Thryv, an AI-enabled global marketing platform that helps small businesses get found online faster, win more customers and drive repeat business, has launched ‘Better Things To Do’, a new campaign built around one of the most pressing realities facing trade business owners, the amount of life and energy lost to admin once the workday is supposed to be over.
The launch lands against a very real business pressure. Thryv’s 2025 Business Index and Consumer Report found 36 per cent of Australian SMB owners say admin tasks, such as email, scheduling and data entry, are the most time-consuming part of their week, making them the single biggest drain on time across the business.
Tradies will be invited to enter ‘Better Things To Do’ by sharing how they would spend an extra 22 hours back each week. Five winners will then be selected and given 22 paid hours, plus up to $7,000 to help them do what they would rather be doing with that reclaimed time.
For many tradies, the day does not end when the site is cleared. It follows them home through quotes that still need sending, invoices that need chasing, schedules that keep shifting and customer messages that cannot wait. It is the unseen side of running a business, the part that rarely gets talked about, yet often carries the greatest toll. In Thryv’s 2023 survey, small business owners were found to be losing an average of 22 hours a week to administration.
When the work follows you home
For many tradies, the day does not end when the site is cleared. It follows them home through quotes that still need sending, invoices that need chasing, schedules that keep shifting and customer messages that cannot wait. It is the unseen side of running a business, the part that rarely gets talked about, yet often carries the greatest toll. In Thryv’s research, small business owners were found to be losing an average of 22 hours a week to administration, giving real weight to the pressure this campaign brings into focus.
Elise Balsillie, Head of Thryv Australia and New Zealand, said ‘Better Things To Do’ speaks to the time challenges many tradies live with every week.
“Tradies carry the weight of their whole business on their shoulders and too often the heaviest part is the work nobody sees,” Elise said.
“It is the quote that still needs sending, the invoice that has to be chased, the schedule that changes again and the customer message that cannot wait until morning. That constant mental load wears people down. It steals headspace, family time and the chance to properly switch off,” Elise said.
Turning 22 hours into something people can feel
At the heart of ‘Better Things To Do’ is a simple question, what would you do with 22 hours back?
Twenty-two hours represents time that could mean being present more often, feeling less stretched, thinking more clearly and having greater control over the business and the life around it.
“It might be a school pickup or your child’s concert you usually miss, a proper break with your family, an opportunity to do something for your community, spending time with mates, a work free weekend or simply a day where your time belongs to you again. It turns efficiency into something tradies can instantly picture because they know exactly what it feels like to go without it,” Elise said.
Why time has become the real pressure point
Across Australia, trade business owners continue to face rising pressure from every direction, the demands of the job itself, the expectations of customers and the growing load of running the business behind the scenes. In that environment, time has become one of the most meaningful measures of relief, resilience and sustainability.
“Small business owners need to know someone understands the pressure they are under and the trade-offs they are making every week,” Elise said.
“We cannot wait to see what comes through, because we know many of the things tradies have been putting off are not extras at all, they are the moments and plans that make the hard work worthwhile. Too often they get pushed aside, and it will be powerful to see those brought back into focus,” Elise said.
Click here for information on how to enter the competition