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When you’ve spent so much time mastering and perfecting your craft, delegating your task to someone who may or may not be up to par with your standards would be the last thing you’d ever want to do. However, if growing your business is your goal, sometimes, you need to take the tradie hat off and put the trades business owner hat on.
Making that sudden mind shift might sound easier said than done. That’s why Bruce Poling, Director at The Joinery Coach, joins us today to share his story on how he made that shift himself. We talk about how he sold his joinery business and started to pursue business coaching, what the value of a good onboarding process is to make sure things get done right from the start, and why you should be receptive to coaching and new learning.
Take notes and get yourself started as a trades business owner today by tuning in to this episode!
What’s Discussed in This Episode:
- How Bruce went from joinery to manufacturing [03:34]
- Selling his business and working for a software company [04:17]
- Why he decided to sell his joinery business [05:58]
- Making his business saleable [07:21]
- Determining whether your business is taking you where you want to be [09:25]
- We’re more than who we think we are [11:44]
- When you start a business, you need to get out of the technical mindset [14:07]
- 90% of everything joinery does is pure manufacturing [16:19]
- Sometimes, it’s best to just have a few experienced people on a team [17:08]
- Putting the right people in the right places [18:37]
- True apprenticeship is nurturing people to become highly-skilled ones [19:41]
- There is no skill shortage, just ones that we failed to make look attractive enough [21:29]
- If you want to hire and retain good people, provide them with a career path [22:28]
- Having a good onboarding process is key to getting the job done right [23:39]
- Growing your company means adapting to a tech-driven world [25:55]
- Hold yourself accountable for learning things you need to know as an owner [29:26]
- Don’t try to do everything; delegate your tasks [32:50]
- Be receptive to new learning and don’t be averse to getting coached [33:25]
- Figure out what problem you need to solve [37:21]
- Find someone who can solve that problem [37:55]
- Negative feedback is not always negative [40:06]
- Alignment of your brand is crucial in succeeding in the industry [41:35]
- If you want to be marketable, you need to have more than 1 niche [45:30]
- Fundamental shifts tradies need to make when starting a business [47:07]
About the Guest:
Bruce Poling started out as a cabinet maker and transitioned to becoming a joinery manufacturing business owner. Getting burnt-out along the process, he decided to take a sharp turn in 2002, he sold his business and started on a new path towards business coaching. Today, Bruce is in the business of helping people turn their joinery business into a profitable investment, and find the wealth and freedom they have always wanted from day one through The Joinery Coach.
Resources:
- Come and visit my website at (https://www.thesiteshed.com/)
- Check my latest podcast or listen to the previous ones (https://www.thesiteshed.com/podcasts/)
- Tradie Web Guys (https://www.tradiewebguys.com.au/apply)
- Visit the Joinery Coach website (www.thejoinerycoach.com)
- Listen to the Joinery Business podcast (https://www.thejoinerycoach.com/podcast)
- Follow them on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/TheJoineryCoach/)
- Join The Joinery Hub Facebook Group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheJoineryBusinessHub)
- Reach out to him through his email ([email protected])
- Download the “10 Problems Every Joinery Business Has and How to Solve Them” (https://www.thejoinerycoach.com/10steps)
Connect with me on LinkedIn. For more podcast episodes, you may also visit my website. Tune in and subscribe to The Site Shed: You can also listen to The Site Shed on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher.
Thank you for tuning in!
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