Shane Ehrsam and Brandon Adams discuss hiring a GM, buying business #2, rewarding aspects of SMB life, and managing envy. Topics include benefits for employees, growing revenue post-COVID, reality of bumpy revenue in retail, owning a business bought as a stock sale, improving hiring for blue-collar roles, professionalizing a business, and the process of acquiring another business.
Owning a dealership business requires focusing on customer service, convenience, and quick turnaround times to attract and retain customers.
Hiring a capable general manager allows business owners to focus on strategic growth and empower employees with resources and opportunities for personal development.
Searchers and entrepreneurs should understand their motivations and priorities in business ownership, avoiding comparisons and focusing on their own unique journey.
Deep dives
Shane Arson's Successful Year as a Business Owner
Shane Arson returns to talk about his experience owning North Texas Trailers, a three-location trailer dealership. He describes how this has been his most professionally rewarding year, highlighting the impact of owning a dealership business. Shane discusses his focus on customer service, convenience, and quick turnaround times, which have allowed him to attract and retain customers, especially in B2B and B2G sectors. Additionally, he shares how he has improved employee benefits, including health insurance and a 401k match, and restructured the compensation system to enhance employee motivation and financial growth. Despite industry challenges, Shane's business has surpassed 2021 revenue levels and is on track to exceed $10 million in revenue this year.
Brandon Adams' Path to Building a Holding Company
Brandon Adams, who purchased an ice delivery business, shares his journey towards building a holding company. He explains the importance of finding the right general manager to handle the day-to-day operations and allow him and his partner to focus on strategic growth. Brandon discusses their vision of empowering employees with resources and opportunities for personal development, highlighting examples of his workers starting their own businesses. He emphasizes the significance of reliability and customer service in the ice business, and how their reputation for fulfilling promises has contributed to their success. Despite the inherent challenges of labor and talent management, Brandon's business has achieved sustained profitability above pre-COVID levels and is actively seeking further acquisitions.
The Benefits and Challenges of Dealership Businesses
The podcast episode delves into the nuances of dealership businesses, using examples from Shane Arson's trailer dealership. While dealership businesses are considered a type of retail, they require specific strategies such as providing excellent customer service, convenience, and quick turnaround times. Shane emphasizes the importance of targeting B2B and B2G customers, offering them a high level of service to meet their critical transportation needs. The episode also explores the challenges of dealership businesses, including the reliance on sales fluctuations and the need for continuous focus on hiring, training, and managing employees. Despite these challenges, Shane and Brandon demonstrate the potential for success in dealership businesses through strategic planning, dedication to customer satisfaction, and investment in employee growth.
Successful Growth and Long-term Outlook
The podcast episode discusses the speaker's perspective on the growth and long-term outlook of their business. They mention examples of businesses achieving rapid revenue growth and express some envy towards them. However, the speaker emphasizes that their own goal as a business owner was to have autonomy, work-life balance, and the ability to run the business as they saw fit. They emphasize that their business is not equipped for rapid growth and they are content with steady growth of 15%. They also express a long-term outlook for their business and their satisfaction with its current performance.
Importance of Understanding Motivations and Priorities
The podcast episode highlights the importance for searchers and entrepreneurs to understand their motivations and priorities when getting into business ownership. The speaker mentions the need for autonomy, working hours, financial growth targets, and the desire to be an operator as factors to consider. They note that different individuals may have different driving factors and there is no right or wrong answer. The speaker encourages self-reflection to determine why one is getting into the space and to not compare their journey to others, as everyone has their own decision matrix and motivations.
