As we close in on the end of the year, give yourself some space to reflect. Don’t just glance back at what has happened; take the time to dig deep and review the year with intent. Doing so will help you uncover valuable lessons, celebrate the wins that often go unnoticed, and strengthen the confidence needed to move forward.

We outline a clear five-question framework to guide you through the process, helping you to turn challenges into growth, recognise what truly worked, and let go of what no longer serves. Take the opportunity this Christmas to reset, gain clarity, and shape the year ahead with purpose and direction.

In this episode you’ll learn:

🔨 Reflection is a powerful way to create forward momentum and clarity.
🔨 Deep review helps uncover lessons that surface-level reflection often misses.
🔨 Celebrating small wins builds motivation, gratitude, and lasting self-belief.
🔨 Honest reflection turns challenges into lessons and lessons into growth.
🔨 Clarity comes from recognising what worked and letting go of what didn’t.
🔨 Purposeful reflection sets the foundation for a stronger, more focused year ahead.

… Book a free Discovery Call to start your journey toward building a sustainable business and balanced life: www.strategysession.com.au

And if you’re not already part of The Trade Den please come over to our community on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thetradeden

Find out more about Pravar Group at www.pravargroup.com or https://www.instagram.com/pravargroup

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fourteen months ago, plasterer Jerry Redman was stuck on the hamster wheel: long hours, tight cashflow, confused on how to break the cycle.

Then he discovered The Trade Den and made the commitment to change.

Today, he runs a $2M+ owner-operator business, is completely off the tools, leads an eight-man high-end plastering crew, has support in the office, and is building a business that actually serves his family, lifestyle and financial future.

In this episode, we follow Jerry’s epic journey through cashflow crunches, pricing overhauls, installing back-office systems, and shifting his identity from a plaster who ‘just works harder’ to a leader who focuses on growth and profits.

If you’re feeling stuck but know you’re capable of more, Jerry’s story is proof of what’s possible when you set clear goals, follow the right roadmap and commit to the priorities that matter. This might be the kick you’ve been waiting for.

In this episode you’ll learn:

🔨 Pricing systems gave clarity, confidence and control over every project delivered.
🔨 Letting go of the tools unlocked strategic thinking and real business growth.
🔨 Strong habits and personal discipline fuelled consistency through every tough stage.
🔨 Community support and coaching accelerated decisions, learning and long-term momentum.
🔨 Empowering a team creates pride, ownership and higher-quality outcomes on site.
🔨 Strategic growth replaced chaos, giving Jerry a business with real direction.

Jerry started making the change from listening to episodes 23, 24, and 25 of The Trade Den. We encourage you to go back and listen to these three episodes on pricing:

23. The Most Costly Pricing Mistakes You Can Make in a Trades Business
24. How to Adjust Your Prices as Your Business Grows… Without Losing Customers
25. What You Need to be Charging in Your Trades Business

Listen here: https://open.spotify.com/show/4DcSmeN59hroObrubbwFZ3

… Book a free Discovery Call to start your journey toward building a sustainable business and balanced life: www.strategysession.com.au

And if you’re not already part of The Trade Den please come over to our community on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thetradeden

Find out more about Pravar Group at www.pravargroup.com or https://www.instagram.com/pravargroup

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s that time of year again where everyone’s counting the days to a well-earned break. The last thing you want to hear about is another checklist or another thing to do. But here’s the truth: the businesses that plan their shutdown properly are the ones that actually get to switch off. They come back refreshed, ready, and miles ahead of the ones still checking emails on Christmas Eve.

So before you throw in the towel for the year, take a breath. A clean shutdown now means a stronger start later. We walk you through the simple steps that make the difference between burnout and a real break.

In this episode you’ll learn:

🔨 Businesses that plan well switch off fully and start stronger in January.
🔨 Half-finished jobs today become holiday headaches tomorrow, so close them out.
🔨 Communicate early and clearly with clients, suppliers, and your own team.
🔨 Lock away tools and materials before thieves or vandals find your hard work.
🔨 Cashflow slows over Christmas, so invoice early and follow up before you rest.
🔨 Switch off properly, enjoy your family, and reward yourself with a real break.

… Book a free Strategy Session to start your journey toward building a sustainable business and balanced life: www.strategysession.com.au

And if you’re not already part of The Trade Den please come over to our community on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/thetradeden

Find out more about Pravar Group at www.pravargroup.com or https://www.instagram.com/pravargroup

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you ever felt that tug-of-war between wanting to let go and needing to stay in control?

You know the business can’t grow unless you start trusting your team; but the last time you did, something went wrong. A mistake on a job. A quote that blew out. A client that complained. And since then, your grip has only tightened. Fear keeps you stuck. Because without trust, you become the bottleneck. You stop your team from stepping up.

Today, we unpack how to build that kind of trust. It’s the invisible ingredient every great business runs on.

In this episode you’ll learn:

🔨 Micromanagement often comes from fear, not leadership or effective control.
🔨 Past mistakes shouldn’t dictate your future ability to trust others.
🔨 Real trust is earned through capability, consistency, and clear communication.
🔨 Letting go doesn’t mean losing control, it means creating freedom and growth.
🔨 Without trust, you become the bottleneck that slows your business down.
🔨 When trust grows, your people step up and your business thrives.

… Book a free Strategy Session to start your journey toward building a sustainable business and balanced life: www.strategysession.com.au

And if you’re not already part of The Trade Den please come over to our community on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/thetradeden

Find out more about Pravar Group at www.pravargroup.com or https://www.instagram.com/pravargroup

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Most business owners tackle time the wrong way. They cram more in with new systems, apps or hires, hoping it will fix the chaos. But when your cup is already overflowing, adding more only makes the mess worse.

The real fix starts with one question: What should I stop doing immediately?

When you stop, you create capacity. Then you can start the things that matter and continue what’s already working. The simplest and most effective framework for taking back control of your time and your business is: stop, start, continue. It’s not about doing more. It’s about doing what counts.

In this episode you’ll learn:

🔨 When your cup is full, creating capacity starts with stopping first.
🔨 The first question isn’t what to add, it’s what to stop.
🔨 Eliminating low-value work unlocks time for higher-impact priorities.
🔨 Stopping creates space, starting moves you forward, continuing builds momentum.
🔨 Focus on what delivers value, not on staying endlessly busy.
🔨 Growth happens when you shed what no longer serves your business.

… Book a free Strategy Session to start your journey toward building a sustainable business and balanced life: www.strategysession.com.au

And if you’re not already part of The Trade Den please come over to our community on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/thetradeden

Find out more about Pravar Group at www.pravargroup.com or https://www.instagram.com/pravargroup

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Grant Hateley was winging it as a tradie with zero business systems, charging minimal margin and drowning in debt. With self-reflection and grit, he’s managed to breakthrough and turn it all around, and today he’s leading a high-performance team, managing multi-million-dollar builds, and winning top accolades.

Late 2023 was a face the facts moment, after borrowing $200k from his dad to keep things afloat, Grant made a powerful declaration, took ownership, and rebuilt himself from the inside out. With the right coaching, he’s now leading with confidence, charging what he’s worth, and planning for the future.

Grant’s story hasn’t just turned his business around; he shattered the limiting the beliefs that were holding him bank and stepped into being the leader he was destined to be.

In this episode you’ll learn:

🔨 Pricing clarity was the catalyst that saved his business from collapse.
🔨 Personal ownership marked the turning point in both mindset and results.
🔨 Speaking up and making a declaration created powerful public accountability.
🔨 Coaching unlocked not just profit—but deep personal growth and belief.
🔨 Systems, not hustle, became the foundation for scalable success.
🔨 Changing identity from tradie to business owner reshaped his entire trajectory.

… Book a free Strategy Session to start your journey toward building a sustainable business and balanced life: www.strategysession.com.au

And if you’re not already part of The Trade Den please come over to our community on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thetradeden

Find out more about Pravar Group at www.pravargroup.com or https://www.instagram.com/pravargroup

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stress isn’t just a feeling. It’s not simply being busy or under pressure, it’s your body’s primal response to threat. The same surge of cortisol that once saved us from a lion still fires when the invoice is overdue, a staff member quits, or the pipeline runs dry.

Why is that a problem? Well, in business that lion never stops chasing us. For months or years, we can stay in fight-or-flight mode, and the cost shows up everywhere: in our health, our families, and our bottom line.

We explore the traps business owners fall into: working harder, avoiding, numbing, and share how to break the cycle through awareness, healthy habits, and smarter strategies. Because you can’t outrun stress. But you can learn to face it, manage it, and come out stronger.

In this episode you’ll learn:
🔨 Stress isn’t just mental: it’s your body’s physical alarm system.
🔨 Constant pressure keeps your body redlining, and something eventually breaks.
🔨 Most people respond by working harder, avoiding, or numbing the pain.
🔨 Real progress starts by naming stress, facing it, and tackling the cause.
🔨 Healthy habits: eating well, sleeping, moving, rebuild your resilience and focus.
🔨 You can’t outrun stress, but you can learn to master it.

If you’re felling stressed or overwhelmed, and need someone to talk, we recommend you reach out to TIACS, a free phone and text counselling service for Australia’s tradies: https://www.tiacs.org/ or phone 0488 846 988.

… Book a free Strategy Session to start your journey toward building a sustainable business and balanced life: www.strategysession.com.au

And if you’re not already part of The Trade Den please come over to our community on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thetradeden

Find out more about Pravar Group at www.pravargroup.com or https://www.instagram.com/pravargroup

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you’ve ever caught yourself saying, “It’s just easier if I do it myself,” you might be caught in the control trap. And it’s likely costing your business more than you think. One of the biggest blockers to growth in trades businesses is the control freak mindset. Over time, it creates dependency, stalls decision-making, and drains time and energy from the owner. Growth slows, stress builds, and the team fails to reach its potential.

The solution lies in shifting from control to capability: setting boundaries, empowering others to think, and accepting that mistakes are part of progress. True leadership isn’t about doing it all, it’s about enabling others to thrive. Letting go isn’t easy, but it’s essential if the goal is a business that can grow without being handcuffed to the owner.

In this episode you’ll learn:
🔨 Micromanagement creates dependency and prevents teams from thinking independently.
🔨 Perfectionism often disguises a deeper fear of losing relevance.
🔨 True leadership means enabling others, not doing everything yourself.
🔨 Delegation requires boundaries, trust, and acceptance of occasional mistakes.
🔨 Control creates a ceiling; empowerment creates momentum and scale.
🔨 Building capability in others frees you to focus on your strengths.

… Book a free Strategy Session to start your journey toward building a sustainable business and balanced life: www.strategysession.com.au

And if you’re not already part of The Trade Den please come over to our community on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thetradeden

Find out more about Pravar Group at www.pravargroup.com or https://www.instagram.com/pravargroup

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.