Business systems for the trades · Calgary, AB

Big-business systems for small trades businesses.

You're great at the trade. We make the business run like a system — onboarding, sales, safety, hiring, the books — in plain language, with no corporate fluff.

Backed by a money-back guarantee — if the advice wasn't worth it, you don't pay for it.

BUSINESS HEALTH CHECKTS-001
Written processes (SOPs)MISSING
Repeatable sales systemMISSING
OH&S program (Alberta)MISSING
Hiring & interview kitMISSING
Bookkeeping rhythmMISSING
Trade Secrets engagement→ SORTED
Plumbing/ Electrical/ HVAC/ Landscaping/ Framing/ Concrete/ Roofing/ Mechanical
The problem

The trade is the easy part.

Most trades businesses run on the owner's memory. That works — right up until you're slammed, hiring, or trying to take a week off and everything grinds to a halt.

01

Nothing's written down

Quality and training depend on what's in your head. New hires take months to get useful.

02

Feast or famine

Sales are reactive and word-of-mouth only. Some months you're buried, others the phone's quiet.

03

Safety paperwork costs you work

No proper OH&S program means lost bids — many GCs won't hire a sub without the documentation.

04

The books are always behind

You can't see what's actually profitable, and tax time is a yearly fire drill.

05

Hiring by gut feel

No job descriptions, no interview process — and one bad hire can cost you twenty grand.

06

Quotes & scheduling in your head

Jobs slip through the cracks because there's no system holding the handoffs together.

What we build

The systems your business is missing.

We build the master system once, then tailor it to your trade, your size, and the way you actually work. You get senior-level work at small-business prices.

SYS / 01

SOPs & onboarding

Documented processes and a new-hire ramp so your business doesn't live in your head.

SYS / 02

Sales systems & funnels

A repeatable lead-to-close process: quote templates, follow-up scripts, a real pipeline.

SYS / 03

Project management

Job workflows, handoff checklists and scheduling that keep work from slipping.

SYS / 04

OH&S programs

A health & safety program aligned to Alberta OHS — so you stop losing bids over paperwork.

SYS / 05

Hiring & interviews

Job descriptions, scorecards and interview guides so you stop hiring on a hunch.

SYS / 06

Bookkeeping rhythm

A monthly close, a clean chart of accounts and a KPI dashboard you'll actually use.

SYS / 07

Marketing, branding & web

A brand, message and website that make a small shop look like the obvious choice.

SYS / 08

Structure & AI adoption

Incorporation guidance and practical AI that saves you hours on quoting, comms and admin.

How it works

Three steps. No jargon.

Low-risk to start, and you always leave with something in writing.

1

Free discovery call

Tell us where it hurts. No pitch, no jargon — about 30 minutes to figure out if we can help.

2

We diagnose

Over Zoom, on the phone, or with a site walk and job shadow — we watch how your business actually runs.

3

Systems + recap

We build the systems and hand you a written recap with prioritized next steps. Every time.

Pricing

Pick the level of support you need.

Monthly plans for ongoing help — cancel anytime. Prefer one project? Everything's available à la carte too.

Foundations
For solo operators and very small shops getting organized.
FROM$400/mo
  • Monthly check-in call
  • Ask-us-anything support (48-hr reply)
  • One SOP built each quarter
  • Member pricing on system packages
Get started
Growth
For 3–15 staff who are scaling and feeling the growing pains.
FROM$1,000/mo
  • Weekly check-ins
  • Priority support (24-hr reply)
  • Ongoing system builds, month over month
  • Quarterly strategy review
Book a free call
Operating System
Your fractional ops brain when you want a true partner.
FROM$2,200/mo
  • Embedded weekly support
  • Multiple system workstreams at once
  • Quarterly planning & reviews
  • On-call for the big decisions
Talk to us

Just need one thing? Business Health Checks, site-walk audits and one-off system packages are available without a subscription.

Our guarantee

If the advice wasn't worth it, you don't pay for it.

We're confident in the work. If you finish a consultation feeling it wasn't worth the fee, tell us — we refund the consultation fee. No hard feelings.

Book your free call →
Why Trade Secrets

The accessible alternative to big, expensive firms.

Real management training, genuine respect for the trades, and modern tools — pointed at the unglamorous systems that actually move your business.

Plain language, always

If a journeyman can't follow it, we rewrite it. No buzzwords, no 80-page reports nobody reads.

We know the trades

We build for how your business actually works — trucks, crews, job sites and all — not a textbook.

Fast, AI-accelerated work

Modern tools let a sharp small team deliver the polish of a big firm — without the big-firm invoice.

Skin in the game

The money-back guarantee means our incentive is simple: deliver advice that's actually worth it.

Founding clients wanted

Be one of our first — at a founding rate.

We're taking on a small group of founding clients at a discount in exchange for honest feedback. You get senior-level systems for less; we earn the case studies that build this firm. Fair trade?

I'm interested →
Questions

The stuff trades owners ask us.

Do you actually understand the trades?

Yes. We grew up around the trades and build for how the work really happens — site walks, crews, quoting on the fly. We don't hand you a corporate binder; we hand you systems that fit a trades business.

We're a small shop — is this even affordable?

That's the whole point. We're the accessible alternative to firms that won't touch a business your size. Start with a single Health Check or a Foundations plan from $400/month, and scale up only if it's paying off.

What if I just need one thing fixed?

No problem. You don't need a subscription — book a one-off Business Health Check, a site-walk audit, or a single system package (onboarding, sales, safety, hiring, and so on).

Do you do the work, or just advise?

We build. You get real deliverables — written SOPs, checklists, templates, dashboards — plus a recap with next steps. Then we make sure they actually get used, not shelved.

What exactly is the guarantee?

If you finish a consultation feeling the advice wasn't worth the fee, tell us and we refund the consultation fee. It keeps us honest and takes the risk off you.

Where are you based?

Calgary, Alberta. We work in person across Calgary and area (Airdrie, Cochrane, Okotoks, Chestermere) and remotely with trades businesses anywhere in Alberta.

Let's talk

Let's make your business run like a system.

Book a free 30-minute discovery call. No pitch, no jargon — just a straight conversation about where you're stuck.

hello@tradesecretsconsulting.ca  ·  Calgary, AB