In this episode, Brock speaks with Josh Smith. Josh is former EOD tech and now the owner of a large welding and fabrication business. We talk about how his business is looking to adopt e commerce strategies and the pros and cons of customization versus mass adoption. He walks us through his first acquisition, everything that went wrong with it and how to avoid some of those pitfalls. And we talk about his strategies for recruiting top trade talent and cultivating an environment that retains highly skilled people.
Episode Resources:
Josh on Twitter: https://twitter.com/seasonableclout
Show Notes:
00:00 Introduction to this episode.
1:13 The biggest problem he’s seen in the metal fabrication space.
3:58 What is e-commerce like?
11:01 Building an infrastructure around something that stops for whatever reason.
17:05 How he got started in real estate.
20:25 How he got started in the business.
25:21 What’s so attractive about starting a small and medium business?
31:42 What was the size of the shop at one point?
34:09 When he first came out here, he was looking for a place to work out of his garage.
39:55 The most critical things he would have done differently with the business.
45:33 What are the things that could have been a deal breaker for a SMB?
47:11 How do you know when you are being ripped off?
52:27 What are some of the benefits of bringing all of his businesses under one umbrella?
57:02 The best decision he’s ever made.
1:02:44 Trade work is similar to the military because it’s about the quality of your work.
1:07:23 What do you think people most misunderstand about business?
1:13:50 Don’t make the same mistake that I did.
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The Scuttlebutt Podcast - The podcast for service members and veterans building a life outside the military.
The Scuttlebutt Podcast - The podcast for veterans starting, buying, and scaling businesses. Show host, Brock Briggs, talks with veteran business owners and operators about the specific tactics used in their business and how to apply them.
Get a free weekly breakdown of the tactics from the discussion at https://www.scuttlebuttpodcast.co/.
Follow along:
• Episode & transcript: https://www.scuttlebuttpodcast.co/81-ins-and-outs-of-the-metal-fabrication-business-with-josh-smith/
• Brock: https://www.brockbriggs.com/