Your ‘Systems Blueprint’ – Less Chaos, More Control

Andy
You’ve got qualified tradies, you’ve got someone in the office. You are not even on the tools full time anymore. 

Ange
Yet you still feel chained to the business because if you step away for even one day, everything slows down or falls apart. 

Andy
And here’s where it gets uncomfortable. Most of the time, it’s not actually the team’s fault. 

Ange
It’s not that they’re lazy or incapable, it’s that they don’t actually know what right looks like without you there. 

Andy
So today we are calling it out. You don’t need better staff, you need better systems. 

Ange
Today we’re going to break down what systems really are, what they’re not, and why so many tradies think they have them when they don’t.

Andy
If you want your business to run without you constantly answering questions, fixing mistakes, or making every call, then this episode’s for you. You are listening to The Tradie Show. This is the podcast for trade business, and contracting bosses like you who wanna lead with confidence, make more profit, and create a better lifestyle.

Ange
We’re your hosts, Andy and Angela Smith, husband and wife team, and co-founders of Lifestyle Tradie. Are you ready to have some fun? 

Andy
Hell yeah! Quick pause before we go on because if you are listening to this thinking, the business is going great, but I’m cooked. You are not alone. 

Ange
From the outside, it looks like you’re winning, work’s coming in, you’ve got staff, the money’s even moving. 

Andy
But behind the scenes, you’re still making every call. Still across every job, still stepping in when things go pear shaped. Still feel like you can’t take a holiday without everything falling apart. 

Ange
You’ve built something solid, but it leans entirely on you. 

Andy
I lived exactly this for years at Dr. Drip. 17 tradies, eight vans and no off switch. 

Ange
And what changed everything wasn’t working harder. It was systems. 

Andy
And that’s exactly what we are giving away at our free one day live event, Stress Free Tradie, this February. We are handing over 27 of the exact systems for free, that help me get off the tools and take back control. 

Ange
If you are already making money but still feel buried under it all, then this is your next step. 

Andy
Grab your free tickets for you and your partner. Come and get the free systems and build a business that will free up some Headspace. If you are listening to this, thinking that business is going great. I’m cooked. You are not alone.

All right. It’s time to kick things off with some Hell yeah wins from our amazing Lifestyle Tradie members. Hell yeah! These are the legends who’ve been smashing it in their businesses proving that small changes can lead to massive results. And hopefully these give you some inspo on what you can do in your business. Ange, what do we have this week? 

Ange
Well, we’ve got some great hell yeahs to share today, Andy. First up, a big shout out to Bridget who operates an air conditioning and electrical company in Brisbane with her partner Richard. And they shared, we provided our guys with profit figures and paid out the bonuses for the team, the smiles, and thanks were so worth the hard work as a team. 

Andy
This is what happens when you’re an established business making consistent profit every month. That is a massive, hell yeah. What’s next, Ange?? 

Ange
Okay, next up is Darren, who runs a plumbing business in Brisbane, and he writes. Strong pipeline of work for the new year. It’s exciting because we don’t usually start this way and the planning has paid off. We’re pumped. 

Andy
That is absolutely awesome. And when he talks about planning that is what we did at the back end of 2025. Hell yeah! Last but not least, who’s up next, Ange? 

Ange
Okay. Sophie is our next one who operates a timber and deck maintenance company, also in Queensland having a bit of a run for them at the moment. She, uh, works with her parents and she writes. We received some really well made display watches for our timber colors before customers were just looking at an online link, and it’s really helped our clients visualize what they want and make a firm decision on color quickly. 

Andy
And this is massive because the sales process when you are doing these quotes is the incredible bit that changes your business from being a mediocre business to being a top line business. Hell yeah! And that’s what we’re all about here, helping tradies like you take control, make changes, and see the wind roll on in. All right, let’s get stuck in because this is one of the biggest frustrations we see with our tradies who’ve been in business 6, 8, 10 years or more. 

Ange
You’ve been making money, although it could be better. You’ve got qualified tradies and even help in the office, but why doesn’t everyone know what to do to get the work done without the constant hiccups? 

Andy
Let me paint the picture because I know exactly how this plays out. You walk into the office and before you’ve even taken the first sip of your coffee. Someone forgot the details for a quote or parts are missing. Someone’s stuck on a job. Someone’s asking the same question they asked yesterday and the day before, and the tradies are all waiting for you to make the call. 

Ange
Guess what? You are not doing the work. You are deciding the work. 

Andy
And by the end of the day, you haven’t lifted a tool, but you are absolutely knackered. 

Ange
And respectfully, this sounds like a typical tradie to me. 

Andy
It does. 

Ange
Because you’re carrying the entire business in your head and you need systems. 

Andy
There’s something else going on here that will explain why you are feeling so completely exhausted. 

Ange
Okay, go on. 

Andy
It’s called decision fatigue. 

Ange
Oh, yes, and it’s brutal in a trade business.

Andy
Because as we mentioned, even when you’re not on the tools, you are still making decisions all day every day. 

Ange
Should we take this job on or not? How do we handle this customer? What do we do about this mistake? 

Andy
And none of these decisions feel massive on their own. 

Ange
But hey, stuck a hundred of them in a day and by the time you get home, you’ve got nothing left.

Andy
That’s why you’re snapping at the wife, you’re snapping at the kids and why you can’t switch off. 

Ange
It’s not because you’re bad at coping. Your brain is literally cooked. 

Andy
And most of those decisions shouldn’t be decisions at all by you. They should already be decided. 

Ange
And that’s what systems actually do. They remove the decision making from your day. 

Andy
They turn questions into answers. 

Ange
They stop everything landing on you. 

Andy
Without systems, you are the decision engine of your business. 

Ange
But with systems, you become the exception, not the rule. 

Andy
And that’s when the mental load finally starts to lift. 

Ange
Uh, but we have to get there first. So how do you do that? 

Andy
How do you go from feeling cooked and overloaded to feeling light and in control? And this is usually where tradies start talking about systems but don’t really know what they are. 

Ange
So let’s test that and let’s play a little game. 

Andy
Mm. Okay. 

Ange
Okay. I’m gonna throw some things at you that tradies often call systems.

Andy
All right. This could be interesting. 

Ange
So your response needs to be system or not. You can’t fence it. Okay. 

Andy
Okay, let’s do this. 

Ange
All right. Job management software. 

Andy
Uh, that’s not a system, even though everyone thinks it sort of is. It’s a tool and it’s a great one at that. 

Ange
But I’ll add without documented steps, it just becomes an expensive chaos, right?

Andy
Agreed. So what’s next? 

Ange
Whiteboard in the office. 

Andy
Well, that’s definitely not a system. 

Ange
Bet, everyone loves a whiteboard. 

Andy
They do until it gets wiped off or it gets ignored and it just becomes a mess in your office. 

Ange
Yes. Okay. Next is a checklist for quoting. 

Andy
Potentially a system, but only if everyone follows it the same way every single time.

Ange
Exactly. Okay. Having a really good tradie who just knows. 

Andy
No, that’s not a system, that actually is a risk. You don’t ever wanna rely on one person’s knowledge. 

Ange
Ah, but so many tradies do it. Think of an office manager that’s been there for eight years. 

Andy
Yeah, I know. They’re like an institution and they believe they’re irreplaceable. And that’s the scary part. 

Ange
Well, at the moment they kind of are. Right? 

Andy
And when they ask for more money, you feel you have no choice but to give it to them. 

Ange
Okay, you’re enjoying this way too much. 

Andy
Oh, I love it. I love it because this is exactly where tradies get stuck. They think they’ve got systems, but what they’ve actually got is people, they’ve got memory and they have good intentions.

Ange
And when any of those disappears, so does the business. 

Andy
So I know this is an internal battle for some tradies. They say, we’ve always done it this way, but they also know it’s not always working correctly. The business doesn’t operate smoothly. 

Ange
And the reality is the second you step away, the cracks show. 

Andy
And then you start blaming the team and blaming everyone. 

Ange
Because you’ve actually got qualified people, but they’re still asking basic questions.

Andy
I remember saying, they should know this. Why are they asking me this? I’ve already told them this. 

Ange
Yeah, but if the answer only exists in your head, it’s not a system. It’s what I call stored knowledge. Right? 

Andy
And stored knowledge disappears the moment you’re not there. 

Ange
So the team does the safest thing they can do. Guess what? 

Andy
Oh my God, they come back to you time and time and time and time again. 

Ange
So it’s not because they’re incapable, but because they don’t wanna get it wrong. 

Andy
And when right isn’t clearly defined, people default to asking their boss every single time. 

Ange
Which is, you. 

Andy
Now, this next bit stings, but it needs to be said if your team can’t make decisions without you. It’s because you’ve trained them to rely on you. 

Ange
Yes, but not intentionally. 

Andy
But every time you jump in, you fix it, you change it, you override it. You teach them one thing, don’t you? 

Ange
I wanna answer this. Don’t decide. Ask Andy. 

Andy
Oh, ask Andy, has done my heading for years. And that becomes the system you’ve accidentally built, a business that runs on your availability. It runs on you. If you are not there, it fails. 

Ange
And then you get frustrated and you say, and no one takes ownership. 

Andy
Oh my God, I’ve said that many times. But ownership only exists when expectations are very clear. 

Ange
And expectations only exist when they’re documented and communicated through systems. 

Andy
So, Ange, let’s talk about what a system actually is. Want to cut your business cost without cutting corners? Buy4Tradies makes it simple. This is a buying group built by tradies for tradies, plumbers, sparky, solar, and air context, landscapers just to name a few. Join for free and unlock trade only deals on materials, fuel tools, finance, IT, and heaps more. There are no contracts, no signup fees, just real savings with trusted national suppliers. So if you are ready to keep more cash in your pocket and less in your overheads, jump onto buy4tradies.com.au. That’s buy, the number four, tradies dot com dot au, and join for free today. 

Ange
So our system is a documented step-by-step way of doing something. So the result is predictable, same steps, same high standard, same outcome. 

Andy
We’re talking flowcharts, videos, checklists and scripts. The point is to eventually have the entire team complete a task the exact same way every single time, just like those 15-year-old kids at McDonald’s. 

Ange
Okay, so that’s all well and good I hear you say, but where the hell do you start? 

Andy
It’s absolutely a great question. What we don’t want to try and do is try and systemize the whole business, everything all at once. Systems aren’t about perfection, they’re about progress. One bite at a time. 

Ange
Okay? So let’s make this really simple and realistic and practical by following three easy steps. 

Andy
Before we go any further here, Ange, I just wanna say this, we have a download called the Systems ebook that goes into far more depth than what we’re about to share here on this podcast today. So if you wanna get your hands on it through the show notes or go to lifestyletradie.com.au/podcast/, I guarantee you won’t look back and you should download this ebook. It is Game on. 

Ange
Agreed. Okay, so let’s get into these three steps. Step one is actually getting a list out of your head. If you were to visualize an organizational chart with different responsibilities, think like marketing, tradesman, office manager, bookkeeping, for example. Then what are the tasks that sit under each one?

Andy
Right. So as a tradesman you might have a list, like how to raise a purchase order, how to show up on site, how to write a quote. 

Ange
Yeah, exactly. And with this list then you can keep adding to it, you know what will eventually be systemized. Right?

Andy
Okay. So now you have a really long list. 

Ange
Yes. 

Andy
Where do you go now?

Ange
So this is where we hit step two, where we suggest capturing stuff that keeps pulling you into the business. Like what are you constantly repeating or what questions are you sick of answering from the team. 

Andy
Or what mistakes keep costing you money or time. Those are the first systems you need to complete.

Ange
Yeah. Because every time you document one of those, you buy back a little bit of your time. 

Andy
Exactly. And we need to get this information out of your head and onto paper because then you can share it and over time you can improve it. 

Ange
Yeah, exactly. 

Andy
So step three, let’s commit to capture one system a week and get your team involved.

Ange
Yes. That’s a great goal. You don’t need 50 systems next month. If you built one system a week, in a year, you’d actually have 52 of them. 

Andy
And most businesses don’t even need that many to actually feel relief. 

Ange
Yeah, exactly. So for example, you’ll end up with one for quoting, one for handing over a job. 

Andy
One for invoicing, one for payments, one for variations.

Ange
Exactly. And you know, one of the coolest parts, you don’t have to build them all yourself. 

Andy
Ah, yes. The best part is to get the team involved, and this is what I did at Dr. Drip. I lent on the team to build out the systems because the best person to document a task is the person that’s actually doing it.

Ange
Agreed. Our role as a business owner is to define the standard. It’s their role to actually explain the steps. 

Andy
And that’s how ownership actually starts. Because when someone helps build a system, they follow it. 

Ange
This part is the non-negotiable bit because systems only work when they become, this is how we do things around here, like set the rule. 

Andy
And that means using them for training, referring to them often. And holding people accountable to make sure they’re following them every time. 

Ange
Yeah. But here’s a tip, don’t micromanage them. Just be consistent. 

Andy
And once all of that happens, something shifts. 

Ange
Ooh, yes. The first thing you’ll notice isn’t necessarily more profit. Although that would definitely come. 

Andy
It’s actually less outside noise, fewer interruptions, fewer decisions landing on your desk. 

Ange
Which means more confidence from the team.

Andy
And for the first time you stop feeling like the only adult in the room. 

Ange
That’s harsh, but seriously, so true. It’s actually when business starts to change. 

Andy
And this is why we stand strong in saying you don’t need better staff. You need better systems. 

Ange
Because systems don’t just organize the business. They actually change how people show up. 

Andy
Including you. Let me make this real because this isn’t theory. This is exactly what happened in our business, Dr. Drip. For years, our office ran out of one person’s head and that was our office manager. 

Ange
Yeah, so she’d been with us for over 10 years and she knew everything. 

Andy
She knew everything. 

Ange
We thought that was a really good thing until it wasn’t.

Andy
Yeah, one day she had a massive health scare and ended up in emergency and hospitalized for 10 weeks. 

Ange
Uh, no handover, no calls, no contact. 

Andy
And if that had happened years earlier, that could have wiped us out with a lot of pressure. But because we had the processes documented. We just picked them up and kept going. I wouldn’t say the business didn’t skip a beat, but it was still highly organized and we kept going. 

Ange
And that was a moment we realized systems aren’t just about efficiency. 

Andy
They’re also about protecting your business. 

Ange
That’s why you should never have one person in your business that holds all the knowledge.

Andy
They may have all your passwords, they may have everything to do with your bank. You name it. If you’ve got that one person doing that, if things go bad, you are in a world of pain. And there’s another benefit for systems as well. I remember when we hired a new dispatcher to run our business and our boys out in the field. Training used to take between three and six months before they were really confident on how to run our business and how we do things around Dr. Drip. 

Ange
Yeah. And I guess during that time, everything came back to you, right? 

Andy
Everything came back to me. Questions, mistakes, double handling, you name it. In that period, it felt like I just got dragged back into the business.

Ange
So what happened when the systems got documented? 

Andy
Yeah, it was incredible. The training time went from three to six months to a couple of weeks. They knew exactly how our business ran. They didn’t sort of know the plumbing jargon sort of things, but they knew how to run our business and run our team of tradies out in the field from start to finish. It was huge because instead of learning from memory or guesswork, the old way of Dr. Drip, the new way was to follow a process. Answer the phone the same way, do the exact steps every single time, and have the same expectations. 

Ange
And gain the same outcomes. Right? That’s not luck, that’s clarity. 

Andy
And I have to say, the biggest test of our systems wasn’t growth. It was really just about life. And when my dad was diagnosed with terminal cancer and told he had three months to live. I literally walked outta the business and I was gone. 

Ange
Yeah, three months, no checking in, literally nothing. 

Andy
And the business kept running. And it’s not like the team suddenly became superheroes. They just knew exactly what to do every single time. 

Ange
And that’s what systems really give you. Not just profit, not just seamless growth. 

Andy
But the ability to step away when it actually matters. So, hey, there is one thing I wanna be really clear about here. You don’t get freedom first and then build systems. You build systems and then you earn. You earn the freedom. 

Ange
Ooh, I like that. Because if you’re waiting until things slow down to systemize, you’re gonna be waiting forever because a business needs you less before it gives you back time. 

Andy
Every tradie who says, I just need a break, he’s really saying. I need my business to stop relying on me every single day.

Ange
And there’s only one way that happens. 

Andy
And that’s systems, real ones, documented ones and ones you use every day. So when we say you don’t need better staff, you need better systems, this is what we mean. 

Ange
Exactly. Systems are the difference between a business that traps you and one that supports your life. If you don’t have systems in your business, then what are you waiting for? 

Andy
It’s tradie dilemma time brought to you by Buy4Tradies. It’s the buying group helping tradies just like you save serious coins on materials, fuel, vehicles, tools, and other services. If you’re not using it, you are probably paying too much. This is our Q&A segment where you let us know what you’re having trouble with in your business and we’ll give you our best advice to sort it out. 

Ange
Okay, so today we have a question from Sarah who owns a pest company with her husband Max in Sydney, and she writes. Hey, Andy and Ange, we have started to have fortnightly meetings with our team of four like you suggested, but I feel like at the moment we’re just wasting time. Can you give us some ideas about how to use this time effectively?

Andy
Yeah, I have to say, it all comes down to the planning. Most people when they have a toolbox meeting, they’re not prepared. They don’t know what’s going on. They leave it to the last minute and they think to themselves, oh my God, the guys are here for the meeting. Jono, what are we gonna talk about? That is the problem. Make a list of things you wanna bring up with your team. Structure it the right way, and I guarantee you’ll get a lot out of it and your team will too. 

Ange
Planning is absolutely the key for this. Thanks for writing in your question, Sarah and Max. And remember, if you want Andy and I to answer your most challenging question, then send them our way.

Andy
If this episode hit a nerve, that’s probably a good thing. 

Ange
Because being stuck in every decision isn’t just part of being a tradie. 

Andy
It’s a sign your business relies on you instead of supporting you. 

Ange
And that doesn’t get fixed with better staff or more hours. 

Andy
It gets fixed with systems, real ones, used ones.

Ange
If you are ready to stop being the bottleneck and start building a business that actually runs without you. 

Andy
Come and see us at our live one day event, Stress-Free Tradie, and we give you 27 systems for free that we use in our business, Dr. Drip. It helped me get off the tools. Check out event.lifestyletradie.com.au. Grab a ticket for you and your partner and we’ll see you there.

Subscribe to The Tradie Show, wherever you get your favorite podcasts. Rate and write us a review or for more information about Lifestyle Tradie, head to lifestyletradie.com.au.