What if the fastest way to grow your business is to stop forcing people into boxes they don’t fit? We sit down with general manager Jody Brixie, whose family turned a 700-square-foot lumber shop into two thriving California locations, one a community hub with seasonal retail, nursery, gifts, apparel, and even live bait, the other a contractor-centric powerhouse. Jody shares how she left a high-pressure nursing career, returned home during a leadership crisis and COVID chaos, and discovered that the real differentiator isn’t inventory or pricing, it’s letting people run where they thrive and backing them with clear guardrails.
Across the conversation, we explore practical leadership strategies for construction, building supply, and retail operations. Jody explains how to build a strong leadership core, communicate under pressure, and make daily improvements that compound into serious results. We dig into succession and the sale to Nations Best, why a long-term acquisition model can protect culture, and what it takes to keep morale and performance high through uncertainty. If you manage a lumberyard, contractor desk, or multi-location retail operation, you’ll hear an actionable blueprint: shorten lines, grow add-on sales, empower category owners, and measure relentlessly.
Jody’s strengths-based approach, rooted in belief and individualization, offers a clear playbook for hiring, training, and team development. We talk about placing people where they can win, the magic of a small, aligned leadership team, and the courage to lead without mimicking someone else’s style. For women in construction and emerging leaders, Jody’s advice is simple and strong: protect your values, know your worth, and contribute differently. Purpose fuels endurance; culture turns stores into community anchors; systems translate hustle into repeatable growth.
• Two stores with distinct customer bases and product mixes
• Family legacy from a 700 sq ft shop to a community anchor
• Nursing skills translated into crisis-ready leadership
• COVID pressures, GM exit, and team resilience
• Succession planning and acquisition by Nations Best
• Strengths-based hiring and role fit over rigid boxes
• Daily growth through small wins and clear guardrails
• Advice to young leaders to keep their identity
• Rebuilding teams after turnover and developing new talent
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jodie Brixey (00:00):
How you create success and a successful team is
letting people thrive in areasthat they want to be in.
You can't fit them in a boxthey don't want to be in.
And if you do, number one,they're not gonna last.
Number two, they're not gonnabe very productive.
Stefanie Couch (00:14):
Magic happens when a really strong performing
team gets together.
And until you're in that andyou're a part of it, you can't
understand what it feels like.
But it really is a magicalthing.
It changes you as a person.
Jodie Brixey (00:24):
Every day you walk in, you're looking at it as how
do I improve?
How do I make it better?
The business was never eversupposed to be as big as it is.
And the only reason as it is,is because we hired people that
had great ideas, we put upguardrails, but we let them run.
Stefanie Couch (00:41):
Welcome to the Grit Blueprint Podcast, the
playbook for buildingunmistakable brands that grow,
lead, and last in the builtworld.
I'm Stephanie Couch, thefounder of Grit Blueprint, and
I'm a lifelong building industryinsider.
I was raised here, built mycareer here, and now my team and
(01:03):
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 GritBlueprint, I'm going to show you
how to stand out, earn trust,and turn your brand into a
competitive advantage thatlasts.
(01:24):
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, StephanieCouch, and today I'm coming to
you from the great state ofTexas.
I'm at Rough Creek Ranch herein Glen Rose, Texas.
(01:45):
And we're here at the Nation'sBest Women's Retreat.
Welcome to the show.
Why, thank you.
I'm happy to be here.
I cannot imagine a morebeautiful place.
I mean, look at this wholesetup is amazing.
And we're here for three daysof learning and development and
all the amazing things.
And you were part of Nation'sBest.
So you are actually Jody Brixiefrom California.
(02:08):
That's right.
Don't hate me for it.
And you have been in thisindustry a long time.
I want you to tell me a littlebit about what is your role
today, and then we're gonna gorewind the tape a little bit and
figure out how you got here.
Jodie Brixey (02:20):
Okay, so my role today is I am general manager of
two locations, Calaveras Lumberand Sonora Lumber, located in
Angels Camp, California and uhSonora, California.
And I'm pretty much in chargeof, you know, both staffs at
both stores, hiring, firing,doing all the things, um, and
really just driving thosebusinesses forward.
And um, it's been quite thejourney.
Stefanie Couch (02:41):
And the stores are different, they have a
little different angle of thetwo stores.
So just tell me, just a littlebrief overview about each store
and kind of how they're laidout.
Jodie Brixey (02:48):
Calaveras Lumber is a very, very, very unique uh
location.
Uh, you know, we do all thehard lines and the hardware,
obviously the lumber, um, but wealso have a very big seasonal
department where you know wehave gifts, decor, we do a
really big seasonal for uh fall,Christmas, spring, all those
things that does really well.
We sell women's clothing, wesell baby clothing, uh, we have
(03:11):
a very big nursery garden area.
We have a fishing department,we sell live bait, frozen bait,
uh tackle, obviously.
So it's really like theone-stop shop in town.
Um, it's definitely a communitystaple.
Yeah.
And then if you bump over tothe Snora location, it's
definitely more contractororiented.
We do have, you know, thehardware store as well, with we
have a small seasonal departmentthere.
(03:32):
Um, but it's definitely moregeared toward the builder side.
I mean, do it yourselfers aswell, but very strong
contractor's presence there.
So they're just two verydifferent locations with
different vibes, but both verysuccessful, both great crews.
Um, just very blessed to leadboth of them.
Stefanie Couch (03:49):
Yeah, it sounds like fun to kind of go from one
to the other because you mightbe selling contractors something
at one minute and then you'reselling baby clothes the next.
Absolutely, absolutely.
You get to test your chops alittle bit, make sure you know
all the different things.
That's really cool.
Yeah.
Well, you grew up in thisindustry.
Uh, we are both lumberyardgirls, and you were surrounded
by family.
(04:09):
Your grandfather started CalLumber in 1976.
And now here we are, 2025, andyou are a part of Nation's Best.
But you didn't always stay inthis industry.
So I want you to tell me alittle bit about your journey
because I've interviewed a lotof people, talked to a lot of
people, and we were just talkingbefore the show.
I don't think I've ever seenanyone boomerang quite the way
(04:33):
you have, which is really cool.
But tell me a little bit aboutthe family first.
So, how did it get started?
What was it like, and what'sthe community like that you
built?
Jodie Brixey (04:41):
So, definitely a unique story.
Definitely what this wasn't aplanned, thought-out path, uh,
just kind of how it unfolded forus.
It started with mygreat-grandfather.
He actually in 1918 got his uhmaster's degree in forestry,
which was very rare to have amaster's degree back in the day.
And he worked for AmericanForest Products.
And then um, my grandfather,after serving in World War II,
(05:03):
came back um and made an attemptto go to Oregon State
University, but he liked uh toparty a little bit too much.
And at that point, mygrandfather told him it's time
to grow up, get a job.
I'm gonna call one of mybuddies and I'm gonna get you
get you a job.
So uh my grandfather was asalesman up and down the West
Coast.
And when he decided decided toretire from uh that career, he
(05:25):
took his retirement in one lumpsum and had the insane idea to
buy a little 700 square footlumber and hardware store in
Angels Camp, Nowhere,California.
Wow.
Um, how he ever convinced mygrandmother that that was a good
idea.
I still to this day wish that Icould go back in time and hear
that conversation because Idon't know how he did that.
But he did.
Um, and so it started out, andI think he had one employee when
(05:49):
he started.
When I look at the pictures ofthe old yard, I mean there was
literally like 10 two by fours.
I mean, it was very, very, veryminimal.
Stefanie Couch (05:57):
Isn't it crazy how we have these dreams and we
believe in things sometimes, andthen like our significant other
also is crazy enough to believein us too?
Yeah.
Uh, like you said, I would loveto be at the kitchen table when
they had that conversation oflike, hey, I just retired, we
got this big chunk.
Jodie Brixey (06:13):
Yeah, and so I'm just gonna go buy this little
poding lumberyard.
Like literally in the middle ofnowhere.
I mean, how did that ever I andI I doubt that it did?
I doubt that it was really aconventual uh agreement, knowing
my uh grandfather andgrandmother, but nonetheless,
they made it work.
Um, my grandmother did work fora number of years inside the
store doing the bookkeeping.
(06:34):
Um, sometimes I I can find someof her old legal yellow pads
with everything handwritten out.
And then my dad was actuallyworking down at uh Lawrence
Livermore Labs as an electronmicrospacist, um, and just
started coming up on theweekends to help his dad.
Okay, uh hold on, I gottadouble-click on that.
(06:55):
Okay.
Stefanie Couch (06:55):
What the hell is an electro?
Jodie Brixey (06:57):
Yeah, so I don't really 100% know.
All I know, all I an electronmicrospaces, uh, all I know is
he looked at things through themicroscope.
And back in the day, it didn'ttake a college degree.
None of neither of my parents,so they went to community
college, but they didn't getcollege degrees.
That wasn't a family trait.
Uh started with mygreat-grandfather, but didn't
(07:17):
really continue.
Um, so, anyways, he looked atthings through big electronic
microscopes.
That's really what I know.
And all I know is he made awhole lot more money doing that,
but he enjoyed coming up andhelping my grandfather on the
weekends.
And uh my mom and dad have beentogether since their junior
year in high school.
Yeah.
So they decided that hey, thisis fun.
Uh, we won't have a whole lotof money, but we they really
(07:41):
enjoyed the Angels Camp areaversus uh Livermore.
So they decided to move up fulltime and they all jumped in,
and that's kind of where the thebusiness really started to
grow.
Wow.
Um, my grandfather was thepeople person, he's my favorite
person.
Oh.
Um he had this just boomingpersonality, and he knew
(08:04):
people's names and who theywere, their kids' names.
And you would find him, he'dsing some of his fraternity
songs to like people as he'swalking through the store.
I mean, he was that guy.
Like you just you he just had amagnetic personality.
You wanted to be around him,and that served him very well in
the community.
People were just drawn to him,they liked him, they wanted to
(08:24):
do business with him.
He absolutely was the business.
Um, so his little venture, hislittle retirement venture, uh
quickly grew.
And my dad was very businesssavvy.
Um, just naturally, he was justvery wise and he he kind of
just took it and and ran withit.
And I always say my mom was ahustler.
Yeah.
Uh my mom, she doesn't like toget talked about a lot, but I
(08:48):
like to say that my mom was thehustler because there's no uh no
harder working female.
She was always the one justrunning around doing whatever
needed to be done.
Um, she doesn't take a lot ofcredit, but but she deserves it.
Has she done kind of every job,everything the store?
Everything.
And what's really cool aboutour operation, which I think is
very unique too.
(09:09):
So my grandfather bought thebusiness in 1976.
And so it was one otheremployee, like I mentioned.
Then my mom and dad jumped into help.
And then I think it was about ayear and a half to two years
later that he hired his firsttwo employees, both of which
were female.
Stefanie Couch (09:41):
Oh, wow.
Jodie Brixey (09:42):
Um, so it is not unique for us to have a
female-driven workforce.
That's really cool.
Um, and you know, back in 1978,I don't think that that was
that common.
Very progressive.
Yes, and that was my grandpa.
Yeah, like he didn't care male,female, what color you were.
I mean, if you were goodpeople, he wanted you by his
(10:03):
side, and that really uh builtthe business.
So, anyway, then yeah, then wejust kept growing and we moved
locations in uh 2001, I believeit was, to a bigger location
down the road, and we're stillat that location at the
Calaveras at Calaveras today.
And then in 2014, we boughtSnorra Lumber, our second
(10:24):
location.
And I think the highest numberof employees we had was 100.
That was right around the peakof COVID.
I think we're at right around70 today.
Um, but two very successfulbusinesses and just great
employees and great people.
Are your mom and your dad stillinvolved?
No, um, they they stayed ononce we were acquired by
(10:45):
Nation's best for about a year.
And then they tipped their hatsand said they deserve the
retirement.
Stefanie Couch (10:50):
They deserve the retirement.
They did.
Jodie Brixey (10:52):
That's amazing.
Stefanie Couch (10:53):
Yeah.
Well, the legacy piece of thisindustry is probably my
favorite.
You know, my grandfatherstarted his lumber yard in
Atlanta in 1963, and then my dadand his two brothers, and then
third generation, I was thethird generation.
It's so cool to hear thesestories because when you talk
talk about your granddad, and Iget I get emotional when I start
(11:13):
talking about my family aswell, the same thing, because it
is, you know, what went intothat to build what's there.
And it's so much work, and itreally is just that absolute
won't quit resilience that gotthem to that, you know, and
especially that generation ofour grandparents were both in
the war and everything.
It's just a different type ofperson, and you have to admire
(11:36):
that grit that they have andwhat it took to do that.
Yeah, and a little bit of justcraziness to go out and
absolutely buy that, especiallywith the retirements.
Like you were there, you werethere, man.
Like you, and you went rightback in.
But I'm glad he did because youprobably wouldn't be here doing
this today if it wasn't forthat.
Well, you grew up in thebusiness, you did all the things
(11:56):
growing up around thelumberyard, I'm sure, but then
you wanted to go spread yourwings and try something else.
So you actually chose a careerthat's totally unrelated.
So tell me about that.
Jodie Brixey (12:07):
So yeah, my my parents, I mean, the business
was all you just being a part ofour family.
You know, you you grew up init.
Like Saturdays, if somebodycalled in sick, like we're all
headed to the lumbyard to work.
You know, it's inventory, we'reall going.
It's all you talked about atthe Thanksgiving table.
Yep, yep.
Yep.
Can't get I can't pick you upfrom school today.
So walk down the street andwhen you're here, hear dust and
face.
I mean, you know, that's that'spart of it.
(12:28):
But they definitely neverwanted my brother nor I to feel
like we had to take over thelumbyard.
So they very much encouraged usto go out and do something
different.
And that led me to nursing.
Really, I I've always thoughtmedicine was interesting, um,
but really it was the pupilaspect of nursing um that really
led me to it.
And so I got my RN degree and Iloved my job.
(12:53):
Uh, did that for several yearsat a large hospital uh where my
husband and I were living at thetime.
I actually had my first childwhile I was in nursing school.
Oh yeah, he started going tocollege when he was six days
old.
Wow.
Yeah, I always tell him that'swhy you have a 4.2 GPA.
You're welcome.
So I did that and wassuccessful.
But when my youngest or myoldest son, Jack, was ready to
go to kindergarten, I didn't Iwanted to move back home.
(13:16):
I wanted to put him in thesmaller schools back in the area
that I was from.
And I just felt very drawn todo that.
Um, I didn't really think itwas gonna be a possibility.
And my husband put the housefor sale and it was sold within
60 days.
Wow.
So off we went.
And then I actually took a jobwhen we got up there uh with a
local hospital, and I wasrecruited originally, and I do
(13:37):
mean recruited, like people, ohJody's back in town calling me.
And uh I originally went towent back there to work in their
oncology department.
Okay.
And then they had uh hired acardiologist from Chicago, and
then they came to me and theysaid, Hey, will you interview
with her?
We've had her interview quite afew people, and we just wanted
(13:58):
to meet you.
So sure enough, we hit it off,and then one thing led to
another.
I all of a sudden was the RNsupervisor of the brand new
cardiology outpatient centerthat we were building, and I was
not working per diem, I wasworking very full-time and uh
did that for three years, and wewe had a successful outpatient
center, and I loved, I lovedthat job, but she unfortunately
(14:20):
decided that she wanted to gomove to Bend, Oregon, which you
can't blame her for.
And when she left, I haddecided that I I really needed
to focus on my family.
So I stepped away from nursingfor for a minute, and I was home
for about three to six months,and then all of a sudden, just
kind of started going into thestore.
My dad would call, hey, can youcome help me with this?
(14:41):
Or hey, I need you to come dopayroll, or hey, can you oversee
this?
And so it just very graduallystarted working in the stores
again.
I was also building uh ourhome, so I was there anyways uh
because that was great, youknow, to have a family business
and director home.
But anyways, I just little bylittle got drawn in and we had a
(15:03):
general manager at that time uhwho did a good job running the
the stores, but unfortunatelythat came uh to an abrupt end
right around COVID.
It was quite the day that hehanded me his termination
letter.
Um that my parents were gonetraveling, and you know, I think
that he completely thought thatI would sit there and convince
(15:24):
him to stay.
And I just said, I think youcan find success somewhere else.
Yeah.
And uh let him go.
And from that point forward, Ikind of looked around the room
and I thought, well, here goesnothing.
Yeah.
Um, and like I said, that wasthat was right at the height of
COVID.
And, you know, I'd already kindof had to get a little bit more
involved in the businesses,anyways, just with you know, the
(15:44):
CDC and keeping up.
I mean, California was crazy,yeah, right?
I mean, everywhere was crazy.
California was especiallycrazy.
Uh, we couldn't win, wearmasks, don't wear masks.
You were always making somebodymad no matter what you did.
It was a turbulent time.
Um, and that was just kind ofkind of kind of the breaking
point, really.
Like, all right, this is thisis you, just move forward.
Stefanie Couch (16:06):
I always think people say that expression, this
isn't life or death, you know,and there are some careers that
are life or death, and nursingis one of them.
And I would think that thattranslates well to you being
able to handle certainsituations that maybe seem super
crazy or horrible, but maybearen't truly that intense or
life or death most of the timeat the lumber yard.
(16:28):
How does that translate in youbeing able to handle a certain
level of chaos or you know, anybad things that go wrong?
Jodie Brixey (16:36):
Yeah, and I don't want to downplay anything that
we do in this industry becausethere's certainly our immense
challenges that we face.
But I I have to say, myemployees have heard a time or
two like, you know, you're nottelling somebody that they're
dying.
You're not giving somebody acancer diagnosis, you're not,
you know, holding the hand ofsomebody who's taking their last
breath and all they wanted wastheir son to show up and he
(16:57):
didn't.
Yeah.
Like this is hard, but it'shard in a different uh way.
And I think that thatdefinitely has contributed to me
being able to just handle thepressures.
But not to say that it isn'tsure, like I said, that it isn't
challenging because it is, itjust is different.
And I will say that I thinkthat my I do like pressure.
(17:19):
I I I work better under chaosand pressure.
I think that's one of thereasons I was drawn to the
nursing industry in the firstplace.
But more than anything, I liketo heal and I like to help.
Yeah.
And that translates verysmoothly every day, whether it's
employees, customers, it's allthe same.
Yeah.
It's all the same.
Stefanie Couch (17:38):
Well, you know, diamonds are made under high
pressure.
So I'll look at you.
I mean, it is true.
It's it is interesting though,about certain people.
I feel the same way.
Like str people say stress isbad, but I actually think that a
certain amount of stress pushesus to reach our peak potential.
If you think about buildingmuscle in the gym or, you know,
(17:59):
doing things, it's fracturing.
You're breaking things down tobuild them back stronger.
And I think teams often arethat way.
You know, you have to gothrough things because you don't
know what you can handle untilyou're handling it.
And that pressure is how youtest that.
COVID definitely was a pressurecooker for all of us, but uh,
you being in California, that isa whole nother level.
(18:19):
Um, I was opening a door shopat that time and hiring a bunch
of people, and it was a crazytime, but I can't imagine
California.
How did that?
I know the secession planningwas a part of the mix.
You taking over as GM, allthose things happened around the
same time.
A lot of moving parts.
How did that work out?
Because you guys obviously nowhave to be acquired by Nation's
(18:41):
Best, but what was the lead upto that?
Because I know your dad startedtalking about secession
planning way beyond before that.
Jodie Brixey (18:47):
He did.
Uh, so I think it was around2017.
We had actually beenpropositioned by a potential
buyer at that time.
And that is when my my dad, youknow, started talking to my
brother and I about like, hey, Ineed an exit strategy.
I don't want to do this tillI'm 90.
You know, how's that gonnalook?
All the things, right?
And we hired and met withseveral people and kind of tried
(19:09):
to, as a family, get thatironed out.
I'll leave it as it didn't gowell.
Um, but my parents are are verymuch the type that are like, if
you want it, show up and getit.
And I started working in thebusiness.
Now my brother had a verysuccessful other career.
Uh he works for Apple.
And so, you know, he kind ofchose that path instead and
(19:30):
stayed with that, which can'tblame him for.
Like I said, it was just fate,whatever you want to call it.
I just started working in thestore more and more.
But it didn't work well for ourfamily dynamics.
Uh, so we did roll around theidea of putting the stores up
for sale.
Um, I really don't think my dadever honestly thought that they
(19:51):
would sell or he would get thenumber that that that he was
asking.
Yeah.
Um, and then come, here comesChris Miller and Robert Debs.
It was pretty surreal.
I think we all were like, whywould like these two little like
stores?
Like what in in northernCalifornia.
Like, what are you guysthinking?
My dad was pretty distantthroughout the whole uh sale
(20:13):
process.
Um, I think it was reallyemotionally hard for him.
Uh probably probably thehardest thing he's ever done.
Stefanie Couch (20:20):
Yeah.
It's like selling, it's likeselling your child.
Absolutely.
Like it's like leaving yourchild and saying, somebody else
just take care of it now.
Jodie Brixey (20:27):
Absolutely.
So I I was very involved withthe acquisition and and going
through that process, which wasinteresting and something
obviously I had never been partof before, but I learned a lot.
Up until the night that itclosed, my dad kept saying, Oh,
this isn't gonna happen.
Oh, no way.
They actually went to Africa,they were in Africa while it
while it closed.
That is kind of how that alltranspired.
(20:48):
And then they asked him to stayon as a contractor for the
first year and then for me tostay on as general manager.
That was in 2022, right?
Yep, June of 2022.
Stefanie Couch (20:57):
So a little over three years.
Yep.
You know, it's interestingbecause I think Nations Best
does have a really differentmodel than a lot of private
equity or acquisition companiesfor sure.
It does sort of feel a littletoo good to be true because they
play the long game.
They're not buying companies tobuy them, roll them up for
three years, and then get rid ofthem.
They are thinking about what'sthis look like in 10 years, 15
(21:18):
years when we still own it.
Yeah.
And I think that gives people alot of perspective that makes
them feel better about what'shappening.
So I like that model.
I think it's very interesting.
Um, when you have theselocations and you're thinking
about a team and you know,you're doing something, I'm sure
people were scared and not surehow it was gonna come come out.
(21:39):
Also, they had just gottenthrough COVID.
2021 and 2022 were the busiestyears we've ever had in the
business.
So that's a lot.
It was wild.
Jodie Brixey (21:48):
Yeah, I'm telling you, it was it was it was so
much.
Wow.
But we did it, yeah, and wewere better for it.
And you know, you look back atthose times, and I'm still to
this day, it humbles me that myteam just locked arms with me
and said, We got this.
(22:08):
Yeah.
And anywhere where I waslacking, they filled in for me.
They still do to this day.
And to be surrounded by peoplethat support you like that, it's
incredible.
Stefanie Couch (22:18):
Yeah.
If you haven't ever worked witha really strong team through
something like that, that's veryhard.
Uh, opening a new place,acquisition.
I mean, I think COVID was thatfor most people.
It it there's something aboutmagic happens when a really
strong performing team getstogether, especially like a
leadership team of four or fivecore people that are pushing.
(22:39):
Yeah.
And, you know, they say thatlike a team of horses can pull
so much more than one horsecombine, you know, just by
itself.
But I've seen that in action.
And until you're in that andyou're a part of it, you can't
understand what it feels like,but it really is a magical
thing.
Jodie Brixey (22:52):
It really is, and it changed it changes you as a
person.
I mean, it it, you know, itresilience is hard, but
beautiful.
Yeah.
I mean, it the side note, butthe day that RGM came in and
handed me the letter that he wasleaving, and like right now, in
that moment, he walked out thedoor, and 10 minutes later, my
HR comes screaming up thestairs, screaming my name.
(23:15):
Yeah.
An employee had come to work,parked her car, and called in
because she was confused, shedidn't know where she was.
Stefanie Couch (23:21):
Oh wow.
Jodie Brixey (23:22):
And she ended up having a massive stroke in her
car that day.
Oh man.
So I had to gather my team andnot only tell them that the GM
just walked out on us, that alsoour team member is now, you
know, headed to the hospital in,you know, severe condition,
which eventually did, you know,end her life.
(23:43):
Um but that is a day that iscemented in my mind.
Stefanie Couch (23:47):
Yeah.
Jodie Brixey (23:47):
And it is like I couldn't have done it without
him.
Yeah.
You know.
Stefanie Couch (23:51):
But also that ended up the with the GM leaving
to be a path that now got youto something better where you
are here now with this team thatyou're running.
Right.
So it's really crazy how lifecan be so bittersweet at the
same time.
For sure.
You mentioned when we talkedearlier um in the prep about
people being like a puzzle.
And, you know, you gotta havethe right person in the right
(24:14):
place in the puzzle, and theyall click together.
How do you work with your teamsto make sure that the people
are doing the thing they shouldbe doing in the right spot?
And how do you move peoplearound to get them to get their
peak potential?
Jodie Brixey (24:26):
Well, we just got through, you know, our gallop
assessment of our uh personalstrengths.
Yes.
And I will tell you my numberone uh strength was belief, and
my second was individualization.
And I do feel that I I have aninnate knack to kind of know
where people thrive.
I I would say if you go backand ask my grandpa, my dad,
(24:48):
anybody, you know, that's ledour business, that how you
create success and a successfulteam is letting people thrive in
areas that they want to be inand encouraging their strengths
and focusing on those things andthen giving them things, you
know, that that can obviouslyhelp your business be profitable
and efficient.
(25:08):
Yeah, but you can't fit them ina box they don't want to be in.
And if you do, number one,they're not gonna last.
Number two, they're not gonnabe very productive.
Sure.
And so just just to reallyrecognize people's strengths and
to be able to put them in thosepositions and and let them
flourish, to me, that's how youthat's how you do it, you know,
and that's challenging.
And how how do you do that?
(25:29):
You constantly talk to yourpeople.
I am constantly talking to mypeople.
Sometimes that's good,sometimes that's bad.
Some days I hear a whole lot ofstuff that I really don't want
to hear.
But it but that's my job,right?
It's to listen and to weed outthe bad, to pick out the good
and and then decide what thenext step is.
You know, I find somebodythat's you know really talented
(25:52):
in the nursery or the garden.
If they want to expand it, ifthey want to do this and do
that, I I want to let them dothat.
Like, yes, I'm gonna make youpencil it out for me and we're
gonna look at you know how thatlooks.
Yeah, but I'm I'm not gonnahold you back.
The business was never eversupposed to be as big as it is.
And the only reason is it is isbecause we hired people that
(26:13):
had great ideas and we put upguardrails, but we let them run.
Stefanie Couch (26:18):
And it's cool that your grandfather really
started that.
I I can feel him in you, likeeven though you're trying to
like he was the person, likeyou're obviously the magnetic
personality there now.
And you have to have that inthe business, especially in a
retail or somewhere where peopleare coming in and in and out,
that's a big draw.
But you also talked about yourdad was had a real spirit of
(26:39):
ingenuity of saying if thebusiness isn't growing, it's
dying.
Yep.
And I strongly believe that aswell.
What now are you doing to thinkabout that?
Because it is a littledifferent with you know new
ownership and your innernation's best, but that spirit
has to still live on.
So, how what does that mean ifthe business is not growing,
it's dying?
What does that mean to you?
Jodie Brixey (26:59):
It just means that every day you walk in, you're
looking at it as how do Iimprove?
How do I make it better?
And that can look a lotdifferent, right?
Like, yes, do I haveaspirations that I'd love to get
in to feed and animals andbuild a whole nother barn?
And yeah, sure.
You can also do small things togrow every day.
You know, how do I keep mylines shorter today?
(27:20):
How do I get more add-on salestoday?
How do I pick somebody and findout, you know, something that
they really want to do, thatthey really want to improve on,
and how do I give them thatopportunity?
And it's just kind of havingthat mindset of every day you
walk in, how do I make it alittle bit better today?
And then sometimes you getslapped in the face with problem
after problem after problem.
But you wake up and you do itagain the next day.
(27:41):
Yeah.
And you have to be flexible.
It's it's always changing.
Stefanie Couch (27:45):
Yeah, it is definitely.
That's the only thing I knowfor certain is that it won't
stay the same.
You said that belief is yournumber one strength.
So I love Clifton strengths.
I'm a certified coach, so I I'mprobably more of a nerd about
this than most people.
Belief is something that thepeople that have that as a core
strength, which yours is numberone.
You usually have like a really,really strong North Star,
(28:06):
something that pushes you.
And I you're obviously a verydriven person.
What is that for you?
Jodie Brixey (28:11):
For me, it's my faith.
I don't want to sound clichewhen I say that, but for sure, I
come from a very uh family orfaith-oriented background.
Uh, and uh I believe that we'rewe're here for a bigger purpose
and we serve one God.
And uh, you know, the stores tome, deep down, are our mission
and a way to spread that.
(28:33):
Uh, they are a blessing.
We didn't create everythingthat's happened in our stores.
Yeah.
There is a bigger purpose thatis that is driving that.
And it is, I am just a stewardof that, and it's my
responsibility to share thatblessing with others, whether
it's my employees, my customers,the community.
Um it's it's a bigresponsibility, but it's a huge
(28:55):
blessing.
Stefanie Couch (28:55):
Having a purpose is the only thing I know that
keeps you going when it getsreally, really hard.
Yep.
And also when you think aboutthat, you could just say, hey,
and we're good, we're it'senough, that purpose keeps you
pushing past that, which I love.
Well, you are an exquisitewoman, and I am glad to have
been able to sit down with you.
(29:15):
And I'm excited to see what youdo next.
What when you think about twoquestions I'll ask you.
If you had to go back and talkto 25-year-old you or another
woman person that's in theindustry that's 25, what would
you say to them today?
What advice would you give tothem?
Jodie Brixey (29:34):
I would probably tell them to not lose sight of
yourself.
You know, in this industry, wetalk a lot about, you know,
women leaders in this industry,women in this industry.
Uh and and you see a lot, I Ifeel like you see a lot of women
trying to to fight their wayin.
Don't try to change yourself.
Don't give up who you are.
Just contribute differently.
(29:55):
Okay.
But know, but know your worth.
Like I have a completelydifferent set of talents than
most people, especially mostmen, right?
But that doesn't mean that I'mnot capable.
That doesn't mean that I don'thave a place.
It just means it's gonna lookdifferent.
But it's it's proven to be verysuccessful.
Just keep that in mind and umand be true to yourself.
(30:17):
Don't uh don't compromise.
You know, I I again belief ismy number one, and I have very
strong morals and ethics, and Iwon't ever compromise those.
Stefanie Couch (30:27):
I think you have a very strong sense of who you
are and where your North Staris, but I also I do think a lot
of people struggle, men andwomen struggle to not want to be
the thing that they see assuccessful already.
Yeah, what if you do it yourway though?
And that is the only way you'reever gonna be able to really be
who you are and fulfill yourown purpose is because you were
(30:49):
made this way for a reason.
Absolutely.
And I struggled it early in mycareer with that as well, trying
to look at what was above meand say, like, okay, well, I
should be like that, or andClifton Strengths actually
really enlightened me to thefact of like, oh, you lead with
influencing, you have all thesedifferent strengths that'll it's
the rarest, you know, thing tolead with.
And then I thought, well, Ican, I'm never gonna be like
(31:10):
them.
Jodie Brixey (31:11):
Yep.
Stefanie Couch (31:11):
And I just decided one day that I was just
done trying.
And then it was like the ideaof that wasn't in my mind
anymore.
So it wasn't a prison for me totry to like try to be this
thing I couldn't do anyway.
Jodie Brixey (31:23):
Yeah.
And I think as a whole, we tryto look at businesses and we try
to structure them and we try tofit boxes and people into
categories.
And it's it's harder to not dothat.
But again, you've got to lookat people and see where their
strengths are and empower themat what they're good at, and let
that is that is the secret tosuccess.
(31:44):
And it's taken me a lot ofyears to be where I'm at today,
but I don't I don't want to beanybody else than who I'm made
to be.
Yeah, and if that works for thecompany and if that works for
whoever I'm working for, great.
And if it doesn't, I'mperfectly capable of doing
something else.
But it took a long time to getthere.
Stefanie Couch (32:01):
I agree.
There's a certain type ofconfidence that the years of you
going through hard things havehas been able to build that in
you.
I can see that.
Well, the last question is whatexcites you most about the next
year or two?
And what are you fired upabout?
This can be personal or workrelated.
Jodie Brixey (32:16):
Hopefully, things not being so crazy.
Um, no, I can't ever have thatexpectation.
That I've I've said that toomany times, and I'm like, oh,
here we go.
Um there is no call, there is astorm, it's just another thing.
It's just a thing.
Yep, absolutely.
Um, you know, just my team, wewent through a pretty hard uh
summer with staffing, as youtalked about in the beginning of
this interview.
(32:36):
That sometimes it's it's bestto break it down and build it
back up.
Yeah.
Um, we lost some key people,assistant store managers.
Um, it was a rough summer, butI've got some new people in
place, and there is nothing morethan I love to start developing
people, like I said, learningwhat they want, what drives
them, and pretty much givingthem parameters to let that
(32:59):
happen.
Um it's it's just a beautifulthing.
Uh so I'm very excited aboutthat, just growing in any way
that we can.
Stefanie Couch (33:07):
That's amazing.
Well, I'm so thankful that youare here and that we got to sit
down in the most beautifulsetting, and we're gonna get to
go enjoy it out in the in thewild of Texas in a few hours.
So thank you for joining me onthe Grip Blueprint podcast.
And I hope to get to come seeyour store soon because they
sound really amazing.
And you said you sell women'sclothing, and I've already made
(33:28):
a mental note.
Oh, yeah, definitely.
Do you sell hats?
That's all I really need to do.
We do.
We do.
Okay, well, then I'm gonna booka one.
Okay, awesome.
Well, thank you for joining meon the grit blueprint podcast.
We will see you on our nextepisode.
Thank you for listening to theGrit Blueprint Podcast.
If this episode helped youthink a little differently about
(33:48):
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 gritblueprint.com tolearn more and book a call to
talk to us about your growthstrategy.
Until next time, stayunmistakable.
How you create success and a successful team is
letting people thrive in areasthat they want to be in.
You can't fit them in a boxthey don't want to be in.
And if you do, number one,they're not gonna last.
Number two, they're not gonnabe very productive.
Stefanie Couch (00:14):
Magic happens when a really strong performing
team gets together.
And until you're in that andyou're a part of it, you can't
understand what it feels like.
But it really is a magicalthing.
It changes you as a person.
Jodie Brixey (00:24):
Every day you walk in, you're looking at it as how
do I improve?
How do I make it better?
The business was never eversupposed to be as big as it is.
And the only reason as it is,is because we hired people that
had great ideas, we put upguardrails, but we let them run.
Stefanie Couch (00:41):
Welcome to the Grit Blueprint Podcast, the
playbook for buildingunmistakable brands that grow,
lead, and last in the builtworld.
I'm Stephanie Couch, thefounder of Grit Blueprint, and
I'm a lifelong building industryinsider.
I was raised here, built mycareer here, and now my team and
(01:03):
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 GritBlueprint, I'm going to show you
how to stand out, earn trust,and turn your brand into a
competitive advantage thatlasts.
(01:24):
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, StephanieCouch, and today I'm coming to
you from the great state ofTexas.
I'm at Rough Creek Ranch herein Glen Rose, Texas.
(01:45):
And we're here at the Nation'sBest Women's Retreat.
Welcome to the show.
Why, thank you.
I'm happy to be here.
I cannot imagine a morebeautiful place.
I mean, look at this wholesetup is amazing.
And we're here for three daysof learning and development and
all the amazing things.
And you were part of Nation'sBest.
So you are actually Jody Brixiefrom California.
(02:08):
That's right.
Don't hate me for it.
And you have been in thisindustry a long time.
I want you to tell me a littlebit about what is your role
today, and then we're gonna gorewind the tape a little bit and
figure out how you got here.
Jodie Brixey (02:20):
Okay, so my role today is I am general manager of
two locations, Calaveras Lumberand Sonora Lumber, located in
Angels Camp, California and uhSonora, California.
And I'm pretty much in chargeof, you know, both staffs at
both stores, hiring, firing,doing all the things, um, and
really just driving thosebusinesses forward.
And um, it's been quite thejourney.
Stefanie Couch (02:41):
And the stores are different, they have a
little different angle of thetwo stores.
So just tell me, just a littlebrief overview about each store
and kind of how they're laidout.
Jodie Brixey (02:48):
Calaveras Lumber is a very, very, very unique uh
location.
Uh, you know, we do all thehard lines and the hardware,
obviously the lumber, um, but wealso have a very big seasonal
department where you know wehave gifts, decor, we do a
really big seasonal for uh fall,Christmas, spring, all those
things that does really well.
We sell women's clothing, wesell baby clothing, uh, we have
(03:11):
a very big nursery garden area.
We have a fishing department,we sell live bait, frozen bait,
uh tackle, obviously.
So it's really like theone-stop shop in town.
Um, it's definitely a communitystaple.
Yeah.
And then if you bump over tothe Snora location, it's
definitely more contractororiented.
We do have, you know, thehardware store as well, with we
have a small seasonal departmentthere.
(03:32):
Um, but it's definitely moregeared toward the builder side.
I mean, do it yourselfers aswell, but very strong
contractor's presence there.
So they're just two verydifferent locations with
different vibes, but both verysuccessful, both great crews.
Um, just very blessed to leadboth of them.
Stefanie Couch (03:49):
Yeah, it sounds like fun to kind of go from one
to the other because you mightbe selling contractors something
at one minute and then you'reselling baby clothes the next.
Absolutely, absolutely.
You get to test your chops alittle bit, make sure you know
all the different things.
That's really cool.
Yeah.
Well, you grew up in thisindustry.
Uh, we are both lumberyardgirls, and you were surrounded
by family.
(04:09):
Your grandfather started CalLumber in 1976.
And now here we are, 2025, andyou are a part of Nation's Best.
But you didn't always stay inthis industry.
So I want you to tell me alittle bit about your journey
because I've interviewed a lotof people, talked to a lot of
people, and we were just talkingbefore the show.
I don't think I've ever seenanyone boomerang quite the way
(04:33):
you have, which is really cool.
But tell me a little bit aboutthe family first.
So, how did it get started?
What was it like, and what'sthe community like that you
built?
Jodie Brixey (04:41):
So, definitely a unique story.
Definitely what this wasn't aplanned, thought-out path, uh,
just kind of how it unfolded forus.
It started with mygreat-grandfather.
He actually in 1918 got his uhmaster's degree in forestry,
which was very rare to have amaster's degree back in the day.
And he worked for AmericanForest Products.
And then um, my grandfather,after serving in World War II,
(05:03):
came back um and made an attemptto go to Oregon State
University, but he liked uh toparty a little bit too much.
And at that point, mygrandfather told him it's time
to grow up, get a job.
I'm gonna call one of mybuddies and I'm gonna get you
get you a job.
So uh my grandfather was asalesman up and down the West
Coast.
And when he decided decided toretire from uh that career, he
(05:25):
took his retirement in one lumpsum and had the insane idea to
buy a little 700 square footlumber and hardware store in
Angels Camp, Nowhere,California.
Wow.
Um, how he ever convinced mygrandmother that that was a good
idea.
I still to this day wish that Icould go back in time and hear
that conversation because Idon't know how he did that.
But he did.
Um, and so it started out, andI think he had one employee when
(05:49):
he started.
When I look at the pictures ofthe old yard, I mean there was
literally like 10 two by fours.
I mean, it was very, very, veryminimal.
Stefanie Couch (05:57):
Isn't it crazy how we have these dreams and we
believe in things sometimes, andthen like our significant other
also is crazy enough to believein us too?
Yeah.
Uh, like you said, I would loveto be at the kitchen table when
they had that conversation oflike, hey, I just retired, we
got this big chunk.
Jodie Brixey (06:13):
Yeah, and so I'm just gonna go buy this little
poding lumberyard.
Like literally in the middle ofnowhere.
I mean, how did that ever I andI I doubt that it did?
I doubt that it was really aconventual uh agreement, knowing
my uh grandfather andgrandmother, but nonetheless,
they made it work.
Um, my grandmother did work fora number of years inside the
store doing the bookkeeping.
(06:34):
Um, sometimes I I can find someof her old legal yellow pads
with everything handwritten out.
And then my dad was actuallyworking down at uh Lawrence
Livermore Labs as an electronmicrospacist, um, and just
started coming up on theweekends to help his dad.
Okay, uh hold on, I gottadouble-click on that.
(06:55):
Okay.
Stefanie Couch (06:55):
What the hell is an electro?
Jodie Brixey (06:57):
Yeah, so I don't really 100% know.
All I know, all I an electronmicrospaces, uh, all I know is
he looked at things through themicroscope.
And back in the day, it didn'ttake a college degree.
None of neither of my parents,so they went to community
college, but they didn't getcollege degrees.
That wasn't a family trait.
Uh started with mygreat-grandfather, but didn't
(07:17):
really continue.
Um, so, anyways, he looked atthings through big electronic
microscopes.
That's really what I know.
And all I know is he made awhole lot more money doing that,
but he enjoyed coming up andhelping my grandfather on the
weekends.
And uh my mom and dad have beentogether since their junior
year in high school.
Yeah.
So they decided that hey, thisis fun.
Uh, we won't have a whole lotof money, but we they really
(07:41):
enjoyed the Angels Camp areaversus uh Livermore.
So they decided to move up fulltime and they all jumped in,
and that's kind of where the thebusiness really started to
grow.
Wow.
Um, my grandfather was thepeople person, he's my favorite
person.
Oh.
Um he had this just boomingpersonality, and he knew
(08:04):
people's names and who theywere, their kids' names.
And you would find him, he'dsing some of his fraternity
songs to like people as he'swalking through the store.
I mean, he was that guy.
Like you just you he just had amagnetic personality.
You wanted to be around him,and that served him very well in
the community.
People were just drawn to him,they liked him, they wanted to
(08:24):
do business with him.
He absolutely was the business.
Um, so his little venture, hislittle retirement venture, uh
quickly grew.
And my dad was very businesssavvy.
Um, just naturally, he was justvery wise and he he kind of
just took it and and ran withit.
And I always say my mom was ahustler.
Yeah.
Uh my mom, she doesn't like toget talked about a lot, but I
(08:48):
like to say that my mom was thehustler because there's no uh no
harder working female.
She was always the one justrunning around doing whatever
needed to be done.
Um, she doesn't take a lot ofcredit, but but she deserves it.
Has she done kind of every job,everything the store?
Everything.
And what's really cool aboutour operation, which I think is
very unique too.
(09:09):
So my grandfather bought thebusiness in 1976.
And so it was one otheremployee, like I mentioned.
Then my mom and dad jumped into help.
And then I think it was about ayear and a half to two years
later that he hired his firsttwo employees, both of which
were female.
Stefanie Couch (09:41):
Oh, wow.
Jodie Brixey (09:42):
Um, so it is not unique for us to have a
female-driven workforce.
That's really cool.
Um, and you know, back in 1978,I don't think that that was
that common.
Very progressive.
Yes, and that was my grandpa.
Yeah, like he didn't care male,female, what color you were.
I mean, if you were goodpeople, he wanted you by his
(10:03):
side, and that really uh builtthe business.
So, anyway, then yeah, then wejust kept growing and we moved
locations in uh 2001, I believeit was, to a bigger location
down the road, and we're stillat that location at the
Calaveras at Calaveras today.
And then in 2014, we boughtSnorra Lumber, our second
(10:24):
location.
And I think the highest numberof employees we had was 100.
That was right around the peakof COVID.
I think we're at right around70 today.
Um, but two very successfulbusinesses and just great
employees and great people.
Are your mom and your dad stillinvolved?
No, um, they they stayed ononce we were acquired by
(10:45):
Nation's best for about a year.
And then they tipped their hatsand said they deserve the
retirement.
Stefanie Couch (10:50):
They deserve the retirement.
They did.
Jodie Brixey (10:52):
That's amazing.
Stefanie Couch (10:53):
Yeah.
Well, the legacy piece of thisindustry is probably my
favorite.
You know, my grandfatherstarted his lumber yard in
Atlanta in 1963, and then my dadand his two brothers, and then
third generation, I was thethird generation.
It's so cool to hear thesestories because when you talk
talk about your granddad, and Iget I get emotional when I start
(11:13):
talking about my family aswell, the same thing, because it
is, you know, what went intothat to build what's there.
And it's so much work, and itreally is just that absolute
won't quit resilience that gotthem to that, you know, and
especially that generation ofour grandparents were both in
the war and everything.
It's just a different type ofperson, and you have to admire
(11:36):
that grit that they have andwhat it took to do that.
Yeah, and a little bit of justcraziness to go out and
absolutely buy that, especiallywith the retirements.
Like you were there, you werethere, man.
Like you, and you went rightback in.
But I'm glad he did because youprobably wouldn't be here doing
this today if it wasn't forthat.
Well, you grew up in thebusiness, you did all the things
(11:56):
growing up around thelumberyard, I'm sure, but then
you wanted to go spread yourwings and try something else.
So you actually chose a careerthat's totally unrelated.
So tell me about that.
Jodie Brixey (12:07):
So yeah, my my parents, I mean, the business
was all you just being a part ofour family.
You know, you you grew up init.
Like Saturdays, if somebodycalled in sick, like we're all
headed to the lumbyard to work.
You know, it's inventory, we'reall going.
It's all you talked about atthe Thanksgiving table.
Yep, yep.
Yep.
Can't get I can't pick you upfrom school today.
So walk down the street andwhen you're here, hear dust and
face.
I mean, you know, that's that'spart of it.
(12:28):
But they definitely neverwanted my brother nor I to feel
like we had to take over thelumbyard.
So they very much encouraged usto go out and do something
different.
And that led me to nursing.
Really, I I've always thoughtmedicine was interesting, um,
but really it was the pupilaspect of nursing um that really
led me to it.
And so I got my RN degree and Iloved my job.
(12:53):
Uh, did that for several yearsat a large hospital uh where my
husband and I were living at thetime.
I actually had my first childwhile I was in nursing school.
Oh yeah, he started going tocollege when he was six days
old.
Wow.
Yeah, I always tell him that'swhy you have a 4.2 GPA.
You're welcome.
So I did that and wassuccessful.
But when my youngest or myoldest son, Jack, was ready to
go to kindergarten, I didn't Iwanted to move back home.
(13:16):
I wanted to put him in thesmaller schools back in the area
that I was from.
And I just felt very drawn todo that.
Um, I didn't really think itwas gonna be a possibility.
And my husband put the housefor sale and it was sold within
60 days.
Wow.
So off we went.
And then I actually took a jobwhen we got up there uh with a
local hospital, and I wasrecruited originally, and I do
(13:37):
mean recruited, like people, ohJody's back in town calling me.
And uh I originally went towent back there to work in their
oncology department.
Okay.
And then they had uh hired acardiologist from Chicago, and
then they came to me and theysaid, Hey, will you interview
with her?
We've had her interview quite afew people, and we just wanted
(13:58):
to meet you.
So sure enough, we hit it off,and then one thing led to
another.
I all of a sudden was the RNsupervisor of the brand new
cardiology outpatient centerthat we were building, and I was
not working per diem, I wasworking very full-time and uh
did that for three years, and wewe had a successful outpatient
center, and I loved, I lovedthat job, but she unfortunately
(14:20):
decided that she wanted to gomove to Bend, Oregon, which you
can't blame her for.
And when she left, I haddecided that I I really needed
to focus on my family.
So I stepped away from nursingfor for a minute, and I was home
for about three to six months,and then all of a sudden, just
kind of started going into thestore.
My dad would call, hey, can youcome help me with this?
(14:41):
Or hey, I need you to come dopayroll, or hey, can you oversee
this?
And so it just very graduallystarted working in the stores
again.
I was also building uh ourhome, so I was there anyways uh
because that was great, youknow, to have a family business
and director home.
But anyways, I just little bylittle got drawn in and we had a
(15:03):
general manager at that time uhwho did a good job running the
the stores, but unfortunatelythat came uh to an abrupt end
right around COVID.
It was quite the day that hehanded me his termination
letter.
Um that my parents were gonetraveling, and you know, I think
that he completely thought thatI would sit there and convince
(15:24):
him to stay.
And I just said, I think youcan find success somewhere else.
Yeah.
And uh let him go.
And from that point forward, Ikind of looked around the room
and I thought, well, here goesnothing.
Yeah.
Um, and like I said, that wasthat was right at the height of
COVID.
And, you know, I'd already kindof had to get a little bit more
involved in the businesses,anyways, just with you know, the
(15:44):
CDC and keeping up.
I mean, California was crazy,yeah, right?
I mean, everywhere was crazy.
California was especiallycrazy.
Uh, we couldn't win, wearmasks, don't wear masks.
You were always making somebodymad no matter what you did.
It was a turbulent time.
Um, and that was just kind ofkind of kind of the breaking
point, really.
Like, all right, this is thisis you, just move forward.
Stefanie Couch (16:06):
I always think people say that expression, this
isn't life or death, you know,and there are some careers that
are life or death, and nursingis one of them.
And I would think that thattranslates well to you being
able to handle certainsituations that maybe seem super
crazy or horrible, but maybearen't truly that intense or
life or death most of the timeat the lumber yard.
(16:28):
How does that translate in youbeing able to handle a certain
level of chaos or you know, anybad things that go wrong?
Jodie Brixey (16:36):
Yeah, and I don't want to downplay anything that
we do in this industry becausethere's certainly our immense
challenges that we face.
But I I have to say, myemployees have heard a time or
two like, you know, you're nottelling somebody that they're
dying.
You're not giving somebody acancer diagnosis, you're not,
you know, holding the hand ofsomebody who's taking their last
breath and all they wanted wastheir son to show up and he
(16:57):
didn't.
Yeah.
Like this is hard, but it'shard in a different uh way.
And I think that thatdefinitely has contributed to me
being able to just handle thepressures.
But not to say that it isn'tsure, like I said, that it isn't
challenging because it is, itjust is different.
And I will say that I thinkthat my I do like pressure.
(17:19):
I I I work better under chaosand pressure.
I think that's one of thereasons I was drawn to the
nursing industry in the firstplace.
But more than anything, I liketo heal and I like to help.
Yeah.
And that translates verysmoothly every day, whether it's
employees, customers, it's allthe same.
Yeah.
It's all the same.
Stefanie Couch (17:38):
Well, you know, diamonds are made under high
pressure.
So I'll look at you.
I mean, it is true.
It's it is interesting though,about certain people.
I feel the same way.
Like str people say stress isbad, but I actually think that a
certain amount of stress pushesus to reach our peak potential.
If you think about buildingmuscle in the gym or, you know,
(17:59):
doing things, it's fracturing.
You're breaking things down tobuild them back stronger.
And I think teams often arethat way.
You know, you have to gothrough things because you don't
know what you can handle untilyou're handling it.
And that pressure is how youtest that.
COVID definitely was a pressurecooker for all of us, but uh,
you being in California, that isa whole nother level.
(18:19):
Um, I was opening a door shopat that time and hiring a bunch
of people, and it was a crazytime, but I can't imagine
California.
How did that?
I know the secession planningwas a part of the mix.
You taking over as GM, allthose things happened around the
same time.
A lot of moving parts.
How did that work out?
Because you guys obviously nowhave to be acquired by Nation's
(18:41):
Best, but what was the lead upto that?
Because I know your dad startedtalking about secession
planning way beyond before that.
Jodie Brixey (18:47):
He did.
Uh, so I think it was around2017.
We had actually beenpropositioned by a potential
buyer at that time.
And that is when my my dad, youknow, started talking to my
brother and I about like, hey, Ineed an exit strategy.
I don't want to do this tillI'm 90.
You know, how's that gonnalook?
All the things, right?
And we hired and met withseveral people and kind of tried
(19:09):
to, as a family, get thatironed out.
I'll leave it as it didn't gowell.
Um, but my parents are are verymuch the type that are like, if
you want it, show up and getit.
And I started working in thebusiness.
Now my brother had a verysuccessful other career.
Uh he works for Apple.
And so, you know, he kind ofchose that path instead and
(19:30):
stayed with that, which can'tblame him for.
Like I said, it was just fate,whatever you want to call it.
I just started working in thestore more and more.
But it didn't work well for ourfamily dynamics.
Uh, so we did roll around theidea of putting the stores up
for sale.
Um, I really don't think my dadever honestly thought that they
(19:51):
would sell or he would get thenumber that that that he was
asking.
Yeah.
Um, and then come, here comesChris Miller and Robert Debs.
It was pretty surreal.
I think we all were like, whywould like these two little like
stores?
Like what in in northernCalifornia.
Like, what are you guysthinking?
My dad was pretty distantthroughout the whole uh sale
(20:13):
process.
Um, I think it was reallyemotionally hard for him.
Uh probably probably thehardest thing he's ever done.
Stefanie Couch (20:20):
Yeah.
It's like selling, it's likeselling your child.
Absolutely.
Like it's like leaving yourchild and saying, somebody else
just take care of it now.
Jodie Brixey (20:27):
Absolutely.
So I I was very involved withthe acquisition and and going
through that process, which wasinteresting and something
obviously I had never been partof before, but I learned a lot.
Up until the night that itclosed, my dad kept saying, Oh,
this isn't gonna happen.
Oh, no way.
They actually went to Africa,they were in Africa while it
while it closed.
That is kind of how that alltranspired.
(20:48):
And then they asked him to stayon as a contractor for the
first year and then for me tostay on as general manager.
That was in 2022, right?
Yep, June of 2022.
Stefanie Couch (20:57):
So a little over three years.
Yep.
You know, it's interestingbecause I think Nations Best
does have a really differentmodel than a lot of private
equity or acquisition companiesfor sure.
It does sort of feel a littletoo good to be true because they
play the long game.
They're not buying companies tobuy them, roll them up for
three years, and then get rid ofthem.
They are thinking about what'sthis look like in 10 years, 15
(21:18):
years when we still own it.
Yeah.
And I think that gives people alot of perspective that makes
them feel better about what'shappening.
So I like that model.
I think it's very interesting.
Um, when you have theselocations and you're thinking
about a team and you know,you're doing something, I'm sure
people were scared and not surehow it was gonna come come out.
(21:39):
Also, they had just gottenthrough COVID.
2021 and 2022 were the busiestyears we've ever had in the
business.
So that's a lot.
It was wild.
Jodie Brixey (21:48):
Yeah, I'm telling you, it was it was it was so
much.
Wow.
But we did it, yeah, and wewere better for it.
And you know, you look back atthose times, and I'm still to
this day, it humbles me that myteam just locked arms with me
and said, We got this.
(22:08):
Yeah.
And anywhere where I waslacking, they filled in for me.
They still do to this day.
And to be surrounded by peoplethat support you like that, it's
incredible.
Stefanie Couch (22:18):
Yeah.
If you haven't ever worked witha really strong team through
something like that, that's veryhard.
Uh, opening a new place,acquisition.
I mean, I think COVID was thatfor most people.
It it there's something aboutmagic happens when a really
strong performing team getstogether, especially like a
leadership team of four or fivecore people that are pushing.
(22:39):
Yeah.
And, you know, they say thatlike a team of horses can pull
so much more than one horsecombine, you know, just by
itself.
But I've seen that in action.
And until you're in that andyou're a part of it, you can't
understand what it feels like,but it really is a magical
thing.
Jodie Brixey (22:52):
It really is, and it changed it changes you as a
person.
I mean, it it, you know, itresilience is hard, but
beautiful.
Yeah.
I mean, it the side note, butthe day that RGM came in and
handed me the letter that he wasleaving, and like right now, in
that moment, he walked out thedoor, and 10 minutes later, my
HR comes screaming up thestairs, screaming my name.
(23:15):
Yeah.
An employee had come to work,parked her car, and called in
because she was confused, shedidn't know where she was.
Stefanie Couch (23:21):
Oh wow.
Jodie Brixey (23:22):
And she ended up having a massive stroke in her
car that day.
Oh man.
So I had to gather my team andnot only tell them that the GM
just walked out on us, that alsoour team member is now, you
know, headed to the hospital in,you know, severe condition,
which eventually did, you know,end her life.
(23:43):
Um but that is a day that iscemented in my mind.
Stefanie Couch (23:47):
Yeah.
Jodie Brixey (23:47):
And it is like I couldn't have done it without
him.
Yeah.
You know.
Stefanie Couch (23:51):
But also that ended up the with the GM leaving
to be a path that now got youto something better where you
are here now with this team thatyou're running.
Right.
So it's really crazy how lifecan be so bittersweet at the
same time.
For sure.
You mentioned when we talkedearlier um in the prep about
people being like a puzzle.
And, you know, you gotta havethe right person in the right
(24:14):
place in the puzzle, and theyall click together.
How do you work with your teamsto make sure that the people
are doing the thing they shouldbe doing in the right spot?
And how do you move peoplearound to get them to get their
peak potential?
Jodie Brixey (24:26):
Well, we just got through, you know, our gallop
assessment of our uh personalstrengths.
Yes.
And I will tell you my numberone uh strength was belief, and
my second was individualization.
And I do feel that I I have aninnate knack to kind of know
where people thrive.
I I would say if you go backand ask my grandpa, my dad,
(24:48):
anybody, you know, that's ledour business, that how you
create success and a successfulteam is letting people thrive in
areas that they want to be inand encouraging their strengths
and focusing on those things andthen giving them things, you
know, that that can obviouslyhelp your business be profitable
and efficient.
(25:08):
Yeah, but you can't fit them ina box they don't want to be in.
And if you do, number one,they're not gonna last.
Number two, they're not gonnabe very productive.
Sure.
And so just just to reallyrecognize people's strengths and
to be able to put them in thosepositions and and let them
flourish, to me, that's how youthat's how you do it, you know,
and that's challenging.
And how how do you do that?
(25:29):
You constantly talk to yourpeople.
I am constantly talking to mypeople.
Sometimes that's good,sometimes that's bad.
Some days I hear a whole lot ofstuff that I really don't want
to hear.
But it but that's my job,right?
It's to listen and to weed outthe bad, to pick out the good
and and then decide what thenext step is.
You know, I find somebodythat's you know really talented
(25:52):
in the nursery or the garden.
If they want to expand it, ifthey want to do this and do
that, I I want to let them dothat.
Like, yes, I'm gonna make youpencil it out for me and we're
gonna look at you know how thatlooks.
Yeah, but I'm I'm not gonnahold you back.
The business was never eversupposed to be as big as it is.
And the only reason is it is isbecause we hired people that
(26:13):
had great ideas and we put upguardrails, but we let them run.
Stefanie Couch (26:18):
And it's cool that your grandfather really
started that.
I I can feel him in you, likeeven though you're trying to
like he was the person, likeyou're obviously the magnetic
personality there now.
And you have to have that inthe business, especially in a
retail or somewhere where peopleare coming in and in and out,
that's a big draw.
But you also talked about yourdad was had a real spirit of
(26:39):
ingenuity of saying if thebusiness isn't growing, it's
dying.
Yep.
And I strongly believe that aswell.
What now are you doing to thinkabout that?
Because it is a littledifferent with you know new
ownership and your innernation's best, but that spirit
has to still live on.
So, how what does that mean ifthe business is not growing,
it's dying?
What does that mean to you?
Jodie Brixey (26:59):
It just means that every day you walk in, you're
looking at it as how do Iimprove?
How do I make it better?
And that can look a lotdifferent, right?
Like, yes, do I haveaspirations that I'd love to get
in to feed and animals andbuild a whole nother barn?
And yeah, sure.
You can also do small things togrow every day.
You know, how do I keep mylines shorter today?
(27:20):
How do I get more add-on salestoday?
How do I pick somebody and findout, you know, something that
they really want to do, thatthey really want to improve on,
and how do I give them thatopportunity?
And it's just kind of havingthat mindset of every day you
walk in, how do I make it alittle bit better today?
And then sometimes you getslapped in the face with problem
after problem after problem.
But you wake up and you do itagain the next day.
(27:41):
Yeah.
And you have to be flexible.
It's it's always changing.
Stefanie Couch (27:45):
Yeah, it is definitely.
That's the only thing I knowfor certain is that it won't
stay the same.
You said that belief is yournumber one strength.
So I love Clifton strengths.
I'm a certified coach, so I I'mprobably more of a nerd about
this than most people.
Belief is something that thepeople that have that as a core
strength, which yours is numberone.
You usually have like a really,really strong North Star,
(28:06):
something that pushes you.
And I you're obviously a verydriven person.
What is that for you?
Jodie Brixey (28:11):
For me, it's my faith.
I don't want to sound clichewhen I say that, but for sure, I
come from a very uh family orfaith-oriented background.
Uh, and uh I believe that we'rewe're here for a bigger purpose
and we serve one God.
And uh, you know, the stores tome, deep down, are our mission
and a way to spread that.
(28:33):
Uh, they are a blessing.
We didn't create everythingthat's happened in our stores.
Yeah.
There is a bigger purpose thatis that is driving that.
And it is, I am just a stewardof that, and it's my
responsibility to share thatblessing with others, whether
it's my employees, my customers,the community.
Um it's it's a bigresponsibility, but it's a huge
(28:55):
blessing.
Stefanie Couch (28:55):
Having a purpose is the only thing I know that
keeps you going when it getsreally, really hard.
Yep.
And also when you think aboutthat, you could just say, hey,
and we're good, we're it'senough, that purpose keeps you
pushing past that, which I love.
Well, you are an exquisitewoman, and I am glad to have
been able to sit down with you.
(29:15):
And I'm excited to see what youdo next.
What when you think about twoquestions I'll ask you.
If you had to go back and talkto 25-year-old you or another
woman person that's in theindustry that's 25, what would
you say to them today?
What advice would you give tothem?
Jodie Brixey (29:34):
I would probably tell them to not lose sight of
yourself.
You know, in this industry, wetalk a lot about, you know,
women leaders in this industry,women in this industry.
Uh and and you see a lot, I Ifeel like you see a lot of women
trying to to fight their wayin.
Don't try to change yourself.
Don't give up who you are.
Just contribute differently.
(29:55):
Okay.
But know, but know your worth.
Like I have a completelydifferent set of talents than
most people, especially mostmen, right?
But that doesn't mean that I'mnot capable.
That doesn't mean that I don'thave a place.
It just means it's gonna lookdifferent.
But it's it's proven to be verysuccessful.
Just keep that in mind and umand be true to yourself.
(30:17):
Don't uh don't compromise.
You know, I I again belief ismy number one, and I have very
strong morals and ethics, and Iwon't ever compromise those.
Stefanie Couch (30:27):
I think you have a very strong sense of who you
are and where your North Staris, but I also I do think a lot
of people struggle, men andwomen struggle to not want to be
the thing that they see assuccessful already.
Yeah, what if you do it yourway though?
And that is the only way you'reever gonna be able to really be
who you are and fulfill yourown purpose is because you were
(30:49):
made this way for a reason.
Absolutely.
And I struggled it early in mycareer with that as well, trying
to look at what was above meand say, like, okay, well, I
should be like that, or andClifton Strengths actually
really enlightened me to thefact of like, oh, you lead with
influencing, you have all thesedifferent strengths that'll it's
the rarest, you know, thing tolead with.
And then I thought, well, Ican, I'm never gonna be like
(31:10):
them.
Jodie Brixey (31:11):
Yep.
Stefanie Couch (31:11):
And I just decided one day that I was just
done trying.
And then it was like the ideaof that wasn't in my mind
anymore.
So it wasn't a prison for me totry to like try to be this
thing I couldn't do anyway.
Jodie Brixey (31:23):
Yeah.
And I think as a whole, we tryto look at businesses and we try
to structure them and we try tofit boxes and people into
categories.
And it's it's harder to not dothat.
But again, you've got to lookat people and see where their
strengths are and empower themat what they're good at, and let
that is that is the secret tosuccess.
(31:44):
And it's taken me a lot ofyears to be where I'm at today,
but I don't I don't want to beanybody else than who I'm made
to be.
Yeah, and if that works for thecompany and if that works for
whoever I'm working for, great.
And if it doesn't, I'mperfectly capable of doing
something else.
But it took a long time to getthere.
Stefanie Couch (32:01):
I agree.
There's a certain type ofconfidence that the years of you
going through hard things havehas been able to build that in
you.
I can see that.
Well, the last question is whatexcites you most about the next
year or two?
And what are you fired upabout?
This can be personal or workrelated.
Jodie Brixey (32:16):
Hopefully, things not being so crazy.
Um, no, I can't ever have thatexpectation.
That I've I've said that toomany times, and I'm like, oh,
here we go.
Um there is no call, there is astorm, it's just another thing.
It's just a thing.
Yep, absolutely.
Um, you know, just my team, wewent through a pretty hard uh
summer with staffing, as youtalked about in the beginning of
this interview.
(32:36):
That sometimes it's it's bestto break it down and build it
back up.
Yeah.
Um, we lost some key people,assistant store managers.
Um, it was a rough summer, butI've got some new people in
place, and there is nothing morethan I love to start developing
people, like I said, learningwhat they want, what drives
them, and pretty much givingthem parameters to let that
(32:59):
happen.
Um it's it's just a beautifulthing.
Uh so I'm very excited aboutthat, just growing in any way
that we can.
Stefanie Couch (33:07):
That's amazing.
Well, I'm so thankful that youare here and that we got to sit
down in the most beautifulsetting, and we're gonna get to
go enjoy it out in the in thewild of Texas in a few hours.
So thank you for joining me onthe Grip Blueprint podcast.
And I hope to get to come seeyour store soon because they
sound really amazing.
And you said you sell women'sclothing, and I've already made
(33:28):
a mental note.
Oh, yeah, definitely.
Do you sell hats?
That's all I really need to do.
We do.
We do.
Okay, well, then I'm gonna booka one.
Okay, awesome.
Well, thank you for joining meon the grit blueprint podcast.
We will see you on our nextepisode.
Thank you for listening to theGrit Blueprint Podcast.
If this episode helped youthink a little differently about
(33:48):
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 gritblueprint.com tolearn more and book a call to
talk to us about your growthstrategy.
Until next time, stayunmistakable.
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