Here at Tradies in Business we regularly talk about “Getting Off The Tools” or GOTT! For many trade business owners it is the dream and yet for others, they don’t actually want to be completely off the tools. What might it look like for you? 

Let’s look at some case examples of others who have found what is right for them. 

Liam – Builder in Albury

When Liam first started work with us, although he wasn’t strictly on the tools, he was stressed out. Liam was working 60-70 hours per week and not spending quality time with his wife and 2 kids. Despite all that work, the stress showed up in his business, with staff issues, cashflow problems, and the beginning of overwhelm. It was tough. 

After some considered thought, we were able to help Liam identify what he did want his week to look like, and for him it was to find ways to manage the stress, work through the staffing issues and increase cashflow. 

Ultimately though, he wanted to get back some time. Time to take a walk each day, to do some personal development and some time to fish with his family. 

I’m pleased to say that, with some work, Liam is now spending Thursday afternoons and weekends out on the family’s new boat, with his wife and kids! 

 

Steve – Landscaper, Bendigo

Steve started working with us when he still had a business partner. Shortly after we began, Steve made the tough decision to part ways, which meant he was solely responsible for all the physical work, quoting, invoicing and working on the business. 

Steve’s goals were to create a business that would support him in getting away with the family, camping most school holidays. He also wanted to mostly work on the business and during business hours. 

Fast forward 18 months, Steve now has 3 employees, is about to employ another 3 due to the quality of leads he’s attracting, spends most (not all) of his time working in the office at home and is continuing to work on creating the structure to support the camping trips with the family. 

Full disclosure, Steve did jump back on the tools for a period leading up to Christmas, something he was mostly happy to do to deliver some amazing projects on time to his clients! 

 

Brendan and Amii – Arborists, Newcastle

The first 2 clients you’ve read about started working with us because they knew they needed help to structure their business to support their ideal working environment. Brendan and Amii’s story is a little different. 

It was Amii who reached out to us for direction and support in the first instance as she could see that Brendan was reaching burnout from working so hard. It was a big decision for her, she knew that as the driving force behind finding and implementing help, Amii could get the results she knew were best for Brendan, and yet she was concerned about how Brendan would respond. 

Fortunately for us all, Brendan has embraced the changes Amii worked incredibly hard to put in place, and he now works only business hours. He’s happy to stay in his role as the main climber in their arborist business. What Amii and Brendan found is that Brendan’s strength is leading the team, and Amii’s strong point is actually running the business!

This has created more downtime for both of them, it has given the clarity and direction needed to purchase their first home and a brand new ute, and they are now exploring the possibility of Brendan spending more time working on the business and less time on the tools. 

As you can see, each one of these clients has a very different picture of what GOTT looks like for them!

 

We’d love to hear what GOTT looks like for you! 

Drop us a comment and let us know what your dream business structure looks like. 

Heads up… We have a free workshop coming up that can help you understand how to structure your business to support your tradie lifestyle. If you’d like to find out more, click here