9-Week Group Coaching Program

You Started a Trade Business.
Now You Need to
Learn to Run One.

The Trade Up Program is a structured, practical coaching program for trade business owners who are ready to get serious about their numbers, their people, and how they run their business.

Apply Now How it works
Sound Familiar?

You're Good at
Your Trade.
Running the Business
Is a Different Skill.

Nobody teaches you how to run a business when you're doing your apprenticeship. You figured it out as you went. And for a while, that was fine.

But you're past that point now. You've got revenue coming in. Maybe you've got people. And something still isn't working the way it should.

You want to grow but you're already drowning

There's no time to work on the business because you're too busy working in it. The idea of taking on more feels impossible when you can barely keep up now.

Revenue is up. Profit isn't following.

You're turning over decent money but it doesn't seem to stay. You're not sure where it's going, and you don't have a clear picture of what your margins actually are.

You know you need to get serious about your numbers — but where do you start?

You're not across your GP, you're quoting on gut feel, and tax time is always a surprise. The numbers side of the business feels like another language.

You're making decisions alone

Nobody around you has done what you're trying to do. Your mates are supportive but they can't help you solve business problems. You need someone who's actually been there.

John Grout
Your Coach

Coached by Someone Who
Built It, Ran It and Sold It.

John Grout spent 22 years building a trade business from a one-man operation to a team of 45+ staff. He built it to the point where it ran without him. Then he sold it.

He's been through every stage you're at — still on the tools when he should have stepped back, making decisions without the numbers, learning to lead people for the first time. He made the expensive mistakes so you don't have to.

The Trade Up Program isn't built on theory. It's built on what John did, what he wishes he'd known earlier, and what he's seen work with the trade business owners he coaches now.

"Most trade business owners don't have a growth problem. They have a clarity problem. They don't know where they are, what stage they're in, or what to focus on next."

John
Founder, Serve SME
Is This For You?

This Program Is Built
for a Specific Person.

You're a trade business owner. You're employing people, or you're about to. You're working longer hours than you ever did on the tools and it still feels chaotic.

You got into business to make good money and give your family a good life. Right now you're working more than ever, the profit on paper isn't in the bank, and you're doing everything — just not doing any of it as well as you know you could.

Good fit

  • Trade business owner with employees, or about to start hiring
  • On the tools and know it's time to start stepping back
  • You've got staff but managing them is harder than doing the work yourself
  • Serious about growth, not just thinking about it
  • You want practical frameworks, not generic advice
  • Willing to do the work between sessions

Not a fit

  • Just starting out or pre-revenue
  • Looking for tips and tricks, not real change
  • Not willing to act on what you learn between sessions
  • Wanting someone to fix it for you
Program Outcomes

What You'll Walk
Away With.

Nine weeks of live coaching, practical frameworks, and tools you can use the same week. By the end of the program you will have:

01

Know your numbers for real.

Your GP%, real hourly rate, quoting framework and the key metrics that tell you the truth about your business before it becomes a crisis. No more gut feel. No more tax surprises.

02

Price with confidence.

Understand what every job actually costs you, how to quote for margin not just time, and how to increase your rate with existing clients — with a script to have that conversation.

03

Make the shift from tradesperson to business owner.

The identity and practical shift from doing the work to running the business. What your week needs to look like, how to hand off correctly, and what gets in the way.

04

Build and lead a team.

How to hire the right people, onboard them so they stick, manage performance early, and have the difficult conversations most business owners avoid until it's too late.

05

Run a designed week, not a reactive one.

A structured, intentional rhythm as a business owner — when you review numbers, when you meet with your team, when you work on the business. Built and practised before the program ends.

What's Included

9-Week Group Coaching Program.
Everything You Need. Nothing You Don't.

Live sessions. Implementation tools. Playbooks, templates and a private community.

Weekly Live Sessions with John

Every week for 9 weeks, live and interactive with John and a small group of other trade business owners. This is a coaching session, not a webinar. You'll get real time in the room.

Implementation Tools, Playbooks & Templates

Every session comes with the tools to put what you've learned straight into your business. Calculators, frameworks, scripts, templates and playbooks. Built to be used, not filed away.

Progress Tracking Dashboard

A weekly Red / Yellow / Green goal tracker reviewed at the start of every session. John sees it. The group sees it. You're accountable to both.

Private Cohort Community

A private group for your cohort only. Questions, wins, accountability between sessions. John is active in the community — this isn't a group chat that goes quiet after week two.

Session Recordings in Your Private Portal

Every live session is recorded and available in your private portal. Yours to keep and revisit.

90-Day Check-In with John

90 days after the program ends, John checks back in with the group. How is implementation going? What has landed? Where are you getting stuck? A live session focused on making sure what you learned is actually working in your business.

What You Walk Away With

A Business Toolkit
You'll Actually Use.

Every session is built around doing, not just learning. You leave each week with something you can apply immediately. By the end of the program you'll have a set of practical tools, calculators, scripts, frameworks and playbooks covering your numbers, your pricing, your money system, your people and how you run your business as an owner.

Everything is built during the program and yours to keep. These are not generic templates. They are built around your business and your numbers.

Results

What Happens When Trade Business Owners
Get Real Coaching

From trade business owners who stopped guessing and started building.

★★★★★
"John's business knowledge is unmatched. I would recommend his advisory services to any business owner who is ready to take their business to the next level. The structure he helped us put in place changed everything about how we operate."
Blake Gilbert
Blake Gilbert
Elecell
★★★★★
"I wish I started working with John a lot sooner. In just two sessions John introduced me to tools I should have had from day one, including exactly how to cost each employee and make a profit on every job, not guess at it. When I hit some of the hardest challenges of my business, John helped me work through every one of them. John's knowledge and mentorship is second to none."
Dave Lyon
Dave Lyon
Platinum Electricians
★★★★★
"John has been my coach for five years. The impact has been invaluable. My business is more focused, efficient, and profitable. His clear, practical approach has helped me simplify complexity, make better decisions, and achieve real results. Highly recommend."
Kris Lewin
Kris Lewin
National Operations Network
Questions

Straight
Answers

If you've got a question that isn't answered here, reach out directly.

Ask a Question
Trade business owners who are employing people (or about to), who are still heavily involved in the day-to-day and know something needs to change. If you're serious about building a business that doesn't depend entirely on you, this is built for you.
It's live. Every session runs in real time with John and the cohort. You're not buying a course to watch at 11pm. You're joining a small group of trade business owners working through the same challenges together, with John in the room every week.
You'll have access to a private cohort community where John is active between sessions. Questions, implementation wins, roadblocks — it's not a group chat that goes quiet after week two.
Every session is recorded and available in your private portal. You won't miss the content. That said, the program works best when you show up live — the coaching dynamic and peer accountability are a big part of what makes it work.
One live session per week for 9 weeks, plus implementation time between sessions. The real work happens when you apply what you've learned in your business. Budget around 2–3 hours per week. The work you do between sessions is where most of the value comes from.

The Trade Up Program is $3,200 + GST paid in full. Payment plans are available:

  • 3-month plan$1,100 + GST per month
  • 6-month plan$560 + GST per month
In most cases, yes — coaching and professional development expenses for your business are tax deductible. Check with your accountant to confirm your specific situation.
Any trade. The frameworks work whether you're in electrical, plumbing, building, HVAC, solar or any other trade service business. The challenges at each stage of business growth are the same regardless of what's in your van.
Apply Now

Ready to Build a Business,
Not Just a Job?

The Trade Up Program runs in small cohorts. Places are limited so John can work closely with everyone in the group. If you're ready to stop running on gut feel and start building something that works without you, apply below and we'll be in touch.