Latest / Simplified Sparky Marketing / Dave Brearley - Zero to Electrical Business Owner in Melbourne | 127

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Dave Brearley - Zero to Electrical Business Owner in Melbourne | 127 · Simplified Sparky Marketing

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: Architecture of him with a type ARCBO.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to Simplified Sparky Marketing.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_01: This week I had the pleasure of meeting up with Dave, one of my members inside Simplified Sparky, and just wanted to share his story of where he started and where he's got to.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_01: If you want to just watch us sitting at a table having a chat, the full video is also on YouTube linked underneath.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_01: And if you're in a position similar to Dave's and you feel like I could help you a little bit along your journey, all the stuff you need to get me is linked underneath in the bio.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_01: Enjoy.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_01: How do you pronounce your second name?
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_01: Breely.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, cool.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_01: I'm here with Dave Breerly.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_01: Fuck me.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_01: I'm here with Dave Breedy from Haven Electrical.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_01: Dave, excellent to have you here.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_01: Good to be here.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we're just gonna rip into your story and just as I said at the start of it, just two dudes having a chat, a bit of fun.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_01: And well, I just want to basically find out about you and where you started, where you are now, and yeah, basically everything in between.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_01: But where were you before you started with Simplified Spark?
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_01: Your tell us your journey of where you are with the tools.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, going like right back, I guess I did my first five years of the apprenticeship was I was a domestic Sparky, new builds, doing all that sort of stuff, and then I was getting down dirty in the roof under the floor.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: Then I traveled for a bit, and then I did commercial, and that was part of in Victoria, you got like your sort of what do you call it, like tier one jobs during the union.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: So like the wage is great, and I was loving that, did that for five years, learn a heap, and then but in that time I'd always had my contractor's license, so I always did jobs on the side doing residential stuff, and I always had a van.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: And then even when I sold the van, I bought a Ute and I kitted it out for cashies.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: Like I was always like, it was like a security net, yeah, because like if we were there was times where we would be quiet, even in the commercial game, there might be like you have to have two weeks off, but then I was like, that's sweet, I can subb you.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, I'm right.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: And then what was it?
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: I think I started listening to podcasts, and I don't know how, I just wanted to be learn more about being a Sparky because we just love it, like we all love it, and it was just through that, like I had a great job, I didn't want to leave, I was fine.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: But then I was listening to these things, and I'm like listening to think people like you and how they're doing residential stuff that I was doing it, and they're like killing it or they're loving it, and I was like, I don't know what I was thinking.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, oh like I could do this, and like I wanted to just know more about it, I think.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: But then it was like, where do you start?
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: And I'd like always tried to figure out a business name just because like I needed to have something, especially even for my side hustles when I was sending invoices.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: I was just using like this crappy little app which was like free.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: What was that app actually?
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: Invoice simple.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_01: I think I used some I used invoice to go.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's probably the same.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_01: I think my one was linked with Stripe, but it was like the Stripe creators made this, but it was like a shitty basic yeah, yeah, bottom of the barrel kind of stuff.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: But I didn't even have um Xero.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, no, but like I think yeah, there's a few necessary softwares you need to have, and like my in my opinion, Zero and ServiceMate are like the top two.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_01: Obviously, zero for financials to look at your PL financials, and then service made for your everything to do with your job.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, so I was just doing that, and then what I've got it's hard to actually recall, but like I I it was something I always knew I wanted to do, and just having the van and the youth set up for it, I knew I wanted to do it, and then when I started realizing that I like came across you, for example, and you were just one man doing it, and it seemed like it was just so organized and possible that I was like, if I like sort of start doing what this guy's doing and what like some other people I'm listening to are doing, maybe it would be better.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: And that's just like it was it probably was a dream.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: I'd say it was a dream of mine, it would have had to have been, and I always did like want to do it.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: And then so I was on a job, the job was kind of work.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: I think our company was we were low on work, but then they would our boss had a good relationship with other companies, so he would just loan us out to them, so we would be fine, and there was no worries, yeah.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I think also looking back, me and my missus were talking about it, she was sort of just thinking she could see that I was tired because it was like you're getting up at 5, 5:30, you're leaving, you get home at five, you do Saturdays, and you love Saturdays, you want the Saturdays for the jumping.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_01: You're as minimal as possible for the most amount of money, yeah.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: So, like you kind of crave all that, and like I don't know, it's like the money's great, but it's still never enough somehow.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I don't know what it is.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_01: But I think I think I think as well with um with that is like it's definitely a comfort zone of like you're getting wages, and like and what the shit thing is, is like and something I emphasize to all members that I work with is I don't want you working Saturdays.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_01: I don't like ideally not working Saturdays or like having your Christmas off, having your breaks off, and like yeah, that's something I spoke, and it was actually you in particular about Christmas, and you're like fuck I'm working over Christmas, but I'm just like but I'm just like that.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_01: I appreciate that at your early stage of starting business because that's that's hunger, and I love that.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_01: I think you're you're keen and you're hungry because like when when the rest of the people are off during Christmas, you're sweeping in, taking their clients.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_01: So I think like that's that again is another system itself to be organized that you prevent that and you can take your holidays off and stuff, yeah.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_01: If you do want to work those, but like every weekend should be spent with your friends, family, all kids, whatever, but it should be the work should be done during the week and then have your weekends off to do your thing.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, exactly right.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: I think even thinking about it, we had me and my partner, we had bought a property and we were just constantly thinking of ways that how can we increase like our own sort of situation, and for the next 10 years, it's just like it's like a thing, everyone you want to retire as early as possible.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: So we went down that path getting a property, and we did it through a buyer's agent, which is essentially like a mentor.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: So that sort of was where I had my eyes opened up to paying someone to help me do something that they've done, and like paying the right person to get me there.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: So it started with that, and then with that, then I was thinking of ways to increase my own income and starting a business.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: I knew it would be slow for the first bit, but I knew over time that would be better than what I was doing, even though what I was doing was great.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I was like, I still want more.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: That's how it came about.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_01: I think as well, like every everybody that starts their own business has like an entrepreneurial streak in them.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_01: I like going way back, even with myself, like I was I was ripping CDs and selling them in school, and I was like selling car parts and shit.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I was just looking back, I was like, there was always like an entrepreneurial side of me that I was just like itching, and then obviously came to Australia, served my time as in get got my visa, settled in with a company and that, but there was still that itch to be like I can do this myself and make money as well.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_01: So that came back around, unearthed it, and like I think people are wired in you, so to speak, as an electrician, that it's like you kind of see an opportunity, and then you you have to, it's a it's an itch that you want to scratch.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: 100%.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: It was definitely, yeah, and it was an itch, it was getting itch.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: And then I was like, because of my age, if I don't do it now, like it now is the time to do it.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm not that old, 32, like I don't know, but I feel like if I had started earlier, which I wish I did, I would have had so much more clients by now, and it would almost be easier, and then you get with the mentoring and stuff, it would help heaves.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but but then the best part, I didn't want to go into it without knowing what I was doing, and I could already see that I was paying for things twice.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, like I had a business name Haven Power Solutions, which I was purely just thought was alright, I don't know why, it just sounded cool.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: But then as we spoke, like after signing up with you, we ended up changing that to Haven Electrical because it's more direct to what I'm actually doing.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_01: It's vital, like that's I actually had a guy message me on Instagram the other week, and I was like, who the fuck is this guy?
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_01: It was all like total I just didn't recognise the company at all.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_01: And then what he had gone and done is he rebranded off the back of listening to that podcast, yeah, and like I don't work with that guy at all.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_01: He just literally was in the podcast, or he's a listener of the podcast, it hit home because that's it's such a small little thing.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_01: That's that's like what my mentorship is about is the one percenters that are gonna get you to that 100%, and with the one percent of that, is like that's a friction point of like if somebody sees Haven Electrical versus Haven Power Solutions, they know straight away you do electrical with the electrical, so it's it's so so important in your messaging and stuff, which we which I get into a lot, but yeah, it's it's crazy important.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so like yeah, as I was listening to you, you have a nice voice as well, give you that.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: So it's got this nice Irish voice.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: I'm doing driving around like an hour commute to working back, and it's easy listening.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: I think the short um episodes are like like you say, really digestible, easy, and it was really speaking to me because it's exactly what we do as even though I work commercial, but I was doing residential as well.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: It was really just explaining that.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_01: What made you finally go like fuck?
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_01: I need to reach out to Alan, like what happened there?
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, so because I started paying for things twice, so like I paid, you know, you sign up the business name, and then I was like, I need to change that.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_00: I had gotten a logo and then I didn't like it.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_01: So zero as well?
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: Like, did you have to get like were you a PTYE, or you didn't even have zero?
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: No, I was a sole trader, then I had to set up as a company, which was all good.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that was all good, but then it was just even the business cards, and then I started doubting every decision I was needed to do or needed to make.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: I was second guessing if I was gonna make it the right choice.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so you sort of it's like fear of failure within before I've even started.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, oh, I need to do this, but am I gonna do it right?
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and then because I gathered from what you were saying, you run your own business, you're like doing exactly what I wanted to do.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: And being a one-man band was really appealing because that's how we all start.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: Like we start as one man, and you want to like get that dialed in, have your help from the background, and then grow.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_01: So that to me made sense.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_01: So, with with with me as well, it's like we spoke about that before we got onto this podcast, but it's like I could plug staff members in, absolutely, but I cry staff members are my kryptonite.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_01: So, my weakness is like I don't I don't have the mental capacity and patience for staff.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_01: That's what made me nerd out so much on the back end and like learning all these things and systems and stuff that makes the business run smoothly.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_01: As I do the day-to-day or whatnot, that stuff is getting handled in the back end by admin, and that's like something that I see as like such a necessity to small businesses because you know you're underneath the house and the phone rings and you miss it, and it's like, oh, they'll call back whatever they won't, they're going to the next sparking.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_01: It's just like having those little one percenters in place that will improve the business.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_01: Staff aren't for me, and like I'm I'm a sticker with that, and this this mentorship is like I'm building this business that it can run smoothly with me inside it, and I'm I'm content with that.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_01: I don't want a big team of 50 people.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_01: And if somebody wants to add staff members to their electrical business, the thing is with Simplified Sparky, is that's what we want to do, is get the core processes in place.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_01: That it's like, okay, cool, we're set, we're making money, plug a staff member in, plug a staff member in and you can go from there.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's exactly the goal is like get it right on my own, and then get people in.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I do want to have like a team of three to four at this stage, that's like the the goal because the body can't do it forever.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_00: I think actually we're talking like because I was my back was killing me.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: So when I and that was I figured out now it's not sore as much anymore, and it was because of what I was doing in commercial because we're hauling like 300 and 500 mil SDIs, like massive mains cables.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: I was on a job and we were lugging a 10-foot and a 12-foot ladder upstairs, downstairs.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_00: Just awkward positions and stuff.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_01: I get that as well.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_01: If I if I'm doing like an oven or something, you don't lift it correctly.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_01: I'm just like two days later, or for the next two days, I'm like trying to click my back in and stuff like that.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_00: I saw Cairo as well, he was really good.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: But um, yeah, the back's actually been better now, so I think there's maybe the job I had previously, so it's a good reason to get out of that too.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: There's health benefits.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_01: Was there any stage where you were actually scared that you so I remember I recall it well, I was actually back in Ireland, and you're like, fuck it, I'm my notice handed in.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_01: I'm starting officially on my own next week, and I was like so excited for you.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_01: And what was the feelings like, or what was going into that, or like handing your notice?
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_01: Like, was there fear where you're like fuck it'll be sweet, or what was going on?
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: I think there is always that fear, but I actually I remember feeling pretty good about it because it was really comforting having like a mentor in my corner, and like you were really backing me, which is great.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: And then I yeah, I'm never really being too worried, and I'm still not worried about it just because I feel like just by doing everything that you're sort of saying to do, there's no reason it can't work out, just just do it.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_01: Everything will work, everything you do in life is a risk, and like everything you have to like you literally have to jump off and take take that risk because I keep reflecting and even about this mentorship and stuff.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_01: I have you to credit, and there's like oh geez, there's like four or five OGs that were hammering me to start this mentorship.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_01: Like, when are you doing your thing?
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_01: When you're doing your thing.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_01: And only for you guys pushing me, I'm like, fuck it, start the financial year, I'm gonna do it.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_01: And I started with like four or five, and now currently at 19 guys.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_01: And at the time I was like, no one's gonna want this, but it's like every fucking person came out of the woodwork to be like the listening to your podcast.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, fuck, you listen to it too.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, and it's like you have to take a leap.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_01: One of the biggest leaps I took was leaving Ireland for Australia to be like, I'll just give it a go for a year.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_01: It's like in a few months I'll be here 16 years, and I'm just like everything miraculously worked out.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_01: It's like it's the effort you put in and work you put in, you're gonna reap the rewards for that.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_01: And you've put in the effort you've put in the work.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_01: I haven't actually told you this, but you're the furthest ahead of the levels in the group, and that's that's that's why you're here today.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: There you go.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: Nah, like it's actually just going back because I yeah, listening to your podcast, you were speaking to me.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_00: I always kept making the same mistakes, and I or not the same mistakes, but I felt like I was making mistakes and paying for things twice, right?
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_01: Poor man Peter.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_00: So that's when I was like, I need this guy, this guy seems to be the one, just based on liking what you were sort of talking about.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_00: That was when I was like, I'm gonna I called you or reached out to you wanting your help.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: And it's funny that he hadn't even started it yet.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_00: That was I was like, oh, he hasn't even started yet.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_00: But then I was like, Oh, it'd be good to ride the journey with you because we obviously know what you're talking about.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_01: I was as basic I was doing cachis, but not not getting paid.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_00: So you had um you had like a micro course online, and I was really liking all your service mate videos because service mate have videos, but then you had extra ones.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so I think that like that's what service made is like it's a very simple platform to use, and like I said to a lot of people is like I only probably use 40% of what's to use in ServiceMade, and it's absolutely perfect.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's where people overthink things, they get overwhelmed and they're like, Oh, I I'll do ServiceMate later, I'm gonna invoice and quote off zero because I'm used to it, and that's completely the wrong way to do it because that is where you lose money, you lose jobs because you've got this shitty generic quote that comes off zero.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_01: And if you're quoting in somebody else that's doing the exact same thing, it's apples for apples, and it just doesn't look professional.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_01: As I just keep mentioning, is proposals and bundles in service met is the way to go.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_01: Propos are absolutely killing it at the moment of just uh using it correctly, but having the software is dialed in like service met is absolutely vital.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I'm not gonna lie, it was a lot like so.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_00: Starting the mentorship with you whilst working full-time, we were doing 10-hour days, and then you're getting your company set up.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I'm trying to let's go through everything you really got to do to get it started.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_00: You set up as a company, you got a logo, you got your business name, you're looking at your service mate, you've got to learn how to use that.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_00: You gotta then look at getting a website, you've got to put all the info on that, you gotta get the photos for the website.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, what else is there?
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_00: There's so much stuff that I was having to do.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_01: Like, even just like building your bundles and stuff as well, and that's why I created a little GPT as well, that's gonna speed that up for you as well.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_01: But like, that's that's the thing is like you you get these people that are gonna promise you this, like, this work coming out of the walls, and it's like all this work can come out of the walls, but unless you put these little things into place from the get-go and you know the exact kind of work you want to do, it's like it's pointless because like you'll start quoting stuff and you'll not even know how to quote it because you'll be going out of your area of expertise or you'll not go down the right niche, and you'll be like, I presume there's money to be made in this, you'll not do it correctly, not win the work, and then you're gonna be disappointed with that person you're working with because that miraculous work never came.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_01: The other option is hemorrhage cash into Google Ads or meta-ads.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_01: And I I want none of you guys doing particularly Google ads, until all the holes are plugged in the business.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_01: Because what happens is people go with an undercooked website or undercooked coding process or undercooked phone answering system, and then they're getting Google ad calls not reacting quick enough, and they're going, I spent a couple of grand that month in Google Ads, it was shit.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_01: But it's like you were shit, yeah.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_01: Like, you know what I mean?
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_01: So there's there's there's so many different moving parts in the business.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_01: But since you joined Simplified Sparky, what's like a few major wins that you've had in regards to like your your job wins, like quotes, stuff like that?
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, the best ones have been, and it's purely through following like the process that you sort of run us through in terms of like the lead comes in, you get some photos, and then you will sort of quote based on that, and just give the client the information to sort of win the job.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, there's a lot of other little tricks and stuff that won't give away, but they really like stand out and they will comment on that what you've done.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_00: So some of the jobs, like it's always the switchboards are great.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I've had I've got one coming up, and it's I'll be making I feel like a wank of saying it, eh?
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_00: Like, if I'm gonna be making f grand for a day, right?
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_00: That's great.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_00: That's awesome.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like I'm stoked.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_00: So that's a big win.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_01: I want to touch on that point as well.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_01: It's a phrase that's used a lot out there of like making so much per day or whatever, but it's like some people will be of the minimalistic mindset and they'll be like, oh, you can't make that much money in a day, you're ripping people off and stuff.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_01: And like I'm on all my sales and stuff like that that I teach, like I like to call it ethical sales.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_01: We just basically run into it's educational based and it's ethical based.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_01: Whereas, like, I'm not the kind of guy that's gonna hold a gun to someone's head and say your house is gonna burn down, you know, you need to do your switchboard or whatever, and you're actually doing the client a favor as well.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_01: And like we spoke before we got on camera, that's the smoke alarm that's expired by a year up there, and we're we've actually we've come up with a strategy we're not gonna name where we are in Melbourne because you're gonna hit it, but we've we actually spoke about a strategy before we got on this call.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_01: I've pinpointed the smoke alarm, dodgy LED plug-in globes, the switchboard isn't to date, there's no RCBOs, there's the master RCBOs overloaded with more than three circuits.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_01: The oven is unprotected at the moment as well, and they're not type A breakers.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_01: So we've we've we've we've come up with a strategy that we're going.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_01: I'd say we'll give we'll let it sit for a day or two, but we've planted the seed and we're gonna come back around and this could be a hundred grand, two hundred grand job.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we'll see.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_01: It's on camera now, so we get a bit of a kickback on that.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_01: No joking, but yeah, it's it's and that's that's something as well that um that like in your position as well.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_01: You at the moment are like you've just started your business, you kind of had a wave of work when you start, because obviously you had like people that knew you, you were doing a Pilates studio.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's a build-up, yeah.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_01: And then you what you've got is like now, right now you're probably hitting like a quieter patch of work.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_01: And I think what I why I really wanted to speak about this is everybody covers this stuff over of like, you know, you sign up with me and you'll get consistent work and blah blah blah.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_01: You'll get consistent work when you put the effort in, and that's why last week on the live session we did like the very first part of like finding work, and as I said, like I'm geeking out and nerding out on like different methods and strategies.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_01: So we went right back to basics on that first session of like a media friends and family, like warm circles of how to get work.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and then there's gonna be like guerrilla marketing, there's gonna be B2B marketing partnerships, referrals, they're gonna go deep into each one.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_01: That none of you fuckers have an excuse that you're like, I've got no work.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_01: It's like you have to try everything.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_01: You have and like, and and that's why, like it's it's never gonna be pretty starting the business at the start.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_01: You're always gonna have blips and humps, and it's gonna take with the retention marketing and stuff like that, embedding that in and planting the seeds there.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_01: That when you have got your business humming along, you'll always have like your referrals word of mouth, your organic leads come in from like Google Business Profile, your website, stuff like that.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_01: But like sometimes there will be dips and surges where it's not always rosy, and like that's where these tricks and tactics are going to come up your sleeve to be like, all right, a bit quiet next week, let's try this, or like let's hustle.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_01: I hate that word hustle, but hustle and get some work in next week.
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's where it's like it comes down to the individual a lot of the time that it's like my phone's quiet.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_01: What did you try?
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_01: Nothing.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_01: So it's like, but I know you're a you're a doer, and the guys inside of the the platform are doers as well.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_01: So when they look back and not only the live session but the SLPs that come with it as well, it's gonna be a case of like, I want to bulletproof your business.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_01: Business that at any stage, if you do have a dip or a lull, we can revert back to that in the in the business.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, one thing I really took on board that you sort of said is it's okay to have a quiet day because on that quiet day, that's when you can then start working on your Google business profile and start finding other ways to get work, and and that's fine.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_00: So when I because when I first sort of finished up with my job, I actually wanted just like two weeks off just so I could really like focus on what I needed to do and like what's in the modules.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_00: And the best part about it is you get focused on this this week, okay?
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: So it might be the vehicle wrap.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_00: Cool, hit that.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_00: What's the next thing I'm focusing on?
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_00: Cool, hit that.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_00: So I really needed that.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_00: That's what I needed, and that's why part of the reason I reached out is I needed like a step-by-step guideline.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_00: Just tell me how to do it, I'll do it.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and that's kind of what I've done.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_01: What I loved about this and your approach was like what I see with so many people is they they've got no cash or no backing, and they start.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's a big one.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_01: It's huge, and they they start their electrical business, they're like, fuck them, starting my business, just get a van and wing it, or like do work for family.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_01: You're better off.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_01: It's just like investing, you're investing in your future business.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_01: Just fucking save hard for a few months, set your destination.
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_01: If it's six months you want to start your own business, I would suggest as a minimum to have 20, 30 grand to start off as a minimum cushion for the business.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_00: I would agree.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_00: I was lucky to have a redundancy.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so there you go.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_00: Coming out of, I guess.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_01: You're getting the drinks and later on.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_00: That, yeah, like full transparency, that really helped me and gave me extra confidence to get going with it.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_01: And it's it's just like a it's it's like a deposit for a property.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_01: But what what I see is like I get some guys messaging me and stuff and saying, like, I'm broke as fuck, but I'm starting next week.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_01: Ha ha.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_01: And it's just like it won't be so fucking funny when you're just like, What did I do?
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_01: Why didn't I do that?
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_01: And like, I'm not blowing my trumpet, but it's like that's that money can invest in a minter or something like that.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_01: Even if it's not me, I stress to people like go fucking work with somebody because even if you don't like what I offer, there's loads of other coaches out there, go work with them because at least it's gonna raise the industry standard, and they're as well with that, it's a case of they're gonna know exactly what they're doing from the get-go, and like you just said, that that's why I built this program in such a way that it's like you do that little thing, you implement, you move on to the next one.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_01: Because I think why it's it becomes extremely overwhelming for most other platforms that it's just like they throw everything at you.
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I've got 30 something hours of live sessions.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_01: If I just opened the door and was like, just go in, just look at the live sessions, people get so overwhelmed when people come on board.
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_01: Like, if I can see a pinpoint that's wrong with them, I'll say I'd suggest doing that, that, and that live session.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_01: Don't worry about the rest until you get to there because it's overwhelming, it's very overwhelming starting a business.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_00: No, it's a lot, and yeah, for the guys that are still working full-time, it is a lot getting it done because you do it every night, and then that was probably I was probably burning out a bit just in the setup.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_00: I haven't even started yet.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like burning out.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_00: No, like my message could tell, she's like, Oh, you're a bit like drained, you're always tired.
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, just wait, it'll get better.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I just need to do this, and uh and now it is better.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_00: Like, we even spoke about it yesterday.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, Do you think like surely it's better?
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_00: And she's like, Yeah, definitely.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and now it's I'm just driven, is more the thing.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_01: How many months in are you since you started?
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_00: It'd only be like launched in like September.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so not even six months.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_00: I think, yeah.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_01: Why this excites me so much is like what you know now, or what how you're running your business right now.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_01: It took me like four years to learn that, or five years that I was just I did things the hard way, and that's the biggest takeaway of kind of what you get from the mentorship is like you will learn from all my fuck-ups.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's that's you're you're accelerating your way to the end, and like, even as a side note, like last week or two weeks ago, we're on a live session, and basically we were going through Zapier, and I sent well, we we hit test on one of the triggers, which if you're using Zapier, it will actually trigger to an existing client.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_01: And I did that live on the call, so I like literally fucking did a typo and just sent it and like said it and then sent it, and uh it sent all Jeff, and yeah, I had to email him after the session saying, like, sorry about that or whatever.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_01: But I was like, I'm fucking so glad that happened on the session because it's such a valuable lesson, and and when doing that as well.
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_01: Sam's like, yeah, I was I was doing that like when I was setting mine up, and then it like fuck he got like some clients going like stop sending me that message because he was testing and testing, but what you have to realize is that it triggers back to whatever it's tied into, which was their old client's email address.
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, but that's that's what that's what happens is like I'm glad to fuck up and you can learn from it like because at the end of the day, you're James Bond, and I'm Q.
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_01: I'm just the guy that gives you the gizmos and gives you the shit.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_01: I'm just the dweeby guy in the basement, you're out there getting money doing your thing with your electrical business.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's sort of what stood out a lot is you have your VA and the way you have it running, and the way you like have your Zapier and all that set up.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_00: That sort of stuff is what I need to and want to know more about and wanted to know more about.
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_00: I think a lot of Sparkies that that's intriguing, that sort of thing.
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, oh, you can just like automate all these things.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_00: But even still, you can't just go and you can, but you can't even do it yourself.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_00: If you've got someone that can show you that and make a video showing you how to do it, that's great, it's so much easier.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_01: There's a right and a wrong way to do it, like and something that I that I stress about you're even you're you're on this journey and trajectory now, and you have even plugged in some things yet that are still to come, which is exciting.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_01: So there's there's a lot of stuff for you to come, but like I see so many people and they're just like, Oh, I'm gonna email market to my client base.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_01: People do it so fucking wrong.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_01: And where I see this as well is like people have this perception that if they do an email blast to their existing clients or they're like, We've got a special or like whatever to them, they expect that like you know, two of every three emails is now gonna get a response.
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_01: But what actually happens is you may get no responses from a thousand people, and you're like, Fuck, is that broken?
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_01: But what we want to do and achieve is just knock on the door and say, Hey, it's Dave, just tell me about this value bomb, see you later.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and that's what we we will be embedding into your business because you're not even at that stage yet, you're just knocking on the door now.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_01: But it's like when that is all in place, your retention marking system is built in, and that's where people just are like, Oh, I'll messparky, I'll send them details about the latest ceiling fan.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_01: We got a ceiling fan special.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I know if I was getting, let's say, for instance, hypothetically, if you got an email from a gardener, and and a gardener, like you at a gardener or whatever, he does work in your house, he emails you and he says, like, check out this new soil that I've got, you'd be like, unsubscribe, delete, piss off.
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_01: Like, and that's that's where Sparkies go wrong.
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_01: Is that we as electricians think as electricians, that's why on Instagram and stuff, if you're scrolling along and you see like you see a PowerPoint or smoke alarm or switchboards and like you're stopped, you you hit the you you hit the anchors and you're just like, What's this about?
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_01: Like, or whatever.
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_01: Depending on how many.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_01: Well, that's not that's not a 63 anchor, which exactly use the 40, yeah.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_01: Some of the trolls, yeah.
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_01: That's why we think as electricians, instead of thinking as like a business owner, circling right back to like your niche and target market of my fundamentals, is like that's why you literally have to get inside the head of the client so you know their problem more than they do, that you can get to it before them.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_01: And like, even little things on email marketing of just giving them value bombs, not gonna mention on this, but things that you can do, and they just it tweaks interest and it shows your authority as well.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_01: That they're just like, it mightn't be today, it mightn't be tomorrow, it might be three months' time, but it might be they're having a coffee with their friend.
• 30:07
  SPEAKER_01: What's gonna happen is their friend might go looking at getting a Sparky to do some work, I don't know anybody, or we're we want to get some seating fans installed because you've been top of mind, they'll be like, I've got a great Sparky for you.
• 30:17
  SPEAKER_01: They mightn't have responded to that email, but what they're doing is actually they're becoming a they're big they've become a foot soldier for you that they're they're now pinging your name out there.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_01: So, and it's something that Sparkies will be like retention marking, what about?
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_01: I'll just one and done, do the job, send the invoice, they'll come back to me.
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_01: But it's like it's depending on your area, especially Melbourne here, it's like it's saturated.
• 30:37
  SPEAKER_01: And if you're not top in mind of your clients, they're gonna go the back the same pathway they've found you that time, they'll probably just go back to Google or search search the area, local group, and be like, okay, new Sparky, away you go.
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so if you didn't make the move right now, what did you what do you think you'd be doing?
• 30:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, good question.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_00: I would you be happy?
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_00: It's hard to say because I think a part of me wasn't, and I was just feeling like, yeah, I'm just a bit tired.
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, Am I aging quicker or something?
• 31:08
  SPEAKER_00: Like these hours and working for the man.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_00: I I had a great crew of guys, I love the job, but I was just missing probably that drive.
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_01: That's something about being like solopreneur, one man band, whatever you want to call it, electrician, that it does get lonely.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_01: Like, as in, like, if you're working day to day on your own, it does get lonely.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_01: And that's where like I've mentioned this in calls.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I do regret not having an apprentice taken on.
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I could have two apprentices put through their time in the last 10 years and have that on the team, but like I grew up in an environment where it was like figure out in your own, working your own.
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_01: Like, for whatever reason, the companies I worked with, I never had an apprentice, and I see a clear pattern of people that go through a company and they're given an apprentice.
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_01: One of the first things that pops into their mind is I want to hire an apprentice.
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_01: And I I've never had that mindset, so I just stayed stubborn, got shit done, and I'm like, I wish even jobs now.
• 31:59
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, I wish it a pair of hands, or like I'm just like I'm like Houdini with the tongues just like flicking them around six tongues up a wall, one of them's gonna come up.
• 32:07
  SPEAKER_00: Some of the stuff we do, and you try and tell your missus they just don't understand how what you pulled off that day.
• 32:13
  SPEAKER_00: Like there's no recognition, you're the crime's just like oh sweet, good PowerPoint.
• 32:18
  SPEAKER_01: Like you're like, you don't know what that's you're just at home like leaning on the fridge having a beer that you should have seen as a cable through the wall, pull it out, booked it over.
• 32:26
  SPEAKER_01: Fucking you wouldn't get that anywhere.
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_00: With you on that, being lonely, I haven't really experienced that yet.
• 32:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I think being in the residential space, I love I genuinely love helping people and like meeting the client.
• 32:37
  SPEAKER_00: I've always been a people person.
• 32:39
  SPEAKER_00: I like to think I've got really great friends and they like me, and I don't have issues with people.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_00: So it's fine, like you're in people's houses, you kind of most of them are great, they want to chat.
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_00: Ideally, they don't stand behind you the whole time.
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_00: I don't mind it.
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_01: This is why, as well, it's important that like again your messaging is important to that client because you're you're charismatic, you're a likable guy, you're gonna get nice clients, and that's very important that like you get nice clients that are like you know, they're giving you coffee, they're leaving you alone, they're not standing behind you.
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_01: But like you, if you start your marketing the wrong way, you you like you chase those cheaper quotes you you think being cheapest is the best.
• 33:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that that you're gonna get those horrible clients that are literally standing behind you, and you'll turn around, you're like oh what the fuck?
• 33:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, because I had that I that like a few years ago, where like you just turn, you'd be like, What fuck, you're like someone's there, and it's like fucking give me some warning.
• 33:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 33:29
  SPEAKER_01: I had a gun like that recently actually.
• 33:32
  SPEAKER_01: Actually, it was a fucking manhole, yeah.
• 33:35
  SPEAKER_01: Just like turning around the It's like do you want to come up and pull the cable?
• 33:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but like I I still like I won't lie, like I get some peculiar clients still, but they still they're happy to pay the price and they're happy.
• 33:46
  SPEAKER_01: They're actually nice people.
• 33:47
  SPEAKER_01: I remember like I had them switchboard metabox open.
• 33:50
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I shit you not.
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I was just doing whatever, I was putting a charger in.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_01: Actually, shut as I shut the door, his fucking head was like a scream.
• 33:58
  SPEAKER_01: It's like I was like, oh and he didn't he didn't even go like sorry about that, and I was just like fucking strange dude.
• 34:05
  SPEAKER_01: Then I think I started getting like a bit rude, and I was kind of like just kind of like blocking the switchboard so you couldn't see what I was doing.
• 34:11
  SPEAKER_01: But you will get weird people and stuff, and it's like it's a bit of fun too, because like it makes for funny stories.
• 34:16
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, the way that you're at that point with your business is how you you can pick and choose and knock back jobs.
• 34:22
  SPEAKER_00: That's like a goal, 100%.
• 34:24
  SPEAKER_01: That comes with time as well, and like that's that's where I'm not gonna lie to you and lie to anybody looking at this.
• 34:30
  SPEAKER_01: Literally building your client base, building like a good lead flow system, and like leads come in from every sort of avenue as well, not just relying on one source.
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_01: That's where you're gonna build your clients that are gonna refer you, they're gonna give you more work, and you're over time, you'll not only have like your organic stuff, your presence is gonna be around, you're gonna be getting all the work coming in that if a stray lead comes in and you don't like the look of it, you can just flick it off and say you're too busy or whatever.
• 34:55
  SPEAKER_01: So that that does come with time, but it's like again, you're you're speeding up the process to get there by being part of this mentorship and implementing and doing what you're doing as well.
• 35:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, 100%.
• 35:05
  SPEAKER_00: If I wasn't, yeah, I'd honestly just be like, what do I do now?
• 35:10
  SPEAKER_00: What's next?
• 35:11
  SPEAKER_00: So it's good that we've got all these things that are like and we're still about to go over in the coming weeks of getting more leads.
• 35:17
  SPEAKER_01: It's like you know, I am a bit of a weirdo that way.
• 35:19
  SPEAKER_01: It's like I'm fetishizing on like I'm like fuck, I can do a whole session on this one topic and then just have like it excites me because I'm doing what I love.
• 35:29
  SPEAKER_01: Like I'm just I think I'm a creative of like I like tinkering and shit in the background.
• 35:32
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's what electrical as well.
• 35:34
  SPEAKER_01: That like I love building stuff like like meter box relocations.
• 35:38
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, I I'm just like fuck that looks class, like it's just such a strange thing.
• 35:42
  SPEAKER_01: But same with this, I'll just like fully geek out on doing the research on it and then putting it into place and then being like, there you go.
• 35:48
  SPEAKER_01: Like, we'll run to a session and it's like there's the SLP to do it, which is which is very important.
• 35:53
  SPEAKER_01: If you could go back 12 months when you were employed, like is there any any advice you would have given yourself you should have taken a leap sooner, like you reckon?
• 36:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, honestly.
• 36:03
  SPEAKER_00: I wish I think I never like even heard of these podcasts of how would you fruition me?
• 36:09
  SPEAKER_00: I was scrolling through Instagram and your head popped up and you had this nice lighting, you know, you got the accent.
• 36:15
  SPEAKER_00: It's like not that I'm into guys or anything, but I was like, yeah, like I just didn't keep scrolling.
• 36:20
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, it's easy to listen to.
• 36:22
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 36:22
  SPEAKER_00: So you obviously got something going for you there where it was like, oh yeah, and then I wanted to hear you out, and then um from there went into the podcast.
• 36:30
  SPEAKER_00: But it's just easy listening, very relatable.
• 36:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 36:33
  SPEAKER_00: So it was probably just through that.
• 36:36
  SPEAKER_00: Honestly, if I just another thing, I didn't actually actually realize, and maybe this is stupid, but I didn't think there could be a business coach for someone who didn't have a business.
• 36:47
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't realise I could find someone that was gonna help me get started, yeah, which is what you're doing.
• 36:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I that's where I was probably I'd never even thought about it because I just wasn't doing it.
• 36:58
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm like, I can't get help for something I'm not doing, but I needed help to start what I want to do.
• 37:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's where you came in.
• 37:04
  SPEAKER_01: On that as well, the so basically I that's my lane.
• 37:08
  SPEAKER_01: My lane is literally guys that are just starting, or maybe they've got a team of maybe up to five and they're just confused spinning wheels, like systems in the back and they're fucked.
• 37:17
  SPEAKER_01: Like, that's my lane.
• 37:18
  SPEAKER_01: And like what you'll find with other coaches is they'll take anybody with a pulse, they can come into their platform and be like, fuck, we'll help you out.
• 37:24
  SPEAKER_01: But it's like I know where my limit is.
• 37:26
  SPEAKER_01: If somebody comes to me and they're too advanced, I'm like, you're not a good fit, and I'm I'm being like a bit of a picky fucker.
• 37:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and like I just want people that are driven in inside and simplified Sparky, like yourself, of people that will do the work.
• 37:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, because if you don't do the work, you're not you're going to get nothing out.
• 37:41
  SPEAKER_01: It's like going, it's like meeting a PT.
• 37:43
  SPEAKER_01: You come to the gym, and I've got you doing on the barbell, and next thing I turn my back and you're like, one, two, and you're not actually doing the reps.
• 37:50
  SPEAKER_01: It's the same thing.
• 37:51
  SPEAKER_01: If you don't put the reps in inside and simplified Sparky, you're not going to progress.
• 37:55
  SPEAKER_01: And that's why you are where you are right now, and it's only going to get better from there as well.
• 37:59
  SPEAKER_00: It's funny you say that, because like we were saying, I nearly didn't pull the pin because I didn't want to do something.
• 38:07
  SPEAKER_00: Because I was working full-time and we were getting busy.
• 38:10
  SPEAKER_00: We did like a 12-hour day on a Saturday and a Sunday doing a big switchboard change over like four guys in a small room.
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_00: So I was flat out.
• 38:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I didn't want to then commit to the course if I couldn't actually do it.
• 38:22
  SPEAKER_00: So I was I'm an R and about maybe starting later.
• 38:25
  SPEAKER_00: But then, and I'm glad that he just sort of pushed me over the line because starting it was just gonna help me.
• 38:32
  SPEAKER_01: But it wasn't as when you say push you over the line, it wasn't in a salesy way, not at all.
• 38:37
  SPEAKER_01: It was more like I just I literally kicked you up the ass to be like, the fuck are you doing?
• 38:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I and I probably always knew I could do it, and I would tell myself I can do it, I can do it.
• 38:48
  SPEAKER_00: But just having that extra person sort of being like, I will get you there.
• 38:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and now's probably I'm lucky that I started early, not to say that it's never too late.
• 38:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but yeah, it's the good thing with you is it's very hands-on with like the website.
• 39:04
  SPEAKER_00: Like I had a crap website, yeah, we went back and forth like five to ten times, voice memos, change this, change this.
• 39:12
  SPEAKER_00: But like you built it for me.
• 39:15
  SPEAKER_01: When but when you and we spoke with this over coffee just before we got on, is like you came to me with like a prototype of the first website, and it was it was dog shit, and it looked like something from 1997.
• 39:27
  SPEAKER_00: I said I paid for that, I paid, so I kept paying for things to do.
• 39:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and and I think you had that developer lined up before kind of I got yeah, I got my hands in you, yeah.
• 39:37
  SPEAKER_01: And most coaches and platforms would be like so saturated, they'd just be like, website looks sick, man, just go with that.
• 39:43
  SPEAKER_01: It looks sweet, just yeah, put the website out there.
• 39:45
  SPEAKER_01: But I'm like, nah, change this, this, this, this, that looks shit, move this.
• 39:48
  SPEAKER_01: And now, like, as I said to you, and as I said to like a few members, your business now looks like it's been established in Melbourne with 10 years, it's just like 10 years plus because you look professional, which is like something I'm obsessed about, is the authority that you provide when you're doing your quotes, when you're doing your invoices, stuff like that, that people look at you as if you've been around the traps and like with confidence and stuff like that.
• 40:11
  SPEAKER_01: Because when your website and stuff looks the part, because people think that like just do this and you get work.
• 40:17
  SPEAKER_01: It's like, no, people background check you.
• 40:19
  SPEAKER_00: Like I honestly never thought a website mattered.
• 40:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's huge, and you're I was like, I was probably stuck in that word of mouth, word of mouth.
• 40:26
  SPEAKER_00: Everyone says word of mouth, mate, word of mouth.
• 40:27
  SPEAKER_00: It's the fucking old schoolers that don't need the work.
• 40:29
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, like, yeah, yeah, it's like save money on marketing.
• 40:33
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what that's like it's necessary.
• 40:34
  SPEAKER_01: That's what like annoys the crap out of me is there's people there's old schoolers on the Facebook groups and forums that are like they're like late 60s.
• 40:43
  SPEAKER_01: And they're like, nah, mate, don't need a website, never needed it, just do a good job, word of mouth, yes.
• 40:48
  SPEAKER_00: Well, don't put signwriting on your vehicle because then people call you and it's annoying.
• 40:53
  SPEAKER_00: Oh no.
• 40:53
  SPEAKER_00: Like it's not for a job.
• 40:55
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, I already had a few jobs out of it.
• 40:58
  SPEAKER_01: See, that there this is it, and like the the there's a different type of mentality.
• 41:02
  SPEAKER_01: So if you're purely stuck in the commercial space, like if you're like full-time commercial, you're doing commercial maintenance, I would say vehicle signwriting isn't a big thing.
• 41:11
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's like you could just put your little logo on it, put like your company name or whatever, keep it really subtle, keep it quiet.
• 41:17
  SPEAKER_01: But if you're doing residential service and maintenance, your mums and dads, all your ideal clients, are fucking driving behind you, they're driving next to you, they're seeing you parked in the street, and when your messaging is correct and it speaks to them, you're going to get leads as you're experiencing.
• 41:30
  SPEAKER_01: The opinions you see online are so like opposite at times, and it's like it's usually somebody that's like on the brink of retirement that's got loads of time in their hands on Facebook that are like, yeah, mate, just do a good job.
• 41:42
  SPEAKER_01: So proud about never spending a cent on marketing.
• 41:44
  SPEAKER_01: I've never had to spend a cent in you were around before the internet, and now it's like, look at the rise of AI.
• 41:50
  SPEAKER_01: Now it's like we're we're competing with AI Search, like Gemini Search.
• 41:53
  SPEAKER_01: And one of my clients the other day said he went through Gemini, like requested a few things, and then it sent them to my website, it sent them to me.
• 42:01
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm just like, this is literally the early days of like people's new methods of searching, and it's going to go to kids going to voice searching from AI to finding electricians, so it's frightening what's coming if you're not prepared.
• 42:15
  SPEAKER_00: Like, yeah, I feel like you're very in tune with all that and prepared.
• 42:19
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a nerd, yeah.
• 42:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 42:21
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I wasn't gonna say that, but that actually is another another good thing is keeping on top of that stuff and moving with the times, I think.
• 42:28
  SPEAKER_01: If there's any electricians looking at this right now that are like on the brink, or they're like, I I don't know, is this for me, or like I'm afraid to leave my job, or just take the plunge of work for themselves, or joining Simplified Sparkle, what would you say to them?
• 42:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'd say, firstly, don't be scared, 100% do it.
• 42:47
  SPEAKER_00: It does take work, hard work.
• 42:50
  SPEAKER_00: We all know that.
• 42:50
  SPEAKER_00: Like, it's never gonna be cruzy.
• 42:53
  SPEAKER_00: But if you want someone that's gonna give you the step by step, the week by week play, and what to do in what order, then 100% like simplify Sparky's done that for me.
• 43:04
  SPEAKER_00: So, yeah, I I've said it to you heaps of times.
• 43:07
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so appreciative of where you've got me, and I do thank you heaps for it.
• 43:11
  SPEAKER_01: So well, it takes it takes like you can be a coach and have a shit team, but I've got a fucking sick team with me at the moment that it helps that you actually do the work, and that's that's why you've gotten to where you've gotten.
• 43:21
  SPEAKER_00: But it's not as hard as you think when you start doing it.
• 43:23
  SPEAKER_00: It's just that's why you just gotta sit down and do it.
• 43:26
  SPEAKER_01: That's why it's just like it's implemented in small steps where it's like you start there and you just put in the work and then you move forward from there.
• 43:33
  SPEAKER_01: And I think like that's something I've seen as an electrician of like overwhelm as real.
• 43:37
  SPEAKER_01: Somebody that's listening to this, and what I just mentioned about AI and stuff, like that'll probably blow their fucking mind and be like, oh god, what's this thing that's coming?
• 43:43
  SPEAKER_01: And it's like that's why a mirror is like I will nerd out in that and let you know before the apocalypse of AI is gonna come.
• 43:49
  SPEAKER_01: There's so many different moving parts.
• 43:51
  SPEAKER_01: What do I do next?
• 43:51
  SPEAKER_01: And the foundations level is like your hourly rate and just getting into your head of like how much you should be charging per hour.
• 43:59
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm a stickler for that.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_01: And as I said to all of you, like I can see everybody in Australia that wants to do service and maintenance, the minimum should be 200 an hour like base, yeah, and it can be up to 300, 400, and depending on efficiency, it can be 300, 400 per hour.
• 44:13
  SPEAKER_01: I know there's gonna be people watching this that are like fucking hell, 200, but it's until you like go through the steps of like what you the wage you want, super, tax, overheads, vans, like your uniform sign writing, everything adds up.
• 44:26
  SPEAKER_01: And it's like not until you look at it in black and white, you're like, holy fuck, I'm better off employed if I don't charge that money because efficiency is key with service work.
• 44:35
  SPEAKER_01: We don't always work eight hours a day, so it's like that hourly rate has to be higher.
• 44:39
  SPEAKER_01: But if you're doing you know building work construction, you'll get away with a lower rate, or if you staff, you'll get away with a lower rate because you can start delegating out the overheads to them.
• 44:48
  SPEAKER_01: But as a solo electrician, you're easily looking at like the$200 per hour minimum.
• 44:53
  SPEAKER_01: And look, it's up to you what you want to charge, but that's what I that's what I put out there.
• 44:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and it's all done flat rate pricing, isn't it?
• 45:00
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you're not walking in somewhere about hey, it's 200 bucks now.
• 45:03
  SPEAKER_01: So, yeah, fix fixed yeah, fixed pricing is key, and that's something that we teach inside with bundles as well.
• 45:10
  SPEAKER_01: It's like there's TradeFi, there's Fergus, there's Sempro and all of that.
• 45:14
  SPEAKER_00: But I honestly I probably would have gone and done one of those other ones and then paid for that, and then come back and come back again again.
• 45:20
  SPEAKER_00: What am I doing?
• 45:21
  SPEAKER_01: It's so easy to use, and not only for you, if you do get staffed, they've like dumbed down the app that it's super easy to use as well for your staff members, and that's why it's really important.
• 45:29
  SPEAKER_01: And when you build out your pricing on a service mate, it's just a case of like you go there confidently knowing firstly, your hourly rate should be X amount, secondly, you're charging this amount, and when you present the price or you do it either face to face or digitally, that when you do the job, you're gonna make money, and if you do the job quicker, you're gonna make more money.
• 45:48
  SPEAKER_01: Whereas with the hourly rate method, the the slower you go, the more you make, which makes no fucking sense in the world to me.
• 45:55
  SPEAKER_01: But it's like it works if you've got really shit slow tradesmen, but if you've got like a if you've it's honestly if you think about hourly rate, it's like the slower you go, the better it is for you as the business owner, but technically not because the hourly rate's usually really bad.
• 46:10
  SPEAKER_01: And what people do that rock off hourly rate is like the client will usually compare what they're earning as their profession to your hourly rate, and they're like, fuck, that's expensive.
• 46:21
  SPEAKER_01: But if you present the cope that it's like X amount to replace the PowerPoint, smoke alarm, downlights, whatever, they're just like, All right, that makes sense.
• 46:28
  SPEAKER_01: It's weird, it's it's just like it's a it's a whole psychology shift when they're doing that.
• 46:32
  SPEAKER_00: And you work out if your your break havens$104 an hour and you're charging$110, it's okay.
• 46:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, six bucks up an hour, nice one.
• 46:40
  SPEAKER_00: Sweet.
• 46:40
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's it's not not good.
• 46:42
  SPEAKER_01: But I'm gonna wrap it up there.
• 46:44
  SPEAKER_01: It's been fucking excellent.
• 46:45
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks so much for joining me and looking forward to seeing you in the future.
• 46:48
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks so much.
• 46:49
  SPEAKER_00: Cheers.
• 46:50
  SPEAKER_00: That's a wrap.
• 46:51
  SPEAKER_01: Hope you enjoy that.
• 46:52
  SPEAKER_01: And I will be back on Friday with the regular podcast, and I'll chat to you then.
• 46:56
  SPEAKER_01: All the links you need are underneath.