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
What Happens When A Niche Becomes A Network
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Want a shed brand customers recognize and a dealer network that still feels local? We dig into the real tension between brand control and on-the-lot freedom, and we map a path that helps manufacturers create consistent demand while empowering dealers to sell with their own voice. With Cord joining Friday episodes, we shift into practical strategy: how to run lean, prepare for consolidation, and build systems that make operations, marketing, and delivery feel seamless to the buyer.
We start where growth really begins—owning the customer journey. From quoting and contracts to delivery and reviews, we talk through the tech and process moves that give small to mid-sized builders an edge. Then we pull from franchising playbooks without the legal baggage: nested control for social media, regional content that actually converts, and co-op structures that fund awareness at the top while rewarding speed to lead at the bottom. If you have 2 to 8 million in revenue and a few dealer lots, this is the roadmap for scaling cleanly.
Dealers get the playbook too. We break down why exact-match inventory is less critical than tight assortments, pro visuals, and a “next best alternative” script. We share how to hit turn targets by pairing local stories, short videos, and fast follow-up with a steady stream of centrally generated leads. And we highlight the underrated closer: the hauler. A friendly setup, clear care tips, and a simple review request often multiply referrals more than any ad spend.
If you’re wrestling with Facebook page ownership, ad budgets, or whether to demand exclusivity, you’ll find practical steps both sides can act on this week. Tap play for proven ways to align brand standards, protect local authenticity, and create demand you can hand off confidently. If this helped, subscribe, share with your team, and leave a quick review to tell us what you want next.
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This episodes Sponsors:
Studio Sponsor: Shed Pro
Hello and welcome back to the Shed Geek Podcast. Here's a message from our studio sponsor. Let's be real. Running a shed business today isn't just about building great sheds. The industry is changing fast. We're all filling the squeeze, competing for fewer buyers while expectations keep climbing. And yet, I hear from many of you that you are still juggling spreadsheets, clunky software, or disconnected systems. You're spending more time managing chaos than actually growing your business. That's why I want to talk to you about our studio sponsor, ShedPro. If you're not already using them, I really think you should check them out. ShedPro combines your 3D configurator, point of sale, RTO contracts, inventory, deliveries, and dealer tools all in one platform. They even integrate cleanly into our Shed Geek marketing solutions. From website lead to final delivery, you can quote, contract, collect payment, and schedule delivery in one clean workbook. No more double entries, no more back and forth payments. Quoting is faster, orders are cleaner. And instead of chasing down paperwork, you're actually running your business. And if you mention Shed Geek, you'll get 25% off all setup fees. Check it out at shedpro.co forward slash shed geek. Thank you, ShedPro, for being our studio sponsor and honestly for building something that helps the industry.
Shannon:Okay, welcome back to another episode of the Shed Geek Podcast here from Sunny Metropolis, Illinois, uh just north of Paducah, Kentucky. Sounds like a lot of you guys know that place. Uh heard about it once or twice. We're fighting both in Paducah, Kentucky, and Lancaster County for the Shed Capital World and the Quilt Capital of the World. And FYI, we actually have the National Quilt Museum. So, I'm saying we're winning that battle a little. Um, today I'm joined by Cord Koch. You guys know him, uh, love him. He's got the beard on point today, the hair is on point today. Looking good, my friend.
Cord :Well, I do my best. You know, I try to get myself in uh in good, you know, video worthy order once a month, and you're catching me, you're catching me on day one of uh, you know, doing the requisite grooming and such. So uh I'm doing my best.
Shannon:Before we get rolling, just a couple of things. So, you know how to stay plugged in over here with Shed Geek. Uh, feel free to give us a call anytime. Uh if you have questions, comments, uh, if you'd like to be a show guest, we're always looking for show guests. We believe everybody has a story and we want to know yours. Um, we thank you guys, whether you sell products or uh services in the industry for being part of the network by either coming on and doing a podcast episode or advertising. If you want to get in touch with us, just dial 618-309-3648. That's 618-309-3648. That is my personal number. Uh, email us at info@ shedgeek.com. That's info@ shedgeek.com. Of course, check us out. Uh, you can fill out any of our contact forms over on shedgeek.com. Uh, if you'd like to sign up for the newsletter, please check out our Facebook page. If I could ask you to do me any one favor, it would be to go and subscribe to the YouTube channel. Go and like and follow uh the Facebook page, the Shed Geek Facebook page. We appreciate your participation in that. Uh request that we do the same and we will absolutely follow and like your things back. We are just uh we are just like that. We'll even throw a we'll throw a uh review on your website. We've done that a couple of times. So, uh check out the Shed Sales Professionals group as well, if you guys are missing out there on the private Facebook pages. I really like those pages or feel like that. Uh those along with others in the industry do a lot to help move it forward in a very organic way. Of course, the landline, if you've got a plain community friend who would like to uh reach out or find a way to listen, they can just dial 330-997-3055. That's not that's 330-997-3055. Uh be sure to share that with them. They can actually go in and save their spot and go back and listen to another podcast. And actually, if you're looking for older podcasts, we actually do a registry on our newsletter so you can go back and look and see who it was, how long it was, when it aired, what episode number it is. So be sure to get a hold of Deanna, uh D E A N N A @ Shedgeek.com, and she'll get you signed up for the newsletter. While you're there, go click on these blogs and click on these digital ads. That gives me a lot of favor with advertisers and it goes a long way. So that's a small way that you can help us out. Hot item of the day. Check out the hat. Uh, we're trying to rock some new, some new swag from time to time. And we got on Cricket Valley structures here. That's what she shed. You know, that's what she said. Cord, I like it. Uh, you'll know them as the owners of Country Classic Rentals, uh, the freedom of ownership, one of our uh sponsors in the RTO space. Uh, if you want to own your own rent rent-owned company, don't waste the hassle uh of contract management. Call today at 937-483-4588, Country Classic Rentals. And we also want to give a shout-out to our newest partners, uh Hershberger Lawn Structures and PlayMor Playsets, Striker Hunting Blinds, exclusive providers of swing sets and hunting blinds for the Shed Geek podcast and Pittsburgh Paint. Uh, very excited to bring those guys on as exclusive partners for paint coverings as well. So, uh excited about what they've already experienced, um, you know, and looking forward to a good long partnership. For those of you who want to know more about our advertising options, give us a call. Okay, now that we got all that uh stuff out of the way, Cord, uh, and we still got a few people on listening. Hopefully, what do we want to talk about today?
Cord :Well, I think um, you know, to start with, really um in my mind, it is getting excited, getting prepared for uh a little bit of a shake up on the Friday episode. So, this show is going to uh air on a Friday and kind of be the kickoff of the two of us not separating. Uh, you know, obviously we're going to uh you know be in the the same office with each other and and continuing to do good work behind the scenes and partner and move the industry forward. But when it comes to podcasts, I think um, you know, putting out putting out a product both on Wednesdays, your show, Shed Geek, um, that is the you know, that's you, right? That's introspective and that is so very deep thinking and the deep relationships and not saying that Fridays won't be the same, um, but you know, my mind always goes to um, you know, where's the meat, right? Where where's the where's the how do we get down to that thing that dealers and manufacturers and salespeople and uh haulers and you know, how do we get to that little nugget of value um, you know, that that people can integrate into um you know their routine or their business every day. And so, I think kind of taking that um, you know, uh business mentality, I suppose, or that um that kind of a foot forward, so to speak. Uh again, not to say, of course, we want to get to know everybody and uh build friendships and relationships and all of that as well.
Shannon:Um, but you know, kind of you know, just taking the separation in a sense of like uh uh topics, conversations. You know, we had Sam on on Fridays. We appreciate Sam and all the efforts and those that he did. As a matter of fact, you know, he served really good, especially from that uh uh uh hauler recognizable face, you know, of being able to, you know, kind of talk about the details of those things if you want to get into the generalized stories. And listen, if you're a hauler out there who wants to be more involved, has something to offer, maybe that's from a consultative uh uh perspective, maybe that's from a just occasional appearance perspective. Uh, if you're someone who has an expertise and a gift for gab, contact us. We'd love to talk with you because uh that's one area that we're weak in. I owned a truck and trailer at one point. I actually drove a truck in the military, but I can be honest with you, I do not do what you guys do, and I don't know the ins and outs of it quite so well. I understand it, uh, but someone who can speak intelligently on it, we welcome you. Feel free to reach out, we'd love to talk with you. Um, so it separates those two things. And of course, with the with the wrap-up of the Monday show over at Steel Kings, love those guys. Uh, you know, they're seeing some business changes uh for themselves and growing more. And that's the cool thing about opportunity. I'm super happy for them, you know, to be uh the going the directions that they're going. And they're friends of ours at the show, and we'll probably start to wrap that down. If not, by the time this episode comes out, you'll hear about it on Mondays. And we're just gonna like lay low for a little bit. Let's give it about six months, see what it looks like. And if we want to get back into a steel conversation, post-frame conversation, Barndo, maybe we should do that. Uh, but while they're uh growing, we want to give them the space to do that because they've been excellent for a year, and that's all we really uh asked for, you know, and they've killed it. So, thank you, uh, Jared and Eric for all that you have done and continue to do. We appreciate you guys. It means a lot to us that uh you're friends of the show and continued friends of the show as we move forward.
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Cord :Yeah, absolutely. And of course, we want to um, you know, as they are focused, you know, on that growth, on that next kind of phase in their business, um, we still want to have that regular presence. So, I know both of us, whether it be the Wednesday show or the Friday show, uh, have both uh had those conversations. And so, you know, I very much look forward to you know continuing to have either co-host, guests, whatever, whatever that might be, whatever their schedule allows for. Um, so I mean, just tremendous, tremendous work. And actually, you mentioned Sam there too. Uh, we're trying to, he and I have been going back and forth a little bit, uh, so trying to pin something down where we can do a little bit of a preview of what the Shed Haulers Brotherhood, especially in the charity space, um, you know, has going for this year, has planned. Of course, it seems like every event, um, you know, every fundraiser um, you know, continues to top the last. And so obviously want to stay plugged in with that. But as you can imagine, uh, both with um, you know, all of our ventures around here, and of course, Sam, you know, being on the road uh quite a bit and here and there.
Shannon:Busiest man I know, I tell you, he is the busiest guy out there, without a doubt. But super thankful, you know, for the friendship and relationship uh that we've had with him. And you know, obviously, big supporter of what he continues to do. We want to stay plugged into that as best we can and as he allows. And I will be the first one to listen to an episode with you and Sam. I can't wait to hear that. That'll be that'll be good. Um, but outside of just getting on here and saying, hey, this is what we're doing, uh, we wanted to offer some value today in some conversation. And me and you sat back and arm wrestled uh over what the topics were gonna be today. Uh and we just came to a conclusion on why don't we talk about some of the stuff that we see like on the Shed Sales Professionals page? These are questions that come up, right? And maybe we can just address those on a deeper level, if you will, you know, for those who just want to tune in today. So we're not gonna keep you on here terribly long, but wanted to address some thoughts. Obviously, you guys are aware that we've started Shed Geek Consultation. And if it's not out by the time this podcast comes out, we're gonna start rolling out who those are. You know, we're excited that we've got our third official client on, you know, already. And that's exciting. We've got, you know, four partners helping us out uh as consultants, and we're excited to put them out there, their bios. And like uh, man, I'll tell you the best thing I got, and this isn't just promotional, you know, uh, but informational is whenever one of the clients said this is far greater than I ever paid for. Like, so it was an investment, you know, what I've experienced so far is better. If that continues, then I think we've got a future in this. If not, we'll fold up shop. But you know what? It's been really it's been really good to be able to help people. But I think that's just the cool thing about getting yourself around. You've heard this, uh, this, this before, Cord. You know, if if you're if you're uh the smartest guy in the room, better get in a different room. And I feel blessed to be around these consultants because I mentioned it on our phone call that we all had together. I feel like the weak link here. I feel like I can learn so much myself from these guys. You know, they're just really seasoned. Uh I yeah, I I'm a I'm a big fan of them and excited to partner with them and hopefully provide solutions for people who need a solution. So, I'm just I'm overall giddy and excited. Quarter four was rough, you know, it was rough. We just had so much stuff going on, so many details to get through. But 2026, you know, the windshield looks bigger than the rear view mirror. So we are moving forward and we are making uh making progress. I'm super excited uh for 2026 over here. So let's talk about what we want to add in terms of conversation and content value today. And that is if we were putting on a consultant hat today, uh, Cord, and I've got I've got this uh this hat on today, and I'm talking to a manufacturer, um, you know, what what what are the strengths of consulting a manufacturer versus consulting, say, a dealer?
Cord :Well, I think from a manufacturer's perspective right now, there is no better time you know, obviously I've not been in the shed industry for the 20 years, 30 years, 40 years that some of our listeners have under their belt. But from a macro perspective, there has not been a better time, as far as I can tell, in the shed industry to be that small, you know, to medium, I suppose. It depends where you you break those lines at. But I think we would probably say anywhere from call it you know two and a half million up to eight million or so. Maybe you've got a couple uh a couple dealer locations, whether you control those yourself or not. Um, but that sort of small verging on that that medium manufacture, there's just no better time to be lean from day one, to be operationally sound from day one, to own your assets, to own your customer experience. That doesn't mean that you can't subcontract certain services, right? I mean, you know, if in your area it makes more sense to subcontract the hauling or you know, whatever that that picture may look like, but the control, the ownership, um, and that that lean growth, the growth that looks great, uh, frankly, on balance sheets, right? Looks great whenever someone is evaluating a company because I think the market is telling us that in the next three to five years, there's going we've said consolidation a lot, but what does that mean for a manufacturer? Well, for the small manufacturer, it means if you are controlling and owning your market and you are growing in a lean way that is appealing to someone who could come in and make that buyout in the next couple years ahead, there is absolutely no better time to be thinking about what that scale looks like up front, right? Is it worth the initial investment? I mean, these are these are consultative, these are big, big business strategies that you kind of need to decide on and kind of decide in the pit of your stomach, right? Because, you know, some of it is going to be is it worth investing in scalability early? And my answer, you know, obviously it's different for each company, and you need to dig in. But generally, the answer is yes, right? The answer is go be that solution. Um, you know, whether it is it is a consolidation of a medium manufacturer, that 20, 20 million dollar, 16, 15, 16, up to 20, 25, you know, even 30 million dollar manufacturer who wants to consolidate into your market uh as a small manufacturer, or maybe, right? You scale well enough, you build the brand, you do the content work from day one, you invest in all those things up front, and before you know it, you are the medium manufacturer, right? And then you're the one who has who has grown lean, has the systems, has the operations, has the people in place. Um, you know, next week we will have the episode with uh my business partner Shalisha Wood um coming on and kind of talking about her experience and operations and um franchising.
Shannon:I love the discussion around franchising because one of the things that I want to specifically address is franchise marketing, franchising your social media, and the question that I want to pose ultimately is can vertical integration exist today uh uh completely from POS, ERP, marketing solutions, uh e-commerce solutions, rent-to-owned financing, management of dealerships, locations, lots, uh, and ultimately logistics and legal, and like there's a whole lot here. And this takes me back to an unnamed uh um uh manufacturer that had about 300 locations, 65 company-owned, you know, uh 235 independent, roughly thereabout. And when I was talking to the director of sales, you know, they said, you know, one of the hardest things is to is to manage the independent contractors uh uh branding or social media marketing or and or marketing in general. Meaning, um, if you put something out that's not consistent with the brand, well, we can't really control that because we can't go to an independent contractor and say, hey, this is not the best way to represent our brand. Actually, what you're saying is not something that our social media team would put out there. Um, so now you're stuck in a again, we're wearing the forwards-facing hat here. So, we're having this consultant, whether it's wanted or unwanted, uh we're discussing our opinions on a larger manufacturer or or whatever, and how they should control that.
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Shannon:Um, and I was just sitting here looking at this. I pulled up uh S S O uh I C dot AI. I don't know how you actually pronounce that. It's a new AI sociie, so I don't know. Somebody probably knows, and I sound like an idiot here. There's so many of them between Claude and Sora and everything else, chat GPT, all that good stuff. But anyway, this this particular website is talking about franchise SEO and listing management. Guess what, Cord? Dominate Google's local three-pack rankings. That's a whole podcast in itself, but you can, you know, we could address that, right? Reputation and reviews, responded minutes, scale customer trust at every location, social media uh uh uh automation, keep brand voice consistent while driving local engagement, and AI agents, autonomous digital workers that save time and boost ROI. That's a whole separate podcast itself, too. And it's either going to be rarely listened to or really ignored. I'm not sure. But what sticks out to me in this that I wanted to discuss was Facebook pages because that's what he was kind of talking about was their social media page. Like we don't own it, we don't franchise that. Um and this is consignment. This is not just in time, floor plan 30, 60, 90. I'm talking about consignment. You know, I'm not talking about inventory uh uh that's floor planned or whatever. I'm talking about someone brings you, you know, 10, 12, 30, 40, 50 buildings, whatever it is, and you sign up with them. And then the request is, hey, we need you to put out social media content, but we want it to be in brand with ours. Just give me your overarching thoughts.
Cord :Well you have to provide it. I mean, that's just the bottom line, right? Like, yeah, if you want well, whether you are uh, you know, again, it's from which perspective you're saying this, right? Like if you're the if you're the big brand, right? The big B brand, the manufacturer that is providing those consignment sheds, um, you want nested control. You know, you want the ultimate control. It's different across each kind of platform, the way that that they do that, but like you want to create a nested control of every platform. You can even use, you know, one of the uh social media management third party apps to kind of have that as well. But you know, the but here's the problem is like a lot of the independent dealers are better at this than the manufacturer is, right? That's the issue.
Shannon:The issue isn't yes, of course, you want you want do you think that's in particular when it's owned by a plain community who doesn't have access maybe to the social media channels, or do you think that that's even non-playing community?
Cord :Across the board, 100% across the board, right? Because it's like from a centralized perspective. I mean, you know, I've been in franchising, it's it is very, very hard to capture the culture of the place to capture what actually, you know. I mean, I was I looked at a map the other day, you know, supposedly there are something around the neighborhood of 18 kind of subcultures in the United States. You can break them down into five major categories, and of course, we can kind of imagine what that is Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Mountain West, Pacific, right, are effectively what we're talking about. But you know, uh it's hard. It's hard, it's a big operation. You're effectively running an agency in-house, and you're running an agency that has to um genuinely care about feedback from their network, has to have a an appropriate um, you know, two-way communication that isn't jumping on a round robin, you know, phone call with 60 dealers once a quarter. No, it's like the problem is that you know, a lot of the, you know, of course, as with anything, a lot of dealers aren't using the tools, right? So, then you're like, hey, I want you to use the tools that we're providing, and there it's not enough content. You know what I mean? It's not enough. It is, it is not um maybe regionally specific or locally specific or however you need to sell best, right? Um, and then the opposite side of that coin is you have dealers who are far better at all of the consistency, the content creation, understanding what people in their area, in their culture, in their region, in their locality uh actually latch onto, understanding the narrative of like what is happening um in their community. Like, is there a need for affordable housing, right? Is this is this a place where tiny homes um would succeed because of a genuine need um that exists, which is the case uh you know, in the periphery of many of the metropolitan areas in the U.S. It's not affordable.
Shannon:Um I'm gonna read, I'm gonna read a little farther down on this soci.com, uh, why franchise marketing is harder than ever. This is hitting the notes that you're that you're singing here, you know, the bullet points. Corporate teams struggle to enforce brand consistency without stifling franchise autonomy, right? Uh franchises want more marketing control, but lack the tools and experience to uh execute effectively. Uh this is the my favorite consumer expectations have shifted, and they want local relevant and personalized experiences, not generic corporate promotions. Big one. Well, yeah, uh the result for franchises go rogue, corporate marketers scramble for control and revenues left on the table.
Cord :That's right. So you tell me, Shannon. So if you are, I mean, we're not gonna call anybody out today. There's you know, um, but if you are a manufacturer that has, I don't know, right, where's the cutoff, you know, 50, 60, 100, who, you know, pick a number, right? But you're a a manufacturer that operates um nationally or quasi-nationally in two-thirds of the country or half the country or one-third of the country, all those are huge areas with so many different cultures and localities and things that matter to people. So are you telling me that for each of those uh sub regions, localities, um, you know, you're going to have a devoted team of eight to ten people who are actually producing stuff that matters and is relevant and is coaching up, you know, because it can't just be all from corporate, right? Like you're telling me you're not gonna put it. Go ahead.
Shannon:I think you can even take uh relevant and things that matter and change those words out with things that are personal, things that are native to the region, and things that local people understand. Uh whereas from a corporate perspective, you know, we maybe get it right or get it wrong, you know, from time to time, but not to advocate for the devil, but to but to be a devil's advocate in this in this particular situation, the question uh for me be you know it starts to be like who if you're bringing 10 to 20, 50 sheds, you're already investing in all of this inventory. Is it fair? I'm just asking. Uh Ford, right now I'm consulting for manufacture, okay? So, if you're if you're a builder here, I'm on your side right now. Uh all right. Is it is it so I'm gonna pretend to be dealer or manufacture your dealer in this moment. I'm bringing you $200,000, $300,000 worth of inventory. You're telling me that I've now got to go out and build you a website, run your ads, create a Google Ad Spin, or maybe I can co-op, but like now I've got to create these Facebook pages, now I've got to pay your lot rent. Now, all of that, if I could do all of those things, that would be really good because I would I would have a lot of control over the branding. But is that realistic, Cord? I guess is what I'm asking. Like, where's where do you meet the antithesis of that when a when a manufacturer's like, man, I'm already bringing all the brochures, we offer tons of customer service. We need you guys to pick up a little bit of the tab to promote to promote yourselves because you are ultimately an independent contractor.
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Cord :Well, it's perfectly fair to say that. Yeah, that's fair. Um, how successful do you want them to be? Right? How successful have you been at creating an actual brand identity? I mean, the shed industry is completely and total, totally lacking this on a national level, uh, even mostly on a re regional level. Your normal consumer cannot tell you. You know, they may know that the lot down the road from them because it in particular has good signage or whatever else, they may be able to tell you that, like, well, there is a again, I don't want to, you know, whatever. There's an old hickory lot, right? And they can tell because it has signs, right? But like, do they know how far flung? Do they understand? Like, is it in their mind a brand that is so well established? I would argue no. None of the shed companies in the industry, except for Tough Shed. And it's only that way because they're at Home Depot, right? Like they are they are in front of people being marketed to people via this national home improvement store budget and everything like that. But the long and the short is like, is it is it fair to ask that? Well, sure it is. That's a fair question. I'm dropping off uh inventory at no cost. You are being asked to sell for a percentage of that.
Shannon:Yeah, it's a fair can I at least get you then to dedicate yourself to my product by a don't sell other products. B, don't sell other shed products, you know, and under a don't sell other products could be carports, gazebas, places, anything else that you name, right? Uh two, you know, don't sell other sheds, a competing shed, you know, which you can't tell a company not to do. You can't tell a dealer because they're their own independent company whenever they have to establish their own EIN, when they have to establish their own sole proprietorship partnership or uh S Corp or C Corp or whatever they are, right? So like they're independent, they're autonomous. However, if we're gonna provide you with all this free inventory, perhaps we need to create in a non-compete uh also a signature that says we won't do the rest of these things. And that's fine because you kind of control the experience, right? The downside is if they're not making a lot rent and making a living, like it's kind of hard to tell them not what to do unless you say we're gonna pull our sheds, unless you agree to this. And it's really hard to come back later. If you don't do it when you open them up, it's really hard to come back later. And we've used some unique uh tools and tricks to try and like get a manufacturer to understand why it is beneficial to come over, especially if you're hosting ads on a corporate site and then you're dispersing those out to the regions in which people are in. That becomes beneficial because you pull on the SEO value, the Google Ads value and everything of like a corporate site, you know, assuming that the site we're gonna always operate with the assumption that the company is gonna do the right thing and share those lead distributions to their partners in those regions, right? We've heard horror stories where people don't, but we're just gonna ignore that and assume you're gonna operate on a level of like uh doing the right thing. Give those leads to them, then it becomes very beneficial. Like you, you, you can you can franchise your uh social media pages and it makes good sense all of a sudden because it's like we're gonna harvest meta ads and the budget behind the corporate structure. Uh uh, but as long as you have independent now, now I'm gonna change on you. I'm switching up, okay. Hold on. For those of you watching, hat backwards. At backwards. Now, now I'm the dealer. Right? Now I'm the dealer. And you come to me and you wanna are the question is are you just throwing something at the wall and seeing who will stick and find out who's gonna be good dealers and who are gonna invest in themselves and their products? And is there an expectation that you want me as an independent contractor who's carrying your products as a vendor? I'm going to bring your sheds in. Uh, now I'm mad. You didn't bring me enough sheds, Cord. You're the manufacturer. Uh, you didn't bring me enough sheds. I've been requesting more sheds. I could sell more sheds if you would just bring me more sheds. Why don't I have more sheds? I'm getting tired of this. I'm gonna have to go find another vendor. I can do that. I'm an independent contractor.
Cord :Yeah, I mean, that's an expiring commodity. It's like asking McDonald's for more burgers whenever you're not selling the burgers. They expire. They may expire on a much longer time scale, right? Like you may say that, like, well, that inventory is you know, is not a the same as a waste product, or you know what I'm saying? It's not literally a burger, right? It doesn't only last seven days, but it's the same theory, right? And so here here's the big thing, right? If I'm a dealer, I'm saying, well, you know, how much built-in demand are you bringing to me, right? How many people are showing up looking for a XYZ shed, right? Because why that's what McDonald's is. And look, this isn't franchising, you know, there's no FDDs, like franchising is legaled up to the hilt, you know, and it's the business model is not the same. But the concept of like, why does McDonald's not sell whoppers, right? Well, because if you do that, McDonald's is gonna pull your franchise license. They are no longer gonna let you sell uh Big Macs, right? Well, why is that a threat? Because there's a built-in market for Big Macs in every place in the country. There is an X number of people who are going to buy a Big Mac and a two uh three dollar, whatever they're up to now, value menus now five bucks, you know, a uh a five dollar double cheeseburger or whatever it is at this point, you know, the Diet Coke that is better than anywhere else. I'm a Diet Coke drinker, and it's true. McDonald's makes them better, right? They make them better, and people go there because of that.
Shannon:But what I'm saying is personally a southern sweet tea kind of guy, just saying fantastic as well.
Cord :Also unmatched, except for in your grandma's kitchen, right? But that's the threat, right? That's the threat. And can now you can obviously do it in a manual way, you can run the leads, you can collect the leads, you can build the demand, right? Like you can you can have that system operating in the background, and a lot of them, uh a lot of manufacturers aren't even necessarily doing that, which would be like step one, right? Like control uh what that lead generation looks like so that the dealer has a known quantity, but the other side of that is like how much just general marketing are these companies doing that is not strictly lead-based, right? McDonald's not putting a burger in front of you every time, right? Sometimes they're putting the golden arches in a clown back in the day, you know, Rob McDonald's kind of out these days, but like you know, you have to build some level of the Hamburglar.
Shannon:I miss him, I miss him, Cord.
Cord :Yeah, well, that was super creative. Sorry. No, well, no, but you're right. Like all of those characters, Grimace, the Hamburglar, we can name them off the top of our head. How much went into a generation of people even knowing what the heck we're talking about right now?
Shannon:Well, it's become obviously when we get down the rabbit hole, McDonald's has become very corporate. Let's bring in AI, let's get rid of the yellow and the red, the bring-em in and the kick them out kind of colors that marketing strategies, you know, did. And then all of a sudden, you know, let's make it look more like a coffee shop. And we still have the playhouse because we can't get away from our roots. Because if you've ever watched Founder, you talk about McDonald's and it being fun. The whole point and purpose of it was it being fun. Now we've got to mix that fun with seriously, bring some college students in, some business people. Let's create a cafe, Mick Cafe. Let's start selling something that people like, like some coffee that you can't name off the top of your head. And now it's no longer just fun and uh uh uh uh the kids' meals or whatever. But I I'm keeping my hat backwards, but I also think that it's fair to point out, Cord, that you know, most manufacturers want you to turn your inventory three to four times. So as a dealer, careful what you wish for, you might get it. Uh if you get, you know, 40 buildings, but you're not turning 120 sales a year, what motivation is it all of a sudden for the manufacturer to bring you more? If you say, uh bring me more, I'll sell more, but it doesn't actually happen. Why are they gonna like they're gonna start to pull back and scale back a little bit and be like, wait a minute, you know, like you said you'd sell more, but you didn't. And look, if you do, then maybe so be it. You got a good argument or whatever.
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Shannon:Um but I'm sticking with dealers. How long backwards?
Cord :Well, I might catch some hate for this, and maybe I'm I don't know if this is a manufacturer's perspective or if this is just a dose of reality for people. But if your argument is bring me more uh and I'll sell more, like I just have to be honest. Like, well, so what are you saying is holding you up in sales? You're saying that because you didn't have that exact model in inventory. Well, how far does that go? Are you saying you can't sell a shed unless it's the exact right size, the exact right style, the exact right color, the exact right trim, right? Is that what you're telling me?
Shannon:You can you're giving the business to the dealers over here now, Cord. I gotta fight back. I'm asking I need to I need to push back and defend my dealers because I got my backwards hat on here, you know. Uh, so I gotta come out with something strong. I'm looking at an AI overview for independent dealer branding, and it says independent dealer branding focuses on building trust, local reputation, and unique consistent identity uh to compete with larger franchises. Key strategies include defining a niche, uh uh creating a consistent visual identity. Let's talk about video, getting your face out there. We've been preaching it for five years, leveraging community involvement. Like that's one thing the corporate side typically can't do is get in with your uh uh uh your uh chamber of commerce, right? Those are the benefits that you do, you know, whether it's your local charities or whatever, consistency across digital and physical touch points builds long-term reputation. I mean, there's a whole overview here of defining your unique story, consistent visual and verbal identity, build trust and reputation, leverage digital tools, physical showroom consistency, community, impact of brain consistency, beautiful things that are free that you just go look up. You just got to know what to prompt or ask Google to be like, what am I doing here? But not to go too long because we're already in the in the weeds here, but maybe to wrap up and just give you. guys something of value and try to break this down into a neat little package that we're giving you is we're saying if you're a manufacturer, probably specifically 8 million or smaller, you know, or if you're a dealer, this is where the can the these whole concepts start to clash. The only time they really clash on the big guys is for the ones who are going back and saying we don't have brand consistency. We struggle with what the dealers might say but we also you know I don't want to say don't have the money but we have not built a system uh to maximize control of our brand at every level even with an independent contractor and how do we do that? And then like what's the benefit of an independent contractor to say I would like to maintain my own brand just in case I decide to switch vendors.
Cord :Yeah they've built it they built it I mean you know the truth is and this is just coming from franchising right like you better have franchising and I hate to be like this because there are some franchise businesses that are truly unique. There's one actually uh a guy out of Oklahoma oh my goodness I should be able to call him by name in fact he'd be a great guy to have as a guest uh that is that is this very specific type of wood uh you know whenever your wood starts to have degradation um rot um he goes in with this like special kind of epoxy right and you can actually uh you know restore the integrity of that without having to do like a full renovation right you can go in the crawl space of a house and manage to shore up uh and extend the life of I mean it's epoxy right so pretty long lived plastics um you know so not technically plastic and epoxy but you know what I'm saying right that that poly-material and so uh that's a unique business model but by and large like franchising and this idea that like we're going to have independent operators who operate under our brand which is that like consignment independent dealer model it just doesn't have all the paper and the legal and everything else binding you to each other uh and the payment structure is different you know with royalties and all that but it's the same concept um and like it's just marketing it is literally you you're coming in for the most part all of these franchise companies are just saying like they don't have some secret to plumbing they don't have some secret to being pooper scooper you know like coming and I mean this is a real business that people make several million dollars a year off of in big cities coming and poop scooping your backyard there's no secret uh sauce or IP or any kind of trademarked copyrighted I mean there is within the marketing materials right scoop a poop you know heck that may be trademarked we might be getting a uh a cease and disgust here right but like but my point is my point is like it you have to just be a marketing company and so like if you're not doing the basics right if you're not you know in this industry if you are not doing the requisite um ad spend the requisite control of systems right like you don't necessarily have to be like a franchise top down you know dictator when it comes to these things but like you have to have some kind of a system that lays over top of your geography of your geographical service area and is able to have a known quantity of value of leads for your then independent people to close on right and then you take it to that next level which is like well how much inherent brand value is there just in our logo in our name right like does the consumer are they aware that there is a McDonald's and a burger king and a taco bell of this industry no they are not which is a big opportunity they're aware of tough shed right which is at home depot and on-site built and display model and all that right but they are comp so maybe they know that who McDonald's is right but are they aware that there is a Burger King or a Taco Bell or you know again I'm just using these as euphemism no I like it.
Shannon:Yeah you got yeah that the metaphor works I mean we've talked about Buccee's for a long time like who will be the Buccee's of the shed industry we've said that for a couple years because it just like you don't have to talk about Buccee's like you can say Buccee's and it comes with emotion. You know what is that emotion?
Cord :Well like look we'll drive an extra 30 miles to go to a Buccee's because we like the brisket we like the clean bathrooms we like their multiple gas whatever it is it doesn't matter it's got an idea spend on you know I'm talking about traditional spend how do you get into people's heads how do you let people know that Burger King exists before they want a burger right like Bucky's does it the opposite way I mean they do have a marketing spend it's almost exclusively billboards or t-shirts like billboards t-shirts swag I mean you know there are there are kids right like hip kids like the cool kids in in uh you know 17 year old kids my daughter's 17 the cool kids I coach football on the football team right they all have a bucky shirt that they that's in their rotation of what they wear to school right so you know they're doing it in a different way experience but I'll tell you what they control the heck out of it they have a footprint I mean you know massive right like you know but my point is like again yeah of course how do you transition all these things again it's hard it's hard it's really hard it's really hard to run uh four different in-house agencies that are staffed up spending money shooting videos editing content all day long to make sure that you have four sub-culturally relevant like you know products that you put out every day it's all really hard it takes really good people and like how do you navigate it I mean you build excellent teams and you control as much as possible and you better be delivering um you know both value to your dealers in a known quantity of demand that you are handing off to them to close and uh um you know get value out of but you also be better be um focused on that same um building that demand for just your brand your identity what it means to be XYZ shed in the consumer mind um and in my opinion that is going to come with footprints that's just my opinion I think that the companies that figure out how to take and again I don't want to call out because there are so many that do it so well right the company that is able to figure out how to take this model that we've seen work excellent which is family owned um you know mom and pop uh call it you know something in the neighborhood of four to six thousand square feet right worth like a building right building you're offering solutions now do you have to physically manufacture all those solutions I would say heck no like get over that part of it right find some good partners but offer the solutions put in a footprint like that's just my honest opinion Shannon right like I think that hey I like all the conversation I think this is a good uh kickoff to Cord's uh uh adventures uh Corduroy as we like to call him around here at shed quarters let's see if we can get something like that to stick for you Cord uh um but uh um you know just a big fan of what you and Shalisha and so many others do in that space in that business uh minded space whether it be franchising or looking at the whole uh fractional level of what people need today as especially I mean this this industry is prime for what you guys do specifically because they don't really need a full-time in-house person in every category uh and that's the benefit uh of what you guys do and I won't uh push that down people's throats here today I'll let you guys build your brand and do a good job and let that uh uh speak for itself uh but I'm just a big fan of what you guys do and we're a big fan at Shed Geek podcast of being partners with you guys at GrowthOps Ally I love uh both of you and what you bring to the table and like look man this is a good conversation I know some people could be like I'm drooling over here this is boring what's going on and others are going to be like this is great go ahead and say what's on your mind and I'll just tell you look it's very simple you're an independent dealer you are an independent dealer you are an independent contractor you like you make your choices now that doesn't mean you don't consider your partner right you know uh but at the same time you have the ability to do what you want now if you're a manufacturer you probably want as much of that control not because you're narcissistically trying to like uh uh uh control everybody out there because you're trying to control your brand and we all know what happens when the boss says do this and it gets through three or four different people and it turns into something different than the intention behind what the boss is wanting right so when you put a brand out there and you say hey we really want to talk about our uh a specific feature and benefit of our shed uh XYZ and then you know you put it on your own social media page and you don't appropriately reflect the value proposition of the industry or the manufacturer I could make the argument that if you're not taking their like approach into consideration um shame on you as a as a dealer because if you're like I'm just trying to get mine I'm just trying to sell as many sheds as I can get my 10% I don't care about rent own I don't care if the customer doesn't keep it I don't care if they tear it up I don't care if it's difficult even for the hauler to get in.
Shannon:I just want to sell and get my 10% I don't think that's a good fit for the industry. And I that's probably the boldest I've ever said that uh on the podcast in five years.
Cord :I just don't your hat's still backward that was a pretty oh wait a minute that was a pretty strong statement well I was you know what I was coming from the manufacturer I should have turned it around well or just sorry or just or just I mean you know but that comes from really good dealers too right because ultimately if you're a really good dealer in a network right and someone down the line whether it's literally down the road from you or it may be you know hundreds of miles away but they're selling the same thing you're selling and they're representing it in a poor way you talk about the downfall of a franchise right hardy can't keep their bathrooms clean hardies can't keep their bathrooms clean right and over a period of a decade or two decades like if you can't manage to just do normal stuff and be brand consistent and not turn people off right I'm sure that there are some hardies out there today that are staffed with people who cook great burgers right and boy it's delicious and they are on time and whatever else but because you know 500 hardies somehow I mean this is like a universal experience couldn't manage to keep their bathrooms clean right you're going out of business or you're on your way to it and so you know if you're a if you're that dealer who's like really good and somebody else is tarnishing that sort of big B brand you know that you need to have that that that brand consistency and that you know high value in the consumer uh you know in the consumer consciousness or whatever else that hurts you too.
Shannon:Man, there's something I'm not gonna be first in line cord uh I'm not gonna be first in line out here to defend uh millionaire CEOs who make a lot of money but I'm gonna tell you right now this is why they make it is because they come in and fix that issue. I'm just saying I'm just saying they come in and they fix that issue. So, where is the value of one man or woman being a CEO and making all that money I agree with you. There's no amount of hours of the day they can work to accomplish that you know uh it's the decision making because really decisions are what sets you apart from being a hundred heir to a thousand heir to a millionaire to a billionaire and they're making the right decisions that's going to get them back on track. So that's where they earn their value. It's kind of like being a uh a and we're gonna go on this note but this is kind of like being a shed hauler you know it's like when somebody calls and says will you move my shed and they say sure I will it's gonna be you know $750. What do you mean for 45 minutes?
Cord :You're not paying me for the 45 minutes you're paying me for the 20 years I've got the $30,000 in insurance I pay for the $250,000 rig it takes to move this you're not paying me for the time you're paying me for the experience to get out here and do it and not tear your shed apart hopefully right you know uh uh so it doesn't have to do with the time it has to do with the it has to do with the value that I'm bringing yep 100% no um you're right it's uh it's so it they're big challenges um you know it it's a challenge to deliver that that value to the end customer not just in I mean you know shed haulers is probably a good example of this right like what is the value of a shed hauler um you know obviously you get the shed where it's supposed to go and it's blocked up right or it's you know what I mean like every everything about the actual delivery goes well right but how much of a return experience is dependent on that shed hauler being the last person that they see you know they perceive as being a part of that situation so how much how valuable is a is a if you're 80% the actual hauler and a blocker and you know uh uh um Yule driver as the other guy but gosh you always shake their hand you always give them a smile you always tell a little joke that gets everybody laughing and feeling good and maybe you even um encourage them to leave a review you know whatever it might be right like you know how it's worth your weight in gold if you're a hauler who's going through all those details I'm gonna let everybody off the hook here since we're at the very end of it and tell you well Shannon it sounds like you was really siding with the manufacturer or Shannon it really sounded like you were siding with the dealers I'm just here to tell you I am neither I am neither.
Shannon:I am in support of both of you and I'm you know what maybe I'm being a little bit critical of both two so please forgive me we're just trying to have conversation that matters over here on the Shed Geek podcast and I think this is a great way to start Corduroy sorry I know I'm throwing you under the bus with the Corduroy stuff uh we're you know Cord's uh uh business Friday podcast uh uh uh extravaganza launch if that's what you want to call it I'm super excited to listen to you because me and you have these conversations off air all the time and I'm so excited to what you're bringing to the table. You're a good friend, you're a great business partner, uh your good husband and father. I love you as a friend, as a brother and I'm so excited to be on this journey with you as we move forward.
Cord :Well thank you Shannon and obviously I reciprocate all those things of you know we've had fun on air together um but I think that we can bring um I think that we can bring some different value not value where one surpasses the other or where we're even in uh competition in that way but I think that we can bring some different types of value to the industry and that's what Shed Geek is man and that's why I love you love the brand love being here um and we're gonna we're gonna keep on delivering exactly um you know what the industry expects out of us Bible says that love covers a multitude of sins I'm a firm believer that helping people covers a multitude of deficiencies so forgive us where we fail guys but we try to add value where we can thank you Cord for doing all that you do I'm excited about this launch and your new Friday shows and I'm your biggest fan already thank you let's get let's get with it let's do it let's do it let's make it happen we'll see you guys soon stay tuned.
OUTRO:Thanks again shed pro for being the Shed Geek studio sponsor if you need any more information about Shed Pro or about Shed Geek just reach out you can reach us by email at info@ shedgeek.com or just go to our website www.shedgeek.com and submit a form with your information and we'll be in contact right away thank you again for listening as always to today's episode of the Shed Geek Podcast thank you and have a blessed day