Shed Geek Podcast

Monday Motivations: Finding Purpose Beyond Metal Buildings

• Shed Geek Podcast • Season 5 • Episode 56

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What happens when two metal building dealers pull back the curtain on their real lives? This episode takes a refreshingly candid approach as Jared and Eric share what actually drives them beyond business.

The conversation kicks off with Jared explaining how he found unexpected motivation from "Power Moves with Shaquille O'Neal" on Netflix. Watching Shaquille O'Neal and Allen Iverson rebuild the Reebok brand sparked a reflection on his own entrepreneurial journey from shed lot newbie to industry voice. Rather than keeping business and personal separate, the hosts weave them together, demonstrating how passion fuels sustainable success regardless of your industry.

In a rare glimpse behind the operational curtain, listeners get to witness Jared craft a complex building quote in real-time for a 60×120 structure in Choctaw, Oklahoma. The multi-step process showcases exactly how pricing decisions get made and highlights why responsive customer service matters more than ever during uncertain economic times. As steel tariffs drive prices up 50% industry-wide, the hosts predict customers will increasingly prioritize reputable dealers over bargain-basement pricing.

Perhaps the most significant revelation is the Steel Kings' expansion into pole barns after years of consideration. With concrete regulations tightening in Ohio (now requiring 32-inch footers throughout entire structures) and prices skyrocketing, pole barns present a strategic alternative that many customers find attractive. This business pivot comes alongside Jared's personal transformation – his 18-month sobriety journey that has redirected energy back into growing the business.

Want a glimpse of what successful dealers discuss when they think no one's listening? This episode delivers exactly that while reminding you that behind every business are real people battling real challenges. Subscribe now and join the conversation about where the industry is heading next.

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: J Money LLC

Realwork Labs
Shed Geek Marketing

Jared Ledford:

Hey, what's up guys? This is Jared and Eric. We are the Steel Kings. Welcome back to another podcast with us, Eric. It is a beautiful Monday. This is episode number 17.

Jared Ledford:

And we're just hanging out.

Jared Ledford:

We're just hanging out today.

Jared Ledford:

What are you up?

Jared Ledford:

to man. How are you yeah?

Eric Olson:

bro, I, you know you, you hit go on the on the music. And I got a text message from a previous customer from two years ago who just texted me and said the shop I have is still doing perfect and doing great. I need a 60 by 120 by 20 in Choctaw, Oklahoma, all right, that is a big

Jared Ledford:

Choctaw Oklahoma.

Jared Ledford:

it is man.

Eric Olson:

I feel like I'm Tim McGraw song.

Jared Ledford:

Yeah, bro, like an Indian outlaw kind of vibe.

Eric Olson:

Yeah, Indian outlaw.

Jared Ledford:

A little 90s country vibe. Yeah, I'm doing really good today. Doing I am doing really good today, man, I'm enjoying my Monday Um we are getting.

Jared Ledford:

We are getting busier. Um, we talked about steel tariffs last week. We're going to hang out a little bit with you this week. Um, we're just going to show you kind of a behind the scenes kind of look at what we do. Um, one thing I wanted to give a quick shout out at the beginning of the episode. So, one thing I wanted to give a quick shout out at the beginning of the episode our studio sponsors, J Money. Look, J Money started with Joel. He's a farm kid from Northern Ohio. He turned his passion for building and banking into a mission to help craftsmen grow their businesses with smart and simple financing. If you sell steel, building sheds or any home improvement service, J Money gives you and your customers the power to say yes, even when the cash is tight. And we know the cash is tight right now, don't we? Eric?

Eric Olson:

Yeah, it's up. The steel tariffs are tight 50% increase about five days ago to June 9th today.

Jared Ledford:

So, check out the team over at jmoneyllc. com and get those payment solutions and get those great results for your customers. Man, I got to tell you we don't normally talk about this stuff, but one thing that I was excited about and I know not everybody's got Netflix, but we were talking about a new show, power Moves with Shaquille O'Neal so that got me a little bit motivated to talk at the beginning of the episode what gets you guys motivated? What do you guys listen to? What do you watch? What gets you moving when you're not talking about steel buildings and wood sheds? I sat down and powered through I think it's six or seven episodes Just a couple guys who grew up playing basketball Now they're rebranding the company Reebok, and Eric and I were talking offline, you know, just kind of reminiscing about being young and wanting a new pair of shoes, and you know, I just thought that was something I'd share with you guys If you guys are Netflix fans or if you stream or watch anything.

Jared Ledford:

Uh, check out power moves with Shaquille O'Neal. I it really motivated me, made me feel good Like those guys. Uh, Shaquille O'Neal and Allen Iverson, they're getting back into an industry that they really love, which is shoes and apparel, and I know that that's not sheds and metal buildings. But like I couldn't feel any more motivated today just to like see somebody else and I know, trust me, Shaquille O'Neal is like a multimillionaire, so is Allen Iverson. I'm sure they get whatever they want, right, but like they're grinding, they're grinding, you know they're grinding and it like motivated me a little bit to like be excited today and like just say, like man, I really love what I do Selling wood sheds and metal buildings and we're getting into pole barns. Like I am just jazzed up today, man, I'm feeling good.

Eric Olson:

So, but so what? So? So, it's Alan, Alan Iverson and Shaq. Are you know shack? You know shack's big claim to fame when, when he got his shoe deal with reebok, um, he, he, he was you remember he, he comes from you know sub, you know a poor background. And yeah, um, and he was frustrated with how, uh, expensive shoes were and so he came up with the shack brand. Originally, yeah, and, um, and he was selling super cheap shoes at Walmart because he wanted everybody to be able to if they want to wear shoes, they want. He wanted them to be able to afford, um, his shoe brand. So, he struck a deal with Walmart, and I think, I think that was his initial, you know. So, I think he, he owns a claim to fat, he owns forever 21, which is like a chick store.

Jared Ledford:

Yeah, he dude, he owns every. He owns Eddie Bauer, Nautica.

Jared Ledford:

Like, if you really dig into it, dude he his apparel company, his app companies like this yeah, this conglomerate, right, and they own all these businesses and you know, I was just I just wanted to share that with you guys that, like this is just one guy and he started from nothing. He was obviously an exceptionally talented basketball player, um, but like this is a guy who believes in what he's doing, has all kinds of avenues, and I mean it took one guy and now he's doing all these crazy and cool things and like motivating the guy like me who sells metal buildings and wood sheds on a Monday, um, coming off of a weekend, and you know, it's just one of those things, man, I thought I'd share that with you. Um, and it's probably not for everybody, but you know it's a cool show. You know, Shaq is literally the president of Reebok basketball now and he's like a shot caller for a company that signed him when he was like 20 years old to endorse their shoes and I just thought, man, how cool is that? Like, maybe one day the steel Kings will be like officially taken over a metal building manufacturer which said manufactured, saying like hey, you know, this is where we came from.

Jared Ledford:

We started as two guys sitting on a shed lot. You know, Eric did it before me. He found me, I bought a metal building and, like, bro, we're getting into pole barns. I'm super excited about that. Um, we are absolutely thrilled and excited about what we're doing on that side of the business. Oh yeah, definitely actually manufacturing things, like actually a part of the process of like getting these things. When we say from start to finish, we mean it right. Like we source the leads, we sell the product, we work to get the product scheduled and get the materials supplied and then we work with contractors to get buildings put up. I mean it is an exciting time literally to be alive for us. And I just thought, man, on a Monday morning, if you're feeling blue, you know, get out and do something, man, cause I'm telling you, staying positive, positive mental attitude has been good for me this last couple of years.

Eric Olson:

Yeah.

Jared Ledford:

I talked to you on a treadmill this morning, my bad.

Eric Olson:

Man, I was on a treadmill, yeah we're both, we're both, we're both trying they opened up a plan of fitness in in Springboro and it's uh and it I. I was going to the Middletown one, which is kind of far, but now Springboro, man, and you know Springboro is like yuppie- ish and it's like, yeah, you've got everything. You've got a super Kroger, a Starbucks, a plan of fitness, a car wash, like of them, like really good car washes. You know like people scrub your vehicle.

Jared Ledford:

Like that actually takes the dirt, that actually gets the bird poop off.

Eric Olson:

Yeah, yeah. So, like I go to that thing, I mean I get a Starbucks, I go to the gym, I get a Starbucks, I go right to the drive through and then I hit Kroger on the way home and then I throw it on my Blackstone. It's like it's a nice, it's a nice gig. You know chatting with my best bud about what we're doing, you know, and I think you know to, in the spirit of entrepreneurship, it's like, you know, shack, shack. Does he need to work? Probably not, you know. And could we just sell wood sheds? Me, and you probably. Could we just sell steel structures? Yeah, probably, um, but we are questing to do everything that you could. I'm not putting red iron out for any reason, but maybe that ends up being some sort of thing later in life too.

Jared Ledford:

Quick shout out If you're a red iron supplier and you're looking for a dealer, give us a shout. I think what I've been motivated about and what really motivated me about that shows exactly and I was hoping that you would say that. I was really hoping that you would say that because it gets to a point in your lives where you can do for yourself right and you can make money, and that's great and money's, you know, money will get you what you think you want. But like it's so much more fun to do it with other people and empower them to do the same and give people opportunities. And that's what I love about working with you, Eric, is you've given us this opportunity to like take what you struggled to learn something that you weren't any good at. I mean, you've been, you've been, you know, pretty open about that. Like, look, Eric learned it from nothing sauce.

Jared Ledford:

Eric showed up at a shed lot, probably didn't even know the first thing about a shed and

Eric Olson:

uh, you know for the record, I cried on my first day because I was like what, what am I doing here?

Eric Olson:

I don't know what I'm doing

Jared Ledford:

And like we're sitting back now I'm like, just like Eric saying we're having good times. You know Eric's out, traveling, enjoying, enjoying his new wife and, you know, living his best life. We talked about the revival last week. Eric's going to have a cool episode coming your way with a little bit more about what he does and a little bit more about him personally. And I will too, because I think, sharing that with you guys, the feedback that I get you know we read the comments, we get the emails. You know I'm the fat, bald guy, we read the comments, we get the emails. You know I'm the fat, bald guy. You know I'm thinning upstairs, my hair is a little bit gray, whatever else. But, like you know, the fact of the matter is I'm just a guy like you, selling metal buildings, having a good time, and I want this podcast to be fun and exciting and we're not always going to get on here and just talk about wood sheds and metal buildings, like that is a fact.

Jared Ledford:

Eric and I have talked about this and we want to shoot, just shoot with you guys, like this is what we do on a day to day basis. Like we talked about it before, we don't get a whole lot of time to just hang out. We're best friends. Um, I think we both stay in touch with you as much as we can, but, like I just was, I was just talking to Eric offline. I'm like, bro, I got all this stuff I want to tell you. I feel like I haven't talked to you. So let's just talk on the podcast, let's just talk to the people we're hanging today Forget about it, that's right.

Eric Olson:

We're hanging today. You can see I'm distracted a little bit, it's mainly because I'm chasing this. It's a 60 by 120 by 20 barn dough shop. He wants 12 by 46 lean to wrap around porch Three 12 by 12, one 14 by 14, seven walk-in frame outs to 14 by 12. Gable porch overhead doors 26 gauge sheet metal, 12 gauge frame and that sounds like a healthy lead in chalk talk.

Eric Olson:

And try yeah, it's junk, though it sounds like a healthy lead. I talk, yeah and try yeah, it's junk, though it sounds like a healthy lead. Uh, I am not sure I'm. I'm like I'm doing it because, like we're, if we're just ripping this episode, it's like I hope by the end of this I got a price to throw out to the audience right now. I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm into the. I got the wraparounds done and uh, so anyways, yeah, I'll.

Jared Ledford:

No, it's funny because it was funny because on the on last week's episode, I was looking around. So, for those of you that don't understand, I'm on a green screen right now. Normally I stand right where I am on my green screen right now, I'm in an office. So, our lead generator had major back surgery and I'm talking like major back surgery. So, I've been in, I've been back in the cockpit working leads. So, I'm in the office today and, like those of you that can't see, like, got a screen here, got a screen there, got a screen over here, so I'm screened out. I've got an iPad. You know I'm filtering leads. Like that's what I was doing on the last episode. If you catch my head drifting, I'm watching Facebook, I'm watching meta, I'm watching Facebook, I'm watching meta, I'm watching the Google ads, I'm watching it all and I'm filtering leads out to the team.

Jared Ledford:

So, I was just thinking with Eric when we were talking offline. I'm like let's just work, like let's just kind of just go through the motions, right? I mean, if you're sitting there listening to us, you know we're not just podcast personalities, we're not just metal building salesmen. You know Eric's a husband, he's an uncle, you know he's got a lot of stuff going on in his personal life. I'm a dad, you know I love my kids. I am busy all the time. I am trying to stay focused on me. You know my last couple of years my journey has been kind of rough right, and the Barnes has been my saving grace and a lot of times it's laying on Eric and Eric laying on me, like all the burdens of the day or the week or the month or the year or the whatever, and getting through it.

Jared Ledford:

And I thought, man, you know I want to be real with you guys today a little bit. I just want to. You know, you know we talked about it last week. Our business is right where we want it to be. We're in the pocket, we're expanding but, like our middle building sales are not where they need to be and I know that we're not the only ones out there and I don't want to ever come across like we're better because we're not. We're exactly like you. We were in your shoes.

Jared Ledford:

Um, I know there are people on this call we could learn from, people on this podcast that are watching us that we could learn from. I'm asking you I'm literally going to extend my handout and give you a virtual handshake. I am Jared at the Steel Kings. He is Eric at the Steel Kings. Drop us an email. We'd love to talk to you guys. We'd love to get you on here with us to hang out for half an hour 45 minutes. Talk about you, talk about your business, talk about Steel. That's how I got to know Shannon was just having these kind of one-off conversations and, like you know, having given a shout out to Shannon recently, but like Shannon, giving us the platform to be with you guys and share with you guys, he just cut it loose, cut it loose yeah, yeah, you know he said share with the people what you want to share with them, and today is the day when we're going to kind of pull back the veil a little bit.

Jared Ledford:

You know I'm sitting here working leads. I think today we have gotten. Let's see here we're about 35 deep right now 17, 23. We're we're like 23 for 35 on conversions, which is solid. We're getting good SEO traction today.

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Eric Olson:

One shed at a time. Let's take a look at Google Consoles. Something that, with the steel tariffs that we've been definitely in communication with, is that I think people are going to return back to businesses for their metal building purchases. I think that the scams are going to return back to businesses for their metal building purchases. I think that the scams are going to increase online, which is going to force people to go back to Better Business Bureau and stop looking for the best deal and start looking for the best company to actually deal with, like somebody that's going to like reply.

Eric Olson:

And, I'm the testimony, I'm, I'm talking to a guy that bought from me that he wants to buy for me, bought from Dayton Barns and, um, people are going to return back to their shopping habits of probably not racing to the bottom.

Eric Olson:

I'm not looking for the best deal. Uh, is kind of the vibe I'm. I think we're starting to see that a little bit more because our leads are increasing. I asked the team, I think, last I remember what day Tuesday or Wednesday and I just simply put are the phone calls below about the same or more? And basically everybody said the same thing. They have definitely increased, not sure how much, but it's definitely obvious that they've increased and that means that the traffic to not only our website but really people coming to a company rather than a person is now increasing, and I think that that's a good sign, because not that you shouldn't sell stuff off marketplace, because that's pretty much how I get my leads Going back to a company that's got a strong reputation is a solid choice if you're trying to buy a metal building.

Jared Ledford:

People want the building to show up. People trust what they can see, what they can visualize. If you've got active Google profiles, I think right now we're several hundred thousand deep on SEO as far as index pages, with several hundred thousand more to come. And you know what people don't understand about that. If you're, if you're sitting back and you're thinking, man, you know I see a lot of Dayton Barnes ads or I see a lot of dealer X or dealer Y's ads.

Jared Ledford:

Like you know, that stuff costs us money and that's one thing, Eric, and I have been really talking about Go ahead money, and that's one thing Eric and I have been really talking about Go ahead.

Eric Olson:

We had a web developer one time that developed a website for us that was on Squarespace and I'm just throwing this out as a disclaimer If you're working with somebody, make sure that, if you're trying to really go into some SEO stuff, know that the programs have limited capabilities. If you're not going to use something like WordPress or HTML, like you're actually going to code, code it, that type of deal, I think that I've learned. We've learned that the hard way, that you really want to go with free hand, you want to be able to like, influence, the. Yeah, so you, you understand what I'm saying. So, feedback. I didn't mean to interrupt you.

Jared Ledford:

Yeah, no, no, the feedback that I'll give there is. So, you know, if you're working with a marketing company right now, just do your due diligence. I mean, that's what I would say. You know I'm not going to say steer clear marketing companies. I will tell you that we like the guys over at Shed Geek Marketing. They do a great job with wood sheds and metal buildings and all that. But you know, there's lots of good marketing companies out there, just like there's a lot of bad marketing companies out there. And make sure that you have access to your Google console, like one of the things that still and Eric's going to laugh at this One of the things that still makes me a little bit upset. To this day and I don't carry a lot of stuff around We've worked with a couple of different marketing companies and what Eric and I figured out over time is that if we just learned it ourselves, we could save that, save that money and spend more advertising or hiring more people or whatever.

Jared Ledford:

But like we had a marketing company that we were super tight with Matter of fact, like we had a marketing company that we were super tight with Matter of fact, the Steel Kings idea was kind of birthed in a, just a general. You know, I think we told you this a long time ago. The Steel Kings podcast, or Steel Kings, has been a concept that Eric and I have had and we've had other partners along the way and people have dropped off and people have stayed. But, like it ended up being me and Eric, which is great. But this company that we were working alongside was doing marketing blitzes for us, was helping us set up drip campaigns, doing all this cool stuff, and we were going to start doing videos and start doing like attraction posts through YouTube and all that kind of stuff and doing reels.

Jared Ledford:

Well, we had a falling out with that particular marketing company just because they didn't, they were not able to grow with us at the time and we were not seeing the results and the return that we wanted to, and it always came down to hey, we need a couple more thousand dollars this month, or hey, we need a couple more hundred dollars this week, or hey, you know this particular ad and what we figured out was what we were doing wasn't broken. So why were we trying to fix it? What we did always worked, and we didn't need anybody influencing it. We had to change our logo. The first thing they wanted to do was come in and change our logo. Kind of salty about that. Love the new logo, don't get me wrong, but Eric had the first logo designed and it was perfectly fine. I mean, we probably spent multiple thousands of dollars rebranding the business, and that was just so that they could get their hooks into us a little bit. But the one thing that drives me nuts they locked up our YouTube. We lost our YouTube handle because of all that nonsense, and you know I would.

Jared Ledford:

I'm just, you know, hindsight 2020, be mindful of who you're working alongside of. Have control of your social media accounts. Have control of what it is that controls you. Um, you know, stay in control or it'll control you right, so keep your hands on it. I want to say too, brother, I, I am just, I'm giddy. I'm like, I'm like ramped up today. I don't know what it is, but you know the base yeah, it's a.

Jared Ledford:

It's a good Monday, man. It's a good Monday First, like kind of nice weekend with good weather and stuff. And you know, I just want to give you guys all of the blessing and all the love that I can this week. I really just want you to hear our voices and be motivated to go out and do something cool, try something new, run a new ad on Facebook, get on Marketplace and post 20 buildings, do whatever it is that's going to make your business grow, because right now you're going to need it. Man, we're feeling it. We're changing the way we're doing things. We're pivoting a little bit Swerve left, swerve right, get back in the middle. Swerve left, swerve right, get back in the middle. We're always trying to pivot when we need to, and I think right now, man, we're making good moves.

Jared Ledford:

And one of the things I wanted to do was I want to be more conversational with these podcasts and I want to talk to you guys directly, like you're in the rooms with us, so that way you can turn us on and not feel like you're being sold a bunch of stuff. Yeah, we love the guys. We love the guys over at the VersaBend team, Cold Spring Enterprises, J Money, Shed Hub. We love our partners, but I don't want you to just hop on here and think, man, these guys are just hawking ads to me, these guys are speaking out of turn, these guys think they're better than me. Trust me, we don't think we're better than you.

Jared Ledford:

We sat around and pined on a podcast and in content creation for years and we just saw the need in our space to kind of bring it forth. You know, bring it to the forefront. You know there's nobody out there that just gets on here and just talks about our industry, talks about the good, the bad, the ugly, the indifferent. And that's where we want to be at, man. We want to give you guys an inside scoop and what we do, and that involves who we are as people, and I see you shaking your head I mean, it does I, I kind of dropped this on you.

Eric Olson:

I kind of dropped this on you out of the blue, so I mean you weren't expecting it I kind of want to take a video of what I'm doing and so you guys can see that the entire time that I we've been on this show so far, I want to kind of show what I've been creating. So just FYI for viewer, I'm trying to. I just 10%. Okay, you got to love having an owner at your disposal. You just text, hey here's a quick video.

Eric Olson:

Can I take 10% off? He says absolutely so, bam, so. So, this building is a 60, but I'm not going to say who's from 60 by one 20 wraparound porch I've got. I've got six huge doors, 18, 36 by 36 openings, seven openings for walk-in door, and I've got. I got the little trick on the lean twos where you can close the sides and then do frame outs to kind of cover the bones up. 150k plus I can take 10% off. So, you're looking at about 140-ish for the building, 135 for the building, probably six or 7K for freight. Blueprints will cost 5K. We'll need a lift for a week. I think you're all in here. Oklahoma's got a higher sales tax than most. I think it's probably seven or eight percent. Eight percent probably. Um, I'm thinking you're probably in this baby for about buck 70. It's priced up something like that buck 75. How's that for shooting Eric a text and getting a quote for a wildly complicated building in less than 10 minutes Pro tip salespeople, do it quick, keep them interested, man, give them what they're looking for Give yourself.

Jared Ledford:

give yourself some room and be willing to make mistakes.

Jared Ledford:

Especially when you're talking about a building, especially when you're talking about a building. That's that price, I mean, there's more than enough room to screw a couple of things up. Customers want to know you're there and they want to know that you're working for them in real time, and I think that's one thing that that Eric and I do a a pretty good job of doing. I mean, we're not, you know we're not the best. I'm not going to sit here and say that we're the best, but I can tell you I would challenge there. You know the one thing that I get told a lot, and I like to say this to people too, so it's something to keep in mind.

Jared Ledford:

I always ask people how many people have you met? I met a manufacturing partner last year and we just really hit it off, man, me and him. We've got to be good buddies and we chit, chat and we shoot texts back and forth, we check in on each other and we parted ways for the first time. I said man, how many people have you met in this space? That's like me. And he said can't think of a single one.

Jared Ledford:

And I said, man, I'm going to say the same thing, right, Like I had never met a person like him. And you know, you want to be that person for somebody else, and that's what we find a lot. I mean, personally, I've not met somebody in the industry, I don't like you know, and I had an interaction recently with somebody, and they'll know who they are when they hear the podcast. He came up and you know, I had just been told through the grapevine man, you know, this guy doesn't really like you guys very much and he's not your biggest fan. And I was like, oh, okay, well, I mean great, I mean I'll get to meet him, that's fine.

Jared Ledford:

So, I was in a shared room with this particular gentleman. Couldn't have had a nicer conversation with the guy. He came up and kind of half-jokingly said, hey, can I get an autograph from the Steel King? And I was just like, take it back, like whoa, like, okay, nice to meet you too, brother, nice to meet you too, brother. And like I just flat, I just flat told him, and I told you this story, Eric, I just told him. I said, man, I said I don't know what you've heard about me, but I've heard about you, and I am super impressed with your business. I think what you're doing is super impressive. You have a, you have a resume and a pedigree that exceeds who you are.

Jared Ledford:

And the look on his face when I complimented him and he, he knew what he had said. He knew the things that I had heard and I can't say that I know for sure that he said the things that I had heard, but I know that he probably had said some of the things, because I had heard some of the things from people I really trust, people that I love and care about and care about me, and I just I met him with love and met him with an open heart and I'll be honest with you, man, I had a great conversation with the guy. There's a lot I can learn from him and, to be honest with you, I love sharing that story because when he came up and said, can I have an autograph from the Steel King, I thought to myself well, at least you're listening to the podcast, at least you know where I'm at right now. Right, so you know, know, motivating tip for today. Yeah, yeah. So, nobody, nobody, ever hesitate to come up and say hello to me or Eric, I, uh, of the two of us, I'm probably the more open, but you know I'll meet you with the same level of respect.

Jared Ledford:

You meet me with um. I think he was being a little condescending at first, but I met him with some respect, and he met me back with that same respect and we now have an understanding for each other and at the very least, there's not as much. The air is open, right, Eric? Now I feel like I can talk to this guy in public. I don't feel like I have to steer clear, and that's been one thing that you and I have been on a mission the last couple years, cause we've faced an immense amount of adversity business, personal life, you name it.

Eric Olson:

And you know it quieted me right up.

Jared Ledford:

We, we have absolutely, we have absolutely met those obligations and barriers in our lives with full speed ahead FSA. I'm going to say that right now because I say it a lot in my mind full speed ahead always. There's no reason, there's no reason to feel some sort of way about something. If you're feeling some sort of way about something, address it, because burying that stuff inside man makes you feel bad.

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Jared Ledford:

Eric, and I both have demons.

Jared Ledford:

I'm just going to share mine. I used to drink. I was an alcoholic and, you know, not a bad alcoholic, right, but I'd go out and party, I'd have a good time. I haven't had a drink in like 18 months and like just calling myself out for that and saying, you know what you don't need. You don't need that beer, you don't need that mixed drink, you don't need that cocktail. You're better than that. And it has allowed me to open myself up to so much more in my life.

Jared Ledford:

That challenges me. Uh, both prefer you know, professionally and personally to just get ahead of it Right, and call it out for what it is like. Look, you know you're going home every night and having a couple of beers and that's not good. You got kids like you, got to get up in the morning and go to work and that I was never the kind of guy that would not be at work. I mean, Eric will tell you I'm at the office all the time. I don't miss work, I don't go on vacation, I don't do that, I just don't. I'm at work, I love work, and all that extra energy now is going back into the business, and I feel it paying dividends in my life by addressing it out loud, right, and like sharing it with you guys. It's a testimony for me, right? You know the 12 steps.

Jared Ledford:

I've never actually gone through AA, but I can tell you. You know admitting what you. You know admitting what you are, which in my case is an alcoholic. I had a hard time saying no to alcohol. And you know, saying that out loud is the first step in making a transition in your life that can be transformative.

Jared Ledford:

And I know, I know that y'all like to party. I've seen it. I've seen the steel dealers and the trade shows, podcasts, yeah, even the woodshed guys. I know y'all like to party and I'll take a pass. And Eric's my witness man, man, he's watched me turn it down. He has watched me turn it down in public. And there was a time in my life that never would happen, especially when the day so I don't know man, I was just feeling extra lubed up. Today I feel extra good and, like my vibe's good, Eric was just at the revival we were talking about that. He was, he was vibing um bro, he came back. He's got a little bit of a tan on him. It was a little. It was a little hot and muggy, but Eric's always got a tan Eric's rocking that year-round Florida.

Jared Ledford:

Tan, I don't know what it is, man, I got gotta get some of that hair I gotta get some of that hair brother, I got a plan, I got a fitness membership, I got too much hair on my face, not enough on my head

Eric Olson:

it's funny it don't take much I got an Italian heritage, so you know, if I got outside for long enough, I get that bronze kind of. You know one thing honestly, one thing that I saw over the weekend um, I think it was a real or like a little short clip or something was about how, like there's like two brackets. When men get older, they either look really old or they kind of stay young looking, and it has everything to do with moisturizing and so like, yeah, I've moisturized my face forever. It's because I don't and you, I know you're the same you got, you got the hand sanitizer. It's like, yeah, I'm like a habitual. I can't stand crap cuticles, so I'm constantly putting lotion on. And I'm like a habitual. I can't stand cracked cuticles, so I'm constantly putting lotion on. And I'm like my skin is staying healthy and I'm 40. I'm almost 40. In two months I turned 40. I'm like it was a confirmation seeing that video. I'm like, yeah, I didn't know why I was doing it.

Jared Ledford:

I'm a Bath Body Works guy, so I mean, for those of you that don't know, I like Bath. Body.

Eric Olson:

Works that hand sanitizer is so good.

Jared Ledford:

Eucalyptus and Spearmint. Yep, eucalyptus and Spearmint, so the aromatherapy line from Bath Body Works. I'm not afraid to say it, I'm a Bath Body Works guy. I go like once a you know you can buy like three items and get three for free. So, I get these big lotions, and I get the hand sanitizers, the little pocket bags. So, I got shorts on today because it's hot in Ohio today.

Jared Ledford:

But when I got my jeans on.

Jared Ledford:

you can ask Eric Everybody's always bumming me for hey, can I get some hand sanitizer?

Jared Ledford:

And it's right in my pocket.

Eric Olson:

It's because it smells good.

Jared Ledford:

It does smell good, bro.

Eric Olson:

You can't put it on your hand and not smell it. You cannot put it on your hand and not take a strong breath.

Jared Ledford:

And it stays and not smell it. You cannot put it on your hand and not take a strong one. It stays and it's not like an overwhelming smell either. It's like a welcoming, warm smell.

Eric Olson:

It's a Seinfeld episode.

Jared Ledford:

That's true.

Eric Olson:

It definitely could be a.

Eric Olson:

Seinfeld episode.

Jared Ledford:

You can make a whole episode out of man. What's that smell? Oh, Jared must be here, but no, Eric does that when he comes to the office man, he'd be like, oh well, Eric, Jared must be here. I can smell it already. Yeah, 100%, I don't know, man, I was just feeling. I can't say it enough. I'm just feeling good today. I really want to. If you guys like this, let us know. Let us know.

Jared Ledford:

I mean I know we're not hitting you with all the tread work today, we're not getting into the ins and outs of the industry or sheds, but I mean, you know, I really want to show you guys a little bit about who we are and what we do. And again, I, we are so blessed beyond measure to be in a space working alongside friends that we absolutely love and care about and doing something that man, I don't know that. I'd rather do anything else. Eric got me this watch one time and Eric will think it's funny because there's two guys that got watches that might not think it's that way anymore. But it says on the backside on the crown, it says best job I ever had.

Jared Ledford:

And it's the truth, man, I've never had a job like this, and you know, the people that haven't been able to run with us. God bless their hearts, Cause you know they're missing out on a really good time. I can tell you that right now, um ego bravado, whatever it was, whatever got in their way, man, I hope they're doing well. I wish them well If they're checking us out. I wish you guys nothing but the best right out.

Eric Olson:

Let me tell you some weird crap. I had a dream last night. I was telling heather this. I was telling heather this. I woke up I want to say his name but I won't because it's pointless. But I had a dream that I called that guy on the phone and I was because, like, for some reason in the dream I was like me, I was meeting something there's a ministry dating called simple street, the guy that renovated our bathroom at the Huber shop when the kids was in youth still, um, his name was Joel Burton.

Eric Olson:

He got hit by a car and passed away unfortunately, but in the dream I met his wife at over the revival and we was talking about that moment of the bathroom and everything and how we was plugged in and, and in the dream I was chatting about the ministry and after I left it I got a phone call from the guy. Like I literally walked away from the table, and I got a foot, so funny, just brought him up and I was. I missed the call and then I called him back and I was just asking like how he's doing and stuff, and he was like super depressed and sad and, but he was still selling metal buildings and yeah, don't know why I'm sharing that, but it's just a funny.

Eric Olson:

I wished him all the best. Like in the dream, I was just telling him man, I was just calling a follow-up. He wanted to know who we were selling buildings for. I think he was trying to get a little. There you go.

Jared Ledford:

We've had so many partners over the years, people that have worked alongside of us and people that have gotten, you know, prideful or just ready to move on. Not everybody left on bad terms, but we've had a couple that have left on some pretty sour notes and like this is one to understand that like we got sued over this, like we had to go to court over this, this was not just a oh I don't want to be your friend anymore, I'm gonna take my ball and go home. This guy filed a lawsuit and, uh, you know, it all got taken care of. What, what was, what was. But you know, it's funny at the end of the day, like I still think about the good times that we had sometimes, because we did have some good times right, I mean, we were getting Eric. Eric's face is like well, maybe not as many good times. I had to work alongside that guy for a hot minute.

Eric Olson:

No, no, no, memory of mine is bad.

Jared Ledford:

Eric was uh, Eric was absolutely getting me through some times, cause I'm telling you I am an above board kind of guy.

Jared Ledford:

I do not like anything even remotely If it, if it's got one ounce of stank on it, I'm like no and I can remember being because at the time I didn't know anything, I was just like Eric sold me a building, he hired me to be a 1099 contract worker selling buildings and I don't know what it was that Eric saw in me, but I saw a lot in him and I've worked every day at this job to pay it forward to him. And you know, I've worked like every day at this job to like pay it forward to him because I feel like together, we've passed through this storm of nonsense and what was you know? I remember one time he was like man, we should sell roll-up doors.

Jared Ledford:

We should sell roll-up doors become a roll-up door become a roll up door dealer, and I'm thinking no, let's go backwards. Let's go backwards, that sounds like yeah, let's not sell an entire building, let's just sell the components.

Jared Ledford:

How bad of an idea. Is that yeah?

Jared Ledford:

And I told Eric. I said, man, this is a bad idea, dude, this is terrible. And we went through it. We tried for him. To Eric's credit, man, he never takes an idea and doesn't at least try it once. You know, my idea was let's get into. My idea was like let's get into pole bars and brother that ain't no.

Eric Olson:

That has been let's tell the audience about what's coming up. So, we've, you know I went, I got a chance, okay, so. So, pole barns. Let's. Let's talk about pull barns because, um, we got to shout out our sponsor real quick. Let's do that before we get into something.

Jared Ledford:

So J money is your partner in financing what you need to do If you are a contractor, a dealer, a metal building dealer, a woodshed dealer, manufacturer, makes no difference.

Jared Ledford:

If you're roofing, doing pools, these guys, the team over there, will absolutely help you revolutionize your business. We've been doing work with Joel now pretty much the whole time We've been Dayton Barns. We've helped Joel, Joel's helped us. The reason why Eric brings that up is because the connection we have is because for a while I was doing I was working with J Money right. So, Dayton Barns had become sort of a pseudo partner.

Jared Ledford:

We were doing some loan originations and setting up new account holders and talking to our friends and like, hey, you guys need to get this product. You know it doesn't benefit us. You know Joel was taking me all over and we went to a couple of trade shows and went and traveled and did some head hunting. Well, one of the contacts we made was for pole barns and I brought the pole barns to the table, and I was Eric will tell you I was amped up about it. I was jazzed up. They were excited, they knew who we were. I was like, okay, this is great, we're going to have another outfit. We get requests for pole barns all the time. It's a. It's a. You know, it's a Pepsi / Coke kind of a thing, you know, Pepsi being metal buildings, Coke being a pole barn. You know some people just want a, you know post frame building period, the end and we were ready to get on board, and we didn't.

Jared Ledford:

I remember I got voted down by Eric and somebody else and Eric said to me now he never said no, but Eric said, man, you got to talk, you got to talk dub into it. So, JW, who's been on the podcast, used to work with us and JW, for whatever reason, just wasn't feeling it and I think at the time it probably was the right decision, honestly, because we weren't ready for it. Right, and that's where you, that's where you're gonna come in. So, we never, we never, we never put the idea away. Eric never forgot that I wanted it and then there was a.

Eric Olson:

There was a lot of. It's been touching us. It touched us with diy pole barns and it touched us with me. Great owner, love that guy, solid Christian man. But we weren't set up for it. We sold one a long time ago. They facilitated the deal. We used. One of their contractors sold to a guy that was going to church with for his hay barn Great project. But we still had mastered metal. I don't feel like. But I feel like we've had a contractor in our back pocket for a couple of years who has been doing concrete pads and his business is stable and I think the shock value of a concrete pad for a metal building versus a pole barn, which is a 32-inch footing versus a no-inch footing which is just poles and ground, then you just surface cover the area with the pad.

Eric Olson:

Some customers are turned off by the cost of a concrete building. Now the cost of and that's not in every county but in particular Montgomery County, champaign Green and Miami. Some of them are a little picky about you've got to have the footing and some of them are even more than what the plans call for and so a lot of times customers will love the building quote. Maybe it's a $15,000 building but the concrete might cost 23. And they're like well, dang, that's over double the cost and so, but maybe they'll do the pad against another structure. And so, we've been nudged. I would say nudged if tapped, then nudged, then pushed and then tackled, in that order, I think, over the past. That sounds about right. Sounds about right Like past, probably a year and a half or so.

Eric Olson:

And man, we just formulated this thing overnight. We've got a website up, we've got a Facebook page. We've got social media. We've got hot overnight. We've got a website up, we've got a Facebook page. We've got social media, we've got hot leads. We've got some big things going on. We've got a particular huge project that we're doing that should be closing here soon, and that is what has.

Eric Olson:

When there's no friction in your business and you protect your culture of your business, which is, for our case, work, get the job done and everything's laxed. Get the leads done, take care of the leads. I remember when I first started the business I would man the ship on the messages, and sometimes we get 40 leads, sometimes we get 20. The youth boys would be hammering them in the other room and say we're not leaving until they're done and so if we get you know, and so that's what that's our policy now and uh, kind of we're just like hand you know, going after it and I don't know where this thing came from, but it's came, came up overnight and we're having some bigger conversations than we've ever had.

Eric Olson:

You know, I think the biggest project we've done is we. We had a, we had a almost a half a million dollar project we've done this year out in Arkansas, but that one is blown, that one out of the water and. So, I just feel like over the course of this year we'll probably talk about pole barns a little bit more, maybe towards the fall and winter time. But man, I just that's kind of a sneak peek into what we're kind of back scenes working on and stuff and um the biggest part about it for me, bro, is it's so much fun because it is fun we're, we're in this, you know, and we're the end game.

Jared Ledford:

We're the end game yeah, you're the end game. Yeah, yeah, I love, I love the process of doing it all. And with metal buildings it's hard because really, like you were talking about concrete and we're actually going to have one of our friends on a future episode to talk about concrete. But if you're in Ohio, let me just give you this little tidbit it's a new law 32-inch footer for the whole building, all over the place.

Eric Olson:

Wow.

Jared Ledford:

It is starting to change. So not every municipality and jurisdiction is up on that yet, but it will be. And I've been saying this you guys have heard me last year on Shannon's podcast. I've said it periodically on this podcast the regulation on steel buildings is coming. Pole barns is cool because most municipalities have like a pole barn sheet. A lot of times you don't even need blueprints, you can just submit the trust engineering and you're good, you're golden. You just do a layout of the posts and you're good. And I mean people get these pole barns up because the pole barn companies have worked exponentially hard to keep regular.

Jared Ledford:

That's exactly right. They've been working to keep regulation up. They don't want anybody getting into the industry that doesn't know what they're doing, because they know that the value of the product is diminished when you race to the bottom. And I haven't said it in the last couple of weeks, I'll say it now Metal buildings are due, are absolutely due for that. It's due for regulation, it's due for some changes. The days of generic blueprints are probably going to come to an end. I think there's a couple of states Alabama is one of them where you're supposed to have sites on every building. Oregon is doing pretty much sites and seismics on every building. It's just one of those things, man. If you don't educate yourself and get in a position to be knowing and educating your customers, forget about it. You're done. You are absolutely not going to succeed five years from now doing this period. This is going to require diligence and hard work and follow through. I think that's the biggest thing. That is killing me today is just thinking about man.

Jared Ledford:

We get calls all the time from customers and I'm just sharing this with you. This is the truth. We get customers all the time, man. I put a deposit down with XYZ company and I haven't heard anything from them. Um, is there anything you can do to help? You know, unfortunately I can't now. I can sell you another building and I'm happy to give you a deal. Um, we work with company, we work with customers all the time and I'll say hey, send me a proof that you bought a metal building. I'll sell you the exact same metal building. I'll follow it from start to finish. I'll make sure it's delivered and installed on your timeframe.

Jared Ledford:

You know I work with customers all the time that are getting taken for money and you know that stuff is gonna. Those chickens will come to roost, that is. That is an absolute fact and those of us who are doing this right, if you're listening to this podcast, you're probably in a 1% because you've taken the time to get through 46 minutes of Eric and Jared just shooting at you, just giving you the absolute truth of it. You've learned more about me on this episode personally, and Eric probably personally, than you ever have known. We're both gonna do personal testimonial videos for you guys to share our vision for what we want for steel, for wood, for ourselves and, hopefully, if I motivate one person on this call today, if you're drinking, stop it. You don't need to.

Jared Ledford:

That's my motivator for today and, to be truthful, I know lots of people who socially drink, and that's fine. That's your business. I'm not here to criticize, I'm just here to tell you. I had a problem with it and I'm not going to drink anymore. That's my biggest thing and I want to keep. You guys can hold me accountable. If you ever see the steel King, Jared Ledford, out with a drink in his hand, you better smack me across the jaw, you better lay me out right there, cause I want to be. I want to be a testament to myself and to my neighbors.

Eric Olson:

I got bills. Man, I don't got time for that. I got bills.

Jared Ledford:

That's right. I got bills, that's right. Brother, do you have anything?

Jared Ledford:

else for me.

Jared Ledford:

We're, we're, we're getting blown up.

Jared Ledford:

So a little bit of a peek behind the curtain.

Jared Ledford:

The steel Kings have been behind on recording. As we finish up our second episode today, the podfather himself is asking us where our episodes are. So shout out to this guy from Idaho.

Eric Olson:

We were just talking while we were having this episode. I said I'm working on something real quick and I'll quote you. He said what you got going on. I said I'm on a podcast for Steel Kings. Lol, here's a live. Look, I screenshotted us. And he says I'm going to sit. I was like I'm going to sit, bro, you want to be alive. You just want to buy a building on live air.

Jared Ledford:

Yeah, you want to come right out. You want to come right on with us. I can tell you the team over at VersaBend and Cold Spring Enterprises I will tell you. This machine is a game changer for your metal building pros out there. It bends the two inch, the two and a quarter, the two and a half square tubing that we're all familiar with. It also does the two by three, rectangular and all in three precise bends. No tools to switch the tube sizes. It just gets you the speed, the accuracy and way less downtime. $19,500 gets you the equipment. There's no tax. If you're outside South Carolina. Shipping average is about $600. Check out the team over at csecarport. supply. Give them a call, 844-446-3645. Tell Wendell and the team the Steel Kings sent you. I will also plug one last time the team over at J Money, Joel, Katie, our friends, the team Jason, all of them, J Money changed our lives.

Jared Ledford:

Doing a great job. Thank you for giving us an opportunity to present to you the Steel Kings podcast. We will be back next week with another episode. We'll figure it out along the way. Shannon, Deanna, we're sorry it took so long, but hey, we'll be back at you next week.

Jared Ledford:

I'm Jared.

Jared Ledford:

This is Eric. We are the Steel Kings. So check us out next week and we will talk to you soon. Peace out, guys.