Tradies often come home covered in dirt, dust and debris, but hey — isn't that part of the appeal? Everyone's got a type ... yours just happens to be a little rough around the edges. Besides, tradies are fit and chatting to clients all day gives them good banter and a great sense of humour. Not to mention they can be very handy around the house!
Ready to dive into life as a tradie wife? Check out our checklist for starting a trade business to get started.
Short on time? Skip ahead!
- What's it like to date a tradie?
- Top 3 tips for dating a tradie
- A day in the life of a trade wife
- How to support your tradie partner
1. What's it like to date a tradie?
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to date a tradie? Well, wonder no more, as we give you a day in the life of a tradie wife! We’re all about the rise of the ‘lady tradie’ and how they’re challenging gender roles, but the reality for most is that wives, girlfriends, and partners of tradies are often running the business behind the scenes.
2. Top 3 tips for dating a tradie
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Have a good sense of humour — you're going to need one!
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Be prepared to work in the business — willingly or not.
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Understand that it doesn't mean work will always get done at home. Your builder tradie won't always be adding extensions, your landscaper tradie won't always stay on top of the gardening, and your electrician tradie won't always fulfil requests for mood-lighting installations or dimmer switches.
3. A day in the life of a tradie wife
5 am: Tradie's alarm goes off, shortly followed by every bright light in the house being turned on and an inability to find anything that they own. 5 am also becomes your wake-up time, like it or not.
7:30 am: Into the home office to work a job you didn’t sign up for, but are doing anyway. Sorting through piles of crumpled receipts that have been lovingly left on your desk after being gathered off the floor of the work ute.
11:30 am: Scouring Google trying to teach yourself everything you need to know about running a trade business.
12 pm: Tradie suggests a lunch date. Turns out to be a trip to Bunnings for a sausage sizzle and materials run.
1 pm: Hear from a 'friend' who hasn't messaged in months, asking if your tradie can 'pop in' to 'fix something quickly'.
2 pm: Back home via the ‘scenic route’ to view every property your tradie has ever worked on.
3 pm: Pop on a load of washing only to stop the machine 20 times to remove the random screws and drill bits that have fallen out of the tradie’s work pants. If you are very lucky, you might even discover a $50 note or two. Finders keepers!
4 pm: Investigate the lack of progress on the outstanding problems you pointed out to your tradie months ago. Threaten to hire a ‘professional'.
6 pm: Start on dinner and wonder where all your Tupperware has gone. It dawns on you that they are probably growing mould in the work vehicle – probably next to more receipts that should have been addressed a few months ago.
8 pm: Start a movie only to soon be interrupted by tradie snores.
9 pm: Send the tradie to bed, put on a chick flick and remember that you and your tradie really do make a great team. You know you wouldn’t have it any other way.
4. How to support your tradie partner
Being a tradie isn't easy, and self-employed business admin is often too much extra work for the person on the tools. That's why many tradies' partners often become business partners as well. Do yourself and your tradie a favour, make sure the business admin is sorted with job management software.
P.s
Trade businesses have massive opportunities for success, even beyond the scope of your area, city, or country! For inspiration to see where a trades business can take you, check out;
- Richest Electricians of All Time
- Richest Builders of All Time
- Richest Plumbers of All Time
- Richest Carpenters of All Time
Tradify is the all-in-one app that helps tradies around the world run their businesses. See for yourself in our free 14-day trial, or book a walkthrough with one of our experts.
This is a guest article written by Verity Hare, Founder and Director of TradieWives, a community dedicated to empowering women in the trades industry.
