Podcast appearances and mentions of Ace Hardware

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You may just find a Cat managed Ace Hardware! You never know. TODAY ON THE SHOW, Julia's best friend is taking applications to be a PLUS ONE at a WEDDING! Also, Johnjay has a list of CELEBRITY HIDDEN TALENTS and we wanna know YOURS! Plus, GROUP THERAPY! WE HAVE A SERIOUS MATTER TO DISCUSS! We also had 2 contestants today that will make you cringe although we thank you for participating! If you are a FAN of LOUIS TOMLINSON or ED SHEERAN and you live in ARIZONA, be listening LIVE tomorrow and Friday morning for YOUR chance to win!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In episode 508 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Tyler Lusebrink, head of brand partnerships for retail media network RedVest Media at ACE Hardware, the world's largest hardware cooperative. Listen in as Lusebrink discusses retail media's rapid growth (1:20) and how measurement is shifting to decision-driven approaches with closed-loop outcomes and real-time optimization (3:00).…

05/21/26: Joel Heitkamp is joined by Nathan from Tioga Ace Hardware to learn more about his store. (Joel Heitkamp is a talk show host on the Mighty 790 KFGO in Fargo-Moorhead. His award-winning program, “News & Views,” can be heard weekdays from 8 – 11 a.m. Follow Joel on X/Twitter @JoelKFGO.)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For years, retail media networks have raced to prove they could operate like media companies — scaling ad platforms, expanding measurement capabilities and building full-funnel offerings for brands. That's all well and good, but Ace Hardware wants to make sure it doesn't lose sight of its core and unique offering.  On this episode of The Big Impression, Molly Hjelm, corporate VP and head of retail media at Ace Hardware, explains why embracing the unique advantages retailers already have — merchant relationships, localized inventory, customer trust and real-world shopping behavior — helps propel the media side of the business.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In frontline retail hiring, speed is everything. If the process is too slow, candidates take offers elsewhere, and stores are short-staffed, hurting both service and revenue. AI-powered automation is now helping some organizations close that gap, cutting hiring times, saving thousands of hours, and driving measurable financial value for the business.  The organizations seeing real results started with the problem, not the technology, because layering AI onto a process that isn't working only makes things worse. They also had to answer a question that rarely gets asked: how quick is too quick, and when does speed start to feel impersonal? The goal isn't to remove humans from the hiring process. It's to remove the noise so candidates reach the right people faster. My guests this week are Stef Nikitas, Director of Talent Acquisition at Ace Hardware, and Rachel Allen, Senior Director of Talent Acquisition at 7-Eleven. In our conversation, they share how they transformed frontline hiring with AI, the results it delivered, and where they chose to keep humans firmly in the process. In the interview, we discuss: Why speed matters in frontline hiring The danger of automating broken processes Leading with the problem, not the technology How quick is too quick? What remains human and why How automation improves the candidate experience Time savings and measurable business value Advice for TA on change management What does the future look like Follow this podcast on Apple Podcasts. Follow this podcast on Spotify.

How Ace Hardware Scaled to 100 Years with AI Can a century-old brand out-recruit Amazon? In this episode, Stef Nikitas and Kaleigh Burns from Ace Hardware join Chad and Cheese to discuss "Project Hurricane"—the total overhaul of their hiring process. They share how they transformed a $500k "flyers and softball" budget into a $4 million automated recruiting machine. Key Highlights: Who is this... Grace? The "Toy" Test: Differentiate or Die The 2-Minute App Stop "posting and praying" and start listening to how one of America's most iconic brands is winning the talent war through high-tech helpfulness. How did the Ace team manage the "culture shock" of introducing AI to a workforce with such long-standing tenure?

There's a tornado relief cookout today at ACE Hardware in Weston. More with Chris Conley on the WSAU Wisconsin Morning News.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we unpack the sudden leadership shakeup at the logistics giant following the resignation of FedEx's Chief Financial Officer. His abrupt departure raises critical questions on Wall Street regarding the ongoing integration of the company's express and ground networks and its long-term financial stability. Next, we discuss the dark side of trucking safety and the regulatory loopholes that allow shadowy operators to continuously endanger the public. We dive into a blockbuster CBS investigation where 60 Minutes exposed a notorious chameleon carrier network that evades federal oversight by repeatedly reincarnating under new identities. Finally, we explore the evolving battle for gig economy deliveries as the logistics platform rapidly expands beyond traditional food orders. Discover how Ace Hardware partnered with Uber Eats to transform its vast network of neighborhood stores into hyperlocal micro-fulfillment centers for rapid tool and hardware deliveries. Follow the FreightWaves NOW Podcast Other FreightWaves Shows Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of The Franchise Advisory Board Podcast, we dive into the evolving realities of franchise development, transparency, and what it really takes to build trust with today's candidates.A big thank you to our episode sponsor, ClientTether, for supporting conversations that help franchisors grow smarter and faster.This episode features a dynamic discussion with Colette Bell, whose journey from co-founding a handyman business in a garage to scaling and exiting a nationally recognized brand brings real-world perspective to the table. From early franchising days to becoming part of the Ace Hardware family, her story is packed with insights on growth, resilience, and staying grounded in your brand's roots.We explore how today's franchise landscape is shifting—where candidates are more informed, more cautious, and expecting deeper transparency. The Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) remains a cornerstone, but the conversation highlights how simply “checking the box” isn't enough anymore. Instead, brands are finding success by proactively educating candidates through video, data, and open access to real performance insights.A key theme? Transparency isn't a risk—it's a growth strategy. Brands that openly share financials, expectations, and even challenges are building stronger pipelines and attracting more aligned franchisees.We also unpack:Why slower, more thoughtful candidate journeys are actually a good thingHow emotional connection and trust are built before the first callThe power of franchisee referrals—and why they're more selective than everHow AI and data are reshaping how candidates evaluate opportunitiesWhy helping candidates self-select out early can save everyone time and resourcesAt its core, this episode is a reminder that franchise development isn't about pushing deals through—it's about guiding people to the right decision, faster and more honestly.If you're in franchising, this is a conversation you don't want to miss.Thanks for listening to the Franchise Advisory Board Podcast, where we explore the ideas, strategies, and people shaping the future of franchising.If you found today's episode valuable, please subscribe, rate, and share it with a fellow franchise leader. To learn more, connect with us on LinkedIn and Youtube.Until next time, stay curious, stay strategic, and keep building stronger franchise systems!

In this episode, we unpack the sudden leadership shakeup at the logistics giant following the resignation of FedEx's Chief Financial Officer. His abrupt departure raises critical questions on Wall Street regarding the ongoing integration of the company's express and ground networks and its long-term financial stability. Next, we discuss the dark side of trucking safety and the regulatory loopholes that allow shadowy operators to continuously endanger the public. We dive into a blockbuster CBS investigation where 60 Minutes exposed a notorious chameleon carrier network that evades federal oversight by repeatedly reincarnating under new identities. Finally, we explore the evolving battle for gig economy deliveries as the logistics platform rapidly expands beyond traditional food orders. Discover how Ace Hardware partnered with Uber Eats to transform its vast network of neighborhood stores into hyperlocal micro-fulfillment centers for rapid tool and hardware deliveries. Follow the FreightWaves NOW Podcast Other FreightWaves Shows Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, sponsored by Duvo and Mirakl.In today's Retail Daily Minute, Omni Talk's Chris Walton discusses:PepsiCo's Frito-Lay missed internal revenue targets by over a billion dollars two years running as $7 bags of Doritos pushed consumers to private-label alternatives, and now the company faces an uphill battle winning them back with price cuts that may not be enough given fresh macroeconomic pressures.Ace Hardware is bringing more than 3,700 locations across all 50 states to the Uber Eats platform, giving its locally owned franchisees on-demand delivery capability.Old Navy is said to be developing a new athleisure sub-brand called Old Navy Sport, potentially including a free-standing store format.The Retail Daily Minute has been rocketing up the Feedspot charts, so stay informed with Omni Talk's Retail Daily Minute, your source for the latest and most important retail insights.Be careful out there!

The CPG Guys are joined in this episode by Kim Lefko, SVP and Chief Marketing Officer at Ace Hardware, which has over 5,000 stores around the world with the majority of those stores independently owned and operated by local entrepreneurs. Follow Kim Lefko on linkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimlefko/Follow RedVest media on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/redvest-media/Follow RedVest Media online at: https://www.redvestmedia.com/Kim answers these questions: You've had a career that spans iconic brands like Weber and Graco before moving to the retail side at Ace. How did that journey shape the kind of marketing leader you are today—and what pulled you into hardware?What surprised you most when you moved from vendor to retailer?For people who don't live in the hardware world, what makes Ace fundamentally different from other national retailers?How does that hone your focus for marketing on behalf of Ace?Ace may not be the first retailer people think of when they hear ‘digital scale,' but you do have significant site traffic and an innovative app. How would you describe Ace's journey to digital maturity?With 75% of U.S. households within 15 minutes of an Ace store, how are you redefining convenience for your customers?The Elevate Ace format represents a $1B investment in reimagining stores. What does this teach brands about the future of physical retail?One of Ace's super powers, in my opinion, is the fact that you have loyalty data. Not all retailers have it, and it allows for a longitudinal view of customer behavior. What's your philosophy on loyalty?Molly Hjelm was on our Podcast in August, and she indicated that Retail Media at Ace was your executive vision and pitch. What was your vision behind launching RedVest Media, and why now?Ace has called itself a ‘late mover' to retail media. Why is that an advantage?What's the biggest thing CPG marketers misunderstand about hardware retail?Ace's purpose is ‘We exist to help others.' How do you ensure purpose drives decisions?CPG Guys Website: http://CPGguys.comFMCG Guys Website: http://FMCGguys.comSheCOMMERCE Website: https://shecommercepodcast.com/Rhea Raj's Website: http://rhearaj.comLara Raj in Katseye: https://www.katseye.world/DISCLAIMER: The content in this podcast episode is provided for general informational purposes only. By listening to our episode, you understand that no information contained in this episode should be construed as advice from CPGGUYS, LLC or the individual author, hosts, or guests, nor is it intended to be a substitute for research on any subject matter. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by CPGGUYS, LLC. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.CPGGUYS LLC expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or other damages arising out of any individual's use of, reference to, or inability to use this podcast or the information we presented in this podcast.

Ross is back. Jess is missing in action. And it was almost the shortest episode in Beat Around the Bench history because a tornado showed up and tried to end the whole thing early.That is not an exaggeration.But before nature launched its attack, Ross dropped a full debrief from his trip to London and Edinburgh and it is everything you want it to be. The man walked through 800 year old doorways. He stood inside Edinburgh Castle where actual kings and queens watched woodwork get installed that is still standing six centuries later. He described Gothic white oak carvings so intricate and so clean that Scottish carvers were literally shipped across the Atlantic to build out the lobbies of major buildings in New York and Chicago during the roaring twenties and that work is still up today without a single seam coming apart. Ross looked at it as a woodworker and said it would take him 30 years to get to the skill level of someone who was only five years into their apprenticeship.Meanwhile Colton jumped on a coat rack he built to prove Jess wrong about whether it would hold and it snapped immediately. So that is where we are.The episode also hits hard on food. Ross broke down haggis poppers flash fried and dipped in jalapeño stone ground mustard at a bar in Edinburgh. He ate lamb shank at a Greek restaurant in London where they told him to put down his fork and just use his hands. He found beignets at a Paris based bakery called Paul that were so good he had to stop himself from eating a dozen. He also confirmed that the sandwich culture in London is basically non existent which was genuinely distressing for a man who would eat sandwiches at every meal if nobody stopped him. The Sensational Sandwiches meetup did not happen by the way because Frazier was in Paris running a marathon and forgot to check his phone. So that chapter stays open.Back in the shop Colton ran through SharkBite push connect plumbing fittings and how he added a water spigot to the front of his house in about an hour by crawling under a pier and beam foundation with 14 bucks worth of parts and zero special tools. Ross dropped a Harbor Freight shutoff quick connect that lets you swap air tools without losing pressure and without launching anything across your shop at dangerous velocity. Colton gave Ace Hardware its flowers for specialty hardware bolts plus the legendary old guy named Greg who has been doing plumbing and electrical for 45 years and just works there because he likes it.And then the tornado warning hit. Ross had to shelter in place and the episode ended faster than a bull rider getting thrown in the first two seconds.This is Beat Around the Bench. Episode 139. Two and a Half Maples. Follow the show everywhere and keep Jess and Colton honest while Ross digs out from under the weather.woodworking podcast, Beat Around the Bench, Edinburgh Scotland woodworking, Scottish carvers, Edinburgh Castle, haggis, London travel, SharkBite plumbing, push connect fittings, air compressor quick connect, Harbor Freight, Ace Hardware, CNC coat rack, wood carving history, Gothic carving, Sensational Sandwiches, BATB, custom woodworking podcast, Jess Build It, Cold Crit, RNC Woodworking

This week on Own It, we're talking to Kimberly Eberl from The Motion Agency. Her firm is based in Chicago and helps clients like Ace Hardware, Whirlpool and more accelerate growth with results-driven creative. Their work and thinking is impressive, for sure. We talked about her journey from growing up in Cincinnati, to working for Harley Davidson, to founding Motion 20 years ago. She came up through the PR ranks, working at Weber Shandwick and Ogilvy among other firms along the way. We loved her thoughts on closing the gender gap in agency ownership and learned so much. You will too. You can find links to the LinkedIn profile for Kimberly Eberl and the agency website for The Motion Agency in our show notes at untilyouownit.com.  If you're enjoying Own It, please find it on your favorite podcast app and drop us a rating and review. Those help more people discover the show and join our community.  Also, if you're a female or non-binary agency owner, or you want to own an agency someday, join our growing community at that same address … untilyouownit.com.

John Wunderlich, President of Nyco Products Company, maker of Trax Buster, joins HouseSmarts Radio with Lou Manfredini to talk about the products you need to stock up on to tackle all of your spring-cleaning chores! After that long, cold winter, it's time to renew and refresh your home! Visit your local Ace Hardware store and ask […]

Season 4, Episode 10: Phil Lytle – a.k.a. Santa Phil – has a heart for giving back in this community. That is kind of ironic to say, because his actual heart was the culprit behind this life-changing transformation. It was a health scare and a brush with death that inspired Santa Phil to start spreading joy across Melissa, Texas. Whether that's greeting customers at Ace Hardware, putting out flags for the Rotary Club or participating in one of the city's citizen's academies ... he's determined to be a light in this community. We even asked him if he thought he was a blessing to Melissa, Texas. Listen to this episode of The Front Porch to hear his drop-the-mic response. #frontporchLinks:Ace Hardware Melissa: WebsiteMelissa Rotary: WebsiteCity of Melissa: WebsiteMusic: https://www.purple-planet.com

What does real transformation actually look like in the financial advisory business? In this first episode of the Transformer Series, we sit down with Frank Rekas, a Magellan Network member who has reshaped both his business and his mindset after more than 30 years in the industry. From managing an Ace Hardware store at 22 to navigating lean years, market crashes, leadership roles, and ultimately making the leap to independence, Frank shares the honest story behind the growth. This conversation explores the moments most advisors do not talk about, almost quitting, running out of money, questioning direction, and realizing that success requires reinvention. Frank explains how he discovered his niche organically by analyzing his own client base, why he chose to focus on law firm owners, and how that clarity accelerated his momentum. We also discuss the realities of leadership roles, leaving a major firm, building a mastermind group that has lasted since 2019, and using LinkedIn strategically without being salesy. Most importantly, this episode highlights why coaching, accountability, and long term commitment are often the difference between staying stuck and truly transforming. If you are serious about growth, independence, and building a practice aligned with your values, this is a conversation you do not want to miss. Learn more at https://magellannetwork.net #FinancialAdvisor #WealthManagement #RIA #AdvisorGrowth #PracticeManagement #MagellanNetwork #FinancialPlanning #Entrepreneurship

It's officially Key West Invitational Week! Bear and Jenn Holeman stopped by the podcast last week to talk a little about the event and of course that great Key West fishing. Last week also wrapped up another Ace Hardware Trades Show, hear Heath tell Candace about some of the best places to stop in Kentucky for Cuban food and why mustard really is a great binder. There is a lot packed into this week's episode of the Shootin' The Que podcast!00:00 - Start03:00 - Weather and Fishing Conditions06:04 - WSauce Growth and Market Trends08:57 - Bear's Fishing Journey and Industry Insights14:53 - Impact of Technology on Fishing Practices19:05 - Key West Invitational Changes and Enhancements29:00 - Ace Hardware Trade Show23:25 - Eating Chicken At The Eagle37:00 - Who's Who At The Ace Trade Show42:00 - The Great Binder Debate46:00 - Cuban Food At La Bodeguita De Mima52:25 - Sidebar At Whiskey Row59:00 - Changes For Next Ace Trade ShowJoin our online BBQ community "Shootin' the Que" on Facebook. Talking all things BBQ! https://www.facebook.com/groups/shootinthequeheathriles/Follow Heath Riles BBQ:https://www.heathrilesbbq.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeathRilesBBQInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathrilesbbq/Twitter: https://twitter.com/heathrilesbbqTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@heathrilesbbqPinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/heathrilesbbq6901/Heath Riles BBQ Products: https://www.heathrilesbbq.com/collections/allMerch: https://www.heathrilesbbq.com/collections/merchandiseMore Heath Riles BBQ Recipe Videos: https://www.youtube.com/@HeathRilesBBQ/videosPrintable recipes at 'Shootin' The Que' recipe blog: https://www.heathrilesbbq.com/blogs/favorite-recipesAffiliate Disclaimer: Some of the links in this description are affiliate links where we may earn a small commission if you use them. This is no additional cost to youHeath Riles, pitmaster• 81x BBQ Grand Champion,• 2022, 2024 & 2025 Memphis in May World Rib Champion • 2025 Memphis in May Grand Champion • Award-Winning Rubs, Seasonings, Sauces, Glazes and Marinades/Injections#podcast #keywest #bbq #food #fishing #bourbon #acehardware #cubanfood #mustard #heathrilesbbq

Joey’s birthday was yesterday, and he got several gifts; a fruit cake from Karly and Nancy, two oranges from our coworker Peggy, and two bags of winto-green mints from his friend Jamie. Nancy’s son is having to miss school due to his broken arm, and he is supposed to be doing work on his laptop The teachers haven’t loaded any of the work yet, and Nancy told him not to email them about it... she didn’t want to have to help him with the school work. Colin Jost, a cast member from SNL, went down a bobsled track with an experienced driver. He said he had never been so terrified, and he thought he was going to die. We talked about moments in our lives where we felt that way. Hot Tea: Jelly Roll and his wife want to have twins via surrogate and IVF. The grandson of the creator of Reese’s Cups is claiming that Hershey is changing the recipe and dishonoring his grandfather. A dog chased two skiers down the Olympic ski slopes last night. Nancy’s son Ben goes to the doctor today for his arm. He has to get it set, and he isn’t going to be given any medicine for pain. Nancy is making her husband go with them so he can hold Ben down while the doctor does it. As Seen On TikTok: Ace Hardware pies are going viral. Ace Hardware stores in California and Nevada are selling a brand of frozen pies, and people are obsessed with them. Lucky 7 for $50 to Farmacy Joey booked a charter fishing trip for his family’s trip to San Diego. His kids are super excited, but his wife is nervous. She said that the captain could be a murderous pirate. Joey and the kids have been making fun of her by saying pirate references like “Aye aye matey!” Nancy gave a keynote speech at a ceremony and completely winged it. Joey is baffled by how she can do it without preparing. We tested her abilities by having her speak on random topics. Group Therapy: My Friend’s Wife is Planning Him a Surprise Birthday Party, but He Hates Surprises. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joey’s birthday was yesterday, and he got several gifts; a fruit cake from Karly and Nancy, two oranges from our coworker Peggy, and two bags of winto-green mints from his friend Jamie. Nancy’s son is having to miss school due to his broken arm, and he is supposed to be doing work on his laptop The teachers haven’t loaded any of the work yet, and Nancy told him not to email them about it... she didn’t want to have to help him with the school work. Colin Jost, a cast member from SNL, went down a bobsled track with an experienced driver. He said he had never been so terrified, and he thought he was going to die. We talked about moments in our lives where we felt that way. Hot Tea: Jelly Roll and his wife want to have twins via surrogate and IVF. The grandson of the creator of Reese’s Cups is claiming that Hershey is changing the recipe and dishonoring his grandfather. A dog chased two skiers down the Olympic ski slopes last night. Nancy’s son Ben goes to the doctor today for his arm. He has to get it set, and he isn’t going to be given any medicine for pain. Nancy is making her husband go with them so he can hold Ben down while the doctor does it. As Seen On TikTok: Ace Hardware pies are going viral. Ace Hardware stores in California and Nevada are selling a brand of frozen pies, and people are obsessed with them. Lucky 7 for $50 to Farmacy Joey booked a charter fishing trip for his family’s trip to San Diego. His kids are super excited, but his wife is nervous. She said that the captain could be a murderous pirate. Joey and the kids have been making fun of her by saying pirate references like “Aye aye matey!” Nancy gave a keynote speech at a ceremony and completely winged it. Joey is baffled by how she can do it without preparing. We tested her abilities by having her speak on random topics. Group Therapy: My Friend’s Wife is Planning Him a Surprise Birthday Party, but He Hates Surprises. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ben & Woods kick off the 9am hour by checking in with Spring Training Sammy Levitt fresh off this morning's media scrum with Padres manager Craig Stammen. Then the guys pay off something they discussed on yesterday's show, and we try a bite of the infamous Ace Hardware apple pie before we discuss some new details on how the ABS system will be used in Major League Baseball, and we spin the topic wheel a couple of times to wrap up the week! Listen here!

Kruser takes your calls on FCPS student-led walkouts over ICE occupation and LEX18's Bill Meck joins the show to talk about ACE Hardware stores are now selling take-and-bake pies. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dave and Chuck the Freak talk about checking in with Jason, Italy's Ice Queen's Olympics bouncy ass compilation, farmer who got his butt kicked by kangaroo gives first interview, amazing foods that people think are overrated, update on the guy who was detained in Nancy Guthrie investigation, elderly woman kidnapped for ransom, man charged with attacking several women on dates, parking spot fights, investigation into explosive devices at an old guy's house in The Villages, coach collapsed during basketball game, update on kid who swam for 4 hours to save family lost at sea, online retailer makes it hard for Dave to make return, update on the Olympian who admitted to cheating on GF during interview, Olympics update, Lindsey Vonn latest surgery, NBA suspends players for Pistons vs Hornets fight, new sprot where competitors run straight into each other, RIP James Van Der Beek, court date for Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, Michael Douglas to publish memoir, Gene Simmons complaining about rappers inducted into Rock Hall, pantsless mayor at city hall, guy arrested for stealing beehive, woman swallowed a spoon, massive rats take over family's home, unexpected dating scene at Medieval Times, sextinction, drunk guy fell off e-bike in front of cops, woman is repeat property squatter, woman threatened to assault airline employee on flight, guy had to sign NDA to return item to Lowe's, average person falls passionately in love twice in life, Space X sifting focus to moon base, Ace Hardware pies, and more!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Lazlo and Chacho are ignoring doctors' advice. Lazlo gives expert advice on how to get Slims' wife out of the, “Why don't you have kids?” questions. Ace Hardware has AMAZING pies. With all of this Epstein and abduction news, did we forget about Minnesota? Lazlo has a heated opinion about the Norwegian who admitted to cheating on his girlfriend. RIP James Van Der Beek. Stream The Church of Lazlo podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts!

Climate change, Ace Hardware pies, and the simple life!- h2 full 2200 Thu, 12 Feb 2026 22:01:59 +0000 t5l3w3MyaUrUdgUziem1UVwHwSDN3VD7 comedy,religion & spirituality,society & culture,news,government The Dave Glover Show comedy,religion & spirituality,society & culture,news,government Climate change, Ace Hardware pies, and the simple life!- h2 The Dave Glover Show has been driving St. Louis home for over 20 years. Unafraid to discuss virtually any topic, you'll hear Dave and crew's unique perspective on current events, news and politics, and anything and everything in between. © 2025 Audacy, Inc. Comedy Religion & Spirituality Society & Culture News Government False https://player.amperwavepodcastin

In today’s edition of Nina’s What’s Trending, we break down the biggest headlines you need to know — from a landmark social media addiction trial to one of the most unexpected TikTok food trends yet. Instagram’s head has taken the stand, Mark Zuckerberg is scheduled next, and a major lawsuit is questioning whether platforms like Facebook and Instagram are intentionally designed to be addictive. Could this trial change the future of social media, mental health, and big tech as we know it? Plus, people are placing wild bets online about the end of the world (yes, really

A beehive thief was busted as a result of police sting operation, Polymarkets say Bets on Christ's return jump on bets that bests on Christ's return will jump, So, Ace Hardware store in California and Nevada are selling pies that are supposed to be amazing...why can't we have nice things here in the eastern part of the country?

Ace Hardware is selling pies that people swear are AMAZING - so we want to known where your hidden gems are! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We started things off today by talking about a brawl that broke out at a pickleball match! The Kurt Cobain homicide theories are back in a big way, kids are now using AI to make fake IDs, and the medals keep breaking at the Olympics! ACE Hardware is suddenly in the pie business, and we got a listener email from a woman with a dilemma at work with a friend! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To Own or Not to Own? That is the question. And who better to help answer that question than Dean Vicha, President of NationaLease. Who is NationaLease? How about one of the largest full-service commercial truck & trailer leasing organizations in North America? Founded in 1944, it is a member-owned network of over 100 independent businesses operating more than 1,000 service locations across the United States and Canada.As Dean would say, think the Ace Hardware of heavy duty leasing industry. With over 100,000 pieces of power & 85,000 trailers, Dean & the team at NationaLease know a thing or two about helping incredible brands safely deliver freight on time & undamaged. This program is brought to you by DAT Freight & Analytics. Since 1978, DAT has helped truckers & brokers discover more available loads. Whether you're heading home or looking for your next adventure, DAT is building the most trusted marketplace in freight. New users of DAT can save 10% off for the first 12 months by following the link below. Built on the latest technology, DAT One gives you control over every aspect of moving freight, so that you can run your business with speed & efficiency. This program is also brought to you by our newest sponsor, GenLogs. GenLogs is setting a new standard of care for freight intelligence. Book your demo for GenLogs today at www.genlogs.io today!

Would you like access to our advanced agency training for FREE? https://www.agencymastery360.com/training Do you feel you're giving everything to your agency and only getting exhaustion as a result? Agencies grow best when they're built around clarity, empathy, and self-awareness. Whether it's pricing, boundaries, team management, or AI, the common thread is intention. Today's featured guest understands that you don't need to hustle harder. You need to design smarter, around who you are, how you work best, and what kind of business you actually want to run. She'll share her perspective on agency growth, self-awareness, leadership, and how AI should actually be used inside a modern agency and provide a real look at what it takes to build an agency that's profitable, human, and sustainable without losing yourself in the process. Ingrid Schneider is the CEO and founder of Stay in Your Lane, a fractional CMO and franchise development agency, and Train in Your Lane, an AI education company helping teams build real AI intuition. What started as fractional work after being laid off during the pandemic has grown into a 16-person team running full marketing departments, launching brands, building LMS platforms, and training companies like Ben & Jerry's and Ace Hardware on how to actually use AI to solve problems. In this episode, we'll discuss: Going from survival mode to self-worth: pricing and confidence. How to set boundaries and protect your brain. Design an agency that energizes you, not drains you. Managing people, not just performance with a human-first approach. Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio Sponsors and Resources This episode is brought to you by Wix Studio: If you're leveling up your team and your client experience, your site builder should keep up too. That's why successful agencies use Wix Studio — built to adapt the way your agency does: AI-powered site mapping, responsive design, flexible workflows, and scalable CMS tools so you spend less on plugins and more on growth. Ready to design faster and smarter? Go to wix.com/studio to get started. Building an Agency on Trust and Integrity Ingrid doesn't come from a tidy, linear career path. After being laid off as a CMO during the pandemic, she made the decision to not work for anyone else again. She started doing fractional CMO work to replace her salary, focusing on trust, authenticity, and doing the work well. What began as a solo operation three and a half years ago is now a full team serving a wide range of clients. Some rely on Ingrid's team to run their entire marketing department. Others bring them in for focused, fractional engagements. The growth didn't come from aggressive sales tactics—it came from being reliable, human, and honest about what they were good at. Learning Your Worth and Unlearning Survival Mode When Ingrid landed her first client, she charged $3,000 a month for two brands. And that client still complained about pricing. Like many agency owners, she was focused on replacing her salary, not building a business. Survival mode has a way of shrinking your sense of value. Learning her worth didn't come from a pricing spreadsheet. It came from personal work deconstructing old beliefs, recognizing her own capabilities, and understanding the impact she could have on others. Ingrid talks openly about how her upbringing and past experiences shaped her tendency to underprice herself and overextend. As her confidence grew, so did her standards. She began collecting people with grit, sometimes hiring for attitude over experience, and building a team she trusted deeply. The biggest lesson for her was: if you don't believe in your value, your pricing, and your agency, will reflect that. Preventing Agency Burnout: How to Set Boundaries Running a business can be incredibly stressful, which is why many owners can relate to being in fight or fly mode all the time. However, this is the worst thing for both your health and your business because chronic stress will affect your brain and get you to a point known as "flipping your lid." According to Ingrid, this term, which she learned from Dr. Daniel Siegel, describes what happens when stress pushes you into fight, flight, or freeze. Logic goes offline. Creativity disappears and everything feels harder. For agency owners, this shows up as exhaustion, impatience, and bad decisions, and healing will mean confronting the reality that you can't run a business well if your body and brain are in survival mode. In her case, Ingrid found healing by emphasizing boundaries as a leadership responsibility. Knowing where your value is best served, trusting your team, and recognizing when their lids are flipped allows you to lead with empathy instead of pressure. The agency doesn't need a burned-out hero. It needs a regulated, self-aware leader. Designing an Agency That Energizes You, Not Drains You This is a lesson that agency owners that currently feel miserable with their business and wanting to give up should learn. Drawing your boundaries will look different to everyone, but you can start by asking yourself what you want to do every day and what you never want to do again. Just draw a circle on a piece of paper and start writing. Inside: the work that gives you energy. Outside: everything that drains you. You'll see that most likely what you need is to redesign your agency around this. You can't be all things to all people. Agency that try usually end up miserable and unprofitable. Wins and losses both matter, but only if you're paying attention to what they're teaching you. Topline revenue means nothing if you hate how you're earning it. Sustainable growth comes from aligning what's good for the business with what actually fills your cup. That alignment is what keeps agencies alive long-term. Managing People, Not Just Performance with a Human-First Approach As an empath, Ingrid leads with a people-first approach rooted in Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI). When something goes wrong, she looks at three things in order: herself, the system, and then the person. Are expectations clear? Do they have the resources they need? Is she showing up with patience? Perfectionism isn't the goal in her agency because perfection is stressful, unrealistic, and unnecessary. Instead, the focus is on doing really good work while protecting the team's mental energy. This is where AI comes in, not as a shortcut for thinking, but as a way to remove the minutia that burns people out. This has been the case for Ingrid, who enjoys managing people. If this is not your case, then focus on hiring people who can manage themselves. But remember you have to learn to let go if you want a self-managing team. There are countless ways to reach the same outcome and speed isn't always the metric that matters most. Sometimes the "slow" work produces the best results. Using AI to Empower Teams, Not Create More Noise Ingrid's approach focuses on education and the fact that everyone should be training their AI intuition to be able to understand how an AI tool works and how it could help them. She trained her own intuition by changing her social media algorithms to feed her AI micro-learnings. From there, it became about application: looking at every agency task and asking, Can AI help solve this better? Her team runs weekly "show and tell" sessions where they demo how they used AI to solve real problems. There's also an AI policy but it's framed as a permission slip, not a rulebook. Team members can experiment with tools on a company card, and if they prove value, the agency commits. The bigger point is this: if you're not empowering your team to use AI thoughtfully, you're holding them back. This isn't about pumping out more content—it's about freeing up human brains to do the work that actually matters. Do You Want to Transform Your Agency from a Liability to an Asset? Looking to dig deeper into your agency's potential? Check out our Agency Blueprint. Designed for agency owners like you, our Agency Blueprint helps you uncover growth opportunities, tackle obstacles, and craft a customized blueprint for your agency's success.

Crews working to clear roads from ice and snow, hope sunshine and temperatures in mid-30s will help; Chamber reminds residents to be sure to visit local restaurants and others after thaw; it's National Catholic Schools Week, Sacred Heart's Day of Giving is Wednesday; Senator Breeanne Davis of Russellville discusses bipartisan effort to pass maternity leave act for teachers; area games canceled or postponed; we visit with local retailer Brian Porterfield of Ace Hardware about effect of ice on business.

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Michael dives into the Somali daycare scam, election vouching insanity, and why small businesses like Ace Hardware are fighting for survival. Plus—Blockbuster nostalgia, Coca‑Cola’s greatest commercial, and the truth behind mental‑health PTO.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Smart Franchising, Dan Rowe sits down with Navin Nagrani and Al Bhakta of CMG Companies to reveal how eight partners built one of the largest independent multi-unit, multi-brand franchisee operations in America—with over 600 locations across KFC, Taco Bell, Sonic, Little Caesars, Ace Hardware, Valvoline, Tide Laundromat, and more. Starting with a single Genghis Grill that had zero customers on opening night, they've mastered the art of acquiring underperforming assets and turning them profitable through relentless execution, smart incentives, and empowering existing talent.Al and Navin discuss why 80% of turnaround success comes from motivating the people already in place, their "Lindy Effect" strategy of betting on established brands with moats, why they'd rather be top franchisees than franchisors, and the critical importance of unit economics over growth for growth's sake.This conversation is packed with tactical advice on acquisitions, talent development, equity partnerships, and building generational wealth through franchising—perfect for aspiring and established franchisees alike.

The journey into talent acquisition is rarely linear, and this episode brings that to life as host Ryan Dull sits down with Stef Nikitas, Director of TA at Ace Hardware Corporation, to explore her global career path and the transformation of TA at one of the most recognized brands in retail. They discuss the unique recruiting challenges created by Ace Hardware's cooperative store model, the evolution of TA operations over the past decade and how Stef has driven major initiatives in process design, technology, data and candidate experience. She also reflects on how COVID accelerated change, why quality must replace quantity in hiring and how AI and automation continue to reshape the TA landscape.Key Takeaways:00:00 Introduction.02:34 Stef fell into TA after a three-year HR apprenticeship in Germany.07:01 Ace Hardware stores are independently owned and operated.09:53 Hiring was siloed, driving the need to centralize TA.11:56 Peak season becomes “speed dating” to hit staffing levels fast.15:16 Grace, their chatbot, automates candidate care and keeps applicants engaged.18:17 TA shifted from volume metrics to a deeper focus on quality of hire.22:07 The career site was relaunched, and AI helped realign recruiter levels.25:43 Be a sponge, say yes often and own your development.Resources Mentioned:Stef Nikitashttps://www.linkedin.com/in/snikitas/Ace Hardware Corporation | LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/acehardwarecorp/Ace Hardware Corporation | Websitehttp://www.acehardware.comThis episode is brought to you by Sagemark HR.Sagemark HR can help you:✔ Improve your talent practices and make better, more informed people decisions.After 20+ years of experience leading Recruiting and Talent Acquisition across a wide variety of industries, I've seen enough hires (over 100,000 to date) to know that hiring decisions truly can make or break an organization.✔ Identify opportunities to not only improve your talent practices, but also delivering tangible business results.We understand every organization is different, and there's no one-size-fits-all magic solution. So we listen first and identify the gaps and sticking points in your current process before ever recommending a solution.✔ Bridge the gap from “traditional” to modern recruiting, without the painful learning curve.We believe recruiting, talent, and HR technology is a deep well of untapped business potential, and our mission is to help you identify and implement those hiring tools in a way that works for you.If you're interested in learning more, you can reach me at:www.sagemarkhr.com✉ ryan.dull@sagemarkhr.com#Talent #Recruiting #HRTech

Happy New Year! EZ off till Monday,1/5/26. Enjoy two Patreon encore "Who Are These Free Beers?" shows.Show Notes from ep 10: Thin Skin*Dad Free Beer was away for court or something else, so the crew had to soldier on without "The Burn King", and boy did they!  Ben Glaze takes a deep dive on the on-air brainstorming/ workshop that the crew had, to determine weirdo rules for their trivia game that everyone hates.  *What the gang settled on showed some real proof about "how they've grown."*It wouldn't be an episode of "WATFB?" if we didn't get assurance that Greg "was just kidding."*HW and FB butted heads over something silly.  It seems the "3 on 1" formula with some mild ball- busting was all Greg could handle, and he raged out on HW.Show Notes from ep 11: Hair Today, Gone TomorrowIn this show:*EZ and Ben unpacked Free Beer's new hair style.*Ben parked on a cool segment that the crew did that had FB asking the gang questions like: "How often do you make your bed?" and "How often do you take a shower" and "How often do you brush your teeth?"  Also, there's a plot twist that Ben reveals at the end of this hot topic.*The gang "goes to Funco Town" with a cute story about Free Beer's kid liking Funco Pops. Meanwhile, Kelly goes to "Crispy R Town."*Once again, Free Beer keeps it between the lines by letting the world know that, "he's just kidding."*The multi-talented Maitland doses us with a killer line that leaves the room gasping for air with laughter.*Kelly shocks Steve, who's disgusted with her potty-talk. Interestingly, Kelly's line was actually pretty damn funny! Props!*EZ featured a classic FBHW "joke tag" moment. We explain what "joke tagging" is and you'll see a great example of it in this chuckle-war with the subject being "treats at my local Ace Hardware."*We've added a couple more entries to our FB, "I'm just kidding" montage.Our Sponsors:* Check out Secret Nature and use my code ZANE for a great deal: https://secretnature.comSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-eric-zane-show-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from making a smoothie using a cordless drill. Dr. Don - not risky

Former Major League Baseball pitcher, Steve Trachsel and Chef Jason Morse with help from pitmaster, Doug Scheiding, sling a heaping helping of baseball and barbecue talk on episode 323 Steve Trachsel was a Major League pitcher for 16 years.  Known primarily for his time with the Chicago Cubs and the New York Mets, he also played for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, the Toronto Blue Jays, and the Baltimore Orioles.  He first joined us on episode 127 and then again on episode 143 during which he discussed a masterful gem he threw against the Boston Red Sox as he outdueled Pedro Martinez.  In this appearance we discuss the game he pitched on August 26, 2005 as he returned to the rotation after an injury and beat the San Francisco Giants 1-0.  The one run was supplied by David Wright's solo home run in the second inning.  Steve is a huge fan of barbecue and we are joined by Pitmaster, Doug Scheiding as all of us talk baseball and barbecue.  Chef Jason Morse aka Chef J had his first experience grilling and smoking meats when he was a Boy Scout.  His passion was further stoked during childhood visits to the Hawaiian island of Kauai, where his grandfather served in the U.S. Army, exposing him to a culture that honors fire-smoked cuisine.  As a teenager, Jason was frying up tortillas at a Mexican restaurant and honing his knife skills at a steakhouse in the suburbs of Minnesota.  Jason then pursued a culinary degree at Johnson & Wales University.  Chef J serves as Ace Hardware's national chef spokesperson and BBQ expert.  He also runs a culinary consulting business, 5280 Culinary.  He has led Colorado Proud campaign initiatives to promote the quality of locally produced meats and agriculture.  Chef J led a healthy cooking education program for nearly 70,000 Denver, Colorado kids. His service earned him an invite to help launch a White House initiative called the ‘Chefs Move to Schools‘ program, impacting millions of kids in their knowledge of nutritious cooking.  He is also the proud founder of Chef J's BBQ Provisions, a line of flavor-packed products that elevate his inventive BBQ recipes and can be found at Ace Hardware stores.  For more information on Chef Jason Morse go to https://chefjasonmorse.com/ We recommend you go to Rogue Cookers website, https://roguecookers.com/ for award-winning rubs, Chef Ray Sheehan's website, https://www.raysheehan.com/ for award-winning saucess, rubs, and cookbooks, Baseball BBQ, https://baseballbbq.com for special grilling tools and accessories, Magnechef https://magnechef.com/ for excellent and unique barbecue gloves, Cutting Edge Firewood High Quality Kiln Dried Firewood - Cutting Edge Firewood in Atlanta for high quality firewood and cooking wood, Mantis BBQ, https://mantisbbq.com/ to purchase their outstanding sauces with a portion of the proceeds being donated to the Kidney Project, and for exceptional sauces, Elda's Kitchen https://eldaskitchen.com/ We conclude the show with the song, Baseball Always Brings You Home from the musician, Dave Dresser and the poet, Shel Krakofsky. We truly appreciate our listeners and hope that all of you are staying safe. If you would like to contact the show, we would love to hear from you. Call the show:  (516) 855-8214 Email:  baseballandbbq@gmail.com Twitter:  @baseballandbbq Instagram:  baseballandbarbecue YouTube:  baseball and bbq Website:  https//baseballandbbq.weebly.com Facebook:  baseball and bbq     Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Skip Richter answers your questions all morning long!

This is one of the first exercises for developing your constitution for 2026. You could take some time to examine what values means, and look at some of the values. This is a nice list from Brené Brown of values that we may look forward to developing. It's not necessarily values we have now, but it just means what we consider worthwhile, where we'd like to put our attention. You know, the word "worship? It originally comes from where the word "worth", and when you put "-ship" on the end of something, it turns into a noun. And over time, "worth-ship" morphed into "worship." So what we consider value is that place where we worship. What are the values? Now I'll just give another element to this: All of these values are metaphysical. How will you measure empathy? You can't do it empirically. Empirically, you can't go to Ace Hardware and get a meter that measures empathy. You can judge how generous somebody is, but you don't know how much they have, so are they being really generous? These values are intrinsically metaphysical; they are beyond the physical world. So looking at them, feeling them, feeling separation from them, wanting to develop them, this is also part of spiritual development. When we become aware of the plethora of values that are available for cultivation, we can uplift our spirit, our spiritual part of life, by becoming aware of them. ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #successsadhana #spiritualvalues #goalsetting #spiritualawakening #soul #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife #spiritualgrowthlessons #secretsofspirituality #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepowerofspiritualstudy #selfrealization #spirituallectures #spiritualstudy #spiritualquestions #spiritualquestionsanswered #trendingspiritualtopics #fanthespark #spiritualpowerofmeditation #spiritualteachersonyoutube #spiritualhabits #spiritualclarity #bhagavadgita #srimadbhagavatam #spiritualbeings #kttvg #keepthetranscendentalvibrationgoing #spiritualpurpose

In this episode of That Don't Sound Right, Peter and Cecil dive into creative retirement ideas and side gigs that keep life interesting long after the 9–5. From owning a tow truck and hauling cars to working at Ace Hardware, charging Lime scooters, running a food truck, grinding stumps, and even serving as a caretaker in Glacier National Park, they explore what it really takes to stay active, useful, and engaged in retirement. The guys break down real-world considerations like licenses, continuing education, liability, and the mental shift required to ease into retirement without slowing down. Packed with practical insights, relatable stories, and old-school, no-Google conversation, this episode is perfect for anyone thinking about retirement jobs, second careers, or “fun work” that still pays. If you've ever wondered how to turn retirement into your most interesting chapter yet, this one doesn't sound right — in the best way. #ThatDontSoundRight #TDSRpodcast #RetirementIdeas #SideGigs #SecondCareer #RetirementJobs #EncoreCareer #WorkAfterRetirement #TowTruckLife #FoodTruckBusiness #AceHardwareLife #SmallBusinessIdeas #ActiveRetirement #PodcastLife Connect with us:

“Is a donkey just an undersized horse?” That's just one of the many absurd questions that pop up in this hilariously unpredictable episode of The Ben and Skin Show. Here's what you'll hear:The Choctaw encounter: A random guest walks up mid-show looking for free money and leaves us with the immortal quote: “That's good enough.”Ben's Ace Hardware obsession: “I'm the least handy person ever… so why do I love Ace Hardware?”Skin's dad joke of the day: “It's probably a card shark.” (Cue the crowd groan.)Ferris wheel fiasco: Skin goes full country after a wild headline: “I still want one there!”Pickle Fest madness: “You can stand and brine in line.” Yes, KT is way too proud of that pun.The funniest debate: “Is a donkey just an undersized horse? And is an olive a fruit?”

Helpful Links:Design Your Year Waitlist - Jan 12th!My InstagramWe share two themes that can run your entire 2026 marketing plan: make every step crystal clear and keep the promises you make to yourself and your clients. We map a booking path that reduces mental load, steadies visibility, and turns relief into trust and bookings.• clarity as a guiding principle across website, social, and email• the Ace Hardware greeter as a model for helpful marketing• removing old images, broken tech, and vague offers• building seasonal booking paths for specific sessions• relief leading to trust, trust leading to conversions• how to speak clearly about your brand at events• keeping promises to build self-trust and predictability• replacing manual visibility with ads when needed• stabilising marketing to avoid feast-famine cycles• why families want transparency, stability, and speedIf you are feeling lonely, overwhelmed, frustrated, join the membershipIf you are at all needing help with your website, there's a February and a January small group that you can joinMembershipMy Instagram + My Membership

Lucious Lowe never saw his empire, but his son and son-in-law figured out how to give the customer what they needed. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom-and-pop to major brands. Stephen Semple is a marketing consultant, story collector, and storyteller. I’m Stephen’s sidekick and business partner, Dave Young. Before we get into today’s episode, a word from our sponsor, which is… Well, it’s us, but we’re highlighting ads we’ve written and produced for our clients, so here’s one of those. [OG Law Ad] Dave Young: Welcome back to the Empire Builders Podcast. I’m Dave Young, Steve Semple’s here, and we’re going to talk about another empire. Stephen Semple: Another one. Imagine that. Dave Young: And it’s another one of these big boxes. Stephen Semple: Yes. Dave Young: So this is brick and mortar big box store. And so there’s two things. One thing I love, one thing I hate about big box stores in this category. I used to love going down to my local hardware store and just tooling around. Stephen Semple: Yeah. Dave Young: And I guess you can still do that, but there’s something about some old guy walking up and chatting with you about what you could maybe buy or not. Stephen Semple: Yeah. Dave Young: And so Lowe’s is our subject today. Stephen Semple: Yes. Dave Young: I’m interested to see how they started. And again, I love shopping at Lowe’s, I hate shopping at Lowe’s, for two different reasons, right? Stephen Semple: Yeah. Dave Young: The variety. It’s all there. Stephen Semple: Yes. Dave Young: The old guy that knows every piece of hardware in the store. Good luck finding that person. I mean, they may be there, they may not. It’s hit and miss. Stephen Semple: Yes. So the first Lowe’s, of course, started as one of those old-timey hardware stores. Dave Young: Sure. Stephen Semple: It was a 3000-foot store in 1921 in North Wilkesboro in North Carolina by Lucius Smith Lowe. That’s basically the first Lowe’s was way back in 1921. Dave Young: Lucius Smith Lowe. Okay. Stephen Semple: But the success of Lowe’s actually did not come from Lowe, but rather an in-law named Carl Buchan, who came on the scene in 1943. Dave Young: Okay. Stephen Semple: So when Lucius died in 1940, the business was inherited by his daughter, Ruth Buchan, who then… Now, I was not able to find the family story on this, because I find this interesting. It was inherited by the daughter, who then sold the company to her brother, and I always thought, “Why’d the brother not inherit the business?” Dave Young: Right? Stephen Semple: Now, I also get why she probably sold it, because as we know, one of the really big problems, especially back in the 1940s, was women couldn’t get credit, and it was very, very, very hard in the forties for a woman to actually run a business. So I also understand why she sold. Dave Young: Yeah. Yeah, and weird estate planning goes on that you don’t know why they did what they did. Right? Maybe the son had an insurance policy. Right? Stephen Semple: Who knows? Who knows? Dave Young: I don’t know, but maybe he got… Who knows? Stephen Semple: Now, at the same time, when she sold it to her brother, her husband, Carl, ended up becoming a partner in the business. Dave Young: Okay. Stephen Semple: So it was this really weird, father dies, it goes to the daughter, the daughter sells it to the brother, and the husband ends up becoming a partner. Dave Young: Who knows about the transactions inside family businesses, right? That’s a… Stephen Semple: Right? All I’m just saying is, if it sounds weird, it was. Dave Young: Yeah. Stephen Semple: That’s all I’m saying. But moving forward, what’s really incredible is today, Lowe’s is 1700 locations doing 80 billion in sales. So it is- Dave Young: That’s not nothing. Stephen Semple: That’s not nothing. That’s not nothing. But back in the early forties, hardware stores did not have building supplies. They didn’t have plywood, they didn’t have… They didn’t have building supplies. Dave Young: Yeah, yeah. You went across to the lumber yard to get that stuff. Stephen Semple: Correct. Correct. Dave Young: Yeah. Stephen Semple: And so one day Carl gets this deal on toilets, and he decides to buy a whole pile of toilets. When I say a whole pile, the whole truckload, which was 400 toilets. Dave Young: Okay. Stephen Semple: And James? James Lowe comes in the office one day and he’s like, “Toilets in the office.” And he says, “Carl, why is there toilets in the office?” He goes, “Well, I bought 400 of them and I ran out of space, so they’re sitting in here.” And he’s like, “We don’t sell toilets.” He goes, “Well, we are now, because we got 400 of them.” Dave Young: “Yeah, we sell toilets. Sell them or else.” Stephen Semple: “[inaudible 00:05:20] now!” So, “Yes we are.” And what turns out is that they sell out really quickly. And Carl looks into this a little bit more and he sees this trend. Right? Think about it. It’s 1946. What’s happening in the United States? There’s a building boom. Right? The number of homes being built has grown 10 times over the last three years, because we got the baby boom happening. We got the return of the soldiers, we got the baby boom, we got the sprouting up of the suburbs. That part is growing. So they sell out these toilets in like a week, and so he wants to open a second store. He goes, “Look, here’s what I want to do. I want to open a second store and we’re going to sell everything for building and fixing a home. Everything. We’re going to turn specialty stores into one shop.” So in other words, you don’t have to go to the plumber… you know. Look, this is another variation on the department store and the convenience store. Dave Young: Absolutely. Stephen Semple: So Lowe agrees, and they invest a hundred and sixty thousand dollars in the second store, and it’s a 10,000 square foot, so they’ve gone from 3000 square feet to a 10,000 square foot store in Spartan, North Carolina. Dave Young: And so yeah, we tripled the size. It’s all the space we’ll ever need. 10,000 feet. Stephen Semple: Right. So it’s 1949, and literally customers are coming. Yeah, that’s right. It’s 10,000 square feet. I missed that for a minute. Yeah, yeah. Hold that thought. Dave Young: “Hang on.” Stephen Semple: Hold that thought. So it’s so popular, they’re actually finding customers are coming from states away from, outside of North Carolina. So Carl wants to open a third store, and Lowe doesn’t want to. He doesn’t want to grow this thing. Dave Young: Isn’t it amazing that the whole company’s not called Carl’s instead of Lowe’s? Stephen Semple: Well, here’s what ends up happening. Lowe says, “Look, I don’t want to do this. Why don’t you just buy me out?” Carl buys out Lowe, but says, “Well, let’s keep the name.” Dave Young: Yeah. Stephen Semple: “Let’s keep the name.” Dave Young: Yeah, that’s smart. You got equity there. Stephen Semple: Yeah. So in 1952, Lowe is bought out, but they keep the name. And it expands rapidly. They quickly open 13 more stores. [inaudible 00:07:27] Dave Young: Oh, wow. See, I did not know they were this old. Stephen Semple: Yeah. So it starts growing like crazy, but then they hit a problem. After six years, profits stall. Dave Young: Oh, okay. Stephen Semple: What he notices is, he’s been focusing on opening stores, but not focusing on the buying experience. And if you went into a Lowe’s at that time, it was super disorganized. Stuff was just all over the place. Dave Young: Okay. Stephen Semple: And so it was not appealing. So he hires Bob Strickland, marketing guy. Bob points out that people come in to get what they need, but what if we were able to make them to stay and buy other things? Like instead of an oven, how about a whole kitchen? Dave Young: Sure. Stephen Semple: So he says, “Let’s be like a department store.” They looked at how Sears was laid out, right? There was these departments. Dave Young: Yeah. Stephen Semple: And basically this is the model that they created, which is really the template that all these big box home improvement stores are built on. Here’s the appliance section, here’s the flooring section. Dave Young: Yeah. Stephen Semple: But it didn’t just have flooring. It had, okay, along with the flooring, the caulking and the this and the… Dave Young: Yeah. Stephen Semple: All the things that you need with it. Dave Young: So take those toilets out of the power tool section and put them where they belong. Yeah. Stephen Semple: Yeah. So they create this template that they’re going to roll out, and before they’re ready to roll it out, Buchan passes away. Dave Young: Oh no. Stephen Semple: And so now it’s up to Strickland to open with the new idea. So Strickland takes the ideas. He opens five stores on it. They’re super successful. In two decades they got a hundred and eighty stores, 1978 they’re the largest in the region, 1979 they’re 200 stores, and they just grow and grow and grow and become what they are today. But Lowe’s basically built this idea. The two innovations Lowe’s did was built this idea of, “We should have a store that’s dedicated to home improvement,” because they saw the trend on it. And then they created this whole idea of looking at department stores and saying, “This is how a home improvement store should be organized.” Dave Young: Yeah. Stephen Semple: That template? That template, that idea that every one of these big box home improvement stores is built on, was created by Lowe’s. Dave Young: Stay tuned. We’re going to wrap up this story and tell you how to apply this lesson to your business right after this. [Using Stories to Sell Ad] Dave Young: Let’s pick up our story where we left off, and trust me, you haven’t missed a thing. Stephen Semple: … that idea that every one of these big box home improvement stores is built on, was created by Lowe’s. Dave Young: Well, and so the reason I didn’t know about them when I was younger is that they started in the east and slowly moved west. Stephen Semple: Yeah. Yes. Dave Young: And I don’t know where Home Depot started, but in the Rocky Mountain West and Western Plains, there were Home Depot stores long before there were any Lowe’s stores. Stephen Semple: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Dave Young: So it’s just a matter of growth at that point then, right? Stephen Semple: Right. Dave Young: They figured out the formula. Stephen Semple: They figured out the formula, and then it’s just grow, grow, grow. Dave Young: I’m guessing that, yeah, Home Depot probably has a similar story. Either they copied Lowe’s or they figured it out themselves that this is the right way to do a big box home improvement store. We going to do that one sometime? Stephen Semple: Well, I don’t want to say much, because we are going to do… Oh. Dave Young: Okay. All right. I’ll hold that for another day. But- Stephen Semple: Well, what ends up often happening when I’m researching these things, there’s no way to do it without learning about both. Dave Young: Sure. Stephen Semple: So often that’s the reason why when we’re doing these, there will be two in a category, because you learn about both of them at the same time, because they have kind of a shared history, right? Dave Young: Well, and those guys absolutely copy each other. Right? Stephen Semple: They did. Dave Young: I think we go back, I don’t know what episode it was, but we talked about Cabela’s, and then we sort of told the story of them being eventually bought by Bass Pro. Stephen Semple: Right. Dave Young: And the [inaudible 00:12:08] Bass Pro, I think… Well, at least according to the people that I knew at Cabela’s, they were the first ones to build this giant experiential store. Right? Stephen Semple: Well, in Sam Walton- Dave Young: And so… But that gets copied. And Sam Walton, same thing, right? Stephen Semple: Well, Sam Walton has openly stated that he stole a lot of his ideas from Sol Price. Dave Young: Yeah. Yeah. Stephen Semple: He has come right out and said that. He’s like, “Oh yeah, I always watched what this guy did, and I’d always keeping my eye on him, because he was brilliant.” Right? Dave Young: Yeah, I mean- Stephen Semple: Who was the founder of Costco. Right? So. Dave Young: At the end of the day, these are just sharing good commerce ideas. Right? Stephen Semple: Yeah. Dave Young: Nothing new under the sun here. Stephen Semple: Yeah. Dave Young: There’s a reason that every ancient city has a bazaar, a marketplace where they all gather, right? You make it convenient for consumers by, even though you’re 10,000 little competitors, you’re all in one place. Stephen Semple: Yeah. What I really liked, again, about this story, was Lowe saw a trend going on in the United States, and the trend was, “People are building these homes, and so there’s going to be more demand for home improvement stuff. How do I make it easier?” Again, that theme of, “How do I make it easier for the consumer? Wouldn’t it be so much easier for the consumer if it was this one stop?” Dave Young: Yeah. [inaudible 00:13:29] Stephen Semple: Now, the other thing I thought that was brilliant is that when the profits stalled out, he didn’t flip to, “I need more leads, I need more customers.” He didn’t go there. He went, “Oh, if this has stalled out, there’s something I’m doing wrong inside my four walls.” Dave Young: Yeah, yeah. Stephen Semple: And he looked at the experience and he said, “Okay, I’ve already got customers. What I need to do is if I make that experience better, the customers will return more often and will spend more.” I remember going to a presentation from the folks from Barnes and Noble, and Barnes and Noble talking about how they… And Ikea’s the same. They would measure how long somebody was in the store. Ikea’s amazing at this. And what they know is, the longer you’re in the store, the more you spend. Period. So what’s their whole objective is “I’m going to keep you in the store. How do I do that? I’m going to put a restaurant in. I’m going to put in a place where you can stick your kids to play. I’m going to make it so that you’ve got to walk the maze.” The point is, the longer you’re there, the more you’re going to buy. And not only that, Ikea’s figured out, “If I display these things this way, people will stop and look at it,” so that they do move through the stores slower. Dave Young: Yeah. You- Stephen Semple: But Lowe’s really caught into- Dave Young: And there’s sort of a logical progression to it. Stephen Semple: Right. Right. Dave Young: Yeah. Stephen Semple: So Lowe’s created that idea of “Let’s do this one stop shop.” And then the next one was, “Okay. Now that we’ve made this idea more convenient, let’s now make this idea more enjoyable and also more convenient, because there’s all these ancillary things that you need when you’re doing that in the moment. Let’s put all that stuff together.” Dave Young: Well, and you bring designers in because if you’re coming in for all these kitchen products- Stephen Semple: Yeah, absolutely. Dave Young: … maybe you don’t know how to put that all together and make it look good. Stephen Semple: Yeah. Yeah. Dave Young: Right? So here’s you’re somebody that can help you lay it out. Stephen Semple: Yes. Dave Young: And then they can sell you all the materials that either you or your contractor need to make it happen. Stephen Semple: Now what we know is, David Young is going to leave this talk with an even more love-hate relationship of Lowe’s. Am I right? Dave Young: I’m not remodeling anything. No, I love walking around a Lowe’s. I find it hard to… If I need some adhesive, I need some Gorilla Glue or something, and I walk into a Lowe’s, two things are going to happen. Unless I’m in just a blazing hurry and I’ve left someone in the car with the car running- Stephen Semple: Yeah. Dave Young: … I’m going to just wander around. Stephen Semple: Yeah. Dave Young: And I’m likely to walk out with something else besides the glue. Along with the glue. Stephen Semple: Correct. Yes. Dave Young: Sometimes without the glue, because I forgot why I went in. Stephen Semple: Oh God, yeah. Dave Young: But that’s a whole different psychological thing. We just finished talking about that at my portals class this week. Stephen Semple: Oh yeah, [inaudible 00:16:25] Dave Young: Tell you about that sometimes. That was fun. Stephen Semple: It’s a thing. It’s a thing. Dave Young: We had a blast. Yeah. Wow. Lowe’s. Stephen Semple: Yeah. There you go. Dave Young: Now I’m thinking in my head, what do I need? You know, near Wizard Academy, we’re not really close to a Lowe’s. You’ve got to drive 20 minutes or so to get to a Lowe’s. Stephen Semple: Yep. Dave Young: But about 10 minutes, 15 minutes away is independently owned Ace Hardware store. Stephen Semple: Yep. Dave Young: And I love that one too. Right? Because if you’re really just looking for a tool or some little hardware bits and bobs, you’ll always find it there. Right? [inaudible 00:17:02] Stephen Semple: Yeah, well, because Ace is the place with a helpful hardware man, right? Dave Young: Yeah. And they’re helpful because they’re locally owned. So there’s always somebody in there that can, “This is not the glue you really want. You want this.” Stephen Semple: Right. Right. Dave Young: “Oh, I thought I just wanted Gorilla Glue.” But this guy knows. Stephen Semple: Right. Dave Young: So it’s two different experiences, and a lot of your choice in it is based on experience. Stephen Semple: Yeah, yep. Yes. Dave Young: I mean, shoot. When we lived in western Nebraska, they eventually got a Lowe’s, but they had a Home Depot first in Cheyenne, Wyoming. We were a hundred miles from there. Stephen Semple: Right. Dave Young: And there was a lumber yard in Sydney, and there was a hardware store in Sydney, and we would drive to Home Depot a hundred miles away. Stephen Semple: Yes. Yes. Dave Young: Because one, we could find any of it there. Stephen Semple: Yeah. Dave Young: And two, Cheyenne also had a Starbucks and a Baskin-Robbins and a… right? Stephen Semple: That’s the other thing that starts to end up happening, is you get one of these, and then the other things sprout up around that. Dave Young: Yeah. Yeah, you rarely see one off by itself somewhere. Stephen Semple: Yeah. Well, that’s the reason why you would see a movie theater, and then the restaurants go. Dave Young: Yeah, yeah. Stephen Semple: These things happen. But yeah. But you know, I was pretty impressed when I heard the history of Lowe, and also thought it was really interesting looking at this department store and bringing it across. And again, it’s that idea. Dave Young: Yeah. Stephen Semple: “Who outside of my world is doing this really well?” Dave Young: I kind of wasn’t surprised that their origin goes back as far as it did, because I think you always are going to assume that that started as a little hardware store somewhere, or a lumber yard. Stephen Semple: Yeah. Dave Young: But I was surprised that they started that growth curve as soon as they did. Stephen Semple: Yeah. Dave Young: Right? Stephen Semple: Yeah. Dave Young: So they were really the pioneers in that. So. Stephen Semple: Yep, and the key is you didn’t need more than 10,000 square feet, as you pointed out. Dave Young: Yeah. Well, you do today. Stephen Semple: Some of them are like, “Holy crap.” Yeah. Dave Young: You need 10,000 square feet in the kitchen part. Stephen Semple: No kidding. No kidding. Dave Young: All right, well, thank you for bringing that story, Stephen. I like that. Stephen Semple: All right. All right, thanks David. Dave Young: And congrats, Lowe’s, on decades and decades of money making as an empire. Stephen Semple: Yeah. Yeah. Awesome. Thanks, man. Dave Young: Thanks. Thanks for listening to the podcast. Please share us, subscribe on your favorite podcast app, and leave us a big fat juicy five star rating and review at Apple Podcasts. And if you’d like to schedule your own 90-minute empire building session, you can do it at empirebuildingprogram.com.

“What happens when one of Hollywood's biggest stars loses everything—does he really have no options?”On this Mail-In Friday edition of The Ben and Skin Show, Ben Rogers, Kevin “KT” Turner, and Krystina Ray dive headfirst into the Hollywood Shuffle, unpacking the jaw-dropping story of Kevin Spacey's fall from grace. From Oscar-winning roles to living out of Airbnbs, Spacey claims he's waiting for a call from Tarantino—but the crew has other ideas:“Kevin Spacey, no one's stopping you from getting a real job. Work at Amazon. Be a delivery driver. Ace Hardware is hiring!”

Only if you already got the benefit...The LowdownAre desktops irrelevant?Verdict in for Apple Watch Blood Oxygen LawsuitiPhone 17's N1 chip delivers major Wi-Fi speed boost2nd StringDown goes another cloud services platformFor The CultureUse your “ambition” not DEI The Hookup5% Cash Back at Ace Hardware and Booking.com

You know how, after they retire, some older guys go out and get, like, part-time jobs at the United Way or Ace Hardware or some shit? Not necessarily because they need the money — they just need to keep themselves busy, and maybe they like talking to people about paint colors and nail sizes and the best brands of epoxy spackle. Is that what Dana White is doing with boxing? Dana was at the big boxing match on Saturday, sitting at ringside next to Turki Alalshikh and Mark Wahlberg. After Terence Crawford whooped up on Canelo Alvarez, Dana wrapped the Ring Magazine belt around Crawford's waist. Aside from that, we're not totally sure what his job was there. So, as TKO reportedly plots its takeover of the sweet science, is Dana effectively using boxing like some guys join the country club? Does he want to fade out of the UFC, kick back and spend a few hours a day destroying the Muhammad Ali Act and looking for young, white, Irish fighters to promote? Cuz those are the vibes. Meanwhile, at Dana's real job, they put on an event the same night, where Diego Lopes knocked all kinds of blood out of Jean Silva's head during UFC Noche. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices