Family Business Done Right: The Bear Iron Works Story

Host: Hi, and welcome to another episode of Celebrating Small Family Businesses, where we feature passion in action. And today we are celebrating Mike and Ragan Frick of, uh, Bare Ironworks. Hi, Mike. Hi, Rogan. How are you?

Mike Frick: Good. How are you doing?

Ragan Frick: Wonderful. Good. Thanks for having us on.

Mike Frick: Yes.

Host: So you guys are father and son?

Mike Frick: Yes.

Host: I'd love to hear the story of how bare iron works got started, but did it grow from another business you had, or is it.

Mike Frick: I'll let Roger go here in a second, but, uh, I'll tell you my part. So I just started building some rock screens at small ones. The industry had a lot big ones, but we. No one was building any small ones. So I just had some iron. And so I built a few, put them on Craigslist, and then, uh, Rogan, he learned how to weld, basically, and fabricating them. Uh, I didn't do it as a business at the time necessarily. Uh, just some extra income. And then when Rogan went to college, he can. He can take it from there.

Host: Did you have another business at the time or were you employed?

Mike Frick: Yeah, I had a construction business, which Rogan worked with me through since he was like, 4 years old.

Speaker D: He got paid well.

Mike Frick: He hung out with me a lot.

Ragan Frick: That's. That's where I learned how to weld and operate equipment.

Mike Frick: Yeah, he. He could run a backhoe. By the time he was, uh, three or four years old, he was running big excavators, literally, if he could do it. Dozers, Something very tall. Yeah.

Ragan Frick: Yeah. And then. So when I went to college, um, I have my. I race motocross as a hobby of mine. And I needed to have a place where I could store my, My dirt bike and work on it. And storage units aren't very fond of you working on stuff there. So, uh, I needed to get a shop. And so Mike suggested that, why don't you make some of these grizzlies and you can sell enough to pay for a shop so you can have a place to do that. So I got a shop and started, uh, making these grizzlies. And I built a website so I could advertise them online. And pretty soon I started getting quite a bit of demand for these rock screens, even though I wasn't marketing them very, uh, hard. And so I got a classmate, uh, of mine. I recruited him, I had him run in my saw, and I was going to teach him how to weld so he can help me put it together and do all the welding. And within six months, I had already moved into an even Bigger shop with four bays, had a forklift, hired another part time employee from the college, was teaching them how to weld and started putting these together. And it was getting to the point that it was a little bit too big to handle going to school and running this business at the same time. Because I was doing the accounting, I was making the products, I was delivering the products. I was like kind of a one man show with those my two part time employees picking up the slack. So we shut it down and I focused on schooling and I didn't have any plans of starting it back up. I was just going to go and work in commercial construction and do construction management which is what my degree was in. And um, about the time that I start uh, getting my job and getting started, Mike um, was working at Keywit, which is a very large construction company and he was working a lot of hours and he was kind of getting tired of that. And he calls me and he says, hey, do you think that grizzly business is a good uh, idea? And when I say grizzly, they're called Grizzly Rock Screens is what the product is called. I said do you think that that grizzly business is a good idea? Do you think that that could become like a full time job for us? I said oh yeah, because I was barely marketing it and it was getting enough demand to keep us busy. So I think if we put our efforts towards it, I think we can make it happen. So um, that's when Mike came on board and he started the business back up. And I was just going to be part time support and I'll let you kind of take it from there with growing the operations side of it.

Mike Frick: Yeah. So I, I started it back again because he already had the website. I was, he just basically had to trigger the website back up and going again and, and I was building, building them out of a small. I didn't have a shop at the time so my mom and dad had a, some acreage and they had a very small shop, very small, 16 by 20. And I was building a few out of there and then I was like, man, this thing's going again. It really is. And this is COVET. We're talking August 2020 of 2020.

Speaker D: Wow.

Mike Frick: Yeah. And uh, funny thing was one of my first customers was Keywit, which the, my old employer. They didn't even know who I was when they called and they needed one on the east coast. Uh, and we're in Grand Junction, Colorado. So anyways, they um, so I moved into a little bit bigger Shop I demand was there. I got an employee and we got into 2400 square feet. And then next thing you know, Roggin, uh, has spent a year at a fairly good sized construction company building schools, renovating schools, and, um, construction. His fiance says, hey, we, we're going to South Carolina, basically, like, she's going to law school there. And so Rogan's like, hey, you think I go full time there? And I'm like, I think we can. I think you do it. So at that point in time, I think it was, I think the timing was about the same because we moved into about a 9,000 square foot shop where we're at now. Uh, and then we brought in my wife, Darlene. Uh, she's, she's part owner, so we're all third owner. And she does the books.

Host: And then you got an attorney in the family too.

Ragan Frick: She just, she just, uh, graduated this last weekend.

Host: Uh. Oh, congratulations.

Ragan Frick: Yes, thank you.

Speaker D: Naked. Almost have your life.

Host: I'm imagining that was a long haul.

Ragan Frick: From stories I've heard it was. And you know, it was, uh, I, even though it was going to kind of disrupt my life and move across the country, I saw it as an opportunity to get out of the working, trying to climb the corporate ladder and kind of do my own thing. Um, and I just got here and I sat down, I said, okay, what can I do remotely? So I started focusing on marketing efforts. I started focusing on putting software into the business that can help us manage it efficiently as well as manage it remotely, since not there the whole time. Um, and then just trying to focus on customer relations on the East Coast. Since I'm here, I might as well go meet some of these customers out here. That way we can have a good outreach, uh, pretty much wherever we're at. And so I just started working on that. I implemented a software called Fulcrum into the company. And what it does is it manages our. It keeps track of all of our inventory. It has an AI scheduling tool in it that automatically schedules our jobs. And I just started tying all the softwares together. I started launching an E commerce front on the business so that we could actively sell the products, um, and like let the customers kind of customize them a little bit on the website. Um, and then the other thing that we did about this time is we hired an operations manager to actually manage the operations as well as, uh, we were looking for somebody who understood logistics because that was kind of a weak spot in our knowledge where, you know, trying to ship a big piece of equipment like this, because These things weigh 1, 2, 3,000 pounds. Trying to ship this all the way across the country at a price that somebody wants to pay is difficult if you don't know what you're doing. Um, so our operations manager, he's. He has a background in that, and right away he just started setting everything up and getting that. So we can actually, you know, be as like, kind of like an industrial Amazon in a way. Even though we're a smaller company, you know, we're selling these online. You can just go add it to your cart, deck out, and we're going to get it made, put on a truck, and shipped directly to wherever you need it.

Speaker D: Dang.

Host: Yeah. That's definitely not ups, uh, delivery material.

Ragan Frick: No, it's not.

Speaker D: Kind of takes it to the next level. Whoa.

Ragan Frick: Yeah.

Host: Wow. So many things here. So, uh, I mean, right away, it sounds like you set the business, or is this true? Uh, uh. Did you set it up right away to be both of you remote or. Or did that evolve? I know, Rog, and you were remote because you were in the Carolinas. But what about you, Mike? Yeah.

Mike Frick: Yeah. I mean, what had happened is just out of timing. My. My wife had a. We'll call it a situation. She was a nurse. She was managing at a hospital here in Grand Junction. And, um, so we had the opportunity to go to Phoenix. And, um, I've always wanted to move to Arizona anyways. And about that time, Rogan had already said, hey, I'm gonna. We're getting this thing done remotely. And it was going great. You know, I mean, it was pretty neat. Um, I'm like, well, I. Looks like I can do the same thing. That's our. Been our goal for the company to. To work for us instead of we working for the company. Maybe we, you know, you always hear that. And so that's kind of where we're still striving to get to. And, uh, it's been working pretty good. I mean, it's not without problems here and there. We. You're always, you know, you're always going to have something come up. It's constant. But we're, as a team, we do well. I mean, we, um. I think maybe I've said this to a lot of people. I've watched a movie about Henry Ford and his son, and I. I really hit home for me because I didn't want to, um, restrict Roggin and anything that he did with the company because I know that he's got the talent to, you know, bring in new things that I've never heard of. Especially, you know, managing this company with this fulcrum, um, and letting them do that and all kinds of things. So. And we all get together once a week, and we all have a meeting between my wife, Ragan, and myself. We. We, uh, have a meeting, and we talk about whatever needs to be talked about and make decisions, and we don't really hold anything against anybody. We just kind of work through it.

Host: You have a business meeting?

Mike Frick: Yeah, we do. We. We do. We. We've separated our, um, kind of our family, um, I guess you might say. And we consider everybody a business manager, you know, just like if he was a real business and he wasn't related to them, and that's kind of how we operate.

Speaker D: Smart.

Host: Wow, you guys. I mean, you're just nailing it one after another after another. This is, um. But for. For what, you know, has worked and what works you. You brought managing those roles, kind of changing hats and, you know, being able. Like Rogan, right when we first started, you. You referred to your dad as Mike instead of dad, and that's huge right there. You know, separating those roles in the business, you know, we're three partners, and then, you know, family's a separate thing. Yes, they mix, but in each realm, one has to be dominant. And if you get them mixed up, boy, you got troubles.

Ragan Frick: Yeah, uh, yeah, I think we're pretty good at drawing a line of, like, when it's time for business, you know, and we need to talk about business and get business done. But then when it's time to be a family and go do. Have family affairs and do whatever it is we're doing, we say, hey, we're not going to talk about business. We're going to focus on whatever we're doing, whether it's a vacation or having a holiday or whatever it might be. Um, you know, that's when he's from 9 to 5, he's Mike, but after that, he's dad.

Host: Yeah. Yeah. Rogan, growing up, you said, I think you started working for the company, uh, your dad's construction company maybe at 5, and learning to run equipment and all that stuff. What was that like growing up? Was. Was there, uh, any sense of pressure or expectation around what the future would be of that? Or was it just, hey, you're here while you're here?

Ragan Frick: You know, uh, it was something that was like, I'm here, might as well learn. I mean, I wasn't forced to work or anything like that. I could hang out in the truck. I would. I'd have a Dirt bike or a four wheeler. And I'd go right around because the work that he did was mainly abandoned mine closures. And so we're working up in the mountains and stuff so I can go explore and, you know, check out the trees, do some sightseeing. But come back and he'd show me how to run an excavator and how to do some work and let me swing some dirt. Um, and then as I got older, you know, and I got into high school and got to driving age, it was a great summer job. You know, I could learn how to weld. I was even managing a little crew of like two or three people on one project when I was like 17. Um, but I didn't have any pressure to go into construction. I actually was going to go into movie making is what I was originally going to do. And, uh, he. He had no influence on my decision of what I wanted to do with my career. But I just started looking at everything and said, you know, there's a lot of people that want to make movies and it's very hard industry to get into. And I'm not sure if I necessarily like that industry as much where I already know quite a bit about construction. I'm already in a pretty good spot for it. I might as well just go double down, get the degree and see what I can do with it from there.

Host: Well done.

Mike Frick: My dad was a construction guy, and so he had his own business too before, you know, back when I was born, just about. Um, and so Rogan would go stay with my mom and dad. My dad always had a backhoe around, so Rogan always wanted to run the backhoe. And my dad would say, okay, just dig this trench here and come get me when you're done. And he gets to play out there. Lived on a chunk of land. He just dug trenches and backfilled them and learned how to run tobacco. And then even I think he went about. I don't know. I don't forget that one. But. So, uh, I did a lot of oil field work too. And he did. We did a big oil reclaim pit. Had a lot of mud. And I think. I don't know how old he was then. How old was he then when he ran that dozer?

Ragan Frick: I think about 13.

Mike Frick: Thirteen? Yeah, 13. Running the dozer. I mean, it was. It was a major. I mean, he's in mud. The mud's about to come up into the cab and he could back out of it. He learned how to run that dose without getting stuck.

Ragan Frick: It's set Me up pretty well. I mean, when I entered the construction workforce, a lot of the problem that you have in construction management is you get kids that, you know, you either get somebody that has the field experience or somebody that's educated in it, but not a lot of people that are both. And that really set me apart as a candidate for hiring. Um, and it helped me excel because I had, I mean, I had like every employer wants, you know, 20 years of experience when you're right out of college. And so I already kind of had that, you know, I already had like a lot of work experience under my belt. I think it was a great opportunity.

Host: You were the unicorn they were looking for.

Ragan Frick: That's right.

Host: Oh my gosh.

Mike Frick: Funny thing about that is he was working for a sizable company, uh, like I said, renovating schools straight out of college. And he, he thought he was going to be a career with these people. And it was, it's a good company. And um, when he was had, you know, decided to move to South Carolina, he went to him and, you know, said, hey man, I'm, I'm quitting. And he was the project engineer there, kind of running the project and all. And I. Then they invited them to a Christmas party. I think I got this story straight. Um, they offered to hire him back and buy the company. We'll just buy your. We'll just buy Bare Ironworks. And they offered a sizable amount of money. So we've been offered by two different contractors to buy the company. And then they wanted both. The other contractor wanted both of us to go. Work forum. Um, uh, so.

Host: But that's a pretty big compliment right there.

Mike Frick: Yeah.

Host: That's a self confidence builder too, right? Yeah.

Speaker D: Hey, and also confirmation that you're in the right place at the right time.

Mike Frick: Yeah.

Speaker D: If people wanna, if people want you, then you're good.

Mike Frick: Yeah.

Speaker D: Cool.

Host: Well, so one of the. Sorry, go ahead.

Mike Frick: It doesn't go without problems. I mean, we have our problems and employee problems or logistical problems of some sort. And we got to get together and talk about things and figure out what we need to do. Anal. You know, roses all the time.

Host: Oh, no, it never is.

Speaker D: And you'd be bored if it was.

Mike Frick: So I think sometimes we get to going and we have some major problems that we have to deal with and we're like, oh my gosh, we got to deal with this. And then I think the Rogan and I especially, and my, my wife, we kind of sit back and go, you know, you know, we're not working for somebody. Remember those days when we was working for somebody and how, how we didn't want to be there. Even when we have those problems, we're like, you know what? I still want to be here.

Host: Yeah, because you can be the one to decide how to solve the problem.

Mike Frick: Right.

Host: So speaking of that challenges or problems, what is something that you've overcome together that's noteworthy that maybe other small business owners could learn from?

Mike Frick: Well, no, Rogan, there's been a few, if you want to talk about any.

Ragan Frick: I mean, I think one of the bigger ones was we hit a point. I think it was when I was coming on full time. It may have been before when I was still working for the general contractor and I was still kind of part time helping the business. But we ran into an issue with cash flows and we were doing net 30 terms and um, we didn't necessarily have enough capital to kind of finance that. And so we hit this point where it was like, if we don't do something right now, we're not gonna be able to hit payroll or anything like that. And so we all got together and just started brainstorming ideas, looking at where the finances are, looking at what money's coming in, thinking about, okay, how can we go about this? Um, because something that we had done up to uh, just until like a couple months ago is we hadn't taken on any debt at all to do the company. It was self funded and it was self growing. Um, but when you get into a situation like that where you got to start looking at like the cost of capital and like how much does it take or how much does it cost to take out a loan, is that worth it? You know, because you're going to be losing money and interest. And that's when we all got together. We looked at the problem. We said, okay, what if we start identifying certain customers that we can pay up front because some customers pay late, right? We're offering credit to every single person that wants to buy a product. And that's not the best way to go about it because some people aren't going to pay back, uh, they're definitely not going to pay back on time, all of them. Um, and it's, it's hard to build the product, buy the steel and do all the work first and try to get it shipped to them and then wait 30, 60 days for payment when it only takes a week to build the product. You know, it's taken longer to get payment, about five times as long and does take to build it. And so, um, that's when we decided that we would kind of start moving towards an E commerce type system where we can sell the products and get the money up front for the manufacturing, for the custom orders, um, and help the cash flow. Because now that we have some of the money up front, at least from certain customers, we can keep that moving forward and keep production moving. And if production is moving, then it's going to lower our lead times and everything like that. So now we're to the point, because of how we've managed it, that we have a good cash flow through the business. We can offer terms to customers that go through our credit approval process. Um, so we can still, you know, serve those types of customers, but at the same time, uh, we're able to sell directly to some customers and we also keep inventory, the most popular products as well. That way we can sell them and ship them right away.

Host: Strong lesson. Yes. Cash flow is, uh, so critical and a lot of businesses just don't realize how important it is. Especially when you're growing. Right. Because you can grow into a cash flow crunch that you don't see coming.

Ragan Frick: Right? Yeah, it's uh, that's something that they taught us in construction management, you know, because you're looking at a construction project, you're looking at at least 60 days before you get paid, uh, depending on how it all goes. Right. But you got to pay your payroll beforehand, you got to pay your materials beforehand. And so how do you manage a multi million dollar project while also keeping the cash in front of it? And they teach you certain techniques there, um, on how to manage that. And I think that's something that a lot of people kind of overlook, um, when they're running their own businesses or running construction is making sure that there's enough cash up front to keep flowing through that. Because that's something that, you know, it doesn't matter how many sales you have, if you can't afford to start the first one, then it's gonna tank.

Host: Right, right. Or if you can't deliver what you, what somebody's ordered because you had a cash flow crunch and then they cancel the order and go somewhere else and that can spiral real fast.

Ragan Frick: Yeah, yeah.

Speaker D: And you never want to measure reputation and all that.

Ragan Frick: Um, and you never want to find yourself in a position where you're in a cash flow crunch and you might not be able to make a debt payment. Because if that happens, then, you know, well, the next time I go to try to get some credit from someone, they're probably not going to give it to me, so.

Host: Right, right.

Ragan Frick: Actively managing that is important.

Host: Cool. What's another favorite question we ask?

Speaker D: My, My favorite question is what have you learned about each other in this whole process? Because, you know, especially father, son, you know, you had, you know, a certain view sometimes of what you think or what you hope. And then you're in a business here, so. And same thing back to you, Rogan, to dad. Uh, you know, he's dad and has a certain role. So what have you learned about working together?

Mike Frick: Uh, I knew that Rogan did very well in school. I guess I encouraged him to let loose. So he rides motocross, so. So I mean, he's kind of this kid that I would describe to somebody that he's a nerd, but you'll never tell it by looking at him or talking to him. He's, uh, very intelligent. But, um, I guess I've seen that a lot more. You know, I know that he was good at what he did when he come out of college. And then, you know, coming into the company, I worked with a lot of young engineers coming out of college and I worked for Kiewit. And um, he, uh, he's one of those guys that do the superstar type guy. And I'm not saying that's because he's my son. He was at the company he was at before too. Um, maybe this sounds a little bit braggy, but, um, but, but he's been a huge help in growing this company. It's been pretty awesome and I think takes on a lot of role and I don't have to worry about things a lot. Maybe I do that a little bit too much sometimes. I'm like, oh man, I gotta get more involved with it. Yeah.

Host: Rockin, what about you?

Ragan Frick: I think on my end, I think I learned, uh, how much, uh, my dad's willing to listen to me. Um, I think a lot of parents probably wouldn't be so willing to give the reins to their kid at this young of age and just say, hey, let's roll with it. Let's see what your ideas are and where we can get there. And I think that's been very helpful. Um, because even when it comes to things that, you know, Mike might not understand, especially when it comes to like online marketing and SEO and trying to get the website going or automation with software, even if he doesn't fully understand what it entails, he trusts that I do. And he trusts that I'm gonna get something put in place that's gonna work. And, um, I think without trust, something like this wouldn't be a feasible Relationship.

Mike Frick: Yep.

Host: So strong. Wow. I'm very curious. You said you set this up to work remotely kind of from the beginning. And you hired an operations manager that with logistics experience. So you know, I'm kind of calling these themes out so people hear it. You talked about roles really, you know, defining roles and also recognizing strengths and recognizing gaps. And where you had a gap, you filled it with somebody that strengthens the whole company that way. And that's just really like smart. Smart. And so when you're managing remotely, how often do you go back to the headquarters and check in?

Ragan Frick: Um, yeah, I'd say there's an owner there at least once a month out of one of us three, the way that it's set up and the way that it's operating. Our operations manager, he does an amazing job at making sure that everything's ran the way that we want. We tell them to do something, to say, hey, we want to see an improvement in safety or we want to see um, an improvement in this operation or we need to change something and do this. He asks the questions that he needs to know and then he runs with it. And so we're fortunate in that sense of having a good guy in place. Um, but it's important for us to be there, to be able to incorporate our values in the business and to make sure that we have a good culture there, that we reward and recognize the employees. Because we might not see, you know, the day to day operations, but we do see their work. Because even though I'm all the way out here on the east coast, I visit customers and I see the products and I see how they're using them and I can see if something was good quality or not. So I'm seeing the end result even though I'm not seeing them actually physically do it all the time.

Mike Frick: And I think one thing too is I was in business since I was 24. I started my own construction and really the whole time I was in business, I kind of failed really because I was the only one making the decision. And it really bothered me that I couldn't get a construction company up and going because I, I knew how to build things, I know how to do the work and I did it well. So I went to work for a company, um, and they, they were sizable. There's like a billion dollar a year type company and they um, they didn't do things right. I'm really big about schedules. I think Rogan has learned that through construction management, the schedules is, is key was company wouldn't hold to A schedule they wouldn't plan and uh, they were making money. And I'm like, why, why are they doing so well? So it was a father son thing and the son had just taken over and it wasn't the kind of dynamic that we have. He, he was just kind of going for it. But they had a bunch of guys that were high up in the management that helped make the decisions. And I thought to myself, you know, those guys are still making decisions. Those, they're helping with the decisions. There's not one guy making the decisions. And I think when it's left up to one person making the decision, that is not a good plan. It's, it's very tough to grow because you could go, I'm just going to go spend this money over here and there's not somebody else over here questioning you why, why you're going to do that. So the three of us, so like I said, my wife, she does the books and she's got, she doesn't have the background in this, but she does have background in management and managing people and seeing things and we get together like that and we're able to make some really sound decisions doing that. I don't think the company would be as big as it is or as successful if we hadn't done that.

Speaker D: Smart.

Host: Nice. Nice. So you both, you've both brought I think lessons from a corporate environment to bear in your, your business. I think when we, we had our pre call, you said, uh, we're running this as a corporation, not as a family business, right?

Mike Frick: Yeah.

Ragan Frick: Because there's a lot of different principles that they do.

Mike Frick: Right.

Ragan Frick: That are kind of important to, to, to learn. Like there's a reason corporations are successful.

Mike Frick: Right.

Ragan Frick: And the things that they do. I'm not saying every corporation runs perfectly, but there's common principles that they all have, you know, and one of being is like the company culture and developing that, that's something that small businesses don't focus on quite a bit. They, every company has a company culture, but not every company knows what their culture is. And so if you put some effort into developing that and saying, hey, you know, I want my employees to be happy, I want them to be relaxed and I want them to have time off. Right. So that's one of the things we did is we do a four day, ten hour day work week. So every weekend that our guys get is a three day work week. And that's part of our company culture is we wanted to not overwork our employees. And so you have it, whether you Know it or not. So make sure you develop it into something good. Because if people like working for you, then you're going to. Everything kind of falls in line, right? Like, if people like being here, well, then they're gonna take your safety message, and your message is about safety, and they're gonna be safer. And, well, if they're safer than they care about their job, their quality is going to fall in line. And then it just kind of all falls into place. When you're managing with the culture from the top down, that's what all corporations do, and that's how you can hire anybody at a corporation to do any job because everybody around them can assist them and say, hey, this is how you do your job, or this is how we do things here. And that's how you can have a disconnect from the top all the way to the bottom in a corporation. And so we could try to do the same thing in our sense and pretend like we're a business or big. Like, I mean, we are a business, right? But we're like, like a bigger business than we are and give that presence. And if you fake. Fake it till you make it, right?

Host: Well, no, it's. I would say sort of, but I would also say it's principles. You know, there's principles, strategies and tactics. That's one of my things. And. And when you work, when you. Well, maybe principles at the bottom because that's the foundation. And then strategies and tactics. Tactics change all the time. But the principles are the guiding. You know, that's what guide. And you're talking about, you know, principles that. That build big companies. So those principles should be sound throughout any size company. If you get down to the principal level, um, you know, we can't hire, um, just when it's just the two of us, we can't hire a whole big staff. And, you know, you're this and you're that and you're that. So, you know, that's more of a strategy. But the principles of, you know, having defined roles and, you know, that everything that goes with that.

Speaker D: Communication.

Host: Communication. Clear communication.

Speaker D: Yeah.

Host: I don't know about our culture. We're gonna have to talk about our culture. I think might need adjusting.

Speaker D: As long as I'm in charge, it's okay.

Mike Frick: That's the culture.

Host: So what is next for Bare Iron Works?

Ragan Frick: So the upcoming year, we're looking to grow our product lines so we serve the civil construction industry. Our main products are the rock screens, our bedding boxes, our concrete washout tubs, and our tracking Pads, which all serve, um, mostly civil construction, but also some of those products go into all sectors of construction. But we're looking to expand our product lines to better serve those areas as well. We just launched a new product called the Snow pusher that, uh, we're going to offer for contractors that do snow plowing in the winter. So it's attachment for a skid steer. Um, and we're looking to launch some other products. We got some other stuff in the works we think will be good. Um, and then focusing on our marketing strategy. That way we make sure that we can get our brand out there in front of everybody that needs to hear about us and might have a need for our products and, uh, just continue growing, I think. So we can get this thing running like a well lubricated machine.

Host: Oh, that's wonderful. Well, we will look forward to watching that growth. So your website is Bear B E A R or. Right, like the Grizzly Bear. Uh, but ironworks dot com. Right? That's right. See? Thank you. I knew there was, I hesitated there because it's like, oh, yeah.net bearironworks.net okay, and, um, so you have E Commerce, you have a store set up on there for people to at least see the products and buy some of the smaller ones. And if they want custom, they can customize it and, and then they can call the company and order whatever they need.

Ragan Frick: Yep, yep. We offer all of our standard product lines, um, on our website. You can just click and buy. We, um, have all the most popular configurations and everything that you need on there. Uh, but obviously, you know, some people need something a little bit specific for what they're doing, and we're always willing to, uh, help you find the solution that you need. Um, and so we'd like to. If anybody that listens to your podcast needs any of our products, you know, we like to. We're a small business. We like to help small businesses as well. So we like to offer a discount to anybody they can use code celebrate on our website to get 5% off of their entire order, no matter how big or something.

Speaker D: Thank you. Thank you. We'll put that in the show notes too, and, and let everybody know. And, uh, we'll have all your contact information on there, too.

Host: Is there a particular social media, uh, platform that you put more effort into that you'd like mentioned?

Ragan Frick: Um, yeah, we're going to be putting some more effort into LinkedIn this year. Um, but we are on Facebook, Instagram as well.

Host: Okay. All right, so all three, wonderful. Well done. On that too, by the way.

Speaker D: Yeah.

Host: That's, uh, amazing. That takes effort and consistent effort. And so.

Speaker D: Yeah. And it's not easy keeping up with all that.

Mike Frick: And if you. If they go onto our website too, they, uh, we have links to our Facebook and YouTube. Instagram on the website. Yeah. They can click on There, watch our YouTube videos about our YouTube.

Host: That's right.

Mike Frick: Right.

Speaker D: Is there any other words of wisdom you'd like to shout out to for listening audience or watching audience?

Ragan Frick: One of the themes I've been preaching is, uh, when it comes to problems, because problems arise all the time. Sometimes somebody causes the problem. Sometimes a problem just arises from somewhere where you might not have any control. But, um, something that I learned in the corporate world, uh, I worked with really good project management teams, and something that we always focused on was when there's a problem, most people sit there and they start trying to point fingers at whose fault it is. M. Don't worry about that. Try to focus on getting the problem solved first. Get through it to the other side. That way your operations can keep moving forward. And once you're on the other side of it, then you can worry about, okay, whose fault it is. Because, you know, maybe in that situation, maybe the person whose fault it is came up with the solution and they owned that problem and they made it better. So you want to focus on blaming it after the problem's dealt with, after the result is, uh, seen.

Host: Nice. Yeah. And avoiding. That way you're avoiding repetition. If you focus afterwards, uh, it's much easier to see the whole picture rather than just the initial panic.

Ragan Frick: Right.

Mike Frick: Yeah. More you can keep your calm, the better off you are. Yes.

Speaker D: Yes, exactly. Exactly.

Host: Wonderful words of wisdom. Thank you so much for spending time.

Speaker D: Gentlemen, thank you. This was fun.

Host: Pleasure to meet you both. And, uh, like I said, we look forward to watching Bear Ironworks grow.

Speaker D: Yes. Yep.

Mike Frick: Uh, visit. Visit us again.

Host: We will look forward to it.

Speaker D: Thank.

Mike Frick: You.