September 11, 2025 • 21 mins
Megan Menzer, a fourth-generation hardware store owner of Newton's True Value in Cherryvale, Kansas, shares her journey in the building industry and perspectives on mentorship, technology, and business transitions. Breaking barriers without even realizing it, she discusses how growing up watching her great-grandmother run their hardware store shaped her view that the industry has no gender limitations.
• Fourth-generation hardware store owner whose family business started in 1924 in a small Kansas town
• Never considered hardware as a "male's world" since her great-grandmother ran the store while her great-grandfather handled contracting
• Created mentorship programs teaching basic skills beyond hardware knowledge, including face-to-face communication
• Believes AI adoption is inevitable and will transform the industry at unprecedented speed
• Values authentic human connections that will become even more important as technology advances
• Appreciates industry networking opportunities that allow independent retailers to share knowledge
• Recently transitioned from True Value to Do it Best, finding their member-focused approach refreshing
• Represented the hardware industry during bankruptcy proceedings, gaining unexpected legal knowledge
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Megan Menzer (00:00):
Ironically, I get asked a lot what's it like being
a female in a male's world?
Yeah, I never once have thoughtthat until I was asked that
question.
Stefanie Couch (00:08):
Yeah, You're an award winner top retailer award,
young retailer award, top women, all these different things.
How are you seeing technologychange your business?
I think you're going.
Megan Menzer (00:20):
I don't think you're going to have a choice.
I think you're just going tohave to, because you're either
going to adapt to the change oryou're going to get left behind.
And they said so.
Ai is teaching you how to useAI.
Yes, absolutely it is.
Stefanie Couch (00:31):
Then the things that only humans can do, like
the face-to-face conversationslike this.
You could maybe do more of that.
Welcome to the Grit BlueprintPodcast, the playbook for
building unmistakable brandsthat grow, lead and last in the
built world.
I'm Stefanie Couch, the founderof Grit Blueprint, and I'm a
(00:52):
lifelong building industryinsider.
I was raised here, built mycareer here, and now my team and
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'm goingto show you how to stand out,
(01:16):
earn trust and turn your brandinto a competitive advantage
that lasts.
If you're ready to be seen,known, chosen and become
unmistakable, you're in theright place.
Let's get started.
I am coming to you live fromOrlando, florida, and I'm
excited to have a very specialguest today here.
(01:37):
Thank you for joining me on thepodcast, Megan.
Megan Menzer is actually afourth generation hardware store
owner.
Tell me a little bit aboutwhere your store is and exactly
what you're doing there.
Yeah, absolutely.
Megan Menzer (01:49):
So again, I'm fourth generation.
My great grandparents startedour business in 1924.
So we are in southeast Kansas,a little town called Cherryvale
and about 2400 people.
Stefanie Couch (02:02):
That's amazing.
I love the name Terriville.
It sounds very Americana andI'm sure it is just as
picturesque in person it is.
And your family started this,and was it kind of like it is
today when they started it,Because I know a lot of people
had grocery stores and all thesedifferent things?
Was it what it is now?
Megan Menzer (02:19):
So we actually started out as a contracting
company and so my greatgrandparents started out the
contracting business and,ironically, I get asked a lot
what's it like being a female ina male's world?
Yeah, I never once have thoughtthat until I was asked that
question.
Yeah, because my grand, mygreat grandfather, would go out
on the contracting jobs and mygreat grandma actually ran the
(02:42):
store, so she was the one thatwas inside the business and she
was the one that handled salesand met with all the clients and
so growing up in that, I alwaysjust saw the females in the
store and so I never looked atit as a gender business.
Stefanie Couch (02:58):
So interesting that you say that, because I
think I had a similar perception, but I didn't necessarily have
a female in my dad's lumberyard,but he always just made me feel
like I was just a part of it.
So it wasn't weird.
And when I got to corporateit's the same thing it was like
I was 25 and all of a sudden Istarted looking around.
Megan Menzer (03:12):
I was like, oh, I'm weird, right, yes, and I can
remember, you know, graduatingfrom college and going to the
True Value shows and it wasreally neat because at that time
a lot of the men, theirdaughters, didn't choose to go
into the business, yeah, and sothey just embraced me.
I mean, they were so excited tosee me and they mentored me.
(03:34):
I still, to this day, I getcards in the mail or I'll get an
email from somebody or a phonecall, and it's actually been
such an extended family for meit's been.
It's been really amazing.
Stefanie Couch (03:46):
Yeah, that's a really good point.
I think that's something thatmost people maybe wouldn't think
about, and I've had the sameexperience in my career.
I would say, yeah, I've hadsome amazing women that have
helped me, right, but there havebeen way more men.
There just are more men outthere, right, but they have
really made me who I am, helpedme become who I am and also
(04:06):
really looked out for me,especially since I've started my
own business.
Like, I've had some people thathave really paved the way for
me to get business, to help meget feedback, all those things
to get spotlight on certainthings I'm doing.
How does that work with you?
Because I know you are doing somuch mentoring and you're
helping the industry withprograms.
First of all, let's just go back.
You're an award winner.
(04:27):
You have done so many amazingthings in your actual space top
retailer award, young retaileraward, top women, all these
different things.
How are you seeing mentorship?
And you've come up that way.
Other people are now getting itfrom you.
You've created some programs.
So tell me about what you thinkthe next step in getting the
(04:48):
next generation is in thisindustry.
Megan Menzer (04:49):
So definitely, I believe, because I was mentored
so much and had so manydifferent people and, again,
lots of fantastic guys and LindaJohnson I'm going to throw her
name out there because she wasan amazing woman that helped
bring me up through this.
But it's my turn now to giveback and so, like in our own
(05:14):
business, we've started amentorship program and it's just
giving back to being able togive back, and I love that.
I love that about our industry,I love that about our business.
We're in a prime opportunity.
There's just so much of,there's so many people that just
don't have any basic lifeskills and so just giving them
(05:35):
the space and having theemployees so I have fantastic
employees who are willing tostep in as well, because it
takes the whole team so you know, we'll bring, we'll bring kids
in and just teach them how to,how to have a conversation with
a person.
That's, that's a real thing now.
Stefanie Couch (05:51):
I mean, they don't know how to sell hardware
or how to sell building products.
It is literally here's how youdon't text someone and you talk
to them with a real conversationface to face yes, which is
scary and exciting at the sametime.
With a real conversation faceto face yes, which is scary and
exciting at the same time.
Right, how do you handle thatwhen people come in, are you
seeing these young kids embracethat?
Because you're showing them.
(06:13):
It's okay that you don't know.
We're gonna teach you.
Megan Menzer (06:15):
Yes because I think we're very upfront and we
say we know that this isdifferent, we know this is
difficult, we know that this isgonna be hard, sure, but they're
willing to learn and they wantto learn and they want to know.
And one of my favorite things isI took one of the girls over to
the post office to buy a stamp.
It was like the greatest thingsince sliced bread, like she had
(06:36):
no idea you could buy a stampand put it on an envelope and
send it anywhere in the UnitedStates for 75 cents or 70 cents,
whatever it is now yes, and shejust was like it was like a
whole new world to her.
And so just to even see theirfaces or to see them blossom and
to see them grow, and it's beenneat having people reach back
(06:59):
out to me years later and sayyou know, thank you, you've
changed my life or you've helpedme do this, or I didn't think
I'd ever be able to do something, and and that in itself is just
the reward of being in theposition that we're in yeah.
Stefanie Couch (07:14):
I think that's one of the coolest parts that I
didn't quite expect when Istarted my business because
we're three years in now myhusband and I and I knew I
wanted to have a team, but I hada different experience running
a team at corporate.
It was just very different,because there's only so much.
With a really, really bigcompany, you can only move so
much, you can only do so much.
(07:34):
And when you have a small teamthat's agile and you can mentor
people, you can form a culturearound something that you want
it to be a certain way, it's soexciting to watch those people
be able to do things.
And then my favorite part iswhen they start to do things
that I don't have to be involvedin.
Yes, exactly.
Megan Menzer (07:51):
Yeah, and it just frees you up to do other things.
Stefanie Couch (07:53):
They're better at it than they are Right, and
that's the thing is like oh, youare way better at this website
building or this thing that youknow with AI.
I know what I think it shouldbe and the problem that needs to
solve, but I don't want to bethe one in there doing the
coding Right Exactly.
Yes, yeah, yeah, really fun.
And also, with the youngergeneration, there's a lot of
things we can learn from them.
(08:14):
We can.
Megan Menzer (08:15):
Yeah, yes, my manager, she is fantastic.
And I just I will tell her thisis something that I want to see
us accomplish.
And then, before I know it,she's brought it to me and said
okay, what do you think?
And I'm just like, oh wow, Ilove this.
I mean, she is amazing, that'sawesome.
Stefanie Couch (08:31):
Yeah, how are you seeing technology change our
business?
We talked a little bit rightbefore this started about AI.
We're here at a show and youactually went to a session this
morning.
I spoke yesterday about AI.
It's changing every week.
How do you see it?
Number one, changing ourbusiness?
And then, do you think peopleare going to embrace it in our
(08:52):
industry, in a very traditionalplace where people are
100-year-old businesses and theyhave historically been
relatively slow to adopttechnology?
How do you see that coming intoour industry?
Megan Menzer (09:04):
I think you're going.
I don't think you're going tohave a choice, I think you're
just going to have to.
It's going to be one of thosethings that, um, I think I grew
up very fortunate because webecame computerized in 1991,
which is very, that's prettyearly.
Yes, it's out.
A good analogy in session thismorning was you know, six months
(09:40):
ago you're going 30 miles anhour and today you're up to 60
miles an hour, and I think intwo months you're going to be up
to 100 miles an hour.
It's not even at the rate ofdoubling.
And so it is going tocompletely change our industry.
Look at fast food.
You don't even you don't haveanybody take your order today.
No, and I think that in thehardware industry, if it's doing
(10:04):
inventory with a robot orpayroll, I mean just there's so
many faucets that's going to bechanged and it's going to touch
everything that we do.
Stefanie Couch (10:15):
Yeah, and I do think that's a really good point
about the rapid change, becausepeople compare it to the
internet or in industrial I talkabout in my speech, I usually
open it with the tractor.
You know the day the farmerdidn't have to use a horse and
he could use a tractor.
But the difference there isthat with the tractor or the
(10:36):
internet, there was a ramp upperiod, right, because people
couldn't afford a tractor.
They didn't know where to get atractor.
There was still a lot of thingsthat were in between you and a
tractor, even with the Internet.
You know it took years to get acomputer for people.
They were expensive.
You had to.
You know the Internet was slowand today, if you log on to
(11:00):
OpenAIcom, you can get a freeaccount in four seconds or
whatever it takes you to hit,submit your email and you're on
AI and it's the same for thatperson as it would be for
someone who's been on it for ayear.
The technology is there.
The other thing is that AI canteach you how to use AI.
Megan Menzer (11:13):
Yes, which sounds crazy, but I started taking
classes four weeks ago andthat's what somebody asked me
today.
They said well, are you takingin person or online?
And I said no, I'm takingonline classes.
And they said so, ai isteaching you how to use AI.
Absolutely, it is.
It is.
Stefanie Couch (11:29):
And that's the thing with the internet.
If you wanted to do something,code something, build something,
you had to find a person whoprobably was expensive, and then
you had to know if you couldtrust them to tell you how to do
it.
If you ask ChatGPT how to dosomething in ChatGPT, it will
tell you yes, it's not 100%always right.
I won't say that Like fullalert.
There's still a little bit ofhallucinations and things like
(11:52):
that, but mostly you can figureit out Right.
So I think that's the thing forpeople listening that maybe are
like I don't know if I believein this or I'm scared of it.
That's all could be true.
It doesn't negate the fact thatit's here and it's
exponentially getting quickerevery week.
There are things that arecoming out now that I mean it's
unbelievable.
(12:13):
Two, three years ago when Istarted using it, let's write an
email it was pretty good.
You know, let's do this littlething.
It's pretty good.
Now it is manually clicking 12stage task by itself without you
touching it, Right, Right.
Megan Menzer (12:29):
So what will it be in six more months?
Yes, exactly, and I also thinkI mean, of course, there's
downsides to all of it.
You know, how authentic are youreally?
I mean, because if, are yousending that email or is AI
sending that email, so am Ireally getting a chance to talk
to you and understand you, or isit just AI?
And so I think that you knowthere's a lot of aspects of it
(12:49):
that are.
You know, and I also wonderabout like we haven't really
brought it in, like we haven'tbrought the robot into our store
yet.
But once you start bringingthat in, how are your employees
going to react to that?
Are they going to be like, oh,I'm going to go look for a new
job because I'm getting replaced, or I better step it up, and
what else can I take care of?
Stefanie Couch (13:07):
Yeah, and that's where I'm curious your thoughts
on this, because I think aboutthis a lot and I try to frame it
this way for people who areusing AI.
To frame it this way for peoplewho are using AI.
There are so many tasks I thinkabout in my business today.
I think about in, you know, mydad's business that we couldn't
get to.
We were just we knew we neededto.
You know, it's like that list10 through 50 that you just
(13:28):
aren't, you never get down toRight.
If we could take AI and havethem do that stuff, yes.
Then the things that onlyhumans can do, like the
face-to-face conversations likethis, the in-store moments at
the aisle with a customer, theyou know person events that you
come in and have someonedecorating a pumpkin or going to
(13:49):
a local football game andtalking to people.
You could maybe do more of that.
Megan Menzer (13:54):
Yes.
Stefanie Couch (13:55):
So I do think, if you can look at the list of
things that you could optimizethat you're not getting to,
that's where I would start, andthen look at where you can get
more time back for the thingsthat customers really care about
that are human-based.
Yes, because we are going tovalue those moments more,
because nothing is going to bereal anymore.
(14:15):
So I think, if we can look atit, that's also why I love
branding so much, becausebuilding a brand is really about
people.
To me, it's about who youreally are as a person
underneath the layers of a logo.
And if we can build a brandthat is around people and
experiences, that's stillsuperhuman, right.
It's not AI, right, and thatmay give us more time to do it.
Megan Menzer (14:38):
Yeah, I have to agree, and I think that people
are starting to crave thatpersonal touch.
Stefanie Couch (14:45):
Yeah, for sure, and it's going to get worse
because as the AI gets morehuman, it will be harder to tell
.
Yes, but I do think there's noway to replace that moment in a
store, with a person standing atthe aisle with you answering
those questions, even if they'reusing AI to get some of the
answers, because they're a20-year-old kid who doesn't know
the answer Right, but they willbe able to have that moment.
(15:07):
So I also think in-personevents are going to get more
important.
Yes, because we are going towant to have that craving for
human connection Right, muchlike after the pandemic.
Megan Menzer (15:17):
Yes, yeah, I agree with you on that.
Stefanie Couch (15:20):
Yeah, what do you love about events like this?
I know we're both going to beat the Do it Best Market in
September.
We're here in Orlando now.
What do you love about theseevents?
What's your favorite part?
Megan Menzer (15:30):
My favorite part is networking, yeah.
So I was on the NRHA board and Iran into a past board member
and we spent 45 minutes, got ahot tea, you know, he got a
coffee and we just sat andtalked business.
But it was really interestingwhere he is and where he is with
his business, where I am, wherewe are with our business, and
(15:52):
just to kind of catch up andnetwork and you know, what are
your thoughts about this or howare you handling this situation.
And it's definitely thenetworking, just seeing people
that you know and knowing thatyou're not in it alone, because
I think a lot of days whenyou're in the trenches and it's
just, I mean it's harder andharder with, I mean, online
(16:15):
sales, amazon, it's just it'sdifficult out there, and so you
feel like you're at it alone,and so you come to places like
this and you're reminded thatit's not you you are doing the
right things, and just to kindof get some better ideas, maybe
of hey, have you tried this?
Or you know, yeah, definitelythe networking.
(16:37):
That's, that's my favorite part, yeah.
Stefanie Couch (16:39):
I have a mentor that I like and he talks about
stealing the 10,000 hours oftime and failures from other
people.
You know how do we pull up timeand you don't have to do all
those experiments and I think,as a local store owner, for sure
it does.
I can only imagine it feelslonely.
You're up against big giants,right, but things like do it
(17:01):
best or true value, or even theIHI they show you that other
people have already probablyscrewed up what you're trying to
figure out right and like.
I don't know what you guystalked about over breakfast, but
I'm sure there was somethingthat was enlightening for one or
the other and it's testing inlife, but without you having to
do it Right exactly.
So it's fun to hear thosepoints and also the ideation of
(17:23):
what could we be doing differentthat maybe with AI or with a
product line or whatever.
I think it's cool how peopleare open to sharing, so, at the
end of the day, like they don'tguard all this insider
information because you'reprobably not competing against
them?
Megan Menzer (17:40):
Right, exactly, and I mean we're you know, we're
not both true value, yeah, andso we don't care though, because
, like you said, at the end ofthe day we're independent
hardware stores and that's what.
We're all under the sameindependent roof, yeah, and so,
yeah, how can we make thisbetter?
Right, yeah, how do we notreinvent the wheel?
Yeah, for sure.
Stefanie Couch (17:59):
Tell me a little bit about your experience,
because you have been a truevalue store.
It's pretty openly known thattrue values had a few very rough
years and I can only imaginewhat it was like being in that
environment.
But you now have been acquiredby Do it Best and the last year
I'm sure there's been quite atransition.
Tell me a little bit about yourexperience so far being in Do
(18:21):
it Best group as a true valuestore and what that's been like
yeah, so it's been verywelcoming.
Megan Menzer (18:27):
It's been a fantastic transition.
Yes, been true value for a verylong time, so I have seen a lot
of different CEOs come and goand a lot of downfalls and
upswings and so during thetransition and the the buyout
was, it was very intense.
(18:48):
So I actually represented thehardware industry.
I didn't represent True Valueor a board member.
I represented the hardwareindustry and flew to Delaware
and testified in court and sothat was very intense.
I know more about businessbankruptcy and business law than
(19:08):
I probably ever want to know,but during all of that it was
really rough.
But as soon as it was over andthe deal was finalized I will
say Do it Best, reached out tome and has been nothing but a
fantastic relationship with them, since their heart is
definitely in it for theirmembers.
It's all about the members.
It's not a corporate out for metype of deal and they have
(19:33):
really stepped in and any issuesthey want to know what's
happening.
They want to know.
They want to know what'shappening.
They want to know what needs tobe fixed.
So they don't just want to hearthe good stuff.
Periodically I'll get a textmessage or an email and, you
know, not just with myself, buthey, what have you heard in the
industry?
What are our weaknesses?
What do we need to be fixing,what are we doing wrong?
(19:54):
And it's very refreshingbecause you know, you just, you
don't always get that.
And so when, when they'rewilling to say we know we can do
better, and where is it that weneed to do better?
They're wanting to grow,they're not wanting to stay
where they're at.
Stefanie Couch (20:12):
Well, I think there's a spirit of long term
planning with I mean, you're ahundred year old store, yes,
you're not worried abouttomorrow, you're worried about a
decade from now and probablythe next generation and how that
works for it long-term.
And I think they also have thatsame mentality.
And I love that spirit withinthe home improvement industry
(20:34):
independently is that they arethinking about what it's going
to do for the business long-term, for the members, long term,
and I think that's how you haveto run your business, because if
you're just thinking abouttomorrow, it's really easy to
make decisions that are a quickupswing but really end up
hurting people and the business.
Correct, yeah, yeah.
Well, I'm excited to see you atMarket and I really appreciate
(20:56):
you taking the time to sit downwith me, being with another
amazing woman that grew up inthe hardware industry and
hearing your stories, and I hopethat we can spend some time
together in Indianapolis.
Yeah, I look forward to it.
Megan Menzer (21:08):
Thanks so much for having me.
I really enjoyed it.
Stefanie Couch (21:13):
Thank you for listening to the Grit Blueprint
podcast.
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 you.
Ironically, I get asked a lot what's it like being
a female in a male's world?
Yeah, I never once have thoughtthat until I was asked that
question.
Stefanie Couch (00:08):
Yeah, You're an award winner top retailer award,
young retailer award, top women, all these different things.
How are you seeing technologychange your business?
I think you're going.
Megan Menzer (00:20):
I don't think you're going to have a choice.
I think you're just going tohave to, because you're either
going to adapt to the change oryou're going to get left behind.
And they said so.
Ai is teaching you how to useAI.
Yes, absolutely it is.
Stefanie Couch (00:31):
Then the things that only humans can do, like
the face-to-face conversationslike this.
You could maybe do more of that.
Welcome to the Grit BlueprintPodcast, the playbook for
building unmistakable brandsthat grow, lead and last in the
built world.
I'm Stefanie Couch, the founderof Grit Blueprint, and I'm a
(00:52):
lifelong building industryinsider.
I was raised here, built mycareer here, and now my team and
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'm goingto show you how to stand out,
(01:16):
earn trust and turn your brandinto a competitive advantage
that lasts.
If you're ready to be seen,known, chosen and become
unmistakable, you're in theright place.
Let's get started.
I am coming to you live fromOrlando, florida, and I'm
excited to have a very specialguest today here.
(01:37):
Thank you for joining me on thepodcast, Megan.
Megan Menzer is actually afourth generation hardware store
owner.
Tell me a little bit aboutwhere your store is and exactly
what you're doing there.
Yeah, absolutely.
Megan Menzer (01:49):
So again, I'm fourth generation.
My great grandparents startedour business in 1924.
So we are in southeast Kansas,a little town called Cherryvale
and about 2400 people.
Stefanie Couch (02:02):
That's amazing.
I love the name Terriville.
It sounds very Americana andI'm sure it is just as
picturesque in person it is.
And your family started this,and was it kind of like it is
today when they started it,Because I know a lot of people
had grocery stores and all thesedifferent things?
Was it what it is now?
Megan Menzer (02:19):
So we actually started out as a contracting
company and so my greatgrandparents started out the
contracting business and,ironically, I get asked a lot
what's it like being a female ina male's world?
Yeah, I never once have thoughtthat until I was asked that
question.
Yeah, because my grand, mygreat grandfather, would go out
on the contracting jobs and mygreat grandma actually ran the
(02:42):
store, so she was the one thatwas inside the business and she
was the one that handled salesand met with all the clients and
so growing up in that, I alwaysjust saw the females in the
store and so I never looked atit as a gender business.
Stefanie Couch (02:58):
So interesting that you say that, because I
think I had a similar perception, but I didn't necessarily have
a female in my dad's lumberyard,but he always just made me feel
like I was just a part of it.
So it wasn't weird.
And when I got to corporateit's the same thing it was like
I was 25 and all of a sudden Istarted looking around.
Megan Menzer (03:12):
I was like, oh, I'm weird, right, yes, and I can
remember, you know, graduatingfrom college and going to the
True Value shows and it wasreally neat because at that time
a lot of the men, theirdaughters, didn't choose to go
into the business, yeah, and sothey just embraced me.
I mean, they were so excited tosee me and they mentored me.
(03:34):
I still, to this day, I getcards in the mail or I'll get an
email from somebody or a phonecall, and it's actually been
such an extended family for meit's been.
It's been really amazing.
Stefanie Couch (03:46):
Yeah, that's a really good point.
I think that's something thatmost people maybe wouldn't think
about, and I've had the sameexperience in my career.
I would say, yeah, I've hadsome amazing women that have
helped me, right, but there havebeen way more men.
There just are more men outthere, right, but they have
really made me who I am, helpedme become who I am and also
(04:06):
really looked out for me,especially since I've started my
own business.
Like, I've had some people thathave really paved the way for
me to get business, to help meget feedback, all those things
to get spotlight on certainthings I'm doing.
How does that work with you?
Because I know you are doing somuch mentoring and you're
helping the industry withprograms.
First of all, let's just go back.
You're an award winner.
(04:27):
You have done so many amazingthings in your actual space top
retailer award, young retaileraward, top women, all these
different things.
How are you seeing mentorship?
And you've come up that way.
Other people are now getting itfrom you.
You've created some programs.
So tell me about what you thinkthe next step in getting the
(04:48):
next generation is in thisindustry.
Megan Menzer (04:49):
So definitely, I believe, because I was mentored
so much and had so manydifferent people and, again,
lots of fantastic guys and LindaJohnson I'm going to throw her
name out there because she wasan amazing woman that helped
bring me up through this.
But it's my turn now to giveback and so, like in our own
(05:14):
business, we've started amentorship program and it's just
giving back to being able togive back, and I love that.
I love that about our industry,I love that about our business.
We're in a prime opportunity.
There's just so much of,there's so many people that just
don't have any basic lifeskills and so just giving them
(05:35):
the space and having theemployees so I have fantastic
employees who are willing tostep in as well, because it
takes the whole team so you know, we'll bring, we'll bring kids
in and just teach them how to,how to have a conversation with
a person.
That's, that's a real thing now.
Stefanie Couch (05:51):
I mean, they don't know how to sell hardware
or how to sell building products.
It is literally here's how youdon't text someone and you talk
to them with a real conversationface to face yes, which is
scary and exciting at the sametime.
With a real conversation faceto face yes, which is scary and
exciting at the same time.
Right, how do you handle thatwhen people come in, are you
seeing these young kids embracethat?
Because you're showing them.
(06:13):
It's okay that you don't know.
We're gonna teach you.
Megan Menzer (06:15):
Yes because I think we're very upfront and we
say we know that this isdifferent, we know this is
difficult, we know that this isgonna be hard, sure, but they're
willing to learn and they wantto learn and they want to know.
And one of my favorite things isI took one of the girls over to
the post office to buy a stamp.
It was like the greatest thingsince sliced bread, like she had
(06:36):
no idea you could buy a stampand put it on an envelope and
send it anywhere in the UnitedStates for 75 cents or 70 cents,
whatever it is now yes, and shejust was like it was like a
whole new world to her.
And so just to even see theirfaces or to see them blossom and
to see them grow, and it's beenneat having people reach back
(06:59):
out to me years later and sayyou know, thank you, you've
changed my life or you've helpedme do this, or I didn't think
I'd ever be able to do something, and and that in itself is just
the reward of being in theposition that we're in yeah.
Stefanie Couch (07:14):
I think that's one of the coolest parts that I
didn't quite expect when Istarted my business because
we're three years in now myhusband and I and I knew I
wanted to have a team, but I hada different experience running
a team at corporate.
It was just very different,because there's only so much.
With a really, really bigcompany, you can only move so
much, you can only do so much.
(07:34):
And when you have a small teamthat's agile and you can mentor
people, you can form a culturearound something that you want
it to be a certain way, it's soexciting to watch those people
be able to do things.
And then my favorite part iswhen they start to do things
that I don't have to be involvedin.
Yes, exactly.
Megan Menzer (07:51):
Yeah, and it just frees you up to do other things.
Stefanie Couch (07:53):
They're better at it than they are Right, and
that's the thing is like oh, youare way better at this website
building or this thing that youknow with AI.
I know what I think it shouldbe and the problem that needs to
solve, but I don't want to bethe one in there doing the
coding Right Exactly.
Yes, yeah, yeah, really fun.
And also, with the youngergeneration, there's a lot of
things we can learn from them.
(08:14):
We can.
Megan Menzer (08:15):
Yeah, yes, my manager, she is fantastic.
And I just I will tell her thisis something that I want to see
us accomplish.
And then, before I know it,she's brought it to me and said
okay, what do you think?
And I'm just like, oh wow, Ilove this.
I mean, she is amazing, that'sawesome.
Stefanie Couch (08:31):
Yeah, how are you seeing technology change our
business?
We talked a little bit rightbefore this started about AI.
We're here at a show and youactually went to a session this
morning.
I spoke yesterday about AI.
It's changing every week.
How do you see it?
Number one, changing ourbusiness?
And then, do you think peopleare going to embrace it in our
(08:52):
industry, in a very traditionalplace where people are
100-year-old businesses and theyhave historically been
relatively slow to adopttechnology?
How do you see that coming intoour industry?
Megan Menzer (09:04):
I think you're going.
I don't think you're going tohave a choice, I think you're
just going to have to.
It's going to be one of thosethings that, um, I think I grew
up very fortunate because webecame computerized in 1991,
which is very, that's prettyearly.
Yes, it's out.
A good analogy in session thismorning was you know, six months
(09:40):
ago you're going 30 miles anhour and today you're up to 60
miles an hour, and I think intwo months you're going to be up
to 100 miles an hour.
It's not even at the rate ofdoubling.
And so it is going tocompletely change our industry.
Look at fast food.
You don't even you don't haveanybody take your order today.
No, and I think that in thehardware industry, if it's doing
(10:04):
inventory with a robot orpayroll, I mean just there's so
many faucets that's going to bechanged and it's going to touch
everything that we do.
Stefanie Couch (10:15):
Yeah, and I do think that's a really good point
about the rapid change, becausepeople compare it to the
internet or in industrial I talkabout in my speech, I usually
open it with the tractor.
You know the day the farmerdidn't have to use a horse and
he could use a tractor.
But the difference there isthat with the tractor or the
(10:36):
internet, there was a ramp upperiod, right, because people
couldn't afford a tractor.
They didn't know where to get atractor.
There was still a lot of thingsthat were in between you and a
tractor, even with the Internet.
You know it took years to get acomputer for people.
They were expensive.
You had to.
You know the Internet was slowand today, if you log on to
(11:00):
OpenAIcom, you can get a freeaccount in four seconds or
whatever it takes you to hit,submit your email and you're on
AI and it's the same for thatperson as it would be for
someone who's been on it for ayear.
The technology is there.
The other thing is that AI canteach you how to use AI.
Megan Menzer (11:13):
Yes, which sounds crazy, but I started taking
classes four weeks ago andthat's what somebody asked me
today.
They said well, are you takingin person or online?
And I said no, I'm takingonline classes.
And they said so, ai isteaching you how to use AI.
Absolutely, it is.
It is.
Stefanie Couch (11:29):
And that's the thing with the internet.
If you wanted to do something,code something, build something,
you had to find a person whoprobably was expensive, and then
you had to know if you couldtrust them to tell you how to do
it.
If you ask ChatGPT how to dosomething in ChatGPT, it will
tell you yes, it's not 100%always right.
I won't say that Like fullalert.
There's still a little bit ofhallucinations and things like
(11:52):
that, but mostly you can figureit out Right.
So I think that's the thing forpeople listening that maybe are
like I don't know if I believein this or I'm scared of it.
That's all could be true.
It doesn't negate the fact thatit's here and it's
exponentially getting quickerevery week.
There are things that arecoming out now that I mean it's
unbelievable.
(12:13):
Two, three years ago when Istarted using it, let's write an
email it was pretty good.
You know, let's do this littlething.
It's pretty good.
Now it is manually clicking 12stage task by itself without you
touching it, Right, Right.
Megan Menzer (12:29):
So what will it be in six more months?
Yes, exactly, and I also thinkI mean, of course, there's
downsides to all of it.
You know, how authentic are youreally?
I mean, because if, are yousending that email or is AI
sending that email, so am Ireally getting a chance to talk
to you and understand you, or isit just AI?
And so I think that you knowthere's a lot of aspects of it
(12:49):
that are.
You know, and I also wonderabout like we haven't really
brought it in, like we haven'tbrought the robot into our store
yet.
But once you start bringingthat in, how are your employees
going to react to that?
Are they going to be like, oh,I'm going to go look for a new
job because I'm getting replaced, or I better step it up, and
what else can I take care of?
Stefanie Couch (13:07):
Yeah, and that's where I'm curious your thoughts
on this, because I think aboutthis a lot and I try to frame it
this way for people who areusing AI.
To frame it this way for peoplewho are using AI.
There are so many tasks I thinkabout in my business today.
I think about in, you know, mydad's business that we couldn't
get to.
We were just we knew we neededto.
You know, it's like that list10 through 50 that you just
(13:28):
aren't, you never get down toRight.
If we could take AI and havethem do that stuff, yes.
Then the things that onlyhumans can do, like the
face-to-face conversations likethis, the in-store moments at
the aisle with a customer, theyou know person events that you
come in and have someonedecorating a pumpkin or going to
(13:49):
a local football game andtalking to people.
You could maybe do more of that.
Megan Menzer (13:54):
Yes.
Stefanie Couch (13:55):
So I do think, if you can look at the list of
things that you could optimizethat you're not getting to,
that's where I would start, andthen look at where you can get
more time back for the thingsthat customers really care about
that are human-based.
Yes, because we are going tovalue those moments more,
because nothing is going to bereal anymore.
(14:15):
So I think, if we can look atit, that's also why I love
branding so much, becausebuilding a brand is really about
people.
To me, it's about who youreally are as a person
underneath the layers of a logo.
And if we can build a brandthat is around people and
experiences, that's stillsuperhuman, right.
It's not AI, right, and thatmay give us more time to do it.
Megan Menzer (14:38):
Yeah, I have to agree, and I think that people
are starting to crave thatpersonal touch.
Stefanie Couch (14:45):
Yeah, for sure, and it's going to get worse
because as the AI gets morehuman, it will be harder to tell
.
Yes, but I do think there's noway to replace that moment in a
store, with a person standing atthe aisle with you answering
those questions, even if they'reusing AI to get some of the
answers, because they're a20-year-old kid who doesn't know
the answer Right, but they willbe able to have that moment.
(15:07):
So I also think in-personevents are going to get more
important.
Yes, because we are going towant to have that craving for
human connection Right, muchlike after the pandemic.
Megan Menzer (15:17):
Yes, yeah, I agree with you on that.
Stefanie Couch (15:20):
Yeah, what do you love about events like this?
I know we're both going to beat the Do it Best Market in
September.
We're here in Orlando now.
What do you love about theseevents?
What's your favorite part?
Megan Menzer (15:30):
My favorite part is networking, yeah.
So I was on the NRHA board and Iran into a past board member
and we spent 45 minutes, got ahot tea, you know, he got a
coffee and we just sat andtalked business.
But it was really interestingwhere he is and where he is with
his business, where I am, wherewe are with our business, and
(15:52):
just to kind of catch up andnetwork and you know, what are
your thoughts about this or howare you handling this situation.
And it's definitely thenetworking, just seeing people
that you know and knowing thatyou're not in it alone, because
I think a lot of days whenyou're in the trenches and it's
just, I mean it's harder andharder with, I mean, online
(16:15):
sales, amazon, it's just it'sdifficult out there, and so you
feel like you're at it alone,and so you come to places like
this and you're reminded thatit's not you you are doing the
right things, and just to kindof get some better ideas, maybe
of hey, have you tried this?
Or you know, yeah, definitelythe networking.
(16:37):
That's, that's my favorite part, yeah.
Stefanie Couch (16:39):
I have a mentor that I like and he talks about
stealing the 10,000 hours oftime and failures from other
people.
You know how do we pull up timeand you don't have to do all
those experiments and I think,as a local store owner, for sure
it does.
I can only imagine it feelslonely.
You're up against big giants,right, but things like do it
(17:01):
best or true value, or even theIHI they show you that other
people have already probablyscrewed up what you're trying to
figure out right and like.
I don't know what you guystalked about over breakfast, but
I'm sure there was somethingthat was enlightening for one or
the other and it's testing inlife, but without you having to
do it Right exactly.
So it's fun to hear thosepoints and also the ideation of
(17:23):
what could we be doing differentthat maybe with AI or with a
product line or whatever.
I think it's cool how peopleare open to sharing, so, at the
end of the day, like they don'tguard all this insider
information because you'reprobably not competing against
them?
Megan Menzer (17:40):
Right, exactly, and I mean we're you know, we're
not both true value, yeah, andso we don't care though, because
, like you said, at the end ofthe day we're independent
hardware stores and that's what.
We're all under the sameindependent roof, yeah, and so,
yeah, how can we make thisbetter?
Right, yeah, how do we notreinvent the wheel?
Yeah, for sure.
Stefanie Couch (17:59):
Tell me a little bit about your experience,
because you have been a truevalue store.
It's pretty openly known thattrue values had a few very rough
years and I can only imaginewhat it was like being in that
environment.
But you now have been acquiredby Do it Best and the last year
I'm sure there's been quite atransition.
Tell me a little bit about yourexperience so far being in Do
(18:21):
it Best group as a true valuestore and what that's been like
yeah, so it's been verywelcoming.
Megan Menzer (18:27):
It's been a fantastic transition.
Yes, been true value for a verylong time, so I have seen a lot
of different CEOs come and goand a lot of downfalls and
upswings and so during thetransition and the the buyout
was, it was very intense.
(18:48):
So I actually represented thehardware industry.
I didn't represent True Valueor a board member.
I represented the hardwareindustry and flew to Delaware
and testified in court and sothat was very intense.
I know more about businessbankruptcy and business law than
(19:08):
I probably ever want to know,but during all of that it was
really rough.
But as soon as it was over andthe deal was finalized I will
say Do it Best, reached out tome and has been nothing but a
fantastic relationship with them, since their heart is
definitely in it for theirmembers.
It's all about the members.
It's not a corporate out for metype of deal and they have
(19:33):
really stepped in and any issuesthey want to know what's
happening.
They want to know.
They want to know what'shappening.
They want to know what needs tobe fixed.
So they don't just want to hearthe good stuff.
Periodically I'll get a textmessage or an email and, you
know, not just with myself, buthey, what have you heard in the
industry?
What are our weaknesses?
What do we need to be fixing,what are we doing wrong?
(19:54):
And it's very refreshingbecause you know, you just, you
don't always get that.
And so when, when they'rewilling to say we know we can do
better, and where is it that weneed to do better?
They're wanting to grow,they're not wanting to stay
where they're at.
Stefanie Couch (20:12):
Well, I think there's a spirit of long term
planning with I mean, you're ahundred year old store, yes,
you're not worried abouttomorrow, you're worried about a
decade from now and probablythe next generation and how that
works for it long-term.
And I think they also have thatsame mentality.
And I love that spirit withinthe home improvement industry
(20:34):
independently is that they arethinking about what it's going
to do for the business long-term, for the members, long term,
and I think that's how you haveto run your business, because if
you're just thinking abouttomorrow, it's really easy to
make decisions that are a quickupswing but really end up
hurting people and the business.
Correct, yeah, yeah.
Well, I'm excited to see you atMarket and I really appreciate
(20:56):
you taking the time to sit downwith me, being with another
amazing woman that grew up inthe hardware industry and
hearing your stories, and I hopethat we can spend some time
together in Indianapolis.
Yeah, I look forward to it.
Megan Menzer (21:08):
Thanks so much for having me.
I really enjoyed it.
Stefanie Couch (21:13):
Thank you for listening to the Grit Blueprint
podcast.
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 you.
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