— What we stand for
It's not the size of your P&L. It's the impact of your story.
TRADES is woman owned and led, completely self funded, and built around the people who do the work. Our people and our leaders are the life blood of this industry — and they're the ones who most often go unrecognised.
We support the troops
Service doesn't end at the uniform. Veterans and military families built a lot of the shops, crews and companies in these pages, and we say so out loud.
Woman owned and led
TRADES is owned and led by a woman in an industry that hasn't always made room for one. We make room — on the cover, in the columns and in the room where it's decided.
We support small businesses
Two trucks or two hundred, the story is the story. A one-shop operator gets the same page, the same fact check and the same respect as anybody else.
It's not the size of your P&L
It's not your paycheck, your headcount or your revenue. It's the impact of your story. That's the only thing we measure.
Self funded, gratefully supported
Every dollar goes back into the stories
We're completely self funded. There's no parent company and no investor deciding what runs. If you want to help, we'll gratefully accept a donation — and all of it goes straight back into the work: finding the stories, checking them properly, photographing them, and printing them on paper worth keeping.
The stories that make you laugh, make you cry, motivate you, inspire you, and prove that where there's a will, there's a way.
These are the people's stories. Donating doesn't buy a page, a mention, a cover or a recognition — those are earned and always will be. It just keeps the presses running.
Give what feels right
Donations are not tax deductible — TRADES is a business, not a charity. You'll get a receipt by email. If you'd rather your support came with a magazine, preorder an issue instead; it helps just as much.
"Our people and our leaders are the life blood. They're the ones who make the impact, and they're the ones who rarely get the recognition. That's the whole reason this magazine exists."
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