Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Episode 40: Double the Richardsons, double the fun
125 Plays28 days ago
Nate couldn't make it this week so Kyle and Brian Richardson talk about how their business is finishing up 2025, what they're anticipating in the industry in 2026, H-2B visa workers, and trends Brian got wrong. It's a quick listen!
This episode is brought to you by Anchor Industries. Visit anchorinc.com.
Recommended
Transcript
00:00:01
Speaker
I'm a train of riddle man. I'm working all day. Getting mistakes in the ground no matter what they say. From sunrise to the night, make sure everything's right.
00:00:14
Speaker
Yeah, I'm a train of riddle man. I'm working all day.
Introduction and Guest Change
00:00:19
Speaker
We are live with another episode of Under the Vinyl. I believe this is episode 40, which is shocking that we've made it this far, to be honest with all of you. But Nate couldn't be here today. He's having some kid issues. like A sick child needed to come home from school. We just found out right before we went live. So I went down to the hotel lobby because I'm here in Chicago with ah ARA, and I found...
00:00:42
Speaker
someone from the archives. So we're here with Brian Richardson, president-elect of ARA, also known as DAD.
ARA Leadership Conference Insights
00:00:49
Speaker
Yeah, who said dinosaurs still don't walk the Earth? I'm in a here. And I think...
00:00:55
Speaker
I'm the first two-time guest on Under the Vinyl. Yep. So Mike Holland, take that. But we are here, Brian, why are we here Chicago? So this is, we have a couple events going on. You're here for Leadership Conference, where we bring in two representatives of every state association, um and also some special guests. And I was in a couple days early because we have our board of directors meeting here.
00:01:19
Speaker
and also board orientation for the new board members who are coming in. So we try to pack it all in in the four or five days. so This been a marathon for you on the road, right? You were away last week, too. This has been a tough month. So we we were in Savannah together yeah for YP and Women in Rental, and then we came home from that, and we went to Matra, and that was a great event, and now we're here in Chicago. and Mattra, I had the honor of presenting the Hall of Honor Award to Mike Tannen and Sue Wuerb, and it was just a
Honoring Industry Veterans and Upcoming Projects
00:01:48
Speaker
great event. And there were many yeah ARA staff members there with us, and Mattra should be congratulated on a great job. Mike Tannen and his team is retiring after, i think, 32 years, I think, of running that association. So it was a great week.
00:02:01
Speaker
Yeah, so I had a good time. but You and I got to do a little banter up on stage. It was fun. It's for everyone who got to see that. see that um But we're going to go home from this and we're going to end the year.
00:02:14
Speaker
What are you seeing as the year ends and as we move into 2026? So as far as L&A goes, we'll talk about that first. I think we've got one large project left. Those who follow us on social media have probably seen that December event where you crane the structure in over the wall. yeah So that's coming up again.
00:02:33
Speaker
Next year, you know, we're pretty excited. We have a garden tent that we're taking on the road more and more and you've lined up quite a few events for that. So I'm pretty excited about what next year is bringing. Yeah.
00:02:46
Speaker
And also we're fortunate we have FIFA coming to town in two cities, you know, 35 minutes away from us. um So there's works some work starting to roll in for that. It's looking good. What are you seeing as you are in your travels across the industry,
Trends in Tent Customization
00:02:59
Speaker
though?
00:02:59
Speaker
So I think is it's more customization of the tents. We're seeing a lot more tent frames getting wrapped, a lot more structures. Loesberger unveiled a new structure last week with the eight apps end, I think they called it, and a lighter profile.
00:03:14
Speaker
Eureka was showing some new stuff. So I think more and more black frames with clear tops, more and more maybe black and clear fabric.
00:03:25
Speaker
We've seen some white garden tents, so I think it's going to be more customization in our industry. Yeah. What did you see these trends coming? How are you feel about trends? because i know when I was younger, you said sailcloth would die. That's going to last a week.
00:03:39
Speaker
I look bad. I looked really bad. Yeah, that was a I told him to Jim Rian from Eureka Tesla. That's a fad. Don't get into that. i think Mike Tharp at Top Tech, I told him the same thing.
00:03:50
Speaker
And it's obviously not going anywhere. I really misjudged that one, you know. What do you think about customization though in colors? you think black is here to stay? Are we going to see a progression?
00:04:01
Speaker
it's It's so hard to tell anymore. you know One planner might want something different it's and you never know where to throw your money. Yeah, it's it's a real challenge. But I think probably the trends that we've seen, the black and white, the clear, I think they're here to stay. I think they like the clean lines, that that look.
00:04:20
Speaker
So I don't think those are going to change. We need to take a moment though and hear from our sponsors. This episode of Under the Vinyl is brought to you by Anker Industries, a fifth generation, family owned, American manufacturer of tents and clear span structures.
00:04:33
Speaker
Anker has spent decades engineering products that last season after season, and they're more than just your supplier. They're a partner committed to helping grow your business. And right now, Anker's winner discount is live.
00:04:44
Speaker
Get 15% off frame, fabric, and accessories for your tents and clear spans now through January 26th. Make sure you let them know Kyle and Nate sent you. Contact your sales rep today.
00:04:54
Speaker
Call 800-544-4445 or visit anchorinc.com to learn more. So now that we're back and we've heard from our sponsors, Brian, what are some interesting things that you've seen change over your, I'm going to age you here, 40
Safety Initiatives and Industry Awareness
00:05:10
Speaker
years? I think it might even be more than that. but obviously the push towards safety um not only of the guests who are attending events but also our staff who putting them up you know the safe tending initiative that ara unveiled uh last month down in charlotte is really taken off we're really excited about that we're going to continue that program adding brian bolt to our staff at ara is really going to make a difference
00:05:36
Speaker
Very few people that have the same industry knowledge that Brian has. So we're really excited about this focus on safe tanning that we ARA's taken on. I think it's going to be great for the industry just as a whole, and hopefully it continues to keep the legs under it. And, you know, it'd be great if one day it helps with insurance, because we all know that every single year I feel like you and I have the conversation of the rates just continue to go up and up and up. and you know, a big thing for me is when I see someone doing something unsafe on social medias, that's not only going to affect them, that's also going to affect me.
00:06:09
Speaker
um But most companies don't see it that way, but everyone should kind of look at it that way. Well, I know that many of you guys see something social media that looks unsafe, you're all getting in a group text and no telling each other what they've seen. so But, you know, is there's more and more knowledge. As people see what's going on out there, I i think the industry as a whole is so much safer than it was 10 years ago, and it'll be so much more safe in 10 years from now. You know, L&A, we strive For perfection, we don't always achieve it, but we strive for it. There's still times where you're cussing me out when I show up on a job site and I don't put my hard head on when I get out of the vehicle. but
00:06:48
Speaker
we were We were forced into our safety from a customer. They told us we had to turn into a much safer company. Right. And I was the one who had to take the... take it head on and say, okay, we're doing this.
00:07:01
Speaker
Um, it has been a challenge for us. I talk, tell people all the time when they ask us how we got so good at it, which they just see the social media side of it. They don't see the arguments or me yelling at people or, um, for a while it was, if I caught you, you had a week off of work without pay. And I put guys in Ubers and send them back to the warehouse. And it really hurts you to do that in April, May, and June when you're really busy, but it's the only way you can really get people to, uh,
00:07:25
Speaker
Well, imagine how I felt when I had to go home and tell your mother that I wasn't going to check that week.
Company Growth and Staffing Strategies
00:07:29
Speaker
i am I've gotten so much better at being able to step back and let these guys in our company, the project managers, the supervisors, the sales managers, take ownership of all this stuff.
00:07:41
Speaker
Man, I used to micromanage it, and it doesn't give any room for growth. And it doesn't give any ability for me to step away and and attend events like this. you know I know that the company's in great hands. It's in better hands than when I'm there. So you guys just do an awesome job. And giving you license to take stuff on, make those decisions.
00:08:01
Speaker
And I see that with more and more companies where the owner who was at one time like myself, he's fielding calls, he's selling the job, he's going out measuring.
00:08:12
Speaker
Man, you just get burnt out. you can't You can't do it all. And until you bite the bullet and say, look, I've got to hire people that can do this. And it's scary. All of a sudden you're looking at your payroll numbers and you're like, man, i don't know.
00:08:26
Speaker
But you have to do it. You have to be able to take the leap of faith that you can bring on additional staff so you can step. And I know everybody says work on your business, not in your business. But you've got to be able to have staff that you can rely on and count on.
00:08:40
Speaker
And when we need you, you're still there. you like you know You get on a truck one or two days every May. the you're I always tell you you to go deliver a thousand chairs or something and you're... You'll be upset for 10 minutes, and then the next day you'll be in in your safety vest and acting like you're Mr. Safety.
00:08:56
Speaker
Well, I'm only upset because I really wanted to live a 5,000 chance, not just 1,000. What am I going to do the second hour? You got to miss the gym that day. like That was such a big deal. Yeah,
00:09:07
Speaker
yeah it's it's incredible the what the strides we've made. I remember when I came to you... when I had first come back about, hey, I think we should spend a bunch of money and bring over some, start using foreign labor. And you kind of looked at me like I was crazy.
00:09:21
Speaker
And it was absolutely crazy that the way we handled that. But um we kind of took that leap of faith right in the first year. and And we learned, you know, from experience that it wasn't successful the first couple years in H2B. We didn't We didn't really understand the program.
00:09:37
Speaker
ah You've got a much better grasp on it now than I ever did, but it's really worked out. And and now those was original, whatever it was, 10 people, <unk>s they're like family and they're going back this week and it's kind of sad to see them go, but the minute it got down to freezing here yeah on Monday. They are very happy to be leaving. It's time to go home.
00:09:56
Speaker
ah We have people from Honduras, Guatemala. And Puerto Rico. Dominican Republic, in Puerto Rico. Yeah. So so we yeah we're we're fortunate we started with the ah Clay Martin MRC recruiting out in Puerto Rico the first year trying that just because they're US citizens, it's much easier to get them back and forth. And we the benefit of those guys is we could send them home now.
00:10:18
Speaker
And if we do have work ramp up in December, I can get them on a plane the next day back into the country and they can work for a week, things like that. Whereas the H2B, you're much more regulated by the government. It's a little scary right now, the government's back open.
00:10:30
Speaker
right but Just opened last night at to what, 12, 2 o'clock in the morning or something. yeah so But we've been getting some worrisome messages from our H2B firm that this probably is going to have an effect on us come the springtime.
00:10:42
Speaker
But can't panic until we actually know, but we'll see
Foreign Labor Programs and Challenges
00:10:46
Speaker
what happens. Just a thought in the back of our heads that... ah Who knows? And, you know I've said this a hundred times, anything that relies on a lottery to give you labor is always gives you some anxiety.
00:10:57
Speaker
But we always hope for the best. And I think that the administration realizes that a lot of industries in this country rely on H-2B labor.
00:11:08
Speaker
Not to be confused with H1A, everyone sees that, you're going have to pay $100,000 to bring them in. Our phone started ringing the minute that was discussed. No, that is tech employees. That's not what we do. We're looking for laborers. We're not looking for high-tech people to do programming and all that. So $100,000 doesn't affect us.
00:11:29
Speaker
Damn, that means you get to keep it now. Any big purchases you see coming down the pipeline end of the year, tax savings, what's your plan So I think we're making the leap into some groove flooring. I think ah we've been using vinyl on top of Duratrac and then putting plywood on top of that to make sure heels don't go through and I think with the right projects coming up so we finally We talked to Banks this week, and we finally pulled the trigger on Groove. We've been talking about it for well in three years, think. Since my sister got married, I thought that was going to get it done. But yeah obviously, i didn't love her enough for that. No. So sometimes, boy, I get paralysis by analysis.
00:12:09
Speaker
And it was the same with the first 10-aux that we bought. Scott Woodruff kept banging on my door for about two years before we finally pulled the trigger.
Investment and Asset Management Philosophy
00:12:17
Speaker
And probably one of the best decisions we've ever made was when we first invested in 10-aux or so.
00:12:24
Speaker
so And we're also going to have to upgrade our our fleet, I think. You've been shopping for some new box trucks and we're trying to see where we're going to allocate those funds. Boy, it's scary to spend $150,000 on a truck. It's crazy. when you I pulled out the receipt from the one I want to trade in from when you bought it 2005 and it was $57,000 for a 24-foot box was fifty seven thousand dollars for a twenty four foot box truck so it's ah hundred thousand dollars more today Yeah, and previous to that, I was always someone who rented trucks, and boy, the people we rented from, it wasn't a well-known chain, it was a small local operator, and boy, I think those trucks broke down every day, so I don't i don't miss that at all. I think that's what drove me to finally buy some trucks was I was just so frustrated, but.
00:13:09
Speaker
Now like we're in a much better place vehicle-wise. What is your opinion on leasing? I know lot this is the winter time, so a lot of people are going to be starting to look at that. So, ah you know, a lot of my friends in the industry, they're they're real promoters. They believe in leasing. you know, i I like to own assets. I think the company should own assets.
00:13:27
Speaker
I get it. If a truck goes down, that you call up Penske or Ryder whoever your supplier is, and they'll bring you a new one. um It's just philosophically, i believe in owning. So I haven't yet made a decision to lease and I don't think I'm going to. You may change that when I'm out of here. I have a hard time justifying my
Conclusion and Future Plans
00:13:47
Speaker
head as well. just I always tell people I'm in the game of rental and I understand how it works. And in my head, I feel like I'm losing money if I'm paying rent every month on something. Right. No different than someone who rents you a tent from us for a year. they probably could have bought it by now. They probably could have. Yeah.
00:14:01
Speaker
But it's been great talking to you, Brian. That's it? Last time I was on like three hours, I thought. No one wants to hear you for that long again. There's people that do. I beg to differ. We'll get you on again. I think we have a we're working on some plans. We want to get to you and some other old dinosaurs on together see so you guys can talk about the old days. That'd be great. I look forward to it.
00:14:22
Speaker
so That's another episode of Under the Vinyl. Thank you.