Welding Business Owner Podcast

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Kevin sits down with Marisa Mitchell, owner and custom metal fabricator behind Mars Fabrication in Knoxville, Tennessee. Marisa shares the raw, behind-the-scenes reality of walking away from a full-ride graduate school scholarship to weld for $15 an hour, building a business out of a rented outdoor shed, and dealing with hostile job-site project managers who questioned her skills and tried to steal thousands from completed jobs. We dive deep into how Marisa n...

Send us Fan Mail What does it take to lose everything, hit rock bottom, and build back a thriving business? In today’s episode, we welcome Lonnie Smith III of Crosstrades LLC and Run Welding. Lonnie takes us through his incredible journey: starting out in custom car audio, contracting in Iraq during the war, working as a pipeline welder, surviving a SWAT raid on his home, and overcoming severe addiction. Today, Lonnie restores and customizes welding machines for clients across all 50 st...

Send us Fan Mail If you guys ever wondered what the Fabricator Olympics is like in person, here's your chance to see it. This week's episode is a recap of the 2025 Fabricator Olympics. Don't forget, virtual tickets for the Welding Business Summit will be available October 2.

Send us Fan Mail From being told he would fail without college to welding pure gold for GE Aerospace and running a nation-wide fabrication business, Josh Wolfe’s story is a masterclass in blue-collar grit. In this episode of the Welding Business Owners Podcast, Josh Wolfe (host of the Speaking of Skilled Trades podcast) sits down with Kevin to share his journey from an ADD high schooler struggling to fit into standard classrooms to building a successful career in high-stakes TIG weldi...

Send us Fan Mail The rules of metal fabrication are changing faster than ever. Between AI estimators, computer vision for welders, and cobots running production lines, traditional shops are facing a massive crossroads: adapt now or get left behind. In this episode, Adam Heffner (Hero Machine Co. & Maker Table) breaks down what’s coming next for fabrication, why plasma cutting is losing the battle to fiber lasers, and how smart shop owners are using AI to scale their output without a...