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Re-entry program hiring and a 4th generation business with Sarah Wilper: Episode 60
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From banking to rental in a fourth-generation family business! The guys sit down Sarah Wilper, ARA's president-elect, for an awesome conversation touching on everything from hiring with a re-entry program, seasonal work, tent choices, and more. We finish with quick hitting, rapid fire questions, don't miss it!
This episode is brought to you by Anchor Clear Span Tents & Structures, learn more at www.anchorinc.com.
PS, if you want to join ARA and you tell them you heard about it from Nate and Kyle, you'll get 25% off your membership! https://ararental.org/join-ARA/promo/Podcast25
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Transcript
Introduction and Guest Welcome
00:00:01
Speaker
I'm a one you call when you need to turn up or down. I'm a train rental man. I'm working all day. Getting mistakes in the ground no matter what they say. From sunrise to the night make sure everything's right.
00:00:14
Speaker
Yeah, I'm a train rental man. I'm working day.
00:00:19
Speaker
And we are back with another episode of Under the Vinyl, Randall Management Media podcast.
Sarah's Role at ARA
00:00:23
Speaker
Nate, how are you doing today on this wonderful Tuesday? I'm good now. I'm a little warmed up, thanks to somebody. that i Our guest today is trying to get us in trouble. Hey, it is what it is. Welcome to the ARA Show. Yeah.
00:00:35
Speaker
So today everyone, we have Sarah Wilper, who works for Taylor Rental in Manchester, Connecticut. Correct. You also got another big title coming up here in what, 24 hours? I do. In 24 hours, I will officially be president elect for ARA. Yes. i Who are you following?
00:00:51
Speaker
don't know, this guy, i think his name's Brian. He's kind of a big deal or thinks he's a big deal? Never in my entire life did I think I would be anybody's like light at the end of the tunnel. By the time they get through Brian's reign, they're gonna be like, who would have thought Sarah was a good choice? I think it's gonna, it's like a perfect shot just to get away and they won't, it's like nothing is bad after you. Well, did you notice that the show has moved up next year? So Brian really only has like 11 months to be president Klaus. Right, a shorter term.
00:01:19
Speaker
So, all right, well, let's
Career Transition to Event Rentals
00:01:23
Speaker
get into it, Sarah. All right. Take us back to your entry into the event rental world. um Yeah, it makes me feel so old because it was almost 20 years ago now, which seems absolutely impossible. 2025? Yeah, wish. um I actually worked in banking right out of college for a long time and um I married interrental. My husband's family is ah the tail rental we're at now is a fourth generation family business. So his grandmother was on the cusp of retiring um and it seemed like a good opportunity. I was really tired of banking. So I'm I decided to go and try out rental and as you know we're all a little bit off in this industry so it was a really good fit for me and I was like oh but we'll do this now this is perfect.
00:02:11
Speaker
And so were you doing anything before that? I worked in banking. Okay. Yeah. yking ba And did, how did you enjoy the banking versus? I hated it. Okay. I hated it. And that was 20 years ago. It does in the sense of customer service. I've always worked in customer service. I think my first job was a cashier at a local grocery store. So going through some of those customer service trainings and that very customer focused life for a long time, definitely helped transition me into the event rentals. Yep.
00:02:35
Speaker
What was kind of the first role that you had in the rental company coming in? I just worked the front counter. And at the time, um as with many Taylor rentals, we had both party and equipment. So we had a lot of homeowner tools and some smaller construction equipment in addition to tents, tables, chairs. So for us, it was a lot of learning both sides. You had to be able to sell a wedding and then go sell an aerator. There was a lot of back and forth. um Trying to learn a ton really was the first step. And then I spent years just working the front counter. And it's been 20 years, you said?
00:03:07
Speaker
Just shine, we're coming up on 19. Crazy. That's awesome. What were some of your early challenges you felt like that you had moving into more of a leadership role then as you started to develop and move past the counter?
00:03:19
Speaker
As anybody who works in a family business will know, it's spicy at times. It's a little challenging. So to be honest, my husband's family is wonderful, but is absolutely terrified of his grandmother for the longest time. And I was like I just really didn't want to disappoint her didn't want to do anything wrong. And she's ah this lovely woman. She's retired now in Texas and, you know, doing great. But You know, I think I was in my own way most of the time with the family. Everybody's supportive. They want it to grow. They want it to expand. They want to help you however you can. But a lot of times I would just get in my own head or doubt my knowledge. When I first started, I remember laying in bed at night, like trying to memorize the dish patterns that we had and which ones were called what. And just keeping myself up with that kind of thing.
00:04:03
Speaker
This episode of Under the Vinyl is brought to you by Anker Tents & Clear Spans, a fifth generation family owned company making tents and clear span structures right here in the USA. Anker isn't just about selling the best products on the market. They share decades of experience and stand beside you as you grow your business. Anker's craftsmanship and engineering give you a peace of mind and will allow you to use the equipment for years to come, season after season.
00:04:25
Speaker
For the next generation of rental owners and installers, Anchor aims to not just be your supplier, but a trusted partner helping guide you into the right products to grow your business.
Work-Life Balance with Family
00:04:33
Speaker
Call to be connected to your sales rep today, 1-800-544-4445, or visit their website at anchorinc.com.
00:04:41
Speaker
What was kind of Manchester's market overview at that point? So... We were definitely heavier on the event side, um probably about 20% on the equipment. And we were still really into backyard parties. We did a ton of 20 by 20s in a backyard for graduation, slammed in June where the guys are working 60, 80 hours a week. um When...
00:05:02
Speaker
I started with the family business. um My husband Eli and I didn't have kids yet. And he was still out on the road all the time. And I just remember the hours just being insane. yeah And when we had the kids, I was like, you're done. You have to come off the road. You have to have an in-house job because this is just not going to be possible. And how many children do you have?
00:05:19
Speaker
We have two. We have two teenagers, Aaliyah and Ronan.
Taylor Rental's Business Model
00:05:22
Speaker
How do you put them in the business yet? Yes. um My daughter, our daughter worked. She was very proud of herself just over 100 hours last summer. She's like, I did this. That's awesome. Yeah, she was really proud. And then our son has come in He's just started to more and more. But now that they're both officially in high school, I anticipate this summer they'll be working a lot more. So you...
00:05:39
Speaker
Obviously, I worked for my dad growing up. yeah um I got paid like a penny an hour. yeah Is that the same mentality you have? though Are you going to actually be nice and fair? and No, I actually pay them the same way I would pay any other employee, um much to Eli's chagrin. He thinks they should be making, you know, like $2 an hour. um They should not be making minimum wage.
00:05:58
Speaker
So is this the point where they start having to pay rent and bills and... No, they because then it's one more thing i have to manage and that's not going to be a thing. Well, you could now that they're in high school you can start bringing their friends in.
00:06:10
Speaker
mean, of course, that's what we all did. Bring our friends in. I'm already there. I'm just, I got to wait, I think another year or two. I'm looking more for them to be like junior, senior. Yeah. And then I've already got my eyes on a whole bunch of tent crew. Good. Good. hey You know, I miss the days where I could round up four or five people for a Saturday or Sunday job. Right.
00:06:27
Speaker
Like now I call my friends and and to say, hey what are you doing on Saturday? of that Not working. Yeah. Literally anything else besides helping you. Yeah. yeah I can guarantee I will not be helping you. guys Right. Right. Yeah. Land on couch more.
00:06:37
Speaker
So obviously you're tailor rental. Yes. Can you explain to the listeners what that means? So Taylor Rental is a franchise a lot like, I know, Dunkin' Donuts and Fonduts, whatever. And especially in the Northeast, it was really popular. When they first rolled out their franchise system, you could essentially buy ready-to-go rental store. You got a certain amount of tables, chairs, equipment.
00:07:02
Speaker
They'd help you out with the the financing on it. And then you've got the branding and you're ready to go. Um, True Value in turn now do it best. That has all evolved tremendously over the years, which fortunately for us really hasn't impacted us a whole lot. We continue to use the True Value name where we don't have any issues using that. We weren't one of the stores that had to rebrand, but we do pay franchise fees every year for that. um There was a point where had two locations, you're paying franchising fees on two locations.
00:07:35
Speaker
We can dance back down to one after COVID. um So there is some element of, Especially in Connecticut right now, people will call you thinking they're calling a different Taylor rental. The reality of so many have closed or gone out of business, retired, that now we really are, I think, one of maybe two or three left in the state of Connecticut. And even now branching up into Massachusetts, a number of them has closed as well. Do you still have ah buying power with the Taylor Rental name? We do. We do. um And I know, fortunately, ARA and and Do It Best have kind of been working behind the scenes through the the purchase of True Value. ah
00:08:10
Speaker
And there is still purchasing power. We also have so access to something called the warehouse where we can go online and we can get whatever we need from tables and chairs all the way up to nuts and bolts to cleaning products, that sort That was gonna kind of be my point is, do feel what's the advantage to the corporate structure and support versus more of a family owned, just on your own style?
00:08:30
Speaker
And is there a corporate feel to that? I would not say there's a corporate feel at all. um In my experience, the franchise portion of it is very hands-off. I couldn't tell you if I had a ah rep anymore, to be honest. um if we we There was one time where a true value rep would show up all the time, but they've changed their business model, so that makes sense. Love that. um So very much, we feel very independent okay outside of sending them a check for um you know our name and our logo.
00:09:01
Speaker
And I think there is a benefit to be able to have sort of a central location to be able to purchase things from, right right? Where maybe we're not the cheapest, you know, it may not be the cheapest table, but it's always going to be the first place I look. Or if I need office supplies or if we need parts for the store, right Because everybody's still got equipment and things they've got to fix and put back together. Right, absolutely.
00:09:21
Speaker
Unfortunately, I don't think it's as strong as it was. Like when my husband's grandpar great grandparents started it in 1967, a lot of that has gone away as people have merged and as business models have changed. So now that you now that you've kind of developed into your role currently, what's more of your day to day?
00:09:39
Speaker
I'd love to say it was like I just sat at my desk, but really like, like, like any, I do nothing. yeah I do nothing. spreadsheets You know, again, you work for family business. So my title is executive vice president, but that literally means nothing. yeah Right. Because I still work for mom and dad. we'll do it all Right. I still do it. So if my linen person calls out today, i got to go pull in in and get ready for stuff. You know, if there's a problem in
Managing Seasonal Employment
00:10:01
Speaker
the dish room,
00:10:02
Speaker
um We have learned that IT t is not my specialty. So in the event that, yep, in the event there's a computer issue, it should not be me fixing it. So we have learned that. um And I'm not going to pretend I'm rolling around and back making concrete blocks or yeah fixing pieces of his of equipment. But I handle the marketing, the sales team. A lot of the customer interaction, I work with all of our higher end clients and larger clients. We do a lot in the higher education space. So I spend a lot of time managing that. What's the market look like up there for you guys?
00:10:33
Speaker
how how And how far do you need to branch out? Sure. So for us, we have this beautiful little swath of Eastern Connecticut, right? right Yeah. Where there's closures, retirements, and there isn't a ton there. The bulk of the membership in Connecticut is more based towards Fairfield County ok towards New York.
00:10:52
Speaker
So for us, we have this great little spot where there's not a lot of competition. It's not easy to get to that area of the state. So nobody's fighting to get in over there. We go all the way down to the shoreline. We've done a little bit of work into Rhode Island. And more recently, we're really pushing up quite a bit into Massachusetts. There's been a lot of um changes up there as far as the layout of rental and store Again, stores closing, retiring, things like that. So we're really pushing um now almost as far all into Amherst is as far as we're going north now.
00:11:23
Speaker
And what's your what's kind of your product currently? You're still doing obviously all the tools and stuff as well. Tools we sold off about four years ago, which is fantastic. And I would never, ever bring them back on. I'm sorry for anyone who listens to this and has tools. um I'm sorry in advance. um We talked about this yesterday, and it's it's not even like... I worked at a tool company and a party company at one point, but it's not even like you don't want to deal with the tools as much as you've got the big box stores that are killing the industry. We we have a Home Depot right in town. That's a problem. And even though our pricing may have always been lower, their hours were always more convenient, right? So clients are going to go there. sunday Right, yeah right. yeah Honestly, we had a mechanic that worked for us the same as Tim, and Tim worked for us, he started with in 1982. Yeah.
00:12:07
Speaker
And Tim actually passed away about four or five years ago, and we were never able to replace him. And we're like, you know what? This portion of rental is done for us. Now we are strictly party. We do tents, um we do tables, chairs, dishes, linen, all the tabletop stuff. We have lots of forks and spoons, you know, unlike L&A.
00:12:26
Speaker
I guess you have a little bit of but a little bit of a little bit. We do a lot. We're very much a location where bride and groom can come in and we start with the tent and then work our way all the way down to the flooring and we provide everything in between. What's kind of your biggest tent and what manufacturer you use?
00:12:43
Speaker
We're a big fan of Anchor. Shout out to Mike Fenton. There you go. wow We love him. yeah We love Mike Fenton. Absolutely. um We work also, we do quite a bit with Fred's. Okay. To be completely honest. Shout out to Heather. She'll be very upset if I don't also, if I call Mike and Heather. We do ah quite a bit with both of those. Our largest is going to be a 40 wide Navi with Anchor. So we stick with 40 wides. um We have some spirited debate in the family management system about going larger. And so far we have been unsuccessful in winning said debate. So 41 is our largest. The eyes are creating the domestic over here. We better watch out. There's some head nodding going on on the other side of the room a bit of cameras. Or can't see them.
00:13:27
Speaker
So we do that. We do a still do a lot of whole towns. We have sailcloth. We clear top. A whole host of there. okay yeah What's the seasons
Family Dynamics and Employee Loyalty
00:13:34
Speaker
look like up there for you? It's gotta be the channel off. like we're so We're six months on, honestly. like I'm April to November for the most part. yeah i always joke, we stop when it starts to snow and we pick back up when the snow is gone. And you keep the employees on or you guys sending the layoff? We're a big layoff one. I hire most of our people on seasonally. They know they're seasonal when they get hired on for the most part. um And then... Do you get them back?
00:14:01
Speaker
We do. We do quite a few. This last year we got the majority of our crew that came back was a repeat. Do any of them, do they take other jobs or do they kind of take a break at that time? No, they usually enjoy the unemployment. Yeah. Yep. I get a whole bunch of filings right after everybody gets laid off and then... Yeah.
00:14:18
Speaker
Yeah. Now... Uh-oh. I can't tell by your face, I'm nervous. We've talked about this. You had an interesting program you were using for employees. Yes. Tell us about that. So for the last three years, we have worked with the Connecticut Reentry Program. So, yeah. So what we did is we connected with halfway houses. ok So we have individuals that are coming out of incarceration and they have to transition to a halfway house. Okay.
00:14:43
Speaker
Once they're in the house, they can go to work and then go to the house. Yep. And that's it. um Most of them are in mandatory counseling, mandatory drug testing. um They are supervised. Somebody is making sure they're showing up to work.
00:14:56
Speaker
So we worked with multiple halfway houses and we started bringing folks on that way. It really worked out well for us. um You know, the hours can be crazy, right? When you're trying to cram 12 months of income into six months, yeah right? So the guys were always happy to pick up overtime. was never an issue. Because they didn't want to go sit back in the halfway house. Right. They don't want to go sit in the house. so And a lot of them would come to me on Friday afternoon and be like, please tell me there's work this weekend. Right. And would have to check in if they work late and things like that? So that is one of the byproducts that we found is if we give them a set hours when they start with us and if we deviate from those, then we are in communication with the house that they report to. Okay. And just let them know, hey, they're running late. They're going back by eight o'clock. You know, hey, we've got weekend work. I need everybody to get passes so they can get out of work. Right.
00:15:39
Speaker
So it really has been a good program for us to fill ah a need. As everybody knows, it is very hard to fill the labor positions that we're asking people to fill. Right. They're seasonal. You know, none of us are paying $200,000 to set up tents Yeah. you know We're smaller businesses, you don't have these gobs of benefits, right? It is a tough spot to fill. So for us, this has worked out really well. um I would think the only downside to it is, unfortunately, sometimes it comes with a little Dateline drama, yeah right like dateline drama line right? Like the next episode of Dateline, you know? um So it at least makes for some good stories around the table at rental shows after you've had a shot of tequila. but Yeah, can imagine.
00:16:22
Speaker
But for the most part, um they have been really great. And we have some guys that started with us three years ago and they are still with us. Off the program? Off the program. Awesome. They remained with us. So really it comes down to, i think it's another way we get to give back to the community. I mean, obviously I'm a big fan of volunteering. My husband is as well. He serves on the ARA of Connecticut board. Okay. So it's another way for us to be able to give back and all the drama is worth it when I can have one or two guys that can really have an opportunity to change their entire life out of it. Yeah. Yeah. But there's some challenges, things like um sometimes it's their first job or they don't know how to do direct deposit or they don't have an email and you have to set them up with an email. But that's employees that aren't even in the program. That's normal employees. Right, right. So that is, that's true. So it can be a little
Challenges and Growth in Rental Business
00:17:11
Speaker
tricky in that respect. So I think there's more supervising of the program yeah than I was prepared for, but we've kind of become old-hatted at this point.
00:17:20
Speaker
Are you going to use it again this year? Well, that depends because we did, thanks to some pressure from folks like Brian Richardson, Kyle Richardson, Dean Miller, we have applied for the H2B program. So we are really hoping to... I should probably stop telling people about this. Listen. Because, you know, whatever visas you... We're going to cut. that's less for you. That's less than could get. Don't worry too much, though, because as...
00:17:45
Speaker
but with it being a lottery, we got letter E. So yeah, right. We're letter E, so I'm not optimistic. yeah um But you know, for us, things sort of lined up as far as being able to get make sure we've got housing ready. and we're we're working specifically with a company that handles H2B visa process. You use Moss Labor. We use Moss Labor, yep. And they're wonderful. um It's scary, though, because there is that outlay of cost and you might not get any employees this year. So that is our hope for this year. But we will be utilizing the reentry program if for some reason they should be false.
00:18:21
Speaker
Got it. So on the on the guys that you're bringing in, beyond just the the program that you're doing, what's the retention look like as far as everybody as a whole? Our core folks? Yeah. Honestly, we have most of our folks are double digits, honestly. That's incredible. We have a woman in our dishroom who's been with us over 20 some odd years. Yep. Our warehouse manager, same thing. He ran our tank crew for a long time.
00:18:43
Speaker
When it got too hard on his body, he came in and we you know we worked in the warehouse. Our general manager's been with us 15 years. You know, I don't know if it counts, but my husband, Eli, has been working there for 30. He's volunteering at this point. Did you get first paycheck yet? No. Yeah, we're still holding on to that. um And then, like I said, myself, I've been there for 18. So we do have a lot of longevity. And that's something i'm really proud of, right? When we talk about culture. yeah You know, you have a lot of seasonality. But my core group of folks, our lead tent foreman, has been with us eight, nine years. So there's some pretty good longevity there. How many, what's the crew size look like peak season for you? Peak season, we're 40 to 50 folks. Yeah, off season, we try to get as close to 20 as possible. How many trucks is that day?
00:19:25
Speaker
On a good day, so we have 15 total in our fleet. Okay. So, you know, we are usually sending out, you know, four on a mile day as far as delivery goes back and forth. And we're doing the equal amounts as far as tenting goes. so And then we have flatbeds for concrete and all that kind stuff. I feel like you guys are a little bit on the higher side, like bigger wise for than a normal Taylor rental. Yeah. We are. I think. If your eyes light up. Yeah. She got to excited. I'm okay. So I'm really proud of that because when true value decided they wanted people to rebrand, they contacted some true value, some Taylor rentals very quickly yeah to get them to rebrand.
00:19:59
Speaker
They never called us. Yeah. They just kind of left us alone. And my feeling really is they feel like we're doing a service to the brand by continuing to do what we do. We are exceptionally large for a tailor. So you're more independent than what you yeah lead on to be yeah with that name. Yes, we are very and we are very independent. um But honestly, too, we're so fortunate because it's four generations of knowledge, right? They have been through...
00:20:22
Speaker
Everything from the recessions to, you know, the global pandemics, to natural disasters, to the shrinking and the growth of the economy. And they've all learned and taken those lessons on how to pile and to grow and to expand and to how to sustain the business. Right. I mean, COVID was hard for everybody, but this, this, the knowledge base just allowed everybody to really figure out how to handle it very quickly and to stay ahead of it during that. Well, I feel like a lot of people that started out in the rental industry started as a Taylor or a Herx or United or like a small business and got away from it and went out on their own. And for you guys to continue to stay in and build that brand is pretty damn cool. It's unique for sure. One or two left in New Jersey and that's it. That's Taylor Rentals. Yeah, like I said, I think we're down at one point in Connecticut. We had a dozen. Yeah, you might be the last one standing. Toe cheek sweet.
00:21:13
Speaker
You've already beat the odds, you know, fourth generation. It is. There's something ridiculous like the generational transition cuts um like 50% every single generation. ah First generation builds it, second generation sustains it, and third generation kills it. Well, you passed it.
00:21:28
Speaker
so you're good. At least once a week I say to Eli, I don't want to be the generation that messes this up. Nah, I think you're doing just fine. You'll be fine. you. Just don't listen to Brian. yes Yeah. What's been the best ah ROI for equipment that you guys have invested in?
00:21:43
Speaker
So... so's I laugh because Brian Richardson actually asked me a question about this very similarly and we got into kind of a heated discussion because I'm like, like you think about something like me a tabletop, right? A fork. Yeah. That costs me eight bucks to buy.
00:22:00
Speaker
I've rented hundreds of thousands of time in the course of its life. So if we're looking specifically at ah ROI yeah on a piece of, I'm like that flatware, man, I'm killing it on the flatware, right?
00:22:12
Speaker
I don't make any money unless I rent a tent and everything underneath it. I mean, if we're looking at the ah ROI of the project, that's different, but from an item, i know, that tabletop's pretty good. Well, I did this when I was at Brian's at one point and it was an eight foot table. Yeah.
00:22:24
Speaker
Which I did not think it would be anything else. Probably Gray Sam's for us. I think ours is concrete. Yeah. Ooh, that can be good too. I didn't think about that. Yeah. Or Duratrac. Yeah. If you bought it or early on when Duratrac first came out, it was much cheaper. Don't try and buy now. he but brook My fire extinguishers is probably really good ah ROI on those. That's ah that that's legit.
00:22:47
Speaker
Well then what's been your biggest regret purchase? You don't have to throw out a name of a company. Just give me a product type. Oh, I was thinking more of people. Okay. All right. All right. You're purchasing people. No, not people, but you know, you invest in people. Yeah. And then you're like, oh, maybe this wasn't the best one. Um, but don't know, I think we've we tried a little bit here and there to kind of dabble in like some of the trendy stuff that really didn't move. Like we rent cross packs, they don't move a ton for us in our neck of the woods, right? Like I just, they're nice, they're trendy, but they just, they don't go out a ton. I mean, honestly. Well, the issue is you got those big box stores that are coming in and they're doing the same inventory, but cheaper. So it doesn't become such a boutique-y item. Yeah, it's not as fancy. um
00:23:33
Speaker
You know, like we we jumped on the farm table trend and that was really great. But ah we have skilled carpenter in house and Eli built every farm table we rent. So are you referring him as your skilled carpenter? Yes, he is our skilled carpenter. I've heard a lot of titles.
00:23:49
Speaker
man Multifaceted. A lot of of titles. not getting you paycheck. paycheck. If you, and it's funny then we're going to ask you this question because someone asked me this on the show floor as well. If had $250,000 to start over, what would you buy?
00:24:06
Speaker
Tense imploring. I think that's a good answer. cousin' warrening yeah And I don't even know that I would stick with as many pole tents as we have in inventory. I think expandable. We're going to come at the pole tent guy. Listen, no, listen, 90, listen, so much of our inventory is pole tents. We have more pole tents than anything else. But I think as we're looking at safety and evolving, I think the investment into something that's going to be a frame tent or a structure is going to be better placed money because eventually the, the garbage that we've had to go through with ballasting and, and,
00:24:38
Speaker
you know, the sorry, hearing and everything the engineering, like it just the amount of energy, time and energy. So we've put into all of that. I think eventually we're going to be at a point where whole tents are going to be harder and harder to get approval on from your local municipalities. Yeah. And depending on what you're buying and being more expandable in the frames and everything like that, i think that the inventory can better be used. um And then, yeah, growing your growing your inventory. I don't want to do an 80 wide or 100 wide pole tent anymore. I want to switch that with structure. would love to throw 100 wides all day. It is he so easy. Okay.
00:25:10
Speaker
I had this conversation with the anchor guys the other day because we were talking about how I'm trying to get everybody to move more towards the 30 meter rather than a 100 wide pole on a couple big events. And my thought processes on that is every time those guys are rolling that heavy material and using a tarp, if it's wet in a field at all, it creates a roll line all the way through, all the way down in the field, right? So now you're going to put that thing back up or you wash it or you bring it out.
00:25:32
Speaker
And now you've got to rent a lift to go up and wash it at every damn event. You are such a... you're feeling You also have some strong feelings about pole tents, huh? He does. I love pole tents. Why? Why? Why why do you love pole tents? Because he's carny at heart. Yeah, I am. Oh, I know. that I know the 4-H story. Yeah. Me too.
00:25:54
Speaker
I was not in 4-H, but that's where my parents met. Yeah, that's what bodied over it. We got to do some math, so we should talk about Brian's. No, let's not go there. No, no math in with Brian. you got to do the math first. All right. So what is, in you out what is one thing that keeps you up at night?
00:26:10
Speaker
I know there's several, but you give me one and you can't look at your husband. Oh my God. Um, Currently, um the world is on fire, and I'm definitely struggling with that, but also employees. Yeah.
00:26:23
Speaker
Yeah. I feel like that everyone thinks that, like, weather is the hardest thing, but employees what keeps me up at night. Employees. This entire time at the Red Door Show, we have had several.
00:26:33
Speaker
It's business, right? There's never a day where you don't have an employee issue, good or bad, and that is what I lose the most sleep over because I handle those directly. Those are all my babies. I am the HR department.
00:26:44
Speaker
you So mama yep if there is an issue, it's me and I'm the one who has to field it. Understand. Understand. What's been the
Future of the Rental Industry
00:26:52
Speaker
hardest year in business from you? And I'm sure you have a COVID. You say COVID. Yeah, we need to get something down COVID. No, actually, I'll be very honest.
00:26:59
Speaker
I don't know that I would say the the hardest year, but for Family businesses are really, really, really, really hard, yeah right? It is an understatement. At one point I worked with my husband, my own brother, both of my brother-in-laws, my sister-in-law and my in-laws at just at one point, right? So there's a lot of stress and a lot of frustration and a lot of whatever, you know, alllthough I always say the family dysfunction that shows up to Thanksgiving is also at the business every single day, right? right And you think about all of your friends who only see their family at Thanksgiving and the biggest bar night of the year is the day before Thanksgiving. right hung over So I have this wonderful, phenomenal family and I actually got to the point where i was like, I'm not sure this is what I want to be doing. yeah So I took a step back from the family business. I stayed in rental. I worked on the equipment side and had equipment for a while. yeah um And that for me was the hardest personally, like as far as career development and trying to figure out if this is where really where I wanted to be. And I got on the other side of it and i was like,
00:27:59
Speaker
the grass is not greener over here, would like to immediately go back to working with my family. Was that just because the interactions of the people, structure or the above? It will surprise no one that I'm not great with a boss. Yeah. Right. Like, know, because it's a complete shock. Shocker. I know. So I certainly do well if I manage it myself. Okay. Like I said, there's so many dynamics, right? And there's so many parts and pieces. And we all have friends who have their eight to five insurance job, punch o'clock, go home, and then have their weekend. And then them travel to Dubai on a Thursday for the weekend. Yeah, right? For a nice long weekend. I saw that too. Interesting. So... I need that job, whoever that is. It's definitely not in rental.
00:28:40
Speaker
or Or the emergency call at 8 o'clock at night. Or for us right now, we provide cots to the local children's hospital. Oh, that's awesome. So we did it one time on a weekend where...
00:28:52
Speaker
I was like, okay, I know there's a snowstorm coming and we'll bring you all of the cots, right? So now the next four or five weekends, it's a phone call every day on a Saturday at two o'clock or a phone call at eight o'clock. yeah So that stress, that is insane anyway. You're also combining with your personal relationships. And that's hard. Oh, absolutely. That is like, I mean, and and that maybe also breaks everybody. You're married to the business. Married to your husband, married to business. And you're raising your children in the business, right? Like everything revolves around it.
00:29:20
Speaker
lucky for my husband he's my best friend so i just i genuinely enjoy his company and i like being around him love that what do you see as the outlook uh for the industry five ten years from now well i told you a little bit i think we'll definitely be going more towards structure and frame i think that's a big one as the safer the push for safety safety is huge um and i think that's a big one like just the safety that we've seen in a small period of time within the last 12 months with I mean, you have MATRA, ATA, and ARA all joining together to create a safe tenting program that speaks to the importance of that education and that pursuit within the industry. So I think that's huge. Obviously, that speaks for itself.
00:30:01
Speaker
um And I think a lot of customization. We find that more and more everybody wants that really unique, specialized experience. So translating that somehow into your rental fleet, you know, be like, I'd love to rent this one tent out 75 times, but this guy'd be just a little different every time. you I think that's going to be another big one that people are have to watch more. All right. And before we get into our rapid fire round. Oh, a rapid.
00:30:23
Speaker
And I have one more questions too. It would great if I had had notes ahead of time to know that there was a rapid fire houndry professor. Well, that's the whole point. You're not supposed to know it. Okay.
Involvement with ARA
00:30:32
Speaker
What you got? Tell us how you got involved with ARA because I know it's... That's what I was going to say. You've called me the story. Okay. And why too? Because I understand like... Wait till you hear story. But I understand you are very giving, but yeah. Yeah.
00:30:43
Speaker
well that's nice that someone would say that about me um i think i we're like i said family business a million times over and we'd always been ara members right and we got the ara flyers in the mail and they were just to my father-in-law and they would just go in the trash so one time i saw an ara flyer for an ara show and i literally pulled it out of the trash and i was like what's this a or a thing And at the time, our Region 1 director was Russ Stéjene, who formerly owned Taylor Rental in Wallingford, which is since retired. right um And my father-in-law looks at me and goes, just call Russ.
00:31:19
Speaker
he'll He'll tell you what it is. So I called Russ, and I... dragged the ARA Kool-Aid pretty quick. I've been hearing that a lot lately. Yeah, that's you're welcome. I dragged it pretty quick and um Russ got me plugged in. I went to a couple of meetings. He had me go to a leadership conference. yeah um I went to caucus within my first 12 months and I just loved it. So that's how I got into ARA and it just sort of spiraled very quickly. Okay, well then, yes, spiral back to the president here. ah what That's a a hell of a jump and a lot of Kool-Aid. So I mean, it's a long time. Like I said, I've i've been in rental for ah close to 19 years and I've probably been involved at ARA for probably 15 of that. So I've done everything from just serve as a general member um on a board to holding board positions, president, all of that kind of fun stuff. um
00:32:08
Speaker
all the way up to regional director and now president.
Rapid-Fire Conclusion
00:32:11
Speaker
um A little known fact is I did probably about three four years not ago now um go to Brian Richardson and ask him if he would be my mentor. Yeah. um Which Kyle still thinks to this day was a mistake, but...
00:32:24
Speaker
I'm, nope. I won't speak on it. But, um We can talk about that off the air. As someone who's not related to him, I think he's very inspiring. Yeah, absolutely. Kyle's like, cut, cut. Um, I find him very inspiring. And he also, you know, he runs his own business. He's developed, well, Kyle runs it down, but he, at one point, ran his own business. Well, I don't know if you heard one of the educational sessions. He said, I run the business day to day. And I also hear, excuse me, you're, you don't come in till 11. But also, just for the record, Kyle's full of shit because he put on his Instagram and said, the goat yesterday when he got introduced. So right but he was recognizing it. I will tell you, my 14-year-old son met him. And the first night we got back to the hotel, he's like, Mom, b Brian's the goat.
00:33:07
Speaker
Don't. Do we edit that part out, please? We don't need him any bigger of a head. because he looks like a goat.
00:33:14
Speaker
All right, we're going to transition now. Let's jump over to the rapid fire question. All right, rapid fire. What do we got? Frame tent or pole tent? We know what she's going to say. I do think pole tents are pretty right now. Oh, yes. I think they're beautiful.
00:33:28
Speaker
I just don't think they're realistic moving forward. All right. But they're beautiful. Okay. Coffee or energy drink? Oh, coffee. Straight black. Yes. Hot black coffee.
00:33:38
Speaker
Tequila. Biggest install pet peeve. When people don't pick up their dog poop. Yeah. Oh, would agree with that. Listen, I don't like that. That's disgusting. Or you're on a site visit and you roll your tape measure up in it. Yep. yeah Yep. Yep. Clean up after your dog, people.
00:33:54
Speaker
Best advice you ever received. I don't want to be cliche and say yes, but the second best advice or, you know, like everybody's like, say yes to someone asked you volunteer. The best advice I've ever gotten was dumber people than you have done this.
00:34:11
Speaker
All right. Love that one. Advice for women entering rental. Okay. Yeah, dumber people than you have done this. um Oh, that's like a long one. I have to rapid fire it? um you Just be confident. Just be confident. Fake it till you make it. I promise you, everybody else is as terrified as you are. Yeah.
00:34:30
Speaker
Hardest part of being the boss. and Employees.
00:34:36
Speaker
love it. Signing the paychecks in the offseason. All right, before this gets off the rail. I think we did a good job staying on the rails. think we better close this out. All right, folks, that is another episode of Under the Vinyl, rental management media podcast. Thanks, Sarah.