Episode 117 Podcast Transcript
Speaker 1 (00:00:00):
I was doing admin in the morning and working during the day. I go to the gym five days a week in the morning now, so I’m healthier, I’m happier. I am clearer and I use my time better at work. And then the best part is I get to go home and be a dad.
Speaker 2 (00:00:21):
G’day everyone. Rob Kropp and Dan Stones here from Pravar Group and welcome back to another episode of The Trade Den. Good to have you back, Dan. How are you?
Speaker 3 (00:00:29):
Good to be back. Yeah, I’m doing really well. Thank you, Rob. Very excited today. Another client feature and it’s right in the wheelhouse of everything we’ve been talking about lately. So looking forward to this one.
Speaker 2 (00:00:38):
Yeah, I love client features. It’s so good being able to bring clients on and share their journey. And I know a lot of our listeners love these client features as well. So a big warm welcome to you, Andrew. Great to have you on today.
Speaker 1 (00:00:49):
Thanks guys. Good to be here.
Speaker 3 (00:00:51):
Hey Andrew, good to see you.
Speaker 1 (00:00:53):
Yeah, good to see you guys. It’s exciting. I’ve been listening for a long time, so it’s cool to be on the podcast.
Speaker 3 (00:00:59):
Longtime listener, first time guest. I love it.
Speaker 1 (00:01:01):
I didn’t want to say it. I didn’t want to say it.
Speaker 3 (00:01:03):
You can say it. That’s all right. It’s always cool. Cheesy like 80s radio people. Hey, as we kick off today, we’re going to start off. We want to get to know you a little bit. Give us a little bit about your background to kick us off, where you’re from, what you do, your business, all of those cool things.
Speaker 1 (00:01:19):
So I claim to be a Victorian starting in Rutherglen, but born in Corowa which was New South Wales. Went to Sydney early with mom and dad and then ended up in Canberra and I’ve spent the rest of my life here and now setting up a family here.
Speaker 3 (00:01:34):
Nice. Family is you, Soph and-
Speaker 1 (00:01:37):
Dallas.
Speaker 3 (00:01:38):
… one with one on the way.
Speaker 1 (00:01:39):
Yeah, one on the way in October. So two under two is going to be exciting.
Speaker 3 (00:01:44):
Nice. That was always the hardest one. One to two was crazy. I don’t know how you do three, Rob. That was never a chance for us.
Speaker 2 (00:01:50):
Yeah, no, it’s good fun with three kids, but mate, you enjoy life in Canberra with your wife and your young fellow at the moment.
Speaker 1 (00:01:59):
Love it. Yeah, love it. It’s such a good place to have a family. And although we would like to be closer to the coast, I’m pumped to be here and we’ll stay here for a long time, I think.
Speaker 3 (00:02:10):
Awesome. I love it. What about as a kid growing up? Were you a competitive person? What were sort of your hobbies? What’s some of the hobbies now?
Speaker 1 (00:02:20):
I think I was always competitive as a kid. Sport, I played NRL for a long time, but was never quite that good in between the bench and the wing mostly. But I loved training. So I think that still stays with me. But yeah, super competitive as a kid. I think I’m softening over time now and getting to the mature age where like I say, other people win more so than me, but yeah, still pretty competitive at times.
Speaker 3 (00:02:47):
From what I’ve seen, you’re pretty competitive in business. You’re not someone that just lets it all happen. You pretty much jump in boots and all and are determined, I think, with your business for sure.
Speaker 1 (00:02:57):
Yeah, I think that’s probably a blurred line between determination and I don’t know.
Speaker 3 (00:03:04):
It’s a nice way of saying competitive.
Speaker 1 (00:03:06):
Yeah, I think so.
Speaker 3 (00:03:10):
Very good. And as we round getting to know you a bit, big influences on you growing up. Parents were they, I don’t think they were from memory. I haven’t heard it, but parents, business owners, tradespeople. What was sort of the background there?
Speaker 1 (00:03:22):
So no tradies, no business owners. And it’s a bit cliche to say, but we had a very close family. Mum and dad were big influencers. My two older sisters were good influencers. I learned a lot of lessons about respect, having two older sisters and being the youngest boy. But yeah, no, I don’t know. Had a very simple upbringing. Mum and dad were rocks. They were awesome. They taught me a lot. But no outstanding stories of small businesses or anything like that, no tradies.
Speaker 3 (00:03:53):
Okay. Any sisters in Canberra still or they moved on or what’s happening there?
Speaker 1 (00:03:57):
Both in Canberra roughly. So one of my sisters lives in Goulburn, which is close by, but works in Canberra, so we see them a lot. Yeah, mum’s still in Canberra. Dad, unfortunately, passed away at the end of last year, but we are a very close family.
Speaker 3 (00:04:11):
One more question. I’m going to throw a new one in here, Rob. I like this question. I’m going to throw it out here for the first time. What’s something people would be surprised to know about you? We get a lot of clients listening, and they think they know everyone. So we’re looking for something that some people would be surprised to know about you, Andrew.
Speaker 1 (00:04:26):
I love cooking. So love cooking. I’m a bit of a pedantic pantry and fridge owner. Do most of the cooking at home and yeah, I just absolutely love it. I’ve joked about moving industries, which would be a nightmare, but yeah, I would love to be a chef, but I will never do it.
Speaker 2 (00:04:46):
That’s surprising me, Dan, is we’ve been joking in our group calls of late around how Andrew has the same lunch every single day. So I’m surprised to hear that where he eats the same lunch all the time.
Speaker 1 (00:04:57):
Yeah, they’re cooking at home.
Speaker 3 (00:04:58):
What’s the go-to lunch?
Speaker 1 (00:05:00):
Look, pasta. I could measure it out for you, Dan. I’ve got everything down to the gramme, but yeah, pasta, frozen peas and a can of salmon.
Speaker 3 (00:05:09):
Okay. This is your master chef meal. I like it. Very good.
Speaker 1 (00:05:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:05:14):
That’s a stitch. What’s your go- to? What’s your signature? If you say that, then we’ll just move on.
Speaker 1 (00:05:20):
Well, ironically, it’s a pasta. I love making fresh pasta. Moved into fresh pizzas, so pizza dough from scratch, pasta sauce from scratch. So very much in the Italian theme. But yeah, I love it. And I honestly think about it as … I was reflecting on why I’m enjoying it so much and it’s like doing an apprenticeship again. I’m learning. I’m buying tools. I’m going out and spending way too much money on kitchen aids and knives and all sorts of shit that I don’t need. But yeah, it’s a nice challenge. Hopefully I’ve mastered being an electrician, so now I can master how to use a knife or a kitchen aid.
Speaker 3 (00:05:56):
Very nice. Have you got one of those pasta makers that you roll the thing out and it does it all?
Speaker 1 (00:06:01):
So look, we’re probably going into too much detail about the cooking, but the kitchen aid’s got it all. I do it all through the kitchen aids. So good. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:06:08):
Look at you guys. So nice. Very nice. Awesome. It’s all right. Rob loves to cook, so that’s all good. Okay. Let’s carry on.
Speaker 2 (00:06:17):
No comment.
Speaker 3 (00:06:19):
Yeah, that was very big silence. All right. Let’s go back to when you started. I’m going to start this off, Andrew. Let’s talk a little bit about coaching. You came to us, I think it was about July 2024, give or take, but about July 2024. When you first came into coaching, what was going on in your world? Where were you at? What were you experiencing? Where was that starting point for you?
Speaker 1 (00:06:38):
Yeah, although I was relatively close, I was trying to reflect on this, obviously knowing I’m coming into this podcast and I remember chaos, but I also remember it as fun as well. So flying blind, tool belt on every day, working hard, working under pressure. It’s pretty addictive in a bad way, I guess. But I remember I had July 2024, Dallas was on the way to being born and dad was sick. So we knew that there was going to be some life-changing events. I remember talking to Rob about that and basically I can handle the pressure when I’m at my best, but with these life-changing events coming, it could have just all come crashing down.
Speaker 3 (00:07:28):
So was this a structured approach into coaching? Was it sort of like, I know what’s coming, I’m going to get some help? Or was it, I need the help now? What was the mindset going in?
Speaker 1 (00:07:37):
Well, the full back story was Mitch Copp from Copper Electrical. So I’ve known him for years through Clipsal Advisory Committee and he got into coaching, I’m going to say three years before that potentially. And he came to me and was explaining how good he met Rob and he’s in this coaching Pravar and I at the time was too stubborn, knew better. Was a successful business owner in my mind. I just remember seeing, we caught up probably every three to six months and I just saw him getting better and better person, like business, online presence, like they’re killing it, his personal life. And I actually spoke to Mitch before I called Rob or reached out to Pravar just to say, “This is happening in my life.” And he’s like, “Just fucking do it. Just ring him. Just get on, do your discovery call, get on and do it.”
(00:08:27):
And yeah, I remember speaking to Rob about it. So it was more of a conversation around, it was a slow burn with an acute need to get this underway. So I have structure around me when like Dallas, we knew he was coming so I needed a bit of structure there, but then not knowing when dad was going to pass away, I knew I was going to need some time. And at that time in business, everything was on my shoulders. So yeah, something had to give.
Speaker 2 (00:08:55):
It’s interesting you say that because we see that a lot with a lot of the guys coming on board where there’s a school of camp who guys who have a young family already where they might have a couple of kids under the age of say six to eight and they’re already in the pressure cooker of business and life is competing. Or the other school of camp is, we’re actually seeing it a bit these days which guys have almost foresight into, okay, I know what it was like. My dad may not have been around and I know I’ve got a family on the way and I want to be the best dad that I can be when I know when kids are coming. And Dan, we see that a bit now, don’t we? Where young guys are so much more self-aware, they’re so much more internally aware of who they are and they almost understand somewhat what responsibility’s coming. And the thought of wanting to be there and be a present dad is big in today’s world where guys just want to do that. And that’s why we’re seeing a wave of clients coming into coaching wanting to be better, don’t we, Dan?
Speaker 3 (00:09:59):
Yeah. I think over the years coaching was so different back in the day. It was always, help me fix what’s gone wrong or help me get back on track from where I am. And although we do still see that, the ability to have people say, “Hey, I want to do this right the first time. I want to do this better than I’ve seen it done before from the start. Teach me how to do it well as opposed to teach me how to fix it. ” So I think it’s definitely an avenue that wasn’t always the case, but I don’t know if we really thought about it. It’s probably half, half these days and especially I’d say the last couple of years, say post COVID, everyone seems to be coming with that sense of, “Hey, I’m going to do this right, get me to this outcome as opposed to try and fix everything,” which is exciting.
(00:10:37):
I love that. I think it’s really cool.
Speaker 2 (00:10:39):
Sure.
Speaker 3 (00:10:41):
In terms of what you said there, Andrew, just coming back to it, you did mention you had the tool belt on, you were working every day, it was sort of solid hours. I think you were doing about 100K months at the time. Things were good, it was exciting and it was flowing. Just to set that scene, you were very much, I think, almost like the definition, I think, Rob, to the numbers, you can talk to it, but tool belt business. So just explain what we mean about that, Rob, and maybe set that scene before we get any further.
Speaker 2 (00:11:08):
Yeah. Talk about businesses, it’s a sweet spot around sub, around a million dollar mark roughly for a trades business where they might have a couple of guys around them. They’re still on the tools, predominantly still on the tools and it’s a real decision point where they’ve already made the decision to be able to start to hire someone and build a bit of a ground crew. Now, some guys stay there and they don’t want to ever get off the tools, but Andrew came to us at that real decision point going, “Okay, I know that I want to be able to build this thing and I’ve got the opportunity to do that. I just don’t even know where to start.” And I think Andrea, that’s when you really jumped into coaching, the will and the want and the desire was there, but it was like, what steps do I have to take?
(00:11:50):
I’m confused around what to do next. That’s kind of where your journey started, wasn’t it?
Speaker 1 (00:11:54):
Yeah, definitely. And Dan’s probably going to ask me about it, but then I went in guns blazing and shot from the hip and did everything at once.
Speaker 3 (00:12:03):
We will get to that. Let’s not spoil that little bit of the journey for you because that’s fun to coach through. What I do want to do though is go from that tool belt business. I think it was episode 111, we really did spell that out. So if you’re really looking for what that looks like, some of the challenges of that unique part of the journey, if you like, go back and listen to episode 111 for that one. But as you’re going through this, Andrew, and you’re coming into here, was growth on your mind, did you have a sense of where you wanted to get to or was it literally just this preparation, this sort of foundational, just I’m in this process to be better and didn’t really have a clear outcome on how big, how fast, or was it just something you knew you wanted from the get-go?
Speaker 1 (00:12:42):
Yeah, I think every business owner in that phase has a desire to grow, but it was definitely stability for me at the time knowing that I needed structure, simple structure like an admin on board to … So if I can’t answer the phone calls for a day, then the business is going to fall over. So still had a growth mindset and again, reflecting on Mitch’s journey, I wanted that. You know what I mean? I wanted to grow, I wanted to succeed. So I guess I wanted stability in the short term, but I wanted to grow post that.
Speaker 2 (00:13:19):
It was almost a bit of a conflicting thing in your mind because you knew you had personal things going on with your dad and a young fellow along the way, but it was almost like you’re kind of tempering that with growth because you wanted growth, but you wanted stability. They kind of almost go in opposites, don’t they?
Speaker 1 (00:13:36):
Yeah, they definitely do because you can’t grow without putting in the work and being present. So the idea of not being present and growing was pretty scary.
Speaker 3 (00:13:46):
Yeah, it gets very, I think, cloudy and very confusing. What was the structure? You mentioned a litle bit about that. I want to hear about in your mind when you came to us, what was the structure you were running? What a typical sort of day or a week looked like just for you? What was sort of that? And then I’m going to go into where are you now? So let’s set up the where you were and remember this is only, what did we say? It was July 2024. So we’re not talking decades ago. This was sort of recent memory.
Speaker 1 (00:14:13):
Yeah. So let’s drop the word structure out of this conversation because it was day by day, week by week bank account monitoring, happy, sad, happy, sad. A normal day for me essentially was get up at five o’clock in the morning and get on the computer, do admin, go out to site, work my ass off and then come home, probably have some dinner, do a litle bit of extra catch up work if I could, did some invoicing. So yeah, it was burning the candle at both ends.
Speaker 3 (00:14:43):
Yeah, you were definitely in that bracket, that high 50s, 60 hour weeks, that was sort of the standard, right? Whatever it took.
Speaker 1 (00:14:51):
Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 3 (00:14:52):
So in that time, Andrew, just a little bit about your team. So what was the ground crew looking like? Obviously structure were dropping out, but what was the ground crew doing at the time?
Speaker 1 (00:15:03):
I think we had one other electrician, two apprentices. Probably should have done a little bit of deep diving into that to get the accurate answer. But yeah, from memory, it was one electrician, myself was an electrician, two apprentices. Yeah, no admin support.
Speaker 3 (00:15:18):
And that’s it, full stop. No other support at all.
Speaker 1 (00:15:21):
No support. Yeah. So I was wearing so many hats, I couldn’t walk through doors.
Speaker 3 (00:15:26):
Yeah, for sure. All right, let’s fast forward. As I said, I really want to do this as a big sort of jump if you like, but where are you now? Let’s look at it at the other end. Give us a snapshot of OnPoint today, team revenue if you’re happy to talk about it, structure and how you spend your time now, just a couple of years on, not even two years on.
Speaker 1 (00:15:46):
So now, well, we peaked out at eight Ground Crew. We just lost one, but yeah, we’ve got seven Ground Crew, two in the office including me. We’ve got a bookkeeper that comes in once a week. So we get regular bookkeeping, which is fantastic. We’re in an office. We’re doing two million plus a year. So averaging aiming for 170K months and yeah, just a bigger beast now.
Speaker 3 (00:16:14):
I love the way he says it’s so nonchalantly, Rob. It’s just like, “Yeah, we’re just a bit bigger. We’ve just done a litle bit of stuff here. We’ve put a bit of this in. ” It’s massive, isn’t it? It’s a huge journey. And I think Rob, again, going from those phases of business from Toolbelt, this is now moving from Toolbelt straight into the guts of what would be an owner-operator business.
Speaker 2 (00:16:35):
Correct. Where Andrew’s at right now is a classic owner-operator trades business and it’s a real sweet spot. It’s a decision point for a trades business owner to be able to go, “Well, do I stay here and just enjoy the fruits of my labour or do I want to play another bigger game?” But Mate, you’re right, it’s such a milestone for you and it has only been such a short amount of time to somewhat double your business over that period of time. It must be something you’re really proud of.
Speaker 1 (00:17:07):
Yeah. And when you stop and reflect, actually, like you guys saying that, put a smile on my face because yeah, we did double our business in two years and we haven’t done it. Well, for the most part, we’ve kept everyone happy and we’ve done it at a good pace and smiles on our faces every day. So it’s a pretty good place to be.
Speaker 3 (00:17:26):
It’s great. And now what I want to do is break down, well, how did you do it? Because everyone who’s listening is going to be like, how the hell did you do that? What was the, not so much the secret, but it was a lot of hard work. But what were the steps you did? So the first thing I want to talk about then, and there’s a series of these, pricing. One of the first things you did was get an understanding and I’m keen to know if it was an awareness you’d never had before or if it was something that you knew you had to work on, but the first things you tackled was pricing.
Speaker 1 (00:17:54):
Yeah. I think I remember just having a level of uncertainty with pricing and it went both ways. I felt like I was overcharging some clients and I knew we were undercharging some clients. So I was using price sheets and hourly rates off other peers and other companies like copy, paste sort of stuff. And again, measuring my success off what was in the bank. So you had good months and bad months and now understanding how your age receivables and your payables go, you can see the trend every month. So I guess understanding what our costs were and it sort of breaks into understanding our numbers as well. So understanding what our costs were for the business and getting some data on that and then being able to build price sheets and price files that suited our business. But the one thing to add is that was one of the first things I tackled, but we’re still working on it almost weekly, but definitely monthly now.
(00:19:01):
So just reviewing it and constantly reviewing it because we’re currently going through an insane surcharge in some of our supplies and fuel. So we’re having to actually look at it quite regularly and quite actively.
Speaker 3 (00:19:14):
Great. And was that sort of confronting to do, like coming into it? Your mindset and your very level, did you come in going, “I need to learn this. ” And again, it’s the learner’s mindset. It’s the let’s do a better mindset. Or was it like, “Hey, that’s a smack in the face. I can’t believe I don’t know it. ” Was there anxiety around pricing for you?
Speaker 1 (00:19:31):
Big time. I think the heart, you’re pulling my head out of the sand.That’s what it is. You’re just completely numb to it and you just don’t want to know. And then when you actually start unpacking it, you realise how much you’re again, undercharging people and didn’t find too many that we’re overcharging for, but for the most part it all balanced out and we implemented after sort of early 2025, we really got stuck into it and we actually sent out rate increases and really topped up our monthly revenue because we were getting paid for what we should have been getting paid for or what we needed to be paid for.
Speaker 3 (00:20:08):
And what was the outcome of that for you? Was it a personal thing that you sort of felt more confidence? Was it a business thing where you noticed, “Hey, we’re in way better shape. That’s the best thing ever.” What changed for you as you went through that process again early on in your coaching journey?
Speaker 1 (00:20:24):
Took out the grey area when you’re communicating with clients because you know what it costs. So if you don’t know what it costs, you can’t have a frank discussion with someone about pricing or the final invoice or anything. Any challenge to an invoice previously would just be, “Ah, don’t worry about it, mate. It’s all good. We’ll get it on the next one,” which is ridiculous. But knowing what it costs to do a job means you can actually have a proper discussion and respect goes both ways with that. So you get better results regularly if you actually know what it costs.
Speaker 2 (00:20:54):
Yeah. We’re seeing that in today’s market where, as you said, at the time of recording this, there is price surging going on everywhere and we saw this during the pandemic that prices went up, but prices have never come down since. And this is the thing that we’ve got to understand in today’s economic conditions is yes, they’re surging again at the moment, but they’re probably not going to come down again. And so during that time, the most important part of understanding your costs and your pricing and what it costs to run your business, you’re right, Dan, it gives you confidence because A, it gives you confidence going into a job where you know where you’re going to make or not make money, but it also helps you communicate to your customers and educate them on what things are actually costing. And that’s why in this phase of going from a $1 million tool belt business to a $2 million-ish owner-operator business, understanding your numbers and really knowing your pricing well is the cornerstone to making that growth happen, otherwise you grow broke during this period. So Dan, it’s so critical that guys going on this journey, you’re in that space like Andrew was when he first got into coaching, you’ve got to really get in there and get hands-on with your numbers, don’t you?
Speaker 3 (00:22:09):
Yeah, there’s no avoiding it. And that’s why that’s such a good answer. Andrew, you hit on all the top pumping through all our pricing principles and all those things. You’ve probably hit on all of those with your answer, which is so good. But that idea of coming back to it regularly, knowing what it is, not being by surprise. When you live in the bank account, when you live with that uncertainty, you’re just sort of hoping that there’s enough in it. And we hear that from guys that haven’t done the work. I price it, but I hope there’s enough in it. There should be. And as you said, we’ll make it up on the next one. And it’s a constantly evolving thing. You can’t build a business or a business model on that. You can’t even get to the point at, hey, how profitable are we as a result of doing the work we do?
(00:22:47):
All we’ve got is, are we busy enough to put some money in the tin so that we’ve got something in there at the end of the day? And I think that’s the graduation piece.
Speaker 2 (00:22:55):
Looking back, does it scare you how rough you were around your pricing around borrowing other mates templates and spreadsheets and stuff? Does it make you cringe when you look back over that time?
Speaker 1 (00:23:05):
It’s embarrassing to talk about and the crazy part is it works to a certain point. And Rob, you say it famously, what got us here might not and won’t get you to where you want to go. So yeah, facing that fact and just ripping the bandaid off and learning it is huge.
Speaker 3 (00:23:26):
Yeah, it’s like a whole upgrade. The minute you get that right, things start to click in. The ground you’re standing on feels a lot more certain as well, which is excellent. Let’s go to the next thing you did then. So pricing was one absolutely massive pillar. The next thing we talked about is the S word. We’re going to talk structure, but building out your ground crew, that was sort of a big thing for you and balancing, not just sort of saying I need more people to grow, which is sort of the way that some people do approach it. I’ll just get more people. We can do more work, right? But actually balancing that out, making the decision when to hire, how to hire, who to hire, all of those sort of questions. How did you approach structure when presumably you’d never had it beyond the apprentice and yourself or whoever it was at the time?
Speaker 1 (00:24:10):
Yeah, I think so to get more revenue, we needed more billable hours. So we knew that And with coaching learnt that look for the gaps in your team and then hire for those gaps and role first or position first, person, second. Now I wasn’t a beacon of example for that, but we got there and we’ve got a really good stable team now and I think we forget how important our ground crew are. They’re the lifeblood of our business. So picking the right people and giving them, empowering them to do a good job is so important.
Speaker 2 (00:24:49):
How’d you go about that in the Canberra market when it is a pretty tight market to be able to find tradies? How did you go during that time to be able to … Like you’ve doubled your team. Oh, it’s more than doubled by the time you got out of it as well. So how’d you go during that period to be able to really attract great tradesmen and apprentices in what has been a really tight market in that space?
Speaker 1 (00:25:11):
I can’t put my finger on it really, but you have to actively network and talk to people find someone who’s potentially wanting a new opportunity I guess technically poaching, I think it’s called, but actually just having proper conversations with people and your wholesalers and finding out if there’s anyone that’s like minded that’s unhappy or … we’ve done a few Instagram campaigns like simply just putting up an ad and that’s for apprentices. We’ve never picked up a tradesman through that, but what we actually have now that I think about it, what we have been really lucky with is bringing people through. So we haven’t really hired any electricians. It’s all been progressive through stages of apprenticeship.
Speaker 2 (00:25:52):
Yeah, we’re a big advocate of that in coach. And we spoke around that a lot in launch, didn’t we? Whereas playing the long game and building from within and you’ve played that game well where you’ve definitely done a lot of investing internally into your team, haven’t you?
Speaker 1 (00:26:08):
Yeah, definitely. And being patient with apprentices and waiting for them to come through and not just shooting from the hip and hiring when you need bodies on the ground. Yeah, it’s been really good and you tend to get good years of service out of people as well.
Speaker 3 (00:26:25):
Nice. Now as you build ground career, obviously the next thing that happens, you’ve got to get more people in, but you’ve got to start to manage those people. So tell me about you as a manager of a ground crew and as a team, was it smooth sailing for you? Were you, “I know how to manage people, this is easy,” or was there, “Shit, I’ve got to learn how to manage these people now that I’ve got them in the door?”
Speaker 1 (00:26:46):
This has so many complications to it and you guys teach us about mate to manager. So most people in that tool belt business, they’re friends with the guys they work, guys and girls they’re working with. They’re a family business almost. It’s almost like a father child relationship at times. And so moving into this more of a manager position where I’m having to invest my time into other things than being on the tools, I think transitioning out of that, just being their mate and actually being able to have hard conversations and productive conversations too. I’ve always been a natural leader, but yeah, putting that into a management skill, I’m still, I’m only just beginning that journey. So it’s tough.
Speaker 3 (00:27:30):
I think people underestimate what that takes, especially I think, well, I’ll get the people in the team will be there. I know how to do the trade. We’ll be set and we can just off to the races. But it’s amazing what pops up for people the minute they’ve got to actually be in front of people as a leader, as a manager and in their career for the first time, so many things change. It’s like putting on a different pair of glasses.
Speaker 1 (00:27:52):
It’s completely different. And we talk about it as you start your apprenticeship again as a manager and you fumble through shit and you make mistakes and you say the wrong thing and you give bad direction. And one thing that’s really cool is seeing a team buy in and communicating that, “Hey, we’re going to try this out.” Being open and honest about that because if it fails or a process doesn’t work, then you can have a good conversation with them and say, “Well, that was a bad idea. Let’s try again.”
Speaker 2 (00:28:21):
Because really when you got into the trade, no one taught you delegation, no one taught you accountability, no one taught you difficult conversations. Those soft management skills, they were never taught in trade school, were they?
Speaker 1 (00:28:34):
No, it’s almost like, I don’t want to get too political, but I think there has to be some sort of something in it where you have to do some sort of transition training if you’re going to run a business or get coaches, get mentor and get coaching. You know what I mean? It’s just instrumental to … You can skip a lot of steps if you get good guidance.
Speaker 2 (00:28:54):
Yeah, correct. And this is why so many trades businesses hit the million dollars and can’t … It’s an invisible glass ceiling that they can’t break through because what got you to a million dollars was grinding long hours, being a good tradie, being on the tools, working hard, but to get from a million to two, to three, to four, or five and beyond, it’s no longer about being great at your trade. It’s about being great at people management and management capability and hiring and retaining and training the right team and leading them and getting them to where you want to go. So it’s all very much leadership and people management at that time. And if you’ve never learned those skills, that’s why so many trades businesses struggle and very rarely get beyond one to $2 million because they’ve never developed the skills to be able to get there.
(00:29:42):
So that’s what I like when you said it’s an apprenticeship because you’re right. It is. You’ve got to go back and learn the fundamentals of people management, don’t you?
Speaker 1 (00:29:51):
Yeah, definitely. Otherwise, you fall into the trap and I sort of have seen it with other people where you bounce in and out of manager, get the shits because you’ve got bad management skills, get my Back on the tools, bounce, bounce, bounce, and you just go back and forth. Something you guys teach us is that you have to fall in love with being a manager or get back, put your tool pouch back on. It’s one or the other. Yeah, you really have to lean in and do it and commit to it.
Speaker 2 (00:30:16):
Scary though, isn’t it?
Speaker 1 (00:30:18):
Super scary. It’s like the comfort. I’m so much more comfortable with a tool pouch on my hip. Actually, I’m probably not giving myself credit. Over the last little bit, I’ve learned to be a manager, but you’re definitely more confident when you first start out being on tools, being in control, being the man. It’s so toxic, but it’s true.
Speaker 3 (00:30:39):
It really is. It’s fascinating to watch, but that’s the biggest transition piece from tool belt into owner-operator is the ability to manage people. If you haven’t got that, you’ll fall, you’ll trip, you’ll go backwards, you’ll have to repeat. You just keep going in the cycle, as you said, so you’re spot on. We talked about Ground Crew. What about Office Crew? When did that come in for you? When did you get your first admin? And then that’s a whole different level of management because now you’re managing someone who’s got more skill than you have in that domain usually.
Speaker 1 (00:31:10):
Yeah, that was huge for us. Grace came on board in May 2025, but followed a proper campaign interview, did all the right steps, which I didn’t know how to do previously. So I did all the right things and actually put effort into it. And we picked the right person, we got the right person. But she’s been instrumental into the business now. Takes 90% of the incoming traffic, schedules the team, is sort of my right-hand person. You know what I mean? Just has everything under control. So I was pretty lucky, I think, in a way that I had someone come in that didn’t need a lot of managing, so it made a bit of a soft landing for me. But it’s definitely it’s tested me and it’s fun. It’s exciting to have someone on my side in the office helping me become a better manager as well.
Speaker 2 (00:32:08):
Do you look back and think, how did I do this by myself without support around me?
Speaker 1 (00:32:13):
Every day. It’s just unbelievable when you reflect on it. We were walking a tightrope, you know what I mean? And one little wobble and you’re gone. I remember everyone probably tells the same story. Ear to the shoulder with your phone, taking 50 phone calls trying to do your job. So yeah, not being where your feet are, you’re half assing both things.
Speaker 3 (00:32:39):
Definitely. That’s awesome. And was it an easy transition? Were you in that frame of mind of I need to hand everything over in control? Or were you, I’ve got the right person, I’ve done the process well. What do you need to succeed and how can I support you? Because there’s sort of two frames that people sort of land in when they start building out their office crew.
Speaker 1 (00:32:59):
Well, we had a dry run with a previous admin and I won’t go into too much detail without left on very bad terms. So I guess we had a little bit of experience and I sort of blew the cobwebs out there. So I sort of knew what we needed and how I can manage. But it’s different. When that happened, I was a tool belt Sparky with an admin in the office, so we didn’t cross paths. But now working side by side, essentially it’s different, but it’s enjoyable. Yeah. It challenges me, but it’s enjoyable.
Speaker 2 (00:33:34):
It’s not uncommon that that happens when you hire your first admin. Soft. If you’re listening, you’re in that position where you’re nervous about putting someone on or you’ve had a crack and it didn’t work out, you’ve just got to persevere because like what Dan said is you’re hiring someone who’s not a tradie. So when you’re hiring your own who is a tradie, you kind of know what you’re looking for. You can tell if someone’s a good trader or a shit one just by spending a day or two with them.That’s easy because they’re one of you kind of thing. But when you’re hiring an admin person, it’s so foreign because A, you don’t even know how to do admin yourself, but all of a sudden you’re dealing with a white collar person who is skilled in that area. So if you’re listening and you’re in that position where you know you need someone, A, there’s a right process to follow, but B, you’ve just got to persevere with it because you’re probably going to make mistakes.
(00:34:22):
Someone’s not going to work out, but I’ve never heard a client turn around and go, “Gee, I’m glad I wish I held out. Gee, I’m glad I held out this long to get an admin person. We’ve always heard, why didn’t I do it sooner?” Kind of thing. It’s got to be at the right time in your journey. But Andrew, it was instrumental in just the organisation across the office and the whole business. It just made such a difference, didn’t it?
Speaker 1 (00:34:49):
Massive. Yeah. And we’re lucky enough now in our own premise that we actually walk in the door together in the morning and it’s nice. It’s good. We have structured meetings now. So that’s another tip for everyone is actually plan structured meetings and stick to them. But yeah, you just can’t do it without it and you nailed it there, Rob. You sort of hold off for as long as possible and then you think, why did I do that? Just pull the trigger and figure it out is my advice. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (00:35:21):
The reason why people hold off is because they’re looking at it of what it’s going to cost them, not what they’re going to gain from them. So they look at it and go, “Oh, this is going to cost me whatever it is, a few hundred dollars a week for a part-timer.” They’re like, “Oh, look at it’s going to cost me not thinking, oh, look how much time I’m going to buy back and look what that can get me. ” And it’s understandable when you’re running a one-ish million dollars and you’re on the borderline of breaking even, it’s like, where am I going to find that money to pay for that person? So it’s understandable you’ve got that mindset, but when you’re going through that phase of getting off the tools and looking for support, the name of the game isn’t to make more profit. The name of the game is to make more revenue and use that revenue to buy back time, like buy back time off the tools, buy back time into the office.
(00:36:16):
It’s a bit of a growth period where you’re not necessarily making more money, you’re buying back time during that process. So for you, how did it feel going through that zone where the bottom line wasn’t growing but you could see time coming back? Did that motivate you? Did it scare you? What was the driver during that phase?
Speaker 1 (00:36:34):
Well, I think so leveraging my time I was doing admin in the morning and working during the day. So getting that time back instantly is like I go to the gym five days a week in the morning now. So I’m healthier, I’m happier. I am clearer and I use my time better at work because I’m not dealing with some of the tasks that Grace is dealing with on a day-to-day. And then the best part is I get to go home and be a dad. I don’t take my laptop home. I don’t sit on the computer at night. I get to go home and live by the psychological briefcase metaphor. When I’m at work, I’m at work, when I’m at home, I’m at home. And without that support in the office, you just don’t have that. You’re always going to go home and do something. You’re always going to be on a holiday and pull your laptop out.
(00:37:25):
You’re always going to be taking calls at the wrong time.
Speaker 2 (00:37:29):
It’s so chalk and cheese, isn’t it, Dan? In such a short amount of time, it’s a chalk and cheese spot from where Andrew came into coaching to where he is today and his coaching journey. It’s almost like a full 180 degree turnaround, isn’t it?
Speaker 3 (00:37:43):
Oh, it is. And I can just sit here and listen to you tell the story because you’re telling it so well, but it is. That’s why we wanted to do that contrast upfront because it is literally night and day between the world you were two years ago to where you are today. So it is possible. There is a right way to do it and there is a structure to it. And I think that’s what’s so good about your particular story, Andrew. And I think there’s probably another thing I want to talk about and we’ll come back to that maybe, Rob, and explore that a bit more. But the idea of then, I think the other leave you pulled was creating separation. You actually got out of home, you got the separation between home and work as well, which allowed you to be present in the two places.
(00:38:21):
To start with, it was one and then you made that premises change. What was that like for you as part of this journey?
Speaker 1 (00:38:28):
That came because we used to have Monday morning meetings at our house in the lounge room with our team and it was, as I said, a family sort of business. And we had guys coming in the driveway and the sheds at all hours of the day. We had commercial bins. We had cubic metre, commercial bins that were getting picked up by proper trucks in our driveway. And the idea of a newborn and having our team come in and yeah, it just didn’t work. So we didn’t sort it. We rushed that and this place fell in our lap, so we snapped it up and leased it. But yeah, having that separation now allows that psychological briefcase. I can leave home, go to work, I can work my ass off and then I can go home and be home. So it’s given the team a lift as well and I’m proud to have our logo printed on the side of the building.
(00:39:25):
It’s cool and it gives you a litle bit of swagger. The team like it. They come in at all hours of the day now and tinker with their vans and stuff and it’s awesome to see. They’re proud to work here and have this place. It’s really cool.
Speaker 2 (00:39:40):
How many times do we hear a Dean where guys tell the story where their wife comes out to the lounge room in a 90 and then there’s like two tradies and apprentice sitting there out at the front door trying to pick up supplies and materials and the wife’s like, “Some’s got to give.” But how many times do we hear that?
Speaker 3 (00:39:57):
I know it’s amazing. I was going to ask Andrew that quick, what was your sort of moment? How did so feel about the change when you moved out? Was it a relief? What was that like?
Speaker 1 (00:40:05):
Yeah, I think a relief. It changed our life dramatically and that’s what it was. It was cool and fun and nice to have a warehouse and an office. But the truth is that Soph’s got me back as a partner and Dallas has got me as a dad and I just know that if we were still working at home, that just wouldn’t happen, just would not happen five o’clock in the afternoon, someone’s dropping in to pick up gear, I’d be out there chatting to them for half an hour and helping them load up. And if I’m having a personal block and I’m at home with Dallas and I had someone come over to pick up parts, well we’d be outside not spending quality time together, we’d be out there talking to the guys. So yeah, it’s been really special.
Speaker 3 (00:40:49):
Andrew, you’re talking a lot about that separation. It wasn’t just a physical like, “I’m going to have an office, I’m going to have a home.” You’ve done a lot of work and you talked about that mental or psychological briefcase. There’s a lot of personal work you’ve done on this journey as well. What were some of the things that you picked up and some of the habits that you’ve been able to put in place that have really now gone from being a habit to a standard that you live by now that you didn’t have that you now have?
Speaker 1 (00:41:14):
Yeah. So one of the great things we do with Pravar is habit stacking and it almost crosses into personal and wellbeing coaching, but it’s been massive. We get broken up into groups and we hold each other accountable and we stack habits quarter on quarter. Small changes that make a huge impact over time, like little 1% changes is quite cliche, but it’s true and we do it a quarter on quarter. Locking out social media and giving myself a small window per day to look at social media, all know it’s a waste of time, but we all do it. So making sure that that was stamped out of my life was a huge change as well so I could spend quality time with Soph and Dell and anyone else too, friends, family. Yeah, it became a really, really good thing to live by. But that also led into other good habits, like taking care of myself personally, my health, my eating, as Rob’s commented on.
(00:42:17):
But yeah, just momentum in my personal life is paying dividends on the business side so they compliment each other really, really well.
Speaker 3 (00:42:32):
How do I ask this? Is that a real effort for you to do or is it something that in the groove of coaching and Pravar and just the way you sort of set yourself up now, is it something that it sort of flows a little bit more effortlessly? If you tried to implement those habits two years ago, where would you have got with that? What would it have been like compared to now? What do you think the difference is that one, you’ve done them and two, you’ve done them so well that they’ve stuck so solidly as you’ve stacked them?
Speaker 1 (00:43:00):
Yeah, I think everyone without accountability falls over. So how many people have a New Year’s resolution that falls over? I was doing it for 30 years before this, but it’s the accountability and the constant accountability. We’ve got guys in our group that if they don’t put a photo up of their workout in the morning, everyone gets stuck into them. It sounds mean, but it’s good. It’s good banter. It’s good fun. It’s good positive reinforcement and accountability. So I don’t think if I wasn’t being coached, I wouldn’t be the person I am right now. I would try things, enjoy it, fail, stop, enjoy, fail, stop, try things. It’d just be a constant cycle, which most of us go through.
Speaker 3 (00:43:49):
And for you, do you think it’s the habits first business flows on second or is it, I’ll do these habits once I get the business dialled in. Once I get the premises done, once I’m more present at home, I’ll get the habits dialled in. Or which camp do you sit in or is it the other way around?
Speaker 1 (00:44:05):
It’s developed over time. So I remember vividly when we first spoke about habit stacking, I was like, “Guys, I don’t have time for this. I go to the gym, I work out, I’m healthy.” And then you kind of get your first quarter out of the way and my first quarter didn’t go well. So I tried again next quarter and then it stuck and then I tried again and I’m eight quarters in now and making small changes every quarter has been huge. So yeah, I think it changed over time. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (00:44:37):
We saw that on our group call just recently with Nick, who’s one of our cabinet maker clients, because every quarter we get all our clients across all their programmes to work on an improvement. And I asked the question, “If you haven’t locked in your habit, what do you do? ” And Nick wrote in the comments box, he’s like, “I’ve been working on my same habit for six months and it’s finally stuck and now I’m ready to move on to the next one.” And it just shows that some people can nail a habit in a month, some people can nail it in three months. Some people need nine months to be able to lock in a habit, but you know it’s a habit when it’s a way of life. And Andrew, you’ve done that really well where you haven’t tried to rush the habit changing process, you’ve worked hard at choosing the things that mattered and locking them into habit before you moved on to the next thing.
Speaker 1 (00:45:25):
And watching feeling momentum is addictive. So it’s a bit of a drug, you know what I mean? Being healthy, that’s the side note. It’s getting the kick out of actually succeeding and getting pats on the back from your peers as well in the community. It’s really cool.
Speaker 2 (00:45:45):
Before we turn a corner and talk a bit about some of the things you wish you had done differently or the cost of this growth, you’ve mentioned a couple of times about the mental briefcase and that analogy. Did you want to explain that for the benefit of the listener to be able to really pick up that concept because that for you has been somewhat instrumental for you to be able to help compartmentalise and create that separation, hasn’t it?
Speaker 1 (00:46:09):
Yeah, definitely. The other thing that leads on from that is be where your feet are. So being intentional with your time and understanding that your time is precious. And so don’t waste it and be focused and sink your teeth into whatever you’re standing in front of, whether it be a personal conversation or a quote actually being where your feet are. And having that briefcase is so good because I can physically skip out to the car with this briefcase. I’ve probably seen it on cameras a few times, maybe talking to myself, being a bit of a weirdo, but yeah, going to work and swinging this briefcase and then getting here and being pumped to do a good day’s work and then going home and being a dad. And I think holidays and after hours is where you really see it. So I’ve done my work for the day.
(00:46:58):
I don’t need to jump on and answer an email at eight o’clock at night. I’m not perfect, but yeah, that’s the goal.
Speaker 2 (00:47:05):
Gone are the days of the old school leather briefcases, but it’s just such a great analogy where you shut the briefcase and you put the briefcase down. It’s a mental rehearsal to practise separation. So when you go to work, you close the door on being a dad, you pick up the briefcase and go to work. When you finish work, you shut the briefcase, close out work and you walk through the door, leave your boots at the door and walk into being a great husband and dad. So for you, that compartmentalisation and that visualisation, which I’d love to see that footage of you skipping out of the car, that’s the mental rehearsal what you’re talking about is creating that separation. But for a lot of business owners, they don’t feel like they can switch off. And we all love running our businesses and it is hard mentally turning off, but I think just practising the skill of mental compartmentalisations being done wonders for you, hasn’t it?
Speaker 1 (00:48:02):
Yeah, it’s massive. Yeah. I recommend it to anyone. It seems really corny and weird to say it, but yeah, get that briefcase and go to work and be where your feet are, do a good job and then close it and go home. Be a good dad, be a good partner.
Speaker 2 (00:48:17):
So good. Now we’ve spoken a lot around the great changes that you’ve made and it has been a great story and it is a great story and it’s so inspiring what you’ve been able to do, but we’ve also got to accept that growth doesn’t come without challenges, it doesn’t come without a cost. And let’s face it, why a lot of business owners in the trade space struggle to go beyond a million dollars because all of a sudden you’ve got to bring in overhead to the business, which is in the form of structure. You’ve got to get off the tools, you’ve got to get the premises, you’ve got to be able to hire more guys, you’ve got to get more vans on the road, you’ve got to be able to put admin in place. Those things come at a cost. It’s an overhead. How for you did you go navigating the challenges of going from one to two-ish million dollars and navigating the challenges over that period of time?
(00:49:10):
Is it something you embraced or were there some hairy moments along the way?
Speaker 1 (00:49:16):
Hairy moments, definitely. So too fast, too much, too soon. So jumped, got our office, jumped off the tools, got Grace, hired people. Yeah. A shot from the hip is, I’ve said that a few times this episode, but that’s what we did. We got through it, but it wasn’t the best example. I had the perfect run sheet of what to do in front of me and I just did it. I did it too quick and did too much at the same time. Yeah, it was pretty hairy. Reviewing the numbers from that year was pretty scary. There’s money in the bank, but after your obligations, there wasn’t much left for us.
Speaker 2 (00:49:59):
And during that time, and that’s why in coaching we map out a 12-month strategic plan and then say, right, in quarter one we do this, in quarter two we do that. In quarter three, we always have a great plan to follow. But for you, did you try and do it all at once because you’re excited, you wanted to make it happen now? What was driving you to try and do 12 months worth of work in one quarter, do you think?
Speaker 1 (00:50:25):
Well, stupidity being desperate as well. We knew we needed a place to get that separation from home so that was non-negotiable. And then with that place, well, I needed someone to help me run it. So Grace came in and then I think the biggest thing that shot me in the foot was pulling myself out of the field. So I removed myself as a billable asset and put myself in as a liability overnight with the extra costs of an office. Yeah, too quick, too much. So that was the crazy part. I almost did it right, but I was too proud. I wanted to be sitting in my big chair in my office and be the man, but it was too much.
Speaker 2 (00:51:15):
There’s a big lesson there. And what I love about your journey is you’ve done the right strategy in the right order. You’ve definitely done that, but there’s a big lesson for those listening is that don’t get lured into the quick growth is the best growth. When you hear marketing spin around 10x this and 5X this, be careful around the cost of growth. And that’s why there’s a lesson in that. Don’t get lured into that bullshit because growing businesses are cash hungry businesses and especially when you’re going through that phase of getting off the tools, you’re better off transitioning off the tools and slowly dropping a day at a time rather than going from 100% billable to nothing. You’re better off going from no admin to part-time, then to full-time over a period of time. So especially for young guys like you, Andrew, where you’ve got so many years in front of you in business, it’s easier to be luid into that wanting to do it all at once, but there’s a big lesson there that you’ve slower growth is good growth at the best of times, isn’t it?
Speaker 1 (00:52:25):
Yeah, definitely. And as I said, I’ve reviewed this period of our business financially and it’s horrific. We were losing money month on month with those decisions that I made and it took six months to rectify that with injecting myself back into the field, maybe squeezing in more work. It wasn’t pretty. We were just pumping as much work as we could to try recover. And the result was, well, we got here to where we are now, so I’m happy and proud, but yeah, it was definitely a little bit of luck and a lot of stupidity.
Speaker 2 (00:53:00):
Do you reckon you regret it or do you reckon you lean at exactly where you wanted to go?
Speaker 1 (00:53:06):
I’m a risk taker. So of course I’m happy where I landed, but yeah, it’s easy to look back and have different goggles on and it’s clear as day what I should have done differently or when I should have done things, but that’s the beauty of perspective, right?
Speaker 2 (00:53:21):
I know why you did it because at the time, I know your dad was unwell and I know you had a baby on the way.You felt like you had to do it in that short amount of time. Though that desire to create structure because of the personal things is what made you want to grow, but it also is what influenced your decision to do it in that time. And so I look back on it and there was even times in coaching, we were like, “Mate, slow down. Don’t do that much.” And you’re like, “No, I’m going to do it. ” But it’s like I knew why internally you were doing it, but sometimes we see a Dan where clients have just got to learn the lesson along the way. It’s like having a young child, you can’t stop them from falling over. They’ve got to fall over to learn that mistake.
(00:54:01):
But mate, I know why you did it. Yo felt like you had time shortages on your hand to be able to hit a deadline, but it was a bit hairy there during times. But mate, you should be bloody … No doubt you’re looking back and you’re like, “Gee, I’m proud of where I’ve come from.”
Speaker 1 (00:54:16):
Yeah, we ripped off a lot of band-aids in a short period of time, took a lot of quick steps.
Speaker 3 (00:54:22):
You sure did. But what I do like is when you did it, you executed to the end of it. Once it started, it was done to the end. It wasn’t like, “Holy shit, I’m going to walk back from this now and we got it half done.” Or it was a bits and pieces sort of approach. It was all in and all the way in at that same time. Again, asterisk, that’s not the way we’d coach you to do it, but at the same time I’m laughing because I know Rob would’ve loved that answer that you just gave around, “Yeah, fuck oath, go for it. Do it. ” He would’ve had the exact same mindset I know around that sort of stuff, but it’s really cool. If you could go back though and talk to yourself in 2024, and even if you want to build this into an answer about for someone who’s listening that’s in the thick of it at the moment and is sort of at that moment with the long weeks tool belt business looking to try and get to a point where they can go and be more of an owner-operator, learn management, how do you reflect back on it?
(00:55:13):
What would you tell yourself? What would you tell someone else?
Speaker 1 (00:55:18):
Slow down, slow down, think clearly and understand what decisions you’re making. Understanding you’re running a business, it’s a pretty way. It’s a wrapped up job with overheads really. That’s what it is. You’re sort of tied to it. So I think slow down, but just enjoy the process. It’s fun.You’re going to get there. So just take one step one step at a time and over time, one thing at a time over time. But yeah, to anyone out there, I think business is really lonely. It’s fun. You’re surrounded by like- minded people, but you can have a fun job and still be lonely. You don’t have anyone to lean on and ask questions. So my advice is to inject yourself into a community or grab a coach or do whatever you can to surround yourself with like minded business people or people that are going through the same struggles.
(00:56:14):
Stay off Instagram inspiration videos and business mentors on there. But no, I think it’s lonely. So surround yourself with people that know what you’re going through and give yourself the opportunity to take a breath and step away for a second and think clearly.
Speaker 2 (00:56:32):
You’ve been a big part of community through your coaching journey. What difference has it really made to just be surrounded by those people and jumping on the coaching calls and the Q&A calls and your one-on-one coaching and just in the broader community What difference has that done not only for you in business, but for you personally as well through the challenges you have gone through on the personal front?
Speaker 1 (00:56:56):
Again, it’s surrounding yourself with people that are going through … Business is pretty transparent and pretty cookie cutter when you talk about a trade business. So what’s a problem for me is a problem for someone else or has been or they’ve overcome it or they’re in the middle of it. But for me personally, the community aspect’s huge because I love to help. I probably almost try to coach at times, which is pretty cringey to say, but I enjoy it. I enjoy helping people and jumping on. We have phone calls with other members from Pravar regularly where someone’s going through a problem and you actually get on the phone to them and have an hour conversation with them and it’s nice and it’s good to help and it’s good to have someone on the other end that’s listening and can help you as well. So the community is essential.
(00:57:42):
So doing business without it is just, yeah, it’s just stupid and it’s lonely and tiresome.
Speaker 3 (00:57:50):
What’s next for you in your journey? What are you excited about and sort of where to from here given what you’ve done? What’s sort of next for you for OnPoint?
Speaker 1 (00:58:00):
Next for us is really sinking our teeth into becoming a lifestyle business and having team members in place that have corridors of empowerment as we talk about and are empowered to do a good job and enjoy the workplace. I’m excited to become a manager, a general manager and have people doing quoting, doing a good job and just running the business. And I want to say it’s easy to say I want a business that can run without me, but that’s not what it is. I think a lot of people get caught up with that sentiment. The business can run without you because they are empowered to do so and they enjoy their job. So you’re there to guide, but you’re not there to do everyone’s job for them.
Speaker 3 (00:58:41):
I love it. That’s a great answer. I think, as you said, you like to coach. I think as you get through this and you get through a few more steps, we’ll keep talking. Excellent stuff. Mate, I think that is the journey. As I said, we’ve been not amazed. I think we’ve just enjoyed it and we’ve really enjoyed coaching you and watching the way you’ve gone about it. Everything’s either a win or a lesson along the way, which I really do love as opposed to a win or a setback. So from that perspective, we can’t wait. The next chapter’s going to be epic. We know that and we’re really looking forward to what that is, as I’m sure you are as well.
Speaker 1 (00:59:16):
Yeah, it’s been a good journey. So I thank you guys too. I wouldn’t be here without it. I know I wouldn’t be recording this podcast, that’s obvious, but I just wouldn’t be succeeding in the way I am right now without your help. So I thank everyone in the team.
Speaker 2 (00:59:31):
We’re really proud of you, mate. You’re really coachable. It’s a big thing that we look for in a client is, is someone coachable and coachable means or the other end of the spectrum is what we call an ask hole where they ask the question, you give them advice and they go and do the opposite. But mate, you’re really coachable. You’ve listened, you’ve taken on board, you’ve executed like a champion. And so there’s no mistake why you are where you are because you’ve just done such a great job to be able to get here. So from all of us, mate, it’s been a real pleasure And we are, like Dan said, we’re really excited to see where you can take this because you’re going to be unstoppable in the Canberra market like you already are and you’re destined for great things. Never give up on those dreams, mate.You’re going to do a really good job.
Speaker 1 (01:00:14):
Cool. Thanks, Rob.
Speaker 2 (01:00:16):
What a great episode and what a great story from Andrew. If you’ve loved today’s episode and you’re in that position where you’re in between that one and two-ish million dollar mark and you know that you need better stability to get out of the chaos, get better structure in your business and your life, then jump across to strategysession.com.au, fill out the form, book in a time that suits you and let’s have a discovery call and start the process of talking around how we can get you from where you are to where you want to go and follow the recipe that Andrew’s been able to speak around today. What a great episode. We have absolutely loved it. Mate, we’re so proud of what you’ve been able to do over such a short amount of period of time. You should be super proud of what you’ve been able to get done.
(01:00:57):
Not only the business that you built, but the man and the family man you’ve been able to become as well. So Dan, what a great episode, hey?
Speaker 3 (01:01:05):
Yeah, really, really cool. Great story and you ought to be fun to tell. It’d be good to relive and it absolutely was. So thanks again, Andrew. Really appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (01:01:12):
Thanks again for tuning in and looking forward to coming back to you with another episode here on The Trade Den. Until then, take care.
Speaker 3 (01:01:18):
See you soon.