Today’s guest, Kevin Hargraves, has been a successful business owner for 40+ years.  He has bought many struggling businesses, with the objective of turning them round.  In each case he transformed the operations, marketing and sales, and grew them quickly and sold them on, each one making a nice healthy profit.

He learnt how to do this a long time ago from a gentleman called Michael Gerber (Author of The EMyth).

These days he enjoys helping others. He is now a Business Growth Expert at Best Business Coach, and loves helping other serious business owners to grow their companies exponentially.

He runs a very affordable group coaching service where business owners meet with him every week to work through his 12 strategies to improve revenue and profits.

They help each other with ideas, encourage each other, and share their achievements.

In this chat, Kevin outlines 3 of the 12 strategies, along with several really interesting stories about three trade businesses he has coached. They have each gone from a state of despair to achieving substantial growth in revenue and profits, and are dominating their local markets.

• Listen to how a plumbing business overcame their fear and substantially increased revenue and profits, without losing any customers
• Find out how Kevin helped an engine reconditioning business to turn an annual loss into a healthy annual profit
• Discover the powerful strategy a Gold Coast skip bin business implemented to increase revenue by 400%

He also has a really generous free tool where you put in your own numbers, and it shows you how to a few different things you can do to seriously increase your income and profits.

Resources:

Kevin Hargraves Profit Growth Simulator Tool
Kevin Hargraves Best Business Coaching Program
Free Trial Instant Tradie Websites
Commonsense Marketing for Outstanding Results

Sponsor

This episode is sponsored by Instant Tradie Websites

The post 28 – How to Substantially Grow Revenue and Profit appeared first on TRADIE SUCCESS.

In today's Tradie Success podcast, I sat down with Karen Hall, founder of Reputation by Design, and talked about the digital marketing ecosystem.

We chat about what a digital marketing eco system is, and why every business owner needs one, and the key components you need to have.

What we covered in our chat

This is some of the many things we covered:

• Why you need more than just a website – what else is involved in creating an effective digital marketing eco system
• How to attract the right audience to your website and keep them curious to explore further
• How to inspire people to enquire and buy
• How to recapture the attention of people who left your site without enquiring or buying
• Why you need to keep evolving your strategies and how to allocate budget wisely, to achieve great growth.

Special offer for our listeners

Need help analysing your current website?

One of our highly popular services is our Digital Marketing Ecosystem Review and Recommendations Report. We review your site against 52 criteria, provide a detailed report, and, if some things don't stack up, we will include recommendations on improving results.

We offer this service at $197. But podcast listeners can use the special code REPUTATION to get it for free. Just click the banner or scan the QR code below to claim this special offer.

Sponsor

This episode is sponsored by Instant Tradie Websites

The post 27 – Exploring the Digital Marketing Ecosystem appeared first on TRADIE SUCCESS.

Picture this: You're standing in a room filled with your industry peers, holding a shiny trophy. The crowd erupts in applause, and you have a huge grin from ear to ear.  That moment of recognition and achievement is a testament to your hard work, dedication, and the exceptional value you bring to your customers.

Recently we sat down with Karen Hall, founder of Reputation by Design, to explore the many benefits of entering awards, and how to win one for your business.

Karen and her team have helped all kinds of Australian business owners to win over 480 awards. Most recently they achieved an impressive 100%-win rate in the 2023 Asia Pacific Stevie Awards for clients they helped with awards submissions.

What we covered in our chat

In our interview, she graciously shared her knowledge, insights and experience on:

• The benefits of entering your business for award nomination
• The types of businesses eligible to be nominated for an award
• How to create a winning submission and differentiate your submission from other businesses that enter
• How much time it takes to apply for an award
• What to do if your business is nominated for an award, and achieves a win or place
• The impact that winning awards has had on clients in different sectors

Special offer for our listeners

Interested in winning an award for your business?

Karen is providing listeners of the Tradie Success Podcast with a really generous offer to get started . Simply contact her at reputationbydesign.com and mention that you listened to her interview at Tradie Success, and she’ll do some free bespoke awards research, tailored to your business sector, to find out exactly what's available, and when it opens. She'll ask a couple of questions upfront, and then dive into the research. It will take a couple of days and then she’ll come back to you with some recommendations. there’s no obligation. All she asks is that you review it and give her some feedback.

Sponsor

This episode is sponsored by Instant Tradie Websites

The post 26 – How to Win Awards and Influence Judges appeared first on TRADIE SUCCESS.

Never underestimate the value of storytelling. The act of swapping stories and experiences with those around us, is universal. It’s not only done for the sake of entertainment, but also for education, making personal values known and sharing expertise.

Now, you might be wondering …

“What does storytelling have to do with running a business?”

For starters, many businesses — especially trades — build their client base from referrals and word of mouth. Your clients swap stories with one another and they talk about the experience they had with your business to their friends, families, and even their next-door neighbours! However, that’s just one example about the power of storytelling and how it can better your business.

In this podcast episode, we hear from Anthony Perl, who is the host of Better Biz and the Director of communications agency CommTogether. Listen to our chat, as Anthony discusses the value of storytelling, how it can help your business, and ways in which you can incorporate it into your website and marketing campaigns; to help build rapport and trust with prospects and customers.

What we covered in our chat

• How do you get businesses to tell their stories about their business and really attract attention from their ideal customers, when most people hate being in videos?
• What kind of stories should you tell?
• Big entrepreneurs like Sir Richard Branson use storytelling a lot. What can small businesses learn from the likes of him and other great business leaders?
• How do you tell stories that attract people?
• What’s the best way to tell, record and promote all the stories you have?

Special offer for our listeners

Anthony is providing listeners of the Tradie Success Podcast with a really generous offer to get started . He will waive the initial production fee of $3000, for tradies who would like to appear on the Better Biz program.

To find out more and take full advantage of this awesome offer — simply get in contact with Anthony through any of the links below and mention the Tradie Success Podcast special offer.

Website: www.betterbiz.online

LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/adperl/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Comm_Together/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CommTogether/

Sponsor

This episode is sponsored by Instant Tradie Websites

The post 25 – The Power of Storytelling appeared first on TRADIE SUCCESS.

Whether you’ve just started out in your new trade business, or you’ve been at it for awhile and you’re on a mission to grow, take a moment to listen to these great tips on pricing, quoting and selling.

Sure, we understand that they’re probably the things you hate doing the most, but our special guest provides some practical ideas on how you could do them better and more efficiently, so you don’t end up hating them!

Let’s face it, if you nail these two tasks, you’ll be well on your way to winning jobs over your competitors, and growing a sustainable, profitable trade business.

Our special guest is Gabriel Pinchev, the Founder and CEO of FieldPulse; a powerful app used by thousands of trade and service businesses in the US, Australia and New Zealand. It provides an easy way to manage day to day jobs, quotes, scheduling and customer communications, right from your ipad or phone. The company HQ is in Dallas, Texas, and they have a team in Melbourne looking after all the Australian clients.

What we covered in our chat

• The main challenges tradies face when moving from being an employee to starting their own business
• Never underestimate the importance of reviews and referrals and how to get them
• How to get better and more efficient and pricing up jobs and preparing quotes
• Tips for overcoming price objections

Special offer for our listeners

Gabriel has generously offered a free trial and special discount for listeners of Tradie Success. Click on the button to see the special offer. It’s well worth it!

Sponsor

This episode is sponsored by Instant Tradie Websites

The post 24 – How to Improve Quoting and Win More Work appeared first on TRADIE SUCCESS.

This has to be one of the most valuable and interesting business books I’ve ever read.

It’s based on a true story - which the author experienced (and is one of the characters in the book) and follows “JJ’s” journey on the things he did to turn his bicycle business from near bankruptcy into to a highly profitable business.

Join me on this interview with the author of Cadence, Pete Williams.  He’s co-founded several successful businesses, won numerous awards and has been referred to as “Australia’s Richard Branson” in media publications.

Pete first made a name for himself when, at age twenty-one, he sold the Melbourne Cricket Ground, for under $500 - which you can read about in his first book, How to Turn Your Million-Dollar Idea Into a Reality (2007).

In our chat Pete shared lots of marketing gold nuggets on the seven key levers that any business owner can do to increase revenue and profits.  It really is simple and quite achievable, and he shares stories of some of the tradie businesses he’s worked with and tips for applying the seven levers in any trade business.

Listen now and learn about the seven levers to trade business success.

Get the Book

I highly recommend reading Pete’s delightful book Cadence.  It’s available in three formats:

• hard copy (paperback)
• ebook
• audio

Deakin University Program

Pete also mentioned a wonderful program he runs at Deakin University with final year marketing students, where they help apply one of the seven levers into a growing business. Best part - it’s free!

Download the information on the program and how to apply here

The Deakin Business Clinic

Website + Social Media Links:

www.CadenceBook.com - is the home of the book.
www.PeteWilliams.com.au - Pete’s personal site
Twitter: https://twitter.com/preneur/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/preneur/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/preneurmarketing/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/preneurmarketing/

Sponsor

This episode is sponsored by Instant Tradie Websites

The post 23 – A Great Tale of Fast Business Growth appeared first on TRADIE SUCCESS.

I recently sat down with Jason Cooney from The Tender Team, a tender and bid writing extraordinaire. He and his team have a huge 85% win rate when helping their clients bid for council contracts in their local area. With numbers like that, it’s clear that Jason knows his stuff.

I was lucky enough to pick his brains and draw out as much practical, actionable advice for Tradie Success listeners as possible. Jason didn’t disappoint – he happily shared his insider tips, including:

• The best places to look for tender opportunities
• How to decide which tenders are worth your while
• What to include in your tender
• How to make your tender stand out from the competition
• And much, much more

Listen now and set yourself up for tender success.

Get your exclusive gifts here

Jason is also offering Tradie Success listeners two exclusive free gifts.

• The first is his must-have Bid-No Bid Guide that you can use when considering bidding for a tender. It asks you a few questions that’ll help you decide whether a tender is suitable for you, or not.

Download the Tender Team's Tradies
"Bid No Bid Checklist"

• The second is massive. If you’re working on a tender and you want Jason’s expert advice, simply shoot him an email or give him a buzz on his mobile and leave a message. Full contact details are on his website - thetenderteam.com.au

This episode is sponsored by Instant Tradie Websites

The post 22 – How to Win Tenders appeared first on TRADIE SUCCESS.

On the surface, everything looks great. Your team is happy. Your customers are happy. You’re happy. But underneath, you are struggling to pay wages and bills on time – let alone take your own wages and make a profit.

Sound familiar? You’re not alone. So many trade businesses – so many businesses in general – operate payday to payday. It’s something that can cause serious financial stress and impact all areas of your life.

I recently sat down with Katie Marshall, bookkeeper extraordinaire, financial coach, and new author. Katie recently published a book called Profit First for Tradies. It fast became a best-seller, with tradies across Australia reaching out to Katie and sharing their stories about their woes and how the book has helped them turn things around.

During our chat, we discussed the following:

• How the book was developed and why Katie loves working with tradies
• What the “profit first” method is, and how it provides a framework for financial success
• How you can come face-to-face with what’s really going on in your business
• How making small changes can transform the financial health of your business

So, have a listen. And be sure to check out Katie’s book, Profit First for Tradies.

TWEETABLES

There will always be a crisis at some point in your business journey. That’s where a robust financial foundation comes into play. #TradieSuccess
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Get in the habit of putting money away for certain things, so you always have cash to fall back on. #TradieSuccess
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No matter how scary it seems, take one small step toward facing your numbers and improving cashflow. #TradieSuccess
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Once you take the first step, the second step is a little bit easier. #TradieSuccess
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The #ProfitFirst method helps you see what’s really going on in your business. There’s no hiding the truth. #TradieSuccess
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The post 21 – Profit First for Tradies – Interview with Author Katie Marshall appeared first on TRADIE SUCCESS.

What does being a successful tradie mean to you? Maybe earning a reliable cash flow. Maybe working alongside a tight-knit team you can rely on. Or maybe, success means spending less time on the tools and more with friends and family.

Well, I recently had the pleasure of chatting with one such successful tradie – Colorbond Kenny. No, that isn’t his real name. It’s Kendrick Myers, and he’s the owner of Brisbane’s first premium Colorbond roofing and cladding company, My Cladders.

Over the last few years, Kendrick has made a name for himself as one of the most knowledgeable Colorbond cladding experts in the country. He’s secured a fabulous team of 13 employees, has regular work rolling in, and is just about ready to take the next step in his career.

So, how did Kendrick do it? What were his greatest challenges? And what advice has he got for tradies like you?

In this episode of Tradie Success, I’ll pick Kendrick’s brain and find out:

• Why he is four times better off having a team of employees instead of using contractors, and how he secures the right employees for his team
• How he keeps his employees engaged and motivated
• How he separates his emotions from his business
• How he successfully markets his business and manages cash flow
• How he makes time for his wife and kids while growing a successful business

Kendrick reminds us that building a business and finding your version of success isn’t a straightforward process – it’s a roller-coaster ride that takes time and dedication. Are you up for the challenge?

TWEETABLES

Keep up momentum by focusing on what is working instead of what isn’t. #tradiesuccess
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Your team is your community. Take time to forge friendships. #tradiesuccess
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Empower your team to own what they are doing. #tradiesuccess
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Success is a rollercoaster ride that takes time and dedication. #tradiesuccess
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The post 20 – Successful Tradie Interview – Kendrick Myers appeared first on TRADIE SUCCESS.

Ever heard of "Google My Business"? Maybe you have. Maybe you claimed your listing six months ago and haven’t thought about it since. Or maybe you haven’t at all.

Either way, if you run a local business with or without a physical shopfront, having an up-to-date, fully optimised Google My Business listing is an absolute must, if you want to show up on page 1 of a Google local search for your business type .

Why is Google My Business so important?

Because, when used strategically, it makes sure potential customers find – and trust – your business without costing you a single cent.

That’s right. When optimised correctly, your business will eventually appear in what’s known as the ‘local pack’, the group of up to 3 business listings that appear alongside a map at the top of a localised Google search. And a localised Google search (such as "plumber in Toowong", "or Brighton electrician", etc.) is the first step most people take when looking to purchase local services.

Google My Business is essential for all local business owners. @tradiesuccess
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Google My Business is a very important component of your local SEO strategy. To help us navigate the complexities of local SEO, we chat with the newest member of the Commonsense Marketing team - SEO expert Lisa Baade. With almost a decade of SEO experience working with some of Australia’s biggest brands, and with hundreds of small businesses, Lisa knows the ins and outs of local SEO and Google My Business. In fact, her advice has helped businesses around the country double their online leads.

In this episode of the Tradie Success podcast, Lisa shares the following vital information to help you get your business ranking in google local searches:

• What Google My Business is
• How to claim your Google My Business listing
• How to optimise your Google My Business listing for maximum exposure
• What the ‘local pack’ is, and how to get your business in it
• How to get your business on Google Maps
• How to rank on Google for the suburbs you service

How to make it easy for potential customers to find your local business. @tradiesuccess
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Links and Resources Mentioned

• Productivity tip - simple gmail notes
• Marketing tip - adding notes to photos

The post 19 – How to Get Your Local Business Ranking on Page 1 of Google appeared first on TRADIE SUCCESS.

Let’s talk money management. It’s essential to running your business and staying afloat.

An alarming 90% of small businesses that go broke, go broke because of cashflow according to Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Kate Carnell.

We need a steady flow of cash to pay for contractors, wages, materials and expenses, not to mention providing our family with the basic necessities. And of course if we manage our money well we want some leftover to have fun, to put towards our future, to take holidays, and to spoil our kids.

In today’s podcast, I chat with Ben Walker from InspireCA. He’s an accomplished, award-winning accountant who gets fired up and very helpful when it comes to cashflow and money management.

Now before you roll your eyes and close this page down in fear of absolute boredom, know that Ben is no ordinary accountant. He is what you call a disrupter – an accountant who has challenged the traditional model of accounting and turned it upside down. Ben is an anomaly.  An accountant with personality, a people person and one who focuses on the future, not just on the past.

Yes, the team at InspireCA do provide the standard BAS, tax return and compliance services. But, their main goal and philosophy is to help small business owners create the right kind of business environment – one that allows them to always put family first.

And he has over 460 strategies to make this happen.

Tune in now to hear a few of Ben’s favourites. He shares his knowledge on what you need to do to become cash rich, to even out your income, and to save large sums of money without doing anything you shouldn’t.

He provides three really useful tips that you can implement in your business straight away.  These are things I’ve done in my business and believe me - they work.

At the end Ben gives several generous offers to help our listeners take control of the cashflow.

Quote of the Day

Here’s a hard-hitting quote to finish on – one that I think we should all keep in mind when working on our cashflow management.

TWEETABLES

“Money has no value. The value comes from the dreams money helps achieve.” – Robert Kiyosaki
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Don’t let your bank balance run your business and emotions.
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Money saving tip: put away 10% of everything you earn.
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What you do with your money can determine the overall success of your business.
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Resources

Want to learn more about becoming a cash rich business? Click on these resources kindly provided  by Ben and the team at InspireCA.

1. Attend a Cash Rich Business Workshop – use the code TRADIESUCCESS to get 50% discount.
2. Download a free copy of the Cashed Up Strategy Map
3. Ask the team at InspireCA any question you want – Book a Free Test Drive

The post 18 – How to be a Cash Rich Business appeared first on TRADIE SUCCESS.