Powerful Digital Marketing Strategies for Job Shops

• 54:40

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Digital marketing, job shops, Emily Wilkins, marketing metal, branding strategy, manufacturing, customer engagement, AI applications, mastermind program, business advice, client collaboration, website design, marketing chops, no BS program, entrepreneurial support.

SPEAKERS

Emily Wilkins, Damon Pistulka, Curt Anderson

 

Damon Pistulka  00:00

Or should I? You can leave it there. Oh, alright, everyone, it is Friday, and you know what that means? Yeah, we’re just continuing on from the conversation before we got started today, but it is time for stop being the best kept secret. And I am Damon pistolka, one of your co hosts here today. We’re going to be talking about powerful digital marketing strategies for job shops. I’m just going to turn it over to my co host there, Kurt Anderson, to take it away, introduce a guest, and get us started.

 

Curt Anderson  00:29

Man Damon, so we’re unfortunately, we’re not young guys anymore. So back in the day, do you remember a band called the talking heads? Does anybody remember the talking

 

Emily Wilkins  00:38

heads? You love the talking heads. Yes, David Byrne is amazing. I follow him on Instagram. I saw David burn

 

Curt Anderson  00:46

last night. Man, you did. Oh, that’s super cool. I’m so jealous. 14 hours ago, 15 hours so David Byrne, so now I have a little story about the talking heads, David. So there we go. So I played, I played. I was horrible. I played a sport in college. It was rugby, and our coach would always say, All right, boys, this ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco, this ain’t no fooling around. You remember that one? Emily, remember that song life during war time? So Damon, that’s my kickoff for this show. Is this ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco, this ain’t no fooling around. We got Emily, Joanne Wilkins in the house. Emily, how are you? My friend? Happy Friday.

 

Emily Wilkins  01:23

This must be the place, man, this month.

 

Curt Anderson  01:27

So you know what we I’m like, everybody’s like, what are they talking about? I gotta digress. So, Emily, when my daughter was little, when she was, you know, I was a, I’m a music junkie. I play songs for all the time. I played that song for her all the time. So last night. I go, Hey, do you remember this? I’m texting her. She’s away to college. I’m like, Hey, do you remember the song? She’s like, Of course I do. I’m like, Well, I’m seeing the guy live right now. And so anyway, great song. What? What? Give me another talking head. What? Any other memories, any thoughts of the talking heads?

 

Emily Wilkins  01:53

I my dad was a big talking heads is still, I’m sure, a big Talking Heads fan. Uh, so, yeah, just grew up listening to it. And we did a lot of, like, road trips and stuff growing up. And so lots of music, always

 

Curt Anderson  02:08

lots of music. And so that. And what’s another song of theirs, road to nowhere. Remember that one? Yeah, we’re on road to nowhere. Come on. Say, all right, so let’s dive in. So we got Emily Wilkins in the house. So Emily, you know what? Your repeat offender? You need to, need to be a better judge of character, hanging out with Damon and I. But anyway, that’s another story. Yeah, last time you were on the show was, was, like in dog years, it was like 100 years ago, right?

 

Emily Wilkins  02:34

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Pretty much,

 

Curt Anderson  02:37

little bit, little bits changed in those past three and a half years. Would you say. So much has changed just a little bit. So let’s start here. I have a question for you. I don’t believe I asked you this question last time you’re on. So I have a question for you. Are you ready? Are you sitting down? Emily Wilkins, when you were a little girl growing up, who was your hero? Who did you look up to? Who just showered you with unconditional love. Who was your hero when you’re a little girl growing up,

 

Emily Wilkins  03:05

I have been so lucky in my life to have so many amazing parental figures, parents and grandparents I had. I had three sets of grandparents growing up, they’re all, you know, they all brought unique and different things to my to my life. My My parents have always been super supportive and and amazing. I mean, my my mom’s a calculus professor at an engineering school. My dad worked for GM is, you know, his whole career. And he did, he was a test engineer, so he would bring home vehicles all the time. And, you know, I got to, got to drive the Don’t, don’t tell GM, I got to drive the company, like before I had a license.

 

03:58

Yeah, we heard nothing. Yeah.

 

Emily Wilkins  04:04

I mean, my, my grandma was like, worked like, she was like Mad Men, like, worked in the office of one of the competitors that they talk about on the show. Oh, Really, wow, yeah, McCann Erickson was the right big ad agency that she worked at. So yeah, retired from there, and yeah, just my my dad’s dad and his brothers were very musical. They were in bands, and my grandpa could play anything with strings. I actually have his guitar and violin on my wall, behind, behind my computer there, but, yeah, I don’t know. I It’s hard to nail one down specifically, but

 

Curt Anderson  04:47

so amazing, incredible role models. Now, do we have a picture that I should pull up? Do we have, do I have a picture

 

Emily Wilkins  04:53

that we should pull up? Well, it was a throwback to talking heads. So this

 

Curt Anderson  04:57

must be the place Damon there. It is, right there. No. It ties in with we’re talking about all of our heroes, and so this all blends together. So, alright, perfect. Thank you for in need to get a screenshot of that right there. Look at that. So you just made my day. So Emily, tons of role models who had the who had the biggest influence on you for your career. Would you say? Because we’re going to dive into you are doing amazing work for manufacturers. Talk a little bit like who had a real heavy influence on you, kind of being this marketing guru that you’ve become?

 

Emily Wilkins  05:28

Yeah, I don’t even know. I mean, I ended up, I know how I ended up here my mom’s I mentioned my mom’s a calculus professor, so I had free tuition at Kettering University, at engineering school. So I really, I only had one choice with college, right? Like, you were going to Kettering, so, yeah, and I, I don’t know that I ever really grat, like, was super interested in engineering. I mean, I, I had seen the stuff that my dad was doing, you know, we got to go to, like, open houses at GM and stuff. And I, you know, heard about what he worked on. I don’t know that that was, like, super interesting to me. I was a lot more artistic and stuff as a kid. So I think, you know, I always wanted to go to art school, and I almost left Kettering for art school at one point. And my my roommate in college convinced me her mom also worked at Kettering, so she convinced me to switch to the business program at Kettering, and that’s where I really started taking a, you know, taking more of a like into marketing. And my, my marketing professor, actually, I think, had a lot to do with it, because she really was, like, you have a real knack for this, like you’re kind of a natural with the concepts, and you have a really good understanding of of all that. So, so I guess that is kind of an initial spark. And then my my thesis project, I work for a small fabrication shop right here in Zealand, Michigan, and I worked really closely with the owner. You know, there were only, like, six people that worked there, six or seven people that worked in the shop, and but I worked really closely with him, and he was one of these guys that was always teaching and just always telling me about his, you know, what he does as the owner and his role and all of that. So I think that also played a big role. I don’t know. I’ve had a lot of lot of influences in my lot of

 

Curt Anderson  07:30

what a lucky gal and Kettering one of the top engineering schools in the country. So like your mom being a calculus professor. Man, is that impressive? Holy cow. So kudos. Kudos to mom. So let’s dive in. I want to, I’m going to pull up your website as a matter of fact. So please share with folks marketing metal. How are you what is marketing metal, and how are you making the world a better place?

 

Emily Wilkins  07:54

That is a big question. Kurt, marketing metal, yeah, we help job shops make big profits and bigger impact. And to me, the the word marketing metal, actually, if you go to like our about page, I have a dictionary definition of it on there, but it’s, to me, it’s the it’s the stuff that make you, that makes you who you are, right? It’s that, that high quality raw material that goes into great marketing, having, having a brand that says something and means something and stands for something, and backing it up with action, right? You’re not just You’re not just saying that you do these things, but actually doing these things, like deciding that you want to be awesome and being awesome, right? It’s, yeah,

 

Curt Anderson  08:47

well, let’s I, you know, I love the snarkiness here, you know, like, you know, marketing, metal, it’s a noun, you know, you give the pronunciation. But down here, the rat like, you’ve really leaned heavy into that word, radical, you know, like you and I’ve gone back and forth like Damon, I love using that word, like, radical gratitude. You’re huge on using this word radical talk a little bit like, what does radical and we’ve got it right here on the screen. But like, what does it mean to you personally for, like, your brand, your culture, and how you institute that with your customers? Yeah?

 

Emily Wilkins  09:17

Um, yeah. Like, it says on there, bold, profitable, impactful, and willing to say no to BS, right? Um, but it’s to me, I think the reason I landed on that word was kind of, kind of a lot of things I did a lot of, like dictionary, you know, Googling, of what, what the word radical means. I think it really came from. There have been several iterations of the marketing metal brand, okay, so when I first started, I I was using, I was using photos from my grandpa’s brochure, which I still use throughout, you know, in some places, but that was kind of like the main, like main imagery on my site, because I didn’t have a lot of like examples to point to. So it kind of, you know. Yeah, when you’re in marketing, coming up with imagery, or when you’re selling marketing services, coming up with imagery to sell your services is kind of hard, because it’s like conceptual, right? And every project is different and whatever. So anyway, I used these photos from my grandpa’s brochure, and it was always kind of targeted toward manufacturing, but not as specific as I am now, not not even close. And so then when covid happened, I really differentiated. And was like, I’m just gonna do whatever. You know, I had all these random people reaching out for marketing help and not in manufacturing, like randomness. So I, so I rebranded again to be more like marketing metal, like, like, rock and roll metal. So then we had kind of this rock and roll vibe going, and then, and then, when I joined no BS PS program is Kurt and I were talking about before this, you know, she part of her whole philosophy, and part of what I bring to my my customers is getting really specific about who those perfect customers are for you and and that was so hard for me to put my stake in the ground and say, like, I’m just going to help job shops, right, like, and it, and not just any job shops, like job shops that want to do things differently, that want to show up and be different and and have care about the impact that they’re making on the world, you know, the ones that are that are willing to do things different and and try new things. So, so, yeah, I think that’s where radical really came from. Because it was like, that’s like, a metal, you know, heavy metal kind of like rats, yeah, yeah. And so that, that word just kind of fit. It just seemed like it was, it was a good way to explain what I was all about,

 

Curt Anderson  11:54

yeah. And, you know, I’m going to, I’m going to, I’m going to grab your website one more time, because there’s a line here. I was, mere fact, I might grab it a couple more times, but right here, number seven, you know, marketing chops, as in, Damn, that shop has some marketing metal. So I just, I absolutely love, yeah, that line right there, but there’s, there’s multiple things that I want to ask you, and I know, and I’m not going to throw all these questions at you at once, but hopefully Damon help you out. I gotta try to remember all these questions. You I want to, I want to lean into the manufacturing, the marketing, metal, you know, helping manufacturers. But you mentioned Pia, and you mentioned coaching. And one thing that I really admire about you is that you’ve leaned in. You’ve like, raise your hand, and you just, you kind of said, like, you know, I don’t know if I’m hearing like, Hey, I was a little bit all over the place, but somebody helped me get focused. What did it take for you as an entrepreneur to kind of raise your hand and have that humility to say, You know what? I need help. I don’t know it all. I need a coach. And I, ironically, I had read Pia book, like, a couple years prior to meeting you. So I’m a huge, huge Pia fan. And so when I’m like, Oh my God, you’re, you’re, you know, you’re getting coached by Pia, like, that’s legit. What did it take for you to was there an Aha Moment? Moment or tipping point? What was that like for you to start that coaching process?

 

Emily Wilkins  13:05

Yeah, well, Pia book starts with her crying on crying at the kitchen table. Moment, right? I had one of those moments. It was I lost my biggest customer, and they were months behind on payments. And I had just hired two new people to help with their account. And I was like, growing, you know, I was doing the typical agency thing, which is growing and, you know, growing retainers, but booking retainer clients so that I had predictable income, so then I could hire people to do the work, and blah, blah, you know, I was following this, this script that the agencies are fall. You know, typical agencies follow, not PS, not PS, agencies, but, and, yeah, I lost this, lost this customer, lost my my dog, who I was, love of my life, like you, yeah, and you guys maybe know the storm story. Maybe you don’t, but I, you know my intestines exploded. It’s, I can’t believe it been, like, eight years already, almost nine. I can’t do math right now. Don’t tell my mom. So and George hit was there for me. Like he was, he was my guardian angel through that whole process, and and then he, it was, like, this whole month long thing that where he was declining with with cancer, and we didn’t know that that’s what it was. And that’s had, like, given us hope that it was just this, like, infection, he’s going to be fine. And, you know, just like, and then, so this is all happening, and then this client leaves, and it all blows up in my face, and I just felt like my my life was ending, like everything was collapsing. I was Doom scrolling in the parking lot at the emergency vet, and this ad came PS ad came up. On Instagram, and I went down her rabbit hole. And I, you know, just like, consumed everything that I could find. I think I downloaded, I think she had, like, a free chapter, first chapter of her book or something. And I was, yeah, she had this blueprint for a No BS agency and and all of it, like she was just speaking directly to me, like everything that was happening in my life was the things that she was saying. And I was like, sold at one conversation with her, 115 minute conversation with her. And I was like, Yep, I’m

 

Curt Anderson  15:36

in Gosh. And four years later, still coaching with her, and just phenomenal. The big thing that I want to hit right there, that you said, is, like, here a person out there, like, knew you spoke directly to you, had no idea who you were, didn’t know that you existed, but spoke directly, and somehow, you know, I’m sure, not by accident, found, you know, ended up in your feed. Yeah, you do an amazing job. I think. You know, we’ve done webinars together, and you do you talk about that, that ideal customer, right? Share for folks out there with manufacturer entrepreneur, they’re feeling maybe like you at that kitchen table, something that was me yesterday, right? No, I’m just teasing. So you know, there might be entrepreneurs, there might be manufacturers out there just really struggling with their marketing, their their lead gen efforts. Share with folks, why is it just so critical to lean into, like, what you’ve done with your company, what Pia did to you? Why is it so important for manufacturers lean into that ideal customer?

 

Emily Wilkins  16:31

Yeah, I think, you know, like marketing agencies, job shops tend to take whatever falls in their lap, right? They’re like, they’re problem solvers, they’re doers. They can do anything right. They they have the tools in their shop to make whatever happen. So they fall into the trap of like working with these customers that are not profitable for them, or pain in the ass for them for one one reason or another, you know, and then that that’s that opportunity cost, right? Like they could be spending that time working with really good customers that actually value them and want to be, you know, want to be working with them, you know, they could be spending that time marketing themselves. So then they have more options to choose from, right? They have leads coming to them that actually want to work with them, and they don’t have to just take whatever falls in their lap,

 

Curt Anderson  17:30

right, right? Absolutely love it. Damon, your thoughts so far, what’s going through your

 

Damon Pistulka  17:34

it’s great that you. I love the story. First of all, Emily, it’s it’s great because that’s what we should really be trying to do in our marketing. It what we’re talking about. And it’s not just to be, you know, luring somebody in to pay us money. It’s really about getting the right people. Those people like you said that connect with what we’re talking about, that that deep a level, that they know this is probably where I want to be, yeah and feel it. And right both of you feel it when you do it, because that’s what the right marketing does. It doesn’t just drive $1 to get exchanged. It drives it drives a relationship that really adds value to both sides and both of their lives and their experience. Yeah, totally. Okay.

 

Curt Anderson  18:23

So I wanted, like, when you talk about, like, walking a walk, talking to talk, right? Or if I said that backwards, so Emily walks the walk. So right here, you know, like, if I’m a restaurant or retail or whatever, and if I leave a website, like you’re really not speaking to me, but boy, if somebody out there owns a chop shop, you are like, Hey, I am your solution right here. So Emily, talk a little bit about what we’re seeing here. And I just And again, like your shop rocks. I love the language. I love look. Damon, what do you got?

 

Damon Pistulka  18:52

Well, I just saw you see that machine? Yeah. And I actually ran a company that had a machine like that with all big things. And watching those things work is amazing, right? You have to have super big cranes and moving stuff into them. That’s awesome, right?

 

Emily Wilkins  19:04

Anyway, massive pieces of equipment. It’s crazy. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that, that’s from my, my husband’s grandpa’s shop, actually.

 

Curt Anderson  19:13

But, oh, is it really awesome? Yeah, cool and, and so just share a little bit like, you know, your branding, your look, how you speak to your clients. And I want to just kind of scroll down the page. Scroll down the page a little bit, but as you’re sharing this again, like speaking to that manufacturer about, Hey, these are some of the changes that maybe you could make on you know, if you’re a job shop, maybe you’re not everything to everybody. I’ve had the privilege I know a couple of your clients. We actually you and I went out to dinner with one of your clients together, and I’ve also taken a tour of one of your clients, like, I know firsthand the magic that you bring to your clients. Just talk a little bit about, like, your branding, and then how you bring that to your clients.

 

Emily Wilkins  19:50

Yeah, it’s all about the customer. It’s getting in their head and figuring out what they you know, what is the unique brilliance that i. I’m bringing to the table, how can I help them solve their problems? Right? And they like, they know that what they’re doing is cool, right? They maybe, maybe they know, maybe they don’t. But when they don’t have, when they don’t have a brand to back it up, then it’s they’re not going to be they’re not going to have the coffee. The confidence to go out there and sell, right? They’re not going to have the confidence to do what they need to do to, you know, to build a profitable, scalable business. So, so that’s a big part of, you know, I just got off a live with Josh McCain and the throughput manufacturing mastermind. And we’re talking about how one guy was like, Well, what if I do all this stuff and I start to get overwhelmed with business, you know? What if I get too too busy? Well, if you have a brand that’s really clear and you’re really authentic and, you know, and specific and intentional in what you’re saying, then you’re going to attract more of the right people. And if you have the right you know, if you have a clear process, it’s a lot easier to weed out the bad ones, you know, from the start too. So, and when you have more leads coming in than what you can execute on, then maybe you can fire a couple people that,

 

Damon Pistulka  21:28

yeah, yeah, it’s, it’s those who own the leads win. That’s what you just need to say there. Because if you have the leads, you can decide if they’re the right fit or not, and and you can nicely help them find somebody else

 

Emily Wilkins  21:41

you can Yes,

 

Curt Anderson  21:44

well, and Damon, I know about you, but as a Reese’s Reese’s cup, you know, peanut butter cup chocolate fan, are you the peanut butter to our dark, dark chocolate? I think, yeah, I like

 

Emily Wilkins  21:54

that. Yeah, I actually have to. I stole that from my friend Sarah. Sarah chambers also a coach in the no BS program, and I totally just swiped that from her. We didn’t know.

 

Curt Anderson  22:09

We didn’t need to know that. So, you know, that’s, you know,

 

Emily Wilkins  22:13

I’m happy to give credit where credit is due. Yeah, I also love peanut butter and dark chocolate. So awesome. So alright,

 

Curt Anderson  22:19

guys, if you’re just I know we’re coming to top of the hour. We’re here with our dear friend Emily. You want to stop by her LinkedIn? Do yourself a favor. Connect with her on LinkedIn. Check out her website. If you’ve been struggling with your website, you’re like, man, it’s just not really connecting or resonate with folks. Man, this is a great stop by Emily’s website. Take a look at it. You get some great ideas, some suggestions, better yet, give her a call. Drop her a note. Say, Hey, we need to have a geek session, because she does phenomenal, incredible work. So I’m going to come back to you here. So let’s dive into your website. Website, you do phenomenal design, branding strategy. Walk us through a little bit like the process manufacturer works with you, you know, like, Can I mention a couple names? Can I mention one of your clients? Like, Peters? Right? Peter C tree, yeah. So, man, they just, they Damon, so we went out to dinner with the the owner. They, they think the Emily walks on water. Man, what? And did we have a wonderful dinner that night? Remember that was like we’re, you know, overlooking the lake, and, oh, yeah, it was such a nice night. Very cool. Thank Yeah. So, thank you for for nudging me that night, and connect.

 

Emily Wilkins  23:21

Thank you for driving 45 minutes and picking me up and taking me to dinner because,

 

Curt Anderson  23:25

hey, we went down. We went to the lake. I think. Did we skip some rock? We threw some rocks, right? We skipped, remember that? Yeah, that’s right, yeah. So we took we went down to the lake, Lake Erie and one of our Great Lakes. And so we went out to dinner and had a wonderful time with her customer. But just when you, when you connect with a manufacturer, and you do quite a bit, and you’re, you’re in Michigan, you do quite a bit in the great state of Pennsylvania, yeah, about like, when you start with that engagement with one of your clients, what does that look like? Like? Like, let’s start with the basics,

 

Emily Wilkins  23:55

yeah. So I start with a 15 minute intro call, um, just to see how we vibe, right, see if we’re a good fit, and if they, you know, if they seem like they are a good fit for our process and like we can help them. Then I tell them how it works, and I send a follow up email that explains how it works. So we, we start with something called the setup. Like every good machining manufacturing project has to have a good setup. So it’s a it’s an hour and a half conversation where I we deep dive into who they are, what what are their big goals and dreams? Who are their customers, what makes them different, all of the things you know, really, really deep dive to try to get a good understanding of what they’re all about, and what you know, what they’re trying to do with their company. And then from there, I write up a brief that outlines what I see as their best opportunities to move forward. Uh, there are what I see as their biggest opportunities with with their brand and marketing, and then I recommend one of our packages, and we go from there. Sometimes they hire us, sometimes they don’t, yeah, and sometimes they come back two years later and they’re like, Hey, we’re ready now,

 

Damon Pistulka  25:20

yeah, well, and that’s a good point, because not everybody’s ready to buy at the time that they’re kind of looking around, right? And sometimes life business, other things can get in the way of that specific thing, and they’ll come back later, but the impression that you leave with a with a really informational and educational process leaves it open, and that’s awesome.

 

Curt Anderson  25:42

Yeah, I think the challenge for Damon, you’ve said this, I feel a million times the challenge with the manufacturer. They almost say, no problem. But though you know they’ll buy a quarter million dollar, half a million dollar machine, because they know, if I buy this machine, I can produce results and I can I can physically watch this thing printing money as I get my return on investment. The challenge with marketing is it’s arbitrary, you know, and you know, and I don’t fault the manufacturers at all when they’re a little hesitant on like, what do I do? But however, Emily, we need to help them stop being the best kept secret. You do a great job. First off again, raft, we top the hour, almost at top of the hour. Yes, we are. Emily’s website. Stop by her LinkedIn. She posts all sorts of amazing content on LinkedIn. Emily, I love following you. Love following your life. You share your your dad, your husband, I think was your anniversary not too long ago, right?

 

Emily Wilkins  26:34

Was it’s actually in three days.

 

Curt Anderson  26:37

Nice, three days. All right, so guess what? Damon, I think we’ve got a friend here, if they’re in the comment. Our friend is celebrating her 33rd anniversary. How about you want to pull up Diane real quick?

 

Damon Pistulka  26:46

Yeah. Diane, she says strategic planning. And yes, sometimes we need to let the timing be right for our customers. And Diane, thanks for dropping the comments. She also says, Happy Friday. And yes, it is getting close to her anniversary as well.

 

Curt Anderson  27:00

33 years. And I think Emmy, Emmy, if I saw this, did I see, Did I did I see 18? How many years have you been

 

Emily Wilkins  27:06

married? 13 years we’ve been together for we’ve been together for 18. I think it’d be like 19 years in March.

 

Curt Anderson  27:15

I’ll post somewhere. I for some reason it was in my mind, 18. So anyway, Happy Happy anniversary to you. Happy anniversary to our dear friend, Diane, buyer out there. Diane sent you tons of love and celebration for this weekend with her and Frank and so Emily, congratulations to you and your husband. I love following your journey, but you also you’re on site. I feel like you get, you get on site with your clients, correct? Yeah.

 

Emily Wilkins  27:39

I love getting in the shop with them. That’s that’s the best way to get to know them, and it really helps us to be able to, you know, tell their story. Really. I was just with a shop. I don’t have a lot of local customers anymore, but, but I had a I have a new client in fenville, Michigan. They they make these just massive pieces of equipment for, not equipment, but massive parts for for boats. So it’s like the the housing that propellers go in, yeah, they’re called court nozzles, and they’re massive, like, one of them weighed like 88,000 pounds. It’s incredible that the stuff is made right here. And, yeah, yeah, yeah, we got some really cool photos I can’t wait to show.

 

Damon Pistulka  28:37

Oh, yeah. And that’s what’s fun about manufacturing, right? Is you, you connected with that client and helping them, and they’re doing really crazy technical things, yeah? And, and if the world just knew about it, they’d be doing more of it

 

Curt Anderson  28:53

for sure. Yeah? So, so I’m gonna, you know what, and we didn’t script any of this, so I might put you on the spot a little bit, Emily, so I’m gonna, I’m taking a little chance here with a question. Share any particular story that you’ve been blown away with, like, when, again, like, say, our friends and, you know, I’m thinking of some of the folks you’ve worked with in Pennsylvania, you know, is there a particular story, particular client, where you’re just kind of blown away, of, like, you know, anything that they’ve overcome, or just when you’re on site, you’re like, Man, this is just, I’m so blessed to be part of this process here. Do you have any or maybe all of them? But is there any one particular story that just really stands out above the the rest?

 

Emily Wilkins  29:29

Yeah, all of them. I mean, they all just have such cool, unique stories. They’re all doing such amazing things for their communities. Um, and I, we were talking a little bit before the show. I’ve been piloting a mastermind program this year with with a few of my clients. So once a month, we meet up for two hours and talk through our we start with wins. Of course, us, us high achievers, have a hard time remembering all that we’ve already accomplished and. Get hung up on what we want to accomplish and feel like we’re never getting there right, because we’re always moving the goal. So yeah. So we start with wins, and then we, you know, talk through challenge, any challenges that we’re having, and help each other out with, you know, provide resources and make connections. They’ve, I have a couple of them that are collaborating on projects. They’re, you know, giving each other referrals and really, really engaged and interested in, like, want. We just had a client meeting yesterday, and he was asking about another one of the guys in the in the group, and whatever happened with, you know, with him and his partner, because they were, like, having some issues. And, yeah, it’s just been the coolest thing to see them all connect. So yeah, I mean, a couple of the ones that are regulars in the group, guy, galer and Jessica at Bent river. We, we just launched their website. It’s amazing. So excited. Ian store calls with that the video on that one, I can give you

 

Curt Anderson  31:20

the link. We Hey, and What’s your dog’s name?

 

Emily Wilkins  31:25

Indiana Jones.

 

31:26

Nice. That’s cool.

 

Curt Anderson  31:29

Hey, we gotta get Indiana on the show. We’re Damon and I are dog junkies. So we got now bent river is it? Bent river machine? Yes.

 

Emily Wilkins  31:37

Bent river machine. Can I? Can I pull a site up? Yeah, yeah, of course.

 

Curt Anderson  31:42

And so let’s see. Let me grab that real quick. Let me make sure I got Do I have the right one? It’s better.

 

Emily Wilkins  31:49

They were just named on the Inc 5000 list this year. Oh, you’re kidding, yeah. So that’s really

 

Curt Anderson  31:56

cool. How cool is that? Our guest on Wednesday was a client we work with, they’re on the Inc 5000 so this, I’m thrilled to share. Thank you. Thank you for sharing that. So talk a little bit about man, this is super exciting, guys. So you know, here with Emily Wilkins, we’re checking out a new website project. She just, you just launched it this week. You said, right, it was a few weeks ago, few weeks ago. Talk to us. Talk to us what’s going on here and tell us about the process.

 

Emily Wilkins  32:22

Yeah, so they had this very corporate kind of cookie cutter website with all sorts of stock imagery that didn’t really, you know, it didn’t show any of the people that they have there, which their people are a huge part of what they do. They do really super custom, custom equipment, automation stuff. And you know, their their ability to solve problems like that, is a huge part of what they’re selling, right? Their expertise, yeah, just like, just like all the shops we work with, they’re selling their expertise at the end of the day, right? So, yeah, going on site with them and doing the the photography and video was a huge, huge part of building their brand. And we kind of, we kind of designed the brand around the photos. Oh, did you really we? Can’t we kind of do that. We do that fairly often with our clients, because now the the photography is a really, it’s a really key part of of the image that you’re bringing to the table. You know,

 

Curt Anderson  33:32

take that little you pick my curiosity there. Take that a little bit further. So you built this around the photos. Sure. Take that little further for us, if

 

Emily Wilkins  33:42

you could, yeah, yeah. Like, the colors and everything kind of come out of the they’re, like, the tones that were coming out for us in the in the photos that we got, they had that, you know, they’re in the desert, so we use kind of that orange, orange color. And then the river was a big part too. The bent river is actually in the town where they are, so that’s where the The name comes from. So we pulled kind of that they have some of that dark turquoise stuff on the wall, on the walls inside of their space, too.

 

Curt Anderson  34:19

So very cool. Yeah, gosh, and were you and you were just, were you just on site with them recently, or

 

Emily Wilkins  34:26

it was actually in, it’s actually in April. We kind of did their, oh, no, it was earlier than that. No, it was March. I know it was March. It was International Women’s Day. So I had, I was there for my friend Sarah, that I mentioned for her event in Phoenix. But anyway, we, yeah, we kind of did their their brand and phases, which we don’t normally do, right? So there were lots of reasons for that, but normally we do it.

 

Curt Anderson  34:57

So Emily, let’s go here. So on Wednesday we’re in. Few of this gentleman that said Inc 5000 and so we like say, iron sharpens iron, right? And most, I don’t know, you know, many entrepreneurs are out there saying, like, Man, I want to get my company on the Inc 5000 getting underneath the hood, aligning, partnering. And again, like, you’re part of the process. You were part of the victory for them. You know, winning any takeaways that you saw that. What was about this company that got them on Inc, 5000 any particular traits or like, what did you see when you’re on site with

 

Emily Wilkins  35:27

them? I don’t, I can’t take any credit for Thank you. I can’t take any credit for it. They are just amazing leaders. They’re, they’re, they’re, you know, they care about their people. They’re, they’re working with, actually, they were referred to me by Jim Mayer, the manufacturing culture guru, and so he was there on site with me as well when we were there. And, you know, they’ve hired him and invited him in to help improve their culture and work with their team. And you know, just having that, having that self awareness that you’re you don’t have all the answers, right, you can improve and bring in other experts to help you. That’s a that’s a big signal to me that they’re that they’re good leaders, that they’re doing, you know, going to do what’s necessary? Um, I think to get on the Inc 5000 you just have to, like, pay money and apply. I don’t know that they, I don’t know how many they turn away. You’d have to ask them, but it’s really cool to be neat. And that was a huge goal. And when I first had the setup with them, that was their that was a goal that they had mentioned. Very cool. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then I, I want to mention another, another client, that the one that we were with yesterday, Johnny Goody of MSP manufacturing also launched their brand early, early June. But Johnny is just the coolest guy. He’s he is from a military background. He worked in law enforcement for a long time, and then decided to take, you know, to take over his dad’s machine shop, not having any manufacturing experience, and really just dove in and, you know, got, got his hands dirty, and started learning, learning from the shop floor up and and now He’s just, like, he is seriously crushing right now, like, he, he was mentioned in Forbes, he’s been in modern machine shop. He’s all over the place, like, just really showing up and doing, you know, doing that personal branding, like being face of the company. And it’s really cool to see,

 

Curt Anderson  37:58

yeah, I mean, I tell you, really getting, like, the who’s who. If I mentioned Ashley Walters was, was Ashley a client of yours? And what Damon she was on the show. She wrote a great book, I think, grit and grace, yeah? So, yep. And you know, what an incredible overachiever she is. But I’ve just, it’s just so impressive on, like, how you’re really landing the who’s who in manufacturing, and just your, yeah, I tell you, our hats off to you. You’re doing such a great job in helping the industry and just helping people stop being the best kept secret we’re going to start writing down, because I know you. You’re saving manufacturing all over the country. I’m super busy. You’ve got an anniversary in three days, so you, we’ve got, you’ve got plenty to do. How about AI that like you can’t have a conversation these days without AI. What is AI doing for you? Your clients, your processes? What do you want to share there? From that perspective,

 

Emily Wilkins  38:49

we could have a whole episode on this.

 

Curt Anderson  38:52

Kurt. Might have to have you back, my friend.

 

Emily Wilkins  38:56

We might have to i, i don’t know i have so another one of the coaches in pious group is has the AI Queens podcast she just came out with, it’s amazing. Check it out. And she’s just using AI like a wizard and sharing all of her you know, knowledge with us as well. I I’m a little bit more. I kind of go back and forth with it. I mean, we use it, we definitely use it, and it’s, it’s making, it’s making us faster and more efficient and better able to focus on the things that really matter. If that makes sense, taking, you know, just taking away the the boring, nitty gritty things that we don’t need to pay as much touch attention to, I guess. But I don’t know, I still, I still go back and forth. Sometimes like, sometimes I feel like, I think I I think, what a. AI has helped me with the most is, is getting, getting clear on what I’m trying to say. Like, help helping me prepare. Like, because garbage in, garbage out, right? If you put garbage into it, it’s going to give you garbage out. So you have to do that work of figuring out what the message is, and make sure, making sure that you’re, you know, saying what you want to say, and and, like, giving it the right details and whatever, otherwise you’re just going to get bland garbage. That sucks. So I like it. Can take what you it. Can take your rambling, right? Like, I can record a ramble on my phone and then put it in there, and it can turn it into something that’s intelligible, which is great, especially for, you know, it’s really awesome for, like, people who have dyslexia and maybe don’t have as as strong writing background, but they have ideas that they want to share. You know, it’s, it’s really amazing. It’s doing some amazing things. And, you know, I’m involved with my our local TEDx conference here. Much this year, sadly, but, um, but last year, we had a guy talking about AI and how they’re using it to he’s using it to help people speak who don’t, who like, have whatever issues with speaking. So they’re like, there’s some really awesome applications out there for for AI and I mentioned Johnny, Johnny’s using it a ton in his in his business, to help their processes go better. I know he’s using it for programming and like they’ve kind of done side by side with the human and the programmer, and it’s like cutting cutting the time down in a quarter cloud, NC is the company that he’s been working with on that. So, yeah, I mean, there are great applications, but there are also, there are also drawbacks, right there. There’s a lot of when you when you’re just reliant on, it can make us lazy, right? It can make us lazy and complacent and and I don’t think that’s good for humanity. So I think, as with any technology, any tool, to use it with intention, right? Yeah, not to mention what it’s doing to the environment.

 

Damon Pistulka  42:32

But, you know, because it’s, it’s kind of like from a weird example of a calculator. Right before we had calculators, we had to do it on paper, and then, and then you go take it one step further, and then you have the engineering calculators now in school that they don’t have to really learn calculus, how to do calculus, because you’ve got an engineering calculator. I was talking to my wife about this last week, and and that’s kind of what we’re seeing with AI, is it’s, it’s, it’s like a calculator on steroids. But when you rely on it, and I was just reading a good book on it this last week, you know, it’s, it’s just trying to predict what it should be saying, it doesn’t really know. So we, we, we have to be checking out

 

Emily Wilkins  43:15

of it, yes, for sure, yeah. And my mom, my mom makes kids do the work by hand,

 

Curt Anderson  43:21

because, God bless her, that’s right. You know, work by hand. That’s right. My, my daughter’s taking calculus right now. I’m like, oh my god, good luck. Yeah, you know. And I so we’ll start mine down. My best friend of mine texted me this morning. He is a psychologist in Minneapolis. He’s at a conference in New York City this weekend, and it’s an AI conference for oncology and for cancer. And I’m like, gosh, hasn’t anybody dropped into chat GBT, how to cure some of these diseases? So anyway, so maybe, who knows? Maybe we’ll cure some some problems out of this. But Emily, as we start winding down, you mentioned you have mastermind. Is this something like, do we need to get this out to the universe. How can people join? How can people connect with you? What do we have there for the mastermind?

 

Emily Wilkins  44:05

Yeah, so we are, we are booking into 2026, right now for branding clients. Um, we have, we have 10 spots. And when they’re gone, they’re gone. So if you want to work with

 

Curt Anderson  44:20

us, you better set up fast.

 

Emily Wilkins  44:24

So you better get get on my calendar for the setup ASAP. Well, we’ll probably have an intro call first, so and then, yeah, the mastermind is kind of a next step to that we I’ve only been offering it to clients. I’m going to offer it up to a group of clients that I kind of hand picked. I’m going to be extending it to previous clients and also trying to figure out how to offer parts of it to, um. Are people that are not clients, that are other, other shops, that are not

 

Curt Anderson  45:04

excellent, excellent. Okay, so again, connect with Emily on LinkedIn. Check out our website. She’s got a mastermind. Now, I think, Damon, I might have an exclusive today. Damon, is there something else on the horizon that not that you’re not busy enough, right? Let’s throw another minor thing. Do you have something else exciting to share today?

 

Emily Wilkins  45:23

Well, I’ve been writing a book. Yes, it’s, I don’t have a published date for you yet, but it’s, it’s coming. Well, you

 

Curt Anderson  45:38

know what? Now you we want to be your accountability partners. How’s that? So you put it out into the universe. And so now we are major as you know, we’re like, we’re president of the Emily fan club outside like your dad, your husband, your inner your immediate family. We’re right there next to him, but you know, we are rooting you, on supporting you, and just when you when that book launches, hopefully we’re one of your first stops to help promote the book.

 

46:03

So that’s definitely All right,

 

Curt Anderson  46:04

David, let’s start winding down your thoughts, my friend, as we as we start wrapping up. What are your thoughts today? Are you on mute?

 

Damon Pistulka  46:13

Sorry, my dog was barking in the background, so that’s why I’ve been on mute. All three of our dogs were barking on this. Yeah, he’s been.

 

Curt Anderson  46:22

Hey, we should can is Odin right there?

 

Damon Pistulka  46:24

No, no. He’s in the other room. He’s alerting me that there are people in the neighborhood.

 

Emily Wilkins  46:29

Yes, yes, right? Yes.

 

Curt Anderson  46:33

Indiana Jones,

 

Damon Pistulka  46:34

yeah, somebody might be walking down the street.

 

Curt Anderson  46:37

Yes. Oh. Damon, let’s take try that again. What do you got

 

Damon Pistulka  46:41

for us? Yeah? So I really love how you’re you’re helping these job shops and these people really see the cool things they’re doing and then sharing it with the world. I mean that the vent knife there, or bent River, excuse me. I mean such, such cool stuff that’s happening all over in these places and and we, we often don’t even get to see any of it. Yeah?

 

Emily Wilkins  47:01

So cool, yeah, the best kept secret, right? Yeah, best

 

Curt Anderson  47:05

kept secret. So all right, Emily, we’re gonna wind down. I have two last questions for you. You ready? You sit down? You ready?

 

Emily Wilkins  47:11

I’m sitting down.

 

Curt Anderson  47:12

Hey, where’s your where’s your mug? There you go. Hey, love with us. She had that mug last time she was on. So Emily as an entrepreneur, what is the best business advice that you’ve been given that you would love to pass along? Best business advice, either you tell your you know, gosh, I wish I would have known this X number of years ago, or B, something that you would love to share along to a new entrepreneur. Best business advice.

 

Emily Wilkins  47:43

Oh my gosh. So I’ve so many things. How do I say one thing?

 

Curt Anderson  47:48

Just make it a long run on sentence, right?

 

Emily Wilkins  47:51

Really long run on sentence. I don’t do it alone.

 

Curt Anderson  47:59

Don’t do it alone. Drop the migrate.

 

Emily Wilkins  48:03

That’s a good one. And that’s not to say, like, have a business partner, but have, you know, have a group of people that that are rooting you on and supporting you having, I mean, that’s why I started the mastermind, because I, because I’ve gotten so much out of out of my no BS group, like I, I would not be here there. I definitely would not be here today if I had not joined the no BS group. So, so I just really wanted to provide something like that for for shop owners. I didn’t, I don’t think there’s anything out there that’s there’s not a lot out there that’s really specific to small shops, leading small shops so, so that’s that’s really why I did it. But having, you know, having people that understand you and your vision, and you know that you’re you feel comfortable enough talking to them when shits not going well, like I, my team is I, I’m gonna cry because I’m like so I’m so grateful for my team. Thank you. I’m so grateful for my team because they, they get me, you know they and I can tell them when I’m I know when I’m struggling with something I’m procrastinating, right? Like, I just put it off and pretend like it doesn’t, yeah, you know, right? So it’s like figuring out what, why am I procrastinating on this thing? And they just come in, like, all hands on deck, like, problem solving mode, and right? Help me? I This just happened last week. Like I always had something where I was like, they kept asking me about it. I kept pushing it off. I kept pushing it off. So, yeah, I don’t know. Just surround yourself with who, who get you and who have different skill sets than you that can help you see, you know, help you see things that you don’t see on your.

 

Curt Anderson  50:00

Him. That is brilliant advice. Our dear friend Diane Beyer, who stopped by, she always says, like the friend that that’s willing to hold a mirror up to, you know, you know, hey, you’ve got food in your teeth type thing. And I’m familiar with Pia, and I’ve seen your your social posts when you have your group meetings. And I just, I envision just like everybody coming together, just unconditional, loving each other, supporting each other, rooting each other on, giving each other tough love when you need it, like you said, hey, if I’m procrastinating, you need that little kick. You know they’re there for you to to get things. What a blessing, what a gift that is to have. And the thing is, again, you’re blessed to have that, but you created it. You invited it. You raised your hand to make that happen. So I commend you for that. I have one last question for you. You ready? You ready? Yeah, okay. Are you a baseball fan?

 

Emily Wilkins  50:49

Well, the Tigers are struggling right now.

 

Curt Anderson  50:55

They beat Cleveland last night, so they’re tight for

 

Damon Pistulka  50:57

her. Thank you. Thank you for doing that. You put Yeah, is

 

Curt Anderson  51:01

that helping you out? David, yeah, I did.

 

Damon Pistulka  51:03

It did. So,

 

Curt Anderson  51:04

okay, so let’s you’re a Tigers you’re a Detroit girl, you’re a Tigers fan. Let’s go here. You ready? So the Tigers are playing the dreaded Cleveland Indians. Hated Cleveland Indians. It’s the bottom of the ninth. There’s two outs. There’s a guy standing on second base two outs bottom, like they have to win to get to the playoffs. Right? The manager looks down the bench and says, Hey, Wilkins, grab your helmet, grab your bat, get up to the plate and hit in the winning run for us. Will you please? Because we need to make the playoffs. You ready? You with me? Bomber ninth, two outs, percent high score, percent on second base, you walk you grab your helmet, you grab your bat, you’re walking up the plate to go hit in that winning run on your way to the plate. What’s your walk up song?

 

Emily Wilkins  51:57

Um, it. It changes depending on the mood I’m in. Honestly, I have a few of them. Okay, so this I stole. I stole from our mindset coach that P has brought in Gary Montalvo, who’s amazing. It’s all I do is win.

 

Speaker 1  52:21

All I do is win. That’s what Sammy says.

 

Emily Wilkins  52:28

Yeah, I missed that. Yeah. Hilarious. That’s awesome. My other one is Taylor Swift. Are you ready for it?

 

52:37

Yeah? Yeah. Two

 

Emily Wilkins  52:41

classes in the beginning? Yeah, yeah.

 

Curt Anderson  52:44

Well, two classics. Absolutely love it. And of course, Damon, I gotta go back to, you know, how we open up the program, right? This ain’t no party, this ain’t no discord, this ain’t no fooling around, right? So, yeah, alright, Emily, I want to give a huge shout out. Thank you. From bottom of our heart, I know how busy you are. I know this was a you know, we don’t take your time lightly. Thank you for sharing your expertise, your passion, your truth. Yes, big hearts to you. Let me see if my my computer going to do it. There. It is right there for you. Yeah. Damon, your closing thoughts, no.

 

Damon Pistulka  53:16

I just super cool seeing what you’re doing, helping these job shots, family and just thanks for sharing it here today. Thank you guys so much.

 

Curt Anderson  53:23

Thank you so let’s go here, guys, if you you know what it’s we’re 53 minutes in. If you’ve been sitting, it’s a great time to stand up, stretch and give Emily a big stand innovation, for sharing her truth, her wisdom, her expertise, her guidance and so again. Connect with Emily on LinkedIn, go to her website, join her mastermind and be ready for her New York Times best selling book that’s going to be coming out in 2026 so Emily, hang out with us for one second. Damon, why don’t you go ahead and close us out, guys and one last thing, Damon, one last thing, just go out and be someone’s inspiration, just like our dear friend Emily and you too can make the world a better place. Damon, take it away,

 

Damon Pistulka  54:00

dude. All right, thanks. Thanks, Kurt, Emily, thank you so much for being here today. I want to thank all those viewers out there. We can see your online listening. We can see that love it when you drop a comment. Love it when you out there listening. And if you got in late, you want to go back to the beginning and listen to some of the value bombs that Emily was dropping. Also connect with Emily on LinkedIn, if you aren’t already, and learn more about what she does. Thanks everyone for being here. We will be back again next week with another awesome guest we’re out for now. See you.