Blue-Collar BS

This week we welcome back Matt Guse, owner of MRS Machining, for his second appearance on the show. Matt is also a board member of the Chippewa Economic Development Corporation and Chippewa Valley Technical College, and an NCAA Division III football official. We talk about the shifting employment landscape and how younger workers often expect to leapfrog straight to leadership without putting in the time to earn it, and how Matt approaches building real leaders on his shop floor instead. He shares how bringing in a new robot to the shop, something everyone initially feared, ended up becoming one of the team's favorite tools once people saw it as something that made their jobs easier rather than a threat. We also get into how Matt built MRS's reputation in the community, from being known by name at the local school and gas station to a customer who was won over before ever stepping through the door just from what he heard around town. Matt also opens up about writing his first book to preserve MRS's story and legacy for his family, and how that same book unexpectedly turned into a business development tool that brought in over a million dollars in new work. We close out talking about presence, self-care as a leader, and why face-to-face connection still matters more than anything digital. Highlights Why younger workers often expect leadership before they've earned it, and how Matt addresses that. How MRS turned a feared new robot into one of the team's most valued tools. Building a business reputation in the community, one gas station and diner conversation at a time. How writing a legacy book for his family turned into a surprise business development win. Why real, face-to-face connection matters more than ever in a distracted, phone-first world. Get in touch with Matt: Website LinkedIn Book Get in touch with us: Check out the Blue Collar BS website. Steve Doyle: Website LinkedIn Email Brad Herda: Website LinkedIn Email This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

This week we dig into a topic every business owner deals with but rarely talks about openly: cash flow. Not revenue, not sales volume, but the actual timing of money moving in and out of a business, and why that timing matters more than most owners realize. We talk through what strong cash flow looks like in practice, invoicing quickly, collecting on time, and knowing predictable expenses well before they hit, so a business can plan ahead instead of reacting. We share a story about a client who tracks a simple weekly ratio of receivables to payables as his single most important number, and another example where speeding up invoicing turned a 45-day backlog into same-day billing, freeing up serious cash without adding headcount. We also get into why collecting payment on the spot, rather than waiting weeks for a check, can change a business's entire financial position. We also cover what cash flow means during a business transition, especially when handing a company to a family member, and why having a financial cushion matters when new leadership means mistakes will happen. Brad shares a personal story from early in his career about a costly supplier mistake and how owning it directly, rather than hiding from it, became one of the most important lessons of his career. Highlights Why predictable cash outflow and unpredictable cash inflow require different strategies. A simple weekly ratio one business owner uses to track his cash position. How speeding up invoicing turned a major backlog into a same-day process. Why cash reserves matter most when selling a business to a family member. A personal story about owning a costly mistake early in a career, and why it built long-term trust. Get in touch with us: Check out the Blue Collar BS website. Steve Doyle: Website LinkedIn Email Brad Herda: Website LinkedIn Email This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

This week's guest is Sue Schuster, partner at BizFi.io, where she helps small businesses access the right kind of capital to grow. Before finance, Sue spent 18 years building and running a swim school with her parents, eventually selling it after COVID upended the business, so she's coming at this from real experience building and exiting a company, not just advising from the outside. We get into the difference between good debt and bad debt, why a line of credit is worth having even when you don't think you need one, and how dangerous merchant cash advances and credit card stacking can be for a business that gets stuck needing fast cash. Sue also explains the generational divide she sees in how people approach debt, with younger business owners often not understanding how credit actually works, and older owners sometimes being too debt-averse to grow. We also talk about why she prefers debt over giving up equity, and the risks small business owners take when they don't fully understand what a loan actually costs. Highlights The difference between good debt and bad debt, and why it matters for growing a business. Why every business should have a line of credit, even if they never use it. The dangers of merchant cash advances and credit card stacking. Why debt is often a smarter move than giving up equity in your company. Sue's own journey building, scaling, and selling her swim school business. Get in touch with Sue: Website Facebook LinkedIn Get in touch with us: Check out the Blue Collar BS website. Steve Doyle: Website LinkedIn Email Brad Herda: Website LinkedIn Email This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

This week we dig into one of the trickiest conversations in small business: handing a family business down to the next generation. It's a topic that comes up constantly in the work we both do outside the show, and it rarely goes the way anyone expects. We talk about the gap between owning a business and actually operating it, and how often parents assume they're still running the day-to-day when the reality has already shifted without them fully realizing it. We get into the emotional side too, the assumptions everyone makes without ever putting them into words, the resentment that builds when expectations aren't clear, and the awkward reality of a parent still drawing a full salary for a fraction of the hours. We also talk about the professional team around a family business, the accountant, the advisor, the insurance person, who's been there for decades and may not actually be equipped to help with a transition like this. The through-line of the conversation is that almost none of these problems are really about money. They're about clarity, communication, and having the hard conversation early instead of waiting until resentment has already set in. Highlights Why parents and kids often disagree on what "running the business" actually means. The financial and emotional tension that builds when compensation and hours don't match up. Why the trusted advisors around a family business may not be right for the next chapter. The difference between talking to family as family and talking to family as coworkers. Why clarity, not money, is usually the real obstacle in a family business transition. This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

This week's guest is Cary Sparrow, founder and CEO of WageScape, a company that pulls together the world's largest and most current labor market data set. Before building WageScape, Cary spent time on nuclear submarines in the Navy and had a long career in engineering, military consulting, and operations leadership. We get into how WageScape works, scanning job ads across the country every day to build a real, unbiased picture of what companies are paying for specific roles, rather than relying on guesswork, outdated averages, or word of mouth. Cary explains why relying on anecdotes about what a competitor paid someone can lead companies to make costly decisions in either direction, overpaying out of fear or underpaying and losing the right people for critical roles. We also talk about the wild swings in wage growth since the pandemic, jumping from a steady 3% a year to 30% a year during the labor shortage, and why that whiplash is still causing headaches for companies trying to figure out fair pay today. Cary shares his read on the current job market, including why so many people are on edge right now, and where he sees real opportunity, especially for people willing to learn how to use AI tools in their work. We also touch on the challenge veterans face translating military experience into skills that make sense to civilian employers. Highlights How WageScape collects and uses real-time labor market data. Why anecdotal pay comparisons can lead companies to make costly mistakes. The wild wage swings since the pandemic and what they mean for hiring today. Where Cary sees real opportunity in today's uncertain job market. The challenge of translating military experience into civilian job skills. Get in touch with Cary: Website LinkedIn Get in touch with us: Check out the Blue Collar BS website. Steve Doyle: Website LinkedIn Email Brad Herda: Website LinkedIn Email This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy