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The Machine Shop Growth Podcast gives a fresh perspective to help you grow your shop by focusing on 3 key factors - Sales, Marketing and Efficiency. For decades the machine shop industry was build on a “good-ol-boys” mentality and was full of great machinists and engineers that made great parts. What has been discovered is many of those amazing shops have plateaued or are starting to decline - because they didn’t put enough emphasis on getting more work and making more money with the work they had.
On this podcast you will hear first hand advice from machine owners and mangers how they are getting more work and how they are making more money. Now let’s Grow Your Shop!
14 Episodes
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Need a new operator yesterday? Or wondering if a recruiter’s worth the 20% fee? In today’s episode, we’re pulling back the curtain on the messy, costly, and sometimes surprising world of hiring in machine shops. From sifting through 100+ job board resumes to building career ladders that keep people around, Mike and Kirk break down what really works—and what doesn’t—when it comes to finding good people. If you’ve ever asked, ‘Where do I even start?’… this episode might just change how you thin...
Hiring can make or break your shop’s growth, but how do you know when it’s the right move? 👀 In this episode, Mike and Kirk share their playbook for spotting the signs that it’s time to hire… and the costly mistakes to avoid if you pull the trigger too early. Should you automate first? Push more overtime? Promote from within? Or make that big hire now? Listen in before you post that job ad—you might be looking at the problem all wrong.
How do you attract the next generation of machinists and inspectors? Here’s a hint: it’s not just about offering more money or better hours. In this episode, Mike and Kirk are joined by Nush Ahmed, a young quality inspector who’s making waves in the manufacturing world—not just on the shop floor, but online too. She shares what helped her stay in the industry, how leaders can better support young workers, and why shops need to rethink how they show up—physically, culturally, and digitally. ...
When is the right time to invest in new equipment—before the job is booked or after the PO lands? In this episode, Mike and Kirk are joined by Greg Knox of Knox Manufacturing Solutions to dig into the real decision-making struggles shop owners face every day. They cover the critical difference between buying for capacity vs. capability, why conservative vs. entrepreneurial mindsets approach machine buying differently, and how to use strategy—not guesswork—to guide growth. Greg shares ha...
Episode 9: Growing Your Top Line We’re closing out our 3-part growth series with a deep dive into one of the most asked questions in manufacturing: “How do I actually grow revenue?” In this episode, Mike Fritz and Kirk Phelps sit down with CSO Hank Westerkamp and CRO Steve Mazza to break down what’s really holding shops back from top-line growth—and how to fix it. You’ll learn: Why new customers aren’t always the best starting pointHow to develop outbound systems and inbound strategies...
In Part 2 of our three-part growth series, Mike and Kirk tackle the essential—but often neglected—side of machine shop growth: improving your bottom line. Before chasing more revenue, it’s critical to plug the profit leaks that are silently eroding your business. From tooling waste and bloated staff structures to broken quoting systems and inefficient processes, this episode dives deep into real-world strategies to help you keep more of what you already earn. What you'll learn: Why better org...
Episode 7: Growing Your People In this episode, Mike and Kirk shine a spotlight on the most powerful—and often untapped—driver of machine shop growth: your team. Kicking off a three-part series on scaling your business, they explore why developing people isn't optional, it's foundational. From floor operators to future leaders, they discuss how to identify growth potential, build clear progression paths, and overcome common mindset traps like fear of turnover or “doing it all yourself.” Pac...
If you’ve been leveraging MEP programs for training, grants, or equipment purchases, there’s a chance that these benefits could be going away. Today, we’re talking about the potential changes to these programs, what it means for your shop, and how to prepare if these resources are no longer available. We’re resharing this important discussion from the Making Chips podcast to broaden the discussion and to ensure you’re up-to-date on the latest developments surrounding MEP funding and what it m...
Big question for shop owners: Where does growth actually start? In this value-packed episode, we bring together our full leadership team—Mike, Kirk, Steve, and Hank—for a high-impact discussion on what it really takes to grow a machine shop. From the shop floor to your inbox, growth opportunities are everywhere… but most owners feel overwhelmed about where to begin. Should you focus on sales? Marketing? Throughput? A new hire? A new machine? We break down the confusion and share a clear frame...
Exciting news – we've officially joined the Making Chips podcast family! In this debut episode, we dive into the transformative world of customer acquisition and share innovative strategies to expand your business without diluting quality. Join us as we explore proven tactics for engaging new customers effectively, while maintaining the loyalty of your existing base. We'll discuss how to identify the perfect customer profile, manage the costs associated with new customer acquisition, and why...
In this episode, we're tackling the dynamic and challenging world of acquiring new customers. As the final installment of our three-part series on customer acquisition strategies, we focus on the most discussed yet misunderstood segment: new customer engagement. We'll break down why pursuing new customers isn't always necessary for growth and how, in some cases, it's possible to double business size without them. Join us as we share our firsthand strategies and insights from managing multiple...
In this episode, we're diving into the often-overlooked but incredibly valuable topic of re-engaging dormant customers. After exploring how to grow current customer relationships in our previous episode, we're now shifting focus to those who've slipped away. We'll discuss why customers become dormant, how it's not always due to negative experiences, and the subtle art of re-engagement. You'll hear firsthand about the strategic approaches and real-life examples from our own experiences in reig...
The 3 Types of Customers. In Today’s episode of the Machine Shop Growth podcast Kirk Phelps and I talk about the 3 different types of customers. This is going to be a 3 part series. This week we talk about the first (and most lucrative) customer to work with! Make sure you tune in and enjoy!
Here’s a question for you—are you running your shop, or is your shop running you? In this episode of the Machine Shop Growth Podcast, Kirk and I are diving into the 3 biggest challenges shop owners face—things most of us don’t even realize are slowing us down: 1️⃣ Why trying to do it all might be your biggest mistake. 2️⃣ How one simple change could completely transform your workflow. 3️⃣ The surprising reason your shop down the road is growing faster (hint: it’s not their parts). We’re here ...
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