The Site Shed | #1 Podcast For Tradies & Contractors

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Your business has added staff, vehicles and bigger jobs. Has anyone checked whether the insurance has kept up? Matt Jones sits down with Jake Ward from East West Insurance Brokers to look at the gaps that can appear when a sole trader grows into a team but keeps renewing the same cover.

They cover the changes worth raising with your broker, how to question a recommendation and why claims support matters long before you need it. Jake also explains why cyber risk belongs in the conversation, even if most of your working day is spent on the tools. If your last insurance review was a payment rather than a conversation, this is a good place to start.

🎥 Watch the full episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81fgrT-3pDY

KEY CHAPTERS
00:00 - Introduction
01:10 - Meet Jake Ward
01:43 - When Business Outgrows Insurance
02:36 - Core Covers For Tradies
03:35 - Management Liability And Growth
04:49 - Choosing A Trusted Adviser
07:10 - Who Handles Your Claim?
08:02 - Warning Signs To Review
10:18 - Cover For Different Trades
13:54 - Questions To Test Your Broker
16:18 - Finding Brokers Through Referrals
17:15 - How Often To Review Cover
18:16 - Access To Specialist Insurers
19:10 - Insurance As You Scale
21:37 - Cyber Risks And AI
22:50 - What Cyber Cover Can Include
24:20 - Cyber Cover And Business Interruption
25:15 - Closing Remarks And Resources

About the Guest: Jake Ward
Jake Ward is an insurance broker with East West Insurance Brokers. He helps business owners understand their insurance options, keep cover aligned with changing operations and navigate the claims process.

Website: https://www.ewib.com.au/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/east-west-insurance-brokers-pty-ltd/

CONNECT WITH THE TRADIE WEB GUYS!
Website: https://www.tradiewebguys.com.au/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TradieWebGuysOfficial?sub_confirmation=1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TradieWebGuysOfficial
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tradiewebguys/
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/company/tradie-web-guys
Matt's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamthemattj/

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#podcast #thesiteshed #tradiewebguys #tradebusiness #businessinsurance #insurancebroker #businessgrowth #cyberinsurance

Your Next Step:

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Rent, Lease or Buy? The Real Cost of a Work Ute | ft. Tim Cullen | Ep. 522

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Your ute keeps costing you money between repayments. Matt Jones sits down with Tim Cullen, CEO and co-founder of TradieSpec, to work through the costs of running a commercial vehicle, including servicing, insurance, depreciation and the time spent managing it.

Tim explains how rent-to-own and flexible rental arrangements work, shares his Hilux SR5 cost example, and discusses the effect resale value has on a fleet budget. They also look at Chinese vehicle manufacturers, battery development and why Tim still favours Hilux and Ranger for commercial work. If you're replacing a ute or adding vehicles to your business, this conversation gives you more to compare before you sign.

🎥 Watch the full episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_s9QxcCL_CQ

KEY CHAPTERS
00:00 - Introduction
01:03 - Meet Tim Cullen
02:10 - TradieSpec's First Rental Disaster
03:40 - Renting Versus Buying A Ute
04:31 - Running Costs And Fleet Administration
05:14 - Interest And Total Vehicle Costs
06:49 - Comparing Vehicle Finance Options
07:53 - Who Uses Managed Fleets?
10:11 - The Hilux SR5 Cost Example
11:52 - Rent-To-Own And Ownership Transfer
14:16 - Comparing Costs And Contract Flexibility
16:01 - Chinese Vehicles Enter The Market
19:54 - Toyota Resale Value
21:22 - Battery Technology And Market Change
25:29 - Commercial Vehicles And Support Infrastructure
29:27 - Australia's Commercial Vehicle Market
33:59 - Tim's Ute Buying Recommendations
37:08 - Closing Remarks And Resources

About the Guest: Tim Cullen
Tim Cullen is CEO and co-founder of TradieSpec, which supplies fit-for-purpose commercial vehicles to trade and construction businesses. He started the business with his business partner in 2019 and, at the time of recording, described a fleet of more than 1,400 vehicles across Australia.

Website: https://tradiespec.com.au/

CONNECT WITH THE TRADIE WEB GUYS!
Website: https://www.tradiewebguys.com.au/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TradieWebGuysOfficial?sub_confirmation=1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TradieWebGuysOfficial
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tradiewebguys/
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/company/tradie-web-guys
Matt's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamthemattj/

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#podcast #thesiteshed #tradiewebguys #tradiebusiness #fleetmanagement #workute #vehiclefinance

Your Next Step:

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Fast growth looks great from the outside. On the inside, it can nearly put you out of business. Matt Jones sits down with Daman Grewal from LogisticsSales.com, who helped take a trucking company from $1M to $24M in a couple of years, then watched safety violations, stretched teams and broken promises catch up with it. Daman started as a safety manager at 18, training drivers twice his age, and learned the hard way that growth only holds up when the systems underneath it do.

Daman breaks down the three pillars that held the business together: honouring every commitment, even when a better-paying job comes along; making sure your people are paid fairly; and knowing your numbers. He explains how a strict disciplinary plan, onboarding that sets expectations from day one, and SOPs simple enough to actually get read kept the business on the road. Matt and Daman also dig into why the real game is won after the click, and why the quote you lost last month could still turn into your next job. If your business is growing faster than your systems, this one's for you.

KEY CHAPTERS
00:00 - Introduction
00:45 - Meet Daman Grewal
01:20 - The Accidental Entrepreneur
04:04 - Why He Stopped Working for Others
07:04 - Growing From $1M to $24M
08:03 - Honour Every Commitment
11:04 - Fair Pay and Knowing Your Numbers
12:03 - Building the Team as You Scale
15:03 - Growth Driven by Reputation
16:52 - When the Promises Disappeared
21:02 - Violations That Nearly Ended It
24:04 - Setting a Disciplinary Plan
27:02 - Training That Sets the Standard
31:04 - Faster, Paid Onboarding
33:00 - Continual Education and New Policies
38:03 - Getting SOPs Actually Adopted
42:01 - Keep Your SOPs Simple
45:00 - The Tradie Is the Best Sales Rep
49:02 - The Game Is Won After the Click
54:02 - Why After-Service Matters
57:04 - Lost the Quote? Follow Up Anyway
1:00:04 - Stay Front of Mind, Not Pushy
1:02:30 - Closing Remarks and Resources

About the Guest: Daman Grewal
Daman Grewal is the founder of LogisticsSales.com, a free education platform for people getting into business and sales, based in Vancouver, Canada. He started in transport and logistics as a safety manager at 18, then as COO helped grow a trucking company from $1M to $24M. He brings practical lessons on compliance, training, team culture and sales to any business trying to grow without losing control.

Website: https://logisticssales.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/logisticssales-com/

CONNECT WITH THE TRADIE WEB GUYS!
Website: https://www.tradiewebguys.com.au/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TradieWebGuysOfficial?sub_confirmation=1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TradieWebGuysOfficial
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tradiewebguys/
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/company/tradie-web-guys
Matt's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamthemattj/

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#podcast #thesiteshed #tradiewebguys #businesssystems #scaleup #businessgrowth #safetyculture #salesprocess #tradiebusiness

Your Next Step:

Join Tradie Academy, our free community packed with templates, checklists, and resources shared by podcast guests, coaches, and successful tradies.

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Follow The Site Shed:

• Facebook: The Site Shed
• Instagram: @thesiteshed
• LinkedIn: Matt Jones
• Website: https://www.thesiteshed.com
• YouTube: @TheSiteShed

If you enjoyed this podcast and the series, please take 5 minutes to leave us a review:
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Heaps of leads on Monday, panic by Wednesday. If that sounds like your week, Matt Jones from Tradie Web Guys says you don't have a mood problem, you have an exposure problem. When most of your work comes from one ad platform, one builder or one big client, you're renting your lead flow, and the rent goes up every year. Busy is not the same as safe.

Matt walks through eight quick exposure tests you can score yourself on: paid ad dependency, demand diversification, relationship concentration, pipeline confidence, database follow-up, reputation, website authority and AI visibility. He shares the story of a Sydney plumber who lost two builders and most of his work in a single week, explains why two businesses can pay for the same click and only one wins the job, and makes the case that content is still king. If you want your actual score, take the free Liberator test and get your three priorities.

🎥 Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/eIPkCxpBDz0

KEY CHAPTERS
00:00 - Introduction
00:23 - Busy Is Not the Same as Safe
01:15 - Rented Leads vs Owned Leads
02:50 - The Eight Exposure Tests
03:02 - Paid Ads and Demand Diversification
03:52 - The Plumber Who Lost 60% in a Week
05:09 - Relationships, Pipeline and Your Database
06:09 - Reputation and Website Authority
08:47 - Are You Visible in AI Search?
09:10 - What Your Liberator Score Shows
10:03 - What Happens After the Click
12:59 - How AI Picks Who to Recommend
14:43 - Answer the Questions Customers Ask
16:12 - Don't Tell Me, Show Me
19:30 - Why Content Is Still King
22:28 - Where to Start First
24:37 - Create Your Own Economy
25:26 - Why We Built Liberator
27:10 - Closing Remarks and Resources

About the Host: Matt Jones
Matt Jones is the founder of Tradie Web Guys, a marketing agency built specifically for trade and home service businesses, and the host of The Site Shed podcast. His team runs millions of dollars in paid advertising for trade clients every year, and he works daily with tradies and contractors on building lead flow that doesn't depend on a single source.

Take the free Liberator test: https://liber8r.tradiewebguys.com.au/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamthemattj/

CONNECT WITH THE TRADIE WEB GUYS!
Website: https://www.tradiewebguys.com.au/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TradieWebGuysOfficial?sub_confirmation=1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TradieWebGuysOfficial
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tradiewebguys/
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/company/tradie-web-guys
Matt's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamthemattj/

If you enjoyed this podcast, please take a moment to leave us a review:
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#podcast #thesiteshed #tradiewebguys #leadgeneration #tradiemarketing #aivisibility #contentmarketing #tradiebusiness

Your Next Step:

Join Tradie Academy, our free community packed with templates, checklists, and resources shared by podcast guests, coaches, and successful tradies.

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Follow The Site Shed:

• Facebook: The Site Shed
• Instagram: @thesiteshed
• LinkedIn: Matt Jones
• Website: https://www.thesiteshed.com
• YouTube: @TheSiteShed

If you enjoyed this podcast and the series, please take 5 minutes to leave us a review:
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Most trade business owners talk themselves out of the bigger job before they even price it. The competitor looks too big, the paperwork looks too heavy, and staying at the size that feels safe starts to look like the smart call. Matt Jones sits down with Rafael Diaz from Diaz Group LLC in Chicago, who started out on his dad's landscape crews and has grown the business from residential patios to City of Chicago municipal contracts, a national subcontractor network and now maintenance contracts in Mexico. His view is blunt: the risk was never winning the contract. It's whether your systems and your leadership team can handle what comes after.

Rafael walks through the four checks he runs before bidding on any contract (pricing, understanding the contract, capacity, and leadership readiness), how he breaks a won contract down into crews of vendor partners and keeps quality control across them, why "always hiring" is the only way to have people ready when the bid lands, and the four-step onboarding process every new hire goes through, from field worker to office lead. If you've been circling a tender that feels a size too big, this one will tell you whether it's a real capacity problem or just fear.

🎥 Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/RPY-nZLaY-U

KEY CHAPTERS
00:00 - Introduction
01:09 - Meet Rafael Diaz
02:00 - From Residential to Municipal Contracts
04:06 - Going International Into Mexico
06:16 - Everything Starts With a Vision
08:49 - Community Service as a Growth Strategy
12:03 - Owner Operator to Business Process Mentality
16:05 - Getting Subcontractors to Follow Your Systems
20:05 - Breaking a Contract Down Into Crews
21:22 - Quality Control Across Subcontractor Crews
24:48 - Taking the Model to Mexico
31:27 - The Four-Step Onboarding Process
34:08 - Field Training and Safety Standards
37:17 - Four Checks Before Bidding on a Big Contract
41:43 - Always Hiring: Building a Recruitment Pipeline
43:12 - Is Your Leadership Team Ready?
46:14 - Promoting From Within and Career Paths
52:23 - Closing Remarks and Resources

About the Guest: Rafael Diaz
Rafael (Rafa) Diaz is the co-founder of Diaz Group LLC, a Chicago landscape maintenance, vegetation control and snow removal business he started with his brother Ruben in 2007 after growing up working on his father's crews. The business has moved from residential design-build to commercial work, City of Chicago municipal contracts, regional Midwest contracts and a national footprint delivered through subcontractor "vendor partners", and is now six months into its first contract in Mexico. Around the main business Rafael has built an ecosystem of support companies, including Master the How, a training and systems implementation business, and an equipment rental company that helps his subcontractors deliver to standard.

Website: https://diazgroupllc.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rafael-diaz-840aba13/

CONNECT WITH THE TRADIE WEB GUYS!
Website: https://www.tradiewebguys.com.au/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TradieWebGuysOfficial?sub_confirmation=1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TradieWebGuysOfficial
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tradiewebguys/
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/company/tradie-web-guys
Matt's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamthemattj/

If you enjoyed this podcast, please take a moment to leave us a review:
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#podcast #thesiteshed #tradiewebguys #commercialcontracts #tradiebusiness #businesssystems #leadership #subcontractors #scaleup

Your Next Step:

Join Tradie Academy, our free community packed with templates, checklists, and resources shared by podcast guests, coaches, and successful tradies.

👉 Join free and grab your next growth tool here: https://tradie.wiki/pod

Follow The Site Shed:

• Facebook: The Site Shed
• Instagram: @thesiteshed
• LinkedIn: Matt Jones
• Website: https://www.thesiteshed.com
• YouTube: @TheSiteShed

If you enjoyed this podcast and the series, please take 5 minutes to leave us a review:
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The guest booked for this episode did not show up, so Matt Jones sits down solo to unpack something he sees inside trade businesses every single week: decisions that get stalled for months and quietly cost far more than getting them wrong ever would. He calls it decision debt, every decision you are carrying and not making is not a cost you have dodged, it is a cost you have deferred, and it comes back with interest.

Matt walks through the five decisions he sees trade business owners stall on most (getting off the tools, putting on more crew, sacking the client who wrecks the week, committing to marketing, and confrontation) and the three-stage cost curve behind every one of them: the interest, the compounding, and the balloon payment where the decision eventually gets made for you, on someone else's terms. If you have been sitting on a call for six months telling yourself you need more information, this episode is built for you.

🎥 Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/AYMLRkhMdY4

KEY CHAPTERS
00:00 - Introduction
00:30 - Why This Episode Almost Didn't Happen
01:03 - The Five Decisions Costing You Money
02:37 - What Decision Debt Really Costs You
04:36 - Decision One: Getting Off the Tools
06:33 - Decision Two: Putting On More Crew
08:49 - The Real Cost of a Late Invoice
10:36 - Decision Three: Sacking the Client Who Wrecks the Week
12:01 - When to Trust Your Gut and Say No
13:11 - Decision Four: Committing to Marketing
15:50 - Why One Lead Source Will Burn You
16:55 - Building a Marketing Ecosystem That Can't Fail
17:58 - What's Actually Stopping the Decision
18:51 - Identity: Who You Become at Work
20:03 - Confrontation: Naming the Real Bottleneck
21:14 - The Quality of Your Decisions Is Your Business
21:39 - Closing Remarks and Resources

Your Next Step:

Join Tradie Academy, our free community packed with templates, checklists, and resources shared by podcast guests, coaches, and successful tradies.

👉 Join free and grab your next growth tool here: https://tradie.wiki/pod

Follow The Site Shed:

• Facebook: The Site Shed
• Instagram: @thesiteshed
• LinkedIn: Matt Jones
• Website: https://www.thesiteshed.com
• YouTube: @TheSiteShed

If you enjoyed this podcast and the series, please take 5 minutes to leave us a review:
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Most tradies do not want to be on camera, and most of the ones who try give up when the first few videos get 200 views. That is the wrong scoreboard. Matt Jones sits down with Dalton Fisher from Fisher MultiMedia, a Phoenix video producer who spends 99% of his time getting camera-shy contractors to talk, to unpack why authority content keeps winning through every algorithm change, and why the plumbers, sparkies and builders who show up on video are so hard to compete with.

Dalton and Matt cover the top five questions framework, why your first 30 videos will be bad and why that does not matter, the three second hook that decides whether anyone watches a short, and the gear you actually need (a phone, a lapel mic and a $35 ring light). They also get into which platforms convert, why content is a multiplier for your ads and sales funnel rather than a replacement for them, and why the business that stays human as AI slop floods every feed will be able to charge a premium. If you have been meaning to start filming for two years, this is the nudge.

🎥 Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/gpmZRqNCaW0

KEY CHAPTERS
00:00 - Introduction
01:34 - Meet Dalton Fisher
02:44 - Why Authority Content Always Wins
05:48 - Faceless Corporations vs Local Trust
08:15 - Educating Leads Who Are Not Ready Yet
11:02 - What Happens After the Ad Click
14:34 - Your Boring Jobs Are Interesting
16:50 - Passing the Mum Test
18:32 - You Do Not Need to Go Viral
22:20 - Answer Your Top Five Questions
23:59 - Your First 30 Videos Will Be Bad
27:52 - Real Beats Polished
29:23 - The Only Gear You Need
32:18 - Structuring Videos and Hooks
38:46 - Which Platforms Actually Convert
45:38 - Content Is a Multiplier, Not the Engine
49:51 - Why the Future Belongs to the Trades
52:22 - AI Slop and the Human Company
57:54 - Closing Remarks and Resources

About the Guest: Dalton Fisher
Dalton Fisher is the founder of Fisher MultiMedia, a Phoenix, Arizona video production company that makes content for home service companies and contractors. He shoots most of the videos himself, which means the bulk of his job is directing plumbers, landscapers and other service techs who would rather be anywhere else than in front of a camera. His approach is built around educational content that makes a trade business look real, local and worth trusting rather than chasing views for their own sake.

Website: https://fishermultimedia.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dalton-fisher-90334224b/

CONNECT WITH THE TRADIE WEB GUYS!
Website: https://www.tradiewebguys.com.au/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TradieWebGuysOfficial?sub_confirmation=1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TradieWebGuysOfficial
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tradiewebguys/
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/company/tradie-web-guys
Matt's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamthemattj/

If you enjoyed this podcast, please take a moment to leave us a review:
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#podcast #thesiteshed #tradiewebguys #videomarketing #contentcreation #tradiebusiness #socialmediamarketing #authoritycontent #tradiemarketing

Your Next Step:

Join Tradie Academy, our free community packed with templates, checklists, and resources shared by podcast guests, coaches, and successful tradies.

👉 Join free and grab your next growth tool here: https://tradie.wiki/pod

Follow The Site Shed:

• Facebook: The Site Shed
• Instagram: @thesiteshed
• LinkedIn: Matt Jones
• Website: https://www.thesiteshed.com
• YouTube: @TheSiteShed

If you enjoyed this podcast and the series, please take 5 minutes to leave us a review:
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Can You Deliver What You Sold? | ft. Nathan Owen | Ep. 516

🫱🏻‍🫲🏼 Book a Free Strategy Call with Tradie Web Guys: https://tradie.wiki/tssyt

Winning a building job creates a promise. The quote and contract matter, but so do the conversations, timeframes and expectations set before the client signs. Matt Jones sits down with Nathan Owen from Ground Floor Building Coach to unpack the costly gap between what a builder sells and what the team can actually deliver.

Nathan shares practical ways to document pre-contract changes, separate them from post-contract variations, plan realistic labour and lead times, and keep clients and subcontractors informed when things shift. You’ll also hear why software cannot fix a broken process, how small schedule milestones expose problems earlier, and why the client’s experience is the real test of the promise you made.

🎥 Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/Tvoy8AH2wOg

KEY CHAPTERS
00:00 - Introduction
02:06 - Meet Nathan Owen
02:51 - The Sales-Delivery Disconnect
04:16 - How Expectations Become Scope
06:26 - Build a Variation Procedure
11:00 - Pre-Contract Changes vs Variations
13:09 - Document Every Agreement
15:15 - Capture Every Client Conversation
17:12 - Carry Changes Into Delivery
18:43 - Build Systems Before Automation
21:30 - Stop Repeating Mistakes
22:14 - The Risk of Time Creep
24:24 - Plan Labour and Lead Times
26:43 - Communicate Delays Immediately
31:54 - Build Time Buffers In
33:15 - Manage Work Through Micro Goals
36:10 - Keep Subcontractors Informed
38:29 - Closing Remarks and Resources

About the Guest: Nathan Owen
Nathan Owen is the founder of Ground Floor Building Coach and has around 30 years of construction experience, including nearly 10 years running his own residential building business. He now coaches Australian builders to strengthen the systems, communication and commercial thinking behind the building work.

Website: https://www.groundfloorbuildingcoach.com/
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/nathan-owen-590453337

CONNECT WITH THE TRADIE WEB GUYS!
Website: https://www.tradiewebguys.com.au/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TradieWebGuysOfficial?sub_confirmation=1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TradieWebGuysOfficial
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tradiewebguys/
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/company/tradie-web-guys
Matt's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamthemattj/

If you enjoyed this podcast, please take a moment to leave us a review:
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#podcast #thesiteshed #tradiewebguys #builders #constructionmanagement #businesssystems #clientexperience #projectmanagement

Your Next Step:

Join Tradie Academy, our free community packed with templates, checklists, and resources shared by podcast guests, coaches, and successful tradies.

👉 Join free and grab your next growth tool here: https://tradie.wiki/pod

Follow The Site Shed:

• Facebook: The Site Shed
• Instagram: @thesiteshed
• LinkedIn: Matt Jones
• Website: https://www.thesiteshed.com
• YouTube: @TheSiteShed

If you enjoyed this podcast and the series, please take 5 minutes to leave us a review:
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When margins tighten, cutting staff can feel like the fastest way to steady the business. But if your best people are sitting behind broken handovers, unclear scopes and clunky processes, reducing headcount does not fix the cause. It makes the same bottlenecks harder to carry. Matt Jones sits down with Nils Vesk from Ideas With Legs to unpack a more resourceful way to lower costs and protect profit without damaging your team or reputation.

Nils explains how to run a friction hunt, diagnose behavioural, logistical and environmental causes, and turn the knowledge in your head into processes the whole team can improve. You will also hear his SCRAMBLE framework for generating practical alternatives, why substitution should come before elimination, and how to turn every mistake into a checklist, script, photo guide or training asset. If the business feels busy but the margin says otherwise, this conversation will help you find what is actually getting in the way.

🎥 Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/rzyCL6nOQo8

KEY CHAPTERS
00:00 - Introduction
01:56 - Meet Nils Vesk
03:23 - Finding Hidden Business Bottlenecks
04:37 - Cutting Costs Without Cutting People
07:03 - Create Your Own Economy
11:05 - Focus on Higher-Margin Work
14:52 - Substitute Before You Eliminate
15:43 - Run a Team Friction Hunt
26:01 - Becoming a Resourceful Tradie
31:18 - Leverage What You Already Have
36:18 - Solve Causes, Not Symptoms
37:41 - Three Types of Root Cause
41:48 - Shift Your Business Perspective
43:32 - The SCRAMBLE Thinking Framework
46:16 - Get Knowledge Out of Your Head
48:12 - Document and Improve Processes
57:12 - Turn Mistakes Into Assets
01:02:07 - Closing Remarks and Resources

About the Guest: Nils Vesk

Nils Vesk is an innovation expert, author and the founder of Ideas With Legs. He helps organisations identify bottlenecks, improve processes and turn practical ideas into stronger commercial results. His work spans global brands and trade businesses, giving him a clear view of how resourcefulness can improve output while reducing unnecessary cost.

Website: https://www.ideaswithlegs.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nilsvesk/

CONNECT WITH THE TRADIE WEB GUYS!

Website: https://www.tradiewebguys.com.au/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TradieWebGuysOfficial?sub_confirmation=1

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TradieWebGuysOfficial

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tradiewebguys/

LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/company/tradie-web-guys

Matt's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamthemattj/

#podcast #thesiteshed #tradiewebguys #tradiebusiness #businesssystems #profitmargins #processimprovement #innovation #operational efficiency

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Google changed how target-based bidding behaves, and an account that looks completely normal could quietly produce fewer leads at a higher cost. Matt Jones sits down with Ethan Carter, Ads Specialist and Account Manager at Tradie Web Guys, to explain the August 17 change, why campaigns marked “Limited by budget” carry the most exposure, and how a gap between your target cost per lead and your actual result can now work against you.

They break down a real $1,000-a-day plumbing account, the three checks to run inside Google Ads, and five possible responses, from resetting targets to changing bidding strategies or increasing budget. You will also learn why a cheap lead is meaningless without your close rate and job value, what to ask your agency, and why the worst response is leaving the account to drift.

🎥 Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/g43-VItf72Q

KEY CHAPTERS
00:00 - Introduction
02:06 - Google Changed the Rules
03:10 - Meet Ethan Carter
03:49 - A Real Trade Business Example
06:00 - The New Target CPA Behaviour
07:53 - Which Campaigns Are Affected
11:02 - The Limited by Budget Risk
15:32 - A $1,000-a-Day Case Study
17:10 - Monitor Before You React
21:44 - Three Checks for Exposure
27:21 - Option One: Reset the Target
28:52 - Work Backwards From Job Value
31:54 - Alternative Bidding Strategies
35:27 - When More Budget Makes Sense
36:27 - The Cost of Doing Nothing
40:13 - What to Check This Week
42:21 - What to Ask Your Agency
43:31 - Know Your True Acquisition Cost
46:25 - Closing Remarks and Resources

About the Guest: Ethan Carter
Ethan Carter is an Ads Specialist and Account Manager at Tradie Web Guys, where he manages paid advertising campaigns for trade and contractor businesses. He works directly with campaign data, bidding strategies and lead costs to help clients generate profitable opportunities rather than simply buying more traffic.

Want help understanding what this change means for your campaigns?
🫱🏻‍🫲🏼 Book a call with Tradie Web Guys: https://tradie.wiki/yt

#podcast #thesiteshed #tradiewebguys #googleads #leadgeneration #tradiebusiness #paidsearch #digitalmarketing

Your Next Step:

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• Instagram: @thesiteshed
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• Website: https://www.thesiteshed.com
• YouTube: @TheSiteShed

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Every tradie and contractor is being sold an AI robot to answer their phones right now, and most of them are about to waste their money. Matt Jones goes solo on this one to explain why the missed call was never the real problem. Leads do not die on the phone, they die in your inbox, and bolting AI onto a fractured system just helps you lose jobs faster.

Matt covers where AI genuinely wins for trade businesses, speed to lead, after hours call capture and inward facing reminders that push humans to follow up, and where it consistently backfires, deep qualification, quoting and papering over a sales process that was never properly defined. He then maps the full lead management flow the agency runs with clients, capture, respond, pursue, qualify and nurture, including the Sydney solar business that went from 2% to 77% conversion once humans went back on the phones. If someone has told you AI is the answer, listen before you sign up to anything.

🎥 Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/EFsiq892xlE

KEY CHAPTERS
00:00 - Introduction
01:40 - The AI Robot Pitch Every Tradie Hears
02:32 - Leads Die in Your Inbox
03:29 - Where AI Wins: Speed to Lead
04:53 - After Hours Call Capture
05:33 - Follow Ups and the Eighth Touch
06:41 - Where AI Backfires: Deep Qualification
08:25 - Quoting Chaos and Price Shock
09:27 - Why a Broken Process Stays Broken
11:03 - Solar Case Study: 2% to 77%
13:07 - Mapping Your Critical Client Flow
15:29 - Capture: Every Lead Into a CRM
16:55 - Respond: The Five Minute Rule
18:26 - Pursue: Twice a Day for Five Days
22:00 - Qualify: The Discovery Call
24:28 - Nurture: Useful, Relevant, Frequent
27:03 - Get Your Impact Roadmap
28:37 - Closing Remarks and Resources

About the Host: Matt Jones

Matt Jones is the founder of Tradie Web Guys and the host of The Site Shed. He works with tradies and contractors every day on the sales and marketing systems that turn leads into booked jobs. This episode is a straight read of what the agency sees working and failing across client accounts right now.

Website: https://www.tradiewebguys.com.au/
Impact Roadmap session: https://www.tradiewebguys.com.au/
Matt's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamthemattj/

CONNECT WITH THE TRADIE WEB GUYS!
Website: https://www.tradiewebguys.com.au/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TradieWebGuysOfficial?sub_confirmation=1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TradieWebGuysOfficial
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tradiewebguys/
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/company/tradie-web-guys
Matt's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamthemattj/

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#podcast #thesiteshed #tradiewebguys #aiforbusiness #speedtolead #leadmanagement #salesprocess #tradiebusiness

Your Next Step:

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You're the CEO of Your Health (Most Men Find Out Too Late) | ft. Dr. Stephen Sanders | Ep. 512

🫱🏻‍🫲🏼 Book a Free Strategy Call with Tradie Web Guys: https://tradie.wiki/tssyt

You can run a business on four hours sleep, servo food and caffeine for a while. Then your body sends the invoice. Matt Jones sits down with Dr. B. Stephen Sanders, founder of Whole Men's Health, a physician who hit the wall himself in his late 30s with brain fog, fatigue and low libido at the exact point his career and family life were going well. His conclusion after ten years in primary care and years running men's health clinics is blunt. Most blokes normalise exhaustion until their performance, their relationships or their health force the issue.

Stephen breaks down the foundations that drive about 80 per cent of the result, which are sleep, nutrition and training, then covers what baseline blood work should actually include and how to read testosterone labs alongside symptoms instead of chasing a script. Matt and Stephen get into magnesium, vitamin D, zinc, omega 3s and creatine, why there is no one size fits all nutrition plan, the 3pm crash, peptides, and why trying to fix ten things at once collapses after 30 days. If you have been using your age as the excuse, this conversation takes it off you.

🎥 Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/6seUic6paUw

KEY CHAPTERS
00:00 - Introduction
01:49 - Meet Dr. Stephen Sanders
02:41 - The Wall He Hit in His Late 30s
04:08 - Why the 40s Hit Different
07:13 - Ageing Is Not an Excuse
11:28 - Training at 40 Versus 20
12:53 - The Foundations Are 80 Percent
16:20 - Relationships and Mindset
18:14 - Sleep, Training and Nutrition
19:33 - There Is No One Size Fits All
22:58 - Supplements Worth Taking
27:07 - Get Baseline Blood Work
30:11 - Testosterone, TRT and Symptoms
31:43 - The 3pm Crash
35:02 - You Are the CEO of Your Health
36:21 - Habits Beat 30 Day Sprints
43:16 - Health Scares and Second Chances
46:14 - Phones, Kids and Presence
49:21 - Closing Remarks and Resources

About the Guest: Stephen Sanders
Dr. B. Stephen Sanders is a board certified family medicine physician and the founder of Whole Men's Health, with clinics in Florida and Alabama plus nationwide telehealth. He spent his first ten years in traditional primary care before hitting his own wall in his late 30s, then rebuilt himself from the inside out. He now works with entrepreneurs, business owners and high performing men on energy, hormones, recovery and long term vitality. Husband and father of four.

Website: https://www.wholemenshealth.com
Work with Dr. Sanders: https://www.wholemenshealth.com/provider/b-stephen-sanders-md-mph
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephensandersmd

CONNECT WITH THE TRADIE WEB GUYS!
Website: https://www.tradiewebguys.com.au/
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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tradiewebguys/
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/company/tradie-web-guys
Matt's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamthemattj/

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#podcast #thesiteshed #tradiewebguys #menshealth #burnout #tradiebusiness #testosterone #longevity

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Most plumbing businesses are losing jobs before the technician even picks up a wrench — because they're selling when they should be diagnosing. Matt Jones sits down with Chris Fresh from The Plumbing Sales Coach to break down why the traditional hard sell is costing trade businesses revenue, reputation, and repeat customers. Chris spent seven years inside a plumbing operation — first as a customer who hated the experience, then as the person who rebuilt it from the inside. Now he coaches hundreds of plumbing companies across the US, Canada, Australia, and the UK on a service-first approach that's turned $238 average tickets into $1,400-plus.

This episode unpacks Chris's four-step diagnosing framework (symptom, cause, connections, and what else works just like it) and the three-option system that's pushing some of his clients past 96% close rates without a single pressure tactic. You'll hear why every call should trace from the fixture to the main, how to present repair-replace-upgrade options that let the customer decide, and why call-out fees become irrelevant when your conversion rate is high enough. If you've ever wondered how to increase your average ticket without feeling like a used car salesman, this one's worth your time.

🎬 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/-Yky8V4j4iw

KEY CHAPTERS
00:00 - Introduction
01:54 - Meet Chris Fresh
02:37 - Looking for Problems Is Your Obligation
07:31 - Maximising Customer Lifetime Value
09:23 - Unreasonable Hospitality in Plumbing
12:22 - The Four-Step Diagnosing Framework
14:25 - Natural Progression vs Checklists
16:40 - Photo-Based Diagnosing Process
19:16 - Increasing Average Ticket Size
21:26 - Spend More to Win the Customer
23:49 - The Seventy Thousand Dollar Lifetime Value
25:24 - When Customer Retention Falls Away
29:04 - Lessons from Car Dealerships
34:18 - The Call-Out Fee Debate
35:34 - Fixing Conversions With the Three-Option System
41:31 - Memberships That Actually Work
45:04 - Closing Remarks and Resources

About the Guest: Chris Fresh
Chris Fresh is the founder and CEO of The Plumbing Sales Coach, based in Indianapolis, Indiana. A former carpenter turned home service operator, he spent seven years running and rebuilding a plumbing business before launching a coaching programme that now works with hundreds of plumbing companies across the US, Canada, Australia, and the UK. His approach centres on diagnosing over selling and giving customers the information they need to make their own decisions.

Website: https://www.theplumbingsalescoach.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-fresh-2a375076/

CONNECT WITH THE TRADIE WEB GUYS!
Website: https://www.tradiewebguys.com.au/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TradieWebGuysOfficial?sub_confirmation=1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TradieWebGuysOfficial
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tradiewebguys/
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/company/tradie-web-guys
Matt's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamthemattj/

If you enjoyed this podcast, please take a moment to leave us a review:
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#podcast #thesiteshed #tradiewebguys #plumbingsales #salesprocess #customerexperience #tradesbusiness #serviceoversales #closingdeals

Your Next Step:

Join Tradie Academy, our free community packed with templates, checklists, and resources shared by podcast guests, coaches, and successful tradies.

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Most trade business owners are running flat out, grinding through 12-hour days, and wondering why nothing ever seems to get easier. Matt Jones sits down with Matthew Jones from Cube Performance to unpack why no business will ever outperform the person running it.

Drawing on 35 years in the business space — including running his own plumbing business and coaching thousands of trade business owners — Matthew lays out the real reason so many owners hit a ceiling: they've accidentally become the engine of their business instead of its architect.

This episode breaks down the Personal Operating System — a structured approach to protecting the three things that matter most: energy, focus, and priorities. You'll hear practical takeaways like auditing your sleep for seven and a half hours a night, scheduling 30 minutes of movement daily, blocking deep work into your calendar three times a week, and identifying the one question your team keeps asking you (because that's where your biggest dependency sits). If you've ever told yourself you're "too busy" to work on the business, this conversation will challenge that — and give you a framework to change it.

KEY CHAPTERS
00:00 - Introduction
03:15 - Meet Matt Jones: Cube Performance
05:35 - Why Owners Neglect Themselves
06:40 - Running A Business Is Brutal
08:57 - The Personal Operating System
09:54 - Why You Need To Step Away
11:23 - More Hours Is Not The Answer
19:10 - Energy, Focus And Priorities
22:58 - Sleep As The Foundation
29:28 - Food, Supplements And Balance
34:44 - Movement As Non-Negotiable
36:09 - Clear Start And Finish Times
39:16 - Focus As Competitive Advantage
41:38 - The Pomodoro Deep Work Hack
48:08 - Finding Your Vital Few Priorities
60:42 - Three Audits To Start Tomorrow
65:33 - Cube Performance's Annual Conference
67:06 - Closing Remarks and Resources

About the Guest: Matthew Jones
Matthew Jones is the founder of Cube Performance and the Institute of Trade Professionals, based in Australia. A former plumber turned business coach, he's spent over 20 years helping trade business owners shift from being enslaved by their business to building operations that run without them. His background includes working with Olympic athletes in sprint kayaking, and he brings that same performance-driven discipline to business coaching.

Website: http://www.cubeperformance.com.au/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewjonesthecube

Catch Matt's previous appearances on The Site Shed: From A to B, Mastering Business Mindset, Pricing for Profit, Brand Planning, Managing Guilt and Planning a Profitable Business Exit.

CONNECT WITH THE TRADIE WEB GUYS!
Website: https://www.tradiewebguys.com.au/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TradieWebGuysOfficial?sub_confirmation=1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TradieWebGuysOfficial
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tradiewebguys/
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/company/tradie-web-guys
Matt's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamthemattj/

If you enjoyed this podcast, please take a moment to leave us a review:
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#podcast #thesiteshed #tradiewebguys #businesscoaching #personaloperatingsystem #tradiebusiness #highperformance #mindset #energymanagement

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80% of businesses that go up for sale never actually sell. Shayne Connolly is one of the ones who did, and even he wasn't ready for what came after. He thought he'd be popping champagne. Instead, on the day the money hit the bank, he says he's never felt so deflated in his life.

In this episode, Matt Jones sits down with Shayne Connolly, a returning guest who spent the last few years turning his trade business into something he could actually sell, then went through the process of doing exactly that. Shane walks through the mindset shift from "business owner" to "asset owner," why the emotional side of exiting gets ignored in favour of the mechanics, what he wishes he'd asked himself before signing anything, and why he's now building a platform to help other owners see the asset sitting in front of them before it's too late to plan for it.

🎥 Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/WGlussL7LIg

KEY CHAPTERS

00:00 - Introduction

01:56 - Meet Shayne Connolly

03:38 - Two Life-Changing Events at Once

04:38 - The Emotional Side of Selling a Business

06:43 - Knowing Your Exit Number

07:55 - From Business Owner to Asset Owner

09:48 - The Golden Handcuffs Problem

12:00 - Why He'd Rather Build Than Run

23:12 - The Conversation With His Wife

25:16 - Selling to Someone He Already Trusted

34:52 - Did He Even Need to Sell?

37:47 - Why Brokers Were a Waste of Time

45:11 - The First Chapter Is: Do You Really Want This?

46:26 - Closing Remarks and Resources

About the Guest: Shayne Connolly built his trade business into a genuine asset, one that could run without him, then sold it to a trusted team member rather than going through a broker. He's the author of Exit Plan and is now building OwnerHQ, a platform designed to help business owners understand the real value of what they've built and plan their exit long before they need one.

Website: https://exitplan.au

Software (in beta): https://ownerhq.biz

CONNECT WITH THE TRADIE WEB GUYS!
Website: https://www.tradiewebguys.com.au/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TradieWebGuysOfficial?sub_confirmation=1 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TradieWebGuysOfficial

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tradiewebguys/

LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/company/tradie-web-guys

Matt's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamthemattj/

If you enjoyed this podcast, please take a moment to leave us a review: ⭐ https://lovethepodcast.com/TheSiteShed

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#podcast #thesiteshed #tradiewebguys #sellingbusiness #exitstrategy #businessvaluation #tradiebusiness #mindset

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Being good at your trade is the price of entry now, not the point of difference. Every customer already assumes you can do the job, so it's the stuff underneath that decides whether they hire you, refer you, or quietly go looking elsewhere. Matt Jones sits down with Justin Herald, entrepreneur, speaker and the man behind Service Rebellion, to unpack the eight things every customer is silently weighing up every time they deal with a trade business, most of which have nothing to do with how good the work actually is.

Justin built his first business on a $50 loan and $1.25 in the bank, grew it into a licensed brand sold in more than 180 companies worldwide, and has spent the years since studying why customers stay loyal to some businesses and quietly vanish from others. In this one you'll get the eight invisible evaluations customers make (importance, emotion, expectation, effort, certainty, understanding, personalisation and consistency), the phone call that cost four different trade businesses a job before they even picked up, and the emotional bank account concept that decides whether your business survives its next stuff-up. If a technically brilliant job still isn't winning you repeat customers, this is the missing piece.

🎥 Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/nfpOojSuPf4

KEY CHAPTERS

00:00 - Introduction

02:02 - Meet Justin Herald

02:23 - The Eight Invisible Things

04:21 - Expectation, Effort And Certainty

07:52 - Personalisation And The Phone Test

10:05 - Consistency Across Your Team

11:58 - From $1.25 To A Global Brand

16:18 - Why Service Rebellion Exists

19:13 - Say Something, Even Nothing

23:37 - The Reason Behind The Form

29:16 - Hiring For Personality

31:34 - Paying For Referrals

34:02 - The Market You're Not Tapping

37:21 - Letterbox Drops And QR Codes

45:22 - Websites Are For Storytelling

48:46 - The Emotional Bank Account

54:18 - Service Rebellion, The Book

55:52 - Closing Remarks and Resources

About the Guest: Justin Herald Justin Herald is an entrepreneur, speaker and the author of nine books, including his latest, Service Rebellion. He built his first business, the Attitude clothing brand, from a $50 loan into a licensed brand sold in every country through more than 180 companies, before selling it and moving into speaking and writing full time. He now speaks at more than 100 conferences a year and works with businesses, plenty of them trades, on the customer experience standards that keep clients loyal and referring.

Website: http://www.ServiceRebellion.com

Referral system mentioned in the episode: http://www.ReferUsNetwork.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinherald/

CONNECT WITH THE TRADIE WEB GUYS! Website: https://www.tradiewebguys.com.au/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TradieWebGuysOfficial?sub_confirmation=1 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TradieWebGuysOfficial Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tradiewebguys/ LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/company/tradie-web-guys Matt's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamthemattj/

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#podcast #thesiteshed #tradiewebguys #customerexperience #referralmarketing #customerservice #wordofmouth

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Free payment processing scorecard & consult: https://flobizsolutions.com/

Most tradies can tell you their hourly rate and their material margins off the top of their head. Ask what it actually costs them to take a card payment, and you get a shrug. That shrug is where the money leaks. Matt Jones sits down with Jimmy Moore from FLO Business Solutions to pull apart the machinery behind every transaction: where your fees really go, why the "3.4%" on your statement is often the least of your worries, and how proprietary software quietly inflates what you pay year after year.

Jimmy has worked with more than 20,000 businesses and helps oversee over a billion dollars in annual processing volume, so he knows exactly where trade business owners bleed cash. You'll learn how to work out your true effective rate in under two minutes, the three compliant ways to pass fees on to customers without copping a fine, and why chargebacks and "friendly fraud" might be costing you 2 to 4% of revenue a year. If you take card payments, and you do, this one pays for itself.

🎥 Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/m3SqkAHOzuk

KEY CHAPTERS 00:00 - Introduction

02:04 - Meet Jimmy Moore

02:29 - The Payment Topic Nobody Covers

05:26 - Still Keying Cards By Hand

08:10 - Pay Links Speed Up Cash Flow

09:08 - Surcharge, Discount or Dual Price

11:54 - The Compliance Crackdown

14:21 - Three Hands In The Cookie Jar

16:05 - The Million Dollar Fee Bill

16:56 - Know Your Effective Rate

23:53 - Staying PCI Compliant

26:55 - Card Not Present Risk

33:47 - Breaking Free From Software Lock-In

37:13 - Start With Your Statements

40:54 - The Rewards Card Maths

43:46 - Chargebacks And Friendly Fraud

49:42 - Jimmy's Free Scorecard

51:24 - Closing Remarks and Resources

About the Guest: Jimmy Moore Jimmy Moore is the driving force behind FLO Business Solutions in Columbia, South Carolina, where he helps field-service businesses get paid compliantly, at a fair cost, without the fee creep. Across his career he's worked with more than 20,000 businesses and helps oversee over a billion dollars in annual processing volume. He knows the payments world from the inside, which is exactly why he's good at spotting where trade business owners overpay.

Website: https://flobizsolutions.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/moorejimmy/

CONNECT WITH THE TRADIE WEB GUYS! Website: https://www.tradiewebguys.com.au/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TradieWebGuysOfficial?sub_confirmation=1 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TradieWebGuysOfficial Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tradiewebguys/ LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/company/tradie-web-guys Matt's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamthemattj/

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#podcast #thesiteshed #tradiewebguys #paymentprocessing #cashflow #merchantfees #chargebacks #tradiebusiness

Your Next Step:

Join Tradie Academy, our free community packed with templates, checklists, and resources shared by podcast guests, coaches, and successful tradies.

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• Instagram: @thesiteshed
• LinkedIn: Matt Jones
• Website: https://www.thesiteshed.com
• YouTube: @TheSiteShed

If you enjoyed this podcast and the series, please take 5 minutes to leave us a review:
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There is no shortage of people online telling you to let AI answer your phones. Matt Jones reckons it is quietly costing tradies jobs, and he has tested it enough to know. Matt sits down with Shelby Anderson from ServiceForge to unpack why a panicked customer with a flooded basement does not want to talk to a bot, and why the human touch still wins when it comes to closed jobs. They dig into where AI genuinely helps, where it falls over, and why so many trade businesses are leaving money on the table every time a call slips to voicemail.

You will walk away knowing how to qualify leads without burning your own hours, why the KPI most owners chase is the wrong one, and how to get your call handling ready for seasonal surges before they hit. Shelby breaks down what ServiceForge actually does with 24/7 live answering, booking and lead qualification, and Matt runs the old model versus new model maths on why a full-time in-house receptionist rarely stacks up. If you have ever lost a job to a missed call, this one is for you.

🎥 Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/av3NCaE8SvQ

KEY CHAPTERS

00:00 - Introduction

02:02 - Meet Shelby Anderson

02:37 - The AI vs Human Debate

04:04 - Where AI Falls Short

05:04 - The New Sales Model

07:01 - How ServiceForge Qualifies Leads 1

0:48 - Why Discovery Wins Jobs

12:12 - The KPI Tradies Get Wrong

13:59 - In-House vs Outsourced Costs

15:27 - The True Cost of a Missed Call

16:18 - Preparing for Seasonal Surges

18:56 - Local Agents and Conversions

20:49 - Where AI Is Headed

23:17 - Using AI Without Losing Your Voice

28:51 - Managing Sales Pipelines

33:08 - Training Agents and AI Coaching

35:30 - Final Advice for Tradies

37:44 - Closing Remarks and Resources

About the Guest: Shelby Anderson Shelby Anderson is the Operations Leader at ServiceForge, an all-in-one service provider that helps trade and home service businesses get found, get booked and get paid. Based in Texas, her team handles 24/7 live answering, booking and payment solutions so no call goes unanswered and no opportunity is missed. She is passionate about building reliable customer experiences that turn inbound demand into booked jobs.

Website: https://www.serviceforge.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/serviceforge/

CONNECT WITH THE TRADIE WEB GUYS! Website: https://www.tradiewebguys.com.au/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TradieWebGuysOfficial?sub_confirmation=1 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TradieWebGuysOfficial Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tradiewebguys/ LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/company/tradie-web-guys Matt's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamthemattj/

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#podcast #thesiteshed #tradiewebguys #answeringservice #missedcalls #leadqualification #tradiebusiness #customerexperience

Your Next Step:

Join Tradie Academy, our free community packed with templates, checklists, and resources shared by podcast guests, coaches, and successful tradies.

👉 Join free and grab your next growth tool here: https://tradie.wiki/pod

Follow The Site Shed:

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• LinkedIn: Matt Jones
• Website: https://www.thesiteshed.com
• YouTube: @TheSiteShed

If you enjoyed this podcast and the series, please take 5 minutes to leave us a review:
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60% of business transitions fail — and it's rarely the tax strategy that kills them. The real culprit is the stuff nobody wants to talk about: unclear expectations, poor communication, and the relationships between the people involved. Matt Jones sits down with Andrea Carpenter from The Transition Strategists to unpack why so many family business successions fall apart, and what trade business owners can do to make sure theirs doesn't.

Whether you're thinking about stepping back in 2 years or 20, Andrea breaks down the three generations of transition thinking, the Transition Compass tool, and why starting the conversation 7 to 10 years out isn't too early — it's just smart. If you've ever thought about selling, handing down, or stepping away from your business, this one's for you.

🎥 Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/LCu3zgBwLho

KEY CHAPTERS
00:00 - Introduction
00:55 - The Site Shed Hits 500 Episodes
02:00 - Meet Andrea Carpenter
02:20 - What Is a Business Transition?
03:20 - Internal vs External Transition Options
04:10 - Why Trade Businesses Are Now Sellable Assets
07:00 - The Real Reason Transitions Fail
10:30 - Transition 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 Explained
14:00 - Fairness vs Equality in Family Business
19:00 - Designing the Transition With Your Successor
22:00 - The Transition Compass Tool
26:00 - How to Start the Conversation Early
30:00 - Working Yourself Out of Your Own Role
33:00 - How Long a Transition Really Takes
37:00 - Why 75% of Owners Regret Selling
41:00 - Closing Remarks and Resources

About the Guest: Andrea Carpenter
Andrea Carpenter is the founder of The Transition Strategists and specialises in business succession and transition planning. She works with family-owned and privately held businesses — including trade and home service operators — to help owners design exits that actually work. Her focus is the human side of transition: the relationships, conversations, and structures that determine whether a handover succeeds or falls apart.

Website: https://transitionstrategists.com/
Free resource: https://beforebuysell.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreakcarpenter/

CONNECT WITH THE TRADIE WEB GUYS!
Website: https://www.tradiewebguys.com.au/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TradieWebGuysOfficial?sub_confirmation=1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TradieWebGuysOfficial
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tradiewebguys/
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/company/tradie-web-guys
Matt's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamthemattj/

If you enjoyed this podcast, please take a moment to leave us a review:
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#podcast #thesiteshed #tradiewebguys #businesstransition #familybusiness #exitstrategy #successionplanning #tradiebusiness

Your Next Step:

Join Tradie Academy, our free community packed with templates, checklists, and resources shared by podcast guests, coaches, and successful tradies.

👉 Join free and grab your next growth tool here: https://tradie.wiki/pod

Follow The Site Shed:

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• Website: https://www.thesiteshed.com
• YouTube: @TheSiteShed

If you enjoyed this podcast and the series, please take 5 minutes to leave us a review:
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Your customers are already using ChatGPT to research contractors before they ever call you, and if you're not showing up in those results, you're handing jobs to your competitors.

In this episode, Matt Jones sits down with Paul Redman from Contractor Commerce to break down exactly how AI is reshaping the quoting and lead generation process for tradies worldwide. Discover the tools and strategies top contractors are using right now to get found, build trust online, and close more work without ever picking up the phone.

KEY CHAPTERS
00:00 - Introduction
01:54 - Meet Paul Redman
02:23 - The Shift in Consumer Behavior
03:04 - Overcoming the Fear of Online Pricing
04:17 - The Growth of Contractor Commerce
06:22 - Positioning Yourself as the Go-To Expert
09:29 - The Strategy of Upfront Pricing
11:56 - Improving Conversion Rates with Transparency
14:07 - Competitive Pricing vs. Dealership Models
16:45 - Shifting KPIs for Better Business Results
19:02 - The Impact of AI and LLMs on Search
22:01 - Optimizing for AI Search Results
25:16 - AI as the Ultimate Virtual Salesperson
28:45 - The Future of High-Touch vs. AI Interactions
33:23 - The Value of Human Connection in Sales
37:46 - Educating Customers Through Transparent Pricing
41:43 - Closing Remarks and Resources

About the Guest: Paul Redman
Paul Redman is the founder of Contractor Commerce, a platform that helps home service businesses and contractors sell fully installed pricing, memberships, and services directly online, including through AI-powered buying journeys on their websites. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Paul grew up around the trades and has spent years helping contractors adapt to the shift in consumer behaviour, from in-home sales to fully digital, self-serve purchasing experiences.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-j-redman/

CONNECT WITH THE TRADIE WEB GUYS!
Website: https://www.tradiewebguys.com.au/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TradieWebGuysOfficial?sub_confirmation=1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TradieWebGuysOfficial
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tradiewebguys/
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/company/tradie-web-guys
Matt’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamthemattj/

If you enjoyed this podcast, please take a moment to leave us a review:
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#podcast #thesiteshed #tradiewebguys

Your Next Step:

Join Tradie Academy, our free community packed with templates, checklists, and resources shared by podcast guests, coaches, and successful tradies.

👉 Join free and grab your next growth tool here: https://tradie.wiki/pod

Follow The Site Shed:

• Facebook: The Site Shed
• Instagram: @thesiteshed
• LinkedIn: Matt Jones
• Website: https://www.thesiteshed.com
• YouTube: @TheSiteShed

If you enjoyed this podcast and the series, please take 5 minutes to leave us a review:
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