Every family has its stories, and in our latest episode, we're unpacking the tale of Lauren Galia and her daughter Tamara, a mother-daughter duo who've taken the shed industry by storm in Corsicana, Texas. Their transition from dog training to the creation of Angus Portable Buildings, and Tamara's architectural prowess, has not just reshaped their lives but also the backyards and pastures of their community. Dig into the roots of their partnership with Derksen and discover how their innovative sheds—from cozy she-sheds to robust animal shelters—are making a mark in the agricultural landscape of Corsicana, a town with deep oil roots and a bright future.
Imagine selling more than just a product, but rather a service laced with human connection—this is the essence of the shed business according to our guests. As the pandemic reared its head, Lauren and Tamara's early adoption of DocuSign and online sales platforms ensured that their growth didn't just survive but thrived. In this conversation, we peel back the layers on the strategies that have bolstered their business, the emotional intelligence required in sales, and how an architectural background, coupled with a knack for digital marketing, has catapulted their sheds into the spotlight.
'Tis the season for giving, and this episode wraps up with the warmth of community spirit as we recount the Christmas tree giveaway initiative that brought joy to Corsicana's' homes. But the gift-giving doesn't end there; our discussion branches out to the newest additions like Derksen's chicken coops and portable decks, which are feeding the DIY culture and sustainable living trends. So, tune in for an episode that goes beyond the beams and nails, and into the stories of people, the emotional touchpoints of sales, and the innovative designs that are transforming spaces into sanctuaries.
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.
Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube at the handle @shedgeekpodcast.
To be a guest on the Shed Geek Podcast visit our website and fill out the "Contact Us" form.
To suggest show topics or ask questions you want answered email us at info@shedgeek.com.
This episodes Sponsors:
Studio Sponsor: Union Grove Lumber
Mobeno Solar Solutions
iFAB
EcoEthic Solar
Every family has its stories, and in our latest episode, we're unpacking the tale of Lauren Galia and her daughter Tamara, a mother-daughter duo who've taken the shed industry by storm in Corsicana, Texas. Their transition from dog training to the creation of Angus Portable Buildings, and Tamara's architectural prowess, has not just reshaped their lives but also the backyards and pastures of their community. Dig into the roots of their partnership with Derksen and discover how their innovative sheds—from cozy she-sheds to robust animal shelters—are making a mark in the agricultural landscape of Corsicana, a town with deep oil roots and a bright future.
Imagine selling more than just a product, but rather a service laced with human connection—this is the essence of the shed business according to our guests. As the pandemic reared its head, Lauren and Tamara's early adoption of DocuSign and online sales platforms ensured that their growth didn't just survive but thrived. In this conversation, we peel back the layers on the strategies that have bolstered their business, the emotional intelligence required in sales, and how an architectural background, coupled with a knack for digital marketing, has catapulted their sheds into the spotlight.
'Tis the season for giving, and this episode wraps up with the warmth of community spirit as we recount the Christmas tree giveaway initiative that brought joy to Corsicana's' homes. But the gift-giving doesn't end there; our discussion branches out to the newest additions like Derksen's chicken coops and portable decks, which are feeding the DIY culture and sustainable living trends. So, tune in for an episode that goes beyond the beams and nails, and into the stories of people, the emotional touchpoints of sales, and the innovative designs that are transforming spaces into sanctuaries.
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.
Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube at the handle @shedgeekpodcast.
To be a guest on the Shed Geek Podcast visit our website and fill out the "Contact Us" form.
To suggest show topics or ask questions you want answered email us at info@shedgeek.com.
This episodes Sponsors:
Studio Sponsor: Union Grove Lumber
Mobeno Solar Solutions
iFAB
EcoEthic Solar
Okay, welcome back to another episode of the Shed Geek podcast. And we're still here in Texas making our rounds and it's lots of fun, and we made it over here to. You have to correct me. I say Corsicana, but it's Corsicana.
Tamara Galia:Corsicana.
SHED GEEK:Corsicana. I've been told I always get the name of the towns wrong, but we're here with a mother-daughter team and this is really fun. They're going to school us all about the shed industry, right?
Lauren Galia:Okay, I'm Lauren Galea and I started out training dogs and doing grooming and opened a business in 2005 in Corsicana Serving this area with training, grooming, boarding, teaching all types of behavior work, including service dogs and agility. I've branched into herding over the last 10 years and in the last six years that's become my primary focus. We still do boarding and grooming a lot and behavior work. As a side effect of buying this raw land, we talked together. Tamara moved up from San Antonio and joined our household and came to work for me while we built and established Angus portable buildings, and she is the main force of our sales and our web marketing and she runs with it. She carries the ball and she's the success story.
Lauren Galia:So, there we are.
SHED GEEK:That's great. So San Antonio, yeah, it's beautiful down there, right it is.
Tamara Galia:I actually moved there to go to school for architecture, so that kind of ties into why I'm kind of a shed geek too, Because, yeah, I love everything about building and design and details regarding that stuff and certainly when, like she said, when we decided to kind of join forces here with this property, it was really important that she establish her business on the property and really just do it for her, and it made sense to combine it with the buildings because it kind of goes hand in hand. There have been a lot of buildings that we have worked on that are specifically animal related, whether it be housing for chickens, housing for dogs, housing for horses, obviously, and we've found, especially in the rural community, we have a niche, we have a little bit of a niche there. I literally muck stalls every day and I understand how the inner workings are with the animals, same with the dog industry and handling and working dogs.
Lauren Galia:What is needed when somebody designs a building to support their animals, we know what to make sure that they get or don't get Right how to make that building work for their animals Sure.
Tamara Galia:Sure, and coupled with that, my interest in architecture and even residential design, certainly the other aspects of the shed world, the she-sheds, the craft rooms, the man caves, the garages and workshops the tiny homes all plays into my interests big time, for sure.
SHED GEEK:It's turned into so much more than just storage. Absolutely A lot of people are, you know, see a shed or something like this and kind of think storage. Place to throw my Christmas tree, well, that's true. Place to put my lawn mower, that's true.
Tamara Galia:But it's turned into so much more. Yeah, business offices.
Lauren Galia:Exactly.
SHED GEEK:Especially during COVID.
Lauren Galia:Right yeah.
SHED GEEK:So well, we're in a beautiful Dirksen building here, so this is really cool. You guys can see the studded wall back here with the spray foam. What a great product. Always proud to be able to talk to Dirksen dealers, because they just make a great product and the whole team over there really, you know they have a phenomenal building and such a big presence in the industry. Their home office is not too far away from where we live, so it's kind of convenient. I've been down to Mayfield quite often and yeah, so it's some really good people over there I do know. So kudos to them and all that they do and it sounds like they've got some really awesome people here working for them and across the country they do.
Tamara Galia:Yeah, there's 11 build shops in Texas, so for Dirksen. So that really helps us as a dealer Only. Service our local community quickly and efficiently, but then also branch out a little bit.
SHED GEEK:Yeah.
Tamara Galia:You know there's there's times where we we do a lot of referral and customers that come back to us and so somebody might buy from us here in Corsicana but then refer to grandmother or their sister that lives in Tyler and I can still service her.
SHED GEEK:That's great, I mean that's great, yeah, and I love that product and really top notch company and and and well thought in the industry and I just think. I just think it's awesome and and love what you guys have done here. So so we're in Corsicana, canada, of course, a canna I'm going to get it right One of these days but we're even beyond that. We're inside the Corporated city. Is it incorporated city of?
Lauren Galia:Angus Angus.
SHED GEEK:Now we're in Texas and you think, you hear the name Angus and you think to yourself you know like we're? We're just like the center of some kind of hub from like like Angus bulls or like Angus cows.
Lauren Galia:Like we're actually the Corsicana livestock auction is right around the corner and they run cattle through there all the time on Tuesdays we can hear the lot. Oh really, and you know, Corsicana grew from oil discovery in the 50s and so it's been built around the ranch land, oil and farmers. The mayor, who used to be years ago mayor of Corsicana, has a ranch right down the road, Angus. I'm sure they named it Angus. I don't know. I don't know why they named it Angus, and I'm going to guess it was about cattle.
SHED GEEK:Yeah, it just seems like it makes sense.
Lauren Galia:So it's really I don't know across the street is Mustang Really Okay, yes, that's awesome.
SHED GEEK:I love that. So I mean that made a simple approach for the name here for you guys.
SHED GEEK:So, oh, that's good. So how long have you guys been selling sheds? Is this been a new adventure?
Lauren Galia:Really since 2016, but we bought this property in 2017.
SHED GEEK:Okay.
Lauren Galia:Yeah.
Tamara Galia:That's about when I joined up. She, like said she has started with some carports and some sheds at her previous location. Then, when we moved here in 2017 is when we first got lots or buildings on the lot here, so we could grow.
SHED GEEK:We grew.
Tamara Galia:I mean it really took off. We serviced a need and we certainly have other dealers in the area. But I don't know. I come from a customer service background. I'm not necessarily a background in sales. I've definitely taught myself, and she has helped me learn over the years, some traditional sales techniques. But I think one of the reasons we have really excelled in sales too is just our follow through customer service.
Lauren Galia:We're here.
Tamara Galia:We care about it. We care about being open and answering the phones and when they've got the questions. If we don't know them, we're going to find out the answer when they have a problem, we don't run away.
Lauren Galia:Yeah Right, there's always. There's always a problem, not always a problem, but you know they happen. Yeah, they happen, and when they do we don't run and hide, we help them through it.
Tamara Galia:So it's a learning experience for us too, and it helps us the next time I'm all the time like, okay, all right, I just learned something new. Let me write that one down, because that's going to come up again in two years or whatever it may be.
SHED GEEK:Yeah, it's so unique, almost even the customers. It's not always the same customers from one to the next, and you really have to. Where you can set yourself apart is that customer service.
Lauren Galia:You have to be a good listener.
SHED GEEK:Yeah.
Lauren Galia:Right.
SHED GEEK:Yeah, I think sales is so much about finding out the needs of what they, what they have and what's beautiful is you guys have a I mean, you're in Texas, so the animal shelters and then that added value of, like the expertise you bring in the area of dogs and canines and things like that that's that just feels like that's a. That's got to be a really nice niche that you guys can tap into.
Lauren Galia:The housing and livestock. Right now we've got about 35 sheep and we've been having lambs born off this winter through the worst weather and thank goodness for shelter.
SHED GEEK:Yeah.
Lauren Galia:Yeah.
SHED GEEK:Yeah, so so what's it been like since 2016,. Six years or so, so you would have started before COVID. Yeah, then you got to experience all the craziness of COVID.
Lauren Galia:You know COVID. We kind of rode through COVID pretty easily because at the beginning of it I signed on with DocuSign before Dirksen and all the other shed dealers had jumped on the DocuSign dashboard. But I had signed up for them so that we could do deals over the phone and people wouldn't have to come in. We did invest in at the time in our old office shields and little signs for the floor of you know distance. But people didn't want to come in and actually it was just high risk. So we promoted just sign, we can send it to you and you can sign it and never have to leave your house. And I think that got us through COVID in a way that made Dirksen and other shed dealers jump on the DocuSign.
Tamara Galia:It just totally made sense, it does especially in that environment.
SHED GEEK:Technology's just played such a big role and it's seemingly going that way more and more. You spoke on your desire to be in the architect world, so you like the construction of the building side and being able to explain that, but you probably maybe didn't even expect. Wait a minute. Now I'm getting drug into this world, in the sales world of like all these different details how Google performs and runs ads and how Facebook performs and runs ads and trying to understand the nuance of it is it can be cumbersome at times.
Tamara Galia:Absolutely, and I would couple with what she said, especially with the COVID thing. Is it grew the online? It grew the online Along with studying architecture. Before that, I was always an artist. I've always been heavily into art and that sort of thing.
SHED GEEK:So I did the logo.
Tamara Galia:I do a lot of digital stuff. I built the website and rebuilt it four or five times over.
SHED GEEK:You know how that goes.
Tamara Galia:And during COVID I realized, yeah, we need to start relying on the online thing. So I got all of our buildings up on our website and I've continued that. I cannot tell you how many people call us and say I'm on your website, I'm looking at this building. If I get it today, when can you deliver? And it's a done deal Through COVID people get in the habit of shopping Sure, now we're welcome.
Lauren Galia:They want to pick up the phone or hit the computer.
Tamara Galia:Yeah, and we love to see them come here. I think there's a huge value in them coming in person, and you can't mistake that. But certainly in this day and age, in this environment and after COVID getting through it, being up to date on online logistics is a must.
SHED GEEK:Where do you start that search as a dealer? I've said for many years, it can be an emotional plague on you as a dealer if you let it be.
SHED GEEK:You know you're on a bit of an island. When you're here every day, all day, by yourself, it's easy to get discouraged. It's easy if the foot traffic's not coming in. It's easy if the online traffic's not coming in. And then we begin to self-diagnose and say what am I doing wrong? I'm doing all these things wrong. Oh no, everybody else is probably doing well and I'm just not doing good at all and mentally it begins to like break you down emotionally in sales. So we try to combat that with, you know, celebrating your effort over and over and over, and not so much your victories and your failures. You just keep putting in the same effort. But where do you go? Do you read books? Do you read industry magazines? Listen to the podcast? Do you, you know, talk to friends, talk to other dealer networks? What's your approach?
Lauren Galia:She does listen to podcasts, she reads, but she spends a good part of the evening working on the website. I can tell you, when she has a bad day sales-wise and she gets what you're describing dejected, she has an advantage a lot of people probably don't have she can walk out of here, drive the ATV back to the house, hug a dog, kiss her dogs, go stroke the horse, go pet the horse, go bring somebody some hay, get away from it for a second, she can come talk to her mother and tell her mother how she's feeling, and I usually remind her what a great job she does all the time.
Tamara Galia:And I just keep doing it.
Lauren Galia:She's a great support system? Yeah, for sure. So she has those days, but if you don't have the ability to walk out of the office and walk away from it for a minute and clear your head, and clear your heart and soul touch something that matters, you can't bring. You can't come back with yourself and your same attitude that you had on a good day.
SHED GEEK:We need to give you a microphone all the time. You're like the best supporter here. She's just like just full of positivity, right she?
Tamara Galia:is, honestly, she is, and she's absolutely right about being able to walk away from it and kind of reground yourself, because exactly what you're saying certainly happens over and over. You can get really bogged down with the online stuff and seeing what everyone else is doing and they must be selling a million buildings and I'm not, or whatever it is and oh, now we have another competitor, and now there's another one.
Tamara Galia:What I've come to realize a little bit over the years and she's really good at reminding me this is that, yeah, other lots pop up and that's natural, it's going to happen.
Tamara Galia:Really nothing I can do about that and competition is good because it actually has made me look back at okay, well, what kind of marketing am I focusing on? Do I need to refocus that? And certainly analyzing the search engine analytics and doing research and stuff like that is always helpful to me but also just stepping away and kind of looking at some art and feeling inspired in that way to do some creative marketing in a different perspective.
Lauren Galia:She does amazing ads. They're fun, her face. I try to be fun.
SHED GEEK:I feel like we have more in common than you know. I love to draw. I haven't drawn in years, but what's the? You know you have to make the time if it's a priority, and I don't and I haven't in years.
SHED GEEK:So I'm not good at drawing from imagination, but I love to draw from a portrait or something like that. So if I see it I can draw it, but if I have to imagine it I don't have that. Whatever that is that's missing, but I'll show you some pictures here later. Don't let me forget. Before we get out of here I'll show you some of stuff we've done and I feel like what that is is creativity in a lot of ways and when you can tap into creativity, and that's what art is. In a lot of ways it's blazing a trail, it's creating a road where there's no road. It's trying to create something as opposed to just always.
Lauren Galia:Out of nothing, really Out of.
SHED GEEK:Yes, so, and so I'm always challenging myself to try to do that more, because I feel like in business, that's very important too. Most people in business want measurability, metrics, all of these things. So we have these things right, even in the technology fields we talked about, like, how do we measure SEO, how do we measure these analytics and different things, and those are very important things. But what do we do beyond that? That's creative and that's not been done before. That's unmeasurable, and you go out and you try to create those experiences with your customers and with your community. Yeah, I think, and you guys talked about sort of doing something similar to that on your Christmas tree project. Tell me about that a little bit. What was the idea and how did that go down?
Tamara Galia:It started one night two years ago around Christmas, and everything is so expensive right now and has been, and she was.
Lauren Galia:I was at Home Depot getting something.
Tamara Galia:Okay, but she was a single parent growing up and raised me primarily by herself.
SHED GEEK:She did great.
Tamara Galia:Yes, she did, but she understands what it's like with Christmas time and you're trying to provide for your kids, whether you're a single parent or not, because two family incomes is just as hard too, especially today. It's like do I buy groceries or do I buy a Christmas?
Lauren Galia:tree.
Tamara Galia:So she had this. She was like I just don't want someone that needs to celebrate Christmas with their family to go without, and so we started talking it through and she's like the Christmas trees at Home Depot are so expensive. We had a good year, we wanted to give back, so we created they were expensive everywhere.
Lauren Galia:They were expensive everywhere.
Tamara Galia:Yeah, that's true, that's right, they were expensive everywhere, but we wanted to give back, and so we created a contest of sorts. What was kind of unique and cool about it is that we asked our followers and people in the community to nominate somebody that they know that could use extra help this Christmas, and the person that would win the drawing would get a Christmas tree, a pre-lit Christmas tree with decorations, a gift card to the grocery store and a gift card to Walmart so they could put food on the table and buy some gifts for the family. And it was that first year was a huge success. We were totally amazed. I set up a page on the website where they could drop in their nomination, and the funnest part about it was calling the winners and letting them know that somebody that cared about them actually nominated them. It wasn't just them nominating them. I want to sign up to win a prize. Yeah, you see it all the time.
Lauren Galia:People will be like click on this and you'll be entered in a drawing. We didn't want that. We wanted something substantial where I know you and I know you need help and I know you're not going to ask for it. I'm going to submit this for you, and the first year the winner was submitted by a real estate agent who had sold her her house.
Lauren Galia:So she knew that she was struggling and that she had just gotten this house and she couldn't afford a Christmas tree. She had just bought a house and she had children, and so this helped her children have a little bit better Christmas Not that they wouldn't have had it anyways, because their mom just bought them a house but it's just a feel good thing, really feels good to help the community and the people in it. So the second year we decided to double that and have a winner and a reserve winner. That went very well and we knew we'd get enough submissions, which we did. And the thing is we had to limit it because there were so many submissions. They needed to live in this county, in Navarro County. We had to narrow it down somehow and they had to have a working phone number.
Tamara Galia:But yeah, other than that it was pretty awesome. The coolest part to me is when we get to meet them in person and you can see their surprise and their joy of like. I can't believe my friend nominated me.
Lauren Galia:Some tears were shed. The person who nominated got a gift card, and so, of course, they feel good about it.
Tamara Galia:Although it's not necessarily about sheds we didn't give away a shed but it's just really about giving back and trying to share blessings, because we have been blessed by the community. We've met some incredible people here, a lot of returning customers that then tell their friends and family about us, and so it's just another way to say thank you.
SHED GEEK:And it says good on Dirksen, it says good on the shed community as a whole and I think that the more people who do that, it provides for a good experience. When we all come together to collectively do things like that as an industry, we're seen in a positive light, seen in a positive manner, and that's I mean if you're working in any industry. If I were selling TVs or cars or ATVs or whatever it is, I would want that same feeling. I would want people to have a positive experience and we really are affecting a lot of people because it's you know. You know what you're getting when you come by an ATV, but what has discussed here? You don't know what they're getting when they come by a shed. It may be for their lawnmower, it may be a she shed, a man cave, it could be, you know, someone converting and going through the housing process to turn it into a tiny home. There's just so many different things. It makes every customer unique.
SHED GEEK:But this ended up with the newspaper local newspaper doing an article on it.
Lauren Galia:And the front page.
SHED GEEK:Yeah, awesome.
Tamara Galia:Christmas Eve front page.
SHED GEEK:That's great. Yeah, I think it's awesome. And you know you said something earlier. That is right. You said if you just give it away to everybody, it changes the dynamic when you have someone nominate. I wish I would have thought of that years ago. We did a grand opening once at a shed lot where we gave away a grill, and I remember specifically putting this grill on Facebook and saying free. You know it's free, you just have to come by, register, give us a chance to meet you. We just we're not, you know, we're not not trying to sell you a shed, we are trying to sell you a shed, but we really just want you to see our character, because maybe if you see our character, you'll think of us as a potential go to when you do need a shed.
SHED GEEK:Right, and, and, and we ended up getting messages like I will take one of the free grills please. And my favorite message of all was I would like one of the free grills, but I can't come get it. Can you please bring it to me?
Lauren Galia:So well, you cook my dinner on it while you're at it.
SHED GEEK:The literal path of least resistance when it comes to some of that. But you guys thought of a really creative way to do that and get back, and I think that's awesome. Are you going to do that for a year or three? Have you decided yet?
Lauren Galia:You know, I don't see why not.
SHED GEEK:Yeah.
Lauren Galia:How much we can give at the end of the year depends on how the year is gone. I mean, I can't take out a loan to do it but, we try to give as much as we can.
SHED GEEK:Let's do something cool. Let's at least try this. If anybody would like to, I'll do this. I'll donate a tree about that and then, for anybody who's listening, if you guys want to donate a tree, just contact me. We'll get you in touch with Tamara. Oh my God. And who knows, maybe we can give away five or 10 trees or something.
Lauren Galia:We literally had no idea he was going to say that.
SHED GEEK:Well, I didn't either, but I do, I want to, I definitely want to donate one, because I think that's awesome. I think it'd be really cool if the shed industry just says hey, that's cool what they're doing.
Lauren Galia:I love that they want to donate a gift card $25, $50 gift card.
SHED GEEK:Absolutely, we'll get you in touch if somebody contacts us. Not saying anybody will, but you at least got one right, so we'll Thank you, you're welcome, thank you, that's awesome. I think what you're doing is awesome and I think that's that's part of what we should be doing in in our jobs and ministry. You know, I'm not, I guess we're all ministers maybe in some respect, but you know, it's just. It's just the right thing to do to give back.
Lauren Galia:Doing the right thing feels good.
SHED GEEK:It does, it does, it does. So, yeah, it comes back to you.
SHED GEEK:Yeah, absolutely yeah. They say you can't. Yeah, that's right. They say you can't, you can't out give God, and I believe that we've experienced much of that in our life. So we're thankful and we kind of talked about that before we even came on air about cancer and the different things and stuff like that, and you just always have to, you just always have to life's bearing down all the time, isn't it? And you're just trying to fight back with a positive mindset and your positivity just comes through. So, trust me, it does. It does so. So, beyond that, where, where is it going now for you guys? Uh, you know, satisfied with where you are now. Do you want to do? You want to sell every shed in Texas? Uh, okay, I'll send the. I'll try to send them your way. How about that?
Tamara Galia:Yeah, you know, one thing I'm really excited about is uh Dirkson just came out with a great chicken coop.
SHED GEEK:Okay.
Tamara Galia:And for several years. You know the chicken. Having backyard chickens became really popular during COVID. Uh, we got some ourselves. And there's another little step of like hey, I take care of the chickens every day. I know what you need in building for your chickens, but Dirkson has an actual chicken coop now. Two sizes one with the connected run. They've got the awesome Lux guard rubber flooring.
SHED GEEK:Oh yeah, I definitely know the folks at Lux guard. Great product.
Tamara Galia:If you know how well that cleans up and the combination of that and chickens, you are set. So I'm really excited about that. Um, because I was hoping to. I was thinking, well, dirkson doesn't have a chicken coop. Maybe we've got to find a supplier for something like that because they're they're in demand there's. There's people out there that are needing them, and then they popped in with one.
Lauren Galia:And then they popped in with one, Like oh, we have one now.
Tamara Galia:You know yes.
Lauren Galia:Uh, it's nice.
Tamara Galia:Where do we go next? I mean, we, we do a lot of sales with the metal buildings as well and we also sell, uh, the portable decks for mobile homes, or actually just any home. Those are big sellers for us as well.
Lauren Galia:I think every manufacturer at home needs a deck A deck.
Tamara Galia:They also work excellent with our shed to home options because, um, it's, it's really convenient how we have a year on our office, because it helps me show a customer that is wrestling between do I want a cabin with a built-in porch or do I want a utility building and add on my own deck later, and like, well, you, we can go either way. We have to decide what's more important to you. How much deck space do you want? Maybe how much building space? And then here's an example of how you can, how we can make that work for you Um, cause there's definitely been a lot of shed to home buildings. We've sold that. Then they come back and get the deck from us later.
SHED GEEK:Yeah, yeah, absolutely, it's. Seeing some of those the other products pop up around the shed space is kind of interesting.
Tamara Galia:Yes.
SHED GEEK:Like you said, the portable decks, I mean even the chicken cooped. I don't know, it may be four or five years ago. It seemed like I saw where they were starting to come out. I know they've been around much longer, Don't get me wrong. It's just it seemed like it was really coming onto the scene big time and I don't know, I don't know why we've discussed this before. I wonder if it's just sort of the um, do it yourself more mentality. People want to. You know, just kind of have a little bit more. I don't know. It saves a few bucks, right. You know, over time you raise your own chickens and they're kind of fun.
Tamara Galia:Honestly, they're actually kind of fun to have around. Um, there are many dinosaurs, as I like to call them, and anyone that has one would agree with me. Uh, there's really no comparison between fresh laid eggs and the grocery store eggs. Like there's, there is a difference, um, they're fun, and then you've got to have the protection for them because of, you know, the predators and they're vulnerable and uh, and they make a mess, they make a mess.
SHED GEEK:Well, that's why Lux guard pouring.
Tamara Galia:Yeah, it is perfect.
Lauren Galia:And if you're a manufacturer not using it.
SHED GEEK:I don't know that you can get any more true endorsement than that right there. I know it.
Tamara Galia:Yes.
SHED GEEK:Yeah.
Tamara Galia:Um, we love what we do. I she kind of explained earlier that when I get off of work, yes, I do my farm chores and that kind of thing but then my mind circles back to what's going on in the building world, and maybe it's. I'm looking at your Facebook page where I'm reading the shed builder magazine while I eat dinner and, um, I'm just constantly really engrossed in the industry. I think there's so much to learn. Um, that translates how you help your customer have a better experience. That's my personal goal is obviously for our business to succeed, but how that translates for the customer, um, and I think that that's what we've been focusing on.
SHED GEEK:It's really surprising how it kind of grabs you, because you know I said shed geek because we geek out on sheds, but it's. It's a little bit of a geeky thing in general just to like something like shed so much, but it's a little bit of the industry's um character that draws you in. Yes, I think, at least it was for me. I was like man, this is like no industry I've ever been in. Yeah, uh, a lot of the support systems are amazing. Of course you get all of the garbage, like you do with any industry.
SHED GEEK:It happens and it probably always will, as much as you try to uh not be involved or solve it or whatever. But generally speaking, uh, there's always such kindhearted people, like stories like what you've done with the with the Christmas trees. There's always, uh, there seems to be a genuine desire to want to help the customer, to want to learn more about it, and I think that's much of the reason for our growth and just maturing of the industry, and it's you don't really recognize the moment when you're in it. You recognize it when you look back over it. A couple of years, and the last few years has just been really amazing. I've got some really cool people that share stories, kind of like what you guys are doing.
Tamara Galia:Oh, like what you're doing, coming around and finding us and talking to us. Yes, it's fun.
SHED GEEK:It's, it's benefited me. We travel together as a family. Uh, Deanna's with me, my wife Troy's with me, my son, my, my daughter's, preparing for our first granddaughter. Uh, oh, we're going to be grandparents next month and we're excited. First time, first, first grandchild, so we're really excited. So we're going to try to take a few weeks away. Well, podcasts will still go out and that's why we try to get them ahead of time, but we want to spend a little bit of time with her.
SHED GEEK:Yeah, definitely so it'll be it'll be, but it really is a. It really is a pleasure getting to meet so many, so many new people. Do you have a a favorite experience over the last six years outside of the Christmas trees? A favorite experience with a customer? That comes to mind? Yes.
Tamara Galia:I mean, there's been a lot of customers that um have been able to really help them realize their dream and you know how that building is going to work for them. One specific actually is, you know I kind of mentioned I I delve into art and I'm an artist and so, although I have the experience with the animals and whatnot, I also have big dreams of, uh, art studios, right, and what these buildings can do for artists and your productivity as an artist.
Tamara Galia:So I had a gal that, um, a customer that came almost about two and a half hours away to visit with us about an art studio building and of course she ended up purchasing her building with us and we ended up doing an onsite build. There was quite a few design changes. Um, I still keep in touch with her. Today she's kind of become a really nice little art friend of mine.
SHED GEEK:That's awesome, Swap little oh, did you see this picture?
Tamara Galia:this painting. Um, watching her experience of purchasing her building was fun because we could sit there and talk about what kind of easel she was going to be using and what kind of lighting she was interested in, and that was just stuff that really, like you know, got me going. I was like yes, I can talk about this the end user experience.
SHED GEEK:Whenever it's, it's I've heard sales is a transfer of you know it's a transfer of enthusiasm, and whenever you're enthusiastic about what they're going to be, I mean, it just comes across natural. It doesn't come across as salesy, because you're genuinely interested in how to help and how you, if you can tap into that, even if it's not a passionate situation, if it's just you know some folks, I just need storage. It's very matter of fact, it's very simple. You know there's not a lot of a lot of thought, but yoga studios, music studios, workout rooms, horse barns designs of the stalls especially here.
SHED GEEK:I feel like in Texas, like your livestock has got to be, just you've got to know your stuff Right and if you can show them the value, then you're making a connection beyond just a sale today.
Tamara Galia:Right, right, no, that's it. You're totally right. I mean the enthusiasm transfers and not even if it's something you're emotionally or personally connected with, even if it is just storage. There is a gal that I remember her, her husband, were moving from out of state.
Lauren Galia:No such thing as just storage, Just storage right.
Tamara Galia:But she was trying to house or store valuables from her dad that passed away and she needed to make sure it was a climate controlled building. So we did the spray foam, we did ran electrical in it because she needed time to be able to really sort things through and emotionally be able to process what she was having to sort through. But she needed a safe where to put it, safe place to put it in the time being, and that was a really emotional thing to help her with. And then, honestly, it was very odd because in like two, three or two, three months later, my own father passed and I ended up having to bring the same situation.
Tamara Galia:California. That is sitting in my personal shed, so sometimes it's literally just about storing things, but it's important stuff. What a great safe, what a great example.
SHED GEEK:I don't think that people realize that, that that that's more common than not. I've told the story on here a couple times of a lady who came in and they had lost their son. And she was just lost. I mean she was just beside herself and and I realized the. You know, the goal that day was itself Her shed right, just to listen to her and let her talk, and we prayed with her and just listen to her and and she didn't really have shed specific questions, she just needed a year Exactly, and we didn't try to sell her anything. I don't know if we ever sold her anything in the future, but I do know that that that day was special to just be able to talk, because the emotional decision of having to get a storage unit to put his stuff in was a very difficult thing to literally a human connection.
Tamara Galia:Like you said, whether a building sold or not, whether the contest is about giving away a shed or not, it's, it's literally just about the human connection.
SHED GEEK:It really is, and when you're, when you do a good deed, it has an opportunity to ripple. Have a ripple effect on other people? What, what things would you want to see different? What would you want to see changed? What are anything out there that you would like to see come about? Larger buildings, oh, I don't know. Different designs Is there anything that just Different?
Lauren Galia:designs different colors. I like a big color palette.
Tamara Galia:She likes some bold colors too.
SHED GEEK:Okay, so like yeah, okay.
Tamara Galia:Yeah, I would never say no to bigger buildings being available. I think that the market is out there looking for them she loves to design tiny houses. Yeah, I think that we've all become to rely very heavily on idea room software. And that has been a big game changer for translating the ideas to the customer. Yeah, it's been very helpful, yeah.
SHED GEEK:Great company.
Tamara Galia:It would be yeah, and I think they have a lot on their plate to keep up with us all Sure. I would love to see just more. What can they do next? What can they do next to help us visually convey to the customer?
Lauren Galia:They already do a lot, but you never know. There was a customer that wanted windows everywhere around the building and it couldn't be done. Yeah.
SHED GEEK:For transportation.
Tamara Galia:It was that the wall needed to be.
SHED GEEK:Supported, yeah Right.
Lauren Galia:So you know, Maybe just some more technological changes there?
Tamara Galia:Yeah.
SHED GEEK:I feel like it's coming. I feel like it's only going to be more and more and more of that stuff. Gosh, what a just lovely like afternoon setting talk, yeah it is.
SHED GEEK:I appreciate the opportunity to do that. I'm going to do something that I do here lately. I've done this on the last several shows. You may have no questions whatsoever, but always say hey, I put you in the hot seat long enough. I've asked you questions. Feel free to turn the microphone around, ask questions that you have. If it's shed related, if it's faith family podcast, it really doesn't matter. Complete transparency. Nothing's off of the table. Do you have any questions that I can answer for you guys? So I do that like without warning you. If you don't have any, that's fine, but if you come up with any.
Lauren Galia:I think you're a great guy. I don't have any questions.
SHED GEEK:You should tell my wife. She needs to know this. I'll make sure she hears that part Every great guy has a great woman standing there. There you go. That's right. An even greater woman, I would say, that's right.
Tamara Galia:Yes.
SHED GEEK:Yeah, she is awesome, she is awesome.
Tamara Galia:Well, I don't know. I feel like you probably know all kinds of really interesting stuff about the shed world, but I certainly can't think of any question right now.
SHED GEEK:It's been a journey, it's been unique. I'm getting to meet so many different people from so many different walks and I don't know. I think it kind of fits my personality because I'm always inquisitive, right. I love seeing the different places and the way they do things and I mean I'm a geek outside of sheds. I will go to a town. You guys don't know this yet. I haven't done it yet because I haven't had time, but I will go look up why the town's name Angus. I will look up the like, the origin story, of course, a canna and yeah, we call it.
Tamara Galia:You will find some interesting things if you Google. Course a canna. Okay, there's actually even an Amazon Prime documentary that includes course.
SHED GEEK:No way, and they know way.
Tamara Galia:Interesting, had the cheer Of you, the cheerleaders, oh yeah, yeah. And I'm going to go look up the whole Netflix show. Wow, when I first moved here I thought why are these cheerleaders so big in this town? They were filming them the whole first six months that I was here.
Lauren Galia:Okay.
Tamara Galia:Yeah, so there's some name recognition. Movies made here. Okay, here Colin Street Bakery is very popular, so you're supposed to stop in there and get yourself a little dessert.
SHED GEEK:Okay.
Tamara Galia:Lots of interesting things, about course, canna.
SHED GEEK:I will look it up because I'm just I don't know. I love to see median income. How did this place start? Why is it like that? Why, you know, why did we develop the way that we develop? I'm a bit of a history.
Lauren Galia:It's just going down here for Derek days, that's in May of the end of.
Tamara Galia:April celebration of the oil, of the oil.
SHED GEEK:Okay, that would be pretty cool. Yeah, I don't know. I don't know. We have a little stuff like that. We have a like near where Mayfield is the, the, the home office for Dirksen. Near there over in Benton there's a, there's a tater day, you know. So, like we have, we have, we have. Well, we have all of all of those strange things too. So Very cool See.
Lauren Galia:Kentucky, I think Kentucky, I think bluegrass and. Kentucky horse park yeah.
SHED GEEK:Absolutely.
Lauren Galia:Yeah, of course the Kentucky Derby yeah.
SHED GEEK:Well, I'll tell you what I appreciate you guys so much sitting down with me today. I think you sell a wonderful product, you have a great attitude, you have a very cool story and I hope it just benefited somebody's day from sitting down and listening.
Tamara Galia:We do as well. Thank you for coming, yeah.
SHED GEEK:Exit.