Trench Talk With Matt Reynolds

Jeremy Streten is a lawyer and author of the book The Business Legal Lifecycle. Jeremy has been featured on TV many times having experience in the areas of property law, conveyancing, retail and commercial leases, wills, probate, estate planning, litigation and dispute resolution, debt recovery, building and construction law, commercial and corporate law including liquor licensing, corporate restructuring, recovery and insolvency. Jeremy’s passion is to help entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners to succeed in their business, so they can live the life they want to live. His book “The Business Legal Lifecycle” is a guidebook designed to help business owners understand what they are doing in their business from a legal perspective and provides them with a plan for the future. During our chat, we covered: - why and when you should engage a lawyer - the type of documentation you should have in your business and when it's required - the 13 steps of the business legal lifecycle (infographic here) -

Shayne La Combre is the CEO of the Plumbing Industry Climate Action Centre (PICAC) and the current Chair of the World Plumbing Council. Shayne has been a Board Member at PICAC since 2011 and has been instrumental in the continuous expansion of the training organisation which now has several facilities throughout Australia including their newest campus located at Narre Warren in Victoria, Australia. The site will be the first net zero energy education and research facility in Victoria. The training facility, designed for the plumbing industry, will generate all energy required to support the operation of the building on site through the incorporation of several renewable energy technologies.  Prior to his positions at PICAC Shayne was Director of Plumbing at Victoria’s plumbing industry regulator, the Plumbing Industry Commission (now the Victorian Building Authority). In 2011, Shayne was elected to the Board of the World Plumbing Council, served as deputy chair from 2013-2016 and is the current Chair. During

Rohan Sykes is the Founder of Phoenix Workplace Safety. Rohan has turned a horrendous workplace accident that left him with burns to 35% of his body into the motivation for starting his own speaking, training and consulting company of which his clients include the likes of BHP, Origin Energy, Boral, Thiess, Shell, Mazda, Toyota, Nestle and Ford.  This episode is the journey of the real-life consequences of Rohan’s 100% preventable workplace accident. The event, however, was just the start. The real challenge began as Rohan faced both the physical and mental struggles of rebuilding his life. A few years on and 8 surgeries later Rohan is now working tirelessly to help force change in our habits and attitudes around workplace safety. We covered a whole lot during our chat, including - - Rohan’s story and the sequence of events that lead to the fire - How a quick-thinking workmate saved his life - The ripple effect of the accident - How Rohan turned it all around - The person who gave him the inspiration to get o

Jon Hollenberg is the Founder of Five by Five, a website design company operating out of the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. He has worked with more than 500 Australian and international companies including the likes of Porsche, Qantas, Jetstar, Jeep, Chrysler and Dodge. In addition to growing a team of some 20 plus employees who build great looking and high performing websites, Jon is also an accomplished speaker and has presented at many seminars throughout Australia. He has also written a book titled "Love at First Site" where he lays out a strategy for working with the right people to build a stylish and functional website. During this chat, we covered: why it’s often extremely hard to get a great website built website strategies and budgets making it easy for Google to find you online why he wrote his book and how he uses it to help build his company ideas for creating great content one of the ways he gets a steady stream of referrals and new clients, and why he recommends beginning your day with a

Vanessa Robinson is the Founder and Executive Director at The Chase and Tyler Foundation. Vanessa started the foundation in honor of her two boys, Chase and Tyler, who were killed from carbon monoxide poisoning originating from a faulty gas heater in their rental home. She knew almost immediately that something had to be done to raise awareness for the dangers of the odorless, colorless and tasteless poisonous gas. In the initial stages of getting the charity started Vanessa contacted Energy Safe Victoria who agreed to work with her to help raise awareness about the potential dangers of carbon monoxide. Many of you will recall the television ad campaign, I’ve posted the ad here. During this chat, we covered: the night Vanessa lost her family and the events that followed the tragedy starting a charity the work the Chase and Tyler Foundation is doing including the activities of Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week some of the challenges she’s had to work through including educating both industry professionals in ad

Peter Lalor is the Managing Director at BlueRock. When Peter started BlueRock it was a pure accounting firm. That firm has grown and now employs nearly 200 staff across divisions they’ve added including finance, bookkeeping, law, insurance, private wealth, self-managed retirement funds and a digital arm that specialises in turning data into real business value. It’s all done, however, in quite a unique way. BlueRock is about as far from the typical brown tie and beige wall environment you’ll normally find at a traditional professional services firm. We recorded this episode in the BlueRock boardroom, to get there I had to pass the petrol bowser and life-sized horse statue in the foyer. Pete took me on a tour of the office which included a look at their driving range, we then walked through the room dedicated to David Attenborough and one of our final stops was to view their wall honouring barbie dolls.   This approach, though different, has turned out to be (as you’ll hear) an extremely successful one. During

Sean Stryker specialises in business growth and has worked with many of Australia’s most well-known companies including Coates Hire, News Limited, Harvey Norman, Bunnings, Pacific Brands, BlueScope Steel, Galaxy Entertainment Group, LJ Hooker, Amcor, Super A-Mart, iiNet, BlueRock and Bakers Delight. In addition to consulting to some of Australia’s biggest companies, Sean also works with many smaller businesses including those in the trade sector. His back to basics approach helps his clients develop practical skills and the knowledge to identify opportunities to make more money. He works in the areas of talent management, growing revenue and profit, sales training, sales intelligence, team building and leadership. During this chat, we covered: meeting people, first impressions and the fundamentals of a good handshake building rapport sales, including the importance of speaking to your customers in the way that they best learn simple things many people miss in the sales process self-awareness, and the common

Adam Sand is an online marketer unlike many who operate in the trade space because he actually owns and assists in running a successful roofing company – Sargeants Roofing out of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. After Adam applied and perfected the 15 plus years of experience he gained marketing in a variety of industries which included building and selling an app for the Sunbed and tanning salon sector, to his company Sargeants Roofing, Adam has since begun helping other Roofing contractors automate their business and marketing processes. His main focus is now his current venture Roofing Business Partner where he is helping other roofing contractors. It's fair to say the marketing landscape has changed for every business owner across every industry. As Adam explains, just a few short years ago most businesses had only a couple of easy marketing decisions to make each year – the main one being what size is my ad in the yellow pages going to be along with a couple of options like a local newspaper for example. Then

  Tony Nash is the Founder of Booktopia. He started the online bookstore as an evening side project with a $10 a day budget in 2004, the company has continued to grow at a rapid rate ever since. Booktopia employs 160 people and sells one item every 6.9 seconds. In Christmas 2018 they were shipping 30,000 individual items per day. Revenue for FY2018 is $115 million. In 2016 & 2017 they were voted Australian Book Retailer of the Year. During this chat, we covered: some of the strategies he has used to grow Booktopia automation and how they manage their stock the methods they use to determine which books they list and sell on the website why they haven’t attempted to run other products through their distribution facility and network a little on deliveries and the future in that space, and why Booktopia is currently raising capital through the crowdfunding platform Equitise.    To find out more about Tony and his current work, head to https://booktopia.com.au/. You can also find Tony on LinkedIn. If you en

Josh Kelly lead the marketing team at one of the top 5 plumbing companies in the United States, Phoenix based, Parker and Sons. He has helped grow the business from a $6m turnover to in excess of $100m in the past 13 years, they now employ more than 500 people. Off the back of Josh’s success at the Family owned business, he founded and is now building RevuKangaroo, a tech company for services businesses. Basically, Josh has systematized the online strategy that helped (and still is) fuelling the growth at Parker and Sons. During this chat, we covered: growing Parker and Sons sales past the $100m mark some of his ideas about recruiting, training, managing and incentivising staff (including the 3 promises he makes to every employee) profit margins, Josh is completely open with his numbers why middle-sized companies in the United States are disappearing and why Australia will likely follow the exact same path business reviews, how the online game is changing and how his tech company RevuKangroo is helping servi

David Makin, along with his partner Zoe, Founded Axil Coffee Roasters. Dave completed a bachelor of Business in catering and hotel management before spending a fair bit of time in the service industry. He worked for a coffee company and ran several cafes before turning his attention to the competitive side of coffee making.  He became the runner-up in the World Barista Championships, is two-time Australian Barista Champion and four-time Victorian Barista Champion. Axil's speciality roasting business supplies over 100 establishments in addition to five of their own cafes. They are currently building two more with plans to expand further in 2019. During this chat, we covered: the barista championships how Dave secured the first lease for his business how Axil sources coffee and his thoughts on the free trade model how he finds staff the business of Axil including why he is against franchising, and why Dave is continuing to grow the company.   To find out more about Axil, head to https://axilcoffee.com.au/. If

This episode features Leath Nicholson and Veroshan Sripragasan of Nicholson Ryan Lawyers. Leath graduated with a Bachelor of Economics (Honours), and Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and Master of Laws (Commercial Law) from Monash University. He was admitted to practice in Victoria in 1997 and since then has practised extensively in corporate and commercial law and dispute resolution. Leath co-founded the firm now known as Nicholson Ryan in 2008 and has acted for a range of clients, including private companies, ASX listed public companies and government agencies. Veroshan is an Associate within Nicholson Ryan’s corporate and commercial practice. He graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce and Law (Honours) from Deakin University. He joined the firm as a graduate in mid-2015 and was admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of Victoria in October of that same year. Veroshan is a transactional lawyer who practices primarily in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, equity capital markets and corporate advisory. He acts

I was recently asked to present my thoughts and ideas about the changing technology landscape in a talk for the Master Plumbers and Mechanical Services Association. Here's the recording... During the talk, I covered: how apps are changing the way we run trade businesses how you need to think to best leverage to power of technology why it's about to cost a whole lot less to grow a trade business  how some of the traditional challenges (like getting accurate job reports from service technicians back from the field) are being solved the applications I've been working on in this space, and how you can try them for free.   To find out more about the Master Plumbers, head to plumber.com.au. You can find me on Facebook. If you enjoy Trench Talk, please remember to hit the subscribe button inside your chosen podcast player, more episodes can be found at xrm.com.au/podcast Enjoy Trench Talk Episode #042, my thoughts on technology in trade businesses…   ---- Show notes and links for this episode can be found at xrm.c

Peter Daly is the CEO of the Master Plumbers and Mechanical Services Association. Peter is a civil engineer by trade and spent some 17 years at the RACV before joining the Master Plumbers in 2018. The Master Plumbers is Australia’s largest plumbing industry association and an industry leader for more than 125 years. It is a trusted source of information, advice and expertise for members, the industry, government and the wider community. Master Plumbers has approximately 160 employees working across membership services, advocacy, training and staff solutions businesses. It works closely with its strategic partners to help build an expert, committed and professional plumbing services industry. Peter is an executive with a proven ability to develop strategy, deliver stakeholder/membership value and communicate complex information. With more than 16 years of experience in senior leadership roles, he has a deep understanding of managing stakeholder expectations and reputations and a proven history of working succe

Chris Smith is the Founder of both Yolk Agency and Happy HR. Chris left home at just 14 years old and started washing cars to make his rent payments. It wasn’t long before the intuitive entrepreneur expanded his business in a somewhat unusual way - baking apple pies for his clients whose cars he was cleaning. He eventually found his way to a commercial kitchen and began training under some of the world’s most well-known chefs. In 2000, aged 23, Chris hung up his chef’s apron to establish a lean manufacturing plant and gourmet food operation called Valley Produce Company. He was able to take the company from farmer’s markets where he began to the world and established his brand's footprint globally selling Valley Produce Company product in England, Scandinavia, Dubai, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Japan, Canada and the USA. He was also able to establish a well-respected Australian label that won numerous international and local awards. In 2011, Chris resigned from the company to concentrate on developing Yolk Agency

Theo Venter is the only known man to survive a 22,000-volt electrical shock and a motivational speaker focusing on workplace safety. An electrical linesman by trade, Theo has worked in the high voltage business for over 23 years. After leaving his home country of South Africa, Theo and his family immigrated to Australia where his trade was in high demand. He commenced work as a contractor in Australia working on a major electricity network where he had a huge workplace accident while working on live power lines. In this interview, Theo talks candidly of his time in hospital where he found himself waiting to die and his desperate fight to survive both physically and mentally which continued long after the event. Theo has delivered his talk called “Just Another Day” in many parts of the world to people ranging from company boards right through to field workers at toolbox meetings. This is a hard-hitting story with a very personal and very powerful safety message. To find out more about Theo and his current work

Sachi Wickramage (@sachiwickramage) is a Jury Member of the United Nations’ World Summit Awards Global Contest, a panel that selects and promotes the world’s best Disruptive Digital Innovation Technologies with a Positive Impact on Society. He is also appointed as the National Expert for Australia by the UN WSA to spearhead the World Summit Awards Australian Chapter. In addition to all of that, Sachi is the Chief Operating Officer at i4Tradies.   Prior to joining i4Tradies in 2017, Sachi worked as the Head of hSenid Outsourcing, a wholly owned subsidiary of hSenid Software International. In his 10+ years’ with the group, he managed over 50 large, highly scalable IT projects spanning across multiple sectors varying from Telco, HR, e-Commerce, Finance and Healthcare, to Entertainment. Sachi has a strong passion for Mobile Apps and has managed over 70 Mobile App projects. He also Co-Founded the mobile & wearable apps "FlipBeats" & "Expense Tracker 2.0" which have won 13 international awards to-date, whi

Dave Porter (@daveporter) is the Founder of PorterVac, Australia’s only specialist vacuum gutter cleaning service employing qualified roof tilers and the latest cutting edge technology.  The neat thing about Dave’s story is that he started at ground zero. He’s a former roof tiler but knew his time as a roofer was limited, so he closed down the business and went back to the drawing board. He took a chance, started PorterVac and now has a growing business which employs over 30 people. During our chat, we covered: those early days the moment that changed his whole career and how it affected his attitude and mindset every tradies dream why he’s learned to be proud of his weaknesses developing employees, and why he has got involved in groups like the entrepreneur's organisation.   To find out more about Dave, head to portervac.com.au. If you enjoy Trench Talk, please remember to hit the subscribe button inside your chosen podcast player, more episodes can be found at xrm.com.au/podcast Enjoy Trench Talk Episode

Jerome Beekmans (@jeromebeekmans) is the owner the franchise group Mr Electric Australia. Jerome is a 3rd generation electrician who’s had some great times in the building industry but he’s also had to endure, like many have, some tough times as well. It’s a familiar story for those of you who know the trade sector well; you build your business, grow, take on bigger and bigger work, until, eventually, you run into a client who doesn’t pay you for the work you have completed. For Jerome, that happened in the weeks before he got married. He was forced to re-assess his plans, and ultimately found his way to the franchise industry where he is now building a national brand. It’s Jerome’s vision to make “Mr Electric Australia the leading residential and commercial electrical services and repair company in Australia.” During our chat, we covered: work ethic his views on our education and formal schooling system introducing Jim’s Electrics (as part of the bigger Jim’s Franchise Group) to Australia which Jerome did b

Ryan Trainor (@ryantrainor) is a serial entrepreneur and Co-Founder at BSchool (@bschool_aus). Ryan is an extremely humble guy who would never say it himself, but he's accomplished more in business and life than many of us have probably ever thought possible. He sold his first company to Wilson Parking, sold his second company to the Washington Post, has been on the BRW Young Rich List, has built schools in India, is a former Carlton Football Club Board Member and Vice-President, and just recently moved his family to Indonesia. We talk about all that and a bunch more, including: the role of luck in entrepreneurship education, the sector he's got a real passion for and how technology is changing that space a bit on the process of building and selling his companies some of the hard moments including how his wife Rachel has supported him throughout the journey his thoughts on getting more done running meditation raising capital recruiting key personnel, and the downside of startups.   To find out more about Ry