Our Builder Spotlight is focused on a couple who built their own company in the shed construction industry, Edwin and Sarah Miller. They are an enterprising pair, and we hope you will gain some insight about their business and perhaps come away with some food for thought. Who knows what wisdom may be uncovered when small business owners share their stories?
Who started the business and when?
My wife Sarah and I started the business in December 2018 in north Texas.
What was your history, prior to starting the business?
I was previously in Ohio, where I learned construction, building post-frame buildings, doing a little roofing, working for Tuff Shed, selling sheds and building them. I spent time as job foreman building cabins, too.
Through many of my experiences I saw a lack of customer service and quality, and I knew I could give people a better experience.
What is your location and has it changed through the years?
The current location for SE Yard Solutions is 121 County Road 3552, Paradise, Texas. The company has moved around a bit, but they have stayed in northern Texas.
What else can you tell us about your history?
At first the company focused on privacy fencing, and it took a while to realize this was not the niche for us. I got work subcontracting, helping a startup to ramp up production. Two years ago, I decided to pursue my own customers, and I began to focus on my own brand.
What products and services do you provide?
We build sheds on site; we do no pre-built sheds. That’s our segment, bringing the storage people need or want, and the sheds are 99% residential wood structures, standard portables with LP SmartSide.
What is your current territory?
We focus on the Dallas/Fort Worth Metro Area, including Abilene, Wichita Falls, and Fort Worth. We will go anywhere within about 100 miles from our headquarters in the city of Paradise.
What is the current business climate in your area?
The business climate is mixed. There are many people moving into the area due to urban creep. However, demand has slowed down since COVID, probably for two reasons. Many bought a shed in those years, and some of the sales got pulled forward that, under normal circumstances, would have been put off for a couple years.
Currently, one shed company is dealing with financial difficulties, and another is having a hard time keeping employees busy, so there may a bit of a shakeup in the local market.
What is your primary customer base?
Our sales model is 95% direct to the customer. Our retail sales consist of residential (mostly), but we also have our fair share of businesses placing orders when in need of either a storage facility or even an outdoor area to retrofit for staff breakrooms or excess office space.
How do you differentiate yourself from your competitors?
We have differentiated our company from our competitors by the way we care for customers.
Builders often don’t communicate with the customer; we keep them in the loop. Some companies want their shed to only last 15 years so they can sell another one sooner. But after all, a 10’ x 20’ can cost $4,500. We can do better than a shed that lasts only 15 years. We want our shed to last 30 years and we want our customer to love it.”
Our pricing is very competitive with any shop that prebuilds. We build our own kit and put it together on-site so nothing goes wrong in delivery. We are proud of the product we put out. SE Yard Solutions is one of the highest rated shed builders on Google.
Tell us about challenges the company has faced, and how you overcame them.
The biggest challenge has been a shortage of people in the labor pool. To make up for a lack of employees, we work with local contractors. Initially we were concerned about what kind of care subcontractors would provide customers, since they are not invested in the company like an employee would be. However, we have built relationships with them and we show them we appreciate their input by compensating them for quality. It seems to be working well.
To what do you owe the success of your business?
Our success is from God. I’ve just followed what God told me to do, and it always seemed to come back to sheds. This is His business, and I am the steward of that business.
If you could, what would you tell yourself three to five years ago?
I would tell myself to get started sooner. I came in on the tail end of COVID, the truly strong years of shed sales. Before that, I was busy helping others build their company, and procrastinating on what I needed to do.
What is your advice to someone brand new to this business?
Learn as much as you can. Ask for help if you need it. Ask questions about the way things are done, and don’t be afraid of hard work. The first five years you probably won’t knock it out of the park … you need to give it time, you need repetition. There is no shortcut. You need to just keep doing it to become more efficient.
I have built over 1,000 sheds and asked lots of questions to become an efficient shed builder.
Where do you see opportunities in the coming months and years?
The biggest opportunities are in on-site shed building. I see fewer garages or smaller garages being built, but people still need storage. Often they have fenced-in yards and they don’t want to pull down part of it to get a shed into the yard, so they have a shed built on-site.
Those shed lots who want to optimize ROI should offer an on-site option, whether they do it themselves or partner with a subcontractor. Similarly, if a manufacturer hasn’t got a physical presence in an area, it can help to open a shed lot.
Where do you see the biggest challenges in the coming years?
For us, the biggest challenge is the ramp-up of production. It takes time to elicit demand when you don’t have the employees to provide the product, and it’s hard to keep good employees if you don’t have work to keep them busy full time.
What are your Three Keys to Good Business?
1. Integrity. Treat people as you want to be treated. Follow the scriptures and structure your business as God wants it. If you are trying to do that, then even if you make mistakes, you will be okay.
2. Honesty. Do what you say; say what you mean.
3. Proficiency. Understand your business well. Narrow in on your niche. For example, I focus on affordable, quality storage. I want to do such a good job that anyone who goes another route wonders what their experience would have been like if they had gone with the professionals at SE Yard Solutions.
Tell us about your company culture and business philosophy.
My philosophy is that our job is to take care of people and help them get a shed in a professional and timely manner. The shed should last 30 years. We are creating a standard of excellence; we want to get customers the very best shed they can get for the money.
I want to be an excellent employer with clarity regarding how and when subcontractors get paid. I try to lead by example. If we mess up a kit, I will stay as long as it takes to get it right and ensure the customer has a good experience. When employees see that you are willing to work as hard or harder than they do to provide excellence, they want to be part of that. Working for excellence levels the playing field.
Who are your component suppliers? Can we give them a shout-out for their products?
I try to buy supplies locally, so much is from hardware stores. I also purchase Midco Building Products’ doors and lumber, and Solar Blaster out of Arizona is a great product. GSCB
