What if the fastest way to grow your business is to stop forcing people into boxes they don’t fit? We sit down with general manager Jody Brixie, whose family turned a 700-square-foot lumber shop into two thriving California locations, one a community hub with seasonal retail, nursery, gifts, apparel, and even live bait, the other a contractor-centric powerhouse. Jody shares how she left a high-pressure nursing career, returned home during a leadership crisis and COVID chaos, and discovered that the real differentiator isn’t inventory or pricing, it’s letting people run where they thrive and backing them with clear guardrails.

Across the conversation, we explore practical leadership strategies for construction, building supply, and retail operations. Jody explains how to build a strong leadership core, communicate under pressure, and make daily improvements that compound into serious results. We dig into succession and the sale to Nations Best, why a long-term acquisition model can protect culture, and what it takes to keep morale and performance high through uncertainty. If you manage a lumberyard, contractor desk, or multi-location retail operation, you’ll hear an actionable blueprint: shorten lines, grow add-on sales, empower category owners, and measure relentlessly.

Jody’s strengths-based approach, rooted in belief and individualization, offers a clear playbook for hiring, training, and team development. We talk about placing people where they can win, the magic of a small, aligned leadership team, and the courage to lead without mimicking someone else’s style. For women in construction and emerging leaders, Jody’s advice is simple and strong: protect your values, know your worth, and contribute differently. Purpose fuels endurance; culture turns stores into community anchors; systems translate hustle into repeatable growth.

• Two stores with distinct customer bases and product mixes
• Family legacy from a 700 sq ft shop to a community anchor
• Nursing skills translated into crisis-ready leadership
• COVID pressures, GM exit, and team resilience
• Succession planning and acquisition by Nations Best
• Strengths-based hiring and role fit over rigid boxes
• Daily growth through small wins and clear guardrails
• Advice to young leaders to keep their identity
• Rebuilding teams after turnover and developing new talent

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👉 What Is Grit Blueprint?

Grit Blueprint is a media and growth company for the building industry. We help ambitious businesses in the building materials and construction industries grow through visibility, storytelling media, and smart systems.

👉 Book a Strategy Call

...

Want to make more margin where others see only risk? We sat down on the Do it Best Market show floor with Terry Bailey of DW Distribution to map out how independents turn the complexity of millwork into a durable, competitive edge. From deep inventory to guided e‑commerce and premium door systems, Terry shows how dealers can simplify ordering, avoid costly mistakes, and sell with confidence at the counter or the kitchen table.

We start with the big picture: a noisy market, fresh consolidation, and cautious optimism for 2026 as tariffs cool and rates potentially ease. Instead of hiding from that uncertainty, we lean into it. Commodities are easy to lose; millwork is earned. By pairing local expertise with a distributor’s scale, independents can stay light on inventory while delivering faster quotes, cleaner documentation, and on‑time deliveries that keep contractors loyal. Accuracy becomes the advantage, and the payoff is margin that sticks.

Then we get practical. Terry walks through DW’s eMerge configurator, designed to prevent the classic door order errors that wreck profit. We delve into upgraded pocket door systems, including all-aluminum cavity sliders with soft-close features, and explore why these details impact homeowner satisfaction. We also outline a training path for new sellers: start with narrow, proven configurations, utilize digital guardrails to reduce errors, and add premium options as confidence grows. Once contractors experience consistent success, they stop shopping the job for pennies and start trusting you for the whole package.

Topics we covered:

• Bridging commodities to millwork with deep inventory and logistics
• Why complexity creates margin and long-term customer stickiness
• E-commerce tools that make door ordering foolproof
• 2025–2026 outlook, rates, tariffs, and cautious optimism
• How independents compete during the 'Clash of the Titans'
• Practical steps to train teams and narrow error risk
• Why contractors value accuracy over small discounts

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👉 What Is Grit Blueprint?

Grit Blueprint is a media and growth company for the building industry. We help ambitious businesses in the building materials and construction industries grow through visibility, storytelling media, and smart systems.

👉 Book a Strategy Call

...

What if the most overlooked parts of your house are the biggest levers for comfort, safety, and long-term value? I sit down with John Crosby, president and CEO of the Window & Door Manufacturers Association (WDMA), to unpack how high-performance windows, doors, and skylights can shift from commodity to everyday upgrade, and what it will take to get there.

We trace the path from policy to performance, revealing why standards and model codes often decide market outcomes long before a product hits the shelf. John breaks down the real story on tariffs and pricing and how advocacy must balance public good with workable timelines. We examine the housing affordability crisis through a pragmatic lens: adding capacity and efficiency without sacrificing margins or jobs, and orchestrating a labor transition as veteran expertise retires. The takeaway is practical and urgent. Workforce development must move beyond slogans into hands-on pathways that prove modern manufacturing is safe, valuable, and future-forward.

We also get tactical about the tools leaders can control. AI and robotics can lift plant productivity and employee experience when paired with smart processes and clear metrics. A digital-first association can amplify member voices and turn data into decisions. And perhaps most importantly, the industry’s story needs a refresh: consumers don’t buy U-factors, they buy how a home feels. Direct-to-consumer education, values-based messaging, and brand experiences that connect benefits to daily life can unlock adoption at scale.

Topics we cover:
• Mission to accelerate adoption of high-performance windows, doors, and skylights across North America
• Standards and model codes as the real battleground, not just federal legislation
• Tariffs, pricing signals, and avoiding panic-driven decisions
• Housing affordability and scaling without crushing margins
• Workforce development, aging expertise, and practical on-ramps
• Robotics and AI to boost safety, quality, and throughput
• Digital strategy and non-dues revenue to strengthen advocacy
• Data and insights to guide leaders and align the market
• DTC demand, values-based storytelling, and consumer education
• Five-year vision: fenestration as a quality-of-life upgrade

Ready to turn visibility into growth? Head to gritblueprint.com to learn more and book a call to talk about your growth strategy.

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👉 What Is Grit Blueprint?

Grit Blueprint is a media and growth company for the building industry. We help ambitious businesses in the building materials and construction industries grow through visibility, storytelling media, and smart systems.

👉 Book a Strategy Call

...

What does it take to lead a team through real change in an industry that prides itself on tradition? We sit down with Kelly Scott, raised on a lumberyard, seasoned through multiple acquisitions, and now running a complex specialty distribution branch, to map the human side of operational excellence and the strategic moves that separate stagnant dealers from standout brands.

Kelly’s story begins with family: a Canadian mill and trim retail operation where product knowledge came from hands-on work and fearless selling. Her mother became a respected presence on major Toronto job sites, proving mastery beats bias when stakes are high. That foundation informs Kelly’s leadership playbook today, hiring for character, building trust that endures hard decisions, and creating a culture where the site runs smoothly even when she’s on the road. We dig into what branch management really looks like across logistics, sales, procurement, finance, and light manufacturing, and how clarity of roles plus strong feedback loops keep service levels sharp.

We widen the lens to the market’s inflection point. Building materials is an old industry, but the pace of change in technology, AI, consolidation, and shifting customer expectations is accelerating. Kelly explains why dealers who embrace change win more often: smarter assortments, reliable logistics, and data-informed decisions that protect margin and improve experience. We explore specialty building products as a strategic edge: millwork, doors, and decking that drive differentiation and higher profitability. The vision is simple and powerful: one truck, one invoice, deeper coverage, so independents can act bigger without losing their local touch. Partnerships with co-ops like Do It Best amplify this, unlocking buying power and access to categories smaller footprints can’t carry alone.

 Topics we cover:
• Growing up in a lumber family and learning on the counter
• Lessons from a trailblazing mother winning respect in sales
• Selling the family business and navigating multiple acquisitions
• Why people, trust and hard decisions define leadership
• How a modern branch runs across sales, logistics and light manufacturing
• The industry’s inflection point and pace of change
• Where AI, consolidation and specialty products create leverage
• One-stop service advantages for independents
• Partnering with co-ops to expand reach and assortments
• Practical upsell

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👉 What Is Grit Blueprint?

Grit Blueprint is a media and growth company for the building industry. We help ambitious businesses in the building materials and construction industries grow through visibility, storytelling media, and smart systems.

👉 Book a Strategy Call

...

What if your website quietly drove five to nine times more sales through your front door than it took online? We sit down with Allison Flatjord, Vice President of Marketing and Ecommerce at Do It Best, to unpack how independent hardware and lumber dealers can use digital to fuel local dominance without losing what makes them unique.

Allison brings a rare blend of engineering rigor and brand instinct from Bath & Body Works and a party supply giant to the built world. She explains why the old way of testing, asking “do you like this?", misses the point, and how watching real usage turns a site into a sales engine. We explore the 80 percent of shoppers who research online before buying in store, the local SEO and inventory signals that turn searches into store visits, and the practical steps to launch fast with a co-op team that handles the heavy lifting.

You’ll hear why the best-performing members showcase their true assortments and niche strengths, think beekeeping gear, lobster pots, or a best-in-town paint bar, so the platform reflects their brand, pricing, and community. We also get personal: marathon lessons, raising twins, and how endurance and curiosity beat shortcuts during digital transformation. The through line is simple: stay obsessed with customer needs, pair tech with human connection, and stack small wins until the flywheel spins.

Topics we cover:
• E-commerce as an in-store sales multiplier
• Data and curiosity as core skills
• Member-first platform design and usability
• Local assortments that keep stores unique
• Research online, buy in-store behavior
• Five to nine times in-store lift from web
• Hands-on onboarding with marketing support
• Endurance mindset for digital change
• Customer obsession over long-term trends
• Balancing tech with personal connection
• Niche category focus to dominate locally

Ready to turn visibility into growth? Head to gritblueprint.com to learn more and book a call to talk about your growth strategy.

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👉 Stefanie Couch on YouTube

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👉 What Is Grit Blueprint?

Grit Blueprint is a media and growth company for the building industry. We help ambitious businesses in the building materials and construction industries grow through visibility, storytelling media, and smart systems.

👉 Book a Strategy Call

...

Want proof that local retail can be both high-tech and deeply human? We sat down with Meg Taylor, a fourth-generation leader behind 21 hardware stores in Virginia, to unpack how a family business blends community events, clear messaging, and practical AI to save time, grow sales, and earn lasting loyalty. Her journey, from Capitol Hill to marketing services to advocacy, builds a toolkit any independent retailer can use without losing the warmth that keeps neighbors coming back.

We dig into the shift from traditional buys to digital storytelling, where a simple annual Santa-and-trees event becomes a flywheel: content that resonates across generations, traffic that feeds relationships, and a brand memory that outlasts discounts. Meg explains how segmenting custom GPTs makes everyday work easier: writing cleaner emails, building OSHA-aligned training checklists, drafting social captions, and setting a consistent voice for internal updates. The result is fewer late nights behind the computer and more time on the floor with customers and teams.

We also talk about lowering the barrier to entry with playful experiments, like turning a family photo into a coloring page or testing new image editing tools that didn’t exist two weeks ago. The mindset is simple: try it, segment it, measure it, and keep what works. 

If you’re building an unmistakable brand in the built world, this conversation will give you concrete ways to earn trust, create shareable moments, and streamline the busywork. 

Topics we covered:
• Fourth-generation hardware and 21 stores across Virginia
• Lessons from Capitol Hill, media, and advocacy shaping leadership
• Moving from traditional to digital marketing with purpose
• Community events as memory makers and traffic drivers
• Practical AI via custom GPTs for HR, training, and content
• Segmenting tools to speed work and keep tone consistent
• Photo and imaging tools as low-risk onramps to adoption
• Focus on freeing time for staff and customers
• Spring buying context and coastal lifestyle touchpoints

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👉 Stefanie Couch on YouTube

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👉 What Is Grit Blueprint?

Grit Blueprint is a media and growth company for the building industry. We help ambitious businesses in the building materials and construction industries grow through visibility, storytelling media, and smart systems.

👉 Book a Strategy Call

...

Buyers have changed the rules, and the window and door industry is racing to catch up. We sit down with Paradigm’s VP of MDR Sales, Lisa Cooley, to unpack how AI, data, and a new generation of talent are rewriting everything from product discovery to the last mile of sales—and why grit still beats hype.

On the buyer side, the shift is dramatic. Homeowners now use long-tail searches and visual matching to find exactly what they want: “black exterior, white interior door that won’t rot at a Georgia lake house.” They expect transparent pricing ranges, instant configuration, and clean visualization before they ever talk to sales. That flips the sales playbook: educate early with rich data and tools, capture preferences respectfully, then show up in the conversation prepared to close gaps—not restart discovery. Lisa shares how our team supports manufacturers and dealers by turning complex product logic into simple, trustworthy buyer experiences.

Topics we cover:
• Generational shift toward empowered, research-first homeowners
• Labor shortages driving adoption of modern tools for recruiting
• Practical ways AI accelerates visualization, estimating and content
• Sales leadership that listens, asks better questions and motivates meaning
• Long-tail search and visual matching changing product discovery
• Connecting manufacturers, dealers and buyers with accurate data
• Vision for tighter data flows and human-centered decision-making

Be sure to subscribe to your favorite podcast platforms or YouTube and follow the Grit Blueprint podcast to hear more stories and insights from the building industry.

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👉 Stefanie Couch on YouTube

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Stefanie’s Website: StefanieCouch.com

👉 What Is Grit Blueprint?

Grit Blueprint is a media and growth company for the building industry. We help ambitious businesses in the building materials and construction industries grow through visibility, storytelling media, and smart systems.

👉 Book a Strategy Call

...

What if your store didn’t try to be the biggest in town and became the most unforgettable instead? We sit down with Bob Taylor, President Emeritus at Do it Best Corp, a fourth-generation retailer and former Do it Best CEO, to unpack how independents outmaneuver giants by pairing co-op scale with local soul. From a family business nearing 100 years to leading a national organization through major integrations, Bob shares the decisions, data, and culture that turn customers into raving fans.

We trace his family’s path from early True Value growth to a pivotal jump to Do it Best in the 1980's for better costs, rebates, and fill rates, then explore the recent True Value combination that’s already rebuilding confidence for retailers and vendors. You’ll hear why co-ops work: pooled buying power, deep talent, and tech that help small players “play big” without losing identity. More important, we dig into what scale can’t replace: the second-mile habits that make a local brand unmistakable.

Expect practical plays you can implement this week: greet and guide every shopper, cut wait friction, escort pros to exactly what they need, and follow up after major purchases. We talk about “Unreasonable Hospitality” as a competitive lens. Don’t copy what rivals do well, find what they do fine and make it unforgettable. Add community moments like a Santa event or the best Christmas tree lot in town. Use peer groups to share financials and steal proven ideas. Let technology extend your personal touch across email, checkout, and curbside so consistency becomes your signature.

If you lead an independent hardware store, lumber yard, or building supply brand, this is your playbook to raise the bar, earn trust, and win long-term.

Topics we covered:
• Co-op advantages that keep independents competitive
• Lessons from switching banners based on metrics and culture
• Executing integrations that restore retailer and vendor confidence
• Peer groups and benchmarking for real accountability
• Second-mile service as a daily operating system
• Unreasonable Hospitality and finding gaps competitors miss
• Small, personal gestures that become unforgettable stories
• Niche focus plus events that build community loyalty
• Using technology to play big while staying local

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👉 Stefanie Couch on YouTube

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👉 What Is Grit Blueprint?

Grit Blueprint is a media and growth company for the building industry. We help ambitious businesses in the building materials and construction industries grow through visibility, storytelling media, and smart systems.

👉 Book a Strategy Call

...

Speed without soul never lasts. From the buzzing floor of the Do It Best market in Indianapolis, we sit down with Anthony Bogucki, CEO of Bogucki Enterprises, a Do it Best member who grew a family business from a basement startup into a national e‑commerce operation, to map out how independents can compete and win against retail giants. We unpack the co‑op advantages that matter most: small‑parcel distribution that reaches 230 million people in one day, reliable two‑day coverage for 99% of ZIP codes, and a support system that blends buying power with practical, hands‑on training.

Together, we dig into the tools that turn a single storefront into a scalable brand. Think e‑commerce enablement that extends your aisles, marketing services that keep you consistent, and education across social media, operations, and AI so your team levels up without hiring a stadium full of specialists. Vendors show up because execution matches the relationship talk, and that trust compounds into better assortments, sharper terms, and faster replenishment.

We also look ahead at the partnership with True Value and what this joining of forces could mean for local hardware and LBM retailers. More coverage. More capacity. More leverage. The excitement on the show floor is real, and the promise is concrete: stronger logistics, smarter marketing, and a network that helps independent stores move like national players while staying rooted in their communities. Anthony’s story brings it home with purpose, from nephews discovering the industry to the Bogucki Foundation flying immunocompromised children to lifesaving treatment, proof that growth can carry heart.

Topics we cover:
• Co‑op scale that reaches 230 million people in one day and 99% of ZIP codes in two
• E‑commerce and small‑parcel distribution that let stores sell beyond shelves
• Marketing support and training across social, operations, AI, and more
• Vendor relationships built on execution and long‑term trust
• Momentum from the True Value partnership and what it unlocks
• Family legacy, next‑gen interest, and community roots
• The Bogucki Foundation’s missions for immunocompromised children
• On‑floor highlights, first‑time vendors, and market energy

If you're ready to turn visibility into growth, then head to gritblueprint.com to learn more and book a call to talk to us about your growth strategy

Watch the Video Version

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👉 Stefanie Couch on YouTube

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YouTube: Stefanie Couch
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👉 What Is Grit Blueprint?

Grit Blueprint is a media and growth company for the building industry. We help ambitious businesses in the building materials and construction industries grow through visibility, storytelling media, and smart systems.

👉 Book a Strategy Call

...

What if getting paid didn’t depend on business hours, paper checks, or a lucky round of phone tag? In this episode of The Grit Blueprint Podcast, I sit down with Erik Bornstein, Founder and CEO of TOOLBX, to explore how technology is transforming the lumber and building materials industry.

From sweeping job sites at 16 to leading one of Toronto’s top luxury homebuilding firms, Erik’s journey from contractor to tech founder gives him a rare perspective on what the construction world really needs: speed, transparency, and smarter workflows.

Topics we cover:
• Digital AR portal for quotes, orders, invoices, statements, and payments
• ERP-integrated pricing and workflows for clean data end to end
• Faster billing cycles for cost‑plus builders and reduced DSO
• 24/7 access with after‑hours payments and text‑to‑pay
• Seasonal lists and curated carts to drive upsell and loyalty
• Product discovery with account‑specific pricing to cut phone tag
• Easy onboarding, preferred pricing for co‑op dealers, under six weeks
• Competing with big‑box pro portals through speed and relevance
• In‑house engineering velocity for rapid features and integrations

Be sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast platforms or YouTube and follow the Grit Blueprint podcast to catch more stories and insights from the building industry.

Watch the Video Version

Catch this episode of The Grit Blueprint Podcast on YouTube:
👉 Stefanie Couch on YouTube

Subscribe to Built to Win

Get exclusive insights, tools, and updates from Grit Blueprint, designed to help you lead and win in the building industry.
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Connect with Stefanie Couch & Grit Blueprint

Grit Website: GritBlueprint.com
YouTube: Stefanie Couch
Instagram: @StefanieCouchOfficial
LinkedIn: Stefanie Couch
Stefanie’s Website: StefanieCouch.com

👉 What Is Grit Blueprint?

Grit Blueprint is a media and growth company for the building industry. We help ambitious businesses in the building materials and construction industries grow through visibility, storytelling media, and smart systems.

👉 Book a Strategy Call

...