It's all about you
Episode 2- Utes
Now I've been talking about looking after yourself and how important it is to look after yourself
and specifically today I want to talk about Utes.
Now what sparked me off
was an ad I saw for a new Mercedes ute,
the ex class. And it's this big muscular looking ute
and the tagline on the ad was, 'Let there be dust'.
It's an $80,000 ute, that's his starting price
and I was a bit outraged and a bit horrified frankly.
There's a few things that bother me about this.
Once they shamelessly macho b*tch, the others they kind of fuck'em attitude that it conveys,
"I can afford an $80,000, f*ck everyone else, that kind of thing.
I don't like it. I don't like the way it appeals to you kind of nasty side. What kind of glorifies at least that kind of attitude?
And I don't like them, all global implications
about the increasing divide between the rich and the poor and house and house-nots
and I particularly don't like the suggestion
that if you have one you're okay and if you're not, you're eating the dust
because I think that's very strongly part of it too. It certainly how it made me feel.
But also,
most of the tradespeople I met aren't like that.
I haven't met very many trades business owners
who generally display those kinds of attitudes. Not many assholes.
I don't think being caught like that is a prevalent personality in our industry
and yet they're marketing to us like that, or are marketing to you like that.
Yet that sort of advertising has some power over us.
It's easy to feel that pressure. It's easy to feel like if you don't have a fancy shiny muscle in the Mercedes ute
and kind of losing in life or in business.
It's easy to feel pressure to buy that stuff, to buy those status symbols.
It's easy to feel like you buy or need to buy one to be successful or to feel successful to look successful.
And like I said it's easy to feel that pressure
to buy them so you don't feel like a loser and I think that's the more powerful message.
What Clients?
I've had clients who bought more expensive vehicles than are strictly required for the job
and who paid a price later in stressing and cash flow
problems caused by having a big loan or ever more expensive vehicle
when they could have saved some money and perhaps not had so much stress.
And I'm not restricting this conversation just to vehicles. There's a more broad point
that I'm trying to make about resisting marketing pressure and resisting temptation
and resisting and making decisions driven by your ego or your fear
or boxing your susceptibility to marketing which we've all got (we've all got that susceptibility.
What I want to say to you as the business coach is
try and resist that stuff
and when you get many making decisions about investments to make,
things to buy, tools to buy, vehicles to buy, try and make clear-headed or cold
business decision, not an emotional ego-driven marketing pressured, social pressured decision.
I'm not clear that there's a business need for an $80,000 ute
in a trade business when you can get a sturdy ute or a sturdy van for $39,000 or $35,000
and your business still looks good and the vehicle still
a bit for purpose.
What I'm saying is to make informed decisions and separate your business decisions from your ego
and your natural susceptibility to your marketing like I said. One way to do this
is to run a decision by your business coach, that's me before you commit yourself.
Another way to do this is to get someone in your business to have like the Financial Controller role.
It could bi if we partner, it could be an admin person in your business.
I have two people in my business. I have Lindsey who manages the finances of our business,
my business and I have Michelle my girlfriend
who doesn't like some of the purchasing decisions I make. I'm told I drive a selfish car for example.
But with either of these people on board, a business coach or a financial controller type
to curb your baser instincts, try and make your decisions
with a bit of structure. Before you decide what you're going to buy, think about what the purpose
of the purchases you do. Let's call it a ute or a van or a vehicle for the moment.
If you're going to buy a vehicle, what's its job? What's it going to do for you?
Decide what it's going to do and then look at what the options are that will allow it to do that job
and what vehicle will be fit for purpose rather than the other way around.
Don't think, "Oh, it's getting a little bit old, I'll give it to Dave and I'll go and buy shining new".
Say this. What do we need for the business?
What should I spend or what perhaps is the least I could spend
and get? The business need mate.
That's what you should be doing protecting yourself
from your ego and making business decisions that don't make you spend more of your business's money
than you need to because of course don't forget your businesses's money is your money.
The more the business spends on utes for you and your team, the less there is left over
for you to spend on holidays or paying mortgage off or whatever.
So if you want help with that
and if you want help with using the money you didn't waste on utes,
to grow your business and make it more profit down the line, book yourself a 10 minute chat with me,
there's a link.
If you're not ready for a 10-minute chat, come to next workshop, there's another link,
it's the Tools Down workshop.
And if you're not ready for either of those, why don't subscribe get these
emails sent to you once a week on a Tuesday.
See you later.
you