Shed industry experts share what they have learned along the way.
In any commercial setting, valuable lessons can lead to better success.
That’s certainly true in the shed industry.
And when professionals share the lessons they’ve learned with one another, that helps the overall industry.
The following are fresh perspectives and lessons learned from shed industry professionals who were willing to pay it forward with their examples.
UNPRECEDENTED TIMES
Teachable moments began during an unprecedented time for Neil Bryan, who co-owns Backyard Living Co. with Frank Trucano in Richmond and Metamora, Michigan, when their business opened in March 2020 at the start of the pandemic.
“Lumber prices were skyrocketing, so we had to ensure we purchased material based on today’s price for orders today and were not waiting until we ran out and sold a building based on the understanding of a lower price. Then you could pay twice as much,” he says. “It was very pronounced then, but it has gotten better.”
There were sales lessons as well, such as how to draw people to their store and maximize their effectiveness with their conversion rate.
“You need a good balance,” says Bryan. Besides signage, they rely on Google searches and ads and an SEO website. Google has been the top source for leads, with Facebook second.
“Word of mouth is best, but when you are newer, that takes more time,” he adds. “We were blessed because we got business when everybody was sitting at home working on their backyard during the pandemic.”
Handwritten leads were replaced with a more effective method.
“It was very hard to keep track of every customer walking in the door,” says Bryan. “Now with the CRM (customer relationship model), all the salespeople can see where the lead is assigned, who the source is, if they were quoted, and if it was converted. You can also take notes, like the customer said they need to talk to their husband or check with their city. In three days, you follow up, so you’re following up effectively.”
Otherwise, he says, “They might just go to Home Depot shopping for a hose and buy a shed because it’s right there and you didn’t call. We try not to quote them on the phone. We try to get them to come to the store and see our products.”
That approach can lead to other sales.
“With our diversity of products, they come in for a shed and end up purchasing furniture or pergolas too,” says Bryan. “You have to ensure you are diversified. We are known as your home for backyard structures, and we have niche items like vinyl playsets and louvered pergolas.”
The last lesson he mentions stemmed from some trial and error.
“We had other suppliers, and we had to find new ones,” Bryan explains. “A good partnership is monumental.”
HIGHER EDUCATION
When it comes to teachable moments, Steve Stoltzfus, owner of Homestead Structures in New Holland, Pennsylvania (part of Oasis Group of PA), who has been in the shed business for 22 years, mentions lean manufacturing.
“You need to keep your inventory down,” he says. “In the early days, we had a really good framer, and the finishers could not keep up with him.”
Then a business consultant told Stoltzfus, “You have seven sheds in the parking lot. Your money is tied up in these sheds with $7,000 worth of stuff out there.”
He also had a business partnership with his brother that did not go well.
“We have different personalities and visions, and we weren’t communicating like we should. That was a very good lesson,” says Stoltzfus. “I learned that with partners or employees, you have to listen to understand, not just to respond, because you can learn from what they’re saying and shine a light on the issue. We learned we’re better as brothers than as business partners. We understand that we just weren’t a fit for a partnership at that point, but we are still on good terms.”
Another teachable moment came from a business consultant.
“He said he wouldn’t have to charge me, but I would learn more if he did,” Stoltzfus recalls. “That was a really good lesson. I learned that you are more intentional about getting a return on your investment.”
He believes professional lessons can also come from books.
“Leaders are readers,” says Stoltzfus. “You need to be constantly learning. For myself, I need to relearn some things I learned 15 years ago. You have to keep your saw sharp. In order to do the best job cutting something, you spend more time sharpening the saw than you spend cutting. We need to keep our minds sharp.”
Some favorite titles include “The Traveler’s Gift: Seven Decisions that Determine Personal Success” by Andy Andrews, who also wrote “The Noticer.” Others include books by Patrick Lencioni.
Stoltzfus has had coaches with different strengths and lessons to share.
“Surrounding yourself with great people is also key. When you have five people and two think alike, one of them you don’t need,” he says. “You need people who think differently than you do.”
SPECIAL DELIVERY
Aden Graber, shed hauler and co-owner of Lincoln Land Transport in Sullivan, Illinois, with his wife Fannie Mae, approaches each day with honesty and integrity.
“I built a business on being truthful, and what I do, I do to the best of my ability. If I say I’m going to do it, I do it. If I say I’ll be there, I’ll be there,” he says. “In business, as long as you are in communication with people, 99.9 percent of them understand when something goes wrong. When you don’t tell people, they don’t understand, and they become upset.”
Graber, who takes on some side jobs like tearing down sheds, appreciates the same from customers.
“I can do a lot of things with my rig, but I’m not (a miracle worker),” he says. “As long as I know what to expect, if there are obstacles in the way, there’s a fee to that, but it can be done. It goes back to that communication.”
Lessons about people come with the territory, like the time Graber was set to haul a shed from one property to another, which he does on occasion.
“My wife schedules my move jobs,” explains Graber, who also works for Marten Buildings in southern Illinois. “They schedule my repos and new moves. When I showed up at a property my wife scheduled, where I was supposed to move the shed two miles down the road, I thought I had to be very close to the property that had a repo scheduled the same day. I checked, and it was the same address my wife had put down to move the shed before the repo. The guy called the same moving company. The mover is also the repo company. I’ve been played about every trick in the book. People will do anything to keep their shed.”
Still, he puts these situations in perspective.
“I had a repo where a lady and her two children were living in the shed,” he recalls. “She told me, ‘You can take our shed, but you are going to leave us homeless if you do.’ I left it and asked, ‘Can we work with this lady somehow?’ The county has stepped in. Winter’s coming. Having compassion is big in a situation like this. Unfortunately, some people aren’t as blessed as I am, and I try to keep that in mind.”
Lessons like these can be essential.
“There’s more to life than just money,” says Graber, who believes in being respectful to people and trying to help them. “You can see when people are struggling. I have to support my family, but it’s not just about money. I want to leave a legacy for the next generation. I want to be a guy who served God and tried to help people.”
BUILT TO LAST
TJ Hartley, who owns Delaware Sheds in Dover, Delaware, shares the best advice he ever received: If you’re a squirrel, store your nuts away for the winter.
“We see companies come and go because they buy all the shiny new stuff like trucks and Mules, and they overreach. They think about how it is in the springtime, but it gets slow in the winter. Right after COVID, we saw a steep drop, and we saw a bunch of companies drop off after that,” he says.
When it comes to deliveries, make sure the customer knows you’re coming and pull the address up on Google maps, adds Hartley.
“They might say, ‘My backyard is perfect, just a little bit out of grade.’ But one was a little drop-off where they wanted the shed, and we had to make a second trip for blocks,” he says. “Preparation is the key. A lot happens on the delivery end.”
The same holds true for repos.
“We went to load up one building, but there was too much weight inside. It had 3,000 pounds of a holistic tomato juice cocktail in floor-to-ceiling commercial-grade 55-gallon tubs,” he recalls. “We started unloading it, and a lady comes speeding up and says, ‘You can’t take that away. It’s ceremonial.’ We told her to pay now or we’ll keep unloading, so she paid. You never know what you’re going to get into. We had one where turkeys flew up at us. You wouldn’t believe the things people keep in them. Repos are the wild west of sheds, but they are exciting.”
One last lesson he shares: Don’t overextend.
“We started small, only hauling and just doing private moves,” says Hartley. “We learned that picking up from a lot is way easier, especially in the middle of winter, than from one customer to another.”
IN GOOD COMPANY
From Arlan Riehl, partner with Mike Yoder in Westwood Sheds in Due West, South Carolina, a builder-dealer who has been in the business for 10 years, comes some lessons he learned from experience.
“There’s a lot of value in identifying what you want from a business and what calling you’ve got and what skillset,” he says. “There are people who run different parts of shed companies, whether building, hauling, or sales, who make a really good living for themselves and their families, and they’re looking for a good job for their efforts. Other people who go at these opportunities maybe want to create a business and grow and make an impact in their community. You should know what your interests are without feeling pressure or being pushed into something where you don’t have the right skillset.”
As he explains, “Maybe you’re running a company and making a really good income, but you feel pressure to do more. You might not really have the calling or the skillset to do that. It’s valuable to find your own spot in relation to that if you have different priorities. A lot of lessons exist when you want to see one of those scenarios, but you’re in a different scenario.”
Adds Riehl, “If you want a good job with a really good income and you know how to run a dealership well or sell really well, some people feel like they should do more and have salespeople run another location because they’re put under pressure.
A lot of times it ends up poorly because that is not who they are.”
He has also found that connecting with others can enhance success.
“Two years into our work here, Mike and I were doing a lot of the day-to-day managing,” shares Riehl. “I handled back office and production, and he did sales and installation crews. We were in the grind doing daily work, and we were given some good counsel to join a Christian business peer group, C12. I’m a fan. I’ve been a member since 2017. If you’ve identified that you want a growth situation, input from other people is valuable. Once a month, we’re gone for a whole day in a setting with 11 other key management people. We work through a curriculum with real-life situations, educational stuff, Bible study, and ministry.”
Various sources can offer insight.
“A lot from that peer group has affected our company in a very positive way. It would not look the same if we hadn’t done that,” he says. “Peers do not all have to be in the shed industry. They can be in a company that manufactures cars. You can take their perspective and the ideas they have and adapt and adopt the good ones for your business.”
Facebook groups can provide recommendations for professional services like marketing companies to create a website,” says Riehl, who also points out that salespeople can have varied backgrounds.
“They might not have experience selling sheds, but that’s not something that should be required. They have experience selling, so they should be able to do well with sheds.”
In addition to considering those with experience elsewhere, Riehl also has another suggestion.
“Open your doors to your competition,” he says. “It’s about putting people around you who have different perspectives on the business.”
