I think even since we first met
like when did your relationship with Carpentry Australia start
like when did you first become a member
cause I think it’s been a little while
yeah well
you might educate me on this
when was the first time Carpentry Australia had a stall at Bowen’s
I think maybe the expose might have been 2018
for me I was definitely there in 2018
it was Rosie oh Rosie
OK Rosie
it might have been even earlier than
so I remember her strong English accent
I remember walking up going
ah Carpentry Australia
I was like what’s that
never heard of it yeah
and she was amazing and polite and friendly and bubbly
and I was like I’ll take a card and have a chat
and she was great and so she followed through and rang me up
and really impressed that Carpentry Australia was
driving hard to help chippies
just improve their professionalism
their knowledge base support
I thought this is an excellent organization
I gotta get behind them so I threw
threw my money at them and went
let’s go and I’ve been with you guys pretty much ever since
but that would have been yeah
what’s that
that started about 10 years ago
10 years yeah
yeah so it’s crazy to think that
like Rosie hasn’t been with the business since I think 2018
2019 she ended up starting a family and yes
moving back I think moving back
home yes
well yep
but people still talk about it
still talk about it yeah
people still talk about Rosie yeah
it’s a good sign hopefully
maybe in 10 years people will be like yeah
I hope I have that kind of impression
sure sure
it will be so long long time sort of working with us
and I think the one thing that I’ve
I’ve seen over the years is that you’ve
you’ve created your own network
and you’ve been hosting your own sort of events
yeah and nights and stuff
can you tell me where that all comes from
and yeah yeah
thanks for asking Matty
so that was sort of born it’s called the Ethical Trades Network
it’s a fancy term for a couple of business owners getting around
having a beer on a Saturday night
but to be serious it was born out of Covid
where a lot of the particularly carpentry and building networks
or friends that I knew were struggling
really struggling struggling to keep their businesses afloat
going through the blues their mental health was no good and there was
you know some serious
mental health concerns
so a mate of mine we
we both sort of brainstormed another builder and he said oh
we should get together some of these businesses that are struggling
and try and help them level up a bit
and you’ve got a lot of professional experience
and I’ve got a lot to add
I said great when are you starting it
he said no no
you’re gonna start it
so he literally handballed it to me and it was just an idea
and now it’s taken off
it’s not it’s not flying it we’re certainly open to growth
it’s no money down it’s purely a value add to others yeah
there is no ulterior motive at all
if anything
it’s all about just giving and just see if we can help people
and we learn a lot Saturday night
we had a presentation by a wonderful architect from the city
and she was outstanding so Emma Holmes from formery
and she spoke about her journey and what she’s looking for
you know
with ideal clients and builders and how we can cross collaborate
how we can improve our skills communication
and that’s what I love is like other builders
I don’t look at them as competitors
I look at it as cross collaboration and how can we work together
this is your niche this is my niche how can we help each other
and what’s one of the really great things that’s come
obviously
being able to host people from different parts of the industry and
you know let them speak on their experience and yeah
for for us to learn from is great
but what’s one of the greatest things that’s come from hosting
an ethical trades night and you know that in the world yeah
it adds a little bit more onto your plate
but because I’m so passionate about my industry
I’m trying to help it level up
I’m trying to and I think the drive there to want it to be better
which means I have to be better
and if I’m not at the top of my game
or striving to be the top of my game
then how can I expect you know the industry to follow suit
so it’s more about demanding myself to be the best that I can be
and then hopefully in turn
that sort of rubs off or flows on to other businesses
but I do enjoy it I do enjoy I love learning yeah
I think
you know student of growth you have to be always keep open minded
there’s always someone that knows something better or more
better way to do something
so if we can work as a team and not look at it as competition
I think we we all grow together yeah
yeah and that sort of learning that comes from martial arts as well
I think so it’s just never the master always the yes
the student very much so yeah
very much so yeah
so what by your definition
what is the ethical tradesman or the ethical tradesperson yeah
it’s a good question I I get that a lot actually
a lot of people say what does see it on your website
what does it mean yeah
it well the word ethical is is to basically to be transparent
to say what you mean to mean what you say
it’s not actually difficult if you were to turn back the clock
maybe less than a generation
the old School Tradies contract was a shake of the hand
and it was your word and people would hang their hat on your word
and you know you said you’re gonna be there at 7 on Monday
you were there at 7 on Monday
they say it’s gonna be X amount
you know for this project
it was X amount for that project so it’s the small things
you know the
treating people’s home the way you want them to treat your own home
it’s treating people the way you wanna be treated
it’s but it’s it’s even deeper than that
it’s having a sense of doing the right thing
even when no one else is looking
and I think that’s probably what stands out a lot
you know people see your trades
you know you can’t micromanage people
you can’t always be looking at what they’re doing
but if you know they got good ethics
you know they’ll fit the model of your team
the culture builds the reputations there
and then as a flow on people see that good ethics is good business
you know yeah
people wanna do business with people they know
like and trust so if you’re unethical
it’s not surprising that you’re out of work because no one trusts you
and it all starts with trust yeah
you know if you can build trust
you can build anything yeah
so that’s a that’s something that we’re really focused on
what about when you’re meeting with clients and when you’re
cause you do a lot of
home renovations and new builds and knockdowns
and I think you’ve sort of expanded yep
you you do quite a lot now compared to the past few years yes
what is that sort of initial spark of that relationship like
you know how do you sort of win over the client and
you know deliver that sort of high quality
I guess from the gecko hmm
you know what is
do you follow any certain steps or yes
is there a procedure that JTW sort of follows
what how does it work
it’s a good question cause in the beginning there was nothing
it was all just ad hoc and now we’ve really
through the help of some great mentors and some really good
some good mentors that have helped us create processes
we’ve had some previously
but they’ve got better it basically looks like an initial phone call
or initial email will come in
even though we’re trying to automate and use Al in our business
we’re trying to stay on top of the latest trends and efficiencies
it’s still the old school customer service of just get up
get on the phone and call someone
and even if you’re busy on the road
just have that personal
warm phone call so that they know you’re a real person
yeah
you know you know what you’re talking about
you actually say who you are and you are what you say
it’s just the transparency
yeah people wanna know that they’re speaking to a real person
that can build their home
or do their Reno
the typical example Matty
would be yesterday
we received a phone call from a 84 year old lady
OK bless her
she was just in Belgrave South where we live
and she’s like
I’ve seen your signs and I said wow
that’s great how’d you hear about us
and she said oh
we spoke to the IGA at the grocery store
oh great
yes they’re our local
we got a little board there
and yep we just did a Reno for them
just you know
had two two run ins and two hold UPS recently
and so we replaced it some works
and she said they were raving about you
I said you kidding me
she said no
the lady said she said oh
what’s this builder like is he any good
is he a charlatan no
no no
she said he’s wonderful
go and speak to him yeah
so thank you that’s amazing
that’s the best you know
referral you can get yeah
that’s the review you want
it is yeah
and even though she’s 84 she’s passionate about finally building
and doing something serious to pass on to the grandkids
and I thought that’s wonderful
so we’re going pop in next week and see we can look after him awesome
awesome with your team to be able to
to be able to do something so professional and
you know sort of hold it to a certain standard
have you got quite a few apprentices
have you got some qualified
are you still looking for anyone
what’s the yeah
what’s the go then yeah
so we’ve just taken on a first year at the start of this year
in January we
we did trial the Subi model and we found it was good
but we probably could do better
with building an internal team
yep and like some of the other
carpenters and builders that I know in our networks
watching them they’ve been an inspiration for me
how they’ve empowered them to grow and develop and take them on board
so we’ve got a first year now Shin
who’s just recently took out the HIA Apprentice of the year
for carpentry for first year amazing
well we’re really wrapped with that
so thank you thank you
so well done Shin
shout out to you
and then we’re just taking on a first year apprentic sorry
a first year labour I should say
and that’s been the leading hands son
yeah so father son team
which is good oh
that’s great
and just recently in the last month we’ve taken on a gun Subby
he used to work for Carlow Homes and OK
he’s now jumping on board and looks like he’ll be a permanent fixture
so we’re slowly growing
but sustainable and just it’s gotta be the right fit yeah
yeah and what do
what do you look for like what is
what makes someone a good fit
yep you know
like what what makes someone a great chippy
yeah that that
you know what are you really looking for
cause I’m always interested to hear from builders of what they’re
what they’re looking for from carpenters
yep and just because we want to
obviously elevate our chippies as much as possible
yep and before I forget
thank you for helping us
expose those advertisements because we
we love using the Carpentry Australia
you know networks
because I much prefer to find someone within the current networks
than just randomly anytime
so thank you I’m really
really grateful for that but again
it’s pretty simple they have to just be professional
you know if they can’t manage their own backyard
if they’ve got so much stuff going on and they bring it all to work
I say to the guys you know
I’m here for you but at the end of the day
bring your best self you know
obviously elevate our chippies as much as possible
yep and before I forget
thank you for helping us
expose those advertisements because we
we love using the Carpentry Australia
you know networks
because I much prefer to find someone within the current networks
than just randomly anytime
so thank you I’m really
really grateful for that but again
it’s pretty simple they have to just be professional
you know if they can’t manage their own backyard
if they’ve got so much stuff going on and they bring it all to work
I say to the guys you know
I’m here for you but at the end of the day
bring your best self you know
obviously elevate our chippies as much as possible
yep and before I forget
thank you for helping us
expose those advertisements because we
we love using the Carpentry Australia
you know networks
because I much prefer to find someone within the current networks
than just randomly anytime
so thank you I’m really
really grateful for that but again
it’s pretty simple they have to just be professional
you know if they can’t manage their own backyard
if they’ve got so much stuff going on and they bring it all to work
I say to the guys you know
I’m here for you but at the end of the day
bring your best self you know
I’m not your babysitter I’m not your mother
you know
don’t bring your dirty laundry to work yeah
do your laundry on the weekend come sharp
well prepared and be organized and be professional
so we will instill that will try and train that
monthly meetings will try and just inject that into the team
just bit by bit but to answer your question
if they’ve got great skills but poor attitude
I won’t take them on if they’ve got good skills but a great attitude
they’re already passed the first interview stage yeah
I just I can’t work with someone if you got a bad attitude yeah
there’s some things that are instilled in people
that you either got it or you don’t
if you’re willing to learn and develop it
that’s great
so the big thing is is really attitude if you got great attitude
good communication skills
we can teach you the rest yeah
you know the carpentry comes
I think if you’re willing and passionate about the industry
you will grow and do you feel like moulding
I know that there’s a lot of other business owners
that we’ve spoken to that
that do like to do exactly what you’re talking about
where they like to mould their own team yeah
you know
not that they not that there’s only one right way to do things
but it just allows you to to run your business in a more efficient way
it also allows you to you know
know exactly where your carpenters and apprentices are at
in terms of their sort of skill level
and and and I guess what your expectations are
do you have any tips on sort of expectations out of apprentices and
yep
you know what
what you sort of what you sort of wanna see from them
yeah good
so first year if we’re talking specifically carpentry yeah yeah
first year it’s
it’s obviously a low expectation
but yet
the big one would be to have it spelled
out for them before they begin
so that it’s not too verbal
I’m finding that having a process in a system is great
because at least they’ve got a
they’ve got a
so to speak a track or a runway or something to hang their hat on
that they can go back to and say
how am I going performance reviews are really important as well
but I think first year
it’s more about just the basic expectations about being on time
being professional asking questions
you know constantly be asking what’s next
just being a sponge just absorb
cause the first year it’s all quite overwhelming and you know
you’re either going from school or uni or wherever
wherever it is to just go straight into a trade and it’s
it’s intense yeah
they might not have worked before
no that’s right yeah
yeah a lot of them are exhausted in their first year
like they’ve never worked this hard before in their life
they’re physically drained
so it’s just about working with them and trying to work out
is this a good fit early yeah
cause you don’t wanna pour
too much time and attention into someone who’s
already got one foot out the door
yeah on the flip side
I always put a 10 on everyone’s head until they prove me otherwise
and what what about
trade school do you use sort of on site training
or do you send them to trade school
like what’s your preference
how do you yeah
the on site model is good
but we don’t do everything
every aspect of carpentry particularl
the joinery for for instance
like Shin is a Japanese background
and he really loves the joinery side of things
with this traditional culture
which is beautiful so really when it comes to stairs
for example like Mary’s teaching stairs during the week was fantastic
but when it comes to sort of the intricate joinery
it’s great that he does the INTAFE model
so we’ve sort of reverted back to the INTAFE model
so that he can maximize the
I suppose the not rigidity
but the methodical approach to learning
yeah we’ve got time to sit down
absorb it and reflect and ask questions versus on site
it’s it’s go
go go
yeah of course
yeah and where does he go to trade school
he’s at Homes Clan in Chester
OK nice nice
we got a good we actually Homes Clan were one of th
one of the schools that competed in our competition OK
at the Carpentry Expo ah cool
so they all built like a little it was like a bridge that they made
yeah and it was who could sort of withstand the most weight awesome
what was sort of the most attractive one
yeah I think Melbourne Polytechnic ended up taking out the win but OK
Homes Gym was involved
and we’ve got a lot of students through homes grants okay
so hopefully it’s a good spot for him awesome yeah
he’s loving it yeah
what does the next sort of six to 12 months look like for for for JtW
is any projects that you really wanna knock over and and
and start some new stuff or
yep have you got a bit of a a grander plan or what’s the my big hairy
audacious goal is so it’s called is to actually restore churches OK
perfect and cathedrals so
my boys were watching the restoration of Notre Dame last night oh wow
and that it was amazing
like seeing the fire collapse and seeing it rebuild was yeah
it was probably one of the
I think it was France’s largest reconstruction ever of a cathedral
and have they finished they finished it yeah
they finished it was open last year it’s phenomenal wow
now Australia is not as traditional in that sense
and there’s not as many opportunities
but I would say
it’s probably some of the most rewarding work I’ve ever done
is working on churches
it’s unique you’re constantly relearning
some of the the
the stone masonry and some of the
even the carpentry like the very customized
work is not seen yeah
it’s very rare so that would be my ideal
you know
place to stay and work in
so if that eventuates I’ll be
I’ll be wrapped but I’m
one day we’ll get there in the interim
it’s extensions it’s renovations
you still do the old church
like have you got
we do occasionally yeah
like we
it’s more smaller renovations for it rather than the large ones
and I particularly like restoring
cause there’s a lot of satisfaction in bringin
something back to life
I think we
we recently had Joe Canavan on yes
yep who
who actually restored one of
I think it’s the church that he goes to
yes and I thought that was pretty amazing
he was talking about how he used all the old materials and yes
sort of brought it back to its sort of original state
and yeah yeah
very passionate about sort of using yeah
so it’s it’s cool that there’s
there’s been a couple of books that they can
on the same thing he’s a wonderful young man
he’s my old he was like my first apprentice
yeah yeah
and he’s did a beautiful job
the church looks beautiful
so yeah
yeah but in the interim
it’s extensions we’re now able to do knockdown rebuilds
which is good but
yeah for now we’ll stay in the extension renovation space
what do you think so you when did you obtain your
your DBU cause I know you went DBL then DBU
do you think there was anything
like did you like that
process of sort of getting the limited first
and then going on to get the unlimited or
yeah I know it’s a good question
cause a lot of guys just go straight to the DBU
my situation was unique
in the sense that I’d been out of the building industry for a while
so I had to sort of
collate my portfolio and get the experience together
the challenge was
I was running my own business versus being a project manager
working for a carpentry or construction company as a
under a builder yeah
or on wages or what yeah
yeah and because I was running my own business
I wasn’t able to be exposed to this
you know all the experience as a project manager or leading hand
under a licensed builder I
I was doing carpentry yeah
so that was that was tricky
it was hard so the DBL was just like a stepping stone
gave me the confidence to go back to study and then it was like
really should be doing DBU because the work that we’re doing is good
but it limits you
and so hence we went back to study again and it was laborious
but worth it yeah
yeah
and when did you get when was the when you checked off for the DBU
I so this was two or three years ago now
big big relief
and I think it was
you would have been happy when you got that letter in the mail
oh it’s
it’s huge it’s huge
it’s a big relief yeah
I think just like any other formal degree
but this was a real fork in the road for me
it just opened up doors and you know
again it was something that I’d strived for for a long time
so I was very happy well done mate
yeah thank you
done all the work you know
it’s been 20+ years yes
yeah in the game to actually get there
so you know
you should be proud of yourself yeah
thank you thank you
so smaller renovations and you know
the type of work that you guys are doing at the moment
are there any sort of things that stick out that
that carpenters might
sort of overlook when they’re taking on a Reno job
and you know
because we’re always trying to help people avoid sticky situations
and is it you know
is it sort of
over ordering on certain materials to make sure that you’re
that you’re covered or is it really double checking
sort of everything that you promised to the client
before you sign the contract
yep like how
how do you when you’re going to a Reno cause Reno can be hard yeah
it’s tough yeah yeah
you can’t see between walls yeah
it’s a good question
so we’ve sort of try to learn from every single job
and we do a little bit of a review
reflect reset after every job to see what worked well
what could have been improved software has helped
so we’ve
you know LinkedIn with build exacts and
and one to build now we’re moving towards and they’ve been great
just giving us the attention to detail
to check everything before we start yeah
just again having a process
sets you free whereas if you get in there and just give it a go
you’ll you’ll learn the hard way yeah
so yeah I think training the team as well having regular meetings
check ins like we do productivity huddles
you know 10 and two every day yeah
so the leading hands got that support
he’s got someone there that can just double check everything
make sure he’s on track it’s busy
it’s busy there’s a lot going on in your head
so if you don’t have anything written down
or processes or schedules that are formalized
it’s hard it’s not an easy industry so but with Renos yeah
it’s a high attention to detail it’s always checking your work
it’s having a competent leading hand carpenter particularly
who knows what they’re doing
checking everyone else’s work before you move on to another task
is something we’re really focused on at the moment yeah
and what about your
so I think one of the main things that we wanted to ask was
have you ever had a job that goes really pear shaped
and then there was a good result at the end of it
yeah cause we had one recently where
I think a whole brick wall had been built by this brickie
and the the client came down and was like
what’s this looks terrible
and the builder hadn’t seen it yet that was managing the job yeah
and then had to get the other brickie down
and obviously it had to be redone
but obviously it was a very pricey type of
type of thing but then I think he ended up
building a better relationship with this bricky
and then
he sort of went on to do some really high quality work afterwards
and it was almost like the
the kick of the ass of the that he that he needed
it was a good result at the end
but if you had any jobs that sort of went
went pear shaped and that you’ve been able to fix
you got me thinking Maddie
I I’m struggling to think of any
we’ve had one recently where the client was really unsure of
the finished result before we started
like they had plans and they had
but it constantly changed along the way
and that is really tricky cause it
you always I mean
you’re dealing with change normally
but in an extension renovation space
once you sign contracts and you know
you gotta order things you can’t you can’t keep changing your mind
yeah so we’ve had some challenges in that space
I wouldn’t say we put walls in wrong spots or things
but I think because of the checking
always checking and being methodical
you learn from previous mistakes but no
I think with good communication nothing’s impossible okay
yeah okay
yeah
and with your with your network of builders and the people that you
you attend several different sort of business things about learning
and yeah I think I was grabbing a coffee the other morning
I heard you talking on the mic yeah
that in a that in a vegan school
I just come from vegan school this morning yeah
B and I yeah yeah
that’s right yeah
so they’re really good they’re great yeah
actually that’s a really good point
I highly recommend joining networking groups more so
so you can really become better
like a better person you’re learning professionalism
you’re learning how to talk
you’re learning how to communicate with people
and I think if you’ve got an attitude of gratitude
and your openness to ongoing growth and development
it’s only gonna serve you in your interest better yeah
get out of your comfort zone
join a networking group and just put yourself out there yeah
I suppose yeah yeah
and what what do you think makes a um
a good builder versus a a great builder
yep yeah
I think
integrity is probably number one yeah
yeah cause
like I was saying earlier
unless clients
trust you and they know that you’re genuine
you won’t get the deal over the line
you know or
or if you do get over the line
they’ll be constantly suspicious of
you know is he doing the right thing
is he you know
overcharging us etcetera etcetera
I think good builders are willing to just say it as it is
and they’re actually willing to forego work and give the right advice
so a typical example would be
we had a call out to a job in Belgrave
cause we’re in the hills yeah
and the block was like this die
and the guy the guy was like
oh what are we gonna do
do an extension do this
I said listen
I’ll do myself out of a job
and that’s okay
but the most important thing is you get the right advice
I said if you do an extension on this
you’ll probably pour somewhere between 6 to 800 k into the project
yep you’ll build a brand new one for probably close to the same
my recommendation is if you’re seriously
you know looking at options
maybe sell and find a flatter block somewhere
get more bang for your buck
yep and he was like
no one’s ever said anything
like that
where you gonna try and sell me
I said no
no no no
it’s not about me it’s about you
this is why I’m here I’m here to help you
so I think the bad builders are just in it for themselves
you know we saw a lot of that
you know we saw 13,000 builders go under since 2003
uh 13 yeah
you know
sorry so last three years
13,000 builders go under that’s a lot of builders
it’s a lot it’s a lot of builders
Covid’s put a wrecking ball through our industry
you you’ve seen that
I’ve seen that and so the bad builders stand out
yeah and so to answer your question
I think it’s more about helping people
and adding value to people first
and then saying here’s the invoice for the yeah
for the work that you’ve done
yeah and you’ve got to add value
otherwise why pay a Bill
you know like if
if the guys have done a good job
they deserve to get paid you know
and and
and rightly so so add value
add value add value
and then ask yeah
it’s my philosophy yeah
well where do you think the
cause
there’s obviously been a lot of changes in the 20+ years that you’ve
sort of have been in and out of the industry
hmm where do you think it’s going
like a lot of people that are concerned
good question there’s people that are yeah
optimistic where where where do you sit
yeah actually we spoke about it this morning at our networking group
the question was
what are some of the innovations in in your industries
and
they’re building in Houston
Texas for example
like entire not just entire homes with 3D printers
but entire cities yeah
like it’s phenomenal and you look at it and you’re like
is this really happening it is
it’s so Al is taking over in a way
and I’ve been told from some professionals that the trade
sector is probably one of the last
areas where Al will struggle to automate because of the intricacies of
you know our work yeah
those that sort of put bury their head under the sand and you know
just tuck it under the carpet and think it’s all gonna go away
are probably gonna lose their businesses
in my opinion and go under
and the advice is that don’t be scared of it
adopt it learn it
and then implement it
so that you’re now using it in your business to grow
you’ll be ahead of the curve ball if you do that rather than
just watching it sort of take over
so where’s it going I think people have got
now a lot more information than what they had previously yeah
so when I first started my apprenticeship
it was all you know you know
the roofing book was there and you know
your boss was there everyone was there and you learnt
you know father to son build it as you know
first year apprentice
now a lot of people working and learning remotely and digitally
and it’s a different learning experience yeah
some can adapt quite well
so I think if there’s anything that the industry needs more of
it’s more personalization yeah
more customization
more customer service because that will be the standout and
that’s why I think
traditional businesses that go back to the core roots of ethics
do shine and stand out well
you can’t beat that
cause that
that sort of I’ve been in this sort of sales management role for
for a little while now and I
I started with CA back in 2017 2018
so it’s been a little while yeah
and I feel like the one thing that sort of
has stood out over those years
is that
if I’m if I’m kind to people and if I
if I give them the right advice and I’m always telling them the truth
I’m always letting them know look
if I don’t have the right answer
I’m gonna find the right answer for you
that’s it and be a source of truth
people come back to you for anything
you know so that that sort of level of trust is built from
from being honest and from
you know not taking people for a ride
and yeah I think it
it translates across to to tradies as well
is having that personal approach and understanding people
and yeah like you can be a great chippy
but you do have to be good with people as well
yes yes
if you wanna be able to run a successful business
yeah yeah definitely
so what about is is there any myths
any building myths out there that you that you’d like to crack
anything out there
you know that’s just yeah
there’s a couple
I think one of the things would be that
just because you’ve got a title
doesn’t mean you know everything
and I don’t want to speak out of turn too much
but I think you know building surveyors
structural engineers and even builders to a certain degree
you know
if you’re not sure about something or something doesn’t make sense
query it you know
don’t just take it as gospel because we’re all human we make mistakes
yeah you know
a typical example was a project we were on couple months ago
and the structural engineer
I’m sorry the building surveyor said
I’ll gonna have to put another 15 stumps under here before you go up
I said that’s not what the structural say and I was just a bit unsure
so I queried it I went to structural engineer
and structural engineer spoke to the building surveyor anyway
I got them all cross collaborating and finally communicating
and I was right
and he said I made a mistake
so I think the big thing I’d like to crack is
let’s get more professionals on site
so they can physically see what’s going on
rather than just remotely
these are the structures these are the computations
it’s all done and checked
but I’d like to see more personalization
I’d like to see a bit more humility in the industry
and a bit more collaboration and communication yeah
cause once you find a good building surveyor
a good structural engineer or a good builder
you you you bring them onto your A TEAM and you don’t let him go
you look after him
you sort of make him an offer they can’t refuse yeah
and I think that’s good because you you know like and trust each other
they do they gotta be professional and do good work yeah
of course but yeah the big myth is just because you’re
you got the DBU next to your name
doesn’t mean you’re bulletproof and you know everything
not at all no
not at all it’s just a it’s a reflection of the work you’ve done
it’s it’s obviously
a professional registration that you need in order to operate
as a licensed builder or or
or whatever the title is but far from it
II said it’s a black belt once you get to your black belt
that’s when the learning really begins yeah
ha ha ha
that’s why I’m gonna get you start to get your stripes as well
yeah that’s it yeah
your dance first dance second dance yeah
what about I’d love to get a piece of advice from you for
you know anyone who cause a
a lot of our members are sort of our small 1
2 man teams or yeah maybe they’re thinking of going out on their own
what’s sort of one crucial part of advice you could provide
for someone who’s just starting out
that really wants to hit the ground running
yeah you know
how do they how do they navigate the
you know the trickiness of
of starting yep
the big one would be find out your why
cause like you know
it sounds a bit cheesy but it’s true
like it’s 98% why 2% how
so if you know what you want where you’re headed
you know what your goal is
then how you get to that goal is just a matter of time
I think so for the young guys that are starting out the industry
that are either starting their own businesses or joining a team
or they’re just trying to navigate the beginnings
I would say do some self reflection
do some professional development keep reading
keep learning keep open to growth
if you love our industry it’s up to you to help develop yourself yeah
um don’t rely on everybody else
you know you’re carving your own way through the jungle of life
you know you’ve got it
you’ve got your own
journey to to make
so it really is up to you
just to
constantly be growing and developing and keep asking questions
but it’s not easy and but there’s lots of tools available to us
and that’s the thing you’re not alone
there’s plenty of guys out there that
sort of struggled and what do we say
failed forwards yep
I’m one of them you know
I just I just one failure away from success
exactly right I just keep
I just keep getting up and keep going
you know like we’re all human
but having an attitude of humility doe
go a long way yeah
and I think we talked about it a little bit at the start
but I’d love to sort of circle back to
we’ve got a lot of carpenters and
you know builders out there that have families
yep and we’re always interested to know
sort of with a big family like yours
hmm how do you navigate making sure that you spend enough time with
you know with loved ones and get your work done
and sort of still be able to manage everything you do
obviously lean on Nina and yeah
she’s a big help yeah
she is but how do you what
what sort of priorities do you put in place
to make sure that you can be there for them
I’m really glad you asked this question
and it’s probably one of the biggest ones guys ask
and even in the networking group
they say the same thing they say
why do you turn your phone off at 5:00 on a Friday
I said because I love my wife I love my family as a matter of fact
that’s the whole reason I’m doing this
it’s not the other way around
so when I started Joseph the worker which is what JTW stands for yeah
it was not about me it was
it was dedicated to Saint Joseph the worker cause we’re Catholic yeah
and I made a promise to Nina
I said I will never work weekends
because III can be a workaholic
you got that in you
I’ve got it in me seeing dad work his guts out
so yeah I said my commitment to you is that
if you support me and help me which I knew she would and get behind it
then my commitment is family first
and that was built into the culture of JTW
they never work Saturdays ever
there’s no one on my site a Sunday
subbies sometimes try and work on a on a weekend
I’ll probably allow Saturday
but a Sunday absolutely not you know
it’s very smart that we have one day of rest
I think it’s very a providential
we need that to recharge yeah
you know we can’t give 100% if we’re running on empty
the dashboard lights are there for a reason
if you’re on empty go and fill up yeah
so yeah
I made that dedication to the family and they’re No. 1
they’re my life it’s
the whole reason why I started JTW was to provide
not just a good lifestyle and support my family
but to then potentially give them a legacy
and an opportunity to come into the business
yeah and have a succession plan
but if I don’t get my priorities right Matty
it’s all down the dirt down
down the drain yeah
you know I need
in order for me to bring my best
I need to give my best to them yeah
OK I love it
I love it and as a new family man myself
I am I’m still navigating
you know the sort of sleepless nights
and yes I don’t know
just trying to that’s hard
just trying to be the best version of yourself
but you’re right you’ve gotta
you’ve gotta use the weekends as best you can to
to recharge and and then sort of come back stronger
and you know
I think
the one thing that I’ve sort of been learning recently is sort of
service before self almost like yeah
it sounds terrible
but that I have things to do and I’ve got to look after my son
I’ve got to look after my partner and
you know make sure that she’s okay
yeah and yeah
like it’s
I don’t know there’s
there’s nothing like feeling like you’ve done a great job yes
and I think you get that same satisfaction from building as well where
you know it’s gonna be tough
but if you can come out the other side
and you can see what you’ve done
and yep you know
you’ve got happy clients happy happy
staff as well you know
you sort of you I guess you’ve gone through seen the light yes yeah
well
well done to you for having a family cause we need need more families
we’re below repopulation rate so it’s good
can I just mention a couple of quick tips
of course please
please just a few tips
cause I wanna be practical and let you say
how do these guys get the balance right
yeah couple of things that I really learnt was
either have two SIMs on your phone
a work SIM and a personal or have two phones
whatever works for you and put down a process and stick to it
so say for example
your day starts at 6:30 or 6 and it finishes at 5 or 5:30
whatever your schedule is
try and stick to it it’s hard
but I know for me
you know if it runs over 5:00
you know it puts pressure at the other end on the family
and if I’m not following through on my end of the bargain
it’s it it it forms challenges in in relationships so switch off yeah
switch off to switch on is
is a great way of looking at it
the other thing would be
give people your time frames of when you’re available
so if you got it in your little subject on your
sorry your signature on your email
yup put your work hours available
put it on your voicemail
make sure you put those systems in place to support your family
to insulate your family to protect them
so that Dad’s not at the dinner table taking down leads and no
no no
it’s a boundary it is exactly right
yeah have boundaries is spot on
otherwise you will let people just really push you around
everywhere and anywhere and this is the way that
you know you design
your business
in the way that you communicate in the hours that you’re available
well there’s also no reason why you can’t
you know if someone calls you at seven PM
you know unless it’s an emergency
there’s no real need that it couldn’t happen
exactly at 9:00 the next morning
exactly right you know
so there’s nothing that crazy that’s happening where
you know you would be required
there’s a flood
or there’s something going on that you need to attend to
but yeah I think that’s a big one
is setting your boundaries
and make sure that you still have time for yourself
yeah as well
cause you just you go
you go mad yeah
I recently Learned about the
the Alsen the sorry
the Alsenheimer I can’t even say it
Alsenheimer Matrix okay
and it’s named after one of the presidents of the United States
and essentially it’s a it’s a graph that talks about urgent important
hmm hmm non urgent and not important
yeah and it’s brilliant because what you think is urgent is not urgent
unless the house is burning down or there’s a flood
it’s not urgent no
you think it’s urgent because it’s like
I wanna do it but can it be done tomorrow
yes it can yep
you know
do I have to break into the family schedule to answer that call
or read that email probably not yep
so I think you’re right you’re saying balance and priorities
that’s where it’s at yeah
well I love talking to you today mate
thanks for the opportunity
thanks for coming on and speaking
I’d love to like where can
if anyone wants to find you
any clients any other builders carpenters
yeah where would
where can they where can they find you
yeah great
so yeah just jump online
JTW Building Group is easy
you’ll find us on Instagram
you’ll find us on Facebook
Linkedin the website’s quite good
and you’ll see a lot of testimonials and some video value ads as well
to help people and then if you’re interested as a tradie
we’d love to have you come down to the ethical trade tonight
we’d love to see you there
if you can spare the time
it’s hard during the evenings
but once a quarter
we’re just trying to help other trades level up and add value
it’s all complimentary so fantastic
and one last thing
what does it mean to have have been a member for for so long
and sort of what do you think it’s brought to
to you and your business over the over the years
yeah thanks Matey
I definitely support you know
I think as a single one man band
you think you’re just so alone
and you don’t know much about the building industry when you start
so to have that network or family of Carpentry Australia
other businesses it’s great
I’m constantly speaking to other guys
you know how you finding this and it’s such a great support network
and I think unless you’re part of something like that
you can feel very alone so I’ve
I’ve appreciated the support
and I’ve appreciated having the resources available
because your time poor yeah
and if you’ve done the work
which clearly and you guys do great work very methodical
very professional so you can see it and you go
this is great cause I can hang my head on that resource and go to it
for industry updates
you know for swims paperwork which looks outstanding
you know it’s stuff like that
so it’s the support yeah yeah
I love it well
thanks for coming in today
thanks for having me it’s been a really good chat
thanks buddy
good on you always good on you