June of 2024 was my 20-year anniversary of being in the business full-time. I started full-time in 2004 after 1 year at Vincennes University. As a young, ambitious guy I gave my Dad a lot of hell. I had a vision for the business and saw change as an opportunity. He saw it mostly as a pain in the rear to be avoided. He and those before him made a nice life, they had little work-related stress and found contentment and pride in their work. That’s something to be valued. In the end, Dad relented and allowed Adam, Lindsey, and me to chase our dreams. I am so thankful that he did, and it’s not lost on me that many fathers are reluctant to get out of the way. We owe much of our growth over the past 20 years to the support my dad and grandfather provided and the foundation from generations before.

As I reflect on the past 20 years in business, my mind immediately goes to all the people who have supported and influenced me along the way. My career is like a spider web of relationships and connections. It would be fun to map all of that out, but it would take many times more than the parameters of this newsletter. Instead, I have broken them down into a few groups.

Choosing your partners

Besides the blessing of my father and grandfather who taught the trade and did their best to instill their values in me, the next person in my career timeline to have a major influence is, of course, my wife Lindsey. One of the most important career or business decisions we ever make is who we choose as our life partner. From the early days when I worked in the shop 6 days a week and was probably not a lot of fun to be around on a hot summer Friday night, to the first inclinations of entrepreneurship, Lindsey has been supportive. Lindsey’s personality isn’t the nurturing or rah, rah, cheerleader type. Her support comes in an even better way. It comes through stability, strength, a quiet nod of support, or a show of confidence for a major acquisition that puts our family in even deeper debt. Even more importantly, Lindsey’s support has come in a physical manner, as she left her own career aspirations behind to join our business.

From managing the company’s finances to landing many of our largest corporate accounts, or simply coming up with an idea for how to do something better, she has contributed in many tangible ways. Now as the company continues to grow, it’s her presence and intangible contributions that are becoming even more valuable.

Lindsey has been incredibly supportive over the long haul while also keeping me grounded. What an amazing combination. I can come home excited about a $1 million project we just won, or the next big acquisition we are working on, and she can say calmly and genuinely, “That’s great, now can you take out the trash?” To be fair, Lindsey can offer softer support and affirmation when warranted, but the point I’m trying to make is if I had to choose between a perpetually optimistic cheerleader and a rock-solid source of stability, intellectual contribution, and quiet strength, I would take the latter every time.

We don’t get to choose our siblings, but we do get to choose our business partners. My brother Adam joined the business almost a decade after me. His addition was a big part of the catalyst for our growth. Initially, he filled my shoes by working alongside Dad in the repair shop which enabled me to focus on external growth. As time went on, he became a strong leader and we have found a way to leverage each other’s strengths and personality differences to make the company even stronger. He believes in what we are building and we make a good team.

Iron sharpens Iron

Did you know that Thomas Edison was working on inventing a car when he learned a young man working in his company (Edison Electric) was also working on the same invention? Mr. Edison quickly realized the young man had a better design and encouraged him vigorously to pursue it. A couple of decades later, when that car made Henry Ford wealthy, he supported Mr. Edison financially and they became lifelong friends. I tell that story because almost everyone who’s done much of anything has had a “Mr. Edison” in their life. That person for me was J.Z. Morris, the owner of the yacht, “Passage” that I built for him. Mr. Morris saw something in me that others did not and he encouraged me to pursue my entrepreneurial dreams. Eventually, he would invest in our coatings operations which enabled me to take a leap of faith and grow beyond our small welding shop.

But, far more important than the money he invested was the confidence and counsel he provided me. I spent many hours with him, soaking up his lessons. His father was a very successful and well-respected businessman who founded what is today Berry Global. I will never forget J.Z. saying to me, “You remind me of my father more than anyone I have ever met.” Those genuine words of encouragement have helped me to create hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars of economic impact in our community. We should never underestimate how powerful a few words of genuine support can be.

A few years ago, Lindsey and I led the bid to see to it that Robert Morris, J.Z’s father, was included in the Evansville Business Hall of Fame in the posthumous category. A distinction he rightfully deserved. This was a small token of appreciation for all that J.Z. had done for us.

In addition to Mr. Morris, I have had many great mentors and peer networks that have supported me and imparted wisdom to me along the way. Most of them have come through the spider web network I mentioned earlier. This person introduced me to this person who introduced me to this person.

Many of them have become lifelong friends, and some of them have even ended up on the board of our company. One other notable group of people is my business owner peer group whom I have met with monthly for over 11 years. We jokingly refer to ourselves as “Drink Big” since we like to enjoy a few drinks while we think big. I can’t begin to recount the dozens of impactful things that we have implemented in our business as a result of this group. The impact would have to be in the millions $, but again, more importantly than that is the intangible benefit of their support and friendship. We have helped each other through some of the most difficult aspects of life and business. As Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17

Building a Team

The next group of people who have most obviously made a tremendous impact on our business is the team I have assembled over the years. Next to the actual vision for our business, the most important thing I have done and will ever do in my career is building our team. I am so proud and appreciative of our executive team who have all taken a chance and believed in our vision. However, the team extends to every one of our businesses and locations, it includes our outstanding board members (current and former), and also our many vendors and service providers who provide us with the products, services, and counsel that allow us to do what we do. These are most notably our lenders, our CPA firm, our family business advisor, and our attorney.

One of the things I love about our team is that it’s not full of pedigree (fancy schools or big-time prior jobs). It’s just a bunch of people who have a high moral character, a strong work ethic, and an insatiable drive to never stop getting better. Additionally, they have a belief that we are actually doing something that matters and we have the ability to achieve our audacious goals.

What’s most rewarding now, is as I look across the many incredibly talented and high-character individuals we have added to the team recently, many of them, if not most of them, were brought in by other leaders I originally hired. I have repeatedly said that great team members attract more great team members. Now, we are seeing that play out.

Thirst for learning & inspiration

Another thing I will credit for sustaining me and providing tremendous growth in my 20 years is my thirst for learning and inspiration. Whether it be books, podcasts, seminars, formal training, mentors, etc… I constantly seek it out, and when I find something worthwhile I latch onto it and like to share it with others. At some point, it occurred to me that the number of things I have taken away from all the books I have read and applied in my own life and within our business could be compiled into its own book. In 2020, I began to capture the history of our business in writing and the many of the stories and lessons along our growth journey that I felt might be worth sharing. Eventually, I compiled this into a manuscript and shared it with a few people. Many people encouraged me to publish it. After a couple of years of deliberation, I decided to have a third party share the story. Once again, through a series of connections, I was acquainted with Angie Klink, an experienced historian and talented writer from Lafayette, IN. After some discussion and reviewing my manuscript, Angie agreed to take on the project. She spent many hours interviewing folks, digging through old newspaper stories, archives, etc… and even traveling to Poseyville for a couple of days.

The original purpose of the book was to use it as an internal resource for current and future team members and anyone who was closely connected to the company. After reading the outstanding manuscript she produced, it became apparent to me that we should share it with the outside world. After all, several similar stories had made a tremendous impact on me, so if we could do that for someone else, what an honor and gift that would be. I am excited to announce that “Forging Ahead” has received a national publishing deal, and will be available for purchase in early December of 2024.

Have Faith – return it 100X

Last, but certainly not least, I must give credit for my journey to the faith that was instilled in me by family and friends, and for the tremendous blessings that God has brought to me, my family, and our business. It has taken me a couple of decades just to begin learning this, but I have come to find the more I let go and trust God, the better things go. I am still failing at this and trying to trust more each day. A friend of mine, Father Tyler Tenbarge, (who grew up on a farm) once said in a homily, “You don’t get corn to grow by pulling on it.” What you do is to cultivate, plant, fertilize, etc… but then you have to leave the rain and sun up to God. I like to say, “Let’s work like it depends on us, and pray like it depends on God.” Many of you know that we set a big goal back in 2019 to grow the company 100X from the time I joined the business. We accomplished that in 2022 and threw a big party at French Lick to celebrate it.

What you might not know is that on the very day I returned home from that party, I picked up a book another friend had recommended called “Half Time, Moving from Success to Significance” The premise of the book is what you do with the second half of your life. The very first page of the intro had the heading “100X”. They say sometimes God whispers to us, but on this day, I think he hit me with a 2X4. Since that time, I have been discerning what God wants me to do with the rest of my life. I have come to believe that he wants me to use my entrepreneurial gifts. So, my new 100X goal looks a little different. I want to return everything to God 100X. Some of these goals are too personal to share, but a couple I will share. I want to help 100 people realize their dream of owning their own business. Another is I want to impact 100,000 people in a positive way through writing and speaking. Another involves philanthropic goals.

These words can’t begin to describe my appreciation and admiration for all the people who have helped me along the way. I can only hope that I am able to pay it forward in my “second half.” I have no idea what is in store for the next 20 years of my career and life, but I am confident that if I trust in God and try my best to listen to where he wants me to go, the corn will grow.

With gratitude,

Forging Ahead.