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29/09/2026

Are you winning work… or winning yourself a job that barely pays?

In my latest article for The Deux-Sèvres Magazine, I take a look at “The Math of Misery” - what happens when tradespeople get caught in the race to the bottom and start competing on price rather than value.

Because being busy doesn’t necessarily mean being profitable.

We look at margins, hidden costs, pricing, client expectations and the uncomfortable question every business owner should be able to answer:

“What does this job actually need to be worth for my business to remain healthy?”

If you’re a tradesperson who has ever wondered where all the money went at the end of a busy week, this one is for you.

And thanks goes to Lisa Jones at the The DSM Magazine.
If you are looking at new avenues to increase your business awareness, I highly recommend that you have a chat with Lisa.

Why competing on price can damage a trades business. Learn how protecting your margins, knowing your costs and valuing reliability can build profit.

28/09/2026

What is your profit margin actually doing for you?

It's easy to think of profit as the money left over after everything else is paid.

But for a small trades business, margin is also your safety net.

It's what helps absorb:
→ The van repair
→ The broken tool
→ The late payment
→ The unexpected problem
→ The quiet week
→ The replacement equipment
→ The time spent dealing with something that wasn't planned

Without margin, every unexpected cost becomes a personal crisis.

That's why a healthy margin isn't greed.
It isn't "charging too much".

It isn't money you've somehow taken from the customer.
It's what allows a business to remain a business when real life happens.

The question isn't: "Can I do the job for less?"

It's: "Can my business sustainably do the job for this price?"

Those are two very different questions. Agree or disagree??

21/09/2026

"We're really busy at the moment."

It's often said as though it's automatically good news.

But busy doing what?
Busy making money?
Busy covering costs?
Busy working evenings to catch up on paperwork?
Busy taking jobs you don't really want because you're afraid of saying no?
Busy chasing payments?
Busy fixing problems created by jobs that weren't priced properly?

There is a big difference between having a busy business and having a healthy business.

Turnover tells you how much money came through the door. It doesn't tell you how much stayed there.

And a full diary doesn't tell you whether the person at the centre of it is being paid properly for their time, skill and responsibility.

So perhaps we should stop asking: "How busy are you?"

And start asking: "How profitable is your busy?"

17/09/2026

A question for the self-employed tradespeople in the room. We often hear:

“I'm working harder than I ever expected to.”

But I've been thinking about what sits underneath that. Because there isn't one answer.

Sometimes it's the cost of living.

Sometimes it's the mortgage.

Sometimes it's the cost of running the business.

Sometimes it's the amount we need to take home.

Sometimes it's the business structure we're operating under.

Sometimes it's because we've simply never stopped to work out what our business actually needs to generate.

And sometimes we've become so accustomed to working flat out that we don't know how to take our foot off the gas.

So here's my question: Do you know the number your business needs to generate each month to support the life you actually want?

Not your turnover target.

Not “as much as possible”.

Not “more than last year”.

The actual number.

The number that covers the business, your obligations, your household, your future provision AND leaves you with enough time to actually enjoy the life you're working so hard to create.

And if you don't know that number, perhaps that's the more important question to answer before you go looking for more work.

What's your view?

15/09/2026

💭 "We've always done it this way."

I wonder how often you've heard those words in your business?

Perhaps when someone suggests a different way of managing the paperwork.

Or introduces a new system for organising jobs.

Or mentions a new technology that could make life a little easier.

Sometimes, we've always done it this way because it works.

And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

But sometimes, we say it because we've become comfortable with the familiar. Because changing something feels like hard work. Or because we haven't stopped to consider whether there's a better way.

I came across an interesting article recently that suggested:

"The answer isn't to chase security. It's to cultivate adaptability instead."

And it got me thinking about how we approach change as self-employed tradespeople.

The world around us doesn't stand still.

Technology develops. Regulations change. Customer expectations evolve. New tools, including AI, are opening conversations about how we run our businesses. Just very recently, we have all found ourselves subject to the new digital reformation.

I recently spoke with a tradesperson who has gone completely down the AI route for producing his quotes. Now, for us at PW Pro Elec, that would be a step too far. Our electrical work is regulated. Our devis involve technical considerations, materials, client requirements and plenty of moving parts. Before anything leaves our PC, we make sure a human has thoroughly checked it.

That doesn't mean we're against technology. It means we understand where technology can support our business, and where our knowledge, experience and judgement must remain firmly at the centre.

Adaptability isn't about changing everything. It's about being willing to question what we're doing.

It might mean introducing a new system.

It might mean improving a process we've used for years.

It might mean embracing a new tool.

Or it might mean deciding that the way we've always done something is still the right way, but now we've made that decision consciously.

Because perhaps the most dangerous phrase in business isn't necessarily:

"We've always done it this way."

Perhaps it's saying it without ever asking whether it still serves us.

As self-employed business owners, we don't need to chase every new idea.

But we do need to remain curious. To keep learning. To be prepared to adapt. And to recognise that running a better business doesn't always mean working harder. Sometimes, it means being willing to look at how we're working in the first place.

💬 What's one thing in your business that you've always done a certain way, but recently found yourself questioning?

I'd love to hear what you're thinking about.

14/09/2026

Sometimes the most expensive word in business is:

Yes

Yes to the job that doesn't make financial sense
Yes to the customer who wants everything cheaper
Yes to squeezing another job into an already impossible week
Yes to working Saturday because you didn't price enough margin into the job
Yes to doing "just one more thing" for free
Yes to matching a competitor's price
Yes because you're worried there won't be another job

But saying yes to everything doesn't make a business stronger.

Sometimes it simply makes the business owner more exhausted.

There needs to be a point where you can say:
"That's below what my business needs to make this work."

And walk away. That's not arrogance. That's knowing your numbers.
And knowing when saying no protects the business you've worked so hard to build.

07/09/2026

Your business is the sweat you put in and the systems you run. Your brand is the trust that earns your next lead before you’ve even left the site.

Every job you finish today is a brick in the wall of your reputation. Make sure the work you do and the way you're perceived match up perfectly. Build it solid.

06/09/2026

Sometimes, I get to let my hair down.

It was an absolute honour to be part of Auberge du Noyer’s One Night Only on Saturday 5 September, with The Original Pearly Kings and Queens of London, helping out and being part of the occasion.

For those who know me through my work, you’ll know that a huge part of what I do is helping small business owners become better business owners. Thinking commercially, putting proper systems in place, understanding their numbers, marketing themselves properly and, ultimately, building businesses that work for them rather than the other way around.

But that’s only one part of me.

Community has been a thread running through my entire working life, and it's always been part of me. I like bringing people together, creating something that gives people a reason to turn up, and, wherever possible, doing something that gives back to the community around me.

It was an honour to be among Pearlies who had recently been awarded Freedom of the City of London, and to wear, just for a couple of minutes, a Pearly Queen's hat and jacket!

31/08/2026

There are 168 hours in a week.

For a tradesperson, perhaps:

40 hours on the tools
35 hours sleeping
25 hours on business admin

That's 100 hours already accounted for. Leaving 68.

But those 68 hours aren't empty.

There's family, life, travel, shopping, appointments, rest... and then there's the stuff nobody puts on the timesheet.

The head stuff.

The customer you need to reply to
The devis you need to chase
The materials you need to order
The problem you're still thinking about while you're on another job

Most of these things don't necessarily take much time.

But they take attention.

And that's the hidden cost of running a business.

You can be physically working on one job while mentally juggling five others.

So perhaps time management isn't always about finding more hours.

Perhaps it's about getting more of the business out of your head.

Better systems. Clearer processes. Fewer things relying on memory.

Because the goal isn't to squeeze more work into the week.
It's to stop the business from occupying the whole week.

How much of your business are you carrying around in your head?

28/08/2026

Hubby was commenting on how this week's job has had an effect on his knees, so I showed him his Christmas present :P :P

Introducing Parkside knee replacements: Ideal for tradespeople whose original knees now sound like a cement mixer. 😅