Latest / The Good Builder Podcast / The Daily Dose #254 | Fuel Security, Builder Content, Specialist Franchises, Housing Milestones & Why CPD Is Smart Business
Transcript
- Aaron Ng (00:17) Well, good day and welcome back to the Good Builder podcast. It is Tuesday and that means Tuesday headlines time and that also means powered by MyConstruct. Quick shout out to them. They are construction management software legends built by people who actually understand the building business. Go and check them out, myconstruct.com. There's a free 30 day trial for you there. Absolute legends. Thank you for the support of the Good Builder. We've got a big week of content this week. Monday, we dropped two articles, one on fuel security and the other on content marketing for builders. Tuesday, we've got two more that are dropping in line with this podcast. One about a specialized franchise that is very cool and has a few lessons in that article actually. And the other is a huge housing milestone for Queensland. And one of the partners we know quite well and they're very cool as well. Wednesday, we are dropping a C. PD article following featuring points build our community directory member of the week. And there are some very cool lessons in that one as well. So we've got a big week ahead. We've got some big stories on the pod and we better get into it. So I'm gonna kick off with story number one which is around that fuel supply task force coordinator which has been appointed by the federal government. And so. As you've probably seen the Bowser and you've seen all the memes on all social media and you know, you want to take your partner out to an expensive place, take them to a servo. The federal government has appointed Anthea Harris as Australia's first fuel supply task force coordinator. The role sits in the prime minister's cabinet and it coordinates fuel security across federal, state and territory governments. And it's a response to the early warning signs of the pressures ahead because of what's going on over in the Middle East. We're already having localized shortages. We've seen guys filling up thousand gallon drums and I don't know if they're AI pitches, but people with water tanks getting them filled up, you know, it's absolutely nuts out there. And there's been real localized shortages in parts of the country already. So the government has agreed to release 20 % of diesel reserves to support regions under pressure. and the temporary change to fuel standards to keep more domestically produced fuel here in Australia, which is very cool. Or not very cool, actually. It's a bit concerning, to be honest. The Middle East conflict is the pressure point. It's the critical region for global oil, as you all know out there. And the other thing that you all know out there is diesel runs construction. So when diesel prices spike, everything spikes. And we put it in another podcast, but I wanted to say, please, guys and girls out there for your businesses, check out your overheads, your costs, see what's going up. There was an article actually out from the Australian Financial Review yesterday saying that Coles is saying they're to put up their prices because of the cost of transport and all those sorts of things. Unfortunately, you're going to have to look at that as well. So review your cost planning, your supplier agreements, go and talk to them, see what's going on there. If they can be a bit transparent. please ask them to be and start to build that contingency now so you can get ahead of it and you're not gonna get caught up in it. It's quite interesting because we are gonna drop quite a big health report on the Australian building industry. And one of the sections I was working on on the weekend was around insolvencies and things like that. And the majority is still a fallout from some of the cost pressures of the material increased price that that the builders felt out there, you guys felt out there over COVID. So this could do a similar sort of thing depending on how this thing goes. So check it out, a very important article and why we wrote about it for you guys out there. And a big shout out to Renee, my beautiful wife for coordinating the journos on that one. It's a cool article. Now story number two, we are turning everyday work into high trust marketing. If you listen to the pod. I think it's episode 248, which was not yesterday, but the Monday previous, we dropped you're not short on content, you're already sort of creating it. So we're following up with an article to show you how to do it and have it in a written form. So you can refer to it. And there's a few hints and tips in there. But it's just about a shift from content creation to content documentation. I don't know where this content creation sort of thing came from. think agencies made it up so they can charge you for another service. Maybe, I'm not sure. But, you know, all you've got to do, and you see a lot of the successful, you know, people out there, and people that have built great profiles on social media, such as Hopkins, mate, Sammy Aitken all those guys. They are just documenting what they're doing day to day. They are absolute legends at it and they do it very, very well, very authentically. They don't polish it. You know, I think they shoot it on their phone. They might even cut it themselves, you know, and when you think about it for you, it might be Tuesday, but for someone out there who doesn't work in the industry, when you post up a frame that you fixed up or something like that, that shows that you're knowledgeable, trustworthy, and probably something they've never seen before. They'd think it's extraordinary. So that's a really cool article. That's story number two that we wanted to highlight another helpful article for you guys out there. Go and check it out because I think all of you could do this and do it very well and educate the market on actually what we do rather than flashy videos to try and hook people in with some, I don't know, sexy shots. think that has its place, but there's some other stuff that you can do that's much more authentic and will build more trust in this industry. So check out that article. That's a really cool one. Now story number three. This one is from one of our partners, but we did not partner with them on it because we wanted to write about them. And it is about Goop guys. And it's really a story of around specialization and why it's winning in the current market. know, Goop guys are an Australian-owned surface protection business, and they've been operating for 25 plus years and nearly 20 years in franchising, and their franchises do very well. just to let you guys know what they do without plugging them too hard, but their surface protection for windows, bench tops, floors, bathrooms, all those sorts of things that you put on during construction to prevent the defects and rework. And I can guarantee you that they're gonna save you more than you will spend if you don't use them. They're very, very cool. And they do a lot for a lot of builders we know up here in Queensland and they rave about them. You know, it's not glamorous work, but... The thing is, they've niched down into this surface protection and they do it very well. And I think it's a really good lesson in business that you can't be everything to everyone. If you can focus on a niche that you can serve very, very well, you're going to be a successful business. And that's why goop guys are. The other thing is ⁓ that what they've done very well is they've got some really cool, unique points of difference in their business. ⁓ aside of other franchises, so they're even competing with when you look at a franchise, cause it's a low entry franchise and it's probably a bit of a low skill entry franchise. They've made it, more accessible for people with a low entry in terms of capital. it's mobile, there's no shop front and there's no heavy equipment. So there's some really unique points of difference between it and other franchise models as well. and financially it's quite rewarding. So it's a very cool kind of look at a business that's in the construction industry that has done it well, that may not particularly be a builder, but working in the construction industry in that material sort of supply and service and showing how they've done it. It's probably something you guys should be worth thinking about out there in your business. How do Goop guys do it? And are you doing it similarly? Are you niching down? Do you know who your customer is? All that sort of thing. Who do you serve? What do you do? Very cool article. Story number three. And also a shout out to those guys as well. Kirsty, Shane, Sarah, everyone out there. Very cool people. Now story number four. Another celebration article because we'd like to shine the spotlight on what's going on out there. And it is around everyone's place. It reaches 200 homes in Queensland. So. Everyone's Place is a subsidiary of Metricon, a very cool builder or part of their business that builds affordable homes. And there's a real genuine milestone when they hit 200 homes, which has been completed under their program at Elridge in Jimboomba, which is booming out in Southeast Queensland and those Western corridors. It was marked with the legends from KDL Property Group. shout out to Barton. Big shout out to Mark, big shout out to Kent, big shout out to all those guys there, amazing team. We've done some work with them. They're the guys I was referring to earlier in the podcast. And the housing minister, Sam O'Connor even toured the 200th home. I know I've done a lot of shout outs, even more shout outs actually, because there has been some great delivery partners that has been able to make this project possible and the completion of the program in a timely manner. And that is Tetris Capital National Affordable Housing. ANZ as well. They are very cool in terms of being able to unlock this and do it. Well, the biggest lesson we got out of this story for everyone out there is, know, collaboration is becoming more and more prevalent in construction and developers are open to doing it with builders. And obviously, because of the housing accord and the things we've got to meet, the government is also quite motivated. So for all that type of builder, there is opportunity out there. There's opportunity to get involved and, you know, as I said, for the takeaway for that story, not only was it the highlight for me, but it was also that the future of housing delivery is in the networks, it's in the partnerships. It's not one builder building in isolation. You even see that from the communities that have been built out there. Position yourself early in these growth corridors and create some good networks. that feels right to you, it could work on a different level as well. You don't have to go that big. So that is a very cool story that is going live today, later today. So that is our second story for Tuesday going live that we are giving a bit of a feature to. Now the last story for today is a bit of a story and also a collaborative piece we did with Points Build, who are part of our community directory. If you haven't seen that, there's some great businesses in there that we almost vet and know and trust. And, you know, they've got some really good benefits for builders out there, such as these guys. at points Build So just to quickly introduce PointsBuild and what they are, they're a digital learning and CPD tracking platform built for construction. They help builders, supervisors and teams manage their CPD in one place, which is really cool. ⁓ Track points, access courses, stay compliant. They're offering 20 % off courses for all TGB directory members too. So big shout out to them for that. Thank you for that. And that is also why we wrote an article on them and also wanted to get this message out to you guys. because we think this sort of thing is really important. As we know, you know, a lot of builders, tradies, everyone out there sort of looks at CBD points. I do too, as a chore, a reminder arrives, you do the things, tick the box, the job's completed. But I think what happens is when you sort of treat it in that way, you miss the bigger opportunity. There's a real strategic sort of lever that you can use when you're continually educating and looking to become better. You know, that old saying, and I don't want to be cliche, but 1 % better every day. You know, where are the pain points in a building business? when you think about it, they're not generally in the craftsmanship. They're generally in the business side of things. You know, the financial side of things, Law clauses, contract clauses, poor variation documentation, all those sorts of things are the things that get us in trouble. And that is why we thought this is really important. know, management capability and the capability to do stuff right is built through learning and making sure that you've got it right. And as everything keeps evolving, we think that CPD is more of an investment than more of a chore and that you should be not ticking the box. but looking at it and seeing how you can do it to help you in your business and making sure that you're doing the right ones. Financial literacy, contract awareness, leadership training. They're not nice to haves. They're all in these modules that Points Build do. So we thought we'd expose them to our audience, tell our point of view in terms of CPD and how you can use it to better your business. Because as I said, we've gone to talk to hundreds of builders now on the Good Builder podcast. And pretty much when... We talk to anyone who's had some sort of failure. It was actually never in the craftsmanship and work. The work always turns out beautifully. It is always in the contractual obligations. It's always in the financial stuff. It's things like that that got a lot of the people out there in trouble. So please stop thinking it as something that you should just tick and flick. treated as part of how you run your business and how competitive business. Go and check it out. You don't have to do business with them, but we are giving them a shout out. We really appreciate what they do. But I think the lesson now that story is also that continual learning is something everyone should be looking at and treating as something that's a bit strategic in your business. They are the five stories that we are highlighting, fuel security, content documentation, specialist franchise. housing milestones and CPD as a business strategy. The Monday articles are live. The Tuesday articles will be going live today. And that last one, the CPD article will be going live tomorrow, but you can get 20 % off working with them if you think that's for you, for our TGB directory members. Once again, a big shout out to MyConstruct for powering the Tuesday headlines. Thanks guys. MyConstruct.com for your 30 day trial. The TGB community directory is live. So that's where you get that discount. If you want to join up, go and check it out. Goodbuilder.com.au. Other than that, I'll be back. Thank you so much for listening. Thank you for liking and subscribing. And we hope these podcasts continue to help you. If you want anything for us to look at and research, please let us know. And we're going to have a few special things coming this week. So stay tuned. See you later.