Running a trade business,
without it running you.
Less chaos. Better systems. More control.
I bought a glazing business with almost no money down, built the systems by hand, ran it from another country, and sold it to someone who'd never touched glass. Now I'm building the next thing and showing the work as it happens.
Follow the Build
Three things that make this different
I bought a glazing business on vendor finance with basically no money down. Ran it from the tools for five to six years, then ran it remotely for the next five, the last three from Queenstown, roughly 2,000km away. Sold it this year to a buyer who'd never touched glass, because the systems made it runnable by anyone. Every claim here has a receipt.
No 5am club, no grind talk. Family time isn't negotiable. The whole point of building the systems was so the business could run without me having to be in the room for every decision, not so I could work more hours in a nicer chair.
I'm not teaching from memory. Glass Hub and the next chapter are being built right now. What's working, what's not, and the stuff-ups all show up here as they happen.
I didn't learn this from a book.
I trained as an apprentice glazier in New Zealand. Years later I bought a struggling glass business with almost no money down, spent the first five to six years building systems by hand, then ran it remotely for the last five, three of those from another country. It kept running through COVID without anyone needing to change how they worked. I sold it this year to a buyer with zero glass experience, because that was the whole point: if the systems are good enough, anyone can run the business.
Read the Full Story
Follow the Build.
The real version, not the highlight reel. Every two weeks.
“Gene and the team went above and beyond to help our building business, the investment in ourselves has been the most profitable thing we could have done.”
Joel, Builder
What I actually talk about
Freedom
Remote operations, stepping back, owner life.
Systems
Quoting, job management, the tools that actually hold up.
Trade Realities
Staff, pricing, cash flow, customers, the hard parts said plainly.
Building in Public
Glass Hub decisions, wins, and failures as they land.
Life Integration
Queenstown, routine, what the business actually funds.
First posts landing soon. Follow the Build and you'll see them before they're on the blog.
Questions worth answering upfront
Who is this for?
Any trade business owner running things themselves, glaziers, builders, sparkies, plumbers, painters, tilers. If you're the one carrying every quote, job, and problem, this is for you.
Is this just for glaziers?
No. I came up as a glazier and the proof story is a glass business, but the systems and the content apply to any trade. If a post only works for glaziers, it goes on Glass Hub instead, not here.
What do you actually offer right now?
Right now, the newsletter and the content. I'm building in public, sharing what's actually happening as I build Glass Hub and the next chapter. There's no paid offer live on this site at the moment.
Is this a pitch for Glass Hub?
No. Glass Hub is a separate, glazier-specific product. This site never sells it directly. If it's ever relevant to you, it'll come up on its own, not as a pitch.
How often do you send the newsletter?
Every two weeks. Follow the Build, real stuff from the fortnight, not a highlight reel.