Episode Transcript
[00:00:02] Speaker A: Good day, everyone, and welcome to the Cutting Edge Install podcast brought to you by Omni Cubed, where innovation meets installation. And it quite literally could be everything in between. I am your host, Merv Campbell, and it's an absolute pleasure to have you with us. Whether you're listening, whether you're watching, welcome. It's good to have you here. This podcast, what's it all about? Well, it's about celebrating pros, celebrating installers, experts and game changers. And we have a game changer and a mover and a shaker on with us today. There's a podcast you're going to want to listen to. We're going to dive into stories, we're going to share insights, we're going to have fun.
The old accent lets you know that I'm Irish, and man, do the Irish not know how to have fun. So whether you're on the job, whether you're on the road, and whether you're just looking to stay sharp, you have come to the right place. So let's get cracking. I'm just going to turn it over and let this man introduce himself.
[00:00:58] Speaker B: All right, well, thanks. Merv Ryan, shoemaker, Champagne glass and door founder.
Started the company September of 2022.
[00:01:08] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:01:09] Speaker B: Just me, myself. It was me in a van.
[00:01:13] Speaker A: There you go.
[00:01:15] Speaker B: That's how it started. Now we are in our own little building, looking to expand and we're a staff of eight.
[00:01:21] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:01:22] Speaker B: Quick, short amount of time and away we grew. Full service, flash shop, everything except auto.
And you know, as you know, as they say, I'm doing it my way this time.
[00:01:38] Speaker A: That's sometimes the best way to do it. And then you only have to argue with yourself and no one else.
[00:01:43] Speaker B: Well, sometimes those are really big arguments.
[00:01:46] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, big time. When you get in front of the mirror and you're like, hey, you want to have it, boy? Oh, dear. That's hilarious. Yeah.
So let's start, let's start from the very beginning.
How did you get into glass?
What inspired you to build champagne glass and door and what kind of keeps you motivated?
[00:02:07] Speaker B: Well, born and raised in the industry, I'm second generation Glazer and like most second generation Glazers will tell you, did everything in my power to get the hell out of the industry.
[00:02:20] Speaker A: Oh, dear.
[00:02:21] Speaker B: I didn't want to do it. I did so growing up, I helped my father in the business.
[00:02:27] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:02:28] Speaker B: You know, as you start finding your own way, you want to do your own independent thing. So I just did little things to try and get out and, you know, passion called And I came back. But during that journey, I. I worked for competitors as well. And probably the best thing I ever did was working for the competition. Yes. Getting out of the family nest, getting that, you know, that era of this is the only way to do things, you know.
[00:02:59] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:02:59] Speaker B: Learning from the outside. And it was just different because my father really ran a service business.
It was a very small business. So I learned things in construction, I learned things in architectural glazing that I never would have learned before. So that's I ever did was getting out of that business, came back for a little bit as one guy and then left again and became a service manager in another business for 10 years. Got headhunted, went into the hollow metal industry for a while.
[00:03:29] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:03:30] Speaker B: And that's when.
Through a different support system and stuff.
The time was now and it was time to go on my own.
[00:03:40] Speaker A: So. Awesome.
[00:03:41] Speaker B: And it led me to this. To this adventure.
[00:03:45] Speaker A: To where you are today. Yeah. That's a good word, adventure. Yeah. That's definitely an adventure, I can tell you. Wow.
Quite a lot of kind of like a roller coaster. A lot of moving and shaking and loop de loops and all the rest. That's awesome.
[00:03:59] Speaker B: Lots of ups and downs. Yeah.
[00:04:01] Speaker A: Oh, big time. Isn't that how life is right now and has been. But kind of going back to your earlier days, what's sort of like one lesson from early days and kind of, you know, obviously getting your feet wet in the industry that still sticks with you today? Well, that's in glass or in the metal side. You know. Is there something that you kind of each day remind yourself of to kind of keep you going?
[00:04:26] Speaker B: Oh, absolutely. The one thing I've known, especially being in the full service business growing up in, you know, we were a service glass shop growing up. Even in the construction or architectural glass.
[00:04:36] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:04:36] Speaker B: Customer service just isn't a department. It's your reputation generally in the trades, whether it's glass or any sort of trade. The bar has been set really low.
[00:04:47] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:04:47] Speaker B: And I just find just showing up at time, doing what you say you're going to do, it already sets you apart.
[00:04:53] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:04:54] Speaker B: So the biggest lesson I ever learned growing up, you know, from my father, from my other peers, you've been given two ears, one mouth. And there's a reason for that.
[00:05:03] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:05:04] Speaker B: It's a reason you listen. Listen more than you talk.
[00:05:07] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:05:08] Speaker B: Starting from scratch gave me the freedom to define excellence my own way, in my own terms.
Customer service was key. And I take that and I value that extraordinarily here. So we Always try and preach, you know, with our mission and vision and our values. White glove service. So, yeah, we started from nothing. We got to define what our excellence meant and that became our culture. Yeah, it was always customer centric.
[00:05:36] Speaker A: Yeah, that's so important. And it's kind of like we look at our customer service at Omni Cubed as our best marketing tool because it's how you talk to the people, it's how you interact.
And you can do a lot through customer service that a lot of people don't realize.
When the customer calls, they kind of give a big sigh or they tut and they're like, oh, not them again. Whereas if you have an attitude of, okay, let's help these people, it comes across either on a phone or an email or even better in person.
And that's what makes good businesses stand out. And that word of mouth is just, you know, it's one of the key marketing tools that any company can have.
So, no, I, I fully, I give a hearty amen to those things. As in, yep, customer service is key. And just treat people how you want to be treated yourself goes a long way.
[00:06:33] Speaker B: That's one thing Google Ads can't buy.
[00:06:36] Speaker A: No, it cannot. It cannot. And it's a lot cheaper than a Google Ad as well.
But there's a lot of people in this industry, in the glass industry, who are. You kind of mentioned yourself second, third, even fourth generation into some of this stuff.
What are some of the unique challenges but yet freedoms of starting your own business from zero that you find?
[00:07:01] Speaker B: Well, just by starting our own, we got to choose our own path and do it differently.
So we got to say yes to certain opportunities, but we also got to say no.
Even in the early days, like, you know, when it was just me, yeah, there was a lot of fear and a lot of doubt. You know, would the phone ring? You know, could I pay the bills now? I had a van payment.
Thankfully, because of my tenure and culture in this business, I had loyal clients that did follow me and they gave me a push.
And thankfully, you know, I was able to hire my first employee at about the 6 month interval.
[00:07:43] Speaker A: Awesome.
[00:07:44] Speaker B: That changed everything too.
[00:07:46] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:07:46] Speaker B: So it wasn't now just about me. Now I had someone else's livelihood in the palm of my hand. So that changed everything. So now again, back to the customer service that tenfold now it wasn't just me and my family. I now had other people's family's lives at stake. So, yeah, yeah, the fear was always there, but now it was a grander scale. But, yes, gratitude kept me grounded, but relationships really built the foundation, so.
[00:08:15] Speaker A: Yeah, totally. No, I hear you.
Kind of off topic a little bit, but you talk there about being an owner and then getting an employee and the stresses and the strains that that can bring upon someone. Yeah, that's one thing that personally, myself, and I know a lot of other people are trying to highlight is, you know, owners. It can be a very lonely place at times, and it can be very stress that people don't realize and burdens that people don't realize.
And at the end of the day, an owner is just a person like anybody else. They're not a robot. You know, they have emotions, they have feelings and all the rest.
And I think it's important to highlight that, you know, sometimes bosses can seem a certain way, but it's just they're under a lot more stress and strain because to your point, you have to think of your employees. You have to think of others and not just yourself. So I think it's good for even bosses and managers, even not even in the one company, but other companies to come together and have a talk with each other and even outside of different industries, which is, you know, a lot of things are going around here where we're at, where, you know, it's us here that produces, you know, the glass tools, but then it's also a shop next door that makes racks for the back of trucks. And, you know, me and the guy who's down there, we start talking to each other, and you're going, oh, you've got the same issues I have. Well, I didn't think that. So I think communication's key at that level.
That was totally off track. That wasn't even on our script of what we were saying. But I think it's good just to highlight that, you know, owners and managers, they're under stress these days, and because they are thinking not selfishly of themselves, but of their employees.
And it's can be a heavy load. It's a heavy basket to carry. So, yeah, anyways, so early days.
You're kind of in your early days.
What did that look like for you?
Maybe you can tell us, you know, your first big break that you got that kind of was a feather in your cap and kind of was like, okay, we're on the right track.
[00:10:32] Speaker B: Yeah. So when I first started, we were really geared towards frameless showers because I had no location and it was just me in a van, and that was what I do on my own.
So I was able to pick up just A couple renovators that followed me. And then my first home builder that followed me was kind of like the first big feather in my cap I was able to do. I got a subdivision from them on my own, so that was like, you know, my, you know, piece. The resistance. Yeah, Yeah, I can do this on my own. I have.
And then, you know, I had the mirror subset, and then I picked up a couple property management companies, so I had some service work to infill some time.
[00:11:16] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:11:17] Speaker B: And then the pieces were coming together, and then.
[00:11:19] Speaker A: Good.
[00:11:20] Speaker B: You know, and then you had this moment where this looked real.
[00:11:26] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:11:27] Speaker B: And then it started to snowball.
And I specifically remember one time I went to the gas station to get gas, and of course, I had my van lettered up, and a guy stopped me at the gas station to get a card because he wanted a shower for his house.
[00:11:46] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:11:46] Speaker B: He says, I see your vans everywhere.
[00:11:49] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:11:50] Speaker B: I just. I want to get a quote for a shower at my house. It was when he says, I see your vans everywhere, everywhere. It's like, nope, there's only one. I'm not telling them that. But there's only one, and it's only me.
You know what? Now I'm real. This is. This isn't a hobby. This is real.
[00:12:06] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:12:07] Speaker B: Now this.
[00:12:08] Speaker A: Awesome.
[00:12:08] Speaker B: We made it, right?
[00:12:10] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:12:10] Speaker B: Okay, I'm ready to hire. This is.
This feels established now.
[00:12:15] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. I can take that sort of next step.
[00:12:18] Speaker B: Yeah. There was just a sigh of relief now.
[00:12:21] Speaker A: Yeah. No, that's awesome. Yeah. Don't tell them that you've only one van. Just. No, there's hundreds out there.
Oh, dear.
We kind of touched about managers, but, you know, it's good to have a support system. It's good to have people around you.
What did you have? What did maybe you not have when you were starting out? And how did that support network kind of shape and mold you and give you sort of drive mentors and.
[00:12:52] Speaker B: You know what? I've been lucky even before I started this business with some mentorship and it's online. Truthfully, I had mentors like Keith Dodman and Tim Burn, who were kind of involved in my life and the pedigree of this business even before it ever became into fruition, just from LinkedIn and online presence. Like, yeah, Keith was involved in this whole idea of the business probably six months to a year before it ever even came off the ground.
It wouldn't be where it is without him.
[00:13:32] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:13:33] Speaker B: I mean, he was really the guy that helped me give me the push and get it off the ground.
[00:13:37] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:13:38] Speaker B: Through, you know, chats and things like that. And then talk about a guy who leads with excellence and empathy like that just. Yeah, leads it. And then there were the clients who, you know, took a chance on me in the beginning, too. That's a support system.
[00:13:53] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:13:54] Speaker B: You know, just having the drive that, you know, the way I built the business, that I have the belief that we can always do better.
And, you know, we just.
I try to preach here and not preach. Preach isn't the right word, but I have a belief that we just don't have a gear for average. We're always going to. Up the level. Up the level.
Not just for us, but for the industry as a whole. I feel like we can all elevate. That bar has been set so low. It's time to elevate everything.
[00:14:27] Speaker A: Yeah. To move it up.
[00:14:28] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:14:29] Speaker A: Well, not to make your head expand, but you talked about others.
But I would talk about. I want to talk about you.
I see you on LinkedIn from afar. Obviously, I'm in California, but I can see you on LinkedIn, and I'm on there quite a lot.
And I can see you, you're a very good encourager and you're very good at picking people up when they seem to be a little bit down or, you know. A nice comment.
We felt it at Omni Cubed when we went to Glass Build and we were, like, launching new tools. You were on there, you were commenting, you were liking.
That goes a long way for a company when there's clientele like you. There's, like, Keith as well, who we've had on the podcast that gives a company like us who make tools to help installers. Like, we're not in direct competition with each other. I'm not installing Glass, but I'm helping people install it.
And so that encouragement, just so, you know, goes an awfully long way.
And so kudos to you.
Thank you for that.
That's why you're on the podcast, because you're one who has given us wind in our sails at times when they were kind of, oh, they're all raggedy and they were not going anywhere. And it's only a few words. Like, it's not like you're writing, you know, love poems on our LinkedIn post. It's just a like or a, you know, that looks cool or good job, you know, And I would say, like, you and Keith and there's others out there who do it, like, for that next generation, or people who are going, oh, why would I want to write I don't think people realize the impact that just a few words can have positively. Now, I'm not saying you have to wax lyrical about people, but just a simple encouragement goes a long way. So thank you from us at OmniCubbed.
We really appreciate just the words and the likes goes a long way. So.
[00:16:43] Speaker B: Yeah, well, OmniCube is a special company and let me just take a moment to say that, I mean, the guy, like the stuff you guys do is phenomenal. The engineering down there is a marvel. When I, you know, glass build 20, 25 coming soon, I can't wait for that.
But just when I've run into you guys at Glass Build and the stuff that you showcase out there, it's just phenomenal. It's, yeah. Beautiful product. And when I meet you guys in person, you guys take the time to explain everything you have. Wonderful product, wonderful customer service. When we chat is a company that I would deal with on a day to day basis. So I mean, kudos to you. I want to see you guys flourish and, and, and back to you where you said, you know, it takes a simple comment. I understand what you mean because I've also been on the opposite side of that where it just takes one person to say one thing and then, yeah, it can, you know, just, you know, without getting sappy. It just elevates you, Right?
[00:17:45] Speaker A: It does, yeah.
[00:17:46] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:17:47] Speaker A: We don't, we don't want the SAP. No, but, but it is, it is good.
[00:17:52] Speaker B: It can take a down day and just, you know, bring it back up.
[00:17:56] Speaker A: Yeah, totally.
[00:17:58] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely.
[00:17:59] Speaker A: And I would encourage, not that we want to turn into a SAP Fest on LinkedIn or whatever, but if you see something and it excites you or it's encouraging or what, just write it, just say it.
[00:18:11] Speaker B: Just be genuine.
[00:18:13] Speaker A: Just be genuine. Like be yourself. I think a lot of times on LinkedIn you can sniff out who's on there for certain purposes and who's on there just to be a genuine person. And it's funny because the genuine people have a ton of likes, a ton of comments if people are following them, it's genuine. It really, really is.
So, but no, okay, we're done with the stop. Let's move on.
People are like, oh, please, let's just throw up in a bucket. Anyways, you say you're driven by a goal, turning Glass into a legacy.
That's a very strong statement, but one that I can, I can get behind because it's, we have some here that are pretty like that.
Can you unpack what that means to you kind of both personally and professionally. And where does that, like, where does that drive come from? Ryan?
[00:19:07] Speaker B: Okay, so this was a lot of soul searching when. Just after the business started, because it became kind of like the mission. Like, what is this all for? This isn't just a financial gain. This became like, you know, you know, this is a legacy now. What do we do with this? I have kids. Am I passing it down to them? What do we do here?
So personally, it's about elevating people. It's more than. It's not money, it's. It's a crap. But elevating people. It's my team, it's my peers, it's the next generation.
Professionally, it's about building with heart and with purpose and leaving a fingerprint on the built environment.
[00:19:43] Speaker A: Now.
[00:19:46] Speaker B: It's not about ego. It's about purpose.
It's not what we're leaving.
Sorry. It's not about what we're leaving behind, but it's what we're going to build every day. Yeah, that's. That's what we're doing here. That's the legacy that we want to leave.
[00:20:02] Speaker A: Yeah. No, that's awesome. Yeah, it's that, you know, as parents, we do it for our children. You know, what are we. What are we leaving behind? But in a business sense, it's also for our employees. Like, what are we leaving behind for them?
Because sadly, I'm sure you see it as much as what we do.
There's a real void in employment right now with younger people, which is also something I'm very passionate about.
I have a statement. You never see a U haul behind a hearse.
So basically pour into young people as much as you can.
You know, the owner, his son, and my son are good friends and trying to pour into them just like life itself, but then also like business and working with your hands. And, you know, I'm encouraging my son to take up a trade. He's 14.
He watched this Old House since he was like, 6.
It's funny, obviously, being on trips and stuff. Things happen at our home, and he's the one that fixes it at 14.
So you're like, right on. Couldn't learn any younger. But it's that giving to that next generation is so key. And to your point, and I really appreciate it when you say it, it's not an ego.
Leave your ego at the door. Just be a genuine person.
Whether that's to your employees, whether that's in your own home with your family, or when you go out to Clients.
Sometimes when you go to bid a job or whatever, the client can sniff out who's just there for the money and who's actually there to help and do a good job. So, yeah, the more you just be yourself, the better it is.
Kind of moving on then. We live in a day of social media.
Obviously, everyone is addicted to their phones. All you ever see is the top of people's heads.
Do you have. Do you have an approach or a strategy within social media, like how you do it, or is it just consistency and kind of showing up as you go?
[00:22:15] Speaker B: Oh, big time. I mean, as of late, we've really doubled down on the strategy. I mean, our social media, it's not vanity, it's 100% visibility.
[00:22:25] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:22:26] Speaker B: It's changed the caliber of the clients who find us. And we've really worked specifically on raising our floor.
[00:22:33] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:22:33] Speaker B: Consistency is still key, but people follow those who care.
[00:22:39] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:22:40] Speaker B: So it's not about showing off, but it's about showing up.
[00:22:44] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:22:45] Speaker B: So we, you know, the finished product's nice, but people like the journey too.
[00:22:49] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:22:49] Speaker B: See the human.
And that's what trend show is. We're not AI, we're not just a thing. It's journey. There. There's humans on the other side of this producing it.
[00:23:02] Speaker A: Exactly. Yeah.
One thing that I love to see is a before, during and after.
Yeah. Like, you see what it looked like before and you're going, oh, my goodness, that's so cringy. And then you see the guy, you see like the installer coming in and that was kind of like. My next question was, do you think that installers should, like, document their work on social.
I think they should. I think it's really. It's really important.
[00:23:31] Speaker B: Love the journey.
[00:23:32] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:23:33] Speaker B: It's not perfection, just the journey.
A few years ago, I might have said it was optional, but, you know, now it's essential. I mean, it's free visibility.
[00:23:42] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:23:43] Speaker B: You don't pay for this. It's free.
[00:23:45] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:23:46] Speaker B: Global reach, human connection. If you're proud of what you're, what you build, the world deserves to see it.
[00:23:52] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, totally. And the more you can show it, the better it is. Yeah. So when you post, you make a social post.
Who's it for?
[00:24:04] Speaker B: It changes.
Sometimes clients, sometimes the industry, like you and I. Yep. Sometimes potential new customers.
But the voice, I mean, we're always staying the same. Like it's an authentic or educational.
We're trying to be generous in how we post, whether it's information or, you know, however, try.
[00:24:27] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:24:27] Speaker B: Fairly consistent Call to action.
Our audience will always shift, but the message, we try to stay the same.
[00:24:33] Speaker A: Gotcha.
[00:24:34] Speaker B: Be relatable again.
Keep that human element to it.
[00:24:38] Speaker A: Human aspect.
Yeah.
So much like, it's sad nowadays when you go on and you're like, scrolling through and there's videos and you're like, wait, hang on, those lips are moving. Funny. Did that person actually say that?
At times it can be really frustrating and a lot of hard work. But there's some shops, you know, and I know too, that they think social media is optional. They're like, yeah, we just.
We just do what we do. And, you know, what would you say to some who are apprehensive, some who think, well, I don't need to show my work, whatever. What. What would you say to them?
[00:25:20] Speaker B: You're on limited time. Yeah, I don't. I don't think you have much choice nowadays.
[00:25:27] Speaker A: Yeah, it's sadly.
[00:25:30] Speaker B: Sadly. Yeah. Again, it's free.
[00:25:33] Speaker A: It is free. You.
[00:25:35] Speaker B: You have a phone. That's what it takes. It's a phone. You don't have to be professional. They just want to see the human element. It doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to be authentic.
[00:25:48] Speaker A: Yeah, totally.
You're probably like us, where you've got amazing employees.
You can't have a company like yours or ours without the creme of the crop, so to speak.
And obviously there's a lot of labor shortages now and there's a void, like we kind of spoke about before. But how do you, as a company, how do you attract those employees?
But kind of maybe more, how do you retain good talent within your company?
[00:26:22] Speaker B: We are blessed to have phenomenal employees.
And I think the difference that we have our employee set is. Well, like, the labor shortage is real. Like.
[00:26:40] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:26:40] Speaker B: You know, we attract through culture, not just paychecks.
We make champagne glass a place that people are proud to represent.
[00:26:52] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:26:54] Speaker B: We retain, like, you know, we. We give extra time off. We're very flexible with time.
We try to, you know, treat it like a culture of the family.
I would suggest, ironically, I'm not the one to ask. It really should just be the employees that should answer that question. It's not.
I know they're the ones that love it, but, you know, I'm very blessed that our employees. The difference is they're the ones that come in and they care.
[00:27:28] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:27:29] Speaker B: And that's what we've been able to, you know, notice the differences. We have had very little turnover, but the turnover we do have, we can.
We can weed out quickly. Are the ones that have a passion, that care.
[00:27:46] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:27:47] Speaker B: And that's. That's night and day different.
[00:27:49] Speaker A: Yeah, totally. Yeah. No, it also starts from the top.
Like, good employees follow good leaders.
And so we have to. That's one thing as, like, managers and owners that we have to lead well.
People will follow a good leader, but that means, like, every day you've got to be on it, which is a lot of work.
It can be tiring. So. And I think the more that you are personal with your employees, the better it is that if you do have a hard day, you can say, look, I'm having an absolute stinker. Cut me some slack here.
It's been a tough one.
[00:28:29] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:28:32] Speaker A: Yeah. Sorry.
We're hiring people.
Perhaps they don't have a lot of glazing experience. What's something when you look at a resume or you do an interview that you really like to ask or know about them before hiring?
[00:28:49] Speaker B: You know, the biggest things that we can figure out aren't on the resume.
[00:28:53] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:28:54] Speaker B: The skills, they can be taught.
[00:28:56] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:28:57] Speaker B: Empathy, the attitude.
Patient can't.
[00:29:02] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:29:02] Speaker B: And those are key factors in the way we run this business, especially when it comes back to that customer service.
[00:29:09] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:29:11] Speaker B: I look for people who connect with the clients and they have to care. They have to care about how they make people feel.
[00:29:18] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:29:19] Speaker B: We're not building glass, we're building trust.
[00:29:22] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:29:23] Speaker B: So that's the important. If someone can give me the feeling that they can build trust and represent our brand out there and people are going to trust them, we can teach the skills.
[00:29:36] Speaker A: Yeah. That will fall. Totally.
Yeah. It's.
I always say, if you can show up on time, that's a great start.
[00:29:45] Speaker B: Oh, that's also.
Also a key factor.
[00:29:49] Speaker A: People. People laugh at me whenever I say that, but I'm like, no, what do you see when you've got, like, you know, with you, I. It or us? We've got, you know, 20 people here.
They show up on time. That's. That's a win. That's good.
[00:30:06] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:30:06] Speaker A: And it's funny. Like, I. We. We get here, we start at seven, and I'll normally pull in at, like, quarter two.
And most of the employees are already here.
And I'm like, that's amazing. They're like, they're in. They're already at the benches, like, yarning to each other. They're making a cup of coffee. We do stretches from 7 till about 10 past. And just the camaraderie and the laughter and the, you know, and it's. It's a family and that's how we like to. That's how we like to have this business as a family, because there's so much guff and muck going on out there that you need a place where you can just be a family and be normal. So, no, it's. It's so important. But, yeah, show up on time. That's.
Oh, man.
Sad. But it's so true these days, kind of moving from employees to more sort of technology and tools.
How do you see tools and technology changing the way you and your team operate, whether that's installs or whether that's, you know, communication or even down to coding?
[00:31:11] Speaker B: Oh, it. It's rapid. How fast the technology is entering this business.
And, you know, I don't think you'll ever remove the human element out of this. It's. Yeah, it's impossible. And I would never expect to, especially after everything we've just talked about.
Technology will never replace the human element.
[00:31:33] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:31:33] Speaker B: But, you know, we're a big advocate for, like the flexijet, for example, so you'll see us post a lot about it. Because we're big.
It lets us measure with such precision, eliminates the air. So we're.
We're using that tool on the daily more than most people do, because we use it on the simplest of things. But have it here. We're not going to let it sit in the closet. So we're measuring, you know, our showers with precision, when it should be like massive railings. Right.
[00:32:03] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:32:04] Speaker B: We. We overuse it. We have smart lifts to keep our guys safe.
[00:32:08] Speaker A: There you go.
[00:32:09] Speaker B: You know, we're gonna, you know, we want to keep people healthy. We want their backs safe. We're going to embrace technology systems like even our quoting software. We use smart Glazer and other forms of software in house, and we just want everyone running happier, healthier, safer, and we want to streamline it, whether it's from quoting to invoicing, to lifting, to material handling, like cart, to the measuring. I mean. But the long story short, we'll embrace technology to our blue in the face. I'm a big advocate, whether it is AI or anything else, but the tech doesn't replace craftsmanship. It enhances it, but it will not replace it. True.
[00:32:53] Speaker A: So true.
[00:32:54] Speaker B: You know, God love technology, but you can't replace the craftsmanship out there.
[00:33:00] Speaker A: Yeah.
And Glazers are true craftsman.
[00:33:07] Speaker B: Yes. It's a semen that's forgotten sometimes.
[00:33:10] Speaker A: Yeah, that and I think. I think for customers, they need to.
They need to realize that. That this is a craft. It's a skill. It's an art.
It's the same with, like, installing a kitchen or laying tile, glass.
An electrician, a plumber. It's a. It's a skill.
And I've had a couple of people recently being like, you know, the customer was over my shoulder. You know, they're telling me how to do it.
You know, they're coming to me saying, what should I say? And I'm like, just tell them, look, this craft, it takes attention.
And so anytime they're talking to you, it's taken away from that attention.
You need the space to work.
And a lot of times it's the finished reveal that gets the.
It's amazing.
But if someone's there all the way through, they just nitpick at everything. And so these men and women are gifted at what they do, like, really gifted.
Just let them do it, so to speak.
[00:34:18] Speaker B: Yeah. I challenge anyone to go to someone like Kevin Hardman and tell them that he's a lot of craftsmen in his own. Like, the genius.
[00:34:27] Speaker A: Yeah, totally.
[00:34:28] Speaker B: And that's a person that no matter what technology is out there, he will still show up with craftsmanship every day of the week.
[00:34:37] Speaker A: 100%. Totally.
Sort of. The last 12 months. Is there any systems or technology that you've adopted that's made a real difference to you as a company?
[00:34:48] Speaker B: The FlexiJet was our last massive purchase at Glass Build, so that's been the one that we've really leaned on this year.
We also purchased a scratch removal system from GlassWorld.
[00:35:02] Speaker A: Nice.
[00:35:02] Speaker B: And kind of, you know, adapted that as a. A new line of. Not a line of business, but another line of service that we've offered for some of our property management and other lines of business. Whether it's in house for just our own scratch removal, but, yeah, saving money for some of our clients who have large IGs, like businesses where, you know, they'll have like a 96 by 100 thermal unit that it just doesn't make sense to change it out if it's just got scratches or graffiti.
[00:35:36] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:35:36] Speaker B: Just for, you know, construction, fencing, barricading and stuff where we can spend an hour doing a scratch removal. And that's.
[00:35:43] Speaker A: Call it good.
[00:35:44] Speaker B: Call it good.
[00:35:44] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:35:45] Speaker B: So they save money. We're able to adapt some technology in that sense. Everyone's happy.
[00:35:51] Speaker A: Yep, everyone's happy. Yeah. Awesome.
Kind of just as a sort of personal question, what is it like, what is it that gets you up in the morning?
What is it that puts wind in your sails?
What keeps you going, Ryan, day to day?
[00:36:14] Speaker B: I would say, you know, I'm never happy where I am. There's always, there's always more.
And, you know, even, you know, my management staff here, they're probably sick of hearing it, but we fail forward.
[00:36:33] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:36:34] Speaker B: We, we never hit our goal. And that's intentional. Whether it's a top line revenue goal, an invoicing goal, a work order generation goal.
[00:36:42] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:36:43] Speaker B: Always moves if we're going to hit it. The goal.
[00:36:47] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:36:48] Speaker B: We, we've never hit our goal, and that's with intent. Because we're going to hit it. We push it further.
And I'm sure, you know, I get some flack about it. That is probably bad for morale, but we're, you know, we're just. I'm never happy. So let's just keep pushing for.
[00:37:06] Speaker A: I'm pushing.
[00:37:08] Speaker B: Keep pushing, keep pushing.
[00:37:09] Speaker A: Uhhuh.
[00:37:10] Speaker B: So there's. There's more to be had.
[00:37:13] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:37:14] Speaker B: And, you know, regardless of all the environmental factors, whether, you know, we are in, you know, a recession now, I mean, we're hearing up north of the border that could be recession. I think it's a recession, but there's all these outside factors, whether it's tariffs, whether it's recession, whether political environment.
You can control what you can control.
[00:37:35] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:37:36] Speaker B: So just do what you can.
[00:37:40] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:37:40] Speaker B: And there's lots of things that if you micromanage and you just, you know, you can eat the elephant one bite at a time.
[00:37:47] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:37:48] Speaker B: And just work on it and. Yeah, just keep pushing. And yes, I think.
[00:37:53] Speaker A: Awesome.
[00:37:54] Speaker B: Push through and you can grow anything to whatever you want.
[00:37:58] Speaker A: Cool.
So kind of coming on from that, our last question.
If there's any young people that are listening to this, maybe they're not even in the glass industry. They're just. They somehow have managed to find this podcast or listening. What advice would you give those young people who are considering entering, you know, trades, and particularly into the glass industry?
[00:38:20] Speaker B: Don't underestimate what a career in the trades, you know, can become.
There's a massive opportunity. You know, the gap is this older generations retiring.
[00:38:31] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:38:33] Speaker B: We kind of touched on it. That automation can't replace, you know, the pride or the passion.
[00:38:38] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:38:39] Speaker B: The future is getting bigger and better, safer, and there's no ceiling. If you care about this craft. Yes. I'm sure in California just as much as here in Canada, buildings are getting more and more glass.
[00:38:54] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:38:55] Speaker B: Not less.
[00:38:56] Speaker A: Nope.
[00:38:57] Speaker B: There'll be taller buildings, wider buildings, more glass, less.
There's more opportunity.
So totally there's.
There's an opportunity out there and it's ripe for the taking.
I won't be doing this forever. And you won't be doing this forever either.
[00:39:17] Speaker A: Definitely not.
Yeah, that's very true. But no, that's very helpful for any young person aspiring and kind of back to what you said before, push yourself.
Don't be content with just how things are. Always learn, always grow.
Read good books, listen to good podcasts. And I think the last one is talk to experts in the field like yourself, like Keith, like others and learn like, listen like very, we got, we began at the very beginning with two ears and one mouth. Listen to people and take, take that advice, take that information and, and run with it and just see where it takes you so well.
[00:40:00] Speaker B: Listen, sir, I think everyone wants to help. I don't think anyone would ever say no, we're not going to help. Everyone has information that is, is more than willing to help someone that wants to start in the business and I was the recipient of that.
Thankfully I asked people were more than forthcoming with information and I'm happy to do the same.
[00:40:22] Speaker A: Yep, now that's very helpful. And we're the same here at Omni Cubed.
We are people and we like to talk to people. And it might not even be about a tool. It might be something like you're stressed out or whatever.
We're here to talk to people and to help them in any way we can. So. Well, sir, thank you so much. This has been an absolute privilege.
I've really enjoyed this to get to know you better.
If you don't know Ryan, go find him on LinkedIn. Follow him.
He's a real advocate for the glass industry and just an all round, top notch guy, as we would say in Ireland. So that's a wrap on this episode of the Cutting Edge Install Podcast. If you've enjoyed this episode, be sure to follow, subscribe, Leave a quick review, leave a comment maybe you'd like to be a guest. Put it on there too.
For more about us and the tools that we design here at Omni Cubed, go on our website, omnicubed.com and to all fabricators, installers, stay safe, be good and keep working hard. Until next time, cheerio.
[00:41:28] Speaker B: Bye bye.
[00:41:29] Speaker A: Thank you.
