Josh runs Helix Group alongside his brother in northern Sydney. Before applying a formal management structure, the company operated with overheads at 35 percent and paid $9,000 a month for local accounting. The lack of formal processes forced them to absorb a $160,000 basement variation because they failed to secure written approval from the client prior to excavation. Josh also worked for six years without a holiday, constantly answering his phone.

Josh laid off excess in-house staff and hired offshore virtual assistants for estimating and bookkeeping, dropping accounts costs to $800 a month. He established variation approval rules requiring client sign-off before site work continues. By organizing his schedule with a Default Diary, Josh separated site meetings from business development, which helped him secure a 1.1 million dollar cost-plus contract. This structure enabled him to take a two-week unplugged trip to Vietnam while his site foreman managed the active projects.

Links & Resources

• Helix Group Website: https://www.helix.group/

🕒 Timestamped Key Point

• 00:00 Introduction
• 04:58 Securing a 1.1 million dollar contract through 14 months of negotiation and transitioning it to a cost-plus agreement after lock-up.
• 14:00 Using an A to Z operations org chart to formalize the roles of site foremen and project managers.
• 16:10 Installing Alpha flooring to block sound transfer between levels in a split-living residence.
• 18:57 Mandating written client approval for variations to prevent absorbing costs like a 160,000 dollar basement excavation.
• 22:15 Outsourcing bookkeeping to the Philippines to drop accounting costs from 9,000 dollars down to 800 dollars a month.
• 26:42 Blocking out the schedule to take a two-week trip to Vietnam after working six years without a holiday.
• 35:22 Sending 100 direct messages a week on LinkedIn to schedule coffee meetings with architects and designers.
• 40:57 Implementing a Default Diary to separate mandatory site meetings from dedicated business development time.