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"Dustings" 2-27: Storm Equipment Contractor Survey Part 4
566 Plays11 days ago
Jordan Smith joins the boys to talk about the results of Part 4 of the 2024 Snow Contractor Survey. This segment focuses on what contractors would want in educational opportunities in the snow industry
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Transcript
Final Episode of Storm Equipment Survey 2024 Series
00:00:33
The SnowJobs Podcast
here we go snow jobs nation we are back again bringing you another dustings episode this is part four of the storm equipment survey of 2024 we're gonna wrap up this four-part series we got you know who's with me you know you got rick james
00:00:55
The SnowJobs Podcast
and if we're doing dustings you know who's also here
00:01:01
The SnowJobs Podcast
Jordan Smith's in the house with us too. What's up boys? How are we?
00:01:05
RICK JAMES
Hey, Steve-O.
00:01:06
Jordan Smith
What up boys?
00:01:07
The SnowJobs Podcast
What's going on?
00:01:07
RICK JAMES
Hey, Jordan. Yeah?
00:01:09
Jordan Smith
Thanks for having me back.
00:01:10
The SnowJobs Podcast
How we doing?
00:01:11
Jordan Smith
We actually got together in a reasonable amount of time for once. This is cool.
00:01:14
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:01:14
RICK JAMES
Yeah, not bad.
00:01:15
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. We're pretty flexible. but Late at night is pretty flexible.
00:01:17
Jordan Smith
Yeah. Yeah. I wish I could say I was, but no, this worked out great. Thanks for jumping on late here.
00:01:23
The SnowJobs Podcast
No problemo, bud. No problemo. So as we said, we're doing part four of the storm equipment 2024 contractor survey. And yeah, just let's get into a bud.
00:01:35
The SnowJobs Podcast
Take it away.
00:01:35
Jordan Smith
Yeah. Yeah. I just always like to recap a little bit because I know, I know most listeners listen to all the episodes, but just in case they jump in on this one, didn't listen the other ones.
00:01:38
The SnowJobs Podcast
Sure.
Purpose of Storm's Annual Survey
00:01:45
Jordan Smith
Uh, so storm, uh, storm does a survey every year, with the industry, not just our customers, but the industry where we collect as much information as we can, ah from the industry about what they're seeing, what trends they're seeing, uh, what they like, what they don't like, uh, what things they think could improve the industry. And,
00:02:05
Jordan Smith
all kinds of stuff, right? and And really what this survey does is it helps drive ah Storm's initiatives going forward on on how we can help set the future standard in snow, which is our which is our purpose at Storm.
00:02:18
Jordan Smith
But again, like I said in in previous episodes, like we're not greedy with the data. we We certainly take it in and try to drive initiatives internally, but then we share it on the podcast so that hopefully ah other OEMs, other contractors are listening and they can help contribute too.
00:02:34
Jordan Smith
I think it's really kind of a foundational part of our ah grassroots effort um to kind of give the people what they want and what
Recap of Previous Parts
00:02:42
Jordan Smith
they're looking for. So in part one, we talked about sort of just state of the industry, you know, where do people think the industry's at, what's going well, what's not. And again, this is the 2024 survey. So this data is like,
00:02:54
Jordan Smith
More than a year old, our 2025 survey is already out. It goes till the end of October. So if you want to get on our website or on our social media, check it out. Please do. The more responses we get, the the more thorough we can be in helping the industry move forward. But state of the industry was episode one.
00:03:09
Jordan Smith
ah Episode two is what what contractors think is coming in the next five years. And then episode three was not just what they think is coming, but what they actually want. So what do contractors actually want for their businesses to help move them forward?
Focus on Education and Content Needs
00:03:24
Jordan Smith
um Today, we're going to dig into the last part, part four, final part of the 2024 survey review. And that is what contractors want in terms of moving their businesses forward, not with equipment, not with innovation, but with education and content.
00:03:41
Jordan Smith
So like what kind of things do they feel can help benefit their business moving forward? And there's some really, really cool stuff that actually came out of this data from the
Sources of Industry News and Education
00:03:50
Jordan Smith
survey, right? So lot do you probably know what that stuff is, but we'll talk about it in this episode.
00:03:51
RICK JAMES
uh
00:03:56
Jordan Smith
So kind of the first rudimentary point is the question we asked first was, where do you gather most of your industry news and education?
00:04:04
The SnowJobs Podcast
Snow chops.
00:04:05
Jordan Smith
yeah Well, there yeah, I mean, Snow Jobs was was the second highest answer, right? not terrib Not terribly surprising because we promote this survey on the podcast.
00:04:10
The SnowJobs Podcast
Second.
00:04:14
Jordan Smith
So there's probably a little bit of bias there, just like so did social media, social media beats
00:04:16
The SnowJobs Podcast
We'll go second. I got to find out who beat us. Oh, all right.
00:04:20
RICK JAMES
First loser. First losers.
00:04:22
Jordan Smith
Yeah. Yeah.
00:04:23
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's where we are there, too.
00:04:24
Jordan Smith
Yeah.
00:04:24
The SnowJobs Podcast
all right.
00:04:24
Jordan Smith
So social media was number one. That's just general, you know, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, whatever the case may be. ah Snow jobs is
Trend Towards Grassroots Networking
00:04:31
Jordan Smith
number two. ah Close third was networking with other contractors.
00:04:35
Jordan Smith
So just, you know, the events, the things like snow lines, thing like storm field day, like the Simon symposium, equip expo, all of the major events, like just not the events themselves, but networking with contractors at those events.
00:04:37
RICK JAMES
Yep.
00:04:47
Jordan Smith
Number four on the list was Syma and number five on the list was ASCA, which I believe doesn't exist anymore.
00:04:55
The SnowJobs Podcast
defunct, I believe.
00:04:55
RICK JAMES
Correct. Yeah.
00:04:55
Jordan Smith
i think I think they're gone.
00:04:57
Jordan Smith
so
00:05:00
Jordan Smith
So that was that was kind of the top five vote getters there in order. And I think that...
00:05:04
The SnowJobs Podcast
Was it like one and two and then a big gap and then everybody else or?
00:05:08
Jordan Smith
It was... No, it was... was So social media and snow jobs are pretty close. And then networking was about 15% behind those.
00:05:19
Jordan Smith
Simo was about
Social Media vs Genuine Stories
00:05:20
Jordan Smith
30% behind those. And then ASCA was less than 10%. So yeah, look at that.
00:05:24
The SnowJobs Podcast
30% behind us. Love it.
00:05:28
RICK JAMES
I don't know if he loves us.
00:05:30
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah I'm just kidding.
00:05:32
Jordan Smith
So not not terribly surprising, but I think it's relevant data just to kind of understand like you know who are the people that are replying to the survey.
00:05:33
The SnowJobs Podcast
Kind of.
00:05:41
Jordan Smith
Um, so then we, we dove in a little bit deeper and just said, you know, where do you get the most educational value and where do you see it going in the future? And I think this is what I was alluding to earlier and saying that like, we're seeing a movement in the industry. And I think snow jobs has a big, a big part to do with that, but we're seeing like this grassroots movement of, uh, of, you know, networking, like deeper networking and and desire for more grassroots type, uh, grassroots type events.
Demand for Hands-on Training
00:06:11
Jordan Smith
Less classroom, ah you know less slide decks, less less of that kind of stuff and more just putting heads together. you know i don't i don't like the term mastermind, but like masterminding on how do you do this?
00:06:19
RICK JAMES
you
00:06:22
Jordan Smith
How do you do this? you know Show me. And that's what social media and Snowjobs is all about. Like you guys bring people on, they tell you about all about their business, what they use, how they do it, what's worked for them, what hasn't. They tell hilarious stories about failures and they tell cool stories about successes. And and that's how a lot of guys learn.
00:06:39
The SnowJobs Podcast
Absolutely.
00:06:40
Jordan Smith
um as opposed to sitting in a auditorium and watching a slideshow for an hour and a half. And I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that. There's still some value in that stuff. I don't, I'm not saying that you go away. I do that stuff all the time. So hopefully people still want it. But I think that what they really are saying they want is more organic grassroots for the people by the people.
00:06:59
Jordan Smith
And that's what this is all about.
Introduction to Storm Academy
00:07:00
RICK JAMES
right
00:07:01
The SnowJobs Podcast
Love it.
00:07:02
Jordan Smith
Which is why I think social media ranked the highest because that's what social media is, is people post their their clips and their ideas and their experiences and their stories. And we're seeing more and more people are sharing more deeply on on social media.
00:07:16
Jordan Smith
Like not just, they're not just sharing B-roll of plows, um which is always cool to watch. We call it snow porn, but ah they're they're sharing stories about like, Hey, here's a thing that happened to my company.
00:07:23
The SnowJobs Podcast
Mm-hmm.
00:07:23
RICK JAMES
yeah
00:07:27
Jordan Smith
Here's an interaction i have with my customer. And like, they're using social media as a platform to share the message of of what they're doing and what's worked for them. And it's it's kind of a visual type of storytelling.
00:07:38
The SnowJobs Podcast
Do the problem with social media, though, like not problem, but the downside is that it's not 50-50, good and bad. I mean, a lot of it's a highlight reel, and you only see what they want you to see, and it's not necessary.
00:07:47
RICK JAMES
Right.
00:07:49
Jordan Smith
Yep.
00:07:50
The SnowJobs Podcast
Like, if you... not Not comparing the two, but if you listen to an episode, we have a different guest on every
OEM Participation in Storm Academy
00:07:56
The SnowJobs Podcast
week. We have 15 or 16 base questions. You can have... you can pick up 15 different things of what to do or not to do for your own company.
00:08:05
The SnowJobs Podcast
And we were all, we all freely admit mistakes and and what didn't work for us on this. We're as like Instagram, I don't post when my guys take out a light pole with the plow.
00:08:15
The SnowJobs Podcast
I don't, you know, I just don't do that because I know customers are looking at that and that's the downside.
00:08:19
Jordan Smith
Yeah.
00:08:20
The SnowJobs Podcast
I think, would you agree with that?
00:08:21
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:08:22
Jordan Smith
Yeah.
00:08:23
RICK JAMES
Oh yeah, of course.
00:08:23
Jordan Smith
I don't agree with that.
00:08:25
RICK JAMES
A lot of guys aren't going to show their bad stuff. I mean, I have.
00:08:29
The SnowJobs Podcast
No.
00:08:30
RICK JAMES
It is what it is. But, you know, that's that's life. And honestly, you kind of do it. You kind of should do I know it's not great for your image, but accidents do happen. Things happen.
00:08:41
RICK JAMES
And everybody's human. So... To show it's just like, how are you going to recover from it? I mean, I don't know. It's just part ah part of the business. I know, like I say, it's not great to show, but hey, shit happens.
00:08:52
RICK JAMES
so I was just looking
Potential Storm Academy Expansion
00:08:54
RICK JAMES
at the some B-roll today from our Glacier episode where that didn't air, but they have a bunch of videos of me.
00:09:01
The SnowJobs Podcast
You moving shopping carts?
00:09:03
Jordan Smith
Thank you.
00:09:03
RICK JAMES
No, no, I saw that. I watched that over and over too, though. Slow motion. and the No, but like today was watching Maddie and Matt had filmed me on the phone trying to get a hold of the guys that you don't ever see that, you know, and guys are saying they're, they're going to come.
00:09:20
RICK JAMES
I'm calling them looking like, what the fuck are you, where are you at? You you said you were coming, you know, then they don't answer call them. And he gets you could, you could just tell I'm pissed off too, because I mean, that's just, that's just, I mean, so you, saw the
00:09:31
The SnowJobs Podcast
See, that should have made it in, though. That's real.
00:09:33
RICK JAMES
Well, I'm probably going to post on Instagram next few days because I've been looking. i'm like, I don't care. I'll show this stuff. It's it's part of what happens. i'm I mean, you could tell I'm tired and I'm mad. I'm like, you said you'd be here. you're not here. i mean, and that's what it's, you know, it sucks.
00:09:47
RICK JAMES
That's part of what we do.
00:09:49
The SnowJobs Podcast
Do you, but I mean, what you just said though, the act of actually getting guys in, that is so real. Do you know what our most popular reel is,
Need for Tactical Training Content
00:09:57
The SnowJobs Podcast
Jeremy? Like outside of your stuff that you co-collaborate there with the Glacier stuff that everybody loves.
00:10:03
The SnowJobs Podcast
It's the the video of the Navy Master Chief yelling at the at the plebe. Say, yes, chief.
00:10:09
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:10:11
The SnowJobs Podcast
No, chief. Respond. And it says, you know, every
00:10:13
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
Concept of 'Storm Chasing' Docu-series
00:10:14
The SnowJobs Podcast
snow manager, pre-storm.
00:10:15
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:10:16
The SnowJobs Podcast
That is our most popular, like, like the most likes of any video we got out there.
00:10:21
RICK JAMES
it's I mean, it's real. I mean, that's the part that nobody really, even on yeah on our storm chase, a lot we didn't really see. i mean, that's, you don't get to go home um or whoever's in charge of getting these guys out.
00:10:32
RICK JAMES
I mean, that's so that's a full-time job trying to just get everybody lined up. It doesn't matter how big or small your company is.
00:10:37
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh.
00:10:39
RICK JAMES
it It's still, it's it's it's a hassle sometimes.
00:10:42
The SnowJobs Podcast
But that I think is the delicate downside of social media and even storm chasing to a degree where companies are not going to want to come on and show accidents. They're not going to want to show property damage.
00:10:51
RICK JAMES
No.
00:10:52
The SnowJobs Podcast
So like you're not seeing everything you need, but guys come on the show.
00:10:52
RICK JAMES
Right.
00:10:56
The SnowJobs Podcast
They talk about it all the time. Like, oh, we knocked over this light.
00:10:58
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:10:59
The SnowJobs Podcast
Like even Arctic Arctic was talking about knocking over the light pole and trapping Randy in the loader for two hours, you know, like.
00:11:04
RICK JAMES
Right. Yeah.
00:11:06
The SnowJobs Podcast
you know So it happens to all of us. It's real. But like that's the downside of social media is it's usually kind of one-sided towards our successes and not so much on our failures.
00:11:13
Jordan Smith
It is. Yeah. It is. but But i think i think what I've observed, and
Success and Impact of 'Storm Chasing'
00:11:20
Jordan Smith
maybe it's just the circles I follow, but I think I've observed more vulnerability in that space than I have in the past.
00:11:25
Jordan Smith
Like, it is a lot of highlight reels. Don't get me wrong. There's there's plenty. There's a lot more highlight reels than low light reels.
00:11:31
The SnowJobs Podcast
Sure.
00:11:31
Jordan Smith
But...
00:11:31
The SnowJobs Podcast
no ill hear what you're saying.
00:11:32
Jordan Smith
But like like, to be honest, it's one of the reasons I like LinkedIn. LinkedIn is less flash and more real. um ah At least with the the stuff I follow, like it's it's more storytelling with maybe a photo or something of of of success or a failure. Like I see more of that on LinkedIn than than I do on Instagram or Facebook.
00:11:52
Jordan Smith
um but But I do think even on on Facebook and Instagram, like I have seen more vulnerability shown. And I i think a lot of that's just to do with ah with shared experiences. And that's why, you know, one of the other most popular ways that people get their industry news and education is networking with other
Focus on Practical Industry Education
00:12:09
Jordan Smith
contractors. Because you get in a circle.
00:12:11
Jordan Smith
at an event and you get comfortable with the group of guys there, like you're gonna tell true stories about failures ah more so than you would on social media because now you're in a protected circle where you don't you you don't want a customer seeing like an accident or property damage.
00:12:22
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yes. No.
00:12:26
Jordan Smith
Like you don't.
00:12:26
The SnowJobs Podcast
It's a support group.
00:12:27
Jordan Smith
Yeah, totally, totally.
00:12:28
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. This is Snow Guy AA.
00:12:32
Jordan Smith
Right.
00:12:32
The SnowJobs Podcast
it's ah
00:12:34
RICK JAMES
You're not wrong.
00:12:34
Jordan Smith
But I, I just, I just think that's why
Growth of Industry Networking
00:12:37
Jordan Smith
we're seeing such an emergence of, of more grassroots type events popping up. Like obviously guys did a recap on our storm field day, but the the number one feedback we've gotten on our survey there is just that the, the quality of the conversations was extremely high.
00:12:52
Jordan Smith
And that's what people really appreciated about the event is the conversations they had were extremely high quality and valuable to them.
00:12:55
The SnowJobs Podcast
Absolutely.
00:12:59
Jordan Smith
And like, that's what people are seeking out.
00:13:02
The SnowJobs Podcast
Well, again, that that event was no tire kickers.
00:13:02
Jordan Smith
And, and,
00:13:05
Jordan Smith
Right.
00:13:05
The SnowJobs Podcast
They weren't there to tire kick around a trade show and they weren't there to tire kick around subjects that they wanted to know more about. They they had meaningful conversations and everybody there was willing to share and willing to talk about it.
00:13:11
Jordan Smith
Right.
00:13:17
The SnowJobs Podcast
So that's awesome to do that.
00:13:17
Jordan Smith
Right. For sure. For sure. for sure um So segueing from that, you know, I think i beat it up a little bit, but definitely seeing a shift.
00:13:29
Jordan Smith
I think if you would ask this question, i don't know, even five years ago, like I think the number one answer by far would have been Syma, right? Like that it was kind of, it was, it was the only thing.
00:13:37
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, I believe so. Yeah.
00:13:38
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:13:39
The SnowJobs Podcast
I think it was the only answer, honestly.
00:13:41
Jordan Smith
Right, right. So I think that's a pretty rapid shift. And again, we have some some listener bias here because you guys helped promote this thing. So we are getting some bias there, but I tend to believe that this is pretty representative of the way the industry is trending.
00:13:56
Jordan Smith
um Just based on the demand we've seen for these smaller events and the demand we've seen for your podcast and and the demand we've seen on Storm Chase and like people want a new source of education, learning and entertainment in our industry and and they're coming out and showing for it.
00:14:13
The SnowJobs Podcast
i yeah i mean i think the uh the old adage of just be real you know just literally don't don't talk at them talk to them like i mean be on the same level because we're all in the same we're all in the same shit storm and uh you know we're all willing to
Listener Feedback and Future Content
00:14:30
The SnowJobs Podcast
share and we're all willing to to show like you said our our successes and our failures and and that's how you grow that's how you get better as a as a group and
00:14:38
Jordan Smith
yeah
00:14:38
The SnowJobs Podcast
I think, I think you're right. I think it's a hundred percent. Like people want more collaboration. They want more sharing the, the old adage of everything happened behind a curtain. And it was a big secret of how to push snow left to right.
00:14:51
The SnowJobs Podcast
You know, repeat that that's gone. Guys want to help each other get better. They want to help each other maintain pricing structures in their communities. ah You know, I think you're dead on with that. I think that's very representative of of what we're doing right now in the industry.
00:15:01
Jordan Smith
yeah
00:15:06
Jordan Smith
So then the next the next big thing that but was on this part of the survey was just trying to get a feel for, they kind of told us where they're getting their education from, but we asked where are the gaps? Like where where do you feel like you don't have resources in our industry?
00:15:25
Jordan Smith
um you know where what What doesn't exist? and And the number one answer with the bullet was like, how do we get hands-on training?
00:15:29
The SnowJobs Podcast
Mm-hmm.
00:15:33
Jordan Smith
How do I get people to actually understand How to run the loader, you know, ah to actually plow snow efficiently, to not run the push box with the back end tilted up, wearing the backs of the shoes off.
00:15:45
Jordan Smith
How do we get guys comfortable running a snow Raider and putting down brine or making brine or applying salt correctly and not over under applying? Like all of the hands-on things that are really hard to train Preseason because like, like with salting, like you're not going to go out and spread salt on a parking lot in the summertime.
00:16:02
The SnowJobs Podcast
Nope.
00:16:02
Jordan Smith
That's going to piss people off. Maybe you could do it on your own lot and sweep it up, I guess, but it's not practical. um You can run loaders and push mulch around. And I know companies do that and they, it's better than nothing, but like,
00:16:13
Jordan Smith
You know, how do we get real hands-on training? And this was during a time when we were contemplating at Storm,
Expansion of Training Resources
00:16:20
Jordan Smith
the idea of Storm Academy, which again, this is old, old ah data. We've since launched Storm Academy, but we were contemplating like, is there enough demand for this type of hands-on training that we can justify investing a bunch of money into putting in an asphalt pad and putting in the snowmaking machines and creating an environment where people can do the hands-on training?
00:16:40
Jordan Smith
So we asked the question, if there were real life, hands-on training resources for your snow team, would you travel to get them trained? And ah it was like an extremely overwhelming yes.
00:16:54
Jordan Smith
I'm just doing the math in real time here, but the yeses are about 86%.
00:17:01
RICK JAMES
Wow.
00:17:01
Jordan Smith
And then there's like 5% of maybe and the last remaining percentage, just people typed in whatever they felt like.
00:17:02
The SnowJobs Podcast
yeah
00:17:09
Jordan Smith
like Yeah, exactly.
00:17:10
The SnowJobs Podcast
Fuck yes. 100%.
00:17:14
Jordan Smith
So overwhelmingly, yes, people thought that was that that was a ah great option to have, which is what really drove us to move forward to Storm Academy.
00:17:20
The SnowJobs Podcast
hundred percent
00:17:23
Jordan Smith
it Again, I talked about it at Storm Field Day, but like, It is obvious that this is a gap in the industry. And I think the reason no one's done it is because it is difficult and expensive.
00:17:34
Jordan Smith
And also just you know getting enough awareness to something like this out there fast enough to to fulfill the demand was hard. And now with a platform like Snow Jobs and a social media, the word got out there pretty fast.
00:17:45
Jordan Smith
Storm Academy is only one year old, right? And I'm not saying the whole industry knows about it, but I do know we have more demand than supply right now.
00:17:47
The SnowJobs Podcast
killing it
00:17:47
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:17:52
Jordan Smith
And that's a good problem to have.
00:17:54
The SnowJobs Podcast
oh i definitely think they know about it i i i think everybody's heard about it they know it's there i mean because it's there's nothing else like it you know there's no other option like so you guys have the market cornered and you're you know you're killing it and you're doing it right as you can as is evidenced by how much buy-in there's been from the oems and the manufacturers
00:17:56
Jordan Smith
Yeah.
00:17:59
Jordan Smith
Yeah.
00:18:03
Jordan Smith
Right.
00:18:16
RICK JAMES
right
00:18:16
Jordan Smith
Totally.
00:18:16
Jordan Smith
Yep.
00:18:16
The SnowJobs Podcast
You got equipment from anybody you wanted, you know, everybody's in. So it's obviously that, you know, they're, they're smart too. Like, wow, this is a really great thing. It fills a huge void.
00:18:27
Jordan Smith
ye
00:18:27
The SnowJobs Podcast
We have to be the snow has to be the only industry that actually does hands-on work and operation that there's absolutely zero opportunity pre-storm Academy for hands-on training and practice.
00:18:37
RICK JAMES
The practice. Right.
00:18:41
Jordan Smith
and And the cool thing was, you know, some of the feedback in the sort of mini essay portion of the the question about hands-on training is guys are saying stuff like, um it'd be awesome if you had a variety of equipment. So not only can I train my team,
00:18:58
Jordan Smith
I can also try out some new stuff. Like, ah only don't don't only give me an opportunity for learning how to use an Arctic on a case loader, but give me the opportunity to try a Metal Plus on a cat loader, whatever they want to try.
00:19:00
The SnowJobs Podcast
No.
00:19:00
RICK JAMES
Mm-hmm.
00:19:10
RICK JAMES
Right.
00:19:10
Jordan Smith
And what you said, Steve, has been the coolest part of Storm Academy for me now now that it's become real, is the OEMs have recognized how much value there is in this and how much value added is to the industry.
00:19:20
Jordan Smith
And they've all came out in droves to donate equipment so that we do have a full, like we have a full, full suite of stuff.
00:19:27
The SnowJobs Podcast
ye
00:19:27
Jordan Smith
um We don't have 100% of every option, but we have 80% of it there already.
00:19:28
RICK JAMES
These are cool stuff.
00:19:31
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:19:32
The SnowJobs Podcast
I was shocked to see how much equipment was out there when we were out there for storm.
00:19:35
The SnowJobs Podcast
I'm like, good for you fucking guys.
00:19:35
RICK JAMES
Well,
00:19:37
RICK JAMES
They don't want to get left behind. i mean, OEMs, they shouldn't want to get left behind because, like you say, you're not there to sell it, but everybody's there to try it.
00:19:37
The SnowJobs Podcast
This awesome.
00:19:37
Jordan Smith
Yeah.
00:19:39
The SnowJobs Podcast
Well.
00:19:45
The SnowJobs Podcast
No, and I.
00:19:46
RICK JAMES
If everybody can put their hands on it and try it, then you can determine what you what works best for you. I mean, that even if the ah higher, like if there's something that costs a little more, there's something over here that probably doesn't cost as much.
00:19:56
RICK JAMES
and We'll go with that for now. We'll get to that eventually, maybe.
00:19:59
RICK JAMES
but
00:19:59
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, you can, it's decision, it's helping you make decisions for future purpose purchases.
00:20:05
The SnowJobs Podcast
And that just goes to show like what Jordan was saying about, you know, grassroots and collaboration. Like they want, you know, stuff like that in the industry and the OEMs are buying in by, by doing this, by reaching out and saying, Hey, we'll send you what you need.
00:20:19
The SnowJobs Podcast
And we're in, you know, we're in to help everybody in the industry. I think that's super smart. And I think that is a, ah you know, that's a big feather in the cap for, you know, what, the movement has been the last two or three years that we're all pushing in the same direction and the OEMs are on board. and And they, they, like you said, they don't want to get left behind. They see the value and they want to be a part of it. And that's awesome.
00:20:41
Jordan Smith
i
00:20:41
The SnowJobs Podcast
Good for them.
00:20:42
Jordan Smith
I think it also kind of an unintended byproduct of this is that it's It's forced the OEMs to be more intentional about their product offerings because like one of the more common comments or questions I've heard is like, oh, what what other plows attachments do you have out there?
00:21:02
Jordan Smith
like Oh, you have one of those? like ah We don't have a floating edge system to yet. Maybe we don't want to send ours. like let us get our you know Let us get our live edge out or our floating edge out or our sectional edge out before we send it. like It's made them actually...
00:21:15
Jordan Smith
at least talk about elevating their game because they realize they're gonna be compared side by side.
00:21:17
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep.
00:21:20
Jordan Smith
So it's not just that you can demo anything, it's that you can demo all of them side by side.
00:21:20
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep.
00:21:20
RICK JAMES
Snow
00:21:24
Jordan Smith
You could you could line up ah an Arctic and a Metal Plus and a cage. Oh, sorry, not cage, they're not there.
00:21:30
RICK JAMES
Wolf.
00:21:30
The SnowJobs Podcast
Nope, not cage.
00:21:30
Jordan Smith
You can line up.
00:21:31
The SnowJobs Podcast
Not cage. You want us to keep, want to do like a mammoth watch on that? So we get a cage out there?
00:21:36
Jordan Smith
me Let me start over. you You could line up an Arctic and a Metapluss and a Snow Wolf in a line and you could push all three of them side by side.
00:21:38
RICK JAMES
snowwa
00:21:44
Jordan Smith
Like there's nowhere else you can do that.
00:21:45
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep.
00:21:46
Jordan Smith
And like, I think there's value to the the consumer, to the operator for being able to run all that stuff, to the company to make purchasing decisions. But then for the OEMs, like I give the OEMs a lot of credit because I think that they, in some cases, know that maybe – maybe they're not the the top of the king of the mountain product, but like they're still willing to get get out there and put their product out there to get feedback.
00:22:09
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:22:10
Jordan Smith
Like
00:22:10
The SnowJobs Podcast
Because that's okay.
00:22:11
RICK JAMES
Right.
00:22:11
The SnowJobs Podcast
Because like we always say, no one product is going to fit every company or every financial position. And having all those products out there, you can actually get real world pricing, say, all right, my budget is this guy.
00:22:24
The SnowJobs Podcast
So you've got to choose between these two, run them both. and We can't afford this. We have these two to choose from, run them.
00:22:29
RICK JAMES
Right.
00:22:31
The SnowJobs Podcast
Let me know which one's better. And we're going to buy three of them. Like that's, you don't have to be the biggest dog in the on the block.
00:22:34
Jordan Smith
Yeah.
00:22:35
RICK JAMES
That's.
00:22:38
The SnowJobs Podcast
to to still make product sales based off the Storm Academy.
00:22:42
Jordan Smith
one and And I think what it's doing also, again, a little bit of an unintended byproduct that I think is really positive is you guys got to remember these big OEMs, um they work through a dealer channel.
00:22:54
Jordan Smith
So, you know, in my experience working with Boss, ah with the VSI line, like one of the most eye-opening things for me
00:22:55
The SnowJobs Podcast
Uh-huh.
00:23:02
Jordan Smith
is that Boss's customer is like, theirre their transactional customer is their dealers, not the contractor's. So like by the time the product gets to the contractor, not a lot of the feedback actually makes it back to Boss HQ because their customer's the dealer.
00:23:10
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep. Gotcha. Gotcha.
00:23:19
Jordan Smith
So they get they get feedback on the sales programs and the the finance programs, but not necessarily like, hey, this plow is really good at this and really bad at this.
00:23:19
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah
00:23:27
Jordan Smith
Like that doesn't always make it back to them. because Storm Academy is an OEM centric place. like Like the OEMs are invited to come to any Storm Academy session and get VOC from the contractors, the people on the ground using the product in real time.
00:23:41
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep.
00:23:43
Jordan Smith
And i think that's been really eye opening for, you know, companies like Douglas and Boss, who I'm not saying they don't ever get VOC, but like they just don't get the same level of voice of customer as,
00:23:54
Jordan Smith
um as smaller companies like Storm do. Like Storm is all direct on everything. So we get feedback right away and they don't get that.
00:24:00
The SnowJobs Podcast
yep
00:24:02
Jordan Smith
So Storm Academy is kind of another avenue for them to, ah you know, get that feedback. And I think that was another positive feedback about Storm Field Day is like it was all OEMs represented in the and the booth spaces.
00:24:17
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep. yep
00:24:17
Jordan Smith
At least 90% of them are OEMs where like, The OEMs were interacting directly with the end user customers, decision makers, and that's where the vendor said they got a lot of value. And that's where the customers or or or contractors said they got lot of value because it's direct ah communication that way.
00:24:32
The SnowJobs Podcast
And the other cool thing for the OEMs, if they really think about it, at Storm Academy, they can have a target sample audience and say, hey, ah Storm Academy, who do you have coming in three weeks? We'd like to send a couple people out there. we want We want 10 guys to try this and this and let us know what they think, what the differences are, you know what they what what they should what they would like to have changed or whatever. They can do that to help their R&D.
00:24:59
The SnowJobs Podcast
And that's a you know, that's a a target environment.
00:24:59
Jordan Smith
Yeah.
00:25:02
The SnowJobs Podcast
It's a you're in the right environment. You have guys that are not tire kickers. They're serious. They come for training. so who Who else would you want to hear from? you know, it's, it opens up interesting possibilities for them.
00:25:15
Jordan Smith
Yeah. Yeah. So I think obviously ah the survey was mostly filled out by contractors. Overwhelming response. They want this training. um And I think to me, that's really cool and exciting. and That's why we did it. But what I've really seen from this is it's brought the whole industry closer together, which again, I say it over and over and every snow jobs, like the coolest thing about snow jobs is it's shrinking It's shrinking the industry.
00:25:39
Jordan Smith
Everyone is becoming closer together, more collaborative um and and initiatives like Storm Academy. We'll talk about Storm Chase in a little bit. Like it's drawing all of us closer together. And the more collaborative we are, the better the industry is going to be.
00:25:48
The SnowJobs Podcast
ye
00:25:51
Jordan Smith
Like it's just plain and simple.
00:25:51
The SnowJobs Podcast
Jordan, we wouldn't know you without snow jobs.
00:25:51
RICK JAMES
A
00:25:54
Jordan Smith
Totally, exactly.
00:25:55
The SnowJobs Podcast
Like how many relate and not tooting our horn or anything, but like to speak to what you're saying, how many relationships are out there right now that talk daily or weekly that did not exist two and a half years ago?
00:26:05
Jordan Smith
A lot.
00:26:06
The SnowJobs Podcast
A lot, a lot.
00:26:06
RICK JAMES
lot, lot.
00:26:08
Jordan Smith
we should have asked that on the 2025 survey how many new contacts have you made through through snow jobs connections i bet it's a ton
00:26:08
The SnowJobs Podcast
So.
00:26:10
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:26:13
The SnowJobs Podcast
Tons, tons.
00:26:14
RICK JAMES
I couldn't even. like I already said, I, yeah, I mean, I just, some of my best friends that I have in my life now, just from the last couple of years from this whole thing.
00:26:16
The SnowJobs Podcast
And not just me and Jeremy.
00:26:26
RICK JAMES
So, mean, it's unbelievable.
00:26:26
Jordan Smith
yeah
00:26:27
The SnowJobs Podcast
Like the top doggies, ah Todd called two weeks ago and said, hey, i was just listening to Tom Kennedy's episode. I got to ask him a question. ah Can you put me in contact? Like there's two guys that should know each other.
00:26:40
The SnowJobs Podcast
You know, they really should. They're running in the same circles, but they didn't.
00:26:43
Jordan Smith
Yeah.
00:26:44
The SnowJobs Podcast
It's it's stuff like that. And, you know it's great. You know, we created this like giant Rolodex for snow guys. And that's awesome. I'm happy.
00:26:50
RICK JAMES
I love it.
00:26:50
Jordan Smith
Well, and and for for a company like Storm, like to to put it even deeper, relatedly to a recent experience, i would phil Phil and I, and and as well as Steve Smyth and Paul Vanderzon, we were at the CIMA Leadership Forum last week in Nashville, which was a a really nice event.
00:27:07
Jordan Smith
um And like our biggest takeaway was, man, it sure is fun to go to an event and have stuff to talk about with all the other OEMs and with all the contractors. Cause like, we don't have to go there and be like, Hey, we sell plows. You want to buy one? We can be like, Hey, have you seen storm chasing? Like, Oh, you haven't?
00:27:24
Jordan Smith
Well, it's free. It's on YouTube. Like we're not selling you anything. If you want some entertainment, go check it out. Or like storm Academy. Again, our goal has been to make it industry resource. We're not doing this for profit. Like,
00:27:36
Jordan Smith
We're keeping it extremely cheap and we're able to do that because all the OEMs are contributing to the stuff. So I'm talking to all these other OEMs about Storm Academy and what they're excited about and what they want to see. And like, it just made the networking at the event better because the the the barrier of entry to new discussions with new people is super low.
00:27:53
Jordan Smith
You're not trying to sell them anything. you're not going there to sell a snow plow you're going there to sell industry advancement and collaboration like it's it's super easy it it just opens up all the discussions and and uh yeah again not to keep tooting guys horn you don't need your egos any bigger than they are but like a lot of it's spearheaded by snow jobs it's really really cool
00:28:00
The SnowJobs Podcast
andmen
00:28:09
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
00:28:10
RICK JAMES
Oh, Jesus.
00:28:12
The SnowJobs Podcast
Whoa, where was the, eye shit, I took the escalated quickly button off tonight.
00:28:13
RICK JAMES
Oh, man.
00:28:16
RICK JAMES
Hey,
00:28:17
The SnowJobs Podcast
should have kept it on there.
00:28:21
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, Christ.
00:28:21
RICK JAMES
we'll take any compliment we can get.
00:28:23
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's it. This is unsung heroes.
00:28:27
RICK JAMES
boy. Oh.
00:28:27
The SnowJobs Podcast
um but What did I get? 3% in that poll?
00:28:30
Jordan Smith
Yeah. Oh, don't. No, no, no. Stay away.
00:28:32
RICK JAMES
oh boy
00:28:33
Jordan Smith
Stop. Stop there. Stop there, Taylor Swift.
00:28:36
RICK JAMES
and
00:28:37
The SnowJobs Podcast
No, it's great, man. It's ah it's awesome. just the Just for the relationships we've made. like I mean, there there's so many good dudes in this industry. like So many would drop anything at the drop of a hat to come 150 miles with a machine or a truck to help you out if you just called and asked.
00:28:56
The SnowJobs Podcast
It's great to to meet guys like that because you you really do. Five years ago, you felt alone half the time.
00:29:03
Jordan Smith
Yeah.
00:29:03
The SnowJobs Podcast
And now I don't think a lot of people feel alone anymore. You know, they always have somebody they can call at 3.30 in the morning.
00:29:06
RICK JAMES
Right.
00:29:08
The SnowJobs Podcast
that they can ah They can talk them down off the ledge when everything's broken and nothing's working.
00:29:15
Jordan Smith
yeah Yeah. It's just, a it's a lot of new connections. It's a lot of bridges being built. You know, Stormfield Day was another good indicator, like, There were so many people at Stormfield that I had never met before.
00:29:26
Jordan Smith
you know You know how rare it is for me to go to an industry event and not know most of the people? I had to introduce myself to a lot of people. That doesn't happen very often.
00:29:34
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's cool.
00:29:34
Jordan Smith
And that's a really cool thing. That means we're getting a new audience.
00:29:37
RICK JAMES
Mm-hmm.
00:29:38
Jordan Smith
We're getting a younger audience, younger, hungry guys who who are just getting going and they're excited and they're fired up and listening to the podcast or watching the storm chasing. um They're interested in storm Academy. Like it's just, it's, and it goes back to what I said earlier. Like it's a grassroots movement.
00:29:55
Jordan Smith
um it's It's kind of a ah new dawn in our industry. And I think it it only leads to to great things for our industry. I really do.
00:30:02
The SnowJobs Podcast
And it tells you it's a nice feather in Storm's cap that it tells you, like like you said, half the audience flew in. I mean, that that says what you're doing is really important.
00:30:09
Jordan Smith
Yeah. Yeah.
00:30:11
The SnowJobs Podcast
It means a lot to guys that there they're booking flights.
00:30:12
RICK JAMES
Right.
00:30:15
The SnowJobs Podcast
They're booking hotels. They're spending money to come to this.
00:30:16
RICK JAMES
Because they know they're going to get something out of it.
00:30:19
The SnowJobs Podcast
They know they're going to get value out of it.
00:30:19
RICK JAMES
You know, you're going to get value it. You're going to meat meet the same like-minded people. You're going to learn a lot of stuff and have a good time doing it.
00:30:28
The SnowJobs Podcast
that's a big ah That's a big feather in Storm's cap that you're putting on an event that not only are people attending now, but half of them are flying out for.
00:30:32
Jordan Smith
yeah
00:30:37
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's awesome.
00:30:38
Jordan Smith
Yeah. All Moving, moving on. Um, so sort of next segment of this, part of the survey was, you know, you know, you told us, you know, you basically, you you told us what you want, which in this case was hands-on training.
00:30:54
Jordan Smith
Um, uh, uh, but like what other type of audio video or print content would you find valuable worth engaging with? And ah majority of the answers were really centered around like tactical and practical things.
00:31:09
Jordan Smith
not Not like a high level video video about like, you know, sign up for my seminar and get good at snowbidding. Like, no, it's it's like, show me a site. Show me how to measure it.
00:31:20
Jordan Smith
Show me how to do takeoffs. Show me out how much equipment to put on it. Like show me tactically how to do this. And that's a more high level example, but like even more simply show me how to use a push box properly.
00:31:26
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep. evening
00:31:31
Jordan Smith
Like how do you most efficiently plow a Walmart with a push box? And then you just show a video of Glacier and then they they understand, but yeah.
00:31:34
The SnowJobs Podcast
you
00:31:37
RICK JAMES
There you go.
00:31:39
Jordan Smith
But like practical, tactical things, um you know, so like Storm Academy answers the call on how do you actually run the stuff? What they're asking for in audio, video or print is like, show me how to actually do this stuff.
00:31:51
Jordan Smith
Give me resources that I can use for my team as refreshers, as starters, as developers. you know, ah whatever the case may be, like give me some practical stuff. And just there just isn't a lot out there right now.
00:32:04
Jordan Smith
And I think, again, that's why people gravitate to social media because they can get bits, even from the B-roll, like they can get bits and pieces like, oh, you know, on this parking lot, they got the skid loader scraping out here and they're using push box to push here.
00:32:10
The SnowJobs Podcast
sure
00:32:15
Jordan Smith
Like that sounds so simple and rudimentary, but I know people that watch Storm Chasing make comments like, oh, that's how they plow that kind of lot. Like I never knew how they plow that big of a lot.
00:32:23
The SnowJobs Podcast
that ain't dumb yeah yeah we might be able to help with that uh in a little bit we're we're working on that right now so that will uh that's coming coming soon
00:32:25
RICK JAMES
Yeah. Yeah.
00:32:37
Jordan Smith
Can you say more or is that top secret?
00:32:37
The SnowJobs Podcast
doing well we're we're gonna do something we're gonna team up with arctic um and we're gonna do like just what you were saying like show them tactics show them how to do emergency fixes at three in the morning that you can do if you don't have the right parts uh for certain plows certain equipment uh but mostly like execution of plans how to plan a certain like you said strip mall versus walmart you know hopefully you're not doing it for cheap you know like
00:32:45
Jordan Smith
Okay.
00:33:07
The SnowJobs Podcast
That kind of stuff. But, uh, yeah, that that's, it is.
00:33:09
RICK JAMES
That's a whole different ballgame.
00:33:11
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. A hundred percent. Like how to, how to attack a site. If you're, if you bid it right and can afford to put the right equipment there, you know, that's, uh,
00:33:17
RICK JAMES
but
00:33:19
The SnowJobs Podcast
But like, yeah, tactics are big ah because guys don't know. A lot of guys are, like we said, younger in this industry and they just, they don't know the most efficient way to handle a certain site.
00:33:31
The SnowJobs Podcast
um They don't know that they should be looking at overheads, finding out where their stack sites are in advance. They're just getting there. They're pushing the white stuff till, you know, they're seeing no white stuff. And there's not a lot. Some of them don't have a lot of planning and pre-planning.
00:33:44
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:33:45
RICK JAMES
Well, some of them, like we will go, I'll go back to our first discussion about social media.
00:33:51
RICK JAMES
They see how all the B-roll on social media and they'll, you know, put us an example. They'll say three lowers pushing. them Like, yeah, we can do that because, you know, that account's set up where it's okay if I put three lowers there and we can just knock it out quick and move on to the next one.
00:33:51
The SnowJobs Podcast
True.
00:34:05
The SnowJobs Podcast
you
00:34:06
RICK JAMES
For them, it's probably not, that's not probably the ideal way to do it, you know? So that's, some of these people get themselves in trouble by trying to emulate other people they see, And you got just work. I mean, yeah learn you got to learn how to do it right for what you're bidding it at.
00:34:19
The SnowJobs Podcast
true
00:34:19
RICK JAMES
that so Oh, yeah.
00:34:20
The SnowJobs Podcast
But like, for example, I've seen God way more videos than I want to of guys plowing towards the building. Instead of starting at the building and working out like, all right, sidewalks first, everything up against the building out into the road.
00:34:28
Jordan Smith
Yeah. Yeah.
00:34:28
RICK JAMES
That's terrible. Oh.
00:34:34
The SnowJobs Podcast
And then we work away from the building. You can't imagine like, i mean, you guys have seen it. I'm sure guys wind rowing towards a Home Depot, you know, entrance. Like, mean, like, you kidding me?
00:34:44
RICK JAMES
or
00:34:45
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:34:45
RICK JAMES
or even better when you get those, like you start at the end, way at the back instead of where the customer is gonna be, you know, that's another thing that drives me insane.
00:34:52
The SnowJobs Podcast
But we've all been we've all been doing this 25, 30 years.
00:34:52
Jordan Smith
yeah
00:34:57
The SnowJobs Podcast
To us, that's kind of like a joke. to us you know Some guys out there that are two, three years in on the younger side who may not have had any you know role models or mentors,
00:35:05
Jordan Smith
Right.
00:35:07
The SnowJobs Podcast
that That might not be a, ah you know, it might not be such a sure thing for them. They don't know what they don't know.
00:35:13
RICK JAMES
Correct.
00:35:14
The SnowJobs Podcast
And that's why, like Jordan said, education of tactics and, you know, how to do that kind of stuff, that's important. And there's not a lot of that specifically. There's almost nothing out there for. it
00:35:25
RICK JAMES
but
00:35:25
Jordan Smith
right
00:35:25
The SnowJobs Podcast
And if there is, I haven't been able to find it
00:35:28
Jordan Smith
No, there's there's really not. And and we've learned that with Storm Academy too. Like our focus last year and in the inaugural year was we we just did what's called entry level operator courses.
00:35:38
Jordan Smith
So like a lot of the people who came last year for entry level operator, they had never run ah loader with a plow before.
00:35:39
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep.
00:35:45
Jordan Smith
They'd run trucks, they'd run snow Raiders, they'd never run a loader with any kind of plow. And for those people, like there is no stupid questions like here's how you set the plow down properly.
00:35:53
The SnowJobs Podcast
No.
00:35:56
Jordan Smith
Like that sounds rudimentary, but it's not because if they don't know that they're just going to set down the arms until the arms bottom out on the ground and they're going to push that way. Right.
00:36:05
The SnowJobs Podcast
Sure.
00:36:06
Jordan Smith
um
00:36:06
RICK JAMES
right.
00:36:07
Jordan Smith
If you have an angle plow. Why does that matter? Because I see it my own operation. Like you give a guy a metal plus and if you don't train him, he just uses as push box the whole night. It's just in push box. Like if you're going to use a push box, just use a push box. It's a lot cheaper and simpler.
00:36:21
RICK JAMES
Great.
00:36:22
Jordan Smith
um Like what is the benefit of windrowing? Yep. You windrow away from, from buildings. You windrow away from curbs. You, You windrow to the center aisle so the push boxes can bulk the snow into piles. And like it is common sense to us, but it's only common sense to us because we've done it for a long time.
00:36:40
RICK JAMES
Great.
00:36:41
Jordan Smith
And it's not common sense to these entry-level operators.
00:36:43
Jordan Smith
And once they...
00:36:43
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:36:45
Jordan Smith
once they can physically do it, or if they can see a tactical video that like is a drone view of a parking lot, like how to plow parking lot 101. If you're using a push box, like you start here and you push to here and then you go to here and here and and the operator that passes over the same spot, the least amount of time wins.
00:37:01
Jordan Smith
Like that's very simple metrics, right?
00:37:02
The SnowJobs Podcast
yeah
00:37:04
Jordan Smith
um But it's not it's not intimate knowledge until you do it enough times and people that have never done it don't have that.
00:37:10
The SnowJobs Podcast
and percent 100%. And 30 years ago, we didn't have YouTube. We didn't have, you know, we didn't have that when I, you know, 16 years old out plowing, you made the mistake of pushing it back onto the sidewalk once, and then you had to shovel it all off.
00:37:19
RICK JAMES
He just...
00:37:23
The SnowJobs Podcast
You never did that again. but Yeah, but we didn't have, we didn't have social media.
00:37:25
RICK JAMES
right He got lit up.
00:37:28
Jordan Smith
Yeah. Yeah.
00:37:31
The SnowJobs Podcast
We didn't have YouTube. We didn't have these resources that are so viable and important if they're done right now. to to kind of guide guide us so it's it's good to get that kind of stuff out there and and help guys do it like remember when uh i don't know if you remember jordan but we did a uh uh how to use site photos by mikey san alicito came on and did it like that is one of our most popular uh youtube videos it's you know a lot of guys have downloaded that they don't even watch it on youtube they actually just took it
00:37:51
Jordan Smith
yeah
00:37:55
Jordan Smith
yeah
00:38:01
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah You know, we made it downloadable and they took it off just so they could have it.
00:38:02
Jordan Smith
Nope.
00:38:06
The SnowJobs Podcast
So, I mean, that kind of stuff is not stuff that's taught every day. It's not stuff that you see at trade shows as part of, you know, a lecture or something that that's gold. Like instead of these self-help dudes, you know, talking about this or that, have a guy to, like you said, takeoffs, measuring out a property, figuring out how many square feet of pavement you have.
00:38:27
The SnowJobs Podcast
you know to to Finding out how to do that that That's important stuff for the Because all these guys are tech based All these young kids, they know how to use tech But they may not have and have the know-how And the tactical experience To plug it into the tech
00:38:42
Jordan Smith
Yep.
00:38:42
RICK JAMES
Right.
00:38:43
Jordan Smith
hundred percent. Yep. And that's, that's the kind of stuff they're asking for here. I mean, that was this whole feedback segment segment of the, of the survey was just give me practical tactical stuff that, that I can use to learn myself or to teach my team.
00:38:59
The SnowJobs Podcast
Nope.
00:39:00
Jordan Smith
And whether it's a YouTube mini series or whether whatever you guys might be working on, like that's what people are asking for.
00:39:06
The SnowJobs Podcast
no
00:39:07
Jordan Smith
um And it's it's it's so simple, it's stupid, right?
00:39:08
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep.
00:39:10
Jordan Smith
Like they, and that's kind of what Storm Academy is like. It's so simple, it's it's almost stupid, but it drives lot of value.
00:39:17
The SnowJobs Podcast
It ain't dumb.
00:39:17
RICK JAMES
It works.
00:39:18
The SnowJobs Podcast
No, it may be stupid.
00:39:18
RICK JAMES
It works. It works.
00:39:19
The SnowJobs Podcast
It ain't dumb. it that's how The only dumb thing is that nobody ever attempted it before.
00:39:24
Jordan Smith
Yeah.
00:39:25
The SnowJobs Podcast
Like, why why? Where was it? Like, there's, I don't know. It just boggles my mind, but I'm glad you guys did it.
00:39:30
RICK JAMES
Well, because because snow has always been an afterthought. I mean, honestly, snow has always been an afterthought for everybody.
00:39:35
Jordan Smith
Yeah.
00:39:35
The SnowJobs Podcast
Maybe.
00:39:37
RICK JAMES
I mean, it's just a necessary evil.
00:39:37
The SnowJobs Podcast
Maybe.
00:39:39
RICK JAMES
Nobody wants to pay for it. and Nobody wants, you know, my opinion anyway.
00:39:43
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, and I even figured out how we could do Storm Academy East.
00:39:43
RICK JAMES
anyway
00:39:47
The SnowJobs Podcast
I figured it out. Talk to me offline.
00:39:48
RICK JAMES
Bye.
00:39:48
The SnowJobs Podcast
It's doable.
00:39:49
Jordan Smith
All right. Well, yeah, I mean, I like i shared this at Storm Field Day, but not everyone was there.
00:39:52
The SnowJobs Podcast
it's doable
00:39:56
Jordan Smith
But like but my dream for this thing is like for this to be really practical, because zooming back to the feedback on storm academy or hands-on training, it wasn't called Storm Academy back then. like The only objection people had is like, man, it's going to be expensive to fly 10 guys across the country to do training.
00:40:12
Jordan Smith
ah like There's people saying, oh Storm is based in Minnesota. like Yeah, if you're in the Midwest, it makes sense. But like if you're in Boston, no.
00:40:16
The SnowJobs Podcast
Mm-hmm.
00:40:18
Jordan Smith
Because even if Storm Academy is cheap or free, I got to pay a thousand bucks a guy for flights and 200 bucks a night for hotels and meals like going to cost too much. So like when the model is proven here and and all the OEMs are on board and supporting this thing and they're seeing the value, there's no reason not to scale this thing out. Like I think in a perfect world, which we're not in, but if if we could get as close as possible, like if we could be within ah two and a half to three hour drive of every major snow market,
00:40:45
Jordan Smith
with a Storm Academy location, I think you could get away with seven.
00:40:46
The SnowJobs Podcast
You win.
00:40:47
Jordan Smith
Seven locations would get you within two and a half, three hour drive of not every market, but every major snow market.
00:40:48
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep.
00:40:53
Jordan Smith
If you can now make it a day trip and drive, it's it's accessible for everyone.
00:40:56
RICK JAMES
Oh, yeah.
00:40:57
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep.
00:40:57
Jordan Smith
And it's it's just an asphalt pad with but the snowmaking machine.
00:40:57
RICK JAMES
Yep.
00:41:01
Jordan Smith
It's not complicated. we get you know You can put some obstacles, semi-trailers, whatever in there. But now that we've built it once, it's not that hard to build it again.
00:41:08
RICK JAMES
Mm-hmm.
00:41:09
The SnowJobs Podcast
Do you think the need is there throughout the country? Do you think it would be busy enough to make it worthwhile?
00:41:14
RICK JAMES
Oh.
00:41:15
Jordan Smith
I don't know that yet.
00:41:16
RICK JAMES
Ready?
00:41:16
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, I don't know either.
00:41:17
Jordan Smith
don't know that yet.
00:41:17
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's a good question.
00:41:18
Jordan Smith
Yeah, that's why we're keeping it Minnesota for now.
00:41:20
The SnowJobs Podcast
It's a good question. I mean, like, the overwhelming response from Minnesota has been crazy. I mean, you guys are – are you out of slots already for next year?
00:41:25
Jordan Smith
Yeah.
00:41:28
Jordan Smith
Well, so all we've done all we've done so far is just, we have a form on our website, say, fill this out if you're interested. um If all of those people who are interested, sign up. Yeah, we're quadruple booked out.
00:41:39
Jordan Smith
But I find it hard to believe that they're all actually gonna sign up.
00:41:39
The SnowJobs Podcast
Okay.
00:41:42
Jordan Smith
um
00:41:43
The SnowJobs Podcast
I don't know. Okay.
00:41:44
Jordan Smith
I would guess that demand will be higher than supply um for this year, but we haven't actually released sign up for slots yet. Once we do, we'll get the message out there and hopefully you guys can all promote it.
00:41:55
Jordan Smith
We'll fill them up fast. I have no concern about that.
00:41:56
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, I don't think it needs any promotion. I think it'll fill up like crazy.
00:41:59
RICK JAMES
Rick James will do the night classes.
00:42:01
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's right.
00:42:01
Jordan Smith
Heck yeah.
00:42:01
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. Loader operator one-on-one.
00:42:03
RICK JAMES
We'll double it. Day and night. Let's keep them rolling through. Then
00:42:07
Jordan Smith
I like that. Yeah, running double shifts. The nighttime professor.
00:42:10
RICK JAMES
I'll just steal all the come work for me.
00:42:11
The SnowJobs Podcast
I mean, honestly, you could do that. Guys are used to working at night. I'm sure if you gave the gave a group, you could run a day group, and then you could give a small discount to the night group to do it on the overnight hours.
00:42:16
Jordan Smith
Yeah.
00:42:17
RICK JAMES
You have to You have to.
00:42:24
The SnowJobs Podcast
I don't see why that wouldn't work.
00:42:26
RICK JAMES
We could sell energy drinks and Zens and make a little extra money in this convenience store there.
00:42:27
The SnowJobs Podcast
If the snowmakers can... There you go. Yeah.
00:42:32
Jordan Smith
Ooh, hey, hey, this is big news, guys. You just reminded me. Thank you for the reminder, Jeremy. This is big news. First time anyone's hearing it outside of Storm's Walls.
00:42:39
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:42:42
Jordan Smith
We got set up with First Form as a ah wholesaler.
00:42:46
The SnowJobs Podcast
Really?
00:42:46
Jordan Smith
So we are gonna have all the First Form energy drinks and protein bars and meat sticks at Storm Academy this year.
00:42:47
RICK JAMES
Awesome.
00:42:52
The SnowJobs Podcast
Nice.
00:42:53
RICK JAMES
Ooh, awesome.
00:42:53
Jordan Smith
Yes.
00:42:54
The SnowJobs Podcast
I will take the peanut butter pretzel bars. Those things are outstanding.
00:42:56
Jordan Smith
Oh, so good. Yes.
00:42:59
The SnowJobs Podcast
They are so good.
00:42:59
RICK JAMES
grapes Grape smash, baby.
00:43:01
Jordan Smith
It's so good.
00:43:01
RICK JAMES
They're beefsteaks. Oh, God.
00:43:02
The SnowJobs Podcast
I've never had any of the drinks. I've just had the ah and what chocolate.
00:43:04
Jordan Smith
Oh.
00:43:06
The SnowJobs Podcast
What is it? Chocolate peanut butter pretzel.
00:43:08
Jordan Smith
Yeah.
00:43:08
The SnowJobs Podcast
That bar.
00:43:09
RICK JAMES
Carrot cake, carrot cake bar.
00:43:09
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's insane.
00:43:10
RICK JAMES
That's good, too.
00:43:11
RICK JAMES
The peanut butter. They're all good.
00:43:11
Jordan Smith
They're all good.
00:43:13
RICK JAMES
They're all good.
00:43:13
Jordan Smith
Peanut butter jelly is great.
00:43:14
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's cool.
00:43:15
Jordan Smith
That's super good.
00:43:15
RICK JAMES
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:43:16
Jordan Smith
Yeah. So we're going to have, ah to be honest, the the reason it happened is we were trying to get a first form like concession stand at storm field day. And they just kind of moved too slow for us to get set up in time.
00:43:26
RICK JAMES
Yep.
00:43:29
Jordan Smith
And they felt bad about that. So like, Hey, we'll make it up to you. Let us just set you up and and we'll get you stuff for the future. So all your future events, you'll have stuff. So now we can order by the pallet load. It's pretty awesome.
00:43:39
RICK JAMES
Awesome.
00:43:40
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's awesome. Good for you guys.
00:43:41
RICK JAMES
That's really awesome for you. was going to say, Jordan, a lot of money.
00:43:42
Jordan Smith
yeah Yeah, it's going to save me a lot of money.
00:43:42
The SnowJobs Podcast
yeah How long till...
00:43:44
Jordan Smith
I spent a lot of money at first form.
00:43:45
The SnowJobs Podcast
I bet.
00:43:48
Jordan Smith
Yes.
00:43:48
The SnowJobs Podcast
How long till Anthony makes a trip out there cleans you out?
00:43:50
RICK JAMES
yeah
00:43:51
The SnowJobs Podcast
but
00:43:52
RICK JAMES
He's on his way. He's on his way.
00:43:52
Jordan Smith
ah i'll be I'll be worried for his heart with all those energy drinks sitting around.
00:43:57
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. Oh, man. That's awesome. Cool.
00:44:00
Jordan Smith
Yeah, I'm pretty excited about that.
00:44:00
RICK JAMES
Good for you guys.
00:44:02
Jordan Smith
We'll have good good energy drinks and good healthy snacks for for Storm Academy.
00:44:02
RICK JAMES
Yeah, that's awesome.
00:44:05
The SnowJobs Podcast
There you go. So you can easily run night operations.
00:44:08
Jordan Smith
yes Yes, sir. That's right.
00:44:10
The SnowJobs Podcast
Dual shifts. Love it.
00:44:12
RICK JAMES
Amen.
00:44:13
Jordan Smith
All right. So last, last little segment here, i think, uh, uh, uh, I'd say little segment, but maybe, uh, the biggest thing that came out of any of this was, um, obviously Steve, uh, uh, we've talked about, but, but Steve had the the cool idea to to make a ah docu-series about the industry. How do we highlight the industry? How do we, um,
00:44:34
Jordan Smith
You know, we show people in and in the industry and outside the industry what it actually takes to do the work that we do? So we asked the question pretty generically.
00:44:44
Jordan Smith
Well, after I changed it, the initial question on the survey was like, hey, should we make what did this say?
00:44:47
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, that was a dead giveaway.
00:44:50
Jordan Smith
It said like, should we make a Deadliest Catch style docu-series for the snow industry? And Steve probably said, what the hell, man?
00:44:54
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, like, boy, that doesn't give it away.
00:44:54
RICK JAMES
this.
00:44:56
Jordan Smith
Like, this is supposed to be a secret. What are you doing?
00:44:58
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah
00:44:58
RICK JAMES
but
00:44:59
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah ah ah
00:45:00
Jordan Smith
um So I changed the question quickly. the only Only like the first 10 people saw it and I changed it to more generically. um ah Would you find value in a docu-series ah for the snow industry, which still pretty much gave it away, but whatever, it was less it was less descriptive.
00:45:17
Jordan Smith
um And if you would, where would the most impact be made, entertainment, education or other? And I was actually pretty shocked. i thought I thought that this would be entertainment, entertainment, entertainment, because to me, that's what B-roll on social media is.
00:45:32
The SnowJobs Podcast
yep
00:45:32
RICK JAMES
Wow. Wow.
00:45:32
RICK JAMES
84%. Yeah.
00:45:32
Jordan Smith
But the 84th percentile answer was ah education and bringing awareness to people outside the snow industry.
00:45:41
Jordan Smith
That was the highest percentage answer answer by far. Yeah.
00:45:44
RICK JAMES
wow eighty four percent
00:45:46
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep. Guys feel underappreciated in snow.
00:45:49
Jordan Smith
Yeah.
00:45:49
RICK JAMES
yeah
00:45:50
Jordan Smith
So obviously what came out of this was storm chasing, which I think most of our listeners here are aware of. If you're not familiar with storm chasing, go on YouTube, check it out. Season one is out. Season two is in progress.
00:46:02
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yep.
00:46:03
Jordan Smith
It's coming. It's coming.
00:46:04
The SnowJobs Podcast
oh
00:46:04
Jordan Smith
But I think... You know, based on the feedback, ah I think season one was a great start. And I think season two will hit the mark even more directly on on what guys are looking for. We got a lot of great feedback after the season came out too.
00:46:20
The SnowJobs Podcast
yeah
00:46:20
Jordan Smith
um Also on the 2025 survey, hey, if you guys wanna make storm chasing the Storm Academy better and snow jobs, if you want to make all of us better, Go on the survey. Those three questions are on there.
00:46:28
RICK JAMES
Mm-hmm.
00:46:29
Jordan Smith
How can we make snow jobs better? How can we make storm chasing better? How can we make storm academy more accessible and better? Like those questions are on there and we want that feedback to make it as good as we possibly can for all of you guys. but
00:46:40
The SnowJobs Podcast
Nice.
00:46:41
Jordan Smith
I think a great start, a great start for storm chasing, um providing that education and and a lot of the feedback here, I'm just scrolling through some of the responses is like, show us what it looks like from pre-storm planning to rolling out the fleet, to doing the work, to de-icing or salting after the event, to like, you know, hauling snow or blowing snow or whatever, like,
00:47:04
Jordan Smith
To me, that just described the glacier episode. Like episode one, like that's what the glacier episode was, is Jeremy's giving a tour of the shop.
00:47:06
The SnowJobs Podcast
Absolutely.
00:47:11
Jordan Smith
Jeremy is is ah prepping the guys on the storm and the plan. And they're rolling out of the shop and then they're doing the work and they're getting a little bit of rest and they're coming back out and they're hauling and blowing snow. Like it's exactly what you guys asked for.
00:47:21
The SnowJobs Podcast
Jeremy's pushing shopping carts.
00:47:24
RICK JAMES
Jesus.
00:47:25
Jordan Smith
What's that?
00:47:25
RICK JAMES
It's never going
00:47:26
The SnowJobs Podcast
As a Jeremy's pushing shopping carts.
00:47:28
Jordan Smith
Yes, shopping carts.
00:47:28
The SnowJobs Podcast
but but What are the odds?
00:47:29
RICK JAMES
to. Dude. Dude, going um i'm gonna live stream that every time I go out this year.
00:47:31
The SnowJobs Podcast
well What are the odds?
00:47:34
RICK JAMES
Live stream it.
00:47:35
The SnowJobs Podcast
The only time that's ever happened is on video. I'm kidding.
00:47:38
RICK JAMES
You're so ridiculous.
00:47:40
The SnowJobs Podcast
i'm kidding
00:47:40
RICK JAMES
God.
00:47:41
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah
00:47:42
RICK JAMES
ah
00:47:43
Jordan Smith
You did a good job with the shopping cart, so.
00:47:44
RICK JAMES
I know I did.
00:47:45
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, in sneakers, no less.
00:47:46
RICK JAMES
Yeah, of course.
00:47:46
The SnowJobs Podcast
That was treacherous. Good for you.
00:47:48
RICK JAMES
I'm going to be out there in t-shirts and and sneakers again this year.
00:47:52
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah ah no that's great. I know you do it all the time. but
00:47:56
Jordan Smith
You know, another another cool note with storm chasing, though, you know, we we talk about this sort of extended reach with the podcast and with some of these grassroots efforts. But like I talked to three people ah at Storm Field Day that found snow jobs and found storm because of storm chasing.
00:48:17
Jordan Smith
like
00:48:17
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's cool.
00:48:18
Jordan Smith
ah Like literally had not heard of snow jobs and not heard of storm. They must be living under a rock, but they hadn't heard of us. That's fine. That's cool.
00:48:24
The SnowJobs Podcast
I think that's probably, you said three.
00:48:26
Jordan Smith
Three, i that maybe there's more, I talked to three, but they found, they, you know, they were they were surfing YouTube for, the one guy said he was he was looking at excavator videos and it said, hey, if you like this video, check out Storm Jason.
00:48:40
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah.
00:48:41
Jordan Smith
And he ended up watching the season trailer and he's like, that looks cool.
00:48:41
The SnowJobs Podcast
It's cool that it does that.
00:48:44
Jordan Smith
And he ended up binge watching the whole season. Then he messaged me on LinkedIn. He's like, hey, I found Storm Jason, I'm coming to your event. i'm like, that's pretty cool.
00:48:52
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's awesome.
00:48:53
RICK JAMES
and is cool.
00:48:54
Jordan Smith
That's pretty cool.
00:48:55
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's really cool.
00:48:55
Jordan Smith
Like that's why he came here.
00:48:56
RICK JAMES
That's so
00:48:57
Jordan Smith
um So I talked to him. i already knew that's why he was coming. But then two other guys I asked like, hey, what what what made you find the event?
00:49:00
RICK JAMES
cool.
00:49:03
Jordan Smith
They're like, oh, well, actually I was watching YouTube and I found your your you in the snow job show. And then I looked you guys up and I started binge listening to snow jobs. I'm like, man, these people are smart.
00:49:14
Jordan Smith
I want to be a part of this. And they came to the event like that's just really cool.
00:49:16
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:49:16
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's awesome.
00:49:17
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's really cool.
00:49:19
RICK JAMES
yeah
00:49:20
Jordan Smith
So I've said the term grassroots way too many times. You guys are probably sick of it, but that's what this is. And I'm really freaking excited about it.
00:49:25
The SnowJobs Podcast
No, that's what it is.
00:49:27
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:49:28
RICK JAMES
A lot of big things coming.
00:49:29
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's awesome.
00:49:31
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, yeah. I mean, it's it's endless, honestly. it's that Because the guys, everybody we've met and everybody that listens to the show and it's come to Storm Academy and and come to Storm Field Day, they're all so voracious for content. Like, we got we still have guys saying, you guys got to do more episodes per week.
00:49:53
The SnowJobs Podcast
Like one's not enough. I'm like, dude, are you freaking kidding me?
00:49:58
RICK JAMES
ah
00:49:58
The SnowJobs Podcast
We're recording at 10 o'clock on a Sunday night sometimes.
00:49:59
RICK JAMES
nice there There's only one Sunday in a week, man.
00:50:01
The SnowJobs Podcast
time yeah ah Like we both have stuff going on. We're trying to give you what you want, but like they are so voracious. They they need more. it's like And that's the other problem with the younger generation.
00:50:13
The SnowJobs Podcast
They just, they want more. They find something they like and they there's just not necessary. There's never enough of it. if they If they like it, you can't make them happy.
00:50:21
RICK JAMES
You can't let up.
00:50:23
The SnowJobs Podcast
You can't give them enough that they're going to be.
00:50:23
RICK JAMES
you can't let up You can't let up either.
00:50:24
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah. And you have to be on time. I think that's one of the other things where there are other snow podcasts out there. But I think the fact that rain or shine, hell or high water, 104 fever, does not matter.
00:50:37
The SnowJobs Podcast
We are dropping shit every Monday for almost three years now.
00:50:41
Jordan Smith
Yeah.
00:50:42
The SnowJobs Podcast
And consistency is key because these guys have a lot of the... and um I hate to bash the younger generation, but it's true. And and they I think most of them know that. Their attention span...
00:50:54
The SnowJobs Podcast
you know, before they find the newest shiny thing is not very high. So if you give them an opportunity to say, oh, they haven't done an episode in three weeks, they're not coming back. You know, they're not. And for those snow podcasts that are coming out once a month, once every two months, and then you got the guy from Ferris Bueller, the teacher in monotone, Bueller, Bueller, that's not going to get anybody to listen.
00:51:20
The SnowJobs Podcast
So I think, uh, I think they're just, you can do anything as long as you do it with consistency and make sure that you keep bringing the people what they want and you'll nail it because they they'll never get enough.
00:51:31
Jordan Smith
Yeah.
00:51:34
The SnowJobs Podcast
I don't,
00:51:35
Jordan Smith
A little sneak preview. I'm just um just scrolling through some of the 2025 feedback because you you said people want more episodes. One of the number one feedbacks for Snow Jobs is more episodes.
00:51:48
The SnowJobs Podcast
but I'm telling you, so we we must get three to four DMs a week. Like, you guys should really do like four episodes or daily. like The one guy from frigging Wisconsin was like, I love the show. It's frigging awesome. You Jeremy are hysterical. It's great.
00:52:04
The SnowJobs Podcast
You know what you should do You should do like five episodes a week, Monday through Friday, so I can listen every day during work. I'm like, dude, that but is not going happen. Thank you so much, but that is not going to happen.
00:52:11
RICK JAMES
a
00:52:14
The SnowJobs Podcast
There's not enough time in the day for the two of us.
00:52:17
Jordan Smith
It's ah yeah, I mean, I didn't parse this data to summarize it, um but just scrolling through it's more episodes and specifically even deeper dives on education in the in the additional episodes.
00:52:33
The SnowJobs Podcast
Which, yeah, which, and and I think we've tried to shift more into that, like round table discussion type at least once a month.
00:52:41
Jordan Smith
Yeah.
00:52:42
The SnowJobs Podcast
But the whole purpose for the guys listening and stuff and the guys don't that don't know us real well, the whole purpose when when Jay and I started this was we wanted to promote snow guys.
00:52:52
Jordan Smith
Yeah.
00:52:52
The SnowJobs Podcast
Like we wanted to give them an outlet to be proud of their business, to talk about their business, to basically put it out there for other snow guys to to learn about and stuff. And there's so many snow guys out there.
00:53:04
The SnowJobs Podcast
Like, so that was always the primary role was to promote and help snow guys promote themselves because nobody else is helping us. So we we definitely will because that's Jeremy's said it too. And and that's Jeremy's favorite is to like, let's pick a fucking topic. Let's get five guys and just beat it to death for two hours.
00:53:23
Jordan Smith
yeah
00:53:23
The SnowJobs Podcast
And I know Jay loves doing that. That's his favorite type of episode. And we're going to do that. But then you also have like these, the submissions on the website keep building up.
00:53:34
The SnowJobs Podcast
you know, the be a guest on the show. If you don't, if you don't knock out for a month, they just keep getting, you're never going to get to everybody.
00:53:41
Jordan Smith
Yeah.
00:53:41
The SnowJobs Podcast
think it's in the like 200s right now that we still haven't gotten to.
00:53:44
Jordan Smith
Yeah. Wow.
00:53:45
The SnowJobs Podcast
So it's, it's crazy, but yeah I hear what they're saying.
00:53:46
Jordan Smith
That's crazy.
00:53:50
The SnowJobs Podcast
and And we know that we, we definitely know that. And we've been trying at least the last four or five months. We've been trying once a month to do some kind of round table, you know, kick it around and we'll, we'll do more of that, that we can,
00:54:00
Jordan Smith
I got i gotta to read, I'm i'm a sidetracked a little bit, but I got to read this one comment.
00:54:04
The SnowJobs Podcast
Go ahead.
00:54:06
Jordan Smith
I won't say who it's from because it's, no, it's not.
00:54:08
The SnowJobs Podcast
Ron's even Benzo.
00:54:11
The SnowJobs Podcast
All right.
00:54:11
Jordan Smith
it's not it's not a it's not a It's not an OG inner circle.
00:54:12
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah
00:54:16
Jordan Smith
it's It's a name you guys would probably know, but going to read the comment, the feedback on snow jobs.
00:54:19
The SnowJobs Podcast
all
00:54:20
Jordan Smith
And it it it I think it perfectly ends this episode based on our conversation and and what but you guys said earlier. Their comment about what they like about the podcast. For me personally, it's the networking that has been a direct result of the podcast.
00:54:34
Jordan Smith
Hearing names, learning a little bit about who's who and the fact that pretty much every person I have met from the podcast has been extremely genuine and easy to strike up a conversation with. I very much believe that I never would have met most of the people and companies that I have in the snow industry without having found the podcast.
00:54:50
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's awesome.
00:54:51
Jordan Smith
that's pretty
00:54:51
The SnowJobs Podcast
Mic drop.
00:54:52
Jordan Smith
That's pretty cool.
00:54:53
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's awesome.
00:54:53
Jordan Smith
ands That's a good way to end the episode.
00:54:54
RICK JAMES
That's, yeah, that's definitely, I love it.
00:54:54
Jordan Smith
We can stop there.
00:54:54
The SnowJobs Podcast
Dude, that, yeah, I mean, that's about the most humbling thing you could hear. that's ah That's awesome. Thank you to whoever wrote that. that's ah That's a nice, that's a very nice sentiment.
00:55:04
RICK JAMES
yeah
00:55:05
Jordan Smith
and It is.
00:55:05
The SnowJobs Podcast
Love it.
00:55:06
Jordan Smith
Very cool. That's all I got, boys. And we're at 50.
00:55:09
The SnowJobs Podcast
Is his first name Luke?
00:55:09
Jordan Smith
I will not say.
00:55:12
The SnowJobs Podcast
all right All right. Because I've heard that guy write before. So he's a very good speaker. He's a very good writer. But ah I don't know. that's ah That's awesome. Thank you to the kind for the compliment, whoever wrote that. We we both very much appreciate that.
00:55:28
RICK JAMES
Yeah, definitely.
00:55:28
The SnowJobs Podcast
yeah We appreciate you guys for doing the ah doing the kind of surveys because that's that's important, getting feedback. We would do it.
00:55:36
RICK JAMES
Feedback.
00:55:36
The SnowJobs Podcast
we just don't Honestly, we just don't have enough time in the day.
00:55:38
Jordan Smith
get it.
00:55:39
The SnowJobs Podcast
it's ah It's getting to be where this is going to have to be like a full-time job. This is just because they keep asking. They keep asking for more. Hey, why don't you guys do any of those, you know, the story the story surveys anymore? Like, you haven't done one of those in a while. Yeah.
00:55:55
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, it'd be great. I didn't have 10 minutes today to dick around on Instagram. I just didn't have it, you know.
00:56:00
Jordan Smith
Right.
00:56:00
The SnowJobs Podcast
And Jeremy's a busy dude, too. You know, he's traveling.
00:56:03
RICK JAMES
I'm not that busy.
00:56:03
The SnowJobs Podcast
He's keeping Dakota dust free.
00:56:07
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
00:56:07
The SnowJobs Podcast
There's no dust out there right now.
00:56:08
Jordan Smith
No dust.
00:56:09
The SnowJobs Podcast
None. Completely eliminated.
00:56:11
RICK JAMES
I know that till tomorrow.
00:56:12
The SnowJobs Podcast
All dust in North Dakota.
00:56:15
Jordan Smith
Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, I think yeah keep keep you know keep leveraging your partners and vendors.
00:56:15
The SnowJobs Podcast
But no, I mean, super busy.
00:56:21
Jordan Smith
Like, you know, what we we willingly put this on our survey because we have a great relationship, business partnership and friendship with you guys at Snow Jobs. And like, what's good for Snow Jobs is good for us because we we've got we've built a lot of our brand on on Snow Jobs and we want to see it succeed.
00:56:31
The SnowJobs Podcast
Absolutely. 100% and vice versa.
00:56:37
Jordan Smith
So like for us to be able to give you candid feedback, that's that's helpful for all of us.
00:56:42
The SnowJobs Podcast
Absolutely. And it it goes both ways. I mean, it's, you know, for better for worse, it's hand or hand it's hand in hand. storm jobs Snow jobs, storm jobs. that There you go.
00:56:52
Jordan Smith
Storm drives. There you go.
00:56:53
RICK JAMES
Storm jobs, storm jobs, storm jobs.
00:56:53
The SnowJobs Podcast
is the There's the next chapter, there storm jobs. Snow jobs and storm, though. I mean, it's It's very easy to to keep that relationship right where it is and just keep growing it because all the ideals are identical.
00:57:08
The SnowJobs Podcast
All the mission statement is identical and everything meshes. So it's like, you know, like you said, what's good for one is good for the other. And because it's good for both of us, it ends up being good for a lot of other people out there as well, including now a lot of OEMs that are seeing, you know, like like the comment you just wrote.
00:57:20
Jordan Smith
Yep.
00:57:26
The SnowJobs Podcast
that or you just read, rather, that if the you know OEMs hear that, and that's that's important, and that's why I think that kind of sentiment is why they're getting on board with pretty much anything that that the two companies are are trying to do, and they're wholeheartedly supporting.
00:57:40
The SnowJobs Podcast
They're not just supporting it because, oh, all right, you know these guys are, you know they kind of got a following. We better but to do this. No, they actually believe in what the hell we're doing, and they've seen the results. And like I know just like you said, talking to OEMs at Storm Day,
00:57:56
The SnowJobs Podcast
They were loving it. Like, they were absolutely loving all the conversations they were having. It was tremendous. and And I don't know if they've... I don't know if they get the same type of thing at, at like, a Syma-type show, where it's it's more like a I don't know, for lack of a better term, like a county fair environment.
00:58:17
Jordan Smith
Yeah.
00:58:17
The SnowJobs Podcast
Like, this was like a a professional all top tier at at least as far as their their willingness to learn and grow as a snow pro ah snow person they were all top tier guys they all had the desire to be there in many cases they flew to be there and i think they had conversations with oems that really like kind of got the oems thinking like wow you know this is this was really awesome like this was different than anything we've we've really done before so
00:58:47
Jordan Smith
Yeah.
00:58:48
The SnowJobs Podcast
I think you got to you you definitely got to hit there. I think your only problem is going to be you're out of facility for for the demand that's going to be for year four.
00:58:53
Jordan Smith
Yeah.
00:58:56
Jordan Smith
I think you're right, but we we got a lot of feedback that people want to see it stay at the at the current venue.
00:58:58
RICK JAMES
Go figure it out.
00:59:02
Jordan Smith
They like the intimate setting.
00:59:03
The SnowJobs Podcast
I agree.
00:59:04
RICK JAMES
Yep, I do.
00:59:04
The SnowJobs Podcast
I mean, you're going to have to plow under some corn, though.
00:59:06
Jordan Smith
Yeah.
00:59:08
The SnowJobs Podcast
like
00:59:09
Jordan Smith
Yep.
00:59:09
The SnowJobs Podcast
but
00:59:11
Jordan Smith
Yes, sir.
00:59:11
The SnowJobs Podcast
No, it is great. It's storm storm. It's a beautiful facility. It's a, it's a great, great place to have it.
00:59:14
RICK JAMES
I love it, I love it there.
00:59:16
The SnowJobs Podcast
And it is intimate. It's, you know, you're welcoming people into both of your homes.
00:59:20
RICK JAMES
There's no distraction. No distractions either.
00:59:22
RICK JAMES
There's theres there's no distractions.
00:59:22
Jordan Smith
Yeah.
00:59:23
The SnowJobs Podcast
No, there's not.
00:59:25
RICK JAMES
it's Everybody's there, focused, ready to have a good day and good people.
00:59:28
The SnowJobs Podcast
And yeah. And it's easy. Like you said, there's no such thing as a dumb question. There is nobody is going to laugh in your face. If you ask a stupid question.
00:59:40
The SnowJobs Podcast
You know, it's there's no such thing as a stupid question. So don't be afraid to ask. And like that guy said, everybody that he's met through the show has been very willing to give whatever expertise or information they have. And that's, you that's awesome.
00:59:54
The SnowJobs Podcast
I'm glad we've been able to help guys, you know, meet people that can change their lives, change their business. 100%.
01:00:00
RICK JAMES
I love it. I love meeting all the new people. i try to give people as much time as I can.
01:00:02
The SnowJobs Podcast
hundred
01:00:03
RICK JAMES
i mean i learned that from Jordan. He always talks to talk to everybody. try to talk to everybody as much as I can. and as you know we just It's great.
01:00:10
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yes.
01:00:12
RICK JAMES
Like I said, we just keep meeting more and more people and that just expands everything.
01:00:18
The SnowJobs Podcast
Like, I can't imagine how it is for you, Jeremy.
01:00:18
RICK JAMES
God. so
01:00:20
The SnowJobs Podcast
You were a rock star before all this. So now, like, I mean, seriously, I'm not even fucking around.
01:00:23
RICK JAMES
god
01:00:27
The SnowJobs Podcast
Like, dude, you had you had a ton of connections within the snow industry already. And now it's like, we we have way too many friends, but we're adding more every day. Like, there is there's too many people to give enough time to, but yet you got to find a way because everybody is, everybody's awesome.
01:00:42
RICK JAMES
Never.
01:00:47
The SnowJobs Podcast
I'm telling you, have we met out of maybe 5,000 people in two and a half years, have we met more than three guys that we would label a douche or a dick?
01:00:56
RICK JAMES
No.
01:00:57
The SnowJobs Podcast
No, it's not many.
01:00:58
RICK JAMES
No?
01:00:58
The SnowJobs Podcast
And it's, it's easy to remember who is, you know, cause they're what
01:01:01
RICK JAMES
Rob?
01:01:03
RICK JAMES
Just Rob. Rob, do you even Benz?
01:01:05
The SnowJobs Podcast
ah
Acknowledge Contributors and Successes
01:01:06
The SnowJobs Podcast
Ron, Ron, even Benzo.
01:01:06
Jordan Smith
Yeah. Can't
01:01:07
RICK JAMES
Rob, Ron, do you even, oh he's gonna say Rob.
01:01:08
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, thought were talking about Robert. I'm like, no, Robert's cool. He keeps Sean in line.
01:01:13
RICK JAMES
Oh.
01:01:14
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah.
01:01:14
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
01:01:16
The SnowJobs Podcast
But yeah, no, it's ah it's great. And um we're we're glad you guys are doing so well. And everything's hitting, man. Everything is hitting. Storm Field Day hit.
01:01:25
Jordan Smith
wait. Love
01:01:25
The SnowJobs Podcast
Storm a Academy is a big hit. That's only going to get bigger. You're going to be out of room there very shortly, too. So
Discussion on Cold Weather
01:01:32
The SnowJobs Podcast
lot of expansion.
01:01:32
Jordan Smith
it. love it
01:01:33
RICK JAMES
starting to get cold, Jordan. We probably start making snow this week.
01:01:38
Jordan Smith
It's going to be getting pretty close tonight.
01:01:38
The SnowJobs Podcast
Is it cold out there? Because it was it was really cold here this morning. It was in the low 40s this morning.
01:01:43
RICK JAMES
It's only supposed to be like 55 the next three days here, I think for
01:01:43
Jordan Smith
Yeah.
01:01:46
Jordan Smith
Yeah.
01:01:47
The SnowJobs Podcast
Oh, it's coming.
01:01:47
Jordan Smith
and In the 40s overnight. snow Snow in northern Minnesota tomorrow night.
01:01:51
The SnowJobs Podcast
Really?
01:01:51
Jordan Smith
Yep. That's what they're saying.
01:01:52
RICK JAMES
for high. 40 tonight here.
01:01:52
The SnowJobs Podcast
Holy shit.
01:01:55
The SnowJobs Podcast
Jay, go up and plow. Grab a Razorback.
01:01:57
RICK JAMES
Let's go.
01:01:58
The SnowJobs Podcast
Do it.
01:01:58
RICK JAMES
Let's go.
01:01:59
The SnowJobs Podcast
He's in.
01:01:59
Jordan Smith
on the Canadian border, but yeah, it's it's snow in Minnesota. i think I think it was Wednesday night, tomorrow night. Well, I guess when they listen this, it'll be the night before, but.
01:02:05
RICK JAMES
I saw that.
01:02:05
The SnowJobs Podcast
Wow.
Completion of Four-Part Series
01:02:08
The SnowJobs Podcast
Who said this? The doctors? The weathermen? You
01:02:11
Jordan Smith
I think it was National Weather Service, actually. I'm good.
01:02:13
RICK JAMES
National Weather Service posted it.
01:02:15
The SnowJobs Podcast
got check with the doctor.
01:02:15
RICK JAMES
Yeah.
01:02:22
The SnowJobs Podcast
well All right. you go You boys got anything else?
01:02:26
Jordan Smith
um good
01:02:27
RICK JAMES
We're good.
01:02:27
The SnowJobs Podcast
All right.
01:02:29
The SnowJobs Podcast
All right. Well, then we'll wrap it, guys. Thanks thanks to both of you for the time. you know it's ah We were all busy, and I'm glad we got to do this. And this is it, right? This is part four, nothing else for last
Upcoming Survey for 2025
01:02:40
The SnowJobs Podcast
year?
01:02:40
Jordan Smith
Nope. We'll have to figure out what comes after this.
01:02:41
The SnowJobs Podcast
Well, that's good.
01:02:42
RICK JAMES
You're on next.
01:02:42
Jordan Smith
We'll keep doing tough things, but we we're...
01:02:44
The SnowJobs Podcast
That's good considering we're already a year behind on the survey.
01:02:44
Jordan Smith
exactly.
01:02:47
The SnowJobs Podcast
So we got to jump right into 2025 survey now.
01:02:50
Jordan Smith
yes exactly
01:02:51
The SnowJobs Podcast
uh that was all dude that was that was a lot of great information that was four episodes of really important information that you guys took the time to gather and it was a big so big sample audience and i think you said you're going to have more ah bigger even a bigger sample audience this year for 25 that's awesome
01:02:58
RICK JAMES
Great stuff.
01:03:08
Jordan Smith
Yeah, we should. Yeah, based on where we're at now, we got another, all of September and all October to fill it out yet. We'd still love to see more people.
01:03:16
The SnowJobs Podcast
this could be the new uh the storm pole
01:03:17
RICK JAMES
of Fill up the surveys, everybody.
01:03:19
Jordan Smith
Yes.
01:03:19
RICK JAMES
Go go and start social fill out and fill them know is
01:03:19
The SnowJobs Podcast
Yeah, the the storm survey could be the new, like, quinip Quinnipiac poll or Quinnipiac.
Promotion of Storm Survey
01:03:25
The SnowJobs Podcast
What do they call that thing?
01:03:25
RICK JAMES
up.
01:03:26
Jordan Smith
Yeah.
01:03:26
The SnowJobs Podcast
The political polls?
01:03:26
RICK JAMES
it's It's a quick survey. I mean, it's quick.
01:03:28
Jordan Smith
Yeah, super quick this year.
01:03:28
RICK JAMES
It doesn't take long.
01:03:29
The SnowJobs Podcast
Super quick.
01:03:30
Jordan Smith
Yeah, super quick this year, like 10 minutes or less, really fast.
01:03:30
RICK JAMES
and
01:03:32
RICK JAMES
yeah
01:03:32
The SnowJobs Podcast
Super quick.
01:03:33
The SnowJobs Podcast
So fill it out.
01:03:33
Jordan Smith
And there's lots of prizes, so.
01:03:34
The SnowJobs Podcast
It'll become. There you go. Get your prizes. Get your ah autograph, Rick James merchandise, and everybody be happy.
01:03:40
Jordan Smith
Yep. That's right.
01:03:42
The SnowJobs Podcast
fine All right, gang. Well, that's it. We will see you guys on Monday. Everybody have a great weekend. Thanks again to Jordan for the time. Thanks to Storm Equipment for putting together the survey. It's really important stuff, and we can't wait to hear 2025's results.
01:03:57
The SnowJobs Podcast
Everybody, be safe. Keep pushing.