A passion for 'relieving that admin burden'
BUILDING TODAY MARCH 2025 ISSUE
Mrs Tradie first came to the attention of Building Today in June last year when placing a full page advertisement that proclaimed in huge bold lettering: “I saved my marriage by getting a new Mrs*”. Nothing like making an eye-catching splash in a national trade magazine then! BT editor Andrew Darlington caught up with Mrs Tradie Founder and Chief Office Lady Extraordinaire Max Collins, and found out more about her business philosophy and background.
BT: Hi Max. You certainly announced your company in eye-catching style in Building Today almost a year ago now. Can you tell me how your remote admin support company has been received in the construction sector in that time, and why you targeted this industry in the first place?
Mrs T: It’s hard not to be attracted to the construction sector. It is filled with positive, down to earth, relatable grafters. The plan was to come up with a concept to relieve their admin burden — let’s face it, there are not a lot of people/companies in the industry loving the admin and compliance side as much as I do! I’m a bit of an amateur renovator myself, so have been exposed to the “yeah, I will get the invoice out to you shortly, sorry been busy”, and the “Wendy only works one day a week so your query will have to wait until Wednesday”. I wanted to come up with a concept which would have admin processed in real time so cashflow was consistent, and wanted to offer part-time assistance on tap when needed. Here we are, and Mrs Tradie Office Lady is that solution — proven now as we have clients dotted all over the country.
BT: Can you briefly summarise your own career history, and how, when and why you came to eventually establish Mrs Tradie?
Mrs T: Admin has been my only career trade. Even when we were self-employed in the agricultural industry working with international investment companies, my role was doing the admin. We trialled the concept free on a local contractor. He told a friend, who told a cousin and here we are. Admin is a broad and complex speciality now — encompassing compliance, project management and accounting platforms with remote access to almost any platform — and it has become a lot more interesting lately with the technology on offer. What we can offer assistance with now by far surpasses what I ever dreamt this company could do.
BT: What do you look for when taking on staff for Mrs Tradie? What specific attributes must a prospective Office Lady Extraordinaire possess?
Mrs T: I cannot fault the team here at Mrs Tradie Office Lady. When looking for staff I refer back to the business values. We need to be relatable, reliable, honest, empathetic, and have no opinions. Our job is to build a relationship with the client — they need to know they can rely on us. Our job is to be the best part-time office lady anyone could possibly have. Staff need to have the right personality. This works for me — hand on heart, I could ask any one of the team here to assist with a situation and know they would not disappoint. It is a pleasure to work with this team — every day I find them inspiring.
BT: What benefits/kudos have you found from being an RMBA associate member?
Mrs T: The RMBA offers an empowering and supportive environment. They understand the importance of a strong administration foundation to enable success within business. We are fortunate enough to have clients on the books that were last year awarded regional awards in the RMBA House of The Year competition, and also a category finalist awarded at the national awards night. A bonus is attending the golf days and having a bit of banter with current and potential clients. This has been a positive and rewarding move for us. We are the only administration company in New Zealand that has been approved as an RMBA associate member.
BT: What short and long-term goals do you have for the company, and do you have plans to branch out into other industry sectors?
Mrs T: We have strong foundations, and the model is clearly working with all the detailed processes and systems we have in place. Yes, the plan is to continue to grow as a business and relieve that admin burden for as many businesses as we can. We have a variety of clients — some working for themselves, right through to those with 40+ staff. We help them in any way that suits them. Although trade and construction makes up a large proportion of our business, we also have a strong agricultural business base, and work with a lot of professional and retail businesses also. The business is here to assist anyone with any kind of administration requirements. I really just want to be able to remove that mental and admin burden from people. In my opinion, admin is underrated on the ladder of success.
Mrs Tradie — some random facts to know . . .
Remote part-time admin/office lady assistance. Only pay for the hours you use each month.
Each client is allocated their own specialised Mrs Tradie Office Lady Extraordinaire. A back-up Tradie Lady is also allocated so there’s no need to train another admin person ever again. The client’s work is tended to at all times that they need help.
Professional, relatable – and available nationwide.
The largest Office Lady company in the country.
The only administration company in New Zealand that has been approved by the RMBA as an associate member.
And the final word from Max herself:
“We are here and available for when clients undergo positive (or negative!) life changes — as life does. Our processes are simplistic and practical, so we can send our specialist help when there is, for example, another baby on the way, or the admin person leaves, or when tragedy strikes. No situation is too difficult for us to handle.”
