8 Years of Smartfix, Building a Business With Your Brother | Fin from Smartfix

In this episode, Kane sits down with his brother Fin, Head of Installations at Smartfix, for an honest look back at eight years of building a business together from the ground up.

Fin joined Smartfix as a fourth year apprentice and has worked his way through every corner of the business, from installer to managing a team of over 35 people on the road. He and Kane get into the real stuff: what the early days actually looked like, the challenges of working with family, the period where Smartfix scaled fast to 150 staff and $30 million in revenue before almost losing everything, the systems and communication tools that changed the way the business operates, and what excites them both about where things are heading now.

If you have ever wondered what it really takes to build something big, or what happens when it nearly falls apart, this one does not hold back.

Follow Hypotential:
Website: https://www.hypotential.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hypotential_
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HypotentialCo

Follow Kane:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kanetylersmith_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KaneTylerSmithWA
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kanetylersmith

Connect with Smartfix:
Website: https://teamsmartfix.com.au/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teamsmartfix/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TeamSmartfixPty

00:00 – Intro
00:37 – Introducing Fin, Kane’s brother and Head of Installations at Smartfix
00:46 – What Fin actually does day to day
01:31 – What the early days of Smartfix looked like
02:12 – Did either of them think it would become what it is today?
03:08 – When Fin joined, fourth year apprentice and almost finished his trade
03:44 – The first van, the $1,000 hippie van from a car park in Fremantle
04:43 – The van breaks down on the freeway and catches fire
05:31 – The van is still registered somehow
06:14 – Setting early boundaries and why Fin made Kane his boss from day one
06:55 – Working with family, clashing on ideas and growing through it
08:09 – What their goals were at that early stage
09:28 – The best learning experiences in the early years
10:42 – Getting the first office and building out the team
11:18 – The summer of 45 degree heat bouncing off the office window
12:07 – Why having different people with different perspectives makes the business stronger
13:51 – Learning from younger staff and staying open to new ideas
14:16 – Networking, wholesalers and what Hypotential is trying to do
15:30 – The one percent changes that make a real difference to the team on the road
17:23 – Standard operating procedures, training videos and building repeatable systems
18:37 – Communication tools, from phone calls to Microsoft Teams
32:24 – The biggest systems that changed Smartfix
33:45 – Job management software, why ServiceM8 still works and the danger of overcomplicating it
35:49 – Picking simple over impressive and why HubSpot was the wrong call
38:26 – Hiring and recruitment mistakes during the fast growth period
39:48 – Investing in ideas not plans and the roles that never worked out
40:22 – Hiring people without having the structure in place first
44:05 – Managing slow periods with 30 vans on the road and nothing coming in
45:33 – How Smartfix always finds something productive to do in the quiet times
47:04 – Fin turns the tables, what made Kane want to start a business?
48:19 – Kane’s version of day one, no plan, just wanting to work for himself
49:18 – Did Kane ever think Smartfix would become what it is today?
51:29 – Looking back at the peak, 150 staff, $30 million revenue and what was really going on
52:55 – Pushing too hard on Google Ads, the conversion rate collapse and the lessons learned
53:52 – When Smartfix had four offices and had to sell two of them fast
55:26 – The moments Fin thought the business might not survive
56:30 – Why riding out the hard times is the only option
57:15 – What excites Fin most about where Smartfix is heading now
58:42 – Working with family, Fin’s partner as office manager and how they make it work
01:00:08 – Promoting from within and why long term staff are such an asset
01:01:10 – Staff who leave for competitors and come back
01:02:35 – Wrap up