Ask any business owner how they’re doing right now, and you’ll get the same answer: busy. It’s practically the default response. But busy doesn’t actually tell you anything about how things are going, it just tells you the state someone’s in.
That’s the conversation Nic goes into with Angus Gasbarri from Earnt Advisory, who’s now joining the podcast as a regular monthly guest. Angus opens with a simple but confronting question: can you remember a time when you weren’t flat out and busy? For most tradies, the answer is no. And somewhere along the way, busy became a badge of honour, a sign that things are going well, when often it just means we’re spending our time on stuff that isn’t actually that important.
Angus points out that this isn’t just a business problem. It shows up everywhere, in our relationships, in our communities, and it’s made worse by a world that’s noisier and busier than ever. The news cycle moves faster, there’s more to react to, and the natural response is to put your head in the sand and just focus on what you can control. Not necessarily a bad instinct, but it means we rarely stop to audit where our time is actually going.
Nic shares a story about a tradie who told her he didn’t have time for the Tradiepreneur program, until she asked him how many hours a day he spends watching TV or scrolling his phone. That question lands hard, because most of us default to “I don’t have time” without ever checking where the time is actually being allocated.
The conversation moves into the numbers side of busyness, and this is where Angus gets specific. He references the 80/20 principle: 80% of your results will come from 20% of your effort. When it comes to the figures tradies should be checking, two stand out above the rest, charge-out rates and margins. If you haven’t reviewed these in a few years, the way costs have shifted might genuinely shock you.
Price rises come up too, and the fear that surrounds them. Nic and Angus agree it’s one of the most confronting moves a business owner can make, but when it’s backed by real data and good service, the reaction is rarely as bad as expected. Sometimes it’s the opposite, clients say they’d been waiting for it.
And if you want to take the numbers conversation further, Nic, Angus and three other industry experts are hosting a free workshop on 21 July 2026, Bulletproof Your Trade Business, built to help you walk away with a clear action list for the rest of your financial year.
Get your free spot for the workshop HERE.
