Shed Geek Podcast

Rise Above The Race To The Bottom

• Shed Geek Podcast • Season 5 • Episode 84

Share episode

Send us a text

A lot of builder's chase price. We decided to chase standards. We’re joined by Darren Warren of Stor-Mor Outdoor Products to break down a simple but uncommon playbook: build consistent quality at scale, answer the phone, quote fast, train your dealers, and treat permits as value—not a nuisance. When you put people, process, and pride in the product first, customers stop shopping you like a commodity and start trusting you like a partner.

Darren takes us inside Stor-Mor’s operating partner model across 26 states: engineered drawings, construction manuals, and spotless facilities that signal care before a single board is cut. We talk about creating speed-to-quote by pre-building 3D configurations, so a rep can customize a shed, pole barn, or garage live on the call and email a complete bid before hanging up. We get candid about the carport segment’s revolving door—why underpaying installers breeds fragmentation—and how fair splits, real partnerships, and coaching culture keep talent and quality in-house.

We also reframe permitting as a service and a revenue line. Instead of dodging compliance to win on price, we show how handling permits, communicating site work clearly, and delivering engineered structures builds long-term property value and customer confidence. Along the way, we dig into Stor-Mor’s dealer support and training approach, the mantra of quality–customer service–communication, and a mindset shift from scarcity to abundance that lifts the entire industry.

There’s purpose here too. Darren shares his St. Jude story and why raising hundreds of thousands for the hospital fuels the team with meaning beyond revenue targets. If you care about building better—stronger systems, faster responses, and happier customers—you’ll leave with a clear blueprint you can apply this week. If this resonates, follow the show, share it with a builder who needs a nudge, and leave a review with the one process you’ll improve next.

For more information or to know more about the Shed Geek Podcast visit us at our website.

Would you like to receive our weekly newsletter?  Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube at the handle @shedgeekpodcast.

To be a guest on the Shed Geek Podcast visit our website and fill out the "Contact Us" form.

To suggest show topics or ask questions you want answered email us at info@shedgeek.com.

This episodes Sponsors:
Studio Sponsor: J Money LLC

Shed Suite
Solar Blaster

INTRO:

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.

Jared Ledford:

What's going on, guys? My name is Jared, and he is Eric. We are the Steel Kings. Welcome back to another episode of the podcast. We are so glad that you chose to spend your afternoon or evening with us. Eric, what's going on, man? How are you?

Eric Olson:

I am hot. It is hot outside. It hasn't rained in two years and four days total. Um working on our website, enjoying a fall. Actually, it's like second summer, I think, Ohio. It's coming a common term as second summer, but.

Jared Ledford:

Yeah, I don't really know what's going on with the weather, man. We were we were enjoying some 60 and 70 degree days. I was actually I was back in the pants and the boots, which I prefer. And this morning I woke up and saw the weather was going to be in the 80s, and I was like, you know what? Shorts, it is. I love it. I love it.

Eric Olson:

So here we are, man. We're wrapping up uh man, we're wrapping up a pole barn or two up in Vandalia and that that chapel up there in Port in uh Port Jefferson, man. It's just a beautiful thing to see buildings going up everywhere in Ohio. We are the Steel Kings, man. We're here to build what you're here to talk about all industry things and excited for it today.

Jared Ledford:

Yeah, man. We've got a good guest. Yeah, we've got an awesome guest, man. I'll tell you what, man, as always, want to give a shout out to the guys over at Cold Steel Enterprises. They are the producers of the Versa Bend. Check them out. If you guys need to bend your tubular steel, check out the team over at Cold Spring Enterprises. As always, check out the team at J Money. They are the title sponsor for the Steel Kings podcast. Joel and the team over there is doing a great job. We love those guys and we appreciate what they're doing. We have got Eric kind of let the cat out of the bag. We've got a special guest today, um, an extremely special guest. Um, this guy is so many things. He's a musician, he's a cancer survivor, he is a business owner, he is an executive, he is someone who is taking this industry that we love so much. Um, and we normally talk about steel here on this on this show. We talk about sheds too, pole barns. This this gentleman here is doing it all, and I have to tell you, from somebody who's trying to do it all, he's already accomplishing it. And the things that are coming down the pike we're gonna talk about are exciting. Um, I'm not gonna waste any more time. We've got Darren Warren. Um, Darren, what's going on, man?

Darren Warren:

What's up, fellas? Thank y'all so much for having me on. I really, really do appreciate it. Yeah, it's great to chat with y'all a while ago for just a little bit too, man. Yeah, yeah.

Jared Ledford:

You know, we always peek behind the curtain. So, when we when we do the Steel Kings, we always do the uh we send out the invites, we do the calendar invites, we do all of that. Um, typically send out a Google Meet to try to get a little bit going. Today we had a little bit of a help. Uh Darren's got a good uh teammate there and Katlyn doing a good job for him, and we appreciate that. But I'll tell you, you know, it's always good to get some preliminary discussions out of the way, learn about you, learn about your businesses. Um, but tell everybody, man, you know, tell everybody out there that's listening to us or watching along, tell us who you are, what you do, because you wear many hats, man.

Darren Warren:

Absolutely. I'm my name's Darren Warren, and uh I'm not real big, you'll find this out with me. I'm not real big on titles, to be honest with you, but um president CEO of the Stor-Mor outdoor products. And uh Stor- Mor Outdoor Products obviously is our parent company that owns Stor- Mor Portable Buildings. Uh we also own First Choice Metals, that's our role forming division. We own a company called Three Oaks Trading, that is our lumber division. And uh we also own a First Choice Buildings, that's our pole barn division. So, uh yeah, man, as you said, it's sometimes trying to wear a lot of hats can come with some challenges, but it's been a lot of fun, and we have been very, very blessed with a good team to try to conquer and grab a hold of some of this stuff and try to push it. And it's uh it's definitely uh fun to try to take a dream and watch it become a reality. And uh so anyway, been literally we love hearing that, man.

Jared Ledford:

I mean, I can tell you, Eric and I are big dreamers. Eric dreams a little bit more than me. Eric dreams and I implement. So I think our relationship for those of you who are following along with the Dayton Barns, Five Rivers Journey, Steel Kings. You gotta have dreamers and you gotta have implementers, you gotta have people who can conquest, you gotta have a little bit of everybody on the team.

Darren Warren:

But also I say this about myself all the time, Jared. I I'm kind of the dreamer, the brainstormer. Um, you know, we every one of us have strength and weaknesses. We really do. And I think it's important to, but I tell people once I get it, once I get it dreamed up, we start putting it together, there better be some good people to take care of it because that's my weakness, is the is the is the other side of it of following up sometimes. So, I always try to hire around me to make sure we're supporting my weakness. But I enjoy the brainstorming, the putting the deals together, uh you know it's one of those things that in no braga docious way when I say it's nothing, like it's a strength that God, you know, give me. And but at the end of the day, I also realize my weaknesses and the limitations. So, you gotta hire, you gotta hire those too, right?

Jared Ledford:

So that's right. That's right. Hire to make yourself better, hire the right team to ride alongside and lock arms and be in one accord. We talk about that a lot. You know, Eric and I, we talk about being in one accord, um, getting everyone in the room to be in agreement so that there's no so that there's a shared vision when you leave that room to go accomplish the goal.

Darren Warren:

You know, one little thing you say in that uh I always feel the need to say this before we even get started. It's uh it's our people, it's our people, and it's our people. But uh there's one thing that we have are big on around here, and I feel like it's made the companies what they are, and that is we only want what's right. I don't care if it's someone else's idea, I don't care if it's my idea. Look, when we come in this conference room, let's leave the egos outside the door, man. All I'm worried about is 100% what's right. And also one thing that I would say is, you know, trying to make sure and keep yourself um understanding that high tide should raise all ships. What does that mean? As the business increases, we begin to do better, let's let those people that are responsible of helping and making that uh that that dream a reality, let's allow them to do good as well. So that's it's fun. It's fun to watch. I said this while ago to go, I don't want to make all the money, and I truly mean that. It's fun to watch other people's families do better and watch their families do well. It's exciting to watch that.

Jared Ledford:

There's an immense amount of self-satisfaction in knowing that you're the one helping that happen. Eric and I really, you know, we talked about this. We've got a team of folks in here, we talk about it all the time. I mean, they're like family to us, and we try our best uh to honor that, right? I mean, if somebody's having a bad day, a bad week, whatever, we try to pick them up, we try to get them better. Um, coaching, you know, coaching mentality versus reprimand mentality. I think from a sales perspective, we do a lot of sales. Um, but I mean, they I think that's where it's at for us is we want to be more of a coaching environment, a loving environment. And it sounds to me like that's what everybody's got to expect when they deal with you guys at Stor-Mor and First Choice. And you know, that was the exciting part about the connection that we have now is you know, Stor-Mor's gotten to what close to 400 dealers, something like that. That's correct. That's pretty good.

Darren Warren:

Yeah, we have we have 21 manufacturing plants now. Uh we are something we've already penciled in about uh three more for 2026, hopefully. But we've got and roughly about 400 dealers, and I use that roughly because sometimes we may get a little above it, but then sometimes we have to, you know how it is. Sometimes when you're developing uh some work, some don't, unfortunately. But uh, but yeah, it's round four.

Jared Ledford:

That's awesome. And all the manufacturing that happens with Stor-Mor, you guys handle that, right? I mean, this is something where Stor-Mor is on top of everything. We're not handling, you know, outside influences. I think that's where you can expect the same quality product in one area of coverage versus another area of coverage. I think that's you know, maybe elaborate on that a little bit for us because I think that's a struggle.

Darren Warren:

That is correct. And we do handle a lot of that, but it needs to be said back to our people, okay? The way Stor-Mor is set up, we own most of the manufacturing plants that we have. Uh, but what we do, we have engineered drawings, construction manuals, and things like that. And we call that more of an operating partner. So let's just say a state that we're in for you know not calling no one's name or embarrassing them. Let's just say in Arizona, we're going to put in a new facility. We would find that facility, we would lease most of the time buy, but we would lease or buy that facility, and then we would find an operating partner uh for the you know, John Doe. We would start building a relationship with them and they come in and actually uh they take our engineering, our construction manual, and they build to a spec. And at the end of every single week, we purchase those buildings uh at a percentage of retail. Okay, and the way we try to structure that is on what we would call a split percentage. Okay. So, in other words, if Stor-Mor's retail is here and we're buying sheds and we're making 18% when we sell that shed, we're going to make sure that manufacturer has a has a split percentage to where they're making eight per 18%. And what they do from there, they pay their rents out of that, they pay their employees, they pay their lumber, they pay all that kind of stuff. And from our perspective, we pay the drivers, we pay e the dealers, we pay the sales reps, we do the marketing and all that. And we also are the ones that are creating the what the buildings look like, the options that we have in them. And the reason we want to take that in and make sure that we are handling that, as you said, it's not a perfect world every day, but we're trying to make sure that we are looking the same. Uh, we're operating in a 26 state region now, and so trying to make sure that we look the same in all 26 states and building these the same. But it ultimately comes down to our operating partners and the people they have there that help make this thing go to.

Jared Ledford:

Yeah. Instituting that process, you know, people, product, process, the three Ps, if you will, of sales and business in general, I think you guys have it kind of locked up in spades. I mean, it sounds to me like, I mean, I know what you're saying about there, there's always contention, there's always going to be issues, but if you set the proper process and guidelines up front and you say this is what our expectations are, and oh, by the way, we're going to check on it. We're not just giving you this manual and saying do whatever you want, that is so much different and in complete conflict to what a lot of other large-scale portable building kind of I refer to them as brokers. They really go to these, you know, you're talking about a partnership rather than just going to a small mom and pop or a plain community group.

Darren Warren:

Well, you know, I think the way we are structured, uh Jared and Eric, I think the way we're structured, it brings more ownership to our folks, if that makes sense. It they have a sense of pride with it. Yes, every now and then there's someone that says, Man, I feel like you're micromanaging me a little bit. That's not our model. We are not micromanagers, and that and that is a fact, guys. But there are times that maybe someone lets quality slip a little bit, and yes, you know, we have to remind them that, hey, we are your customer at the end of the day, and that sounds kind of weird, right? We are your customer, but we are. We're your customer, and this is slipping, you know. Uh, I had a situation the other day that I'm a pretty picky person by nature, and I like our facilities clean. I like them neat. I like if someone drives by our facility and it's not clean, it's not neat, this is me. If you don't care about your facility and you don't care about your product, I probably don't want you building my shed or my pole barn or my, you know what I'm saying? In other words, it starts right there. So, there's a lot of it that we do try to keep a grass, uh, a good handle on, but thankfully, back to the people, I we really don't see a lot of problems there in a lot of ways, you know what I'm saying? But you know, we you talked about the three Ps while ago. We there's something that I that I guess I would harp on a lot around here would be, and that's quality, customer service, and communication. We don't talk about price a lot.

ADVERTISEMENT:

Are you ready to elevate your shed business to new heights? Your pathway to success just got a whole lot smoother with Shed Suite's innovative marketing platform. At Shed Suite, we like to think we understand the shed industry at least a little bit. And over the last seven years, we've been building awesome software for shed businesses. We focus first on building easy-to-use software to help you create and track orders, like the point of sale and after-the-sale order fulfillment. And now we're excited to announce our full feature CRM, all things pre-sale, you know, like prospecting and follow-up, all to empower your shed company to market better and sell more efficiently. Our platform empowers you with a marketing toolkit designed to amplify your online presence, engage your audience, and drive sales like never before. Enjoy the ease of conversion tracking, email marketing, centralized lead communication, and so much more. Oh, and guess what? It even comes with an iPhone and an Android app. With Shed Suite's marketing platform, crafting and deploying effective marketing campaigns is a breeze. The advanced reporting functionality allows your team to analyze real-time conversion data so you can make informed decisions and watch your business flourish. There's no better time than now to join the community of Shed business owners who are scaling up with Shed Suite. It's time to turn your marketing efforts into real trackable results. Visit ShedSuite.com/ marketing to get pricing, explore the features, and book a demo. Shed Suite is committed to building top quality software to empower your Shed business to thrive.

Darren Warren:

Guys, we've got to be competitive. I'm not crazy to think that we can't get out here and sell them for whatever we want to. But those are three easy words to say quality, customer service, and communication. But three of the hardest things to live up to. And what I find is when we put better processes in place, we got the great people in place, those things are actually obtainable. You know what I'm saying? And that is our that is our goal is to build on that to make sure that you know we're not going to get in a race to the bottom with anyone. If you want to do little to no money down, hey man, that's on you. That's cool. We're not gonna put you down. We don't we run our business. Another little saying is we don't talk about what people do wrong, we talk about what we do right, you know. And so at the end of the day, uh, those are the things we're striving for. And I feel like uh I've said this a lot in investing and stuff in business. When everybody's headed this direction, I don't want to be investing there, I want to be headed the other direction because, and that's kind of where we're going. Most people in our industries, y'all know this. It's price point, price point, price point. And we've really not done that, and it's really paid dividends, and I love that. I love it. Yeah, uh I agree.

Eric Olson:

I agree. I I've found that through lead generation, it's if you call them back on time, if you give them accurate information, which falls under the category of communication, and you follow up with them and you say what you mean, and you do it's like people will overlook the bottom. There are people that want the bottom, and they don't care what you have to say, they don't care if you don't call them back for a week, as long as they can get in shape, they're good with it. But we are what we've we would rather, we would much rather care about you and the vision of your project, and then that'll get us to the end. And they because and I think maybe you would agree, it's not hard to stand out. And it's really it's like it's not a lot of effort to call someone back on time.

Darren Warren:

No, it's not and I'll go a step further. We we're talking about first choice buildings, our pole barn division, okay? Yeah, uh, we were having a meeting. We were having a meeting with that the other day, and I told the guys, one of the guys asked, he's like, Why are we building all of these different styles in in the 3D builder in Idea Room, the 3D builder, why are we building all these different styles in there when we have a software that can configure all these buildings for us? I said, Because my vision is when a customer calls in, we have enough styles built out, already pre-built out, that when they call in and say, we want the garage with a wraparound porch, you can say, Awesome, who am I speaking with? And you're taking their name and their information at the whole time you've done selected that garage with the wraparound porch, and you are saying, Well, what size was you and your husband thinking, or you and your wife thinking? And you are building that out in this conversation that hopefully they're enjoying. We how's the weather up your way? You know what I'm saying? We're building this out, and when we're done, we say, Miss Jones, uh, what is your email? And we've got that already in. We can actually send them a quote, is our goal. Now, guys, some of this has to be built out, but we can actually send them a quote by the time we get off the phone with them. Who is going to be able to compete with that kind of customer service? It's gonna be hard. It's tough. It's gonna be hard.

Jared Ledford:

It's tough.

Darren Warren:

So, I'm not sitting here saying I would never sit here and say, we've got it all figured out, we know it all. That is that is not it, guys. But the things that we are trying to do is figure out how we can get in here and approach this from a different direction. You know, we were competing the other day with a company, uh, and I got a call. I actually knew the guy. He was like, man, we want a 40 by 80. And he called me back. I was on vacation actually, and he said, I want you to know your guys have been quick, thorough, and I called them in the middle of the day. And when I got home tonight to eat supper, my bid was in, my bid was in my email. And he brought up another company, and he said, he said, uh, he said, I've waited over two weeks for a bid. Guys, I just don't think in where we're trying to go in the marketplace, that is going to work long term, right? And so, you know, trying to build new systems, new ways. That's what we're all about. We're not perfect, we never will be perfect, but we're trying to figure out, be innovative, and figure out better ways to do things.

Eric Olson:

That is, oh yeah, people want things right now, they want them right now, and if it's true right now, yeah.

Jared Ledford:

If they don't want it to be right now, they're moving past it. Extremely refreshing. It's extremely refreshing to hear that from somebody with your background and your stature. I mean, to me, that's what Eric and I talk about a lot on the podcast. We talk about how quality standards have slipped, we talk about how customers aren't followed up with, we motivate the listeners to get out and talk to their communities, talk to their customers, talk to everybody. Because if you're if you're in the industry with us, we need to be locked arms in an agreement that we're all going to take care of our customers because the shed lot on the corner that is struggling, that for whatever reason isn't performing the way it should, might cause someone to leave the market completely. They might just decide, they might just decide, hey, we're not doing this at all. And if you're an independent shed lot and you're sitting there wondering why you're not getting, you know, the business that you're looking for, maybe you need to think about returning phone calls to your customers. I mean, I get more, I get more customers. Tell me, I just had one this morning. I was working on a building, I mean, 30 minutes up the road. And if you leave from our office, there's probably one, two, there's like three pole barn manufacturers between us and them. So, you know, the struggle with it is that you have to earn that customer's business. So I'm on Facebook, I'm texting, I had a phone call with him this morning. He's like, Well, they're telling me something about gravel not included. And I said, Well, Joe, I said, uh, my gravel's included. And I said, I can tell you it's gonna be about 7,000 bucks just for the gravel. That doesn't include the excavator, that doesn't include the equipment, that doesn't include our time, none of it. He's like, Well, you're already cheaper, and I'm like, That's exactly right. I said, I'm giving you a transparent price and I'm giving it to you right now. I've been out to your site twice. Tell me, tell me, has anybody else been out there once? Has anybody even returned your call? And I mean, and again, I agree with you and Eric, and I say this a lot. It's not about the money, it's never about the money, it's about the customer's experience with you. We educate, we're educators, we're educators.

Darren Warren:

I'll take that a step further too, Jared. It's about the customer's experience, but if we can do a better job training our people in-house, then we know that's where the experience comes from. I know with um stepping back a little bit to the Stor- Mor side, we opened up a couple years ago, uh, yeah, probably a couple years ago, maybe a little over a year ago, we opened up what's called dealer support. And we realize that we have reps in the field, but we realize that people aren't getting the attention. Our people, when I say our people, our dealers aren't getting the attention that they need. When they have a question and they need better training, the rep can only get so many places so quick, right? So fast. So, we have seven people that are in here that work in what's called dealer support. And when you become a dealer with our companies, what we do is we schedule five training processes before we even get started. And the deal that I'm looking to do is actually get this to where when people actually come in and want to be a part of our product lines, that we can train them. And we're not there yet, but we're not too far away. I even wanted to be to where at the end of it, you take a test on stuff, right? And you have a scoring because we can't we cannot give that customer the best experience until we've done the job we need to do. Did you guys know half the time when I feel like we missed the mark and we've come up short at Stor- Mor Outdoor Products? If I'll take a good hard look in the mirror, it's coming from me or some of our leadership. In other words, we had we had some conversations about some driving the other day, and we was like, you know, that's just not good. We we're just not meeting the mark on that. And I said, have we set the expectation? And there's about 10 people in the room. And I said, Have we set the expectation? And everybody answered, looking at me, saying, you know, I don't think we set that expectation like we could have. So, my feeling is if we'll look in the mirror and we will do things that other people aren't doing and we'll set those expectations, you know what I'm saying, and we will do better training. We're going to have automatically better people, and better people are gonna come to us, you know.

Jared Ledford:

So yeah, that's we talk about that a lot in the steel game, right? We talk about people that sign up to be a dealer with manufacturer, whoever that is, wherever you are, and they hear, oh, you can make a lot of money selling steel buildings sitting at home doing nothing. And at the end of the day, those are the ones who end up selling the steel buildings that are always gonna be not permitted properly, not built structurally sound, working for manufacturers who maybe aren't in the interest of customer service, maybe they are in the interest of making money. And everybody that does business for any for any one reason is definitely doing it for somewhat money. Money is a percentage of what you work for, but there are some folks who are a little bit more focused on money than end product or customer happiness or really dealer happiness for that matter. But I think that's what I really I mean, immediately we had never met before today. I've never met you, you've never met me. Um, but I think we uh just had this initial vibe with each other because we had a shared vision for what we want the industry to be, and that's why I introduced you as uh I said it before the call, I didn't say it when you're introduction, but like Maverick. There's someone in this industry who wants to see it do better. Rising tide raises all boats. I've said that on this, I've said that on this podcast at least a dozen times, maybe more. We get called out for that, Darren. We get called out for the uh what are they called when you what are they called, Eric? The one-liners. Yeah, I get the one line all the time.

Darren Warren:

Yeah, that's hilarious because everybody cracks up at my I'm I have to say I'm a one-line guy. You know what I'm saying?

Eric Olson:

You and Jared, you and Jared have a similar

Jared Ledford:

I'm telling you, man. I get we literally had comments.

Darren Warren:

Yeah, you know what, though I want to back up to something you just said a minute ago when you said there's people that uh the that don't permit and they're trying to do it, you know what I'm saying? They're trying to get this building out there and get it in the customer's hands. I wish our industry, I guess this is the way I think, which is maybe a little different, but why is our industry trying to avoid the permit to get a cheaper price to the customer to get that building sold? We don't look at that way. You know what we look at? We want to permit it because that's actually a revenue stream if you if you're smart with it. So why what are we doing? We keep shortchanging our industry and shortchanging uh each other trying to compete with one another. And it's really crazy. There is plenty of work out here for everyone. I just told you guys a while ago, I mean this. I'm proud of you guys. I've uh you've shared with me stuff you're doing. It's, I want to see people do good. Why do we think we have to sell a carport, a pole barn without a without a permit? Why don't we turn it and say, you know what, Mr. Jones, if you don't want to deal with the permit, we for a $500 fee, we can pull the permit for you. You know what I'm saying? And all of a sudden, we've made money. You know what I'm saying? You pay for the permit, we'll pull it for you. So I think we need to retrain ourselves. And again, I anything that ever comes out, guys, I don't want to sound like a know it all or bragging or because I don't feel that way, but we just need to be smarter within the industry and help one another and create ways to make more money instead of this instead of this race to the bottom figuring out how we can shortchange the industry.

ADVERTISEMENT:

Hello, shed builders. I'd like to grab your attention for just a moment. As we look ahead to 2025, one thing is clear customers will have higher expectations than ever before. Shed consumers have an unprecedented access to information. To stay competitive, you need to create sheds that are not only high in quality, but also rich in innovation. You might recall my friend Dan Reim, one of my early podcast guests, who introduced Solar Blaster fans, specifically the Solar Roof Blaster. Dan has been busy handling orders, and he's eager to speak directly to shed builders about his groundbreaking products. What stands out to me about Dan's products designed specifically for sheds, like the Solar Roof Blaster and the Solar Light Blaster, is how they enhance the shed owner's experience. With the focus on quality, it's time to start thinking about adding features and benefits for the end user. Here at Shed Geek, we wholeheartedly recommend Solar Blaster as the solution. My favorite thing about the entire line of products is the support you'll receive from Dan. Not only is he incredibly knowledgeable about these products, but he's also one of the most customer-focused individuals I know. He truly stands behind both his product and his service. We're searching for companies ready to elevate customer satisfaction to the next level. To learn more, just visit SolarBlasterfans.com and fill out some basic information for a callback or connect directly at 480-747-7097. You can also check out the Shed Geek newsletter, where a click on the Solar Blaster ad will guide you to a forum for more information and some cool videos showcasing the products. Let's power up innovation and elevate customer experiences together.

Jared Ledford:

Yeah, it sounds, it sounds this conversation's like a penultimate from all the previous episodes of the Steel Kings podcast because you hear myself and Eric go on and on about exactly what you just said. I mean, you couldn't have hit the nail on the head any better. And now you're validating that thought process from someone who is way up the chain at a major manufacturer of pole barns, portable buildings, looking to do, you know, looking to get into car ports. And I think that that is something that is so refreshing to me and makes me feel good because to me, I'm the same way as you. Why are we always cutting down prices if everybody just decided, hey, we're gonna charge what the building's worth? If everybody just started at that level, there would be nobody cutting anybody, there would be nobody undercutting anybody. We could build better standards.

Darren Warren:

I was talking to one of the owners of the and I Don't call names on stuff like this because I don't think it's good. I think we need to be mindful of one another's conversations. But I was talking to one of the largest uh carport companies, one of the owners of that company the other day, and we were talking about some of this very, very stuff, and what I found is they are starting to see and validate some of the very stuff we're talking about. They've always prayed, uh they've always chased that price point, they've always gone this direction, and they're seeing it's becoming a race to the bottom. And what they're actually seeing is was interesting to me, they're seeing that so much competition is getting in the carport business, and they're all doing the same thing. So guess what? There's no difference between them. So they're seeing the shrinkage of sales, and they're begging for more sales. And I said to him, have you ever considered since we got 15? I'm exaggerating, but since we got 1,500 people headed this direction, have you ever considered doing a doing a 180 and going the other direction to quality customer service? Community, you know what I'm saying? Yep. And he stopped for a good period of time. He said, I've actually been thinking about that. And I think that's I really do. I think that's what we need to start focusing on. And then all of a sudden, you know, you're always going to have someone out here that wants to do it cheaper, that wants to do less or whatever. But what I normally find, guys, is when I find those type of folks, uh, if if only thing you have to sell is price point, you are not confident in your product whatsoever. When we build a product that we're proud of and we're confident in, then at that point, price really becomes irrelevant to a point. You know what I'm saying? Not totally irrelevant, but but irrelevant to a point.

Jared Ledford:

You're building value in the additionals, you're giving them something to spend extra money on. This is why my product's more expensive. This is why I'm better than my competition. And I don't need to have a better price to be better than them. I need to provide more service, I need to educate you more, I need to let you know what you need to be successful in this building project, whether it be a backyard shed, a 40 by 80 pole barn, a 30 by 50 metal building, whatever that is. It this is not just, you know, buying a car. I get a lot of guys that are like, man, you know, selling metal buildings like selling cars. It's not. Everybody needs a car, everybody wants a building. There's a huge difference, and there's a lot more that goes into purchasing a building, even if it's an 8x10 backyard shed. Yeah, there's quality there, there's potential for engineering. Are you gonna need permits? You know, do you really want to sell something to a customer that you know isn't right?

Darren Warren:

Yeah, I mean, really, and I'm even more excited if I'm being honest. I get pumped up about this stuff. Y'all gotta ignore me. I get really fired up. You're driving me up, man. You get so fired up over a shed or a building. I'm telling you, I get really fired up. I'm telling you, but what you were just saying to me is even more exciting when I'm talking about a pole barn or a carport, even more so than a shed. Oh, yeah. Because guess what? That is that is a building that can be built on your property that brings value to your property, right? I build you a pole barn for $50,000, you get it appraised. You may have got a, depending on where they come in, you may have got an $80,000 lift. That's right. That's right. That's right. So it's it's covers this. I think it's even more important in the in this that we really focus on quality and what we're doing for that customer.

Jared Ledford:

So, 100%. And that leads to more sales, education, being wise, telling customers exactly what to expect will lead those referrals.

Darren Warren:

Sure.

Jared Ledford:

That's why a lot of people call us and say, Hey, I got a building from ABC 123 and I can't get a hold of them. Well, they probably don't exist anymore. The unfortunate part is you bought from somebody who was in it for a moment and they're gone now. I love what I do. I told you that before we got on the phone. I love what I do, I love this industry. Eric, yeah, yeah. Eric, Eric blessed me uh a handful of years ago at this point with an opportunity to come here and be of service to others. That's what I do every day. I'm of service to others. And I can tell you, man, I I I have the utmost respect for you. After this conversation, if you're not excited sitting there selling metal buildings, pole barns, sheds, if you aren't more amped up, that the future of our industry can be made better if we all get into one accord and work together, then you are on the wrong phone call, you're on the wrong Zoom call, you're on the wrong podcast.

Darren Warren:

Yeah, go somewhere else. I a hundred percent agree. I I've actually had people ask me, why have you gone on, like, you know, I've done another interview here the other day and coming on with you guys. And it's it's been so crazy because most of our industry have been like really shied away from this because I'm not gonna let anybody know what all I'm doing right now because you know I've I've got it all figured out. Guys, it's really not. I I have found back in in 2017 when my partner and I, Chris, decided to partner. Of course, he uh was we had the Heartland Capital Investments, which is the kind of a sister company to uh to us here. And I remember him asking me something one time. He is like out of he didn't know a whole lot about the manufacturing side. That was kind of my specialty, and we decided to blend the two together to try to make something special. And I remember him asking me, he said, in manufacturing, what's the number one thing you would change if you could? Number one thing. I said, the number one thing I would change in the industry, he said, yeah. I said, attitudes. He kind of sat back in his chair and he said he said, he said, attitudes. I said, yes, absolutely attitudes. I said, Chris, it's my belief. And guys, I'll never forget saying this, and it has proved itself over and over and over to me, and I feel like it has him too. I said, if we will not stand up on the throats of all of our competition and try to beat them out and beat them down, but rather try to figure out how we can add value to the industry, how we can help people. I've had people to leave us and say we're gonna go do something on our own. And I've been let me know if you can ever help me, if I can ever help you. You know what I'm saying? Guys, that's where we there is plenty to go around. We've got to change the attitude, in my opinion. So therefore, coming on something like this, I find that it brings people, like-minded people, I should say, more together. And guess what? If somebody knows I'm wanting to build par whole barns, guess what? If somebody knows I'm wanting to get in the carport business, guess what? They have the same opportunity, so it's not like I'm spilling anything that they don't already have the opportunity to do anyway.

Jared Ledford:

Well, I can tell you, you know, when you talk about partnerships, so I mean, and I don't care to say this, I don't care to ruffle any feathers. My biggest issue with the carport industry from a from a logistics standpoint is they are birthing their own death. And when I say that, when I say that, you've got you you've got a situation at hand where you've got major manufacturers who are doing a great job, nothing taking anything away from anybody, who pay their you know, their install crews who are independent contractors who carry their own insurance, who have to go out here and put life and limit risk to install buildings in the cold, rain, wind, sleet, you name it, and they're paying them a pence. It isn't a partnership, it isn't any sort of anything that resembles something that can take care of their family, feed their needs, take them to the next level. So what happens is is that install crew decides I can go make more money if I become a manufacturer on my own. I say manufacturer loosely, knowing they're gonna buy material probably from that same manufacturer or a sister manufacturer somewhere in the in the industry. Now we have schisms of major metal building manufacturers across the United States where we've gone from basically the highest quality and we have schismed down into this pit, into this abyss, where now you can go to Mount Air. I'm sure you've been there, Darren. Sure. You can literally go through Mount Erie scrap metal, scrap metal for sale, scrap metal, and I'm always thinking, how many of the buildings am I getting coming out of this pit, this abyss? Right?

Darren Warren:

You know, it goes it goes back, it's it goes back to us. We're talking about one liners, it goes back to a saying we have pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered. There you go. If you don't allow people to be able to come in and create something special and create a relationship with them people, there is there is you cannot uh the relationship is everything. And at the end of the day, when you mention, you know, we're gonna pay this guy this, we're gonna pay this, and these people, we're all out to better ourselves. We should be out to better ourselves. Our families deserve that. And at the end of the day, I really believe that pigs get fat, the hogs get slaughtered. And at the end of the day, if we if we're not gonna create unique partnerships and relationships that try to make sure that that the guy that's doing uh my installs or the guy that's building my sheds or whatever it is, that they don't have they don't have uh a mutual uh mutual partnership and making money and they're making similar to what we are, it's not gonna last long term because people's gonna go do it on their own.

Jared Ledford:

That's right. Man, I can tell you, Darren, this has been one of the best, if not the best, podcasts we've done. We have got to get you back in here. Um, guys, if you are not going to Shed Expo in a couple of weeks, get your butts to Knoxville here in a couple of weeks. We're gonna have a great time. Um Shed Sales Summit. It is Shed Week, guys. I know we're not we're not the Shed Kings or anything like that, but we still sell sheds. We're grinding with you guys. We will be at Shed Expo. I will be there Wednesday and Thursday hanging out with Shannon, the team over at the Shed Geek Podcast. Um, Eric will go to the show.

Darren Warren:

Yeah, if you're there, come see us too. We're gonna be there with Stor-Mor raising money for the kids of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. And guys, I'm telling you, uh between God and St. Jude, I'm here today. Uh that is something too that I would recommend every company doing. I I've said this before, I'll never be a part of any company ownership-wise, that we don't find a greater cause than making a dollar. And I said it um uh St. Jude is Stor-Mor's, and we love to raise money for those kids. Somebody raised money for me when I was flat on my back and made a difference that I could become a dad, I could become a husband, I could become a business owner, I could chase dreams and do what I wanted to do. And uh I think we're selling ourselves short if we don't return that back to those kids and to the hospital. So come by and see us. We'd love to meet you, we'd love to hang out with you, we'd love to share with you the way we structure our businesses on trying to become people being operating partners with our business. And uh just at the end of the day, if it don't work, guess what? We'll make a friendship.

Jared Ledford:

So, you guys raised, I want to give a shout out to Stor-Mor. You guys raised a quarter million dollars for St. Jude's Children's Hospital. Um, you guys have done amazing, amazing. Just last year. That was just last year. Yeah, two 200,000 the year before.

Darren Warren:

Yeah, so 200,000, and I'm gonna tell you we're gonna be to a million here pretty soon because I'm not stopping till we get to a million. Somebody asked me when we get to a million, what were we doing? So we're going to two million. Yeah, exactly. I understand. That's the way we're calling it.

Jared Ledford:

You'd have to you'd have to correct me if I'm wrong. When you go to St. Jude's, they don't pay any bills, they take care of the kids, everything's taken care of. They take care of these kids from start to finish and they get them healed up the way that they need to be.

Darren Warren:

And the guys they not only treat the kids, guys, they treat the families. And what I mean by that, with the families not having to worry about all that stuff, you know, in 1962, when the hospital opened, what I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was a 4% survival rate. Today they're at a 94-95% long-time survival rate. And check this out in 2001, when I finished my treatment, I started in 99, I had 120 chemotherapy treatments from 99 to 2001. Uh, it was only at an 80% long-term survival rate. So from 2001, it's grown onto a 94, 95% long-time survival rate. So truly making a difference. And the cool part is it's so cool to be a part of something that's bigger and greater than I could ever hope to be. We're not just treating kids in Memphis, we're treating kids around the world. And man, that's powerful. When we walk off the elevator in here in August and we start our campaigns, and those little bald-headed kids are on posters looking at you. I'm telling you, every employee, you can feel their morale. They realize this is more than just trying to be greedy and make a dollar. Yes, we got to make money. We've got to be profitable, but we need to make this a greater cause than just ourselves and making money. And that's what St. Jude is to us. I'm here the cause of it.

Jared Ledford:

So I love it, man. Check out Stormwore.com, the about us page. They have a whole page dedicated to St. Jude's. You can check out Darren's story there. Darren is featured on the St. Jude's Children's website. Um, man, I I appreciate you, brother. I can tell you, I can't wait to meet you in person, shaking howdy with you a little bit at Shed Expo. And I'll tell you, man, I'll tell you, this has been an absolute honor for Eric and I to spend some time with you on a Tuesday afternoon, and we can't wait to use you. Well, likewise.

Darren Warren:

Likewise, guys. Thank y'all so much for allowing me to come on. It means a lot. I if nothing else, dude, we've made we've made some friendships, and I can't wait to see it. So that's right. That's right.

Jared Ledford:

I'll tell you what, guys, check out the team over at Cold Spring Enterprises for VersaBend. Check out Joel and the team over at J Money. We are going to get we are going to get out of here. For Jared, Eric, Darren, the whole team, we are out of here for this week. We appreciate you guys checking out the Steel Kings podcast. We'll be back at you next week with another episode, and we'll have something cool to talk about. In the meantime, have a great week. Get out here, communities, and do something special. Talk to you guys soon. Absolutely. Later on.