August 26, 2025 • 23 mins
Dave Ables shares how partnering with co-ops like Do it Best and True Value has enabled his independent lumber and hardware businesses to compete successfully against corporate giants. He discusses innovative strategies including building actual home structures inside his showroom and using technology to document product condition throughout the delivery process.
• Purchased and transformed a True Value store in 2022, winning a Beacon Award for best new hardware store
• Built realistic home displays inside Tri-County Lumber showroom featuring different siding options and window styles
• Developed specialized expertise among staff rather than having everyone know "a little bit about everything"
• Created a system to photograph products at multiple stages to eliminate confusion about product damage
• Serves as an extension of contractors' sales teams, reducing their workload while improving customer experience
• Left corporate logistics career after eight relocations to create stable business opportunities for his three sons
• Uses LinkedIn as a powerful marketing and networking tool to share ideas and connect with industry peers
• Plans expansion by acquiring underserved rural stores within 100-mile radius of current locations
• Emphasizes the importance of preserving the "American dream" of small business ownership
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Dave Ables (00:00):
It's really hard for a guy with one store to compete
.
But now I've partnered with Doit Best, with the buying power
of thousands of stores now makesme competitive with the big
private equity yards, do it Best.
True Values and Co-Ops allowyou to be able to compete with
those people at the same level,make the same level of profit,
provide the same level ofservice to your customer and
(00:21):
it's really a good win-win foreveryone.
Stefanie Couch (00:24):
Marketing has kind of become a dirty word
sometimes in a lot of ourtraditional businesses because
it's a waste of time, and moneyand all those things.
Dave Ables (00:31):
I think LinkedIn is a great tool.
That was my artificialintelligence before there was AI
.
No matter what the situation, Icould get an answer from
someone throughout the country.
No matter where I go, peoplesay I see you on LinkedIn and I
love what you guys are doing.
I mean, that's free advertising, I don't have to pay for any of
that.
I want that American dream tolive on.
Let people have that Americandream of starting their own
(00:52):
business.
Linkedin is a format that canhelp you do that.
Stefanie Couch (00:56):
Welcome to the Grit Blueprint Podcast, the
playbook for buildingunmistakable brands that grow,
lead and last in the built world.
I'm Stefanie Couch, the founderof Grit Blueprint, and I'm a
lifelong building industryinsider.
I was raised here, built mycareer here, and now my team and
(01:17):
I help others win here.
The truth is, you can be thebest option in your space and
still lose to someone else whosimply shows up better and more
consistently Each week.
On the Grit Blueprint, I'mgoing to show you how to stand
out, earn trust and turn yourbrand into a competitive
(01:38):
advantage that lasts.
If you're ready to be seen,known, chosen and become
unmistakable, you're in theright place.
Let's get started.
Welcome to the Grit BlueprintPodcast.
I am your host, Stefanie Couch,and today I'm here with my
friend, dave Ables.
Welcome to the show, Dave.
Dave Ables (01:57):
Thank you very much for having me.
Stefanie Couch (01:58):
And you have an amazing lumberyard and a
hardware store in Minnesota.
I'm excited today to talk toyou about what you're doing
because you've got some coolstuff happening and you've been
in this industry for a littlewhile, but you've got an awesome
background.
We are actually in Orlandowhere you and your amazing wife,
lori just won an awardyesterday for the IHI conference
.
It's actually a Beacon Awardfor being an outstanding store.
(02:20):
This was actually for yourhardware store, which is Three
Sons right, correct, okay and itwas a great night last night
and this show has been reallycool.
What did you actually win theaward for?
So tell me a little bit aboutthat.
Dave Ables (02:32):
We won the store for best new hardware store and we
bought this store in 2022 andthen we converted it.
It's actually a true valuestore.
My wife, who you've alreadytalked to, runs that store along
with our son, David, soobviously with the name Three
Sons.
We have three sons.
My oldest son, David, who's 24,works at that location.
He's the store manager.
And then I have two sons thatwork with me at Tri-County
(02:53):
Lumber.
Stefanie Couch (02:53):
Yeah.
So tell me a little bit moreabout Tri-County Lumber, because
you know I grew up in thelumber business.
I love a lumber yard andwindows and millwork.
You just built an amazing newshowroom.
Yep, Tell me about that.
Dave Ables (03:04):
So the new showroom has got, and here's the thing.
So I'm going to take this fromthe standpoint of being a layman
.
Right, I would sit out there inmy office and I would watch
people come in and they wouldsee a window display, and the
window display would just be awindow and a little display area
and it would show nail flangesand things, and I would hear
someone say well, what's this?
Is this what it's going to looklike in my house?
What's that and that's?
(03:25):
a nail flange, and obviouslythat would be hidden in your
home, sure.
So we brought on an individualfrom another yard and he came to
me and he said you know what hesaid?
I sat at home the last fewnights and I designed you a new
showroom Didn't ask him to do itunsolicited, and it was amazing
.
And I said you know what, steve, you and I are spot on because,
ironically, I listen to peoplethat not really understanding
(03:47):
exactly what what it is thatwe're displaying to them.
So we built homes inside ofTri-County Lumber.
So we have two homes One's adiamond coat and LP.
One's a diamond coat home,one's an LP sided home.
They all feature Marvin windowsat different levels.
One's a Marvin signature home,one's a Marvin elevate home and
we also have a Marvin Essentialhome, and I think it's just been
(04:07):
a game changer.
So again, my office is rightout there.
Now, when you come in or whensomeone comes in to pick out
their materials, they're in loveautomatically and they can see
it as if it's in their home.
And the siding and the trim.
So on the insides we haveshiplap, we have sheetrock, we
have it's all done.
There's different trim profilesaround the insides of the
windows.
It's just as if it's in yourown home.
(04:29):
It's really been a game changerfor us.
Stefanie Couch (04:30):
That's awesome Seeing higher end products,
especially in person, being ableto touch and feel them.
I believe it's the best way toupsell and to make people
understand what they're actuallygetting and how different it is
.
Have you seen a big differencein homeowners that are coming in
with contractors?
Because I know you have a lotof contractor business and
they're bringing people in andthey're using it to help
themselves be able to explainand sell better right.
Dave Ables (04:52):
Correct.
And what's cool about it forour contractors?
Because everyone's busy,they're able to bring their
clients in or they can just sendthem in and meet with our sales
team.
So for the majority of the time, I would tell you, they send
their customers in.
Our sales people do the sellfor them.
So we walk through, we show themall the doors, the millwork,
the interior exterior doors,shingles, fascia, soffit all
(05:18):
those things are on display,built into these homes, and then
we write down what profilesthey want, we write down what
qualities they want, what colorsthey want and we send that back
to the contractor.
If there's any change orderthat needs to be done from what
they had originally specced, thecontractor handles it.
So it's really been anextension of their sales force
that we've become and I thinkthe homeowners like it.
And, to be quite honest, myguys and my gals are experts at
(05:39):
selling building materials andsometimes the contractor is not.
So it really works better andit's to everyone's advantage.
And we're in this together,we're a partnership, and that's
what's really worked well for us.
Stefanie Couch (05:49):
Yeah, I want to double click on that because I
think Something you're doingvery well that is really
important is you're reducingfriction for your customer,
who's the contractor most of thetime.
You're making their life easier.
You're helping them not have tolearn that stuff, not have to
take their time, and you're alsohelping them upsell, which, if
(06:09):
they're doing cost plus, which alot of these contractors are,
and you're in a higher end area,they're making more money
because you're helping sell thebetter product, which is also
better for the home long-termand better for the homeowner.
How do you see, like, what doyour contractors say about that?
Do they?
Do they tell you how importantthat is to them?
Dave Ables (06:26):
I think.
Well, that's part of what.
Not only did Steve come up withthe design, but that was what
drove our decision to do thesethings, was that's what the
contractors wanted.
So when I bought the yard, Iprobably met with all of our
contractors, but focusedprimarily on the top 25.
And I said what can we do tobetter service you?
And that was one of the thingsthat they said.
And ideally, in this newfacility that we're building
(06:47):
there, we'll then have kitchensand we'll have baths and we'll
have flooring.
We'll have all the things theydon't.
What they really want is aone-stop shop.
If you think about it, and youand I are married and we're
going to go look for our doorsand millwork, but then we got to
go look for our flooring, so wegot to drive 30 miles to a
different store, and then we'regoing to go look for our
bathroom.
We got to drive another 15miles to another store.
This will all be housed on onenine-'m.
(07:08):
Again, you and I are going tobuild a new home.
We're interviewing builders andthese builders are saying look,
we're going to partner with onelocation.
You're going to go in, you'regoing to pick all your materials
out.
That's even less stress on themon the back end, after the home
(07:29):
is built, if there's a problem,there's only one person to come
to.
We don't have to go to this guywho sold me the flooring but
he's no longer in business andblah, blah blah.
So it's really worked toeveryone's advantage and I think
it's well received.
Stefanie Couch (07:40):
Yeah, and you pay one bill and you have one,
probably one person that youknow you can call that's going
to answer the phone.
Right, how important is it foryou to have a team of people?
You talked about your team, orexperts.
How important is that to haveyour people be experts in their
individual field, whether it'swindows, doors, lumber, whatever
they're doing, and actuallyunderstand construction?
Dave Ables (08:03):
I think it's very important, and so we are
pivoting a little bit.
You know, originally Tri-Countystarted out in 2001, and they
built up until I bought it in 24, and we've grown even since
then.
So originally it's your cradleto grave, right.
I sell everything.
I know a little bit abouteverything, but not a lot about
everything.
And now we're starting to focuson we brought a millwork person
(08:23):
in from one of the big millworkcompanies.
We've brought in people thatare experts in certain areas.
My son, sam, primarily focuseson deck sales.
You want to talk about decking,whether it be a $250,000
outdoor space that's on one ofthe lakes or whether it's a
$15,000 deck behind your home,this guy knows everything about
those products and he knows itacross all lines.
(08:45):
Whether it's timber, tech,treks, decorators, they know all
about the different options andI think that's really suited as
well.
And then we still have the oldschool cradle to grave guys, but
they're now starting to pivottoo.
So when you have a truemillwork question, let me go
grab steve.
Yeah, steve's going to come in.
He spent 12 years at a doormanufacturer and he's going to
tell you the differentiationsbetween this therma true door
(09:07):
and a buyer built door yeah,it's very interesting that
that's happening, becausethere's just so many doors is my
background for sure.
Stefanie Couch (09:16):
There are thousands of configurations,
different brands, like youmentioned, and also there's a
lot of stakes that could gowrong.
If you pick the wrong hand orif you do the wrong thing, it
could be a whole door order thatgets you know, brought back and
contractors get really scaredby that.
So knowing that you as theperson in the store really do
know what you're talking about,that gives them so much peace of
(09:38):
mind that when that shows up ontheir job site it's going to be
the right thing and that's abig deal.
Dave Ables (09:42):
And then I think also doors, millwork and windows
are susceptible to damage, andwe do that really well.
So we have an entire warehousethat's set up for doors, windows
, loading dock, to each one setin an individual location.
We just brought a second truck.
We're outfitting the inside ofthe truck to be able to protect
these things.
So there's a lot to be said forit Aside from just picking it
(10:04):
out.
Now it has to come from themanufacturer to us, from us to
your job site, from our truck toinside the job site, and we've
got to do that flawlessly.
You don't want to spend $7,000on a front door to have it be
scratched.
Stefanie Couch (10:16):
Yeah exactly.
Dave Ables (10:16):
So those are the things that I think we do really
well and we take pride in it.
Now we also went to atechnology standpoint where when
it comes off the truck, we takea picture of it.
When we put it into our rackingoutside, when we load it onto
our truck, we take anotherpicture of it.
And now when we unload it atthe job site, we take a third
picture of it.
And, job site, we take a thirdpicture of it.
(10:39):
And then those automaticallyare uploaded into the order
itself in our POS system.
So, as an example, if you as acontractor, once it's delivered,
the picture's in there, we cansend that picture directly to
you as a contractor.
Nonetheless, it's in the order.
So if you were to call yoursalesperson and say, hey, I
think there might've been aproblem with this door, we can
go in there and take a look atit.
We can make sure there is orisn't.
Ideally there's not, but ifthere was and we did something,
we're going to own that.
(10:59):
Yeah, for sure.
Stefanie Couch (11:01):
Customer service is the only way to keep
contractors happy, knowing likewhen you do screw something up,
and inevitably it's going tohappen you're going to make it
right.
And if you own it and then makeit right quickly, they'll be
usually customers for a longtime.
Dave Ables (11:21):
It also helps them and I met with one of our
contractors last week and wewere talking about the new
system and he said this is agame changer for him from the
perspective of working with hisown team.
Typically in life if somethinggoes wrong, you're always going
to say the other guy did itright.
So it might be that they said,well, it came that way and it
didn't really come that way, andnow we can show that contractor
so he can go back then andchange his process.
Before, if they always thinkit's me or we always think it's
the manufacturer, they neverchanged that process.
(11:42):
That really did the damage.
So now we're all partneringtogether.
It's not a finger-pointing game.
It's that we want this to beright for our end consumer,
which is the homeowner or thehome builder.
Stefanie Couch (11:51):
Yeah, that's right.
Happy customer.
That's, at the end, is what weall want for sure.
You actually did not come fromthis industry.
You're industry adjacent.
You're in the logisticsindustry.
What made you want to buy alumberyard and a hardware store?
Why did you get into thisindustry?
Because I think there's a lotof people out there thinking I
would love to have a business, Iwould love to have a legacy for
(12:11):
my family, for my sons, mydaughters.
What made you choose this?
Dave Ables (12:16):
Well, for me, probably different than some, it
was probably eight corporatemoves over the 28 years that I
was in trucking and I wanted togive my children an opportunity
to ground themselves.
So my oldest son, david, who'sthe manager at our Big Lake
store, 24 years old now butduring high school back to
kindergarten, probably was insix different schools.
(12:36):
So I wanted to put my sons in aposition to where they didn't
have to do what dad did.
Right, they didn't have to movearound the country.
They're all part of thebusinesses.
They're going to have theirfamilies there.
Sam, my 21 year old, just movedout and moved in with his
girlfriend.
They can now do the things thatwe didn't do.
As soon as we would solidifyourselves in one city or one
state or be there for a periodof time and they got their group
(12:58):
of friends, I'd get that callto go to the next opportunity or
even for the same company tothe next location, and then we
would have to move and I didn'twant them to do that.
And then I thought lumber,building materials.
My family from Iowa, they're inthe plumbing business.
Growing up through college Iwent and I worked at the
plumbing company in thesummertime.
So I thought it's just anatural fit.
(13:18):
We're all workers, we have acar collection, we liked
hardware.
We bought our first store in2013 in Ohio and that was again
a corporate move caused us tohave to sell that in 2019.
And I think it was just theright thing for my family and
luckily, the boys embraced itnow and they all work in the
businesses and they're doingwell.
Sam had his best month everlast month at 21 years old,
(13:39):
selling decking, and I'm soproud of them all.
Stefanie Couch (13:41):
That's amazing, yeah, and I love how you're
letting them do their own.
They each kind of have theirown thing they're owning in the
business, which is really cool,because then they don't feel
like mom and dad just gave it tothem.
They're actually earning it,which is it was a big deal for
me when I felt like I wasn'tjust dad's daughter that was
running the hardware store, thelumber yard.
I feel like I actually hadvalue to contribute.
That's always important as afamily business.
Dave Ables (14:02):
They had to start at the bottom.
So, Nicholas, who's 19, juststarted at our yard, maybe six
months ago.
He delivers doors and windowsright.
So he's out there and he tellsme some days dad, that was tough
, I delivered 44 doors today.
Stefanie Couch (14:14):
Yeah.
Dave Ables (14:14):
And there's a lot of manual labor involved.
It is hard, but it also givesthem street cred, right With the
guys that have been there for20 some years.
They're not.
It's not daddy's little boythat got to come in and take the
business over.
These guys started out on theyard.
My son, david, who works with mywife Lori similar situation.
He started back in 2013 as ayoung, young, young man working
in the store.
That kids all did and helearned about the business.
(14:37):
That kid at 24 knows more thanmost men that are my age at 56
about what's in that store, howto utilize what's in that store,
and we can do that on anybudget.
There's many different ways tofix something right and it all
fits into that individual'sbudget.
Now we could say here's theexact right way and this is a
hundred dollars sale.
Some people don't have that ahundred dollars, but they still
(15:00):
need that fixed.
We're able to be able to pivotand get them what they can get
within their budget and able todo that, and that's something
I'm really proud of my son forbeing able to do.
Stefanie Couch (15:08):
That's awesome.
Well, tell me a little bitabout you've been working with
True Value on the hardware side.
I know True Value's had a rockylast few years, right, and now
they've been purchased by Do itBest group.
You actually have Do it Best inyour lumber yard, so you guys
do True Value and Do it Best.
Tell me about your experienceof that.
And you've been pretty vocal onsocial media about the
acquisition with True Value andall of those things.
(15:29):
So tell me a little bit aboutwhat your experience has been
like with that partnership.
Dave Ables (15:33):
Great people on both sides and now it's one side
right.
We obviously started with TrueValue in 2013.
So I've got loyalty to thatbrand, but Do it Best does
lumber better right.
So we were able to have thebest of both worlds.
So when they went through thistransaction, the True Value
store was already True Value andI was actually already Do it
Best, so we were able to getLori product from the Do it Best
(15:56):
side when True Value couldn'tprovide product until Do it Best
righted that ship, whichthey've done a very good job and
are doing well now.
So we were lucky enough to beable to do that.
But I think it's a positive andI think, in talking with Dent
this week and talking with thedo it best team, where they're
going is the right direction.
And so if you're a member or ifyou're a retailer and at some
(16:17):
point it will become a co-opagain and everybody's a member
you'll be able to pick yourbrand, you'll be able to pick
your source and you'll be ableto do things which other co-ops
can't do.
Stefanie Couch (16:27):
So you could offer multiple different things.
Yeah, I love that.
How does having something likea big company co-op that is very
large, has a lot of buyingpower, has a lot of marketing
support, all the differentsupport systems that they have
how does that help you haveleverage in your independent
businesses?
Dave Ables (16:43):
Well, if we look at it solely on the Tri-County side
, so it was an independent yardfor 24 years before I purchased
it and they bought from a lot ofreally, really good local
vendors.
But now I've partnered with Doit Best, with the buying power
of thousands of stores, so I canbuy material at a lower cost
point, which then means I canmake the same margin that I used
to make and sell it to that endcontractor or consumer at a
(17:05):
lower price point.
What now makes me competitivewith the big private equity
yards.
So one of the things that'shappened in our industry is this
independent, this dream of afamily business.
It's diminishing, it's not goneright and hopefully we can
revitalize that with things likea co-op.
But it's really hard for a guywith one store to compete with
Kodiak, as an example Notpicking on Kodiak, because if I
(17:27):
were they I'd probably be doingthe same thing.
But those are the type ofthings we're up against and do
it best, true values and co-opsallow you to be able to compete
with those people at the samelevel, make the same level of
profit, provide the same levelof service to your customer and
it's really a good win-win foreveryone.
Stefanie Couch (17:44):
Yeah, I think it's the only way the
independent business stays inand in the game, and I think
that the bigger you know if youexpanded and you had two or
three stores, it's still that'salmost the only way that you can
really get those up and goingis with help of programs and
merchandising and all thosethings that they do.
So I think it's a huge level up.
I know from experience how hardit is to be one store competing
(18:08):
against giants.
Dave Ables (18:09):
Right, and even with just having the two locations
now and one's true value andone's do it best, we pivot and
change, send merchandise backand forth all the time, but a
lot of like skews between thetwo different brands right.
I mean, a Milwaukee tool is aMilwaukee tool, no matter where
you got it from.
So the positive is that ifsomeone comes into Lori's store
and needs something and theydon't have it, we have eight
delivery trucks going all overthe cities all day long.
(18:31):
We can have that product overto her the same day and vice
versa.
So that's really what hashelped us.
I get it.
Originally we were one store.
It's very difficult.
You get aged merchandise thatmay not be selling well in your
store.
You got no place to put itother than to discount it many
times below your cost.
What might not sell in Big Lakemay be a great seller in
Clearwater.
So we're able to move thosethings around and as we continue
(18:53):
to scale this thing and addmore locations, it will give us
even more versatility to be ableto meet the consumer's needs.
Stefanie Couch (18:59):
Yeah Well, you're a very smart businessman
and you are hungry and I knewthat from the moment I met you.
We started talking about thatand I'm curious what are your
thoughts about growth and how doyou see Tri, three Suns and
Tri-County in the future growing?
Dave Ables (19:16):
Well, we're putting up this new 25,000 square foot
place at Tri-County right now,which will then give us the home
center environment, and thenwe're looking at new
acquisitions.
On Saturday I'll be in northernMinnesota looking at an
opportunity and we've sat downwith Do it Best, true Value,
targeted kind of a hundred mileradius.
There's a lot of good yards inthe cities and I'm friends with
(19:36):
them and I've always said this.
There's enough to go around.
We don't have to be enemies.
We all share data and that'swhat I think is really good.
There was a post today fromAdam Gunnett and I added on to
that that we share intel, right,I mean, especially in meetings
like this, people from allacross the country.
It's not like we're trulycompetitors, but like this,
people from all across thecountry, it's not like we're
truly competitors, but when wedo better, they do better.
(19:56):
So we're targeting a hundredmile radius from really I-94
north.
I like small towns.
We grew up in Iowa where we'velived in most of the places,
even throughout my corporatecareer was.
I had a job in a city but welived in the in the rural areas.
We live outside on town on anacreage, so we're focused on
those areas.
We're focused on underservicedmarkets.
We want to be able to takethose small mom and pop stores,
(20:18):
put some lumber in them, upgradethem, refresh them and give
that community what they deserve.
Really, it's all about thecommunity.
And then when we take care ofthe community, it takes care of
my family and not only my family, my family's extended we talked
about this this morning.
So I have 22 employees atTri-County and Lori has 10.
There's 32 families that relyon our business to succeed or
(20:40):
they fail, and it's a thing thatit's tough to burden sometimes
when things aren't going right,because it's not just us.
But when things are going well,we all thrive.
Stefanie Couch (20:50):
Yeah, and it's really important, though, to see
how much you are changing somany lives in the community and
as you continue to do this, theychange their life because of
the work that you're giving them, that they do, and then maybe
their kids have worked there allthose cool things that you see
in these local businesses soyou're really making a
difference and I'm excited tokeep watching you because I feel
that fire.
I love watching you on LinkedIn, so let's talk a little bit
(21:12):
about LinkedIn and branding andhow you feel about marketing.
So marketing has kind of becomea dirty word sometimes in a lot
of our traditional businesses,because it's a waste of time and
money and all those things andthey don't see the value.
But you post on LinkedIn a lotand I know you believe in
marketing, so tell me a littlebit about that and how you feel
like it can impact someone'sbusiness.
Dave Ables (21:31):
I think LinkedIn is a great tool.
Now many people like Facebook,many people like Instagram, and
as we scale and we add people tobe able to do those things,
we'll be on all those differentavenues.
But today I'm a LinkedIn guy,right, I don't have a Facebook
account, but it's worked wellfor me and I mentioned this on
an LBM Journal interview a fewweeks ago but that was my
artificial intelligence beforethere was AI, yeah, so, no
(21:56):
matter what the situation, Icould get an answer from someone
throughout the country, and itreally still prevails today.
And when we put on things aboutwhat we're doing at our
businesses, the direct messages,I get back the feedback from
the community.
No matter where I go, peoplesay hey, I see you on LinkedIn
and I love what you guys aredoing.
I mean that it is.
I don't have to pay for any ofthat, and it's true, and I enjoy
(22:16):
it too, because I'm helpingsomebody else.
If I can give somebody else anidea, whether they're in
Minnesota or Iowa or Wisconsin,I think it's a win for our
industry as a whole.
And again, I'm aboutindependence, right, so I want
us to thrive and I want thatAmerican dream to live on.
I don't want it to be where Ihave to go to work for a big
corporation and be like DaveAbles used to be and move eight
(22:37):
times and change my kids'locations all the time.
Let people have that Americandream of starting their own
business.
Linkedin is a format that canhelp you do that.
Stefanie Couch (22:46):
I love it.
Well, thank you so much forjoining me today.
I am really excited to keepwatching you and Lori just crush
it, and I'm really excited tokeep watching you and Lori just
crush it, and obviously yourson's coming into the business
and doing the same thing.
I would love to get up toMinnesota and see your store,
because I know you've got anamazing showroom now.
It sounds like you're buildingon fast.
So thank you so much and weappreciate you spending some
time with us.
Thank, you very much for havingme.
Thank you for listening to theGrit Blueprint podcast.
(23:09):
If this episode helped youthink a little differently about
how to show up, share it withsomeone in your building world
who needs it.
If you're ready to turnvisibility into growth, then
head to gritblueprintcom tolearn more and book a call to
talk to us about your growthstrategy.
Until next time, stayunmistakable.
It's really hard for a guy with one store to compete
.
But now I've partnered with Doit Best, with the buying power
of thousands of stores now makesme competitive with the big
private equity yards, do it Best.
True Values and Co-Ops allowyou to be able to compete with
those people at the same level,make the same level of profit,
provide the same level ofservice to your customer and
(00:21):
it's really a good win-win foreveryone.
Stefanie Couch (00:24):
Marketing has kind of become a dirty word
sometimes in a lot of ourtraditional businesses because
it's a waste of time, and moneyand all those things.
Dave Ables (00:31):
I think LinkedIn is a great tool.
That was my artificialintelligence before there was AI
.
No matter what the situation, Icould get an answer from
someone throughout the country.
No matter where I go, peoplesay I see you on LinkedIn and I
love what you guys are doing.
I mean, that's free advertising, I don't have to pay for any of
that.
I want that American dream tolive on.
Let people have that Americandream of starting their own
(00:52):
business.
Linkedin is a format that canhelp you do that.
Stefanie Couch (00:56):
Welcome to the Grit Blueprint Podcast, the
playbook for buildingunmistakable brands that grow,
lead and last in the built world.
I'm Stefanie Couch, the founderof Grit Blueprint, and I'm a
lifelong building industryinsider.
I was raised here, built mycareer here, and now my team and
(01:17):
I help others win here.
The truth is, you can be thebest option in your space and
still lose to someone else whosimply shows up better and more
consistently Each week.
On the Grit Blueprint, I'mgoing to show you how to stand
out, earn trust and turn yourbrand into a competitive
(01:38):
advantage that lasts.
If you're ready to be seen,known, chosen and become
unmistakable, you're in theright place.
Let's get started.
Welcome to the Grit BlueprintPodcast.
I am your host, Stefanie Couch,and today I'm here with my
friend, dave Ables.
Welcome to the show, Dave.
Dave Ables (01:57):
Thank you very much for having me.
Stefanie Couch (01:58):
And you have an amazing lumberyard and a
hardware store in Minnesota.
I'm excited today to talk toyou about what you're doing
because you've got some coolstuff happening and you've been
in this industry for a littlewhile, but you've got an awesome
background.
We are actually in Orlandowhere you and your amazing wife,
lori just won an awardyesterday for the IHI conference
.
It's actually a Beacon Awardfor being an outstanding store.
(02:20):
This was actually for yourhardware store, which is Three
Sons right, correct, okay and itwas a great night last night
and this show has been reallycool.
What did you actually win theaward for?
So tell me a little bit aboutthat.
Dave Ables (02:32):
We won the store for best new hardware store and we
bought this store in 2022 andthen we converted it.
It's actually a true valuestore.
My wife, who you've alreadytalked to, runs that store along
with our son, David, soobviously with the name Three
Sons.
We have three sons.
My oldest son, David, who's 24,works at that location.
He's the store manager.
And then I have two sons thatwork with me at Tri-County
(02:53):
Lumber.
Stefanie Couch (02:53):
Yeah.
So tell me a little bit moreabout Tri-County Lumber, because
you know I grew up in thelumber business.
I love a lumber yard andwindows and millwork.
You just built an amazing newshowroom.
Yep, Tell me about that.
Dave Ables (03:04):
So the new showroom has got, and here's the thing.
So I'm going to take this fromthe standpoint of being a layman
.
Right, I would sit out there inmy office and I would watch
people come in and they wouldsee a window display, and the
window display would just be awindow and a little display area
and it would show nail flangesand things, and I would hear
someone say well, what's this?
Is this what it's going to looklike in my house?
What's that and that's?
(03:25):
a nail flange, and obviouslythat would be hidden in your
home, sure.
So we brought on an individualfrom another yard and he came to
me and he said you know what hesaid?
I sat at home the last fewnights and I designed you a new
showroom Didn't ask him to do itunsolicited, and it was amazing
.
And I said you know what, steve, you and I are spot on because,
ironically, I listen to peoplethat not really understanding
(03:47):
exactly what what it is thatwe're displaying to them.
So we built homes inside ofTri-County Lumber.
So we have two homes One's adiamond coat and LP.
One's a diamond coat home,one's an LP sided home.
They all feature Marvin windowsat different levels.
One's a Marvin signature home,one's a Marvin elevate home and
we also have a Marvin Essentialhome, and I think it's just been
(04:07):
a game changer.
So again, my office is rightout there.
Now, when you come in or whensomeone comes in to pick out
their materials, they're in loveautomatically and they can see
it as if it's in their home.
And the siding and the trim.
So on the insides we haveshiplap, we have sheetrock, we
have it's all done.
There's different trim profilesaround the insides of the
windows.
It's just as if it's in yourown home.
(04:29):
It's really been a game changerfor us.
Stefanie Couch (04:30):
That's awesome Seeing higher end products,
especially in person, being ableto touch and feel them.
I believe it's the best way toupsell and to make people
understand what they're actuallygetting and how different it is
.
Have you seen a big differencein homeowners that are coming in
with contractors?
Because I know you have a lotof contractor business and
they're bringing people in andthey're using it to help
themselves be able to explainand sell better right.
Dave Ables (04:52):
Correct.
And what's cool about it forour contractors?
Because everyone's busy,they're able to bring their
clients in or they can just sendthem in and meet with our sales
team.
So for the majority of the time, I would tell you, they send
their customers in.
Our sales people do the sellfor them.
So we walk through, we show themall the doors, the millwork,
the interior exterior doors,shingles, fascia, soffit all
(05:18):
those things are on display,built into these homes, and then
we write down what profilesthey want, we write down what
qualities they want, what colorsthey want and we send that back
to the contractor.
If there's any change orderthat needs to be done from what
they had originally specced, thecontractor handles it.
So it's really been anextension of their sales force
that we've become and I thinkthe homeowners like it.
And, to be quite honest, myguys and my gals are experts at
(05:39):
selling building materials andsometimes the contractor is not.
So it really works better andit's to everyone's advantage.
And we're in this together,we're a partnership, and that's
what's really worked well for us.
Stefanie Couch (05:49):
Yeah, I want to double click on that because I
think Something you're doingvery well that is really
important is you're reducingfriction for your customer,
who's the contractor most of thetime.
You're making their life easier.
You're helping them not have tolearn that stuff, not have to
take their time, and you're alsohelping them upsell, which, if
(06:09):
they're doing cost plus, which alot of these contractors are,
and you're in a higher end area,they're making more money
because you're helping sell thebetter product, which is also
better for the home long-termand better for the homeowner.
How do you see, like, what doyour contractors say about that?
Do they?
Do they tell you how importantthat is to them?
Dave Ables (06:26):
I think.
Well, that's part of what.
Not only did Steve come up withthe design, but that was what
drove our decision to do thesethings, was that's what the
contractors wanted.
So when I bought the yard, Iprobably met with all of our
contractors, but focusedprimarily on the top 25.
And I said what can we do tobetter service you?
And that was one of the thingsthat they said.
And ideally, in this newfacility that we're building
(06:47):
there, we'll then have kitchensand we'll have baths and we'll
have flooring.
We'll have all the things theydon't.
What they really want is aone-stop shop.
If you think about it, and youand I are married and we're
going to go look for our doorsand millwork, but then we got to
go look for our flooring, so wegot to drive 30 miles to a
different store, and then we'regoing to go look for our
bathroom.
We got to drive another 15miles to another store.
This will all be housed on onenine-'m.
(07:08):
Again, you and I are going tobuild a new home.
We're interviewing builders andthese builders are saying look,
we're going to partner with onelocation.
You're going to go in, you'regoing to pick all your materials
out.
That's even less stress on themon the back end, after the home
(07:29):
is built, if there's a problem,there's only one person to come
to.
We don't have to go to this guywho sold me the flooring but
he's no longer in business andblah, blah blah.
So it's really worked toeveryone's advantage and I think
it's well received.
Stefanie Couch (07:40):
Yeah, and you pay one bill and you have one,
probably one person that youknow you can call that's going
to answer the phone.
Right, how important is it foryou to have a team of people?
You talked about your team, orexperts.
How important is that to haveyour people be experts in their
individual field, whether it'swindows, doors, lumber, whatever
they're doing, and actuallyunderstand construction?
Dave Ables (08:03):
I think it's very important, and so we are
pivoting a little bit.
You know, originally Tri-Countystarted out in 2001, and they
built up until I bought it in 24, and we've grown even since
then.
So originally it's your cradleto grave, right.
I sell everything.
I know a little bit abouteverything, but not a lot about
everything.
And now we're starting to focuson we brought a millwork person
(08:23):
in from one of the big millworkcompanies.
We've brought in people thatare experts in certain areas.
My son, sam, primarily focuseson deck sales.
You want to talk about decking,whether it be a $250,000
outdoor space that's on one ofthe lakes or whether it's a
$15,000 deck behind your home,this guy knows everything about
those products and he knows itacross all lines.
(08:45):
Whether it's timber, tech,treks, decorators, they know all
about the different options andI think that's really suited as
well.
And then we still have the oldschool cradle to grave guys, but
they're now starting to pivottoo.
So when you have a truemillwork question, let me go
grab steve.
Yeah, steve's going to come in.
He spent 12 years at a doormanufacturer and he's going to
tell you the differentiationsbetween this therma true door
(09:07):
and a buyer built door yeah,it's very interesting that
that's happening, becausethere's just so many doors is my
background for sure.
Stefanie Couch (09:16):
There are thousands of configurations,
different brands, like youmentioned, and also there's a
lot of stakes that could gowrong.
If you pick the wrong hand orif you do the wrong thing, it
could be a whole door order thatgets you know, brought back and
contractors get really scaredby that.
So knowing that you as theperson in the store really do
know what you're talking about,that gives them so much peace of
(09:38):
mind that when that shows up ontheir job site it's going to be
the right thing and that's abig deal.
Dave Ables (09:42):
And then I think also doors, millwork and windows
are susceptible to damage, andwe do that really well.
So we have an entire warehousethat's set up for doors, windows
, loading dock, to each one setin an individual location.
We just brought a second truck.
We're outfitting the inside ofthe truck to be able to protect
these things.
So there's a lot to be said forit Aside from just picking it
(10:04):
out.
Now it has to come from themanufacturer to us, from us to
your job site, from our truck toinside the job site, and we've
got to do that flawlessly.
You don't want to spend $7,000on a front door to have it be
scratched.
Stefanie Couch (10:16):
Yeah exactly.
Dave Ables (10:16):
So those are the things that I think we do really
well and we take pride in it.
Now we also went to atechnology standpoint where when
it comes off the truck, we takea picture of it.
When we put it into our rackingoutside, when we load it onto
our truck, we take anotherpicture of it.
And now when we unload it atthe job site, we take a third
picture of it.
And, job site, we take a thirdpicture of it.
(10:39):
And then those automaticallyare uploaded into the order
itself in our POS system.
So, as an example, if you as acontractor, once it's delivered,
the picture's in there, we cansend that picture directly to
you as a contractor.
Nonetheless, it's in the order.
So if you were to call yoursalesperson and say, hey, I
think there might've been aproblem with this door, we can
go in there and take a look atit.
We can make sure there is orisn't.
Ideally there's not, but ifthere was and we did something,
we're going to own that.
(10:59):
Yeah, for sure.
Stefanie Couch (11:01):
Customer service is the only way to keep
contractors happy, knowing likewhen you do screw something up,
and inevitably it's going tohappen you're going to make it
right.
And if you own it and then makeit right quickly, they'll be
usually customers for a longtime.
Dave Ables (11:21):
It also helps them and I met with one of our
contractors last week and wewere talking about the new
system and he said this is agame changer for him from the
perspective of working with hisown team.
Typically in life if somethinggoes wrong, you're always going
to say the other guy did itright.
So it might be that they said,well, it came that way and it
didn't really come that way, andnow we can show that contractor
so he can go back then andchange his process.
Before, if they always thinkit's me or we always think it's
the manufacturer, they neverchanged that process.
(11:42):
That really did the damage.
So now we're all partneringtogether.
It's not a finger-pointing game.
It's that we want this to beright for our end consumer,
which is the homeowner or thehome builder.
Stefanie Couch (11:51):
Yeah, that's right.
Happy customer.
That's, at the end, is what weall want for sure.
You actually did not come fromthis industry.
You're industry adjacent.
You're in the logisticsindustry.
What made you want to buy alumberyard and a hardware store?
Why did you get into thisindustry?
Because I think there's a lotof people out there thinking I
would love to have a business, Iwould love to have a legacy for
(12:11):
my family, for my sons, mydaughters.
What made you choose this?
Dave Ables (12:16):
Well, for me, probably different than some, it
was probably eight corporatemoves over the 28 years that I
was in trucking and I wanted togive my children an opportunity
to ground themselves.
So my oldest son, david, who'sthe manager at our Big Lake
store, 24 years old now butduring high school back to
kindergarten, probably was insix different schools.
(12:36):
So I wanted to put my sons in aposition to where they didn't
have to do what dad did.
Right, they didn't have to movearound the country.
They're all part of thebusinesses.
They're going to have theirfamilies there.
Sam, my 21 year old, just movedout and moved in with his
girlfriend.
They can now do the things thatwe didn't do.
As soon as we would solidifyourselves in one city or one
state or be there for a periodof time and they got their group
(12:58):
of friends, I'd get that callto go to the next opportunity or
even for the same company tothe next location, and then we
would have to move and I didn'twant them to do that.
And then I thought lumber,building materials.
My family from Iowa, they're inthe plumbing business.
Growing up through college Iwent and I worked at the
plumbing company in thesummertime.
So I thought it's just anatural fit.
(13:18):
We're all workers, we have acar collection, we liked
hardware.
We bought our first store in2013 in Ohio and that was again
a corporate move caused us tohave to sell that in 2019.
And I think it was just theright thing for my family and
luckily, the boys embraced itnow and they all work in the
businesses and they're doingwell.
Sam had his best month everlast month at 21 years old,
(13:39):
selling decking, and I'm soproud of them all.
Stefanie Couch (13:41):
That's amazing, yeah, and I love how you're
letting them do their own.
They each kind of have theirown thing they're owning in the
business, which is really cool,because then they don't feel
like mom and dad just gave it tothem.
They're actually earning it,which is it was a big deal for
me when I felt like I wasn'tjust dad's daughter that was
running the hardware store, thelumber yard.
I feel like I actually hadvalue to contribute.
That's always important as afamily business.
Dave Ables (14:02):
They had to start at the bottom.
So, Nicholas, who's 19, juststarted at our yard, maybe six
months ago.
He delivers doors and windowsright.
So he's out there and he tellsme some days dad, that was tough
, I delivered 44 doors today.
Stefanie Couch (14:14):
Yeah.
Dave Ables (14:14):
And there's a lot of manual labor involved.
It is hard, but it also givesthem street cred, right With the
guys that have been there for20 some years.
They're not.
It's not daddy's little boythat got to come in and take the
business over.
These guys started out on theyard.
My son, david, who works with mywife Lori similar situation.
He started back in 2013 as ayoung, young, young man working
in the store.
That kids all did and helearned about the business.
(14:37):
That kid at 24 knows more thanmost men that are my age at 56
about what's in that store, howto utilize what's in that store,
and we can do that on anybudget.
There's many different ways tofix something right and it all
fits into that individual'sbudget.
Now we could say here's theexact right way and this is a
hundred dollars sale.
Some people don't have that ahundred dollars, but they still
(15:00):
need that fixed.
We're able to be able to pivotand get them what they can get
within their budget and able todo that, and that's something
I'm really proud of my son forbeing able to do.
Stefanie Couch (15:08):
That's awesome.
Well, tell me a little bitabout you've been working with
True Value on the hardware side.
I know True Value's had a rockylast few years, right, and now
they've been purchased by Do itBest group.
You actually have Do it Best inyour lumber yard, so you guys
do True Value and Do it Best.
Tell me about your experienceof that.
And you've been pretty vocal onsocial media about the
acquisition with True Value andall of those things.
(15:29):
So tell me a little bit aboutwhat your experience has been
like with that partnership.
Dave Ables (15:33):
Great people on both sides and now it's one side
right.
We obviously started with TrueValue in 2013.
So I've got loyalty to thatbrand, but Do it Best does
lumber better right.
So we were able to have thebest of both worlds.
So when they went through thistransaction, the True Value
store was already True Value andI was actually already Do it
Best, so we were able to getLori product from the Do it Best
(15:56):
side when True Value couldn'tprovide product until Do it Best
righted that ship, whichthey've done a very good job and
are doing well now.
So we were lucky enough to beable to do that.
But I think it's a positive andI think, in talking with Dent
this week and talking with thedo it best team, where they're
going is the right direction.
And so if you're a member or ifyou're a retailer and at some
(16:17):
point it will become a co-opagain and everybody's a member
you'll be able to pick yourbrand, you'll be able to pick
your source and you'll be ableto do things which other co-ops
can't do.
Stefanie Couch (16:27):
So you could offer multiple different things.
Yeah, I love that.
How does having something likea big company co-op that is very
large, has a lot of buyingpower, has a lot of marketing
support, all the differentsupport systems that they have
how does that help you haveleverage in your independent
businesses?
Dave Ables (16:43):
Well, if we look at it solely on the Tri-County side
, so it was an independent yardfor 24 years before I purchased
it and they bought from a lot ofreally, really good local
vendors.
But now I've partnered with Doit Best, with the buying power
of thousands of stores, so I canbuy material at a lower cost
point, which then means I canmake the same margin that I used
to make and sell it to that endcontractor or consumer at a
(17:05):
lower price point.
What now makes me competitivewith the big private equity
yards.
So one of the things that'shappened in our industry is this
independent, this dream of afamily business.
It's diminishing, it's not goneright and hopefully we can
revitalize that with things likea co-op.
But it's really hard for a guywith one store to compete with
Kodiak, as an example Notpicking on Kodiak, because if I
(17:27):
were they I'd probably be doingthe same thing.
But those are the type ofthings we're up against and do
it best, true values and co-opsallow you to be able to compete
with those people at the samelevel, make the same level of
profit, provide the same levelof service to your customer and
it's really a good win-win foreveryone.
Stefanie Couch (17:44):
Yeah, I think it's the only way the
independent business stays inand in the game, and I think
that the bigger you know if youexpanded and you had two or
three stores, it's still that'salmost the only way that you can
really get those up and goingis with help of programs and
merchandising and all thosethings that they do.
So I think it's a huge level up.
I know from experience how hardit is to be one store competing
(18:08):
against giants.
Dave Ables (18:09):
Right, and even with just having the two locations
now and one's true value andone's do it best, we pivot and
change, send merchandise backand forth all the time, but a
lot of like skews between thetwo different brands right.
I mean, a Milwaukee tool is aMilwaukee tool, no matter where
you got it from.
So the positive is that ifsomeone comes into Lori's store
and needs something and theydon't have it, we have eight
delivery trucks going all overthe cities all day long.
(18:31):
We can have that product overto her the same day and vice
versa.
So that's really what hashelped us.
I get it.
Originally we were one store.
It's very difficult.
You get aged merchandise thatmay not be selling well in your
store.
You got no place to put itother than to discount it many
times below your cost.
What might not sell in Big Lakemay be a great seller in
Clearwater.
So we're able to move thosethings around and as we continue
(18:53):
to scale this thing and addmore locations, it will give us
even more versatility to be ableto meet the consumer's needs.
Stefanie Couch (18:59):
Yeah Well, you're a very smart businessman
and you are hungry and I knewthat from the moment I met you.
We started talking about thatand I'm curious what are your
thoughts about growth and how doyou see Tri, three Suns and
Tri-County in the future growing?
Dave Ables (19:16):
Well, we're putting up this new 25,000 square foot
place at Tri-County right now,which will then give us the home
center environment, and thenwe're looking at new
acquisitions.
On Saturday I'll be in northernMinnesota looking at an
opportunity and we've sat downwith Do it Best, true Value,
targeted kind of a hundred mileradius.
There's a lot of good yards inthe cities and I'm friends with
(19:36):
them and I've always said this.
There's enough to go around.
We don't have to be enemies.
We all share data and that'swhat I think is really good.
There was a post today fromAdam Gunnett and I added on to
that that we share intel, right,I mean, especially in meetings
like this, people from allacross the country.
It's not like we're trulycompetitors, but like this,
people from all across thecountry, it's not like we're
truly competitors, but when wedo better, they do better.
(19:56):
So we're targeting a hundredmile radius from really I-94
north.
I like small towns.
We grew up in Iowa where we'velived in most of the places,
even throughout my corporatecareer was.
I had a job in a city but welived in the in the rural areas.
We live outside on town on anacreage, so we're focused on
those areas.
We're focused on underservicedmarkets.
We want to be able to takethose small mom and pop stores,
(20:18):
put some lumber in them, upgradethem, refresh them and give
that community what they deserve.
Really, it's all about thecommunity.
And then when we take care ofthe community, it takes care of
my family and not only my family, my family's extended we talked
about this this morning.
So I have 22 employees atTri-County and Lori has 10.
There's 32 families that relyon our business to succeed or
(20:40):
they fail, and it's a thing thatit's tough to burden sometimes
when things aren't going right,because it's not just us.
But when things are going well,we all thrive.
Stefanie Couch (20:50):
Yeah, and it's really important, though, to see
how much you are changing somany lives in the community and
as you continue to do this, theychange their life because of
the work that you're giving them, that they do, and then maybe
their kids have worked there allthose cool things that you see
in these local businesses soyou're really making a
difference and I'm excited tokeep watching you because I feel
that fire.
I love watching you on LinkedIn, so let's talk a little bit
(21:12):
about LinkedIn and branding andhow you feel about marketing.
So marketing has kind of becomea dirty word sometimes in a lot
of our traditional businesses,because it's a waste of time and
money and all those things andthey don't see the value.
But you post on LinkedIn a lotand I know you believe in
marketing, so tell me a littlebit about that and how you feel
like it can impact someone'sbusiness.
Dave Ables (21:31):
I think LinkedIn is a great tool.
Now many people like Facebook,many people like Instagram, and
as we scale and we add people tobe able to do those things,
we'll be on all those differentavenues.
But today I'm a LinkedIn guy,right, I don't have a Facebook
account, but it's worked wellfor me and I mentioned this on
an LBM Journal interview a fewweeks ago but that was my
artificial intelligence beforethere was AI, yeah, so, no
(21:56):
matter what the situation, Icould get an answer from someone
throughout the country, and itreally still prevails today.
And when we put on things aboutwhat we're doing at our
businesses, the direct messages,I get back the feedback from
the community.
No matter where I go, peoplesay hey, I see you on LinkedIn
and I love what you guys aredoing.
I mean that it is.
I don't have to pay for any ofthat, and it's true, and I enjoy
(22:16):
it too, because I'm helpingsomebody else.
If I can give somebody else anidea, whether they're in
Minnesota or Iowa or Wisconsin,I think it's a win for our
industry as a whole.
And again, I'm aboutindependence, right, so I want
us to thrive and I want thatAmerican dream to live on.
I don't want it to be where Ihave to go to work for a big
corporation and be like DaveAbles used to be and move eight
(22:37):
times and change my kids'locations all the time.
Let people have that Americandream of starting their own
business.
Linkedin is a format that canhelp you do that.
Stefanie Couch (22:46):
I love it.
Well, thank you so much forjoining me today.
I am really excited to keepwatching you and Lori just crush
it, and I'm really excited tokeep watching you and Lori just
crush it, and obviously yourson's coming into the business
and doing the same thing.
I would love to get up toMinnesota and see your store,
because I know you've got anamazing showroom now.
It sounds like you're buildingon fast.
So thank you so much and weappreciate you spending some
time with us.
Thank, you very much for havingme.
Thank you for listening to theGrit Blueprint podcast.
(23:09):
If this episode helped youthink a little differently about
how to show up, share it withsomeone in your building world
who needs it.
If you're ready to turnvisibility into growth, then
head to gritblueprintcom tolearn more and book a call to
talk to us about your growthstrategy.
Until next time, stayunmistakable.
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