What can trade businesses learn from the corporate world?

Paul O’Neil took a very different route into the trades.

After building his career in corporate leadership, including senior management roles with Optus, Paul moved into small business and is now a Director of Plumbing Bros West Coast.

In this episode of Unlocking Business, we get into what he’s brought across from corporate Australia, and what he’s had to completely relearn.

We talk about culture, leadership, staff retention, onboarding, hiring the right people, managing tradespeople, customer service and why Paul believes trade businesses need to put more emphasis on developing their people.

We also get into the realities of running a business. Being everything to everyone, learning to set boundaries, building a leadership team, knowing when to stop chasing growth and trying to enjoy the journey while you’re actually living it.

Paul also shares how Plumbing Bros approaches property management clients, virtual assistants, after-hours service, AI, recruitment and developing future leaders internally.

A practical conversation between two operators approaching the trade industry from very different backgrounds.

What is your business actually worth if you disappear tomorrow?

In Episode 19 of Unlocking Business, I sit down with Dr. Mitch Catterall from Unveil Development Partners. Mitch works with owner-operated businesses to identify the gaps keeping them dependent on their founder, then build the people, systems and structures needed so the value sits inside the business, not inside the owner’s head.

This conversation gets particularly personal when Mitch explains why this work matters so much to him. His family ran a commercial fencing and security fencing business since he was nine years old. When his dad’s health deteriorated, his knees blew out and he needed a double reconstruction, the family discovered the business they’d spent years building had very little value without him. An accountant told them it wasn’t worth anything beyond the assets, and it was sold for little more than the price of the ute, despite $250k of contracted work in the pipeline.

We talk about how business owners can avoid ending up in the same position.

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