Trench Talk With Matt Reynolds

Stefan Kazakis (@stefankazakis) is the founding Principal of Business Benchmark Group and has spent more than two decades at the forefront of business including 25 years as an owner across multiple industries. He has earned a reputation as a leading business strategist for small business owners, many of whom he has coached to extreme profit growth, award-winning success and a greater quality of life. Stefan has also worked with industry leaders such as Telstra, Westfield and the NAB. He has authored two books titled “From Deadwood to Diamonds” and “How to Grow a Business” in addition to being a regular contributor to national publications such as the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Franchise Council Australia, BRW, Australian Women’s Weekly and The Accountant. We discussed: strategies for growing businesses why many business owners fail to scale their operation how he manages his own diary rebuilding his family’s textiles business back from the brink of collapse to 70+ employees becoming a major supplier to

Brendan Nichols joins me on the podcast this week to talk business and making money. Brendon built a successful business early in his career marketing real estate in the Sydney CBD before becoming a bestselling author published by the industry giant Harper Collins. He has appeared in the media dozens of times and about a million people tuned in to watch the ABC Television documentary on him. Today, Brendon’s business is training people on how to get out of the rat race which has included thousands across 3 continents. His specialty is teaching business owners how to raise their income while simultaneously reclaiming control of their time. We discussed: his definition of success and avoiding the common traps learning strategies and structures being a no-star, 5-star guy using meditation and getting clear in your own mind making decisions getting repeat business, and the first thing you need to do each and every day to help make sure your business remains profitable.   If you'd like to know more about Brendan

Steve Richards (@steve_richo) is a 4 time Bathurst 1000 Champion. Steve began his racing career in karts at 15 and went on to become the Australian Formula Ford Champion in 1994. His racing achievements are many including, to date, being the only driver who has won back-to-back Bathurst Championships diving for different car manufacturers. After stepping away from the V8 series as a full-time driver, Steve began working through the transition from elite sportsman to that of a successful business owner. He started his own team to race the Australian Carrera Cup in 2011, a series he went on to win in 2014. Steve has now partnered with BMW and is competing in the Australian GT Championship Series. We discussed: growing up in a famous racing family preparing for and winning Bathurst the business and future of motorsport running his own team including finding sponsorship and developing revenue streams the cost of crashing his plans to work with the next generation of racers, and his favourite car   If you'd like

Jade Ingleby (choklits.com.au) and Hayley Bishop (@hayleybishop) were brave enough to have a chat for this episode of Trench Talk. I asked them on because aside from being high-achievers and great friends, they both had the wisdom to marry plumbers so it seemed like the perfect fit! Jade left her senior management position with the NAB after she had her first children (twins) and purchased a child care business called Choklits. She’s currently in the process of extending her centre. Hayley recently left a global marketing position at Jacobs Creek to join the beauty brand Palmer’s as Marketing Manager across Australia and Asia Pacific. Her current role includes building a strong digital marketing presence for the company. This episode is super practical, on the ground, everyday stuff. We cover many of the challenges families face in the quest to remain highly productive including juggling children, international work travel, running businesses and building careers. As you’ll hear, it can be tough to remain san

Walt Collins (@walt_collins), in just two years, has stamped his name into the TV landscape as a busy host who is on air 43 weekends of the year. He’s also a career-long producer and his company BSTV produces many of the TV shows he hosts which include Healthy Homes Australia and Animal Extra both seen on Network Ten. Walt has just announced he’s also producing and co-hosting a new series for the Seven Network called Stay at Home Mum based on the blog of Jody Allen. From England, Walt’s career began at fourteen years old. Having begged his mum for a video camera, it wasn’t long until the inquisitive and tech-savvy Walt worked out that by boosting a small transmitter, connecting it to a wok and positioning it over the neighbourhood, he was able to broadcast a TV signal from his bedroom. His very own pirate TV station was born. We discussed- the early years including the day he was caught broadcasting illegally the carpentry apprenticeship he is currently completing producing TV shows and selling them to the b

Steve McKnight (@ProperInvesting) is recognised as one of Australia’s foremost authorities on property investment as a means of creating personal wealth. Steve holds a Bachelor of Business (Accounting), is a chartered accountant and began his career working in Audit at Deloitte, before starting his own accounting practice in 1999. His plan was simple, use property investing to replace his accounting income. So, in that same year, 1999, he purchased his first place in Ballarat, about a 1.5-hour drive out of Melbourne. Since then, on average, Steve has bought or sold a property every 9 or so days. He co-founded propertyinvesting.com (a property education website) and his first book “From 0-130 Properties in 3.5 Years” remains Australia’s all time #1 best-selling business book by an Australian author. He’s developed his own property along the way and is now the Chairman a managed in investment fund that owns commercial property in the USA. You can out more at passiveincomefund.com. We discussed- his property in

Anthony Koutoufides (@anthonykouta) is an AFL premiership player and former captain of the Carlton Football Club. “Kouta” is known as one of the most athletic players to ever play the game and was famous for his incredible ability to mark and control the football one-handed. He played 278 games, won the 5th season of Dancing with the Stars, was “Kouta the Greek God” in Gladiators and has been inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame. Following his stellar career, Kouta admits, he struggled to find his feet as he learned to deal with life after football and found himself with health concerns in 2010. It wasn’t until one of his friends introduced him to the Herbalife range of nutritional products that things began to turn around. Today, Kouta has found his niche helping other people improve their own lives in his work with the same company. He’s about to launch The Kouta Fit Program, an online training platform based on his own experience as a professional athlete. We discussed his playing career and the lessons h

Ben Sofowora (@bensofowora) is one of the most interesting people I’ve ever met. I know Ben as a yoga teacher and a healer but he’s also an actor, a dancer, a painter and generally an all-around creative guy. I recently saw him on stage in the Melbourne Theatre Company’s production of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”. Ben has also had roles in the TV shows Kath & Kim, Halifax FP and the miniseries Molly (based on Molly Meldrum’s life). He’s also modeled for Ralph Lauren and been on the cover of Vogue magazine. We discuss the evolution of yoga and Ben’s personal journey with the practice, his own teaching philosophy and techniques before we venture a lot deeper to cover death, past lives, the reincarnation of our souls and the regression work Ben does. This episode is definitely not for the faint-hearted or anyone who’s unwilling to challenge conventional thinking. You can find Ben at bensofowora.com and on Instagram. Enjoy Trench Talk episode #007 with Ben Sofowora... ---- Show notes and links for this

Trav Bell (@Trav Bell) is The Bucket List Guy. He’s regarded as the world’s #1 Bucket List expert. Trav is a great guy doing awesome work and he’ll really get you thinking. He spends 6 months of the year traveling the world working his way through his own bucket list which has included climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, smoking Cuban cigars in Cuba, attending the Burning Man festival and sharing his ideas on the TEDx stage in his talk he titled “Life’s way too short not to live your Bucket List”. He’s also one of Australia’s most sought after key-note-speakers. What’s even more impressive has been Trav’s ability to turn his passion into a thriving global business. As the Bucket List Guy, he helps, coaches and mentors others in their quest to design their own life and live the bucket list lifestyle. Trav is a true entrepreneur but the road has been far from smooth. Prior to his work as The Bucket List Guy, he was a personal trainer who turned the 63 one hour training sessions he was facilitating personally each week

Andrew Cotton (@andrew_cotton) is, according to British newspaper The Daily Mail, Britain’s most famous plumber. He’s also one of the world’s most accomplished big wave surfers and in 2014 riding a wave estimated to be 80 feet high only narrowly missed claiming the world record for the biggest wave ever surfed. It was Andrews father who first introduced him to the sport as a young man, the same person who then sat him down in his early 20s after he’d lost a couple of his sponsors and told him he needed to get a job and get on with his life. Andrew complied, completed his plumbing apprenticeship and got a job. Torn between his love of surfing and a career, he backed himself and with the support of his wife turned all his efforts back to surfing. Today, as a Red Bull athlete, Andrew travels the world in search of perfect waves and a dream to ride the biggest of all time. He speaks to large corporation’s regularly on topics including high-stakes decision making and the like. In 2014 he traveled to Brooklyn, New

Ross Savas is Managing Director of Kay and Burton (kayburton.com.au), a real estate agency in Melbourne that has built a reputation for facilitating the sales of this state’s most exclusive and prestigious homes. Ross works globally and is widely recognized as one of Australia’s most influential agents. He walked into a real estate office for the first time at 15 years old with big ambitions, a work ethic to match and a dedication to learning that continues today. He earnt his own office and car spot with that company before he was even old enough to drive. In 2010, Ross broke the record for the sale of the most expensive residential property in Victoria, the Portsea Estate named Ilyuka which sold for $27 million. You can watch the video Ross used to sell this property as he mentions in the interview here. We discuss the downside of sleeping only 2-3 hours a night, the importance of investing in people, the long game in business and his current role leading a company with over 100 employees. This interview is

Shane Jacobson (@shanejacobson) got his big break as an actor when he played the lovable Aussie plumber Kenny, in the movie, Kenny. It seems a little crazy when you think about it now, but just ten short years ago almost no one knew who Shane Jacobson was. The low budget, family made mockumentary about toilets changed all that. From fearless Aussie plumber Kenny Smyth to the chair beside Jeremy Clarkson on the set of Top Gear and working alongside Matt Damon on The Bourne Legacy, Shane has the knack of keeping things fun and helping people laugh along the way. We discuss his role as a plumber, maintaining his schedule, sleep, film and his thoughts on learning. Enjoy Trench Talk episode 3 with Shane Jacobson… ---- Show notes and links for this episode can be found at xrm.com.au/podcast. Feel free to email me with any suggestions or feedback to podcast@xrm.com.au. You can find Matt Reynolds on LinkedIn and on Twitter.

Justin Burgoine, alongside his brother Paul, is joint Managing Director of the family-owned tool company Kincrome.   Justin began his working career stacking shelves and cleaning out ashtrays on the weekends under the watchful eye of his father Ron. In early 1987, the Burgoine family purchased Kincrome from Patterson Cheney, a car dealership and began building their new business. Including the family, personal totaled just four. Today, Kincrome is a multi-national, employees over 200 staff, continues to expand internationally and is ramping up its investment with a particular focus in the area of design. We discuss Justin’s thoughts on controlling our future as a country, the importance of asking good questions, learning from mistakes and his advice for building a career. The best way to learn more about Kincrome is to visit kincrome.com.au and join the Kincrome Klub (kincrome.com.au/register). Enjoy Trench Talk episode 2 with Justin Burgoine… ---- Show notes and links for this episode can be found at xrm.com

Scotty Cam and Trench Talk Introduction ---- This is episode 1 of Trench Talk, welcome! ---- PODCAST INTRODUCTION Trench Talk is hosted by award-winning plumber Matt Reynolds based out of Melbourne. Primarily in interview format, you’ll hear from interesting people including industry insiders, leaders and celebrities who share the critical lessons they feel have helped them carve out a career and master their own trade. From the unique perspective of a local tradesman, this format is wide as we discuss all things business and self-improvement. Think tools, tips and strategies from high-level achievers. Matt is a plumber, not a trained media personality, so if you prioritise action and practicality over polished professionalism, you’ve plugged into the right place. For further resources and episode information visit xrm.com.au/podcast. ---- EPISODE #001 – Scotty Cam Scotty Cam is Australia’s most well-known tradesman and requires no introduction. Some 30 years ago, he put his head down and got to work. By the