Decoding Success For The Modern Tradie Boss

Andy
Mate, I’ve got a blue staffy dog and the girls are dressing it up with dresses, you know. Yes, seriously, that does my head in. But what really frustrates me is seeing guys full of drive, putting in massive amounts of effort to build their trade business, but they are simply spinning the wheels constantly. That really hurts. 

Ange
Yeah. Look, it’s hard to watch. Hey, they’re usually the hardest workers. They’re putting in time on the tools, managing the team, coordinating the jobs, and then going home to do all this paperwork at nighttime, right?

Andy
It’s like they’ve got all this horsepower to pump out the work, but they’re driving their business all over the place and potentially Straight into a ditch, and that’s all because they got no control of the engines driving their behavior.

Ange
Well, what do you mean by engines? 

Andy
The engines are what make up your mindset, your thoughts, feelings, and actions. They’re the driving force behind every success story. If you can master these, you’ve got the world in your pocket. 

Ange
Right. So it’s that easy, is it? 

Andy
Okay, no. If it was that easy, everyone would be successful. But you know what? We can make things so much easier on ourselves if we decode the workings of our mind. And that’s exactly what we want to help you with today. 

Ange
Yeah, true. So in today’s episode, we’re going to share with you how you can be much more in control of how you act and react in your business. 

Andy
Just imagine fewer tradies stressing out, fewer tradies going into Hulk mode after tuning into today’s episode.

Ange
That would definitely be beneficial for not only our own personal stress levels, not to mention the teens that are totally getting sprayed. So to help with this less Hulk mode today, we’ll be discussing the power of mindset or let’s call it your engine. And the steps that you can take to be a better boss.

Andy
But wait up before you even think of ditching us, because you think this is just another snooze fest on mindset. Listen up. This is what helped us and countless other bosses turn their business on its head to become massively, I’ll say it again, massively profitable.  

You’re listening to The Tradie Show. This is the podcast for trade business and contracting bosses like you, who want to 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! 

Good  day legends, Andy here. Remember the dream you had when you first Started your trade business, the freedom, the profits, the extra time to maybe cast a line or ride on the open road, but now you are tangled in the backend mess of business, missing out on life’s good bits. I’ve been there and it’s rough. Listen, let’s hash this out together. Find the snags in your business and sort them out once and for all. I’m talking about a real strategy built from blood, sweat, and plenty of swear words of experience. Book a free chat with me at lifestyletradie.com.au. It’s about time you reclaimed your dream.  

Ange
Andy, why should trade business owners even care about mindset?

Andy
Well, let me say this. If you have the wrong mindset, it’ll show up in everything you do. 

Ange
Yeah, I totally agree with that. 

Andy
Think about it. As a trade business owner, you’re bombarded every day with all kinds of things like the workload and coordinating jobs, people’s personalities and emotions, cash flow issues, supply issues, and lots of other unexpected problems. You are putting out fires all day long. 

Ange
Wow. That’s a lot. Hey, what a lot. And when it’s all coming in thick and fast, how you respond to all of this is completely determined by your mindset. 

Andy
But why can’t we just be positive and get on with things like we did in the old days, you know, back in my day. 

Ange
Oh, I’m pretty sure the kids call that toxic  positivity these days, Andy.

Andy
Yeah, I know. I know. I used to think these things were just so simple though. Like why couldn’t everyone. Just have a positive mindset and get the shit done that needs to be done. 

Ange
Well, it does sound nice, but as you know, Andy, we’re just not all the same. Some of us grew up with a more positive mindset than others. And while some of us had lots of good influences growing up, others probably didn’t and had to learn mindset skills for themselves as an adult. And lots of people actually still find that really hard. 

Andy
Yeah, I totally agree. And strengthening and managing your mindset is a constant practice. You know, I’m still not perfect at it, that’s for sure.

Ange
Aren’t you? 

Andy
Well, no, but unfortunately, just trying to be positive all the time is just not going to change that mindset of yours. 

Ange
No, fair. Unfortunately not. Now, before we get into how to shift your mindset, let’s maybe explore why mindset matters and how this might be affecting your business in the real world today.

Andy
So most tradies start their journey going through TAFE as part of an apprenticeship and most of us believe that one day we’ll be our own boss running our own show. And although you may start the business, it’s a struggle to really make it a successful business.

Ange
Well, why do you think this is such a common story?

Andy
Well, to be successful, you’ve got to learn a few key things, you know, trade specific business principles. You’ve got to get your business model right. And you’ve got to develop a leadership mindset. 

Ange
Ah, yes. The all important leadership mindset. This actually influences everything. It affects your attitude and how you handle challenges and how you treat people. But the question remains, what does mindset actually mean? 

Andy
Well, your mindset is a set of beliefs that shape how you make sense of the world and yourself. 

Ange
Hmm. So in simple terms, it’s the mental attitude you bring to the table, I suppose. Everything you do as a leader, like your decisions, every strategic move and every step forward. This is, I guess, influenced by whatever frame of mind you’re in at that moment of taking action. 

Andy
Without going into too much of a deep dive into all of this, Here’s the nuts and bolts. So roughly speaking, we have two types of thinking systems, our autopilot system and our intentional system. I’m going to let you explain this one, Ange.

Ange
Okay. So the autopilot system is all about our emotions and intuitions. This is our non-conscious or call it subconscious stuff like our daily habits and our reactions to say life and death situations. It’s also known as our fight, flight or freeze response. And this fight, flight or freeze response has served us well over the years, especially when you go back to the caveman times when we were actually stalked by a saber toothed tiger. 

Andy
Well, I know that’s back in the old days, but these days surely our brain has evolved.

Ange
Well, kind of, but then also not really. So our automatic fight, flight, or freeze response still actually treats the stresses that we face everyday like we’re actually being stalked by a saber-toothed tiger. 

Andy
A more likely scenario in the modern day world is for some tradies being stalked by their suppliers wanting their money.  Well, the bloody Reserve Bank constantly puts up interest rates and causes everything to rise. Our mortgage rates are stalking us, no doubt about that. And petrol prices are stalking us at the moment too, aren’t they? 

Ange
Yeah, good examples. So, then we’ve got this second thinking system, which is called the intentional system.

Andy
Yeah, this one is connected to our rational thinking. This helps us handle all our complex mental activities like juggling phone calls in your business, responding to emails, attending meetings or managing projects. 

Ange
Exactly, because all of these require intentional complex focus. 

Andy
I’ve actually got another way of explaining this for anyone who’s super visual like me. You want to hear it? 

Ange
Okay, let’s do it. 

Andy
Okay, so the autopilot system is like a big fat elephant, right? You got that?  Stick with me here. The elephant is really big and powerful, but can also act like a gentle giant depending on how it’s trained and managed. Now, the intentional system is like the rider on top of that elephant. They’re guiding the elephant with training and systems. 

Ange
Okay, keep going. 

Andy
Well, our emotions, which are connected to the elephant, can sometimes be overwhelmed. And this affects our rational thinking, which is the rider, right? So when our rider is out of control on our elephant, that’s where we get into trouble.

Ange
Oh my God. I think I just got lost in the jungle. 

Andy
I love that.  Well, think of it like this. If you actually can train your rider to be an elephant whisperer. By putting systems in place to take action on the right thing, then this helps you control your emotions. Do you get it? 

Ange
Yes, I get it. So let’s not do any more imaginary elephant rides.  And let’s switch this about how do we actually connect this to the real world? 

Andy
Okay, it starts with some self-awareness and understanding whether you have a fixed or a growth mindset to start with. But no matter what you have, The good news is you have the power to change it. 

Ange
Aha, exactly. There’s actually a quiz that you can do to see where you’re currently at with your mindset. And we’ll actually put a copy of that in the show notes to download later if you’re interested. It’s from this amazing professor of psychology at Stanford University called Carol Dweck. 

Andy
And another thing you can do is, just doing what you’re doing right now and listening to our podcast and you’re learning about how the brain works.

Ange
Right. So, mindset shifts also come when you understand concepts such as neuroplasticity. 

Andy
Okay, I’m going to try and pronounce that word. Because everyone knows I’m pretty rubbery. Neuroplasticity.  Oh, sh*t I f*cked it. Okay, we’ll just go on. That’s a really big word, Ange, okay? I’m not  

Ange
I know, and I won’t go into too much detail, but it basically means the learning pathways in our brain are actually not fixed. They’re stretchy like plasticine and they constantly change in response to our experiences. 

Andy
And you can also think of the brain like any other muscle in your body as well. 

Ange
Yeah, it’s true. So the more you learn about mindset and you practice strengthening it, it actually becomes stronger. 

Andy
Hell yeah! 

Ange
So, is that it, Andy?

Andy
No, not yet. I want to share with you some of the leadership mindset shifts that I’ve had over the years in business. And one of my biggest mindset triggers that I had was a super big ego.

Ange
Wow. That’s actually a really big one to admit, to be fair. 

Andy
Yeah, it is. But look, Ange, I’m not afraid to admit this because letting go of my big ego allowed me to see bigger opportunities. And when I ran the business through my massive ego, it was all good until it wasn’t. And I was scaling Dr. Drip, our plumbing business, bigger and bigger and bigger. And then guess what? I ran into big trouble. 

Ange
Yeah. Because you are actually scaling chaos, is the truth. So we had to have some pretty raw conversations and go in and fix it together.

Andy
Yeah. And I’m so grateful for that lesson now, Ange, because it was one of our biggest opportunities to get out of our way and grow sustainably. And eventually, guess what? We’ve sold the business. 

Ange
Exactly. So look, no one likes a leader with a really huge ego anyway. So it’s good that you kind of had that awareness. And true growth begins when you have the courage to set aside your ego and start noticing your triggers and perhaps toxic or maybe unhelpful behaviors. 

Andy
Yeah, it’s interesting. But having a big ego when you’re a leader is really a big problem because perhaps you can’t accept another person’s point of view or take feedback on board.

Ange
Yeah, that’s fair. So where to from here? I think we need to circle back to those thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that you mentioned in the beginning. 

Andy
Well, Ange, when you practice a growth mindset and you reflect on your thoughts and feelings, you can start to change your behavior. 

Ange
So, the question then needs to be asked. How can you start practicing and cultivating a growth mindset? 

Andy
Well, let me share five steps. And the first step is to create a belief shift. You know, even though you’re a leader of your trade business doesn’t mean you know everything can have all the answers. You’ve got to adopt the attitude of someone who is Always learning.

Ange
I totally agree. This doesn’t necessarily mean learning in the traditional sense though, does it? 

Andy
No, not at all. Every experience, good or bad, is a learning opportunity. 

Ange
Agreed. So next, you’ve actually got to get comfortable feeling uncomfortable. By staying in your comfort zone means you only lean on past experiences where you will only see the same old results.

Andy
And when you accept opportunities to try new things and push yourself to the limits, Research shows you’re literally rewiring your brain. 

Ange
Absolutely. So, let’s talk about step three, which is to ask for feedback. Asking for and listening to feedback can be hard for some, but it’s key to improving because we get to identify what we’re doing well and what we need to make improvements on.

Andy
Yeah, you need to ask different people like your peers and your leadership team for specific and regular feedback. Just remember this, don’t fire up with the feedback, isn’t what you were hoping to hear. 

Ange
That’s right. So this 360 feedback is actually really advantageous for you, isn’t it? So you need to use the feedback to stop and reflect and ask yourself, well, what can you do to be better? Because remember, it’s actually not personal. Like this is a growth opportunity. 

Andy
Yeah. And I think sometimes you just got to dumb it down. At the end of the day, we’re doing our best, aren’t we? And the reality is we’re all just flying wildly around a rock we call Earth and no one really knows what they’re doing. 

Ange
We’re just doing the best, that’s for sure. So, in all of this though, I think the message is to bring some self-compassion. 

Andy
Yeah, self-compassion. Well, let’s just change it to tradie speak. And that means being gentler and more kind to yourself. And we’re definitely all getting better at this. 

Ange
Yeah. Which is a good thing, right?

Andy
Yeah. We’ve come a long way from having a cup of concrete days. Thank goodness. We’re starting to learn. 

Ange
We certainly are. So let’s talk about step four, which is learning from your mistakes, because you know what? We actually all make them. We’re only human. 

Andy
Totally. And we’ve got to stop being so hard on ourselves about this because mistakes are opportunities to learn, not signs of weakness. You just want to normalize mistakes. 

Ange
Yeah. And aim not to repeat them. 

Andy
And finally, number five, establish a support system. 

Ange
Yes. So surround yourself with like-minded people who strive to be better. Find these allies who have a growth mindset. These are actually the people that are okay to do the harder thing. And if you want to change and get results in your business and personal life, you definitely want to encircle yourself around others who are results driven. 

Andy
And this is the exact reason we started Lifestyle Tradie and created this amazing community that we have now.

Ange
Yeah, exactly. So not only do we get the chance to teach business principles to get your business model right, but the members can learn from us and each other.

Andy
Yeah, that’s right. And they can also lean on us and each other. 

Ange
Yeah, agreed. Nothing beats a brain’s trust to answer every question and push you to be better. No better place to hone these leadership mindset skills we talk about. 

Andy
Now, that definitely deserves a hell yeah! 

Ange
So, coming full circle, Andy, the mindset isn’t warm and fuzzy. I think we’ve actually made that crystal clear. 

Andy
If you want to be a successful trade business owner, your mindset definitely matters.  Well, guess what? It’s Tradie Dilemma time. This is our Ask A&A  Anything segment where you let us know what you’re having trouble with in your business and we give you our best advice.

Ange
Okay. So today we have a question from Brian from New South Wales and he writes. I’m a concreter and I have a lot of my family working for me, which is great. But after each day, I go home and I do so many hours of paperwork. It’s draining and stressful and I don’t feel like the boys really understand how stressed I am. I know I’m making good money, but it’s not in my pocket fast enough. Where do I even start to tackle these issues so I’m not feeling so stressed out? 

Andy
Yeah, interesting. Let’s first, let’s address the issue of family all working together. And that doesn’t necessarily have to be an issue. I mean, I know a lot of tradies that are in partnership with their brothers or their cousins or whatever. And it’s a seriously successful business because they’re so invested and their values are all the same. They’ve grown up in a similar way and they get on really well. However, it could… also work in reverse, that those family members take their position for granted. 

Ange
Yes, I would personally say it still comes back to the business owner, meaning you. So, have you set the ground rules to any employee, whether they’re family or not? Your team can only be as good as their leader and they can only do what’s required of them when communicated, so that there are no blurred lines.

Andy
Now, regardless of whether they’re family or not. The point is you haven’t decided what your team does for every job. So you aren’t doing admin at night. You know, the question is, have you structured your day to do the paperwork during the day instead of doing it at night? And how are you pulling in cash flow faster because what you’re currently doing is clearly not working. 

Ange
Ooh. So this comes back to getting clarity on what we call the flow of one single job. And we need to actually go back to basics. You need to work out the steps and communicate this to the team so that they know what’s expected of them. I’m talking about things like what do they even do within the job management system and are they even collecting money at the end of a job and if so, how are they doing it?

Andy
Yeah, we’ve seen many businesses go down this path of being really busy. I know everyone listening to that question that was asked maybe don’t have family, but they’re in the same position and that is they work all day, they work all night and the actual team don’t realise how much they do. And as Ange has talked about then, normally it’s all about the flow of a job and setting up the right job management system. And you also need to communicate this process to the team. So you’ve got to have like toolbox meetings and hold them accountable and if they’re not doing what is expected of them, then they need to be pulled up like any other employee. So no special treatment just because they are your family. 

Ange
Fair. And if they don’t tow the line, then maybe it’s actually time to ship them out. And you can’t feel bad about that because at the end of the day, your business perhaps is suffering. Not to mention, it also affects other team members because they’ll actually get the sh*t if they say that one person’s getting this preferential treatment because they’re actually family, it would be so frustrating.

Andy
It just needs to come back to getting really clear about what you want them to do out on the job. Or maybe this is the time to think completely about on How do I get myself off the tools and that’s all about getting your business model right and your structure right because it does sound like you’ve got a fairly big team.

Ange
Yeah. So maybe it’s time for a shift so that you can work more on the business instead of in it.  

Andy
Remember friends, we’re here to help you navigate the road of being a successful trade business owner. We know how lonely that road can definitely be at times. 

Ange
Yeah. Like us, you probably started your trade business in the first place, because you wanted to be successful and have more freedom and time to do what you wanted, right? 

Andy
Yeah. And I know I did, but now a few years down the track, you are busier, you’re more stressed than ever and working way too many hours. And seriously, guys, you’ve got to stop doing this stuff alone.

Ange
Yeah. You have to start recognising that asking for help isn’t a cop out. It’s actually an investment in your business, in yourself and your family’s future. 

Andy
And if you wanna regain your time and find the freedom to choose, you can jump on a free strategy call with me today to talk through the steps you need to get to that position.

Ange
Absolutely. So literally just head to lifestyletradie.com.au and you’ll see a big green button that says Strategy session with Andy, where you can book a meeting.

Andy
Or if you’re looking on your mobile device, scroll all the way down and you’ll see the strategy session option right there. 

Ange
Exactly. No more excuses. Let’s make 2024 your best year yet. 

Andy
Hell yeah!  

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