“Starting a company is like chewing glass and staring into the abyss” – ELON MUSK
“The way to build a big business is to take care of people” – TOM BILYEU
“Do or do not. There is no try” – YODA
Business is hard, but being a tradie business is harder.
In addition to the usual running of business, the physical labours in a price-driven industry bound in red tape frequently sees massive collateral damage with our families and, most importantly, our wellbeing.
ℹ️ And the data says…
Fundsquire notes small and medium businesses provide almost half of the country’s employment.
McCrindle writes out of businesses started 4 years ago, 46% are no longer operating.
The Australian Financial Reviews notes “1 in 3 Australians are under financial stress, leading to 1 in 4 suffering mental distress”
Clearly, when it comes to business, many are called, but few are chosen.
And when it comes to tradie businesses, the data is far more sobering.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics particularly notes stressful life events remain among the top causes for suicide with Tradies one of the highest suicide risks.
More than 2,800 Australian lives per year are lost to suicide and the leading cause of death among 15-44 year olds with young men and small business owners leading this drive.
The Top 10 Causes of Small Business Failure reasons why a business fails according to Forbes are because small business is
- cashflow strapped
- overwhelmed by administration and red tape
- long hours from working weekends with little to no work-life balance
- confused about customers
- lacking in inadequate business processes
- poor management of customers, the team and risk to the business
- lack of strategy and reactivity
- weak marketing
- don”t have the right team
- not responsive enough
The stats prove business is damn difficult. Tradie businesses are especially demanding on time and physical and mental wellbeing.
In a nutshell, if business isn’t hard, you’re not doing it right.
It’s time to switch the script and make a change.
Let’s level the playing field and reclaim the power of small business.
Amongst all the flashy bright lights and neon, big brands make a lot of noise, convincing their audience they’re the duck’s nuts.
Big business might get a lot of things right but small business has every capacity to pay attention to the details and react quickly enough to make decisive changes.
We need to know what our power is and how to use it to our advantage. And it’s time to start making business work right for the tradie. Because it can be done.
It is possible to sustainably run a business and integrate with self-care and family for work-life harmony.
It starts with knowing the power of small business – especially our small business – by
- delivering a personalised product and customer service
- being reactive, quick to pivot and make quick but effective decisions
- knowing our strengths and carving out our niche
- staying connected to our customers and our team
- using our small local status to our advantage with strategic partnerships within the community or local industry
Sure business is hard, but tradies were made for this – cos no one does business harder.
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