Your crews are short-handed. The work is piling up. And you're too burned out as a business owner to even think straight.
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| @skilledtraderescue on Tiktok |
You didn’t start your trade business to put out fires all day.
You started it to build something that would last:
A crew you could count on.
A name people could trust.
A life that actually works.
A thriving business to leave something for your kids.
But now?
You’re not running a business — you’re surviving one.
Instead of burning yourself to the ground, Let's show you the way out
🔥 What the Numbers Say
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60% of contractors are turning down work due to staffing issues
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Owners and Leads are working even when not at work
- 42% of all small business owners said they experienced burnout recently. (Forbes)
You’re training, selling, quoting, managing, at all hours and trying not to collapse.
You've stopped doing the basics: sleeping well, eating right, staying hydrated, connecting with loved ones, or doing things you enjoy.
This isn’t leadership. It’s a burnout waiting to happen.
And it’s not sustainable, right?
⚡ The Builder’s Paradox
Here’s the real paradox:
You’ve got the vision of a trade business owner
You’ve got the grit to get the jobs done.
You know how to build something worthwhile.
But you’re under so much pressure, you can’t see a way out.
You’re trying to build a business… and getting burned by it at the same time.
Sound familiar?
If we don’t fix that, you don’t just lose the job —
You lose your family, relationships, customers, quality employees and yourself.
Let’s change that.
🔧 How We Stop the Burnout Spiral
⏱ 1. Kill the Superhero Complex
You’re not supposed to do it all. That was never the job.
Start small: block out 2 hours this week to delegate just one thing — quoting, dispatch, client follow-up.
Even small handoffs create breathing room. And better business.
Use BLOCK TIME this week with these starter tips:
- Set it. Block out specific time for specific tasks
- Explain it. Make sure your staff understands why block time is being used and how that time is being used.
- Guard it. Do your best not to let in any interruptions during that block time
Use it to restore focus, motivation, accountability and less stress.
Want to know more? Pop into our weekly Meet-up and ask Martin to mentor you in this simple and profound productivity tool
Connect with Martin at Skilled Trade Rescue
🧰 2. Build Micro-Training Moments
Don’t have time to train? Cool.
Use what you’re already doing as training.
"Bring up the pups" Martin likes to say. Learn to recognize and connect with your diamonds in the rough.
- Get to know them
- Ask them what they've seen in the business that they'd like to do
- Create opportunities for them:
"Hey, you're riding with James tomorrow to learn how to do this type of install."
Opportunities to learn across skill-sets and develop new ones builds your team. It builds retention.
📉 3. Say No to the Wrong Jobs
If it underpays, burns your crew out, or kills morale — it’s a no.
You’re not just filling the schedule.
You’re building something with staying power.
That means protecting your team’s energy like it’s your own.
Get great at recognizing the signs of burnout in your team and change it before it catches fire.
🛠️ 4. Rotate the Grunt Work
Balance matters. If you’re running a crew, mix it up:
Who’s trenching, who’s in the attic, who’s on call.
Make sure they're all getting a chance to take on different challenges.
Ask your crew for feedback for what they liked about it.
Don't let dispatch pigeonhole your crew into one task.
That little change buys big longevity and loyalty to your crew.
đź’Ľ 5. Set Boundaries with Clients (and for Your Crew)
Difficult clients are silent burnout bombs.
They’re doing the work and absorbing their chaos.
Start with clear expectations. Teach your crew to say:
“Here’s what we can do — and here’s what we can’t.”
And if you can, offload client communication to someone who can take the emotional heat — a project manager, office lead, even a part-timer.
Don’t carry it all alone.
Take care of yourself so you can lead well.
Join a peer network — like your local builder’s association or Skilled Trade Rescue weekly meet ups — and learn how to spot great clients, and let bad ones go with class.
🤝 What STR Offers for Owners
Skilled Trade Rescue (STR) isn’t just for techs.
It’s for shop owners, foremen, leads, business builders, and anyone else carrying the whole damn weight.
Inside STR:
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A community of owners trading solutions, not just stories
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Techniques for delegation, hiring, and managing the mental load
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Playbooks to get back to business building, not just surviving the day to day.
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We're creating a culture that makes people want to stay. Respect. Opportunity. Ownership.
This isn’t theory. We’ve seen crews transform when leaders invest in people the right way
You’re not alone in this. Let’s rebuild you, too.
Get the Skills at Skilled Trade Rescue
✅ Owner’s Action Plan
This week, try one:
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Say no to a job that’s draining your team
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Record a short training or shadow moment to create micro-trainings
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Block out one hour just for you and someone you care about
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Post in STR: What’s your best burnout solutions right now?
🔥 Bottom Line: If You Burn Out, The Whole Crew Feels It
You can’t build a future if you’re buried at the moment.
You deserve to build a legacy that works
Let’s rescue the leaders too — because when you rise, your whole crew rises with you.
P.S. If you’re feeling the burnout — forward this to another trades owner.
You might just save their business. Or their life.
📌 Next Saturday @ 9 AM PT — Paradox #4: Fixing the Broken Pipeline Before It’s Too Late
Get the skills at Skilled Trade Rescue
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