Get Out of Our Way So We Can Grow! – A Business Owner’s Plea – with David Mitchell – [Ep. 152]

Linda J. Hansen  

Welcome. Thank you for tuning in to this episode of the Prosperity 101 Breakroom Economics Podcast. My name is Linda J. Hansen. Your host and the author of Prosperity 101 - Job Security Through Business Prosperity: The Essential Guide to Understanding How Policy Affects Your Paycheck, and the creator of the Breakroom Economics online course. The book, the course, and the entire podcast library can be found on Prosperity101.com. I seek to connect boardroom to breakroom and policy to paycheck by empowering and encouraging employers to educate employees about the public policy issues that affect their jobs.

My goal is to help people understand the foundations of prosperity, the policies of prosperity, and how to protect their prosperity by becoming informed, involved, and impactful. I believe this will lead to greater employee loyalty, engagement, and retention and to an increased awareness of the blessings and responsibilities of living in a free society. Listen each week to hear from exciting guests and be sure to visit Prosperity101.com.

Thank you so much for joining with me today. You know, so many business owners are frustrated with government involvement in their business. Not only government involvement, but government intrusion, government oversight, and regulation without representation. And we find so many business owners who say they could grow their business, they could hire more people, they could provide more benefits more jobs, if government would get out of the way.

So, it's always great to hear from people who are in the trenches of owning and running businesses. And today I have a new guest, David Mitchell. David is the Owner and President of Metal Masters. Metal Masters is a custom stainless steel manufacturing company that specializes in equipment for the food and beverage industry. I'll let David tell you more about his background, but he has a long history in manufacturing and in running companies for private equity groups. His business background is quite remarkable, and his heart for America and heart for free enterprise limited government is very clear. And I'm sure his insights will be beneficial for us all today. So, thank you so much for joining with me today, David.

David Mitchell  

Well, Linda, thank you so much for having me. I'm honored to be on your program. As you mentioned, we are both patriots. We are both concerned about the future of America and where our country is headed and the freedoms that we seem to be losing on a daily basis. I have always been a patriot, though I do not call myself a Republican. I call myself a Constitutional Conservative and have called myself that for well over 20 years now.

But my background, basically, I've been running companies for over 20 years, all in the manufacturing space. I've run multiple companies. I've had hundreds of employees in my career, hired and fired, you know, dozens of employees over the years. And I have a very good background and a very good understanding of the challenges that we as business owners face in America today with our government and the overreach that they continue to take with us and with our freedoms, and the costs that they put on our businesses.

Linda J. Hansen  

Well, absolutely. And it isn't just taxes and things like that, taxes and fees, compliance fees, licensing fees, it's regulations. As I mentioned before, regulation without representation. And it can just strangle a business. And you know, even before COVID, we could see this happening with businesses all across America, you know, over time. But at the same time, there's policies that helped businesses to start booming.

In the Trump administration, there were policies that really helped business growth and development, and it was a very exciting time. And then now post COVID, we have this strangling of businesses and so many things by federal and state governments that just limit growth and prosperity. Over the years that you have been in business in so many different areas, I mean, obviously in manufacturing, so you’ve really seen the heart of the business world.

Through manufacturing, you have to touch retail, you touch food service, you touch, you know, all these different industries, transportation, everything depending on what you're manufacturing. But there is the rise and fall. So, over the years, can you tell us the things that have been most helpful for business growth and development, and in what years you felt that that was most beneficial?

David Mitchell  

Yeah. So, obviously, the things that are most helpful is when government basically gets out of our way and lets us do what we need to do. And that's in the form of cutting our payroll taxes. That's in the form of helping us find affordable healthcare insurance for our employees. That's in the form of keeping OSHA out of our businesses. You know, if you're not providing a safe workplace for your employees, you're not going to have employees very long.

So, you know, business owners, we care about our employees, we care about their safety, we care about their future. So, we're going to provide a safe workplace. We certainly don't need OSHA coming in and fining us for little ticky-tack stuff that they try to find so that they can fine us. So, I would say that really just cutting our taxes, payroll taxes, you know, and keeping OSHA out of our hair are some of the things that I've dealt with over the years that really have helped me when those things have been minimized. That's really helped me grow a business and help it be successful.

Linda J. Hansen  

And what are the things that have given you the most headaches and the most problem in terms of your bottom line?

David Mitchell  

Well, there again, I mean, you know, currently, we're in a period of extreme inflation, which really started, you know, under the Biden administration, though some of the spending did take place under Trump administration. But I still contend that had we not continued to release these huge spending bills, what do we do? We just pass the omnibus spending bill, another $1.7 trillion that did not need to be spent.

So, anytime we have these periods of inflation, which this is not transitory, it's here to stay. This is going to be a long slog. This is going to go on for many years. I am not able to raise my prices fast enough to my customers to keep up with the inflation of all the goods that I'm buying to produce the products that I am producing. That also includes I have to raise the wages of my employees to help them keep up with inflation, where they're not going to stay. They're going to go somewhere else where they can potentially get more money because they have to be able to survive in this inflationary period as well.

So, when the government – and the only way inflation happens is because the government causes it. We as consumers, we as business owners, we do not cause inflation. Governments cause inflation by overspending and devaluing our dollar. So, that's the biggest threat right now. With this type of inflation, I can't keep up and my margins just get crushed. And so, therefore, that doesn't allow me to have the additional profits that I need to buy new equipment, expand the shop, hire more employees because I don't have the extra funds available to do that.

So, this is a very challenging time. And unfortunately, it's going to be even more challenging, I believe, in 2023. Moving forward, I think we're heading into some historic times in America. You know, I hate to I hate to say it out loud, but I'm going to. I mean, I think what we're about ready to go through over the next six to eight years is going to be very similar to what people went through back in 1929, all the way through the 30s.

It's going to be unlike anything most people live today I've ever experienced. And it was 100% caused by our government. So, that's the biggest challenge that I face currently. It's probably the biggest challenge that I'll ever face in my career moving forward. I don't think we'll ever see, in my lifetime, another difficult economic time like we're about to go through. We'll never see that again in my lifetime. This is going to be a once in a generation event.

Linda J. Hansen  

You know, it's true. The government has caused this and it's the policies that makes such a difference. And you can see policies that help businesses grow, or policies that really impact the ability for a business to actually continue to grow, and like you mentioned, increase wages and things like that. I've told people, too, that things like mandatory minimum wage is like an unfunded mandate. You know, anytime you have an unfunded mandate on a state government, the state governments complain, right? Well, if you have an unfunded mandate to a business, it's really the same thing.

I mean, there's only so many things that you can cut costs with. You don't always have an opportunity to cut costs on your taxes or your utilities or, you know, your water bill or your insurance bill. These things you can try but you're limited, right? And one of the things that you can cut costs with is, you know, reducing the number of employees, and that makes it so hard.

We've seen it in businesses all over. You mentioned earlier, before we were even on record, is that, you know, people don't always have the help needed to conduct their business. How many of us have gone into a restaurant or a store lately that there's just not enough help? And, you know, we can't sustain businesses when government is, you know, really creating it to be impossible.

David Mitchell  

Absolutely, that's 100% correct. And you are exactly right where we wind up cutting costs by not hiring people and by letting people go. And that's what's going to start happening through 2023 and the next many years to come. Companies are going to start shutting employees, and we're going to have massive unemployment again, because that's the only way they're going to be able to cut their costs, to try to eke out a profit in this inflationary environment that we're in.

Linda J. Hansen  

What would you recommend for businesses to do to prepare for what you believe is ahead?

David Mitchell  

Conserve cash, make sure you've got a healthy line of credit and a great relationship with your bank, don't go out and spend money on things you don't really need for the business, really focus in on the things that you need, the core things that you need to keep your business going, make sure you've got a lot of available credit to you, make sure you've got credit cards that you can don't have a balance on them that you can use to purchase materials and purchase goods that you need to keep your business going.

Because in addition to the inflation, I think we're also going to see a slowdown in many sectors of the economy. Because as these prices get pushed higher, and you know, you mentioned utilities. I was just looking at my utility bills. My utility bills are up 40% year over year right now. And as a business, that's huge. That's a huge increase. And again, I can't go out and just, “Oh, I'm going to charge extra on this project, because I've got to make up.” No, I can't do that, or I won't get the project.

But as all of this starts affecting the consumer, right? When they're paying $5 a dozen for eggs, and their utility bills have gone up 40% to 50%. Eventually, they stop buying stuff. And they're going to do exactly what I'm telling business owners to do, which is to focus on the things that you need, the core things you need for your business. And the economy is just going to start contracting and contracting and slowing down. Because the only way you get out of a recession is by completely bringing the economy to a standstill, which means people aren't buying anything. There's massive unemployment. It's a very painful time.

And inflation doesn't just go away. It only goes away because people stopped buying stuff. And that's what's going to start happening over the next few years. I think, you know, people thought 2022 was, you know, a challenging year in some sectors, but it was great in other sectors. But 2023 is going to make 2022 look like it was nothing. 2023 is going to be very difficult. And I think 2024 is going to be worse than ‘23.

Linda J. Hansen  

Well, it's really good that you bring these thoughts up in terms of how people can prepare, you know, the way to prepare a business is the same way you would prepare a family. You would, you know, cut costs. You think about what you're really going to need. You know, what's the minimum? You know, I've joked before that when I go to the grocery store. I'm purchasing based on the Biden diet, you know. There's things I just don't buy anymore.

David Mitchell  

Right.

Linda J. Hansen  

You know, things that I just don't have in the house anymore, because they're not absolutely necessary for good health and nutrition. And so, I just don't buy them because everything is just too expensive. And I think that there's a lot of people going through that. And you mentioned eggs being $5 a dozen and in some parts of the country, they're like $7.50 or $795 a dozen. It's horrible. And you know, who would have thought it would be eggs, you know, that we couldn't afford?

And so, people really need to not only prepare personally, but they need to prepare their businesses and think through. You know, I think also multiple streams of income, you know. You mentioned having lines of credit and things, but thinking through multiple streams of income. You know, if you're a business owner, you don't depend on one customer, you know, or one major client, you know, you depend on several.

If you are, you know an employee even, you know, maybe don't even just depend on your employer. Figure out what else you can do to earn money on the side. You know, what else could you do? How could you be trained and to, you know, really thrive in a down economy? I mean, sometimes those can be good times for people, too, because they learn a new skill, or they find a way to meet a need that other people haven't met.

And, you know, with manufacturing, there's always something people need. So, I imagine that over the years, you've had to adapt many times. I mean, you've run many different companies, and you've been involved with the manufacturing industry for so long. I'm sure you've seen many companies have to adapt to changing economic cycles, correct?

David Mitchell  

Yes, absolutely. In fact, I've run those companies. I mean, you know, I was around in the ’07, ’08 recession. I was in the mining industry at the time. And, you know, we lagged a little bit, but ‘9 and ‘10 were very difficult years for us. And we did exactly that. We found customers outside of the mining industry that, you know, we could continue to have work in the shop. It wasn't the same level of work as we had before. But we still were able to keep some semblance of work going to the shop. It's exactly what I do here.

Now, the fortunate part for me is that most of my customers are in food and beverage manufacturing. So, this is not kitchen equipment. So, typically, even in recessionary periods, you know, the food and beverage industry is not as hard hit, because people are always going to eat and drink. Yes, they'll eat and drink different stuff, but they're going to have to buy food and drink of some sort. Right? So, we will have a downturn, but it won't be hopefully as bad as some suckers will be had.

Linda J. Hansen  

Absolutely.

David Mitchell  

I have a very diverse customer base, you know, not one customer is more than 5% to 10% of my business.

Linda J. Hansen  

Wise. That's very wise. Yeah. And do you think your employees understand what you go through as an employer?

David Mitchell  

Absolutely. I've always been very open with – you know, all the companies that I've run, I've always been an open book with the employees. I mean, I share the monthly financials, the high-level financials with the employees. You know, I talk about what it takes to make a profit. You know, they see all these parts going in and out of here, and they think about all this money coming in. And then I talked about all the costs involved, why it's so important that they work efficiently and not make mistakes.

So, I think by being very open with your employees about what it really takes to run and operate a business, they have a much better understanding, you know, for what the profit number is in comparison to what your top line is. And I think business owners who don't share that information, who aren't open about that, you know, they're doing their employees a disservice. And employees, you know, unless they're taught how it really works, they don't really have a good grasp about what it really takes to make a profit in a business.

Linda J. Hansen  

Absolutely. And you know, that's a great example. As I've done these podcasts, and I'm always asking people, “What would you recommend to employers so that they can help educate their employees about these issues?” You just gave some great recommendations and some great examples that you do yourself. What would you recommend to employers who also want to help their employees understand the freedoms that we have in America? And how important it is for them to be involved as citizens, understanding the Constitution, being able to vote responsibly, and not based on, you know, just headline news, but to be able to look at the issues and think about how all of those issues affect, you know, their daily life, including their job at your company.

David Mitchell  

So, what I've always done, again, it's about being open with your team. I've always been very open with the team in every company that I've run about my political views, which, obviously are very conservative, and talked about how and why I'm a conservative. Because a conservative, you know, at its core, a conservative believes that the government needs to be very limited, right? They need to have very limited things that they're in control of, and they need to allow us, the makers, to go out and help provide what society needs and in so doing, you know, we will provide jobs.

But what I really try to get employees to understand is that a business doesn't exist to employ people, right? A business exists to make a profit. So, that goes back to the financials. And what I really stress with them is that typically conservatives are going to be for less government intrusion. Right? And liberals are going to be for more government intrusion. And so, anything that we can do to vote conservative and to vote for those individuals that are going to support less government is what's going to help the business, allow us to be more profitable.

If we're more profitable, we can give more raises. We can give more bonuses. We can hire more people. We can grow the company. And as the company grows every – I've always been a big believer, that as the company grows and as the company becomes more profitable, in sharing the profits with the team, right? So, in the downtimes, you know, if I couldn't give my employees a raise, because we were slow, I'm certainly not giving myself a raise or a bonus either, right?

So – and I made them very aware of that, you know, that, “Hey, look. Yeah, you're right. I'm sharing this, too. I'm not getting a raise. I'm not going to bonus myself. But when times are better, you guys are all going to get raises. We're all going to get bonuses.” So that they understand that those things definitely have to be tied to the profitability of the company. And the only way to ensure that, you know, hopefully, is to continue to vote conservative and vote for those candidates that are for less government intrusion in our lives, you know, as a whole.

Linda J. Hansen  

Well, you just set a great example, in terms of employers. What would you say to the employer out there who is afraid to speak up? I mean, you've been very vocal, and it's great. I'm so glad you're on this interview. Because you're really giving some first-person examples of what you've done that has been successful.

And, you know, your business is still open. Your building has not been burned down. You haven't been, you know, picketed, silenced, you know, you've spoken up. And you know, so many employers think, oh, I can talk about those things in the workplace. But you can. It's just how you do it. You can't tell someone who to vote for. But you can tell them what policies will be helpful to them. What would you recommend to those employers out there who are scared to death to speak up right now?

David Mitchell  

Right. I would say that the way I've always done it, it's not like I hold a big meeting with all 60 guys or whatever I had at the time. It really comes down to building a personal relationship with your team, right? So, I'm a big believer in walking the floor every day, talking with your guys, getting to know your guys, not just as an employee of the company, but getting to know them as people and as contributors, not just to the company, but also to their own families, to their own communities, and to their own lives.

And so, once you build that relationship based on trust, where they know that you care about them as more than just an employee, you care about them as a person, you care about their families. Once you build that trust, then you can start talking openly about your beliefs, right? And why you believe the way you believe. Like I just put concealed carry allowed signs up on every entrance to my shop. And, you know, the guys are all excited and like, “Oh, wow, can we get our concealed carry?” I said, “Absolutely, I would love for all of you to carry at work.” 

And so, it really is – you got to build that part. You can't just hold a meeting and talk about it. You've got to build a personal relationship with your team so that you can have those one-on-one conversations with them because that's going to be much more meaningful than standing up there and, you know, talking about your philosophies or your views to, you know, in a group meeting. I don't think that's going to be effective at all.

Linda J. Hansen  

No. In every workplace, it’s different. And you have just really given a great example for how to create that relationship with employees. I've shared this quote so often. I swear I've shared almost every podcast interview, but it's from Dawson Trotman, the founder of Navigator Ministries, and he said, “They don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” And that is so true.

And you know, you have an opportunity to really get to know your staff, because, you know, you're in a facility where you all go every day. But for some business owners, they can't really, you know, get to know their employees on such a personal level. So, they have to show their care in some other way. So, there's, you know, employee intranet. There's things – I mean, I offer resources that can help people to just provide a basic education that says, you know, this matters to you, whether it's the online course I offer, or just simple posters to put up in their workplace.

I mean, it just helps people to think a little bit more, you know, and go beyond what the media narrative is to really think about how all of this affects their own personal life, their employer, you know, their community. It's very important. So, I really salute you for speaking up and being a vocal employer in terms of support of the values that you hold dear and the things that you know from experience actually will help your company, your country, your community, and of course, every individual family. So, I really appreciate that, and I hope – well, I don't hope, I'm sure that you have provided inspiration to other employers. So, thank you. If people want to get in touch with you, how would they do so?

David Mitchell  

The best way would be just to email me at my company, which is dmitchell@metalmasterswi.com if they want further information. And Linda, I want to thank you as well. You're doing phenomenal work helping business owners understand how critical it is that they get involved, and how they can get involved at a deeper level with their employees and help their employees understand the issues that we are facing. Not just as businesses and as individuals, but as a nation. You know, you're doing fantastic work out there, and I really appreciate what you're doing as well.

Linda J. Hansen  

Well, thank you so much. You know, it takes a team. Like we're all in this together. And I tell people that, you know, pick one thing that you can do. Pick one thing to help save our country and to protect freedom and prosperity for future generations. You know, we have kids. We have grandkids. We have, you know, future generations that really need to understand the blessings and responsibilities of living in a free society.

You know, we can't just expect government to provide everything. That government only gets money through a business, who provides income and provides taxes and pays employees, that then pay taxes. I mean, it's like it really only comes from a free enterprise capitalistic economy, and when we don't have that, everything falls. So, we need to keep that freedom. And within that, we have, you know, a lot of room for differing opinions and different political views, and everything. But if we lose that basis of freedom, and we ignore our Constitution, you know, we will all suffer. And it will take many, many, many generations to get it back. So, do you have any other closing comments for our listeners?

David Mitchell  

You know, just the one other aspect. I'm very open with my employees about my faith as well. So, I've been involved in a – we call it a CEO Bible Studies, but it's just a group of, I don't know, I think we're well over 100 men now that are all business owners or running or leaders of companies. And we read scripture every day. In fact, we read the Once-A-Day Bible for Leaders, which if you read it every day, you read the entire Bible in a year.

And we're in our 9th or 10th year now. And today was Day 16, obviously, so, you know, I'm up to date. I'm caught up. But again, I'm very open about that with my employees. They'll see me in the mornings in here reading, because I get in very early. And they're like, “What are you reading?” I'm reading scripture. You know, I'll let them know. And I'll talk about the meetings that I go to and the other men that, you know, because I take servant leadership very seriously.

I believe it's the only way to manage a business and to manage other people. Because, again, they got to know you care about them, right? So, again, that's just another aspect of being open with your employees. Don't be afraid to share your faith with them either, because that's also what we're called to do, right? In fact, that's our highest calling, actually, to share that aspect of our lives with all those that we know.

Linda J. Hansen  

That's so true. It is our highest calling. And, you know, people are surprised to learn that the Bible has a lot to say about how to run a business and how to run a government.

David Mitchell  

Amen.

Linda J. Hansen  

And the Judeo-Christian values that have been really implemented within our nation is what brought this freedom and prosperity. And, you know, a lot of people are searching now, too, whether you're an employee that may have an employer who's searching, or you are an employer who has employees who may be searching. The world is upside down and crazy right now. And people have gone through a lot. And they – there's, you know, everybody says, “It's your truth and my truth, and his truth, and their truth,” but there's really only one truth. And Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one cometh under the Father, but by me.”

David Mitchell  

Amen.

Linda J. Hansen  

And you know, he also really pointed people to loving one another and showing that kind of servant leadership that you show, and he exemplified that, you know. And blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. You know, when we have godly leaders in place, the nation rejoices. And that's what we need to seek for.

So, not only can we help employers and employees in the workplace to understand, you know, these principles but, you know, Principles of Economics and things. But we can help them to, you know, really understand some spiritual principles and we can pray for them that they may be open to such things because in the end, we all seek that peace with God and that peace with our fellow man. And it's great that you and your fellow business owners are putting first things first and putting the Lord in charge of your business and your life. So, thank you. Thank you for sharing that.

David Mitchell  

Amen. Thank you.

Linda J. Hansen  

All right. Well, thank you again, and I hope to have you back. So, I'm sure the listeners will really appreciate this. And again, it's Metal Masters and you can go to dmitchell@metalmasterswi.com if you'd like to get in touch with David. So, thank you, David.

David Mitchell  

Thank you, Linda. This was an honor and a pleasure.

Linda J. Hansen  

Same here. Thank you.

David Mitchell  

Have a great day.

Linda J. Hansen  

Thank you again for listening to the Prosperity 101 Podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, share, and leave a great review. Don’t forget to visit Prosperity101.com to access the entire podcast library, to order my newest book, Job Security Through Business Prosperity: The Essential Guide to Understanding How Policy Affects Your Paycheck, or to enroll you or your employees in the Breakroom Economics online course. You can also receive the free e-book, 10 Tips for Helping Employees Understand How Public Policy Affects Paychecks.

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