The Scary Time Systems Saved Our Whole Business From Disaster!

Ange
Well, this actually happened to one of our own staff members, Carolyn. Our first concern was of course for her health because it was a really serious and intense incident. We were worried sick for both her and her husband. 

Andy
Then once we got over the shock of it all, we had to sit down and talk about what we’re going to do without her in our business for the time being.

Ange
Well, at this stage, we didn’t know how long Carolyn would be in hospital, but what we did know was that we couldn’t ring her with work questions and that was a problem from a business point of view. Carolyn was a major player in our day to day operations. 

Andy
And I’d go so far as to say she was actually irreplaceable. She knew everything about our business. 

Ange
And I personally wasn’t working in the business day to day at that time because I was at home with our new baby Hannah. We had recently become parents for the first time. So it was actually a little bit stressful, but thankfully, Andy, you had the smarts to ask our office team to document their day to day activities.

Andy
Yeah, I did and it was very lucky, to be honest. I had the team write out all their job processes step by step and put them all in Word documents and store them in folders in the office. 

Ange
And, thank goodness you did. These large folders had been on a shelf for a while at this stage, just gathering dust. But, at this moment, these folders were about to save our lives. I remember coming to the office, sitting in Carolyn’s seat and thinking, what on earth do I do now? I pulled the folder from the shelf and started reading through the documents and immersing myself into how to do Carolyn’s job. 

Andy
Yeah, and you know what? The whole team did such an incredible job that the business didn’t skip a bit And all thanks to the systems that Carolyn had written beforehand.

Ange
This was just one of the many times having our business systemized saved our butt. And in today’s episode of the show, we’ll share plenty more of those real life stories. Plus we’ll share the process of how to create systems and what tradies are getting wrong when they systemize. 

Andy
And AI can help you do all of this now. Gosh, I do love this stuff because AI is brilliant at helping us with so many things in our business these days from helping to write customized responses to Google reviews, creating social media posts and helping you write systems and processes as well as detailed flowcharts. 

Ange
Yeah, we’ll, we’ll share all of those and more in this episode.

Andy
All right, let’s get into it.  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 & wife team and co-founders of Lifestyle Tradie. Are you ready to have some fun? 

Andy
Hell yeah! 

Ange
Imagine this, no more late nights quoting and invoicing, no more second guessing your business decisions or missing out on hanging with your mates.

Andy
Want more freedom? You got it. Bigger profits? Absolutely. Smarter marketing? Of course. Building a dream team? We’ll guide you. Want to know how AI is going to shake up the industry? We’ll tell you. Want to get off the tools? That’s what we do best. We’re coming to a capital city near you for a day of no bullshit. A day to find out how to work smarter, not harder. 

Ange
Well, go on. What are you waiting for? Head over to lifestyletradie.com.au and join us at Lifestyle Tradie on Tour.  I want to get into today’s episode by sharing more real life stories of how systems had a measurable impact on our business and life, because we have personally seen systems save us on more occasions than one. And I feel like sharing these stories will help everyone understand just how important systems are for your trade business.

Andy
Yeah, I agree. We have loads and loads of stories to share. But before we get into that, I want to bring up something first though. I don’t know if you’ve noticed Ange, but creating systems is definitely a bit of a buzzword at the moment in the trade industry, you know, create systems here, systemize your trade business there, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But I just want to say, everyone be careful who you’re taking your advice from, because, do they actually practice what they preach and have they actually done this in a successful business themselves? Or are they just teaching you the theory? 

Ange
Yeah. Could they truthfully walk away from their business and have it continue to operate profitably whilst they’re not there because they’ve actually implemented systems the right way? Because this is what we did in Dr. Drip, our award winning maintenance plumbing business in Sydney. So, Andy, I remember the day that Normie, your dad, was diagnosed with terminal cancer and was given three months to live. Truthfully, it was heartbreaking news. But what was amazing was that you literally walked out of the business that very day to spend time with your dad.

Andy
Yeah, it was a really tough time to be honest, but you know, I was so grateful I was able to tell the boys, Hey, I’m going to spend this precious time with my dad. And I didn’t set foot in the business for a whole three months and our systems meant that the team could pick up my regular activities and keep the business running smoothly.

Ange
Now these are both tragic scenarios that happened in our lives where thankfully we had systems in the business that helped the others in the team continue to operate with little disruption. 

Andy
Yeah, I know it does sound pretty dramatic, but this is the unknown stuff that actually happens in everyone’s life at times, hopefully not yours, but it does happen in most trade business owners, but most of us just aren’t prepared. So, a good question to ask yourself is this, what happens in your business if you were faced with the same situation? Could you walk away and be uncontactable for weeks on end? Would the team cope? Would the business survive?

Ange
Yeah, look, all great questions. I’d say most trade business owners think, Well, none of this stuff’s ever going to happen to me, but you know what, let me tell you this. You are only human and you know what, it does happen and I reckon you’d prefer to be prepared than not to be. 

Andy
100 percent agree because systems have helped in so many other ways as well in Dr Drip. What about the time Ange, we hired a new dispatch scheduler in the office and we completely trained them in this role to manage all incoming calls and do our scheduling and we trained them within two weeks. Now, this used to take us about six months and I know most businesses out there could take up to a year, but with systems, they followed the documented steps and we’re up to speed in a fifth of the time. And guess what everyone, time is money. 

Ange
Yeah. And we’ve done this over and over again on multiple occasions where we’ve had to replace this specific role. And the only thing that took a little bit more time was knowing actual plumbing terminology. But even the scripts about how to respond to questions on say, mixer taps, for example, were super useful. They got up to speed in no time. 

Andy
Exactly. And one of the best memories I have about realizing the beauty of having systems in the business was when one of our boys, Graham, broke down on the Harbour Bridge.

Ange
Oh yeah. I love this story. 

Andy
Yeah. I just remember Aaron saying to me, Hey, it’s really weird, Andy. One of our trucks is stuck in the middle of the Harbour Bridge and it hasn’t moved for about 20 minutes. And I thought, Oh, that’s weird. And then all of a sudden the phone rang and I thought, Oh, and Aaron picked the phone up and said, Hey, Graham, how are you going? And he said, well, I’ve just been involved in a crash on the Harbour Bridge in peak hour. 

Ange
Yeah. Gosh, just to butt in here. Being stuck on the Harbour Bridge in peak hour is super stressful. 

Andy
Absolutely. But what happened next was just incredible. And this is why systems are so important. He was telling Aaron, I’ve talked to the car in front, I’ve got their driver’s license, I’ve grabbed all the details. I didn’t have to call a tow truck because on the Harbour Bridge they’ve already organised one for me. And I know Aaron was probably thinking, oh no, here we go. What do I have to do to get him out of this one? But then Graham’s like, I’m all good. I’ve just checked out our systems. I’ve followed it step by step. I’ve called the insurance company with the policy number. They told me to take the vehicle to be assessed in Willoughby. I’ve also rang thrifty car rentals and I’ve organized a van. I called the customer and told them I’m going to be about 30 minutes to an hour late. The tow truck driver is going to drop me off so that I can throw all my tools in the van and I should be in the next job within that hour. And I was like, what, how bloody awesome is that? 

Ange
Oh my God. That is truthfully the best. 

Andy
Yeah. And Erin and I were just looking at each other like, Oh my God, this is amazing.  Love, love, love systems. 

Ange
I can imagine you did that. It’s unheard of, right? 

Andy
And then it made me think about what used to happen before we had systems. Like the call would come in, everyone would panic. Everyone would freak out. Everyone would ring me. The guy would be freaking out. It’d be an absolute shit fight. The tradies, the offers, everyone to be dragged into everything. 

Ange
And the likelihood of making it to that next job would have been super slim.

Andy
Which now means that you’re not only pissed off a customer, but the whole day of work has been disrupted.

Ange
Which, might I add, has cost you both time and money. And to be honest, I actually just feel exhausted just thinking about it. 

Andy
Yeah, I know, right? But what I loved most was the fact that the whole situation was super So calm. Graham was an absolute freaking legend. He just followed the steps to the letter and he did it all himself without anyone else’s help.

Ange
Ah, thank you systems. 

Andy
Exactly. And the beauty of having our systems loaded on the iPads made it just super easy for Graham to find and follow the next steps himself.

Ange
Yeah. That reminds me of a guy we met at one of our events at the end of last year, Andy. He referred to himself as the janitor.  Do you remember that guy? 

Andy
Yeah, I definitely do. And he spent most of his time cleaning up everyone’s sh*t. I mean, I did really feel sorry for him. It’s safe to say he probably doesn’t have a lot or any system set up in his business, I would assume.

Ange
Well, when this is your life, there’s just no time or even brain space to even think about how you could grow a business because you’re constantly chasing your tail. 

Andy
Yeah. Or you’re consumed with putting out fires day in, day out.  

Ange
Yeah, that too. And side note, that guy needs a language reset. If you keep calling yourself the janitor, that’s what your brain focuses on and what you’re actually going to keep attracting into your life.

Andy
So if you’re a bit like our janitor friend, I suggest you press the imaginary reset button and start calling yourself something else instead. Not sure what? Maybe you call yourself the solutions guy or the systems guy and see how your brain starts looking for ways to systemize your business. 

Ange
Yeah, good point. Well, you must’ve done this back in the day, starting to call yourself the systems guy, Andy, because after our experience with Carolyn, we were quick to realize that we needed systems for the rest of the business. Like I’m talking about every role and responsibility, including the leading hand and the tradies in the field.

Andy
Yeah. So true. And I mean, we ended up spending over  200K bringing all these systems into our business and bringing an expert in because it actually took our leading hand who was off the road for weeks, almost months on end. Our manager was involved. You were involved, Ange. I was involved. You know, it was a big thing to do and it cost us a lot, didn’t it? 

Ange
Yeah. Well, in the end, we created more than 250 systems in Dr. Drip that we shared with the team and kept them accountable. And you know what, I do wanna add these systems were the key reason that you were truthfully able to remove yourself from the business and only work in Dr. Drip two hours a week. It’s the one question that we get asked the most. And your time was only spent on reviewing reports and dealing directly with the team. 

Andy
Yeah, you’re so right, Ange. I do get asked that question many, many times. And you know what, that is the number one reason why Dr.DRiP was such a sought after business to purchase because it didn’t rely on me as the business owner to operate seamlessly and be profitable. The business was doing it by itself. 

Ange
Yeah, absolutely. And what was even better was the wholesale happened in three months and the day we handed over the keys. You weren’t bound to be involved in the business from any time ongoing. That’s unusual, but for us, done and dusted. Thank you, systems. 

Andy
Absolutely, Ange. It was a game changer. But I know what everyone’s thinking out there. For many trade business owners, creating hundreds of systems seems like a massive job. And with the day to day running of your business, who has the time to do this these days? 

Ange
Well, the question is, how do you eat an elephant? 

Andy
Well, I don’t know. How do we, Ange? 

Ange
One bite at a time. 

Andy
Yeah, but what does that actually even mean? Like, how do we give advice to everyone out there as to how to start? 

Ange
Yeah, good question. But like any big goal, such as systemizing your whole business, you need to break it down into bite sized pieces. 

Andy
Yeah, true. 

Ange
So say you want to systemize your office admin role, then start by maybe creating one system a week. So by the end of the year, you’ll have 52 systems. 

Andy
Yeah, that’s a great idea. Or you’ll also want to do this with your tradies out in the field to create one system per week. And get them the help with the flow of a job and by the end of the year, guess what? There’s another 52 systems.  

Ange
Yeah. Well, one way to look at this is, you could start by attacking tasks that are, say, costing you money. Like what steps do the office follow if they get a call back?

Andy
Ah, I love this one. 

Ange
What do they say over the phone to ensure the customer is clear that although we’re happy to go back to the job, there’s a chance that what we find is not due to the job we completed. 

Andy
Yeah, that’s a good one because a lot of times when people hear callback, we just think it’s automatically our fault and so often it never was. So we had to put that in a step by step procedure to make sure the guys followed it to the T and the customer knew exactly what was going to happen. Or you could look at tasks by frequency too. So like the things you repeat. Daily, weekly, monthly, or even annually, and start with the simple things like the way you answer the phone and take customer inquiries or how to use your coffee machine or how to lock up the office at night. I mean, these are things that are really important. 

Ange
Exactly. They’re all great examples. So you might now be asking, well, how exactly do I do this? I would suggest you grab a piece of paper and a pen and you literally start writing steps like I do this, then I do that. Or you could actually use a mind mapping tool online, or you could grab some post it notes and start sticking the steps up on a wall, for instance, so that if you miss a step, you can actually start moving around these post it notes until it’s perfect. And then you can turn that into a flowchart the way we did. Because this is what formed the base of all of our systems in Dr. Drip, were these Freedom flowcharts. 

Andy
That brought back the memories when we had all those, um, post it notes and they’re all different colors and we had them on the glass on our doors and our office walls on the glass and we’re moving them all around.

Ange
That’s it.

Andy
Good times, good times. Or if you’re capturing what the tradies do on site, you might also want to record that using your phone doing audio or you might actually want to do that doing a video to complete that task. You know, there’s no better way to learn than to watch someone actually do it.

Ange
Yeah, that’s true. Or you could actually be using something like Loom if you’re recording your screen, whilst you explain steps to say, book a job in your job management system for the office team. 

Andy
Yeah, we’ve used a mixture of all of these in our business. Um, we’ve even used AI to help us along the way.

Ange
Ooh, yeah, that’s true. Love AI. Let’s talk about that for a sec. Tools like ChatGPT  can actually help in this stage of the process. 

Andy
Well, one of our Lifestyle Tradie members, Bill from Queensland, he’s creating a whole lot of standard operating procedures for his business. And he asked ChatGPT to come up with a procedure for an apprentice to check for refrigerant leaks in an air conditioner. And he posted the outcome in our members Facebook group and it was really detailed. Yes, of course it needed some tweaks, but it meant he didn’t have to waste time starting completely from scratch for each and every procedure. He was saying it at least saved him about one hour worth of work, which is a great saving.

Ange
Yeah. Well, there are actually specific GPTs  available inside ChatGPT that have been created to help people come up With these SOPs, these standard operating procedures. So to find them, just click on the explore GPT section and literally type in SOP and you’ll see these awesome options come up, but you can also just do what Bill did and write your own prompts in the general chat box. So another great use of ChatGPT I’ve discovered is creating systems by creating flowcharts and diagrams. We were doing this the other day with the marketing team where we were testing how detailed it could be for say, marketing and electrical business. And it literally spat out this whole colored tree diagram. And from that we could take each of those marketing strategies, we could break them down and literally create a system. It was awesome. 

Andy
Wow. That does sound amazing. 

Ange
And it’s only getting better with time. Now I do want to highlight that we could talk about systems literally all day. There’s way more to systems than what we can fit in this podcast.  I just want to be really clear and say systems are basically what you do on a day to day basis. And once you’ve captured the detail in a way that is really clear to communicate how everyone needs to operate, the systems need to be accessible to the team and the team also need to be held accountable and therefore you need training to be consistent.

Andy
True, and that’s exactly what we did to make Dr. Drip an incredible business. Not just to help the team succeed on a day to day basis, but to help improve efficiency, be more profitable, and definitely gave me the freedom to choose what to do each day as the owner, and not to mention, it increased  the value of the business tenfold. That’s a very important one. 

Ange
Yeah. So to help you all understand this in greater detail, we’ve actually created a systems ebook where we’ve shared with you our very specific Lifestyle Tradie system solution. Basically, It’s the exact 10 steps that we followed to systemize Dr. Drip and what we teach our Lifestyle Tradie members. And best of all, it’s completely free for you guys. The link is in our podcast show notes, or you can find it on our website under Free Resources.  

Andy
It’s Tradie Dilemma time. And this is our Q and A segment where you let us know what you’re having trouble with in your business and we give you our best advice.

Ange
Okay. Today we have a question from Layla who runs a building company in Perth and she writes, has anyone had issues with clients not letting you take photos on their property? 

Andy
Oh, wow. 

Ange
The work we’ve done is stunning and would be great for our business, but they’re not happy about photos being taken. Even if we make sure none of their personal belongings are in the photos, which we promised, what can we do?

Andy
Ooh, that’s hard, that’s tough, isn’t it? 

Ange
So my first sentence would be to think about gifting professional images. Maybe you’ve positioned your sentence, like you’re literally just going to walk around and take photos and that they’re never going to be shared. I’d be saying. You know, you’ve got to package that up really well to say that you’re going to have a professional photographer come on site. We really want to gift you with these beautiful photos so that you’ve got memories of, you know, what it looks like in its glory, I suppose. 

Andy
Yeah. But the hard thing is, maybe they’re a hard no. Yeah, but for us as tradies, if we’ve been builders, especially when you’ve built such an amazing place, that’s what we need to promote moving forward. So maybe we’ve got to have something written in the contracts that you’re allowed to be able to do because there’s a lot of money sitting there. If you just build a house for a million, 3 million, whatever it is. And it’s a kick ass place. You need to be able to show everyone your work so you can get more clients to come to you. So yes, that’s a tough one. I honestly think we’ve got to have something in our contract around that. 

Ange
Yeah, I agree with that sentence. It’s a great question, Layla. And thanks for sharing. I’m sure there’s plenty of others who have been faced with the same dilemma.  

Andy
Remember, if you have a question or dilemma in your business. Please reach out to us and let us know what we can do to help you.

Ange
Alternatively, if you want to chat with Andy one on one, he is available for a free strategy call this week. This is time for you to get some expert eyeballs on your business and find out how you can scale your business and free up more of your time.

Andy
Now, be warned, I’m not just going to fluff you up with all this motivational sh*t. I want to give you the goods. So, proper advice from someone who’s been there in the trenches. 

Ange
Well, we’ve been where you are. We’ve lived your journey and created a business that gave us the freedom to create the lifestyle that we wanted.

Andy
If you wanna grab one of those free spots, then head over to our website at lifestyletradie.com.au, or check out the show notes for a link to schedule your call.  

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.