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
Perseverance and Growth in the Shed Industry: A Journey with Doretha Tinnin
Can you imagine transitioning into a business with no formal training and little computer knowledge, yet still coming out on top? Meet Doretha Tinnin, our guest from Shed Queens, who did just that. In this episode, Doretha recounts her journey in the shed industry alongside her husband, Troy. Her story is one of perseverance, adapting strategies, and steady growth over the past seven years. From initial customer attraction tactics to evolving marketing approaches, Doretha shares invaluable insights for anyone stepping into this field.
Sales in the shed industry isn’t just about the product; it’s about the process. We dive into the necessity of patience and robust follow-up systems, especially when dealing with high-value items. Discover how CRM systems can revolutionize your approach, improving not only customer retention but also organizational efficiency. Doretha and I discuss the hurdles new dealers often face and the importance of structured processes to ensure sustainable business growth.
From understanding the competition to mastering market research, the shed industry requires more than just selling skills. Doretha enlightens us on the innovative business model of collaborating independent dealers and the significance of market presence. We also touch on the complex world of portable building permits and the rising trend of using sheds for various purposes, including tiny homes. Wrapping up, we address the industry's challenges and the power of community support, emphasizing that persistence and adaptability are key. This episode is packed with insights and inspiration, perfect for both newcomers and seasoned shed industry veterans.
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To suggest show topics or ask questions you want answered email us at info@shedgeek.com.
This episodes Sponsors:
Studio Sponsor: Union Grove Lumber
Versabend
Cold Spring Enterprises
Hi everybody, welcome back. This is Susan the Shed Gal. Welcome back to this week's episode of the Shed Geek podcast. I'm happy to be with you today and my very special guest today is Doretha Tinnin. And Doretha, I would love it if you would just tell everybody what company you represent, your business's name and where you're located at, please.
DORETHA:Okay, I work for Burnett Affordable Buildings out of Mulder, Oklahoma, and my business lot is at 2104 East Cherokee Avenue, Sallisaw, Oklahoma, and you are now known as what is your business's name?
DORETHA:We are now Shed Queens
SHED GAL:the Shed Queens. So I love it. I love it and I am looking forward to getting to know you more through this podcast getting to know you more through this podcast. So let's go back to what got you into the shed industry. If you would share that with our listeners and viewers.
DORETHA:Well, you know, this is way back and I didn't get into it at that time, but way back, I mean years ago, when actually the first shed company that I knew of had started here in Muldrow, I actually told Troy. I said, you know, we had to build sheds and this was way back and it was just we tossed it around but let it go. But then, about probably 10 years ago, Troy went to work for Burnett Well, he the affordable before it became Burnett and he went to work for them and our kids were all grown and leaving home and I just said, look, if there's ever a sales lot come open, I want it, let me know so I can apply. And so about six and a half years ago, a lot came open and I went to Atlee and I said, hey, I'd like to sell buildings. And that's where it all started. That was November of 2017.
SHED GAL:Wow. So, you're just coming up your seven-year anniversary as well, and my seven year is August 1st, so we're neck and neck as far as the changes we've seen. So, and Troy is your husband. He works at the corporate office for Burnett Affordable Buildings Definitely a man with a lot of responsibilities at work kind of holds things together and he does a fantastic job. So now we have someone who actually, you know, works in the corporate side and then the spouse is a dealer. So I love that. In fact, you know, I've seen it in the industry and it's a great model that you have people really invested in the manufacturing company that they're representing in my opinion Of course others might disagree with that're representing in my, in my opinion, um, of course others might disagree with that, but I, that's my story and I stick to it.
SHED GAL:So when you first got into sheds, what training did you have? Or or lack of what, uh, what, maybe, what? Well, let's start with the training and then let's. Then we can talk about challenges, because there's people right now listening that perhaps are brand new or are thinking about getting into the industry and times have changed a lot just in seven years. But what was the training, like for you when you started.
DORETHA:Well, I actually just went into the office that I had and I just sat down and Troy said here's your Excel sheet. Over the phone he told me this. He said just go there and do this, this and this. And I just really didn't know a whole lot about computers, didn't know a whole lot about anything. And I just know, to be honest, honest, nobody came and sat down with me and taught me anything yeah so I just learned by asking Troy what I do now yeah, yeah.
SHED GAL:So, it was almost like being thrown into the fire and then, as issues came up, um, and that. You know that was my experience too. I've talked about that many an hour or so of training on the software and then fly, be free, good luck. You know, it was like, and it was pretty painful, the first, you know, year or so I just felt like I was continually having to overcome things that perhaps could have been taught to me up front to prevent them. But you know, in some ways the industry has changed a lot, but on the education side, this industry is having a really hard time catching up and so hopefully, we're just doing better today. Everybody, I hope, is doing better today than what they were seven years ago. What were some of your? Did you have any construction background when you got into it? Cause, like I didn't truly, I didn't know the difference between a two by four and a two by six. So, I mean, I really had challenges, but what did you know about how they were built?
DORETHA:or well, Troy went over it with me and, um, now I have to say I did before I got into selling. I did cover for a guy in Roland a couple of weeks while he was gone on vacation at two different years. And so, I had kind of had just a little bit of an insight on it. On the program not the program but Excel sheet. Yes, but, Troy, we've always worked on our own homes or whatever. So, I knew what a two by four was and a two by six was own homes or whatever.
DORETHA:So, I knew what a two by four was and a two by six was, and there's things I did know, but I always just call him and say what is that? Or you know, and I've just studied the little paperwork they gave us and you know, realized, okay, that's a four by six tree to runner and you know whatever. And that's how I've learned most of it just reading and listening and asking story questions.
SHED GAL:Absolutely so what did you do when you first started as far as to attract customers to your lot and then we'll get to you know today and how things have changed for the good or the bad, or whatever but what did you do then to attract customers to sell buildings to?
DORETHA:Really, I didn't at the beginning. I just sat there wondering when is anybody going to come in? And then I thought, okay, there's got to be a better way. So, I decided to call one of the dealers that I knew was really selling well, and I said what are you doing? How do I get people to come to my office? How do I get online sales, whatever? So, he told me at that point to start joining every yard sale group. I could, you know all those sales groups and just start posting buildings. So, I did, and when I did that, my sales went up and I started writing down on every little sheet every sales, that sale that I did. I put at the top FB if it came from Facebook, and I started keeping a record and I realized my sales are coming from Facebook. So, I just kept doing that. But then Facebook of course changes and they quit letting us post in 150 sites. So, and I'm, like I said, I'm just not real good with Facebook or the computer for that matter, with Facebook or the computer for that matter.
SHED GAL:But I didn't really know what to do from there and sales were pretty good, but not as good as they are now. Well, I do know that when I was at your office last week, I did see a nice bonus check that you had received for selling over a million dollars in buildings, and so don't minimize what you've done. It's really been incredible. You had mentioned Facebook, and we talk about that a lot on here. That Facebook, they have very deep pockets and as soon as we figure out how to work it, they charge for what we need to do, and it's dramatically different. With that being said, there is a workaround, and I'm going to share this because I think a lot of people don't know this, and you may now know this, but I know for a fact there's a lot of dealers that don't, because this comes up frequently when I'm talking to folks.
SHED GAL:I hear all the time I can only post in 20 groups at a time, and yes and no's correct and not correct. So, what we did was I found a workaround and it was like. It was like literally like how could I have not known this? But here's the workaround do the post on your phone and get into, you know, do your post, get into 20 groups under that marketplace group, put your phone down, go to your laptop, go into marketplace and click on that post and you can post it in every single group that you're in. You just have to do it in little shifts so it might let you do 20 more. Then you have to let it refresh for a few minutes. We did that. It worked. So, I've had posts that have been in. One post has been in 200 groups by the end of the day. So I hope that little helpful hint will, because I hear that all the time. Well, I can only post in 20 groups. Yes, that is correct. If you're doing it on your phone or if you're doing it you know, just put your phone down and go to your laptop, or if you do it on your laptop, you have to just step away, refresh it and then go back in, put it in 20 more, go back in. So, um, hopefully that little helpful hint will, uh will, do some folks, including you, some good.
SHED GAL:Yes, facebook, you know. On one hand it's like why are they complicating it? Why? Why do we have to take that extra step? Well, here's the reason why they're in the business of making money and they want us to pay to boost post and pay for ads, and so they're making it so that people the impression is you're limited to how many groups? So, they're very clever. I'm actually surprised they haven't. It's not that they haven't figured it out. I think it's just not worth their effort that they haven't stopped it where you absolutely aren't allowed to. But it's not against their rules or anything, nobody's going to get in trouble. But a little helpful hint for the future.
DORETHA:Right, I didn't know that at all, yeah.
SHED GAL:And we too did the same thing. In fact, I use a customer information sheet. People have heard me refer to it as a fact finder. It's a customer information sheet that I use for everyone and after I find out their name, the next question is how are you referred to us of tracking it and you could see the pattern? Well, you know you do more of what works right, but if you don't know what's working and that's dealers not asking it's really hard to gauge where they're putting their time, and sometimes money may or may not be worth it, right. So, do you get much drive-by traffic at your lot, or have you seen any difference between seven years ago and now? About the people that are coming in, are they the looky-loos or are they people that are you know coming because they're really serious? What do you see?
DORETHA:Well, as far as Salisaw, we've just been at the slot since January and we're seeing more traffic than I did when I first started, because I started back, like in 2017, and I did have some, but very little drive-through traffic, but now we see a lot more than I did back then.
DORETHA:Some of them are looking because we do have a lot of competition and they're just around the corner, you know, basically on the other side of town. But I have found over the past seven years a lot of times people don't come in and buy the first day they come to look. People don't come in and buy the first day they come to look and I just, you know, I try to be as helpful as I can, answer as many questions as I can, and then I find that they come back. Just this morning I went in and I just now came home for lunch, but when I was there, that guy he pulled in right as I was getting out of my vehicle, but this is his second time to be there and he still hasn't made up his mind. But I'm giving him all the information I possibly can so that and I'm trying to do it as be as helpful as I can so that he'll want to come back to me, yes and and so.
SHED GAL:I think there's something to be said for that. And I just, I mean, I know this and I've said it over the years you know we're talking a $5,000 building or a $10,000 building or a $15,000 building and I've heard dealers say, well, I don't, you know, I just get a bunch of looky loos and they're just wasting my time, and I'm like gosh, it's such a process for so many people. And then I was thinking, you know, my husband and I, just a week and a half ago, went to go buy a couch. It wasn't anywhere near the price of what a shed would be and I still, you know, we walked out of there and said, you know, we are going to go look somewhere else and we haven't yet made our mind up. Now we didn't have going back to the first place because the gal was just spectacular, but it's so interesting. Even that and that's not a I mean, you know, a shed price of a shed, it's a lot of money for anyone.
SHED GAL:And that process of people coming back for anyone, and that process of people coming back, would you say that you have a good follow up system with folks, or is that something that is kind of a work in progress and full disclosure. We, Shed Gal, had a follow up system. It wasn't a CRM and it was. Now I look back and I'm like you know it'd be two o'clock two days after they came in and you know myself or one of my team members would, would call and leave a message and then we'd be like, well, they're not interested because they didn't call us back Well or didn't answer. You know, well, they were probably at work and you know, now I look back and all that to say I had a horrible follow up system. We have we have a great follow-up system now, but is that something that you see value in or that you're utilizing at all? What are you seeing?
DORETHA:I definitely think it's a work in progress for us. I do see value in it. I know that there is a fortune in the fall. I know that, yes, it's just getting a system in place that you know and something that you can remember. I need to do this, and the CRM has been helpful to us in that I didn't understand the CRM for a long time, still don't understand it all, but it has been helpful in the follow-up.
DORETHA:And I think that's going to make a big difference for us as we learn it and get better at it.
SHED GAL:Yeah, and I agree with you. It's just one of those things like the CRM that we're using now on my side with Shed Gal. It looks like a foreign language to me. Not nearly as much now. I get it. I mean, I see the benefit of it, absolutely. It's just the, it's kind of daunting when you've done it, you know. But quite honestly, because no one set any expectations with me, I heard you mention like an Excel program or something that you had. I did.
SHED GAL:I sold 10 buildings my first month as a dealer and I didn't even have a display lot, which I mean. Now, I don't think there's any company that's going to allow anybody to become a dealer without a display lot. It was about maybe two months in or something, and someone one of the customers called me to check on their order. Well, I hadn't even kept track. Nobody told me to keep. One of the customers called me to check on their order. Well, I hadn't even kept track. Nobody told me to keep any of the paperwork. They just told me to turn it in once a month, you know. And so, I'm like well, who are you? What was your name? And they're like uh, we bought a shed from you and it was so embarrassing and it was those. It's those things that have um.
SHED GAL:Over the years, the pain points have led me to put better processes in place and quite a while ago, someone said to me who's a very, very successful online metal buildings dealer said to me, if you put the processes in place, the business will come. And I'm like man. It would have been nice if someone would have mentioned that way back when. But, quite honestly, no one around me. No one around me knew any processes either. There weren't. I didn't have anybody.
SHED GAL:I feel like now, now we have more resources within the industry to help you know, to help you know if you know, know if I'd had a crm from day one, oh my gosh, you know all that information that we need to harvest, if you want to for no better word, um, you know to set up a follow-up system and a you know, a drip system to send people items of value. And I just look back and I'm like man. It could have been even so much better if we had had that. But you know it's hard, it's hard for a new dealer and I think you know I think it's still hard, you know, if someone starts brand new and you're like well, it's going to be several thousand dollars to get the CRM set up. They're like I don't even know what the CRM is and you know, I'm just want to put food on my table.
SHED GAL:So yeah, and I, and I know from seeing your display lot last week, it's a, it's a beautiful lot. Your office is very homey, and I mean that in all good sense is very homey, and I mean that in all good sense, I felt comfortable. We talk about that a lot too, about how, looking at it from the customer's point of view, you have a fairly big lot which is, I mean, it's wonderful. So, what all products do you offer on there besides just the Burnett affordable building sheds?
DORETHA:Well, right now we offer them and then we offer the metal buildings from um deer, yeah, and so um. So, we're open to maybe branching out sometime, but right now just the metals and portables.
SHED GAL:Yeah, and so within Burnett I know they do several products that I didn't have available to me in the past, which is so. You have the greenhouses, absolutely beautiful greenhouses. I think there's several different, maybe five different sizes in that. I think that's wonderful. You maybe five different sizes in that. I think that's wonderful. You have the beautiful gazebos. I've seen the chicken coops, which are wonderful. When you first started in the industry, did they have those? I'll call those side products outside of the sheds. Did they have those? Or is that something that's been added as demand has called for it over the years?
DORETHA:No, they've always had them since I was with them the livestock barn, the gazebos, chicken coops, greenhouses, yeah, playhouses, yeah, oh yeah. And.
SHED GAL:I forgot about the playhouses. No, I think that's absolutely wonderful and it's so different out here in Arkansas and Oklahoma and spending time in Kentucky and South Carolina and North Carolina and Tennessee, the? Uh and a lot of other states, the? Uh. The shed industry here is farther advanced than on the West coast. Now it's certainly changing out there, where I've seen like star sheds, you know out of Arizona they're doing beautiful greenhouses. Now I know Genesis sheds up in Washington state's doing some really cool stuff with some A-frames that are just absolutely beautiful. I love the progression of products, but it's just so funny because out here it's been your norm where to me, I was like oh.
SHED GAL:I would have. I would have really loved to have been able to offer greenhouses, but you know, you just, you just offer what you can offer, right, and then yeah. So, what do you see as the biggest difference between now and you know, totally aside from COVID, because it seems like everyone's sales went up during covid and it was just a crazy time, but so now we're kind of after covid in as far as building sales. So now, compared to what it was when you, maybe your first year or two, what do you? What are you seeing, um? Are you seeing more competition? What are the biggest challenges that you see in the industry?
DORETHA:definitely more competition. Um, and you know, I've kind of moved around a little bit. I went from Sallisaw to Roland I wasn't in Sallisaw a long time. I went to Roland for three years and then I went to Farmington and drove an hour and 20 minutes.
DORETHA:One way to work, oh wow that was a new lot and so, um, you know, it's like and now we're, we're at a new location in sella, so it's kind of like we're starting all over again on the locations. So that makes a difference, but I feel like there's more out there to be done and we can do it. I think we have a great place to do it.
SHED GAL:Yes, absolutely, I agree with you. You also have a very interesting and I love the business model. So, you had mentioned it's shed queens there are there are two of you and I love the model and we talked about that before it's you're completely separate dealers that are working together within the same space and you know I think there's a few others in the industry that are doing that, but it's fairly rare. Um, I love the fact that it provides you with more coverage versus a one-person lot. You know, if it's just you and you're sick, or the grandkids need something, or you have a doctor's appointment, there's no one there and does it. Does it allow for better coverage for you?
DORETHA:Yes, yeah, we both like that because, like you said, things happen and you need to be able to be away. But I've learned that when you're not there, sales don't stay up. If you can't be there faithfully, it's not good for your business. So, this has been great.
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SHED GAL:Well, I'm sure that there, well, I actually can't think of it. We're not alone. But I can't even think of any other industries that will hire a representative to represent their product and then not expect them, and really demand them, to be there during business hours, and I think that's kind of like just the, the way this shed industry got started and hey, if we can, you know, hire someone and they sell a couple buildings a month, even though they have another business and 14 other things to do, you know, we'll make it work where. Now? I think the industry is more demanding that, and I don't mean demanding in a negative way, but just needing people.
SHED GAL:This is, this is a full-time gig if you're going to make it a successful business. Right, it's one few between where dealers are trained properly. It's that, that's just a fact. So is the competition. It's not that they're more skilled as far as in sales, it's more perhaps, maybe something that they could offer, or you know, one company is more competitive in pricing today and there's just more of them. Is that what you mean?
DORETHA:well, you know, I feel like we do have competition. They do offer more. It appears that they're offering better deals than we are, yeah, but I don't know for positive because I haven't been there and looked at their product over, you know really well. And then it appears that most of our close competitors have previous their salespeople are, you know, some of them previous car salesmen who are more high pressured and we're not.
SHED GAL:Hey, and just full disclosure. No, no harm done to. We're not meaning to offend someone who's a dealer, that's been a car salesman. We, we can all agree that there are different ways to sell things, and if something is working for you, that's working for you with Doretha. It's gotta be a different approach. It's a soft, that's just the way it is. We can't. It's got to be a different approach. It's a soft, that's just the way it is. We can't, we can't force people into a role.
SHED GAL:So, I wonder, though, how much just? And you don't have to answer this, cause I'm not trying, I'm not picking on you, I'm just wondering in general, cause I have, I think I have a pretty good idea, just from my own experiences, of how much we really know about our competition. Like me, I will plop down on anybody's lot at any time, like in my Shed Gal shirt, and tell them exactly who I am, and check out their buildings and meet them and talk to them about pricing, just because I'm so nosy, I mean, I'm so curious. I didn't, I didn't mean nosy, but no, I'm nosy, but I'm. I'm wondering if often, cause sometimes I hear, like one dealer over here, saying, well, they have more and they have better prices, and then over here they're saying the same thing about that person. So, I wonder if, if a lot of it is maybe just our perception, or if it's you know.
DORETHA:I don't know.
SHED GAL:So, me and you will be doing all this market research. You know, there was a few days ago I was up super early and having my coffee and I thought I'm just going to pull up a bunch of marketplace chat posts all over, just random, and one of them said, you know, and it's a well-known company, and said, you know, tiny homes on rental? And I was like, oh well, that's interesting, because I don't know of a rent-owned company that will do a livable unit on rent-owned. Now, that's not to say that there might not be one, but not in the mainstream that I run in. And so, I messaged him and you know I just said is this, is this building really available as a tiny home on rent-owned? And he said it sure, you know. I just said is this, is this building really available as a tiny home on rent to own? And he said, you know, it sure is.
SHED GAL:And then the next message was well, you know he backtracked and I'm sure he had checked out my profile and knew I was coming from. I wasn't trying to pick on him, I was just I just seriously thought maybe there was something new that I didn't know. I guess I say all that to say most people aren't going to question it. Most people are going to read it and I do know after reaching out to some friends that represent that company. Their rent tone company absolutely does not want them advertising rent tone on tiny homes, but as dealers we see it and we think they're offering it now we don't question it and I'm wondering if sometimes you know, maybe we're all guilty of that a little bit.
DORETHA:Right, very well could be.
SHED GAL:Now we've got our minds going like I wonder if you know? And so yeah, it was just, it was just interesting. Now, with that being said, rent to own companies you know, it is my understanding, no rent to own, when people are living in their buildings, it is so hard on the dealer's side when people say to us, well, I'm going to put shelves in it. And you know, I read the contract and it clearly to the customer and it clearly states you know you're not to modify it in any way. There's that fine line that we in the industry and the rent home companies and I'm curious your opinion on this we know they're doing things that they shouldn't be. You know how do we mitigate the risk to the rent-owned company, yet continue to sell buildings? It's a real challenge, isn't it?
DORETHA:Yes, it is. And then I don't know if this is the right way to do it or not, and you can tell me. But when people say, well, I'm going to do this, this and this to my building, I say, well, to be honest, you know the contract says no. But if you do it, just know that if you, if you default on your lease, you will lose what you put in it and I have told people that, listen, you put you know $2,500 into electrical.
SHED GAL:We're not paying you for the electrical if you quit paying and we have to pick up the building. It's just. It's that fine line that of we don't want to right, we don't want to be deceptive, we want to be completely transparent with them. Yet in this industry we know it happens all the time. But um, that, that young man that was um advertising the tiny homes on rent to own, he just I don't think anybody had probably ever told him that. He's probably not ever read the rent to own contract where it says that it's. Or you know someone, maybe no one's, told him that you know that it's not supposed to happen. I don't know, for in his case it's not supposed to happen. I don't know, for in his case.
SHED GAL:Tell me about your permitting rules and not that we are permitting experts, because we absolutely are not. But I've heard some things about this area which are kind of cool. So just full disclosure Washington State very strict. King County in particular, extremely strict on portable buildings of any type being permitted for really anything. Arizona some areas, coconino County would permit them as tiny homes. Navajo County you couldn't even permit it. I mean, you couldn't even get a permit if you were putting electrical in it, even though people did all the time. What are the? What do you see that people are using their buildings for here and is permitting? I've heard that permitting is a lot less strict than in some other areas.
DORETHA:Right, well, as far as Sallisaw, to my knowledge there's no. You know, you don't have to get a permit for a portable building, to my knowledge. And even in Fort Smith I don't know of anywhere there's.
DORETHA:There may be communities or you know housing districts that you know, yeah, but yeah, there's hardly any permitting that you have to do here for that. Now, up northwest Arkansas when I was up there, some of the small towns which were growing like crazy up there you couldn't put bigger than like a 10 by 16 in a lot of their backyards. It was much more strict up there, so that's so interesting and I don't.
SHED GAL:There may be dealers that do help with permitting. We just couldn't, just because of the sheer volume of our sales. I mean we would have had no time to sell sheds if we had worked on just permitting. But I do know a guy in Arizona that sells, you know, the metal carports and steel buildings, and his wife actually. I don't know if it's some special license, but she started a business, as long as the permitting can be done online. She actually facilitates that and walks people or does the work for them, and I thought, wow, that's pretty cool. I mean her husband's catching the business over here and then there's so many people at least there that must get a permit.
SHED GAL:She worked herself right into a little side gig that turned into a full-time little business. So, I thought that was cool. But I have heard that the permitting is much more lax out here and, um, you know, with the high prices of housing and even apartments, it's gosh. It seems like our industry can be part of the solution, and I'm not saying on rent alone, I'm just saying in general. As far as you know, some of these buildings are finished off, and I mean these buildings are finished off, and I mean they are spectacular yeah.
SHED GAL:So do you see much of a market for wiring in the buildings right now, you know do do.
DORETHA:a lot of people ask for electrical Several do. Yeah, I sold two Saturday that both wanted electrical.
SHED GAL:Very nice, very nice. Yeah, that's, and that's again. That's something I was never able to offer, so we had to get creative and have people that were electricians that we referred people to, but it would have been nice to be able to just service them. And then do you think most people are using that, or probably not with electrical, but most people. Are you selling, seeing that? Are you selling most of them, as you know they need a place to put their belongings, or are you seeing them? Tiny homes? What are you? What are you seeing?
DORETHA:I really couldn't give you a definite on that. I mean, I'd have to just really look, and I haven't, so it varies.
SHED GAL:Yeah, it kind of varies.
DORETHA:I think it varies, because we sell a lot of storage buildings, but then we sell a lot of cabins, and a lot of times we'll do a cabin out of a storage building because it's cheaper to get it without a porch. I can add my porch later.
SHED GAL:um, we do that a lot, um, and their plans are to have a little tiny home storage building yeah, yeah, I used to joke when I still lived up in Washington State that the home that we rented it served its purpose, but I call it the Cracker Jack box and I used to tell people I'm not exaggerating, this building is built better than the home I live in and I wasn't exaggerating. It's interesting how well they're built. But even yet know areas of the country where companies will offer engineered drawings. They still say a shed, but I mean you know most of the companies are using the three-quarter inch tongue and groove.
SHED GAL:You know flooring and stuff that's actually would meet housing code right, interesting, I mean, these are even the any of the companies that I look at, even their, their economy lines. They are really nice buildings. It's just we've gotten so spoiled that we can do so many things with them. Where do you think that the industry is going to go over the next few years? Do you foresee more companies finishing off buildings? I know I saw one out at the plant a couple weeks ago with us that just the inside, I was like whoa, I mean, it's just spectacular. Do you think more people are finding out that they can, you know, buy a cabin or something like this versus building, or what do you see?
DORETHA:I do. I believe we're going to go see more and more of people transitioning out of regular housing into tiny cabins, tiny homes. I mean people are looking to save money all the time and rent is so expensive. I'm amazed at how much people pay for rent. I'm just. I thank the lord we bought our house a long time ago because it's crazy what people have to pay. But I do. I think people are going to be doing this more and more and going to little tiny homes.
SHED GAL:I agree, I mean there's so, there's really so many uses that, and I could be wrong. Up in the Seattle area. I agree, I mean there's so there's really so many uses that, and I could be wrong. Up in the Seattle area they did a tiny home village. It feels like it was three, four years ago now and when I was reading it I think they were 10 by 12.
SHED GAL:And I was reading about it the cost for each and they were on like it, there was no, there was no cost in it for the land and they were spending ten thousand dollars each on them and I was like wait, what? I mean? They were so tiny but yet you get the government involved in the administrative costs and I mean you may be paying five thousand for the building and you're $5,000. Is you know, our government generating jobs for itself? But gosh, it just seems like there's so many for veterans or homeless people or whoever. I mean people that might be working on in the oil fields. There's so many different uses for these, what we refer to as a shed right.
DORETHA:Right, yeah, I was just going by a construction site the other day and they had the little I don't know what you call them little building out there. It wasn't portable, our portable buildings like we build but I was thinking they could use our buildings. You know, for these kind of places, these construction sites could use our buildings.
SHED GAL:sure, yeah, yeah, so many uses.
SHED GAL:So when I, when I was a customer looking for a building, I just saw these sheds on lots, right, I didn't know that there was any such thing as a portable building. I didn't know you could go to a place and they would deliver it already built. And I'm almost wondering, like I wonder, how many people still don't even know. It's not that they don't see us, I mean you drive around and there's portable building lots, but I'm wondering how many people out there still really don't even realize that they don't have to hire a contractor, they don't have to build it themselves. I think a lot of people just still don't even know portable buildings exist.
DORETHA:I would say there are. There's people out there that don't know, and I think the more we can do like you said, get on Facebook or get on social media and put the word out there I think we'll do even more. I mean, just get the word out there so people can get educated that there's. We'll put your storage building in your backyard for you. You don't have to pay the rent for storage rentals.
SHED GAL:Yes, yeah, it was funny. I saw someone commented on because you know I follow so many shed dealers all over the country and someone had posted you know the price of rent to own. And someone had commented oh, you're nothing more than a predatory lender and well, number one, we're not lending them money, they're renting. But I thought, well, I wonder if they've ever, like, said that to someone who owns a storage unit, that you rent per month and they give you nothing. You know what I mean?
SHED GAL:It's people's perception that rent home fees are high, and no doubt that they are, but they serve a purpose for, for, um, you know a lot of folks that can't get into a building any other way, but they yet. Yet they need it. Yet it's looked at as negative when we're doing it, but if it's a storage unit, you're just paying your monthly rent. There's no shame in that game and it doesn't to me. It's like backwards, it's like people should be able to do either and there's no, they shouldn't. I've always said there's no shame in the rent to own game. I bought my two first, first two office buildings on rent to own, and, and, because that was my only option at the time, and uh, but the, the, the storage units. You know you just people rent storage units and don't think twice and do it for years and years and years yes, absolutely it's um.
SHED GAL:I I've had storage units several times in my life and never once did I intend on having that particular storage unit for as long as I did. But in part it was so inconvenient to go clean it out and and now I got to move it. And you know, my daughter bought a building. One of my daughters bought a building up in Washington several years ago and she still got that. You know that building that she got on rent, own and recently paid it off and it was compared to a storage unit. She's got the building at the end. You know she's got something that she could even sell it if she wanted to. Now that she owns it.
SHED GAL:Yeah, are you seeing any? Um? Are you seeing any trends on? Well, you said that the ones with porches, the cabins are, are pretty popular. Um, are you? Are you seeing that people are having a preference between, like the siding types so we'll just say I'm not going to, I won't use any one particular brand. So Duratemp or LP or whatever, siding versus metal siding. Are you seeing some people that like both or people are still leaning towards one?
DORETHA:for the most part, rarely. We rarely sell metals, metal built metal, portable buildings yes, yes, they want them.
SHED GAL:The wood siding they'll be smart siding yeah, I do like the fact that you have it as an option. Yeah, I, you know, I didn't ever have it as an option. I think it's neat to be able to have that, even if it as an option. I didn't ever have it as an option. I think it's neat to be able to have that, even if it's not the best seller, it's nice to have it, too, secure. So, going back to challenges in the industry, if you had to name one or two, what are the top one or two challenges that you're hearing and maybe experiencing?
DORETHA:Well, I'm not sure exactly what you want me to say on this, but I can say, in my last six and a half years, one of the challenges was to just stay at the lot. When you're not making a dime, or it looks like you're not making anything, nobody's stopping in, and that has been a challenge for me and I've seen that and I've, you know, tried to encourage others that are selling just hang in there, it'll get better. We all go through this, and so that's been a challenge. It's not so much anymore because with the crm and with having all that that tracking available, you know it does give us things to do. We had it before, I'm sure, but I personally didn't have it all written down and couldn't remember where it was.
DORETHA:Yes so this has been better to keep me busier, keep my mind busier, and it's just helped.
SHED GAL:Yeah,
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SHED GAL:So, in that I also heard you know folks that might be listening and maybe you're a dealer who's struggling is don't give up, but you have to do something. If you keep doing the same exact things, you can expect the same results. I mean, if you could just add one, even a little thing a day, it can literally turn your business around in 60 or 90 days. I think it's just. We just get so paralyzed in not knowing what to do. And I'm going to encourage anybody out there listening or watching please reach out to other people in the industry. This is a great industry for you know, working, working together, even though we're competitors, but we're working together for the benefit of the whole industry.
SHED GAL:Um, but don't give up. And when I hear you know the person down the street, they're a hundred dollars cheaper, or this company has this, or this company has this, and then I hear those same other dealers saying the same things. It comes down. We have to stop looking at the externals and start looking at what can we do. What can we do today to make you know, to make a change? But so, have you found any? Because marketplace is so stinky right now, as far as you know, it's just difficult to get your posts in front of people if you're in a group of 5 000 people. Obviously, your post isn't popping up on 5 000 people's pages. Right, it's popping up on a small percentage, but every once in a while I'll have one or I'll hear of a deal dealer that's like well, all of a sudden, that one just got tons of views and tons of responses. Have you had any of those situations like that? Because I can't wrap my head. I still haven't figured out why it occasionally happens.
DORETHA:I don't know why it happens either, but I've wondered that. Yeah, yeah, I've had. You know, one of my posts has got, like you said, tons of response, and then I just posted a couple of buildings last week. I've got nothing, nothing.
SHED GAL:And I think what's the difference, I know, and it's weird because I had one that just like literally like within 12. Well, it wasn't right after I posted it, but it was like the second or third day. I had like 10 people contact me in one day on it and I was like what the heck? I've literally posted that same exact wording and same exact pictures before and there was, like you know, one like it was yeah, if anybody knows the uh, the secrets that wants to share them, call me and you can get on my podcast and we'll. We'll share that, because it just there's kind of no rhyme or reason. What do you think is the best and there's no right or wrong with this when you're doing your posts? Um, do you promote dealers having like consistency or frequency of how they do them, or what are you finding works for you?
DORETHA:they do them, or what are you finding works for you? Well, I can't. I'm not strong in this posting at all, so I'm not going to give my opinion because I don't think it'd be worth much right now. But I'll say what I think. I guess I'm sure if I would do better at posting, I think it would make a difference. Maybe think of something. It's just kind of hit me the most response that I've got from Marketplace has actually been on tiny homes or buildings like cabins.
DORETHA:So yeah, the ones that I can't get any response for? Are the just the shed, and maybe it's the way I present it? I don't know.
SHED GAL:Yeah, maybe flirting, I don't know well, and I think almost every single podcast I do, I bring this up we, we have got to and I'm just not talking about you and our and our dealers, but it doesn't matter. Listen ers, it doesn't matter what company you're with. If your posts look like everybody else's and you're struggling, change your posts. Start there, it's one of the biggest tools. Change them so they don't look like everybody else and include the who, what, when, where, why and how. Just discussed this earlier with someone else.
SHED GAL:People are and I don't mean this rudely by any means but consumers are lazy. When they're scrolling Facebook and maybe they're in a group and your post pops up, it's very unlikely that, unless they're searching, putting in shed, that they're interested in a shed, yet we're posting in all these buy-sell groups knowing that, and then we don't do anything to set ourselves apart. And so that's so critical. And the consistency now, in my opinion, is different, and I should say frequency now is different than it was even seven years ago. I'm not kidding you, I've said this a hundred times.
SHED GAL:I could put a post up on Facebook and put it in 10, 15, 20 groups on marketplace and I'd have 10, 12, 15 responses within an hour or two. I mean, like it was joke. I could barely keep up. Well, those days are long gone, but I wouldn't. I didn't hardly ever post because, like I would post and then sell, sell, sell, sell, sell and then post. And now it seems like we have to be more consistent and more you know, posting more often to even try to get the results that we had just a few short years ago.
DORETHA:I agree with that.
SHED GAL:Yeah, and then during COVID all bets were off. It felt like Brandon Suarez recently did a funny AI picture. It was great on the Shed Professionals page it was people lined up at his lot. Now they all looked like they were very sad, but it was an AI done thing and it was like you know, this whole big line of people that come in to come in and buy. Well, we know that's not reality, but, boy, during COVID it sure felt like reality.
SHED GAL:It was crazy. I literally had waiting lists. You know it was just I would if I got a building available, and I was able to put it up on my business Facebook page. I mean it was literally gone within sometimes a half hour. It was just insanity and that brought delays in building and delays in delivery and so, while sales were great, it was also a very challenging time. So, while I suspect that you're going to be around for a very long time in the shed industry and it was interesting that you because we'd never talked about that before when you mentioned quite a long time ago that you had said to your husband we should get into the building sheds and yet here we are and even though you're not building them and Troy's not building them, you're both completely involved in the industry, which is really neat.
DORETHA:Right, we sure didn't dream that back then, that we would really be into it. I love selling buildings. I've really enjoyed it.
SHED GAL:It is fun and I joke that it's like, how can I be so passionate about a bunch of pieces of wood that are nailed and screwed together, you know, but it just is a really cool industry. You know you had mentioned going to Shed University and really enjoying that and I had another guest on, Pam Karousis, who she had gone and expressed that, and I was saying how I went to the Shed Haulers Bash in March. It was just it just blew me away the connections within this industry and I'm not sure if you get that if you work at 7-Eleven and no harm done on 7-Eleven I love Slurpees, but you know, I just don't think in a lot of industries they have the connections that we have within our industry right.
SHED GAL:What are you most looking forward to in the next year or two in the industry?
DORETHA:I'm just looking for it to really go.
SHED GAL:I'm really looking for it to go big well, and I know that you are not alone in as far as that, because you know a lot of our listeners are, you know, dealers and they want. They want the same thing too. Right, and I wish success for everyone.
DORETHA:Well, it will be for everyone. I mean, you know, as far as if it goes big, it's not just for the salespeople, it's for everybody. And that's what I'm looking for, you know, everybody to win in it, and we can.
SHED GAL:Yeah, and then you bring up a good point, because when sales go up, that's more people that can be employed at the plant, that's more job security for the haulers that may or may not be getting all the loads that they want. It's, it's this, it's this trifecta. And then yet, on the other hand, you know that it just reinforces how important every part is and that we work together as a team in this industry.
DORETHA:Right.
SHED GAL:Yeah, yeah, I mean, I was buddies with the people who hauled my sheds off my lots. I'm still friends with some of them. You have one that was just messaging from Arizona last Friday, and it's not us against them, is it? No, unfortunately, it's not you against the people, the plants, and your husband works at the plant right.
DORETHA:Got to keep on his good side.
SHED GAL:And he better keep on yours, well, good, well, I'm going to do a couple of flash questions and then I'll give you an opportunity to ask any questions you have of me. If money was not an issue and you could leave tomorrow for a vacation to go anywhere, where would you go?
DORETHA:Oh my, there's too many places. If money wasn't an issue, I would go to Alaska oh, I love it.
SHED GAL:Would you go? Would you go on an airplane or on a cruise ship?
DORETHA:um, I would fly close enough, and then I would rent a motorhome and drive.
SHED GAL:Oh, that would be amazing. Oh, I bet that'd be so beautiful.
DORETHA:That's on our bucket list.
SHED GAL:I love it. Do you have any questions for me before we wrap this up?
DORETHA:How are you liking your new home in Fort Smith?
SHED GAL:Oh, I love it. My hair is absolutely like see how this side is bigger than this side people. Well, for those listeners, you can't see, but this is the humidity is doing a bit of a job on my hair, but I love it. The people are very, very friendly and I think it's easier to connect with people here than it was in the Seattle area or in the Phoenix area, just because it's smaller. So, we're loving it. Thank you for asking.
DORETHA:Yeah.
SHED GAL:All right. Well, that is the end of this week's episode of the Shed Geek podcast. I'm Susan the Shed Gal and I appreciate you all listening and, for those of you watching, thank you as well.
ADVERTISEMENT:And we'll see you again soon.
DORETHA:Hey, this is Mo Lunsford in sunny Union Grove, north Carolina, and we want to say thank you to all the guests and listeners.