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Welcome to the Barter Edge Podcast—your insider guide to smarter business, bigger networks, and better ways to trade.
Whether you're a seasoned member or just getting started, we're here to share real stories, expert tips from different industries, and fresh ideas to help you grow your business using the power of the Bartercard ecosystem.
BC_Jason-22nd-Sep
Jen: [00:00:00] Welcome to the Barter Edge Podcast, your insider guide to smarter business, bigger networks, and better ways to trade. We are here to share real stories, expert tips from different industries and fresh ideas to help you grow your business using the power of barter cart. Well, welcome back to the Barter Edge.
I'm your host, Jen Furrow, and today we are talking tradies. I'm here with Jason Rezo from Plaza Plumbing Group. No job is too big or too small for them. Um, we love when, uh, Jason and his team help out our clients with so many different things. Um, he's got 24 years experience, but also little fun fact, he's a third generation plumber and builder.
Which is pretty incredible following after the grandfather, your father, and now yourself. Absolutely amazing. Can you please introduce yourself to the community? Jason? [00:01:00]
Jason: Hello, community. Well, I'm Jason Rezo from Plaza Plumbing Group. I moved with my family up here about three years ago to the Gold Coast. So me and my wife actually got, um, we come here for our honeymoon.
About 11 or 10 or 11 years ago, and that was the first time I ever traveled outta Canberra. So Wil Canberra based fa grandfather, father, me. I went away once for a holiday and then decided to move up here just after COVID.
Jen: Oh, fantastic. Around the same time as me actually there. Jason, now you've been with Bartercard.
How long would it be now?
Jason: Probably it'd be about seven or eight months.
Jen: Seven or eight months. Yeah. Can you share how Bartercard has impacted your business and what success you've experienced since you joined?
Jason: Well, being a new business on the Gold Coast, um, and I actually didn't know anyone here at all, joining with Bartercard just helped me build some relationships with people that I wouldn't have met.[00:02:00]
So, you know, new businesses and other kinds of people in Bartercard met up with me and then introduced me to some other clients that needed plumbing and maintenance services. Um, and I say I know without joining Bartercard and my network would just grow a lot slower by the time, you know, meet so many new people.
Jen: Mm. And there's a lot to juggle when you're in business and when you move somewhere new, when you don't have. Your preferred suppliers of what you would usually be referring other business and all that sort of thing. It takes a fair bit to actually create that. So Bartercard really does help fast track those relationships, doesn't it?
Jason: Yeah, it does. On both ends, because I didn't have anyone to recommend either. So once I actually met some Bartercard members, learned about their businesses, um, some of their businesses actually, um, worked alongside with what I do. Um, so I needed their services. And they need my services.
Jen: [00:03:00] Fantastic. Now, in your experience as a tradie, 'cause it's not, you've been in business for quite a, a long time, you've just moved your business up here.
Uh, in your experience as a tradie, what do you think some of the big challenges are? The trades. Face
Jason: tradies are really good with their hands. They're good at doing the work. Um, where they lack is networking, doing paperwork, uh, and doing, you know, maybe invoicing and quoting. So, um, I would say joining with a community like Bartercard gives you the option to.
Build up a network a lot faster. And then you meet all different kinds of people that can, you know, you learn from following them, see how they network with other people, how they talk. And being a tradie, you can just fit in with that new network
Jen: fan. Fantastic. Yeah. Now you are really passionate about all things tradies.
Um, you've started supercharged tradies, and [00:04:00] so now you work with tradies and with clients as well. What made you start that up?
Jason: Um, I suppose when I moved to the Gold Coast, I wanted to do the same kind of job because that's what I've done my whole life, but make things a little bit different and I real, I realized that I really did enjoy the networking side of things and meeting people and helping people.
Um, so starting up, supercharged tradies is a tra business that helps tradies start their businesses. Um, and coming to the Gold Coast, I got to see what it's like actually having a lot of skill, knowing what to do, having no network behind me. So once I joined a network and started to build a community, then we had to market and do all the things that we didn't have to do with an established business in Canberra.
I decided this is something that I would like to help solve in other people's businesses like or other trade businesses.
Jen: Amazing. Amazing. Now you did start your [00:05:00] Bartercard membership with a bang. I remember I met you not long after you joined and you were like, no more plumbers. We love Bartercard. We wanna do everyone's plumbing on Bartercard.
Um, and uh, it was great to hear your enthusiasm because of the doors that opened up. Um. And you made a return on your investment very, very quickly. Would you agree with that?
Jason: Yeah, yeah, for sure. Um, I think we're already doing, uh, maybe over $10,000 a month of Bartercard work.
Jen: Fantastic. Yeah. So as a tradie, why does it work so well for you?
Um,
Jason: I, I feel like in the Bartercard network, uh, tradies, um, there's not that many tradies in it. They kind of stay away from it, maybe. Thinking that that's not for them, where I have an open mind and I was like, I'll jump in. Uh, if no other tradies want to be here, I'll be here and we'll, we'll, uh, help all the Bartercard customers and [00:06:00] pretty much take all the work that that's available and build our company a lot faster.
Um, so I dunno, that was my mindset towards it. Just having open mindset and jumping in as a tradie
Jen: Yeah. Um, and look, it, there's so much competition out there. Like even I've got a 15 minute commute to work in the morning. I probably drive past five electricians, five plumbers, you know, maybe two plasterers every morning and every night.
On the M1, and it's like how do you stand out? What makes people choose you? And it's like you either have to go out and network a lot to get your name out there, or you have to market yourself really well. You have to build up that word of mouth referrals. All of those things are important, but when you become a member with us, we hear, okay, this person needs a plumber, this person needs a plaster.
This person is gonna need painting. If we can find someone within our network, it [00:07:00] automatically builds a lot more trust as well. But people wanna do business with Bartercard members, don't they?
Jason: Yeah. Yeah, for sure. So if I put an ad out and marketed for plumbing work in the Gold Coast, there'd be another a hundred ads out there and people be looking and clicking and you know, they're pretty much just looking for, uh, something that TA captures their eye with Bartercard.
It's a smaller network. So when I go and quote a bar, a Bartercard job, I nearly always get it because we have a community of people that all know each other, they're all recommended work. Um, so you're not going in blind to, to like quote for someone that doesn't know you or know your business, even though you might not know that individual.
But when you're part of the Bartercard, they're like, oh, well he's, he knows this person and he's done their work, and he's like a trusted source in the Bartercard network. So. I think that definitely helps us stand out and gain more work.
Jen: Yeah, and it's almost like so many people in business spend so much money and so much time going [00:08:00] to networking events that may or may not bring them business.
Whereas we are almost like the reverse of that, where our account managers are recommending you and bringing people to you. So it's quite an amazing concept for business that instead of. Doing the price war as well. I think a lot of trades when they first get into business, they're just out there, underquoting themselves.
Undervaluing themselves just to win the work. Yeah. Whereas that doesn't really happen in bar cart, does it?
Jason: No, it doesn't. Yeah. We have a lot of support from the account managers. If I don't have any work next week, I can essentially just call up the account managers and say, Hey, we got a quiet week, and they'll just call out to everyone and say, Hey.
Plaza plumbing group's got a quiet week. Does anyone want some plumbing? We could put a promotion out and say that we have a sale on or anything special like that, and we'll drum up work really fast. So having a backup like that helps a lot.
Jen: Amazing. So what are the, what are some of the [00:09:00] most strategic ways you've been able to utilize your trade dollars to either improve your business or your life?
Jason: Well, there's a few ways, um, now with some of the companies that are offering, uh, food on Bartercard. So especially I'm a Marie's Pizzas fan now, how I've been, how good is it? By the way? I've been eating a lot of pizza for Marie's Pizzas, but, um, going and buying food for your workers, um, especially in the Gold Coast, it costs a lot of money.
So now that we are doing some, uh, trade, um, Bartercard work, we're, we're building up trade dollars. And you know, now every, like once a week to every second week, I actually go and get pizzas for the boys now. So one, uh, meal a week I come provide everyone pizzas. And that's pretty much coming outta the work that they're doing.
Um, and that's, you know, that's not affordable for. A business to a small business to just go out there and buy food for all their workers. Every, or like every week.
Jen: I know, speaking with a couple of caterers, um, [00:10:00] they said that they, even their corporate clients, their budgets are tighter, so they're not getting as much either.
So that's a great point. And having that team culture where it's like something that they can look forward to, they're gonna work harder for you and. It be with you for longer. Yeah. If you are doing those extra bits and pieces. So great tip there. Um, if a business like a, a trades business, let's focus on what you know and do best trades businesses.
If they were thinking about joining Bartercard, what would you say to them?
Jason: I would say, why not? That's simple. Yeah. So I'll be like, tell me all the reasons why you don't want to join first, and then rather than trying to tell them why to join, because there's a lot more to lose than there is to gain if you don't join.
So does that make sense? Absolutely. Did I say that the right way around? Yeah, you did. You did.
Jen: That's a really [00:11:00] simplified way of putting it. I love that. Jason, is there anything else that you would like to share with our community today?
Jason: Um, well, I suppose back on the last question, one of the other ways leveraging the Bartercard dollars, there's a few companies out there on Bartercard that offer specials.
Like there was a company that has water tanks. Um, just because someone in the Bartercard, um, network doesn't want to buy a water tank, I can actually buy that with my trade dollars at a discounter rate, use that, and then sell it to cash to someone else who's looking for a water tank. So. You can buy in, Bartercard dollars and sell it in cash too.
So you don't, you're not just going one way. You can swap back to cash that way. Absolutely. And make money off it too. Yeah. Yeah.
Jen: Amazing. And that's the cash conversion. And a lot of our charities do that with their auction items and a lot of people utilize that. But you've gotta be open-minded and, uh, [00:12:00] be open to different ways of doing business, don't you?
Jason: Yeah, for sure.
Jen: And stay engaged. Yep. Awesome. Jason, thank you so much for jumping on with us today and sharing some wisdom, um, and we wish you all the success as your bus business continues to grow.
Jason: Thank you so much.
Jen: Thank you for being with us today and sharing your stories and expertise. If you wanna find out how Bartercard can help your business, or if you wanna be a guest on f.
Future podcast. Contact our team at hello@bartacard.com. Make sure you tune in for our next episode of the Barta Edge.