Off The Tools with Wayne and Andy 🔥

Everyone’s shouting the same thing…
👉 “I need more leads.”

But here’s the truth most tradesmen don’t want to hear…
You don’t have a lead problem — you’ve got a systems, speed, and customer experience problem.

In this episode, we break down why throwing more money at lead generation is actually making things worse for most businesses… and what you should be fixing instead.

We cover:

• Why most tradesmen can’t handle more leads anyway
• The real reason jobs aren’t converting
• How poor first impressions are killing your business
• Why answering the phone properly matters more than marketing
• The power of speed, quoting systems, and customer journey
• Why consistency beats skill in today’s market

If you’re missing calls, slow to quote, or still doing everything manually… you’re not losing work because of leads — you’re losing it because of how your business runs.

This is the shift most tradesmen refuse to make…
And it’s exactly why they stay stuck.

📲 Want to fix your systems and actually grow properly?
Reach out, get involved, and start building a business that converts — not just one that stays busy.

Most tradesmen don’t fail because they’re bad at the job…
They fail because no one ever showed them how to run a business.

This episode breaks down the brutal truth behind why so many lads stay stuck — busy every day, working hard, but still not making the money or progress they expected.

We dive into:

• The reality of being an “accidental business owner”
• Why working harder is NOT the answer anymore
• The biggest mistakes that keep trades businesses stuck (pricing, saying yes to everything, no systems)
• How you can grind for years with no real growth
• The hard lessons from losing businesses, burnout, and starting again

And more importantly…
👉 What actually needs to change if you want more time, more control, and more money.

If you feel like you’re constantly busy but not moving forward — this one will hit home.

You’re not alone… but you do need to change direction.

📲 Want help fixing your business properly?
Reach out, get involved, and start building something that actually works.

n this live webinar, Wayne and Andy break down exactly how ServiceMate can help trade businesses get more organised, look more professional, and save serious time.

This wasn’t just a software demo…
It was a real look at how a proper job management system can change the way your business runs from start to finish.

Wayne walked through the core of ServiceMate, including:

• 📅 Diary & dispatch board – booking jobs, dragging and dropping work, scheduling engineers

• 📲 Online booking – letting customers book themselves in without the back-and-forth

• 🧾 Invoicing & payment tracking – staying on top of what’s been paid and what’s outstanding

• 🤖 Automations – reminders, confirmations, follow-ups, and cutting down manual admin

• 🏷️ Badges, folders & job categories – making the system easier to manage as the business grows

• 📋 Job templates – pre-built service, breakdown, install and quote jobs to save time

• 🧠 Knowledge base & process building – helping teams follow systems properly

• 📑 Custom forms – branded paperwork, gas certs, job reports, photos, and customer value-building

• 📈 Reports & AI insights – pulling data from the system to understand business performance

• 🔗 Software stack thinking – why ServiceMate is one key part of a bigger business system

Andy added loads of practical real-world insight on:

• Why branded forms and job reports increase perceived value 👀

• How automation improves the customer experience without needing more staff

• Why online booking is a massive win when done properly

• How job templates and pre-built workflows save hours every week

• Why trades who don’t level up their systems will get left behind over the next few years

The lads also touched on:

• 🔄 ServiceMate integrations with tools like SalesLion, Quotient, Xero, QuickBooks, Stripe and Zapier

• ⚙️ Why no single software does everything — and why you need a software stack

• 🚨 Common mistakes people make when they try to run growing businesses on paper, WhatsApp, and memory alone

If you’re still:

• writing things down in notebooks

• chasing customers manually

• sending invoices late at night

• forgetting follow-ups

• or relying on memory to run your business…

…you’re making life harder than it needs to be.

The businesses that win going forward will be the ones with:
✅ systems
✅ automations
✅ better communication
✅ cleaner paperwork
✅ and a smoother customer journey

Because in today’s market, it’s not just about doing good work…
It’s about looking organised, acting professional, and making it easy for customers to trust you.

🔧 What Was Covered💥 Big Talking Points🎯 Key Takeaway

This one’s different.

No scripts.
No structured lesson.
Just real talk about where the trades industry is heading — and what it means for you.

In this episode, Wayne and Andy break down the current state of the industry, from shrinking skill levels to the death of the old-school sole trader model

We cover:

• 📉 Why last year felt slow for so many trades businesses

• 📞 How failing to answer the phone is costing you customers

• 🖥 Why software and systems are no longer optional

• 🔥 The coming extinction of the “accidental business owner”

• 💷 The VAT threshold debate (should it be £30k or £200k?)

• 👷‍♂️ Why apprenticeships are becoming financially impossible

• 📊 The 4,000 leaving vs 1,000 entering stat — and what it really means

• 🏗 The growing skills gap in the wider population

• 💰 Why tradesmen can earn solicitor-level money (without £53k of uni debt)

This isn’t doom and gloom.

It’s reality.

Yes — there are challenges:

• Rising wages
• Making Tax Digital
• Fewer apprentices
• Inflation squeezing margins
• Customers expecting Amazon-level service

But here’s the flip side 👇

Less supply + more demand = MASSIVE opportunity.

The lads who treat it like a proper business — with pricing dialled in, systems in place, flexibility for staff, and strong leadership — are going to dominate the next decade.

The ones “playing at it” won’t survive.

Simple as that.

We also dive into:

• The future of employment in the trades

• Why flexibility will win you better engineers

• Why mindset is now the real separator

• And how to position yourself for what’s coming next

If you’re serious about building something solid…
If you want time, freedom, and real profit…
If you can feel the industry shifting…

This episode will open your eyes.

The future is tough.
But it’s bright — for the ones who step up.

Let’s go. 🚀

What actually happens inside Off The Tools Alliance?

Not the surface-level stuff.
Not the sales pitch.
The real, behind-the-scenes breakdown.

In this episode, Wayne and Andy give you an inside look at what’s changing, what’s growing, and what members are achieving this year inside the Alliance

Over the last 18 months, things have levelled up.

With Andy stepping in as lead coach, the dynamic has shifted:

• Two different angles.

• Two different styles.

• One shared mission — build proper businesses.

We break down:

🔥 The quarterly Mastermind Retreats
A full day working on your business (not in it)
Strategy. Money. Time management.
Clear 12–24 month plans.
Then ice baths, saunas, hikes, deep conversations and proper reset time.

📈 The Results
Hundreds of thousands in recurring revenue created from service plan focus alone.

🧠 Weekly Coaching Sessions
Wayne’s World Wednesdays — mindset, strategy, open conversations.
Quarterly planning + debrief sessions to stay sharp.

💪 XL Members: Andy’s Accountability
Focused Friday sessions for the lads who are serious about execution.

📲 WhatsApp Community
Daily conversations.
Real support.
No pub-talk negativity.
Just tradesmen who want more.

This isn’t just “business advice”.

It’s:

• Surrounding yourself with ambitious tradesmen

• Raising your standards

• Fixing your pricing

• Implementing systems

• Becoming a leader

• Building time, freedom and profit

If you’re:

❌ Stuck at the same level
❌ Surrounded by moaners at the merchants
❌ Trying to figure everything out alone

Or…

✅ Ready to build something bigger
✅ Ready to think long-term
✅ Ready to level up properly

Then this episode will show you what’s possible.

No contracts.
No pressure.
Just real tradesmen building real businesses.

The only question is:

Are you happy where you are?
Or are you ready to grow?

Let’s go. 🚀

If you’re still texting prices…
Still driving around doing free site visits…
Still sending scrappy email quotes at 10pm…

You’re making life harder than it needs to be.

In this episode, Wayne and Andy break down the real reason most tradesmen waste time, lose jobs, and struggle to charge properly — and it all comes back to quoting.

This isn’t theory.
This is a live session showing exactly how a professional quoting system:

• ⚡ Saves hours every week

• 💼 Instantly elevates your business

• 📈 Increases conversion rates

• 🛡 Protects you from pricing disputes

• 💰 Unlocks stronger, more confident pricing

Inside this episode, we cover:

• Why most tradesmen are still quoting like it’s 2005

• How slow quoting kills momentum and loses work

• Why presentation changes perception (and pricing power)

• How to stop doing pointless site visits for simple jobs

• The power of templated quotes and standardised installs

• Using add-ons properly instead of doing “while you’re here” freebies

• Getting written acceptance to eliminate payment arguments

• How automation follow-ups recover jobs you’d normally lose

There’s also a deeper conversation around mindset:

You can’t charge premium prices if you look average.
And you can’t scale if your systems are manual and messy.

Customers in 2026 expect:

✔ Clear communication
✔ Fast response
✔ Transparent pricing
✔ Professional presentation
✔ Digital convenience

If you want to stand out from the £60-an-hour crowd…
If you want to stop being compared apples-for-apples…
If you want to build a proper business — not just a busy job…

This episode is a must-listen.

Upgrade the system.
Elevate the brand.
Win more of the right work.

Let’s go. 🔥

In this episode of the Off The Tools Podcast, we break down the books that genuinely shifted our thinking — not just business tactics, but mindset, resilience, money, and purpose.

We’re not here to throw a random Amazon list at you.

These are the books that actually made a difference.

From wealth philosophy to personal discipline… from pricing confidence to mental toughness… and even a few story-driven curveballs that hit harder than expected.

We cover:

📚 Rich Dad Poor Dad – by Robert Kiyosaki
The mindset shift around money, assets, and building income that works while you sleep.

📖 Atlas Shrugged – by Ayn Rand
A powerful (and controversial) fiction novel about creators vs takers — and why producers matter.

⚙️ The E-Myth Revisited – by Michael E. Gerber
Why most tradesmen are self-employed, not business owners — and how systems change everything.

🟢 Greenlights – by Matthew McConaughey
A surprisingly deep look at resilience, journaling, risk-taking, and life pivots.

🧠 Surrounded by Idiots – by Thomas Erikson
Understanding personalities so you can deal with customers, staff and family without losing your head.

🔥 Ready, Fire, Aim – by Michael Masterson
For the overthinkers — why action beats perfection every time.

🏃 Mind Over Miles – by Russ Cook
Ultra-resilience, mental toughness, and what happens when you push far beyond comfort.

🪙 The Daily Stoic – by Ryan Holiday
365 short daily lessons in discipline, perspective and emotional control rooted in Stoicism.

This episode isn’t about “read more books”.

It’s about building better foundations.

Better mindset.
Better money habits.
Better emotional control.
Better leadership.

Because if you want to grow your trade business… you have to grow yourself first.

If you’re serious about creating time, freedom and profit — this is your reading list.

Let’s go. 🚀

Most tradesmen don’t fail because they’re bad at the trade.
They fail because they keep doing the same shit… and expecting different results.

In this episode of the Off The Tools Podcast, Wayne Bettess and Andy Jones break down 9 practical, proven things that will radically improve both your business AND your life — but only if you actually take action.

This isn’t theory.
Every single point has been tested, implemented, and lived by lads inside Off The Tools. 🛠️

Inside this episode, we cover:

🔹 Why raising your standards must come before raising your prices
🔹 Picking a lane based on your strengths — not ego
🔹 How recurring revenue gives you breathing room (and sleep)
🔹 Why systems beat hustle every single time
🔹 Getting paid upfront and protecting yourself with paper trails 📄
🔹 Why hiring admin earlier than feels “comfortable” is a power move
🔹 Marketing consistently — even when you’re flat out 📈
🔹 Thinking lifetime value, not one-off jobs
🔹 And why upgrading the man is just as important as upgrading the business 💪🧠

If you’re busy but broke…
If you’re grafting but not getting ahead…
If you want more time, freedom, profit, and control…

👉 This episode is your wake-up call.

🎯 Listen with a notebook.
🔥 Pick ONE thing.
🚀 Take action.

Because nothing changes unless you do.

If you’re working flat out, knackered every night, and still wondering where the money went…
This episode will hit you like a brick. 🧱

In this special Pricing for Profit session, Wayne and Andy break down the exact reason most tradesmen are under-earning — and show you how to fix it using real numbers, not guesswork.

This isn’t theory.
This is the system Wayne uses in his own multi-van heating businesses and the same one Andy used to go from a £65 boiler service to running a fully systemised, highly profitable company in just a few years. 🔥

Inside this episode:

• 🧮 Why guessing your prices is destroying your business

• 📊 How to calculate what you must charge just to survive

• 💷 How to work out what you should charge to actually make profit

• 🧑‍🔧 Why most engineers earn the same as employees — but with 10x the stress

• 💥 The truth about “just bung us £40” jobs

• 🧱 Why every business has phantom costs (vans, tools, mistakes, breakdowns, sick days)

• 🚐 Why your van, drills and flue gas analyser must be paid for by the customer — not you

• 📉 How lads charging £60–£70/hour are slowly going backwards every year

• 📈 How to use supply & demand pricing (winter vs summer)

• 🧠 Why mindset is the real reason you’re scared to charge more

• 🔁 How to phase out low-paying customers without blowing your business up

• 🧾 Why software, systems and professional quoting let you charge more

• 🤯 How one decision (like Google Ads or hiring staff) should change your prices

Wayne also walks you through his free Pricing Calculator — the tool that shows you:

• what your business really costs to run

• what you need to charge per hour, day and job

• how much profit you should be making

• and what happens when you add staff, marketing or overheads

Andy explains how he charges £199+VAT per hour in the North of England — and why most lads could be charging way more if they stopped copying each other and started using real numbers. 🔥

If you want:

• more money 💷

• less stress 😮‍💨

• better customers 🤝

• more freedom 🏖️

• and a business that actually works…

You have to stop guessing your prices.

🎧 Listen now.
📊 Use the calculator.
🔥 Start charging what you’re actually worth.

https://pricing-calculator.offthetools.co.uk/

Ever feel like school told you you’d never be anything… and you carried that into adult life? 😤
This episode is going to hit hard.

Wayne and Andy dive deep into the link between school, self-worth, pricing, confidence and business success — and why so many incredible tradesmen are massively under-earning because of beliefs formed when they were kids.

This isn’t about GCSEs.
It’s about mindset, value, and knowing what you’re really worth. 💷

Inside this episode:

• 🏫 Why the school system is designed for girls — not lads

• 🧠 ADHD, energy, movement & why tradesmen never fit in classrooms

• 🛠️ Why being “bad at school” often means you’re perfect for the trades

• 📉 How school failure turns into low pricing and low self-belief

• 💷 Why plumbers & sparkies can earn more than solicitors

• 📈 The supply & demand shift happening in trades right now

• 🏠 Why new homeowners can’t even hang a shelf anymore

• 🔥 Why skilled trades are becoming more valuable every year

• 📚 Why education doesn’t stop when school ends

• 💭 How limiting beliefs keep you stuck charging £60 when you should be charging £150+

• 🧮 Why if you haven’t raised prices in years… you’re actually earning less every year

• 🦁 Why confidence is the real superpower in business

Wayne shares his own story of being written off at school…
Andy explains why the world is flipping in favour of skilled tradespeople…
And both of them hammer home one brutal truth:

👉 Your lack of GCSEs does NOT decide your income.
Your mindset does.

They also talk about:

• 📖 The books that changed their lives (Rich Dad Poor Dad, Winning Through Intimidation)

• 💬 How to stop folding when customers try to beat you down on price

• 🧱 Why you need to build a business that pays you what you deserve

• 🚀 Why tradesmen who step up now will dominate the next 10–20 years

If you’ve ever thought:

• “I’m not clever enough”

• “I can’t charge that much”

• “That won’t work in my area”

• “My customers wouldn’t pay it”

…this episode will challenge every one of those beliefs. 🔥

🎧 Hit play.
🧠 Shift your mindset.
💷 Start charging what you’re actually worth.3