Shed Geek Podcast
The Shed Geek Podcast offers an in depth analysis of the ever growing and robust Shed Industry. Listeners will experience a variety of guests who identify or specialize in particular niche areas of the Shed Industry. You will be engaged as you hear amateur and professional personalities discuss topics such as: Shed hauling, sales, marketing, Rent to Own, shed history, shed faith, and much more. Host Shannon Latham is a self proclaimed "Shed Geek" who attempts to take you through discussions that are as exciting as the industry itself. Listeners of this podcast include those who play a role directly or indirectly with the Shed Industry itself.
Shed Geek Podcast
Diversify To Thrive In Rural Markets - PART 2
Tired of hearing “quality” without seeing the difference? We dig into how small, family-run shed businesses win by diversifying into what rural customers truly need—safe rooms, metal buildings, shipping containers, and even culverts—while keeping service at the center. Instead of chasing every opportunity, we talk through how to add products that align with current logistics, training, and equipment so teams can scale without chaos. You’ll hear why on‑lot displays and side‑by‑side examples sell complex options better than slogans, and how a focused CRM and clean follow‑up turn walk‑ins into long‑term customers.
We also unpack the economics behind big structures. Yes, percentage margins can be thinner, but ticket sizes drive strong absolute profit and stickier relationships. Pair that with rent‑to‑own, and you create a path for families to secure essentials like concrete safe rooms when cash is tight but safety can’t wait. The strategy is simple: be the rural solutions yard where people come to touch, compare, and ask hard questions. If you’re operating inside a 60‑ to 100‑mile radius, this approach builds trust—and repeat business.
Zooming out, we tackle where the industry is headed. Expect more consolidation chatter, with manufacturers eyeing vendors and vice versa, but also a clearer split: national players mass‑producing sheds at scale, and local companies thriving through diversified, community‑minded offerings. Along the way, we share a personal health update that reframes resilience and gratitude, and we lean into generational sustainability—estate planning, leadership transitions, and financial stewardship that keep family enterprises strong. If you believe a rising tide lifts all boats, this conversation is your playbook for growing the pie, not just your slice.
If this resonated, follow the show, share it with a colleague who needs a fresh strategy, and leave a quick review to help more builders and dealers find us. Your feedback shapes future episodes—what should we dive into next?
For more information or to know more about the Shed Geek Podcast visit us at our website.
Would you like to receive our weekly newsletter? Sign up here.
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: Shed Pro
Welcome back to the Shed Geek Podcast. Today we will have part two of two, finishing up our conversation from last week. Hope you enjoy.
Tyler Mayhan:So, I feel like that's something that we've been able to grow up and do. But there's been some other things that we've tried to tackle ourselves that we've decided that somebody else is better off to do that, you know. And so I think you have to be I think you have to be careful uh with that, because if you're not careful, you'll take on things that you're actually not as good at as somebody else is, and you would be you'd be way better off to just pay them to do it. That makes sense.
Cord Koch:Yeah, yeah, no, of course it does. And it and you know, just directionally, um you know, I know that that you're obviously plugged in with the industry. Um Shannon's very plugged in with the industry. Um and it and it feels like what people are thinking these days is well if somebody kind of does that thing really well, I wonder if they'd be open. I wonder if they'd be open to being bought, right? To be in to being acquired. Um and you kind of hear those, and this may be gosh, I mean you talk about a 10,000-foot view, this may be a um a broader um you know, judgment on the industry or kind of seeing where things are, but I've heard those things go in both directions, right? And I'm sure you have too. Um, you know, you hear about um you know a manufacturer purchasing uh a vendor, right? Or at least floating the idea of purchasing a vendor, but then you hear the idea of vendors, right, who are floating the idea of purchasing manufacturers, because the truth is those business lines, those lines of revenue match up so well together that it's one of those things where you kind of see it from both sides, and you know, I guess um maybe just as we sort of enter this, what I would think of as a post, you know, the post-COVID boom, I think most of the inventory that was coming back from that has worked its way through. Like, how do you see the next, gosh, I don't know. It's been it's been four years since you were on last time. So, if you were to just say here in 2029, Cord and Tyler or Shannon and Tyler, you know, if he's back from uh back from hiatus, um, if you guys were to talk, like what do you see happening in that that next kind of span of time there?
Tyler Mayhan:Uh I don't know that I see, I mean, uh, obviously, I didn't see COVID coming. Right.
Cord Koch:Hard to see that far into the future. That's right. That's right. Yeah.
Tyler Mayhan:I have told our customers before, especially during the spring and the rainy season, Cord, I tell them, you know, when we're trying to set expectations for delivery, I tell them, you know, hey, listen, if I could predict what the weather is going to do and can control it, I wouldn't be store selling storage bills. Right. You know. So that's right. I don't know that I don't see a huge shakeup coming in the next little while. I don't feel like I do what I have seen here, and we alluded to this a little earlier, but some of what Better Barns has done is diversified uh quite a lot. And I think I have seen some of that even in some of the other I know I see that on the sales side. Most of our sales lots don't just sell sheds, right? I mean, most of them have carports and you know different things. Carports seem to be common, yeah. But here in Oklahoma, we uh so we better barns is different than most manufacturers. We have two corporate-owned shed sales lots, and that is uh 99% of our sales come from our two corporate lots. We don't have a dealer network, which is I know a little different than most manufacturers, uh, but that's just the way we operate, and part of the reason we do that is because we're so diversified.
ADVERTISEMENT:Are you ready to elevate your shed business to new heights? Your pathway to success just got a whole lot smoother with Shed Suite's innovative marketing platform. At Shed Suite, we like to think we understand the shed industry at least a little bit. And over the last seven years, we've been building awesome software for shed businesses. We focused first on building easy-to-use software to help you create and track orders, like the point of sale and after-the-sale order fulfillment. And now we're excited to announce our full feature CRM, all things pre-sale, you know, like prospecting and follow-up, all to empower your shed company to market better and sell more efficiently. Our platform empowers you with a marketing toolkit designed to amplify your online presence, engage your audience, and drive sales like never before. Enjoy the ease of conversion tracking, email marketing, centralized lead communication, and so much more. Oh, and guess what? It even comes with an iPhone and an Android app. With Shed Suite's marketing platform, crafting and deploying effective marketing campaigns is a breeze. The advanced reporting functionality allows your team to analyze real-time conversion data so you can make informed decisions and watch your business flourish. There's no better time than now to join the community of Shed business owners who are scaling up with Shed Suite. It's time to turn your marketing efforts into real trackable results. Visit shedsuite.com forward slash marketing to get pricing, explore the features, and book a demo. Shed Suite is committed to building top quality software to empower your shed business to thrive.
Tyler Mayhan:And so, when we bring somebody on as a salesperson, uh, I mean, a lot of you guys in the industry have brought on a shed salesperson and you have to teach them all the stuff about sheds. Well, you know, and then you have to teach them all the stuff about carports. We also do red iron metal buildings, I mentioned earlier, uh, and those are extremely uh time intensive because those are, you know, a lot of those are 70,000 to $200,000 product, you know, and so it's a project. It's not just you don't just sell it and be done. Uh and so that's a large portion of our revenue. And then when we do, you know, we do shipping containers and stuff, but what one product we've added in in recent years here in Oklahoma, which I think Tornado Alley is moving east, so you guys look out.
Cord Koch:Yeah, but it's definitely here already. Western Kentucky and southern Illinois. We got it, yeah, got it bad.
Tyler Mayhan:Yeah, so I don't know if I'm assuming this product exists elsewhere, but we've got a manufacturer here locally that sells a concrete safe room that is uh an outside product, so it stands alone outside. Uh we have found an extreme amount of success selling those.
Speaker 6:Yeah.
Tyler Mayhan:Uh and you know, we talked earlier about rent to own, so I'm reaching back in conversation and grabbing a couple of ideas to bring them along with me. Uh but this idea of rent to own has actually changed so much of the uh this storm sheltered idea. These storm shelters are six grand, you know, for the cheapest ones. Well, we can rent to own those.
Cord Koch:Well they're necessary, which is exactly what rent to own, right? It's when you need it, you know, and it's uh it's a necessary thing. You feel like you have to have it, and I would make the argument, uh actually Shannon has uh has one of those um concrete um uh sheds, concrete storm shelters, free stuff. And uh and yeah, but you're exactly right. When it's when the uh objective of the consumer is my family needs to be safe, and I still may not be able to lay out you know a cash outlay of six thousand dollars, but that doesn't matter. I it needs to be here so that my family's safe. RTO is a fantastic uh avenue to make sure that those things happen, and uh and I think everybody uh you know everybody can agree with that. So yeah, absolutely. Sorry to cut you off there, Tyler. No, no. You're on a roll, man.
Tyler Mayhan:Yeah, yeah, be careful with me getting on a roll, I may never stop. So uh so some of what I see in the industry is like you mentioned, the furniture and the different things like that. I think the shed selling aspect of the industry has already diversified pretty significantly. A lot of the shed sellers, you know, I was just mentioning a few things we've diversified into. We still consider ourselves to be a portable building company, right? But it's a smaller and smaller piece of our overall what we do. Uh but I think you're gonna see some of that, and I don't know, I can't speak to everything, but we with our in-house rent to own, we have found some other products we can rent to own along with sheds, and we've done the same thing with sales, you know. We still run a little bit of our own delivery equipment. Uh, you know, we contract a lot of that out too, but we run some of our own equipment and deliver some sheds and things. We sell shipping containers, connex boxes, whatever you call them all across the country. Uh, we sell those as well. And what we found is we can do all that with the same equipment we were doing sheds with, right? And so we just diversify it and we it doesn't really add any aspect to the business as far as you know, we don't have to go buy a whole lot of new equipment or anything of that nature.
ADVERTISEMENT:Are you a dealer who sells multiple products at your shed lot? Are you tired of sifting through clunky or overcomplicated softwares to simply sell a product? If so, it's time to call Cal. Consumer Aligned Logistics is the affordable, simplified, and scalable solution for your shed, carport, or even RTO company. We are partnered with Idea Room and Shed Pro for configurators and have multiple RTO partners to choose from. From JMAC to Heartland to Shed Geek Rentals and Scott's RTO. And if your partner isn't listed here, just ask. We are happy to add more. Give us a call at 425-359-3279 or visit calcanhelp.com. That's C-A-L-C-A-N-H-E-L-P dot com.
Tyler Mayhan:Yep. And so I think you'll see some more of that, especially with the smaller companies. You know, Better Barns is a small company. We're just right here in central Oklahoma. We're not nationwide or anything. Uh, and I think a lot of the I think there's a lot of shed companies that are small businesses, that are small family businesses, similar to Better Barns. And I think you'll see over the next few years some more of that divide that I expected the first time I went to the shed show and really started trying to meet people in the industry. I come back telling them here at in Oklahoma at Better Barns, I come back telling them that I really think the industry is headed toward a more stark divide between your big companies, your major players that do they build sheds, you know, or they rent to own, or and they're nationwide and they're big. Right. And then you're gonna have, you know, in our case, it's a family business. Everybody that works here is not family, but we're a family business, right? My father-in-law and brother-in-law, and I've got another brother in two more brothers-in-laws that work in the company, and our children now, you know, my son helps do the groundskeeping for better barns, right? You know, it's just a family business. And I think there are probably so many of those businesses out there where it's a dad and his sons or a grandpa, dad, and sons, you know, with the daughters and wives mixed in, doing this and that and something else. And I think that is so common in our industry across the country. And I think those people that are kind of the backbone of the industry that you may not even know the name of their company, you know, if you're just a casual person in the shed industry.
Cord Koch:Right.
Tyler Mayhan:You may have never heard of their company, but they're the backbone of the industry. And I think a lot of those people, what you'll see is they will continue to diversify and innovate just like we have at Better Barns, because that's the kind of people they are.
Cord Koch:Right.
Tyler Mayhan:You know, they're the kind of people that got into the shed world and developed a whole new look and model and feel to a shed and marketed it uniquely and built a loyal customer base in their 60, 100 mile radius, right? And now those customers, this is what happened at Better Barns, these people that loved what we did and who we were and our integrity, and they like to deal with somebody they can trust. They said, Hey, I'm needing to build a barn, you know. Can you guys do that? And so I think you'll see a lot of these uh smaller companies continue to diversify outside of just sheds, and I think you'll see the big companies continue to mass produce sheds.
Cord Koch:Yeah.
Tyler Mayhan:Yeah. That's my prediction. Uh, you know, I don't know. That's what I predicted a long time ago, and it seems like that divide is just getting more and more stark.
Cord Koch:So uh and I'm sorry, I haven't made it out to uh your lot. I would like to uh I'd like to come and see, but but give me give me just uh paint the picture for me and for all the listeners. Uh I mean, are do you have these uh sheds and then the storm shelters and the connects and some kind of even maybe a red iron display? I mean, can you walk a lot that has all these things where the customers can kind of tangibly see them whenever you show up to Better Barns?
Tyler Mayhan:Absolutely. Yeah, yeah. So, uh and again, this II recognize everybody doesn't have the same strategy, and that's fine. But the way it works at Better Barns, we have two major locations. Uh and one of them is just south of a little town called Noble, Oklahoma, just a little south of Oklahoma City. For most people know where that is. Uh, and then the other one, funny enough, uh, we live in a community called Paul's Valley. I'm sure most people have never heard of it, but it's uh town of about six thousand people. So that's where I live. Uh our second major display location is halfway between Pauls Valley, a town of about six thousand, uh, and a little town called Stratford, which is a town of maybe two thousand. Right. It's just uh it's rural, that's who we serve is rural Oklahoma. Uh and so we don't have anything in a big population center. But when you drive up on our lots, both of our lots are about 10 acres, uh, somewhere close to that neighborhood. Uh either one of our locations, you're gonna have a decent display of of the wooden storage buildings that that this industry builds. Uh we have a high quality building just like all the rest of you guys, okay? Don't say your buildings are quality in your marketing. Just a little tip. That's what everybody else says, too. And it's true, most of them are a quality building, right? But it's not a distinguishing feature. Uh and so anyway, sorry, that was just a side note.
Cord Koch:You're hey, you're speaking my language there. You know, be bold and say something different. I've that's always, you know, that's always been my two cents as well.
ADVERTISEMENT:Introducing the Challenger, the revolutionary new shed mover that's taking the industry by storm. The Challenger features a touchless design, ensuring it only makes contact at the end of the skids and the bottom of the floor joists, so rest easy knowing your gable walls will remain pristine. Worried about reliability? Fear not, the challenger is always up for the challenge and will not overturn or scuff your shit. Harness the power of innovative wireless technology. Remotely control the challenger via your smartphone. No cell service needed. And guess what? The cell phone remote comes standard with every Challenger at no extra cost. Featuring floating forks, a four-directional tilting mask, and sliding weight transfer, move the shed weight precisely where you need it to get ultimate traction. With self-loading capability, straight onto your truck. Say goodbye to the need for a hydraulic carriage. The Challenger makes your job easy and more efficient. Choose from two machine sizes, 10,000 pounds and 15,000 pounds. Perfect for any job. Visit www.shedchallenger.com or email us at info at shedchallenger.com or call or text 828-220-3508 for more information. Experience the future of Shed Moving with the Challenger.
Tyler Mayhan:So we have some storage buildings uh just sitting out there, you know, try to keep a decent display of those. We have probably the two of the largest displays of the carport type structures in Oklahoma. Uh and you know, we sell for we have sold for multiple companies through the years. We're with a company now that we're happy with. Uh and they set up a really, really nice line of displays. Uh just it's really impressive to walk out on and see all the different displays, you know, from the basic 18 by 21 to the big full-blown Ag barn, you know, that's really nice and fancy. Uh, and RV covers of, you know, two or three different types of RV covers, and you know, lots and lots of options, lots of enclosed stuff. Um so that and with all the different colors represented and all that stuff. So, it's a really nice display. And then we I told you we sell the shipping containers, so we keep a pretty good stock of those at all times on display. Uh, I didn't even I didn't even try to tell you all the stuff we sell because it's well that's good though.
Cord Koch:I mean that sounds like and I'll have to come out there and visit you here soon. Yeah, yeah, I guess because I want to I want to see that and shake your hand uh and meet you in person. But um, you know, it sounds to me like you know, Better Barns is kind of exploiting that what some people would call the rule king or the tractor supply type of strategy there, right? Where you really want people to have an experience, right? Uh, I mean, you know, rule king especially, uh but tractor supply is much the same. It's just as much about showing up, seeing what's available, seeing how those things match up with whatever solutions you're needing, or sometimes not needing, right? But it you know, I mean, I don't know how my uh I have people in my family who go to Rule King just to make a lap around and see what's going on, right? Um, you know, but those are good things because the point is, is uh whether you're speaking in in shed terms or speaking in general consumer terms, if you have people coming out to look, then you're going to be the person that they use at some point. Now it may not be but uh but you know, I think that diversification in offerings, this goes all the way back to uh our the very start of the conversation about as far as you know how do you compete in those more rural uh markets, especially. You know, I think there's a lot of manufacturers out there who are very successful uh creating six or eight shed styles and primarily selling them into suburban, primarily suburban and exurban uh markets around the country, because you know, you can be very focused and push uh just a standard wood shed in your six or eight styles into those markets because there's always people that are buying houses and needing those solutions. But for those of us who live in more rural parts of the country, realistically, you know, uh, and I would, you know, you don't have to share the exact breakdown, but I could even presume that the bigger buildings, whether it be uh red iron or post-frame or kind of whatever that that bigger garage style, ag style building is, those could pretty easily wind up revenue-wise accounting for 40-50 percent of a total, you know, of a total portfolio because of their price, right? So you know, that makes a lot of sense to me strategy.
ADVERTISEMENT:Hello, shed sellers. Let's take a moment to discuss the shed customer and meeting their expectations. I remember growing up in the neighborhood where a certain percentage of the houses had well-manicured lawns and well-manicured homes. These were the type of individuals who felt it was important to purchase a well-constructed home or vehicle, or maybe equipment to help maintain the quality of the item. As shed manufacturers, we seek to provide a well-built quality shed. We want the customer to feel satisfied that their hard-earned money has been well spent on a product that will last. At LuxGuard, we believe adding high-quality rubber flooring to your line of sheds makes sense to the customer and adds value the customer can appreciate. With each year, sheds are becoming more complex. The customizations we are seeing are virtually endless. LuxGuard not only gives a complimentary aesthetic appearance for their shed, but also protects the floor from spills and keeps cleanup simple. Offer your customer the customer service they seek with LuxGuard. At LuxGuard, we are committed to delivering exceptional customer service and innovative products to help our customers achieve their goals. We strive to meet the evolving needs of the customers. To speak with one of our ready-to-serve customer product specialists, simply call 336-468-4311. To see our product and view an installation video, just visit our website at LuxGuard.com. LuxGuard, the floor that lasts a lifetime.
Tyler Mayhan:Yeah. And you know, those those big buildings that you mentioned, the profit margin on them is a little slimmer. We don't make quite as much money on as far as a percentage, but because the price tag, you know, you end up making a nice amount. And then we I mentioned we sell those concrete safe rooms. We have some of those on display for people to see. Another thing that we do, again, it's just our we have two locations, and so they're not exactly the same. They they don't even have like my my yard at Falls Valley is even quite a bit more rural than my my other one. Uh and there we sell a lot of structural pipe, which is used a lot here for you know pipe fencing, and then uh, you know, a lot of like H-posts, corner posts, that kind of thing. And so, with that, uh, you know, we've even sold barbed wire and T-posts and some things like that because we cater to that particular market. Uh, here where we are in our in our area, there's a lot of people that that come to us for those kind of things, like you said, and we're just kind of the place that you go to buy that kind of stuff. Uh because of our metal buildings that we put in, we put a lot of metal buildings up, and so uh a lot of times some of what I'm talking about on the diversification is because we build metal buildings, a lot of times when somebody gets free to build a metal building, they have done nothing to the location where the metal buildings are gonna go. They're gonna have to have a dozer out there and do dirt work, they're gonna have to build a driveway in there. There, all those kinds of things are gonna have to happen. Well, in the course of diversification, you know, anytime somebody's gonna put a driveway in, they gotta have a culvert or a tin horn for those of you that live in Oklahoma. Uh, you know, and they gotta have one, right? And so, we partnered with a company that that's what they do is sell culvert, and we have some on our location that it's just part of this whole package of serving our community. And I really think I really think it's where it all comes back to. You know, I mentioned about the kind of people that this industry is, uh, and I love the people in the industry. This is my this is my people, okay. Uh, when I go to the shed show, I mean I took my son with me a couple of different times, and he was, you know, 10, 11, 12 years old. And we got in there in the expo floor, and there's I don't know how many people there are. There's a bunch, right?
Cord Koch:You thousands.
Tyler Mayhan:Yeah, right. Yeah, and I just turned him loose. I just let him go. And and I didn't worry about him because this is good people, you know. And you know, I don't do that at the mall. I don't take him in there and turn him loose, you know. But the uh but the people in this industry, they're they're salt of the earth people, and they have a heart to serve people, and that's what you we're still talking about the future, what I see in the future. I think a lot of that the values of the people of the industry to serve their community and to make people's lives better, I don't think that we diversified just so we could make more money, although I think that is a byproduct of that. But diversification was because we see a need here in our community and something we can serve and take care of people, and so we just stepped into that. And if you're not careful, you'll do that without counting the cost and without making sure you actually can provide that, and so that's a danger. But I think there's so many people in our industry that have that kind of a heart that I think that more so than me thinking that those people will see an opportunity to make money, I think they'll see an opportunity to serve their neighbor. Because I think that's what kind of people they are.
Cord Koch:Yeah, no, I I totally agree. I feel I'm I'm uh not nearly as long in the tooth in the industry. I've I've been in for about a year, but it just feels like home to me as well. Uh you know, I come from a little German country church where everybody just has each other's backs and comes. And helps whoever needs help fencing or whoever needs help uh moving cattle, you just all go and you help each other out. And and um yeah, I agree. And on that note, uh Tyler, I know um some of the things that are so close to your heart um whenever it comes to service, your teaching, uh, you know, and just how important um that is to you. If you don't mind, I'm sure everybody would be interested just to hear um what the latest on in that side of your life is and um you know how what the what is the latest kind of uh mission in uh in Tyler Mayhan's personal life.
Tyler Mayhan:Well, so uh with that, I probably should have said something about this at the beginning of the episode. Honestly, I probably should have thanked uh so many people in the industry have reached out in the last year and let me know there's praying for us or what have you. So, a lot of you know, my wife was diagnosed last year, uh almost a full year ago, last November, with brain cancer. And so, uh, you know, that's been somewhat of a uh it's kind of sidelined, you know, uh been kind of taking our focus. And so, I do want to thank the people of the industry and those that are listening uh for your prayers and support. Uh a lot of folks reached out, told me this praying for us, and I really appreciate that a lot. Uh convinced that the prayers of the saints of God is what has got us through this time. Uh, she's doing well. Uh as last MRI we had, it looks like there's no cancer there. Uh that doesn't mean permanent. Those of you that are wrestling with cancer, you understand that uh, you know, the rest of our lives, every time she has a headache, she's gonna think the cancer is back. I mean, I I know that's true. Uh, but she's doing well, doing very well. Seems to be not a hundred percent recovered yet from surgery. They told her it'd take her 12 to 18 months uh to fully recover from that. Uh, she when she came out of surgery, she had completely lost all function on her left side. Uh, you know, surgery that was over on the right side of her brain, just totally knocked it down. Uh but she is uh, you know, she's doing well. In fact, she got back to crocheting within the last two or three weeks was able to do some crocheting. So she was really excited about that. Uh she loved to crochet. She is uh she's a quilter, she's a crocheter, she loves to do things with her hands, and she just her left hand was still pretty limited, still is somewhat limited, but it's really frustrated her, you know, not to be able to do those things that she loved to do. But she's been able to resume some of that. So uh, you know, I I've been dealing with that for the last uh year or so, and then we were when we found out she had cancer, we were within a week of signing papers on a construction loan to build a house. Oh my God. And so, yeah. So, uh I put everything on hold and we started our house in May, and so you know, I'm working my way through building my own house. Uh so that's taken quite a bit of my time.
ADVERTISEMENT:But are you swimming in leads but struggling to close the deal? It's time to turn those leads into profits with Making Sales Simple, the ultimate sales training program designed specifically for shed sales professionals. At Making Sales Simple, we understand the challenges you face, overwhelmed by inquiries, unsure how to follow up, and missing opportunities that could boost your bottom line. Our proven techniques help you and your team master the art of connecting with customers, building trust, and closing deals like never before. Whether you're new to the industry or a seasoned pro, this training will sharpen your skills, increase your conversions, and drive your business to new heights. Don't let those leads go cold. Invest in your team success today. Making sales simple. Because every lead deserves a closer.
Tyler Mayhan:With all that, uh Cord, I've kind of had uh, you know, through my experiences at Better Barns, I've had a desire to try to reach out and help some of these other companies like ours. Uh, and so I've been looking at ways to try to do that, uh, even maybe some consulting or something of that nature, uh trying to reach out to some of the people in the industry that are that are going through some of the same kind of steps that Better Barns has gone through that maybe I could come alongside and help them, you know, see a path forward uh just from our experience as just being a family company, because like I say, I think that's the backbone of the industry, and I think there's so many people just in the same place we are, uh, and that we have been. And you know, I I I have as a school teacher, you mentioned that, and on that side, my I've been teaching school for over 20 years uh in our church's school, and uh uh I love teaching, as it's my passion. I'm far more passionate about that than I am in the shed industry, and I love the shed industry. Uh, but teaching is my passion, and uh am now teaching children who are the children of former students, so I'm teaching my second generation, so that's fun. Yeah uh you get to see the same problems just in a different face, right? So that's kind of fun. Uh but uh a large part of what has kept me in teaching has been a desire to see sustainability. Uh and I that to me is uh I love I love business, I love the church, I love families, those things are important. Uh and I read a statistic a long time ago that I don't remember it's 90 or 95 percent of family businesses fail by the third generation. And what I have seen for it seems like that that even plays itself out in church oftentimes uh and in families themselves, that a lot of times churches and families uh you may see grandparents that really excel in just as I'm not even talking business, I'm outside of business right now, but you know, just just being people, you know, just being salt of the earth people, and it seems like that if we're not careful, we don't pay enough attention to that being sustainable long term, and there's things that need to be set forth. Uh you know, we've been going through things, as I mentioned, with my father-in-law trying to do some estate planning and some things of that nature, too. Because if you don't do those things on purpose, my father-in-law has been a very successful man, he's done very well, uh, but he is trying to plan for the future generations, right? That's it, that's his vision. And I think I can tell you I've had that vision for a lot of years as a school teacher to help families continue success as families, as Christians, as business people, uh generationally. And that's something I've studied for a lot of years as a teacher, and I feel like that a lot of the things I have learned apply directly from family, business, and church, all three. I think they all intermingle. And so some of my desire is to find some ways to help the people in the industry that I feel like are such good people to keep this that they've worked so hard to build and pass it to another generation, whether we're talking about the business itself or whether we're talking about just simply the family values and the things that go into that. And you know, a lot of times, you know, I've been in church my whole life, right? So a lot of times in church we shy away from talking about money. It's like that's too carnal. You know, we don't want to be carnal. But the fact is, Jesus himself, a whole lot of his parables were about money, right? And the reason for that is as I've studied this, if you handle your business and your finances well, you're gonna handle all these other things well too. Right. And I think there's so much of this is just intermingled and tied together, and I've just got a desire to help other families, you know, across the industry, and they don't have to be in the shed industry, but uh, you know, just I'd like to help families build sustainably. So I'm looking for ways to do that and trying to find some avenues to help with that.
Cord Koch:Well, absolutely. Uh, if for the listeners who listened to uh last week's episode um with Shannon and I, they'll probably be familiar. You know, really that's the direction uh and part of the reason why Shannon wanted to be able to kind of move uh to the background a little bit more, you know, not uh not totally and not forever. Uh he'll be back on in guest spots and everything else, but part of what he wants to do at that time is be able to work more consultatively um you know in the industry and be able to have those personal conversations that don't always necessarily have to be recorded, although there's nothing with that. But uh, but you know, I think that um you know I think that uh I'm sure he would agree that you know uh coming along someone uh you know as respected and with as much expertise as yourself, um, you know, I think that would uh you know be potentially an avenue for the two of you uh you know as well, because I know I know that your hearts are very aligned on those exact things. Yes, right.
Tyler Mayhan:Um I will just say, Cord, Shannon and I have talked about some of those things in the past. In fact, uh, you know, it's funny, I just dropped a line in that first episode you talked about a rising tide lifting all boats. Just it's just been a philosophy of mine for a long time. I uh I don't want to just totally redirect what we're saying, but even for a long time in my travels here in Oklahoma, I have dropped in on competitors, storage building lots, and talked to the reps, give them some, you know, some experience and some advice about this and that and something else in the in the market. Uh, just gave them some pointers. Uh some of them had never heard of the Shed Shed Business Journal when I was making circles and writing it was a Shed Builder magazine. And so, I just told them, hey, you know, here's some Facebook groups to be a part of. We got some good Facebook groups in the industry. Here's you need to you need to be getting the magazine, you know, and some different things. And so even though we competed, I told them over and over, listen, I don't mind competing with you, but I'm not against you. I we're I'm competing and I'm trying to reach the same customer you are, but I want you to feed your family too. You know, uh there's enough for all of us to feed our families, and so I've had that feeling, and when I talked to Shannon the first time about some of that, you know, he and I really connected in that vein, and neither one of us have done it perfectly. I don't do it perfectly, and he'd I'm sure he'd tell you he doesn't either. But the desire is I want everybody to do an excellent job at serving people, serving customers, taking care of their families. So anyway, I I'll let you continue. Sorry.
Cord Koch:No, no, no, absolutely. No, I'm just listening to you. I think that's I think that's exactly um the message that um that Shannon has. I think that's the message that people heard last week. Um and I think I think you know people know where his heart is and where your heart is, and I think that any I I'm uh in total agreement, whether it's the tide or the grow the pie versus slicing it up different way, whatever the analogy is, um, the industry just has so much room for continued growth that and friendly competition, which I think is I think is for the most part, um, you know, what happens in the industry. Salt of the earth people. I think everybody believes that they can they can manage to be friends and competitors at the same time. Um and and to me that's a sign of working in an industry where I personally uh you know love it. Uh, right? That's you know, I think that's I think that's the type of business you want to be in. Um, you know, Tyler, um, I'm trying to uh um keep the spirit of Shannon. Uh although he's on a little bit of hiatus, I went and took uh one of his very uh he's proud of his hat collection. So I just throwing off the shelf. This is North Mountain Structures. So that's Mr. Willie Bricker, um who uh who I've actually met uh both on my travels, I've stopped at his lot, um, as well as um as well as seeing him at the shed expo a few weeks back. So I'm gonna try and keep up this little tradition, and I should have mentioned it at the top of the show, but uh I'm gonna try and keep Shannon in spirit by using his hat collection. And also, uh Tyler, I don't know if you'd be interested, but um, you know, obviously I think your expertise and your experience um, you know, and just your ability to sort of have those deep views and deep takes on the industry um while we go through the next few weeks or months while Shannon takes a step back. Um I don't know if you'd be interested, but man, I would I would like to co-host with you if that's if that is uh something you would consider. Um I think that a lot of people would like to continue to hear your thoughts and your take, and it would really help me out, to be honest with you uh to have that deeper that deeper knowledge uh you know along with it.
Tyler Mayhan:Sure.
Cord Koch:So not to put you on the spot, Tyler. I'm just throwing stuff out there. Like I said, I've got no supervision, so I'm uh I'm running things uh hopefully in the right direction, you know.
Tyler Mayhan:Yeah, Shannon, Shannon's gonna come back and say, What'd you do to my podcast? No, I don't I'd love to, Cord. I think you know, some of this that I've talked about wanting to do in the industry, I would love to just I love the industry and I love the people and I feel like they're my people. And so I'd love, you know, if there's some ways I can help during this time when Shannon's trying to look at some of these other things. And I know Shannon and I have talked in the past about working together some, and so yeah, I'd be I'd be happy to, man.
Cord Koch:Well, I appreciate that. Um I will we will uh uh coordinate some of that offline, but um Tyler man, I appreciate you so much. Um thank you for being uh my first my first solo uh guest here. Um I'm gonna try and keep up uh with other uh people who stand uh you know uh and have the authority that you do in the industry um you know to really kind of have that have that view and say things that need to be said and also keep um God and family and legacy and generational success um you know at the forefront of everything we're trying to do. Um I appreciate it very much. Um you know, usually um Shannon prays on the way out. Um would you be interested in in praying, Tyler? I know um you know that's part of part of your ministry as well.
Tyler Mayhan:So yeah, I can dismiss us with prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this time we've had together today. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to speak to the people in this industry that so many of them know you so well and serve you. Thank you, God, that you've helped them and given them success. We recognize all success comes from you. Thank you for helping us in our trials and things that we go through. We ask your blessing today, God, on those that may be struggling. I know these people pulled in with me and my family as we struggled, and so I ask you, God, to do the same thing for those that maybe we don't even know we're struggling today. Ask you to let your spirit pay them a visit, touch them, and help them. We ask you, God, to go with us, keep us safe. So many people in the industry driving the roads today, maybe listening to this podcast, and we ask you to keep them safe. Go with us all we ask. Bless Shannon, Cord, and the rest of the folks at the Shed Geek. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
Cord Koch:Amen. Thank you so very much, Tyler. I look forward to seeing you, sir, and I'm gonna make my way out to Oklahoma and see that shed lot as well.
Tyler Mayhan:Man, come see me, Cord. It's good visiting with you, my friend. You as well. Have a good one, Tyler. Take care.