Family Legacy

Mr. B’s Buildings & Supplies was formed in 1977 by my grandparents, Carl and Clarise Berryhill (Mr. and Mrs. B). They sold mobile homes for over 40 years, providing affordable housing to communities for decades.

The original home office is located in Lyon, Mississippi, four miles outside of Clarksdale. The property consists of 5 acres. I grew up on the property and caught the school bus in front of the office. At one time or another, every member of my family worked for Mr. B’s. Our phone number is the original number from 1977.

My grandparents were very resilient in their business endeavors. Depending solely on sales can be challenging. There are good months, but some months can be very difficult. They used the storefront/office building to sell a multitude of items, such as mobile home parts and vehicles. They even converted it into a country store where they sold sandwiches and had a pool table, jukebox, and video games.

They were extremely hardworking. My grandfather also operated a mobile home toter. He moved and set up the mobile homes that he sold. Since the home office location was in a rural area, they eventually expanded and opened a second location for my uncle to manage. It was located in a high-traffic area of the main shopping district in Clarksdale. They were very successful at this location, so they expanded to a third location for my aunt in Cleveland, Mississippi.

After opening the third lot, the mobile home industry suffered a significant and long-lasting crash beginning around 1999 to 2001 (similar to the housing crash in 2008). Loans were overextended, and the industry collapsed. Many lenders specializing in manufactured housing went bankrupt. Financing became almost impossible, which forced my grandparents out of the market. Industry-wide inventory shipments dropped by roughly 90 percent by 2001, leaving sales lots empty. Manufacturing companies opened their own sales centers, pushing out small dealers and forcing closures. Mr. B’s slogan was, “The smallest dealer with the biggest savings.” Unfortunately, the small dealer was no more.

However, my grandparents remained resilient. They shifted gears and began selling repo and used mobile homes only. They worked out a deal with a local bank to finance the homes, since my grandfather had the equipment to retrieve them in the event of repossession.

During the mobile home crash, my grandfather was diagnosed with lung cancer and worked every day until he passed away in 2005. My uncle, Mike Brasher, kept the business afloat through mobile home parts sales. He experienced a heart attack in 2007, which forced his retirement. My grandmother was unable to run the business alone, so I put it up for sale.

There is an old trailer park at the back of the property with mobile homes that they had sold, which provided some passive income. However, without active sales, the business value was not where it needed to be. There were offers, but because of the sentimental value of my grandparents’ hard work and my family’s legacy, I could not let it go. I decided to purchase it.

My husband, Sean, and I moved our children back to our hometown and have truly learned along the way. We followed in my grandparents’ footsteps by remaining flexible. We sold used mobile homes, clothing, used and new furniture, mattresses, mobile home parts, and more.

To generate additional income and fill the storefront lot, we began selling sheds for one of our competitor brands 17 years ago. That partnership was short-lived. One thing we learned from my grandparents’ success was the importance of old-fashioned customer service. The competitor would not repair their buildings, and the T1-11 siding they used would rot and fade. Over time, the buildings looked terrible in the communities. We eventually asked them to come pick them up.

We then partnered with a very small builder who only built small sheds. One day, the builder asked me to attend a meeting. I agreed, not really knowing what it was for. It turned out to be a dealer meeting for United Portable Buildings. I sat through the meeting and loved everything I heard about the company. I really loved the owner’s knowledge, the concept of the DIY convertible building, and his energy. I returned home and shared the information with my husband, and we agreed to give it a try.

We entered the shed business full time in 2018 when we began selling for United Portable Buildings. At that time, we were still selling furniture and mattresses but decided to focus entirely on expanding our shed business, which had evolved into much more than just a “shed.”

We operate as a very tight-knit team with our manufacturing company. We rarely ever use the word “dealer.” You will always hear me referring to what we do as “we, our, us.” We work closely together on our projects and see ourselves as one team with one mission. Much of our success comes from operating as one business together, even though we are two separate entities. We are an extension of them, and they are an extension of us.

We have a small immediate team of three people at Mr. B’s because we want to personally serve our customers. We are a team of highly trained experts that handles many jobs. We have consistently been one of the top-grossing sales businesses since we started selling sheds full time. Our highest annual sales were $2 million with 179 sheds sold. This was done at our original home office location, located in rural Coahoma County, Mississippi.

We are currently looking to hire someone for our home office, but we take our business very seriously and will only hire someone who is truly an extension of ourselves. We continue the family tradition and pride ourselves on exceptional customer service.

We offer portable buildings in sizes ranging from 8 by 8 up to 16 by 52. We offer built-on-site structures up to 30 by 80, and we also offer a two-story building option. The portable buildings get set up on blocks like a mobile home and are an easier finish. The extra-wide built-on-site buildings are for the more knowledgeable customer. They get built on a slab or a traditional concrete pier system. The customers have the foundation work done themselves with our help and direction.

We help each customer design their own custom floor plan. Every building we construct is different. We offer some of the largest sizes and most customization options in the industry. We build the structure, complete the wiring, install outlets, lights, switches, and provide insulation. The most popular features requested are interior upgrades, such as interior framing and wiring.

Lead times vary depending on the number of orders, building size, travel distance, time of year, and other factors. Lead times are updated weekly. Portable buildings and on-site builds have different lead times. Typically, delivery ranges from two to six weeks, depending on weather and sales volume.

Once the customer approves the floor plan, they complete the purchase. We send the floor plan to the manufacturing company, and they build it in the warehouse for portable structures. For on-site builds, the crew goes directly to the customer’s property and completes construction there.

I handle all marketing for our two locations. We use various methods, including flyers, radio advertising, and social media. We take excellent care of our customers before, during, and long after their purchase. A large portion of our business comes from repeat customers and word-of-mouth referrals from friends and family.

We have endured many challenges since entering the shed business. One of the first major challenges occurred during the years leading up to COVID, when business was booming. Material prices were lower, which kept pricing and rent-to-own payments affordable. We were able to help many people become homeowners or business owners.

However, high sales volume also brought operational challenges, particularly with deliveries. There has been a shortage of manual laborers, and we frequently struggled to complete deliveries in a timely manner during the spring and tax season rush. We were consistently backlogged due to the seasonal climate that brings a lot of rain in our area, causing muddy and soggy ground, which is not good for heavy equipment and structures. The only thing I ever really remember my grandfather showing concern over when I was young was not being able to deliver his homes during the winter and early spring. He showed worry over his customers more than he showed any sign of fear for his cancer.

In 2020, we faced a double challenge. COVID-19 impacted the United States, and building materials became scarce, causing prices to skyrocket. At the same time COVID began, my husband was diagnosed with Stage 4 terminal prostate cancer and was given three to four years to live. This required us to draw on our family’s resilience and develop a comprehensive plan.

We opened a second location in Greenwood, Mississippi, with the goal of eventually hiring someone to manage it. This allowed us to oversee both locations while ensuring my husband did not have to work every day. It also provided flexibility for medical appointments and ensured business continuity, protecting both our income and our manufacturing partner from a significant loss in sales.

In recent years, our manufacturing company has also experienced many changes. With large companies, change is inevitable. When you operate closely with another company, you weather storms together, even when they are hard. Change brings new rules, procedures, and personnel. We have had to adapt, which is important in business.

Additionally, the economy has been very challenging. Without close financial oversight and disciplined management, we likely would not still be in business during this difficult time in our country. We are very grateful for our partnership.

We are very fortunate to work with some of the most skilled carpenters and contractors in the industry. Our craftsmanship truly sets us apart.

Material pricing has significantly impacted the traditional storage shed market. Many consumers rely on rent-to-own programs for their purchases. The rising prices have made even basic storage sheds less affordable. Unfortunately, this has introduced cheaper materials into the market, which we refuse to use due to our core values and commitment to quality.

I believe the future of our business will continue shifting more toward affordable residential home construction.

Over the years, since returning home to work on our family property and business, I have often thought, “Ah, that is why they did that.” I wish I had paid closer attention.

When my husband and I began running the family business, we quickly realized from the maintenance of our old trailer park that while mobile homes provided affordable housing, they were not built to last for generations.

We offer a product that serves people from all backgrounds. The DIY process allows owners to control their material and labor costs. We build custom structures to meet any need. We have constructed hunting camps, lake houses, camp sleeping quarters for special needs children and adults, starter homes for young adults, homes for those starting over, housing for aging adults near family, and retirement homes that eliminate the burden of long-term mortgages or rent.

There is a Mr. B’s mobile home that sits in the back of the property that my grandparents sold many years ago. The family who purchased the two-story structure is building a bed and breakfast where their mother’s home once stood. The owner is a doctor who is giving back to her community. Seeing a Mr. B’s mobile home beside our newest build option is incredibly heartwarming. During our last site visit, we shared emotional stories about our families’ legacies and shed a few tears together.

It is surreal that we were led into a similar industry and have taken Mr. B’s to a higher level with a much better-built product that is designed to endure. We have faced many of the same challenges that my grandparents faced since going full time into the shed business. Up and down sales, weather delays, location openings, cancer diagnoses, continuing to live and function with it, and balancing it all in a very hard economy.

Through it all, we have felt guided and supported by something higher, especially during the most difficult days. We have been blessed with an incredible team, past and future, and with a product that allows us to help so many people. We love what we do and look at it as a service to serve one another.
We are grateful for all of our wonderful customers and for the evolution of the shed into limitless possibilities. God is in our business, and God is in our story, and it is not over.