Business Systems For Home Builders - Case Study

Getting time to have a holiday plus signing a building contract which we only sign, you know, four or five of those a year. It's like a main function. Our main outcome of what we're trying to do through the whole pre construction process was, yeah, was a great moment.

Hey it's Dave and I'm joined by Luke Davies from Davies Construction. They're an award winning builder down in Tasmania, Australia. They do some exceptional work definitely. I'll put a link through to their website that you can check out some beautiful homes and we are sharing stories from business owners on their road to systemization. So maybe just to start Luke if you can tell us just a little bit about the work that you guys do and the clients that you serve.

Yeah, no worries Dave. So we're based in Tasmania. My backstory is growing up on dairy farms and done my print, let's call it grade 10. Done my apprenticeship as a carpenter and then started my building company when I was about 24 and ever since then just had a really strong focus on quality. So we started off doing all types of building work and then slowly worked ourselves into doing like high end architectural homes and both the design and construction of those. So that's our sort of forte and that's our what we're all trained to do and what our systems are about. And yeah that's, that's our day to day.

And how did you kind of learn the business of running a construction and building business? Because it sounds like you were on the tools and that's where you got started. And I feel like it's a pretty common story with a lot of trades based businesses. They know how to do the technical work but it's the transitioning to understanding how to do a business or run a business that delivers the technical work that oftentimes a lot of tradies struggle with.

Yeah, pretty much just finding your way in the dark. Yeah there's, yeah it was again really, really good hand skills and really good carpenter. But then yeah when you go into the business, you know it went pretty well for the first couple years and then we, same story I suppose we got into cash flow problems and end up having to sell my house and you know, to sort of get out of trouble. And then I found a business, scraped up my last sort of savings and found a business coach that specialized in builders and one of the things that he said straight away is you know like yeah, systems process and they're all around, you know, cash flow management and that type of stuff and getting more sales and then that really helped me. And then, yeah, from then on started getting to personal development and just reading lots of audiobooks, lots of podcasts and it sort of just changed my mindset and you know, eventually we just started winning awards for our quality and just went from there.

The systems things. I always feel like systems fit really well in the construction space because there's a way of doing things. I mean you get a project manager to manage a particular project and there are certain steps and you know, the electrician will need to come in before the plasterer and like it's just like one big project. My question is, would you see yourself as a systems person? Like is that something that you, you connect with or is that something that's learned or do you not even see yourself as a systems person now?

Yeah, definitely process driven person and systems person. You have to be when you're a trading because yeah, like one thing can't start till the next thing's finished and you have to be organized and have that schedule, you know, sort of all laid out and one thing after the next. So. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think I, you know, my personality is the system. I like to see systems and process. I don't like to, you know, as a, I suppose a bit of a creator. I don't sort of follow them that much but I do like to have them in place. Yeah. You know, so the team can follow them. And clarity I found is the number one thing that makes your team members happy in fulfilled is just seeing what they have to do and knowing how to do it. Yeah, that's, that's what really cues. Enjoy.

Now I remember getting. We jumped on a zoom. I can't remember how many years ago now. It must have been a while back when you first outreached to us about doing some work and, and applying systemology in the business. I'm, I'm always curious how you came across us. Was that through the business coach or did you happen to read the book or.

I read the book and I don't, I can't remember whether I just searched the book and found it myself or whether I heard you on a podcast and then found the book. But yeah, I listened to the book and then as soon as I listened to the book I listened to it again and then I, you know, pass it around to all the team. That's one of those. I've got like three or four key books on my shelf and you know, the systemology book's one of those sort of go to's. I think I even posted it out to two builders for a Christmas present, you know, a few guys that we work close with. So, yeah. Found the book and just went from there. Yep.

Was there anything in particular that stood out for you? Cause again, you. You were already a process guy, or you think in terms of process and going on that personal development journey that you talked about. And you're a bit of a reader, so you would have come across books like the E Myth and some of the classics as well. Like, was there anything in particular that made Systemology stand out?

Yeah, I think I've got 430 books or something in my Audible account, so there's a lot of content I've consumed.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Double speed, I hope.

Yeah, double speed. If you're really in the flow, you know, I can get up, you know, right up to 2.5 to 3. So. Yeah. But the Systemology book, just the simplicity of it. I really like the idea of, you know, how he explained project management systems. You know, who does what by when, not the how to that. That was a sort of bit of an aha. And then the critical client flow. So just the critical things, because there's so many stuff. And I had always. I had folders and spreadsheets and trying to name all these departments and systems and processes and trying to do all this stuff before I read the book. And again, it's the power in the simplicity of bringing it into this critical client flow. And then the way that you explain how to extract systems, I never thought of that either. And how easy you can make that. So just bringing all those sort of three things together, because I was trying to build complex project management systems with all the do this, do that, do this, and it was just too overwhelming and nothing ever really worked. So, yeah, that's. That were the. That were the key sort of takeaways from the book, I think.

Yeah. And then I know when you first outreach and you worked with one of our systemologists, you did some work with James. Yeah. As you kind of went through that process, how was that in kind of formalizing some of this and getting it done.

Yeah. Again, you picking the knowledgeable person that knows the most about the task or the process and just getting them going through, like the extraction process was really good for me and really good for the team. And we've done that out of Davey's construction. Just by doing that process, we're able to start a entirely new company that was up and running from the. You know, I've never worked in that company from the day we started it. So that was, it was just because we could, I could copy all those systems and pop it into the new company. It's an architecture company and I'm not a, an architect, so I can't actually do any of that, that sort of work. But because we've had all these sales process systems and all the critical client flow, which is sort of the same for both companies, we could then copy all that, change a couple of things. And you know, that company's been going now for three years and it's doing some really good work and profitable and going really well. Just because we had that core critical client flow that we could just copy over.

I kind of wish a lot of business owners would get that experience because it's the blessing and the curse. They know how to do the technical work, but that helps them problem solve stuff. And oftentimes that's why they get good traction and good feedback. But then it's also what traps them. And having an opportunity to run a business where you can't do the work is the first time for a lot of business owners that they can then see how it is possible to have a business that runs without them as opposed to most of them. Just have the picture of them being at the center cog of the machine.

Yeah, and I got really good at doing the vision, mission values, you know, the value proposition stuff and really clarifying that. So once that's set up from my end, and then you plug in these systems on how to deliver, you know, the product or service, it works really well. And I think it's a bit like building a house, like trying to fit an architrave or a door. With the wrong type of saw and the wrong type of nail gun. It takes you heaps longer and you never get the same quality. Whereas I think of all the assets in our business, systems and processes are a tool. Whether it's the right email template, the right brochure, the right way to explain your value to the client, or the right checklist, they're all tools. And if they're wrapped up into the right sort of system workflow, you know, and the people have trained how to use them, it's the same as, you know, the skilled trading trades person with the nice sharp saw and the right nail gun and all the right, right tools to build a house, you can do the same with the business.

Yeah, I love that. I'm definitely finding business is business. No matter what business or what industry it is. There's just systems and processes that are transferable. All businesses need leads. All Businesses need to convert those leads. All businesses need to convert. Sorry. Need to deliver the core product or service or HR issues management. So it's businesses, business. I'd love to know if you had any insights or things that you wish you had known before you got started. When it comes to systems and processes and building it out, is there anything that you can look back with the benefit of hindsight and go, oh, I kind of wish we did this or now when I start a business, I do this differently.

That's a good question. I think, again, I've said it. It's the simplicity and the not trying to over complicate things. When you're talking and reviewing stuff with your team members, it's like, again, the biggest frustration, just not being clear on what they have to do. So, yeah, starting new businesses now because we've got six businesses that we've started. Yeah, it's. It's just getting all that I've got, you know, get a process in the system to get all that clarity up front and it's just not. Keep it simple.

Yeah.

Whereas before trying to. My brain goes to complexity first.

Yeah.

Tries to try and, you know, look under every stone, go down every rabbit hole and try and bring all this information and make this big complex thing. But if we, If I had the critical client flow, which I use now to start new businesses, and that's one of the first documents we go to, and it's like this, this, this, this. That's. That's the. That's the core process. That's what we need. That's the core flow. That's what we need process and systems for.

Yep.

And then we just focus on that.

I love that idea.

Yeah.

You mentioned about the simplicity for the team and starting with that also helps team members understand where they fit into the picture of the business. What do I do and how does this impact the work that we're doing and who's before me and who's after me. So the. I can see how the critical client flow really helps there. I'm curious to know if you had any resistance from team members or anything that you had to overcome when you were introducing this way of working. I don't know if you've got any insights there as to, yeah. Challenges or, you know, where it's been hard.

Yeah, definitely. Different team members or different positions give different sort of resistance. Some were. Some of the guys in the office were, you know, they could. I explained it and they could understand that systems can set them, set them free. I like the idea Of I explained the idea of like if we set this system up, you should be able to take a month off or go on holiday and then your someone can come into your role or, and produce the same outcome. But there definitely was resistance. It's like the time they have to spend to do the extractions and prepare for it and develop the systems versus being so busy with the day to day. Like construction's pretty hectic.

Yeah.

There's always lots going on. So. And then we had the guys on site again. We're just a little bit why are we doing this? And it just comes down to the business owner explain, you know, the value of doing that and getting that across to them. Otherwise you're going to have resistance with everything you try and implement or do if they don't understand why you're doing it. So.

What.

But yeah, we've definitely seen the benefits.

Now what size team did you have? You know, as you're starting to roll this out in Davies Construction and I know you work with a variety of different contractors and things. I'm just thinking I know the larger the team gets, the more challenging it becomes to change because you. Yeah. Trying to change culture. So what size team is it at Davies Construction?

So I was 15 when we did the. Started the extraction stuff.

Yeah.

So the culture. We're already talking about being a system driven enterprise and that systems can set us free and that we're not, you know, all our frustrations and bottlenecks and issues come from having the right asset or the right system. So we're not blaming the person, we're blaming the tool they're using because the flow is not right or whatever. So we're already talking about that type of stuff. And everyone knew that I was systems driven. So it wasn't a huge. It's not like we're going from full chaos to trying to organize everything to be 100% system driven.

Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense. And you mentioned some of the, the benefits or the wins. I don't know if either a particular story or if there's any outcome. I always find it hard to make the case for business owners. Where I go, you should be systemizing because I know systems impact everything and sometimes that makes it hard to quantify because like literally it's the building blocks of great business and being more efficient and reducing waste and making sure that team members are happier and getting better outcomes for clients. Like the impacts are wide reaching. I don't know if there's anything that you can kind of go systems did this for us.

I suppose. One example, I was on holidays. We, because I didn't have any holidays when we first started, hadn't traveled until up until maybe four years ago and we were overseas on a, on a month holiday and I got a link through on my phone to an electronic thing to sign a building contract like a multi million dollar building contract. And I hadn't had anything to do with the sales process or designing or prepping or doing any that type of stuff. It had all been done by the team and I just opened it up, reviewed it and clicked sign and that was it. So that was a pretty sort of milestone moment for me, you know, to sit back and think about because I was doing everything, all those steps and couldn't take any time off. So that was. Yeah. And then. Yeah. So getting time to have a holiday plus signing a building contract which we only sign, you know, four or five days a year. It's like a main, our main, yeah. Function. Our main outcome of what we're trying to do through the whole pre construction process was. Yeah, it was a great moment.

Yeah, I love that. And I got to experience that first hand. And just recently we went on the Philippines Mastermind and BPO tour and I know you jumped on that and equally hearing, you know, that you're running a number of businesses or owning a number of businesses and having them still continue to function with just cause. That thought popped up in my head on that tour. Was there any additional insights like you're a constant learner, a little bit like me constantly putting new stuff in and trying to upload your game. Was there anything that stood out for you on that trip?

I. Yeah. So I've tried using virtual assistants last four or five years all different ways and it hasn't, you know, some have been good but most of them haven't worked out and the ones that have good have dropped off and, and we've had to sort of part ways but just seeing the BPO centers like the levels, the different levels, actually visiting them and going into them and you know, seeing the type of environment that people work in and I was sort of blown away, I thought it was. So we visited a few to start with and they were sort of not dingy offices but sort of lower quality offices. And then we went right up to you know, some office that you'd expect, some high end office you'd expect to see in Australia with all the little egg pods you can go and rest in and the table tennis tables and the really nice workplace and all the values and Missions and visions are all written on the walls and nice colors and so just seeing that was a bit of an eye opener. And then learning about like the few different ways that you can engage, you know, with your. If you want to have virtual assistants. And then I really enjoyed the, the Mastermind where I learned more about the culture of the Philippines and what we can do from Australia, you know, to sort of work in with that culture. And then also the stuff, like I said, I'm digging out on artificial intelligence stuff. Yeah. This year I think it's going to be a year, year or two and lots of changes coming. So just learning and seeing all those new up and coming ideas was. Yeah, let's get the, get the brain going. It was awesome. And just removing yourself from your work environment. I think every time I do that I have the biggest, I suppose, growth when I come back from something like that. So any holiday or any type of those sort of mastermind things where you can get away and remove yourself from the day to day, that's also a good stress test for your business if you are trying to systemize. That's what I recommend to people who are starting out. And as soon as they get their first few employees and start to get a few systems, I recommend they do go on a holiday and let their team sort of step up. So that's what I tell myself as well. It's always a chance for the team to step up when you step out.

Yeah, perfect. Some great advice there. And if people want to find out a little bit more on the work that you do, I'll include A link to DaviesConstruction.com is that the best place for them to head?

Yep, they can head to Davies Construction. Our architecture URL is Align Build. We can add that as well. Yeah, they'll find most of our information there.

Yeah. Thank you so much for being a great example of a business owner that has embraced systems and then got the outcome that business owners want. Like a lot of business owners, they get started hoping for the business that gives them freedom and then many times that's the last thing that they have. They're changed to their business. They can't go away on holidays, they can't step away. And I do feel like systemization is the only way to get there. So it's great to have stories like this for other business owners to go, you know what? If Luke can do this, I can do this and then hopefully I can do it.

Yeah. Thanks David, for writing the book and making it simple.