🎯 Free Tools for Growing Trade Businesses: https://tradie.wiki/pod
🫱🏻‍🫲🏼 Book a Free Strategy Call with Tradie Web Guys: https://tradie.wiki/tssyt

Most tradie business owners want great staff…
But retaining them long-term is a whole different challenge.

In this episode of The Site Shed Podcast, Matt sits down with Chris Buttenham, founder of Reins, to unpack a smarter way to reward and retain key team members, without giving away control of your business.

They break down phantom equity, profit sharing, and incentive structures that help trade business owners:
✔️ Build loyalty
✔️ Align staff with business growth
✔️ Create real exit options
✔️ Avoid the risks of traditional equity

If you’re struggling to keep good people, thinking about your long-term exit, or want your team to care about the numbers as much as you do, this episode is a must-watch.

KEY CHAPTERS
00:00 – Teaser
02:00 – Meet Chris Buttenham & his contractor background
04:40 – Why exit planning is broken for most tradies
07:05 – Real stories: equity, private equity & staff buy-in
09:40 – What is phantom equity?
12:25 – Phantom equity vs real equity explained
15:15 – Using equity to retain and motivate key staff
18:35 – Vesting, performance rules & protecting the owner
23:45 – Equity vs profit share: what to use and when
28:25 – Transparency, numbers & educating your team
34:05 – How to set this up properly (and keep it simple)
38:55 – Where to learn more & final takeaways

📲 Listen On The Go! https://tradie.wiki/listen

ABOUT OUR GUEST
Chris Buttenham is the co-founder and CEO of Reins, a platform helping contractors reward and retain key staff through simple, low-risk equity incentives. With roots in a family contracting business and experience in tech and M&A, Chris specialises in making complex equity and exit strategies practical for trade business owners.

CONNECT WITH CHRIS BUTTENHAM
Website: https://www.myreins.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/myreins
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reinstechnologies
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/myreins/

Your Next Step:

Join Tradie Academy, our free community packed with templates, checklists, and resources shared by podcast guests, coaches, and successful tradies.

👉 Join free and grab your next growth tool here: https://tradie.wiki/pod

Follow The Site Shed:

• Facebook: The Site Shed
• Instagram: @thesiteshed
• LinkedIn: Matt Jones
• Website: thesiteshed.com
• YouTube: @TheSiteShed

If you enjoyed this podcast and this series, please take 5 to leave us a review:
⭐ https://lovethepodcast.com/TheSiteShed

Love the audio version of this podcast? Subscribe to the link below:
⭐ https://followthepodcast.com/TheSiteShed

🎯 Free Tools To Help Your Business:
https://tradie.wiki/pod

🫱🏻‍🫲🏼 Marketing For Your Business – Learn More About Tradie Web Guys:
https://tradie.wiki/yt

In Episode 482, Matt is joined by Claudio Gambin, a financial adviser and tax strategist who specialises in helping trade and construction business owners stop overpaying tax and start using smarter financial strategies.

If your accountant only speaks to you at tax time, pushes generic advice, or can’t explain how to legally reduce your effective tax rate, this episode will open your eyes. Claudio breaks down the most common tax red flags tradies miss, why being proactive matters more than minimising tax at all costs, and how to reinvest savings back into your business to fuel long-term growth.

This conversation goes beyond tax returns and dives into strategy, cash flow, scalability, and what actually makes a trade business bankable and sellable.

🎥 Watch the video version of this podcast at:
https://youtu.be/8bLf7qGbibM

Key Chapters:

00:00 – The tax questions tradies should be asking
01:10 – Why most tradies overpay tax
03:54 – The best investment is your business (not more assets)
08:41 – Why reinvesting profit is tax-effective
10:00 – Proactive tax planning explained
15:08 – Depreciation, leverage & overlooked tax wins
18:04 – The 3 golden questions for your accountant
21:20 – Using tax savings to fuel growth
24:45 – Eliminating lifestyle expenses from your business
28:13 – What makes a trade business sellable
38:05 – Strategy, time, and staying proactive

Links mentioned in this episode:

GFG Solutions: https://gfgsolutions.com/

Claudio on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/claudgambin/

Connect With Claudio Gambin:

Website: https://gfgsolutions.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/claudgambin/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/claudio.gambin/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claudiogambin

Your Next Step:

Join Tradie Academy, our free community packed with templates, checklists, and resources shared by podcast guests, coaches, and successful tradies.

👉 Join free and grab your next growth tool here: https://tradie.wiki/pod

Follow The Site Shed:

• Facebook: The Site Shed
• Instagram: @thesiteshed
• LinkedIn: Matt Jones
• Website: thesiteshed.com
• YouTube: @TheSiteShed

If you enjoyed this podcast and this series, please take 5 to leave us a review:
⭐ https://lovethepodcast.com/TheSiteShed

Love the audio version of this podcast? Subscribe to the link below:
⭐ https://followthepodcast.com/TheSiteShed

🎯 Free Tools for Growing Trade Businesses: https://tradie.wiki/pod
🫱🏻‍🫲🏼 Book a Free Strategy Call with Tradie Web Guys: https://tradie.wiki/tssyt

With online ads becoming noisier, more expensive, and harder to trust, many trade business owners are rediscovering the power of physical, personalised marketing that actually gets noticed.

In Episode 481 of The Site Shed Podcast, Matt Jones sits down with Wilson Zehr, direct mail and marketing automation expert from Zairmail, to unpack why direct mail is making a serious comeback for tradies in 2026 and why relying on digital-only marketing may be hurting your conversions.

This episode is packed with real-world examples, practical frameworks, and clear do’s and don’ts for using direct mail alongside digital marketing to win more local jobs, improve follow-up, and stand out in crowded markets, so make sure to listen until the end!

Key Chapters:
00:00 - Teaser
02:43 - Meet Wilson Zehr: From Software Engineer to Strategic Marketing
06:17 - The Nike Success Story and Why *Shoe Dog* is a Must-Read
08:52 - From Surfboards to Zairmail (Mail as Fast as Email)
12:26 - The "Junk Mail" Flip: Why Direct Mail Breaks the Digital Noise
15:04 - Marketing as a Mechanic (Direct Mail & Digital)
17:42 - Building Communication into the American Routine
20:30 - The 70/20/10 Rule (The Ultimate Direct Response Formula)
24:43 - Segmenting Voters for Overwhelming Success
27:32 - Proximity Mail: The Best Way for Home Service Businesses to Target Geographically
30:40 - Case Study or Offer, How Real Estate Agents Use Mail?
33:41 - Avoid the Shotgun Approach (Hyper-Personalization is Key)
36:25 - Why You Need to Be Remembered Before Disaster Strikes
39:34 - The Power of Fridge Magnets and Referral Stickers
43:56 - Scaling Past Word-of-Mouth
47:37 - Why Monthly Newsletters Beat Unreliable Email Deliverability
50:23 - Nurturing Leads with Email, SMS, and Direct Mail
53:24 - Direct Mail Best Practices
56:24 - Keep Messages Short and Drive Traffic to Video
1:00:33 - Your Website is Your Credibility

📲 Watch the video version! https://youtu.be/03B4nwRFBLM

CONNECT WITH WILSON ZEHR
Website: https://www.zairmail.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wilsonzehr/
Facebook (Personal): https://www.facebook.com/wilson.zehr
Facebook (Business): https://www.facebook.com/Zairmail/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wilsonzehr

CONNECT WITH THE TRADIE WEB GUYS!
Website: https://www.tradiewebguys.com.au/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TradiewebguysAus
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TradieWebGuysOfficial
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tradiewebguys/
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/company/tradie-web-guys
Matt’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamthemattj/

Your Next Step:

Join Tradie Academy, our free community packed with templates, checklists, and resources shared by podcast guests, coaches, and successful tradies.

👉 Join free and grab your next growth tool here: https://tradie.wiki/pod

Follow The Site Shed:

• Facebook: The Site Shed
• Instagram: @thesiteshed
• LinkedIn: Matt Jones
• Website: thesiteshed.com
• YouTube: @TheSiteShed

If you enjoyed this podcast and this series, please take 5 to leave us a review:
⭐ https://lovethepodcast.com/TheSiteShed

Love the audio version of this podcast? Subscribe to the link below:
⭐ https://followthepodcast.com/TheSiteShed