Starting a machine shop is not freedom.
It is sacrifice, responsibility, and learning how to survive before you thrive.

In this episode of Rapid Fire Manufacturing, I sit down in Chattanooga, Tennessee with Garrett Wolford, owner and president of Elemental Design and Machinery.

Garrett shares what it really takes to start a shop from scratch:

• Why NDAs force you to build a brand without showing parts

• How Elemental was intentionally named using SEO and long-term thinking

• The reality of cash flow and why shop owners must learn to “be a bank”

• Starting with zero customers and going door to door

• Burning the ships and betting on culture from day one

This conversation is honest, gritty, and real.
If you are thinking about starting a shop or already in the trenches, this one will hit home.