Woodtex in Franklin, Tennessee, recently rolled out a major update to its “Design Your Own Shed” tool. I sat down with our vice president of creative, Paul Farmer, and asked him about his thoughts on the design tool. Q: What are the big changes people will notice when they look[Read More…]
V4I2
April/May 2018
Working It All Out
The shed industry, like all other industries, has its fair share of unique characters. I’ve worked with many different kinds of personality types over the last 15 years. Some of my co-workers have been very pleasant to deal with, and some have been, well, not so much. The key to[Read More…]
Working Harmoniously Together, Part 2
Joseph Miller has been involved in construction most of his life. His father was a brick and stone mason in Virginia Beach, training his four sons (there are also two daughters) in the masonry business. As the sons got older and were ready to take on more responsibility, Miller, the[Read More…]
Training as Motivation
I was coaching a production foreman recently who believed he had a problem with employee motivation. I learned a trick from a respected doctor a while back where you don’t agree with a patient’s self-diagnosis until you have researched it a bit further yourself. I was glad I did, upon[Read More…]
LITIGATION 101: For the Defense
Congratulations! Your shed-building business is a success. Customer orders are flowing in, employee morale is high, and you might even take a short vacation. Then you hear from a disgruntled customer, whose gripe may or may not have any legitimacy, and nothing you suggest will appease them. Next thing you[Read More…]
Pitching Site Prep
What’s the most difficult part of shed installation for your business? Is it getting together all the materials you need? Finding the right people to help speed through the installation? Could it possibly be dealing with your customer’s site preparation? When asked about how they prepare their customers for site[Read More…]
Transportation: Outsource or Invest?
Shed moving and transportation has become a booming business all on its own in recent years. There’s good reason for that. Not only does the growth follow the increasing demand for sheds that go well beyond what the big box stores offer, but shed moving is itself a significant challenge.[Read More…]
Reader Question: Shed Tie Downs
In every industry, no matter if you’re just starting out or have years of experience, you have questions—that includes shed builders. Recently, a builder posted a question on Facebook and we thought, “Wouldn’t it be great if fellow shed builders could offer their experiences in answer to the question for[Read More…]
RTO Metrics Report
“All organizations are perfectly designed to get the results they are now getting. If we want different results, we must change the way we do things.” — Tom Northup, author of Five Hidden Mistakes CEOs Make: How to Unlock the Secrets that Drive Growth and Profitability It is a simple[Read More…]
Lumber Prices Making History
Lumber prices are making history. Why? Let’s take a look at the reasons and what the future holds. As we offered in previous columns, improving macro-economic forces, supply disruptions, unexpected natural disasters, and unresolved trade policy with Canadian tariffs added to market volatility. With certainty in regard to lumber tariffs[Read More…]
