EP #1 – Wayne Bettess: From Gas Engineer to Business Coach

Overview

In the very first episode of the FieldRocket Podcast, we invited Wayne Bettess from Off The Tools™ to talk to host Tulloch Priest about his journey from apprentice to gas engineer and now coach.

Tune in to learn about the highs and lows of Wayne’s first business, how he realised what he truly wanted to do with his career, and lots more. You’ll find out why it’s so important to have a purpose behind starting a business, the role of marketing and technology, hiring and management strategies, and the overall success mindset you need.

Listen to the episode:

Highlights

Wayne’s journey

• How Wayne’s journey started, and how he got to where he is (01:36)
• When the first business he was working in folded (05:08)
• Starting his own business to get back into earning money (06:53)
• The problems he had running his own business at such an early age (07:32)
• His experience with cash-flow problems in his business (07:41)
• Struggling with the aftermath of making a few bad decisions and failing to run his first business successfully (08:54)
• Realising that while he was a trained gas engineer, he hadn’t done anything to hone his business skills (10:06)
• Realising his love for coaching, offering advice, and helping people out (10:58)
• Getting to a point where he needed to choose what path to go down (12:13)
• Making moves to create a “hands-off” business (13:20)

A business owners mindset

• Taking things personally in a business, and how your mindset affects criticism (16:59)
• What Wayne would do he if had the luxury of starting again today (19:24)
• Most people end up in a something called a success trap (20:38)
• Education is the key to driving a business forward (21:25)

Advice for anyone looking to start their own business

• Building foundations around startegy, time management, and money management (23:39)
• Primitive marketing – what it is and how it can help (26:05)
• For a business owner thats looking to hire a new employee – what kind of things should they be looking for? (27:55)
• Setting out expectations for new hires & taking on family members (29:55)
• Should you be answering the phone when you start your own business? (33:38)
• Hiring admin staff to help out (36:16)
• Balancing time and money (39:51)