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Are you an old school Tradie?
22 May 2018
Are you an old school Tradie?

 

There’s nothing wrong with being an old school Tradie.

In fact. It’s a good thing.

You’re experienced, knowledgeable and have seen the building industry go through many changes.

However, there’s a difference between being old school and old hat.

You’re in danger of becoming old hat if you don’t welcome new techniques and ideologies.  And no one wants to be old hat.

What you want is to keep your old school learnings and combine them with new school approaches. That’s your advantage.

So don’t be afraid of change.

Read on, and you’ll find some super useful resources and ideas to help you flow with the times.

 

Get reading (and talking)

It can be slightly embarrassing when a customer starts talking to you about new regulations or new building materials, and you have no idea what they’re on about.

There are plenty of ways to make sure you keep in the loop. Here are a few:

 

Embrace new technology.

You’ll be a lot more efficient at your job if you embrace the technology software that allows you to ditch the pen and paper.

 

By embracing new app software you can save so much time. No more scribbly writing on forms, or losing or forgetting forms. Apps allow you to follow process and document what you need, all stored in the cloud. Xero have 27 Construction & Trades apps that integrate with Xero.

It really will make your life easier.

And if you want to go really high tech, a drone could be the ticket. A drone may seem gimmicky to have onsite, but they can be very useful. They have the ability to capture images and footage of hard to access areas, making it safer for workers. Not to mention, having this imagery can be helpful for planning the building work in the first place.


Make time for personal development

Even though you’ve been in the trade for a long time, that doesn’t mean your training should stop. There are always new materials to use and more efficient tools to work with.

There might not be a specific course you can go on, but making time to learn new skills will keep you more engaged. And your customers and tradie mates will be mighty impressed.

 

Be enviro

We are in the era of ‘save the planet’. There’s no denying that landfill is a problem and plastic overused.

Things would have changed from 30 years ago when recycling wasn’t really something we did. And it didn’t matter what materials we used as long as they were easily accessible.

Now that we have more customers wanting more eco-friendly materials and high star efficiency ratings on appliances, it’s up to you to do your bit too. A few ways to be more eco friendly:

  • Check out these onsite waste reduction tips
  • Learn how to use more eco-friendly materials so that you can offer these to customers
  • Use products that are reusable and recyclable
  • Get your takeaway coffee in a reusable cup that you carry around in your truck.


 

Just because you’ve done what you’ve always done works, don’t let it stop you from mixing it up a little.

Put a reminder on your phone for once a week to read the latest construction news. Do some research into the materials you’re using —  could they be more eco-friendly, or is there a better option?

Keep the love for your trade. Try something new. What’s the worst that could happen?