Watt's Up by Master Electricians: Recent Episodes
Master Electricians NZ
Master Electricians is the professional trade organisation for electrical contracting businesses in New Zealand. Our membership is made up of over 1000 businesses across New Zealand whom we actively support and advocate for.
Watt’s Up is the official podcast of the Master Electrician bringing you content relevant to the industry and your business.
Each week we will cover a new topic that relates to the monthly theme. Providing tools and resources that will help you grow in business and life.
We chat to Bryce McClure, ME Regional Manager and former wholesaler, about how your product knowledge will impact sales. We’ll also cover what upselling is and how you can incorporate this into your daily business.
Did you know that the quality of your digital presence will impact your sales? Today more and more people will make their purchasing decisions based on the information they find online. We chat to Brady Smith from Invicta Enterprises about the importance of reviews, upside-down home pages, and how this impacts your sales.
We chat with Scott Boyd, National Sales Manager for Legrand New Zealand, about what sales are and what they mean to an electrician. Also, three top tips for converting those quotes/inquiries into actual jobs (or sales!).
In this special edition we chat with Pete Finnegan, Southern Regional Manager, about some of the things you will need to know in order to get your business through the latest Level 4 lockdown in NZ
We chat to Ewan Morris, Country Managing Director for ABB New Zealand, who started his career as an Electrician on the tools. We take a look at the path he took to get where he is today and why he thinks the electrical industry is an exciting place to be.
There is a lot of legislation that relates to people in the workplace. Two areas tend to get a lot of focus – wages and leave entitlements. We chat to Shelley Kopu, Employment Lawyer, about what you are entitled to (as an employee) and what you need to provide (as an employer) for these two areas.
What is good workplace culture and how do you have one? We have a chat with Dean Lipscombe from Firstflex about why this is such an important part of going to work and why it makes productivity better.
There are over 550,000 businesses in NZ – getting your voice heard above all of those can be difficult.
We chat to Mark Roberts, Director of Marketing and Strategic Marketing at Rittal ANZ, about how understanding what your marketing strategy will tie into having a successful business.
Social Media is an integral part of life these days. In fact 97% of the population of NZ were active mobile social media users (March 2021, Statista). With that kind of statistic it seems logical that a business would be on social media, but how does this help market your business?
There are so many paths to take as an Electrician. We chat to Tara, a qualified electrician, working on electrical distribution in Auckland about the challenges she is facing and why she loves her job in the electrical industry.
Owning and running your own business can be a formidable task. Throw in being a parent to two young kids and it can be quite daunting. Amelia Rae from TKR Electrical does it all with grace and a great eye for detail. We chat to her about challenging the stereotypes.
Starting out in the electrical industry can be exciting but challenging. We chat to Brooke Thompson about the challenges of being a woman coming into the industry, how she is overcoming those obstacles, and challenging the stereotypes.
We all know that getting the balance between work and life right can be a challenge. We chat to Rob Stockley about how he manages to run an electrical business while still having time for his family and community.
Do you really know how much that job cost you? Have you ever gone back and priced a job you have done to make sure there is a profit margin? We chat to Greg Hughes from Righway about what back costing is and why it’s so important.
We chat to Joe Consedine from Chartered Accountants ANZ about the things you should consider when choosing your accountant and why it’s so important to have a good relationship with them.
We chat to Greg Hughes from Rightway about what some of those basic accounting terms actually mean. How many of them did you really know about?
Growing your business isn’t necessarily as straightforward as employing more people. We chat with Mike Barr from RichmondBarr Electrical about how he grew his business and why he took a different path by joining another group.
You’ve decided that growth or development is the way your business is heading. But what now? We chat to Lance Riesterer, GM Training & SME from IMNZ about the different courses you can do to get ahead.
Are you thinking about expanding your business? We chat to Craig Wright from Wright Wire in Christchurch about starting out as a sole trader and expanding to a larger business. What steps did they take to start the expansion process?
Following on from those common misconceptions we take a look at the interesting challenges an electrician can face. We talk to John Hutton, ME Technical Manager, about why electricians do things a certain way and why the job is so technical.
Doesn’t an Electrician just pull wires? We chat to two of our Regional Managers, Nigel and Bruce, about some of the myths surrounding what electricians do. We’ll take a look at some common misconceptions and how varied the job can really be.
We chat with ETCO Wellington Regional Manager, Mark Webster about what is involved in an electrical apprenticeship. Find out all the details about what is involved in being paid to learn!
Watt’s Up isn’t the only podcast for the Electricians in New Zealand. Active Electrical Petone have their own podcast, where they chat to all sorts of interesting people not only in the industry but also from their local area. We chat with Joe about why they started the podcast and what the plans for next year are.
We chat to the new Chair of the Master Electricians Board about why he's passionate about the industry and what the future holds for organisations like Master Electricians.
During the month of December we are chatting to some of the interesting people we know in the industry.
First up is Mike Heron from NHPO. He is the Head of Country for NHP NZ and has been in the industry for a number of years. We chat about how he got into the industry and went from being on the tools to Head of Country!
We chat with Dr Fiona Pienaar, Clinical Advisor for Lifeline, about how to tackle those difficult conversations with your mates when you think something isn't right. Also, how to look after yourself during those conversations and where to go to for help.
If you would like to talk to someone about any issues you are having Lifeline is a free service which can help. Call 0800543354 to talk or text 'help' to 4357 for a text chat.
We chat to Tricia from Ideal Electrical and Simon from EAP Services (Employee Assistance Programme) about how employers can support their people through the tough times.
We chat to Rob from Movember about how the cause started, how it works, and where the money goes.
Are you growing your mo this month? The team at Master Electricians are.
We chat with Michael Dudley from TechCollect about the research they are undertaking. They are looking into ways that e-waste (which will likely include everyday items electricians use) can be reduced through recycling or product stewardship.
Today we chat with James Griffin from the Sustainable Business Network about what sustainability means for us as a country and why it can be very good for business.
Today we talk to Michael Steckler, CEO of Tradify. We cover why they are creating policies around sustainability for the company and the important role it plays in their business – now and in the future.
Why be green? We chat with another one of our Members, Monica and Iain McIsaac from Green Van Electrical on the Kapiti Coast, about what sustainability means to them and why they have made it a part of their business.
On this week's podcast, we have Bernie McLaughlin, Master Electricians CEO, who had his own Electrical Contracting business and his tips for starting a business.
Hear about what Bernie would do differently to last time around, and some of the lessons he learned along the way.
What’s it like to be an electrical apprentice? Why does an electrician want an apprentice?
We talk to Dan from Seven Electrical, and Sam who is a first-year apprentice, about these questions and more.
Who are ETCO and what do they do? Rebecca speaks with Jeremy Sole, CEO of The Electrical Training Company about training apprentices and the support they provide.
This week we talk to Ross Beal, Director on the Master Electricians' Board, who is also a Business Advisor with the Skills Business Advisor Programme. We hear what’s it like to be a mentor and why he does it.
In this week's podcast, we catch up with Garry Fissenden, CEO at Skills.
The Business Advisor Programme is designed to help business owners become more confident and build ambition for their business.
The programme offers small to medium businesses throughout New Zealand a trade specific business advisor to work alongside them, free, one on one, for a period of up to 6 months (terms and conditions apply).
Last week we heard from Business Mentors NZ about the services they offer - This week we talk to one of our members, Mark Dudfield from Dudfield Electrical in Cambridge, about his experiences with having a business mentor from this service. His real-life experiences will give you an insight into what it is like to have a Business Mentor.
Hear from Colin Bass from Business Mentors NZ, as he talks about their Small Business Mentoring service. The service provides up to 12 months of confidential, one-on-one assistance for small business owners, who are trading, want to grow, or need help to solve specific business challenges. The Mentors have experience and empathy for small businesses, offering guidance, a sounding board, challenging their thinking, and providing them with an independent and fresh perspective.
Should a Small Business join Master Electricians?
Join National Operations Manager, Mathew Lawrence, and Sponsor and Event Manager, Rebecca, as they discuss the benefits behind being a Master Electrician's Member, especially for a start-up or small Business wondering if the Membership is worth it.
Health and Safety Policies, Terms of Trade, Know Your Costs Business Calculator, Wage and Salary Surveys, Technical Advice, and use of the Master Electricians Brand- these are just some of the business benefits Mat and Rebecca cover off in this podcast.
Master Electricians Quality Assured members can safeguard the quality of their workmanship and provide extra assurance to consumers with a $20,000 workmanship guarantee.
The guarantee is an integral part of the Master Electricians brand – our members are the only electricians in New Zealand who can offer consumers such assurance.
Want to know more about the Brand and Workmanship Guarantee? Have a listen!
This episode is all about some of the benefits of being a Master Electricians Member! From having access to SimPro Job Management Software to n3 and Boost discounts for you and your Employees, to discounted fuel at Mobil. Join Sponsorship and Events Manager, Rebecca Travers, as she chats with each company about the benefits they offer specifically to our Members.
Regional Manager Support is an important service we provide to our members. They provide face-to-face support to our members and uphold our quality assurance. Join Rebecca as she chats with our RM's about their job and the service they provide.
Today we're joined by John Hutton, Master Electricians Technical Services Manager, as he discusses his role in the association and how Tech Support benefits the members.
Join Sponsor and Events Manager, Rebecca, as she talks with Arron Smith and Mark Roughton from NZME about some basic branding and marketing concepts every business should be looking at.
Join the team from People Passion, an HR Company in Auckland, talk about why a positive workplace culture is important to Business Recovery. People Passion offer 30 minutes of free HR Advice every month for Master Electricians Members.
Today, Master Electricians Event and Sponsor Manager, Rebecca, speaks to Nickie Sheehan of Trio Accounting on ways that business can keep a handle on things in these strange times.
In this episode, Master Electricians CEO, Bernie McLaughlin, speaks to Paul McKay from Business New Zealand on what things are looking like for SME's around the country, and what the future looks like for business in the trades.