The Fab Lab

What if you could leave for lunch and not get calls from the office or the crew?  What if you could take a day off of work and not spend half the day on the phone or computer putting out fires and apologizing to customers?  What if you could take a week-long “Non-Working” Vacation?    The fact is you can and I would go as far as to say you should!   In fact, in this episode, I teach you how to tak...

Conventional wisdom says we have to wait until we build and sell our business for millions before we can have the time and money to do the things that are important to us. In this episode, I challenge that idea and ask some tough questions that can actually have life-altering impacts on the way we build our businesses and the lives we experience as a result. How do you define rich: Income – money...

Breaking out of the “doing it” mentality and into the “delegate it” mindset and practice is HARD!!! No way of getting around that fact…   In this episode we discuss 3 simple principles to help you continue your journey of learning the skill of delegation: Start Small Stay Committed and Engaged Slow and Steady Wins the Race It's tough but so worth the effort! Happy Fabricating! Click here for 1/1 c...

It would be nice if we could just throw a document at an employee and magically see flawless execution…But that’s not reality and it's not a fair expectation. Furthermore, if that is our expectation we risk overacting and concluding that we can't trust our people or the PROcess. So how do you get traction with delegation, after you’ve done the hard work of creating a written document? Simple (but...

When your team is working at their maximum potential, everyone wins!   Your customers win, you win, and your team wins!   In this episode, we discuss two dimensions of trusting your people:   Believing they WANT to do great work Believing that they CAN do great work   We also discuss how a process enables good work to continue, grow and expand…eventually enabling you to grow your business and get...

Stressed out?  Pessimistic or Negative thoughts creeping in?  Disappointed over something?  If so, you’re just like me😊  But be encouraged, there is much you can do to transform that experience into strength, power and action! In this episode I cover 3 simple techniques to radically reshape your outlook and your circumstances: Express Gratitude Banish Negative Thinking Take Action There is a bonu...

Have you ever had a problem in your business, and you took action to solve that problem only to find out later that you still had the same problem?  Do you find yourself saying things like - I thought we fixed that a few weeks ago!  We already solved that problem, didn’t we?! In this episode, I’ll share some simple ways to generate lasting solutions to problems – and build the capability of your e...

When you start digging, it’s not hard to find what I call ‘Unsung Heroes’ in our industry.  In this episode, we talk with Gina Gardner who has worked with Cosentino, the Artisan Group, is a mentor for Women In Stone, and is currently with BB Industries.  Along the way, she shares some great suggestions on how you can improve the visibility and notoriety of your fab shop. Click here to access Gina'...

Are you ready for whatever this next recession or ‘soft landing’ is going to bring?  Do you know where you should spend marketing and ad money for the best impact?  Can you quantify which market segments – retail, big box, K&B, contractors, etc. – are more profitable for you?  Which jobs generate cash for you faster than you burn cash – and which don’t?   In this episode, I’ll dive into the mechan...

This may sound too good to be true or counterintuitive.  Or it might sound crazy…to choose not to quote someone’s project.  But the fact is, opting not to quote work that you’re not likely to get is good business.  And developing a class act sales presentation will serve your business well for years! In this episode, I discuss how to develop a qualifying script and the fundamentals of a world-clas...

Would you like to put more jobs on the calendar without having to generate more leads and produce more quotes?   You can, if you follow the following 3 techniques explained in this great episode of the Fab Lab Podcast!   Send quotes the next business day (from presentation or drawings) Follow up on sent quotes, the next business day Ask for the sale (give the customer the chance to say yes)   10’s...

Want to grow your profits without growing your headaches?  Want to grow your profits without growing your business? The fact is you can and its easier than you think! In this episode we cover the following: Price Increase – minor increase = massive impact High Margin Upgrades – grow the size of the jobs you’ve already sold Cost Cutting – reduce OT and grow your profits Enjoy To get an excel spread...

Have you raised your prices?  Are you raising your prices?  Does the topic of raising your price cause you to sweat and worry about what your customers might say? Well, no matter how you answer those questions, there has never been a better time or a better reason to raise your prices…and it's not just because costs keep going up. Your work is worth it!  The customer values what you do for them an...

Ready to grow beyond the “redlined existence”?  Would you like a more relaxed pace as you lead and manage your stone shop?  The way you get there is to first operate the engine at the Power Band instead of the Redline, and then to shift through the following 3 gears: Delegator Discipler Dreamer As you grow your skill in these areas, your business can grow with less reliance on you, freeing you up...

Are you a doer, director, or dictator?  In this episode, we assess each stage (or gear) and how the redline effect happens at each stage.  We also discuss how to escape the redline experience so you can get your life and your profits back!   Click here for my free Stone Shop Assessment Tool.   Want to explore coaching with me in a complimentary no strings attached 90-minute coaching experience?  C...

Your stone shop is an incredible asset.  It is an “engine” that has the potential to provide you with massive wealth creation opportunities!  But it must be maintained and cared for.  Is your stone shop, your wealth creation engine a well-oiled machine?  Or is it red-lined and at the risk of overheating? Either way, this episode begins a short series on how to “shift through the gears” as an owner...

High demand and lack of labor running you ragged as you make up the difference?  Thinking that growing might be the answer to your challenges?  It might be. But what if there is another way to reduce stress and higher profits? Well in this episode, I suggest a highly controversial approach: Shrink your capacity and headcount Shrink the number of tasks you must perform thru delegation Both of these...

Economic forecasts are essential and smart business owners pay attention to them. But those forecasts can be too general and there can be enough lag in when they are made available to render them obsolete. As such, smart stone shop owners must look to data inside their own business to use as leading indicators. In this episode, we discuss leading indicators that don’t serve us well, and the one th...

Interview with the Director of Research and Development, Eric Post of ITR Economics Want to know what's happening and what’s going to happen?  We don’t have a crystal ball, but we do have a great economist from ITR Economics on the show today and he provides some fantastic insight as well as encouraging news for those of us in the stone business. As one of ITR Economics’ senior economists, Eric Po...

There is a huge distinction between a knee-jerk reaction and a conditioned response when it comes to overcoming oversights, mistakes, and remakes. It’s the difference between chronically fixing the same problems over and over and going nuts while you do it, and solving those problems once and for all so you can attend to more important matters. Enjoy and Happy Fabricating!   Interested in coaching...

Chris Hildebrand is a very busy guy, he runs the All Slab Fabbers, reps for 2 different equipment manufactures (Sasso and BBM), and oh by the way, he also owns a very successful stone shop in Aitken, South Carolina.   His story will inspire you if your goal is to build a successful stone business that runs without you being there 24/7.   Enjoy!   Aaron   If you would like to explore how coaching c...

Delegator or Doer… Which owner are you?  Which do you aspire to be? The difference between a “delegator” and a “doer” has massive significance to your business and your quality of life.  We talk about each in the episode of the fab lab podcast! Interested in a 90 minute Complimentary Coaching Experience?  Click here   You can watch Aaron on youtube now. Click here

In this episode, I talk with my old friend Larry Hood who is the editor at the Slippery Rock Gazette.  He takes us back to the beginning, how the SRG was started and how it has evolved and stayed relevant thru downturns and the digital revolution. Enjoy… And happy fabricating! Aaron Crowley Also, be sure to watch this episode and connect with me on YouTube: https://youtu.be/MbEfxf7CJd8

If you’re dealing with oversights, mistakes, and remakes…your current mindset might lead you to Emotions, Conclusions, and Actions that prevent you from overcoming those very mistakes. To truly reduce mistakes and remakes, you must first change your mindset and what you believe about why to issues occur in the first place. We go deep into this subject and I make some strong statements.   Enjoy and...

Do you have costly oversights, mistakes, and remakes in your stone shop?  Of course you do, every stone shop does. The question is how long will you tolerate them… In this episode we set the stage for understanding the cost, then the mindset. Make sure you check out aaroncrowley.com   And you can watch the Fab Lab Podcast on youtube now!