This podcast is an expansion upon the presentation made at Coverings 2024 by Rich Katzmann (RockHeads) and Ed Young (Fabricator's Coach). In this podcast, they dive into fabrication shop business valuation, discuss ways owners can drive up the value of their shops, discuss factors that indicate business value.

They also discuss how Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) buyers may or may not be right for your business, and other options that are out there. 

 

The companion presentation can be downloaded at:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/13C6ixEUoB7ufbsV0IQKLGeFfqtYtABl4/view?usp=drive_link

 

This is also available as a video on YouTube - go to https://www.youtube.com/@fabricatorscoach/videos

 

Many Fabrication Shops have considered diversification options -  new markets, new partners, new products, etc.

The basis of this podcast is a webinar recorded in June of 2024, in which Rich Katzmann of Rockheads Group and Ed Young of Fabricator's Coach provide information, facilitate discussion, and answer questions of business owners.

To get a copy of the presentation, originally made at the Spring Coverings event in Atlanta, go to:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1O8A87i9PS-hkxP4YOHK9Dh3YGNsgeP3W/view?usp=drive_link

Ed Young talks with Stephen Alberts of Countertop Marketing Co about recommendations for marketing your countertop fabrication shop. Stephen and his team specialize in setting up websites, help with social media ads, and drive up lead volume for countertop fabrication shops.

 

If you would rather view the video from this interview, go to: https://youtu.be/8odNEiUh1AM.

Ed Young talks with Justin Shaw of Justin X Shaw about a new approach he has developed for the various trade industries - including countertop fabrication. Justin’s new approach is called the Growth Engine Program and includes both a self-paced online component as well as personalized coaching.

This podcast is part 2 of 2.

Ed Young talks with Justin Shaw of Justin X Shaw about a new approach he has developed for the various trade industries - including countertop fabrication. Justin’s new approach is called the Growth Engine Program and includes both a self-paced online component as well as personalized coaching.

This podcast is part 1 of 2.

This is the final podcasts in the series focused on preparing Fab Shop owners for selling their business one day. 

Ed talks to Chase Busenbark, who grew up in the stone business and is a fellow business owner and a Certified Business Broker. Chase and Ed discuss the business valuation process for stone shops.

Chase’s contact information is: chase.busenbark@fcbb.com or 573-664-0002

This is the 5th of 6 podcasts focused on preparing Fab Shop owners for selling their business one day. 

Ed talks to Chase Busenbark, who grew up in the stone business and is a fellow business owner and a Certified Business Broker. Chase and Ed discuss selling your business from the vantage point of the buyer and broker. They also discuss actions you can take to get the most out of your business when you sell.

Chase’s contact information is: chase.busenbark@fcbb.com or 573-664-0002

This is the 4th of 6 podcasts focused on preparing Fab Shop owners for selling their business one day. 

Ed talks to Chase Busenbark, who grew up in the stone business and is a fellow business owner and a Certified Business Broker. Chase and Ed discuss selling your business from the vantage point of the buyer and broker. They also discuss actions you can take to get the most out of your business when you sell.

Chase’s contact information is: chase.busenbark@fcbb.com or 573-664-0002

This is 3rd of a series of podcasts focused on preparing Fab Shop owners for selling their business one day. 

Ed talks to Aaron Crowley, a former Fab Shop owner, that sold his shop after 20 years. Aaron and Ed discuss what the realities of this process are - and how to get the most out of your business when you get to the point of selling.

In this episode, two books are discussed, these books can be found at:

Less Chaos More Cash, Aaron Crowley which is available on his website www.aaroncrowley.com or at https://www.amazon.com/Less-Chaos-More-Cash-Confusion/dp/1452891826 

 

Walking To Destiny: 11 Actions An Owner Must Take to Rapidly Grow Value & Unlock Wealth, Christopher M. Snider which is available at  https://www.amazon.com/Walking-Destiny-Actions-Rapidly-Unlock/dp/B0C7WN3X6J/ref=sr_1_1?crid=O7OJ8QS6XEWV&keywords=Walking+to+Destiny%3A+11+Actions+An+Owner+Must+Take+to+Rapidly&qid=1700058759&s=books&sprefix=walking+to+destiny+11+actions+an+owner+must+take+to+rapidly%2Cstripbooks%2C94&sr=1-1

 

Economic indicators are all over the map! This makes it really tough for a shop owner to confidently plan for the next 12 to 24 months. We discuss some areas of opportunity that can make a big difference.

This is the 2nd of a series of podcasts focused on preparing Fab Shop owners for selling their business one day. 

Ed talks to Aaron Crowley, a former Fab Shop owner, that sold his shop after 20 years. Aaron and Ed discuss what the realities of this process are - and how to get the most out of your business when you get to the point of selling.

This is one of a series of podcasts focused on preparing Fab Shop owners for selling their business one day. 

Ed talks to Aaron Crowley, a former Fab Shop owner, that sold his shop after 20 years. Aaron and Ed discuss what the realities of this process are - and how to get the most out of your business when you get to the point of selling.

This podcast is for Fab Shop Owners, and is an open discussion of benchmarking in this industry. The basis is  a webinar recorded in May of 2024, in which Rich Katzmann of Rockheads Group and Ed Young of Fabricator's Coach provide information, facilitate discussion, and answer questions of business owners.

To get a copy of the presentation, originally made at the Spring Coverings event in Atlanta, go to:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SvTos7camUUere1Y9XG-q_NZC-sPKbPe/view?usp=drive_link

 

This is from the webinar following the publication in Slippery Rock Gazette in the same name. Ed discusses the impact on your bottom line when you do multiple lead follow-ups and do the follow-ups quickly after getting the lead. It is enlightening!

Since Ed talks about a lot of numbers in this podcast, we also uploaded the video with his presentation to YouTube here: https://youtu.be/-lOKKIEHkPY

A copy of the article is here: https://fabricatorscoach.com/the-power-of-sales-follow-up/

 

Fab shop owners discuss successful sales management practices with Ed.

 

 

Fab shop owners discuss how to take their shop to the next level: planning, setting goals, and, yes, implementation.

When hiring key managers for your stone business, stone experience should be the least important of your criteria.

In this webinar, Ed discusses with some of your peers the key criteria you should seek in your next business hire. It was a great discussion! 

 

Predicting the future is always a challenge – ask any weatherman.  The problem is, if we don’t have some idea of what the future holds, it is very tough to make sound business plans.  Intuition is not sufficient.  Guessing just won’t do.  We NEED data!  The question is “How do we get that data?”

There are several different sources and levels of data that we can readily access:  National economic data, Regional economic data, and your leading indicators.  If you pull all this data together, you can begin to predict what your sales will be in four months.

In this recording from the June 2023 Webinar and Slippery Rock Gazette article of the same name, we discuss options on where to find this data and how to use it.

Ed spoke at the Coverings Convention on April 17, 2023 in Orlando. His topic was "Planning for Turbulent Times".  He discussed ways to stay ahead, in the event of sudden economic changes.

This session was video recorded too and you can find the video at https://youtu.be/C9h6T55g7cc

 

This podcast comes from the May 26th webinar and discusses how this ONE metric can help shop owners manage their businesses and how it can be used to make KEY business decisions.

You can read the article at https://www.slipperyrockgazette.net/index.cfm/pageId/4935/Case%20Studies%20in%20Throughput/

 

Do you follow up on all your quotes?

Here’s a better question:  Do you need to follow up on a quote to close the sale?  What if there was a way to close the sale before you even quote?  Is that even possible?

What if we could all be taught how to close the sale before the quote is even done. Enjoy this discussion of how EVERYTHING IS TAUGHT, and we can all become great salespeople with a little training. 

Everywhere we turn these days, it seems the headlines are all screaming “Recession Ahead”.  In various areas of the country fabricators are already seeing the impact of rising mortgage rates and a general softening of the economy.  Quote volume is down and pressure to reduce prices is up.  Those trends could increase over the next 2 years. This podcast discusses options if you decide the "hunker down" approach is right for your business and local economy.

Are you frustrated with lack of consistently good results from your business?

Are your employees a little too good at playing the blame game?

Do you struggle to consistently delight your customers?

If any of these apply to you, maybe it’s time to step back and take a look at the culture of your company.

Ed talks with Erik Rapp. Erik has been in tile and stone markets for over 20 years, with his latest position as the National Director for the Everest Stone Group, a US stone/slab distributor. 

Erik shares with fabricators ways that they can enhance relationships with stone wholesalers – to make the relationship create greater profits for the fabricator. Tips and tricks follow!

It is the start of a New Year and we want your business to perform better than ever. One way to help you is to provide a tool and some resources that help you make informed business decisions.

The tool, the Decision Matrix and Example, is free and it can be found at https://fabricatorscoach.com/free-helpful-tools/

Listening to this podcast, while looking at the tool will help with implementing it at your company.

So, you’ve taken all the advice in my SRG articles this year, your business is running more smoothly, and now you are wondering what to do next.  The answer:  Craft your 2023 plan for the business now.

As you consider what 2023 may have in store, you may have questions like:

• I think I need to add an install crew – will I have the sales to sustain them?
• I want to start a marketing campaign – can I afford it?
• If I add a salesperson, when will I need to add that new templater?
• As we grow, I know we need more shop employees – but it will increase my costs – can I afford them?

A great aid in answering these questions is to put together a month-to-month plan that not only forecasts your sales but also helps you think through what staff changes you need to make as your sales change. 

Download the Annual Planning Spreadsheet at: https://fabricatorscoach.com/free-helpful-tools/

Will you have a place to sit, or will you be “out’ of the game?  In the game of musical chairs, we have to guess when the music will stop and hope that, when it does, we will have a place to sit so we can continue to play the game.  Otherwise, we are out.

We know the economy is shaky.

Would you rather ‘guess’ when the music is going to stop – when this super strong demand for countertops will end – and hope you will still be able to play the game - or would you rather have a plan for when the music stops and know you are prepared for whatever this economy throws at you?

Do you feel like your business is running you into the ground?

Do you feel like you always have to be at the shop just to make sure the business functions properly?

Do you think it’s just impossible to get away and relax?

 

If you find yourself answering ‘Yes’ to these questions, then you should consider this question:  Are you a fabricator or are you a business owner?

 

Mentioned in this webinar-to-podcast:

Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business, by Gino Wickman (Amazon is a good resource)

Download our Management Rhythm Tool at: https://fabricatorscoach.com/free-helpful-tools/

 

 

Have you ever had a month when sales were strong, you worked harder than ever, yet your month-end Profit and Loss statement (P&L) showed poor results?

Being able to quantify which market segments and which specific customers are financially better for your business is an essential piece of preparing for an economic slow-down. While you already have a good intuitive feel, learning the calculations discussed in this webinar can quantify your intuition. 

 

The article discussed can be found in the Slippery Rock Gazette, August 2022 issue, at: https://www.slipperyrockgazette.net/index.cfm/pageId/4688/Is%20That%20All%20This%20Data%20Is%20Good%20For%3F/

 

Contact Ed if you want to talk about applying this in your business specifically. 864-328-6231 or Ed@FabricatorsCoach.com

 

 

We all know that, if we want our business to improve, we have to change something about how we run it. While it can be tough to know what to change, it can be even tougher to begin the change process. Even more challenging is implementing changes that will truly last.

Join Ed and fellow fabricators discussing this challenge.

Even if you don’t need to increase sales for your shop today, you soon will if we hit the recession that the newsreaders are forecasting.  If that happens, you are going to need a sound marketing strategy and implementation plan that doesn’t rely on pricing to get sales leads.  You will also need new sales techniques to effectively convert those leads to booked sales. This podcast discusses options you can execute.

This is a podcast from the live webinar in the same name recorded on July 15th, and based on the July article in the Slippery Rock Gazette. 

The article is at: https://www.slipperyrockgazette.net/index.cfm/pageId/4650/How%20Do%20We%20Feed%20This%20Beast%3F/

Information on the Fabricators Business Academy's 10-Week Workshop "Recession Ahead: Get Your Shop Ready in Just 10-Weeks" mentioned in this podcast can be found at:

www.FabricatorsBusinessAcademy.com

Feel free to contact Ed:

Ed@FabricatorsCoach.com

864-328-6231

We don’t know when it will happen, but this phenomenally tight labor market will eventually loosen up.  Until then, we still need to run our shops profitably.  This requires taking a different approach to how we utilize the people we already have as well as how we recruit and retain new employees.  

 

Listen to this session with fellow fabricators as they discuss how to make the most of the people you already have and how to make sure your new hires are successful – by reinforcing them early and often.

 

The article related to this session, originally published in the Slippery Rock Gazette, can be read at https://fabricatorscoach.com/whose-job-is-it-anyway/

 

 

Mentioned during this session:

 

Free tools download including Skills Matrix and Example Position Description: CNC Operator can be found at https://fabricatorscoach.com/free-helpful-tools/

 

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It; Gerber, Michael E., 1995

 

Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business; Wickman, Gino, 2012

 

The Power of Positive Leadership: How and Why Positive Leaders Transform Teams and Organizations and Change the World; Gordon, Jon, 2017 (other books by same author mentioned)

 

Over 140 Stone Industry example position descriptions can be found on the NSI website (requires membership) at https://associationdatabase.com/aws/MIA/pt/sp/members_toolkits

 

Apps and Software discussed in the podcast (not an endorsement):

Trainual   https://trainual.com/

EOS Traction Tools https://www.mytractiontools.com/

This podcast discusses with Fabricators from across the US whether they:

• have months of backlog and need MORE CAPACITY NOW, or
• have significant production capacity that is not being used - and need MORE SALES NOW.

When Fab Shop owners prefer to have excess capacity, they often think this gives them time to respond quickly to a customer need, because they can drop a job into the schedule. However, this creates a cultural lack of urgency, and can even lead to complacency. And the negative impact to the profitability of the shop can be huge!

We discuss how to really differentiate your shop from others by having a strong marketing strategy, one that is not just based on "low price", but on understanding the purchase from the customer's point of view and building stronger relationships with these customers.

 

Someone once asked me how to know if a business had grown too big for the owner to manage. 

 

I think the answer is, if you can’t get your business to generate consistently good results, or if you have management problems in your business that you don’t know how to resolve, the business may be outgrowing your ability to manage it. 

 

One key to managing your business well is understanding the true capacity of your shop. If you don’t know your shop’s capacity, you could wake up one morning and realize your business has not made any money. And, you can’t explain why.

 

This podcast is from a session with several Shop Owners and is based on the article published in the Slippery Rock Gazette by the same name. This article can be found at https://fabricatorscoach.com/how-much-work-can-your-shop-handle/ .

Ed talks with Mark Meriaux, the Accreditation and Technical Manager at the Natural Stone Institute (NSI) about the current state of Silicosis in this industry, covering a few things you probably do not know - and what the NSI is doing, the resources they have made available to stone fabrication shops in the US, and more.

Links discussed include:

The link to the anonymous silicosis survey being conducted nation-wide:

https://yalesurvey.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eX5tvsDNElDpACq?Q_CHL=qr

or click the link at the top of this page: https://www.naturalstoneinstitute.org/silica/

 

It is really important that as many stone shops as possible take the 10 minutes to complete this survey.

 

Silicosis Info: https://www.naturalstoneinstitute.org/silica/

Silicosis Training: https://www.naturalstoneinstitute.org/safety/

Training Certification: https://www.naturalstoneinstitute.org/safetycertificate/

 

Mark can be reached at Mark@naturalstoneinstitute.org

 

The fewer jobs in your shop (work in process – WIP), the shorter your lead time.  Having a lot of jobs in your shop means your lead times may be longer than you like. Lean is a popular process improvement tool and it pushes for the lowest inventory to generate the shortest lead times possible – and, therefore, great competitive advantage.  So, if we want short lead times, then this must be the best business solution, right?

WRONG! The lower your WIP levels, the more you are impacted by variation in process performance. Variation comes from:

• Inconsistent machine performance due to wear and tear
• Different process times due to different materials
• Tool wear  
• Inconsistent human performance 
• Absenteeism

All production operations have inherent variation and, while it can be managed to some degree, this variation cannot be eliminated. Worse still, that variation accumulates through the steps of your fabrication process rather than averaging out. The result is a whip effect that makes it difficult to predict customer install dates. Since this variation can’t be eliminated, lowering WIP too much can hurt your ability to hit your promised install dates and hurt your ability to delight your customer!

Since we can’t completely stop the variation, how do we keep output of the plant consistent so we can meet our promised install dates and still make a profit – all while having short lead times?

Listen to this podcast to hear a discussion of how to get predictability and control of your countertop shop, and additionally, how to increase capacity utilization by 30 percent or more AND shorten your lead time.

The article that is the basis of this recording can be found at: https://www.slipperyrockgazette.net/index.cfm/pageId/4081/Increase%20Inventory%20to%20Increase%20Profit/

Countertop Fabricators! Would you like to be able to process 10 percent more square footage through your plant every day – without additional capital investment, without adding people, and without working additional hours?

You can get that very quickly if you apply the simple principles discussed in this podcast from a Fabricators Coach webinar.

Ed discusses Value Added and Non-Value Added activities and how to use some basic tools to get you started to 10% more through your plant each day.

Go to this link https://fabricatorscoach.com/free-helpful-tools/ to download the Recapture 10% of Your Capacity Today tool.

The original article, published in The Slippery Rock Gazette How to Find 10% More Capacity in Your Plant - for Free can be found at:

 https://fabricatorscoach.com/how-to-find-10-more-capacity-in-your-plant-for-free/

 

Feel free to reach out to me:

www.FabricatorsCoach.com

Ed@FabricatorsCoach.com

864-328-6231

Some days your shop runs pretty smoothly, but many days are filled with entirely too much chaos. This session discusses how to have fewer of the chaotic days and more of the sane days.

1. FIRST: DECIDE 03:30
2. NEXT: TAKE CARE OF THE BASICS 07:30
3. THEN: SHIFT INTO HIGH GEAR 30:00

In this public coaching session, we discuss the first critical steps of this trip to less chaos in this coaching-session-turned-podcast. And, I want to thank the participants in this session – you really made this learning much more valuable.

The articles referenced in this podcast can be found at

How Do I Control The Chaos Article:

https://fabricatorscoach.com/how-do-i-control-the-chaos/

The referenced article “Manage To Get Your Life Back” is at

https://www.slipperyrockgazette.net/index.cfm/pageId/4202/Manage%20to%20Get%20Your%20Life%20Back/

Every countertop fabrication shop owner deserves to have a business that not only makes you money but also allows you time to enjoy it.  Contact me at Ed@FabricatorsCoach.com or call 864-328-6231

This episode discusses the article of the same name published in The Slippery Rock Gazette in December of 2020. It is taken from the January 2021 webinar and answered questions about the article and the process.

This podcast comes from the February 18, 2022 webinar of the same name. If you want to find out more about how to implement measures that you can share with your whole team, and use to drive better company performance and better control of your business, this is your Podcast! 

From the Podcast Studio at the 2024 Coverings conference.

Ed on stage at Coverings and discussing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and your shop!

Ed met with stone shop owners during the Coverings conference in April 2024 on the topic of KPIs and followed this session with Q&A with these shop owners.

In this session, Ed references two articles:

https://fabricatorscoach.com/stop-counting-the-square-feet-you-produce/

and 

https://fabricatorscoach.com/how-much-time-is-left-on-your-companys-game-clock/

Aaron Crowley, Chair of NSI’s Safety Committee, talks with Ed about safety topics in the stone fabrication industry. From the latest on Silicosis (Australia’s quartz ban, California’s emergency safety standards), to other key safety issues that are very prominent in daily operations of your countertop fabrication shops.

 

Whether it is heavy objects (slabs), wet environments/slip/trip, electrical safety, or dust – these are the realities of our industry. Does your insurance cover you?

 

National Stone Institute (NSI) offers free training on Silicosis, to members and non-members. And there are many safety courses, that are free to NSI members.

Ed Young interviews Rich Katzmann of the Rockheads Group

Ed sat down with Rich Katzmann, the Executive Director of the Rockheads Group to discuss your options for selling your fabrication business to private equity firms, or large strategic buyers, the individual investor, or to your employees. In this podcast, they discuss valuation and multiples, the upside and downside of each, and Rich’s 4 Key Strategies for Prepping to Sell. With the “Silver Tsunami” of retirees and the desire to sell very strong – what does this mean to you if you are planning to sell?

Ed Young interviewing Tim Saddoris, Grand Onyx

Ed sat down with Tim to talk about the impacts of AI, specifically some uses that can help in your countertop fabrication business.  This is also online in video format, so you can see Tim's screen as he demonstrates the use of this “generation 1” AI tool. It is pretty amazing what you can do to use AI to make your business easier – and much more will be coming.

 

The Video from this podcast can be found at https://youtu.be/crCg3N9jdyg

 

NOTE: Tim encouraged you to sign up for ChatGPT4, and encouraged putting it on your iphone. It can be found at https://chat.openai.com/auth/login and the monthly cost is $20.

This podcast is taken from the December 2023 webinar "So, You Want to Sell Your Business". In this podcast, Chase Busenbark (Certified Business Broker) and Ed Young discuss what this process will be like - and opens the floor to the attending fabrication business owners for questions and answers. 

You may be a long way from considering the sale of your business, but planning and doing the preparation work can put you way ahead, and can ensure you get the most from the sale.

The article that the webinar is based upon can be found in the December 2023 issue of Slippery Rock Gazette.