trade business coaching

The Process of Quarterly Planning for Small Business

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One of the most valuable exercises I encourage business owners to do is quarterly planning. Over the years, I’ve seen a clear pattern: the businesses that stop, review, and plan every 90 days consistently achieve more than those that simply keep pushing forward without a clear direction.

 

In this video, I walk through the quarterly planning process I use with my clients. It starts by reviewing the previous quarter, looking at both the wins and the challenges. Understanding what has worked well, and what hasn’t, gives you the clarity needed to make better decisions moving forward. From there, we look at the numbers because your results will always tell a story about where your business is heading.

Once you’ve reviewed the past, it’s time to reconnect with your longer-term goals and decide what needs to happen over the next quarter to move closer to them. One of the biggest mistakes I see business owners make is trying to achieve too much at once. Instead, I recommend focusing on a small number of meaningful goals and identifying the key actions required to make them happen.

Quarterly planning creates accountability, direction, and momentum. It helps you stop reacting to whatever comes your way and start proactively building the business you want. If you’re not currently planning every quarter, I’d encourage you to start. The clarity and focus it creates can have a significant impact on your results.

If you’d like help implementing a quarterly planning process in your business, feel free to get in touch. I’d be happy to have a chat.

Hugh Bowman
ActionCOACH Geelong

Why the Tradies With Better Systems Will Win in 2026

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As the federal budget once again focuses on boosting housing supply, one critical issue keeps resurfacing. Australia does not have enough skilled tradespeople to fix and renovate existing homes, let alone build the new homes being promised.

This year’s budget included measures aimed at addressing the shortage, including funding for a new trade skills assessment system and programs designed to help overseas trained tradies become licensed and working in Australia faster. While these initiatives may help over time, the reality for many trade businesses right now is that skilled staff remain difficult to find.

This is exactly why I believe the trade businesses with better systems, stronger leadership and organised processes are going to be the ones that perform best through 2026 and beyond.

When labour is tight, every team member matters more. Good systems around communication, quoting, scheduling, follow up and accountability become critical. I see too many trade businesses lose work simply because quotes are not followed up properly, admin becomes overwhelmed or the owner is trying to manage everything manually.

The best trade businesses attract the best staff. People want to work in businesses that are organised, professional, well led and structured properly. Businesses with strong systems and clear expectations tend to retain good people longer and create better team culture.

The businesses that continue to grow are usually not the ones working the hardest. They are the ones operating the smartest. They have systems in place that help their teams perform consistently, improve customer communication and create a better experience from enquiry through to completed job.

At ActionCOACH Geelong, I work with tradie business owners to improve systems, leadership, sales processes and profitability. Because in a market where skilled staff are harder to find, the businesses that are organised and structured properly are often the ones that pull ahead.

Why Smart Tradies Are Recruiting on Facebook Instead of SEEK

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Finding good staff is one of the biggest challenges facing trade business owners right now. The problem with relying only on platforms like SEEK is that they have become crowded, expensive, and highly competitive. Every plumbing, electrical, building, and landscaping company is advertising in the same place, often fighting over the exact same people. The reality is that many great tradespeople are not actively scrolling job websites every day. They are already working, using social media, and paying attention to opportunities that feel more personal and local. 

Facebook has become an underrated recruitment tool for trade businesses, particularly in regional areas like Geelong. While Australia no longer has the old Facebook Marketplace jobs tab, there are still powerful ways to recruit through the platform. Business owners can post positions directly to their business page, share jobs into local trade and community groups such as ‘Geelong Tradies’ and ‘Geelong Trades & Services’, and most importantly, boost those posts to a highly targeted audience for a relatively small cost. Instead of advertising to everyone, you can target specific age groups, locations, industries, and interests that closely match the type of employee you want to attract. 

Another major advantage of Facebook recruitment is that it allows potential employees to see your culture before they even apply. Tradespeople want to know what kind of team they would be joining. If your page shows quality work, good systems, team activities, apprentices learning, modern vehicles, and positive customer feedback, you instantly become more attractive than a plain text job ad on a recruitment platform. Social media gives candidates a feel for your business personality, leadership, and professionalism before the first phone call even happens. 

The best recruitment strategies today are proactive, not reactive. Instead of waiting until you desperately need staff and rushing to pay large amounts on recruitment websites, trade business owners should consistently build visibility online and create a workplace people want to be part of. Facebook gives tradies a low cost, highly targeted way to stay visible in the market, connect with local workers, and recruit smarter. When used properly, it can become one of the most effective hiring tools in your business. 

If you need a hand setting up a Facebook recruitment ad – please reach out.

Thanks
Hugh
0409 402 474