All Hail Content Marketing!

By aucklandnorth. Posted in Business Growth, Cloud Software, Events, Sales and Marketing, Solutions.

Recently we had a new client join us in the tech/marketing space that we thought stood out! It’s called Hail, a platform for you to collect and collaborate on your content. And it seems as though the timing is spot on for them.

Many of our customers talk to us about their needs around their marketing (and often sales but that’s another story) and how they can get their message out there. Who will create the material? How will they deliver it? How can they present themselves as the experts they ARE in their industry?

The answer is often, Content Marketing.

But like many things, it’s not just knowing what the solution is, it’s how you apply the solution, Hail makes the solution easy. You can collaborate with your colleagues or marketing partners. You can share the content and get it out there really easily across many platforms.
We’re about to start using it! Because believe or not, it’s not super easy getting the accountants round here to jump into action and write a blog!
We think there’ll be many people like us that need this kind of solution – So we want to share it and get it out there.


“Hail provides a one-stop, collaborative content creation, management and publishing system. Now you can efficiently leverage your content across online publications, blogs, email and social media.”

If you’d like to find out more, please RSVP to one of the regional roadshows by following the links below:

RSVP for the Christchurch event now
RSVP for the Auckland event now

Many thanks, Ric

p: 03 377 0700
fp: 0800 SIDEKICK
m: 021 708 255
Book a time with me here: Thanks too to Concentrate for their images regarding the stats of US tech co’s

Top Tips For Tradies

By aucklandnorth. Posted in Business Growth, Cloud Software, Contractors, Events, Small Business, Solutions, Startups.

Sidekick’s National Powered Up Businesses Roadshow brought together hundreds of trades people that wanted a better, easier way to manage their trade business.

We spoke to Andy Burrows from Trades Coach after the event to compare ideas of where trades businesses struggle.(Link to his fantastic blog).

Three issues that we both found important were: Cash flow, time and cost management-especially for multiple jobs, and blowing the budget.

1. Cash flow

After a long project is over and you have finally been paid, looking at your bank balance can feel great! But if you are a tradie that looks at the $70,000 then thinks you’ve got enough cash for a new ute, you are not working your cash flow correctly.

But firstly how well collecting your payments? And if you aren’t getting paid on time, do you know exactly who owes you what?

Options: Payclip– BNZ have a device that plugs in to your smartphone to collect payments for small jobs right then and there. So if you did great work on your maintenance call out and the owner is home, why not get the money now?

Xero: With Xero your debtors are automatically loaded into a projected graph on your Xero dashboard, once you send your invoice off. This means you not only can see in advance when you are due a big pay week, but you can also see which invoices are overdue for payment/who to chase up. Send an invoice from your mobile on the job too, you could charge them for it but it will only take a minute or two.

Now, on top of all of this you need to figure out how much of that money is yours to keep, and how much you need to keep your business growing smoothly and your suppliers paid. Trade businesses have fluctuating income so prepare yourself and make your profits where you can, which leads me to issue two and three.

2.Time and cost management for multiple sites, long hours.

So no brainer, you were busy working on the job, and what time did you finish that job last Tuesday again? It can feel like a chore doing your paperwork which might make you put it off, throw it in the direction of your wife, or get sick of it real quick.

This is especially for trades that have multiple small jobs to do like maintenance or plumbing. How are your job quoting systems? Are your staff measuring their time well?

Training your staff and subbies alongside a good system means accurate and quick quoting for your staff, and faster payments. You are also teaching your staff good management, which could benefit them in their trade future. You can learn it together.

GeoOp– It’s quite good if you have an admin lady that answers calls and delegates jobs. She can type the job out as she receives them, and drag and drop them (on the computer) to the staff, who get text alerted with all the details. For the lucky tradie that’s nearest or almost finished, a mobile GPS will lead them to their next job.

With GeoOp, you can utilise your staff’s time and increase your turnover, which means you or your admin can think about marketing, fliers, and getting the guys to drop them in a few nearby mailboxes. Ah, carrying on, but last thing-its integration with Xero pushes invoices, bills and receipts through to the front desk so there’s no double entry. There’s so much to cover, so you may as well utilise a free half hour demo- Vanessa on 021 278 1798 can get you one.

3. Back costing and budget blow outs

Back costing helps you estimate your profit properly. You deserve to make a profit for the work that you do, so charge out accordingly. Once you get in to the habit of back costing you can see how far off you are from your job estimates, and your quotes will adjust to your expectations. At the PUB, about 1/3 of tradies back-costed, so there’s lots of room for improvement.

Do you know how to set your budgets? Shaun our CA is passionate about budgeting for success, and will give you a free consultation to talk about how you are setting yours. Call him on 021 644 547. Andy Burrows trades coach blog if you want to check it out.

Thanks for meeting us at the PUB!