The Fab Lab

"The Map- Live at TISE" Join Aaron Crowley Live at TISE 2019 in Vegas as he talks about "The Map To Full Potential"

Ep 42 - "3 Truths about employees that owners must remember"  Last week we discussed the 3 lies about employees that owners like to believe, this week we deal with the truths about employees that we must remember. 1. Employees are human beings 2. Employees need some degree of control 3. Employees need the opportunity to vent. When we lead from these truths, our employees and companies win! Enjoy!

Ep 41 - 3 Lies About Employees Owners Like to Believe. Employees are so essential to the success of our companies, it is essential that we view them correctly. In this episode, we expose 3 common lies that owners hold to that ultimately prevent them from succeeding. Enjoy!   www. FabricatorsFriend.com  

Fab Lap Podcast Ep: 40 - Scope Creep Are the demands of the business creeping into your personal life? It can happen so easily. In this episode, we get into the 3 reasons why this happens and how to push back against the creeping demands of your stone shop! Enjoy!

Side Jobs - 5 Reasons You Should Let Your Crew Do Them! There are many advantages to letting your crew moonlight, especially if it's in your shop! The thought of opening your shop up after hours might be a terrifying thought, but you might reconsider after this episode of the Fab Lab Podcast! Enjoy!

Ep 38 - What's the Plan? Setting a goal is easy. Reaching a goal is another matter. In this episode, we continue the discussion of how to achieve the change you want and need as the owner of a stone shop. The plan must include the steps and yes, accountability so you continue to make progress. So get ready to make some stuff happen! Enjoy

Fab Lab Podcast Episode 37 What About You? How is your business treating you? Are you doing the work you want and like to do? Are you getting what you want out of the business? Those are questions we have to ask ourselves, but more importantly... They are questions we have to answer. This episode begins that process. Enjoy!

Retail Profit Potential There are profits for fabricators who understand the reality of the retail opportunity. Check out this episode and learn 5 steps to higher profits through retail counter work. Enjoy!   www. FabricatorsFriend.com  

Tariffs on Quartz - What's the Impact? In reality, we don't really know how this will affect the industry or our individual business. What we do know is that there are certain principles we must maintain no matter what is happening. This episode explains the tariffs and then touches on some fundamentals that we may not have thought about recently. Enjoy!

Episode 34 - The Power That Leaders Possess. Fellow Fabricator, you possess enormous power and influence as a leader in your company. The power to speak life and if your not careful, death into the lives of the folks you lead.

The Power of Imposing Order Chaos is always pressing in on your operation and its effects are negative. But you can and should push back! By doing so, you will: 1. Improve your profits 2. Keep more promises 3. Create a powerfully positive work environment for your team. Enjoy and happy fabricating!

Episode 32 The Power of Peer Learning and the Value of Trade Associations In this episode, I explain the value of peer to peer learning and share why I have avoided it for so long. Enjoy!

Episode 31 - Loose Ends and Why you Must Tie them Down! In business and in life, situations exist where we have the choice to deal with them or ignore them. When we face them and deal with them in a timely fashion, they are much less likely to blow up in our face or blow away. In this episode we discuss: 1. Confronting Behavior Issues in Employees 2. Maintaining Business Systems and Equipment 3. R...

In running a stone shop there are endless challenges, so it's easy to fall into the trap of believing that a single decision, activity or purchase will magically make everything better.   That's the Silver Bullet Syndrome and its something we should all avoid and that's what we discuss in this episode of the Fab Lab Podcast.   1. Why this type of thinking is counterproductive 2. What it sounds lik...

Episode 29 - The Cause of Company Conflict If there's tension or even open warfare between the departments in your company, it might be natural and normal. In this episode, we discuss why that conflict exists and how understanding it helps to make it better! Enjoy Special Thanks to this weeks sponsor, the "International Surface Fabricators Association".  For more information about ISFA visit them...

Episode 28 - "What Not To Do" When reality hits a department, it's important to make sure everyone in every position knows what to do. but...its equally important that they know "what not to do". here's why: 1. anxiety, apprehension, stress, and frustration increases drag on productivity and increased turnover. 2. guarantees that there is a lack of clarity in other departments 3. opens the door fo...

Fab Lab Podcast episode 27 How to Get There Where are you going? Better yet, where is your company going? Have you thought about that recently? Well to be honest, neither had I, until I started preparing for this episode and it's really clarified some things! In this episode we will discuss the following: 1. The destination 2. The market and demand 3. Your business systems 4. Core Values 5. Your w...

Digital Marketing 101 - For Stone Shops If you don't make the transition to digital marketing, your stone shop will be left behind. In this episode we cover the basics of this revolution in 3 areas: 1. Social Media 2. Websites 3. Email Most small business owners don't understand fully how to use these 3 dimensions of the internet to their benefit, but they haven't heard this episode of the Fab Lab...

Why I Need Mentors, Coaches, and Counselors! Some situations are so tough and so dark that they require perspective and wisdom that we as owners don't have. In those situations, mentors, coaches, and counselors are a priceless resource. In this episode, Aaron Crowley shares just such a situation. Enjoy Running a stone shop is hard.  We make it Easier.   Fabricators Friend offers resources to help...

Sometimes our employees are faced with challenges that nobody could predict…and thus no rulebook exists for handling them. If you’re there, they can ask you what to do. But what happens when you’re not there to ask? That’s where Company Motto and Core Values come in. Here's the PDF of our Mission, Vision, and Values . Running a stone shop is hard.  We make it Easier.   Fabricators Friend offers re...

How to Delegate: working less and accomplishing more. Yes its true, you can work less and get more done when you delegate to your awesome crew. We discuss it in detail on this episode of the Fab Lab Podcast. How to Select the Task to Delegate How to Prepare for Delegation How to Implement and Follow up enjoy! Running a stone shop is hard.  We make it Easier.   Fabricators Friend offers resources t...

3 Reasons Why You Must Delegate For maximum impact and potential, owners and leaders must learn to delegate. Here's why: 1. Maximize performance in each department 2. Makes difficult decisions easier 3. Freedom - to rest Check out the latest episode and learn why you must delegate. And...listen to the end for the contest, the first person to implement the PROcess and delegate a task wins a Deluxe...

Episode 21: Getting the Most out of Your Crew  Your great crew is capable of so much! Maybe more than they're currently producing.  You can lead them to their maximum potential with these 3 leadership principles and your company will benefit!  1. Appeal in Mutual Respect  2. Assume Responsibility for the Results  3. Always Remember you're Equals  Thanks for tuning in and if you'd like to download...

Episode 20 - Hiring, Training, and Retaining the Best Employees If you're going to take full advantage of the current economic boom, then having the best employees us a must! 1. Hire - What you believe about the current labor market is CRITICAL! 2. Train - Explaining, documenting, and reminding new employees of the standards and the results. 3. Retaining - The 3 P's of Retention are Purpose, Peace...

Episode 19 3 Reasons Why You MUST Not Give Up Running a stone shop is HARD, and life, in general, is no picnic. Sometimes we are tempted to give up as it appears the best and only option. But Don't Give Up! At least until you've listened to this episode of the Fab Lab Podcast! Running a stone shop is hard.  We make it Easier.   Fabricators Friend offers resources to help you reduce frustration and...