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
Why This Australian Husband & Wife Builder Team Went From Burnt Out & Broke To Booked Out Until 2027
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Steve and Simone Essex from SX Constructions join Duayne Pearce on the Level Up Podcast to share the raw and honest truth about what it really takes to run a building business in Australia. After nearly 17 years in the industry, this husband and wife team were burnt out, going backwards financially and ready to quit. In this episode they share what changed everything and how they went from working midnight shifts to being booked out until 2027.
If you're a builder or tradie who feels like you're working harder than ever but not getting ahead, this one's for you.
Check out the Essex's and their projects:
🔹 SX Constructions — https://sxconstructions.com.au/
🔹 Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/sxconstructions/
🔹 Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/sxconstructions/
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(https://www.instagram.com/duaynepearce/)
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Check out Duayne’s other projects:
🔹 Live Life Build — https://livelifebuild.com
🔹 D Pearce Constructions — https://dpearceconstructions.com.au
🔹 QuoteEaze — https://quoteeaze.com/Free-Offer.html Check out the Duayne
Hey guys, welcome back to another episode of Level Up. We are back in the shed this afternoon for another cracking podcast episode. Look, I'm pumped for all my podcast episode, but um this one will be a cracker today because these guys that are here have come such a long way in the last few years. I'm super, super proud of them. And uh look, it's only really just the beginning. The things that I've got planned for the next couple of years are uh pretty insane. So I'm looking forward to diving in and having a chat about them. So um a big warm welcome to Steve and Simone from SX Constructions. How are you? Thank you.
SPEAKER_00Great, thanks for having us.
SPEAKER_04Um I'm very excited to have the conversation with you guys today. Like I'm um I know Simone's got a lot we can uh talk about, but I'm just stoked to have you in the seat, mate. Because uh Yeah, never can I never thought we'd get you here. Yeah, me too. But I'm proud of you for coming on because the more our industry shares stories and talks about the reality of what happens behind the scenes and what people go through in business, the better it is for everyone. So uh mate, appreciate you being here. Thanks for inviting me. So uh we met what's it been a bit over two years ago now?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, two and a half years.
SPEAKER_04So um you guys come on board with with our Live Life Builds Elevate program. Um can you I I'm not sure who goes first, but like can you give us a little bit of a background
Welcome And Why They’re Here
SPEAKER_04of I guess where you were leading up to joining Elevate? Where were we? Yeah, it's just well maybe maybe go each way, because like you you might be a bit different because you're on site, Simone's in the office. So tell us where you were at, Steve, when you um Do you even remember?
SPEAKER_01Oh it's just where would you be? It's just it just didn't seem like we're going forward. We're just plateauing and or going backwards.
SPEAKER_00So um that's well we were just coming off the back of um four fixed price contracts through the COVID period. So we had just lost a ton of money um just honouring those contracts for our clients, and um we just moved house, hey, and um just trying to get back on our feet with some new contracts, but I think we're just a bit disillusioned, hey, or just sort of had lost the energy for it.
SPEAKER_01Um but and just how what things cost as well.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, adjusting, yeah, to be able to explain to clients, you know, what the sort of the new cost of construction was, you know, post that period. And um, yeah, it was just sort of like a um uncharted territory for a lot of us.
SPEAKER_04Um and yeah, it's just it'll be good to jump into some more conversation around that because I'm I'm sure your views on that have
COVID Contracts And Losing Money
SPEAKER_04changed now. Like you uh well, I might be making assumptions, but you you were probably stuck in that mindset that like we're l like we can't win jobs, we're too expensive, like we can't charge that. Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_00Well, it's that's what we've been told by clients and those for you. That's not that much, you know, and we uh just lack the confidence because we just lack the knowledge of our own numbers and I guess the confidence to sort of stand up and just say that's is what it is, kind of thing. Um so yeah, I guess we're sort of at a point. Well, personally, I'm about you see, but I just sort of didn't want to do it anymore. Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_01We're just why are we doing it?
SPEAKER_00Kind of ready to quit, but then what do we do? We still sort of love building houses.
SPEAKER_01We invested a lot too.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's been a long time.
SPEAKER_04And you're very like you're really good at it. Like you it's not like you just like you do pretty high-end stuff. Yeah, like the concrete work you guys do is pretty insane.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, good team too. It's a good team.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, we've been really fortunate to have yeah, awesome crew, which it's really help helped, I guess, us sort of stand strong. And then um, just I remember late one night coming across your um live life build posts on Instagram, I think, and went, oh I think I've found. Well, I have tried to introduce Steve to coat b business coaches and whatnot in the past, but um Steve has not been.
SPEAKER_01I can relate with Duane because of your builder, you're on you're on the tools. You've been there not to be a good thing. I've been on the tools for a little while, but yeah, but not a not a businessman saying this is what you should do. Yeah, you know, like yeah.
SPEAKER_00So I got him over the line because of your construction background as opposed to someone who has more sales and marketing and BDM type I think that's really important, and look, I um for me, I think at all levels you've sort of got to um like I like integrity is massive for me, so like I wouldn't put myself out there to say I could help people if I hadn't done it myself.
SPEAKER_04Um, and that's what we do here. A lot of people come into live life building, elevate and stuff, but like because it in I don't know, people sort of I don't know about argue, but people don't agree with me a lot when I say like if if you haven't worked or run a building business, you you have no idea. Like it is there, I don't know any other job that would be like well that's exactly what Steve was telling me for years.
SPEAKER_00They have no idea what I go through every day. These guys don't show up, or this happens, that happens. Yeah, so um I think you know you've always appreciated that Dwayne fully gets it right.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, definitely. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_04So tell us back before then, like what's the background, like how long you've been in the industry, Steve?
SPEAKER_01Oh long time, mate, long time. So yeah, I left school, uh, worked in a uh engineering firm at Oakie, uh working on grain silos and augures, and sort of lost that job and didn't want to be there anyway, because yeah, moved from Brisbane to Oakie was a a place I didn't want to be. Yeah, and then so I moved back to Brisbane and went to a roofing company and then to start um as a brickies laborer, yeah, and then started uh working on uh land bricks as well, and and then asked for apprenticeship and he said no, so here I am. Like I haven't looked back, so pretty well just um doing become a chippy, yeah. So you so you got an apprenticeship being a chippy, yeah. And that's what I wanted to do. Yeah, yeah, and that that's been um that was good. It was really interesting too, because I started up at Fraser Island doing pole homes. Oh right. Yeah, and that he was um a hard boss, yeah. Like it would have been hard work too. Like building those big pole homes is is yeah, yeah, not for everybody. No, no, no. It's um yeah, everything you had to dig footings by hand, the shovel, but that was just a hole. Yeah, yeah, and then we had no power. Made
Steve’s Long Road Into Building
SPEAKER_01your own concrete up there as well, yeah, and then make your own scaffolding, that was scary. But yeah, then um, yeah, went from what's that, Fraser to Stratty, build a home over there, and then out to Gunda Windy. That was living on site, that was yeah, it was interesting, yeah. Living with the two same people, the boss and uh boss's son. Yeah, yeah. Then it um come back to the coast and um just worked at Noosa and Sunshine Beach. And then um moved to Cloundra and yeah, worked there for I don't know, about five or six years. Met Simone, and then we went traveling uh um around the world and then come back and bought a house in Brisbane. Then uh yeah, yeah, and then the story goes. Yeah, no, it's just and then we um I think it was yeah, I did it on me, um built as a pr uh TAFE in Brizzy and then started my own business and then haven't looked back.
SPEAKER_04So what what were some of the challenges, I guess, in the time that you had your uh building business before Live Life Build? Oh challenges, oh where do you start?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, where do you start? It's uh the hardest thing was getting the right trades as well, and then them backing you as well. Yeah, yeah, back trades, but once you got them, that was good. And then and then it's clients too, clients and quoting. And back in the day was you know, the clients went the cheapest quote all the time. But yeah, once you got your um name out there, and yeah, and then things sort of started falling in in into place as well.
SPEAKER_04How um have you always had Simone in the business or what like what how did that happen?
SPEAKER_01Pretty well, like she was doing weekend warriors or nighttime, helping me out for a bit. Yeah, and then yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00I don't remember you ever doing it by yourself, I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's what I mean. She she helped, she helped on, yeah. But if she was still working, she was helping me on weekends or nights. Yeah, because I'm not the the perfect office jockey. I'm slightly getting there.
SPEAKER_04It's that's reality, it's the way it is. Like you you don't become a builder because you want to sit in an office. Yeah, exactly. I love it. Or a trader, but you want to be outside in the sun with the heat and the boys and cranking the tunes.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, I'm an outside boy for sure, but I've got to learn to be inside to keep you know, learn this, uh learn the ways and just keep the quotes, uh getting the quotes out. That's the biggest thing. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_04So I feel it's a very important thing for not just builders, like any traders as well. Like you've got to work your way towards becoming a business, not just being a having a job. Yeah. Not just because it's more financially rewarding and all the other benefits that come with it, but more so like you we all age and yeah, like you've got to come up with a solution that you're not gonna be on site flogging yourself. Yeah, definitely.
SPEAKER_01Yes, yeah, yeah. Yeah, that's but that's uh the good thing when we joined with you, that's when I started learning about being a business owner, you know, sort of getting into my head, like, hang on, you you know, you've got to have time in the office too. And yeah, like yeah, some yeah, the gold coast that sort of woke me up a bit to say, whoa, yeah, when you come to a first live event. Yeah, and that's and oh yeah, that's uh I need to um yeah, spend a bit more time in the office and and just learning to let go too, not be in control and let the boys, you know, just because it's not my way, it's still getting done a different way, but it's still right.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, yeah. It's all part of building that culture, isn't it? And I guess giving your team showing your team that you trust them when you're not around. Yeah, yeah. That's it. Yeah, that's that's still hard. Yeah, it's your baby, isn't it?
SPEAKER_01Like you started a business, you yeah, it's it yeah, yeah. I'm up at night, yeah, stressing about little things, not them. So yeah.
SPEAKER_04There's no like everyone just like for people that don't have their own business, they just think it's all rosy, don't they? Like they don't understand that there's no real lunch breaks or holidays or time off. Like when it's your own business, you've got to do what you've got to do. Yeah, yeah, definitely. Uh so when when did you come into the business domain? Well, you've pointed out that you've always been there.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. Um, so it was 2009 we we started. Um I'd just been made, so we after our travels come back to Australia, hey, and I got a job in um uh Brisbane because I at the time, well, I'm a journalist by training and was working in marketing and advertising, and the Sunshine Coast um at that time was really dead in creative industries and anything like that was non-existent, really, up there. So I started commuting to Brisbane, um, which which sort of caught up with me and we moved. And anyway, when we came back, I was stoked to get a job in my field um in communications marketing for a company, and they went um bankrupt. It was all around the GFC, yeah. And then I got another job actually for a business systems coach, but he went broke because no one could pay him. No one had money for coaching. Um, and through that experience, I actually was taught how to keep books. So he actually flew me to Cairns for his accountant to teach me, sit there and teach me my ob how to actually do bookkeeping. So that was pretty much the only um skill, really practical skill I brought to the construction business was at least I could and live on a job site with your dad. Me, oh my childhood, yeah. My yes, there
Simone’s Role And Client Communication
SPEAKER_00was that five-year period of your dad. Um, but that did teach me a lot. My dad's a known builder, my grandfather, his dad was a builder, um, my brother's a builder, so there's a little bit um in the in the family, so I sort of grew up with you know living in a half-finished pole home and whatnot, and just is what it is, you know, sort of used to it. Um but anyway, it soon became apparent that there was just so much more to just bookkeeping um required um behind the scenes, and also because um I just think from my I guess more corporate background, I could see the clientele um that we were building for, kind of, I don't know, speaking down to Steve or not trusting, not really um sure or confident with what was happening on site, and it was just a bit of a disconnect and lack of communication between Steve and them. So that's sort of where I I came in just to sort of help um you know the communication flow a little bit more, just so to manage expectations a bit. Um, but yeah, it's grown a lot since those days. Um communication's a massive thing in the oh to this day, absolutely, it's just so important um just to yeah, be really careful and just keep everyone informed and it's easy to be a builder or tradie on site and just feel like everyone's your mate, including your clients, and just treat it like it is, turn up and but they know, they can see me, they know. It's like no, like you gotta spell it out. If that date's changed, they need to know the date, the new date. That's sort of the way I um because I know I'm like that myself. Yeah, I'm quite impatient and want to know, and I've got my life plan and things booked, you know, so I just try and put myself in other people's shoes. Um, yes.
SPEAKER_04Well, that's definitely an important thing as well. Yeah. Because a lot of trade, I think a lot of people in business treat their clients how they live their life, but you can't really do that, can you? Like, because everyone, you might have a client that's really anxious and wants all the details. You might have a client that is more into their finances and wants to know exactly where everything's like the budget's at. Like everyone's very different. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I remember I was speaking to a lady who um rolled her eyes, couldn't think of anything worse than weekly site meetings. What? Every week? Oh, you know, couldn't care, can't you just build it and would you show up at the end? You know, so there's all extremes and it's just sort of learning.
SPEAKER_01And then I've got another client's like, Friday's coming up. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so it's just learning to read people and deliver.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. So what's it like now, Steve? Like you've um talk us through some of the achievements in the last couple of years.
SPEAKER_01Um yeah, turned the business around, like starting to make a profit too. Just not just not scraping by, like yeah, just seeing knowing your numbers too. That's and that's what that's a big learning curve. Know what things in the back end what costs, and you're just like, whoa, I'm not charging enough. Yeah, that and just systems too. Like, we're we're we're getting there with systems.
SPEAKER_04Um what about personal? Like, what sort of personal wins have you had since your business has become better?
SPEAKER_01Um personal wins is uh I had my operation I've been waiting 10 years for. Yeah, yeah. So I had that um because I could step back. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04And um isn't that funny about like you you put your health you put your business over your health because the business wasn't running that well and you felt like you couldn't have time off and the cash flow and all that.
SPEAKER_01And yeah, I yeah, I I know I held a lot of responsibility because you know, like Simone's part of it as well. Like if I if I stop, who's gonna be doing it? Yeah, so it's I know it's sort of contradicts, you know, well, I'll gonna hurt myself and then you're not there anyway. Yeah, yeah.
Turning Profit On With Better Systems
SPEAKER_01And um I'm sleeping better, like it's less stress, like a lot, a lot less stress. That's for sure. We got we got work in the pipeline, more family time. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Stop working Saturdays, yeah, definitely, and then yeah, getting home like an earlier instead of being there like after seven, getting home. And then another thing too is stop working nights in the office too. That's reduced heaps. I used to you know do work you know from eight o'clock to midnight just getting the quotes out and then getting back up at five and going to work.
SPEAKER_04So are you are you busy? Like a uh busy is the wrong word, but have you got more work on now than you've had in the past?
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Oh yeah, yeah, for sure.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, and we're saying no to a lot of work to but what like uh compared to where you were two years ago, what would you say?
SPEAKER_00You're 50% more or like Do you know what's changed is the value of contract? Um, so not necessarily more um contracts, or maybe a little bit, maybe 20%.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, but the higher the higher end higher value. But I'm just trying to get a for the listener, I guess, get paint a picture like you're doing a lot more work, but you're you're getting you've got free time and you're not working nights.
SPEAKER_00So yeah, the nights is a big that was a big thing. It was I was I was wrecked. I thought I was so clever to oh I've got nights. No, the phone doesn't ring, the email stop, the children in bed, and you know, and of course it's great, good for deep work, you're not interrupted, but terrible for your health. Absolutely terrible. Um so that that's been a big one.
SPEAKER_01It's just required more organization, hey, and systems and yeah, and then um you know putting like a supervisor on or leading chippies to say, okay, you are a leading chippie or a supervisor now, to say here so you are running the job, not and then yeah, that's sort of taken a lot of pressure off, but it's given you know a guide for the boys going, oh hang on, I am running the job, yeah. This is my job.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, that's how a lot of and I I'll put my hand up on bad for it. Like, I I for years I've even when I had my carpenter gangs, like, yeah, no, I've got lead carpenters, I've got service supervisors, but they're not really if you're their micromanaging them all the time.
SPEAKER_01That's what I mean, just learning to let go and trust. That's the biggest thing. They've been with they've been there long enough now to know the ways, what's right and wrong. So, have you seen a lot of growth in your team as well in the last couple of years? Yeah, yeah, definitely, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, but also I think it's been helpful for us to define roles.
SPEAKER_04Um and each of you, oh us, but also in the team.
SPEAKER_00Um and it's an ever-evolving process, so we're still working through task ownership, hey, between admin office and site and yeah, whatnot.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, we're still trying to we're still learning and we're still evolving. Tinkering.
SPEAKER_00But that that that never ends, but like that's right.
SPEAKER_04The whole uh like success means that you're constantly improving and learning. Like if you sit back and then everything's fine.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, because that'll that'll run out in six months if you're not yeah, learning more.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. So um, like a huge achievement, which I'm not sure if you want to talk about. Like, you guys have got a pretty big exciting thing planned for next year. I don't know if you want to touch on that at all, but like two years ago, did you think that was gonna be possible? Oh, yeah, had to be.
SPEAKER_01I did say give me a year, but it's been two years now. Three years. Three years. Three years, yeah, yeah. Yeah. So we're knocking our own home down for the we had a lovely house before we sold as well.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so we did a knockdown rebuild um when our children were five. Um and we were working from the home, so we moved in with my parents um with two kids, a dog and an office lady. It was a big house, yeah. They're so kind, um, and they're kindly welcoming us back again.
SPEAKER_01They've got a tiny house.
SPEAKER_00However, um mum's no longer using the granny flat for her business, so Steve and I will live in the granny flat. The kids will have the bottom level of the big house.
SPEAKER_01That might be like a holiday for you guys.
SPEAKER_00It may be a swimming pool and the private track to the beach.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and we can close the doors that the kids stay and come in.
SPEAKER_00It'll be, you know, and it's only um yeah, not far from our home or our site, half block of land. Yeah, um, so that's gonna be huge. Um, and it's a really big drive driving force um because what how it's really interesting um too, just learning about um healthy homes um recently, diving more into that um topic as well as just what we know from you know passive um design principles and everything, everything about the home that we bought is wrong and back to front and upside down and breaking and falling apart. And it just feels yucky. To live in it. Um and when we do what we do, makes it even harder every day to come home and low ceilings and dark and mouldy and broken and well you can't see the mould, but I just know it's there. Oh, the whirly bird flew off the other day, didn't it, in the storm? Screwed a bucket to the roof. So yeah, literally.
SPEAKER_01I got up there, I've got water coming through the roof.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, son was like, Mum, kitchen sleep. The whirly birds is yeah, that hail storm.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, so But you're in a look, you're in a great position to be able to now move forward and
Planning Their Knockdown Rebuild
SPEAKER_04exactly.
SPEAKER_00So yeah, we we bought the block a few years ago, had had the sort of vision, but um, yeah, no, we wanted to have the the confidence to be able to borrow to build what we wanted to. Um and that's taken a couple of years.
SPEAKER_01The pack process on ourselves. Yeah, so the first plan's been ripped up. So yeah, just anybody just do the pack process before you start. Yeah, we just got the pre-limb drawings and engineering, and we spent, oh we could afford it, but do you want to go in that much debt? Yeah, just didn't want to that much pressure and go there.
SPEAKER_04So that that's a really like Camille and I do it. We use a pack process in every development we do now. Yeah, but it's I think the more the more times we do it ourselves, the better we get educated to help our clients out.
SPEAKER_00That's what I thought from the experience. I thought, oh, it's a taste of our own medicine to a degree, and I'll be able to better relate and go, oh I want a bigger bathroom.
SPEAKER_04But you can also see where you're letting the process down. Like because like I know our pack process at the moment, like we've this year we've just become so hectic, we're really dropping the ball with the estimating. So, like we've got on board with Hayden from Price of Plan, where he's doing a lot more of our estimating now. But the um like we know that in our own projects, and so that we knew we were doing that, but the highlight was two developments we're working on for ourselves at the moment, and like constantly saying, like, we thought we'd be building this now, like this is ridiculous. And then, like, when you really think about it, like where the holdup, like, where the handbrake, like, we should have had the crossings done, we should have been getting back to people.
SPEAKER_00Like, yeah, so well, that's exactly right, and that's why it's so important for Steve to be in the office more because of the flow and effect for delays. Oh, but I have to be there with the poor or that block fill, or you know, oh yeah, well, there goes another week to a start date on that that next job, and the next job. Um, no, it's a it's a biggie, and just to be able to, I guess, provide yeah, guidance as early as possible price-wise, is really valuable. So, anyway, I think we both feel a lot more comfortable with and excited about the new design.
SPEAKER_01It's still a nice home, it is. It's you know, that's still big and open, and yeah, well, as long as it as long as it suits you guys, that's the most important thing. Oh, building to our budget, yeah, and it's and it's a nice home.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that suits us for it's probably a five-year plan instead of a 15-year plan.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So the last house had um an independent living wing designed in it for our daughter. She has a disability, and um, we were sort of had a vision of being able to teach her how to shop and cook and clean and everything, um, but still being at home without sort of putting her out to some sort of NDIS housing, which didn't really appeal to us. Um, so it just got it got a bit out of out of hand. Yeah, just external entry and another flight of stairs, and a it's just yeah, it got a bit too big, and just the extra joinery and whatnot. Um and we just sort of went, well, she's 15, she doesn't need a kitchen, she doesn't need a kitchen now. She doesn't need it now. She actually doesn't need it in the next five years. Well, let's build a normal family home for now. And then we might try we'll solve that future perceived problem in the future. And it might be um we sell the house or build a new one, or what who knows, or extend a few little scratchy ideas about how to extend it or up.
SPEAKER_04Do you feel that um your mindset on that stuff has changed because of your growth in the last two years? Like you're not trying to go, oh shit, we need to be doing this because you know now that the like the reward you get back when everything goes to plan.
SPEAKER_00Well, we've always got options. I think that's what sort of made me settle. Like I wasn't devastated or uh upset. It was just the cost of time, probably cost three or four months, you know, but whatever. Like that's that's a um small price to pay, really, compared to like building something that's beyond your means, really, and living the smell of an all-the-screen driveways or the fences, yeah, have the things half done and cutting corners.
SPEAKER_01Now let's yeah.
SPEAKER_00So we'll do it properly for now. Hey, it's gonna suit us really well for a good solid five years or so.
SPEAKER_04And then uh and you keep doing like you keep running the business and having the growth you've had over the last two years, like who knows where you'll be in two years' time.
SPEAKER_00Keep it, it'll be the rentals.
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SPEAKER_00I've been pretty fiercely determined, I'd say, to make a change to the positive. Yeah, yeah. I think it's fair to say we sort of had three really big bumpy bits throughout our the business is nearly 17 years old.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00And um when it was 18 months, we'd we'd been 18 months in business, we were still living hand to mouth, and um um we had twins. Boy and a girl.
SPEAKER_01And the kids are in special care with Smoone, and it was that was a stressful time.
SPEAKER_00Really, really challenging. And um, yeah, so our daughter was diagnosed with Down syndrome on day four, so it was a surprise to us. Um that was a huge adjustment, um, as well as then still having to work. I remember the first end of month, and I was still in hospital. I like a I was so blank. I don't even know, I don't even know who paid.
SPEAKER_01I mean the pin number of McKee card, that's all. I didn't know how I didn't know what are we gonna pay. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so it was um a really hard couple of years, but family, hey, was so supportive. We had a lot of um rock solid family around us just to just to get us through. Yeah, um, and then I guess five years after that we knocked the house down to move. That was pretty hard. Yeah, and we stretched ourselves financially big time on that. So we learned a lot of lessons, and and from that, that's part of the reason why we've waited three years to start this project from our learnings from that one, is sort of probably rushing in and you know, you know, giving ourselves little upgrades here and there that shouldn't have, and then other jobs, just the reality, hey, of running multiple jobs whilst also your own. Um we just underestimated the pressure.
SPEAKER_01Um, I'm comfortable with three at once. Yeah, but when you go four and five, that's when it gets really stressful.
SPEAKER_04So like three at once is still a big deal, but tell like your three is fairly different to most people's three. Like, tell us a little bit about the work you do, Steve. And without like try not
Business Lows And Family Pressure
SPEAKER_04to be so humble, mate. Because your your work is awesome.
SPEAKER_01Like they are big, the big homes, yeah. But they are but it's just it's a long time between each trade. It's not like next week the plaster starts, it's it's months before the plaster starts.
SPEAKER_00And yeah, and the milestones are far far apart.
SPEAKER_01So you gotta have a catch one, you've got to have three on the go because the boys won't have nothing to do over there. And look these big concrete homes, there's not much chippy work in it until the formwork's gone. And then then we start. Months or year. So it's nearly been a year on one job before the chippies could start.
SPEAKER_04Tell us about the one of your current ones. Like, how many cubes was there in the concrete roof?
SPEAKER_01Uh there was 70 cubes in the roof and a 28 tonne of Rio. And that was that was a long time, that one. All up, it's gonna be close to a thousand cubes for the house. That's footings, driveways, pool. The pool's massive. Yeah, yeah. And that was um those footings. Oh, the piers for the footings, they went down 12 metres and there were 75 of them. And uh three three and a half months of just uh drilling through rock. Yeah, yeah. I mean, we might be doing what was that, three to five a day. We're averaging one or two. So, how did you get the experience to do that work?
SPEAKER_04Because a lot of people I said I could do it. Yeah, oh because a lot so many people. Um, I had this conversation with the bill the other day because like he's he wants to get started, he wants to do um full new homes, but he's only been doing kitchen and bathrooms. And I was like, mate, you there's never a perfect time. Like you just got to jump in and talk to other people, get on YouTube, what feel like do whatever you take can.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, but like you've taken that that that was oh, the foundations on that, that's the biggest one. But but no, it's still the same concept.
SPEAKER_00That was like 15 years into your building career. So if you think back to when you still the first new build was actually Mulaney, I was pregnant, my gosh. I eat trail mix in the mouth in the car. Um and that was someone gave you a go. So a mate went, Oh, I can't, I'm too busy for this. Remember that?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's right.
SPEAKER_00And then we did, and then um another client we did a couple of Renault smaller jobs, and so they've got to know us and then
High-End Concrete Builds And Trust
SPEAKER_00knock down rebuild the first one in Minyama. Anyway, you oh yeah, my yeah, yeah, yeah, same street. Yeah, so I think it's just about trust too. Taking the opportunity when it's presented to you, even if it's not perfect, like that first one in Mulaney was at an avocado farm, 45 minute, 50 minute drive from home. It's like some people turn their nose up and go, oh, that's too far.
SPEAKER_01It was nice, it was nice working on an A.
SPEAKER_04Well, you gotta do what you gotta do, don't you? But like you've worked your way up now to do these incredible concrete homes, but like But it's confidence too.
SPEAKER_01Like I've never had a you know a big piling rig like that on a site. I've had drip um you know, I've done the scroopies and I've done you know board holes, but not 12 metres deep through rock. But you just hire the right contractors too. You just listen to them and say this is what I need done and tell me what I uh what else I need to cover. You you gotta you learn. You learn. And yeah, I I felt confident with um the contractors are employed. But that's that's um the experts have been.
SPEAKER_00They do it for a living.
SPEAKER_01This is what I build homes for a living. So if you can get me that foundations in, I can I can do the rest.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, but it's it's like you're obviously very good with your communication and and uh your skills with dealing with people because like there'd be a lot of polling contractors out there that are cowboys, just like there are builders and tradies.
SPEAKER_01So I learned hard from the first one because he did a run on a weekend, took his machines and ran away because it says it's too hard. And then I just got on the blow and read and done a lot of research as well and talked to a lot of people, yeah, and listened.
SPEAKER_00And that was southeast Queensland wide, hey, because there's no one on the Sunshine Coast with a large enough equipment for the job, so it was just a matter of talking to people, picking up the phone, any contact, and it's just follow the thread until you find the right person.
SPEAKER_01And they came to sight and I'm just like, whoa, this is easy, this is easy. I said, Oh, the last guy said the same thing. Yeah, but yeah, he said we got the right tool for the right job, and that's that's one of my best sayings. Each time I gave it tool shopping.
SPEAKER_04But uh I'm again, this is all important information to share because there's a lot of girls out there that have these goals and ambitions, but they let they I don't know, they just let the stories they tell themselves hold them back because they don't have the right experience or whatever. But um you just made a really good point there. Like there's especially when you're doing custom homes, uh, it's not uncommon that every job you do has something that you've never done before. Yeah, oh definitely, definitely.
SPEAKER_01And new products too. I love learning about new products and yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's um not be afraid, hey, yeah.
SPEAKER_01But it's just it does come down to experience too, like your confidence in yourself. If you've done something similar, it's got it's something similar. You know steps, you know what's right. Yeah, you know the first two steps, and then you just gotta learn the next step. Yeah, but something's all new.
SPEAKER_04So, how does that site confidence I guess flow through to the the quoting, the estimating, and those sorts of things? Like you you both mentioned several times knowing your numbers. Um because so many a lot so many people reach out to me uh through this podcast and say, What do you you keep you're always banging on about knowing your numbers?
SPEAKER_01What do you mean by knowing your numbers? And yeah, um well see, knowing your numbers when you're doing footings and foundation, that's hard. That's you you've got to do that as a cost of the colours. Well, we've well we've learnt to ha use provisional sum allowances, but um unforeseen ones too, especially got screw peers too, nobody knows how deep they're gonna go.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, like one and we've learnt to to really spell that out to homeowners because they don't really understand, oh you know, we've allowed for this many and that deep, you know, based on the geotech report that we've got, but to really spell it out that that's an estimate, even though it's impossible to quote it that it you know.
SPEAKER_01I'll get more chance of hearing a rock, not him. Yeah, and it's the very start.
SPEAKER_04It is, it's all about seeing those expectations, isn't it?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and being really, really clear. And I think too, just from an experience with the rock in the last project, where probably almost scaring people away with how blunt like we are with like what can happen. Yeah, um, like we've found buried swimming pools, hay, and yeah, all sorts of things in it in suburban excavation. So it doesn't have to be rural.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I heard that on as well. Uh you know, it screw peers, yeah. You you hit restriction about four metres. At seven metres they were sinking on their own. Yeah, and they went down 14 metres before they talked up. Like, yeah, it's see, it comes down to experience. You just well just learnt.
SPEAKER_04Oh, I feel and exactly the same. Like, we learned our lesson with that. Like, we've um we've never done any peers like your you have with the big boring machine. We've we've done board concrete piers down to about six metres just with an excavator, yeah. But we've done a lot of driven piles, we've done a lot of screw peers. But our first job, where we used uh copper logs, like driving them in with a big like 18-ton um rent or 28-ton excavator, it was similar to what you just said. Like, oh we just had it priced and we put it in our contract. Uh, there was 101 of them. Like, this is this is probably 16, 18 years ago when I've uh it'd be 15 maybe years ago. Um, there was 101 of them. The all
Provisional Sums And Cost Tracking
SPEAKER_04we had two different soil tests. The soil test said they'd um max out at I think it was 12 or 13 metres, and there I think there ended up being only two or three that were under that, yeah, and the deepest ones were 27 metres. Yeah, and we did our ass, like because we had it in as a fixed price, yeah, yeah. And yeah, we learnt the hard way. So from that job on, like any time that we had any type of um any peer at all that was suggested that it would be more than two metres, it was an allowance.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, like you have to, it's impossible.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I sort of learnt that I worked down uh Brisbane International Airport and I watched the pylons go and that, and I watched three 20-meter um concrete pylons go down, there's ramming them down, and then over there, two they only went two, and then a little bit further there, I only went one. Yeah, you know, that's so nobody knows, honestly. That's mate.
SPEAKER_04It was incredible to watch the first time we did it. The um like they would ram it pretty steady, and the the first two or three meters would be quite solid, and then you'd see them break through a crust, and some of them, like you say, they'd they'd keep tapping them down, it was reasonable. But there was other ones where they'd drive the first, and the the copper logs I think were in um seven or eight meter lengths, and they'd they'd get the first one in and then they'd put their splicer joint on, and then they'd hit the next one down. And like some of these piers would get down to 10-12 metres, and it'd be bumping away, and then all of a sudden they'd bump it and it'd drop three meters. Yeah, just like just and yeah, so they they had a um but they had a big cable tides, and so they wouldn't obviously disappear and we had to start again. But yeah, but visually seeing that definitely gives me stuff like I tell my clients those stories. Like if we do any uh jobs on sites now that have that have that um like most of those sites where we have to do them are on the ocean front or whatever, and it's like stiff, silty mud or whatever they call it. So you just educate your clients on what's going on, right?
SPEAKER_01You try, yeah, you try, educate them, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, no, just to be really clear. So I think that's helped us structure the contracts well. Um just the well the labour.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, the labour's the biggest one too. Oh, it's pretty much. We've learned the numbers, like what to charge and yeah, even yeah, wages and that just.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, but it's more just cost tracking. What I what I meant was like just the amount of um labour to allow for different tasks and things like that has just come from years and years and years of cost tracking and reviewing back on that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, we do get the boys to do timesheets, that helps why is that blown out and you just go through and you're oh and putting writing down what they're doing. Exactly, like task by task, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and just little learnings, hey, each one. And I've been tracking Steve's supervision since 2018 or something. Just um and have it down pat pr pretty much. I know how you know and it's pretty consistent. And and we switch that whether it's Steve or um another team member, yeah.
SPEAKER_01There's a budget there um to cover definitely what definitely you've got to think about that supervision because they're not whacking in a frame if they're over there talking to the plaster.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, anyone at all in your team that's doing supervision tasks should be tracking it, should be putting it down at supervision. But again, uh even um and this applies to all trade is like so many people think they're tracking time just because their employees are putting in a timesheet. Yeah, like if they're not putting down the task they're doing, um like I think every trade should be doing, like even like a plumber, like a plumber should be separating like his cold and hot water rough in time and his stack work time and his fit-off time because how can he improve his costings on the next job if he's not?
SPEAKER_00Oh, exactly. I know. No, it's been super important. So they've we've got a new um app for that. Yeah, we're bringing in our new stuff in the boys' pocket on the phone. So it's just job task hours done. Yeah, so um it's cut down, it's hope well, no more pen and paper. We literally went from pretty much pen and paper to to that. So um that's been yeah, really good. Just streamlining it, getting it into the costings and synced.
SPEAKER_04Zero and just um yeah yeah how do you um like that's at the site numbers are only one side of it isn't it like we we don't need to discuss your percentage of overheads but how have you gone like where were you at two years ago with the overheads compared to where you are now?
SPEAKER_00Didn't really know them.
SPEAKER_04We didn't.
SPEAKER_00Well do you know what? Um I'll definitely put my hand up to this. I didn't notice, whilst I was fully aware of the cost of materials and labour had escalated throughout COVID, I totally took my eye off the ball with that with the overheads and insurances and fuel and licensing, like everything was going up in equal proportions, but I just didn't notice.
SPEAKER_04Um so I think, yeah, well, I know if you haven't got a document and you're not regularly reviewing it, like it's it's not hard to not notice it.
SPEAKER_00That well, that's right, it's just oh yeah, that's it. But just going through the exercise, what you've taught us through um elevate, um it didn't take long, it's honestly a couple of hours, and holy shit, what are we doing?
SPEAKER_01That's we're way too no wonder. Yeah, no wonder we're not going ahead. Yeah, we're getting ahead, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that was um because coming out of our pocket awakening.
SPEAKER_04On that, like I know we had some conversations very early on when you first signed up, like your salaries.
SPEAKER_00Like we re reduced them drastically to help pay for other things that we wanted to do. Um, and we were okay with that. And that's part of the reason why it's taken three years to get to the point we're gonna be ready to build again for ourselves, but um we're just so determined to fix up the mess.
SPEAKER_04But you but you know what they are, but like you you've you made educated decisions to like play around with yourself, yeah.
SPEAKER_01It was all part of a yeah, we've changed the we got to know our numbers and we've changed the whole system now.
SPEAKER_00Part of the plan, and it's all back, you know, we've been able to give our team pay rises
Overheads Reality Check And Pay Cuts
SPEAKER_00and um ourselves and everything's healthy again. But it was just a period of time we just knuckled down, yeah, and we just went well, this is what we have to do. Um, I don't know, I think we might have had a couple of uh a contract or two we still had to write out, yeah. And went, well, we're stuck here now, we're just gonna do it.
SPEAKER_04And uh but you you dug in, you learnt your numbers so that you could play around with them like that. Yeah, yeah. Most people just have no idea whatsoever of what they're getting paid. Yeah, like it's literally just the accountant says, Hey, this is left over, you've made this much money, the company's made this much money. Yeah, I know. Yeah, they um have I think I talk about that a fair bit. Like, I I think when you're over your numbers and you know what you're getting paid, like that's how every in my and Camille's life, like every gross spurt we have is because we've made an educated decision to reduce our salary so we can put more money over here and do that over there, and then that'll grow and then we get paid again.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, it's exactly what we did over the last couple of years. So it was rewarding, yeah, just to do that and go, ah, worth it. It is.
SPEAKER_04It's like sleep so much better than I am. But do you feel do you feel rewarded now for the for what you do for a job? Like now that you're in this position?
SPEAKER_03Um you're getting this for?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, like hey, hang on, and this is turning into a a good business, like not like, oh I'm not going to work just yeah because I have to. Yeah, because I want to now, really. Yeah, it's just it is rewarding, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Especially I think so. It's exciting to be part of people's, you know, dream home build. That's sort of what we do um more mostly. Hey, it's either a holiday home or the dream home or something that's exciting and fun. It's not like an investor type product. Um, so I like that as opposed to you know commercial building, you know, it can be a bit impersonal.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, um, so we sort of get Simone's going back to being humble again. But you are yeah, you like but you guys are getting rewarded now. Like you put in the effort, you're getting rewarded, you can see the future's bright.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, because we're looking at what what are we our next chapter really is like one day we'll start building for ourselves, yeah, not for a client. Yeah, like doing your own developments on the side. Yeah, just because yeah, that's the next step.
SPEAKER_00Um after building our own home, um we'll just start with one at a time. I don't know if we'll ever not build for pe other people, um you know, sort of about evolve into a developer-builder model, yeah. Um, with sort of a foot in both camps, ideally.
SPEAKER_04Um you've got the knowledge to do it now. But that's the most in that is the most rewarding part of knowing your numbers. You can plan for that.
SPEAKER_00It's exciting and to have the freedom and to go, and you know, when you do see an opportunity, um, you know, you go, oh, you know, let's buy that site. Buy it. Um, you know, but but to have like we're not loaded, we don't have like oodles of like hard cash in the bank, but so to learn about finance. No, we don't know. Yeah, so that's exciting, I I think. But to it's all um sequential, I guess. Hey, you've got to do the work and understand that you know we need a healthy construction company first before we can go and do those sort of development projects.
SPEAKER_03Definitely.
SPEAKER_00Um, and just to learn the interaction between the two.
SPEAKER_04Can you are you at a point now where you can really see like you're finding your who's not how's, like you're stepping back offside a little bit, you're putting other people in positions, like you've got roles and tasks. So can you see the freedom growing?
SPEAKER_01Oh, I can see Steve's still struggling with it. Yeah, yeah. But I'm still learning to step back. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00I think um it's definitely work in progress. Like we're definitely working hard on systems and trying to not only design them but follow them diligently when you know, and not be slack and take a shortcut because I know I can do this quicker if I just call this person or email that guy, you know. But if I do it properly through the software and the system, so we can find it again later, or so so-and-so can pick it up. Yeah, so it's all we're just trying to really centralize our operations in one platform. So that's taking a lot of discipline, but it will allow us to share tasks between a VA, between site, between office, or for a holiday or somewhere if we have to check in, we can.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, but the other thing too, hey, we introduced whiteboards too, and that's that's been going for what a couple of months, yeah. Oh, over six months now, and it's great. At least the boys can see what's coming up too. They get they start thinking who's coming, what's going on, what do I need? Not like, oh, I need some nails, and then an hour later, oh I've got to tell you get some batten screws too. You know, like it's just yeah, what are you doing? Like, yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, there's lots of layers, hey, to the but it's it was a good starting point with the whiteboards.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, everyone hears you talk about whiteboards unless it's whiteboard, like that's a good thing. It's how but it's how you manage that whiteboard, like, and it's having the systems and the processes to back the whiteboard up. Yeah, it's not just putting a whiteboard on site and letting everybody draw shit pictures over it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, maybe you should see one whiteboard. Oh, it's this much writing, it's this big of this is all the to-do lists, yeah, yeah, and who's coming, and yeah, we followed the videos. I'll let the boy I I'll let the boys watch your videos as well. Oh, that's yeah, that's a good idea. Yeah, yeah, and then they sort of got their head around it as well. Yeah, no, it's good.
SPEAKER_00Everyone liked the question when you got asked, how do you keep your writing so neat? It's not my writing.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, yeah. My writing is we uh it's funny you say that because I um so we uh we're currently recording this podcast close to Christmas time 2025. Um last weekend, so we're we're having three parties this year. Camille's gone a bit crazy. So last weekend, last Sunday we had a big we all our team bought their families, and everyone was a big family day. Um and so we actually I sat down and just went through every team member and just got a little bit creative with some awards that I wanted to give out, and um, then I passed them on to Sharon and our accounts manager Sharon, uh Camille and Sharon, and uh said, just run your way over this, like let's play around with it.
Whiteboards And Centralising Operations
SPEAKER_04And uh one of our awards was for the need it needest world's neatest handwriting because one of our supervisors, honestly, definitely not a not a doctor. Every person that turns up the side of like, how the hell does that like especially with whiteboard pants? Like, how do you do that? So it's funny because you go around our job sites and um like the ones he writes on are like neat as, and then you go to other job sites, and like there's a quarter of the information taking up more space. Yeah, yeah. And I'm it's my hand that rubs out the next bit.
SPEAKER_01Oh, how do you spell that again?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I've got to have my iPhone open and check my spelling as I'm trying to write on the blog, otherwise no one can read it.
SPEAKER_01What are you doing? Uh nothing.
SPEAKER_04But um, yeah. Look, I I I I'm super proud of you guys. Like, you've come such a long way. Like you were I think we had two or three conversations before you get you signed up. Like you were a little bit hesitant in the beginning about because did you do you did some previous coaching, hadn't you?
SPEAKER_00Oh, we had one complimentary chat um a few years ago. Yeah, I was never hesitant for the record, um, but just um Steve was. But I just felt like we were at a point where we I knew we needed help. It wasn't going to fix itself after all these years. And I think that's part, yeah, it was sort of never too old. That's uh yeah, to eat humble pie just because we'd been doing it a long time didn't mean you know that we knew or oh I guess you always knew what you were doing on site. I guess the construction and the workmanship was never really the issue, like we were an award-winning builder, but um health and wellness and our finances weren't really great.
SPEAKER_04Isn't it funny about I had this conversation with a guy this morning, actually, and I had it again two days ago, so you guys would have seen we've recently got quite a few new members in the in the group, yeah. Um, and one of the conversations I had three or four days ago, like, because he this guy was really hesitant to sign up because he's an award-winning builder. And he's like, and I told him my story, I was the same, and you guys just mentioned it. Like, it's very hard in this industry because our industry rewards the finished products, yeah, yeah, yeah. But no one checked like Live Life Build does our awards, which focus on rewarding people for everything behind the scenes, uh systems, processes, estimating, all that sort of stuff. But the rest of the industry rewards on these fluffed up pillows and beautiful looking pictures, but that doesn't indicate all the stress, the lost money, the arguments, like all the shit that's going on to get there. Yeah, and so for a builder that's um winning awards, it can be very hard to understand like what's wrong with my business? Yeah, like is it is it us? Is it like what's going on? Yeah, you can't do that.
SPEAKER_00And I think too, just how hard it was to win those contracts in the first place. And I was just well, I it was beyond
Awards Versus A Healthy Business
SPEAKER_00us to be able to repair it, to fix it, to be able to work it out um on our own.
SPEAKER_04So have you won awards for houses that you lost money on?
SPEAKER_00Of course. Of course we have. Yeah, which ones did we make money on?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, and so again, that's that's my point. Like the the industry is rewarding that, yeah. Um yeah, and yeah, I know I know we've definitely won um awards back in the past where like we completely like had a horrible time on the job, yeah, and the only person that's won has been the client when they sold the house.
SPEAKER_01I made it that plenty of times as a dream home forever.
SPEAKER_04So it's it's really funny how this industry works. Like you like if you don't have those in-depth conversations, if you don't reach out for help on your business and you're purely judging where you're at because of a finished product, it can be very deceiving.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's very unhealthy, very sort of competitive. It it was helpful, like the awards were helpful for us as a startup to build credibility. I think for someone else to be able to say, Oh yes, they do good work, you know, to have the inspections and you know, a bit of publicity, like it was helpful, and in some cases that was the only payment we got was the bit of public pat on the back.
SPEAKER_04Which is look, don't get me wrong, uh awards are great because they build your reputation, they people see your quality of work.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, but they can't be the be-all and end all of your business. And um as we sort of well, grew or contract values grew, the award categories became smaller and more open, and so our we were finding our homes were up against homes that were four or five times the value of what we were building, and we just sort of we had a little break, we tipped our toe back in this year, and we might do yeah, I sort of um it's not as important to us as it used to be, is what I'm trying to say. Um we're just really focusing on delivering um awesome homes for people in a nice um professional way without the stress and uh health uh health service. But also for our clients too, to hopefully deliver in an orderly fashion and to give them plenty of time for decisions if it hasn't already been you know something needs a decision or um yeah, just to be more structured and that's just come from experience. And learning to read people and learn, you know, I think Helen has helped us a lot with that, learning about um different personalities and how they might process information differently. How you know some people are super relaxed and others need a long time, lots of back and forward to make decisions and whatnot. So that all affects lead time for ordering, yeah, and the boys on you know, like if things are still up on the air. So I think all of that's sort of been more our focus rather than um oh just yeah, playing ahead, system, not schedule.
SPEAKER_01That's the biggest one. So you've brought you brought up your health several times, but you that's obviously very important to you. Oh, it is now. I look, I'm over 50 now, and then you don't bounce back as much as you used to. Yeah, and then started seeing uh a holistic coach on your podcast. Yeah. Oh Hector. Yeah, oh Hector, yeah. So it's I've been eating a lot of meat and drinking salty water. Yeah, and it's uh it's it's got me off the I don't drink as much now. That's for sure. And then you just sort of re uh realise yeah, like you've got to look after yourself. Yeah, are you you're feeling better? Yeah, yeah. Like before I had my operation, I um I did some heavy, uh hard week and I I recovered. You know, wake up in the morning and go, oh, normally I've got a sore back and I can't move after a day like that, but yeah, I'll you know, recovering a lot faster, and I could do the same job the next day and go back home going, oh I'm sore. But wake up in the morning and I've recovered. So just learning about that. Yeah, I did yoga for a while as well, and that sort of helped my head. Yeah, yeah. So it's just yeah, sleeping and all.
SPEAKER_04So um, what's the future like for SX constructions aren't you? Look out. No, you've got an exciting like well, tell us like two years ago compared to now, like workflow, jobs booked in, yeah, yeah, definitely. Good clients.
SPEAKER_00We've got um yeah, we've got some awesome people that we're building with and building for. Um we've got pack processes booked into deep 2027. So that's really giving us um confidence to um to put all of our staff on to permanent full-time employees. We had a few casuals. Um so that was really exciting for us. Just to have that confidence um in our in ourselves, in our business, in the workflow, in our ability to just keep it up. Um and then I think yeah, just well, our own home will be a bit of a a a leap progue into hopefully um dabbling in some other developments, but also to be able to use it as a display home or a meeting place again. We did that a little bit.
SPEAKER_01Not in the office, oh
Health Wins And Sustainable Work
SPEAKER_01in the shed. We do, yeah.
SPEAKER_00At least it does have some air.
SPEAKER_01A lot of my room in my shed. Yeah, but it's probably it's an important space, man. Yeah, it's amazing what Leftover Timber can do.
SPEAKER_00Materials, yeah, yeah. But to have a um like our own product to have people walk through and as a custom builder, you know, you don't have the resource of a display home, it's super helpful. Yeah, so I think that'll be cool. Who knows? Might do an event or two. I think it's just uh a relaunch, re-rand at 20. We're turning well, we'll be turning 20 before we're gonna be.
SPEAKER_01I'm just happy, uh excited about doing our own projects. That's even just start with one. That's that's that's a big leap. That's all. It's a big leap for one, just any business really.
SPEAKER_00That'd be really exciting. I've just been yeah, starting to listen and learn you know from other builder developers. We've got friends who do it, and just lots of listening. Hey, is just a preamble.
SPEAKER_04That's where the true freedom and wealth come from. Like you can build a great business and you can get great cash flow
Builder-Developer Plans And Freedom
SPEAKER_04and you can earn good money from a business, but yeah, true wealth comes from using your expertise and your knowledge to take the cream off a development that other people are doing, isn't it? Yeah, yeah, and take the middleman out. Yeah, it will take the middleman out.
SPEAKER_00But really exciting to be able to be yeah, be builder, developer, or also a podcast about a well, and you can make like what excites Camille and I is we can try things.
SPEAKER_04Like it's it doesn't have to be what clients want. Like we if we've got an idea, we can try it. Yeah, we can experiment.
SPEAKER_00To make a decision like that. I was doing some really complicated variation the other day. Like, I can't wait to not have to variation. Well, I know as a developer, you still have to document things.
SPEAKER_04My best advice I can give you is treat it exactly the same as a job. Yeah, yeah. Like cost it the same, yeah, have profit on it, treat everything exactly the same. Because you you still want to have a financially like a lot, what a lot of people mistake they make is when they start doing their own jobs, they don't have their overheads or their company profit and things on it. But you to be able to keep you to continue to do developments, your building business still needs to be profitable. Oh, we've learned that that's obviously a lot of tax benefits and stuff as well.
SPEAKER_02But that's right.
SPEAKER_00Well, that's how we've priced our own home. As if basically Steve doesn't have to build it with his own two hands on Saturdays and Sundays for the next four years. That's the last one. Yeah, that was you know, we've sort of we've learnt from the previous home. So we've got we're charging ourselves overheads in it, and there's money in there for the team to build it. Um and and if Steve does some hours on it or whatever, we're trying to rake. Yeah, pay for the gold taps. I don't, I'm not having gold taps. I don't like gold taps. Um, yeah, so it'll be a good discipline and it'll be interesting to see how it'll how the money pans out. Definitely. Um but that but that's the goal is just to avoid any financial stress and just have it pay for itself, um, like any other job.
SPEAKER_04But how awesome to have 18 months of preliminary pack processes locked in, job jobs like actual work locked in for your site team. Yeah, oh yeah.
SPEAKER_00We're fully booked next year. I don't know how even like we're fully booked and then we're deep into 27. So that's a real um exciting yeah. So it's a launch, it's a launch pad to you know, dream the next dream.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, but it's very different to having like a lot of people can say they've got work booked in to but to actually have quality jobs, quality clients, profitable jobs.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, well, we're very lucky, like we work really hard for it. Um so that I'd like to reduce my hours, but that's gonna come from systems. So no one can like I've learnt too, you can hire people, you can throw money at things, it doesn't take the work away, like it still needs to be done properly and well. Um so I think the systems is what's really gonna save um or reduce our contact hours. Definitely a bit more family time, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Kids uh growing up the right house for it, too, like big pool and they can bring their friends.
SPEAKER_00It's a little bit smaller now. We did the pack process.
SPEAKER_01Ivan told someone we're gonna do another bucket width. Yeah, he wants to.
SPEAKER_00This is Steve though. Oh no, I hate you.
SPEAKER_01Steve's you're your own way. That mud bucket.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, no. No, guys, look, I'm super proud of you. I I think you've um you are very humble. I think you've like the growth that I've seen in the last two years has been excellent. And just to see the excitement um and what you've got planned for the future, I think you should be very proud of yourselves as well. Yeah. Yeah, we are.
SPEAKER_00Thank you. Yeah, it's exciting.
SPEAKER_01It is. It is exciting. Yeah, it's like Christmas already too. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00She wants a boat one day. Bigger boat.
SPEAKER_01So I said, Well, I need a big car to tow that big boat.
SPEAKER_00Get in the office and quote the next one work it in, work it in. Whenever the dream is. Yeah, yeah, that's right.
SPEAKER_04Guys, um, really appreciate your time. Thanks so much for uh coming down and sitting in the uh the old shed this afternoon. And um, look, um, where can people find you? Where are they going?
SPEAKER_00Oh, in Instagram, Facebook, just at SX Constructions um or online website.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, good website. Yeah, reach out. Yeah, no, we're gonna uh yeah, guys, check them out. They do awesome work, and um, yeah, like I said, I'm super proud of you guys. Keep up the good work. And um, look, guys, for everyone that's listening, make sure you go to the DwaynePears.com website, check out our merch. Um, it is walking out the door at the moment, so uh get yours so you can help uh grow our level up movement. Um, one last thing before we get out of here, which I forgot. What does level up mean to you?
SPEAKER_00Oh, it's just taken us from the weeds to having a clear path.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, direction, yeah. Yeah, a better direction too. Like a sound, a sound mind like yeah, oh. It's been life changing, Joy. Yeah, thank you.
SPEAKER_02Look forward to seeing you on the next one.