ISSUE #60 – JANUARY – FEBRUARY – MARCH 2021
7 Things THE YOUNGER GENERATION ARE DEMANDING IN THE WORKFORCE
50 Marathons In 50 Days
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Can’t Catch
COULD YOU RUN 42KMS AFTER 8 HOURS ON THE TOOLS?
A Break?
HOW TO STANDOUT IN A SATURATED MARKET
PAGE 10
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CHRISTIE & STEVE BARAN VOLTAIR AIRCONDITIONING — VIP DIAMOND MEMBERS SUBSCRIBE TO LIFESTYLE TRADIE ON
BEAT THE HOLIDAY SMACKDOWN YOU NEED A BREAK TOO!
FROM THE DESK OF
Hey Tradies! The new year presents a blank canvas, with 2020 thankfully now in our rearview mirror! What’s it gonna be for you and your trade business? As a community, we’ve shown that sticking together, having each other’s backs, and sharing knowledge separates the whingers out there from the ones who’ve lifted their game — and thrived. Ange and I couldn’t be more proud of how our members have embraced learning in different ways (hello, Zoom) and generally dug in deep to make the most of a situation that’s been out of everyone’s control.
What’s next? Well, we’ll come out punching, that’s for sure, starting with setting your goals for 2021.
Has last year’s sh*t show given you motivation to Reset? If you’re after more freedom, getting everything out of your head, and into better systems and processes is the ONLY Even though 2020 taught us WAY TO GET THERE! Finally, the importance of being able to 2021 is about Restoring confidence ‘pivot’ (I know, I couldn’t think in your customers. Read our feature of a better word), having goals on marketing, How to succeed in a keeps us all on track. So, let’s get saturated market. See page 8. the ball rolling with the three R’s. You know the drill, continue reading Take a step back and Review your for our Member profile on page 4, trade business, warts and all. Is it meet ‘Forrest Gump’ the tradie who’s all it could be? raising money for a great cause on As trade business owners, many page 10, and on page 12, what does the younger generation want from us of us have a deep, back pocket as employers? Right, that’s it from of excuses — “I’m too busy, my me! Here’s to a fantastic 2021. bloody clients won’t pay, my tradies are slacking off”. Does Cheers, this sound familiar?
Have you connected with Lifestyle Tradie? Here’s two new ways to connect with Lifestyle Tradie:
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!
JANUARY – FEBRUARY – MARCH 2021 60TH EDITION
CONTENTS 08
Get the competitive edge in 2021
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Lifestyle Tradie Member Profile
Christie & Steve Baran Voltair Airconditioning
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Health: The ‘Forrest Gump’ Tradie
12 — What do the younger generations want at work?
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Upcoming ReIgnite and ReUnite 19th-20th March • Manly
14 — AroFlo: KPI tracking and setting team targets
16 — Be an employer of choice: How to attract and retain the best tradies
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Andy Rant — Did you take a holiday? J A N U A R Y – F E B R U A R Y – M A R C H 2021 – I S S U E #60
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Lifestyle Tradie Virtual Event 2020 3
LIFEST YLE TRADIE MEMBER PROFILE – VOLTAIR AIRCONDITIONING
LIFESTYLE TRADIE
MEMBER PROFILE CHRISTIE & STEVE
VOLTAIR AIRCONDITIONING
VIP DIAMOND MEMBERS often successfully carries out air conditioner installations for customers who have been told by others their job is just not possible.
2. What do you love most about what you do? 1. Tell us a about your business, life and family. Steve commenced his electrical apprenticeship on the Sydney Railway Services at the ripe old age of 15. He was trained to recognise the slightest imperfection, which has driven him to become a perfectionist in his trade. Steve was looking to take on a new challenge, so set his sights on an Airconditioning & Refrigeration as he knew this would lead to further opportunities for him in the industry by having a dual trade. In 2004, Steve and I [Christie] moved to Canberra and founded Voltair Electrical & Air Conditioning. I worked in the public service for a period of time and after having children, I decided to join Steve in Voltair, working on everything from the administration to sales. The business has come a long way over the past few years! Currently, we have three tradesmen, and we’re hoping to secure another tradesman and apprentice in the near future. Steve has the capacity to think outside the box and showcases confidence to take on jobs that others might dismiss as “too hard” or “impossible”. He quite 4
Steve loves to take on new challenges and is committed to delivering a result our customers will be happy with. While the work is repetitive and methods similar from job to job, he enjoys working in different homes and meeting new people. I love implementing new strategies and seeing the business grow. My brain is constantly ticking over with ways to improve the way things are done. Voltair is our heart and soul, so when we receive positive feedback and reviews, we know we are doing something right. It makes all the effort we put into the business worthwhile.
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?) Prior to joining Lifestyle Tradie, we found ourselves burnt out, overworked, and lacking any real excitement for the business. Before I came on board full time, Steve had taken on a subcontracting role. This suited our lifestyle at the time, as we were busy raising young children. 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 – VOLTAIR AIRCONDITIONING
The increasing roadblock became that customers were extremely demanding, and the high-volume work was intensifying, with very limited profit margin. Steve was working from a paper diary with no systems or procedures in place to structure the business. It became difficult for me to assist as everything was inside Steve’s head.
4. What specific results have you achieved since joining Lifestyle Tradie? Lifestyle Tradie helped us realise our business model was not right, and we were working with the wrong type of customers. With the help of Andy and Ange, we redesigned our business model and have completely turned our business around. We are much more profitable and are now working with customers who appreciate a highlevel of customer service and quality workmanship. We have implemented a CRM system, which allows us on the administrative side to take the pressure off Steve.
6. What are the top three things you have learnt about business that you would recommend to other tradies and why? Tip 1. Know your numbers – This allows you to make more informed decisions when it comes to pricing and knowing your actual worth. By knowing what you need to make to breakeven, allows you to price accordingly, and make decisions within your business to make a profit. Tip 2. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable – If you do not put yourself out of your comfort zone and take on new challenges within your business, you will never change and grow. Tip 3. Systemise – A highly systemised business is the key to being able to step away from the business and get back a decent work-life balance. This is a very big priority for us moving forward.
7. Tell us something quirky about yourself that your buddies don’t know? Steve has held a world record – when you see him next time, ask him what for!
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).
5. Where do you see your business in five years? Ideally, we are aiming for a highly systemised business with Steve off the tools. Allowing him to spend his time nurturing our customers through the sales process and training our employees. Steve is currently a huge bottleneck in the business, so we need information out of his head and captured into training videos and resource material.
We will have spent at least one week on a family holiday where the business will be running well, limiting us managing the day-to-day operations. Ideally, working limited hours on weekends and evenings and having more time to spend with family and doing the things we enjoy. Steve will be spending most of his time off the tools and more time working on the business, so we can achieve our goal of that four-week holiday. We are a family business, and we love this a key part of who we are to our customers, so we want to live and breathe our values through our business.
Our plan is to step away from the business for short periods of time with the big goal of taking a four-week holiday – preferably somewhere with no wi-fi or mobile reception! If the business can run without us for four weeks, then it has the capacity to run for extended periods of time without us at all. With the right systems in place, the booking process will take some pressure off and keep things rolling when we want to get away with our family. J A N U A R Y – F E B R U A R Y – M A R C H 2021 – I S S U E #60
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19th & 20th March 2021 • Manly
That’s a wrap! We’re out of the studio and back in-person, baby! Our Lifestyle Tradie R&R event is on the 19th and 20th March 2021— and it’s shaping up to be a ripper. We’re ditching the studio and finally back to live events! New to the Lifestyle Tradie community? R&R is jampacked with insider knowledge and education. Plus, how good will it be to get together (finally!) for our program of social events. #HellYeah We’re coming in hot, with our headline speakers Sam Bloom, Mike Michalowicz, plus Lisa McInnes-Smith. You’ll hear Sam Bloom tell her harrowing and uplifting story following her sixmetre fall from a rusty balcony. She was left paralysed from the chest down and was close to giving up. Sam will share a powerful message of “never giving up” and that hope can come in any form, even feathers. If you’ve got any questions, just shout out:
info@lifestyletradie.com.au
Best-selling author, Mike Michalowicz, is back! This time, he’ll be teaching us lessons from his book, Profit First. He explains how to quit being a slave to your own business and start making some serious money with his counterintuitive advice so you can put profit first. The energetic Lisa McInnes-Smith brings the motivation and leadership expertise. She is going to take us on a journey of self-discovery — a participative experience where she’ll challenge us to try a different way of thinking and influencing. We can’t wait! Get pumped, and most importantly, save the dates! Our amazing line-up of speakers is waiting in the wings, ready to share all their knowledge and experience with you. For now, stick to your 120-day plan and kick some goals!
ANDY RANT – DID YOU TAKE A HOLIDAY?
DID YOU TAKE A HOLIDAY? Feeling wrung out going into the new year or ready and raring to go? The end of the year is often a sh*t fight for trade business owners because customers want jobs fit in before Christmas. We’re totally slammed. Did you take a holiday in January to recharge and reset for a killer 2021? If you want this year to be better, you need to be better — and that means having a break. If you don’t want to hear it from me, the research is crystal clear: People who take regular holidays are more motivated about their work and perform more effectively then those who do not. If you’ve systemised your trade business since joining Lifestyle Tradie, you’ve probably had most of January off. If you haven’t systemised your trade business, for goodness sake, what are you waiting for? How many times do I have to say it? I’ll say it again:
IT. IS. THE. ONLY. WAY. TO. GET OFF. THE. TOOLS. Being a trade business owner is not about toughening up and pushing through — day after day, year after year. It doesn’t work like that. The wheels will eventually fall off. You’ll miss spending quality time with your family and friends. Don’t leave it too late to prioritise holidays. Start by making a plan to systemise. Before my rant is over, stop and think how you’re feeling right now. Do you have a spring in your step or are you suffering from not having a break? Honestly, if last year taught us anything, life can change in an instant. The question is: what’s holding you back from having a muchneeded holiday?
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GET THE COMPETITIVE EDGE IN 2021
GET THE COMPETITIVE EDGE IN 2021 Attracting and converting customers to your trade business isn’t what it was 30 years ago, when being in the Yellow Pages or having an ad in the local classifieds were the be-all-end-all. Remember that? The truth is, even today, you don’t need an expensive team of experts to get a competitive edge. You don’t have to be the best, or the biggest – you just have to be the smartest. Start with these questions.
Who is your avatar? This is the ideal customer for you. What’s their age, budget, timeframe, possibility of repeat business? What keeps them up at night? At Lifestyle Tradie, we encourage you to target your avatar. These are your A-grade customers.
What is your business image currently? From the outside in, how do people see your business? What do they think when they visit your website or meet your team? What rating do you think you’d get for customer experience? Try to answer honestly. What do you WANT your business image to look like? Trustworthy, reliable, friendly? Flashy, big, desirable? Local, word-of-mouth, humble?
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L I F E S T Y L E T R A D I E .C O M . A U
GET THE COMPETITIVE EDGE IN 2021
What is your avatar looking for? Figure out what that looks like, and how can you shape your business to be the one desired by your avatar. For example, some people prefer trustworthy and reliable businesses. Others may value the customer experience more highly. Now, here’s five practical, simple steps to getting you there. 1. Think of your website like your house The paint gets tired after a few years, the gutters need cleaning every month, the grass needs to be cut regularly. If you don’t maintain these things, your house loses its street appeal, and therefore, its value. It’s exactly the same with your website. The graphics may become outdated after a few years, or slow to load. Your staff page might need to be updated monthly, as team members come and go. The SEO tagging on your monthly blogs or articles needs to be reviewed regularly. This keeps your website looking fresh and appealing to potential customers, and easy to discover. Keep in mind what your ideal avatar is looking for, and match your website with this. 2. Line up your tradespeople Just like in the army movies, line up your team of tradespeople and give them the once over. Think to yourself — are they helping or hurting what I want my business image to look like? While you’ll set expectations for your team, you want to consider: Does he maintain personal appearance? Is he respectful and personable with customers? Do I trust this person to represent my business?
3. Keep on top of social media The rule of thumb is you should be posting a minimum of once per week. When posting, keep ‘what is this avatar looking for?’ top of your mind. Try creating posts that’ll help build a connection with your avatar. Reply to every comment, whether they’re good or bad. You need to be engaging with your audience in a timely way to show you’re active online, and are listening to your avatar. 4. Answer the phone You’ve spent time and money to advertise your business to your avatar, but you let the phone go to voicemail? That’s crazy! It’s important to be conscious of how you’re answering the phone. Stop what you are doing and find a quiet spot, if possible. Be aware of your tone, as you need to be positive, alert and helpful. Ask, listen, recap, respond. When you ask them what the issue is, really listen to it. Recap the issue to them to show you were paying attention and then give them a response — such as your availability. (Members, the nine-steps are in The Call Converter video on My Lifestyle Tradie.) 5. Don’t leave money on the table More than 80 per cent of sales are made in the eighth to 12th contact. So, you need to be following up several or more times, or you’re leaving money on the table. Where possible, get payment on-the-spot. The Payment Power Timeline, below, demonstrates that once the job is finished, there is no urgency for the customer to pay. However, before and during the job, you have the power. YOU ARE NOT THE BANK!
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HEALTH: THE ‘FORREST GUMP’ TRADIE
HEALTH: THE ‘FORREST GUMP’ TRADIE Could you work a full day on the tools and then run a marathon after knock-off? Before you start with your excuses about dodgy knees and a bad back, it’s a big ask in anyone’s books. That’s why this is an extraordinary story of a tradie who hit the pavement to help others.
In August 2020, apprentice sparky, Nedd Bockmann, 21, kicked off a fundraising campaign to raise awareness about homelessness. His goal was to raise $50,000 by running 50 marathons in 50 days — that’s 42.2 kilometres per day — adding up to a whopping 2110 kilometres. For context, that’s further than going from Sydney to Melbourne AND BACK. To add another challenge, Nedd continued his apprenticeship— working an eighthour shift, Monday to Friday from 7am- 3pm, without taking a day off. Yep, that’s freaking unbelievable!
Nedd’s story ends on a high — he smashed his original $50,000 goal, and has currently raised over $92,525 (at date of publication) for his cause. He attributed his success to the overwhelming amount of support he received from the community, who backed him every step of the way. Taking inspiration from Nedd, being a trade business owner isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. With families and employees relying on our success, we too have a nonnegotiable job to do. While running 2110 kilometres to prove our dedication is likely a step too far, there are things we can do to reach our own goals faster.
Can you imagine working on the tools for eight hours, running 42 kilometres, and then waking up the next day and doing it all again? It’s not surprising that Nedd gained a massive following — and the nickname “Forrest Gump” — for his courageous efforts. On his Facebook page, Nedd noted:
How did I wake up every day and go again? I did it because I told myself I had a job to do and it was literally non-negotiable. Image credit: Nedd Brockman’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/Nedds-50-in-50-100203041821789
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L I F E S T Y L E T R A D I E .C O M . A U
HEALTH: THE ‘FORREST GUMP’ TRADIE
Believe in yourself This is the starting line for success. Without a firm and unwavering belief that you can do this, you will fail. It’s all mind over matter. Nedd put his mind to his task, asked for help and listened to advice. He was successful because he was backed by those around him and built a good support structure — rather than taking the road on his own. It shows that anybody can make an impact and be successful when your team has your back.
Ask for help It’s hard to put your ego aside and ask for help. It’s even harder when you don’t feel you deserve it. No one can successfully do it all. Nedd didn’t go it alone. He had a team of friends and medical professionals supporting him. Without that support system, you’ll never get where you want to go.
Listen to advice Often we hear trade business owners diss good advice as ‘too hard’, ‘that wouldn’t work here’, ‘my guys wouldn’t do that.’ The reality is, you’re the boss, it’s your business so you need to listen to advice and take control.
Implement change Change can be scary. We push back on it. Try to negotiate around it. We’ve found when a team is guided through change — removing the barriers — changes are more easily adopted. You’d be surprised by how adaptable your team is when they understand the rationale behind the change!
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If your why is bigger than your reason to quit, then you won’t quit. — Nedd Brockmann
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GEN Y AND GEN Z EMPLOYEES: WHAT DO THE YOUNGER GENERATIONS WANT AT WORK?
GEN Y & GEN Z EMPLOYEES
What do the younger generations want at work? Are you stuck in your ways or willing to break away from old leadership styles? According to a paper, ‘New Generations at Work’, by McCrindle Research, here’s what you need to know about Gen Y (born 1980-1994) and Gen Z (born 1995-2010) employees and their mindsets. Gen Y generally has a strong relationship ethic. They are collaborative learners, enjoy working in teams, and thrive in a relaxed consensus-driven group. When it comes to work, Generation Z views their job as a means to an end. Gen Z understands work is performed for financial reasons. What does this mean for you and your trade business? Well, you’ve got to build a culture that’s appealing to Gen Y and Gen Z tradies. This is not about you and your old ways — it’s about them.
Do you provide work-life harmony? It’s a cop-out to chalk the younger generations up to being ‘lazy’ because they didn’t face the same hardships you did. There’s a good chance your grandfather thought the same of your post-war generation!
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The reality check is that Gen Y and Gen Z workers have different priorities in the workplace. They’re asking for a reasonable degree of balance between work and home life, where possible. You’ll recognise overworking your team will lead to stress and frustration, and poor productivity. McCrindle notes younger generations are likely to have over six career paths and 15 jobs— many have likened this trend to the generation being overworked and under supported. Recently, the co-founders of Mary’s Group, Jake Smythe and Kenny Graham, came under fire for calling millennials ‘lazy’ in their podcast, The Fat. In the episode, the duo vented that young people should take more responsibility for their work-life balance rather than making it the problem for their employer. If you’re nodding in agreement. Think again.
L I F E S T Y L E T R A D I E .C O M . A U
GEN Y AND GEN Z EMPLOYEES: WHAT DO THE YOUNGER GENERATIONS WANT AT WORK?
How can you promote a positive work environment? Younger generations are looking for a work environment that promotes good mental health and wellbeing. McCrindle notes: “Gen Z is the most technological saturated, formally educated generation our world has ever seen.” The pressures that go with this can take a toll.
How do you recognise accomplishments? When younger workers feel they’re undervalued — personally or financially — they’ll leave. Personally, they want to feel like you’re on their side, and have a keen interest in their personal growth and development. Financially, they’re open about “talking dollars”, so if you’re undercutting wages or not meeting the market, you’ll struggle to maintain, keep or motivate staff.
Instead of questioning the work ethic of your tradie when he/she takes a day off. If it’s not a regular occurrence, try understanding that sometimes, people need a mental health day to maintain their wellbeing. It’s not slacking off, it’s offering support to help your employee.
According to Consumer-Clarity.com, Gen Y and Gen Z “want managers who act like coaches rather than bosses.” If you’re not recognising your team’s accomplishments, or advising on how your tradies can improve on shortcomings — incentives to work harder will fail. Recognition doesn’t need to be big, a quick call to say “Well done!” or a Christmas bonus cheque for a hard years’ work can go a long way!
Yes, it’s easy to dismiss the younger generation. However, it’s likely the generation before you said the same thing. Your parents didn’t get your music, and you don’t understand why your kids are crazy about TikTok. The bottom line is, leadership has changed dramatically in the last 20 years or so — you’ll never attract and retain the best tradies by having an outdated leadership mindset.
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PARTNER SPOTLIGHT — KPI TRACKING AND SETTING TEAM TARGETS
PARTNER SPOTLIGHT
KPI tracking and setting team targets Contributed by AroFlo
Tracking the performance of your tradies is important. Key performance indicators (KPIs) are a way to measure and monitor your team’s performance. Without KPIs, your tradies won’t have any idea about what you’re expecting from them.
KPI TRACKING REFERS TO THE METHOD YOU USE TO MONITOR
What’s the point of KPI tracking? KPI tracking provides you, as the trade business owner, with information you can draw on to analyse, review and assess individual employee performance against your defined goals. Through the collection of data, KPI tracking serves as a benchmark from which to drive progress towards your business goals and identify areas to fine-tune and improve.
YOUR PERFORMANCE METRICS. In our trade business, we use a Staff Performance Dashboard to track KPIs every week and review KPIs with our team members on a monthly basis. Through this KPI reporting process, we can identify how employee performance plays out on our bottom line. First, you have to set performance targets for your tradies — and be clear on your why.
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L I F E S T Y L E T R A D I E .C O M . A U
PARTNER SPOTLIGHT — KPI TRACKING AND SETTING TEAM TARGETS
KPIs should:
• Tie into your overall business objectives • Measure areas that’ll influence the success of your business; and
• Identify areas requiring further action. The point of KPI tracking is to give you data to inform decision making in your business. However, while cultivating a high-performance team is top of mind for you (as it should be), your employees’ worth can’t be reduced down to just a number. At the end of the day, your team members are people, not resources to be consumed.
Which KPIs should be tracked — and why? As the trade business owner, it’s up to you to track which employee performance KPIs matter to you and your defined goals and objectives. Importantly, setting achievable targets for your team is essential and will be guided by your goals and team culture. Using our Staff Performance Dashboard, here’s four examples of KPIs we track: 1. Revenue per employee (we call it: Total invoiced out) This is a measure of what each employee brings in — and is an actual figure — not calculated as an average. It establishes whether each team member isn’t costing you more than they’re making you.
4. Overtime per employee The overtime metric can be interpreted in different ways. For us, we monitor how many hours a week our tradies are working. Overtime is both paid and a necessary part of the job in a trade business. While KPI tracking and reporting is a must-do for every tradie in business. Your team members will perform better when they’re engaged in your business, you genuinely care about them, and achievements are recognised and celebrated.
Quick KPIs checklist So, you’re now ready to step up your KPI tracking and KPI reporting. For us, using job management software, AroFlo, integrated with accounting software, Xero, has streamlined the process. Before you get started, ask yourself the following questions:
• Are your KPIs should be easy to understand and measure?
• Does your team know why KPIs are important? • Have you clearly communicated KPIs and expectations?
• What does accountability look like? • How frequently will you track and review KPIs with team members?
• How will you track the data?
2. Profit per employee (we call it: Gross profit) This employee performance KPI breaks down profitability (free from expenses). It measures how much money each tradesperson is bringing in each day/ week/month over and above your break-even point. 3. Employee billable percentage This KPI shows you the overall ratio of directly profitable work to internal cost each employee engages in. It demonstrates the relationship between “billable” and “non-billable” time, in an effort to maintain a healthy balance.
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Ultimately, KPI tracking is for learning and decision-making, not personal judgement. It’s designed to drive collaboration and continuous improvement, not instilling fear within a workplace. Employee buy-in is the key to KPIs and creating a high-performance team.
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BE AN EMPLOYER OF CHOICE
BE AN EMPLOYER OF CHOICE
HOW TO ATTRACT AND RETAIN THE BEST TRADIES Scratching your head on how to be an employer of choice? Wondering why all your tradies are staying for a short time and buggering off? In this article, we’ve outlined some helpful ways you can stand out from other trade businesses vying for the best recruits. Ready? Let’s go!
‘World’s best boss’ We all want to think we’re a great employer. The reality is, all employers have their share of faults, and areas for improvement. How willing are you to take onboard constructive feedback – and make things better? Forbes business magazine notes:
“The first step in benefiting from criticism, is to be open to it. Actively listen and take time to absorb the information. Don’t jump to the conclusion that the person delivering the critique is out to get you.” If you don’t know what you’re doing well, how do you know to keep doing it? It’s the same for your shortcomings. If you don’t know what impact they are having on your business, how can your business ever improve?
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Hire fast, fire fast Good tradies are always snapped up quickly and you might be left with the ‘jack of all trades, master of none’. Hire good people fast, but also don’t be afraid to let them go if it’s not working out. The goal is to retain valued employees — and it’s no surprise businesses with high turnover often have low business performance. Therefore, it’s important to understand why your employees are quitting. According to the Harvard Business Review: “If people are leaving an organisation in ever-increasing numbers, figuring out why is crucial.” Going through this process will expose hidden issues in your business, and highlight opportunities to be an employer of choice. L I F E S T Y L E T R A D I E .C O M . A U
BE AN EMPLOYER OF CHOICE
Be consistent
Consistency in your behaviour
Do you fly off the handle when there’s been a stuff up? Or, are you the type to take a passiveaggressive approach? How consistent is your behaviour, as a leader in the business? Could it do with some reflection?
As the boss, the way you act will determine your employees’ actions. If you rock up to site, dusty from a big night out — your staff will think it’s okay to do the same. You don’t get a free pass because you’re the boss.
Consistency in your business practices — and in your behaviour — will give your staff a sense of consistency and structure. Forbes says: “[Business owners] fail to behave in a consistent way when carrying out daily tasks … so many people amount to a fraction of their true capability because they are so inconsistent with what they do.”
Consistent business practices This means everybody in the business, does everything the same way.
In short, the best way to become an employer of choice, is to be the employer you wish you had. When you were back on the tools, working for somebody else and you looked at your boss – remember what you used to think about the culture and how you used to feel about them as a leader? Here’s your turn to make things right.
The McDonald’s business model embodies this — no matter what state, or even country you’re in, a Big Mac is a Big Mac. It’s systemised. Everybody follows the same process and doesn’t stray from the path. If everybody does it the same way, the chance of mistakes arising are minimised. If a mistake is made, 99 per cent of the time, it’s because the employee didn’t follow the process. Do your tradies know what to do — and what you expect?
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COMMUNIT Y PAGE — ITS ZOOMED BY!
ITS ZOOMED BY!
In 2021, we say goodbye to Zoom and hello to in-person events! Reminiscing our time with zoom is bitter-sweet. We loved being in the studio, and felt like movie stars surrounded by so many cameras. But mostly, we missed the buzz and excitement of seeing you all together, sharing a beer and having a laugh. Our most recent member event headlined some of our biggest names — kicking off with the truly inspiring, Justin Jones. He took us through his amazing journey’s of trial and tribune, and truly left us gobsmacked. The didactic message he left us with was: “It’s 90 per cent planning, and 10 per cent execution.” His travels only lasted a few weeks, but took years of careful planning, and that’s why he made it back alive each time. It’s the same with business, if you want to survive and thrive, it’s all in the planning — and backing yourself. 18
Kate Toon filled our heads with digital inspiration and aspiration. With her fast-pace rhetoric, she broke down how to perform in a digital sphere into bite-sized chunks. We follow her religiously, and you should, too! Mike Michalowicz showed us the light with his book, Fix This Next. He broke down the complicated journey all business owners go through — likening it to being lost in the woods roaming in circles, he struck a chord with us. We’re keen to hear more from him in our March 2021 R&R, where he takes us through his best-selling book, Profit First!
So, get your dancing shoes on because 2021 is going to be a big one. Get ready to have a big hug in person — or maybe an elbow bump.
L I F E S T Y L E T R A D I E .C O M . A U
COMMUNIT Y PAGE — ITS ZOOMED BY!
J A N U A R Y – F E B R U A R Y – M A R C H 2021 – I S S U E #60
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NEXT ISSUE
Retaining good staff
No one likes the boss
Staff turnover is a constant business headache — people are chopping and changing jobs like never before! In 2021 it’s time to take hold of the reigns, and improve your staff retention so you can build a better trade business.
Nobody said being the boss was going to be easy. It’s hard to build a relationship with your employees based on trust and respect, and few can maintain it. So, where’s the line between being a boss and being a mate?
Lifestyle Tradie Live is a national series of free education events for tradies who want to make more money and get a handle on the chaos. GET YOUR FREE TICKET AT
lifestyletradie.com.au/events
Phone: 1800 704 822 Email: info@lifestyletradie.com.au Web: www.lifestyletradie.com.au
Lifestyle Tradie Magazine is published by and © copyright by Andrew & Angela Smith, Lifestyle Tradie Group Pty Ltd 2021. 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.
