Despite growing up in a family business and developing a deep passion for the creativity and complexity of business and entrepreneurship, I never saw myself starting a business as a Heavy Vehicle Diesel Mechanic. It may sound counter intuitive – especially as I qualified in the trade after falling in love with the work straight out of high school – but I didn’t think I loved the trade enough to justify starting a business in this field of work. My thinking behind this came from the knowledge that business is hard work, you’ve got to be extremely committed to grind through every tough day, you must overcome every obstacle, and make tough decisions. And the work, ultimately, never ends – if you’ve done it right.
This all changed when one of my good friends, another heavy vehicle diesel mechanic with who I went through my trade school, disclosed that he had plans to get into business for himself. He also said he would be interested in getting into business with me.
As I mentioned, it was an option that I had thought of and decided against in the past. Yet, this offer had me thinking. It had me thinking about it to the point I began discussing the possibilities with my fiancé – also a heavy vehicle diesel mechanic – and within a week I was calling my mate back and saying: let’s do this.
We sat down and started talking about the details. We brainstormed business names, agreed on percentages of ownership, and started constructing a plan of how we would build a business without giving up on our steady paychecks until there was enough work to justify the plunge.
Our business is starting lean. Very, very lean.
I’m writing this article now, because I want to share the journey I am commencing, I want to document how I am starting a trade business with my good mate and my fiancé. It is common for tradespeople to start businesses, even if it is just a business acting as a contractor. Yet, I knew that I needed to share the process so that other people, like you, can benefit from the freedom a business can create.
I know, by default, I am a very idealistic person (I’m including this here as a disclaimer!). Business can create freedom, but first comes a lot of hard commitment. I’ve had my fingers dipped in business throughout my life but have yet to have an idea reach fruition. Still, I know how transformative learning finance and business from my parents was as a teenager. It’s shaped my passion and given me the self-awareness that I have no long-term ambition for earning promotions in a corporate business. So, as I am establishing a service business not just for myself, but for my two business partners, I hope that I can share some of the knowledge and lessons I have already learned, and the lessons I still need to learn, along the way.
This was just an introduction, the title page for this new chapter. I look forward to sharing my tradie business journey with you. Make sure to follow this blog to stay up to date with the process or check out the link to my video on this topic below.
Thanks for reading! Make sure to leave a comment and let me know what point stood out to you the most.
I look forward to seeing you here again!
Ashley Beeby 