The Grit Blueprint

How To Start Using AI In Your Business: Proven AI Tips That Help Businesses Grow with Jason Blair

Most leaders in the building industry know AI is going to change the game. Very few have a real plan for what to do about it. This episode is a working playbook on how to use AI in your business from a CEO who is already doing it. Jason Blair runs Tal Building Centers, a family-owned company with 28 locations in the Pacific Northwest. Fifteen months ago, he started an internal AI committee with people from across his organization. Not just IT. Not just leadership. A real cross-section of his team. The goal was simple. Define what AI means for Tal, set governance, and put it to work as an augmentation tool, not a replacement for people. In this episode, I sit down with Jason at the Do it Best Market to break down the real moves. You’ll learn how he used ChatGPT as a thinking partner on a project he called Project Clarity, which solved months of friction between three of his departments. Jason shares how he uses AI to help write board updates in five minutes, how his AP department runs a 225 million dollar business with two people, and how he handled the youngest leader on his team who was the most resistant to AI. This is not theory. This is AI for small business owners in action. You’ll learn how to keep sensitive data safe, why Loom is one of the smartest tools for training your team, and what the next 12 months look like for AI in the building materials industry. If you have been waiting for a sign to start using AI at work, this is it. What you'll take away: - AI works best when you treat it like a thousand dollar an hour consultant, not a search engine. - You can get started with AI in your business with simple tasks like writing emails, summarizing financials, and verifying POs. - Using AI as a thinking partner can help you spot leadership blind spots and find friction between teams that you cannot put your finger on. - AI automation is already helping 225 million dollar companies run AP departments with only two people. - How you start using AI at work matters less than the fact that you start. Pay the 20 dollars a month, turn off data sharing, and ask it to help with tasks that you do every day. 👉 Subscribe to Built to Win [https://stefaniecouch.kit.com/ae221e2ce6] Real talk, strategies, and tools from Stefanie. 👉 Book a Strategy Call [https://calendly.com/stefaniecouch/grit-blueprint-strategy-call] Ready to grow your brand or business? Let’s talk. Connect with Stefanie Couch & Grit Blueprint Grit Website: GritBlueprint.com [https://gritblueprint.com]YouTube: Stefanie Couch [https://youtube.com/@StefanieCouch]Instagram: @StefanieCouchOfficial [https://instagram.com/stefaniecouchofficial]LinkedIn: Stefanie Couch [https://linkedin.com/in/stefaniecouch]Stefanie’s Website: StefanieCouch.com [https://stefaniecouch.com] 👉 About Stefanie Couch & Grit Blueprint I'm Stefanie Couch, the founder of Grit Blueprint. I grew up in a third-generation building supply business. I've worked inside dealers, distributors, and manufacturers. I built Grit Blueprint to solve problems I saw in our industry. Grit Blueprint is a visibility, media, and growth partner for manufacturers, distributors, dealers, service providers, and leaders in the building industry. We help you get seen, build trust, and become unmistakable.

How Custom Design And Millwork Transform Spaces: Inside Chip Wade's Stunning Luxury Treehouse Rentals

In this episode of Behind the Build I'm in Chatsworth, Georgia, with Chip Wade at The Perch Treehouses. The three luxury treehouses are located in the North Georgia mountains and have stunning views of their wild surroundings. The Jenny, The Tom, and The Jake, share the same square footage and the same engineered foundation. But the second you walk through the front door of each one, the feel is completely different. That's what custom design and real millwork do for a home. I'm a door nerd, so the front doors are where I start. The pink Dutch door on The Jenny was something Chip called me about. We drew it on a napkin at lunch, and Magbee Contractor Supply turned that sketch into a real shop drawing and a real door. The Jake has a solid mahogany gothic arch double door that I had only ever seen in my dreams. These doors set the tone for the entire build, and they prove what's possible when you work with a dealer who can actually deliver custom. I grew up in this industry, and I've walked through a lot of houses. This one stopped me. Standing inside, the arches line up. The hardware feels heavy in your hand. The colors connect across rooms. That's what a custom luxury build feels like, and it's the reason guests pay a premium to stay.  Chip brought in partners who could deliver: Magbee on custom doors, Daltile on countertops, Oltre on cast fireplaces, John Boos on butcher block, Murphy Door, and so many more. These are the manufacturers and dealers who make a design vision real. Living in a space like this hits different. For builders and dealers watching, the takeaway is simple: pick the right partners, commit to custom, and the build sells itself. 👉 Subscribe to Built to Win [https://stefaniecouch.kit.com/ae221e2ce6] Real talk, strategies, and tools from Stefanie. 👉 Book a Strategy Call [https://calendly.com/stefaniecouch/grit-blueprint-strategy-call] Ready to grow your brand or business? Let’s talk. Connect with Stefanie Couch & Grit Blueprint Grit Website: GritBlueprint.com [https://gritblueprint.com]YouTube: Stefanie Couch [https://youtube.com/@StefanieCouch]Instagram: @StefanieCouchOfficial [https://instagram.com/stefaniecouchofficial]LinkedIn: Stefanie Couch [https://linkedin.com/in/stefaniecouch]Stefanie’s Website: StefanieCouch.com [https://stefaniecouch.com] 👉 About Stefanie Couch & Grit Blueprint I'm Stefanie Couch, the founder of Grit Blueprint. I grew up in a third-generation building supply business. I've worked inside dealers, distributors, and manufacturers. I built Grit Blueprint to solve problems I saw in our industry. Grit Blueprint is a visibility, media, and growth partner for manufacturers, distributors, dealers, service providers, and leaders in the building industry. We help you get seen, build trust, and become unmistakable.

How To Modernize Custom Manufacturing With Powerful Software: Dori Shoshan, Panda Windows & Doors

I sit down with Dori Shoshan, head of Innovation and Business Development at Panda Windows & Doors, inside the Las Vegas showroom of one of the most respected custom luxury windows and doors manufacturers in North America. Dori is a working radiologist and the son of Panda's founders, Avi and Tiranit Shoshan, who started the family business in 1991 in Israel, where his father chose to start with the hardest product in the category, radius curve multi-slide doors, and built his own bending machine to do it. Dori walks through how a family-owned window manufacturer is rebuilding the engine room of the company. He breaks down the multi-year rollout of Paradigm’s building industry software, including how it has cut quote turnaround from several days to about one hour and turned a one-week shop drawing process into a one-click output. He explains why he chose Paradigm over European systems, how it now runs configure price quote, cut optimization, packing slips, and CNC manufacturing instructions on one seamless platform, and how it will give dealers self-serve quoting of Panda’s products for the first time. Dori and I also dig into AI in the building industry, why slim profile multi-slide and lift and slide doors are taking over the high-end market, and why Panda is considering a broader go-to-market strategy. You’ll learn the story behind the Panda name, how the team protects the founder's standards as they scale, and what he hopes the next ten years look like for the family. If you build, sell, or specify windows and doors, this conversation is a clear look at how to modernize your processes without losing the human element. This podcast was produced alongside an episode of our Behind The Build series, where we toured Panda's factory floor with Dori's sister, Noya Shoshan. Watch the full tour and see why Panda doors are showing up in casinos, hotels, and dream homes across the country: https://youtu.be/BoecyLZwhD4 Thank you to Panda Window & Doors for hosting us. See more of their cutting-edge luxury products:  https://www.panda-windows.com/  This Behind the Build episode was sponsored by Paradigm.  Paradigm’s software solutions help organizations throughout the building industry supply chain to boost sales, reduce costs, and become more competitive.  Learn more: https://myparadigm.com/  👉 Subscribe to Built to Win [https://stefaniecouch.kit.com/ae221e2ce6] Real talk, strategies, and tools from Stefanie. 👉 Book a Strategy Call [https://calendly.com/stefaniecouch/grit-blueprint-strategy-call] Ready to grow your brand or business? Let’s talk. Connect with Stefanie Couch & Grit Blueprint Grit Website: GritBlueprint.com [https://gritblueprint.com]YouTube: Stefanie Couch [https://youtube.com/@StefanieCouch]Instagram: @StefanieCouchOfficial [https://instagram.com/stefaniecouchofficial]LinkedIn: Stefanie Couch [https://linkedin.com/in/stefaniecouch]Stefanie’s Website: StefanieCouch.com [https://stefaniecouch.com] 👉 About Stefanie Couch & Grit Blueprint I'm Stefanie Couch, the founder of Grit Blueprint. I grew up in a third-generation building supply business. I've worked inside dealers, distributors, and manufacturers. I built Grit Blueprint to solve problems I saw in our industry. Grit Blueprint is a visibility, media, and growth partner for manufacturers, distributors, dealers, service providers, and leaders in the building industry. We help you get seen, build trust, and become unmistakable.

The Four Cs Of Marketing for Building Materials Companies with Ashley Guest, Marketing Manager at Harbin Lumber

Most lumber yards stay invisible in their own market. They sell millions of dollars of product a year and the people next door still do not know their name. Ashley Guest is changing that at Harbin Lumber, a fourth generation, century-old building materials dealer in Lavonia, Georgia. She walked in four years ago with a marketing degree and zero industry experience. There was no playbook. There was no team. There was a blank canvas and a paintbrush. We break down exactly how she built a brand from scratch. You will hear her four C's of marketing, the framework she uses to balance community, culture, customers, and consistency when she is the entire marketing department. Ashley shares the moves that worked. The branded employee swag store that turns staff into walking ads. The breast cancer awareness reel that went viral inside a male-dominated industry.  You will also hear what to do when you are told no, how to choose where to spend your marketing time, and why hats are still one of the smartest twenty-dollar marketing buys an independent dealer can make. If you run an independent lumber yard, hardware store, or building supply company, this is a real conversation about how to get seen and get chosen in your local market. What you'll take away today: - The four C's of marketing give a one-person marketing team a simple way to balance community, culture, customers, and consistency without dropping a bucket. - Marketing for building materials dealers is built on relationships and brand, not one-size-fits-all tactics, and Ashley shows how to make every campaign feel local. - An employee swag store with a twice-yearly credit turns staff into walking ads and is one of the highest-return moves an independent lumber dealer can make. - Independent lumber dealer branding starts with knowing your story, which is why Ashley read Harbin's century-old history book front to back before she posted anything. - A fourth generation lumber company can still grow on social if you stay consistent on the platforms your customers actually use Watch & Subscribe on YouTube: https://youtu.be/4HAkpCE82m4 👉 Subscribe to Built to Win [https://stefaniecouch.kit.com/ae221e2ce6] Real talk, strategies, and tools from Stefanie. 👉 Book a Strategy Call [https://calendly.com/stefaniecouch/grit-blueprint-strategy-call] Ready to grow your brand or business? Let’s talk. Connect with Stefanie Couch & Grit Blueprint Grit Website: GritBlueprint.com [https://gritblueprint.com]YouTube: Stefanie Couch [https://youtube.com/@StefanieCouch]Instagram: @StefanieCouchOfficial [https://instagram.com/stefaniecouchofficial]LinkedIn: Stefanie Couch [https://linkedin.com/in/stefaniecouch]Stefanie’s Website: StefanieCouch.com [https://stefaniecouch.com] 👉 About Stefanie Couch & Grit Blueprint I'm Stefanie Couch, the founder of Grit Blueprint. I grew up in a third-generation building supply business. I've worked inside dealers, distributors, and manufacturers. I built Grit Blueprint to solve problems I saw in our industry. Grit Blueprint is a visibility, media, and growth partner for manufacturers, distributors, dealers, service providers, and leaders in the building industry. We help you get seen, build trust, and become unmistakable.

How To Build A Local Brand: Small Town Retail Marketing That Works with Sharona Eiserer

Sharona Eiserer bought a struggling 60-year-old lumber yard at six months pregnant and grew it into six Wood Shed Lumber and Hardware locations across rural Missouri. In this episode of the Grit Blueprint Podcast, she shares how she saved a dying small-town retail business, why the Do it Best co-op model beat her franchise experience, and the exact social media and radio playbook she uses to win against bigger competitors. If you own an independent hardware store, run a rural lumberyard, or are thinking about buying a family hardware business, this conversation gives you a real plan. You will hear how to handle ownership transitions, how to get your team on TikTok without making it weird, and how to build a brand people choose.  What you'll take away today: - The independent hardware store plan Sharona used to turn one struggling yard into six profitable locations across rural Missouri. - How the Do it Best co-op model gives small dealers buying power, retail design help, and training that franchises never offered her. - Why rural lumberyard owners must run radio, TikTok, and Facebook at the same time so customers hear one voice everywhere they look. - A practical plan for small town retail marketing that works without a big budget, big team, or a picture-perfect camera setup. - The mindset shift that lets women in hardware and next-generation leaders step into family hardware business ownership and grow it faster than it has ever grown before. 👉 Subscribe to Built to Win [https://stefaniecouch.kit.com/ae221e2ce6] Real talk, strategies, and tools from Stefanie. 👉 Book a Strategy Call [https://calendly.com/stefaniecouch/grit-blueprint-strategy-call] Ready to grow your brand or business? Let’s talk. Connect with Stefanie Couch & Grit Blueprint Grit Website: GritBlueprint.com [https://gritblueprint.com]YouTube: Stefanie Couch [https://youtube.com/@StefanieCouch]Instagram: @StefanieCouchOfficial [https://instagram.com/stefaniecouchofficial]LinkedIn: Stefanie Couch [https://linkedin.com/in/stefaniecouch]Stefanie’s Website: StefanieCouch.com [https://stefaniecouch.com] 👉 About Stefanie Couch & Grit Blueprint I'm Stefanie Couch, the founder of Grit Blueprint. I grew up in a third-generation building supply business. I've worked inside dealers, distributors, and manufacturers. I built Grit Blueprint to solve problems I saw in our industry. Grit Blueprint is a visibility, media, and growth partner for manufacturers, distributors, dealers, service providers, and leaders in the building industry. We help you get seen, build trust, and become unmistakable.