Jobs-to-be-Done Research Operating Manual

It's 5:47pm on a Thursday in early November 2026. Sarah pulls into the driveway after a longer-than-planned 1-on-1 with her CMO. The afternoon heat is still close — 31°C, that humid Brisbane late-spring weight. She walks past the deck on her way in. The timber is silvered, two boards have split at the corner near the pool, the outdoor table they bought from Freedom in 2019 has gone shabby. The pool itself is fine — they paid to have it tiled three years ago — but the surround feels old, tired, not them.

Tom is inside, on the couch, on his iPad. He's 11. It's still light outside. Sarah remembers being 11 — in the pool until dark. Today's 11-year-old in a $2M Brisbane home with a pool is on Roblox indoors. Something about that catches her.

She makes a cup of tea, opens Instagram, and types "outdoor living Brisbane" into search. Three accounts come up immediately — a designer in Wilston, a builder in West End, a brand called YMT she's vaguely seen on the local Facebook community group. She scrolls. Mood-board content. A few "before/after" carousels. One YMT post shows a Bulimba project — looks like a similar block to theirs. She screenshots it. She doesn't message anyone yet. She's not ready.

At 9:30pm, after the kids are in bed, she shows Mark. He nods slowly, "Yeah, it's getting tired. We should look into it." She knows that means: You research it, get three quotes, and tell me the one you want. The trigger event has just happened. The Push has just been named.

That weekend, Sarah Googles "outdoor entertainment area Brisbane fixed price" on her phone over Saturday morning coffee. YMT shows up. So does a competitor named Crystal. So does a designer she doesn't recognise. She clicks YMT first because she remembers the Bulimba project. The funnel begins.

Sunday morning, 8:30am. Jennifer is reading the AFR Weekend on the back deck. David comes out with two coffees. The deck overlooks what was, twenty years ago, a kids' backyard — climbing frame, trampoline, scuffed lawn. Now it's just lawn. Empty. The Hills Hoist still stands in the corner.

"We should do something about this," Jennifer says, gesturing at the yard. David sips his coffee. He's been thinking about it too. He doesn't reply for a moment — he's running the maths in his head. The block is worth $1.3M of land alone. If they pour $300K into outdoor living plus a refresh, the home values at $3.5M-$3.8M. If they sell as-is, they get $2.8M-$3M. The renovation is, in pure financial terms, breakeven or slightly positive. But that's not why he says yes. He says yes because he wants Jennifer to have a 60th in this house, not in some townhouse in Toowong.

"OK," he says. "Let's get someone to come and look at it." Jennifer pulls out her phone and types — first to Bridget next door (who's done a similar reno two years ago), then to Google. She's looking for two things: a builder who's done premium work in Ashgrove, and someone who can articulate the entire scope as one project, not piecemeal.

Tuesday, 6:50am. James is on the train from Hamilton to Brisbane CBD. Half-asleep, scrolling through emails on his iPhone 16. There's one from his property manager: "Hi James, the Annerley tenant has given 6-week notice, vacating 15 January. As discussed, the property would benefit from a refresh — kitchen, bathroom, paint, floors. Comparable refreshed units are achieving $710-$735/wk versus our current $580. Happy to provide a builder shortlist if useful."

James doesn't respond immediately. Instead, he opens his investment spreadsheet on the Numbers app. Current rent: $580/wk = $30,160/yr. Target rent: $720/wk = $37,440/yr. Uplift: $7,280/yr. Tenant turnover risk reduction (current tenants stay ~14 months; refreshed comparables retain ~28 months): save ~$3,500/yr in re-leasing costs and vacancy. Total annual benefit: ~$10,780/yr. Refresh cost estimate: $35,000. Payback: ~3.2 years. ROI: 31% per annum on the refresh capital.

He's seen worse trades. He responds to the property manager: "Send me three quotes. Need them within a week. Fixed scope, fixed price, fixed completion date. Whoever can guarantee re-list by 25 January wins."

That evening, the property manager sends three contacts. James opens each website on his laptop. He looks for three things: (1) Do they specify a 14-day turnaround? (2) Do they have a fixed-scope template? (3) Is the owner contactable directly? He'll Google search "[builder name] reviews" for each. He'll spend exactly 12 minutes total on the research. He's already decided he'll meet two of the three in person, and he'll pick based on the in-person meeting.

It's a Saturday afternoon in October. Margaret's daughter Anna has come over with her two boys, Henry (8) and Oliver (5). Anna sees the pool fence has hazard tape on it. "What's that, Mum?" Margaret explains: the pool was inspected last month, the structure has cracked, the council won't certify it as safe. She has three options. Quote 1: fill it in, $14,000, gone forever. Quote 2: rebuild it as a smaller plunge pool with new deck and entertaining area, $185,000. Quote 3: sell the house and let someone else figure it out.

Anna doesn't say anything for a long moment. Then: "Mum, Henry asks every weekend when the pool will be fixed. He thinks Grandad would have wanted it. I don't want to tell you what to do — but I think if you can, you should. They're little for so short a time."

Margaret cries a little. Anna does too. The boys are oblivious, eating biscuits at the kitchen counter. That night, after they leave, Margaret sits in her late husband's study. She'd put off making a decision for four months. She makes it tonight: she'll rebuild the pool. But she needs a builder she can trust — someone who'll talk to her like a person, not a transaction. She picks up the phone and calls her son-in-law in Sydney for a recommendation. He says: "Mum, find a family-owned builder with QBCC and good reviews. Ask to meet the actual owner. Don't go with the cheapest. Don't go with the slickest. Go with the one who answers your dumb questions without making you feel dumb."

The next morning, Margaret types into Google: "family-owned pool builder Brisbane reviews." She doesn't know it yet, but YMT's positioning ("Built like it's our own home" + Gerry's owner-on-site signal) is engineered exactly for her.

Tuesday morning, 9:15am, on a job site at Worongary. Tony's phone buzzes. It's the report email from the building inspector: "Pre-purchase report — please find attached. Note section 4.2 — active termite activity detected in NE wall cavity, evidence of historical damage to structural timber on western perimeter. Treatment + structural repair recommended prior to listing or sale. Damage not covered by standard insurance."

Tony swears. He'd budgeted for cosmetic work to prep the house for sale, not structural. He calls Tina. She tells him to breathe and get three quotes. He puts the phone down and starts typing on his phone: "termite damage repair Gold Coast." Five results. Two are pest control franchises (Rentokil, Flick) — he knows those names but he doesn't think they do structural repair. One is a solo operator with a Wix site. One is YMT — clean website, "Insurance-Grade Termite Damage Repair" headline, photos of repaired homes, QBCC + TPI certifications visible. Last is a competitor he doesn't recognise.

Tony clicks YMT first. The page says: "Treatment + structural repair under one accountability. Documented to insurance-claim standard. Fixed-price proposal in 5 business days." That's exactly what he needs. He fills in the form, types "Pre-sale repair, Robina, need to list within 16 weeks. Send fixed quote." He moves on with his day. He'll get to the other two quotes by Thursday. Whoever calls him back within an hour with intelligent questions is now in the lead.