Simply put, the first-ever World of Titans Australia event was a moment.
The event hosted by ServiceTitan attracted almost 200 of the best tradies across the country to the Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour for a day packed with sessions that featured U.S. industry-expert speakers such as Ellen Rohr (Zoom Drain Franchise) and Tom Howard (Lee’s Air).
There was networking, professional growth and plenty of inspiration. By the end, Brad Hall, the owner of the Adelaide plumbing shop Ken Hall, felt he was a part of an industry shift.
“There’s so much talent in Australia for tradies. This really feels like a ground-floor moment for Australia,” Hall said. “Having been to America a number of times myself, and seen how good the industry is becoming over there and how big some (shops) are, I think this is the smallest this (World of Titans) event is ever going to be.”
Here’s a recap of some of those sessions, with tips on how to outsmart your competition, why you should raise your prices and how to combat tall poppy syndrome.
Outsmarting your competition
Tom Howard has seen his business, Lee’s Air in California, get hit with the financial crisis, COVID and everything in-between.
But during the hard times, when he had no marketing budget and still had to compete, he asked himself: “What can I do to outsmart my competitors?"
One time, he ran a monthly promo telling his customers that if they put a Lee’s sign in their yard, they’d be entered into a $100 giveaway.
“There are still people in the Fresno, California, area who have yard signs out with our old logo,” Howard told the crowd. “And I rebranded five years ago.”
Another time, he parked one of his Lee’s trucks in the lot outside the entrance of a popular home and garden show.
“Paying for a billboard inside that show was $20,000,” Howard said. “Parking the truck was free.”
The lesson?
“The person who wins is the person who's willing to do the things that other people are not.”
Becoming a first-rate financial manager
“You’ve got to charge more than it costs.”
That was the advice that U.S. tradie Frank Blau gave Rohr years ago when she and her husband were in debt and struggling in their first foray into the trades.
At the time, the simple advice was hard for Rohr to take, but after Blau taught Rohr how to read and use a balance sheet and master accounting, she understood why she needed to raise her prices.
That financial skillset set the stage for Rohr’s success, from becoming the owner and founder of Zoom Drain Franchise to being a brand and marketing lead at ServiceTitan. Now she’s the one providing the advice.
During a VIP session, she showed the crowd how to build and track a proper P&L and balance sheet, which is centered on three main KPIs: Sales, profits and cash. In her session the following day, she shared her five tips on how to become a first-rate financial manager:
Clarify the why: “Why does a business exist? To increase the value of the business,” she said. “The business then provides opportunities for the owners and the people in the community.”
Assume stewardship: “No one is coming to save you when it comes to your money. This is your job. It’s your money.”
Get to the KFP (known financial position): “(This) means you go line by line down the balance sheet and the profit and loss…(those two reports are) all that really matter at the end of the day.”
Get the team in on it: “If you ask them, they’ll fix it for you. ‘Could you take an accounting class? Could you figure this out? Could you add up that stack of invoices?’”
Make this a project: “While you’re (at this event), I want you to write down every good idea. Then select three to five projects, get your team in on it, and start chipping away.”
New state of mind
What happens when a room full of almost 200 people high-five for 60 seconds straight? That’s what Keith Mercurio was trying to show.
Midway during his session about leveraging emotional intelligence to achieve a positive physiological state, Mercurio, the executive success coach at ServiceTitan and CEO and founder of Ethical Influence Global, asked the crowd to pair up with someone they did not know.
Then he gave them an assignment: Complete the sentence, “I am a ____, ____, ____, leader” with traits that describe the best versions of themselves.
Next, he asked them to stand across from their partner for 60 seconds and take turns delivering their new mantra, with the receiving partner responding with “Yes you are!” and a high five.
By the end, everyone was smiling and laughing. The point? It’s not hard to shift into a positive physiological state.
“If that version of you is showing up most of the time at work, most of the time at home, do you think your results might be a little different?” Mercurio asked the crowd. “Do you think your life might look a little different? Feel a little different?”
Combating tall poppy syndrome
For some, discussing money and success could be perceived as tall poppy syndrome. Kathryn Howard wants to change that.
“Today, I’m going to talk about money,” she said. “And for the purpose of this conversation, I need all of you wonderful Australian tradies to agree for the next 40 minutes that making money is a good thing. Because if you don't believe you can have a $100 million business, you won't have one.”
Howard, the chief business development officer at Lee’s Air and Tom Howard’s younger sister, has taken an unorthodox path to success.
She dropped out of high school and spent time in federal prison for drug dealing. Then, she went into sales, and eventually found herself working at Lee’s. As CEO, she doubled the company's revenue from $27 million to $54 million—in one year. Currently, revenue is well over $100 million.
Her secret?
“You've got to raise your prices,” she said.
But that’s only the start. Howard became an expert at identifying and developing top talent at Lee’s: She looks for curious, coachable, committed, courageous and caring team members.
She also heavily uses technology such as ServiceTitan: “If someone in your market is in a Ferrari and you're still on a horse, you're not in the same race and you're never going to catch them.”
Above all, she challenged the crowd to remove the stigma that comes with money and success.
“You Australians have (a term called) tall poppy syndrome. (You) connect to it like it's negative, like people with money do negative (things). But we have to change our belief system, and believe that making money is a good thing.
“With money in our hands, we can make more impact. We can change more lives. We can invest into the people who depend on us.”
‘The start of a great community’
During and following the conference, attendees mingled and networked. That was one of the highlights for Gavin Doran, a plumber and owner of Turbo Plumbing Solutions in Brisbane.
“I’m not a networker. I’m very introverted,” Doran said. “But coming to an event like this, I’ve been chatting to so many people in similar situations. Everyone just wants to improve their service, provide good value to people and charge the right amount to do it.”
Angela Kidd, an integrator for Network Home Services in Sydney, loved being in a room full of tradies. And she’s excited to implement what she learned.
“People don’t know that they’re growing in this environment,” Kidd said. “It’s only when they go back to their office and put these things in place and come back in six months, those same people are having different conversations.”
Above all for Mitch Boerner, owner of Legendary Plumbers in Melbourne, this event felt like the start of a growing tradie community in Australia.
“We didn’t really have a great community before this,” Boerner said. “This is the start of a great community, the building of a new civilization of plumbers and tradespeople coming together to do better for their community, their employees, the market, and for Australia.”
