Speaker 1 (00:00):

Depression as a tradesman and why does it happen so much? Life is hard sometimes and yet things can get on top of you. Not just the work It's the money and then keeping everybody happy It can build up sometimes and spiral out of control so much sometimes That it makes you depressed So then what are you gonna do? It's not like you can press reset or switch off and start all over again and lots or get rid of all the mistakes

Speaker 1 (00:31):

It's you can't do that Or you can call up your friends to help you out. But let's be honest, they're not even gonna care Well, that's how it seems in my head sometimes anyway Then you get a thought in your mind is a clocking out an option It's that solution to your problems that are rolling around in your head In this podcast I'm gonna talk about why I think tradesmen get into that state of depression And then also along with some tips and tricks that might just help you get out of that situation in the long run toolbox talks for electricians here today to help you reduce stress Gain back time.

Speaker 1 (01:15):

Yeah, of course Hello and welcome back once again My name is Ben Poulter your host of toolbox talks for electricians and I've been self-employed for Well over 20 years now, and if I was gonna sit here and say yeah It's all been fantastic fine and dandy and everything runs so smooth.

Speaker 1 (01:34):

I've never made a mistake Yeah, I'd be lying Especially being self-employed because if you don't go to work you don't get paid and You don't really get holiday pay being self-employed if you have a day off and you don't earn any money So there's no sort of stopping. I don't think has been a self-employed tradesman But when you're young and you choose to go self-employed It's a bit of a different ballgame because every single penny of that money you were because into your pocket you could treat yourself to all these fancy tools treat yourself to all these fancy holidays and

Speaker 1 (02:14):

On sight sometimes Hanging because you went out the night before but you're young your body could handle it those days All you really needed was to put aside five hundred quid to pay your rent with the house that you shared with your mates Where you lived where basically it was party all the time.

Speaker 1 (02:31):

Anyway, well, that was the experience of what my 20s were like But you can't go on like that forever. It comes a day where you think right? Yeah, I've got a sort of change what I'm doing and Sort of try and make something of myself for the future make a future make a life sort of thing Not just partied all the time Maybe build a business or build a family even with a few kids 2.4 children Why not? You've seen it on the telly was growing up. So is exactly what you want But the reality of it is I don't think that it's that easy as maybe TV or a lot of people Maybe make it out to be I've got into my head that everything happens for a reason.

Speaker 1 (03:11):

I'm not religious Spiritual or anything like that But it helps me Deal with things that get thrown at me from time to time that things that happen in my life if something happens you think right? That happened for a reason to make me maybe realize this or to make me do this or might be calm down doing this Everything for a reason every counteracts in my head.

Speaker 1 (03:31):

I think and I maybe look at things that Maybe they're a test a test of how you're gonna deal with it How are you gonna get over it? You can guarantee if something happens to you once it's bound to happen again Just for example when maybe the phone's not ringing But bills still need to be paid and there isn't any savings because 12 times been good You've been spending it like water and you expected it to last forever But if there's one thing that I know Nothing lasts forever the company that I work for travel all over the world That went bust and Where I was doing price work for a company and I was making a fortune just changing LED light fittings Yeah, that changed to an hourly rate Nothing lasts forever.

Speaker 1 (04:19):

So don't count on yep. I'm gonna be earning this amount of money forever Because things change all the time. It doesn't happen. It doesn't work out how you hope it would Unfortunately, I think that these opportunities I used to get working all over the world and working on price work They're coming up a lot less these days So you wipe your options and you think right?

Speaker 1 (04:39):

I'm gonna jack in running my own business like it won't cut out for me It's not something that maybe I can do so you give up your business and sort of 12 try and go work for someone else To be honest that is an option Unfortunately, nobody's taking anything anybody on so you can't get a job as an electrician. There's no opening. There's no spaces No, there's no vacancies for electrician. So you've got sort of I feel like you downgrading yourself

Speaker 1 (05:04):

You downgrade yourself and think one gonna have to get a job in McDonald's Well, I suppose I get a free Big Mac and then you can save money on your lunch If you look at it as a probe pros and cons like that You end up getting unhealthy though in McDonald's all the time So you let's a thousand things run through your head when you think of one scenario. It's sort of escalates Because another thing it also pops in your head Does it what will people think what people think of a used to be electrician running your own business doing? Fantastically well having all these fancy things fancy cars fancy holidays But now you sold it all because you've got to survive and you've you can't afford it They got took off you maybe because you bought it on HP all these things that can happen.

Speaker 1 (05:42):

It can it can be a bit demoralizing and Embarrassing I suppose maybe because you think the people are looking at you thinking check that loser out couldn't even run his own business He failed and they're laughing and all these people are you thought well, I thought you're my friends That's sort of just taking a piss And these are the thoughts that go through your head.

Speaker 1 (06:04):

They're actually do go through your head this is what you think you don't want to say out loud, but these are the things that you do think in your head and They gather up in your head they just just escalate and they grab it more and more it's like a plant they grow more and more Negative thoughts and you think things are getting worse and worse But are they really? You're trying to think of another option like I'm just gonna go away for a bit I'm gonna go on holiday be skin you ain't got any money to go on holiday and If you don't do some amount of work to pay for the assurance on the van or pay for the installments on the van Then you're not ever gonna be able to get to the airport or go anywhere and hold you anyway Because you can't get there You can't pay for a taxi you ain't got no money because you can't even have enough money to pay for your month insurance it's sort of a

Speaker 1 (06:50):

Tumbling effect like one thing happens things are getting worse everything gets worse worse worse worse You're getting pushed down into a little bit of a hole And it feels like everything's against you sometimes and well what there's no way out You're skin you haven't got any money, and you can't talk to your friends because well you've got the high ground sort of thing You're a little bit embarrassed and you feel like you're a bit of a disappointment to maybe your family and your kids because Your kid comes up to you and says he wants a new Xbox just like everybody else has got a school You physically can't afford to give him it.

Speaker 1 (07:24):

It's not gonna happen and You feel a bit demoralizing I suppose I don't know how to put it, but you feel a bit like crap.

Speaker 1 (07:31):

I'm not good enough And everywhere you turn Everything seems like a mess And I suppose you could blame other people saying oh yeah it's inflation. It's the government. It's whatever But in reality you know that it's your fault it was down to you you messed up you did this you failed so you pile it all up onto yourself and Make self feel shit to be honest We do know you got one thing that nobody can ever take away from you It's your life.

Speaker 1 (08:02):

You're alive. You're kicking you're walking you're talking and What whatever happens in life? It can be fixed you might have failed or something try again you give it a go if you fail one time You know how not to do it that time you do it differently the next time and maybe that'll fail again You might fail ten times, but long as you don't give up you keep trying You'll get it right sooner or later If you just go on through life thinking things will get better and doing the same old thing the same old routine the same old Maybe people you hang around with or anything like that the same old thing

Speaker 1 (08:38):

That got you in the position that got you in the position that made you depressed and down in the dumps and feeling like a failure Then you're going to keep on keep on going that same cycle You're going to be the same old routine the same old thing you're going to change it change your friends Maybe or change the way you run your business because It's not working. Maybe you haven't got any work. So there's a reason Why things don't work and that's what you got to think about concentrate on that rather than feeling down in the dumps

Speaker 1 (09:08):

Do something about it. Maybe this is what my my head tells me to do right? Okay, you failed you fucked up Do something about it. Let's get out of this mess. So what are we gonna do? How are we gonna fix it? Because i'm still here like Failure is not an option sort of thing clocking out. It's not really an option like it's a bit What's a tough scenario? I'm not scared of a challenge. I'm gonna give it a go and then you got to remember What you did when you failed you got to think even write it down like I think write things down much in a day I didn't record things down.

Speaker 1 (09:36):

This is the thing you write things down a little bit to say, right? This is what I did. Well, that's crap. I ain't working. What am I gonna do better bit of research listen to a podcast or Look at some youtube videos do some research go to google. There's everything on there great ideas Some ideas might be crap So don't bother trying them but they have ideas that will be good and put that to be honest with you You don't know the crap until you try them It does sound stupidly easy

Speaker 1 (10:01):

But a problem shared is a problem solved I've done it a few times I spoke to a friend before sat down and said well, this is this is crap. That's crap. This is happening And he's turned around and said to me mind the problems Ben. Trust me Like that isn't nothing and then when he says out loud when your friend says out loud to you like wrap up like Don't think that's a problem. This happened to me this happened before this happened so and so like It does seem right. Yeah, maybe you're right the little problems they can be solved. It's just gonna take time It's not some sort of problem.

Speaker 1 (10:32):

You can solve overnight so this is a lot of time it is if you're A little bit like you want things done now now now like a lot of sparkies do you want to work you want to work? Now now now But you've got to give things time and this is the thing what i've sort of realized things take time You might even have to downsize your house Sell your house get a smaller house or go to rent in sell one of your cars or cut back on some spending maybe Because there's always something you can do To give you that little push in a better direction If you remember the assholes that laughed here when you were down in the dumps where you did need someone's help Yet cut them out that they're irrelevant end of the day.

Speaker 1 (11:14):

It's not going to help you when you when you're worse They're not going to be there when you're at your best Mates don't do that to each other things will get better Once the type those type of people are sort of out of your life Like you don't need them people around you. I think it's i'm not like i'm not spiritual or religious or anything like that, but surrounding yourself With dickheads makes you a dickhead so Maybe don't hang around with dickheads I make a bit of a plan maybe as well for the future because so you don't get skinned again put some money aside for them days where

Speaker 1 (11:48):

You maybe haven't got any work or where you might need to save up Maybe so you got like a couple of grand for that month so you can still pay your bills You might let me be able to go on holidays or thing with the money But you'd be able to sit there pretty where you still pay your bills You won't have to lose your house or you might have to take your car or your van or anything like that off you with your finance If you get into the habit of saving yeah, you can save up when there is a bit of a down time When there is no work coming in you've got nothing booked in take a holiday go away

Speaker 1 (12:15):

Even if you just spend time at home for a little while where you can have a few days at home and do something different Turn up to the the school playground to pick the kids up They'll love it. I'd just be a bit different to some of the you do all the time When I was younger, I um, I was a single dad at the time I volunteered to go on the uh the school trip with the kids and all the parents said to me like Ben What the hell did you volunteer to go on a school trip with all these kids?

Speaker 1 (12:40):

We come to school to dump them off to get them out of our hair. Well, I didn't spend My every evening with my daughter, so I thought I could spend the day with her. Why not? It's another day I could spend with her So I sat on the back of a bus getting beat up by a load of eight-year-olds It was a challenging experience. I'll give you that but I did have fun It was good to be there and it's the little things like that that cost nothing That make it all worthwhile sort of thing because you think about it That's the whole reason to do these little things to get a bit of time off to spend with my daughter to spend with the kids And the reason why I spend with the missus is why?

Speaker 1 (13:15):

You go to work because if you didn't have to you wouldn't bother you wouldn't bother going to work and doing the things No one would they wouldn't Enjoy it really would you you'd go to work to earn money to pay yourself to have a nice life to buy nice things That's what we do And there's a whole reason that I try and do the best job I can For the customer to get along with the customer to be recommended to their friends and family So to grow the business to keep the work coming in and to keep flowing so

Speaker 1 (13:42):

Hopefully, I don't get any down days where? I have no phone calls or nothing booked in for the next week to earn any money to pay my bills And you could you could be the best electrician in the world But if you haven't got any work then what's the point? You're not going to earn any money. I've been doing anything if you can't get him Not employed maybe or asked to do any work by any customers You're not going to be able to make a living so it doesn't matter being the best

Speaker 1 (14:12):

It's also about the steps you take to build the business the little things you do And this is why I send emails to my customers and why i'm friends with other tradesmen As well as other electricians Because I think if it ever comes to it where I need maybe a day's work or i'm getting a bit skin and I don't know. I need some money sort of thing. I will Ring with them up say right Do you need a laborer to a brickie or do you need a hand rooting pipes through these floorboards or lifting the floorboards anything for a plumber?

Speaker 1 (14:38):

I don't want to work for a plumber. I don't want to ring up the plumbers Don't like it, especially if they say right ben put your hand down that toilet. No, no chance not gonna happen I would if i was skinned but um, yeah, I don't want to do that Maybe I always have these people that are tradesmen just in case I need any work I do think I could ring up someone today And maybe get a day's work tomorrow or a week's work tomorrow It might be cutting someone's meadow on a bloody sit-on lawnmower,

Speaker 1 (15:05):

which I don't mind doing to be honest be quite good Or it might be lifting bricks as from some of her laborer on site They might employ you as a laborer bung you a hundred pound a day or something You might have to pack a tapaca, but sometimes it's better than sitting at home. You're doing something you're earning some money I think it's about growing your network of maybe tradesmen and stuff that sort of help each other out Because I have um, i've had other people work for me before builders and stuff when I used to travel along a long way To work and stuff I used to have to get anybody with me Even if I didn't know nothing about electric because I couldn't be asked to drive like two or three hours every day So I used to just get my mate to come with me.

Speaker 1 (15:40):

So come on now bung you 50 quid Just have to sit in the van. You can scoot off and get me lunch or whatever. We were doing nights It was nice and easy But yeah, there were good good times And being a tradesman and stuff when you grow up, it's not like school If you don't speak to someone for a week, then you're not your friend anymore. They're not going to speak to you. It's It's different now i'll call from someone today i haven't spoke to that guy for around five years But he's following me up said ben i've got a kitchen i'm doing it needs a board doing can you come over and take a look?

Speaker 1 (16:09):

Well, yeah, no worries. I ain't spoke to that guy for five years But we just spoke to him as normally as I spoke to him yesterday. That's how easy it is That's what we do these days. We've got our own things going on our own lives going on And yeah, you only get cool when you need some work doing so it's maybe not a best mate sort of thing But I'd crack him as a mate. I'll probably call up and say look if you've got any work If I needed and this is what i'm trying to do with this podcast being an electrician Yeah, it is easy compared to making a business work But i've tried and tested a lot of things.

Speaker 1 (16:40):

Trust me. I've found a few times. Yeah, i've messed up Yeah, as we do but i've Persevered let's just say I persevered and cracked on and made a success of it in the end So if you follow on and keep listening to this podcast and maybe learn from some of my mistakes Or take some of my ideas And make them better just like one of the guys in the toolbox talks for electricians group has He's took the idea that I gave him.

Speaker 1 (17:06):

He's made it better. He sent me an email chuffed about it And he has he just made is a young blood. He's made it better in his own mind For his audience or for his customers and got more work out of it And that makes me feel fantastic that people are doing that They're getting more work out of some ideas that i've maybe planted a seed in their head and it's growing into something big and better So until next time i'll see you again Just a little ps on the end here I know this was a little bit different from the electrical podcasts I normally do about being a building a business stuff, but I felt it to be a little bit important that maybe Someone needs to hear it This is something that I would have appreciated hearing when i've had my down in the dumps days and get my ass up Get figured out and get sorted

Speaker 1 (17:54):

So if you appreciated this podcast then give me the thumbs up And comment in the condition in the show notes down below And let me know that it helped you out as well.

Speaker 1 (18:05):

So till next time peace