STEEL KINGS: Get Out In Your Community and Do Something For Someone Else

Big news and bigger perspective. After 50 Steel Kings episodes, we’re pressing pause to realign—so we can build something stronger with you. Fresh off the NFBA show in Oklahoma City, we unpack why collaboration beats secrecy, how sheds, post-frame, and steel now overlap on the same lots, and what it’ll take to compete with big box convenience without sacrificing margins or trust.

We get candid about the production grind, why a weekly cadence can hide deeper misalignment, and how to trade quantity for clarity. Then we go straight at the tough stuff: the tension between traditional financing and rent-to-own, how “no credit check” trained discount expectations, and what a cleaner path to approval could look like with clear tiers, transparent total cost of ownership, and disciplined inventory turns. If you’ve ever wrestled with yields, markdowns, or lender skepticism, this segment will hit home.

Quality is more than a slogan—so we ask for a ruler. What tolerances define “good”? Which material minimums match each use case? How do shops reproduce results and sales teams explain them in plain English? We make the case for measurable specs, shared install best practices, and warranty language that matches reality. And we call for national trade groups—like NFBA for post-frame—to drive year-round education, research, and standards for sheds and light steel. Until that exists, we can still act like it does: share what works, teach before we criticize, and lift the floor for everyone.

We close with gratitude, favorite moments, and a clear ask: tell us what you want next. More field-tested playbooks? Deeper finance insights? A standards roadmap? Your feedback will shape the return. Subscribe, share this with a builder or seller who needs it, and leave a review with the one standard you think our industry should adopt first.

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This episodes Sponsors:
Studio Sponsor: J Money LLC

Transcript

Welcome And Trade Show Highs

INTRO 0:00

Hey, this is Joel Oney at J Money in the Heart of the Buckeye State. And I want to personally welcome you to today's episode of the Steel Kings podcast with my good friends Jared Ledford and Eric Olson, better known as the Steel Kings. Be sure to check out JMoneyLLC.com for financing solutions for your buildings. And now let's get back to the Steel Kings podcast. Yeah, what I'll tell you, dude, is I am beyond excited. I am Jared Ledford.

INTRO 0:32

It is time to get motivated about your business. It's time for some personal development. It's time to get out and shaking howdy with people. I can tell you, man, what the Steel Kings are.

INTRO 0:42

Dude, we have one thing, I mean, if I could say one statement about the step job, is that people need direct help from our market question? Hi, Jared. He's Eric.

INTRO 0:55

We are the get out in your communities, everybody, and do something good for somebody else. It'll make you feel better.

Six Years Of Content And Growth

Jared 1:06

Hey, hey, what's up, guys? This is Jared, and this is another episode of the Steel Kings podcast. We are coming back at you fresh off the trip to the Oklahoma City to the NFBA trade show. Let me tell you something. We did a lot of episodes here. We did a lot of content, and I can tell you something right now. That was a time I'm not gonna forget. I got to meet so many new people. I got to see so many friends that I've spent time with over the years. And I can tell you something. You guys showed up with big spirits and big hearts, and I appreciate that about you. So, thank you for coming and seeing us at the NFBA trade show. We had a great time, and big thank you to the National Frame Building Association for allowing us to be there in person, repping Steel Kings, repping Shed Geek, and doing all things podcast related. I can tell you this, guys, it has been a huge, huge week, and I have got two very special guests who you guys are going to know really well. I've got Cord and I've got the Shed Geek himself here with me in the studio today. I'm gonna go ahead and bring him in. We are gonna shoot here for a while. We're just gonna talk from the heart. We've got some news coming up for you guys, and we're just gonna share it with you. So let me see if I can get him in here. Cord?

Cord 2:25

Jared?

Jared 2:26

What's up? What's up, guys? Welcome to Steel Kings Podcast. Thanks for having me. How's everybody doing today?

Shannon 2:33

Good man, I'm doing good. I'm channeling my enter and my inner Jared Ledford and my backwards hat.

Jared 2:41

We talked before the podcast, so everybody knows we peel the curtain back. We do a little bit, 15. Well, we normally do like 15 minutes. We've been on the phone for like an hour, hour and a half, something like that. Just catching up, talking about all things, all the things that are coming up for Shed Geek, all the things that are coming up for the Steel Kings, myself specifically. Um I don't know where you guys want to start, man. This is this is gonna be big news, big news, big front, good things coming down the pike. So Shannon, I mean, why don't you take the lead, brother? I mean, guide us, yeah.

Why Steel Kings Is Pausing

Shannon 3:16

Well, I'll do my best. I don't know if I've if I got my sales set right, but I'll do the best I can. But yeah, I think first and foremost, just like, you know, I thank you, you know. Today, today marks the sixth year uh that we are beginning uh March, what's March 5th, yeah. So technically we're two days into already our sixth year of producing content. Uh, and we've done so consistently now for five years, you know, with a minimum of at least one episode a week and sometimes up to three episodes a week, very uh, you know, discussing just various things, sheds, uh steel buildings, uh, everything that kind of is the is the uh on a shed lot, if you will, and even outside of a shed lot, you know, for marketing and rent own and finance services, and gosh, are you starting to see some of those things grow up in the industry and just do more? And trying to keep your pulse on them is can sometimes be difficult between sitting behind this desk and sitting behind a steering wheel, you know, and doing exactly what you said, Jared, which is talking for an hour every time I get on the phone. I mean, I got I got a sneaky suspicion some people don't want to call me because they know it's gonna be an hour conversation. Uh even if we don't mean for it to be, even if we don't mean for it to be, it somehow ends up being because there's so much to talk about. And so, so uh uh those who do who do call me, they just plan for that, I think. Um, but there really is. If you're excited about the industry, if you're excited about where it's going, and you're excited about your business, you know, like you're gonna those conversations are gonna get flushed out, especially once you get past the formalities and you're just like, hey, what does 2026 and 7 look like? What are opportunities are out there? Where is this industry going? And by this industry, it's like where does it blend in the grace from here to there? And the truth is, I don't know. I don't know, I don't know how to answer that. Uh, and that's why it's been so good to have you and Eric on, you know, the last year producing content consistently with the Steel Kings, it helped diversify, you know, sort of our uh just sort of our conversations and with people who knew what they're talking about and coming from a different perspective, because let's be honest, you get tired of hearing the same guy ask the same questions, you need a new perspective, and that's why we've had different people on the podcast, and maybe we'll continue to do more of that. Uh, but you know, probably the sad part is you can almost see it as uh oh what is uh Cord, help me out here in English. What is it whenever the sentence stops but it keeps going? Is it the semicolon?

Cord 5:55

Uh yeah, semicolon M dash. Yeah, yeah.

Shannon 5:58

This is a this is a semicolon moment where you know we're talking about wrapping up things for the Steel Kings. Uh uh, you know, and obviously love you, love Eric, what you guys have brought to the table, uh, all the advice that you guys have put out there, but really just like I mean, man, this this uh this NFBA approach that you guys just took. Um your introduction makes me jealous. Like I want to do that cool of an introduction, first of all. I've never been able to be that cool. I'm wearing my backwards hat to try and get there. I just don't know if I'm there yet. But uh, but I love what you guys do. And um, you know, I think what we want to do is really realign, take, take some time, take the summer and just kind of, you know what I mean, like focus on sales right now, and then start to look toward the fall on how we want to realign with uh with possibly something discussing steel buildings, but we're still in that discovery stage, so we don't know. So I'd love to tell the audience hey, we got this all figured out, here's the quarterback. Uh view uh we need the feedback, yeah.

Jared 7:07

You know, we need to hear we need to hear a longing voice. What I can tell you from my perspective, you're on six years. I did fit. This is episode 50. Um, I can officially say with everything in my heart, we've done this for about a year now. And I wish I had produced a few more episodes for you. You know what I mean? Like behind the curtain, right? So, the things that that Jared Ledford deals with on a daily basis. I'm running several businesses, which you all know about. Uh I'm taking steps forward in personal journeys and different things like that. And you know, it's just time to maybe sunset something for a moment and see if there's a longing for it once it's gone. And you know, the NFBA series was, I can tell you, probably the best work I did for you, Shannon, as far as just feeling whole in my content. I want to create long form content, I want to create short form content. Um, you guys are not gonna hear the last from me. I will certainly be a guest spot whenever Shannon and Cord feel like I'm gonna be good for the topic or conversation. I'm not gonna be more than an arm's reach away at any point. Um, I'm still here as a personality and as a as a person in the industry that wants to help. And rising tide raises all boats. And I think that's what Cord and Shannon and I talked a lot about offline. And we could bore you with the inner nuances of all the things we're dreaming about, right? But I can tell you when things are realigned and everything comes into an agreement, um, things can be so much better off for that realignment and that time to just take a breath, right? I can't commit right now to a full-time every week podcast journey. That's what I can't do. So I can tell you.

Shannon 8:50

It takes so much more than people realize, doesn't it?

Realignment Plans And Audience Input

Jared 8:53

From my point of view, you're listening to a guy who just said that he's done this for six years, producing at least one episode a week. My hat's off to Shannon. Shannon knows how I feel. Uh, that is not something that I think I could have done. And I don't think it's something that anybody else could have done in this industry because look and see who's there with them. The fact is, there's nobody, right? And for me, I would not be where I'm at as a podcaster without you, Shannon. And I appreciate what you've offered me as a platform to meet and greet people and get out there in the industry and really just tip my hat to what you guys are doing and will do, right? And I hope I'm part of it. I know I will be. But from the Steel Kings perspective, it just doesn't make sense for Jared Ledford anymore, right in this moment. I have to focus on the things that I'm doing as a forward trajectory for me personally. Um, and finding that, I think, is a lot of it, right? You know, a lot of it is you run out of things to talk about. I don't have, I don't have an endless stream of people that want to come on the podcast. Um, I can tell you this. Um I know that you guys want to hear what we all have to share. That I can tell you. I mean, this industry, the specifically shed related industry, has kind of opened their arms up to me and brought me in full circle. And I appreciate that about this journey with you. So, I would be remiss if I said anything different. I will say this shout out to the guys at J Money. They gave us a huge opportunity this past year. I would not be where I'm at personally, professionally, or podcast related without Joel. Um, you guys have seen him on the podcast. He's gonna be doing some great things with Shed Geek moving forward. I know the team at Velocity360 idea room, CAL and Defyned, they're gonna still be helping you out in whatever capacity they can. They're still great guys. It's just for me in this moment, I've got to do what's right for me. And quite frankly, what's right for you, Shannon? And it's if I can't produce the content on a regular basis, I don't want to be committed to it. That's my biggest thing. This is no, by no means is this the first question we're gonna get when this podcast airs is well, you guys are at odds with each other. That's what happens in this industry.

Rising Tide Mindset Across Industries

Shannon 11:10

But usually, it's usually what happens in a partnership, right? Yeah, like I had somebody tell me the other day, I'm gonna quit calling them partnerships. I'm gonna call them partner planes because the ship just seems to always sink, but you know, the partner plane always seems to fly. And I think we've got a partner plane relationship. I don't think you have you know, like everyone's been in a partnership, and you know, hey, Cord would be the first advocate for this to tell you the gridlock starts at 50-50. Like we could make a podcast just over that conversation where people just can't seem to move forward because everybody's so kind and nice. It's that way around the office. Like if Cord or me ask each other to do something, it's like you don't even want to ask because it's like you're telling, and we're like, hey, we got to get past that. We got to get past that to get work done. And uh and so I noticed that like partnerships always have that opportunity for that fallout, but not if you're a professional collaborator, not if you're somebody who's trying to move the needle, because it's you can't come on and do a podcast one hour a week, every week for five years and not care about something. Uh I don't I just don't think that that anyone's gonna spend that much time talking about it. And I also think it's gonna come across in your in your content because uh I've gone through ebbs and flows, and you guys probably saw one of those over the last six months where I was just kind of like down, right? Just kind of like melancholy, and I wasn't excited about what I was doing. I was even telling people behind the scenes, like, I don't know, maybe I've just maybe I've just lost my touch, maybe I've just lost my passion for it. And you know what? In the last seven weeks, we have had the best numbers that we've ever had in the podcast. I have had opportunities come in like I never imagined that were going to come. And it just helped to reinvigorate me and remind me whenever I have people like you and others just say kind things or give you opportunities. And I and I got to remember that's what we're here for. We're here to help people. I mean, this is a free platform. You can listen or not listen, right? You can turn the dial if we're not giving you something that's valuable enough. So, we want to try and always make sure that we're bringing content that's for you. And look, Jared has a wealth of knowledge stored up in there, and sometimes Jared maybe just needs interviewed as opposed to interviewing others. I don't know. Like, there's just times we're gonna have him on because we want to pick his brain, we want to get his thoughts. I mean, we love Eric too, you know. I know he's doing his ministry thing and all that, and we we're thankful for it. Uh, but our relationship has kind of where we started. I mean, me and you hit it off from day one, first of all. For sure. Like we hit it off from day one. And then, like, I just want to figure out how to make that matter moving forward. So, let's give it the summer, you know. Let's me and you stay connected, of course. Me, you and Cord, and let's see what we can do in this industry. Because I really do think that you've got three guys here that are very passionate about what they do. I don't think you wake up every day dreading what you do, uh, but that doesn't mean it's not difficult either.

Jared 14:01

No, I mean, I think for me personally, right, the journey's been one that's been ebbs and flows, right? We talk about it all the time. We've talked about it on the podcast almost every week. One week we might have a really good sales week, the next week we might not have such a good sales week. I think the reason that we brainstormed doing it like this, number one, I had the convenience and the and the really the pleasure, quite frankly, of working with NFBA. And we can't thank them enough for giving us an opportunity on this platform with Shannon's help to produce episodes that they were extremely happy with that really brought in a new audience that's hopefully gonna stick right here and keep listening for good content because we're not done, right? Shannon and Cord are gonna be here, I'm gonna be here, you know, we're here and from a post-frame perspective, if you're listening, keep right on listening. I'm telling you, we've got some big things in the works as it is right now, whether it be content for Shed Geek, content for a new podcast, content for new IP, whatever that looks like, you know, we're gonna be sharing it with you right here on the Shed Geek Network. You're gonna hear it here weekly from Shannon one, two, three, maybe five episodes. Who knows? Right? And I think that's where everything that Shannon and I have been through, and I'm gonna leave this right here. Everything we've been through brings us to the moment where when you can actually make a decision that's good for everybody, share it out loud. Talk about it right now so that everybody knows that Shannon and Jared are in agreement. Cord's right there with us in an agreement, right? And we're all feeling really good, actually. It feels like a weight lift because now everybody gets to kind of focus on themselves for a hot minute and really focus on what's the most important thing, the one thing. I'll give that shout out to Joel. Joel listens, he'll know what the one thing is. So for me personally, 50 episodes. I can't believe I've shot them. You know, I can't believe I've done 50 episodes of this. It's honestly it's crazy.

Shannon 16:02

Did a great and did a great job. We always got really good feedback. We're we've always been happy to have both of you guys on. And you just you just have a different line of knowledge. I mean, obviously, you guys, you know, uh work strongly in the in the steel building world, uh, you know, but there again, how does it not touch the shed world? I always say the shed becomes the common denominator in the things that connect these things, but the reality is uh uh there's so much more industry to explore with post-frame, uh steel buildings, you know, red iron, I mean, just construction in general. I mean, if you think about all the things that are potential to be on a, you know, uh got an RTO inquiry today. Do you do gazebos? I mean, it's like, are gazebos part of the shed industry? Yes, they are. I mean, a lot of times they're built by shed builders. You know, are they as popular as I feel like they were in the 80s and 90s? No. What happened? Well, you can't produce as many gazebos uh and get them out the door as you can sheds, right? Because sheds become a better profit margin. So when people start to look at their business model, but does it matter? People still do gazebos, they still do chicken coops, they still do livestock shelters, horse run-ins, but then you get into this uh trailers, utility trailers, like furniture. I mean, like I don't know how big it goes, but if you're talking about the backyard, you know, the this is the this is the conversation that we want to have, whether that's turns into three days a week, four days a week, five days a week, if we can bring you entertaining and educational content that's worth listening instead of listening to another podcast or listening to an audio book or listening to music, that's what we want to do. It's free. We want to continue to provide that content. Obviously, we pay for this through advertisers. So those of you who do advertise, we want to give you as much love as we possibly can. We do appreciate you guys, it means so much. You know, there's two sections too, almost to uh uh a shed geek, right? There's like this, there's like this media section, and then there's this other part, you know, and that's the part that's hard to separate is my knowledge and experience over 12 years in this industry, meeting people and working together, and uh to call it you know what it is, you got to make a buck, right? You got a family, got kids, got grandkids, you know. So, you want to make money, but the goal is to like lift people up, lift up the industry, and like uh and even connect both industries where we can. Me and you and Cord, you know, we're all good networkers on that on that area, being able to put together those pieces of the puzzle. And I want to keep doing that, Jared. We've got to keep tapping into that.

Competition, Finance, And RTO Friction

Jared 18:36

We have to because nobody else is going to. That's what we've learned about this industry, I think, as a whole. And I'll get on my platform here for a minute and say what I always say: rising tide raises all ships. We have to understand that as an industry. And what I can tell you is that the shed industry and the steel building industry have a lot to learn from post-frame, quite frankly, about how to treat people, how to work together, how to work together to raise the tide for everybody. The industries as a whole have to make that choice. And it can't always be the Steel Kings or the Shed Geek or Cord or anybody else. It's got to be the entire industry that chooses to rally together and say, look, we're gonna do better than we've done in the past. And if you're sitting there thinking, man, I'm doing just fine on my own, that's part of the problem, right? I mean, I'm just gonna say it like that. Um, the biggest criticism I got, and I mean, I'm just gonna be real, the biggest criticism I got from feedback of doing the Steel Kings was, I can't believe you'd tell anybody those things. And it's like the biggest feedback I got was, why not? Why would I not tell people that? It works for me. You know, well, you're gonna hurt your business. Okay. I mean, that's my decision. What I do shouldn't impact what you do, as long as I'm not hurting you. And I don't think I've ever gotten on the podcast and said anything derogatory about any one person. I'll say it about everybody, quite frankly, myself included. I was this way four or five years ago. I was very closed-minded and shut off from what everybody else had to say about me or the industry, and it was mine, mine, everything's mine. Take it, take it, take it. And it's like, nah. I mean, I just don't operate that way. And if that makes me, if that makes me wrong in your eyes, I'm sorry. But what I can say is I believe it in my heart to be true that if we all work together, we can do better for each other.

Shannon 20:33

I want to get corded on these thoughts, but I want to I want to jump in there real quick, Cord, and say, trust me, even the biggest names, the biggest names in the industry, they still wonder what's going on out there. And trust me, because I've had the opportunity, I feel blessed to have the opportunity to sit in front of some of them and hear, you know, you walk a tightrope, man, you do a good job. You know, you've gotten in front of people I've not been able to get in front of, and they're like, What's your secret? And I'm like, Well, I can tell you my secret. Uh, whenever I was young, you know, I was I was too dumb, you know what I mean, uh uh uh to not know any different uh that I couldn't just ask. And I think that stops a lot of us is like these gentlemen agreements or whatever it is that you've got going on, you know, the church dynamic or whatever. I uh you know, I had a buddy who used to say, you know, I wasn't brave, I was just stupid. You know, and that was kind of me. It was just kind of like, I'll ask. If no one else will ask, I'll ask. Uh, and you'd be surprised at sometimes what just putting yourself out there gets you. Uh, we question ourselves so much. And I'm like, I'm not doing anything special. I'm actually just asking, will you be on? Will you talk with us about these things? And if so, what can you share? I don't want you to give away your competitive advantage cord. I'm not asking you to come on the show and talk about what makes you better than others, but I do think that I don't think that you can be a CEO of one of the big five and sit back and say that if our industry Uh falters, if I stay uninvolved in the industry, and I'm talking sheds here, just whenever I say big five, just to be clear. But like I don't think that you can be involved or not involved and say, if I'm not involved uh and I'm not working towards the industry being better, um that it's going to be better for our business. If you're only trying to I I'm struggling to get this across the way I want to in words.

Standards, Quality, And Reputation

Cord 22:26

Um you're creating a dynamic in the industry that that creates something akin to the way that people talk about used car dealerships. There are a lot of really good used car dealerships. Thank you. But you're creating an atmosphere in the public, in the consumer mind that is bringing that whole thing down. And that detriments everyone in the same way that um you know it might take 10 reviews or 20 reviews or 30 reviews, you know, to really have that high level of confidence in the business. It takes one battle, one really bad one, right? And that experience um translates to everyone. So yeah, it this the idea of collaboration and connection goes both directions. Um and the industry, industries um are becoming more and more interconnected because they're on the same lots. They're in front of the same, they're being sold by the same salespeople to consumers who come on looking for a property solution, a non-home property solution, and that can range. I mean, we know this. There are overlapping sheds, carports, and post frames that all functionally serve the same purpose. They've all like, you know, sheds have gotten big enough that that now there's overlap there, and it has to be a spirit of collaboration and connection because all of the industries are regionally fragmented in a way that doesn't really allow for that national brand, national, truly national, coast-to-coast brand to rise above the best as, well, you know, you have to go to them. We know that. Everyone knows that. They're the A, uh, you know, they're the Apple, or you know, pick your pick whatever brand you like. Um, so it really is. It's an it's an industry-wide um reputation that is being built. And so we all have to encourage everyone not to just have good practices, but to um be good to people on the other side of that, right?

Jared 24:39

So, I think that's what I think that's but been my focus, right? Is that it isn't necessarily about, oh, we have to share our businesses with everybody. That's not what I've been getting at, and I hope that's not the way I've come off, even though it's probably somewhat of the way I come off. I can tell you from my perspective, the people who are gonna win here are the people who do good work for others. You know, get out in your community and do something better for somebody else that'll make you feel better. I've said that I think on pretty much every one of the podcasts, at least once, and I've signed off with it, I think, on the last 35 episodes or so. My mom used to say that to me every day. She would say that to me. And I wanted to share that with you guys because to me, the way an industry is interpreted has a lot to do with how successful that industry may or may not be, right? So, we wonder why big box retailers we won't name any specific ones, but we all know who we're talking about. We wonder why big box retailers are the top sellers of portable buildings in the United States. We all wonder that question because it's easy and you don't have to think about it because the reputation in this space is not always a good one. Okay. I can remember, and this is this is really hitting deep right here. This is deep track. When I started selling sheds and metal buildings, my family laughed at me. Oh, you're selling that junk? You're selling that junk. And that these are people who don't know anything about this, right? And I'm not saying that's the way I think about it because you guys all know I love the industry with a passion that burns like right now. I love sheds, steel buildings, pole barns, red iron, you name it. I love it. And I have endless amounts of respect and love for all the communities who are doing the work to produce these buildings, produce these materials. So many different suppliers, so many different manufacturers doing good work, putting food on their table. I remember a really good friend of mine in the industry told me once, you can tell how happy somebody is by how many heads they feed. Right? And that's uh that's an old, just an old phrasing in the plane community that's been around for a long time. How many people do you feed? How many people does your business feed? It wasn't about how much money you made, it was about how much food you put on the table and how many people you could feed. And to me, that's where rising tide raises all ships comes into play big time. If we want to beat big box retailers, which is everybody's goal, they want to sell the most sheds, the most steel buildings, the most pole barns, they want to sell a Buku million, fine. But you have to do it in a way that makes the entire industry a winner, right? And you have to do it from a place of authority and positioning because we know the second that the shed industry gets hot and it goes up and down, I think 2025 was a mixed bag for most people, but sheds specifically, you know, as soon as it gets hot, there are bad players that come into the space. They come in with bad designs, they come in with subpar building materials. You have to be better than that, and you have to tell customers why they should buy from you and not from their big box local chain.

The Case For National Trade Groups

Shannon 27:55

It seems like the biggest, the biggest um, you know, the biggest misnomer starts to be like if you ask people who's your competition because they identify each other as their competition. I mean, I don't know if you know this, but the but the self-storage, you know, uh industry dwarfs what we do. I mean, just go look at the amount of like data that exists for that industry for people who want to invest into it. Like we can't get good finance people to the table because shed people look, hey, look, I'm you're getting me, you're catching me off guard today. I'm about to say something I'm gonna regret. I used to be a I used to be a jailer. I was even a shift commander for those who can imagine that in my younger years. And there was this saying when we were growing up, you know, if you're feeling froggy, leap. You know, like uh if you're feeling froggy, go ahead and leap. And I'm about to leap right now and tell you, man, why do you think we're having a hard time getting finance to the table in the industry? Is because rent owners taught a customer to come in on a no credit check. We're not educating them in our public school system or even our private school uh school system on financing. Now all of a sudden people are trained to come in and ask for discounts. Now you got this large inflated inventory model out there where you have to discount 15% at the end of the year. And what's your yield? 28% on that. And it's like, why are we doing that? And then rent to own is like uh uh constricting that where finance really can't get a good FICO score in a customer because they're seeing no credit check, one payment down. I'm feeling awful froggy, but I'm gonna I'm gonna bring it back. I'm gonna come back just a little, as my pastor would say. You know, I wrote two things down as he was talking. And the first is love covers a multitude of sins, right? Love covers them all, and I believe that good help covers a multitude of failures. You can't blame people for being out here doing things and trying things and being leaders uh and failing because failing's not the end-all be-all. Not getting back up is the end-all be-all. And trust me, I've been at that place more than once in my life where I'm struggling to get up, you know, but you have to. There's no other option than to do that. The other is you're the only Bible some people's ever gonna read. You're the only Bible. Some people aren't gonna go to church, some people aren't gonna believe in Jesus, but they're gonna believe in you. And you say you're a Christian. So how you act and what you do represents us all. If you're a Christian, guess what? If you're a shed seller, you're a shed hauler, you're a shed manufacturer, you're a rent-owned company, what you do represents all of us ultimately. So, like, if we're wanting to build a better industry, it's good to come in together into the fray and like look, rather than criticize somebody who's doing it wrong, educate them. There's been many times I've needed someone to tell me what I was doing wrong and show me a better way than to just condemn what I was doing as wrong. But if you'll teach me, well, then I'll be better.

Feedback Culture And Grace In Business

Cord 30:44

There's probably there's probably there probably needs to be a ruler, also, Shannon. I mean, we're talking about the Bible, we're talking about uh sin, the commandments, right? We're talking about what does the Bible tell you to do? Well, I mean, if we're just making that drawing that connection, there needs to be a ruler, there needs to be a standard. Everyone says quality, quality, quality. What is quality? Is it a sixteenth square on an eight-foot run? You know what I mean? Is it a sixteenth on a sixteen-foot run? That's about what a house, you know, that's what a house frames out at, basically. Um, you know, what does it mean to be quality? Is it the materials? Well, obviously, you have price-sensitive shoppers. It's not like every shed has to have the absolute top of the line um, you know, materials in it. But what is your shop rated or qualified to produce? How good are your jigs? How good do you how good do you uh reproduce that same shed over and over? I mean, these are tough questions. I think all of us are probably being uh you know a little a little critical, I guess, of just what but for everyone here, we are invested in the idea of the industry rising, of the tide rising. And for that to happen, it does require some of these conversations sometimes.

Jared 32:02

The funniest part about this is it ties back to the beginning of this conversation, right? I just spent the last eight weeks sharing with you all the benefits of being a member of the NFBA, right? The NFBA is a national trade organization for post-frame. Why don't we have one for sheds? I've said this before on the podcast. Why don't we have one for steel buildings? Somebody do it. Shannon and Jared and Cord don't have the money nor the bandwidth. The top okay, we can be advisors. Our emails are right here, okay? We'll help you. We'd love to be advocates for it. And I can tell you, if you are listening to this and you and you're dealing in post frame in any capacity, you would be very well served by checking out the NFBA. And the NFBA brings everybody together and they give you education and they give you all these things. And Marty, man, I'm telling you, for you guys who haven't been to Shed Expo, it's the closest thing.

Shannon 33:01

You gotta go. You gotta go.

Jared 33:02

You gotta go, man. You gotta go. Like, I'll be there, I'll be there probably with Shannon hanging out some. Like, Shed Expo is where it's at. Now you can go get some training, you go some education, you can go hang out, it's great. But what I can tell you is there's no trade organization that keeps it going year-round. There's nobody offering that education, that service. That and again, there's so many different voices. I know there is. There's everybody's trying to sell you uh uh I can teach you how to sell. I don't know about that. Listen to Shed Geek, he'll teach you how to sell, he'll get he'll get unwound every once in a while. I can tell you that's what I love about doing this with the two of you, is sometimes we do get unwound, right? And that's when you're gonna learn the most from us, is when we're not tempering because honesty is the best way to proceed. If I can tell you exactly how I feel and it hurts your feelings, you should change something.

Shannon 34:01

Just learning how to do it with tact is quite possibly one of the hardest things.

Jared 34:06

Right? I'm not saying, hey you, Mr. X, okay? Hey, you Mr. X. I don't like what you're doing. I'm saying if you're doing something that's in disagreement with the industry moving forward, you need to stop. That's what I'm saying.

Cord 34:21

Hey, this is this is your last uh official one for a few months. So if you want to call somebody out, Jared, just have at

Jared 34:28

no no no no no. I can tell you this. I can tell you this.

Shannon 34:32

Cord is baiting, baiting.

Events To Attend And What’s Next

Jared 34:34

I can tell you this. There is nobody I can't think of one person, and there's a lot of people who probably don't like me. And quite frankly, there's probably a lot of people who don't like Shannon. Might be some people who don't like Cord. I don't much care about it. My philosophy is if you don't like me, my email's right there. My phone number is sproused all over the internet. You can call me, we can have a discussion. I'll talk to anybody. Shannon and Cord have heard me talk to people that they know that don't like me and that I don't particularly like them, and I'll have a conversation with them. I am one open book, man. I want to be friends with everybody, quite frankly. I'm the friendliest dude in the room, and I don't I don't carry grudges or burdens. I don't let that I don't not I do not let that stuff bother me.

Shannon 35:20

Okay, it is that if you if you if you let it stay, it just ultimately eats at you. And that's a that's more of a you know just a business philosophy. I feel like we should do a show topic just on the un uh the front of house shed side and steel side, but then there's a whole back of house, you know, shed and steel side too of conversations that happen. And it's like I don't know whenever you know what it's gonna take to remedy that because I think that you're in business, and when you're in business, you're always gonna touch on some stuff that people don't like, whether it be their approach, their mindset, their attitude, their business philosophy or general business acumen. Uh, but look, you know, I think that you I don't know, I heard somebody say one time before, you know, just do the next right thing. And I'm not saying I always get it right, because trust me, I I've got so many things I could go back and do over in my life that that I that I would. A lot of people say, would you change anything? I'd say, well, you know, if you believe in predestiny and God, then I suppose I should answer that with a no. But I mean, my conscience tells me, yeah, there's some things I'd do different situations I would handle better, you know, and I try to learn as you go. I'm 45 years old. I suspect that I haven't got what a 55-year-old's gotten experienced. So maybe I try to learn from them. I'll give you a perfect example since they're we're talking about filling froggy. My website. Perfect example. You know, I went to my website one day and didn't even notice it. You know, I was looking at my reviews, and I got a review on here that says, you know, with a with a with a squiggly line and an arrow. You guys go check it out. Shed geek brands number one most trusted resource in the shed industry. We have a shed specific podcast, Shed Geek Marketing, and Shed Geek Rentals. And somebody, you know, went and pointed on that and said, they want you to build, they want to build a website for you, but they can't even get their own uh they can't even get their own uh proofreading done on their on their website because I had somebody set up my Google Pro uh business profile and they misspelled the word trusted. Now someone went out of their way to give me a review, negative review on here, because the word trusted. Now we fixed the word trusted, but because the word trusted is wrong, because it was misspelled, and it was like, don't ever do business with the guy, can't build you a good website, can't do anything good because he misspelled the word trusted. And I'm just thinking to myself, like, I've never, shed or non-shed related, seen a misspelling and was like, that's it. Never working with that guy ever again. Can't spell the word. I didn't even set it up, whatever. You know, somebody set it up and they didn't run it through chat. Okay. You know, Deanna came on. Boy, we are in rare form today, aren't we? You guys got my blood pressure up. You know, Deanna came on, she's my wife, she's helping me part-time, and she and she said, Justin Ulrich instead of Jonathan. Very well known, very well respected guy in the industry. Love him to death. Wife didn't know who he was, didn't care. She just simply made a mistake. And instead of throwing her under the bus, I took the heat. You know, I got 20 emails telling me I misspelled his name. I got people who hadn't reached out in three years reaching out just to say, ha, you made a mistake. Just wanted you to know you made a mistake. And I was like, nothing about this feels like we're trying to lift each other up. Right? None, it's like I'm sitting back waiting for you to make an error. And we're gonna err. Like that's just the truth. And that's anyone in business. But instead, maybe we can like help build each other up and come together in a spirit of cooperation, have some professional collaboration. You know what? Message me and say, trust it is misspelled on your Google business profile. Why don't you go fix that? And I will, you know, but these are the little things that you feel like you gotta, you feel like you gotta be perfect in every situation.

Favorite Moments And Open Invitation

Jared 39:13

You know, if it's like we're not, I might just take it. I'm okay with that. You know what I'm saying? If you if you just let me know, I might be able to fix what's bothering you. That's what a lot of this comes down to, right? Is collaboration amongst us. We should not be shelling ourselves off and boxing ourselves into these holes. And you know, again, Shannon has said it multiple times. This is a free platform. If y'all don't want to listen, go find something else to listen to. We're not forcing it, we're not force feeding it. We want you to want to listen to us. Don't get you don't get it.

Shannon 39:46

We want to provide helpful material that for you content for you to listen. We don't want to come on here and create diversity with the platform God's given us to speak. We want to honor Him, and we honor Him by like giving back to others. Have we been perfect? Probably not. Could we do better? Absolutely. But you know what? As Joel says from J Money, and I got this right here on my desk: the man in the arena. So it's a Theodore Roosevelt. You've probably seen it. The man in the arena, I'm sure Joe's told you. You know, go read that poem today, and that'll explain everything you need to know.

Jared 40:17

I have the whole poem right there on the wall, it's literally right there. And I can tell you, I can tell you this. We have gone a little bit over where we need to be. And I'm gonna leave a cliffhanger, okay? I'm gonna leave the teaser right here. If you like what we're talking about, we'll do it again. I'll come on Shannon's show, we'll hang out.

Cord 40:38

Like 100%.

Jared 40:39

I can tell you this one thing that I want you all to do.

Cord 40:42

Come talk about the steel tube shortage on my show. Come talk to me on a Friday.

Jared 40:47

Oh man, don't even get me that'll get me uncorked. I'll be I'll be up screwed like Shannon. We'll be we'll be plastered to the walls.

Cord 40:56

Three weeks, three weeks, I can tell you this much.

Jared 40:59

I am not gonna be more than an arm's length away from anything, any topics these guys want to talk about. I'm gonna be doing some stuff, I'll be hanging out, I'll be at trade shows. Um, I wouldn't I would be remiss if I didn't say if you're going to York, if you're an NFBA member and you're going to York for the post-frame show, go there. Okay. If you're not going, go. It's gonna be Oklahoma City was awesome. Oklahoma City is a clean city. Okay, they have tons of stuff to do. It is a little bit off the beaten path for that audience. So if you were a little bit disappointed with the turnout, I can tell you we had a great time, but York, York's right in the backyard. Okay, yeah. If you're not going, I'll be there for sure. It's probably the next time I'll be there.

Shannon 41:45

Let's get a booth, Jared. We need to get a booth and like me, you, and Cord just hang out and like have conversations with people, man. Not even go with like uh an agenda. I mean, if we get some marketing or some rentals or some this, that, or another off of it, that's great. But you know, let's just go have a conversation with people.

Jared 42:00

Hanging out is the fun part, okay? I can tell you this. You would be absolutely remiss if you didn't think I was going to show up and show my face on a couple of episodes. So, if you've been following me, and I know there's a lot of you that do, continue to follow me on the socials, continue to check us out. Um, I'll send some updates out on the Steel Kings social media for those of you that have been following me along. Um, we've got so much more stuff to do and accomplish. And I would be remiss if I didn't say we're all grateful for the opportunity to even talk to you all on any platform ever. We're lucky, we're blessed beyond measure, we're better than we deserve most of the time. All right.

Shannon 42:39

Favorite before you go, yeah. What was your favorite? What was your favorite thing, uh, favorite experience over the year of shooting the podcast? Go ahead with your thought, but I just want to ask you that before you close out.

Jared 42:51

I think I think my favorite podcast was probably the one we did with Craig Felker from JMAG right after Shed Expo.

Shannon 43:04

Um, Craig is an awesome easy one to like, a lot of energy.

Gratitude, CTA, And Sponsor Sign‑Off

Jared 43:08

Craig is an awesome guy. We meshed well. We did an episode with Rodney Creech, he's a state rep here in Ohio. We did steel tariffs with him. That was a powerful episode. Um, man, we had some really good times. I gotta be honest, we had really good fun time at Shed Expo this past year, and I'm looking forward to doing it again. I mean, I think the most fun I had was that. I will say this as we exit Shannon says it all the time. I've heard him say it to people, he said it to me. When we first met, if you want to do a podcast, get out and do it. A lot of people say they have stuff to talk about, and nobody gets in front of a microphone and does it. And I have to give another shout out on the six years, man, because I can tell you I'm sitting here reminiscing about the 50 episodes, and I'm thinking, it's a ton of work. Okay. And a lot of times it's thankless. Most Of the time it's thankless, quite honestly. You know, I can tell you if you're a fan of myself, Cord, or Shannon, don't hesitate to tell us. Tell us what you like and what you don't like. Because I can tell you, we want to get that feedback and we want to honor it. Tell us what you don't like and we'll fix it. Tell us what you like and we'll do more of it. We want to be right there for you guys in the audience, the people who are listening to us and giving us the platform in the first place. Um, but I can tell you, if you've got a voice, reach out to Shannon Record, they'll get you on the podcast. If you're an independent small business owner doing sheds, steel buildings, pole barns, they want to get you on the podcast. They want to ask you questions about your business. And not in a way that's gonna make it like we're trying to take anything from you, but maybe give you a little bit of a platform to talk about what makes your business special or what makes you special, what makes your product special. I would be remiss if I didn't say one more time thank you to J Money, right? On the way out this week, big shout out to Joel and the team at J Money. If you are looking for financing on any kind of home improvement project, if you're a contractor, if you are a shed dealer, shed manufacturer, anything, contact the team at J Money. They will help you out. You guys got anything for me? I'm right at my cutoff.

Shannon 45:13

No, man, I'm good. Just thank you guys for everything that you've done. Uh, all the kind words. Appreciate you. For sure. It is a lot of work. You know, if you're gonna put your effort into getting out here and being vulnerable to step in front of people and have an opinion, you're gonna get your toes stepped on. And we're okay. You know, we're gonna make it work.

Jared 45:29

In you out, brother. I can tell you this. We'll be back at you, Shannon, Cord, myself. We will be back at you with more content, more episodes. You'll be set now. That doesn't mean it's going away forever. I'm Jared, Cord and Shannon. This has been the Steel Kings Podcast. Get out of your community and do something good for somebody else. It will make you feel better, I promise you.

OUTRO 46:00

Steel Nation, thank you for tuning in to the Steel Kings Podcast. If that episode fired you up, make sure you hit subscribe, leave a review, and share this with someone who is ready to like. We drop powerful episodes every year building strategies, stories, and real thoughts and the builders shape the future. Stay hungry, stay focused, and keep building stronger. Make sure to visit us at thesteelkings.com for more resources and industry tools. This is the Steel Kings Podcast, where the industry talks back. See you in the next one. Before you go, the J Money team wants to thank you for listening to today's Steel Kings podcast. Remember, money is king, and if you need a financing option on your portable woodsheds or steel buildings, we are here to help. Just check us out at jmoneyllc.com for more information. And don't forget to catch the next episode of the Steel Kings Podcast and have a great day.