Journal

Notes on local search, AI search and the trades.

18 July 2026 · 3 min

Busy is not a business

Flat out is weather, not climate. A short case for the one asset most busy tradies never build.

4 July 2026 · 3 min

The Tyso Toolkit: free estimators that price the way you quote

Three free tools for Australian trades: a painting estimator, a render estimator and a plastering estimator. Each one walks the job the way you would, then prices it, GST in.

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30 June 2026 · 4 min

Working hard doesn't get you ahead

It just gets you by. The way people pick a tradie just changed into something you can't see, and most of your competitors haven't noticed.

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20 June 2026 · 5 min

Getting found is only half of it

Search catches the people already looking for you. Some months, the growth is in reaching the ones who aren't.

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17 June 2026 · 5 min

Measured, not promised

Anyone can claim they'll get you into ChatGPT. The honest version is a baseline, a method, and a re-test you can read for yourself.

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14 June 2026 · 5 min

Rented leads, or ground you own

A lead marketplace sells the same enquiry to four tradies and keeps the customer. You can rent that, or you can own the ground it comes from.

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12 June 2026 · 6 min

Your next year of work already exists

Every suburb is a battery. The only live question is where the wire runs when the charge lets go.

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3 June 2026 · 4 min

Speed to lead: the first five minutes

A new enquiry has a short half-life. Five minutes in, most of its value has already decayed.

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14 May 2026 · 4 min

What ChatGPT says when someone asks for a tradie

There's a second search happening now. It doesn't show a list. It names a winner.

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22 April 2026 · 4 min

Why your Google profile outranks your website

The map pack is a gate, and your website is standing on the wrong side of it.

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