Your Business Growth Partner
GUIDING THE 'BEST KEPT SECRETS' TO #1 IN THEIR MARKET
Trent Butler is a Chartered Accountant who acts as a Business Coach, Growth Advisor and Marketing Strategist to growth-minded professional service business owners.
We'll help you increase your profits, implement systems to improve operations and build a team that can operate without you - giving you the money and freedom to live the life you want.
Your Business Growth Partner
GUIDING THE 'BEST KEPT SECRETS' TO #1 IN THEIR MARKET
Trent Butler is a Chartered Accountant who acts as a Business Coach, Growth Advisor and Marketing Strategist to growth-minded professional service business owners.
We'll help you increase your profits, implement systems to improve operations and build a team that can operate without you - giving you the money and freedom to live the life you want.
Just a few of the 'best kept secrets' we've worked with:
"I was attracted to Trent's clarity of what could be achieved, his process driven approach to achieving objectives, coupled with his knowledge and experience. It's been absolute pleasure working with Trent and his team. I am extremely pleased with the results...”
Giles Hill
Director, EQ Property
The Truth Is You Have A Lot On Your Plate When It Comes To Being #1 In Your Market...
You Might Be Struggling With:
Identifying & attracting the right type of higher-value client
- Past efforts have attracted the wrong type of client.
- Prospects just want to know 'price' and don't seem to care about anything else.
- Leads seem to take forever to sign-up and become a client.
You just want to attract higher-value clients who value your expertise and expect to pay a fair premium to work with you.
Monitoring cash flow & tracking return on investment
- You’re unsure what metrics to be tracking.
- You’re not clear on what benchmarks to aim for.
- You're not sure if your marketing is making or losing money.
You just want to understand dollars-in vs dollars-out and whether or not it's all worth it.
Developing process and people to handle the next growth phase
- Growth is starting to cause other operational challenges.
- Getting the right people in the right seats has become easier said than done.
- The team can never quite seem to follow process or consistently achieve what is expected.
- You're getting pulled in a hundred different directions and clients are beginning to notice.
You just want to get everyone on the same page and following processes that actually work and scale.
Figuring out what to do and what not to do next from a marketing and business development standpoint
- Exactly who is our ideal client and how do we get more of them?
- Just what is our point of difference (or do we even have one)?
- Do people see us as a commodity service provider?
- What 'tactics' would work best specifically for our firm and stage of business?
- Where should we be spending our marketing dollars and efforts?
You just want to know what you should be doing and why.
Aligning the leadership team on strategy, planning and execution
- The leadership team is losing sight of the bigger picture (core mission, vision and values).
- Key team members just can't seem to agree on what should be done next, how and why.
- Problems use to be handled quickly but now take weeks/months to resolve.
- Important but not urgent activities are just not getting done.
You just want everyone in the business aligned and beating to the same drum.
Just a few of the 'best kept secrets' we've worked with:
"I was attracted to Trent's clarity of what could be achieved, his process driven approach to achieving objectives, coupled with his knowledge and experience. It's been absolute pleasure working with Trent and his team. I am extremely pleased with the results...”
Giles Hill
Director, EQ Property
THE TRUTH IS YOU HAVE A LOT ON YOUR PLATE WHEN IT COMES TO BEING #1 IN YOUR MARKET...
You Might Be Struggling With:
Identifying & attracting the right type of higher-value client
- Past efforts have attracted the wrong type of client.
- Prospects just want to know 'price' and don't seem to care about anything else.
- Leads seem to take forever to sign-up and become a client.
You just want to attract higher-value clients who value your expertise and expect to pay a fair premium to work with you.
Monitoring cash flow & tracking return on investment
- You’re unsure what metrics to be tracking.
- You’re not clear on what benchmarks to aim for.
- You're not sure if your marketing is making or losing money.
You just want to understand dollars-in vs dollars-out and whether or not it's all worth it.
Developing process and people to handle the next growth phase
- Growth is starting to cause other operational challenges.
- Getting the right people in the right seats has become easier said than done.
- The team can never quite seem to follow process or consistently achieve what is expected.
- You're getting pulled in a hundred different directions and clients are beginning to notice.
You just want to get everyone on the same page and following processes that actually work and scale.
Figuring out what to do and what not to do next from a marketing and business development standpoint
- Exactly who is our ideal client and how do we get more of them?
- Just what is our point of difference (or do we even have one)?
- Do people see us as a commodity service provider?
- What 'tactics' would work best specifically for our firm and stage of business?
- Where should we be spending our marketing dollars and efforts?
You just want to know what you should be doing and why.
Aligning the leadership team on strategy, planning and execution
- The leadership team is losing sight of the bigger picture (core mission, vision and values).
- Key team members just can't seem to agree on what should be done next, how and why.
- Problems use to be handled quickly but now take weeks/months to resolve.
- Important but not urgent activities are just not getting done.
You just want everyone in the business aligned and beating to the same drum.
Professional business coaching can help you:
Improve operations, implement systems and remove bottlenecks so that you get your time back.
Hire and train the right team, communicate better with each other and eliminate people problems.
Grow your business with bigger and better clients.
Overcome cash flow issues and improve your financial management.
Make better decisions and become more profitable.
WELL... YOU CAN!
Butler & Co Advisory is a small team of experienced entrepreneurs coaching aspiring entrepreneurs. We are experts in one thing – growing profitable companies through an appropriate mix of business coaching, growth advisory and marketing strategy consulting.
Whereever you're stuck, we can help:
MORE LEADS, SALES, AGGRESSIVE GROWTH?
YOU GOT IT.
MORE LEADS, SALES, AGGRESSIVE GROWTH? YOU GOT IT.
You won’t believe how easy it is to get your phone ringing with top-shelf, ready-to-buy prospects until you see our methodology for yourself. It’s time for you to set the pace and leave your competitors behind.
RECRUIT & RETAIN WINNERS INSTEAD OF LOSERS?
COMING RIGHT UP.
RECRUIT & RETAIN WINNERS INSTEAD OF LOSERS? COMING RIGHT UP.
Only the very best hiring managers win the perpetual war for talent. You’ll join the ranks of elite recruiters when you learn how the top guns do it. It’s time to get the rock stars you deserve and let the rest work for the others.
CONTROL YOUR CASH AND STASH MONEY AWAY?
EASY.
CONTROL YOUR CASH AND STASH MONEY AWAY? EASY.
Smart business owners know how to control costs, forecast and manage cash, and grow profits. It’s time to control the flow of money through your business and build a large pile of cash in your bank account.
GET YOUR BUSINESS READY TO SELL FOR BIG BUCKS? LET’S ROLL.
Any business can be turned into a cash machine that runs with minimal to zero daily involvement of the owner(s). It’s time to turn your staff into a team that will run your business like they own it, so you can sell it to whomever you wish, whenever you wish.
Who We Work With
We work primarily with established business owners in the following categories.
Advisory Firms
Accounting firms, consulting firms, real estate agencies, medical clinics and marketing agencies.
Professionals
Consultants, coaches, real estate agents, accountants, mortgage brokers, medical practitioners, marketers and freelancers.
Our Founder & Lead Business Coach, Trent Butler
The vision of Butler & Co Advisory is to be the undisputed market leader in business growth advisory services in Australia.
Our plan to achieve that vision is to work hand-in-hand with a smaller volume of exceptionally talented industry experts, taking each of them to 'market-leader' status in their respective niches and/or geographic locations. We then let their results do our talking.
A Chartered Accountant, Trent has over 10 years experience working across three different firms spanning the three 'tiers' of the accounting profession; a small boutique firm, a mid-tier firm and the ‘big 4’ firm – Pricewaterhouse Coopers.
Since founding Butler & Co Advisory in 2018, Trent has worked with over 50+ Australian professional service businesses. He deeply understands the nuances, growth challenges and stakeholder dynamics that present at every stage of a firm's life cycle.
Trent knows how both prospective clients and professional staff conduct their due diligence and choose a professional service provider in the modern digital world.
He understands that as your business grows and thrives, so will our partnership. So let’s talk, we promise it will be a breath of fresh air.
Our Founder & Lead Business Coach, Trent Butler
The vision of Butler & Co Advisory is to be the undisputed market leader in business growth advisory services in Australia.
Our plan to achieve that vision is to work hand-in-hand with a smaller volume of exceptionally talented industry experts, taking each of them to 'market-leader' status in their respective niches and/or geographic locations. We then let their results do our talking.
A Chartered Accountant, Trent has over 10 years experience working across three different firms spanning the three 'tiers' of the accounting profession; a small boutique firm, a mid-tier firm and the ‘big 4’ firm – Pricewaterhouse Coopers.
Since founding Butler & Co Advisory in 2018, Trent has worked with over 50+ Australian professional service businesses. He deeply understands the nuances, growth challenges and stakeholder dynamics that present at every stage of a firm's life cycle.
Trent knows how both prospective clients and professional staff conduct their due diligence and choose a professional service provider in the modern digital world.
He understands that as your business grows and thrives, so will our partnership. So let’s talk, we promise it will be a breath of fresh air.
What is Trent like to work with?
Click on the images below to watch the videos.
LOCATE BUYERS AGENCY
"Their [Trent's] approach with us has been fantastic and I really like that they actually care about their clients. They're actually interested in you getting the best results possible, and that shows up in how they work and how they approach what they do.
They're very strategic. They'll come up with great ideas and great ways in which you can improve on your business."
Shane Hiscock, Founder & Buyers Agent, Locate Buyers Agency
“They listened to our requirements and concerns and formulated a plan tailored to our specific circumstances. We feel they delivered a practical and detailed strategy that suits our needs and reflects our values and we are now working with Butler & Co to implement this.”
Chris Clarke
Partner, Clarke & Brownrigg Chartered Accountants Adelaide
CFO-ONE ADVISORS
“It took us a couple of months to really get clicking, and then around months three or four, we really started to see a huge return on investment which was fantastic.”
Mike Urness, CEO, CFO-One Advisors
“Wow very promising stats actually…Can’t wait to ramp this up next year given the high enquiry to click through rate and high organic search rate (with no SEO!)”
James Livingston
Founder & Partner,
Arc Medical Accountants
PROPERTY FRONTLINE
"What a positive experience it was working with Trent. What I particularly liked was the mix of tools and feedback that helped me connect with clients in a systemised and targeted way, which saved me so much time."
Debra Beck-Mewing, Founder & CEO, Property Frontline
“Working with Butler & Co has been such a positive experience, helping me develop a suitable marketing strategy and generate high quality leads. Butler & Co are very professional and have a very strategic approach with lead generating. We’ve achieved outstanding results and through my experience, I can honestly recommend Butler & Co and the services 100%.”
Maryanne Drosos
Founder & Director,
Blue Diamond Recruitment
B2B LEADS
“Being a lead gen and marketing guy, I thought my sales process was down pat to be honest...
He [Trent] showed me his methods of conducting sales calls and strategy sessions, which turned out to be way more effective."
Ryan Caswell, Founder, B2B Leads
“I'm so grateful for the support and guidance that Butler & Co’s business coaching has provided me thus far. Without them, I’m not sure if I would have continued in business. I'm now excited for the future and for what's next – we’re only just getting started!”
Kristie Oldfield
Founder & Director,
Parabroker.au
ACHIEVE MARKET LEADING STATUS WITHOUT:
The hassle and risk of taking on a business partner or prematurely hiring and managing a full-time marketing, finance or operations person.
Replacing your existing team members.
Throwing away what is already working.
Schedule a call to see if our approach can help take your business to #1 in your market.
ACHIEVE MARKET LEADING STATUS WITHOUT:
The hassle and risk of taking on a business partner or prematurely hiring and managing a full-time marketing, finance or operations person.
Replacing your existing team members.
Throwing away what is already working.
Schedule a call to see if our approach can help take your business to #1 in your market.
COACHING WILL PAY OFF OVER THE LONG TERM - AND WE GUARANTEE RESULTS.
'Win/Win' is a core value here at Butler & Co Advisory, which is why we offer a return on investment guarantee.
Investment presumes that there will be a return. Otherwise, it’s just an expense.
If you qualify – and do the work – we offer a guarantee:
After 17 weeks of coaching, you will agree that coaching has paid for itself - or we will work with you at no charge until that is true.
This drives us to do great work and ensure we're only commencing relationships with those who we're sure will see commercially positive outcomes.
Our latest articles to help you grow your business
How to Know It’s Time to Hire Your First (or Next) Team Member
Why trying to "do it all" is costing your business more than you think.
You didn’t start your business to burn out.
But if you’re like many business owners, you're wearing too many hats, working weekends, and waking up at 2am thinking about overdue invoices or client follow-ups.
Hiring help might feel like a luxury, but here’s the truth: if you're still doing low-value work that someone else could do for a fraction of your hourly rate, you're holding your business back—and possibly yourself along with it.
So how do you know it’s time to hire? Let’s break it down.
1. The Real Cost of Doing It All Yourself
Most business owners underestimate the opportunity cost of tasks they’ve outgrown.
If you’re charging $200–$300 per hour but spending hours on admin, chasing invoices, or formatting documents, you’re not just wasting time - you’re burning profit.
It’s not noble to wear every hat. It’s inefficient.
2. Use the Skills/Fun Box to Audit Your Time
Here’s a tool we use in coaching to create clarity fast: the Skills/Fun Box. It helps you classify your tasks by two axes:
How skilled the task is
How much you enjoy doing it
You’ll end up with 4 quadrants:
Tasks in the bottom row? They’re the first ones to go.
Here are a few examples to get you thinking - your own version will vary depending on you and your business:
Low skill / low fun: Chasing invoices, formatting reports, updating your calendar
Low skill / high fun: Social media posts, Canva designs (still a delegation candidate!)
High skill / low fun: Proposal writing, technical reporting - delegate with Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
High skill / high fun: Sales conversations, strategy, vision, leadership, team coaching - your zone. Protect it.
Pro tip: Spend 80% of your week in the top right box. That’s where leverage, joy, and growth live.
3. You’re the Bottleneck (And You Know It)
Here are a few signs you’re long overdue for a hire:
You’re the only one who knows how to do critical tasks
Things sit in your inbox because no one else can “just do it”
Projects slow down (or stop) when you’re away
You’re rescheduling family time to “catch up” on admin
This isn’t sustainable - and it’s not how you grow a business that can run (mostly) without you.
4. You’re Stuck in the Wrong Quadrants
Borrowing from Stephen Covey’s Time Management Matrix, tasks fall into four types:
Urgent and Important: Crises, deadlines (firefighting)
Not Urgent but Important: Strategy, planning, leadership (growth zone), preventative activities, recreation
Urgent but Not Important: Distractions, interruptions
Not Urgent and Not Important: Time-wasters
When you spend too much time in Quadrants 1 and 3, you burn out. When you shift your time to Quadrant 2, you build a business that lasts.
Hiring frees up space for you to live in Quadrant 2.
5. Hire for the $30/Hour Tasks—Not the $300/Hour Ones
One of the most common mistakes business owners make?
Hiring someone junior to do what they love doing themselves.
Don’t start there.
Start by offloading what you’re not good at or what drains your energy.
Common examples:
Bookkeeping
Invoicing and accounts payable
Chasing up debtors
Updating Xero or MYOB
Managing your inbox or scheduling
If it’s not in your “Zone of Genius,” it’s a candidate for delegation.
6. "But I Can’t Afford It" - A Reframe
Here’s the most common hesitation we hear:
“I’m not sure I can afford to hire someone right now.”
But here’s the better question:
Can you afford not to?
Imagine freeing up just 10 hours a week. What would you do with it?
Call more qualified leads?
Build a sales pipeline?
Launch a new offer?
Spend time with your kids, without guilt?
When used wisely, a new hire is not an expense - it’s a lever.
7. Where to Start: Use the Skills/Fun Box to Prioritise
Still not sure who to hire next?
Use your Skills/Fun Box audit to create a shortlist of tasks to delegate. Then ask:
What tasks drain me but still need to be done?
What’s holding me back from getting to $300/hr work?
Where would 5–10 hours a week make the biggest difference?
From there, decide:
Is this a part-time VA?
A local admin assistant?
A bookkeeping or financial services partner?
A contractor with specialist skills?
8. You Don’t Need to Hire a Team Overnight
Start small.
Delegate one task
Then a small project
Then a routine responsibility
Build trust. Build rhythm. Build systems. All of these are learnable skills.
Before you know it, your business will no longer depend on you doing everything - because it won’t have to.
9. Final Thought: Be Before You Can Do
One of the most powerful ideas we teach is the Be → Do → Have model.
Most business owners get it backwards. They think:
“Once I have more time, more money, or more help… then I’ll do things differently… and finally be the successful business owner I want to be.”
But that mindset keeps them stuck.
The shift happens when you flip the script:
“I choose to be the business owner who protects my time and focuses on high-value work. So I do the things only I can do - and learn how to effectively delegate the rest. That’s how I have the growth, freedom, and balance I’ve been chasing.”
You don’t wait for freedom.
You lead with it.
That’s the difference between staying busy and building something that lasts.
Be first. Then do. Then have.
Hiring isn’t just a task. It’s an identity shift.
You’re not just the technician anymore. You’re the owner. The leader.
Time to start acting like it.
Ready to Reclaim Your Time?
If you’re feeling stretched too thin, overwhelmed with low-value tasks, or unsure how to take that next step toward freedom - let’s talk.
Together, we’ll map out your Skills/Fun Box, identify what to delegate, and help you build the support structure your business needs to grow without burning you out.
Book a Complimentary 15-Minute Brainstorm Call
https://www.butleradvisory.com.au/time-with-trent
You don’t need to do it all. You just need to take the next right step.
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ABN: 76 635 141 794
Subscribe To Watch Our Free Methodology Presentation: Learn Our Proven 5-Step System For Transforming Your Business Into A Firm That Runs Smoothly, Profitably and (mostly) without You.
Confirm Your Details To Continue
Schedule a call to see if our approach can help take your business to #1 in your market.
No pie-in-the-sky. No generic ideas.
No hard sell.
Just straight-forward analysis of your approach to marketing and sales, team-building skills, gross and net profitability, and business transfer readiness.