From Amish Roots to Modern Sheds A Tale of Tradition and Transformation

Embark on a captivating journey with Jesse Esh of Esh's Storage Barns and the inimitable sales maestro Bill, as they unfurl the scrolls of the shed industry's heritage and its modern-day tapestry. With Jesse's rich narrative of a business born from familial roots and Bill's acumen, sharpened in the automotive trade, this episode is a treasure trove of wisdom on nurturing a company culture that's both productive and heartfelt. Step into their world and embrace the shared values that have sculpted Esch's into a beacon of efficiency and quality.

This episode is also a rare glimpse into the Amish community's fusion of tradition with contemporary enterprise, illuminating how principles like employee-driven innovation and incentive systems can stoke the fires of productivity and morale.

 We share a profound gratitude for the interwoven tapestry of work, family, and community that constitutes the shed industry's fabric, and we close with a spiritual benediction for the businesses and lives of all who join us on this episode's expedition.

Also, find out how the podcast can be heard throughout the plain communities by dialing the number 330-997-3055. If the number is busy, just dial again! 

For more information or to know more about the Shed Geek Podcast visit us at our website.

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Transcript

Shed Geek: 0:36

Hey, welcome back to another episode of the shed geek podcast and um, we're making our through Chambersburg , Pennsylvania, still yet and it looks like we've got some decent weather here and some really decent company, uh, and some old timers in the shed industry, which is my favorite thing. Uh, I'll tell you what. If you guys want to just maybe take the time introduce yourself a little bit about who you are and what you do, yeah, this is Jesse Esh, or I'm Jesse Esh from Esch's storage, barns here, uh, in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.

Jesse Esh: 1:10

My dad started this business back in 1984. I was two years old, so, um, yeah, we were looking forward to this. Uh well, we appreciate Shannon coming out here and doing this here with us.

Shed Geek: 1:25

So night 1984. So we're pretty close. That means you was born in 82. 82. So I'm technically we're about two years apart. Okay, that's perfect, yeah.

Bill: 1:34

Bill 82. That was a good year for me. That's when I graduated. I was looking forward to that.

Shed Geek: 1:43

Uh, so we're pretty close to in age, is what you're saying, too, right?

Bill: 1:50

I've worked, I've known Jesse for oh how many years. Jesse, help me out. Here I want to say it.

Bill: 1:57

It's gotta be about nine years probably I'm met him through he raises deer and I met him through a mutual friend who was trying to get me to go on a hunt. And uh, he did talk me into it and I met Jesse and once he found out what I did, I ran a pretty big car lot, uh, for quite a while. He's picking my brain on sales up to an including he wants to meet me for breakfast once a month and just have a breakfast meeting on him and then pick my brains. And then what he didn't know was I worked for a large travel trailer company years ago and it was actually um in charge of production. I was in a production manager assistant, so there was there was four of us and uh, that ran a plant and it was fun and had about 350 employees, so it was really good at production. And I went out and turned their shop with one of the best guys in the country and they took like three, four pages of notes we did for them and they hit the trash. They didn't implement any of them. I was so mad at him Uh, I love the guy and just trying to increase productivity. But uh, they've since handed the shop over to the employees, which is pretty cool and said set it up what's best for you.

Bill: 3:17

I read a book about a guy who, uh, was in a military and they had the worst warship in the country at the United States and they had war games and he let his guys set up the ship the way it was efficient for them and they won that year. It never had happened in their history. Uh, so that's what he did, uh, with his guys. He trusted them and, uh, they did a great job in the shop. They're very efficient and uh, shout out to the vinyl shop and the wood shop. Those boys are excellent, they care, they build a quality shed like it's going in their parents' yard and, uh, we appreciate that. Uh, it makes my job easy as a salesperson. I mean, I'm, I'm Bill, uh, I've been with the Eshes for several years and, uh, we've had bad years and then, uh, I would say that me and Jesse are uh, very good friends.

Bill: 4:05

So, uh, I'm in his brother, daniel. I don't get to hang out with him as much, so I still like you, daniel, all right.

Shed Geek: 4:11

A lot. Well, and it's he's a Bill's a natural Jesse in terms of like, like he could be running this podcast already. I feel like he's he is he definitely is.

Jesse Esh: 4:23

And uh, that was. You know. We got to know each other nine years ago and he didn't start working for me about two years later and I seen right away what type of this guy. That's why I went now to eat with him. I mean, he can eat a lot, but I wanted I did. I did pay for his breakfast. You get into your pocket book a little bit there on the yeah, that's all right.

Shed Geek: 4:48

I'll sell us guys. We sort of enjoy that. You know what I mean. Talking and eating is kind of our thing. That's what we do. That's what we do.

Jesse Esh: 4:54

That it was. It was funny. Uh, he, two years later, I'm down in my deer pen feed and my deer and, uh, my cousin was working for me at the time, running up here at the sales lot. He come down and said, uh, there's one of his sales guys is quitting, one of my sales guys here. I said this is funny. I just yesterday heard that Bill Barling, uh, is unemployed. So I was like this is interesting. I I've always dreamed to have a bill Barling working for me. I never thought I could touch him and I was like the timing was perfect. So, uh, within I want to say, three days, we sat down, bill, come over. We sat down, uh, me and my brother Daniel, and we had him, we had him hired. So, uh, that was, I want to say, seven years ago and it's been amazing ever since.

Shed Geek: 5:53

What a great story, like you guys. Uh, I just noticed that there's like natural camaraderie here between you guys. I did hearing you talk about the shop. I'd really love to see and meet some of the guys at the shop sometime, because it sounds like that's sort of the the culture of the whole company. Like you guys are are are 40 years in. You've got it figured out. You've been doing something right. You're continuing to do something right. It's pretty obvious and I love the culture. I love the like just the camaraderie between the two of you guys. And uh, yeah, we met through through uh Darren technically, so Darren listens to the show and we were talking and uh uh told Darren to say, well, I'll get you on here. He, he all sheds for you and he's like, ah well, we'll see, but he there's not coming on here.

Bill: 6:40

Get us some Facebook pictures, Darren.

Shed Geek: 6:44

But he says these guys are awesome, you really ought to talk to them. And, uh, I just couldn't wait. It worked out perfect. We were coming up to interview in Pennsylvania anyway, so I'm so glad we did. Um, it's just been. We've sat here and talked for a couple hours. Yeah, you could have did another show. We could have done a couple of shows out of what we've already discussed. Uh, just cause you guys won natural conversation list but we talked sheds. I mean, the whole time we said here talking shed. You think that conversation would be used up by now or boring. But the whole time we've sat here and talked about anything from creating different designs to, uh, new designs and bringing back old designs with hip roofs and uh, um, oh, just everything, you name it and it's been really good and fun conversation. So, so, 40 years, jesse, how did this work? Your, your, your dad was building sheds. I mean, you're in Pennsylvania. That's gotta be one of the oldest shed manufacturers in Pennsylvania, surely?

Jesse Esh: 7:38

My dad uh moved out from Lancaster and was doing produce at the time and uh, his, his uh father had bought a form uh, directly across the road from where we live. Actually, my, my granddad, built a house, part of the farm and then at that point it was, it was uh, deeded off but uh, and then his dad had passed passed away uh, over that time. Now his, his mother, owned the farm. Dad went across the street in an old uh implement shed and started, started building sheds Uh, and he would build a shed and then he'd go down, hitch up the farmer's horses, pull the shed out of the way and build another shed and then the neighbor would come and deliver, deliver the shed uh to the customer.

Jesse Esh: 8:31

And one thing that dad jokes about was the? Uh, one of the neighbor, I want to say less than a mile and a half away, had bought a, had bought a shed and of course the delivery guy had a minimum to deliver this shed. And dad thinking, okay, surely I can get this shed up the up the road amount of half, and this is a back country road. So he got the forklift and some old cart that he had there to throw some two by fours on, but the and the cart had swivel wheels in the back. They worked. He had a nightmare. He come back and decided that $150 to deliver that shed would have been well spent.

Bill: 9:11

You said it was 50.

Jesse Esh: 9:14

I'm not sure I want to say it's 50 or $150.

Bill: 9:16

You told, you told me 50, and you said your dad said I should have spent the 50.

Jesse Esh: 9:21

And it was. It was funny. Here Just three months ago, uh, we had the same, the same situation where we had an old bank born. This'll make Darren laugh. We had an old, uh bank born that got delivered less than a mile from the shop there. No, no, no bank born there. And I'm thinking, okay, that's a well, that's that. Uh, what, what could I save hauling that building up with you know, I mean I could hook the meal to it. I got the thinking of dad's little story. I was like, okay, we'll let Darren deliver that building, make his money.

Bill: 9:57

Pay the professional right.

Shed Geek: 9:58

Well, there's a, there's something to be said for, uh, doing it cheaper all the time. You know, sometimes it's money well worth spent. We know that in the quality of sheds, the quality of putting it into good equipment to hauling sheds, this would, this would have been 40 years ago, 1982. What do you reckon that shed cost back then? Oh, I.

Jesse Esh: 10:20

I would have no idea what that, what that shed cost. Uh, my brother has that numbers in his head. I think he's saying that we used to sell a 12 by 36 for what we now sell at 10 by 16 for.

Shed Geek: 10:35

So yeah, it's changed. So much has changed and just the shed world in general it's, it's matured into a real industry. Me and Bill were talking about how he was in the car business and the car business leads a lot in the in the sales of our products, cause there's so many products that move out. And even though you might own what do they say, eight, eight cars in your lifetime, I don't know how many sheds you own. I mean, I've owned more than eight cars.

Bill: 10:59

Unfortunately, that's a really not as many as people in cars. I wish it was a lot easier.

Shed Geek: 11:04

Yeah, so the, the, the, the customer acquisition and things are different, but still, with that being said, um, it's been churning, you know, and now we've gone from pulling a a barn out of the way with a horse to conversations about CRMs, like we have here today, and SEO and websites and and all these different things, and, uh, it's interesting to kind of see, uh, you could do the same thing with equipment. We just we just saw a new trailer that Pine Hill built whenever we was out there interviewing them and, man, this thing is just amazing, the different things that it can do. So, um, the industry's just going there right, like we're just catching up with the rest of the world, maybe.

Jesse Esh: 11:50

One thing that I you'll have to laugh about when I open up one of my dad's uh bro shores. Just a little eight, eight and a half by 11 bro shores. That's what he started his uh business with, and there was four different styles of sheds and the only difference between two of them was the one was a four foot wall. Another one was a six foot wall. I'm thinking, man, wouldn't that be nice? I'm only having to build four different styles of sheds and two of them take the same rafters Wow.

Shed Geek: 12:21

How many styles do you have now?

Jesse Esh: 12:24

I have no idea, uh, we have a catalog yeah. That's a priceless. You know. Dad used to have everything on one page uh, not just the front with the options and everything. Now we have an option page and it's two full.

Shed Geek: 15:07

Yeah, so much. And then, of course, you guys do so much more here, like a lot of shed, lots and shed manufacturers. You'll see that we've expanded into so many other things, from play sets and blinds and metal structures and things like that. Bill, do you think it's just? Is that necessary today? You can always get somebody to say well, I don't do that, I just sell sheds, and it's fine and that's always possible. But do you think it kind of makes sense to offer these other products as well?

Bill: 15:40

We look at numbers all the time. We actually track everything we sell. We have one of the things that may help you guys that are listening we literally have a monthly meeting with the two owners and all the sales staff and communication. You are, Mr Communication.

Speaker 3: 16:01

Shannon, so doing what we can it's everything.

Bill: 16:04

So that's helped us tremendously to know where each other stands and actually grow the business. But our bread and our bread is sheds. That's our main focus. And then I would say we've done well in the tree stand industry. That gets us through some off season. Sheds are seasonal, so that really does help pick up the pace. Some of the other stuff we're looking at pretty hard. I mean do we actually need it? I mean do we need to take our focus and actually focus and drill down on sheds and the tree stand industry? So that's kind of where we're at. I'm not saying we're giving up these other product, but we do watch the math and sometimes it just doesn't make sense to stop what you're doing and deliver a swing set in the middle of all the chaos when you're busy and. But I don't have to deliver, so it's not much chaos for me.

Bill: 17:07

I handed off. But how you doing, Irvin he?

Jesse Esh: 17:12

stopped Tuesday and delivers.

Bill: 17:14

But I mean when I first started that math was helpful, that that was prevalent to us. But as we grow our business, some of the stuff is really dwindling down. Yeah, and to me we could. We could knock some of the stuff out that we do. We probably won't. We enjoy a little bit of everything that we do, but I don't deem it being a necessity At this point. If I looked at math and was outside consulting and come in and say yes, don't need this, this, this, this, this sell sheds and tree stands and we would survive.

Shed Geek: 17:50

Yeah, yeah.

Bill: 17:51

And I think our focus would be more back on our, our bread, and I said earlier, bread and butter. So I think the tree stands might be our butter.

Shed Geek: 17:59

So I love it. Yeah, that's completely accurate. From what I hear, a lot of other folks say we, you know, it's nice to expand, but we really have to think about the bottom dollar. Some, some companies, prefer sheds only. Some companies say, hey, you know, move into these other areas. We're seeing post frame. You know they do full design on post frame. We're seeing, you know, these big, wide span metal buildings anymore.

Shed Geek: 18:27

I'm thinking there's probably a shed dealer out there that's getting in the red iron pretty soon. I mean, they just really do a little bit of everything and I wonder sometimes is the crossover too much or is it not enough? I don't know. Now, all these conversations we've had them here today about tiny homes, what does that mean? You know, rv chassis versus tiny homes, versus just something that's affordable, somebody's looking for almost housing. I mean, next thing, you know I'm I'm over here looking at going to a tiny home trade show, right, just because there's so many guys that are in our industry, our neck of the woods building, that are kind of crossing over into some of these other areas.

Jesse Esh: 19:04

I would say from what I've seen is these tiny homes can be interesting if your guys at the shop don't get frustrated. That's the biggest challenge that I've had. You know they want to. They want to keep the 70 line rolling. Well, here your framers start a start. A tiny house needs to be completely finished out and the sheds in front walk away, the sheds behind pow up and you know they're your.

Jesse Esh: 19:32

Your guys need to be willing to. You know, get off the roof, grab a trim nailer and hang some trim around. A win inside, you know, a little different than just slapping some trim trim on the outside. It's a little different ball game. So if your guys are guys, are willing to do that which I think they are when times are lean, when they're busy and they can just build one of these cookie cutter sheds, they're going to pick that. So pick your timing. But that's tough. That's tough as a salesman to say, okay, you can sell a tiny home now, but not a month from now. You, you got to strike when there's hot in the sales world.

Shed Geek: 20:16

Yeah, it's a it's, it's, it's a bit that way, it seems like, with all product. But yeah, I completely agree with what you're saying. It slows production down pretty tremendously whenever you start getting into that. That I mean you're putting twice the product in on these things. So there's a lot to think about. I definitely.

Shed Geek: 20:36

We took some time to spend with a dealer down in South Carolina. They had a cabin shop and they kind of talked about that, not just on air, but kind of talked about it with me privately, about, you know. Is this is this the best direction to go? Sometimes, really just doing a good job on sheds and putting them out there maybe makes a lot of sense, but it is interesting to each his own. The modular process to actually going through the state procedures to become an actual builder of modular products, and how you get into code with all the the waterworks of everything. Now it gets very confusing, but it just goes to show the change. Jesse, and to me in the industry, what's the biggest thing for you, starting out two years old, your dad starts 40 years ago. What's the biggest change that you? If you identified it in one single category, what would you say is the biggest thing that's changed over time for you.

Jesse Esh: 21:32

In 40 years I would say probably the biggest thing that I've seen that has been a help to Ashes Storage Bonds is making your employees feel part of part of the make. Like Bill mentioned earlier, having your employees design your shop, make it work. Let me rephrase it If they design it, they're going to make it work. If you design it, they could make it feel, if that makes sense.

Shed Geek: 22:03

Yes.

Jesse Esh: 22:04

But and Bill has helped me out with that when he come in to tour our shop to tell us what we need to do, because he had experience there with Fleetwood trailers I was like, okay, this guy's way out of my league. You know he wanted to come in and say, hey, you need to have a first and second shift. Like that doesn't work in the Amish world. We can't survive on eight hour days, yeah we need 10, 11 hour days.

Bill: 22:32

They work yeah, so we don't.

Jesse Esh: 22:34

Our wives don't have a job, you know. So we're the only provider in the household. So that was one idea, Although I could see his point no overtime. Wow, you know, as an owner coming in saying, you know, hey, you need to have first and second shifts, that's 16 hours. And you know and like, okay, that's no overtime. You start figuring out what as an owner, yeah, that makes sense. But I soon seen that doesn't work in the Amish world. So he might think that I didn't take any of his ideas.

Jesse Esh: 23:07

I did I chewed on them a couple years, and then.

Shed Geek: 23:10

I introduced him to.

Jesse Esh: 23:13

but one that really struck home was make your have your employees design a shop, and I'm I'm probably a little bit overkill on this. I, my shop, was completely torn apart to framing in. I want to say probably three times in the last six, seven years. So you, that can also be frustrating for your employees. They know more and got and it's a week, it's a week of shut down, tearing everything apart, re redoing it. So take that in consideration. That can be very frustrating for your. But we just did that two, three years ago and you're doing it again. So a little cautious there, but I've seen it definitely definitely works.

Jesse Esh: 25:10

Another thing that I've seen that has really worked is getting a bonus system in for your guys. That your guys pay is based off of the bonus system. That was one that Bill had had told me about he in the Fleetwood Trailers they'd done it a little different. They used to have a trailer that when it comes to certain point, they threw a big old dollar sign down on the floor and this went up the semny line and Bill said you could just hear that the nail are just speeding up when it when it come to that trailer with that dollar sign in it. And it was interesting, they had it, they had a week and I feel I should let you explain that a little bit.

Bill: 25:53

You're doing good.

Jesse Esh: 25:53

You're doing good they had they had this, that it was a certain dollar value. I want to say or maybe the trailer, and you know you might reach it at Thursday afternoon at three that's a really good week if you reached it at Thursday afternoon at three, because you know Friday's all bonus plus part of Thursday's bonus. Well, if you reached it at 12 o'clock Friday it's not quite as good, but you're still in bonus time.

Bill: 26:20

Yeah now, I graduated in 1982. So when that dollar sign went up on that trailer on the roof once it got to that section, the whole plant could see it. So the whole plant was a stir and it almost looked like that trailer didn't stop. And then each trailer that come through, once we got the windows in and the rock guard on it, we would write the percentage on there and that's how much more percentage.

Bill: 26:44

Okay, those employees, those hard sweat and workers got paid, and I mean it was. It was a neat thing to see and he's implemented something very similar in the shop. So the more productive guys are, the more they get paid. But keep that in mind, you owners the more productive they are, the more you get paid. Yeah, so I mean, yeah, you're giving them a bonus, but if they can build 10 more sheds a week than what they were building, that's pretty much free labor if you look at it that way to a degree. So it's, it's pretty neat and man, I, I get to go out to a few dinners and cookouts and things they have through the years and I just I can't speak highly enough of every single worker that sweats and does what they do, because I used to do it.

Bill: 27:40

I worked in the welding shop a lot of my career in the trailer industry and be a hundred some degrees and I mean you're just soaked and sweat and there was not a lot of people that could do that. I lived in Texas so hot was nothing to be. Yeah, it's like no big deal, you know so. But now I just, and they care. That's the difference between I'm not saying other shed places don't. They don't take it that way. But these boys care, yeah, and the owners care. If we have a warranty issue and we have one of the best shed warranties in the industry, we really do, and because of the quality we're not scared to extend that warning out there ten years on our silver line shed. But if something happens after that, I've never seen them one time say what's that a warranty? We go out and look at it. They go out and look at it. I should say I'm in here trying to sell another shed, but they go out and look at it in. They don't try to look for a reason not to fix it. They usually fix it.

Bill: 28:49

We had a shed that the customer said was leaking and Daniel went out and looked at the shed in a rainstorm and it wasn't leaking and the guy can't show us where it's leaking. And he called in again and said it was leaking. And Jesse and Daniel got together and myself, and said let's build him a brand new shed and just go get that one and we'll sell it, we'll resell it. And so when he called we, I made him that offer. He never took us up on it. The offer to me as a sales guy and a sales manager, it went miles. Yeah, think about it. You know, here the owners were willing to go get a shed that's used and give him a brand new shed at no cost. No haul, no, no strings attached. Just make this guy happy. And it just. I mean I want to sell for these guys. You know, I want to help grow the business, I want to increase our presence out there. So it's, it's just a neat place to to be with these guys. I appreciate them.

Shed Geek: 29:54

So much do you think companies don't place maybe enough emphasis on what you're talking about? I saw I don't know something on maybe Facebook that said your greatest asset in your company is your employees, because if you spend more time taking care of your employees, they'll spend so much more time doing stuff without seeking reward. All the time I have.

Jesse Esh: 30:14

I have seen that dramatically in the last couple years. There it's your, your employees, they feel included in they, they feel like it, like a team part of. And I would say you know, two things that have triggered that, I feel, is the latin and fixus, or redo the shop, and the bonus, the bonus system you know, that tells them exactly where their labor was for that shed. Could it be tweaked? Yes, I want to tweak a little bit, but it was. It was a good start and you know, my brother at one point wanted to throw it out and redo it and I was like no, we can't, we've come miles. We want to tweak it. We want to tweak it a little bit to make it, to make it work, but it's, it's a good format to start from. So, yeah, I would highly encourage that and if there's anybody that wants information on that, I'd gladly share anything with them on that bonus system, because I have seen it completely turn my shop around what a great, what a great testimony to that.

Shed Geek: 31:31

And, bill, you come in with just this wealth of experience, both with Fleetwood, but you, you come from the car industry. What's, what's one of the obvious things that you'd notice that's a little different in the shed industry than the car industry you kind of talked about. There was a group that you were in and I appreciate your kind words on communication. We obviously we try to not just spread communication but comprehension. You know like sometimes communication doesn't necessarily happen, but or it always happens but comprehension doesn't. So we're big on education too. We want to make sure everybody knows. You were talking about like being in a group of car dealers that you know didn't compete, but like bettering themselves. You know what I mean by having some collaborative efforts. You want to speak on that?

Bill: 32:17

yeah, I do it was very interesting once I got in the management side on the car industry. They do something different than I've ever seen. They have what they call 20 group so they'll fly you to Florida, let's say, or someplace that you don't get to go in the car world, you know, because you're busy. It's like having two jobs. So they would fly 20 dealers out there and you would commit and we would literally share financial statements. We were non-competing dealers, which was neat, so you could become friends and you could tell them all your trade secrets. And, let's say, somebody was knocking out of the park with used cars and there was a dealer that was really weak in that area. He could pick your brain and look at your financial statements and I see what you made and you could help that guy grow. We had one in particular guy who was going bankrupt and I just had an opportunity one evening at supper to pray with him and coach him and just not let him give up and it was just a neat place to be.

Bill: 33:30

Some guys were terrible on the finance in. They weren't making any money, you know, on the finance in. You know we have our to rent, to own with these sheds and there are ways that you can make money with their rent to own as a dealer. If your customer listen to this, we don't get a dime off the rent to own, except we might get a small kickback from the guy that's doing it. But in the car world it was a little different. You would get a little bit of a percentage from the bank every time and some guys were just terrible at it. They couldn't sell the customer warning, so we could coach them through.

Bill: 34:09

I would love to see that in the shed industry. Now not, I mean, my goodness, we got some really good builders in our area up here. We really do. But to invite them in have a coffee and share everything would be scary, local, right, because, hey, they got to pay bills, so do we, and we like them. But it's. It's different when you're outside and you're talking to somebody that is never gonna bump heads with you on a shed or car and you can be open, honest and truly share and help them grow and it was.

Bill: 34:43

It was really one of the sharpest things I was involved in in the car world, so I think that's something that you, shannon, can bring to the table well, definitely something that we yeah we, we, we want to spread communication, we want to spread education because to me, the more educated you are on a situation, the the better decision you can make.

Shed Geek: 35:06

As a whole, I kind of feel like for me you're just seeing the the shed industry move, even today in different areas. It's trying to grow and morph into a bigger industry, if you will, and it's getting more organized and in some cases you're seeing everything from, you know, small mom and pop who, who even sometimes want to stay there. You're seeing like these larger organizations and you're seeing what happens at the second, third generation, fourth generation. Somebody's not coming along to kind of take over the family business. You know, are they selling out? Are people taking more market share? Are they taking more market share because they're expanding?

Shed Geek: 35:44

With the way that the industry is going, whether it be automation in building or whether it be more digital in sales or whether it be just bigger equipment in hauling I mean the size of some of these sheds that are moving I know you guys are here in PA so I don't know how big they they get here, but I mean I'm here in like 18 by 70. I think recently was one of the biggest ones we do a 28 wide and it depends on.

Bill: 36:14

Darren how long we haul. But we can haul up to 40 feet. We can do longer than that if we hire an outside guy to haul it, but very seldom do we ever do that. But we bring it in pieces like a modular home so we can do 28 wide, 24 wides pretty common. We do two stories, very unique, and it's not just a shed anymore, yeah, I mean.

Bill: 36:39

And back to the tiny homes. I mean we're battling a little bit with the shop and Jesse said you know what am I? One of my jobs that I feel I have is I want to keep these guys busy. I take it home with me. I take it real serious and I want to keep them productive and working all winter. Where some shops die off in the the winter they're usually building stock. For me right now that hasn't happened yet, which I'm kind of. I've got more sheds that I need right now going into the winter season, but we've got them scheduled out with some really big jobs right now, which now they're thinking maybe we don't want these jobs. But what I want them to hear loud and clear is I care about you and I want to keep you busy.

Shed Geek: 37:38

So you guys told me a little bit about. You talked about this earlier about creating sort of like this, this buzz or this atmosphere in the in, within the culture of the company. You guys were telling me a really cool story. I wanted to get on the air here talking about creating sort of a, a new design, and this is just creativity at its best. This is what I love. You guys talked about having a couple of your, your builders. Just create this new, this new design, and you're gonna see what, how it performed.

Jesse Esh: 38:42

So, yeah, what I did there, or what we did, was I'm the type of person I want to have something new, get a little bit of excitement, just like he said, create some buzz there. So my brain was spinning and I was like what this was a year ago, I guess, when I thought this up beginning of the year there. I wanted a whole year contest here. So I'm like, okay, what, what can I do here? So I chewed on it and I was like, okay, we got to have all the employees get them a competition. And at the same time I wanted to get some different shed designs for Ashes storage boards. And you know, what I've found in the past is if one guy's coming up with all the ideas, they they tend to sort of follow each other. We were talking earlier about you know how you eat in this area?

Jesse Esh: 39:40

they you'd mention a heavy creamer you know everybody in this area uses a heavy creamer and I've seen that over the past. I used to be the one coming up with all the. You know, during the winter we're doing all the stock, we're building stock and I'd write the colors down. Well, after a while you can't get the blues out of your head or you can't get the grays out. Here it's, it's one or the other. You forget about all these nice shades of brown over here, and one year I did this, which that this goes back five, six years ago I left the guys, design or not, just this was just the colors. You could build a shed and put your own colors on it, and the first shed that sells got 150 bucks and Darren I think Darren or Danny won that one.

Jesse Esh: 40:29

Yeah, darren won that one, which he probably hold his up first. I'm kidding Darren but, no, it it was.

Jesse Esh: 40:38

And it was amazing to me how there's a color that I use a lot today that come from one of them, colors that I'd I'd have lived to be a hundred and never thought of them, colors I'd be like that doesn't go together. And there's one of them that is in my calendar. There we were at our banquet there. Alvin said that he come up with that color. That's in my calendar, it's in every brochure that I made. So it was just interesting. Okay, different ideas. So that's sort of the thought process that I started there a year ago was how can I take that and bring value to our, to our company? So I took down like, okay, that color idea five years ago definitely worked. How can we go to the next level? So, okay, let's, let's let them think of a design. And I told, told the team at the shop, it's got to be approved. I didn't want to have. We talked about tiny homes coming. I didn't want somebody to think of some elaborate something. Oh man, there's another George shed coming through the shop. Man, I, the last one was not fun.

Jesse Esh: 41:46

So I took that on, considering. I was like everyone's got to be approved by the team and but there was no limits other than that and I said, if there's any, if there's one, that's. Let's say there's one as in between a Moe shed and a Danny shed, and there's. I said I don't want to be involved. There's, there was five in the contest. You vote on it. Whichever gets it, you vote on it. Go ahead, bill.

Bill: 42:10

So when he says Moe shed and Danny shed, so the Moe shed we call pool house shed, but Moe's designed it. The Danny shed it's a two-story gambler roof barn. Danny designed it. So when he says Moe shed, danny shed, that's what he's talking about.

Jesse Esh: 42:24

That's what that is. Yeah, so we, the guys, got all excited about it. It was, it was amazed. My brother called me up, said you created some. I'm like, okay, this is perfect, that's what I, that's what I wanted to do. So it of course, some of the employees were more excited than the max, but I could see the excitement in the shop. So we, I want to say these sheds come up, probably March they were all up here at Chambersburg we line them up and when we call them the first, we called them the competition sheds. And then I thought, well, that doesn't really sound right, meaning that they might be my competitions design. So we called them the contest sheds and, yeah, right on the price list, they were called Moe shed, danny shed it was. It was funny. You know, customers come in, moe should, yep, that's. And then Bill would have to tell my story and for the prize.

Jesse Esh: 43:17

It was my brother, david, which runs my, my painted shop. He come up with a point system. First I had thought it's just gonna be a shed count the guy that sells the most sheds. Then I was like you know what, if a guy makes a little four by four dog house and sells 50 of them and wins the wins, the price. So David, come up with a point system. It was so much for dollar value and so much for per shed and Moe's.

Jesse Esh: 43:44

He come to me and with his design and I was like I don't know, I don't know if I really like that design, but it's your choice. I actually tried to discourage you. I'd like you know, man, I want this to be excited, but I don't think you know an old hip hip roof design. I was like I don't know, is this is gonna work? Thank goodness he didn't listen to me, he had a focus. He just he don't know what he's talking about. I'm gonna go forward with this.

Jesse Esh: 44:09

And we were selling Moe sheds a lot this summer and all of a sudden, danny shed. In September Bill sold his first Danny shed. Danny shed was a was a big two-story barn style with a dormer out the side, a pretty big price tag on it. And September Bill sold his first Danny, danny barn, and I think we sold four last year. So here, right at the the last lap, here comes Danny and just blows Moe's right out of the water. It was, it was funny.

Jesse Esh: 44:47

And then the prize was a. I had told them I'm gonna get them a rifle, a brand new rifle there. And then in the meantime my uncle, john, started making flintlock muzzle loaders and I had ordered one. Back in, I want to say last winter, maybe last spring, I had ordered one and I took him a piece of wood that I had cut up at my, my property, the Manhattan property there, and actually took it. Saw mills cut, broke, got a sawmill, cut it, this chunk of wood out myself, my cousin, he killed and dried it and then we took it to John there and he made this beautiful flintlock muzzle loader. And then I decided to throw that in and the prize too. So, yeah, just little stuff like that that can go miles with your employees, just to create a little bit of excitement created a really nice culture.

Shed Geek: 45:43

A really nice brings everybody together. You know you're working day in and day out. You don't want to come into the same thing, like you said. Just just stepping outside of the box for a moment, realizing you're the only one creating inventory, you may be putting the same thing out there over and over and over. Not every customer is the same, so you may not be able to reach a different, different customer just because you're not offering those colors or hadn't thought to put that out in the inventory. I love the whole story that this. What's beautiful is being able to sit here and talk with you guys and get sort of even off-camera, all fair, like this real, real grassroots kind of story and conversation about how the culture in the shop works, how everybody works together toward the common goal. And 40 years in business, you're seeing that all these, all these years later, where's it go now? Where's? Where does the ashes go from here? Where's the shed industry going? I'm curious that you guys's thoughts on that you start, jesse?

Jesse Esh: 46:43

I I'm predicting a little bit of a down year this year just because you know we come out of the all the stimulus money. So I think it's I call it three separate the men from the police. You know sometimes you need to look. You need a little bit of hard times to figure out. You know who's. You know the tough trying to think of the phrase who's gonna?

Jesse Esh: 47:05

stick around going, you know yeah yeah, when the going gets tough to tough, get going. You know, I think we're, we're coming to that point where it will be if, if you don't think a little bit outside of your box, get a little bit out of your comfort zone, you're gonna, you're gonna have a little hard time keeping your employees busy over the next year or two is, is my thought. So I would say one of the month. I'm an uncle that works, sells some sheds there, and he brought an interesting point one time. He was like back in 0708 there, which I think every shed builder can remember, that these they were.

Jesse Esh: 47:55

They sell sheds for a lot of guys in Lancaster. They'd come to them with these elaborate designs and they're like Nope, nope, we don't want to build them. Come, oh nine, these uh shed shops would come up hey, do you still have that cost in need of that shed? You know it completely flipped. And that's what happens when there's lean times. You're going to have to learn to say, uh, yeah, we can do that instead of Nope, I'm good. Uh, I think that's going to go mouths here in the next, the next year or two is, is my thought. Bill, what do you think?

Bill: 48:31

Well, I was talking earlier when you would help load tree stands up. Thank you, yeah, well, a lot of people don't know, even during this interview.

Shed Geek: 48:38

That's that's the uh example of hard work. Uh, you got tree stand order going out, five orders going out, and Jesse runs out, hops on the skid steer. Next thing you know we're right back at it. So you guys are none the wiser. Jesse's been working this whole time.

Jesse Esh: 48:54

These salesman's. They need to be flexible. Get off that chair, Get out there load up a couple boxes, sweat a little bit, come back in write up another deal.

Shed Geek: 49:03

Yeah, get him, jesse Get him, but I was.

Bill: 49:05

I was talking earlier about, you know uh, I didn't use the word but diversity being able to do what Jesse says. What does the customer want, what will they buy, what were they ready to check for? And keeping the guys in the shop busy and working through these leaner times, especially through the winter, you know. So my thought is be open minded If you're a builder and an owner, because a sales guys, all of us aren't built to just jam a building on somebody because they can. That's not. That's definitely not my forte. I want to give them something that they're going to get years of use from, and some of these I don't really want to call it a tiny home, but you know we're finishing insides and they're beautiful. When they're done, I mean absolutely gorgeous. I'll enjoy helping people get that dream on an off grid property or even in the backyard.

Bill: 50:05

But if the guys don't enjoy building it, they have to take a deep look at what our jobs are is keep them busy, keep a paycheck coming, keep the shop forward all times, and I get it in the spring and summer. You know, let's build those cookie cutter sheds. If you know you can only build a box so many ways right and pick our timing to schedule those bigger, harder builds and more of an off season, but we are seeing a market forward in a in a change and so, but I mean, what's coming down to pike? I've been with this guy for several years and we've grown, I mean tremendously. It's exciting and we're always looking for the next step. What is the next thing we need to do to grow again? That's what I wanted to ask you, shannon. What's the next magic button we push to take?

Shed Geek: 51:00

it to the next level.

Bill: 51:05

What's the next product that the shed industry brings in that nobody thought about? You talk to the world on these things and we do value your opinion. We picked up the redneck hunting blinds here several years ago and we sell a Kenny lion hunting blind. It's wood and it's tremendous. I mean, the guy does an excellent job. Jesse and the builder of friends, irvin Ash, and that is been that's been fun, cause we hunt and Jesse's an okay hunt. No, he's actually a really good owner. My buck was bigger than yours.

Jesse Esh: 51:36

It was it was, but I let it go.

Bill: 51:41

His brother missed the buck that we think he shot, which is a comical as all get out, and uh, he's a good guy. And uh, jesse ends up just uh, he got more game pictures than he does of his family, but he figured him out and he ended up getting him. But we think Steven missed that deer, or one close to it, and uh, anyways. But no, we enjoy talking to hunters and and um, I have a 24 by 40,. They built for me shed and I love it. Every time I go in that shed I'm like man, I'm just amazed at the quality and the workmanship. And, you know, did they actually put a little more love in it, cause it was mine? No, that's how they build your shed and that's what's neat about the company. So, but I don't know what the we think about this stuff all the time being Jesse, and we talk a lot about it. What is next? What is the next major thing that a shed builder can do, a shed seller can do, to take this thing to the next level.

Jesse Esh: 52:36

I'll cut in a little bit. There's one that I just thought of that has helped us a lot. Uh, that we'll share here. Uh, bill, when he, when we had the interview with Bill there, remember I I never thought I could touch him. His pay he was, he was.

Shed Geek: 52:51

He's worth a lot I just like he likes to eat and he's out of my caliber. Just just call it. Yeah, yep, exactly.

Bill: 52:57

Exactly Yep.

Jesse Esh: 52:58

So I was like you know, you're going to have to bring other ideas to the table, you know. In other words, you're going to have to pull your own wagon. Yeah, no, uh. And one thing that he brought was uh, do you do pads? And I was like uh, no, we have a guy that uh does pads. What do you get a spiff? No, we don't get a spiff. Uh, I don't think we were at the time, uh, and he was like you've got to, you've got to your. Your uh, taken your time. This guy's been advertising, don't come free, you're advertising for it. You got to. So, you know, we ended up getting a spiff of this.

Jesse Esh: 53:36

And then I want to say, in 2020, we put our own truck and trailer on the road with a little uh, yvonne, they're putting in, putting in shed pads. Uh, that has been a big success where it's a more of a one stop shop. Yeah, uh, and I got to thinking who wants to go out and buy a shed and be on the way home? They're all excited and all of a sudden, this hits them. Honey, we got to go home and uh, call five excavators to get a price on a pad or they leave ashes and they're going home. You know what? We got a pad coming next week and the shed the following week. Wow, no week, let's go out for supper. You know there's no, no, they're. They're excited the whole time. That has gone miles and we price them. Uh right, bill, bill sells them a pad right here at their desk.

Shed Geek: 54:32

Well, what's, what's beautiful about that is, you're kind of in control of your own destiny there. You're not relying, like on this, this other site, prep company to discourage, or or in your sale Bill.

Shed Geek: 54:45

I'll touch on that. It's a perfect segue into sort of what I do a lot of times at the end of the shows, which just allow people to to turn the micro and ask some questions, whether it's podcast related, shed related, whatever the discussion is, and, um, you know, a lot of times you can't always have something new and inviting and constant. That's always on the horizon. Uh, what we do is pretty simple. Like you said, we, we build boxes, we sell them, but, but what's the difference in doing that same thing and and being a million dollar a year sales company and a hundred and fifty million dollar a year sales company? Should you? Should you choose to want to grow? And if that's the mentality that you're in and the season that you're in to want to grow, uh, what sets that apart?

Shed Geek: 55:35

I don't know that there always has to be a new and best thing, but I, but I will tell you selfishly, there's, there's a reason why we kind of jumped into the marketing side. Um, not just because of conversations I've had for the last 10 years with shed guys, but starting to see this maturing industry run into a, a place where they're starting to meet, uh, the rest of business and how consumers decide to shop. It's amazing how breaking mortar still very valuable. I don't take anything from it, uh, referrals are still extremely valuable, and if you're not doing anything in in marketing, I'm not telling you you're not going to make it.

Shed Geek: 56:13

Uh, what are you leaving on the table? It becomes the question what are you leaving on the table? And and are you taking more market share? Cause it's almost kind of inevitable that guys are going to just continue to open up, shed lots, and market share is going to get thinner and I think the cream is going to rise to the top as you begin to put work into your sales process, your marketing process, your, your automations through your building process, increasing efficiencies in your hauling process. So I'm not a shed hauler, uh, and I'm not a shed builder. I have done both of those things, but they're not my strong. They're not my strong point, uh, but I did well in sales, um, and I still say I'm not even the best sales person out there. I meet so many of them that are greater than me all the time on these trips. Um, yeah, bill included, absolutely.

Bill: 57:08

I made a little hand motion there.

Jesse Esh: 57:10

If they're better, you hire them. That's all that I can say.

Bill: 57:12

There you go.

Jesse Esh: 57:13

If they're better than you, you hire them.

Shed Geek: 57:15

That's what I did with there doesn't always need to be something new, but to to answer your question, what's coming around the corner? I think that people say online sales and then I have to say, well, what does that mean to you? Or people say marketing and I say, well, what does that mean to you? Explain it to me so that if you know more about it, I can learn, and if I see that you don't know more about it, I can teach. That's how iron sharpens iron. I think so. Like you have to be willing to listen and you have to be willing to talk, and you just got to hear when you're supposed to do which one. We get it wrong a lot don't we.

Shed Geek: 57:46

We talk when we ought to be listening and it seems like we don't listen enough, and so I. I think there's a reason I went toward marketing in what we're doing. It's because I just saw the vulnerability that so many companies have where they've left their self. They might not, they not own their URL on their website and they're they're really getting taken advantage of over here in this situation. Or somebody selling them a line of goods on this saying, hey, we can do all this, do all that.

Shed Geek: 58:12

Our, our, our attitude bill is like we'll do our best, We'll give you all the information we got, We'll break it down to you, show you how it works and all that we're educators and then, if it doesn't work, we'll give it our best effort. Shake, shake your hand at the end of the day and say we gave it our best. If there's someone out there that can do better, you should use them Right? So we're going to take that approach to every area of business. You know, there's probably a bit of a change that needs to happen or I don't know if it needs to happen, but could happen even in the RTO side of things.

Shed Geek: 58:44

We're like a shedgicator a shedgicator I like to term Right yeah, Shedgication, I think. I think LP has that, that in their in their bag.

Shed Geek: 58:53

I know my friend Joe, joe Nito goes around and does like that, the shedgication. But yeah, we do, we, we, we want to, we want to talk about all of the details of it, from your sales process, even even perfect, trying to perfect your sales process, your follow-up process, all of these things. So, so change. I don't know if it's going to be new designs, I don't know if it's going to be new hauling equipment, I don't know if it's going to be automation in the industry or if it's going to be marketing, but we're kind of throwing our hat into the, into the marketing side, because, as you're creating a digital storefront, there's all of these other things that need to be included. You know, I have people call up and say we need a website and say, okay, well, it's X amount of dollars. And I say, well, we need to show up first on Google. And then you have to say, well, wait a minute. Now you're talking about two different things.

Shed Geek: 1:01:04

Yeah, just to kind of elaborate on what I was saying. There's a reason we sort of jumped into that, just because I think that we're we're educators first, and then we're trying to get people to sort of understand what that is. If you're, if you're creating a digital storefront Imagine creating a brick and mortar land, like, like storefront you're trying to get it on a, you're trying to get it on a busy highway, you want to get more people to see it. So it's the same thing with, like, your online presence, and, and and I'm not I'm not a doomsday kind of guy, I'm not like, oh no, you'll never make it without this. Instead, I look at it more from the perspective of what are you leaving on the table If not?

Shed Geek: 1:01:42

So if you're seeking growth, there's a lot more that you can do, because you can get in front of a whole host of people. If you serve a hundred mile Radius, all those people don't draw it, drive by your hundred mile, it within a hundred miles, don't drive by your lot every day. But but most of them are on social media or on a website, or, or they're searching for that, and then you've just got to figure out that component. So we jumped into it. For that reason, I feel like we got the right guys that are helping. There's now seven people on that team and and it's going as good as we could hope for to go, and we want to do more of it, but we want to be respectful in the process and, yeah, so to answer your question, I don't think there always has to be something new, necessarily, but I Try to keep my pulse on all of it bill as best I can.

Jesse Esh: 1:02:29

I think that's great. What was going through my mind when you were talking about that was I I see a lot in the industry where I call it Don't let a pebble stop a freight train. You know, there's a lot of times when you go out you think about you want to do this thing and you have this vision and there's this one small little object that is keeping you from doing this. Like, don't let a pebble stop a freight train. Yeah, that you'll. You'll blow right by that pebble, not even, not even nut. Get a focus on what you want to like. You'd mention Marketing. Marketing is a big part of it. You know, your delivery guy, I feel, is a Just as big we found that bill with. I mean, they just they love Darren.

Bill: 1:03:19

Yeah, they love Darren.

Shed Geek: 1:03:20

I love you, darren huge part of the process.

Bill: 1:03:23

Yeah he's, he leaves the. He's real, he's the most, he's the friendliest guy that you ever meet. Deliver in a shed.

Shed Geek: 1:03:30

So sorry guys, it's it's the last experience the customer has, and a lot of times with your company. So like, if they're in there grumpy and everything else, you know that it doesn't, it doesn't go across well, because I've had a pleasant experience until then. But if you're, if your hauler comes in and leaves them with a really good Experience and I see that in testimonials with like the Facebook group, like the shed, all our Facebook group they talk about, hey, we got tipped or we got this or whatever, just because of any never leaves ruts in your yard.

Bill: 1:03:56

No, just kidding.

Shed Geek: 1:03:59

Well, I think I want to say this for you guys and we'll wrap up, but I want to say we visit a lot of places and you guys are doing it Well, you're doing it great and I think you're just gonna continue to make tracks and and Expand and things like that, and I'm happy to know you Got to know you and we're to you, shannon.

Shed Geek: 1:04:20

It's been. It's been fun. We try to keep it very real and we were a little bit like I'm gonna say this on air. I think you know we were talking about the nerves initially. I don't know what your experience like after coming on. It didn't not as bad as what you thought was great.

Jesse Esh: 1:04:35

I'm finally getting comfortable.

Shed Geek: 1:04:37

Yeah, we can talk for another couple hours. Good, hey, you know what? Maybe we'll do this every year, every two years. Come back and say hey, and I just appreciate. It means so much that you guys would listen, that you would come on, that you would offer value to other people's day. I'm a big fan of of Remembering that God puts us in the places that we are and without him we would have nothing. So we may not do it every time, but I definitely feel like maybe we should just say a quick prayer and closing, if that's okay.

Bill: 1:05:10

It is. I just want to thank Deanna and Troy. You know he's Troy's outside prison and his low hands off Need is over there working, but they coming in an RV we we actually thought he may have flew in rid of the car, but he's here with his family and that's how it should be.

Shed Geek: 1:05:29

So that's pretty cool, yeah, I love for you to close your prayer. What a fun thing to be able to do, you know spend time with my family. I mean, it's a world to me. This is, this is the funnest job I've ever had, if you can call it a job. It's the funnest job I ever had and I'm thankful to do it, and I'll do it as long as I'm allowed. Right, I'll do as long as I'm allowed.

Shed Geek: 1:05:47

So, lord, thank you for this day, thank you for the opportunity to meet new friends and just to conversate and Build your community through conversation.

Shed Geek: 1:06:00

That's that's our goal, is to point toward you and and all that we've been given and and all that we continue to do. Let us not forget that, in a world that is stretched in so many different directions, that we can have clarity of mind and just know that you are in charge of all things and all that we do and you are a Sovereign God. So we thank you for that, that you offer the clarity to us through that. I ask that you had bless the businesses here represented today on the show, but also those listening, make them profitable, encourage them through through culture and through building community. We just ask that you'd Offer up the hedge of protection we so often ask for in request, and we hope that you will Do that for us provide safety for our builders, for our haulers and just provide clarity for for all that we're doing as we move forward, make for a better process for customers and and, in the process, building your kingdom. So we thank you, give you honor and glory in Jesus name.

Bill: 1:07:04

Amen.

Shed Geek: 1:07:04

Amen, I'm in.