PODCAST · business
Unlocking Business Podcast
by Kane Tyler Smith
Most trade businesses are not actually as profitable as they look. More vans, more staff, more revenue, and somehow less money left at the end of the month, less time, and a business that only runs because you are in it every day. Hypotential Unlocked is the podcast for residential trade business owners who are done with theory and want to know how the business actually gets fixed. Hosted by Kane Tyler Smith, who built Smartfix from one ute in a Perth garage to a $30.7M multi-trade business with 133 staff, and then faced the hardest moment of his career when the whole thing nearly came apart. Every episode is grounded in what actually happened inside a real business. Operator interviews with trade business owners sharing what worked and what broke. Kane breaking down lessons from real situations. No recycled business advice. No guru content. Just the kind of conversation you would have with someone who has been through it. If you are running a trade business and the numbers are not add
Episodes
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AFL Draft to Business Owner | Jacob Blight
What does time in the AFL teach you that has nothing to do with football? In Episode 26 of Unlocking Business, I sit down with Jacob Blight, founder of BLYT Development. Jacob grew up in country Western Australia with no one around who had made it to the AFL. He was drafted by Richmond in the…
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If You Market to Everyone, You're an Expert to No One | Tracy Fryer
If you market to everyone, are you an expert to no one? In Episode 25 of Unlocking Business, I sit down with Tracy Fryer, owner of Design Studio Perth, a branding strategist and the host of the Real Biz Life Chronicles podcast, where she has now recorded more than 150 conversations with business...
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Buy a House or Open a Shop? He Put Everything Into the Shop | Edward Maradona
Buy a House or Open a Shop? He Put Everything Into the Shop | Edward Maradona Edward Maradona is the founder of Cabinet Noir, one of the top fashion boutiques in Australia, built from a single store in Shafto Lane he opened at 28 with every dollar he had instead of a house deposit. Full write-up,...
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She Almost Deleted the Email That Changed Everything | Christina Papafilis
Christina Papafilis is the founder and director of Connective Services Group, an NDIS support coordination business she started in 2024. In this episode, Christina and I talk about what support coordination actually involves, the maze that is the NDIS system, and why running a business on…
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Stop Chasing the Newest AI Tool | Sam Fielding
Sam Fielding is the managing director of Echelon AI Solutions. In this episode, Sam and I talk about the difference between having a ChatGPT subscription and actually implementing AI properly, using what he calls an AI operating system, a single connected workspace that replaces logging into ten...
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Selling My Business Broke Me | Dan Noll
Would you know if your business had already grown past the point of making sense? Full write-up, links and transcript: https://www.hypotential.com/podcast/t2u-app-dan-noll/ In Episode 21 of Unlocking Business, I sit down with Dan Noll, founder of T2U, a new app connecting clients with vetted,...
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What Trade Businesses Can Learn From the Corporate World | Paul O’Neill
What can trade businesses learn from the corporate world? Full write-up, links and transcript: https://www.hypotential.com/podcast/plumbing-bros-west-coast-paul-oneill/ Paul O’Neil took a very different route into the trades. After building his career in corporate leadership, including senior...
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Is Your Business Worth Anything Without You? | Dr. Mitch Catterall
What is your business actually worth if you disappear tomorrow? In Episode 19 of Unlocking Business, I sit down with Dr. Mitch Catterall from Unveil Development Partners. Mitch works with owner-operated businesses to identify the gaps keeping them dependent on their founder — then build the…
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Building a Trade Business That Doesn’t Rely on the Owner | Peter Craft
In this episode, Kane sits down with Peter Craft, co-owner of ASAP Trades, a Perth plumbing business built around honest service, clear communication and doing the job right the first time. Peter was also one of the very first members to join Hypotential Foundations. Peter and Kane get into the...
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He’s 21, Making $8K a Week & Turning Work Away | Myles Gaebler
In this episode, Kane sits down with Myles Gaebler, owner of Perth Building Inspection Repairs, for a refreshingly honest conversation about what it actually looks like to start a trade business at 21 with no plan and figure it out as you go. Myles started his business to earn more than a...
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Why Business Owners Should Stop Paying Someone Else’s Mortgage | Luke Randazzo
In this episode, Kane sits down with Luke Randazzo, Director at Burgess Rawson, one of WA's leading commercial real estate agencies. Luke has brokered over $450 million in transactions and is one of the youngest shareholders in the business. Luke and Kane get into the real stuff: what the new...
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Marketing, Branding and What Actually Works for Trade Businesses | Aisha Derrick
In this episode, Kane sits down with Aisha Derrick, Brand and Marketing Manager at Smartfix and co-owner of Hypotential, for a practical conversation about what actually works when it comes to marketing a residential trade business. Aisha has spent four years shaping Smartfix's branding,...
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Finance, Property Investment and Borrowing Smart as a Business Owner | Dan Steed
In this episode, Kane sits down with Dan Steed, a commercial and mortgage broker operating under Fundd, who spent over a decade in senior roles at Barclays and Lloyds in the UK before moving to Australia and becoming one of Western Australia's top performing bankers at Westpac. In the financial...
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Startups, Innovation and Turning an Idea Into a Real Business | Isabelle Charter
In this episode, Kane sits down with Isabelle Charter, Head of Venture Studios at BetterLabs and CEO of Town Square, who has spent nearly two decades building, scaling and investing in startups across Australia and beyond. Isabelle previously built and exited Drip, Australia's first investing app...
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Running a Premium Aircon Business, Sales Process and Growing in Perth | Louis Carter
In this episode, Kane sits down with Louis, founder of WestOz Trades, one of Perth's leading residential and commercial air conditioning businesses. Kane and Louis have known each other for 17 years, going back to their apprenticeship days, and this one has the easy honesty of two mates who have...
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Nutrition, Training and Staying Healthy as a Busy Business Owner | AJ Sloan
In this episode, Kane sits down with AJ from Team Ecto, his personal trainer of five years, for a wide-ranging conversation about what actually works when it comes to health, fitness and nutrition for busy people. AJ has been in the industry for 12 years and works primarily with business owners…
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Content Marketing, AI and Why Your Story Is Your Best Business Asset | Sarah Mitchell
In this episode, Kane sits down with Sarah, co-founder of Typeset, a Perth-based content and writing business, for a wide-ranging conversation about what actually works when it comes to marketing, storytelling and content strategy for business owners. Sarah has a background in software…
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8 Years of Smartfix, Building a Business With Your Brother | Finley Dearlove
In this episode, Kane sits down with his brother Fin, Head of Installations at Smartfix, for an honest look back at eight years of building a business together from the ground up. Fin joined Smartfix as a fourth year apprentice and has worked his way through every corner of the business, from...
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Starting an Electrical Business and Pricing Your Work Properly | Angelo Rossi
In this episode, Kane sits down with Angelo, owner of Toptech Electrical, for an honest conversation about what the first couple of years of running a solo electrical business actually looks like. Angelo started Toptech Electrical in June 2024 after working at Smartfix, and has been building his...
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Starting a Plumbing Business from Scratch | Rhys Booth
In this episode, Kane sits down with Rhys, founder of Oceania Plumbing and Gas, for a straight-talking conversation about what it actually takes to build a trades business from the ground up. Rhys started his business in 2019, living at home with mum and dad, just as Covid hit. Three months of...
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Men's Mental Health & The Hidden Crisis Facing Aussie Blokes | Jevyn Myers
In this episode, Kane sits down with Jevyn from Men's Talk, a men's health promotion charity based in Western Australia, for a raw and eye-opening conversation about the mental health crisis quietly affecting men across Australia. They cover the alarming suicide statistics (7 men die every day in...
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What Two Years in Business as a Chippy Taught Me About Growing a Trade Company | Mitch Suleau
Mitch Suleau moved from Tasmania to Perth two years ago with a carpenter's ticket and nothing else. He started MBS Building Company anyway and is still figuring it out the right way. Kane and Mitch get into what the early years of a trade business actually look like. Why you have no idea what you...
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Getting the Phone to Ring When Work Dries Up | Steve Leigh
Steve started E-Maintain two years ago with zero residential experience. He is still on the tools, has three staff, and is building something the right way without burning through a Google ads budget to do it. Kane and Steve cover the real story of starting a small electrical business in Perth…
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AI vs Automation, and Why Process and People Come First | Anthony Lawlor
Most trade business owners think hiring more people will fix their problems. It does not. It exposes them. And the cost of getting it wrong is bigger than most realise. Kane Tyler Smith and Anthony Lawlor from Nimbus Tech break down what actually happens when a trade business grows without the...
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What Your Apprenticeship Never Told You About Running a Trade Business | Aisha Derrick
Kane Tyler Smith started Smartfix in 2018 with one ute and zero business training. It grew to 140 staff and $30 million before a near-miss that almost took everything. In this episode, Kane and Aisha break down the real story behind building Smartfix from the ground up. How they handled Google...
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From One Ute to $30million. Who Is Kane Tyler Smith?
Kane Tyler Smith built Smartfix from one ute in 2018 to over $30 million a year and 130 staff. What most people never saw was how messy that actually was. This is the intro episode of Unlocking Business: Hypotential. Kane breaks down who he is, why he built Hypotential, and the gap he kept seeing...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Most trade businesses are not actually as profitable as they look. More vans, more staff, more revenue, and somehow less money left at the end of the month, less time, and a business that only runs because you are in it every day. Hypotential Unlocked is the podcast for residential trade business owners who are done with theory and want to know how the business actually gets fixed. Hosted by Kane Tyler Smith, who built Smartfix from one ute in a Perth garage to a $30.7M multi-trade business with 133 staff, and then faced the hardest moment of his career when the whole thing nearly came apart. Every episode is grounded in what actually happened inside a real business. Operator interviews with trade business owners sharing what worked and what broke. Kane breaking down lessons from real situations. No recycled business advice. No guru content. Just the kind of conversation you would have with someone who has been through it. If you are running a trade business and the numbers are not add
HOSTED BY
Kane Tyler Smith
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Unlocking Business Podcast have?
Unlocking Business Podcast currently has 26 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Unlocking Business Podcast about?
Most trade businesses are not actually as profitable as they look. More vans, more staff, more revenue, and somehow less money left at the end of the month, less time, and a business that only runs because you are in it every day. Hypotential Unlocked is the podcast for residential trade business...
How often does Unlocking Business Podcast release new episodes?
Unlocking Business Podcast has 26 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Unlocking Business Podcast?
You can listen to Unlocking Business Podcast on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Unlocking Business Podcast?
Unlocking Business Podcast is created and hosted by Kane Tyler Smith.
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