Episodes
James Wildish from XOX Coatings joins Joel Bardall and Todd Von Joel to discuss his career in the trade. James talks about how he got his start as a ‘chancer’ and quickly became the director of a successful business, employing nearly 20 decorators. James tells the shocking story of how getting knocked for six figures on a commercial job changed his life and led him into the world of spraying. James talks about his work as a UPVC spraying trainer for Dulux and where he thinks the future of the trade is heading
Joel Bardall and Todd Von Joel invite Carpenter, John Argyle & Plumbing and Heating Engineer, John Cruickshank, to join them and discuss their approach to pricing and quoting for work. They cover dayrate for their trade, how they deal with extras, emergencies, added time on a job and how they factor in their value and experience
Joel Bardall and Todd Von Joel invite decorators to join them and discuss myths and misconceptions from the trade. Peter Clark talks about misconceptions apprentices and students have when they join the trade as well as touching on myths believed by established Decs. Adam Bell, Decorator and creator of Dapps Workwear talks about misconceptions Decorators have about the value of what they can offer clients and what their standing and value is within the construction industry as a whole
Joel Bardall and Todd Von Joel invite Callum Bonner, from Pristine Decor Ltd and Bryan Dennett from LF Dennettt & Son, to join them and discuss pricing, quotes and writing up job specs. Callum covers doing this from a commercial perspective with a Quantity Surveyor and Bryan talks about the digital system he has in place to make this an easier aspect of his business to manage. Joel and Todd also cover their approach, AI and more
Joel and Todd have talked a lot over the years about the good and bad aspects of working for friends and family. On this episode, they share some never before heard stories, both good and bad, with regards to working for friends and family. Joel and Todd also share their three rules to follow if you're gonna be working for people you know
Ashley Woodcock joins Joel Bardall and Todd Von Joel and shares his incredible life story on and off the tools. Ashley talks about his amateur boxing experiences, unlicensed boxing, sparring with greats, the highs and lows he's faced along the way, the charity work he's been involved in, decorating on TV and more!
Joel Bardall and Todd Von Joel invite decorators to join them with problems they need to solve, or have been challenged by on past jobs. Alex Woodward, shares some recent challenges he's had and asks for some advice and experienced Decorator, Chris Ordinaire talks about being recently caught out
Joel Bardall and Todd Von Joel talk to fellow decorators about their experiences hanging wallpaper, the demand for this in the market currently, how to charge appropriately and the pros and cons of offering it to customers. Guests include: Jason Savage (Novitas Decorators) & James Reeve (Royal Spa Decoration Ltd.)
Todd Von Joel & Joel Bardall discuss how they go about indentifying red flags early on and throughout the job with regards to customer communication. Joel and Todd give some examples from past experiences and discuss the terms and conditions they've put in place as a result
Joel Bardall and Todd Von Joel are joined again by Colin Bidwell from Paint Shack to do a deep dive on paints and products. Colin talks about the new tools and paints on the market, What is happening with regards to cost and availability, innovative products, trends and the future
Joel Bardall and Todd Von Joel are joined by Colin Bidwell (Paint Shack) to discuss his experiences in the trade. Colin talks about how he got into the trade, spraying, thoughts on the trade and more
Joel Bardall and Todd Von Joel get some practical advice for managing your money from two members of the trade that have found sensible ways to handle their finances. Guests include: Jon Graham & John Kerry
Joel Bardall and Todd Von Joel discuss all the different ways you can approach various aspects of the trade
Joel Bardall and Todd Von Joel are joined by Jamie Bourne from Abode Academy to discuss all the training, technology and possibilities to earn good money with a spray set up in 2025
Joel Bardall and Todd Von Joel talk about their plans for the year ahead, the changes they plan to make and changes you may consider making this year professionally and personally
Joel Bardall & Todd Von Joel pick up where they left off last year and this time look at the good, bad and ugly side of marketing and advertising your business. They invite marketing expert, Jon Mears to join them and give his accessment of what are the good, bad and ugly sides of marketing and habits Decorators have with regards to this
Joel Bardall and Todd Von Joel discuss the good, bad and the ugly aspects of how domestic decorators work and the habits of their clients
Joel Bardall talks about the recent mural he created in a long time customer's house. Joel and Todd talk to a decorator that specialises in wallpaper murals and also talk to Paint Tech about the skills involved & what it's like to train in. Guests include: Gary Marsh & Pete Wilkinson from Paint Tech
Joel Bardall & Todd Von Joel look at the recent 'Project 7000 - The Lost City' campaign from On The Tools, which saw street signs pop up in ten cities around the UK to raise awareness around mental health in the construction industry. Joel and Todd play a clip from On The Tools CEO Lee Wilcox on the Clive Holland Show and discuss the lack of awareness the general public have with regards to mental health in construction. They also invite The Paint Warrior Kevin Tingley to join them and discuss mental health in the trade and invite Russell Payne (The Talking Tradesman Podcast) to discuss wh...
Joel Bardall & Todd Von Joel invite top quality & award winning Decorators to join them and give some advice for newer members of the trade when it comes to avoiding common mistakes made. Guests Include: Gary Burton, Nick Sammut & Charles Wright from Trades4Care
Joel Bardall and Todd Von Joel discuss some controversial takes and opinions about Painting & Decorating and the role of the professional Decorator
Joel Bardall & Todd Von Joel pick up on last week's topic and discuss how you can extract more profit from a job with less spent on products, while also achieving a good end result. The Paint Viking, Ben Ruffett joins to discuss his methods for decorating on a budget and Joel and Todd give some tips and insight into how they do the same
Todd Von Joel and Joel Bardall address the cost of living crisis and whether it's giving Decorators no other option but to raise their quoted costs... or whether it means clients will have less budget and might need prices to remain the same. Guests include: Jo from 'Decor by Jo' & 'The Paint Viking' (Ben Ruffett)
Joel Bardall and Todd Von Joel are joined by three members of the trade to discuss what they've found recently with regards to material cost, quality & some of the new and different products they've tried out. Guests include: Jon Graham, Wayne De Wet & Jen Gardner
Joel Bardall and Todd Von Joel look at the ways in which you can be a busy fool in the trade and how to avoid it. Being a busy fool can mean you have no work life balance, work weekends without wanting to, saying yes too much and not feeling on top of things. Chris Ordinaire, top Decorator and friend of the show joins to discuss as well
Joel Bardall and Todd Von Joel are joined by guests who have had bad things happen to them to discuss their experiences and how they handled the adversity they faced. Guests include: Costa & Sam from Costa Decoration Ltd. & Robin Lush
Joel Bardall and Todd Von Joel discuss the end of the exterior season as they finish up their final exterior jobs for 2024. They talk about how it's all gone this year, what the rest of the year has in store and invite guests to discuss their experiences as well. Guests include: James Houseman & Bryan Dennett
Joel Bardall and Todd Von Joel discuss the professional pressure they feel, not only to upscale their business and continue to expand but also to manage ongoing jobs, balance home life with professional life
Joel Bardall & Todd Von Joel are joined by Damp Expert, Ross Charters so that they can get some advice and further understanding with regards to tackling damp issues. Ross has created an app that can really help with damp issues and also gives some interesting context around which products may or may not be suitable for tackling the wide range of damp that an affect a property. You can find out more here: https://www.colemanator.co.uk/
Joel Bardall and Todd Von Joel are joined by three well respected Decorators to discuss how they approach taking holiday and time off. Everything is discussed from how many holidays a year, how you handle enquiries and ongoing jobs to working a four day week and how taking time off changes over the years. Guests include: Jo from Decor By Jo, Callum Bonner from Pristine Decor & Dulux Select Decorator Sean Kelly