Labourer to Business Owner | My Step-by-Step Journey | Chris Frediani & Stu Roberts

What does it really take to go from carrying buckets on site to building a successful business?

In this episode of The Plastering Show on Fix Radio, Chris Frediani sits down with Stu Roberts, founder of Trowel Talk, to discuss the highs, lows, mistakes, and lessons from his journey through the plastering trade.

Stu shares how he went from working as a labourer to running a business, the challenges he faced along the way, and the mindset shifts that helped him grow both personally and professionally.

In this episode, we cover:

How Stu got started as a labourer and built his career in plastering

His favourite aspects of being on the tools

The biggest mistakes he made in business (and what he'd do differently)

The wins that changed everything

Work-life balance in the trades and the common traps that keep tradespeople stuck

How to stop your business running your life

The Trowel Talk coaching programme and community, where Stu helps tradespeople automate their businesses, build better systems, and get their time back

Whether you're just starting out in the trade, running your own business, or looking to take the next step, this episode is packed with honest advice, practical lessons, and plenty of relatable stories from life in the construction industry.

🎧 Listen now and discover what's possible when you stop just working in your business and start working on it.

Learn more by heading to Trowel Talk

It's great being busy it shows your business is working and people value your products and services but the other side of the coin is total burn out and overwhelm from continuous phone calls and messages.. If we don't have an On & OFF switch in our businesss our mental health can decline and our business can consume every waking hour!

Access the full 2 hour sales, marketing & business training session here by subscribing to the Tribe coaching program for self employed tradespeople. £1 per day No contract No B.S. Just results.

I'm sharing with you 20 minutes of action steps you take today to drastically improve your conversions and win better jobs in your trades business.

Taken from a 2hour live coaching session inside the tribe this short but powerful audio session will give you practical and real world tools to help you understand the anxieties and fears your customers have around hiring tradespeople and what we can do to set ourselves apart and win more business.

Access the full session by subscribing to my coaching program

Join my free community here

Learn more here

This refresher episode clip was taken from a live video inside the Tribe where I spoke directly to my new members who are working with their father's but want to make the Jump from working for builders all the time to building a profitable domestic plastering business I explain the hold - backs when working for builders and give you a step by step strategy for making the changes and building your own domestic plastering business

🎯 Join my free community group on Facebook

🎯 Join my affordable group coaching program

🎯 Purchase my online video training course to learn about damp + insulation in older buildings

or,

email me:

[email protected]

Thanks for listening 👍

In this full coaching session for self-employed plasterers, we tackle the “busy but broke” trap.

Too many spreads stay flat-out for years — fully booked, working nonstop — yet still struggle to get ahead financially.

It’s no longer a lack of work — it’s a lack of profit, structure, and strategy.

We break down why it happen and how to build a clear plan to finally move forward.

If you found this guide helpful consider joining my free community here

Learn about CRM systems here

Self employed? considering going self employed? Join my powerful low cost coaching group here

Have a question? email me here

Tax is going digital and sole traders have to make big changes.

In this no-nonsense 'Make Tax Digital' guide for sole traders, Plasterers and tradespeople we break down MTD for the man on the tools and for the self-employed who have no time for waffle.— We'll tell you what you need to do and when you need to do it without drowning in spreadsheets or software confusion.

If you found this guide helpful consider joining my free community here

Access the HMRC full guide here

Learn about CRM systems here

Self employed? considering going self employed? Join my powerful low cost coaching group here

Have a question? email me here

In this episode I talk about the importance of setting boundaries with family and friends when you are self employed and what can happen if we don't set boundaries..

If you liked this episode check out my Facebook group Trowel Talk now with over 7,000 self employed plasterers it's a solid community to support and help you in your plastering career !

Need 1 to 1 coaching to walk you through step by step how to build your domestic plastering business strong?

Join my coaching group

Have a question?

Email me: [email protected]

Stronger on the Tools #1 – 5 Ways to Build Stamina and Power with Coach John Lockyear (Brick Dust & Barbells)

Long days on the tools take their toll – the bad back, the aching knees, the energy crash halfway through the job. If you’re a bloke over 40, you know exactly what that feels like. In this episode, I sit down with Coach John Lockyear from Brick Dust & Barbells to cut through the fluff and give you 5 no-nonsense ways to build stamina, strength and lasting power so you can graft harder, recover quicker, and still have something left in the tank after work. No gimmicks, no BS – just straight talk and strategies that actually work for lads who earn their living with a trowel in hand.

Enjoyed this podcast?

Check out John's podcast:

Brick Dust & Barbells

Join Trowel Talk Community

Become a Tribe Member

'If your good at what you do, you don't need to advertise'

??

So many tradespeople and plasterers have this mindset.

In this short episode I breakdown the reasons why this philosophy around marketing and advertising your business is very risky and self limiting.

Please do drop a comment below if you have any thoughts on this topic?

Enjoyed this episode?

Learn more by visiting my website here:

www.troweltalk.co.uk

In this episode I chat with Damien Button from Buttons Plastering Norfolk.

We discuss how spray cork has pushed his business to new levels and how implementing the powerful systems inside the Tribe coaching group has drastically changed his business

learn more by visiting

www.troweltalk.co.uk