September 16, 2025 • 16 mins
Dalton Meny shares his journey as a fifth-generation hardware store owner, combining his computer science background with traditional retail to modernize his family's business while maintaining its community-centered values.
• Originally had no plans to join the family hardware business after graduating with a computer science degree
• Stepped in temporarily to help open a third store location and never left
• Created custom software for inventory management across three rural Indiana locations
• Implemented consistent pricing systems and reports to ensure customer trust
• Built the business on flexibility: "You have to do what your customer needs"
• Serves unique customer segments including farmers who purchase products like 40-gallon buckets of fly killer
• Community involvement distinguishes them from big box competitors: "We're not Home Depot, we live here"
• Family business history dates back to 1881, starting as a general store selling everything from hardware to dynamite
• Advises gradual change when entering family business leadership: "You can't change everything all at once"
• Excited about future technology integration while honoring the business legacy
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Dalton Meny (00:00):
Keep your mind open .
You can't come in with a bigattitude and change everything
all at once.
You have to pick your battles.
Definitely you have to geteveryone on board with you,
because if you're not a cohesiveteam, it's not going to work.
Work with your team, changethings, but don't be against
them too much.
You have to do what yourcustomer needs.
You can't be too rigid in whatyou think your business is.
You have to adapt.
Stefanie Couch (00:18):
Congruency like that, especially if something's
online it's one price and in thestore is another things like
that.
It can really irritate peopleand it can cause their customer
experience to think you'recheating them or something.
Dalton Meny (00:28):
It's so important to give back and be involved in
your community.
You're the local business.
We're not Home Depot, we're nota Lowe's.
We're here, we live here, wework here.
You need to make yourself seenand give your time to the back
community, because you're thedifference between the big box
store.
Stefanie Couch (00:43):
Welcome to the Grit Blueprint podcast, the show
for bold builders, brandleaders and legacy makers in the
construction and buildingindustry.
I'm your host, Stefanie Couch,and I've been in this industry
my entire life.
Whether we're breaking downwhat's working in sales and
marketing, new advances in AIand automation, or interviewing
(01:08):
top industry leaders, you'regoing to get real world
strategies to grow your business, build your brand and lead your
team.
Let's get to work.
Welcome to the Grit BlueprintPodcast.
I'm your host, Stefanie Couch,and I'm here today, live in
Orlando, with my friend, dalton.
Welcome to the show, dalton,thank you, and Dalton is
(01:28):
actually a fifth generationhardware store legacy business.
Amazing, fifth generation is socool and we're going to talk
today about a lot of interestingstuff your background and I'm
excited to get started.
So let's do it.
He has been in the business,but you actually have a
non-traditional path to thehardware store, so you started
with a computer science degree,yes, and you have done a lot of
(01:49):
things to change your businessand your family's business in
just the short time that you'vebeen there.
You actually are the head ofoperations in your locations and
you have three stores.
Your business has been inbusiness since 1881.
Yes, I cannot even fathom that.
So cool.
Do you guys have pictures andstuff for your original?
Dalton Meny (02:08):
I have a lot of pictures on my phone like files
I've gotten from the family.
I love it.
Stefanie Couch (02:12):
I would love to see some of those.
We actually are talking aboutthree stores in Indiana which
we're going to go into and whatyou've done in your multi-store
operation in the last four years.
You, in 2023, won a top youngretailer award, so
congratulations on that.
You've been decorated and I'mreally excited to talk to you
today about some of the techstuff, because you know I love
(02:33):
tech.
It's one of my favorite thingsto think about.
How can we change a supertraditional industry that is
very old school?
Anything that started in 1881is pretty old school, right, but
you are flipping that on itshead.
So tell me a little bit aboutthe computer science background,
what you got into, that thenled you into this family
business, and how you gotstarted.
Dalton Meny (02:53):
Okay, it definitely wasn't my plan to come back to
the hardware business.
So I graduated in 2019 fromcollege and I came home looking
for a job and the midst of thatmy parents decided to open their
third location and I startedhelping in this project.
And I kept helping and I kindof took over the project and
(03:14):
I've never left.
I just kind of jumped in andkind of took charge of it and I
took over and kind of what wasthat first project that you came
in?
Stefanie Couch (03:23):
What were you doing when you first started?
Dalton Meny (03:24):
We were opening our third location from the Roundup
, okay.
So I graduated in school in May.
My parents bought the buildingin June Okay, and we did a full
remodel new flooring, new paint,new lighting, and then we got a
new fixture, new product, andwe were open by September 30th
(03:45):
Wow.
So it was a very fast-trackedproject.
That is fast-tracked, a lot ofwork.
I wouldn't recommend it, but itdefinitely was a big learning
experience, yeah.
Stefanie Couch (03:50):
What kind of area are your stores in?
Are they pretty rural?
Pretty rural, yeah.
Dalton Meny (03:54):
Okay.
The one has about 14,000 people, the other one has about 3,000
people in the city town Okay andthe other one has about 400.
Stefanie Couch (04:03):
And you guys are a true value store.
Yes, so true value just gotpurchased and acquired by Do it
Best the last year.
Tell me a little bit about whatthat's been like for you guys
transitioning and how that'sworked.
Dalton Meny (04:14):
It's been a little chaotic, I won't lie.
You know we weren't sure whatto expect at first.
We first learned about thewhole bankruptcy and what was
happening.
But really, I think do the besthas been the best option for us
.
I think that was our nextchoice, that we had to pick
another one.
Yeah, and I'm really excitedfor the future brings.
I think in the end, with thisall settled, we'll have a really
(04:34):
good company for all of us.
Stefanie Couch (04:36):
Yeah, I'm excited about what's happening
and it seems like a lot of theTrue Value members are getting a
lot of resources that maybethey've been starving for for a
while, so it's exciting for youguys to have that.
Tell me a little bit about theday-to-day in your business and
in your role.
What are you doing in every daywhen you go in?
Dalton Meny (04:54):
Well, last two years I'm working a lot on
orders and inventory that's mybiggest concern and I also kind
of somewhat manage our managersand that sort of stuff.
Okay, but you never really knowwhat day is going to bring,
because it's always somethingyou know I may be working, or
maybe working the register oranswering the phones or just
whatever has to do.
Stefanie Couch (05:14):
And you have three stores.
Dalton Meny (05:15):
So are you kind?
Stefanie Couch (05:16):
of going back and forth between the stores.
Dalton Meny (05:17):
Yeah, my desk is at once on there most of the time,
but I do go back and forth Verycool Never know what's going to
happen during a day.
Stefanie Couch (05:23):
All right.
Do you have a favorite area inthe store, like a favorite aisle
, a favorite section?
What do you like to do in thestore?
Dalton Meny (05:30):
Honestly, plumbing has grown on me a lot.
I don't I think I'm very goodat plumbing, but I can like
piece stuff together.
I like doing that.
Like people say, I need thissize, that size, you have to
piece it together.
It's kind of fun to figure itout.
Stefanie Couch (05:42):
I used to do that when I was little.
So my dad had a hardware storein Georgia, yeah, and I started
working there when I was veryyoung.
But when I was maybe like 12 or13, you know, people would come
in and they would say, hey,trying to go from CPVC to PVC,
and we're trying to do this, andI would go back to aisle 13.
I had no idea what I was doingno clue, and neither did they.
So they follow the young girlto aisle 13.
(06:04):
And it was like a puzzle, yeah,and I think that's what I liked
about it too.
Electrical scared me because,like, if electrical goes wrong,
you're getting shocked, but ifplumbing goes wrong, something
might leak, it could still bebad, but it's not.
It's lower stakes, right, soit's not as bad.
I love that.
What about your day-to-day withyour customers, are you?
Dalton Meny (06:27):
are you having a lot of homeowners come in
contractors?
How does your business look?
It's a lot of homeowners.
We do have some business, a lotof that and then we do a lot
with farmers in our area, sokind of a mixed bag.
Stefanie Couch (06:36):
So tell me about the farm and ranch part of the
business.
Dalton Meny (06:39):
So in our area we have a lot of, you know, regular
farmers, lots of chicken andturkey farmers, so we kind of
cater to them at our one storeand provide some strange things
that you wouldn't expect aharvester to sell.
Stefanie Couch (06:49):
You know what I'm going to ask next Tell me
about the strange things.
Dalton Meny (06:53):
We sell a lot of fly killer and that sort of
stuff.
I sell it in these big 40gallon buckets and these big
liquids and 55 gallon drums.
Stefanie Couch (07:03):
Do you sell animals too?
No, okay, no live animals, justfly killer.
I love it.
Okay, what's the weirdest thingyou've ever sold?
Dalton Meny (07:11):
Our one customer.
We kind of like agreement wepurchase things for they come to
us, we buy it, you know, and wedon don't.
We have a special deal withthem and they'll come in with
the strangest things sometimes,like I think last week I get to
order tv for them.
They like I want this tv orderformula.
Okay, I mean like just whateverthey want we get.
That's really cool.
(07:32):
It's kind of a uniquerelationship we have with them.
Stefanie Couch (07:35):
But I love that.
So what do you think makes agreat business?
As far as that, you're talkingabout doing things that are kind
of out of the norm, you know,making it happen for people.
What does that mean to you tobe a great business like that?
Dalton Meny (07:48):
I think that means to just be flexible.
You have to do what yourcustomer needs.
You can't be too rigid in whatyou think your business is.
You have to adapt and kind ofmold it to what your customer
needs it to be.
Stefanie Couch (07:59):
Yeah, I love that, and you're working on a
lot of operations and technicaland inventory projects.
What is your goal when youstart something like that?
How do you decide what'simportant?
Because there's a millionthings we could all do in our
business right and I know at ahardware store there's so many
things you could optimize or youcould do.
How do you decide what to workon next?
Dalton Meny (08:18):
I guess whatever is bothering me the most.
I can be selfish a little bit,but I know I notice things that
I know is going to be better, soI'm going to look for a way to
fix it, because that's how Ikind of do it.
Stefanie Couch (08:29):
Yeah, so when you start a technical project,
is it just you that's kind ofworking on it?
Yeah, just me Okay.
So what are some of the thingsdo you use ai?
Dalton Meny (08:36):
no, not ai okay but just regular programming okay,
like python, that sort of stuffokay, so what are you doing,
like, what's a project?
Stefanie Couch (08:42):
tell me about a project you're working on right
now, or what I've been workingon is with um inventory
transfers.
Dalton Meny (08:47):
Okay, so before I came on, we had two stores that
ran pretty separate.
So the third, we started tryingto make them all more cohesive
with each other and part of thatwe started transferable
inventory and it's not there's.
There was no good way to dothat.
It was like, oh, I need this, Ineed this.
So I built a program.
It takes data from our pos,reads all of it and then it will
(09:11):
decide okay, this store needsfree from this one or this I
start using like minimums andyour 12 month sales and how much
you sell.
You know that sort of stuff.
Stefanie Couch (09:21):
So Okay, and has that been a success?
Dalton Meny (09:23):
Yeah, I use it every week, so that's awesome.
Stefanie Couch (09:25):
I love it.
I bet your people are glad tohave a system instead of just
pure chaos, right?
Yes, all right.
Well, let's talk about pricing.
Pricing and processes are ahuge deal in every small
business, but especially in onethat has three stores.
Dalton Meny (09:39):
Yes.
Stefanie Couch (09:39):
How do you keep your systems and your pricing
together and what have you doneto optimize that?
Dalton Meny (09:45):
So before I came on there was no pricing system.
It was kind of a free-for-all.
My dad wasn't charged, he hadhis own system, you can say.
But we've kind of switched,just regulatory value suggested,
which for the most part I agreewith.
There's a few things, but everyweek I'll throw out our POS and
I will go through the changesand order price stickers and I
(10:06):
have reports I've made that cancompare prices, that are
discrepancies between each storeso we can keep them mostly in
line, cause it's hard cause allour stores are pretty close.
We're about 12, 15 miles apart,so can't have a customer going
from one store and paying $3 andthen going to the other one and
paying $5.
Stefanie Couch (10:22):
Yeah, that's actually a really big point that
I think a lot of people miss iscongruency like that,
especially if something's onlineit's one price and in the store
is another.
Things like that it can reallyirritate people and it can cause
their customer experience tothink you're cheating them or
something.
Do you guys have e-commerce?
Dalton Meny (10:37):
Yes.
Stefanie Couch (10:38):
So how does that work for you?
Dalton Meny (10:40):
It's not a huge thing.
It's there.
I love it for it to grow, butit's hard.
Yeah, you know you have to havea customer base for it.
Maybe our customer base is alittle more old school yeah, the
old school rule guy.
Stefanie Couch (10:51):
The guy buying the 40 gallons of Fly Killer
probably didn't buy it in awhile I guess no, they're not,
they're calling to order it youknow, oh, I love it.
Well, your stores are deeplyrooted in community and I'm sure
that you spend a lot of timedoing things.
Why do you think small townleadership and these small
businesses?
They're such a big part of asmaller town.
Why is it so important?
Dalton Meny (11:12):
It's so important to give back and be involved in
your community because you'rethe local business.
We're not Home Depot, we're nota Lowe's, we're here, we live
here, we work here.
So you need to make yourselfseen and appreciated.
Give your time to the backcommunity because you're the
difference between the big boxstore.
Stefanie Couch (11:29):
I love it.
What are some of the things youdo at Minis?
Dalton Meny (11:31):
We love to do sponsorships and a lot of little
leagues, softballs, that sortof stuff.
Yeah, we try to focus more onschools, that sort of stuff.
You know, local fests andevents yeah, those are big
things.
Stefanie Couch (11:42):
I'm sure people, I'm sure you have a lot of kids
that come into your store.
Oh yeah, lot of kids that comeinto your store.
Oh yeah, they still love to go.
I mean, obviously I grew up ina hardware store but I love to
go to other people's hardwarestores, like when I visited
places or we went on vacation.
It was always fun because theya lot of them have really cool
stuff for kids.
Yeah, do you guys have asection like that?
Dalton Meny (11:59):
Not really.
We have popcorn like to come in.
It's pretty good.
One of our employees, hergrandson, comes in.
He loves one of the magnets andplaying with those little round
discs yeah, that's his favorite.
Stefanie Couch (12:07):
The popcorn machine is a good idea.
I would like that, and I'm nota kid.
Yeah Well, I want to go back tothe history of the company.
So 1881.
Yes, a long time.
Tell me a little bit about howthe store started.
What was it like in 1881?
Dalton Meny (12:21):
So it started in Hopstot, indiana, by August
Schultheis he's mygreat-great-grandfather, okay,
and his parents were immigrantsfrom Germany and he opened this
general store and they soldevery.
You know, hides and tin andhardware.
They sold dynamite, it was.
It was everything, yeah.
And then his son-in-law, VictorMeny, bought it from him in the
(12:43):
thirties, I think, okay.
And then my grandpa and hissiblings took over.
There were 12 siblings, wow.
And then.
And then they were five, himand four of their siblings, so
they were the owners and theyreally expanded.
They added a grocery, theyadded a appliance business, a
propane business, like heatingand air.
It was a huge conglomerate.
(13:04):
In the eighties they built likea 40,000 square foot whole
building had everything underWow.
And they opened a hardwarestore in Jasper Okay, that's
where we're at now.
And then my grandpa and hissiblings retired.
My parents bought the store wehave now, and then my parents
have expanded from there.
Stefanie Couch (13:20):
That's very cool .
And being a fifth generationstore owner, what does that mean
to you?
Dalton Meny (13:27):
It means a lot of legacy, a lot of weight in your
shoulders.
Store owner.
What does that mean to you?
It means a lot of legacy, a lotof weight in your shoulders.
You want that you don't be thegeneration to ruin it.
But you know, it's good to seewhat's come before you and what
has worked well.
But also it's good to kind ofchange and take a new direction.
Stefanie Couch (13:38):
Yeah, you know you feel like you get pushback
or more support as far as, likethe changing of the guard,
because there's some things thathave been done a long time this
way, right yeah, you'd becareful with it.
Dalton Meny (13:47):
You can't be too yeah it has to be gradual and,
yeah, my dad's more opposed tochange, so well, and that's the
thing with.
Stefanie Couch (13:56):
I think all younger generations want to
shake things up and want to putyour mark on it, but hopefully,
being that you're in thetechnology realm, they maybe let
you kind of do yeah, they don'tknow how to code, so it it's
like what are they gonna?
Dalton Meny (14:09):
do about it.
Yeah, they don't question thatpart.
They don't know how it works.
Stefanie Couch (14:12):
I love it.
Well, what advice would yougive to someone who's stepping
into a leadership role in afamily business?
Maybe they aren't sure what todo or maybe they're coming into
this industry new.
What would you tell them?
Because you weren't planning oncoming back?
Dalton Meny (14:27):
No, Keep your mind open.
You can't come in with a bigattitude and change everything
all at once.
You have to pick your battlesdefinitely, and you have to get
everyone on board with you,because if you're not a cohesive
team, it's not going to work.
So work with your team, changethings, but don't be against
them too much.
Stefanie Couch (14:45):
Yeah, for sure.
Yeah, you gotta becollaborative.
Yeah, All right.
Last question for you whatexcites you the most about your
future in the industry and aboutsome of the things that are
happening right now that you seearound you?
Dalton Meny (14:57):
Well, definitely, in this true value, do the best
merger.
I think there's a lot of goodthings that can come out of that
.
I don't know what future isgonna bring products.
I think it's gonna be reallygood for us.
Stefanie Couch (15:08):
Yeah, that's great Then technology.
Dalton Meny (15:09):
You know that's always changing.
It's interesting to see howthat can change over the next
few years.
You never really know.
Stefanie Couch (15:16):
No, I mean with AI.
I think it'll be.
It's changing every week.
Dalton Meny (15:20):
Yeah.
Stefanie Couch (15:20):
You know it's kind of crazy and I think it's
gonna come into the industrypretty quickly because it's
coming into everything.
Maybe be a little longer in ourindustry than others.
Dalton Meny (15:29):
We're always a little behind everyone.
Yeah, for sure.
Stefanie Couch (15:32):
I think right now some companies are 20 to 30
years behind, but I don't thinkthat it'll be that way forever,
because, just because of thenature of how quick AI is moving
, I think so.
I love it.
Well, thank you so much forjoining me on the Grit Blueprint
.
I really appreciate it and I'mexcited to hopefully get to Indy
and see in Indiana your amazingfamily hardware stores and
(15:53):
maybe buy some dynamite I don'tknow, Do you still have that?
Dalton Meny (15:55):
No, we don't.
Stefanie Couch (15:56):
Okay, Well, that's very disappointing, but I
still want to come see you.
Thank you so much for joiningme on the Grit Blueprint.
Thank you, that's it for thisepisode of the Grit Blueprint
podcast.
For more tools, training andindustry content, make sure to
subscribe here and follow me onLinkedIn and other social media
platforms To find out more abouthow Grit Blueprint can help you
(16:19):
grow your business.
Check us out at our website,gritblueprintcom.
Keep your mind open .
You can't come in with a bigattitude and change everything
all at once.
You have to pick your battles.
Definitely you have to geteveryone on board with you,
because if you're not a cohesiveteam, it's not going to work.
Work with your team, changethings, but don't be against
them too much.
You have to do what yourcustomer needs.
You can't be too rigid in whatyou think your business is.
You have to adapt.
Stefanie Couch (00:18):
Congruency like that, especially if something's
online it's one price and in thestore is another things like
that.
It can really irritate peopleand it can cause their customer
experience to think you'recheating them or something.
Dalton Meny (00:28):
It's so important to give back and be involved in
your community.
You're the local business.
We're not Home Depot, we're nota Lowe's.
We're here, we live here, wework here.
You need to make yourself seenand give your time to the back
community, because you're thedifference between the big box
store.
Stefanie Couch (00:43):
Welcome to the Grit Blueprint podcast, the show
for bold builders, brandleaders and legacy makers in the
construction and buildingindustry.
I'm your host, Stefanie Couch,and I've been in this industry
my entire life.
Whether we're breaking downwhat's working in sales and
marketing, new advances in AIand automation, or interviewing
(01:08):
top industry leaders, you'regoing to get real world
strategies to grow your business, build your brand and lead your
team.
Let's get to work.
Welcome to the Grit BlueprintPodcast.
I'm your host, Stefanie Couch,and I'm here today, live in
Orlando, with my friend, dalton.
Welcome to the show, dalton,thank you, and Dalton is
(01:28):
actually a fifth generationhardware store legacy business.
Amazing, fifth generation is socool and we're going to talk
today about a lot of interestingstuff your background and I'm
excited to get started.
So let's do it.
He has been in the business,but you actually have a
non-traditional path to thehardware store, so you started
with a computer science degree,yes, and you have done a lot of
(01:49):
things to change your businessand your family's business in
just the short time that you'vebeen there.
You actually are the head ofoperations in your locations and
you have three stores.
Your business has been inbusiness since 1881.
Yes, I cannot even fathom that.
So cool.
Do you guys have pictures andstuff for your original?
Dalton Meny (02:08):
I have a lot of pictures on my phone like files
I've gotten from the family.
I love it.
Stefanie Couch (02:12):
I would love to see some of those.
We actually are talking aboutthree stores in Indiana which
we're going to go into and whatyou've done in your multi-store
operation in the last four years.
You, in 2023, won a top youngretailer award, so
congratulations on that.
You've been decorated and I'mreally excited to talk to you
today about some of the techstuff, because you know I love
(02:33):
tech.
It's one of my favorite thingsto think about.
How can we change a supertraditional industry that is
very old school?
Anything that started in 1881is pretty old school, right, but
you are flipping that on itshead.
So tell me a little bit aboutthe computer science background,
what you got into, that thenled you into this family
business, and how you gotstarted.
Dalton Meny (02:53):
Okay, it definitely wasn't my plan to come back to
the hardware business.
So I graduated in 2019 fromcollege and I came home looking
for a job and the midst of thatmy parents decided to open their
third location and I startedhelping in this project.
And I kept helping and I kindof took over the project and
(03:14):
I've never left.
I just kind of jumped in andkind of took charge of it and I
took over and kind of what wasthat first project that you came
in?
Stefanie Couch (03:23):
What were you doing when you first started?
Dalton Meny (03:24):
We were opening our third location from the Roundup
, okay.
So I graduated in school in May.
My parents bought the buildingin June Okay, and we did a full
remodel new flooring, new paint,new lighting, and then we got a
new fixture, new product, andwe were open by September 30th
(03:45):
Wow.
So it was a very fast-trackedproject.
That is fast-tracked, a lot ofwork.
I wouldn't recommend it, but itdefinitely was a big learning
experience, yeah.
Stefanie Couch (03:50):
What kind of area are your stores in?
Are they pretty rural?
Pretty rural, yeah.
Dalton Meny (03:54):
Okay.
The one has about 14,000 people, the other one has about 3,000
people in the city town Okay andthe other one has about 400.
Stefanie Couch (04:03):
And you guys are a true value store.
Yes, so true value just gotpurchased and acquired by Do it
Best the last year.
Tell me a little bit about whatthat's been like for you guys
transitioning and how that'sworked.
Dalton Meny (04:14):
It's been a little chaotic, I won't lie.
You know we weren't sure whatto expect at first.
We first learned about thewhole bankruptcy and what was
happening.
But really, I think do the besthas been the best option for us
.
I think that was our nextchoice, that we had to pick
another one.
Yeah, and I'm really excitedfor the future brings.
I think in the end, with thisall settled, we'll have a really
(04:34):
good company for all of us.
Stefanie Couch (04:36):
Yeah, I'm excited about what's happening
and it seems like a lot of theTrue Value members are getting a
lot of resources that maybethey've been starving for for a
while, so it's exciting for youguys to have that.
Tell me a little bit about theday-to-day in your business and
in your role.
What are you doing in every daywhen you go in?
Dalton Meny (04:54):
Well, last two years I'm working a lot on
orders and inventory that's mybiggest concern and I also kind
of somewhat manage our managersand that sort of stuff.
Okay, but you never really knowwhat day is going to bring,
because it's always somethingyou know I may be working, or
maybe working the register oranswering the phones or just
whatever has to do.
Stefanie Couch (05:14):
And you have three stores.
Dalton Meny (05:15):
So are you kind?
Stefanie Couch (05:16):
of going back and forth between the stores.
Dalton Meny (05:17):
Yeah, my desk is at once on there most of the time,
but I do go back and forth Verycool Never know what's going to
happen during a day.
Stefanie Couch (05:23):
All right.
Do you have a favorite area inthe store, like a favorite aisle
, a favorite section?
What do you like to do in thestore?
Dalton Meny (05:30):
Honestly, plumbing has grown on me a lot.
I don't I think I'm very goodat plumbing, but I can like
piece stuff together.
I like doing that.
Like people say, I need thissize, that size, you have to
piece it together.
It's kind of fun to figure itout.
Stefanie Couch (05:42):
I used to do that when I was little.
So my dad had a hardware storein Georgia, yeah, and I started
working there when I was veryyoung.
But when I was maybe like 12 or13, you know, people would come
in and they would say, hey,trying to go from CPVC to PVC,
and we're trying to do this, andI would go back to aisle 13.
I had no idea what I was doingno clue, and neither did they.
So they follow the young girlto aisle 13.
(06:04):
And it was like a puzzle, yeah,and I think that's what I liked
about it too.
Electrical scared me because,like, if electrical goes wrong,
you're getting shocked, but ifplumbing goes wrong, something
might leak, it could still bebad, but it's not.
It's lower stakes, right, soit's not as bad.
I love that.
What about your day-to-day withyour customers, are you?
Dalton Meny (06:27):
are you having a lot of homeowners come in
contractors?
How does your business look?
It's a lot of homeowners.
We do have some business, a lotof that and then we do a lot
with farmers in our area, sokind of a mixed bag.
Stefanie Couch (06:36):
So tell me about the farm and ranch part of the
business.
Dalton Meny (06:39):
So in our area we have a lot of, you know, regular
farmers, lots of chicken andturkey farmers, so we kind of
cater to them at our one storeand provide some strange things
that you wouldn't expect aharvester to sell.
Stefanie Couch (06:49):
You know what I'm going to ask next Tell me
about the strange things.
Dalton Meny (06:53):
We sell a lot of fly killer and that sort of
stuff.
I sell it in these big 40gallon buckets and these big
liquids and 55 gallon drums.
Stefanie Couch (07:03):
Do you sell animals too?
No, okay, no live animals, justfly killer.
I love it.
Okay, what's the weirdest thingyou've ever sold?
Dalton Meny (07:11):
Our one customer.
We kind of like agreement wepurchase things for they come to
us, we buy it, you know, and wedon don't.
We have a special deal withthem and they'll come in with
the strangest things sometimes,like I think last week I get to
order tv for them.
They like I want this tv orderformula.
Okay, I mean like just whateverthey want we get.
That's really cool.
(07:32):
It's kind of a uniquerelationship we have with them.
Stefanie Couch (07:35):
But I love that.
So what do you think makes agreat business?
As far as that, you're talkingabout doing things that are kind
of out of the norm, you know,making it happen for people.
What does that mean to you tobe a great business like that?
Dalton Meny (07:48):
I think that means to just be flexible.
You have to do what yourcustomer needs.
You can't be too rigid in whatyou think your business is.
You have to adapt and kind ofmold it to what your customer
needs it to be.
Stefanie Couch (07:59):
Yeah, I love that, and you're working on a
lot of operations and technicaland inventory projects.
What is your goal when youstart something like that?
How do you decide what'simportant?
Because there's a millionthings we could all do in our
business right and I know at ahardware store there's so many
things you could optimize or youcould do.
How do you decide what to workon next?
Dalton Meny (08:18):
I guess whatever is bothering me the most.
I can be selfish a little bit,but I know I notice things that
I know is going to be better, soI'm going to look for a way to
fix it, because that's how Ikind of do it.
Stefanie Couch (08:29):
Yeah, so when you start a technical project,
is it just you that's kind ofworking on it?
Yeah, just me Okay.
So what are some of the thingsdo you use ai?
Dalton Meny (08:36):
no, not ai okay but just regular programming okay,
like python, that sort of stuffokay, so what are you doing,
like, what's a project?
Stefanie Couch (08:42):
tell me about a project you're working on right
now, or what I've been workingon is with um inventory
transfers.
Dalton Meny (08:47):
Okay, so before I came on, we had two stores that
ran pretty separate.
So the third, we started tryingto make them all more cohesive
with each other and part of thatwe started transferable
inventory and it's not there's.
There was no good way to dothat.
It was like, oh, I need this, Ineed this.
So I built a program.
It takes data from our pos,reads all of it and then it will
(09:11):
decide okay, this store needsfree from this one or this I
start using like minimums andyour 12 month sales and how much
you sell.
You know that sort of stuff.
Stefanie Couch (09:21):
So Okay, and has that been a success?
Dalton Meny (09:23):
Yeah, I use it every week, so that's awesome.
Stefanie Couch (09:25):
I love it.
I bet your people are glad tohave a system instead of just
pure chaos, right?
Yes, all right.
Well, let's talk about pricing.
Pricing and processes are ahuge deal in every small
business, but especially in onethat has three stores.
Dalton Meny (09:39):
Yes.
Stefanie Couch (09:39):
How do you keep your systems and your pricing
together and what have you doneto optimize that?
Dalton Meny (09:45):
So before I came on there was no pricing system.
It was kind of a free-for-all.
My dad wasn't charged, he hadhis own system, you can say.
But we've kind of switched,just regulatory value suggested,
which for the most part I agreewith.
There's a few things, but everyweek I'll throw out our POS and
I will go through the changesand order price stickers and I
(10:06):
have reports I've made that cancompare prices, that are
discrepancies between each storeso we can keep them mostly in
line, cause it's hard cause allour stores are pretty close.
We're about 12, 15 miles apart,so can't have a customer going
from one store and paying $3 andthen going to the other one and
paying $5.
Stefanie Couch (10:22):
Yeah, that's actually a really big point that
I think a lot of people miss iscongruency like that,
especially if something's onlineit's one price and in the store
is another.
Things like that it can reallyirritate people and it can cause
their customer experience tothink you're cheating them or
something.
Do you guys have e-commerce?
Dalton Meny (10:37):
Yes.
Stefanie Couch (10:38):
So how does that work for you?
Dalton Meny (10:40):
It's not a huge thing.
It's there.
I love it for it to grow, butit's hard.
Yeah, you know you have to havea customer base for it.
Maybe our customer base is alittle more old school yeah, the
old school rule guy.
Stefanie Couch (10:51):
The guy buying the 40 gallons of Fly Killer
probably didn't buy it in awhile I guess no, they're not,
they're calling to order it youknow, oh, I love it.
Well, your stores are deeplyrooted in community and I'm sure
that you spend a lot of timedoing things.
Why do you think small townleadership and these small
businesses?
They're such a big part of asmaller town.
Why is it so important?
Dalton Meny (11:12):
It's so important to give back and be involved in
your community because you'rethe local business.
We're not Home Depot, we're nota Lowe's, we're here, we live
here, we work here.
So you need to make yourselfseen and appreciated.
Give your time to the backcommunity because you're the
difference between the big boxstore.
Stefanie Couch (11:29):
I love it.
What are some of the things youdo at Minis?
Dalton Meny (11:31):
We love to do sponsorships and a lot of little
leagues, softballs, that sortof stuff.
Yeah, we try to focus more onschools, that sort of stuff.
You know, local fests andevents yeah, those are big
things.
Stefanie Couch (11:42):
I'm sure people, I'm sure you have a lot of kids
that come into your store.
Oh yeah, lot of kids that comeinto your store.
Oh yeah, they still love to go.
I mean, obviously I grew up ina hardware store but I love to
go to other people's hardwarestores, like when I visited
places or we went on vacation.
It was always fun because theya lot of them have really cool
stuff for kids.
Yeah, do you guys have asection like that?
Dalton Meny (11:59):
Not really.
We have popcorn like to come in.
It's pretty good.
One of our employees, hergrandson, comes in.
He loves one of the magnets andplaying with those little round
discs yeah, that's his favorite.
Stefanie Couch (12:07):
The popcorn machine is a good idea.
I would like that, and I'm nota kid.
Yeah Well, I want to go back tothe history of the company.
So 1881.
Yes, a long time.
Tell me a little bit about howthe store started.
What was it like in 1881?
Dalton Meny (12:21):
So it started in Hopstot, indiana, by August
Schultheis he's mygreat-great-grandfather, okay,
and his parents were immigrantsfrom Germany and he opened this
general store and they soldevery.
You know, hides and tin andhardware.
They sold dynamite, it was.
It was everything, yeah.
And then his son-in-law, VictorMeny, bought it from him in the
(12:43):
thirties, I think, okay.
And then my grandpa and hissiblings took over.
There were 12 siblings, wow.
And then.
And then they were five, himand four of their siblings, so
they were the owners and theyreally expanded.
They added a grocery, theyadded a appliance business, a
propane business, like heatingand air.
It was a huge conglomerate.
(13:04):
In the eighties they built likea 40,000 square foot whole
building had everything underWow.
And they opened a hardwarestore in Jasper Okay, that's
where we're at now.
And then my grandpa and hissiblings retired.
My parents bought the store wehave now, and then my parents
have expanded from there.
Stefanie Couch (13:20):
That's very cool .
And being a fifth generationstore owner, what does that mean
to you?
Dalton Meny (13:27):
It means a lot of legacy, a lot of weight in your
shoulders.
Store owner.
What does that mean to you?
It means a lot of legacy, a lotof weight in your shoulders.
You want that you don't be thegeneration to ruin it.
But you know, it's good to seewhat's come before you and what
has worked well.
But also it's good to kind ofchange and take a new direction.
Stefanie Couch (13:38):
Yeah, you know you feel like you get pushback
or more support as far as, likethe changing of the guard,
because there's some things thathave been done a long time this
way, right yeah, you'd becareful with it.
Dalton Meny (13:47):
You can't be too yeah it has to be gradual and,
yeah, my dad's more opposed tochange, so well, and that's the
thing with.
Stefanie Couch (13:56):
I think all younger generations want to
shake things up and want to putyour mark on it, but hopefully,
being that you're in thetechnology realm, they maybe let
you kind of do yeah, they don'tknow how to code, so it it's
like what are they gonna?
Dalton Meny (14:09):
do about it.
Yeah, they don't question thatpart.
They don't know how it works.
Stefanie Couch (14:12):
I love it.
Well, what advice would yougive to someone who's stepping
into a leadership role in afamily business?
Maybe they aren't sure what todo or maybe they're coming into
this industry new.
What would you tell them?
Because you weren't planning oncoming back?
Dalton Meny (14:27):
No, Keep your mind open.
You can't come in with a bigattitude and change everything
all at once.
You have to pick your battlesdefinitely, and you have to get
everyone on board with you,because if you're not a cohesive
team, it's not going to work.
So work with your team, changethings, but don't be against
them too much.
Stefanie Couch (14:45):
Yeah, for sure.
Yeah, you gotta becollaborative.
Yeah, All right.
Last question for you whatexcites you the most about your
future in the industry and aboutsome of the things that are
happening right now that you seearound you?
Dalton Meny (14:57):
Well, definitely, in this true value, do the best
merger.
I think there's a lot of goodthings that can come out of that
.
I don't know what future isgonna bring products.
I think it's gonna be reallygood for us.
Stefanie Couch (15:08):
Yeah, that's great Then technology.
Dalton Meny (15:09):
You know that's always changing.
It's interesting to see howthat can change over the next
few years.
You never really know.
Stefanie Couch (15:16):
No, I mean with AI.
I think it'll be.
It's changing every week.
Dalton Meny (15:20):
Yeah.
Stefanie Couch (15:20):
You know it's kind of crazy and I think it's
gonna come into the industrypretty quickly because it's
coming into everything.
Maybe be a little longer in ourindustry than others.
Dalton Meny (15:29):
We're always a little behind everyone.
Yeah, for sure.
Stefanie Couch (15:32):
I think right now some companies are 20 to 30
years behind, but I don't thinkthat it'll be that way forever,
because, just because of thenature of how quick AI is moving
, I think so.
I love it.
Well, thank you so much forjoining me on the Grit Blueprint
.
I really appreciate it and I'mexcited to hopefully get to Indy
and see in Indiana your amazingfamily hardware stores and
(15:53):
maybe buy some dynamite I don'tknow, Do you still have that?
Dalton Meny (15:55):
No, we don't.
Stefanie Couch (15:56):
Okay, Well, that's very disappointing, but I
still want to come see you.
Thank you so much for joiningme on the Grit Blueprint.
Thank you, that's it for thisepisode of the Grit Blueprint
podcast.
For more tools, training andindustry content, make sure to
subscribe here and follow me onLinkedIn and other social media
platforms To find out more abouthow Grit Blueprint can help you
(16:19):
grow your business.
Check us out at our website,gritblueprintcom.
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