Most business owners daydream about sailing away in a yacht, bathing in the warm sunlight with that cool ocean breeze and whispering to themselves that ‘This is life!’ all while running a business in another part of the world. But while you think this is something that’s just too good to be true, think again, because it is possible.  

In this week’s podcast episode, I talk with Darren McKavanagh, owner and director of The Kitchen Maker, and a living proof that working remotely for your business is never beyond your reach. We talk about the lessons he has learned throughout his career and the essential tips in order to make working remotely for your business work.

Tune in to today’s episode and learn how all this is possible!

What’s Discussed in This Episode: 

1. Darren and The Kitchen Maker [02:15]
2. 1. Lessons learned about working remotely [03:23]
   2. Communication is key for your skeleton-staff [05:12]
   3. Managing the team remotely [05:37]
   4. Changes he has made within his organisation’s workflow [06:57]
   5. His role within the business [08:24]
   6. Always get back in touch with the grassroots [09:27]
   1. Remove yourself from the business to let it grow [12:00]
   2. Good team relationship equals smoother workflow and better retention rate [18:39]
   3. The relationship between mentoring and better retention rate [19:44]
3. Manage your team without having to micromanage [11:01]
   1. Scheduling and having a roadmap is essential for any business [22:11]
   2. Train your managers well and they will do the job well [23:42]
4. Major changes in Darren’s business [20:56]
   1. Things that Darren would do differently [29:57]
   2. Darren’s advice on working remotely [32:00]
   3. Creating a reliable system will get the business going [34:09]
5. Being more hands-on with the team vs. working remotely: Darren’s choice [26:45]

About The Guest:

Darren McKavanagh is the owner

Enjoyed the podcast? Take your trade business to the next level by incorporating AI! Don’t get left behind—explore Tradie Hub at tradiehub.net. Discover game-changing AI solutions designed to boost efficiency and growth for trade businesses worldwide. Check it out today! 

👀 Check This Out:
Thinking about adding AI to your trade business? Discover what’s possible with TradieHub.net

📲 Stay Connected:

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• Website: thesiteshed.com
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Any business who wants to deliver their services in a better way understands the need for them to have systems and processes in place. Most of the time we retain our clients and build long-term relationships when they see how efficient we are in giving them the service we promised. This holds true even in the solar power industry. 

In this week’s podcast episode, we continue our conversation with Gareth Felton of GreenElec. Our topic is focused on the customer journey and the processes involved in setting up solar power in a commercial setting. Gareth also shares why it’s important to build relationships with clients and how everyone in the industry would benefit from increasing the standards across the board. We also talk briefly about future storage and virtual grids.  

Tune in to this episode. 

What's Discussed in This Episode:

1. Future storage and virtual grids [3:45]
2. Changing service offerings to include support and maintenance [12:11]
   1. Energy audit/A solar feasibility report [16:15]
   2. Checking on efficiency of current appliances in the commercial building [16:50]
   3. Prelim design [18:06]
   4. Design and installation planning process [19:41]
   5. Design confirmation and proper site inspection [25:38]
   6. Get an engineering report [26:31]
   7. Installation [28:04]
   8. Inspection report and system evaluation (during and after installation) [29:56]
   9. Commissioning process [31:38]
   10. After sales support [32:18]
3. The customer journey and processes involved in a commercial setting
4. Building long-term relationships with clients [36:53]
5. Raising the standards in the industry [39:11]

About the Guest: 

Gareth Felton is the Founder and Director of GreenElec. He is an electrician, a solar and battery designer and a rugby enthusiast.

In 2008, during the last year of his apprenticeship, Gareth decided that he wanted to offer more to the community than what other electrical companies were prepared to, and so he created GreenElec. He wanted to create a multidisciplinary electrical contracting company that empo

Enjoyed the podcast? Take your trade business to the next level by incorporating AI! Don’t get left behind—explore Tradie Hub at tradiehub.net. Discover game-changing AI solutions designed to boost efficiency and growth for trade businesses worldwide. Check it out today! 

👀 Check This Out:
Thinking about adding AI to your trade business? Discover what’s possible with TradieHub.net

📲 Stay Connected:

• Facebook: The Site Shed
• Instagram: @thesiteshed
• LinkedIn: The Site Shed
• Website: thesiteshed.com
• Join a global community of 6000+ trade professionals https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheSiteShed

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A lot of people are making the move towards renewable and sustainable energy using solar power. And solar power has definitely evolved throughout the years because of technology advancements and still continues to do so. 

In this week’s podcast episode I talk with Gareth Felton, founder and director of GreenElec. Our discussion revolves around how solar power has evolved and the technologies developed within the solar space. He also talks about how solar is constantly changing due to compliance and reassessments being conducted to give way for improvements. Other topics that we talk about include ways clients can get their ROI on their investment into solar, and the options clients have in the financial perspective, etc. 

If you’re contemplating a shift to solar power then this is a podcast you have to listen to. 

What’s Discussed in This Episode:

• A brief background of GreenElec 
• Solar power technology and how it’s constantly changing [7:06]
• Addressing misconceptions regarding solar power [8:55]
• Compliance and reassessments aimed at making improvements [10:37]
• Main changes coming through in solar power [11:31]
• Biggest goals for panels [12:43]
• Efficient panels, shading, direct sunlight, UV [12:58]
• Solar harvesting and efficiency of self-consumption [13:48]
• Three ways to get ROI on your investment into solar [15:43]
• Benefits and downsides of batteries for those moving off grid [17:02]
• When is solar a good investment (residential & commercial setting) [21:00]
• How people are more educated and ready to make changes as they shift to solar [22:07]
• Solar panel installation [24:03]
• Significant changes that are going to happen or happening to solar power [27:16]
• Who is mostly affected by the evolving technology for energy [29:09]
• Development of other forms of renewable and sustainable energy [30:10]
• Handing over the monitoring system for solar power to clients [312:41]
• Obtaining data prior to recommending i

Enjoyed the podcast? Take your trade business to the next level by incorporating AI! Don’t get left behind—explore Tradie Hub at tradiehub.net. Discover game-changing AI solutions designed to boost efficiency and growth for trade businesses worldwide. Check it out today! 

👀 Check This Out:
Thinking about adding AI to your trade business? Discover what’s possible with TradieHub.net

📲 Stay Connected:

• Facebook: The Site Shed
• Instagram: @thesiteshed
• LinkedIn: The Site Shed
• Website: thesiteshed.com
• Join a global community of 6000+ trade professionals https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheSiteShed

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Streamlining your company’s processes are vital to your business success and growth. We have discussed this time and again in our podcast episodes to stress the importance of it.  In this third and final installment of the series ‘Creating the ultimate communication framework in your trade business’, we talk with Aaron Salow. He provides us with an understanding of how streamlining processes work, where does one start with implementation, workflow, the need to be proactive with customers, and a lot more.  If you’re excited about transforming your business for the better, this is definitely the episode for you. 

What’s Discussed in This Episode: 

1. How XOi develops the processes that companies can use and follow [3:20]
2. Where does the work for streamlining company processes begin [7:00]
3. Starting point for implementing better company processes [7:41]
   1. The problem with redundant roles in processes [11:34]
4. Aaron’s take on ‘over processing’ [11:18]
5. Ultra transparency [15:18]
   1. Existing technology and integrations [17:25]
   2. Over investing in technology and solutions [21:29]
6. Critical things to avoid when streamlining processes [17:13]
7. Proactive communication with customers [23:26]
8. Delivering better service by understanding your workflow [24:30]
9. What are your company’s critical functions [35:32]

Resources: 

• Come and visit my website at (https://www.thesiteshed.com/)
• Check my latest podcast or listen to the previous ones (https://www.thesiteshed.com/podcasts/)
• Tradie Web Guys (https://www.tradiewebguys.com.au/apply)
• XOi (http://www.xoi.io/)
• Email Aaron for more information ([email protected])

 Check out Part 1 and 2 of this series: 

• Part 1: The impact of technology in modern busi

Enjoyed the podcast? Take your trade business to the next level by incorporating AI! Don’t get left behind—explore Tradie Hub at tradiehub.net. Discover game-changing AI solutions designed to boost efficiency and growth for trade businesses worldwide. Check it out today! 

👀 Check This Out:
Thinking about adding AI to your trade business? Discover what’s possible with TradieHub.net

📲 Stay Connected:

• Facebook: The Site Shed
• Instagram: @thesiteshed
• LinkedIn: The Site Shed
• Website: thesiteshed.com
• Join a global community of 6000+ trade professionals https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheSiteShed

⭐ Enjoyed This Episode? Leave us a review here!

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Having a powerful ecosystem of tools that includes a structured workflow process, a knowledge base, and live chat will lead to a significant pivot in your business. Merely having a clear understanding of the delivery you need to make will automatically result in a radical change.

Aaron Salow is back for Part 2 of our ‘Creating the ultimate communication framework in your trade business’ series. Today we talk about implementing workflows, the perks of having a knowledge base where you can pull information from and access to a virtual mentor, etc.

Head to the show now to find out how you can improve communication in your business.

What’s Discussed in This Episode: 

1. Overview of episode [03:11]
2. Creating the 3 lines of defense [03:46]
3. Integrating the workflow tool into the current process [06:56]
4. How a residential contractor saved time and money [08:05]
   1. Provide a training opportunity [15:32]
   2. Create pathways for guys to ask for help [18:14] 
   3. Appeal to the younger generation [22:21]
5. Getting the entire organisation to buy in the process [12:36]
6. The value of videos in our current time [23:59]

About Our Guest:

Aaron Salow is the founder of XOi Technologies which is based in the U.S. Coming from a manufacturing construction background, he saw there was a skilled trades gap with millions of unfilled skilled trade positions in the U.S. 

He and his co-founders started their business in a bid to address this problem and help the industry to grow. Their business aims to empower customers to effectively put their best technician on the site. 

Resources: 

• Come and visit my website at (https://www.thesiteshed.com/)
• Check my latest podcast or listen to the previous ones (https://www.thesiteshed.com/podcasts/)
• Tradie Web Guys (https://www.tradiewebguys.com.au/apply)
• XOi (http://www.xoi.io/)

Connect with me on L

Enjoyed the podcast? Take your trade business to the next level by incorporating AI! Don’t get left behind—explore Tradie Hub at tradiehub.net. Discover game-changing AI solutions designed to boost efficiency and growth for trade businesses worldwide. Check it out today! 

👀 Check This Out:
Thinking about adding AI to your trade business? Discover what’s possible with TradieHub.net

📲 Stay Connected:

• Facebook: The Site Shed
• Instagram: @thesiteshed
• LinkedIn: The Site Shed
• Website: thesiteshed.com
• Join a global community of 6000+ trade professionals https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheSiteShed

⭐ Enjoyed This Episode? Leave us a review here!

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Technology is constantly being updated with changes in business happening so fast that there’s always something new coming out. The addition of amazing tools and software has radically changed the landscape as unnecessary workload is reduced even more. 

In Part 1 of our ‘Creating the ultimate communication framework in your trade business’ series, we have Aaron Salow from XOi, a technology made to support field service companies. With years working blue-collar jobs, Aaron knows what tradie guys need. We talk about the role technology plays in building trust, how to improve adoption, the benefits brought by technology, and more.

Tune in to find out how technology can take your business to the next level.

What’s Discussed in This Episode: 

1. Aaron’s background [2:57]
2. Overview of episode [06:00]
3. Technology communications need to build on trust [07:12]
4. Why you need to educate your customer [10:01]
   1. Use technology to fix issues [17:04]
   2. Add benefits to 3 stakeholders [19:57] 
   3. Get customer engagement [23:10]
   4. Present an opportunity for the business to win [24:09]
5. How technology adoption can be improved [13:05]
   1. Supports others to use their crafts differently [27:22]
   2. Helps people leave their legacies [27:55]
   3. Gets people to work on what they like [30:29]
6. Benefits of adopting technology in the tradie industry [25:57]

Resources: 

• Come and visit my website at (https://www.thesiteshed.com/)
• Check my latest podcast or listen to the previous ones (https://www.thesiteshed.com/podcasts/)
• Tradie Web Guys (https://www.tradiewebguys.com.au/apply)
• XOi (http://www.xoi.io/)

About Our Guest:

Aaron Salow is the founder of XOi Technologies which is based in the U.S. Coming from a manufacturing construction background, he saw there was a

Enjoyed the podcast? Take your trade business to the next level by incorporating AI! Don’t get left behind—explore Tradie Hub at tradiehub.net. Discover game-changing AI solutions designed to boost efficiency and growth for trade businesses worldwide. Check it out today! 

👀 Check This Out:
Thinking about adding AI to your trade business? Discover what’s possible with TradieHub.net

📲 Stay Connected:

• Facebook: The Site Shed
• Instagram: @thesiteshed
• LinkedIn: The Site Shed
• Website: thesiteshed.com
• Join a global community of 6000+ trade professionals https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheSiteShed

⭐ Enjoyed This Episode? Leave us a review here!

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Crisis breeds opportunity, that’s what I say again and again. Businesses have been put in a tight spot due to this pandemic but it doesn’t mean that it’s the end. Choose change and start the work of reinventing your business to cater to what your customers need the most nowadays. Instead of worrying, focus on adapting. In the current business climate, we have two options, we either adapt or die! 

In this week’s episode, I talk with Nils Vesk of Ideas with Legs. We talk about how businesses should grab the opportunity to redesign and re-evaluate their processes to suit the environment we are in. Nils also shares the importance of reinventing from a customer’s perspective and how to leverage on what you are currently doing, and a lot more. 

I believe that this topic is becoming more relevant now and so I encourage you to tune in to this episode. 

Resources: 

• Come and visit my website at (https://www.thesiteshed.com/)
• Check my latest podcast or listen to the previous ones (https://www.thesiteshed.com/podcasts/)
• Tradie Web Guys (https://www.tradiewebguys.com.au/apply)
• Ideas with Legs (www.ideaswithlegs.com)
• Contact Nils Vesk through email ([email protected])
• The Site Shed Facebook Group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheSiteShed)
• Innovate Your Business Series 
• • Episode 88 - Using innovation to grow your business (https://www.thesiteshed.com/blog/using-innovation-to-grow-your-business/)
  • Episode 89 - Creating innovative business models and processes (https://www.thesiteshed.com/blog/creating-innovative-business-models-and-processes/)
  • Episode 90 - Creating an innovative customer experience (https://www.thesiteshed.com/blog/creating-an-innovative-customer-experience/)
• Innovative Thinking 
• • Episode 149 - Innovative thinking Part One (https://www.thesiteshed

Enjoyed the podcast? Take your trade business to the next level by incorporating AI! Don’t get left behind—explore Tradie Hub at tradiehub.net. Discover game-changing AI solutions designed to boost efficiency and growth for trade businesses worldwide. Check it out today! 

👀 Check This Out:
Thinking about adding AI to your trade business? Discover what’s possible with TradieHub.net

📲 Stay Connected:

• Facebook: The Site Shed
• Instagram: @thesiteshed
• LinkedIn: The Site Shed
• Website: thesiteshed.com
• Join a global community of 6000+ trade professionals https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheSiteShed

⭐ Enjoyed This Episode? Leave us a review here!

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If you are serious about protecting your business then the safeguarding of intellectual property, your brand, is one of the things you can start looking into (if you haven’t) to protect it from any legal risks in the future. 

In this episode with Helen Kay, The Contracts Lawyer, we have an interesting and informative conversation regarding keeping one’s intellectual property safe specifically by registering a trademark. She clarifies to us that having a business name is different from registering a trademark as the latter is your way of securing your brand, making sure that you alone have the right to use it. She stresses on how your brand is one of your business’s most important assets, the benefits of registering your trademark, and she also guides us into the practical steps for registering a trademark, etc. 

Tune in to this episode to gather this information we made available to you. 

Resources: 

• Come and visit my website at (https://www.thesiteshed.com/)
• Check my latest podcast or listen to the previous ones (https://www.thesiteshed.com/podcasts/)
• Tradie Web Guys (https://www.tradiewebguys.com.au/apply)
• The Contracts Lawyer (www.thecontractslawyer.com.au)
• IP Australia (https://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/) 
• Check Part 1 of this series (https://www.thesiteshed.com/blog/contracts-1/)
• Check Part 2 of this series (https://www.thesiteshed.com/blog/contracts-2/)

What’s Discussed in This Episode: 

1. Overview of episode [4:16]
2. Registering a trademark [6:09]
3. The difference between the ™ and ® symbols [10:12]
4. Business names and trademarks [10:51]
5. Benefits of registering your trademark [11:57]
6. Registering similar business names [14:23]
   1. Check if your name is trademarkable

Enjoyed the podcast? Take your trade business to the next level by incorporating AI! Don’t get left behind—explore Tradie Hub at tradiehub.net. Discover game-changing AI solutions designed to boost efficiency and growth for trade businesses worldwide. Check it out today! 

👀 Check This Out:
Thinking about adding AI to your trade business? Discover what’s possible with TradieHub.net

📲 Stay Connected:

• Facebook: The Site Shed
• Instagram: @thesiteshed
• LinkedIn: The Site Shed
• Website: thesiteshed.com
• Join a global community of 6000+ trade professionals https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheSiteShed

⭐ Enjoyed This Episode? Leave us a review here!

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Resources:

• Come and visit my website at (https://www.thesiteshed.com/)
• Check my latest podcast or listen to the previous ones (https://www.thesiteshed.com/podcasts/)
• Tradie Web Guys (https://www.tradiewebguys.com.au/apply)
• The Contracts Lawyer (www.thecontractslawyer.com.au)
• Personal Property Securities Register (https://www.ppsr.gov.au/)
• Check out Part 1 of this series with Helen Kay (https://www.thesiteshed.com/blog/contracts-1/)
• How to Sell Your Trades Business Series    
• • Episode 220 (https://www.thesiteshed.com/blog/brandon-1/)
  • Episode 221(https://www.thesiteshed.com/blog/brandon-2/) 
  • Episode 222 (https://www.thesiteshed.com/blog/brandon-3/)

Selling your business. This topic should make business owners curious about whether they are planning to sell or not. As a business owner, it can be considered a wise thing to do if you start preparing your business with the end in mind, especially because one of the key factors that determine if a business is thriving is if it is ready for sale. 

In this episode with Helen Kay, The Contracts Lawyer, she emphasises the importance of getting help from experienced professionals to help with the sale of one’s business and the tasks that business owners can do themselves to make sure the sale goes smoothly. She also talks about the stages of selling a business, the seller’s due diligence, etc. 

I highly recommend that you tune in to this episode as it provides vital information about preparing your business for sale. 

What’s Discussed in This Episode: 

1. An overview of The Contracts Lawyer and recap of the previous episode [3:54]

Enjoyed the podcast? Take your trade business to the next level by incorporating AI! Don’t get left behind—explore Tradie Hub at tradiehub.net. Discover game-changing AI solutions designed to boost efficiency and growth for trade businesses worldwide. Check it out today! 

👀 Check This Out:
Thinking about adding AI to your trade business? Discover what’s possible with TradieHub.net

📲 Stay Connected:

• Facebook: The Site Shed
• Instagram: @thesiteshed
• LinkedIn: The Site Shed
• Website: thesiteshed.com
• Join a global community of 6000+ trade professionals https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheSiteShed

⭐ Enjoyed This Episode? Leave us a review here!

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• Facebook
• Spotify/Apple

Resource Links: 

• Come and visit my website at (https://www.thesiteshed.com/)
• Check my latest podcast or listen to the previous ones (https://www.thesiteshed.com/podcasts/)
• Tradie Web Guys (https://www.tradiewebguys.com.au/apply)
• The Contracts Lawyer (www.thecontractslawyer.com.au)
• Australian Consumer Law (https://consumerlaw.gov.au/australian-consumer-law)
• Debt Collection Information (https://www.accc.gov.au/business/treating-customers-fairly/debt-collection)
• Check our previous podcast with Helen Kay as one of our guests (https://www.thesiteshed.com/blog/coronavirus-1/)   

When we’re asked why we’re in business we all have a common answer and that is to earn an income. As much as we love and are passionate about what we do, the very goal of every business, even with tradies, is having income. But most business owners, especially those who do not receive upfront payments for services, are faced with the problem of not getting paid on time or not getting paid at all for jobs that have already been accomplished. This was a problem prior to the pandemic and has become a pressing issue now because of the current climate we are experiencing. 

In this podcast episode, we will talk with Helen Kay, The Contracts Lawyer. She is going to enlighten us by providing helpful tips to address this dilemma. We will cover topics such as different payment structures, the importance of contracts and invoices, payment terms, different clauses to put in your terms and conditions, setting up of systems and processes to ensure that you get paid, and a lot more. 

There’s a wealth of information that you wouldn’t want to miss so tune in to this episode!

What’s Discussed in This Episode: 

1. How Helen Kay had to reinvent the advise she gives due to this pandemic [9:08]
2. Contracts and invoices [13:45]

Enjoyed the podcast? Take your trade business to the next level by incorporating AI! Don’t get left behind—explore Tradie Hub at tradiehub.net. Discover game-changing AI solutions designed to boost efficiency and growth for trade businesses worldwide. Check it out today! 

👀 Check This Out:
Thinking about adding AI to your trade business? Discover what’s possible with TradieHub.net

📲 Stay Connected:

• Facebook: The Site Shed
• Instagram: @thesiteshed
• LinkedIn: The Site Shed
• Website: thesiteshed.com
• Join a global community of 6000+ trade professionals https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheSiteShed

⭐ Enjoyed This Episode? Leave us a review here!

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• Facebook
• Spotify/Apple