#45 Business Coaching, Burnout & Growth with Jackson Digney – Part 2

- Get our guys and welcome back to another episode of the Build In site podcast. This is part two of episode 45 with our conversation with Jackson Digny of Injuro Builders. If you missed part one, make sure you jump back to last week's episode and catch up on that. Otherwise tune in as we wrap up this conversation. - I'm really curious Jackson actually, like how far back in your journey did you start to get like any form of business coaching? 'Cause I know you mentioned earlier about you, you had your own businesses, not building companies and then you joined the other builder and you got his systems in place. Like where did that knowledge come from for you to be able to put those in place? Was it through a little bit of your accounting studies in the early days, through stuff from your dad or like how early did you start to, you know, really start to have that business mindset? - So I grew up in a household, so I'm the third of four kids. And throughout my whole childhood, we always owned a small business. And when Dad stopped with my dad 10, he started business consultancy. And a lot of those clients were like nowadays, you'd probably would think that it was insane the way that he worked. But he worked out of the front office of the front room of our house, was his office. But often a lot of his meetings were done around the dining table when we were all there. So it meant that from a young age, although I could never recount any of the stories, I kind of grew up in a household where there was just a revolving door of people that were in business with problems sitting around our dining table, talking about them. And so I had all of that. And obviously we, the family owned a small business and my older sister managed that business. And then I got into a, yeah, I got into accounting at school. And when I finished school, I had a couple of like, part-time jobs, maintaining boots and working as a salemaker and doing rigging work and stuff. But my first kind of serious, like I'm out of school now I need to do something to support myself with all the partying. As I started business. And so I started a business that, you know, the ATO probably want to have a discussion with me about it. But we did, we basically did a whole bunch of boat maintenance for, we had three clients, which doesn't sound like much, but they had big boats and it filled a lot of most weeks. And that meant it also didn't help much with uni because a lot of the stuff at uni was like, "Yep, the basics of accounting, we kind of covered on that." And understanding tax law, we were kind of just getting into that. And I was like, "I kind of got enough to know that I get the basics and we've got it using the account for the rest." But then the rest of the business stuff, I was like, "That's not how it works in the real world, that's no." So most of my business experiences come from starting, starting and running my own businesses and then hearing about other people's struggles. And the business coaching thing, like the manufacturing business I bought as a going concern, and I didn't have any coaching or mentoring because that was like 2004 to 2008 in that business. And that one of my lessons out of that business was if I'd had someone there, I would have done a lot better. And every so often people go, "Hey, what was your old man of business consultant?" And I was like, "Yes, he was, except at that point in time, mum was really sick." So he'd actually retired and was just taking care of mum and was not really have the brain space for helping me and I didn't want to hassle him. So that meant when I started in Dura, it was like, I have to have some external support because you can't do it on your own or you can, but it's a lot less stressful and a lot more straightforward and you tend to get where you want to go faster if you've got some external support. So I don't know if that answered your question or not. For over 130 years, Bullens has been the Builders' choice providing a service to promote timber, hardware and innovative building products. And now we're helping you further with this wonderful partnership. We're proud to announce Bullens is our new premier sponsor, bringing more of the insights that you love. Built-in site together with Bullens. Real people. Real insights. Yeah, do you think that's probably, I think, a common thing with building business owners that they get stuck in that mindset? They have to do it by themselves or their unit by themselves? Yeah, yeah. But that comes from that old saying, isn't it? We're tradis once they get their trade, they're like, I'm going out of my own. And I, but I've been involved in businesses in other industries. And I would say it's pretty universal that business owners, if they don't seek out some external training and support, and it doesn't necessarily have to be training, but just something external. That's not their spouse to kind of bounce ideas off and have some form of accountability. And just check in on like, is this idea that I've got batshit crazy or is it actually something that no one else has done and we could do and do really well? And just to have someone who's happy to critically ask you, is that people laugh at, Carly and I run our businesses very differently. So Carly owns two Carly clinics. And you would describe her way of doing things as very Lucy Goosey. Lucy Goosey, lovey-dovey. It's all these women just kind of making it work. And they do a fantastic job. And they get a great outcome. And then there's my way, which is very regimented. Everything's boiled down to a number. There's still the people side of it, of course. But if I said to Carly, how much profit did you make last month? You'd be like, I don't know. I don't know. It took drawings. And there's still money in the account. I'm like, oh my god. Whereas I'd be like, no, we did this. We did that. And we reallocated that profit to go to here and here and do this. And the budget for this round over, but that's OK. Because this one went on. And that's just entirely different ways of doing it. But they both work. But it's also why, for either of us, asking for business advice from each other, well, I can completely different pages as to how we do it. So yeah, it's good fun. Tell us a bit about Ingeiro Builders, mate. You've sort of touched on it there. And we haven't really gone into it too much yet. What, for those that have never heard of you before, what do you build? How big's the team? Where's the Ingeiro journey out at the moment where are you going? So we specialize in building energy efficient homes and certified passive houses. There's 17 of us in the team. So we have a construction manager who oversees the site managers. And then a business manager who oversees everybody else, which is all of the pre-contract side. So there's a couple of estimators, couple of building designers, couple of project managers, and sales people in Admin. The current output is 25 projects a year. It's a mixture of renovation additions and new homes. We are pushing really hard to get to 100 new homes a year. And the overarching reason for Ingeiro existing is that we're here to improve the quality, comfort, and health of houses in South Australia. And so all decisions-- and we've had a few just recently where we've all gone, hang on a minute, is this achieving that? And we've gone, oh, no, it's not. That's vetoed and we move on. And by being ultra clear about that, just recently, is very few that made us go, ah, we're gonna leave that to one side. and essentially we're probably right now, wherever I am, is I've chosen to grow the staff body a little bit ahead of where our work is at. Because simultaneous to that, we've really ramped up our marketing. And we've put a lot of money into it and a lot of time into really refining what we're doing without marketing and refining what we're doing with our sales. So that more people are given the opportunity to come and build a house that is going to really add to their lives rather than subtract from it. Yeah, this is going to be an interesting journey to watch. Actually, if you put a time frame on it, 25 to 100 is a pretty big jump. Yeah, so 42 now. And the plan is to get there by the time I'm 50. And I think that that is quite achievable because it's a long time span. And the first, I really think that unless you have, because I've essentially bootstrap to the business, I haven't borrowed any money. I started the business with like 2000 bucks in the bank. And I haven't done anything to really leverage. So I've done that because statistically speaking, building companies are very reliable for going broke. But there's, if you, with my accountancy background, like one area I was heading with accountancy was working in insolvencies. So when ever I hear about someone, a booting company becoming insolvent, I always try to find out everything I can because the interesting thing is understanding what occurred. And there's usually some common threads. They've usually got lots of projects on the ground that haven't progressed much. And a lot of unhappy clients. And, and usually subbies that haven't been paid for sort of somewhere between three and six months. And usually what's going on in the background is that they've taken on more work than they can handle. And done that at too low margin, growing their staff and then gone, oh, I'm actually not making any money. But the thing is that that doesn't become clear if you're continually signing new contracts. So that's where you've got to be right on top of knowing what your work in progress is. So you know what your actual liability is. And making sure that you do actually have enough cash in the bank to support that. And so that's, I've kind of been really building up our cash balance to make sure that this little leap is going to be affordable. And that's, yeah, but again, like there's some pretty clear markers that if we're not going to make it, then I'm like, okay, well, unfortunately that role will have to, if we're not at this point with the numbers at this point in time, then that role will have to cease. Yeah. Yeah. So, but that all comes back to that. Planning bit. And planning is sometimes planning is, I won't say, I'm going to recant that. Most of the time, planning is tedious and a little bit painful and makes your head hurt. But then it allows you to every bit after that. It's really straightforward because you got your plan and there was all this brain aid going, oh, what do I do with this happens? And what's the marker for whether this should change and working all that stuff out, but that is the role of a business owner. And that is your highest value time. And I meet heaps of guys that don't think that that's valuable. They're like, no, no, no, should be out on site, like talking to the guys or going and seeing a supplier or whatever it is. I'm like, no, no, no, no. I don't know. So I rocked up to site last week, got Scratch Benchthops, paid all over the windows. Let me guess, Lucky, no good, no good. And now we're spending big bucks trying to fix it. Mac, good guys, roll on a thick, peelable protective coating that saves your surfaces and your budget and your sanity, Lucky. Seriously, check them out. Goob guys.com.au, protect your job from the start. Jackson, I know you're a bit too modest to say this, but I'm not from South Australia, but I know Enduro builders is leading the way and has been doing for some time, mate. But on top of being running a building company, climate shore, father of four, most importantly, mate, what do you do to look after yourself and keep yourself primed for all the how to you wear? So I, I, I might as well give the bad story first. So, so probably for the last eight years, I worked on the basis that I was a machine and could just, you go. Right. Which I successfully did. And I really admire my wife and her patients with probably watching me go through multiple rounds of being burnt out and just carrying on at high performance mode anyway. And then a couple of years ago, my business coach just dropped into the conversation. He's like, so you know, we'd finished talking about planning the next six months and just running, I was running through with him what my plan was and he was, you know, picking holes in it. And he said, what else do you think's holding you back from? Because I listed a couple of things that we'd kept missing. I kept planning to do it, kept not getting it done. And he said, what, what else do you think is holding you back? I was like, I don't know. He's like, how's your like health and fitness? He knew full well that I was not to, I used to be really fit. Probably 12 years ago, he knew full well that I was that exercising and lifting weights and running and all things that I did. He knew about my history of enjoying doing that, but knew that I wasn't doing it. And he he actually just left it at that. And then the next time we spoke, he was like, what else do you think's holding you back from, you know, really, really being able to have the fuel in the tank to do these things. And he just kept at it. And the thing is that I don't know if he knew, but I knew the answer. It was there. I just didn't really say it. I just did not want to say because I was still stuck in my home. I'm going to find the time in the day to do that. And then eventually I was like, fine, all right. I think we both know the answer to the question. And he's like, yeah, but I need to hear you say it. I'm like, I've got to get fit. Again. And he say it like that. Yeah. Yeah. And he laughed. And he laughed and he laughed for a way longer than his normal, but he's a bit of a unique character. And so Danny's like, okay, how are you going to start? And I said, leave it with me. And Mercer, Mercer, Mercer, Foolsley, he left me. He was like, okay. And then a week later he said, how are you going? I said, I started running. Yes, how do you feel? And I was like, fucking fantastic. And so then, yeah, then I started to get really fit. And now I prioritise it in my day. So I knock off sort of, it does vary a bit, but I usually try to be in the gym at four, which then at four p.m. So I worked out that working out in the morning really didn't work for me. I'm much better sitting in the office at seven than I am in the gym at 5.30. So I, yeah, so five days a week, I work out currently. I got fit running and doing kind of general workouts. And then I discovered a bit of research that everyone I've mentioned to you guys. Yeah, that's like common knowledge about when you turn 50, your muscle wastage increases. So I was like, well, I don't want to, I don't want to be inactive in my like 60s. So I've got to bulk up. So I've started on that, which is, yeah, really hard work. But, and really hard going. But yeah, it's good fun. So the running is kind of tapered off, which is lifting weights at the moment, but it has definitely changed my recovery. And also it gives me a solid mental break, which I was not getting before. So, and yeah, like I'm one of those guys that will go and once the kids are gone to bed, I'll work for a couple of hours. And I'm quite happy doing that. And I think that's just part of the modern age. Like, you know, you're doing that by choice. Like that's No one's forcing you to do that, that's what you want to do that. Yeah, that's it. Luke is on the high calorie diet, chucking on some size of the moment, mate. So you can either get on the calorie diet. Yeah, it lost. Yeah, I started that in June, July and it cut down a bit now, because I was like, I'm putting on too much weight. But yeah, it's been an eye-opener because all of my fitness prior to that has all been about staying really lean because for sailing, I needed to stay within a certain weight. So whereas now is it different color fish. Yep. Jackson, before we jump into our quick fire round and let you go, mate. For any young aspiring builders or tradis out there looking to take the plunge into the building industry like you did 10 years ago, mate, what would be number one bit of advice you'd pass on? Definitely a joint and mentoring group. And when I started, there was one. Now there's so many. Actually, there was two. But yeah, now there's so many. So there's always one to suit you. And some of those mentoring groups, you'll rock up and you'll see guys that are really experienced and have been around for a long time. And I'm asking questions that you have in your head. So, yeah. Love it. Yeah, love it. All right, before we let you go, mate, last little section here, we've got some quick fire questions for you. Yep. They're pretty easy, pretty good ones. First one off the rank. You're a favourite project so far. We are absolutely thrilled to announce that Circus Studio are coming on board as a major sponsor and supporter of Build Insight. Build Insight is a studio as Australia's leading interior design centre. If you're an architect, building designer, interior designer, build up or just looking to build your dream home, you need to make a time and come in and check out the space here in Port Malvin. This space holds every element that you'll possibly need to design your dream home. Woodford, that's easy. That house is built on the side of a hill. We're wrapped around a pool. And it took us three months just to get out of the ground because there were all these different levels that had to be built and blocked off and then to get the pool so that everyone was happy that just nothing would ever go wrong with the pool. So it was a really technically challenging job. Pool built first and then the house around it. Kind of, kind of. Yeah. So there's kind of the level that you come in for the garage and then there's the pool level and then the lower level. But then there's also a second level in the back part that opens back out onto the pool. And it was just a really technically challenging job to get all of those levels to work. And we've had quite a few that were like that, but to have to wrap around the pool and sort of build yourself out of ever being able to access certain parts again and working out how to make sure that we did that in a way because a big area of the house is below the level of the pool and doing it in a way that we made sure that if anything catastrophic went wrong with the pool in the future that nothing catastrophic would go wrong with it. And so working out all those things that by far was the best one. You're going to have to get on socials and stalk that line. Yeah. We haven't really started off rackifying that. I was going to say, I'm going to go back to rack. What's a tool or building software that you can't live without? Rafford fire, yeah, sorry. I'll go with Wunderbude. So we were using co-construct. Wunderbude is not as good as co-construct. And I can hear how she going on. Q Jackson when I say him next week, but Wunderbude is coming along in leaps and bounds. And one of the things that we love is that like Hashi is fantastic to talk to and provide like we provide a lot of feedback. We're probably one of his more demanding clients. But you know, he's implementing him and the software is getting better for everyone. So I think that's great. I'm surprised he didn't say blow a door kit. I say that's like breathing for us now during blow a door testing. So next one, biggest misconception about high performance building is that it's not necessary in certain climates. And last one mate, dream project or collaboration. I think a dream project for us would be doing a development of like a greenfield rural site where you know, a big part of our design work is that we take in the everything around the house. We'll look at the we might not do the landscaping in the contract, but we'll definitely play a big part in designing how it all fits together. And to do a greenfield site like rural block where we're involved in working out how the re-vege will work and building the house and shedding and like looking at getting the whole thing done to be a really sustainable self-sufficient outcome. That would be a great dream project and obviously collaborating with a great client. Very good. Very good. Alright mate, well I think we're going to have to hold it up there. We might need to get you back on for a chat another day because we don't have all day. We've got another guest coming in shortly, but just quickly before we wrap up, anyone wanting to know more or follow the Enduro builders and climate short journey? Where can we find you? Yeah, the Instagram is the best place to follow either of us, climate short SA or Enduro builders. And yeah, and certainly if you're a builder and you're like, "Oh, I want to really protect myself from building moldy buildings and the problems that come with that down the line." Yeah, getting touched with climate short, you'll wind up talking to Jess first, but and Jess is really knowledgeable and helpful and but along the way you usually get to talk to me. Awesome. Well, thanks again mate. Really appreciate your time coming in today. Guys, if you want to find out more about buildinsight, head over to buildion.siTE.com.au. Over on the website, you'll find links to previous podcasts, episodes, links to the YouTube channel, Instagram and Facebook. Hope you enjoy the episode. We'll catch you on the next one. We just need to say a massive thank you to our sponsors and supporters without them buildinsight wouldn't be possible. So to balance, circuit studio, wonder build, goop guys, calorie building and backman builders, thank you very much. We look forward to seeing you again next week. Let's cue the disclaimer. I need to let you know that myself and the buildinsight team are in no way, shape or form, qualified to give you personal or specific business advice. We strongly encourage you seek out the use of professionals for products or when you are making personal or business decisions. Everything discussed during the buildinsight podcast is our own and the guest opinion and personal experience and is of a general nature only. Hope you enjoyed the episode. Catch you on the next one.