmith, AroFlo came to life to fill a growing gap in the market. Gary envisioned the software as a tool belt, explaining that “with AroFlo, you won’t always need everything that’s there right away, but when you do, it’ll always be close to hand”. Based on this philosophy, here are three things to love about AroFlo: 1. Fully customisable: This means trade businesses of all sizes and scopes will never outgrow AroFlo, even if you choose to scale either upwards or outwards into the future. 14
2. Feature-complete on delivery: This means, every feature is available from day one if you choose, with ongoing support at a set price (no hidden fees was a big plus for us!). 3. Aided by customer collaboration: This means AroFlo is consistently developing and improving based on community feedback. In our own trade business, Dr. DRiP Plumbing, we’re impressed by how adaptable the software is to the needs of our tradespeople. As a primarily maintenance-style business, AroFlo’s workflow flexibility, accountability, transparency and reporting functionality has been a great match for our professional work.
2. Fergus The brainchild of veteran tradie, Dan Pollard, Fergus is the result of him working in the trenches of his own trades business, where it didn’t take long for Dan to realise that in order to run a successful trades business, proper systems are needed to keep it going. Based on this philosophy, here are three things to love about Fergus: 1. Fergus-only ‘status board’: It helps you see where money is behind held up in your business with pre-built financial summaries, which show the most profitable jobs or where you lost money on the job. L I F E S T Y L E T R A D I E .C O M . A U
STICKY BEAK INTO THE MAJOR JOB MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE SYSTEMS
2. Easily integrates with other platforms: With a suite of New Zealand and Australian trade materials supplier and accounting integrations, with Fergus, you can connect to the supplier’s customer portal. 3. Two-way invoice sync: Fergus’s two-way invoice sync with Xero and MYOB means Fergus automatically syncs all your invoices and contact records with Xero in real time. From startups to established enterprises of up to 50 employees, Fergus is designed to help trade business owners get jobs under control — and keep it that way.
3. simPRO As trade business owners, providing an exceptional customer experience and lifting the game of your team falls on your shoulders. Here are three simPRO apps designed to improve your field-to-office workflows, for current simPRO customers and curious tradies: 1. simPRO Mobile: Designed to optimise common, in-the-field workflows, the app for Android and iOS can be used on tablet and smartphone devices to execute multiple-service workflows. 2. simPRO eForms: A standalone app, it targets workflows associated with paper-based forms like COVID-19 contact tracing, JSAs, compliance and regulation reports. 3. simTRAC: Also a standalone app, knowing the exact location of your tradies in the field means your dispatcher can decide who is the best person for the job and most readily available to attend. When you’re using your job management software, like simPRO, to its full potential, you and your team of tradies benefit through wins in efficiency, building customer relationships, transparency and support.
4. Buildxact Buildxact has been developed specifically for small builders and trades, is easy to learn and easy to get started with. It’ll lighten your day-to-day load to help you focus on growth and profit-making activities.
Buildxact provides a bird’s eye perspective of your projects. You’ll love Buildxact for the following three reasons: 1. Easy and simple takeoffs: You can get your quotes out faster to your customers. Higher quality quotes, delivered faster, means more jobs won for your building or trade business. 2. Online scheduling: Buildxact allows you to schedule notifications and update all your subbies or suppliers in one go. The Gantt charts will help you stay on top of where your project is at during any point in the job. 3. Tracking costs and profits: Buildxact allows you to accurately manage your costs on-the-job and report on them when the job is complete to create more accurate estimates. You’ll always be stuck working long hours in order to keep up with the admin, if you don’t have job management software like Buildxact in place – leaving you without the scope to grow.
5. Ascora Even though you’ve hired more staff to handle your paperwork, the only way you’re going to get on top of your game is with a job management system. Here are three reasons to love Ascora: 1. GPS trackers: Directly integrated into Ascora, GPS units let you track your vans and also other key assets. With GPS trackers, you’ll know where your assets are in real-time. 2. Auto geofencing timesheet: Timesheets are the lifeline of your trades business. With just a click of a button on the Ascora app, you track the exact number of hours spent on a job. 3. Inventory tracking: Ascora has multiple levels of inventory tracking from capturing only purchases and receipts through to multiple stock locations with reorder levels.
Finally, did you start a trade business wanting ‘me’ time or money — or both? You’ll never achieve freedom without job management software and keeping on top of how to use it to its full potential.
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LIFEST YLE TRADIE VIRTUAL EVENT — AUGUST 2020
LIFESTYLE TRADIE VIRTUAL EVENT AUGUST 2020
A pivot is a change in strategy without a change in vision.
While virtual formats will never replace the ‘real thing’, the August event was a cracking success. Let’s relive some of the best moments.
— Eric Ries Yes, ‘pivot’ is the word of the moment. The Lifestyle Tradie community has really embraced the concept, throwing its support behind our plan to pivot from our usual in-person R&R on the Gold Coast to a virtual format. A massive 90 percent of members joined us on the day, which shows just how important it is for all of us to get together — no matter how. For Andy and Ange, and the Lifestyle Tradie team, it was a learning experience bringing you the event from a studio. But the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, giving us a thumbs up for professionalism, calibre of content, seamless delivery, overall learning experience, and just the dose of motivation everyone needed.
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Michael Crossland: perspective and inspiration You’ll agree Michael Crossland’s presentation put a few things in perspective for all of us. It’s not easy doing a remote presentation because you don’t have that audience interaction. However, Michael’s raw and powerful story came through loud and clear. L I F E S T Y L E T R A D I E .C O M . A U
LIFEST YLE TRADIE VIRTUAL EVENT — AUGUST 2020
The beauty of Mastermind is in that peer-to-peer support. Some of the topics that shone through include: how to get staff to follow systems, hiring and keeping good tradies, being an employer of choice, working as a husband-and-wife team, plus, motivation and mindset.
PROBLEMS RAISED, Some of the takeaways include:
• You need to do what inspires and motivates you — the choices we make each and every day can help shape, remould and redefine our future.
• Like Michael’s mum, she wanted to know the
PROBLEMS SOLVED WAS THE NAME OF THE GAME.
changes in his survival NOT the changes of him dying.
• If you can instill love and hope, determination
and courage, resilience and optimism, it’s remarkable what you can overcome in personal and business life.
• Use your purpose to get through tough times.
This is of true value at the moment with the challenges we have all faced during this year and the experiences we have dealt with thanks to COVID-19.
Prizes: who doesn’t love a giveaway! The prize giveaways on the day were a hit — that spinning wheel keeping everyone in suspense until the end. Congratulations if you were lucky enough to win a jumper, breakfast, massage or accommodation voucher! Finally, a big shout out to Sam for bringing everything together for a brilliant execution on the day, along with the amazing support of Alexis, Jess and Tracey. Good one, team!
Mastermind: the power of brainstorming Who doesn’t love brainstorming problems with your peers — and finding solutions? That’s exactly how Mastermind played out on the day. Breaking out into small, virtual groups, each business brought an issue/challenge/problem to the table, for discussion. O C T O B E R – N O V E M B E R – D E C E M B E R 2020 – I S S U E #5 9
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REFINING YOUR MARKETING IN UNCERTAIN TIMES
REFINING YOUR MARKETING IN UNCERTAIN TIMES None of us have lived through a pandemic like COVID-19 before, let alone operate a trade business in these uncertain times. While trade is considered an essential service, and we’ve continued to work through the various restrictions, have you refined your marketing messages to give customers a reason to buy from you right now?
Tip
No.1
Increase digital marketing
While fast-food chain, KFC, has had to temporarily drop its iconic ‘Finger Lickin’ Good’ tagline because it doesn’t fit the current climate, the changes to your marketing messages are probably far less dramatic. For you, it’s about focusing on keeping your customers loyal. In this article, you’ll get four tips on how to update your marketing at this turning point. In July 2020, it was reported online retailer, Amazon, doubled its profit thanks to a spike in online shopping sales. With more people working from home and spending money online, increasing your digital marketing will help you connect with your customers, where they’re hanging out. Importantly, many customers have a different mindset and routines right now. For example, we’re supporting local businesses more than ever before because we’re being encouraged to stay close to home, if possible — could you benefit from localising your digital marketing through your website, paid search and your social channels? 18
L I F E S T Y L E T R A D I E .C O M . A U
REFINING YOUR MARKETING IN UNCERTAIN TIMES
Tip
No.2
Be empathetic
Tip
No.4
Keep your customers updated
In recent research on Australian households, there’s evidence of a growing culture of doing the right things, looking after society, and “being in this together”. This means, we’re holding businesses to higher standards. Your marketing can’t take advantage of the situation. Instead, show empathy through your messaging and tone of voice. The most important question you should ask is: “what can I do to help?” Through genuine kindness, not fear, you’ll build goodwill and help drive long-term loyalty.
Eighty per cent of your revenue comes from 20 per cent of your loyal customer database. Let your customers know what your business is up to and about any changes to your products and services. You can do this through social media, email and text messages, and your website. Show your customers you are there for them in these uncertain times with an upbeat attitude (without being insensitive), regular updates, and clear and concise information. Sometimes, it’s even okay to let your customers know you’re feeling vulnerable, too.
Tip
No.3
Be relevant
Personal health and financial wellbeing are topof-mind, travels plans are out the window. In your marketing, consider what’s relevant to your customers — we want more contactless interactions with service providers, and we want to know a business is COVID-Safe.
There’s no playbook for the ‘next normal’. As trade business owners, what we can do is refine our marketing to meet new customer behaviours and promote loyalty, including more time online, socially conscious values, and embracing empathy over creating fear.
Are your trade business’s marketing messages relevant? Providing useful information without pushing a sale is something customers will remember and return for — and retention is a step on the path to loyalty. People want to buy from business’s they like and trust. O C T O B E R – N O V E M B E R – D E C E M B E R 2020 – I S S U E #5 9
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NEXT ISSUE
Be an employer of choice
Gen Y and Gen Z employees
How to attract and retain the best tradies
What the younger generations want at work
Scratching your head on how to be an employer of choice? Wondering why your tradies are staying for a short time and buggering off? In this article, you’ll learn some helpful ways to stand out from other trade businesses vying for recruits.
For many tradie bosses, younger generations of tradies have a questionable work ethic. Instead of harking back to how things were done in the past, be a forward-thinking leader who provides these 7 attributes in the workplace.
Lifestyle Tradie Live has gone VIRTUAL! Learn how to make more money and get a handle on the chaos, from the comfort of your own home. GET YOUR FREE TICKET AT lifestyletradie.com.au/events
VIRTUAL 8:00am — 11:00am AEDT 19th November 2020
Phone: 1800 704 822 Email: info@lifestyletradie.com.au Web: www.lifestyletradie.com.au
With guest speaker, author of Profit First, Mike Michalowicz.
Lifestyle Tradie Magazine is published by and © copyright by Andrew & Angela Smith, Lifestyle Tradie Group Pty Ltd 2020. All Rights Reserved. This newsletter and any accompanying material are for general information purposes only. It is the responsibility of the reader to comply with any local, state or federal laws. The Publisher has taken all reasonable measures to ensure that the material contained within this newsletter is correct. The Publisher provides no representation and gives no warranty as to the accuracy of the information and does not accept any responsibility for errors or inaccuracies in the information contained herein and shall not be liable for any loss or damage arising as a result of any person acting in reliance on information contained herein.
