Episode 17: Building A Winning Team With Jacob Oelofse

In episode 17 of the Professional Builders Secrets podcast, we’re joined by one of the executive business coaches at APB, Jacob Oelofse. Throughout this episode, Jacob shares the secrets to building a winning team for a building company.

Jacob’s background includes creating and selling five companies in 12 years across different industries including manufacturing, agriculture, e-commerce, and government.

Jacob has personally coached hundreds of business owners over the last 15 years and his real passion lies in helping other entrepreneurs work ON their building companies, rather than in them.

In this episode, Jacob reveals the challenges that come with building a winning team,
why it’s crucial to invest time to build your winning team, the most important roles you must employ now and SO much more.

Tune in to the full episode now to hear everything you need to know about building a team that can lead your building company to success.

 

Jacob Oelofse - Executive Coach at APB 

Jacob joined the APB team in 2021 when he moved his family from South Africa to Sydney. Jacob has coached hundreds of building company owners over the last 15 years. He enjoys stakeholder relations, financials and risk, sustainability, growth, marketing, and maximising profit margins in a company.

Connect with Jacob

Timeline

1:05 Jacob’s background.

4:00 What Jacob loves about coaching builders.

6:55 The pain points Jacob sees in the industry. 

9:16 The challenges that come with building a winning team.

11:11 Why it’s crucial to invest time to build your winning team. 

13:26 The most important roles you must employ now. 

15:08 Where and how to start building your winning team.

20:48 How coaching can help build you and your team up.

24:07 What’s surprised Jacob the most about the residential construction industry.

25:31 Blindspots builders need to be paying attention to.

27:24 Successful habits for successful builders. 

29:30 Jacob’s advice to builders.

31:13 Why builders need to hire slow and fire fast.

34:31 Jacob’s recommended reading. 

Links, Resources & More

APB Website
APB on Instagram
APB on Facebook
APB on YouTube

Join the Professional Builders Secrets Facebook group for builders & connect with professional builders world-wide.

Bosco Anthony:

Hello and welcome to the Professional Builders Secrets podcast, a podcast by the Association of Professional Builders (APB) for building company owners, general managers, VPs and emerging leaders. Here, we discuss all things running a professional building company, from sales processes, financials, operations and marketing. Hello and welcome. Today I'm joined by Jacob Oelofse, Executive Business Coach and Mentor for APB. Jacob, welcome, and thank you for being here.

Jacob Oelofse:

Thanks Bosco. I've been looking forward to this for quite a while now, so I’m glad to be here with you.

Bosco Anthony:

Well, Jacob, let's start off with a little bit about you. Tell me a little bit about your background and how you got to doing what you do today.

Jacob Oelofse:

It's actually quite an interesting journey. You asked me before we started, what's the accent. I was born in South Africa. I’ve always been an entrepreneur at heart, and I started my businesses when I was quite young. When I joined the coaching and mentoring world, as I would call it, that was about 15 years ago. 

Jacob Oelofse:

I specialised a lot in marketing and sales, as well as the team side of things, so building a team. I've always been in business since a young age and actually progressed into business coaching and advising a couple of years back. But it was an actual journey, it was never part of a plan. It actually just evolved as I was involved in my own businesses. A lot of guys started asking me for advice, and then it evolved into what I'm doing today as a full-time executive coach. So, it’s quite an interesting journey.

Bosco Anthony:

What compelled you to join APB and pick the building industry specifically? Did you come from this industry or did you just have a passion for it?

Jacob Oelofse:

Actually, I've got a trade; I'm a locksmith by trade. My dad's a boiler maker, so I got involved in that somehow. I was not too keen on boiler making, but I did my business degree and then went into trade as a locksmith. Worked a bit there, and then I said, “No, the business side is where my strengths lie.” 

Jacob Oelofse:

When we moved as a family to Australia, I got involved with APB. We sing from the same hymn book; maybe it’s because of the South African-ness. We are quite to the point; builders are to the point. They get things done. So, I think there was a natural attraction to it, and I love the industry. It's just wonderful to see something physical being built, but also the business side of it. There’s nice synergy between the two elements of a building coming up, but also the business building itself into this new organism. It's quite an exhilarating experience if you can see the growth happening in front of you.

Bosco Anthony:

Are there any differences, I'm just curious, between the builders in South Africa and the builders in Australia, or are there similar similarities that occur more in the industry?

Jacob Oelofse:

I would say that human behaviour is quite similar. Builders in Australia are quite direct and to the point; they want to get things done. Sometimes they are not quite as patient as the average person would be. But the big difference I’ve picked up in the two industries from country to country is that it’s a lot more organised and structured in Australia, whereas in South Africa the rules are a bit slack. Safety is not to the same standard there. 

Jacob Oelofse:

But the quality is quite similar: quality builders, quality trades that are there in South Africa. The guys are very good at what they do, and they're quite specialised. It’s the same as on this side in Australia and even the guys I talk to in New Zealand as well. You can see the commonality. There's a lot of South Africans, actually, in Australia and New Zealand doing their thing here. So, it was quite nice to meet some of them already.

Bosco Anthony:

Now, coaching is a different beast of its own. It takes a lot of energy. There's a lot of work that goes into it. I have a lot of appreciation for it as I've spent a lot of time in this area. What do you love the most when it comes to the work you do, especially today, working with builders?

Jacob Oelofse:

I think it's those one-on-one moments, the conversations you have when you have that breakthrough. It's difficult, especially when you mentor or coach somebody. It's not a walk in the park for you as the coach and for the person who’s your client that you are taking on this journey, because it's a vulnerable moment. They need to actually open up and say, “Listen, I'm not good at this,” or “I need improvement here.” Then my role is just taking their hand and going on that journey. But then when you overcome a specific obstacle and you can both look back and say, “Oh, I remember three, four months ago that was the objective and you've achieved it.” 

Jacob Oelofse:

It's challenging, but it's also fun at the same time. But I think that what makes the difference is seeing when you look back, say at 2020, and you say, “Oh, okay, this is how we've overcome a challenge.” It's just fun to see that along the way. Some clients are quick, some are not so quick. With some it takes more time to get that achievement, but it's a fun journey. It's that journey that makes it fun.

Bosco Anthony:

Take me through a day-to-day snapshot of what you do. I am just curious as far as the type of work you do and what can builders expect your life to look like on a professional level too.

Jacob Oelofse:

I think we touched on that a little bit earlier as well before we began this call, but it's quite interesting. An average day for me is obviously interacting one-on-one with my clients, my private mentoring clients. On average, I would do about three to four calls a day. I want to keep fresh. I don't want to overwork myself in one day. I want to give my best. So, I limit myself to three or four one-on-one calls. There's a lot of internal training that takes place. If we want to improve a business, we need to be on point. So, we keep abreast those industry things, the techniques we use, our protocols and procedures at APB. There's a lot of training we would recommend. You need to be on top of that as well, so it's a lot of retraining yourself, but it's also a lot of team effort.

Jacob Oelofse:

We are quite widely spread across the world. We've got coaches in Canada and US, here in Australia, and our team is quite widespread, so a lot of team meetings take place every day. We have a team huddle as coaches, learn from each other, learn about best practice that's happening. But also, just in that, there's a lot of administration behind the scenes. 

Jacob Oelofse:

After a one-on-one coaching call, I actually have to go and do a bit of homework to guide the client that I worked with. I go and do a bit more homework on this. A good example is that I do a lot of stalking. So, if we're doing marketing, I go and stalk the activity on their marketing and give them good constructive feedback and say, “Listen, it looks great,” or “No, we need to improve it.” It's a lot of backend stuff. It's not just a face-to-face meeting that takes place on a daily basis. There's a lot of background work as well.

Bosco Anthony:

Someone very insightful once said, "Marketing is the only place where stalking is appropriate." So, I think you have a permission to do that. What are some of the pain points that you hear from the builders you work with? It must be pretty fascinating speaking to different builders from all over the world and hearing some of the problems. But is there a common denominator of some of these problems or root problems?

Jacob Oelofse:

Yeah, I definitely pick up some common problems. There's probably one, two, maybe a third one that I can put in there. The first one is definitely that constraint of time. Builders always have this challenge that there's only X number of hours in the day, and they're trying to get all of this done. Linked to that is the letting go element. They know they're time poor, and now they've joined this machine we call APB and they're part of it and we start mentoring and coaching them. It starts with the mindset that you need to let go of some of these elements in the business if you want to see the business grow. So, the time poor element always comes to the fore.

Jacob Oelofse:

But it's also basics. They're very good at building a nice house for a client and the finishing is good, the carpentry is excellent. All the trade work is there. But then when they go back home to the business side of it, or sit in the office, then they realise they fall short in analysing the numbers. Finance always comes up; it's interpreting the numbers. Accountants make it a bit complicated sometimes, and we just make it simple. For some builders, it's almost a fear of the numbers and sometimes even what the numbers will tell them. They're a bit afraid to see the real thing that's in their business. Then they realise that, “Oh, my cashflow looks good, but it's actually not that healthy.” So, we do go into those three main issues: time poor, financials and then just a holistic approach to the systemisation of the business.

Jacob Oelofse:

They're not sure where to start and when we actually start going into it, it's literally just taking what's in their head and putting it on paper or putting it into a company manual, or some form of a document that is not reliant on them anymore. It's quite difficult even deciding how to start. Do you write it down? Do you scribe it out? Do you ask somebody to sit next to you and video you doing it? The how part of getting it out of the head is difficult. But once it's done, it's just magical when they start actually seeing the magic of this. Now it's not in their hands; the work starts happening without them being present. It's a beautiful thing.

Bosco Anthony:

Now, one of the themes of today's conversation is about building a winning team and how crucial it is for builders. Let's start off with the common challenges that come with building that winning team. How do know when you have a team that needs work, or a dysfunctional team, or how do know you have a successful team?

Jacob Oelofse:

For me, it's always right back at the beginning, when we start with “What is the org [organisation] chart position of the business at the start?” We map out what's currently happening, because there's a bit of dynamics with internal teams, subcontractors, and outsourced skills like bookkeepers, QSs [Quality System Regulations]. A lot of guys outsource those skills, but the buck still stops with them. So, we start there. 

Jacob Oelofse:

We draw up a current org chart to show what's happening there and then project the future and say, “Okay, in the future, what would you like that org chart to look like?” So, building the team is multi-level, it's not just one arrow that I shoot into the business that fixes the team elements of it. There's also the way that you, as the owner, would like things to be done on site and in the office, and that's building the culture with it.

Jacob Oelofse:

So, it's identifying, “What is it that you want to see on site? What is it that you want to see happening in the business as if you are there?” We talk about this quite often in our coaching sessions. It's building a culture and it comes into the way you make decisions as the owner, and you want your staff to do the same. 

Jacob Oelofse:

One of the common things I usually pick up is finding the right fit culturally. So, they find good carpenters or they find good office staff, or they find good trades in the business that come up the ranks. But a bit of a mismatch that can occur with culture is that it's not just about building that home. It's about giving the client an experience when they do it. So, it's usually that cultural fit, but then there's the fear, “If I let that guy go, I'm going to have to go back on the tools." So, it's always that balancing act that they're trying to play there as the owner.

Bosco Anthony:

Now owners sometimes are working in the business and not necessarily on the business. So sometimes that on its own, trusting people, can be a big challenge. But why is it so important for that business owner to invest the time to build a winning team as they grow the business? Why is that so crucial and why is it something that they need to be paying attention to?

Jacob Oelofse:

I think the first step there, without them knowing it, is that the owner is sometimes their own barrier to growth for the business. They create the ceiling, an invisible ceiling that they don't even know is there. It's not on purpose; they've got the best intentions. They want to keep quality conversations with the clients going, quality of work on site and on the build itself. But identifying that in the sense of “What's in my head, if I put it out on paper, that becomes easy to delegate.” So, the moment the way you do a specific task, from paying an invoice, costing a job, right through to actually talking to the client, if you can get it out of your head, into a system, and then that system becomes something you can measure a staff member on, that makes the process easier to delegate. But also, it takes away the fear of, “Oh, I'm actually letting go of something in my business.”

Jacob Oelofse:

Now you can measure this team. You can say, “This is how I do it. Let's set up a KPI [key performance indicator] next to it.” So now you can actually employ an admin support person to do all the costing and pricing for you in your business. Or you can actually, with confidence, spend money on employing a good QS in your business, as you’ve got a way that you do it and they improve the system. So, it's something that we consistently work with the owner and their employee and their staff and building that team. But it also comes down to trust.

Jacob Oelofse:

With that whole process of looking for staff and then hiring them, you need to move away from the conventional. The average way of just hiring somebody has changed. You can't just jump in and say, “I want a good carpenter. He needs to have five or six years’ experience.” If he comes onto the team and he becomes poison in the team, it actually starts not giving the progress you want in the build and the company itself. So, it's a delicate process, but it's systemisation that's part of this whole sequence.

Bosco Anthony:

You talk about systemisation and it being a delicate process. I'm assuming you gradually build a team over time.

Jacob Oelofse:

Yep.

Bosco Anthony:

I remember there was a time for me when I was speaking around the world and my winning team was my barber, my accountant and my lawyer. Those were the three people that I needed wherever I was going.

Jacob Oelofse:

Yeah.

Bosco Anthony:

Take me through the process of a building team. What are some of those really important roles that you should consider having, that are most crucial before you get the rest of the team? What are some of those critical roles that you're looking to fill up?

Jacob Oelofse:

Yeah. I think if we look at the business side, first of all, it's your office support. So, even if it's a basic admin function, that support person who's in there, who's switched on and knows what they're doing, it alleviates you from the mundane tasks. I’m not knocking anybody in the admin world, but their job is of such a nature that it's repetitive. Sometimes, the owners at 10 o'clock, 11 o'clock at night are doing something that's a $25 or $30 rate per hour job that they can easily outsource. So that's the start, to always look at the admin function that just steals a lot of your time, and then look at the extension of you on site. So, it's looking for a good supervisor who can take over running some of the jobs for you, and it’s also the trades; don't forget about the trades.

Jacob Oelofse:

Most of the builders I've worked with started at that level. They were carpenters themselves, moved up to leading hand, moved up to supervisor, then the owner or working for somebody at that level, and then jumped over to starting their own building company. So, you need good tradesmen you can rely on who will do the job right the first time. That's the basis. Good supervisors who can drive the team to achieve more builds in a year. You want to grow that revenue, so that's important. 

Jacob Oelofse:

Then I would say fundamentally, it might be internal or external, is a good financial support, like bookkeeper or accountant. A lot of guys who I work with employ an internal bookkeeper and the compliance part of the accountant they outsource, but it's vital because they keep their finger on the pulse of the business. So, you need to have those four pillars around you.

Bosco Anthony:

Now, is there a magic process or formula that you coach your clients on when it comes to building a winning team? Let's just say I own a building company. Where do I go? Where do I start? How do I start?

Jacob Oelofse:

I'm going to be a bit biased here. You should start by joining us at APB first and just going through the basics. It's starting at the foundations. We start by asking, “What are you expecting from the business?” When we ask that question, owners say, “At the moment I'm wearing all the hats. I'm wearing the marketing, the sales, the construction, the HR and the finance hats.” So, which one of those do you need to get rid of first? We do a time task analysis. We actually say, “Which one of these tasks are you spending a lot of time in?” And once then we find, say, you're spending a lot of time on financial and admin tasks. Then we ask, “Which ones do you love, but you're not good at; and which ones do you loath, but you can do, but you just don't like doing?” That's where we usually start to identify what are the time robbers in your business. And you start there.

Jacob Oelofse:

The first hire you make enables you to get back two or three hours a week or a day, if you can. That means you can focus on the area of the business where your actual strength is lying and negotiating a new contract, making sure the build is on time. It's usually just that time task exercise we do with clients over two or three weeks. We quickly pick up a trend where say, you're spending five or six hours every night quoting, where if you hire somebody that would actually alleviate your stress and enable you to sleep better and you'd be more productive in the team on a daily basis.

Bosco Anthony:

Now you alluded to time and you also talked about billing as well, when it comes to measuring some of these things. What are some critical measurements or KPIs that you encourage builders to look at to identify that they actually have a sufficient team that's performing well?

Jacob Oelofse:

I think the start point for me when starting to develop the KPIs is, are there realistic measurement tools, first of all? It should not be a task where you have to actually go and micromanage somebody. It's more end-result driven. For example, look at KPIs if it's a conversion rate in sales. Say you've employed a sales person in your team, and you start measuring their KPIs over a specific period of time. Good quality leads are coming in. How long does it take them to convert a lead? Are you being realistic? A building lead takes quite a lot longer to convert than your normal conventional retail. It's not like buying a cap on the internet where it’s an instant sell. It's measuring the realistic with the position in mind and also having regular intervals of actually doing a performance evaluation on the specific KPI that you've set.

Jacob Oelofse:

Less is more in this action. That's where I want to go with this. When you start measuring your staff and you actually look at their KPIs, it's not about setting 20 KPIs, it's about a means to an end. So, if they follow the process, if the four major KPIs are achieved, you know by default all the other smaller tasks would've been done in the first place. There's no golden thread, unfortunately, or a magical pill we can swallow and say, “Okay, that's how you're going to measure it.” It's very personalised. It's a customised approach that you want to take for your business and link that to the goals that you've set.

Bosco Anthony:

I'm surprised you didn't say that the coach is one of the most critical roles to fill up in the winning team first, because it sounds like the builders sometimes can live in an isolated world, being at the top of the food chain and then not having anyone to talk to or confide in or be mentored by. I would assume that some of your role also involves therapy for business owners as well.

Jacob Oelofse:

Yes, I think to a certain extent, it does. Maybe it's my South African-ness that comes through there, that says, “Get the work done and you're part of the team.” But I do agree with you. We play a vital role in it. One of my members actually, today, in the previous coaching session, had a bit of a joke and said he told his wife that from now on he's not reporting to her, he's reporting to me from now on. We had a bit of a chuckle. But it’s also about teamwork and accountability. I see my role as the coach as part of the team, but it's also the analogy of teaching them to fish. So, I am working myself out of a position in the next 12 to 18 months for them to be sustainable. But what I've also picked up is, then that's a new level in the business.

Jacob Oelofse:

Then my role changes from teacher to almost being the partner and getting them to the next level of the business. As the business evolves with me as their coach or their mentor, I actually evolve with them as well. So, it's the next level we go into. I've got internal KPIs I measure myself against with them. So, as a coach, I do play a vital part of their team. But I think the key element when you embrace a coach or approach somebody like us to help you in your business is that it's a team effort. It's a commitment from both elements and it's hard work. The owners know it's not easy; there are difficult conversations along the way, but it's a safe space to do that.

Jacob Oelofse:

So, when they talk to me, I'm not one of their staff. They can actually rant a little. There might not be full psychological sessions happening there, but there is a moment when I might say, “Listen, I think you need to just let it out, talk for five minutes, get it off your chest, and then let's get down to business.” There are moments like that. Also, when it comes to stress, there's nobody else in the team that they can talk to. A lot of times it becomes the wife or the partner or the brother that's in the business and sometimes they don't want to take it there. Then it comes to us, so it's quite important.

Jacob Oelofse:

But then you can also bring reality back to them and give them a genuine perspective by saying, “Okay, that's bit emotional. Let's take the emotion out of it. The reality is, this is what happened in your business.” They thank us for being honest, because none of their staff would be honest. They're too scared to lose their jobs. They won't tell the boss, “Boss you're wrong,” or the owner of the company that what they're doing is not the right way. So, that happens from time to time.

Bosco Anthony:

I guess sometimes your role includes telling the owners what they need to hear, not necessarily what they want to hear as well.

Jacob Oelofse:

Yes. Actually, as part of our orientation or onboarding, there’s a couple of coaching sessions with them where we actually sensitise them by saying, “Most of the things in the first couple of months I tell you is not to break you down, it's actually to build you up, but it might not be what you want to hear. It might be that you've been doing something for 10 years, and now we come along and show you a better way and it can be a lot of change.” I know most of our members, if they go through that phase of change, put up a bit of resistance. But we sensitise them.

Jacob Oelofse:

I've got a bit of a thing that I do with most of my members. I ask permission. I ask them, “Listen, I've got a little coaching hat somewhere here. Can I put it on? It's time to be honest with you, because you need to hear it.” And then you can see them cringe at the beginning of my statement. Then at the end they say, “Thank you for sharing that, I never knew,” or “Now I can work on it.” So, it's little moments between coaching that happens, that forms a good relationship with them as well.

Bosco Anthony:

What is the state of the residential industry evolving to? This is a question I always like to ask my guests, because everyone has a different perspective. But in your take, being so close to the front lines next to the builders, what is the state evolving to and what should builders be preparing for?

Jacob Oelofse:

I think the short to mid-term involvement that I see there is that there is a bit of panic happening at the moment. A lot of guys are so unsure about even three months from now. There are so many variables happening and there's a lot of elements that are involved in that: supply issues, staffing, all of those things. But it creates a bit of panic. But what I also see is a lot of the builders that we interact with at APB are actually a little bit more optimistic about the mid to long term.

Jacob Oelofse:

With our clients, the market will see the professional builders actually standing out and not falling over, if they survive through this. So, my take on it, what I can see in the mid to long term is, yes, there'll be unfortunately, a lot of builders who are not going to be around in the next two to three years, but it also is a big eye opener for the guys who are there who can ask themselves, “What am I doing to prevent that? What am I actually planning for the next five to 10 years in my business?”

Jacob Oelofse:

We cannot stand by, especially as APB and as a coach and say, “Well, you should have known that.” We also need to educate them. So, I pick it up and like you said earlier, I sometimes need to be firm and say, “If you don't change this, this is what could happen.”

Jacob Oelofse:

As a general thing that I pick up in Australia and New Zealand specifically is that owners accept that things take a bit longer than normal and they have to adapt. Something that normally take three weeks now takes eight weeks. And just to get an approval takes longer. Where owners would once think, “That's just how it is,” they have now opened their eyes to say, “Wait a minute, I need to plan better. My project planning needs to be upskilled. The way I approach every client should be the sense of, I need to service them as best as I can, because at the moment there's enough clients, but in two years’ time there might not be enough clients for me to service.” So, it's just that balancing act of realisation setting in and planning for that.

Bosco Anthony:

Has there ever been a moment where you've discovered something that's really surprised you about the industry or builders? In your years of coaching and your lustrous career, working side by side with builders, what has surprised you the most about the industry?

Jacob Oelofse:

I think the biggest surprise – and I get it from time to time, probably not with all of my private clients who I work with, but there was a couple – is almost the fear of success. It's almost like they too scared to be successful because the average builder around them is just making ends meet, feeding their family, looking after their friends or employing some of their friend's boys who come to work for them as a carpenter or something. It's almost like there's this mental block that comes in.

Jacob Oelofse:

Maybe it’s linked to a generation as well. A lot of the builders are a bit older. But I also work with a lot of younger builders. It’s the same thing: it's almost frowned upon to be a successful builder because there is this industry stigma that if you are a successful builder, you must be a shark or a cowboy. You’ve been doing some people in to make the millions. But I've met so many of them who are genuinely good builders, good people and successful businessmen.

Jacob Oelofse:

I find it quite surprising that I interact with guys where there's still that block in their minds that they’re not allowed to be genuinely successful builders, because the perception of the industry has been there for so many years. It's still surprising to get that. Maybe it's just from my perspective, because I see a lot of guys who are actually doing a good job and being successful. But I still get that from time to time. 

Bosco Anthony:

What do you think is the biggest blind spot for builders today? What should they be aware of or prepared for where something can be easily overlooked when it comes to running a successful business?

Jacob Oelofse:

I think the biggest blind spot is understanding their numbers, and that goes right through from their margin, their markup, right through to the actual cashflow position. A lot of guys get caught out, and I want to use this term, with their pants down, because it happens even in the coaching, where I'll just ask one question and then that doubt starts to set in. Is that really 24%, is that really 12%? Then they have to start asking themselves some questions and it's something that they need to see as a serious part of their business because it catches you off guard and yes, it affects cash flow, yes, it affects your tax, but it's also the numbers in your business that tell you, you are actually progressing to where you wanted to go in the first place.

Jacob Oelofse:

A lot of guys just want to do a good structure. They want to build a nice, beautiful home for their client, on time, finish it before Christmas, that type of feeling, but they're doing it at the expense of their own health and at the expense of their own business. Two years later, they realise, “Wow, I've been doing this for so long for no reason. I've been building homes at less than my profit margin and I'm actually losing money every time I pick up a piece of timber or brick to put it in a house.” 

Jacob Oelofse:

So, it is a blind spot and unfortunately there's a lead and a lag measure. So, you only pick this up when it's almost too late. So, it's better to start quite early in the process. I picked that up a lot with the coaching; it frustrates them, but I hammer them on their numbers first. “Let's know what happened in the past, then I can show you the real picture of the last 24 months in your business. Now let's stop doing that and move forward to doing something better.”

Bosco Anthony:

They say that success is the love language of a coach, because that's what you end up working on and driving people towards. So, what are some habits of successful builders that you encourage, preach or more importantly, observe, with some of the successful clients you've had?

Jacob Oelofse:

Probably the first thing is being inquisitive about your own business, asking more questions and not just accepting the answers you're getting. It's one of our APB principles as well. How we approach things is: you trust, but you verify. So, that should be one of your principles. With a couple of the builders I work with, I picked this up quite a lot. They ask their team and even themselves, questions such as: “Is this actually correct, what I've just done? Are the numbers making sense? Is this going to work on my planning for the new build I want to start in the next three months? Is everything on track for that? Have I planned well ahead of it?” Another habit that I pick up, besides being inquisitive about your own business, is also being forward thinking.

Jacob Oelofse:

A lot of guys are not focused too much on the now because they know that's an effect of something they did six to 12 months ago. They always look forward: “What's happening in the next year? What's happening in the next three years of my business?” Because we know the building industry: it's a long process to sign a client on. To complete the project takes a much longer time than the average build.

Jacob Oelofse:

Now three months, six months for a build doesn't seem long. But it's a long time for something to fall into place to get that contract signed. So, it's the forward thinking and the ability to see what's coming around the corner three years from now.

Jacob Oelofse:

And then I would say the last thing is planning. It's always consistently planning, going back to the plan, re-evaluating it and knowing that it's not set in cast and stone. You have to adapt according to conditions. A good example would've been a couple of months ago when the guys here in the Sydney region, with the snap lockdown that they had, had to be on point with, “Okay, how are we going to navigate this situation?” They are very interesting elements. But I see the success there is definitely in planning as well.

Bosco Anthony:

For builders out there who are not members of APB or for builders who have just got into this industry and don't have someone to reach out to or don't have the network or people to confide in within the space, what critical advice can you give them, outside of joining APB? What critical advice can you give them to utilise for their business today?

Jacob Oelofse:

I think first of all, surround yourself with like-minded people. Don't be afraid to go and talk to a lot of people. They may be your competitors; go and talk to the builder who's in your local town, go and talk to the builder who's in your area and ask for advice. You'll be surprised how many builders want to see other builders become successful because they probably can't even take on more work because they're doing so well. They don't mind to help out, so start with that inner circle close to you.

Jacob Oelofse:

Then, obviously, use the resources that are available, such as podcasts like we're doing now. These podcasts are there: listen to them, absorb it, read a lot. You'll be surprised that there are some builders who say, “I don't need to read a book. I know what I'm doing.” It's not about building a better home. Go and read a book about yourself, what your mindset should be as an owner of a business and generalise it in the beginning, just inform yourself as business owner and then gradually say, “Okay, but in my building company, what more can I do?”

Jacob Oelofse:

That's when you start reaching out to APB and to your local associations. Start with the community, the building community that you have and talk to them. Again, associate yourself with guys who are already doing it and being successful. Usually, successful people don't mind sharing because they're not scared to share success. So, you’re not going to cowboys in the industry and seeing what they do to cut down the numbers. You’re going to go to the guy who you know is successful and most probably they'll already be part of the APB in any case. So, reach out to the local guys around you.

Bosco Anthony:

What advice do you have for someone who might have a team member who isn't playing along or is a bad apple? Do you believe in the philosophy of hire slow, fire fast? What is your thought process around that?

Jacob Oelofse:

You're hitting a special note there. In my experience, even as a business owner, I've always firmly believed in that philosophy of hire slow, fire fast. Be open with that, with your staff that you hired, to say that it might not even be personal. It might just be that you're not a good fit for the business, culturally or for your skillset. I can always teach you something new. That's not the problem. 

Jacob Oelofse:

Ninety percent of what you need in employees is a cultural fit. So why poison the water, if I can call it that, with somebody who's not a good fit? It might not be on purpose. But definitely hire slow, fire fast and gamify the hiring process. Don't make it this mundane: send us an email, go through 500 interviews and then pick the top 10 and then hire them. Gamify the hiring process, make it fun for you as well during the process, because that's when the real people start to come out. Make it interesting for them as well to apply.

Jacob Oelofse:

At APB we do it in the way that when you join the team, it's not just send an email and your CV, and then you get hired or fired. It's also a process of going along. But I must add a little bit of a note here, to also look at when the person joins that you make sure they are set up for success. So have a training plan or onboarding plan in place for them, because then you're setting them up for success. You can't expect them to know what to do when they walk in the door and there's nothing prepared for them.

Jacob Oelofse:

So, it's a two-way street as well. But definitely, I agree with that term. A lot of people will disagree, but hire slow, fire fast is definitely the best way.

Bosco Anthony:

Jacob, what do you have to say to people who say, “But Jacob, I don't have a recruiting plan. I don't know how to recruit or onboard. I'm not an HR manager”? What solution do you have or what response do you have to that common excuse?

Jacob Oelofse:

That's a good one. A lot of owners are also the HR manager. They put on their hat and they start hiring people. I would say definitely, first of all, talk to your industry specialist, even if it's just for advice, and say, “What's the best way to advertise this specific position?” Because I usually pick up it's the not so familiar positions that are difficult. How do you advertise an admin role? How many hours do they work? What's the average rate to do it? Yes, there's desktop research, but I would say invest a couple of bucks in it, and speak to a professional. You don't have to hire them to do it, but even if it's just a consultation, start there. Then also look at your industry and look at your industry bodies. What are they telling you?

Jacob Oelofse:

I know at APB, we've got a nice saucy report coming out every year that actually gives you a good insight into it. So again, what is the average in your area? Where do you start? What is it that the common industry is doing or the builders around you are doing? It starts by reading and informing yourself and then reaching out to a professional. Remember, there's a contract that will be signed at some point. So, start with the resources around you, but also reach out to a professional, even if it means investing a bit of money to talk to somebody who knows the legalities and the ins and outs of the industry.

Bosco Anthony:

You have a very impressive bookshelf behind you, which tells me that you probably spend a lot of time reading.

Jacob Oelofse:

Yeah.

Bosco Anthony:

I've thoroughly enjoyed this conversation, but my final question for you today is: what has really impacted your career in the language of books? So, looking at the books behind you, has there been a book in particular that has either shaped your career or is something you're reading that you find really fascinating right now?

Jacob Oelofse:

I must say it's a book I read probably seven or eight years ago. It's The Richest Man in Babylon. It's quite an interesting book. I’ve actually read four or five times, but the principle stuck with me. It's about how when you’re running a business, although money is important in the business, it comes down to the principles of how you perceive money. When you start changing your attitude about that, even as a builder, you start looking at this from the point of view of, “Am I worth taking on this specific project in the first place?”

Jacob Oelofse:

It's not about the money anymore, it's, “Okay, now I'm making good money, what then? What do I do? What's the legacy I leave behind for my family, for my business, for my staff?” Richest Man in Babylon made a big impact on me when I started my business and it actually set me up for good success to sell it at the end of the day, because it was a systemised machine that somebody just took over. It was a nice experience, but it started with that book and it was the laws of money and how it actually involves you and the principles in life and business. It’s a very, very interesting read.

Bosco Anthony:

Jacob, it's been a pleasure having you on this episode. I've learned a lot about your coaching world and the work that you do. I hope our builders enjoyed the insights when it comes to building a winning team. Thank you so much for your time today.

Jacob Oelofse:

Thanks so much, Bosco. I enjoyed it, and I’m looking forward to the next one, hopefully soon.

Bosco Anthony:

Cheers.

Bosco Anthony:

Thank you for listening. Remember to subscribe to Professional Builders Secrets on your favourite podcast platform and leave a review. To learn more about how the systems of APB can help you grow your building company, visit associationofprofessionalbuilders.com. See you next time.