Shed Geek Podcast
From Hobby to Thriving Business: The Inspiring Journey of Monroe Shed Depot
Ever wondered how a simple hobby could turn into a flourishing business? Join us for a fascinating conversation with Mark and Shauna Dreyer, the dynamic duo behind Monroe Shed Depot. Learn how Mark's initial project of building a cedar shed for personal use, followed by a custom request from a Craigslist client, sparked a thriving venture. Shauna shares the heartwarming story of how a request from her mother led to their most popular shed style, officially launching their business in early 2010. Their dedication to on-site builds sets them apart in the industry, making this episode a treasure trove of inspiration and insight for aspiring entrepreneurs.
The journey from a rigid career in the car industry to a successful shed-building enterprise wasn't easy. Listen to Mark and Shauna discuss the initial skepticism they faced and the challenges of balancing work with family life. Discover how local events like the Evergreen State Fair played a pivotal role in boosting their business and the strategic importance of community engagement. The Dreyers emphasize the value of staying connected with their local audience and maintaining a strong community presence.
Marketing a niche business comes with its own set of challenges and triumphs. Hear about the Dreyers' transition from Craigslist to Facebook Marketplace, and how they navigated the economic shifts impacting customer behavior. The episode delves into the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, from supply chain disruptions to a surge in demand, and how Monroe Shed Depot adapted to these changes. Wrapping up, we explore the potential for franchising and the creative collaborations that fuel their success. Mark and Shauna's story is a testament to resilience, adaptability, and the strength of working together toward a common goal.
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
Versabend
Cold Spring Enterprises
Ever wondered how a simple hobby could turn into a flourishing business? Join us for a fascinating conversation with Mark and Shauna Dreyer, the dynamic duo behind Monroe Shed Depot. Learn how Mark's initial project of building a cedar shed for personal use, followed by a custom request from a Craigslist client, sparked a thriving venture. Shauna shares the heartwarming story of how a request from her mother led to their most popular shed style, officially launching their business in early 2010. Their dedication to on-site builds sets them apart in the industry, making this episode a treasure trove of inspiration and insight for aspiring entrepreneurs.
The journey from a rigid career in the car industry to a successful shed-building enterprise wasn't easy. Listen to Mark and Shauna discuss the initial skepticism they faced and the challenges of balancing work with family life. Discover how local events like the Evergreen State Fair played a pivotal role in boosting their business and the strategic importance of community engagement. The Dreyers emphasize the value of staying connected with their local audience and maintaining a strong community presence.
Marketing a niche business comes with its own set of challenges and triumphs. Hear about the Dreyers' transition from Craigslist to Facebook Marketplace, and how they navigated the economic shifts impacting customer behavior. The episode delves into the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, from supply chain disruptions to a surge in demand, and how Monroe Shed Depot adapted to these changes. Wrapping up, we explore the potential for franchising and the creative collaborations that fuel their success. Mark and Shauna's story is a testament to resilience, adaptability, and the strength of working together toward a common goal.
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
Versabend
Cold Spring Enterprises
Hey, welcome back. This is Susan the Shed Gal. Welcome back to this week's episode of the Shed Geek podcast. Today I'm in Washington State where it's a balmy. It's cold. Here I am with Mark and Shauna Dreyer. Mark and Shauna are the owners of Monroe Shed Depot. And welcome, thank you, thank you, we're glad to be here.
SHED GAL:I am excited to have you on. So, Shauna, I went to school with your brother, so our families knew each other from way, way, way back. And then, mark, I met you a few years ago when I came out and saw your operation. I'm excited to be here. I know you've moved to a new location, but we're just going to talk about your story. Awesome, thanks. Okay, so glad you're here. Yeah, thank you, glad you're here. So let's go way back. What year did you start your business? Officially or unofficially, you can go unofficially September of 2008,.
MARK DREYER:we built our first shed.
SHED GAL:Okay, and did you do that because someone hired you to do it, or did you build it for yourself? How did this come about?
MARK DREYER:well it it actually was. Uh, we were gonna go build our own shed and I wanted a a little cedar shed, and so I went down to lowes um to buy a kit.
SHED GAL:Oh, oh yes, that was my first stop as a customer too. True story.
MARK DREYER:Figured out that I didn't really like the way they were built For a person with my skill set anyway and so we went inside and kind of priced out all the lumber and material and I thought, okay, well, they're priced based on what it's going to cost me for the material. There's a little bit of margin here, ah. So we didn't wind up buying the kit. I didn't even buy the material. I found a picture of a cedar shed online and I posted a Craigslist ad. And lo and behold, a couple of days later some guy calls me up and says uh, oh my goodness, can you build me this shed?
MARK DREYER:And I said yeah, and he goes can you make it eight by 10? I said sure, he said how much I gave him a price. He said okay. I said, but I'm gonna need you to send me a deposit. So he mailed me a check for $400. I'd never met the man, never, never.
SHED GAL:And you were on to something, weren't you?
MARK DREYER:So we built that shed and spent a few days actually spent four days in my buddy's shop and we built what we thought was pretty you know, far along pretty advanced.
MARK DREYER:Advanced is a great word advanced state of build, told Shauna that we'll be back by lunch. 13 hours later we came rolling back in with our tail between our legs and got the shed built. The customer was happy. He even looked at me at the end. He goes you're not charging enough. The customer said that, yeah, he was, he was funny. And so we got back and, um, shauna actually told me at that point uh, she said I think, maybe, um, maybe you should go back in the car business because that's where I had come from 2008 is when the car business collapsed.
SHED GAL:Oh yes, the economy collapsed, yes.
MARK DREYER:I was a sales manager at a car dealership and that's just the way they work.
SHED GAL:Yes.
MARK DREYER:First one's fired, the guy's making the most money. And so I told her, I said you know, I think we can figure it out, I think we can make it better. I think we can make it out. I think we can make it better.
SHED GAL:I think we can make a little more money on the next one, right, right, so we took as you go.
MARK DREYER:Yeah, so we took a picture of that one, we put that picture online and another customer called and we built another shed and it got a little bit faster. And then Shauna's mom said to me she goes, I want my own shed. And I said, okay now that's pressure.
SHED GAL:Mother-in-law wants a shed.
MARK DREYER:So I built her what I thought was a really cute little shed to house their pool equipment in their backyard and took a picture of that one and put that picture on Craigslist and the phone started ringing and it never stopped.
MARK DREYER:That is so cool we still basically build that particular style. It's just our little 8x6. It's got a window in the front and a little door. We've built hundreds, if not thousands, of that version, but that's where it started. And then 2009, it just kind of was a steady thing and we were building that and doing some other stuff and then by the end of 2009, I figured out that I was working full time.
SHED GAL:Ah, you had worked yourself right into a new business, hadn't you? Right into a new?
MARK DREYER:business. So beginning of 2010, we made it official and we opened the doors to Monroe Shed Depot. I don't even think we had a name for the first couple of years Gosh.
SHAUNA DREYER:I don't know.
MARK DREYER:Until then. So we opened our doors as Monroe Shed Depot, and of course we were in Monroe, so that made sense. It doesn't make nearly as much sense now that we're in Salton, that's right, but people know our name now, so I'm not changing.
SHED GAL:Yeah, no, don't change the name.
MARK DREYER:And then we just started building sheds, and so we, uh, you know, move forward from there that's fantastic a lot.
SHED GAL:A lot of the episodes on the shed geek podcast are portable building related and I wanted to talk to you guys because it's different. Everything you do is on-site build. Is that correct, or are you doing anything portable these days?
MARK DREYER:no, we really don't do anything portable yeah, um I, I delivered one to a coffee stand the other day and it was my, my one of my example sheds or my demo sheds, um, and we literally had four of us had to shove it off the back of the trailer and then move it into place, and so it's. It's not something we do, we, right, we build um very advanced kits. Uh, we build ourselves a kit and I hate to use that word because, right, because they're not kits um, right, but we build ourselves a a very advanced kits. We build ourselves a kit and I hate to use that word because, because they're not kits, right, but we build ourselves a a very advanced state of build. It goes onto the trailer and then it comes off the trailer in pieces and it's assembled on site. So, yes, I love that Our onsite time is very short. Our, our average shed probably takes three to four hours.
SHED GAL:So you're saying there's been some improvement since 08 in the 13 or 14 hour.
MARK DREYER:Okay, good, that's good, I figured it out the other day that 8x10 had about 90 man hours in it. Oh wow.
SHED GAL:Wow For $1,200. Yeah, the customer was right. You needed to charge more.
MARK DREYER:Or spend less time building it. And so that same 8x10 now has about 18 man hours in it.
SHED GAL:Wow, that's a dramatic improvement. Your sheds are. And who is this, by the way? This little baby here?
SHED GAL:Well, I think it's a full grown, but she's adorable.
SHED GAL:What's her name? This is Luna Luna, Hi Luna.
MARK DREYER:She's a Havanese and we have another Havanese. He's twice her size, but she's a little small for the breed and he's a little big for the breed, but we rescued Luna when she was a year old.
SHED GAL:Oh my goodness, I love that. She had a terrible first year in her life but since then it's been pretty good. Yeah, she's a little mascot here at monroe shed depot. Yeah, one of the things that I we had a customer several years well, maybe four or five years ago somewhere around there that had contacted me when we were up in Washington state about a shed. I went out to do the on-site. Well, there was absolutely no way to get a portable building in their backyard. The company I was with did not do onsite builds and for what they wanted I said oh no, you must call monroe shed depot. There's no reason to call anywhere else. You guys built them a beautiful backyard with a beverage location building also known as a bar shed.
SHED GAL:It was absolutely stunning, yeah, and those customers they ended up moving down to arizona actually and sold their house, but they absolutely raved about your service, everything from start to finish. Um, so I think your business model is fantastic. I love the fact that you kind of just worked your way into this part-time gig, into a business.
MARK DREYER:That's kind of how it worked. I never foresaw. You know, it was kind of a hobby and a way to make a little extra money and I never saw it as being what it is now. I mean, we have our own factory location and we're still a small business.
MARK DREYER:I mean we're not ever going to impede on the, on the, the monsters of the industry, but right, but we like doing what we do. Uh, you know, our, our, uh, everything is self-contained, you know we. You know I get asked all the time well, you know who's going to install your shed? Well, we do, right, um, we build them your install them um and yeah and the same same goes for you know.
MARK DREYER:I mean, I get calls. You know, because I'm a shed company, I get calls all the time to you know, can you come move my shed or can?
MARK DREYER:you come uh, repair my shed and, and I do bow out of all those those things because I know how we built ours and I know how to fix them or take them apart or do all those things, and I don't, I mean, let's face, I could figure things. And I don't, I mean, let's face it, I could figure it out but I don't. Right, but that's not your business.
MARK DREYER:Yeah, it's not my business and so I, you know, I, but I'm always cordial to those people. I always tell them you know, these are the people, I know, that do those things. Uh, this is how I would, you know, attack that problem. If, if, uh, if it were mine, and they're, and they're thankful, and I'm, you know, and I don't know, and I, somebody asked me one time oh god, why don't you just hang up on them? It's like, well, because because they might.
SHED GAL:Why don't you just hang up on them, yeah? Because some people don't have very thank you for calling abc sheds goodbye, but don't use your name when you hang up on them, right?
MARK DREYER:but the reason reason you don't it should be obvious, but it's not obvious to everybody is that that sometimes the thing that they want isn't possible, right? They're not going to be able to move that shed, or they're not going to be able to repair that shed, and so I want them to think well, that guy was really nice to me on the phone, gave me a bunch of information.
SHED GAL:Yes, maybe I'll call him, and buy a shed from him absolutely, or they'll tell their neighbor, right? There was just a post up on the Shed Sales Professionals page. I absolutely love that page. There's a lot of great information that goes around and it was something to the effect of they had done a custom build portable building and the person bowed out and the dealer stated well, I'm not going to be able to sell it, which I don't agree with. That dealer stated, well, I'm not going to be able to sell it, which I don't agree with that.
SHED GAL:Uh, there's no building that we ever got on our lot that we couldn't sell, despite our maybe our personal opinion of aesthetically how it looked or what, or whatever. Uh, but someone made a comment on there about you know, if you give that person a stellar experience, give them a refund. And again, it was just this person's opinion. Give them a refund, give them a great experience, because they'll tell their friends and family or not, or not. And they'll tell their friends and family and that really resonated with me because they're going to talk about it whether it's a good experience or bad. So, even though you may not be able to help them, it sounds like you're giving people the resource.
MARK DREYER:Sure, yes, I mean, I just don't. You know you, it took the time to pick up a phone and call my phone number. Yes, whether you buy something from from me or not, I just have to appreciate the fact that you gave us an opportunity to talk and I think it's interesting that you started this business in uno unofficially in 08, which was really a horrible time, horrible For many, many people.
SHED GAL:In fact myself, I lost a house during that time. It was a horrible and I'm not proud of that. It's a shameful time. It is what it is, but you started it then and that is so interesting. So what were your thoughts on when he built this first shed? Were you like, hey, this might be, we might be on to something here?
SHAUNA DREYER:You know, I think when we first talked about it he had hated the car business for many years, mainly because of the schedule, so he had missed out on a lot of things for our daughter games, fun things and I said now's the time.
SHED GAL:You've hated this for so long.
SHAUNA DREYER:What do you love to do? And he's so good at visualizing things and creating things and I'm always impressed by it, because I'm not. I need to see something.
SHED GAL:I'm more like you.
SHAUNA DREYER:Yeah, I need to see it and then I can tell you if I like it. There's no vision. So I just encouraged him to do something that he would like to do and would be able to control his schedule a little bit more, because she was at the age where it wasn't going to be very long and she'd be gone. And obviously we know we don't get those years back. Yes, but he is correct. In that first build I was like I don't know if this is the thing for you you're creative, but you're slow.
MARK DREYER:Yeah, put your tie back on fella. Go back to work that's funny but they are.
SHAUNA DREYER:They're beautiful and they are beautiful you know, I, just as the phone started ringing more and more, it's like gosh, you've really got something, and you've created this now, this vision that you had into a business, and so it's been exciting to see it grow Absolutely and you don't have to throw out exact numbers, but I'm assuming you probably do several hundred buildings a year.
SHED GAL:Where do you do events? I know you do the Evergreen State Fair in Monroe. I did that. We we did sell some buildings, but what I found for myself was we would have sold more buildings if we were away from the fair. Um, now it works for you because your business model do you get? Do you continue to get a lot of sales from those events? Because Because I think I was reluctant because my time was better spent elsewhere but yours is a different product. Yeah, yours is totally a different product. I know because I've seen it. You have a beautiful display every year, your boots on the ground, you're there, people see it, they love it. Do you continue to get a lot of business through those events?
MARK DREYER:Yeah, I think for us they work. Yeah, we do get a fair amount of business from them. I mean, you know, the fair has obviously ebbed and flowed a little bit, you know, with the pandemic and all that.
SHED GAL:Wait what? The pandemic? Oh, I had almost forgotten about that?
MARK DREYER:Yeah, I didn't because't because, honestly, it was a banner time for for the shed business I don't know, about everybody's, but for mine it was, it was we couldn't not sell sheds right right, um, but the, the fairs and the events that we you know, and we we stay close to to home, we, we do the evergreen state fair, uh in monroe and uh, and then we do some home and garden shows, uh in snomish county, and then we do a remodel state fair, uh in Monroe and uh, and then we do some home and garden shows, uh in Snohomish County and then we do a remodel expo in Seattle.
MARK DREYER:Very nice Um and, and most of the reason is that that those are the places that we're generally building sheds, um and so, um, you know. So I get asked all the time well, how come you don't go down to Puyallup? Well, if I went down to Puyallup, all my customers would be in Puyallup, right?
SHED GAL:Oh, absolutely yeah.
MARK DREYER:I either have to have guys sitting in a truck all day driving there or I have to buy a factory down there, and neither one of those things is something I want to do. But what the fair did for us and we didn't know it until after we did it besides the event sales was that it generated local awareness. We had been building sheds officially for I don't know four or five years and had not built a single shed in Monroe other than my mother-in-law's.
SHED GAL:Really Okay, that's interesting.
MARK DREYER:We just had no business in Monroe. Snohomish Lake, Stevens, Bothell, but nothing in Monroe until we were at the fair. And now all of a sudden people are like, oh my God, there's a shed company. And we used to get asked all the time are you the one out? By the real estate places.
SHED GAL:No, that's not mine. Who was that? Did that happen to be?
SHED GAL:the shed gal.
MARK DREYER:Yeah, that's my friend the shed gal, and so it gave us some awareness at home. Yes, and that awareness has stayed true and we've become the shed builder for the fairgrounds themselves. We've built them, multiple buildings Fantastic and we have a great relationship with them and, um, but it it for us, those events are year-round sales, because people will come out to the fair but they don't order until, um, you know, the following april, right, and, and that's okay we, we like them to continue to call, and so we appreciate that.
SHED GAL:So it's not like a one and done, you're getting 50 orders at the fair. It gives you the name recognition that so throughout the year, when they're ready, right, yeah, right, because the fair here is what. The last part of August, early part of September, it's Washington State. We are not going into great weather that time of year, so probably more early spring they're thinking, hey, it's time to buy Monroe Shed Depot. Monroe Shed Depot, I love that.
SHAUNA DREYER:And people. I mean last year we had people come like specifically to order their shed. Like they waited until the fair.
SHED GAL:I'm not surprised. You can call.
SHED GAL:Right, you can call but there is a fair special Right right.
SHED GAL:Yeah, and I see your posts. You guys do a great job of marketing, it's that. Well, let me ask you this Do you do a post once every six months, or do you tend to regularly post your business?
MARK DREYER:Depends on. I mean when, up until recently, most of our advertising and I've tried lots of different forms of advertising but most of the success we had uh was with craigslist. Really that is so interesting yeah and I mean everything we've done you have a niche product though.
MARK DREYER:Yeah, I mean it is you do um, and and I tell people all the time that you know well, can you do this, can you build this, can you use these products? Can you? And I and I, just I bow out gracefully. I said you know what listen they're. I don't want to be in their lane and I'm really happy when they stay out of mine yeah absolutely well, you have a niche market if you start using a different side.
SHED GAL:I mean they're beautiful cedar-built sheds. If you are like everybody else, you're just like everybody else. So Craigslist, that's really interesting because I literally and I'm not exaggerating I have dealers reach out multiple times a week and I get more pushback when I suggest that they spend $3 for a 30 day post, that all you have to do is push a button and pay three more dollars to you know, renew it and offer up than I get on anything else.
SHED GAL:Do you think maybe I think there's, from what I see, I think there's less shed companies in general advertising on Craigslist. Do you think that might be part of it, or do you think it's more of a niche market where people your customers are looking for a specific thing and that's why they're finding you?
MARK DREYER:you know, I, I don't know, um, and craigslist is actually, um, not our primary focus right now, um. So I used to be honest with you. I used to post uh twice a week, so I'd have a 30-day ad twice a week, and and if I wanted to throttle business back a little bit because we were beyond our capacity, then I would just not add. And then when I wanted to ramp it back up, I knew it took about two weeks and I would get it going again.
SHED GAL:Isn't that ebb and flow crazy yeah.
MARK DREYER:Our best results now are Facebook Marketplace I've tried OfferUp and what's the other one? I can't think of it. Anyway, I mean, and so you know, and we've run magazine ads and we've run newspaper ads, and right before the, I have a little deal that we do with krko, one of the radio stations here in washington and um, so I I give them stuff. Uh, for a program they run, they give us an airtime right before the fair, that's great which is always fun, because shauna's dad always forgets that that your dad is he?
SHED GAL:I haven't seen him for years. He's amazing, he's the best.
MARK DREYER:Every year he says, hey, I heard your radio out on the radio and I said you did, he goes one person did yeah, more than one heard it.
SHED GAL:So um you know, that's fun, that is fun, that is fun. Are your parents still local? Shauna wonderful, still in the same house okay, so shauna monroe high school, monroe, washington bearcat I'm a bearcat, I'm a little bit older. I graduated with her brother, mark. Where did you grow up, downey, california, downey? What part of California is that in?
MARK DREYER:It's right on the border of Orange County and LA County.
SHED GAL:Okay.
MARK DREYER:All right. People may know some of the beach towns, like Huntington Beach oh yes, seal Beach, those places.
SHED GAL:How did you end up in beautiful Washington?
MARK DREYER:I am a veteran.
SHED GAL:Thank you. Thank you for your service.
MARK DREYER:You're very welcome. I served with a guy who became one of my very best friends, who went to Snowmish High School. Oh all right, even though when I knew him and we were roommates, he couldn't hang a picture on a wall without causing damage. He became a contractor.
SHED GAL:Isn't that interesting? Yeah, and a good contractor.
MARK DREYER:And he built lots of beautiful homes here in the Puget Sound area and I was looking at that time to get out of the car business and he was looking for somebody who could help grow his business, and so we decided to see if we could team up.
SHED GAL:How cool, so I moved up here.
SHED GAL:Right.
MARK DREYER:And one night, at a going away party for a friend of Shauna's and a friend of his, I met Shauna. Aw, it was 22,. 23 years ago. I love it yeah.
SHED GAL:Well, of course, I Facebook stalk a lot of people and you're no exception to that and to watch your story and to watch your relationship. It is really cool.
SHAUNA DREYER:Thank you.
SHED GAL:It is very, very cool. And I'll tell you what these people have the cutest grandson, and I hope we can pop a picture of him in. They have the cutest little grandson that I've ever seen in my life. So we might just give he might be famous too, right on the Shed Geek podcast. So all on site build you. Don't offer rent home right.
MARK DREYER:No.
SHED GAL:Okay, so purchasing outright. Are you seeing that more people are financing their shed in this economy, or are you seeing that the people that had money still have money? What are you finding?
MARK DREYER:For us because, we don't have that rent to own or in-house financing. It is people that have money spend their money. I mean, obviously we take all forms of credit and credit cards and things like that, but our customers are just paying for their sheds, yeah, and obviously the cost of the sheds has increased you know, a smidge or two, yeah, since you know the last few years, and so the cost of everything has gone up, but we still kind of stay steady, it's fantastic.
SHED GAL:I think it has a lot to do with the name recognition. You guys have done just an absolutely fantastic job of keeping your name out there. People know it.
MARK DREYER:Well, and that's the thing we tell our guys and our crew that's out there in representing us all the time is, is that, no matter what is is frustrating as, as the day might become, um, we're gonna still do our best. We're always going to provide, yes, and go the extra mile and give a customer something that they weren't expecting. We're going to. You know, I guess when I first started, my objective was to not be a contractor.
SHED GAL:Yes, okay.
SHED GAL:And customers. Today they still think we're a construction company. That's why they think you can do anything right.
MARK DREYER:Well, they think. You know, sometimes I get on our invoice it shows the start date and I'll get a call, you know, a week ahead of time, and not always, but every now and then. And the customer will say, well, you know, just checking to see when you're going to install my shed. I said, well, I'm going to install it on the date that's on your invoice. Oh, I wasn't sure. I didn't know if that was the actual date or just just an about date.
SHAUNA DREYER:Right.
MARK DREYER:Nope, nope. That date belongs to you, unless you change it or the world collapses. We're going to show up on that day. We're going to get there in the morning, we're going to do our thing. We're going to get out of the way, clean up our mess and leave you be.
SHED GAL:Isn't that amazing, though? Do you think it's because they think you're just a regular contractor who happens to be hired to build them a shed?
MARK DREYER:It may or may not actually happen, because our perception of contractors is different.
SHED GAL:Yeah, that's exactly it. You are one of the few companies I have never, once ever heard a negative word about.
MARK DREYER:Oh, we got three, three.
SHED GAL:oh, you know it happened, it happens, it does happen.
SHAUNA DREYER:Well, you had recently the you had a customer who called you and said that they had gotten his name from their neighbor and mark was like oh, who's the neighbor? I'd like to thank him. And she said, well, she actually did not purchase a shed from you, but she regrets that decision and she really thought that we should use you. So I think that goes back to the conversation of how you treat people and you know, and you want that experience to be good and for them to keep coming back and you just you never know. I mean, she didn't buy a shed from us right, yet she's referring, referring us.
SHED GAL:Exactly. I think that's very, very telling. Tell me about like when COVID happened. I mean, I think all of us were like what is going to happen?
SHED GAL:I mean without a doubt because nobody knew and it could have been way worse. It wasn't good, it was a weird time. It was a very weird time. What happened with your business at COVID and what did you find? Well, here's an example. I had actually contacted you about buying some cedar to put on the walls inside my office and you were like we can't do it, we're having a hard time. Did sales increase and calls increase dramatically? And then what happened with getting supplies during that time?
MARK DREYER:Well, what initially happened, obviously, is they sent everybody home. Yes, they told everybody go home. Uh, and, and they didn't make us. You know, we kind of glommed on to the construction essential people when that finally happened and but I, I had to tell my crew and you know, go home for the next 45 days. And that's how long they were gone.
MARK DREYER:And when we wow, when we shut down when we shut down, we had about I don't know about eight weeks worth of of backlog and so obviously you know you're calling those customers saying you know I'm sorry but we can't get out to give your. And you know, if you want, I haven't built your shed yet, the ones I hadn't built their shed yet. You know, if you want your deposits back and they were all no, I mean people- were really standing.
SHED GAL:Yeah, and they and they, they knew it wasn't something that we were doing to them.
MARK DREYER:we, we were just as much the victims of it as they were, and but so the guys went home and and I told john, I said, listen, we're either going to be bankrupt or the phone's going to ring off the hook until we go back to work. And about two days went by and all of a sudden I mean I was on the phone 12 hours a day and by the time we got back to work we were 20 weeks out. I mean it was, it was, it was nervous for me. I mean 20 weeks out at five sheds a week is yeah, you're talking about 100 sheds deep.
MARK DREYER:Wow, Job security, yeah, but then it was, you know you said about the cedar, and it became a little more difficult to find material, and so I had to develop a couple of additional sources.
SHED GAL:Where you probably hadn't needed to do that in the past. You had to get creative, didn't you?
MARK DREYER:Wow, um, and and our primary source, they, they really did a good job. They, they bent over backwards, uh, to try and figure out a way to, I'm sure, not just supply me, but supply their other customers, and and and. We've had a great relationship with them, um, over the years, and and. Every time I have a Cedar salesman walk in and he says, uh, you know, can we do this? Listen, I'm never going to turn away, uh, a a source, but I'm not going to walk away from my partners, right, cause they were there for you. Yeah, and and so we, we survived. Um, you know, uh, one of the issues with our business model is that we sell a shed today and we install it in six to eight weeks, right, well, when the price of everything was fluctuating and drastically going up, I couldn't charge enough today, anticipating what material was going to cost in two months or three months or whatever it was, and so that was challenging.
SHED GAL:I bet that was really challenging.
MARK DREYER:Yeah, but we made it, we did it.
SHED GAL:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. We. I thought it was interesting when I don't know if it was nationwide or or if it was just in Washington state, where they deemed us as essential as a shed company, and I literally was like what, why? Now, with that being said, I mean I'm grateful for that, but I I closed down my lots and sent everybody home. In fact, I was fearful of retribution or the social media backlash of oh, they think they're so important they can be open. Same thing my phone was ringing off the hook. It was just absolutely crazy and my first thought wasn't it's either going to be bankruptcy or it's going to be great. My first thought is this is going to put us out of business. And then the phone started ringing and I was like holy cow. I think it's hard because several dealers that have reached out to me for help. They started during COVID and it was booming and it was easy.
SHAUNA DREYER:I mean there?
SHED GAL:was challenges, no doubt, getting materials and different, no doubt about that. But sales were easy and it's more of a struggle. Now, how do you you alluded to that earlier, the ebb and flows of sales, how do you? What do you think? You know, I hope we never go back to covet or any other disease or illness like it, where, where the same thing happens. There's no doubt about that, and those days of sales are over. But how do you today, in today's economy, just keep on keeping on? I mean, prices have stabilized, haven't come down a huge, huge amount.
SHED GAL:I don't think prices are never going back to what I got here and I was like Holy cow.
SHED GAL:Washington state charges a lot for gas, it's amazing how my memory in two years was like oh, everything is more expensive here, but that's with any shed company.
SHED GAL:Their prices have all gone up. You're not even competing against a portable building company number one. You don't have the same product. But how do you maintain that the just you keep on keeping on.
MARK DREYER:Well, those, those couple of years, so 20,. You know, 2020 was what it was in 2021 and 22.
SHED GAL:It was what it was yeah.
MARK DREYER:You know I mean 21 and 22,. Um, you're, you're right. I mean it was. It was like shooting fish in a rain barrel. I mean it was easy going and you know we had to hire more people and unfortunately, with that much need we couldn't be as selective as we wanted to with the people we were hiring, that's challenging.
MARK DREYER:And then all of a sudden, you know, the really good people that we could get at a fair wage wanted a lot more, and the people that were less experienced, didn't have the skills that really the job required, wanted a lot more, and so labor costs were almost as bad, if not worse than lumber cost.
MARK DREYER:You know the lumber you can kind of it is what it is right. I mean, you can take that portion of your cost and it's a finite number or a defined number, but the labor part of it, you know you're paying per hour and are you getting this level of work? Or are you getting this level of work? And on the other end of this microphone can't see my hand going up and down, but that's what's happening.
SHED GAL:The camera can. Oh, there we go.
MARK DREYER:So that was you know. It was like the dog chasing the rabbit at the dog track. I mean, it was a constant foot race.
SHED GAL:So, in addition to your phone ringing off the hook, then you have more training trying to source supplies from more places. So it was just, yeah, it was, we all survived it, but I it seems like yesterday, but 20 years ago for sure. Yeah, very interesting what you what? What all do you do here, besides probably run the entire show? Come on, we know how this right, right. Tell me how you're involved in which favorite part of this industry.
SHAUNA DREYER:Honestly, I I Mark does the majority of the work. Um, I think the funnest part for me is really just seeing what they create and what they come up with and and, like I said before, he's pretty creative and so sometimes the bar shed that your friends purchase. That is something that I had saw online and I showed it to Mark and I was like hey, could you do something like this? And it was, it was kind of a plastic version of that and he just came up with that and created it and it was. It was amazing, and so that's like.
SHAUNA DREYER:The fun for me is to be able to say, hey, what idea, or what about this, and he just makes it happen so you can bring ideas and you can put it together.
SHED GAL:My brain, Shauna, works like yours. I I cannot even envision things, no, and so it would be hard for you to understand how our brain works. And for me, I'm like I just have this discussion earlier today with someone who just does the most beautiful art and I'm like I couldn't do that if my life depended on it. And she's like I couldn't not do it. My brain can see it and I'm like I wish I had that Right, but that's great. Well, obviously you're a wonderful partnership.
MARK DREYER:Right now we have one install crew which fluctuates between two and three people depending on the size and complexity of the shed. Most of our builds are two-man builds. Okay, so my two-man crew can take out a standard 12 by 16 shed and have it fully assembled in about six, six and a half hours A lot less than that first shed.
SHED GAL:Half hours. A lot less than that first shed. Yes, a lot less than that first shed.
MARK DREYER:they're very efficient and three times the size. So, wow, you know when, when they get really complexed and and they and you know, and they have lots of features and stuff like that, then then obviously the um, the time frame, can grow a little bit. But I think in 14-plus years we've had one three-day build and maybe a half a dozen two-day builds. Most of the time they're one, that is interesting.
SHED GAL:Do you have any time-lapse video of any build?
MARK DREYER:I do. It's on our website actually.
SHED GAL:I've seen your website and I'm going to have to go look for that, because I'd like to put put some of that in here we had a customer marketing thing too.
MARK DREYER:Hint, by the way, it's well it's in my facebook uh marketplace ads okay um, it's on each, it's attached to each one of those.
MARK DREYER:So, a customer one day. Well, when I very first started, uh, I did the sheds with myself and a friend of mine when he wasn't at his real job. And then it got too busy for him to be able to take days off in the middle of the week to go build sheds, and so I hired a kid, I hired two kids, I hired one kid who was going off to do great things, I'm sure because he was the smartest person I've ever met. Wow, and do great things. I'm sure because he was the smartest person I've ever met. Wow. He was going to Colorado or something, to be an applied mathematician.
MARK DREYER:Oh my, I cannot relate but he liked to build things and so he was a really good builder. And then we hired a 15-year-old kid to work part-time who was in the woodshop at Monroe High School. Kid to work part-time who was in the woodshop at Monroe High School. And unfortunately, julio is not with us anymore. He tragically died in an accident.
SHED GAL:Oh, I'm so sorry.
MARK DREYER:But when he came to work for me, he couldn't read a tape measure, even though he came out of the woodshop.
SHED GAL:Oh Monroe High School. There, you go, here we are Shauna and uh, high school grads uh, I, I taught him how to read a tape measure.
MARK DREYER:Okay taught him how to do all the things that, uh, that it was required cut straight lines potential I did because he was a super hard worker and he was and and he embarrassed me a lot because he was about five foot two and he could just pick up an eight foot wall section and walk off the trailer with it and and I told I used to tell him all the time, you know, you're you're just embarrassing me, because now I have to do that and I don't want to do that.
SHED GAL:I could hurt myself.
MARK DREYER:Yeah I mean, I'm 40 years old man and, uh, he, he just would look at me and I was just talking to somebody the other day about about him and and and how him and I got started and we'd be out on a build and he'd be on the roof and he'd be doing the roofing and I would tend him. And it was funny because some customers thought he was the boss, because he would ask for things and I would give it to him right.
MARK DREYER:That's great and my job was to tend him and finish the bottom part of the shed and I always beat him. He was never off that roof.
SHAUNA DREYER:Well, at least in the beginning.
MARK DREYER:He was never off that roof before I had all my parts done and the trailer completely reloaded. And most of the time I'd be sitting on the back of the trailer texting with Shauna, you know, and waiting for him to get off the roof. And one day I'm doing my thing and all of a sudden I hear his airline unhook and I'm like what did you drop your airline? He goes Nope, I'm done.
SHED GAL:And I said you're done and he goes.
MARK DREYER:Yes, I beat you.
SHED GAL:Oh, a little friendly competition.
MARK DREYER:And from then on it was, it was uh yeah, it was always always a competition, as you, then first I. It was always a competition, you then first, I love that.
SHED GAL:You know what that kind of just makes me think. This is yeah, we sell sheds, but this business is about relationships, sure.
MARK DREYER:It really is, and over the years we've you know, I mean, he would have gone on to do really good things Because we taught him skills and gave him a chance where he didn't have one before, and a lot of the guys that have come through our door have needed a hand. They just needed a new chance and I hope, whether they stayed or they're gone and most of them moved on, but that that we've at least, you know, help their lives in some way.
SHED GAL:You have so and sometimes I think we don't even know it. And you're right, there's, there's a lot of people that need a hand and there's a lot of people that will not put out a hand. Yeah, we, we just aren't those people, and, and you know, it's a nice, nice place to be.
MARK DREYER:You never know when you're changing someone's life by just giving them an opportunity right right now. That being said, I've also had kids that that uh quit to go to work for mcdonald's because they didn't want to work that hard so yeah, yeah, that's not.
SHED GAL:Well, you know, that's reality. Yeah, it is.
MARK DREYER:I literally had, he goes. Nah, I wasn't put on this earth to work this hard. I'm gonna go work at mcdon's.
SHED GAL:Now, your daughter was involved, I think, with the business. Is she still involved at all, or has she kind of stepped away doing her own thing? No, she's a mama.
MARK DREYER:She's just built her own path Good for her. She works for a really large construction related company and she has done great for herself, happily married and your grandson is almost three gonna be three in october and again if you didn't catch it earlier.
SHED GAL:He is the cutest little guy you have ever seen yep um, yeah, he, he is definitely living his best life. From the pictures I've seen on facebook, he is so.
MARK DREYER:Honestly, my opinion of my childhood is that I got chipped, that kid is living the life of Riley I love it.
SHED GAL:I think that's great. There's enough. It's funny. No matter where I am, I hear the market is saturated you go back to. I've spent a lot of time back east South Carolina, north Carolina, different areas, oklahoma, arkansas. Last week. There are shed dealers everywhere, everywhere. Compared to here In Washington, arizona is the same thing. It is not saturated. My response is if you feel like it's saturated, it's just simply because people don't even know you exist yet. But what are your thoughts on you? Know someone maybe looking to get into this industry? Do you have any advice? Run, you know. Run fast, you know. Look into it because your story that's why I love doing this your story is cool.
MARK DREYER:Yeah, your story. That's why I love doing this. Your story is cool. The advice I would give them is be customer-oriented. It's the oldest trick in the book, right? I mean, what would you do for your mom?
SHED GAL:Well, that depends on the family right. It depends on the family, but what would you do? For Joan Cleaver right, your favorite person, your favorite person.
MARK DREYER:Yes, cause I think if you, if you treat everybody like that, then you're, you're always going to be successful. But from a from a practical standpoint and I got this advice from from a person that Shauna worked with in her industry was only grow as fast as you need to expand on that a little bit that I love that statement. I want to I want to hear more about, I think, what the natural inclination to do is buy more tools, hire more people, more square footage, more marketing more.
MARK DREYER:And um, my philosophy has been um, we're going to be going a thousand miles an hour before we take that next step, um, and so we've always just grown when we needed to, when, when there was just no way to maintain the level of business that we were doing, because we're just physically not capable of stretching that far.
MARK DREYER:Then it's time to add, and always for me to add in the rears, instead of anticipating what might be a lot of businesses is they. They grow at a rate and then, uh, they can't sustain that that growth they've, they've put themselves in a in in a in the.
SHAUNA DREYER:You know, I guess, if you're on a crab boat, it's called the bite right, which is the space where the rope might drag you into the water, oh boy, and so and I think quality, like you, want to be able to maintain the quality and be able to just sustain what you have, without growing too fast, where you lose some of that. And then I mean even in 2020, when it was so busy, you know you, all of a sudden you're 20 weeks out and people aren't happy. They're understanding, but they're they're getting frustrated because it's taking too long, and so I think that's kind of where you're talking about.
SHED GAL:So managed growth yeah.
SHED GAL:Oh for sure, yes for sure.
SHED GAL:That's very interesting. Yeah, I agree with that, because it is that fine line between needing to do something and not doing too much, where you sink the boat Right. Yes, yeah.
SHED GAL:Yeah.
SHED GAL:So what do you look forward to in this industry?
MARK DREYER:I mean, if I were could wave a magic wand over Monrovia Depot, it would be a franchisable business.
SHED GAL:Oh, have you looked into that? Have you thought about that?
MARK DREYER:Thought about it, Haven't really looked into it. I think there's a way for people that are, that are on the fringe of this industry right, they're, they're contractors or they're laborers, or you know, they have some some building acumen that they could, you know, relatively cheaply get into a business with a proven business model and be able to grow as big as they want to be.
SHED GAL:That's interesting, boy, I you know. And again you guys have such a niche market or niche product.
SHED GAL:It's, just it's different.
SHED GAL:That is so interesting because, I mean, your sheds are beautiful. If you already have the processes in place, why not duplicate it? Or someone else can duplicate it? And what you're saying is it wouldn't take millions of dollars to do that.
MARK DREYER:Right, right take millions of dollars to do that, right, right. I mean we've developed again four days in the shop and 90 hours worth of building to build an 8x10 shed. We developed tools. You're giving people hope. We developed templates, we developed our processes of how to reduce that time and still maintain that quality and, at the end of the day, make a profit as well. At the end of the day, make a profit as well. At the end of the day, make a profit. Yeah, even our trailers. Our trailers are specifically designed for us.
SHED GAL:So if someone that's interested in the industry reaches out to you, are you open to talking to them if they're interested in learning about it, or do you see everybody as competition and you don't want to talk to them? I?
MARK DREYER:honestly don't see everybody as competition and you don't want to talk to them. I. I honestly don't see anybody as competition, and not because I'm not, because I'm, I think I'm better than them or anything, I. But there is no saturation, to be honest with you, I mean they're building thousands of homes every single month. Yes, they are. And until I'm turning away business, until I have to turn the off, you know the close sign on, because I were already full up and they can't cut down any more trees.
SHED GAL:There is no right, you're never going to run out of customers. There's not enough lifetimes, and I hear that all the time and I think it's funny, especially from this part of the country. I'm like man, you should go spend some time in North and South Carolina. If you think we're saturated, no, we're not saturated. Well, there's enough business for everyone, is what I think you're saying oh for sure.
MARK DREYER:Yeah, I mean absolutely. And you know, um, I mean obviously we talked about this before we went on air, but you know that we don't live here in washington and and that was something that, uh, was a very difficult decision for us. So we live in Florida and our intention was to open a Florida-based shed business there.
SHED GAL:I did not know that.
MARK DREYER:Florida made sure that didn't happen. Florida has these little things called hurricanes. And hurricanes require everything that's built around your, your house, to be engineered, to be strapped down to have blueprints to have permits and it became a very um it wasn't worth the hassle.
SHED GAL:I really it really wasn't um, and so we've.
MARK DREYER:we've just kept our our focus on washington and um, wonderful um. You know, and in the last couple years you mentioned the bar shed we've done um some really fun things. You know, we still build mostly sheds that people put their lawnmowers in, right, but we have built a ton of really nice, you know, probably offices, probably, you know, backyard school rooms man caves.
SHED GAL:I think that's great.
MARK DREYER:We try not to use the she shed reference too much, but we've built a few of those. We've built some, you know, tiny houses that are on trailers. I did not know that and we build the shelves that people do the rest of it, but that's fun. We've come up with some fun things. We built a barbecue shack last year and that's done pretty well for us.
SHED GAL:I do want to give a shout-out to Cheryl from the State Farm commercial because she was a guest on the Shed Podcast with Shannon Latham. That's fun. Nothing against she-shed, Cheryl, no no, nothing. But yeah, we get these terms that are overused for sure. You mentioned Florida. Why'd you move to Florida? If you don't mind sharing, Nope, we don't mind.
SHAUNA DREYER:Basically, I was having some health issues here and I ended up going to Mayo Clinic there and felt a lot better in Florida with all of the salt air and we live near the beach, so all that has been really good. We are fortunate that we still have all of our family and friends here, and so we're back at least once a month and we're here.
SHED GAL:They travel almost as much as I do. You know, now that I'm thinking about it, why didn't we do this podcast in Florida?
MARK DREYER:Fine, we should. Let's do the next one there. You know Florida, fine, we should. Better. Yeah, let's do the next one there.
SHED GAL:You know what? Let's do that. Yes, absolutely. We're both freezing here yeah you're in sweatshirts, so how long have you lived in Florida?
SHAUNA DREYER:Eight years, eight years, yeah, has it been that long already?
SHED GAL:Well, it is really cool. And again mention that I graduated with one of your brothers.
SHED GAL:Yep and uh, love Jeff, please tell him hello for me and Shelly as well.
SHED GAL:Um, you, you do get to spend an awful lot of time up here with the family, which is and I noticed you do family trips. I want to tell you, you're the inspiration that got me to know that I don't have to live where I work. And, uh, you know I was very successful with my lots in arizona when I lived in washington state, and thank you you're welcome literally because you you probably never realized that, but it's the same thing with your family trips.
SHED GAL:You know, two years ago we started these family trips that have uh, it's been really cool. And so it's one of those things where sometimes people don't say anything, but you make an impact when you don't even know it.
SHAUNA DREYER:Well, thank you, that's fun.
SHED GAL:And now I get to go to Florida because we're you know what we can do our podcast from Finns. They had posted one time I don't know several years ago or a few years ago about going to Finns. I'm like one time, I don't know several years ago or a few years ago about going to Finns.
MARK DREYER:I'm like, oh, I've been to Finns. What beach is that? Flagler Beach, Flagler Beach, yeah, it's great fish and chips Three miles from our front doors. Oh yeah, the upper deck, oh, I love that, yep.
SHED GAL:Yeah, love that place. Yeah, it has quite a, I like that. Yeah, so we're going to wrap this up, but I'm going to give you an opportunity, if you'd like, to ask me a question or two, but first we're going to do flash questions for you. Okay so, shauna, you guys take fabulous trips. I want to be part of your family, but what's your next dream vacation?
SHAUNA DREYER:Well, our next vacation we're taking Haley and the rest of our family is also going for her 30th birthday to St Kitts in January.
SHED GAL:Where is that? How have I not heard of this probably very fabulous place?
SHAUNA DREYER:It's in the Caribbean. Okay, it's kind of near Aruba.
SHED GAL:I believe that's a nice neighborhood.
SHAUNA DREYER:Yeah, yeah, it should be all right and if somebody's checking on a map, I'm not 100% positive that it's near Aruba, but I think it is, but it's beautiful. Oh, I bet the pictures look amazing and everybody says it's great.
SHED GAL:Oh, fun, Fun, fun fun.
SHAUNA DREYER:I think after that, my dream vacation would be the Maldives.
SHED GAL:Oh, I want to go on that one too. Yeah, me too.
MARK DREYER:Mark, what's your dream car? My dream car is a Porsche 930.
SHED GAL:Oh, that would be nice. That would be very nice. Well, I'm going to continue to follow your journey on Facebook. Do you have any questions for me before we wrap this up? So you're starting your new lot, the mega lot.
SHED GAL:Yes, it was going to be a super center, but that name was taken 30 days before we picked it up. That's another story. That's a joke. Uh, and we were going to be called mega marts, but we're not, we're just going to be shed gal and we'll be opening in in Phoenix, our our new huge lot in September. Uh, so very, very soon. And then we're set to open in South Carolina very soon and we hope to have multiple lots across the country so that's awesome.
SHAUNA DREYER:Yeah, thank you, we like watching your growth. Thank you, it's pretty fun. Any questions for me?
SHED GAL:I mean, where are you off to next? Where am I off to next? Uh, I am actually taping uh the tv show, uh the blocks uh here very soon in Tulsa, oklahoma. That'll be airing on TV either later this year or early next year. That's my next trip.
MARK DREYER:Send us a text when it's going to be on so we can make sure we can tune in. Oh, absolutely. You'll all know I live my life on Facebook.
SHED GAL:You get what you get with me, folks. I'd like to thank Mark and Shauna for joining me. Susan the Shed Gal on this week's episode of the Shed Geek podcast. Thank you.
SHAUNA DREYER:Thank you, thank you, thank you, luna, thank you for behaving yourself there.
SHED GAL:The adorable little lot dog here Again. Thank you everyone for joining in to this week's episode.
SHED GAL:We will see you soon, hey this is Mo Lunsford in sunny Union Grove, North Carolina, and we want to say thank you to all the guests and listeners.