"It was the best of times; it was the worst of times."
Charles Dickens couldn’t have said it better. Running Metal Pros for the past 6 years has been a wild ride—full of highs and lows, confidence and humility, structure and chaos. Every time we solved a problem or improved a process, new, more complex challenges appeared.
Is this what success feels like?
Julie and I didn’t fully know what we were signing up for, but we’ve learned that success often means jumping from one failure to the next without losing enthusiasm. It’s not about avoiding failure—it’s about what you do with it.
To illustrate this, I think about little Roger Federer, an 8-year-old who wanted to be the world’s best tennis player. He kept playing tougher opponents, losing often, but improving each time. He kept going while others gave up. That persistence—failing forward—was the only way to his goal.
Business is no different.
Success comes from strength built through constant challenge. Unlike sports, where wins are clear, business is murky. Wins are harder to define, and they always come at a cost—usually time, money, or both.
Julie and I had to weigh profits against the human side: stress, health, passion, and sacrifices—what we call the “alternative forgone.” This includes the things we gave up, like starting a family, traveling, or time with loved ones—and the sacrifices our employees make by choosing us over other careers.
We didn’t know everything—but we knew enough.
I had no background in metals, but over a decade of experience solving problems in business processes, IT, marketing, and operations gave me the 80% I needed. The other 20%—industry-specific knowledge—could be learned. It’s like being a great cook who wants to open a restaurant: making great food is only a small piece. The rest—logistics, cost management, staffing, and regulations—is what makes or breaks you.
Most tradespeople fail because they only focus on their trade.
If a welder spends 80% of their time quoting, ordering, or doing admin work, they’re only earning their full rate for 20% of the time. But with better processes, they can double their productive time and triple profits. That’s where our mindset came in—investing time to create time-saving systems.
Self-learning was key.
Everything at Metal Pros was built in-house—our website, ERP system, inventory tools, marketing, hiring, and bookkeeping. We learned by doing. No course or consultant could have taught us what real problem-solving did. That mindset started long before Metal Pros—saying “yes” to ownership and responsibility, wherever I worked.
We took inspiration from the best:
- Our ERP and checklist system were inspired by fast-food giants like McDonald’s.
- Our internal search tools mimicked Google.
- We borrowed Amazon’s “1-click” philosophy for customer ease.
- We even took lessons from Toyota’s lean manufacturing.
It worked.
From a 2,500 sq ft shop with just four employees, we’ve served nearly 5,000 businesses—including colleges, municipalities, and government agencies—without a dollar spent on ads. We rank #1 on Google for “metal supplier Canada.” Our systems give us full visibility, even from a beach in Cancun.
We didn’t outsource—we owned it.
And that made all the difference. Efficiency gave us back time, which we reinvested in improving service, cutting costs, and increasing capacity. Just one 20-hour initiative saved us 2 hours a day for 5 years—that's 2,500 hours, or $150,000 saved from a single improvement.
At Metal Pros, everyone does everything.
We created a culture of continuous improvement. Nothing is carved in stone. Change is constant—but we understood that new routines only feel hard at first. With time, they become second nature. That’s when the magic happens.
And now, we have time.
During the pandemic, many small businesses suffered, and some didn’t survive. But one gift we were given was time. Time to rethink, improve, and invest in our future. If we use that time well, we can come out of hardship stronger and smarter.
This story is our journey. If it inspires just one entrepreneur to take ownership of their learning and business, it was worth the 50 hours it took to write. There’s always room to improve—sometimes all it takes is time.
6th year anniversary