Episode Details

William Cocks didn’t just move countries — he rebuilt his entire career.

After running a plumbing business in South Africa, William moved to Australia, requalified from scratch, and rebuilt his future inside the Plumbing Bros franchise system.

Today, he owns the Central Coast and Newcastle territories and is scaling a serious maintenance-focused plumbing business across real estate, government, prisons, and commercial contracts.

This conversation breaks down what it really takes to grow a trade business beyond “one-man band” mode: building systems, winning contracts, hiring the right people, and playing the long game with relationships, referrals, and consistency. 

William shares the real lessons from moving countries, rebuilding credentials, choosing franchising over going solo, and why business skills often matter more than trade skills.

0:00 Introduction

0:24 What does Plumbing Bros do

2:47 From South Africa to Australia: Why William chose Plumbing 

6:04 Getting licensed in Australia (Journeyman → Licensed Plumber)

8:00 Why Plumbing Bros stood out: systems, support & quoting help

10:32 The “Collegiate” advantage of franchising

12:54 Biggest challenge: hiring, staff, and people management

14:10 How William wins work: cold calling, drop-ins, magnets & networking

16:37 Why magnets & flyers work (essential service + top-of-mind)

21:18 Adding Newcastle territory: why it made sense

22:32 Future growth plans and next expansion steps

25:18 Wrap up

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