Kane Tyler Smith: From One Ute to $30M

About this episode

I’m Kane Tyler Smith, and I started Smartfix in my garage in 2018 with one ute and a set of tools. It grew into a multi-trade business doing more than $30 million a year, with over 130 staff, four offices and 60 vehicles on the road. Then I pulled it back to a team of 30 and one office, and it’s a better business for it.

This short intro is where Unlocking Business starts. In under three minutes, I explain who I am, why I started the podcast and what you can expect from every episode: real conversations with business owners about what it actually takes to build something.

Who is Kane Tyler Smith?

I’m the founder and CEO of Smartfix, an electrical and air conditioning business in Perth, and the founder of Hypotential. I started out like most tradies do, on my own, doing all the work and figuring it out as I went. Growth looked great from the outside, but more often than not it created more problems than it solved: bad cash flow, staff issues, failed systems, and times when the whole business almost fell apart.

Why I started Unlocking Business

More jobs, more staff and more vans can still leave you with less money, less time and more stress. What fixed that for me was better decisions, better planning and better structure, far more than extra marketing.

Most tradies are great at their trade, but nobody teaches you how to run a business. Systems live in your head, you become the bottleneck, and over time you either burn out, go bust or plateau. I created Hypotential to fill that gap, and this podcast is one part of it.

What you’ll hear on the show

Real operators who have built businesses, made mistakes, fixed them and can tell you what actually worked.
Episodes where I break down real situations happening inside Smartfix: what happened, why, and how we’re solving it.
The kind of conversations you usually only have behind closed doors, for owners doing a few hundred grand a year or a few million.

“The goal is simple: to help you build a business that works without it taking everything from you.”
Kane Tyler Smith, founder of Smartfix and Hypotential

Where to find Kane Tyler Smith

New episodes come out every Thursday. The best way to keep up is the Hypotential newsletter, or follow along on socials.

Where to start

Want help building a business that grows without burning you out? Work with me.

In this episode

Full transcript

Read the full transcriptAuto-generated from the episode, lightly edited for clarity

[00:00] Why more work doesn't always mean a better business

Kane: Most trade businesses don't actually have a work problem. They've got a structure problem. More jobs, more staff, more vans, but somehow less money, less time and more stress. And the reality is, most of that doesn't get fixed with more marketing. It gets fixed with better decisions, better planning and better structure.

Kane: This podcast is for business owners and entrepreneurs, whether they're doing a few hundred grand a year or a few million. If you feel like the business relies on you too much, things feel harder than they should, and the numbers aren't adding up the way you thought, you're in the right place.

[00:31] Who I am and where this podcast comes from

Kane: I'm Kane Tyler Smith, the founder and CEO of Smartfix and Hypotential. I started out like most people, by myself, one ute, doing all the work, figuring it out as I went, winging it.

[00:41] What growth actually looked like inside Smartfix

Kane: I scaled this into a multi-trade business doing over $30 million a year. I had over 130 staff, with 60 vehicles on the road. What most people never saw is how messy that actually was. More often than not, growth created more problems than it solved. Bad cash flow, staff issues, failed systems, and honestly, there were times when the whole business almost fell apart.

[01:00] Why this isn't theory

Kane: And that's really where this comes from. It's not theory. It's not something I read in a book or watched in a YouTube video, and it's not just what sounds good online. This is lived experience from my journey with Smartfix.

[01:10] The gap I saw in business advice

Kane: I created Hypotential because there's a massive gap in the space. Most tradies are great at their trade, but no one teaches you how to run a business properly. So what happens? Systems live in your head, and you become the problem. Growth creates chaos, not freedom and profit. And over time, you either burn out, go bust, or the business just plateaus.

[01:27] What you'll hear on this podcast

Kane: You're going to hear from real operators, people who have built businesses, made mistakes, fixed them, and can tell you what's actually worked. I'll also be doing episodes breaking down real situations currently happening inside Smartfix. We'll talk about what's happened, why it's happened, and how we're going to solve it. These are the kind of conversations you usually only have behind closed doors.

[01:48] Why growth needs structure

Kane: The goal is simple: to help you build a business that works without it taking everything from you. This podcast is just one part of Hypotential. It starts with building a community of like-minded people who share experiences and ideas, because growth shouldn't be random. It should be structured, intentional and sustainable.

[02:04] How to follow along

Kane: If your business will benefit from these discussions, please make sure you subscribe and follow along. And if you know anyone else who's in the trenches building their own business, share this with them. If you want to go even deeper, check out hypotential.com. At the end of the day, a great business needs a great leader. Let's go. New episodes drop regularly, and we have a lot more ground to cover. These conversations don't happen often in the trade industry, and I'm not going anywhere. I'm Kane Tyler Smith. I'll see you on the next one.