Episode Transcript
[00:00:03] Speaker A: I think the general public thinks that what we do is easy.
And unfortunately it's, it's, it's quite the contrary.
What we do is very difficult. And if not executed correctly then, you know, a lot of the times you have one. One shot.
[00:00:23] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:00:23] Speaker A: Especially with slaps. You really do only have one shot with slaps.
[00:00:26] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:00:27] Speaker A: Once it's down, it's down.
[00:00:29] Speaker C: Oh yeah.
[00:00:29] Speaker A: You're not lifting it up, you're not moving it around.
Especially to have any adhesive on it.
[00:00:35] Speaker B: Yeah, that's, that's sad when you see pictures of beautiful pieces of, you know, natural stone. Yeah, exactly. That. I was literally going to do that. Yep. When it goes, when it hits the ground and is no more, there's a, there's, there's a tear appears in your eye and it's like, oh no. But yeah, that's, that's why tools are important and that's why like easy even. Not even the stone, but like we're talking even about thin material and tile, like keeping people safe because this stuff is like razor sharp on it. So it's, it's quite dangerous.
[00:01:08] Speaker A: We've had, we've had some close calls. I've even had some close calls in the last couple years with, you know, breaking pieces. They, they do break.
It's inherent in our business.
[00:01:18] Speaker B: It is.
[00:01:19] Speaker A: Especially when we're doing floors and you know, we have a giant L shaped piece and you have three, three guys on it. And maybe one guy doesn't hold his gravel right. Or you know, they totally, they pull and you're pushing.
[00:01:34] Speaker B: Yeah, good, good. Communication is key throughout all industry and especially when you're installing any sort of slab or dial, that's for sure. You've got a new employee. You know, how do you approach that mentoring for that younger person, even in today's society.
[00:01:51] Speaker D: Yeah, interesting. We had a new employee. We just hired a young man who's 17 years old.
He. I don't interview him.
I didn't hire him.
[00:02:03] Speaker B: Huh.
[00:02:05] Speaker D: And that he. When they come in, once we hire them, they spend a few days here in the office doing nothing but safety training and vocabulary training.
[00:02:16] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:02:17] Speaker D: So, so, and that, so he was at my office yesterday. And the biggest thing and, and starting that. So here's somebody I'm starting with. Right. And that. The, the biggest, the, the. There was only two things I wanted to get across to him yesterday. A, most importantly, I want you to be safe and that, and you have the autonomy to stop anything you're doing and you will never get in trouble for stopping if you don't feel safe in that activity.
That we're in a trade that has hazards and we want you to know. We, if you don't know, we want to train you to know. If you don't have been trained, you don't do it.
[00:02:53] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:02:53] Speaker D: Right. So that's, that's, that's the first thing. And this. But, but out of that becomes the second thing which is really what I want them to get out of it is I care about you.
You, you earn a number on the page.
[00:03:06] Speaker B: That's awesome.
[00:03:07] Speaker D: You aren't a production level to me and that those are all truths. I, I'm not, I'm not going to say that they are from a business standpoint. But the more important thing is you are a human being that I care about and you have entered under my, under my, under my authority. And you need to know my most important thing in my mind is you.
[00:03:27] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:03:27] Speaker D: And that and that. So. And we're going to work it like that because why I, I'm. Why I'm going to be here at 8 o' clock tonight running a number or looking at something so that they're working next week or the week after. A month now. Yeah.
[00:03:41] Speaker B: What do people get wrong about people that's in this industry that.
[00:03:47] Speaker E: People that are in this industry.
I mean, I can see what people get wrong that are maybe clients looking from the outside in and.
[00:03:55] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:03:55] Speaker E: I mean I would, I would have to say the turnaround time.
[00:03:58] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:04:00] Speaker E: Being part of the show. Right. Like we were on a couple of shows on hgtv. But being part of that, I can see how people might get the wrong impression where things don't just happen overnight, they take time. Right.
[00:04:11] Speaker F: Yeah.
[00:04:12] Speaker E: Or an install or fabrication process might take five to six days. On tv it takes two seconds. Right. One, one second we're doing something and then the next second we're doing the install already. So.
[00:04:23] Speaker B: Totally.
[00:04:23] Speaker E: Maybe on that sense. Yeah. It's kind of. It takes time.
[00:04:26] Speaker B: Yeah, it does. It takes time. One of the things that always comes to my mind is that everyone wants it cheaper. So I'm going to go around and I'm going to find the cheapest guy to, to do the install.
And then when the homeowner gets it installed, they go, oh, what is this? This isn't what I asked for. There's a huge gap in my seam where the color, nothing lines up or matches. And some people think that, oh, it's an easy job, anybody can do it. Anyone can knock out this install or the granite and cut It. But it's a skill.
[00:05:00] Speaker G: One thing that I've learned over the years now down here, being in installation and in sales and just interacting with customers every day. Early on in my career, I was, and I still am, extremely ambitious and passionate about what we do.
[00:05:15] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:05:16] Speaker G: But a lot of times in the beginning that would come off to the customer. I'd be very excited. I was so quick to show them how much I knew and how I could help this situation that it almost caused anxiety in some people because of how vocal I was. And almost they couldn't keep up with my excitement. And it almost hurt me, even though my intentions were coming from a good spot.
[00:05:42] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:05:43] Speaker G: I was able to realize this when I started filming myself.
[00:05:47] Speaker F: Wow.
[00:05:48] Speaker G: And a couple other people that I trust and would rely on some of their advice. I asked them about this and they said, absolutely.
And so I was able to really start to dial back, like, tonality and be a better listener, you know, a good salesperson. The top level salespeople really only talk about 30% of the time.
[00:06:12] Speaker B: Totally.
[00:06:13] Speaker G: I had other people say, you know, God gave you two ears and one mouth, so you should be listening twice as much.
[00:06:17] Speaker B: Twice as much. There you go.
[00:06:20] Speaker G: And so I really lean on that now because there's no saying that really resonates with me, is seek first to understand in order to be understood.
[00:06:31] Speaker F: Wow.
[00:06:31] Speaker G: And so if you want a new opportunity to eventually listen to what you have to say, whether it's with price or implementation.
[00:06:41] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:06:41] Speaker G: They're never going to truly listen to you unless they felt they've been heard first.
[00:06:48] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:06:48] Speaker G: So for me, on the sales side, just trying to slow things down a little bit. Yep.
[00:06:52] Speaker C: Totally.
[00:06:53] Speaker G: A calming voice also can project to the other customer to really help their anxiety, lower their defense mechanisms and be in a more collaborative state.
[00:07:04] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:07:04] Speaker G: So I don't know if that answers your question directly, but that's one thing. Over the years, dealing with a lot of these customers, that has really stood out to me and over the last five years has helped elevate my ability to not only collaborate, but qualify.
[00:07:20] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:07:21] Speaker G: Certain opportunities. Because in the past, I was so quick to answer every question, jump at the opportunity, that I found myself spending a lot of time with customers that really never were gonna do business with us in the first place because they were just maybe validating another bid that they got from somewhere else.
[00:07:39] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:07:40] Speaker G: We're in a very transient area where people. These are second homes down here. After my hour and a half long dissertation, I said, oh, so bad you're not in Dubuque, Iowa. You know, we.
[00:07:51] Speaker B: And I'm thinking, what is going on?
[00:07:54] Speaker G: Yeah. And that was my fault because I wasn't listening.
[00:07:57] Speaker B: Yep, totally.
[00:07:58] Speaker G: And so that's one of the biggest lessons that I've learned.
[00:08:01] Speaker B: There you go. So any, any aspiring young people out there, listen with your ears. We kind of live in a generation where people want everything instant. It's got to be like right now. I want it right now.
But there is something to be said for someone who walks into a room, who will sit down very calm, very collected, and would listen more than they talk. That's actually very empowering. And for other people, it's very inspirational. The fact of when this person speaks, it's of value.
So let's listen. What keeps you in the glass industry?
You know, what gets you out of bed in the morning?
[00:08:41] Speaker H: Well, I'll say this early on, even in the business, what pulled me back was I had an opportunity to coach in our local area.
A former coach of mine had asked me to come on and help. And honestly, that's what kept me here early on. It wasn't actually the glass business, it was the value I found in teaching others, working with young people, kind of giving back in that way.
And then I started to try and find that same feeling in our business.
It could be a little harder in a construction business to change culture, have that kind of that rah rah feeling where everybody's got each other's back. It's much easier in an athletic space. But I started to try to find that in our space and really dive into team, into culture. A lot of that for me was based on my faith that were there for one another.
And it's more about that than it is the individual.
And that can be hard.
But that's what I tried to do and really energized me. As I've transitioned age wise in the business, what I've felt or what gave me energy has changed over the years.
[00:10:01] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:10:02] Speaker H: And I've kind of tried to be open to that.
When you do something for a long time, kind of ebbs and flows on what gets you excited. But what gets me up in the mornings now, you know, is family, is
[00:10:17] Speaker F: the
[00:10:20] Speaker H: opportunity of being given a day.
You know, with our recent experience, every single day is, is a, is a welcome, is a gift. And that sounds cliche to say that, but when you look at it as like, you know, we went from doing minutes and hours, you know, to, you know, I get to, I get to have today and do something with it that's really what motivates me currently.
[00:10:48] Speaker B: That's awesome. No, that's cool.
[00:10:50] Speaker F: Yeah.
[00:10:50] Speaker B: And like you said, as you get older, those things change. And even as believers, it also changed because we're called to, you know, whatever we do, we're to do it to the glory of God. And that's a daily occurrence. That's not, you know, tomorrow, a week away. It's, what can we do right now? So that's pretty cool.
[00:11:08] Speaker H: One thing Google Ads can't buy is customer service.
[00:11:11] Speaker B: It cannot. 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 with.
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, it's one of the key marketing tools that any company can have.
So, no, 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. How do you see the training complementing, like atlasing contractors, hands on training, or as the industry continues to evolve, how does learned lasing keep up with all those things and push training even further?
[00:12:17] Speaker I: Right.
[00:12:17] Speaker C: So I guess the big thing there is our platform is online.
[00:12:22] Speaker D: Right.
[00:12:22] Speaker C: It's self paced and it's a great way for you to be able to bring somebody and kind of let them go through this foundation that we just talked about. The way that it really helps is that every single glazing contractor has their own secret sauce. Right. It's impossible to say we can train everybody.
What we are doing is we're getting your employees up to speed on terminology, on basic concepts, on the difference between products.
You know, what's clear, what's low iron, what's insulated. All of these industry terms that we tend to forget that we know. I think that's the biggest problem. We forget what we know. It's hard for us to kind of bring it back down to day one when we're teaching someone. So it really helps in the fact that we're hoping that when you hire somebody new, we can take over that training for the first Month, two months, whatever amount of time that you're going to dedicate to learn glazing with your new student, you can keep doing what you're doing and then they can then teach you their secret sauce. Talking using all of those terminologies that you now have learned.
[00:13:18] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:13:18] Speaker C: And understand their processes better and move forward, whether it be solution or in the office. It's just if you know what a shear block is, you know what a sheer block is, but if you don't know what it is, you don't know what it is. So we're hoping that we can take over or at least help, you know, every glazing contractor out there, help you just onboard people in the sense that they're going to know what they know, because it'd be great if the managers were familiar with the training as well. And then now you can do your own internal secret sauce stuff.
[00:13:46] Speaker B: You kind of blend sort of technical craftsmanship with design.
But what makes your shop different from, say, a traditional glass fabrication business?
[00:13:58] Speaker F: Yeah, I mean, I think maybe I'll explain what we do a little bit and then I'll kind of go into that question. So, I mean, glass design, we've been around, like I said, it was two, two, you know, glass artisans who started a business in 1984 and they just wanted to do the cool stuff for the casinos and the hotels and the fused glass. And you know, we've got, you know, we've got stained glass, we have carving, we have painting.
You know, we do, we do really unique carving where we've got like dunes in the glass and you know, all that kind of stuff where you can light it up. And we've got kilns, so we've got big four by eight kilns, which, you know, is pretty unique.
So we're able to slump. You know, big doors, big, big glass panels in there. Any design we want, any shape, any, any, any texture, all hand down. And then we do fusing too. So any colors we can actually fuse. We have like four, four layers of quarter inch glass, you know, shattered. And then we can fuse it together to a 1 inch countertop. Wow, that's something we do.
You know, we, we stock a lot of antique mirror and pattern glass. So that's kind of, you know, we have a lot of customer, like cabinet companies come to us a lot. That's a big. Yeah, kind of known, they've known about us for 40 years.
But you know, beyond all that, I mean, there's, you know, we do metal, you know, like different things with Metal and glass and paint, sandblasting and you know, gradients and you know, all that kind of unique stuff. But it's because of that we attract creative people who know a lot about all these different and everything every day is different. So there's always a new thing, a new project and how do we have it all come together.
And because of that, you know, we, we just say yes to everything. And so the.
Yeah. Which be careful.
[00:15:48] Speaker B: I could be good or bad.
So what, what is your sort of origin story?
How did you. Some chance encounter in the 90s kind of shape where you are today and tell us a little bit about that.
[00:16:01] Speaker I: Yeah, well, I started off as working as a general contractor working, you know, with that doing hockey arenas and pre inch buildings and stuff. And I was asked to go visit another GC who was a bigger customer and explain some of the subcontract work we were looking at doing with them.
And in that conversation myself and that gentleman had a really good back and forth and he said to me if I'm ever looking for a new opportunity to let him know.
And a couple years later I wasn't just looking, but I needed a new opportunity. And to me that glass, like that was it. I didn't know anything about glass. I was 28, 29.
[00:16:46] Speaker F: Yeah.
[00:16:46] Speaker I: And was given the title of project manager for a 14 million dollar interior install at the airport.
[00:16:57] Speaker B: Nice.
[00:16:57] Speaker I: And it was 6,000ft of balustrade, 4,000ft of smoke baffle glass bridges, interior airside corridor partitions, the whole gamut.
Digitally printed glass, curved glass.
Like just everything.
And I was hooked. Like I, I was immersed so quickly in all the different things that you can do in glass.
[00:17:25] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:17:26] Speaker I: And you know, now well over 25 years later, I'm still, still geeking out about the new things you can do in class.
[00:17:35] Speaker E: So cool.
[00:17:36] Speaker I: And, and you know, the opportunities that I've had since then have been know, big jobs, small jobs, residential jobs like glass staircases.
I was fortunate enough to be involved in the SOFI stadium, the structural glass walls at the SOFI stadium.
And so it's taken me to different companies and different opportunities, but it's just glass is one of the coolest products out there.
[00:18:02] Speaker A: It is, it's.
[00:18:03] Speaker B: So as tell us a bit about, you know, the role that it plays in the broader construction and glass industry and, and how do you fit into that ecosystem and then what makes your company different than say the other one down the street?
[00:18:17] Speaker J: You know, we've had those relationships and that's really how we stand out We're a lot different because we do establish relationships with not only companies, but people.
So anytime reaches out, we've always got somebody in the back of our head. We can be like, oh, let me call this person.
So I think that's a big way that we've made a difference in recruiting. A lot of people don't want to answer a recruiter's call, but we've been a little bit different in our approach. I don't reach out about a job. Most of the time I'll reach out just to introduce myself and have a conversation. I'm sure a bunch of people watching have had a conversation with. Yeah, so I just reach out and establish those connections ahead of time and then if there is something that I need help with, then I know who to call.
[00:19:07] Speaker B: So you're known for freeyazes. You have one on your hat currently.
Not at last. Nerd.
How did that come about? How is that part of your identity in the industry? And you know, people tend to know you kind of buy that phrase. Where on earth did that come from?
[00:19:26] Speaker K: It happens pretty organically. I mean, it wasn't like some strategic sit down figuring out some messaging that was going to stick. Yeah.
In this world, in any world, and certainly anything with creative outlets. I mean, you, you throw a lot of stuff at the wall and you're not sure what's going to stick and then you just run with what does this was.
Yeah, I just had an idea to slap it on a hat. Originally said glass nerd.
Just as something that, you know, light hearted, almost kind of empowering a term and kind of taking it back. You know, like nerd had such a negative connotation.
[00:20:02] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:20:03] Speaker K: That's the last thing you wanted to be. But you know, it's, it's okay to know stuff and be a smart person. So kind of wanted to kind of neutralize the negative connotation there and just have something goofy that, you know, you get stopped and people ask you about it, whether in the glass industry or not. So that's, that's where that kind of stemmed from. And then so I started wearing one for myself.
There's another side. I used to never wear hats, but now I always wear. Wow. That's okay. For some, some medical reasons, I got some skin cancer issues. And so when I was told to always wear a hat, I figured if I got to wear a hat, I'm
[00:20:42] Speaker B: gonna make it my own, gonna make it worthwhile. Yep.
[00:20:45] Speaker K: Now it became kind of a part of a signature look, I guess, which, which has its blessings because I can go pretty incognito if I'm not wearing the hat.
[00:20:54] Speaker B: Dude.
[00:20:55] Speaker K: Yeah, I'm pretty easy to find in a crowd.
[00:20:57] Speaker B: You've got it on.
[00:20:58] Speaker E: Yep.
[00:20:58] Speaker B: Isn't that the truth?
