The Novalé Podcast

Novalé Bathrooms has been around for 12 years. The business has actually been around for longer in different shapes and forms. And yet, Steve believes Novalé is just getting started. The team is growing, the office is expanding and the jobs keep flowing. But it's always been intriguing on how and why Steve started the business, as well as his story. How did Steve start Novalé? Was it a smooth transition from tiling? How did he gain success early and use that to grow? How much did his business rely on referrals? How did he build his team? Why did he take his time to grow? What we discuss in this episode: 1. Steve's early career as a tiler 2. Working with his father 3. Managing jobs at the age of 16 4. Learning how to do give a great customer experience from his uncle in war-torn Croatia 5. The slow transition to doing bathroom renovations 6. Bathroom renovator vs. bathroom renovations company 7. How did he learn how to start and run a business? 8. What was his team at this point? 9. Would he have done it any differently if he could do it again? 10. Final words Novale Instagram - @novalebathrooms Novale Facebook - /novalebathrooms

As contractors, we are always focusing on giving a great customer experience. But how often have we thought about how to give subcontractors the same satisfaction? As subcontractors how do you make sure you're helping out the contractors? And most of all, how can contractors and subcontractors work together to give the customer the best experience? This episode we have glazier Wayne Vassallo from All Points Glass to share his insight on how to keep subbies happy. Wayne has been in the trade for 35 years, taking over his father in the glazing business. Wayne installs shower screens for Novalé Bathrooms as well as more than 100 contractors in NSW. Join Wayne, Ben & Steve on this episode to learn about how to keep subcontractors happy. What we discuss with Wayne Vassallo: - Wayne's early beginnings into glazing - What is glazing? - How did Wayne meet Steve? - What simple things can contractors do to keep customers and subbies happy? - Mistakes that subbies do on the job - What to do when things go wrong in a job? - Why you need to fix things straight away for the customer - Final words. Novalé Bathrooms Instagram - @novalebathrooms Novalé Bathrooms Facebook - /novalebathrooms

Design is not only making your bathroom look beautiful but also ensuring it is a functional space for everyday. It is as much as creating as it is problem-solving. This episode we have a special guest, Interior Design Consultant Catherine Kirwan (Coco Republic, Max Sparrow, Thomas Hamel & Associates & Novalé Bathrooms) who explains how she helps her clients not just 'like' their new bathrooms, but "love" them too. Join Steve, Ben & Catherine as they discuss the role of an interior designer, the design-client relationship, the design process and much more. Episode Notes: - Intro; - Catherine's beginnings into interior design; - Should you go to school to learn design? - Interior designing for leading furniture companies; - Catherine's entry into interior design for bathrooms; - The difference between interior designing & decorating; - Catherine's design process with a client; - Design is creative problem solving of functional spaces; - Designing around technical limitations; - Look and feel over price for the PC items; - Understanding the clients' needs and being guided by that; - The value of hiring a designer; - Designing for resale or for yourself; - Final words; - Outro;

To delivery quality consistently and safely, you need someone to check all the processes to ensure the system is working. Whether that's mitigating risk in a pre-worksite audit, keeping up with new regulations or undergoing ISO accreditation, quality assurance & compliance is the role that will keep your business up to standard and running optimally. Join Ben Le with our first podcast guest Bryan Dunlop from Novalé Bathrooms discussing QA & Compliance. Episode Notes: - Intro: - Bryan's beginnings in carpentry, estimation and home building; - Transition into bathroom renovations; - The role of quality assurance and compliance; - The day-day operations of the role; - Main challenges of the role - getting people to buy-in, positives over the negatives; - Having high-performance standards & ISO accreditation; - QA & Compliance in the industry; - How to be quality assured and compliant in an unregulated industry; - Regulations and frameworks; - Major regulatory bodies; - Keeping up with regulations; - QA and Compliance in Novalé & expectations; - Impact of high performance standards in Novalé; - Getting team to buy-in; - Business licensing and insurance; - Subcontractor or Employee? How to distinguish and choose; - ISO Accreditation; - How can new businesses improve their QA & Compliance? - Final words; - Outro.

Once you have started your business and it is up and running, most chances are that the next step is building a team. But first, how do you know who to look for, what qualities should you prioritise as well as where is the best talent for your business? Join Ben Le and Steve Novkovic from Novalé Bathrooms discuss the best ways to build an effective long term team. Episode Notes: - Intro; - Steve's team at the beginning of Novalé; - Recruiting through channels other than friends and family; - The importance of attitude and values over talent; - Identifying outstanding talent vs. red flags; - Negotiating wages and salaries; - Training and nurturing talent; - Hire slow, fire slow; - Training program at Novalé; - Supporting the team; - Rewarding great work; - Building the best team culture; - Final words; - Outro.