FUEL PRICES are out of CONTROL for Tradesmen | Trade Legends Podcast

<p>On The Trade Legends Podcast this week, Joe Baker (Screed Papi), founder of Second City Screed &amp; Resin, sits down for an honest, unfiltered look at the brutal realities of running a modern trade business. </p><p>We tackle the diesel price crisis squeezing trades up and down the country, the reality of spending £300 a week just to keep two vans running, and his genuine, warts-and-all experience of trialling a new electric van on real-world jobs. From range anxiety and towing heavy pumps to the sheer cost of living, we pull no punches on why UK trades feel battered at every turn. </p><p>We also get straight into the business graft: making the jump from screeding into high-margin resin driveways, the reality of managing subbies, and finding your own lane on social media without letting content take over your actual trade. Joe breaks down the trial and error of going viral with 3.3 million views, why overnight social media fame doesn’t pay the mortgage, and why honest branding and van signwriting are still the most powerful free marketing tools an honest business can have. Finally, we go deep into the personal battles that rarely get spoken about on site. Joe opens up about corporate burnout, battling severe alcohol addiction, and walking away from the edge of suicide on the M5 before completely turning his life around. </p><p>We discuss learning to control the controllables, why he made the conscious choice to reintroduce alcohol after four and a half years of total sobriety, and his upcoming 400km solo charity bike ride for suicide prevention. This is raw, straight-talking advice for anyone on the tools navigating business, mental health, and life. </p>