What happens when a successful trades business owner pushes so hard that his own business nearly destroys his health? In this episode of the Profitable Tradie Podcast, Steve Vega shares how 63-hour work weeks, chronic underpricing, and poor systems left him burned out before transforming his plumbing business into a $1M+ company. If you're a plumbing, HVAC, electrical, roofing, or home service business owner looking to increase profit, improve pricing, build better systems, and scale without sacrificing your life, this episode is packed with real-world lessons.

⏱ CHAPTERS

00:00:00 | Introduction

00:01:01 | 1. Stress & Burnout: Fighting severe physical stress and 63-hour shifts

00:07:38 | 2. Operations Shift: Moving from a chaotic operator to structured teams

00:15:47 | 3. Underpricing Traps: Overcoming guilt and mindset traps around money

00:24:22 | 4. Back-Costing: Using pricing targets and reviews to plug profit leaks

00:32:15 | 5. Culture & Time: Scaling with team 1-on-1s, time audits, and calendars

🔗 FREE RESOURCES

Get our free book — The Profitable Tradie: profitabletradie.com/book

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📲 WORK WITH US

If you're a trade business owner ready to build a more profitable,

better-run business, we work with plumbers, electricians, HVAC techs,

roofers, and similar contractors across Australia, New Zealand,

the US, and Canada.

Find out more: profitabletradie.com

🎙 ABOUT THE PROFITABLE TRADIE PODCAST & CHANNEL

Profitable Tradie helps trade business owners build businesses

that make real money and don't depend on them to run.

Hosted by Tony Fraser-Jones & Phil Smith.

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#TradesBusiness #ContractorLife #BusinessCoaching #tradesman #bluecollar #tradesmen #plumbing #hvac #electrical #electrician #unitedstates #usa #northamerica #australia #canada #newzealand

This is my story from broke to owning a $30m coaching business

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Claim a Free Planning Session to learn what coaching could do for your business
• Subscribe to our YouTube Channel
• New Book 'Built to Run' is now live, order your copy here

Thanks for joining us this week. Want to subscribe to The Profitable Tradie Podcast? Have some feedback you’d like to share? Connect with us and leave us a review with a 5-star rating.

You crack open a beer after a huge week...

Suddenly, a genie bursts out of the can!

Says he can make you rich... A millionaire...

IF you develop 7 boring habits.

Would you do it?

Guess what?

This exact thing happened to me. And dangit, it worked.

No lamp. No 3 wishes. Just 7 things, done consistently, to separate your business from the rest.

WHAT YOU’LL GAIN FROM LISTENING TO TODAY’S PODCAST:

1. Why the busiest business owners are often the least in control — and the one boring habit that flips it
2. Why blaming your team is a waste of time (and how McDonald's sauce proves it)
3. The 1% trick F1 teams use to win races — and how it maps directly onto your pricing, hiring, and marketing

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Claim a Free Planning Session to learn what coaching could do for your business
• Subscribe to our YouTube Channel
• New Book 'Built to Run' is now live, order your copy here

Thanks for joining us this week. Want to subscribe to The Profitable Tradie Podcast? Have some feedback you’d like to share? Connect with us and leave us a review with a 5-star rating.