Being a Builder Is NOT What I Expected… Here’s What I Learned

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Being a tradie definitely didn't end up what I expected it to be.
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And being a builder is probably even more not what I expected.
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Shirts off, working all day, flat out in the sun, smashing out, drinking beers, going to the pub, and just partying all weekend.
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And it was awesome at the time, but then when you tried to combine that with the business side of things, and oh no, I've got to go to site in the morning.
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If I don't go to site, the world's gonna end it, everything's gonna fall apart, it's gonna cost us money, the team ain't gonna do what we expect them to do.
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And it all becomes excuses.
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Your business is very capped if you think that you're going to be able to stay on the tools.
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Because on the tools, there's only so many hours in a day.
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You can only work so hard, you can only get so much done.
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It doesn't matter how efficient you are, you're always gonna have a limit.
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And that limit is going to be not just a limit on the amount of work you do, but it's going to be the limit on the wealth that you're able to create, it's going to be the limit on the success that you have in your life.
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All those types of things.
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As a business owner, I believe freedom is what we're all chasing.
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Whether it's financial freedom or freedom to just be able to pick and choose what you do each day, or freedom to be able to just not have any boundaries.
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Be able to if your family wants to go on a holiday, you go on a holiday, and while you're on that holiday, if they want to do something, you go and do it.
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Even though building wasn't what I expected it to be, it's definitely turned out to be a whole lot more.
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Yes, I've been through some tough times.
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Yes, I've had to change my passions along the journey, but believe me, stay motivated, keep your foot on the gas.
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As a builder, one of my number one priorities is making sure that my entire team, including my contractors, go home safely every day to their families.
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I understand that workplace health and safety can sometimes feel like it's just an overwhelming thing that you just don't have the time, you don't have the money, you don't have the resources to put in place.
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That's why I recommend Hazard Co.
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Hazard Co.
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is a digital platform that allows you to run more profitable projects and stay on top of your workplace health and safety requirements.
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You see, safety isn't a cost.
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Chaos will always send you an invoice.
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An unsafe job site is an unprofitable job site.
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Using digital platforms to drive safer, more profitable jobs is the way of the future.
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So get on board with Hazuco.
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Go to www.hazuco.com and help create a safer job site for your team.
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From timber frames and trusses to fasteners and stealers, Brett Online has got the lot.
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Real trade gear, no weekend warrior stuff.
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Your own profile page keeps everything neat and tidy.
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Account details, safe job lists, invoices, and all your top-ordered products.
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No more digging through old paperwork or chasing around old invoices to try and see what you've ordered.
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It's all there, ready to go.
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As a builder that's run my own construction business for over 20 years, 17 of those years I've been using Brett because Brett's are always putting their customers first to help us deliver more successful and profitable projects.
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By using their online portal, it means that myself or my supervisor can order gear at the drop of a hat.
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No more driving across town to place orders or have to pick up the phone and try and get through to the right rep.
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It's just done and dusted.
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On top of this, their next day delivery service is an absolute lifesaver when you under order on framing or one of your team forgets to add a zero.
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Brett's proudly service all of Southeast Queensland and the Wide Bay region right now and are gearing up to roll out across all capital cities very soon.
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The Brett's way is simple.
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Less admin, more building, more profitable projects.
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Brett's online, built for builders who don't have time to muck around, building better and living better.
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G'day guys, welcome back to another episode of Level Up.
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We are back in the studio this afternoon for another cracking solo episode.
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So uh guys, loving the feedback about these solo uh episodes, and um, a lot of these topics are coming up because of the feedback and the questions that I'm getting asked.
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So keep them coming and we'll keep smashing them out.
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But um, today's podcast is all about uh being a tradeie, definitely didn't end up what I expected it to be.
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And um, being a builder is probably even more not what I expected.
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So, as a young fella and um doing my apprenticeship and stuff, I I couldn't wait to work for myself.
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And the thing is, it it's one of those things you don't know what you don't know, and uh being a young fella on the tools, um, or even a subby when I was a subby on the tools, all I saw was what like my build my boss, like he um when I was an apprentice, and then when I was a um a contractor, like you just see I like I got two different perspectives of that, I guess.
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So my first boss during my apprenticeship, I had to drive my own vehicle, turn up to site, like he would just give me the address of the job we're working on, and I'd have to get there, make sure I showed up on time and or early.
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I had to be there before he pulled up, and then uh yeah, I would just go to work, do what I I was told for the day, and then uh once we'd finished packing it all up, it was my job to make sure all the rubbish was clean, the bins were clean, the site fence was up, and I had to leave after everybody else.
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And then my second boss during my apprenticeship, I saw a little bit more about the behind the scenes of a uh a building business, but basically he he lived just up the road from me, so we uh I would go up to his house, um, depending on what he had on.
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Sometimes I would I would jump in the truck and take it on my own, or most of the time I would jump in the passenger seat and uh I would go to work with him.
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But I did get to see a bit more about the business side of things with him because as it progressed, a lot of the time I actually ended up driving, and then he would be on the phone beside me, placing orders, abusing people.
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Um and we had a f a few conversations about a little bit about the business side of things, but I I definitely didn't understand what was involved behind the scenes of running a business, and one of those um it's just one of those things.
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Like, if sometimes if you know um, if you know more, you you may not have ended up following through.
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Like I definitely know if I had have had a better understanding of what was involved running a building business, it might have scared me off a little bit from pushing as hard as I did to to build a building business because I'd always tell myself these stories that I'm dyslexic or I can't read, I can't write, um, I failed things at school, I'm never going to be successful.
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And if I hadn't known more about running the business side of things, I would have let those stories probably hold me back and and wouldn't have followed through on it.
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But so it's probably a good thing I didn't know more about running a business.
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But what I thought running a business was was uh like building a team.
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And back in the day, it was like when I first started my carpentry business, it was it was built off the back of a just a heap of young fellows.
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Like I was in my uh sort of early to mid-20s, most of the people that I ended up employing were in their 20s, early 30s.
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Um, and we just had a great time.
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It was there was a lot of drinking, a lot of partying, going to pubs on Fridays.
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Um, well, in saying that, there was some Wednesday and Thursday nights that we ended up at the pub as well.
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But um, it was completely different to what I thought it would be, and it was uh the culture was just shirts off, working all day, flat out in the sun, smashing it out, drinking beers, going to the pub, and just partying all weekend.
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And it was it was awesome at the time, but then when you tried to combine that with the business side of things, and um it just didn't work, and quite often I got myself into a lot of trouble because I I loved that side of it.
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I loved being on site, I loved the banter with the team, I love cranking the tunes on on site all day, like it got you pumped up, it got you fired, you're excited all the time.
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And then as the business progressed and I started sort of having to understand more about my taxes and my bookkeeping and all those types of things, um, it definitely like business definitely grew into something that I wasn't ready for, I wasn't prepared for, and I definitely wasn't expecting.
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If I had no idea um back in the day of how much had to get done behind the scenes, and I guess going back again to when I was an apprentice and when I was in my early days of contracting, like I just saw it when my boss left the site that he was he was going out to lunch with his wife or he was going to catch up with his mates, or like he was hanging out at home in the shed.
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Like I didn't realise that he was flat out at home in the office, working all hours of night, working all weekends, just to make sure that gear got to site, that jobs got priced, that contra like you you had clients that followed through to contracts, and it's um yeah, it can definitely take you back a bit as you as your business starts to grow and you start to realise just how much is needed off site, and definitely through my career now and where I've grown and how successful I've managed to be.
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Um it's it's I definitely see a pattern that it's a place that most people in in well in the construction industry struggle with.
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You you a lot of us get into it for the same reasons.
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We love that band or we love the tunes on site, and I hear so many builders and tradies for that matter that can't step away from the tools.
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Uh that's their passion, that's what they love, and they really struggle to make it a priority to step away from the tools, to um make someone on site in charge and I guess start building a structure um where they can step away from site.
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And the other thing that goes hand in hand with this is so many builders will start to step away from the job site to s to run a more professional business or to spend time working on the business, and then we start making excuses.
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It's like, oh no, I've got to go to site in the morning.
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If I don't go to site, the world's gonna end it, everything's gonna fall apart, it's gonna cost us money, the team aren't gonna do what we expect them to do.
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Um and it all becomes excuses, and those excuses we use those excuses just to get out of the office because the office isn't why we got into this business in the first place.
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We didn't start a building business or a trades business to be sitting in an office, to go to meetings, to sign paperwork, to understand all the finances, all those types of things.
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Like, and it's just it's a it's a big mindset shift, there's a lot to work through, but um, it's really important that you get your head around it because I've definitely had to learn uh other passions.
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I still get so much out of on the weekends.
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Um like I I couldn't even tell you the last time that I actually uh worked on site with the team when it comes to carpentry.
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Like, yes, I jump in every now and then, I'll I'll help clean the site up, or if they're prepping footings or slabs, I'll jump in if I'm needed to get something done.
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But um like my real passion was the carpentry.
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Like, I absolutely loved framing, uh, I loved cladding, I loved fitting out because I could get in, I had I could see it in my head what I would get done that day, and I'd just smash it in and get it done.
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And the only time I get to do that now is um when I'm generally on my own on a weekend or throwing the bag on, whether it's a development that my wife and I are working on, or renovating our own home, or building something in the backyard, or um building something for the kids, and I that's when I still get my passion back, and I love it.
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And but um I've had to find new passions in my business as the business grows, and it it definitely changes over time.
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Um, and I'm really passionate now about the the pre-construction process.
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I I'm not on the tools anymore, but I've found a real passion for understanding more about the design, architecture, engineering, um, and I think another thing that I've really found a lot of passion in is building relationships with people and really getting to know our potential clients well before we go to contract.
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And I've also um I guess come to understand the value in that, and I think this is another area that a lot of there's a lot of conflict on site because like I talk to builders all the time, and I still see it with my own team in my own building business.
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Like, I know I've got older guys that work for me that just think that I drive around all day or that I go to meetings or I go to lunches and stuff.
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They they they still don't understand what I do, even though I'm I'm constantly educating them, I'm talking to them about what I'm doing at our team meetings and stuff.
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There's just a there's some old people, old guys that they've got that sort of old mindset in our industry, and um look, that's fine.
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Um, if they want to just cruise along on site and do their thing on site and not understand what goes on in the office, that's completely fine.
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I've also got guys that are the complete opposite to that.
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Like they they text me and they call me up and they ask me if they can meet me after hours.
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They come.
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I had one of my young guys come and spend five hours the other Saturday with me because he wants to understand more of the business side of things.
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So it's horses for courses, everybody's different, uh, everybody's got a different mindset around this stuff, but I think it's important to I I want people to know that the reason I did this podcast, like I said, I a lot of these solos are basically based on all the questions and stuff that you guys ask me, and I get so many people that message me and say being a builder or being a tradie is not what I expected, and the thing is it's okay, like it doesn't I think a lot of people get a bit down on themselves, uh maybe a little bit of depression, anxiety, um, they feel that everything's too hard, but it's okay, you've got to go through that.
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It's part of I guess evolving and and getting to the next level.
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And yes, you might have got into whatever it is, plumbing or concreting or landscaping, whatever whatever it is, because you like that on-site stuff, you like the outdoor stuff, but it's completely okay to go through a period where you might feel a little bit lost, you're not sure quite sure what to do next or what to work on.
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And these days with immense like podcasts, this podcast, other podcasts, coaches, mentors, there's so much out there that can help you get to that next level or work your way through those scenarios.
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But the thing is, and the the one thing I really want to get across is you've got to find other passions.
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Like you're not you can't say stuck um and keep telling yourself you got into the industry for a certain reason.
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You've got to keep updating your story and moving on because that's how you're gonna get to the next level.
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It's gonna how you it's how you're gonna have growth, it's how you're going to, I guess, create wealth and be more profitable.
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Because at the end of the day, your business is very capped if you think that you're going to be able to stay on the tools.
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Because on the tools, there's only so many hours in a day.
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There's only so you can only work so hard, you can only get so much done.
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It doesn't matter how efficient you are, you're always going to have a limit.
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And that limit is going to be the not just the limit on the amount of work you do, but it's going to be the limit on the wealth that you're able to create, it's going to be the limit on the success that you have in your life, all those types of things.
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So changing that mindset from getting into the industry because you love the tools to uh yeah, moving on, finding another passion in another area of the business is really important.
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And as I said, those passions might change over time.
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And like I'm at a point in my businesses now where I'm really developing a more and more passion for developing and bigger developments.
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Um like we've done splitter blocks and we've done renovations and we've done spec homes and we've done duplexes, we've done townhouses.
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Like my wife and I have done a lot of different things.
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Um but I'm I'm really I don't know, I'm really passionate at the moment to go bigger, like doing multi-block subdivisions.
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Like um, we're looking at a deal recently where it's um potentially going to be 70 blocks of land.
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So like just getting out and getting amongst other people, learning new things and finding new passions.
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And to allow me to be able to do that, my passion's changing again.
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So it's meant that I've had to I've had to do a bit more restructuring, my my supervisors have um I've had to get a lot clearer around everybody's roles and tasks and what everybody has to do, so to give me the time to be able to branch out and and keep growing and start leaning towards bigger developments.
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But again, coming back, I guess, to building isn't what I expected.
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I definitely didn't expect when I started my building business to be so over all the data, all the numbers, all the finances, the cash flow, the accounting, um understanding roles and tasks, putting KPIs in place for my team, um having bloody all these different apps to help communicate and softwares to help run the business, and having weekly management meetings and setting targets and all these types of things.
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But the thing is, as you get into all this stuff more and more, um it really you really start to figure out how it all gels together.
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Um but for me, most importantly, you start to figure out how much freedom you can get.
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And ultimately, as a business owner, I believe freedom is what we're all chasing.
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Like that is whether it's financial freedom or freedom to just be able to pick and choose what you do each day, or freedom to be able to just not have any boundaries, be able to, like if your family wants to go on a holiday, you go on a holiday.
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And while you're on that holiday, if they want to do something, you go and do it.
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So um even though building wasn't what I expected it to be, um, it's definitely turned out to be a whole lot more.
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Yes, I've been through some tough times.
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Yes, I've had to change my passions along the along the journey, but um, believe me, stay motivated, keep your foot on the gas, and yeah, being working, having a business in this building industry is incredibly rewarding.
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Um, I love it, I wouldn't do anything different.
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Um, I've got so much passion for this industry, it's not funny, and that's why I'm on a mission to create a new industry, one where we all thrive, we all have incredible businesses, we all make the money we deserve to make.
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Um, our clients get the products that they deserve, and ultimately we all have a good time.
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We go home healthy and fit to our families every day, and we can enjoy life.
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So, guys, I'll keep this one short and sweet.
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Um, thanks very much for listening, watching whatever it is you're doing.
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Make sure you like, subscribe, share this with all your friends so we can help uh create a new building industry, but more importantly, continue to grow this level up movement.
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Um, yeah, go to the DwaynePears.com website, grab all your merch, and uh we look forward to seeing you on the next one.
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All right, guys, I want to introduce you to a really exciting new product that I believe is going to play a massive role in Australia building healthier homes.
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As you all know, I am extremely passionate about healthy homes and I'm doing a lot of research and putting a lot of time and effort into making sure my construction business is leading the way when it comes to building healthy homes here in Australia.
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We've teamed up with the guys from Highwood Timber.
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Highwood Timber are pioneering condensation management with their high flow ventilated LVL baton system.
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High flow battons give builders a stronger, straighter, and smarter way to create a ventilated cavity behind cladding and underneath roofs without compromising on structural performance.
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While tackling condensation to improve building health and ease of insulation, highwood battons are built to perform.
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When it comes to dealing with condensation and ventilation, high flow batttons will help you create continuous ventilated cavities behind all your cladding and underneath your roof sheeting.
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They reduce condensation risk and support healthier, longer lasting buildings.
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Highwood timber battons are also in alignment with the proposed NCC condensation management requirements as well as passive house ventilation requirements.
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Being an engineered LVL product, they are stronger, straighter, and more dimensionally stable than a solid material such as pine.
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This helps resist warping, twisting, and shrinkage, ensuring more consistent installs less prone to splitting than solid timber.
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The part that I like the most about these batons are they are H3 treated for long-term protection against decay and turmoiles.
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They use a waterborne H3 treatment which reduces reactivity with membranes and adhesives when compared to LOSP.
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These are the exact battens that you want to be using on your homes and your builds if you are considering building healthier homes or passive homes.
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Check them out.