Are you ever curious about how hiring the right team can be the equivalent of striking gold for your business's growth? Join us, Robby Choucair and George Passas, as we unfold the untapped potential of every employee and challenge the usual corporate playbook. By leveraging the collective hours of your workforce rather than just your own, we reveal strategies to amplify your entrepreneurial efficiency and debunk the myth that every entrepreneur has the same 24 hours as a billionaire.
The workplace landscape is evolving, and with it, the great debate: to work remotely or to gather in the office. In our robust exchange, we see how we can champion the on-site work environment for its productivity and cultural benefits, while also recognizing the efficiency gains remote work can offer. We ponder the balance between flexibility and company culture, considering the diverse needs of our workforce and the poignant effects of the pandemic on our work habits.
Finally, for those who have ever flirted with the notion of trading the corporate high-rise for the freedom of entrepreneurship, our journey from a billion-dollar construction company to a boutique firm will resonate. We don't just discuss the nuts and bolts of building a business; we're building dreams, brick by brick. This episode is a testament to the power of a supportive team culture, clear communication, and the incredible multiplying effect a single great hire can have on your company. Tune in for an episode that's not just about scaling businesses, but about amplifying lives.
Are you ever curious about how hiring the right team can be the equivalent of striking gold for your business's growth? Join us, Robby Choucair and George Passas, as we unfold the untapped potential of every employee and challenge the usual corporate playbook. By leveraging the collective hours of your workforce rather than just your own, we reveal strategies to amplify your entrepreneurial efficiency and debunk the myth that every entrepreneur has the same 24 hours as a billionaire.
The workplace landscape is evolving, and with it, the great debate: to work remotely or to gather in the office. In our robust exchange, we see how we can champion the on-site work environment for its productivity and cultural benefits, while also recognizing the efficiency gains remote work can offer. We ponder the balance between flexibility and company culture, considering the diverse needs of our workforce and the poignant effects of the pandemic on our work habits.
Finally, for those who have ever flirted with the notion of trading the corporate high-rise for the freedom of entrepreneurship, our journey from a billion-dollar construction company to a boutique firm will resonate. We don't just discuss the nuts and bolts of building a business; we're building dreams, brick by brick. This episode is a testament to the power of a supportive team culture, clear communication, and the incredible multiplying effect a single great hire can have on your company. Tune in for an episode that's not just about scaling businesses, but about amplifying lives.
You need employees in your business. You can't be doing this all on your own. Without them, believe it or not, you'll never really generate huge success or wealth.
Robby:I mean one of the biggest things is leverage and building a team around you. Like building a team around you and what you do and how you serve, I think is a big, big part in getting to where you want to go.
George:Me sitting here with you today doing a podcast.
Robby:I'm able to do that because my business is still ticking over, because people are working in it the employees thing once you actually do the math and you work it out, or you take the punt and you hire someone and all of a sudden you're not doing this or you're not doing that. You don't go back. You can't go back.
George:Welcome back to Million Dollar Days. Everyone. My name is George Passis and I'm Robbie Tuquer, thrilled to be here with you today. Feels like we haven't done it for a little while. Feels like I haven't sat here. I know you guys see and hear our episodes weekly, but it's not necessarily the case that we're always filming weekly. We always come in and try and do two, three, four, 10 episodes a day, just smash it out as best we can, and the last couple of weeks have been pretty hectic leading into Christmas.
Robby:Do you reckon? Well, this is all in 2024. Yeah excellent, so happy new year. Happy new year. Do you think we could do 10 episodes in a day?
George:Absolutely. I've got no doubt You'd have to start first thing in the morning.
Camera:Yeah, you can't just put it at 3 pm.
George:You'll probably go till night, but it just depends how quickly and how much you want to get through it. So yeah, I do think we can do it.
Robby:So there's no reason you shouldn't have a podcast.
George:That's it. Yeah, that's it. You're getting in your own way. So today I wanted to talk to you and to everyone else a little bit about employees and how important they are and vital they are to owning a business, because without them, believe it or not, you'll never really generate huge success or wealth.
Robby:Yeah, you're definitely limited by what you can get done. I mean one of the biggest things is leverage, right, yeah, and utilizing building a team around you. Like building a team around you and what you do and how you serve, I think is a big, big part in getting to where you want to go.
Camera:If you've got big goals.
Robby:If you don't, you're probably watching the wrong podcast.
George:Yeah 100% yeah. The other thing is, if you don't want a team around you, just get a job, so why would someone not though? Why wouldn't they yeah?
Robby:Like why would you?
George:I reckon, the biggest barrier is oh shoot, it's an expense I can't afford. I can't afford to have an employee. That's 50 grand. That's 100 grand that I could be paying myself. That's a 50 grand. It's 100 grand that I cannot afford to take off my bottom line at the moment. That is the biggest barrier, honestly, at the end of the day, so you reckon. Yeah, I really do. Most businesses that I speak to that's what they struggle with Putting someone on, because it's that expense to the business that they can't afford.
Robby:Yeah, so people need to make the connection between what it's going to add to your bottom line and yeah, and once they get them, then they're like holy shit.
George:My wife used to be a little bit like that, in the sense that she's like why are you employing all these people? Why are you employing these people? You know it's like basically money. So do you realize they don't? And when you figure this out, this is the best part. When you realize your employees don't cost you anything, well, they shouldn't. No, they shouldn't they should actually be making you money.
George:Then you're like, holy shit, this is amazing, and there's a saying that is out there. There's lots of sayings, but have you ever heard you have the same 24 hours as a billionaire in your day? Yeah, you heard people say that I know you're going. Yeah, I know you do.
Camera:But it's absolutely I'm going to.
Robby:I'm actually going to reject that comment. Good, I hate that comment.
George:Yeah, me too, the one that you're about to say oh excellent, it's good, up to discussion, we're going to say it, we're five minutes in and we haven't punched on yet, so that's good. It's bullshit, because you don't have the same 24 hours as a billionaire or a millionaire, you do. You don't, yes, you do, no, you don't, because billionaires leverage their time, yeah, so what so they have? They get 10,000 employees and make their 24 hours 10,000 hours in a day.
Robby:Yeah, whatever you like, they understood how to utilize their 24 hours better than you did, absolutely.
George:Because at one point they didn't have that 100%.
Robby:Most people, some did, some were born into it.
George:Most business owners I daresay almost every single business owner would have started off on their own and doing everything themselves.
Camera:All of them.
Robby:Yeah, unless you're born into it or you've got handed down a family business.
George:Excluding that Excluding that Excluding you given something, being given something. If you start a business today because you want to go out there and create some sort of change, wealth purpose in your life, chances are you're doing it on your own from day one, and it's not until day 30, 40, 100, 200, 500 that you actually put employees on, depending how quickly you grow. Right Now, when people say that they go, you have the same 24 hours as a billionaire. Well, yes, physically you have that same 24 hours, but, as you said, they have learned how to leverage their time, and people that do learn that across their business career will be able to leverage their time and make more money.
Robby:Yeah, I get the concept of what you're saying, I just don't wholeheartedly agree with it.
George:What do you not to agree with?
Robby:Because I believe you do have the same amount of time as that person does. No, but it's what I'm saying physically, I'm saying they exactly. So as far as they don't have more time.
George:No, no, no Is in from a physical standpoint, counting the seconds? No, you're right, they don't, but they buy. When you, when you employ an employee, when you get someone to work for you, you're buying their time.
Robby:It's the equivalent of saying I found a machine that can do this for me. I no longer have to chop these logs. I now have 48 hours in a day. No, you don't. You still had the same 24. You just bought some time back. That's all you do. You don't have to do that thing that you originally doing.
Camera:Yeah, that's what it's like getting a cleaner yeah.
Robby:Yeah, like when you actually okay, you're talking about time, you talk about you do the hourly rate thing.
Camera:Yeah.
Robby:Yeah, and you actually make people wake up to what they're, what they're costing themselves, what they were and what they're costing themselves when they do the things they could be engaging other people to do. One thing that woke me up to that was when I worked that out. I was like why do I spend time cleaning? I don't clean it. I've had a cleaner for as long as I can think of.
George:Yeah, and it's been the best thing ever, man.
Robby:It is so nice. It's literally been the best thing ever, yeah.
George:You took it as far as saying you wouldn't even cook, or you don't cook, you just use your super all the time. Yeah, I don't cook. You can cook, but you don't I hardly ever cook a meal.
Robby:Yeah, I'll either go to someone's house to eat or if I cook something, it's like slapping something together quickly or I'm trying to like. If I cook, it's because I enjoy the process and I might do it once a month.
George:Yeah, the thing is, though, I hear what you're saying, but people don't ever step out of that realm and go. I need to get someone to do these tasks. Because it's a lack of awareness. Yeah, that's right, but it's also. It could also be a fear thing for them too.
Robby:So you know, but once you actually work out, so the employees thing, once you actually do the math and you work it out, or you take the punt and you hire someone and all of a sudden you're not doing this or you're not doing that, you don't go back. You can't go back. Yeah, 100% yeah you cannot go back. You're like I'm not going to do it. Not that I'm better or anything like that, but I've just worked out that I can get more value for my time.
George:Absolutely.
Robby:Yeah.
George:Absolutely Well, that's probably that's how you've got to look at it. It's the value of your time, okay, your value, your 24 hours of value, and the value of a billionaire is different.
Robby:Yeah, they're just using their time more efficiently.
George:That's right. That's right. So my I spend a lot of time when I'm coaching and mentoring people and I'm telling them I go, you need employees in your business. You can't be doing this all on your own. Errors come into play, because they'll make mistakes, because they've just got so much on their plate that they can't possibly turn around and say, hey, I've got to do this, this, this, this and this, and then they forget to do one of those items. They're critical, they cost them money, whatever it might be.
Camera:Yeah.
George:And it works because I see it day in, day out with my own stuff, me sitting here with you today doing a podcast. I'm able to do that because my business is still ticking over, because people are working in it. The jobs haven't stopped because I'm sitting in here with you, and it's the same reason why I can do things like a builder summit. It's the same reason why I can have multiple businesses or why I can grow my core business, because I can have people within the organization to perform a task that now I don't have to.
Robby:Do you think people get really caught up in their own identity, attached to their business, and that's why I don't do it Like this is me, you know, this business is me, like it's all me. People want to work with Robbie. People want to, you know it's like you need to get out of that. Absolutely the biggest things I always tell people is you need to separate yourself from business. Like you are not, you are not it. That needs to become its own machine. It's its own entity, yeah.
George:We spoke about that in a previous episode when you said, hey, you know my name's George. Oh, what do you do? What do you do, george, I'm a builder? It's like, no, I'm not a builder, right, I'm not my business, I'm not a construction company. But so many people identify as that and it's also that mindset that if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. Too many people don't let go because they're either perfectionists or they have that fear that if I give it to someone else, they're going to fuck it up. I might as well do it myself.
Robby:What would you say to someone who's in that position now and wants to move forward but doesn't know how? And they don't know why, like they don't know, if they feel you have to take the leap of faith as well.
George:You've got to find the person as well. Don't just go and hire anybody, but don't be afraid, because you're going to get people who are really good. You're going to get people who are really shit. You're going to get people who are really shit. Hire fast, fire fast. You'll know whether they're not the right person or not.
Robby:What does Grand Carto say? Hire fast, fire faster. Yeah, that's it. Is that Grand Carto?
George:I think he does. If he doesn't, he will.
Robby:He'll say it. He'll say it, yeah, he'll say it.
George:So don't be afraid to hire the wrong person. Be afraid to keep the wrong person for sure, but don't be afraid to hire the wrong person. And you will come across that. I've come across it before and you're going to get better each and every time. You're going to get better at picking who's right and who's wrong for your business. You are going to have people who are not the right fit and eventually they'll get pushed out. Or you will get rid of them or they'll just leave.
George:There's going to be a whole range of things that could happen, but ultimately you need to make that commitment and realize that you're limited with what you can do competently within your organization, and they don't have to be as good as you. They don't have to be as good as you at a certain thing. You can definitely train them up to be as good as you or better. It's like Elon Musk says and most millionaires I've ever met and spoken to, they're like I'm a C grade student that employs A grade people. I think you told me the other day it's like I never went to Harvard, but the people that work for me did. That's it. Yeah, that's what.
Camera:Elon Musk says yeah.
George:So how good is that? That in itself should completely motivate you to go. Yeah, okay, I need to do that. If you're really nervous, study, Look at the facts. Look at why would any huge organization employ 20,000 people If people didn't make it?
Robby:Dude, that's the exact same point for marketing. I'm like why would Apple go spend billions of dollars on marketing if it didn't work? Like and you guys are not doing it Like it makes no sense.
George:I think what you know that's it's a good point, but I reckon people as a default would go back to oh well, that's them. They've got billions of dollars anyway to spend.
Robby:Yeah, but why wouldn't they spend them on themselves? I know, but you know what I mean.
George:People's mindset would be it's easy to use Apple or Macs or Nike as an example.
Robby:It's too far away. It is too far away.
George:You'd almost need to hone in when you're giving an example like that. It's like look at George, look at Peter, look at Simon, They've invested $50,000 and got a 10x return on it, or they got this return or they had these results. So that would hit closer to home and be like holy shit, okay, yeah, maybe that does work. That's how I would look at that for sure. So it's definitely going to be a journey for you to employ people, and even in this day and age, I think it is a little bit harder, no matter what industry you're in, because I believe the internet has been a real level, that's, a level to playing field, as well as COVID.
Robby:Yeah, it has.
George:COVID probably expediated that more so than ever before because people can now sell toothpicks from home in their underwear, make $50,000 a year. Why are they going to come into work and do a 40-hour week?
Robby:Drive to work, commute stuck in traffic.
George:go see people that don't lie, that's it and do a nine to five job, when they could do the same thing sitting at home or making 10 times more. Maybe they make $50,000 a month.
Robby:So how do you compete with that?
George:I think it's going to be very difficult. I reckon you touched on it before we started speaking. It's going to come down to getting people to work because they want to come to work. Ultimately, I don't believe in the whole working from home concept.
Camera:Why.
George:Just being stuck in your own four walls and not having that disconnect from home, like from home being always at home. You finish your day, you're at home.
Robby:But okay, so as in full time, you're saying what about like if they did two days from home and three days at work?
George:Yeah, so me personally. I will never employ anyone that works like that. Oh really, yeah, fuck you. Why Right up? Because I want you here, I want you here.
Robby:Yeah, why Because?
George:I believe you will get a significant amount more as a person, as an employee, being surrounded by other like-minded people.
Camera:And.
George:I think it'll be better for you and your soul as opposed to not being in an office environment Again. Coming back down to that, whole job, so three days. I said yeah, any days If you're sick and you've got to do it randomly here and there, like no worries, yeah, that's fine If you're going to work from home and you can confidently do that. But it's human nature to take the path of least resistance in all scenarios. Okay so lunch will go from 30 minutes to an hour. They might go so you think-.
Robby:It's not necessarily a trust thing.
George:But I'm just saying I believe you will be a better person from an employee point of view, from an output point of view, from a whole range of scenarios, when you come to work. If you like what you're doing, if it's a good culture, if there's a reason for you to be there, if you hate what you're doing, obviously you're going to oh sorry, if you don't like the environment that you're working in, yeah, you're definitely going to want to work from home. Okay, I can understand people wanting to do that Question.
George:But, ultimately for me, I wouldn't-. If someone said to me in a job interview, yeah, I want to work two, three days from home and they could be a great candidate, I'd be like, no, that's fine. They'd be a big red cross straight on.
Robby:Yeah, so you believe that someone won't Be as productive?
George:that'll be part of it. Yeah, I reckon they wouldn't be as productive, but also, in the long run, I don't believe it's it's gonna be beneficial for them as as an employee, to get growth in the business, to pursue bigger and better things when they work from home. Why, I don't think they're gonna be driven enough. Being not being around people, not being not having that there's heaps of communication platforms.
Robby:Yeah, like you can be in touch with your workers at all times through communication platforms.
George:It's the environment to I'm saying, I'm saying your environment.
Robby:I don't think they come in a couple days.
George:They come in a couple days and I get what you're going with this, but the way I see it is totally reasonable.
Robby:You don't have any offshore stuff.
George:I'm not necessarily. I actually probably think that might be. It's a little bit different. Why good question. I would say perhaps the way that they operate and work is is potentially different overseas compared to what it would be here.
Camera:Perhaps, better or worse?
George:No, I think better why? I reckon they're probably more driven to work and perform. You reckon I think they might be? Yeah, because what? How easy is it for you to get rid of an offshore employee? Hey, do this. No, fuck you. Yeah, but you can do that with anything you can it's not as easy.
George:But I'm talking like if you're bringing, if you're building a team environment here and you have people coming in every day and they want to come into work every single day and you can achieve excellence from the people that are within your organization, that'll shit over all over anyone that has a company that works their employees work two, three days from home. I have no doubt if you can ultimately get that environment here, I don't, I don't agree with you.
Robby:I think you feel like that because you feel like you have more control because they're in the environment.
George:Yeah, I think it's not necessarily a fact. Yeah, not necessarily. I'm not saying it is fact, but I do. That's what I believe. That's what I believe. And it's not even about control. Like I wouldn't necessarily be here myself all the time, especially once I get to that CEO C suite level of my own business where I'm not here every single day, I would still be expecting people to be coming in and performing and doing their role within the organization.
Robby:So you've got the perfect candidate? Yeah, let's say what's your next hire at Pascone.
George:Let's say it'll be a supervisor probably, so they're going to be on site anyway, so OK, I mean, there's some, there's some roles where you cannot work from home as well.
Robby:Yeah, so why can OK, so why can that role succeed? Which one, the ones where they don't have to work, from the ones where they have to be on site, the ones where they have to go. Why can they? Why do they?
Camera:Why do?
Robby:they succeed? Yeah, but how can they be successful? But the roles where you could have them in the office?
George:I'm saying that's. I'm saying they're on site all the time. They're around that environment. I'm saying so that's part of the reason why they should be. Yeah, they're going to be successful.
Robby:OK, so is it that you feel like you're not controlling the home environment?
George:Well, I'm not controlling the site environment, but you got some level of you know, a little bit, you should. It's, I'd say it just, I'd say be just as much as if the guys are working from home. I go to sites maybe.
Robby:Yeah, so OK. So what's the difference then?
George:What's the difference?
Robby:Yeah.
George:They're still. I'm saying for them I reckon they will perform better being around people and communicate face to face with people, that human interaction, not behind a screen.
Robby:OK, so you believe that no one in the whole world, not a single person, could be better working from it?
George:Not working for me.
Robby:But no, no, in general, I didn't say working for you.
George:I think in the long run it'd be detrimental to them.
Robby:Yes, but you think no one could do it long term?
George:Yeah, really, yeah, yeah. I genuinely believe it. I think long term it will be, especially if it was full time working from home. It would be detrimental to them Absolutely.
Robby:What if it was two days a week working from home? That could that's better.
George:That is probably better from that perspective, because they're still getting out.
Camera:You still wouldn't hire that person.
George:Would I OK? Would I promote that person over someone that was here all the time? No, so you fell performing better. Performing. But yeah, as in I see them because it's not, it's I'm talking, it's not just the whole typing word behind the screen. Yeah, it's people skills, it's developing a whole range of things.
Robby:Who cares?
George:I care why? Because that's what I wanted, my business.
Robby:Yeah, so this goes back to the whole eight hours, 40 hour weeks, five days yeah.
Camera:Yeah.
Robby:Yeah, so it's the exact same thing. You would engage someone who worked longer hours and did less.
Camera:You know you're not you.
Robby:We did not talk about the outcome at all.
Camera:No, no, no, we're not talking now.
George:Now, we're not talking, I'm talking, I'm saying as a whole that person would not, would be better, no, you don't know that I genuinely believe it yeah.
Robby:My experience is what I've seen, but from what?
George:Well, all my experiences can lead me to a conclusion. Hmm, all right. And all the experiences that I've seen across all my years in business is that human interaction with people, not behind a computer screen, will generally get you further and better than someone that doesn't have that same level of connection with people. That is generally what I've seen Now with your teammates, with your teammates with your colleagues. Yeah, Even when before I was a business owner, even from when before I was a business owner, yeah, I don't agree with you because it could also be Okay.
George:Well, what does the rest of the team think about that? I think as well, like, how do they are? You know John's going home today. He's working from home Must be nice, you know what I mean.
Robby:You're okay. You came in to go home.
George:It could, but I'm just saying, people like that, though, may start talking like that and maybe all that way. Yeah, I know, but because we offer flexible options.
Camera:Yeah.
Robby:You know what I mean. We care about you as well, and if it means that you get to work from home on a Friday, that's something that we engage. You gotta be fair. You can't be like yeah, you do and you don't.
George:Oh, of course not.
Robby:Yeah.
George:If you were going to do that in your business I don't then it's going to be across the board, yeah. You would build resentment eventually across people or it could be for you could say cool, when you get to this senior level management, you do get to work from home one day a week, or whatever it might be. So it could be as a reward, I guess that's a cool.
Robby:Yeah, that's a cool yeah.
George:You could do it potentially like that, would you do it? Look, I'm not saying I would never do it. I'm saying today I still feel that it's not to me proven to be the best way to work. Based on what? Based on my experiences?
Robby:But you never done it?
George:Yeah, I did it during covid. Yeah, because you were forced, exactly. But what's the difference? I was forced.
Robby:So maybe you don't like it because you're forced potentially. So what are you chose to?
George:but I could. You can also see, though, what. Okay, so that was an extreme. No, no, that was an extreme example.
Robby:That was an extreme example, people that were working in offices weren't working, but I was in, I got to work at. I was working at a car dealer and I got to go into work. Card dealers did not close down, really.
George:Yeah, so how fucking stupid.
Robby:Second lockdown car deals are not closed down because critical, it's like yeah the people need their vehicles. People need to have service, I guess yeah. Yeah, I think we're wrong. It's dead.
George:Yeah.
Robby:So quiet. But do you think we worked full potential? Nope, looking forward to lunch every day. Nothing else to do, dude, and I had to be there till five. Is that as a mechanic, I'm saying service advisor, I know, sitting there doing nothing, sitting at a desk, I remember one point printed out a book and I just sat there reading the book. They had nothing else to do.
George:What book was that?
Robby:It was by J Abraham. I can't remember the sticking point, what was called? Yeah, there you go. Good book and I finished it. That's a good, good pointers about marketing and, yeah, I wasn't working to my full potential. I work way harder today and I work two days a week. I usually try and do Monday's Fridays from home, so I don't go on Mondays or I'm going Fridays.
George:So I feel like I think, as a business owner, that again that's a little bit different. But even so, you know, if I was to go home I would still know. I mean, I'm different. I don't think I can say that. I think business owners are probably a little bit different in that regard.
Robby:Yeah, yeah, I'll also work on a Sunday.
George:That's right.
Robby:That's what I mean so that's different but In the sense of I've seen, I truly believe that with the right environment, the right culture, the right people, that you can do A four day work week or you could do a three days on, two days off, like three days in the office, two days at home.
George:See, I feel that I would still be better in the office than at home on any given day if that's you, yeah, that's fine. You come in every day yeah, no, do you know me? But see, I would want to surround myself with people like me, don't you think that's a mistake? Not necessarily the same skills as me, but definitely if you had the same mindset as me, hundred percent.
Robby:Yeah, but then you'll never, you don't get a different perspective.
George:I don't want a lesser perspective so is there no greater perspective than me.
Robby:Yes, I'm sure there is.
George:I'm sure there is yeah, but if you have everyone that thinks in the same way, you'll never find anything better than to think in the exact same way, but there's some core beliefs there about how I operate and what I do that I would be looking for another people for sure. Look, I'm a big believer in employing your weaknesses as well yeah so I've got no, no issues with that.
George:It's more, I know what I'm like and how and what my work ethic is like. If I can have a team for like that, the business would be unstoppable, and I feel that the team is very much like that now. And don't get me wrong. You know when people, when you, a lot of business owners is this a mistake that a lot of business owners make with employees Don't ever expect them to love the business or go above and beyond like you do, because they don't own it, period. Yeah. Or give them a slice of the pie, that's right, but even then it's a slice, so it's not this. Yes, they may be a little bit more motivated, but it's never as much as if it was solely there. So you can't expect them to act the same way. So I've got no, no issues with that.
Robby:but in saying that also, they're probably not meant to be a business owner.
George:Yeah, and that's totally fine.
Robby:I think a lot of people, and that's okay.
George:I think a lot of people can make a lot of money not being business owner being a number two, and that's right.
Robby:Number four absolutely See.
George:When I was at my previous companies, whenever I worked at other construction companies all of them actually I remember feeling when I was at each one of those companies like I, like it was mine. I took it personally Right. I got really invested and involved in the projects. I was emotional with the projects. I wanted the success of them and if you'd cut me you know I'd bleed black and white, whatever the company colors were like. I was really loyal employee and I think I look for similar characteristics whenever I employ someone now to Doesn't have to be from day one you know what I mean but having the potential of someone that does want personal growth, that does want to achieve. I don't want nine to five people working for me. Okay, I want you. I want you to have ambitions within the organization to grow your knowledge, your experience, your wealth, every single person, I would say most people.
George:yeah, why settle for a mediocre nine to five person?
Robby:No, I think there is a good question. I think there is roles in the business that.
George:That can have that Monday nine to five stuff.
Robby:So say if it's data entry and all you're doing is punching in numbers into a computer screen every single day and I think you need to try and compensate it to make it a little bit more fun so they enjoy the workplace in the culture, but the reality is some not everyone's gonna be the CEO. Yeah, yeah, that's that's completely fine.
George:Yeah, and you need to factor that in.
Robby:Like, not everyone's gonna be the CEO. You need to factor that in, like, not everyone's gonna come in. If you had a team full of people that was so driven everyone to be the CEO, there would be massive yeah absolutely.
George:The other thing is that potential roles within the business are generally capped as far as what you can earn in that role. So you could be at the same company for 50 years, but not necessarily. You start off at 60 grand and end up after Thirty years, 40 years in the business, making $350,000 in that same role doing the same task it doesn't work when people work 35 years and same business.
George:Yeah, that's right, that's what I mean. So some roles within that organization, a cap. So what you will find is either the person will stay in that role for that period of time and be happy to work you know the $80,000 job for the rest of their life and there is absolutely there is, or that be the type of person that will go okay, I need to know I've hit the ceiling here.
George:there's no room for promotion, there's no room for me to get more. I need to go to another organization, or they move within a different role in the business, that is, that allows them to pay more, to get paid more or achieve more or have more, whatever that role is gonna be so do you think you're missing out on Any opportunities, ideas, different perspectives by not engaging people who think in a way that Contradicts?
George:myself. Yeah, I don't mind people not. So not contradicts conflict, conflict. Yeah, I don't mind conflicting ideas with me. I don't mind having those ideas, that of people conflicting with me at all.
Robby:I would hire people that are in line.
George:I would look, I would look. Yeah, that be some of the core things that I would look for, because I know what I'm, what I'm about and the values that I have within my organizations. That's not to say if you think differently, if you have a different method, okay. So if you want to, if you have a really strong preference to use metal frames instead of timber frames, yeah, okay, now my preference is met. Is the? Is timber frames? Why?
George:Creature of habit, workability, have it? Yeah, as in. That's what people, that's what we've been building, predominantly houses from using timber as opposed to like a steel. That's what you supply, yeah, what we used to, what the trades? No, and it's just gonna take a little bit more effort to shift that whole focus. Have I seen the advantages of it? Yeah, absolutely. Have we done one? Yeah, we have. Would I do another one? Yes, I would, but if I had someone really driving it going, no, I can show you. We can do it like this, we can do it like this, we can do it like this. But, okay, cool, let's give it a go, let's give it a go. It's not my preference, but if you're gonna drive it, if you're gonna do this, if you're gonna do that.
Robby:Show me that it works but is that because you're already open to?
George:Potentially no, but I'm no, no, no.
Robby:so what if someone came and said listen, I can work better from home, then I can from the?
George:office yeah yeah, just sign that, just sign a reservation.
Robby:Yeah, I want to take him and showed you and I said listen, this is how, this is why these are the reasons and I genuinely believe that I'm gonna be able to deliver more, for pass comes as A something in this matter. Yeah, as an estimator, when I'm able to work from home and I can implement this system, that's gonna allow me to access all the office office data.
George:And I've got my and I've got all that now, so everyone can access stuff from home regardless yeah, yeah. I'd want to see, I'd need to see it and I need to. There's a level of trust there too.
Robby:But you know, if the works getting done, at the end of that, like when the month end comes, yeah, and then fuck, everyone else has done all this shit and you haven't. All of a sudden you're like what's going on here? What the fuck you're going on, you know, I mean, and there's so much like there's ways you can track, because you should know.
George:Okay, yes, I hear we saying here's another thing. What about let's go the other way around? Okay, say, you're working at home. This estimator is working from home, yep, and he's normal hours are seven to five. Yeah, okay, but because he's working at home, he's like I'm just gonna work till seven pm. Yeah okay, so it does more work there. Is that necessarily a good thing for him? Is that necessarily a healthy thing for him? So?
Robby:why is not going to be doing? Why is he doing more?
George:maybe some people are just happy to be in all they're in that environment and they're just gonna pump out the work and keep doing you know that stuff on the computer screen and doing additional work that they're not getting paid for necessarily per hour. I'm for how do I know what he's doing? You can track? Yeah, okay, but I'm just saying it's not necessarily. Maybe I say, look, I'm not gonna pay you extra, all right, your hours of this work, like you don't need to work extra and whatever, he just does it anyway. Some people like that where they will continuously do more and get more show me, show me this I was like that hey.
Robby:I was like that but you would work extra for free, unnecessarily, even mean told not to all that not told me will never.
George:Have you ever had an employee tell you not to work hard?
George:and employer is sorry, like it doesn't happen, but I was like that when I was at multiplex. Was that happy group, like we were working Saturday, sundays and it wasn't mandatory, it was, it was Culturally acceptable. Let's say, like they would, they would encourage you to. But yeah, when I figured out my hourly rate when I was working at multiplex me and the grads all did it at one time it was like we'll make like five dollars and twelve cents an hour. So it's like it was like slavery back then.
Robby:but we would hold on so, and how do you feel about that?
Camera:fine.
Robby:Well, you're like, you know how you're like, yeah, cool, like that was good yeah, absolutely, why character building?
George:I got an appreciation for hard work yeah, do you got the jobs? Done. We got the job done. The jobs that would be jobs are three hundred plus million, three hundred million dollar so do you think every person Felt that way? No.
Robby:How did I need to?
George:say I'm not necessarily saying they had a great culture doing that. We had a really good team at the time when I was the project I'm thinking about specifically. We had a really good team, young team and everyone sort of had a lot of fun along the way as well. But there was that expectation again from senior management that you'd be working Saturdays or Sundays or whatever you have to do to get the job done.
Robby:Yeah, but so okay, do you think having a great culture will incentivize that, like people, it becomes a? Now we need to get this done absolutely, but that wasn't. Was that a great culture? You just said it wasn't.
George:Oh no, it wasn't. It wasn't the worst in the sense that that, that's that space as well. It's like when you're talking about those really big T1 companies. Right, it's very. It's also very competitive with the person you're sitting next to.
Robby:Everyone wants to climb. Yeah, it wants to climb. The couple that's right.
George:So it was very much like that too. So if you didn't do the hours, it's cool, but you're probably gonna be the first to let go, or, yeah, get or not get promoted, just get that next job or the shit job or whatever it might be. So it is very much like that there, even though it was still good. Like I look back at my time at these companies and I enjoyed it, I believe, had I not been made redundant At small to be made redundant yeah, in 2008 after the GFC oh yeah.
George:So if I had I not been made redundant, I probably still would be there today. What?
Robby:really.
Camera:Yeah, yeah, I believe that, and even at my, even at Abbey group same yeah, so hold on hold on, hold on hold on.
Robby:That changes everything. What happened at Abbey group?
George:Abbey group just ran out of work and then I left you left, yeah, why? Is there a network? They ran out of construction work. Yeah, so what they would? What they just went build like weren't winning projects and they put me on the peninsula freeway where I built a control center. And then, after I finished that building the control center, they go cool, go on the freeway and start doing landscaping and and all this other shit, and then I put in my resignation two weeks later. Why you like.
Robby:I was like I'm a building fucking roads.
George:I said that to the director day one. I got to that project and said to the project director said, listen, as soon as Abbey group wins a construction job, my hand is the first one up and I'm out of here. Yeah, I'll do whatever you need me to do while some here I will work to the best. My ability is to help you do whatever you need to do. I just need you to know I'm not a civil engineer, I'm a builder and that's my passion and that's what I'm gonna follow. And he goes George, I appreciate your honesty, thank you very much.
George:And as a result, they gave me that opportunity to build this control center, which was my first job I ever got to build on my own. Great experience got me my commercial building license and then I finished that in nine, ten months, let's say. And then they moved me to another part of the freeway and said, okay, we need to look after why a rope and landscaping in this area? And I just lost immediate interest. And then I started to apply for some jobs and I worked at another company called build sept, where it was more of a boutique construction company. And that's when I started to realize, hey, I can do this and I'm doing it really well. I should do it myself, but before that I didn't have major aspirations to be a business owner.
George:I would have been interesting, yeah, guys had these guys not gotten rid of me, I would be one of those people that would be very senior in that organization, no doubt so why?
Robby:why, yeah, why, what, what, how do you go from? Because I can. I can relate to that. I remember saying to my cousin once that I'll probably be here for the rest of 30 years. I was at the city fence Good place, culture wasn't the best, but you're meeting good client people. You've been the right people. I was meeting the right people. I had good clients, I was being looked after, I was making good money. I was like why would I go somewhere else? Like this makes me. What am I going to leave you and go where? Yeah, to BMW. Like I mean, that's all.
Robby:I knew yeah, and so I can relate to that. But what is it that you think I guess there's probably people listening to this that are in that position, and what is it that you think allowed you to? Because now, obviously, you've got a team, you've got a business, you've done very well for yourself and you're building, you've got several businesses what is it that allowed you to go from I'm going to stick with this company for the next 30 years to no, I'm going to do my own thing to now a multifaceted entrepreneur.
George:At the time there was so much room for growth from where I was and I saw the path to seeing your management.
Robby:Isn't it like corporate ladder.
George:Yeah, yeah, because it was a very corporate business as much as what we were doing. It was a billion dollar organization. So there was that ability to climb that ladder and be really good at a certain aspect of that. I enjoyed the projects that we were doing, what we were working on, the challenges, the people and just the day to day life of it, and there was the ability. So I was always driven and motivated by money as well. I've always been like that, and you can get paid really well at some T1 construction companies three, four, $500,000, depending what your role is in the business so I saw that as an option too. Okay, yep, cool, real happy to go down that path and make some good coin.
George:And I just at the time I remember not seeing, not, didn't even come into the realm of possibility of going I can do this myself. And it wasn't until I got my commercial building license at Abbey Group that it started to go okay, well, I've done it here, I've done it there, I know what I'm doing, I'm good at it, maybe I can do this myself. And then I went into BuildTep where it was a smaller boutique company. I'm like I can absolutely do this and that's what sort of triggered it from there.
George:So my progression through each of the three businesses that I worked at was one where it went from a big company to a smaller one to a smaller one and then at each time I did that, I was like, okay, I've achieved some good things at all these organizations. I've learned a lot of different things from each of them. I can go and apply this and try it myself, and the difference, I suppose, is, yeah, it'd be great to have the golden handcuffs and make it to $300,000 a year, but you know what's better than that? Making two, three, $4 million a year. So that's what then motivated me after that and now I would never go back. I don't have a plan B. It's plan A, like this is going to work and it's going to be sick and I'm going to sell my business for $50 million Burn the boats, that's it, burn the boats, burn the boats, and that now is my thing.
George:I've made it through COVID, which was really difficult, and now it's about. Okay, let's see how far this puppy can go.
Robby:So you went from big corporate to smaller business to park these some daughters at my own, to then building a team around you.
George:Yeah, yeah, absolutely. So. Look, even when I started here, I started this business, I had employees almost from day one, because I had employed.
George:Yeah, oh, really, yeah, my apprentice. I had an apprentice, yeah, so he was directly employed with me and then my old man was working with me, so technically he's an employee as well to the business, as was I to the business, and then we grew around that. Then I put on someone in the office, then I put someone else on in the office, then I employed three carpenters, then I employed another supervisor, so at our peak I think, we had eight people, nine people in the business, and then we pegged it back a little bit from there and now, depending on the projects that we win again next year, we'll put people on again. I've just got no hesitation to do it. But if you can structure it properly, as I said, your employees won't cost you anything. A bad employee will cost you three to five times their salary. A good employee will cost you nothing and a great employee will make you three to five times their salary. So that's what I want to try and encourage and grow.
George:And also, if you are an employee, you want one of two things in a job, if not both of them. Ideally you want both of these things. The first thing is you want to be getting educated. So if you're in a job, you want to be learning the tools of the trade, the tricks, everything you need to possibly know to be the best at your job. The second thing is you want to be getting paid well. So you want one of those two things in a job. Ideally, you want both of them, and I feel that I definitely offer the education really well. I wouldn't say we're the highest paying employer out there, but we're not a bad one. I'm also very fair and reasonable. I don't count the hours people work in the sense that these are our hours. This is what you need to do If, for example, one of the guys go hey, I've got to go pick up my mom for all my kids from school at 3.30 am.
George:Whatever, you go, get a haircut, yeah, I'll get a haircut. So I'm like, fuck it, I'll get a haircut in my time. But you know what I mean. It's like whatever man, go do what you've got to do. So I don't keep the clock like that either. And that just builds trust too, with going both ways. So in the morning, if they're not here, they're obviously on site. I'm like where are you? What are you doing? It's 7.31. Where are you? So it's yeah, it works both ways.
Robby:So what's stopped you from continuing to grow the team?
George:Just the number of projects, that's all. You just need more work, yeah, just more work.
Robby:Another thing as well I think recruitment is a huge part to scaling your business, and I think you should have a pipeline of people you're looking at employing, just like you have a pipeline of leads you're looking at selling to.
George:As in if, like the people, you think you might like to join the business, yeah, like we have like a.
Robby:I know that if this happens, or within this job, that I'm going to reach out to this person and that person and that person, because I've constantly built this pipeline of connections of people that I can then put into my business.
George:Yeah, very smart. Yeah, very smart because a lot of people don't do that. I had this conversation with one of my mentees this morning and he was like, yeah, I want to put a supervisor on him. Okay, cool, who like think about the people that you know of in your circle right now? That could fit that role. And he's like, yeah, okay, reach out to him, yeah go have a conversation.
George:Okay, don't be afraid to poach. Okay, don't be afraid to poach, or just have a chat Exactly One of your carpenters that have worked for you in the past. So, hey, mate, I want to look at an employee supervisor. Maybe they want to be a builder one day. So they're like, oh yeah, that's a great experience. They're going to get paid five bucks more an hour, they're going to get a fuel car, they're going to get a car. Whatever the deal is for them, it could be better than their current situation. And again, you offer them that whole. Okay, I mean, educate you. You're going to get paid. Well, you're going to do this, you're going to do that. These are the types of jobs I need you to do. So, yeah, for sure. And I've got a couple of those people in my mind. Most of the time, you know, obviously their situation changes or they're doing their own thing. That's fine. But, as you said, just reach out and have that conversation.
Robby:You know who does that really well, Real estate. Oh yeah, as soon as you go off the website, your phone blows up.
Camera:Yeah right, every other agent yeah right, hey, what are you doing?
Robby:Where'd you go? Are you still looking at real estate? Do you want to come in have a chat? Just come past, just come for a coffee.
George:Well, especially if you've got the runs on the board, yeah, as far as being able to sell, as far as being able to do that, those sorts of things, that's what I mean. Opportunities, man in the business. Okay, so do you really think if that person was working from home three days a week, that they're going to have those same level of opportunities as someone else that's grinding in the office and putting the wins on the board? I don't think they will.
Robby:I reckon they would. Why wouldn't?
George:they Because, as I said, I strongly believe that people will take the path of lease resistance most of the time. I'd say the majority of people will take the path of lease resistance and it's human nature to do so. So, on that basis, they're not going to push and perform as well as they could when they know they have the option to sit and watch Netflix for two hours 100%?
Robby:Yeah, you're right, but who's to say that that two hours of Netflix a week doesn't impact their overall performance? If you lose two hours to make 38 better, so you lose two after 40 to make 38 better, what if that person performs better for 38? You are looking at potential Two hours, but I'm just saying that.
George:I'm looking at the whole span. I'm not saying that. I'm not saying that two hours, I'm just saying as a whole.
Camera:I don't believe, no, no.
Robby:I see.
George:I believe, I reckon it could be detrimental to their own career. I think it could be detrimental to their own personal career If they want that whole. No, I don't need to be the top dog, I don't need to have that climb the corporate ladder. I don't need those things, those accolades, whatever it might be. I'm happier to do what you just said. That can be, that can work. But again, in the same token, say, in a downturn market, in a time when you're looking for a job, where you want that promotion, the person that is always pushing and growing, like who would you reward? You'd always reward effort and results, wouldn't you? Driving into work is not effort. No, no, no. But I'm saying effort and results If you're doing both of those things.
Robby:This is your problem. You relate being in the office to getting results. There's no correlation at all.
George:Yes, I hear what you're saying with that, but I'm coming back again to the whole. I think it would impact.
Robby:I like being in the office. Yeah, I prefer it, me too I don't believe the way the world is going. We don't need to be. I believe it helps with culture having them in there sometimes, but I don't believe we need to do everything we do for the office and I believe COVID woke people up to that.
George:Yeah, I still believe if you have company A and company B, in the long run company A will do better with everyone in the office than company B.
Robby:that doesn't, yeah, I think that is one of the most small, small things. All this factors. It could compare us into everything else, and if you do everything else right, I think it becomes irrelevant.
George:Time to tell.
Robby:It will. What do you think the data says about it? Like the data, I've got no idea, to be honest. Do you know what the data is? No, but I think overall it's not about the working promote. It's about the flexibility. Have you done it? Try it from home. Try Monday, friday? No, and then, hey, don't tell me how to live my life. Just give it a shot, do one day.
George:Okay, I would still be annoyed At what being at home.
Robby:I think. Look, I think there's. You have to have some rules in place, like you have to have a proper workspace.
George:Yeah, the workspace I've got is literally in my kid's toy room. Yeah, so that's a desk and.
Robby:I've got stuff there, but I know I'm talking about a proper workspace, yeah, like I've got a proper desk, I've got yeah Screen set up. I've probably got a better workspace at home.
George:I reckon when I build my home, eventually I will make a purpose built office.
Robby:Yeah, like a home office, that's right.
George:Yeah, I will do that for sure, without a doubt. However, again, I would still be coming into here. The home office will be used on the weekends.
Robby:Yeah, or maybe on Monday or Friday and stuff, that's just what I'm.
George:just what I'm who? Mondays you're kicking off the week.
Robby:You do all your meetings from home, blah, blah, blah blah. You do all your appointments and then Tuesday, wednesday, thursday you smash it and then Friday you wrap up the week from home. All right, so you want to take that? Why do we have to? Why do we have to follow what we've always been shown? Why don't we work Tuesday to Saturday and have Mondays off? Like, why are you on Mondays off?
George:Yeah, absolutely. Why don't you, why don't I now?
Robby:Yeah, because and work Tuesday to Saturday in the office.
George:Yeah, I'll tell you why. Or because the industry, the majority of people, are working on those days, so it'd be detrimental for me to do it.
Robby:You don't have to be there. Sorry, you don't have to be there.
George:I'm saying from our sites I can do that for the company wide.
Robby:I'm not going to do it myself. Yeah, do it for yourself.
George:I can fucking take off any day. I want. Yeah, like I can do, I could work that.
Robby:Okay, this is the thing, though, you follow. This is me.
George:This is me. I'm a different beast. Yeah, so I can work Monday to fucking Thursday or Friday, whatever it might be. What did you say?
Robby:Saturday, tuesday to Saturday Tuesday to Saturday.
George:I could do that and still get everything I need to get that was hit the ring and still get the same amount of work that I needed to get done on those days. I don't have any doubt about that. I don't have any doubt about myself.
Robby:Yeah, that wasn't my question. It was why don't you Because we used to so, used to following these rules that we have been shown off.
George:The majority of people are available on those days. So on a Saturday, for example, if I call up my architect's office, they're not in the office. Yeah, so that's detrimental, like I need something done. I'm not working today, saturday, so that would be something. I'd have to wait till the Tuesday, when I'm back in the office again, to get that thing done, or whatever. The team worker wouldn't be able to do that, or I'd have to work on the Monday. So that's the only reason I'm working to that timeframe If the whole industry shifts into Monday to Tuesday.
Robby:So don't you think all these rules came from the way we used to do things and we don't change that.
George:Yeah, the way it's always been done. Yeah, don't you hate that thing? Yeah, I know, but it's saying but that's how the structure of industry is made up Most industries.
Robby:Yeah, they have a valid reason not to work Tuesday to Saturday, but you don't have a valid reason, other than a belief, to not work from home.
Camera:I'm not saying you should work from home full time.
George:Yes, yes, it's absolutely.
Robby:I don't think you should work from home. I think there is something nice about going into the office and seeing everyone saying, hey man, what's going on? And like actually spending time around people. I think there's something good in that. I just don't think we have to do it full time. I think there is a benefit to flexibility on both sides and I think if you structure it right and you do it correctly, it can definitely be a win-win. But you need to do it correctly. If you just let people go work from their kids' toy room, they're probably not going to be as efficient. Yeah.
George:But if you, this is the other thing how many people. So how do you know? The working environment needs person's home.
Robby:You have requirements. You can set that like you're not in, you can have a thing where we need you to. This is the standard that we expect. But you can do Zoom meetings at everyone every morning and check in and be like, hey, what's going on? Like you don't have a bar First thing, you do.
George:Yeah, we used to do that.
Robby:We had a meeting for 15 minutes. What's going on? What are you doing today? What are you doing today, by the way, you know what I mean Making sure everyone's doing this no-transcript Things you can implement to Make sure you try like, just like culture. The things you implement for culture inside a physical workplace, you can do the same shit in a virtual workplace to make sure that people have a good workspace. You know me because, hey, the reality is there's fucking people who sit in the office and do fuck all anyway.
George:Absolutely yeah, yeah, but those people don't work for me.
Robby:Yeah, but you get what I'm saying. Yeah, or or? They are very good at hiding it.
George:No, they wouldn't be. Hey, they couldn't hide it from me doing it ever. Maybe for a week. No, it'll come up like you do.
Robby:Shit will get exposed, just what it gets exposed when they're working from home as well, because you end up working out like what wait, hold on, you did what this whole month. That's all you've done, and this person's done that, this person's done that, this person's done that. Okay, maybe I need to keep an extra eye. And then you keep an extra eye and you start noticing oh, like you're actually behind the ball.
George:I need your PS5 password, yeah, and then it's like you.
Robby:You know what I mean. You before like, if you find out they're fucking around, I'm sure they would. I've never come to that Point with anyone comes at a point where they're not capable, yeah, and I'm like, yeah, you need to move on.
Camera:Yeah, what is it? So it turns out that it actually depends on the size of the company, so it's actually like cheaper to hire a full-time working from home person.
George:So it seems like real estate and office costs? Yes, because, like you, have already so many employees, it does not actually matter. I think for the big corporates, that's exactly the case for them, as in saving office space, yeah, think about it now. In covid, I know, I know some of the big banks did this. They had office towers in the city. Right, that's three office towers employing 20,000 people, and they've gone to one office tower. So now they've just gotten rid of two whole buildings that they have to rent by just getting two-thirds of their company to work from home.
Robby:Hundreds of thousands of dollars, which is just and it's all the industrial, I sorry the HR issues.
George:You know people aren't bullying each other because they're not around each other. There's no fucking off. Karen said this and Peter said this and no one's falling downstairs and claiming work cover. So for those types of organizations, I think yeah absolutely.
Robby:They would look at that and go. That's a benefit to the organization. Yeah, another thing you, I guess your biggest Correct me if I'm wrong here, but your biggest, uh, I guess dispute with it is you felt like people could fly under the radar if you can't see them.
George:That's one of them. Yeah, I wouldn't say it's the big yeah, that that'd be part of it. Yes, yeah, that could be part of it. What was your biggest then? I'm saying it from the perspective of I think they will be better.
Robby:I wholeheartedly believe they will be better for you, or they will be what?
George:How can you say that?
Robby:because, being out of the office and you don't know that person what's going to be better for him.
George:I sit from a from a perspective of being a high achiever and and achieving great things.
Robby:Yeah so it would be better for you.
George:Yeah would. Ultimately, I would benefit from that if no, no, no, no, no, no, it would be better for you as an employee If George wanted that you would get more out of George.
Robby:Yeah, if you were an employee. If you were an employee, so if I was hiring George, yeah, you would get more out of being in the office, like I would get more out of you because that's your personality, yeah.
George:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Robby:But it's not necessarily applicable to every person.
George:I don't know if I want those people in my business. Why?
Robby:just because they're efficient at home, you're like no, fuck this guy.
George:Fuck this guy. I don't, I don't, I think in the long run, I don't believe it will be beneficial.
Robby:Yeah, so you believe they're gonna fly under the radar and you?
George:know, it's not that it's. Also. I don't, they won't, I don't believe that they will achieve their grade at their full, their full potential. You don't know that.
Robby:I don't know that, yeah, I believe that's your biggest issue with it, not the fact that they can fly under the radar. No, that would contribute to okay. No, no, but that's not so. We're talking about your biggest yeah, so not the fact that they can fly under the radar, but more so that you feel like they would not be getting I think in the long run.
George:Yes, it'll be detrimental to people working from home.
Camera:Yes, lying under the radar?
George:No to them. Personally, I think it'd be detrimental to them If my son came to me and asked me this question. He's a good one, so hey, I've got this job. I'm gonna work two days from home. Said motherfucker gets the office every day. Why? Because it would be better for him. I genuinely believe that. Hold on.
Robby:Hold on. So do you not think you're looking at things through your own eyes? Only Like how can you say that every single person will work better in this? That's like saying every single person likes chicken. Is there people that don't like chicken? I don't know, I like. Do you get what I'm saying? It's like no, but what do you mean? But I like chicken the most. So if I like, everyone was like it and it's like well, that's not necessarily true. Something vegan would be flipping out now. But do you get what I'm saying? Like you're looking at it through just because I'm trying to think of an example.
Robby:It served you it served you, and that's not to say it wouldn't serve other people, but you can't say it'd serve everyone.
George:Well, the person that works out every single day compared to the person that works out three days a week, who's healthier? What? I'm trying to think of it as a like I'm saying what's going to be better for that individual? So yeah so say you say yeah, but do you want to be great at your job? Yes, I do. Do you want?
George:to achieve great success? Yes, I do. Okay, do you want to be healthy? Yes, I do. Do you want to be really healthy? Yes, I do. So what do you need to do in order to achieve that? So, by working out or eating right every single day, or working out four days a week, which one's going to get you to where you want to?
Robby:be. This is not not working.
George:What do you mean? This? That argument would I'm just trying to say from the perspective of you're saying do more hours, do more hours and you'll get more. No, no, no, no, I'm saying being in the right environment.
Robby:Yeah, but so you're defining what the right environment is for me. The right environment might be my home office.
George:But that's what I believe.
Robby:That's my beliefs as far as and yeah, what people have achieved over the years, the right environment for you?
George:No, why?
Robby:then, overall, I still believe okay so what if you found out that someone who had ultimate success Well, it works from home.
George:I'd heard about him.
Robby:Why do you know how my home, as you work from home?
Camera:does he?
George:yeah. And so sometimes no, no, but that's again. Business owners, I don't think, I think are in a different kettle of fish there, why? Why, yeah, because you're driven significantly more by Achievement and what you're trying to do within your organization. You just try and become a billionaire. This bloke all right and documenting his journey to do that.
Robby:So you believe that people are not going to do as much. You just talked about drive, so you believe they're not going to be as driven meaning.
George:That'll be. That'll be part of the reason.
Robby:Yeah, I said that before so my question to you is this if you have a large company, you can't track everyone the way you do anyway, absolutely so they're going to fly under the radar regardless.
George:Yes, absolutely, but then you would have other people around there to to track and monitor that. Anyway, at a large it is way harder to Do you honestly think half the fuck is a Telstra or give a fuck, don't care exactly. Yeah, what do you think they're doing at home right now? I've got mates that work at these big corporations and tell me they're playing, play for seven hours a day.
Robby:So what do you move?
George:their mouse a couple of times to make sure that the computer doesn't switch off. Dude.
Robby:Telstra's not retarded. They have ways of making sure that you're doing something. They're pretty fucking retarded.
George:From what I've heard. Anyway, we shouldn't use that word. It's not politically correct. They're vertically challenged.
Robby:No, let us, Let us say that way anymore.
Camera:All right, all right.
Robby:Okay, um, anyway back to. Telstra. Yeah, don't turn my phone off, yeah, so you don't think, though, that there's people who go into the. I've worked at a big Corporation like a call center, yeah, and I've they make you go, like they made us go in. This was before COVID, so like five, six, seven years ago, something like that, and I had days where I could do, I could fly under the radar and to fuck, oh, because I didn't want to be there. I don't want to be out in, give us place these guns.
Robby:Cars yeah, uh, cars yeah that's what I said.
Robby:These cars are no good and I've learned the radar and got away with whatever I want. And then the days where I knew that month of end was like coming up and they wanted to track all the sales, I would go hard and poll top three and I was good and I flew under the radar in the office. So what I'm saying is I think we put too much emphasis on If I haven't been my site, I can control them all, when the reality is you're just distracting yourself.
George:I don't have the big corpse.
George:Yeah, in those sorts of organizations that you probably you are right it would be easier to fly under the radar and to do the bare minimum and all oh, actually my mates told me before he goes there's people that work there like he busted us and he's got a good role, like he's got a good position at the business and he gets remunerated well for it. Because there's, he goes. It's so hard to hit targets so many other times he goes because I know these, these dozen people are doing fuck all and I know these dozen people are and he goes for us to hit the targets I need everyone to be doing well, but he goes. You just can't, you can't monitor that he goes. It is. It is difficult in that space, but again, those people that are not achieving their goals are not doing those things like man. What a waste. Maybe, maybe that's detrimental to them working from home.
Robby:You think it didn't happen when they all worked in the office I was just telling you that.
George:Yeah, I could, but it could also be just what they're doing. They hate that, not just working from home, it's a combination of them hating exactly what they do.
Robby:So then you think of having someone who loves what they do. Whether they work from home or not, they'll achieve the same result.
George:They may achieve the same result, but will it be the best thing for him? I don't know, that's for them to decide. As a business owner. It's for me to decide, though, and what I want at the organization.
Robby:You know, yeah, it's for you to decide what you want at the organization. You don't decide what is best for them.
George:No, no, what's best? No, that's right, yeah, yeah.
Robby:So yeah, it's not to say that's it's gonna be best for them, but you do have the You're. You've got the right to well, I haven't seen.
George:Until I see it Work and work well, would I try it. I've tried it before. Would I try it again? I don't know, don't know what would happen?
Robby:What would have to happen for you to try it again? If someone's listening to these days, you need to be wrapped.
Camera:Nice, you're fucked mate, you're coming inside of that as well.
Robby:What would have to happen for you to try it? What would you have to find out, learn, see, do? What would have to change for you to say, okay, cool, maybe this is worth now giving a shot and seeing how this goes?
George:I don't know, I don't know. I'm still not going to change.
Robby:So if they've released, if Iggy was sitting here a year later and he's like, hey boys, the data's been updated and people are actually more efficient.
Robby:People are actually more efficient from home. Now, with everything and all the new software that's come out and all the technology that's been released, people are now more efficient working from home and you actually get better bang fee buck as an employer. Setting up your home office that's another thing you could do. You could set up their home office. You could be like hey, yeah, we're going to give you this.
Robby:This is part of the part of working for us is we're going to we allow you to work because it could be an incentive to gain employees and people could be like yeah, okay, I want to work for you because I want to do two days from home and you set up my home office and we come in and we send the team out and they it's just for you. You can get a GP like that. They set up a desk for you and blah, blah, blah and a computer and everything and that's your dedicated workspace from home. Because we need to make sure that when you're working at home, you're working efficiently and we give you all the tools and if we find you're fucking around, we're going to come take it all. It's yours.
George:I'll just down the door and take it.
Robby:Yeah, we're going to kick the door open, do you understand?
George:I do, I do. Whether I do it or not, it's another topic.
Robby:Whether you do it now or not.
George:Oh, it's definitely not happening now. Definitely not happening now, definitely not happening. Look, as I said, I've been proven wrong before and I can see your point of view on what you're saying. However, in the interim, I don't see myself implementing anything like that in the business, not initially anyway. I'd have to. Really, it'd have to be case by case and it depends what that person's doing at the organization as well. Everything's here, everything's easily accessible in my office, everything's. It's probably that little bit harder when it's not in the office. If I have to sit down with a team member and go through things specifically in person, can you do it through Zoom? Yeah, I think you can do a lot of that stuff remotely now and the technology allows us to do that. It wasn't like that 10 years ago there was no such thing as Zoom.
Robby:There was none of that shit. Oh, come on in here. That's right. If you look at that, you can be like you can never do business with people overseas. There was no phone 100 years ago. Yeah, Do you know what?
Camera:I mean.
George:Yeah, so yeah, a lot of things with the-. The only way you can do business with people overseas was fly there, was fly there, but now, with COVID, it forced that technology and that change. It's like QR codes. No one used QR codes before COVID no one, so it's the Chinese.
Robby:Yeah.
Camera:Seriously, though, I'll fletch the corner.
Robby:Apparently. Yeah, it's everywhere.
George:Yeah, you go.
Robby:Like everywhere, like it stayed payments, payments.
George:Now you sit on a restaurant. People used to like not much scanning a QR code. I don't know what the fuck that is. Now you sit at a restaurant, you scan a QR code and you order your meals and you pay for it.
Robby:You don't even have to go to the tenant, so it's weird.
George:The teller to do it. So, yeah, a lot of that technology was definitely brought forward as a matter of necessity, more than anything like that.
Robby:I guess I'll show you, though, how much are we not doing that we could be. Do you know what I?
George:mean, maybe I'm just doing it as well, specifically to my industry. It's not to say that other industries wouldn't. That wouldn't work really well. What are you? I'm saying from a, because everything in building is very people orientated.
Robby:Everything, is everything orientated.
George:Yes, but even so safe, as I said, for a foreman. Yeah, you cannot walk from work from home as a foreman yeah.
Robby:Like you, can't service a car from home.
George:Yeah, that's right. Or a blade bricks or a bale of carpenter or whatever you're going to do.
Robby:There's certain things that have to be on site. Yes, correct, but most of the on-site stuff can be done, this being the site On-site.
Camera:Yeah.
Robby:What do you mean? As in your stuff that's on-site. Yeah, so like that is on-site, but the other on-site stuff might be in the office.
George:Yeah, there is an element which is the old way of thinking. No, no, there is an element of office work for a site supervisor. Yeah, but you can do all this for here now.
Robby:This is your new site.
George:He's your site. Yeah, this is.
Robby:People who work in the office full-time.
George:This is your site Office yes, office office office I'm talking about on a construction site, directing people and trades and all that sort of shit.
Robby:Yeah, so that person will always have to go to the site. Correct, that's come to the office, so is that fair?
George:Maybe he wants to work from home once a day.
Robby:He can.
George:Not in the fucking my watch what?
Robby:But like so as a supervisor, do they go on-site every day? Absolutely, if that's your role, that's right. Like I want to work on cars but I don't want to see any cars, I was like dude.
George:Is that why you got out?
Robby:I hate cars. That's like saying do you know what I mean?
Camera:Like, use your head.
Robby:Use your Think about what you're saying. You can't be a site supervisor without going on-site.
George:No, that's right, that's right, you're literally, you're literally.
Robby:It is in the title. You can't do the job without going there. That's right. That's the way it is.
George:That's the way it is.
Robby:So if you want to work from home, maybe don't get into building.
George:Don't get into building and don't work for George.
Robby:Don't work for George.
George:So very cool discussion. What do you so? Building your team and having that culture. We spoke about that briefly. We haven't deep dived into it. A lot of businesses, I don't believe, have a culture actually set up in their organization where they say, hey, literally on paper, this is what we're about as a business, as an organization, and I think it's really important that you do establish something like that in a business, and I don't have that at the moment, but it is something I'll be working on over the Christmas holidays where I want to actually put it down on paper and go cool, these are our values, these is our mission, this is our vision statement, these are the things that we're trying to achieve. This is how the toaster works all those sorts of things.
Robby:Do you want to do that in the next episode? Which Do you want to do that in?
George:the next episode, which we can do that, so are we signing off for today it's been just over an hour. Excellent, we went very sideways. It wasn't actually the direction I thought the episode would go in as far as Well.
Robby:it wasn't about employees.
George:It was about employees that probably were more than we're working from, but let's keep going Fuck, yes, you're going to keep listening to us. So, with your employees, I think it's really important that you do a lot of reviews and KPIs with them and stuff like that, and make sure that they understand they're a valued member of your team. I think that's critically important and I believe it's one of the core reasons why I retain so many employees over the years. It's because I genuinely care about their growth and their development and making sure that they understand they're a valued member of the team and then also putting things in place for them to understand hey, these are your targets, these are your KPIs. You need to hit these things for the successful delivery of our jobs, of the company, and for you to succeed in your role.
George:By them understanding and having those things there, they can go. Yep, cool, I'm going to tick all these things and I know if I do tick all these things, there's room for promotions, there's room for me to take on more responsibilities and whatever it might be. The other thing. It is it's clarity, isn't it? Yeah, it's clarity, and a lot of employers don't do that.
George:I don't even do that I find yeah, I reckon most of the people I speak to don't do anything like that Great. Yeah, that's really cool, and most it's also your opportunity when you're doing a KPI review with someone is to sit there with them and go cool. What do you want? What do you want to try to achieve? Like, do you want to be an administrator for the rest of your life or do you want to be a project manager? Do you want to be a site manager? Do you want to be CEO, cfo?
Robby:Yeah, growth, growth, growth growth growth.
Camera:Yeah, what's your path?
George:And then you can go. Do you want to get into estimating? And then that way you can tailor their whole career as far as pushing them in that direction. And go cool, you want to be PM? These are the sorts of things I need you to take on, and along the way you can also set up any training. To go cool, you need a bit more education in this. I'm going to enroll you in a short course for OH&S and then that way you can get your skills up as far as that's considered yeah, that's really cool.
Robby:I think another. You know what? No one teaches that, no, no.
Robby:I was talking to you about it. Who was it talking to? I was talking to someone. No one teaches the how to manage people. They teach you leadership skills and a lot of that's great, but they don't teach you the stuff about 90-day meetings and HR and managing annual leave and what your team wants and growth pathways and how to build team members. No one teaches that stuff. They don't teach you to sit down with your team every six months. I want to talk about, or three months or 90 days, whatever you choose to do.
George:Half of the stuff people, business owners, do. It's like trial and error. Will they hear about it or read about it or go? Oh, okay, maybe I should do that. And what I noticed every time I did any of these reviews with everyone every single employee walks out of that room with a spring in their step. You go holy shit, george actually cares. Holy shit, this is a good business. Oh, wow, this is an amazing place to work. And it also then establishes you as a destination-type company where people will be attracted to work at your organization. And it's like when we were speaking with Josh a little while ago he goes. You had to queue out the door for people wanting to work with him because they got a hold of how he operates as a business, the conditions, the terms, the working hours, everything that's associated with his business. People are begging to work for him now. So he's demanding a higher quality and a higher standard person coming to your organization, and if you can do that in your organization as well, that's a really powerful thing.
Robby:Yeah, become like an attraction organization.
George:Yeah.
Robby:Make people want to work for you.
George:There are so many avenues, just not only from employees, but contractors, suppliers, consultants, clients, partnerships, from across the board. So really taking care of your employees, making that time to even go for a coffee with them, that's in itself as part of building culture. But go for a coffee one lunch or one morning, Say, hey, let's go for a coffee, you should catch up. And then you're talking shit with them hey, what do you want to do here? What do you want to do there? What's news in your life? Get to know your employees. What's important Because this is the other thing, right what's important to them as a 20 year old is not going to be important to them as a 30 year old. They're going to change. They're going to have kids, they're going to need to buy a house, they want to go overseas. There's a whole range of things. Their priorities and wants and desires are going to change over the course of their career, over the course of their time with you, and whether that's 12 months, two years, 10 years, that's always going to change.
Robby:It does, it changes with yourself. You know what?
George:I mean.
Robby:You grow, you learn, you develop and you become a different person and they do too.
George:They're human beings and invest in their training. So I think we've said this in a past episode. It's like what if you spend all this money on training your employees and they leave.
Robby:What if you?
George:don't and they don't, yeah what if you don't and they stay, yeah. So definitely invest in them as well, because you'll get the return. You will get the return for sure. Anything else you want to add with that?
Robby:No, I think that's some good insights there, good key takeaways.
George:I've enjoyed our chat today. Thank you very much for that.
Robby:No thanks for coming Thanks for having me. Thanks for having me yeah.
George:So, as always, we want to help as many people as we can. We want to make sure that this podcast is not just entertaining, but educational and something that will help someone along their entrepreneurial journey, in business, in life, in their successes that they want to achieve. So what we would love is if you click the subscribe button in the top right hand corner of whatever device you're listening to this? On yeah, positive, it's in that location and share this with someone you might know.
Robby:You know, I actually had some feedback on podcasts. Awesome. I was like are you even that shit away for free? I was like yeah, Good stuff, like what we're talking about All the knowledge, bombs All the knowledge bombs. Yeah, he's like are you even all that away for free? And I was like, yeah, he's like that's sick man. This thing's going to take off. So the feedback's been awesome and if there's anything that you do want whether you're watching this on Spotify, youtube, watch it on Spotify Are the videos they're not no I don't, you can watch it on Spotify.
Robby:Whether you're listening to this on Spotify, or you're listening to it on Apple Podcasts, or you're watching it on YouTube, let us know what you want us, if there's a particular topic, a particular thing you'd like us to tackle.
George:And, as you can see, we have very different opinions on certain aspects. Some things are the same. We do think similar things, but other things we don't. And that's totally fine too. You're going to get that in your business and your life. You're going to have people challenge your way of thinking. And so you should Otherwise 100%, because what I say I do take his advice on board and let people work from home, and then my business goes from doubling turnover.
Robby:If you ever see a photo of George working from home.
George:I take full credit. That's not impossible for me, I want full credit. I want full credit, I'm going to frame it for you. Give it a see for Christmas, yeah.
Robby:I'm picking up them all at my office.
George:So yeah, thanks, guys. I appreciate you listening in. And do you want to say the sign off? I think you should, because you said it to me and I loved it the other day.
Robby:This is. This is for you, ben. If you're watching, you should be watching. Ben, have a million dollars a day.
George:Thanks guys, thank you Bye.