I can’t keep doing this.’ How a Townsville tradie turned his burnout around – and gained customers
Tim Hewitt had just turned 50 when he had a serious wakeup call. He can pinpoint the exact moment: “On the way to the hospital with a heart attack.”
“That was about the time I thought ‘I can’t keep doing this’,” he tells Kochie’s Business Builders.
After having two stents put in to treat his heart, Tim immediately turned his mind to his business: Townsville-based engineering solutions service Nuweld.
“The doctors said I needed a month off work,” Tim recalls. “But of course, I was back at work three days later and worked out after about 10 minutes that I needed some time off. That was when I started to realise that no business or endeavour is worth killing yourself over.”
“We don’t start a business looking forward to creating stress for ourselves”
With 2.3 million small businesses in Australia, there are plenty of people who know what Tim’s talking about. Stress and burnout are all too common among small business owners who routinely put the needs of staff, customers and business financials ahead of their own.
In Tim’s case, working under high-stress circumstances became the norm, given his specialty in complex mechanical pipe fabrication projects. Operating with a team of 12 to 15 staff, Tim had become accustomed to working around the clock – not just for clients in Townsville, but across the Asia-Pacific region.
“The days of 9 to 5… well, we never had those,” he says. “My working days were 5 to 7 and I’m not talking 5 in the afternoon to 7 at night! But we certainly need to be responsive and interactive – some of the work that we do involves emergency repairs for offshore mines.”
Something needed to change
Tim’s health scare forced him to take time off, slow down, and return to the business with a new approach. Especially as he personally took on more travel commitments to reach his growing international customer base.
“I’m not sure of the appropriate remuneration for laying awake at 3am wondering how to get through the next day,” Tim shares. “Seeking advice from external providers has helped. It is easy to become very insular in the operations of a business, and remain unaware of opportunities that provide positive improvement of day-to-day operations.”
While already engaged with a business development program, Tim received a phone call from Sonya Kennedy, a consultant from small business software platform Thryv.
“We found that the solutions Sonya brought to the table, particularly in the area of digital marketing advice and products, were a great fit,” he says. “The results from her efforts were immediate and measurable.”
Thryv’s platform helps businesses automate tasks, organise documents and streamline communications both internally and with customers. It also groups all of a business’ digital tools into one productivity dashboard – so instead of logging into 20 different apps for accounting, marketing, appointments and so on, it’s all in one place.
Saving time is a major factor, but Tim highlights another key benefit: “No more Post-It notes.”
It’s been a game-changer, allowing Tim quick oversight of projects across his team and any updates or new leads from customers – from any location.
“Seriously, since our engagement with Thryv, the volume of calls, digital contacts and general interaction with the public has increased exponentially,” Tim says. “The Thryv platform has resulted in more streamlined inter-office interaction, and decreased congestion. But more importantly, customer response times have improved.”
Nuweld has benefited most from automated tools that help organise calendars and client information.
“The CRM and appointment scheduler have been most useful,” he says. “A global register means that all relevant staff are aware of required activity and time frames.”
Still busy, but not nearly as stressed
Giving his business a productivity overhaul has given Tim back the precious time, and peace of mind, he needed to achieve a better work/life balance.
“I’ve got this saying, ‘If you want something done, find the busiest person and he’ll do it’,” Tim says. “I’ve had a very, very full life and I’ve still got plenty to do. And this is one of the things with Thryv, it’s actually allowed me to have a bit more of a life outside of the business knowing that the business is ticking over quite nicely.”
Tim has a few points of advice for other small business owners looking to make their lives less stressful:
- Don’t micromanage.
- Engage with others to assist in non-core business activity. Focus on what you can achieve and what you do best, and apply yourself to achieving it. Identify your strengths, and capitalise on them, and utilise the abilities of others to assist as required. The results achieved by our engagement with Thryv is a perfect example of this.
- Have an interest outside your business – sport, study or social activity. “Work to live, not live to work” is a well-worn cliché, but very apt.
- Actively engage with your staff , and ensure they are aware that you value them and their efforts.
- Be a “progressive” business – always look for ways of improving all activities associated with the business.
- And finally, you don’t have to be the most clever person. Ensure you surround yourself with clever people and resources.
Find out more about Tim’s business Nuweld here.
For info on how Thryv can help you do more of what you love (and less admin!), head to thryv.com.au and get a free demo and check out pricing here.
This article is brought to you by Kochie’s Business Builders in partnership with Thryv.
Feature image: Supplied.
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