Toolbox Talk

When you make a mistake do you apologise immediately? It can feel quite confronting, can't it? Sometimes we make excuses so as to not put the blame on us. But this could make things worse. Here's a story I have about a referral I gave to my client. There's an important lesson here...

As the owner of your trades business, you're most likely doing more work at the office than in the field. What does your office environment look like? Do you have a desk and proper chair to make you feel comfortable while working on your laptop or computer? I know it sounds a bit silly to ask but it's important. If you wear safety gear on site, you also need to make sure you take the necessary precautions at your office to avoid injury. Here's how bad posture injured me.

I like to use the analogy of: "fit your mask first". We've heard this a couple of times when we fly on airplanes at the start of safety check to fit our mask first before we help somebody else. Let's take it across business. Our business is dependent on us. We work so hard to make sure it's working properly. Often, we end up neglecting our self. We forget that our self needs some attention to. Are you guilty? Here's the truth.

Let's continue the talk on how to look after yourself better. I'm sure you'll love the topic because today it's all about utes. There's a buzz going on around about this new Mercedes X class ute. It's big muscular-looking ute but it costs $80,000 too. Do you think it's worth it? Here's what I think about it.

You need to look after yourself because you don't want to get sick of running your business. There's more to life than work and we know that. So let's start at the bottom... Your work boots.

I saw an interesting post on Facebook about a tradie who sent an invoice for work he did over a year and a half ago. And so, he asked this question: Is there an expiry date for an invoice? What do you think? Does he have a chance to be paid? Let me tell you in this week's video.

How's your company's culture? Did you do a Christmas party in the office? If you did, you've already made a small investment in having a great business culture. But it's not enough. There are two things you need to consider to have a good culture in your business.

How's your holiday? Are you ready to get back to business? Here's an interesting article I read from @hubspot about the flywheel in business. I'm sure most of you in trades business know what a flywheel is. But how is it related to a trades business?

Merry Christmas! I know it's Christmas, so this will be short, but I want to share some stories of my client's wins this year. They made it by being confident to stand for what's best for their business. Hope this encourages you to do the same.

The news is on again about rogue tradies roaming around the country, knocking on people's doors and ripping people off. This is not a new story after all. I know I've mentioned this stuff before, but it bears mentioning again. Not all trades business owners are good and decent people like you and your tradespeople.