Trusted by 35+ trade and service businesses across Australia
If any of this sounds familiar,
you're in the right place.
Everything funnels back through you
Every decision, every quote, every problem ends up back on your desk. You cannot step away without something breaking.
One resignation away from the tools
Lose one key person and you are back on the job site doing it yourself. You know it. So does your team.
No such thing as a real holiday
Two weeks max, phone in hand, and you come back to a mess. Weekends are half-days. Your family gets what is left.
Groundhog day
Same fires, different week. You fix it, it comes back. The team does the work, but nobody owns it except you.
None of that is a work-ethic problem. You have more than enough of that.
It is a leadership structure problem, and structure can be built.
Mick's story
The day I stopped trying to do it all
“50 calls. On holidays.”
I was on holidays when the 50th call of the day came through. I was exhausted. I felt trapped. I wanted to be present with my family and my wife, Ciemon, but I could not put the phone down. If I did, the business would fall apart.
That is not a holiday. That is just working somewhere warmer.
On that trip Ciemon helped me see what I had been refusing to admit. I was trying to do everything myself, and it was costing us. When I got back I promoted two people into leadership and started handing over the clients, tasks and responsibilities I had held onto for years because I told myself nobody else could handle them.
I did the MBA. It was not what fixed it. What fixed it was working out that the business had grown, but the way I was leading it had not. Once I saw that, what happened next was not complicated.
The business grew. My week got smaller.
Revenue grown over the journey
People on the team
In sales across my career
Down from 60 to 70 a week
The Arena Academy
The Arena is a 13-month program for you and your team. It builds three things into your business so it runs without you in the middle of it.
Alignment. Everyone knows what matters: where you are going, what is important right now, and what great looks like.
Empowerment. Your team owns getting it done. They know how to perform, how to make the call, and they own the outcome.
Capacity. Your team builds what is next: new leaders, more capability, bigger opportunities.
Your leaders come too. They attend the weekly sessions and training alongside you, so the change sticks in the business, not just in your head.
Real businesses. Real results.
These are the results clients achieve inside Arena Academy. In their own words.
Massive results with his first two leaders
"I've seen massive results. So my first two leaders I've put through, I actually got phone calls from the line managers themselves. The feedback I got from them was 'Whatever you paid for this, the advancements within your business are priceless.'"
Adam Henshall
CEO, Calibre Engineering
From good company to great company
"As a business owner of over thirty years, we were struggling to navigate the changing style of leadership needed to be relevant with today's workforce expectations. Awakened Business has provided expert guidance in helping Crockett Industries transform from a good company to a great company."
Jason Crockett
Owner, Crockett Industries
10X return on his investment
"I have noticed a huge success in my team, not only in my profit line, but the strength in my leadership team and the morale throughout my company. My return has been 10X my original investment."
Travis McElligott
Owner, Custom Steel Fab
Who steps into the Arena
Built for a specific type of owner.
This is for you if
- You run a trade or service business in Australia with 6 or more staff
- Everything currently runs through you
- You are ready to lead differently, not just work harder
This is not for you if
- You want a quick fix or a folder of templates
- You think the problem is the team, not the leadership
- You are not willing to change how you operate
Not ready for a call?
Start here instead.
What's your leadership style?
Answer a few quick questions and find out where you sit, and what to work on next.
The Business Freedom Blueprint
Who is Mick?
The ex-tradie behind The Arena, and how he stepped out of his own trade business.
You started this thing for freedom. To call your own shots. To finally have time. Instead, you’re drowning in team questions, chasing jobs, putting out fires, and trying not to snap when your phone rings on Sunday. Sounds familiar? The break-even trap If you’re a…
Questions owners ask us
How much time does it take each week?
About 1 to 2 hours a week. That covers your weekly session and putting what you learn into the business. It is built for owners who are already flat out.
Can my team be involved?
What if it is not right for me?
I have had a coach before. How is this different?
Sooner or later every owner hits the limit of what one person can carry.
The only question is whether you build the leaders before something breaks, or after.
A Game Plan call is a straight conversation. We look at where the business is at, the one thing to fix first, and whether The Arena is the right fit. If it is not, we will tell you, and you will still walk away with the plan.