The "Level Up" with Duayne Pearce Podcast
I take on the role of an authoritative voice that fearlessly communicates truths drawn directly from my lived experiences. With a genuine sense of ownership, my insights are free from any hidden agendas – they truly belong to the audience. My stories and journey add remarkable value, the key now lies in harnessing its power effectively to help others.
My purpose is to create a new residential building industry. My mission is to inspire unshakable self-confidence in my colleagues in the industry, empowering them to orchestrate prosperous, enduring, and lucrative businesses that bring exceptional projects to fruition for our clients.
My goal is to foster a deeper comprehension among clients about the identity and functions of builders, redefining their perceptions.
The "Level Up" with Duayne Pearce Podcast
From Imposter Syndrome to Industry Leadership.
#148 Ryan Smith from Locspec shares his remarkable transformation from traditional carpenter to successful business owner, revealing how vulnerability and community support revolutionised both his company and personal life.
Check out Locspec here...
https://locspec.com.au/
Check out Duayne's other projects here...
Live Life Build
livelifebuild.com
D Pearce Constructions
dpearceconstructions.com.au
QuoteEaze
quoteeaze.com/Free-Offer.html
Check out the Duayne Pearce website here...
https://duaynepearce.com/
I think I spent a long time not like thinking locally that I'm against him. I'm against him Like, are we quoting against each other? Do I undercut him? All those sort of things. Now I look at it I'm like I'd be better off having a chat to that builder saying are you all good?
Speaker 2:The more we all talk, the more we're vulnerable, the more we share stories. It's the only way that our industry is going to thrive, only way that our industry is going to thrive. G'day guys. Welcome back to another episode of Level Up. We are back in the shed today for another cracking episode. I am really looking forward to the podcast episode we've got coming up today because we've got Ryan from Loxbeck. He's one of our Elevate members in Live Life Build. He's a fantastic guy and I just I can't wait to share your story, mate, like your growth in the last what 12, 18 months, two years?
Speaker 1:Yeah, best part of two years now.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's been pretty phenomenal. So thanks for making the trip up from Wollongong.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was a bit of a journey today, but we're here now, so it's all good. The weather's much better up here.
Speaker 2:Mate, we've had shocking weather up here, but today is a cracking day. It'd be a bit chilly down your way, wouldn't it?
Speaker 1:Yeah, we had a big storm during the week. We had a tree come through our living room actually. Oh no, I left my house with about 20 SES people in our living room, so that was fun. My wife's dealing with that, so she's a bit of a superstar, so she'll be sweet with it.
Speaker 2:Yeah Well, we'll talk about your wife a bit today as well, because she's in the business as well.
Speaker 1:eh, Yep, yep.
Speaker 2:So, mate, let's go back. Look before you became part of Elevate. Tell us a little bit about your background.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I did my apprenticeship with my old boy. He's a builder, a residential builder, based in a little town called Jamboree, which is, I think there's about 1,000 people there, and we just basically build renovations, new homes in the area. I wanted to be an architect to start, like when I was in school. I probably didn't listen well enough at school to make that a reality, so I just naturally came down the path of dad told me to stop mucking around at school so come to work pretty much. So that was that's how that come about. But I look back on it now and I still do have a passion for the design part of building. But, um, I love, I've, I've re-found my passion for building in the last couple of years, which is I really needed that um, and that's a lot to do with, like the community I've got around me now and um, just the things that we've put in place with both personally and professionally.
Speaker 2:So that's been really cool, so did you go down the standard apprenticeship path.
Speaker 1:Yep, yep. So I did my time over four years through TAFE and then I did my builder's license when I started in my second year of my apprenticeship. So I literally finished my apprenticeship one week. The following week I finished my builder's license the following week. After that I flew to London for three years. I was only gone for six months, but I ended up staying for three years and, probably like most young builders, I thought I was king shit.
Speaker 2:So did you work over there or just tour yeah?
Speaker 1:I started working over there. The full intention was just to go over there and have a bit of fun. I was there with my now wife. We were just going to work in bars there and do heaps of traveling. We quickly found out that whatever savings we had were gone within about six weeks. So we were enjoying our time there, but we very quickly realized that we were probably going to have to get a proper job. So we did that and that was really cool and I started as a site foreman over there, which is a little bit different. It was really exciting, but I definitely probably put myself in a position and said I could do things that I couldn't do. Like we built. I was a site fore former for Simon Cow from X Factor.
Speaker 1:We were building a pretty cool house in Chelsea for him, and it's that part of things, that part of the journey, was pretty cool, but I was definitely promising things that I couldn't do, and now that I look back when I'm what 20 years, nearly 20 years later I was just incredibly naive of probably the things I knew and what I, what I didn't know as well.
Speaker 2:So how did it all pan out?
Speaker 1:I actually there was a part they'll ask me to uh basically run the, the lift portion of the of the job and I they basically put told me to go in there and lay the vessel blocks and for the lift shaft and I don't know what to do there and then had a big blue with lift shaft. I'm like I don't know what to do there. And then I had a big blue with the project manager. I said that's not my job, but typical bull in the ring sort of scenario. I was like I got my back up, he got his back up and obviously he was a bit more superior than I was, so he basically told me to pack my bag.
Speaker 1:But then again I went down the path to another residential builder there and did the same role. That one went much, much better because it was much smaller scale, which was cool. Still some pretty decent staff that we were building, but not to the extent of tens of millions of pounds of jobs. But yeah, that next role went for probably 12 to 18 months, which was really cool, and it gave me a lot of opportunities to see three quarters of the world actually. So it's um, looking back on it now, it was pretty cool opportunity yeah, it's unreal.
Speaker 1:Got to do a bit of traveling and yeah build your career as well yeah, so there's a different way of building too. Like I, I probably didn't grasp or realize how much fun that was and and the different techniques that they have, like the underpinning of basements and just, and you know, two, three hundred year old houses and stuff like that. It was so cool it's crazy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they dig down under old places over there and they're basically building underground yeah, and then dewatering and all that yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was really, really cool looking back on it now. But yeah, I was very much running by the seat of my pants for a long time, like I think most young dudes do. But I mean, that's just maturing, I suppose as well, realising that you can't do everything at once.
Speaker 2:So what happened? When you come back to Oz, mate, did you get straight back into carpentry and building?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I did. I came back straight back and I just started subbing to my old man again. So he family business. He probably couldn't say no. I suppose he did need my help, which is cool. He had myself and my brother as the carpenters and then we had some subbies and stuff and I was sort of always somewhat of his, I suppose, leading hand when he wasn't on site um, and my brother was. He was he's a he's, he's a great chippy, my brother um, and then he uh, it's probably important to say that we had a lot of blues on site um, my brother, my dad and myself I can only imagine I think I think I quit twice in my four years as an apprentice and my brother quit 17 times.
Speaker 1:So looking back on it, it was, it's a looking back on it now, like we're just we're three of the same people and we just clash the whole time yeah there's one story there where we're all at a job we must have all just got our license and um either had a ute, the one of the work utes dad had one of the work utes and my brother had the other work ute and we all went there. My dad had a blue with my other brother. With my brother he said, fuck, yeah, I'm going. So he left the ute there and then, like half an hour later I had a blue with the old boy as well. So I said the same thing and we're both walking, going to walk 10Ks home, and Dad rings us up with his tail between his legs saying that can you come back? I'm sorry, we need to get the work cars home. So we finally got one back on him on that one. But looking back he was my old boy. He's really known for being quite stern and um in like you could probably say a cranky prick, I suppose along. But he was very, very respected and ironically I'm not touching it later he's probably the closest um builder carpenter that I've ever met. That comes up to one of my great friends, craig stew Stewart. So like just the way, their mannerisms, their techniques, so that that really set me in good stead for what I've been a good chippy.
Speaker 1:Um, I didn't learn much as a, as a businessman, like I was. Like I said, I was quite naive, um, as a builder. But I mean, I just threw myself in when I got home, went out to start subbing to the old boy. Then I think we just finished a speccy for dad and then another builder mate of mine said do you want to come contract to our bigger company? They weren't a volume builder, but they were doing, you know, probably 10 to 12 houses a year and they needed, uh, subby chippies. So I went for myself and then I went to one apprentice and at one stage I think I had five guys just working for us and we were just subby chippies. Um, we're like they were doing some like award-winning houses and stuff like that. So we weren't, we weren't building garbage, so we were earning what's the word I'm trying to say? We were building good techniques, like we were doing the right things.
Speaker 2:And it gets you speed up. Eh, that was the best.
Speaker 1:I look back on it now and I'm like that's so good. That's the part that really helped us a lot. I was fortunate enough to bring my brother with us. He's very much inherited my dad's temper to the demise of a couple of apprentices I lost over that time and that was. And then, while we were doing the contracting stuff, that's where I really learnt how to run a business and what to do and what not to do. I did struggle with that for a long, long time and then towards the end of it, I just got. I got Jack of subbing. I look at it. I look at it now. We I think we subbed to them for about five years full time and at the time I was like what are these guys doing? Like the builders, like the owners of the business, what are they doing? Like we're out here building all their houses.
Speaker 1:Just so naive, just thinking like the carpenters do all the work sort of thing, and and I look back on it now I'm just like far out, like knowing what I know. Now I'm just like those poor buggers.
Speaker 2:So it's hard like when you're well, yeah when you're on site just throwing walls up, like you don't. You don't understand how much it takes for those packs of timber, all those trusses, to turn up on site roughly when you're going to need them yeah all your nails, your fixings, you yeah yeah.
Speaker 1:So I look at that now and like reflect I do a lot of reflecting down. It helps me mentally process things. I look at that time of my life and the time of my career as it was really, really valuable, like I learned a lot of things, like I I learned how to deal with apprentices that don't really want to be there, how to um deal with, you know, multiple guys on site, and then it was just it was a really cool stepping stone to what we do now as a business. But yeah, I mean the personal side of things. There's still some demons or struggles that I have.
Speaker 2:So how did you, just before we get into that, how long did you sub it? For how long was it before you decided to go out and start your own building business?
Speaker 1:Probably three and a half and a half, maybe four years, yeah, because I think I just got sick of again. I had the attitude of like what are these guys like? I can do all this myself. And there was, towards the end, it felt very much like I was like running their jobs and organizing their plumbers and sparkies and having site meetings with the clients and stuff like that. So I'm like, what am I doing? Like I should be doing this myself. And we started it. I think we started just doing a couple bathroom renovations and then like decks for goalers, bathrooms, extensions for house renos and then and now to like new builds as well. But, um, yeah, there was, there was a few really great learning curves through that process so how do you?
Speaker 2:um, like it's a pretty common story, there's a lot of people in the industry that have come through working for dads or uncles or, yeah, whatever other family members.
Speaker 1:It can be a really challenging process, can't it, because you do get stuck with a lot of bad habits yeah it can be hard to change um, yeah, I look, I look at dad and hopefully I don't get too emotional this, but, um, like, I do look at dad and and the way the traits that he did teach us, like other than the crankiness that we inherited- I can't imagine you being cranky mate, like the whole time I've known you just like a big teddy bear.
Speaker 1:Yeah, thanks, um, that's cut straight from Dwayne's mouth, guys. No, I did. For a while I'd lose my temper and for a long time, before I did anything to probably mentally prepare for being a business owner, I'd really feel much like. Over the last two years I've definitely turned myself in from being a builder to a business owner and that's probably thanks to like platforms like that you've um helped us with. But I, I was definitely a cranky, cranky prick as well.
Speaker 1:Well, during the subby stuff, because because you paid rates, you you got to run to make money and you're putting the pressure on the boys, and I've always been quite proud of the way we leave things and like the quality of the product. So it's kind of like, hey, hurry up and throw those frames, but if the frames aren't plumb, well, that's when we'll, when we'll sub in. If they're not plumb, you've got to come back and fix them anyway. So it's like a really fine line, um. But yeah, so to go back to around picking up bad habits from dad, I think the only bad habits I picked up from him is probably my temper, to be honest, which I look back on it now, and it was a good thing that I had a bit of a temper because I had some proper rat bags that worked for me at the early stages at Loxbeck.
Speaker 2:So you sorted them out?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think my brother sorted them out before I did, which was good. But there was a couple when I lost my brother because we weren't busy enough to have him there for a while. So I kind of had to step back into the grumpy pants, shoes. But even I was thinking on the flight up here today, like some of the kids that I had well, they're men, really. I'd look them back now and you'd still call them on the flight up here today like some of the the kids that I had, um, well, they're men, really. I'd look back now and they'd still. You'd still call them little shits because the things that they'll do, and it's just like firing up.
Speaker 2:But then what are they?
Speaker 1:doing. I had a guy that he came to me with. He probably listens to podcasts, I'll be careful. Um, he worked for me. He came to me as a third year apprentice and in nine months he had 42 days off yeah, it's just, and then and then he had TAFE on top of that as well.
Speaker 1:So and then it got to the point where I said, dude, like you gotta, I'm trying, and he come from a pretty, pretty bad background too. So I was trying to do the right thing by giving him a job, I suppose, and trying to nurture that um, I suppose transition to giving him that opportunity, and it just kept biting me in the ass. And anyway, I said to him at the end and he was quite toxic as well, so he was filtering into the other apprentices, and so I just had to nip it in the butt and two days later he'd come to me and he's like oh.
Speaker 1:And he actually came to me with five mates like jumping out of the car and I was on site putting a window in with another bloke and he came to me he's got like all these puffed up chairs like at me, he's only, he's only like two foot, nothing, and I'm I'm not small, so I wasn't that intimidated but it was kind of like you're a dickhead mate, like pull your head in. I've done the best I can. Like you lost your job because you are the things that you've done. I really didn't. And their mates like and he had his mates that were like 40, 40 years old, just chirping at me like you're a and I'm like mate, I've never, not once, paid you. I've never done anything wrong. But I mean again, knowing what I know now, there's a lot of systems and processes I probably could have had in place to to avoid stuff like that.
Speaker 2:So again, I've got to learn from it, Don't know it, don't know it yeah yeah, 100%.
Speaker 1:So I mean that was a part of the journey that eventually eventuated into us going and becoming more lock spec and buy ourselves, which was a good stepping stone yeah.
Speaker 2:It is crazy, mate. Hey, look for anyone that hasn't owned or run a business like it's. It's almost like it's not worth wasting your breath trying to explain things to a mate. It just goes in one ear and out the other. Um, and you, I do think it takes a pretty special person to, like a lot of people, have a crack and want to go out on their own, but it does take special people to push and stay in business, yeah, and continue to improve things and end up with a good business, because a lot of businesses fail, yeah.
Speaker 1:So you got to be a special breed to keep pushing on yeah, I look at the crew I've got now and they're going to love the shout out, but we're probably the smallest crew I've had in a long, long time. I think there's only three guys on site. We've probably got that again in the office, but that's sort of another story. But the guys I've got on site actually want to be there, they actually want to come to work, they actually want to grow and develop themselves as well. And I mean, I do take a little bit of pride in that too, because, like you know you, you start to attract people. That that, that what you're, what you're putting out there, is who you attract as well, so that I'm I'm really proud of that now. So, um, yeah.
Speaker 2:Did you think you would be where you are now, I think? Can you tell us a story about how you got involved with Elevate? Yeah, cause you come on board, and then you went or you did our um launchpad, yeah.
Speaker 1:I did you come on board. And then you went or you did our launch pad. Yeah, I did launch pad. Please don't take this the wrong way. I did launch pad probably eight, nine months prior to probably a bit longer, maybe 12 months prior to joining Elevate.
Speaker 1:And I remember doing launch pad and I did it half-assed, truth be told, and that was probably the part where I was starting starting to do renovate, full house renovations, our bigger projects, um, and I remember I remember going, oh, that's really awesome, like putting those things in place and I'd like sort of put it in the shelf and come back to it later. And then I had a really, really difficult job where the clients and again it's a lot of ownership's on me about it, because I didn't sort of set the standard of what I expect as as as them, as a client as well, but, um, we were arguing all the time the solicitors had to get involved for, like, late payments and and those sort of things, and I did lose money in. In hindsight and the conversations I've had now, I lost a little bit of money, but not much. But it's probably been the best job I've ever had, purely because of what's come out of it. I look at it now and that was the catalyst to join Elevate because I'm just like I can't keep. I overstop building or I make a decent crack of it or I make a decent crack of it.
Speaker 1:And then when I did Launchpad I was like and we spoke about joining Elevate I was like I'm not spending 10 grand or whatever it was, on a membership to be a builder. That's just crazy, that's just stupid. I would pay tenfold over on that. The things that I know now and the relationships I've built in elevate now, um, it's just, you just don't know what you don't know and, um, the, the little, the little tricks and the conversations that you, that you work with the other builders and stuff like that has been amazing.
Speaker 2:so yeah, no, mate, you're great, like it's shown in your growth. Like you, um, you've really come out of your shell a lot since you've joined. But like not only I think have you had enormous uh growth in your business, but like personally as well, I've seen massive changes yeah well, I think anybody that really knows me quite well.
Speaker 1:this is probably the most awkward thing I can do is public speaking, and I was only talking to Anthony the other day. I've done quite a few best men speeches, I think four or five.
Speaker 2:There's probably a few cans of courage involved there, bart yeah probably. I know one or two did.
Speaker 1:You can't do that, as you're on an appealing business but I I really don't like talking about myself, but I also love putting myself out there if it's going to help other people, like I can hand on heart, when I, when I joined elevate, I was in there for probably a month or two before a live event was on in the gold coast and we did this thing called um like a hot seat, and I remember pretty clearly that I think yourself and amelia um were standing there and said, oh, everyone's going to get up on stage and say that um, he's going to be going on the hot seat. So I'm like all right, well, everyone's going to do it, I'll do it. And so I just put my hand up to do it straight away, and I love put myself myself in uncomfortable positions, I suppose. And then the irony of it, I think only three people had to do it that weekend. I was like damn it, I couldn't put it away.
Speaker 1:But what I took away from that is like it was quite vulnerable, which is there's a lot of growth and vulnerability. What I took away from that was like holy shit, I can do that, like that was really cool, holy. From that was like holy shit, I can do that, like that was really cool. Holy shit, I'm not actually going as bad as what I think. Holy, I've just got so much great things going for me. I really took a lot away from that that literal there's a lot of self-doubt in there yeah, I, I do.
Speaker 1:I suffer from massive imposter syndrome and a lot of self-doubt, and it's conversations that you have with, like the community and now so many great mates, that help with that. Um, like this week alone, I've been nervous for probably three weeks to have this chat, but the people I've been able to talk to about it like they're just like, for the love of god, just see yourself the way we see you, and I take a lot of that. I took a lot of that today, thinking about that, and I'm just a lot of people would be in the same boat as me. Most people mate. Like.
Speaker 2:I'm still in the same boat as you. Like I have imposter syndrome just as much as everybody else. But like if you don't put yourself out there, you're not going to get the rewards but.
Speaker 2:If you don't put yourself out there, you're not going to get the rewards, but you dropped a bomb just then. Vulnerability is where it all starts. You've got to surround yourself with community and people that make you feel safe enough that you can be vulnerable, and I think that's one of the things we're most proud of with Live Life Build. I don't believe you'll find a community like it anywhere. And yeah, when you're're vulnerable, to me, that that's when the floodgates open. Yeah, that's when you really start to understand what you need to work on and you you become more open-minded and take ownership for things yeah, I think it took me quite a while to know that I had an issue.
Speaker 1:I suppose because it took that one particular job that made me think, all right, there's better ways to do things, and conversations with yourself and other members and stuff like that I was able to grow and then I honestly can say that I enjoy being a builder more than I ever have. Now we're still having issues and I don't think those issues will ever grow ever go away.
Speaker 2:Any business mate that says they don't have issues is kidding themselves.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Especially a building business. Every single day is a school day. Yeah, you're just constantly learning how to do it better. Yeah, so, yeah. So tell us more about this personal stuff, because I look, the building stuff is one side of it, but a lot of the time, like if I say it all the time like broken record, like if we're not right, nothing around us can be right, and like I know, like since joining Elevate, like you've had massive personal growth but relationship growth with wife, with kids, like it's been across the board yeah.
Speaker 1:So I would say my my biggest struggle is and hopefully I can hold it together my biggest struggle is definitely my relationship with my kids. Um, I I often have got a bad habit of saying that they're my priority and not showing it, I suppose, and I really struggle, like internally. I really struggle with that because I know I can do so much more. Like my oldest son, we clash a lot, he's got it's okay, but like he's got ADHD and we really don't have a relationship that I was hoping to have.
Speaker 1:When I was growing up, I used to think I want to be an architect and I want to be a dad Like the other two things.
Speaker 1:I'm like that's what I want to do right in this world, and I can honestly say I'm not the best dad I want to be right now.
Speaker 1:But I know that I've definitely put things in place and understanding part of it, like understanding especially my son's condition and it's not the end of the world, it's important to know that but understanding the way his brain operates, to um, talk to doctors and like psychologists and those sort of things as even I've been diagnosed with ADHD and I medicate as well now but to find um, to find the way their brains work as a, as a 10 year old at the time he was an eight year old and what his brain is missing with that like diagnosis, is just like far out.
Speaker 1:But being a typical dad and, um, you know, a pretty busy dude, you, when they do something wrong, that the first thing I'm doing is I lose my temper. And I know I'm not alone in saying, like a lot of dads are like that, and I'm just at a stage in my life where I really want to prioritize um being a better dad than than what I have been. Um, and I know I'm not a bad dad, I definitely know that, but I, I know I can be a better dad.
Speaker 2:It's um so what do you mean? Be a better day like just more time?
Speaker 1:yeah, more time, more being more present, like just and I know a lot of people say put your phone down when they're around, like that just little simple things like that. I mean I journal a lot, which which really really helps reflect on the, the improvements I've made, but I typically journal for professional stuff probably equally, if not more, than what I do about the personal stuff. So it's probably showing me that my priorities aren't aligned with you know, my personal side of things. This year I've made heaps of improvements. I'm coaching his footy team, coaching my other son's soccer team, and it's so rewarding so I love doing that. I loved footy growing up. I never made it to the NRLl but I made a fairly decent level. But the to be able to help the young bloke and show him those sort of things was, um, it's really cool to just to all. Right, this is, this is what I should be doing. As you know, clocking off at four o'clock and then being able to go and spend time with the kids is what I should have been prioritizing years ago.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so it's. It's pretty important, like the whole part of the healthy life is healthy relationships and all that sort of thing. I'm the same mate Like I I I definitely know I can be a better father and a better partner, like it's. It's something. I'm not sure I haven't been diagnosed with ADHD. I'm positive I do have it. I find it really like I've got to really put in a lot of effort to focus on those types of things. I don't know if you're the same Like I know I want to do it and I know I should do it, but yeah, I'm not sure. Sometimes it just gets a bit lost.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, for me, the biggest switch I've made over the last few years around like my understanding of the way ADHD works, is how people's brains operate differently. And, as an adult, to see your kid, your young bloke he's not, he doesn't got the same like coping mechanisms that the other kids have got like straight away you're like, all right, what am I going to do to help him? And things like that. So, um, there's definitely massive, massive improvements I can make with my relationship with him, but it's baby steps, I suppose at this stage yeah, but you're very.
Speaker 2:It's good that you're very aware of it I think that's the number one thing like once you become aware of it, you you work a lot harder towards it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, and there's so much information out there that you can talk, like you can educate yourself of it, so there's, um you know, countless podcasts that talk about it. There's yeah, you gotta, you gotta want to do it too, though, though that's the biggest thing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. I get so much satisfaction now just seeing the smiles on my girls' faces Like that. Like just to be able to sit back every now and then and watch them they're right into their horse riding now Like just to be able to sit on the sidelines and watch them and see the growth in them. Like, for me, that's pretty much what I live for now. Like I just love it. Yeah, the same with you sitting back seeing your boy playing his footy and soccer and yeah, yeah, I do.
Speaker 1:I get a lot out of it and like, even like they score a try, the first person or they score a goal, the first person they turn around, look at you and smile is is me, and there's so much joy in that moment. It's just like firing up. It's pretty cool. I don't know if he's going to be I'm, he goes, all right. So I don't know if he's going to like make it down.
Speaker 1:I really he supports paramount eels for some stupid reason, but I don't know I don't know where that's come from, because, well, I mean, my mom supports paramount up but it's definitely hasn't come from mom, it's just I think they're just all like Mitchell Moses for some reason. I can't hold it against them.
Speaker 2:No, no, I mean, it's his choice I suppose even though it's the wrong one, but even your relationship with your wife as well, because she's in the business full-time now.
Speaker 1:Yep, yep. So we've always gone down the I think it's a pretty typical path where she was a stay-at-home mum for a while and our business was paying her a wage. As the business grew, I needed more help in the business and she's come on board. At one stage it was like one day, two days. Now she's three days a week, but really she's probably four, four and a half, because I'm always hey, can you do this or can you do that sort of thing? She runs um, runs the office and the account side of things and she's like to see her growth in the last 12 months and probably, and where she was two years ago to now is just yeah, I mean everybody, all their most husbands love their wives, but I'm just Well, you hope so.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you've got to be careful. But I've grown more in love with her, I suppose because of seeing the growth in her and she is a really insecure person like myself, but to see her grow, I suppose professionally, I'm now even more in love. It's just yeah, it's pretty cool stuff. She's doing things that she was never trained to do in the business or at school, but she's doing things that she's just got heaps of driving. Most mums have got that. It's just a natural thing. But yeah, she's, she's killing it.
Speaker 2:So I get, like camille and I get reached out to a lot, um, because everyone sees what we do and knows that we work together and it's like some people just say it's like ridiculous, so they could never do it, but I think it's the best thing ever and and look we I won't sugarcoat it like we definitely, like I don't know, probably the first three, four, five years, like there was a lot of arguments and look, even even now there might be the odd argument and we butt heads on things. But, um, I think it's learning to respect each other, yeah, and understand what ticks each other off and what each other can handle. I know it's been a massive one for me to learn with camille like I, I can handle a lot of shit. Like I don't care, like people just keep throwing shit at me, I'll just keep taking it. But um, like with like with everything, workload, the whole lot, whereas Camille gets very anxious if she starts to get too overwhelmed by how much she's got to do or manage or whatever the case may be.
Speaker 2:And then you throw the kids on top of that and all the other stuff that comes with it, and um, and that's where I've sort of learned I need to step up a little bit.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Um, not, I've sort of learned I need to step up a little bit. Yeah, not just at work, but like we can't both be working in the business and then her looking after the kids. Like I need to help with the kids, I need to cook dinner, I need to do things. Yeah, again, I'll put my hand up, like I definitely drop the ball on the cooking, the dinner thing quite regularly, but, yeah, I've got to consciously put some effort into that. But I just think it's the best thing ever, mate, like yeah, to be able to work together, get on well, be able to schedule our lives and our businesses around what our family wants to do and holidays and yeah, horse like kids events and things like I just think it's brilliant yeah, I, I actually enjoy having my wife in the business more than I thought I would.
Speaker 1:to be fair, yeah. And I love to be able to say my wife's in the business, because it's kind of like a feather in your cap sort of thing that you're making it work as professionally and personally, because, like you said, some partners wouldn't be able to do that and there's nothing wrong with that, but it's kind of like this is pretty cool that we can do that yeah we can.
Speaker 1:If the kids have got like a sports carnival or something like that, all right, let's both be there for the kids and all right, I might have to work back another half an hour that night or something like that, but we're both there and the kids see that.
Speaker 2:That's that's pretty. That's pretty cool. Yeah, I think it's huge and I think that's all part of running a successful building business is structuring it to suit yourself, your life, your kids, like um, yeah, or your holidays and those types of things I know with camille another big thing's just been um like me understanding when she needs time out. Yeah, like I don't know if you see it, but I'm not very good at recognizing that.
Speaker 1:I I do, but I'm also, um, my wife, she, she puts a lot of things in place to make herself busy instead of prioritizing herself. And it's that's probably where we hug you, to be fair, because I'm like can you please just go get a massage or can you go in, like whatever, go for a walk, or something like that. But she's like oh, I've got to do lunches or I've got to go. So, yeah, I'm still learning to politely kick her out the door to go do those sort of things, but I think it's you've got to make that a real key sort of goal, to be able to prioritize you, their mental well-being as well as your own and like how do you find it managing the like?
Speaker 2:do you do you work from home or you got an office?
Speaker 1:yep, oh, we're about to make the transition into an office space, which is really exciting because I mean, at the moment, um, I mean no kids have done wheeze on the fall and fallen through I know the story um, but at the moment, like it in especially rush hour before school and I'm on a meeting, a call or something like that, you can hear all the the screaming and the foot pedal, the foot steps upstairs.
Speaker 1:But it also gives me the opportunity like if she's really struggling, I can run upstairs and pull them in the line. So professionally it's probably not the best setup to be fair, but personally it's. If I can be there, be there to help, it's all right.
Speaker 2:So yeah, yeah, um. So mate, where, like where to from here, like you've you've had a lot of growth in the last few years like what's um, what's on the radar, um I'm at.
Speaker 1:I am at a bit of a crossroads at the moment, to be honest. But, um, personally I want to. I want to prioritize my personal well-being definitely. I've got quite a lot of passion around having conversations with dads and other builders and stuff like that. Um, but business-wise, I mean, we've got a lot of work in pre-construction currently, but they're months away and thankfully we've got a little renovation opportunity for ourselves for the next six months. So, going forward, my pipeline is really important to me to get right as part of the business.
Speaker 1:So I've always struggled to reach out to designers and architects. That's something that, um, I've gotten really much better at. I don't know if I'm perfect at it yet, but I'm. I used to have these conversations like if I was to reach out to a designer, I would. I think I even was at one stage writing scripts of how I should look up for other business training and stuff like that pre the pre-course script and stuff Really really helpful. But now I can ring up a designer if a plan's come across our table and I can just chew the fat, which is really good because I'm growing as a business. So, yeah, professionally, that's basically where I'm sitting with that one.
Speaker 2:Because you do the odd speccy for yourself as well yeah, um, like, is more of that stuff on the radar? Or like now that you've like, because you hear the story in the industry the whole time, like every builder wants to do their own projects yeah, how has that? Scenario changed a little bit now that you've figured out how to run your business better um, I think I'll always probably probably aspire to do one of those a year.
Speaker 1:Um, I definitely don't think it's as appealing as what it probably was once upon a time. If you've got to borrow money, in particular, um, if you haven't set it up properly, like and again with your accounting side of things, you've got to make sure you've got the right, like who's borrowing the money, who's building who's those type of things. There's a lot in the background that's got to be considered. It's not just as simple as going to buy a block of land for you know 500 grand, going to build a house for you know 700 and sell it for 1.5. It's just, it doesn't work like that, um. But I know that my business can can now more so than ever now, and the things that we've learned over the last few years is it can handle a lot more than what it could have two years ago, 12 months ago.
Speaker 2:So yeah, I think it's important, uh, to point out like I I feel there's a lot of mom and dad, developers and um investors and things out there that are making a lot of money off the back of builders, that are running shit businesses yeah yeah, because they're literally making the cream that, yeah, the builder should have been making as part of his profit.
Speaker 2:Yeah, um, by doing the work. Yeah, um, so, yeah, it's something I'm a big advocate for. Like, part of getting builders running better businesses is, um, to, I guess, stop people taking advantage of them. Yeah, like be blunt, I guess, but, um, it's definitely not what it's all cracked up to be, is it like? Yes, you can make good money out of it, but, um, because I know, when we started doing our own developments, like you, you sell them or you, you keep them in your random out or whatever, and you think, oh man, this is fantastic like I've made whatever 100 grand, 400 grand, whatever the case may be, depending on the job.
Speaker 2:But now, like doing everything that I do, like being able to make the proper margins through doing work for clients and not having all the stress of having to fund the projects, manage the projects and not having all the stress of having to fund the projects, manage the projects, keep the team busy, like all those types of things just I think is freaking fantastic. But, like you say, we still want to do the projects on the side because it is like a little bit of cream. But do you run your projects as if you're doing them for somebody else, like you set up a company or whatever trust or however you structure it do you build it for that person no.
Speaker 1:so the one I've done most recently I kind of was almost like a do and charge thing, so very, very naive and very unprofessional of myself to do that. But I won't be doing it like that again because, like for one, I didn't make as much money as I would have thought because we really specced it up to go on for some awards. But in hindsight I would have been 100% better off just going to build a million-dollar property for a client, because now I know my numbers, now all the things that I know I've got to put in, and then I wouldn't have had any risk whatsoever, knowing that you're running a good business and there's no risk in doing that and you do deliver a good product. So it's not as if they're going to come back to you and, you know, take you to the cleaners, but I don't know. There's a really fine line, I think. But you can't do it just going in there with not educating yourself and having the right team around you particularly like your accountant and maybe financial advisor and stuff like that.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, it takes it's like everything. It takes a big team effort. You got to make sure you search around, get the right advice and things we um, we learned all that the hard way as well. Like now, we do a development and it's like I treat the development just like I would treat any other client like it's set up properly and my building business quotes it for that other entity and we treat that entity as a client.
Speaker 2:We still do all the contract, we still do variations, all those types of things, because, um, I want all my entities to make money. I don't want to just do developments for myself. And, yeah, um, my building business looks like it suffers or has made a loss or hasn't made a lot of money, but I feel like I've made a like some money by selling a project. Yeah, I think people get really sucked into that. Yeah, um, yeah, so it's good. I love talking to other builders that are, that are doing developments and growing their businesses and things, because it's it's really, really important that not only builders but trades, like we all, talk to each other.
Speaker 1:Hey, yeah, yeah, I, um, so I for a long time, like I said earlier, I I suffer from imposter syndrome, um, and I don't think that's ever going to go away, but I'm like I've learned to live with that now actually. So that's a, that's a positive, but they're like, I would say, about six to nine months ago there was a local guy that I honestly thought it was competition, because I've never had a conversation with him. I honestly thought we were pricing against each other. I got to know him just through just reaching out, just checking in. He put something up and I reached out to him saying, hey, just checking in to see how you're going, and we catch up every single week to have a chat, and the stuff that he goes through is just like holy shit. We've never been competitive.
Speaker 1:As I look at it now, he's doing like your four or five million dollar builds, but mentally we've been able to be there for each other and bounce off each other. Some of the stuff he's got to go through hopefully he doesn't mind me mentioning this actually, but some of the stuff he's had to go through over the last couple of months it's just those simple conversations that we've had together has really helped each other, which is really, really cool and I take a lot of enjoyment out of out of that. I I take as much enjoyment of um putting myself out there for other people. If that, if it can help them, that makes me feel good. And I don't know if that's a selfish thing or not, but I kind of, I kind of like, I like being vulnerable if it's going to help other people and I love having those conversations and I'm the same.
Speaker 2:I don't think it's been. Yeah, I don't think it's like. I think that's what, what helps yeah like the more we all talk, the more we're vulnerable, the more we share stories like yeah it's, it's the only way that our industry is gonna, yeah, thrive. Yeah, um, because otherwise everyone's just batting their butt in the head against a wall, yeah, dealing with the same shit that everyone else has already been through. So why not spread the knowledge and help each other out?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think I spent a long time not thinking locally that I'm against him. I'm against him. Are we quoting against each other? Do I undercut him, all those sort of things now and now? Not that particular builder, but like in generalization, now I look at it, I'm like I'd be better off having a chat to that builder saying are you good, like I know for a fact that I get put up against one particular builder all the time and we just won a job very recently that we were, I think, another 20 grand more than them, but the client chose us because of the relationship that I and the client had. But that builder's been slagging me about it and I'm just like maybe let's just catch up for a chat, because I'm not trying to undercut you, I'm just it's a very old school mentality.
Speaker 2:There is no competition. Yeah, yeah, builders I think that whole like architects have created that competition through the tendering scenario. Yeah, because ultimately, that's all the tendering scenario is. It's a competition to be the lowest price. Yeah, as simple as that. Yeah, and that model is never, ever going to get anyone a great outcome. Yeah, like I. I wish there was data on it, but I would. I would imagine that I would highly doubt that most contracts that get awarded through tendering scenarios end up being that value Zero.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Maybe I would say it's near zero.
Speaker 2:Everyone just knows. The reality is, if you win a contract through a tendering scenario, there is always going to be variations and things. Things change, but there shouldn't be competition in the building industry. Like people this this has been coming up a lot in the last couple of weeks. Actually, like the whole industry needs to really get away from that race to the bottom and and the focus on the price. Yeah, race to the bottom and and the focus on the price. Yeah, because the focus needs to be on the value that the building business adds to the homeowner, whether it's through, uh, improving their life, through building them a healthier home, whether it's through, um, just creating a new lifestyle for them through a new home or renovation, like, whatever, like there's a million things it can be?
Speaker 1:Where do you see that conversation happening with clients, though?
Speaker 2:Well, I don't talk about costs at all. Really, like my whole conversation with clients now is all based around on the value that I can add to them. Like I really see like we're seeing a lot more of it the more that I educate. Like we've got a client at the moment actually, um, probably a really good example that I've just seen this big like they want a healthy home and, uh, we're really going down that path heavily, um to the point where we're creating our own healthy home specification, but the architect on this particular job is just really missing. Like I feel like we have meetings and I take in what the client says, but the architect has missed it quite badly and we've got the first round of drawings and all just preliminary sort of ideas and like I've literally looked at it for five minutes and gone. That is absolutely nothing like what the client is trying to achieve, yeah, and so I've had to put my big boy shoes on and step in and say hang on a minute, like that. I'm like this is only my personal opinion, but from everything that I've heard at the meetings, that house isn't what you want. Yeah, and it's a hard decision to have, because now I got the architect on my back. Yeah, I'm the bad guy, but I think where builders really need to, um, step up a bit more is like we wouldn't have any work if it wasn't for clients. Yeah, so we're there because the client trusts us to build them something, or they've come to us because of they've seen our socials, they've heard our advice, or whatever the case may be. They've come to us because they they've trust us. Yeah, so I take that pretty personally and I want to make sure that I give them as much information as I possibly can. Um, I make it very clear with clients that you may not like my opinions, but I'll always put them forward. Um, my opinions are only ever based on my interpretation of what you've told me you want. Yeah, and it's always along the lines that I want to make sure I get you the best product I can for what you want to spend with me. And, like when you start having conversations like that, clients just fall in love with it, yeah. So, yeah, back to what you've asked for.
Speaker 2:We've really had to step in on this job and it's gone. It's been it's over a few months period now, but it's really gone on this long journey from the client pulling the brakes on the project, wanting to do more homework around materials, coming back and deciding that they're more than happy to reduce the size of the house to make sure they actually get materials that they want. Yeah, to now actually only in the last couple of days them going well, look we actually we're going. We're going to increase our budget by like. So it started at 800, went to 1.2, and now they're talking about a two million dollar budget.
Speaker 2:And that is all purely through education, because they now have a really good understanding. So we've sent them links to things. We've actually now had two site meetings on past projects. We've put them in contact with people that I don't have enough expertise in so that they can do their own research, and they just love it. They're like this is what we've wanted. So these guys actually have tried to build twice before um, and both times they've ended up with drawings that didn't suit what they wanted and they felt like people weren't listening to them.
Speaker 2:Wow, and now, after dealing with us for three months, they're like this is what we've wanted the entire time we just wanted someone that was going to sit and listen to what we wanted, not give us all everything they wanted, not tell us what their business was going to give us. Yeah, and educate us on.
Speaker 1:Give us the options, and they're just over the moon so on that, though, like you we, you've clearly got a business to teach builders how to do run better businesses. Do you believe, like the associations, could do more to help educate clients around?
Speaker 1:because I, in my business, I've struggled with um, um, like we don't do, probably the bigger as bigger projects as what you do, but and it's mostly young mum and dad, so they're I don't think it matters on the size of the project, matt no, no, but like the more I struggle a lot around educating clients, uh, what their expectation of what things cost to the reality of what things cost, and I like to think I can articulate things pretty well, but it's still like I'm constantly banging my head up against the wall and I do believe it's. I don't know if I'm allowed to say it, but there's shows like on the block and on those, um, like telling people that you can build a house for you know a couple hundred grand and and being able to walk away. I just, I just really think that the missing link could be something like an association that links the builders, the clients and the and the owners to help train them and educate themselves, and I know there is platforms out there.
Speaker 2:I'm not sure. Obviously, amelia and I do that a lot. She does the undercover architect thing as well and teaches the homeowners a lot of stuff. But look, mate, again it all comes back to pricing. You look at everything that's in the media, look at all the I've just seen a few this week from our associations. Like everybody is banging on about the cost of living and the affordability of housing and how much price increase, like how much it's increased to build something over the last sort of three or four years. And then, like you see the numbers that come out in the last three weeks with um, we're on track this financial year, literally in a few days' time, end of this financial year to go over 3,000 builders going insolvent in a 12-month period. So that's three times what it was pre-COVID and that just proves my point and the data that I keep talking about.
Speaker 2:Like I firmly believe that over 80 percent of builders are trading insolvent. So instead of the industry, associations and bodies and governments banging on about how much it costs to build, they actually need to fucking figure out how how building a building business operates. Yeah, because you like even you're seeing a lot of tier one builders or like tier one, builders that have been around for, like I think there's one at the moment that they're worried it's going to go under and they've been around for 100 years and that's because, like they spruik about it, like they turn out, you hear all these stories about these builders turn over hundreds of millions of dollars or billions of dollars and making two percent profit margins. Yeah, like it's unsustainable, which is getting proven now by the numbers of builders that are going broke.
Speaker 2:So I am I dead set, believe that with everything we teach at live life building, our elevate program, um, I like I'd love to get in front of government, mate, I'm so confident that I can, I can reduce the cost of housing. We can build more houses. We can definitely deliver better quality. Yeah, um, through running better businesses, yeah, like, to me it's a no-brainer. Like you, you think about, like, how many people come into our Live Life Build program. Like you've seen a lot of members that come in and the improvements they have.
Speaker 2:So like if you can take the average builder, which we know, that the average builder in Australia builds between one and three jobs a year. They're generally on the tools themselves, but if you give them the right tools, the right advice, the right systems and processes, they can go from building one to three jobs a year, not making much money, running around like headless chickens, not delivering good quality or not the quality they'd like to deliver, because they're all too focused on trying to build cheaper so they can win more work and actually get them running a business, where generally most of the time it's by putting someone in place to help them with administration yeah they can two to four times their profit, their turnover, their business by becoming more efficient and actually delivering clients better products.
Speaker 2:So just by learning how to run a better business. You and this like you're talking one builder. If one builder goes from one to three homes a year to two to six homes a year, yeah, like you imagine if every single builder in australia had that growth? Yeah, that's how that solves our housing problem. Like we've just built enough houses to house everybody. Yeah, then you add to that that the builder's running a profitable business.
Speaker 2:So you imagine if we get every builder in australia running profitable businesses, that will reduce the cost of housing because we are all paying more to cover the costs that are getting lost by builders going bankrupt. Like I know two businesses this financial year that between both one's a hardware business, one's a metal business Between those two businesses like this is only two businesses between two businesses here in Southeast Queensland they're going to write off over $11 million in this financial year of unpaid invoices from builders that can't pay their bills or have gone broke. Wow, so that money just doesn't disappear. Like that money is built into the cost that I pay for my metal and that I pay for my hardware. Yeah, so if we can get every builder running profitable businesses that actually pay their bills, all of our costs will come down, because every business in the building industry, all the supply chain, transport, everyone will stop having to cover bills that aren't getting paid. Yeah, like it's huge, mate. I love it. I just need to get in front of the right people, yeah.
Speaker 1:How do you do that? Who are you going to talk to?
Speaker 2:Just keep talking shit on this podcast, mate, and more people listen.
Speaker 1:We're not talking shit. It's real, that's the best.
Speaker 2:it's real, mate, it's real, like I'll just tell it how it is. So, um, but look, it's builders like yourself, mate, that are putting in the effort, like if, if, like you, coming here today telling your story, will inspire more builders to reach out, get help work on themselves, improve their business. So it it's growing like the tidal wave started. Yeah, like um, you were up here a few weeks ago, you saw, you saw my event yeah, yeah, that was amazing.
Speaker 1:It's um. Fortunately, I've been to a few live events, but nothing like that before. Um, just to see the, the growth in the room and the, the young. I like seeing the young dudes there. I don't think they were there just for the beer, but, like everyone like Well.
Speaker 2:I can tell you they weren't mate because we were very sorry to butt in there but we were pretty conservative of our beer amount that we needed to get Like, I think we only allowed like two or three beers per person. Yeah, we had a pallet and a half of beer left over, wow, so there was not a lot of drinking yeah, that's not a bad thing though which is like you think in a building industry you put an event on like.
Speaker 1:But if anything that's a good like I think, it's great the people were there for the right reason yeah, that's great yeah, like that's what I really enjoyed seeing the young dudes.
Speaker 1:I was able to take our leading hand up with us and he loved it. He was starstruck when he saw you. He was starstruck when he saw Craig. But I was the same. I can still remember the first time I spoke to you and to Craig and a couple of the real key members of Elevate, but at that event last week we were all there. We're all there as mates. We're all there sharing information. The elevate members that were on stage were sharing their stories and and I still look I talk to those guys weekly and I still look at them as very much heroes like, um, yeah, the. The information that you can get by a simple conversation of another builder or another young dude is just limitless, I reckon yeah, we've all got to talk more like that's yeah, my um, we'll definitely do another event next year because of the feedback's just been unreal.
Speaker 2:Like even people that weren't even there, like everyone that's there is just talking about it. So like people that aren't, like we're getting messages from people that weren't even there that are like hey, like how do we book for next year?
Speaker 2:like we've got to make sure we show up to this thing. So, look, I'd love to get 2 000 people next year. Yeah, like, we. Um, we ended up having 832, I think it was for the day. Wow, um. So, yeah, next year the goal is to try and crack 1500, 2000. Yeah, um, but again, that just ties into what I just talked about. Like, every builder that we can get running and not just builders like tradies as well, but every person in the building industry that we can get running a better business, more profitable, more successful. Um, for me, the, the, the winner out of all this is the homeowners. Yeah, like, we've got to get. Homeowners need to start getting what they should be getting. Yeah, like, and uh, we're going to see a lot of change with that, with the new codes and things, with healthy homes and all the new uh rules and regulations and stuff. So, look, I'm really excited about the future. I think it's fantastic. Guys like yourself sharing stories, it's all helping, yeah.
Speaker 1:I think the new code changes is going to be the best thing, like we're finally building houses the way we should be building and there's a bit of a mandate that it has to be done that way now, which on I think for the last they're not 10 or so years there hasn't been any, any accountability for that. So it's pretty exciting actually and, like you said, the best thing is the owners, the, the clients, are the ones that are going to benefit from that as well as the young dudes coming up too, because now they're learning how to do things properly.
Speaker 2:Yeah, actually, mate, before we wrap it up, you've mentioned that you've had lots of apprentices over the years and stuff. How do we get more young people into the industry and get them?
Speaker 1:to stay, to stay, I would say, training. This might be contentious, but I believe the incentives that are offered to the apprentices is the wrong way around. I believe they're going to incentivize the, the builder, obviously, to give the money to the, to the apprentice, but hey, make sure you go buy, like your tools, or let's take you to a training seminar or something like that. That's how I think it because, that's how it should be.
Speaker 1:I don't believe it should be like here's 10 grand, go go buy your you know eight thousand dollar kit and keep the rest, sort of thing. Um, I just I believe, bringing your, your, your team, to like um training events, taking them to show them, like not long ago we took um our team down to the Frames and Trusts company, it doesn't sound like a fun excursion, but to watch the guys learn and I learned a lot as well that's got to help. It's just to keep them interested in the industry. I really believe that they've got to have a goal and they've got to have a boss that wants to help them with that goal as well so it's like a two-part thing, I suppose yeah, definitely.
Speaker 2:I agree, 100, mate, the. The incentives need to be given to the employers yeah, um, employers need to like, be able to, and and look it's hard because, like, a lot of employers will just pocket it. Yeah, but there needs to be some sort of way that's used to help them get a good toolkit, get the right training. Yeah, and I think another big part of it is being healthy as well, like we've got to get young guys being healthier and turning up to work.
Speaker 2:I don't know what it is these days, but I used to have some absolute benders and I would still turn up to work. It was on me but I just knew I had to work. I'm not sure about your team, but we just see so many days off from our younger people.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean of my team now. I don't think any of us are drinkers now, but yeah, the young bloke I spoke about before, I think it consistently was a Friday or a Monday that he was taken off and I'm just like I'm not an idiot mate, Like it's just that sort of stuff, Like that education, I believe. And I do believe that the generation is shifting, Like there's less partying and whatnot, but probably they're starting to vary growth more than what they probably would have in the past. So that's something to look forward to, I suppose, finally.
Speaker 2:So I definitely. I hope so, man. I hope you're right, because my girls are getting to that age where they're not far off going out and I hope they're.
Speaker 1:I hope it's all about growth and not partying you're a pretty decent place to have some parties either, yeah that's um mate.
Speaker 2:Look, really appreciate you flying up today and having a chat and um, I know you're hanging around. We're going to do a group podcast. We got the godfather coming in, so I'm looking forward to that one as well yeah but, um, mate, keep doing what you're doing, like I'm I'm super proud of you.
Speaker 2:I think it's fantastic. Your growth is I've said this to you a few times, but you can see in your posture and your glow how you've changed. You're more confident in yourself, you speak better and I just think it's fucking awesome. Appreciate it, mate. That's awesome. All right guys, look, I hope you've enjoyed today's podcast. Uh, make sure you like, subscribe all those types of things. Tell every person in the building industry about this. If you haven't been to my website, duanepeircecom, and got a hold of your merch, make sure you get on board with it. And, um, yeah, we'll see you on the next episode. Are you ready to build smarter, live better and enjoy life?
Speaker 1:then head over to live like buildcom forward slash, elevate to get started.
Speaker 3:Everything discussed during the Level Up podcast with me, dwayne Pearce, is based solely on my own personal experiences and those experiences of my guests. The information, opinions and recommendations presented in this podcast are for general information only, and any reliance on the information provided in this podcast is done at your own risk. We recommend that you obtain your own professional advice in respect to the topics discussed during this podcast.