The Good Builder Podcast

Builders are being approached from outside the industry more than ever. Coaches, planners, consultants, software reps. All of them want the same thing: access to your trust.

In this short solo episode, Az shares the background check The Good Builder runs on everyone who approaches the platform, and why builders should run it on everyone who approaches them.

Two searches. Five minutes. Before a dollar moves or a meeting is taken.

Search one is ASIC. Run their name through the banned and disqualified register. It covers disqualified company directors, not just finance. Run their company through ASIC's company search. Check the ABN. If they claim a licence of any kind, check it with whoever issues it.

Search two is the news. Their name and their company through the Google News tab. Bans, court judgments and tribunal findings get reported, and they do not disappear.

Plus the three questions to ask anyone who makes it into the room, and the reaction that tells you everything.

Run the check:
ASIC banned and disqualified registers: asic.gov.au/online-services/search-asic-registers/banned-and-disqualified-registers
ASIC register search (company search): asic.gov.au/online-services/search-asic-registers
ABN Lookup: abr.business.gov.au
Financial Advisers Register: moneysmart.gov.au/financial-advice/financial-advisers-register

A clean search is not a clearance, and none of this replaces professional advice. It is the five minutes that too many people skip.

Think you'd make a good guest? There's a front door: podcast.thegoodbuilder.com.au/apply
Stories and tips: news@thegoodbuilder.com.au
Everything else: admin@thegoodbuilder.com.au

What is The Good Builder Podcast?

This week in home building news! Catch up with Az and a colourful array of guests, to hear about who's killing it, who's innovating, and who's getting into strife in the world of new home construction.

Az (00:00)
You never let it uncheck Subby Near Slab. So why does everyone from outside this industry get near your business unchecked? Coaches, planners, consultants, software reps. Today here's the five minute background check we run on everyone who approaches the good builder and why you should be running it on everyone who approaches you.

Well, good morning and welcome to the Good Builder Podcast. I'm so sorry today. I'm a little bit crooked. I had a bit of a medical procedure last week, and I have been a little crooked ever since, but I'm getting there. I've got a bit of a solo episode today, and it's a short, sharp one. And it's something that you guys should be doing out there because as the Good Builder grows and we're getting more and more people approaching us, I've really started to turn down a lot more than what we put on. And for the reason that

You know, you guys listen to us because we're on your side. Whoever sits in the chair inherits a bit of trust, and we want to make sure that we get the right people in front of you, and we're not putting the wrong people in front of you. Now, the exact same thing happens in your inbox. The coach in your DMs at Instagram, the planner and accountant, or wealth advisor, or anyone who knows better than you, or the supplier at the golf day, they're all asking to.

Borrow your trust, and trust is the most important thing, and I actually value it as the most important thing in anything, not just business. So here's our process, and I want everyone out there to steal it because the more and more we do this, the more and more we see the industry, and the more and more people entering the industry.

You've got to be careful about who you are doing business with, especially if they're from outside of the industry and haven't worked in it and don't have that word of mouth or or people know them for their reputation and things like that. Because as I said, a lot more people are approaching people within the industry, a lot more people are approaching us. And we picked up a few that we were kind of like, wow, that's pretty interesting. And we had to give them, unfortunately, the hard no. Now, this is the way we check them.

And there are two searches which take about five minutes before a single dollar or you even take a meeting because time is money and that is one of the most important things as well. The search one is to go to ASIC. Run their name through ASIC's banned and disqualified register,

It covers disqualified company directors. It catches people from all sorts of industries. And if you run their company or their name through ASICs company search, does it actually exist? Is it current? How long have they been around? Have they been banned? And while you're at it, the ABN lookup is free and takes about 30 seconds. And if they claim a license of any kind, financial advice, credit, building, check it with whoever issues it.

If they say they're a licensed financial advisor, there's a public register for that. So things like that, go and have a look at all those things because there have been several cases in that sort of realm with people working with builders and developments and stuff like that. Now, search number two is basically the news. Not our news because we're always fairly positive and we don't like to do that sort of stuff. Yep, we tell the truth, then we try and tell it.

with a solution, but we don't focus on the people that may have been doing something wrong. But the easiest thing to do is just put their name and their company or whoever you know into a Google search in the news tab and you will see mainstream media pick up on any story, unfortunately, that may be about them. It could have bans, court judgments, tribunal findings, they all get reported and they don't disappear. If someone's been through a

courtroom or a regulator the internet remembers and it's usually on the first page. And that goes for all sorts of businesses. So go and check out what's going on out there in the public and stay safe. That is it.

That's the check. ASIC, then the news. Or ASIC. Sorry for everyone out there. The person and the company, both times in ASIC and in the news, five minutes before anything signed, or you've wasted a minute on actually talking to them. Neither search really tells you if someone's good, by the way. There are plenty of ordinary operators, have clean records. But a company that doesn't exist or a license they doesn't hold or a judgment sitting out in plain sight.

That's conversation over for people like us at the Good Builder. It should be conversation over for people like you. And you'd be amazed how many people actually skip the five minutes that would have saved them. And we've been actually talking to a few builders that had come to us and said, Have you ever heard of this? Have you ever heard of that? and and having a little look at them and telling them how to do this. I didn't think it was so prevalent until I got a few questions last week.

Now there's three quick questions. If they actually do get in the room, that you should be asking them as well. Number one, how do you get paid? One sentence answer, no flinching. If you can't work out how someone makes their money, that's a no. And I think I spoke the other week about if they can't tell you what they can do in one sentence, that's a no. Can I verify that?

If they claim that they've helped two hundred builders and they're doing this, if it can't be checked, it doesn't count. And watch what happens when you push back. Good operators respect the hard question. The ones that get offended get slippery, suddenly need to check with their team, or they do something that's a bit brash and weird and that reaction is your answer.

Last thing before all of you go, some of you listening are the good operators. And after that, you might be wondering how you get in the room with us. There's a front door. Guest applications on the podcast podcast.goodbuilder.com.au slash apply. They will go through this process. Stories and tips can go to our newsroom, which is news at the goodbuilder.com.au, and everything else you can shoot over to admin at the

goodbuilder.com.au and as I said, fair warning, everything in this episode that I spoke about happens to you first to make sure we're getting the right guests and the right people on. I know it was a short, sharp one, but I think it needed to be said. And as I said, there is a lot more people in the industry that are approaching builders and creating businesses and creating things out of AI and creating things out of Claude. So before you sign anything, before a dollar moves, make sure you do that ASIC check.

Check the news, take five minutes, and the links are in the show notes. All right. I hope that was handy for everyone out there. I'm sorry that I sound a little crooked, but I hope it wasn't too painful. Have a great rest of your week. We've got some big podcasts and announcements and things coming up. We're going to be inviting you to a big event, two actually big events that we'll be looking at, and we will let you know about them very soon. But until then, stay safe, protect yourself, protect your time, protect your money.

All right, see ya.