Part One - Why having decent margins is important

Series: Ethical sales delivering healthy margins  Guest: Jon Dale from Little Fish Business Coaching

Sales! They can make or break a business.

Whether we like sales or not, we are all in the business of sales. All of us are selling something. A product, a service, ourselves to other people and so on. 

Over the years, I've seen and heard many 'sales experts' teach various sales methods and if I'm honest, the majority of them are cringe-worthy. The landscape of sales has changed significantly with the introduction of things like flat rate selling and upfront pricing, however even with these seemingly more 'transparent' approaches, liberties can be taken.

In this series, we dive into three areas of ethical selling with the hope that you'll be able to take what you learn and tweak it to make it your own. 

If you're interested in sales, you'll want to listen to these.

• TSS085 - More trust equals more sales - [LINK]
• Selling like a $30 million company - Part 1 | Part 2
• TSS067 - Selling to the right customers - [LINK]
• TSS065 - Knowing your hourly rate - [LINK]

About this podcast, 'Why having decent margins is important' Podcast Highlights:

• 03:44 - The 'get three quotes' frustration
• 08:30 - What's taking chunks out of your margins?
• 12:14 - Know your costs, know your margins
• 20:16 - A clear avatar will help you cast a clear message
• 22:02 - Meaningful marketing
• 25:13 - How and why are you different?

In 'Why having decent Margins Is Important', Jon talks to us about the number one issue that leads trade businesses to fail. That being, not understanding costs, expenses and margins. So many companies are simply not charging enough money and it will eventually cripple them.

It was interesting to talk about how so many companies think they're doing okay because there's money in the bank, but they haven't yet p

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

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• Instagram: @thesiteshed
• LinkedIn: The Site Shed
• Website: thesiteshed.com
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Anyone that runs a business has costs. Some more than others, but regardless, they exist.

Typically speaking, we pay our bills as we get them. We'll use direct transfer, or we'll pay by credit card knowing that we have 30, 60 or 90 days to pay the balance. What many of us DO NOT do well is use these everyday expenses to our advantage. 

Most of us are familiar with 'Flyer Points' or 'Reward Points', however it would probably be fair to say that most of us also don't really give them much attention. 

Occasionally, we'll look at our balance to see if we can score a free trip anywhere, or if we can use our points to upgrade our toaster, but what you'll learn in this podcast is how you can redirect some of your spendings in a SMART way so that we're earning maximum points and using them to achieve our travel goals. 

Some of the key things that I learned in this podcast include:

1. Choosing your credit card is the LAST step in the process
2. Domestic flights chew your points up
3. Credit card points don't always match reward points 1 for 1
4. Upgrading using points is not ALWAYS the best option
5. Use different cards for different transactions
6. Never pay more than 2% on a credit card transaction
7. Rewards ONLY work if you never pay interest

Here are the podcast highlights. There is so much gold in this podcast, I could have timestamped every sentence, but you get the idea.

• 00:28 - Mark's question about credit card points
• 04:03 - Being in control
• 05:53 - Reward systems only work if you don't pay interest
• 07:09 - Setting up a direct debit means a ZERO balance every month
• 11:34 - Credit cards help you create great business relationships
• 15:30 - Getting 4 to 5 times better value using points
• 19:22 - Airlines make all their money off suckers that pay full price for business and first class
• 23:56 - A points framework
• 27:32 - Upgrading doesn't guarantee your seat, but booking does.
• 28:45 - American Express vs Visa and Mastercard
• 30:58 - The best 'points airlines' to fly domestic and international
• 37:20 - Using the benefits beyond the points
• 40:00 - bank points are not airline points
• 42:33 - Steve's 'Points App'

 

Enjoy the podcast and reap the 'rewards'

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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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Part Three – Laying the right foundations for your business

Series: Tax Essentials for Tradies and Contractors  Guest: Tab Burkhalter from The Numbers House

Accounting is one of those topics that is hard to make sexy, but when you learn new tricks, it can make an incredible difference to both your business and your personal life. 

When I started my business journey, I never had any advice or counsel from anyone that had a clue about numbers. I had no one in my corner. There were no podcasts, no amazing facebook communities. Even my accountant at the time was an absolute punish to get information out of.

In this series, Tab dives into three essential areas that tradies and contractors need to focus on. Three areas that I wish I had better understood when I started out. Three areas that we could probably all improve on. 

My advice to everyone, especially those starting out in business, is to learn numbers and understand your finance. You don’t need to be an accountant to keep yourself on track and out of danger. 

If you’re interested in numbers and finance topics, you’ll want to listen to these also.

• Get a grip on your financials – [LINK]
• Lack of focus on Gross Profit Margin – [LINK]
• Profitability. Get your financial house in order – [LINK]

About this podcast, ‘Laying the right foundations for your business‘ Podcast Highlights:

• 02:26 – Why you must keep tabs on your books
• 07:09 – Finding your ‘numbers coach’
• 13:38 – Asking the right questions
• 19:11 – The three performance indicators
• 23:49 – Understanding your strengths
• 25:27 – Setting goals and planning
• 30:50 – Make sure you pay yourself first
• 31:14 – Being flexible and being able to pivot

This the third and final…and arguably the most important podcast in the ‘Tax Essentials For Tradies and Contractors’ series that I conducted with Tab from The Numbers House.

This podcast is all about building the right financial foundations so you can grow steadily. Having clarity is so important. If you understand wha

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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Part Two – Understanding cash flow and reporting

Series: Tax Essentials for Tradies and Contractors  Guest: Tab Burkhalter from The Numbers House

Accounting is one of those topics that is hard to make sexy, but when you learn new tricks, it can make an incredible difference to both your business and your personal life. 

When I started my business journey, I never had any advice or counsel from anyone that had a clue about numbers. I had no one in my corner. There were no podcasts, no amazing facebook communities. Even my accountant at the time was an absolute punish to get information out of.

In this series, Tab dives into three essential areas that tradies and contractors need to focus on. Three areas that I wish I had better understood when I started out. Three areas that we could probably all improve on. 

My advice to everyone, especially those starting out in business, is to learn numbers and understand your finance. You don’t need to be an accountant to keep yourself on track and out of danger. 

If you’re interested in numbers and finance topics, you’ll want to listen to these also.

• Get a grip on your financials – [LINK]
• Lack of focus on Gross Profit Margin – [LINK]
• Profitability. Get your financial house in order – [LINK]

About this podcast, ‘Understanding cash flow and reporting‘ Podcast Highlights:

• 02:34 – The accrual method of accounting
• 05:41 – Cashflow supporting expenditure
• 07:03 – Budgeting
• 10:38 – Managing tax and overheads
• 13:34 – The danger of pricing jobs at cost & hoping on variations
• 19:36 – Charging $250 will barely break even
• 22:54 – Financing shortfalls on credit cards
• 26:21 – Reconciliation frequency and habits
• 30:51 – Banks making money off poor cashflow management
• 33:53 – The owners’ draw

Stemming on from part one of the ‘Tax Essentials For Tradies & Contractors’ series, titled, ‘Why you need two sets of books’, this episode dived deeper into the importance of understanding how to manage cash flow and how to report o

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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Episode 200 of The Site Shed podcast.

In this podcast, I run through The Site Shed's journey over the last 3 years. I talk about the beginnings and how my digital agency, Tradie Web Guys got me into the education space initially.

I cover off on The Site Shed's top 5 all-time podcasts.

1. TSS109 - Modular Building with Bill from Archiblox
2. TSS113 - When is the right time to expand with Al Levi and Ellen Rohr
3. TSS178 - Zero to $850k in two years with Peter Norton
4. TSS145 - How to systemise your trade business with Dave Jenyns
5. TSS191 - Become a home service millionaire with Tommy Mello

I talk about the most valuable takeaways that I've learned and implemented over the years. 

1. Project Management
2. Time Blocking
3. Organisation Structure
4. Nurturing and Automation

I talk about our amazing private Facebook community of almost 5,000 global members.

I pay thanks to all of the team that helps the podcast be what it is, all the listeners, people that have attended our epic events (www. TheSiteShed.com/events/), events and conferences that I have spoken at over the years and of course, everyone that's taken the time to leave us a review. You can also leave one at one (or all) of the links below.

iTunes | Google | Facebook

I also talk briefly about the awesome new membership site that I have launching over the next few weeks, which will b

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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Part One - Why you need to keep two sets of books

Series: Tax Essentials for Tradies and Contractors  Guest: Tab Burkhalter from The Numbers House

Accounting is one of those topics that is hard to make sexy, but when you learn new tricks, it can make an incredible difference to both your business and your personal life. 

When I started my business journey, I never had any advice or counsel from anyone that had a clue about numbers. I had no one in my corner. There were no podcasts, no amazing facebook communities. Even my accountant at the time was an absolute punish to get information out of.

In this series, Tab dives into three essential areas that tradies and contractors need to focus on. Three areas that I wish I had better understood when I started out. Three areas that we could probably all improve on. 

My advice to everyone, especially those starting out in business, is to learn numbers and understand your finance. You don't need to be an accountant to keep yourself on track and out of danger. 

If you're interested in numbers and finance topics, you'll want to listen to these also.

• Get a grip on your financials - [LINK]
• Lack of focus on Gross Profit Margin - [LINK]
• Profitability. Get your financial house in order - [LINK]

About this podcast, 'Why you need to keep two sets of books' Podcast Highlights:

• 07:23 - Low income for the government, high income for debt servicing
• 09:51 - Example-Spending $60,000 on a truck
• 11:15 - Asset depreciation
• 14:04 - How to structure your chart of accounts
• 18:15 - Laying critical foundations
• 20:45 - Being prepared for your accountant
• 23:12 - Keeping your books black and white reduces friction

This podcast is really about simplification. If you have simple and easy to follow financials, it will help you, help your accountant and if you ever get audited, help the government understand what has been going on. 

When accounting is not your 'first language', it's easy to set things up the way that you think is correct, but in reali

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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Maximising Gross Profit in Your Business with Danny from BT Academy

Series: Scaling your business from '$500k to $5 million' Guest: Danny Kerr from BT Academy

• Part One: Building Your One-Page Strategic Plan - [LINK]
• Part Two: Structuring Your Company for Maximum Productivity - [LINK]
• Part Three - How to Generate Rockstar Employee Applications - [LINK]

It's no surprise that BT Academy is one of Canada's fastest growing companies. As you'll soon find out, Danny is a friggin business guru. Over the last couple of years, Danny and I have spoken on many occasions and every time, I'm blown away by how awesome he and his business is. If you're a tradie or contractor, you simply MUST get in BT Academy's space.

...And lucky for you, you have that option at the bottom of this page.

Danny has been on The Site Shed before for the series titled, The top 3 mistake growing trade businesses make. Go check them out if you want to hear more episodes with him.

1. Here is the link to episode one - Attracting the right talent.
2. Here's the link to spidoe two - Lack of focus on Gross Profit Margin
3. Here's the link to part three - Wrong Prioritisation of time

Here's a bit of a spiel on BT Academy:

Based out of British Colombia, Canada, BT Academy exists to teach businesses how to create a sustainable business structure, using the principles of a franchise model.

Franchises depend heavily on systems and processes, which serves as the fundamental lynch-pin in a franchises ability to operate out of multiple locations while delivering a consistent product/service.

My co-host in this series, Danny Kerr, has a background in franchising. A few years ago, he decided it would be a good idea to educate trade busines

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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How to Generate Rockstar Employee Applications with Danny from BT Academy Series: Scaling your business from ‘$500k to $5 million’ Guest: Danny Kerr from BT Academy

Part One: Building Your One-Page Strategic Plan – [LINK] Part Two: Structuring Your Company for Maximum Productivity – [LINK] It’s no surprise that BT Academy is one of Canada’s fastest growing companies. As you’ll soon find out, Danny is a friggin business guru. Over the last couple of years, Danny and I have spoken on many occasions and every time, I’m blown away by how awesome he and his business is. If you’re a tradie or contractor, you simply MUST get in BT Academy’s space.

…And lucky for you, you have that option at the bottom of this page.

Danny has been on The Site Shed bef

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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Structuring Your Company for Maximum Productivity with Danny from BT Academy

Series: Scaling your business from ‘$500k to $5 million’ Guest: Danny Kerr from BT Academy

• Part One: Building Your One-Page Strategic Plan – [LINK]

It’s no surprise that BT Academy is one of Canada’s fastest growing companies. As you’ll soon find out, Danny is a friggin business guru. Over the last couple of years, Danny and I have spoken on many occasions and every time, I’m blown away by how awesome he and his business is. If you’re a tradie or contractor, you simply MUST get in BT Academy’s space.

…And lucky for you, you have that option at the bottom of this page.

Danny has been on The Site Shed before for the series titled, The top 3 mistake growing trade businesses make. Go check them out if you want to hear more episodes with him.

1. Here is the link to episode one – Attracting the right talent.
2. Here’s the link to spidoe two – Lack of focus on Gross Profit Margin
3. Here’s the link to part three – Wrong Prioritisation of time

Here’s a bit of a spiel on BT Academy:

Based out of British Colombia, Canada, BT Academy exists to teach businesses how to create a sustainable business structure, using the principles of a franchise model.

Franchises depend heavily on systems and processes, which serves as the fundamental lynch-pin in a franchises ability to operate out of multiple locations while delivering a consistent product/service.

My co-host in this series, Danny Kerr, has a background in franchising. A few years ago, he decided it would be a good idea to educate trade business owners how they can create similar frameworks in their own businesses.

As a result, BT Academy was born and they now help hundreds of organisations, right across Canada and the United States take their businesses to a level that is systemised, profitable and independent of any one person (in most cases the business owner).

In this series, we’ll be talking 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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Strategic Planning, done simply with Danny from BT Academy

Series: Scaling your business from ‘$500k to $5 million’ Guest: Danny Kerr from BT Academy

It’s no surprise that BT Academy is one of Canada’s fastest growing companies. As you’ll soon find out, Danny is a friggin business guru. Over the last couple of years, Danny and I have spoken on many occasions and every time, I’m blown away by how awesome he and his business is. If you’re a tradie or contractor, you simply MUST get in BT Academy’s space.

…And lucky for you, you have that option at the bottom of this page.

Danny has been on The Site Shed before for the series titled, The top 3 mistake growing trade businesses make. Go check them out if you want to hear more episodes with him.

1. Here is the link to episode one – Attracting the right talent.
2. Here’s the link to spidoe two – Lack of focus on Gross Profit Margin
3. Here’s the link to part three – Wrong Prioritisation of time

Here’s a bit of a spiel on BT Academy:

Based out of British Colombia, Canada, BT Academy exists to teach businesses how to create a sustainable business structure, using the principles of a franchise model.

Franchises depend heavily on systems and processes, which serves as the fundamental lynch-pin in a franchises ability to operate out of multiple locations while delivering a consistent product/service.

My co-host in this series, Danny Kerr, has a background in franchising. A few years ago, he decided it would be a good idea to educate trade business owners how they can create similar frameworks in their own businesses.

As a result, BT Academy was born and they now help hundreds of organisations, right across Canada and the United States take their businesses to a level that is systemised, profitable and independent of any one person (in most cases the business owner).

In this series, we’ll be talking about how to scale your trade business from $500k to $5 mill. Here are the episodes:

1. TSS195 – Building Your One-Page Strategic Plan
2. TSS196 – Structuring Your Company for Maximum Productivi

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