THE MOST TRUSTED SOURCE OF  INFORMATION & ENTERTAINMENT IN THE SHED & PORTABLE BUILDING INDUSTRY

The Shed Geek Podcast offers an in depth analysis of the shed industry. Listeners will meet a variety of guests who identify or specialize in particular niche areas of the world of sheds.

About the PODCAST

The Shed Geek Podcast offers an insider’s view of the shed and portable building industry where real operators, manufacturers, and innovators share what’s actually working on the ground to build, market, and sell portable structures.

Hosted by Shannon Latham, each episode delivers candid conversations that bridge the gap between surface-level perception and the deeper insights that truly drive the business.

Explore EPISODES

RTO data can feel like a buzzkill until you realize it can answer the questions that decide your next decade: how fast customers actually pay off, where delinquency really comes from, what repossessions do to returns, and how confident you can be when you ask a bank or investor for capital. We dig into what it means to finally have access to payoff and repossession history at a granular level and how portfolio modeling changes when you stop relying on rough averages. We also connect the dots from analytics to the real world of selling sheds. Lot sets, inventory choices, and even paint and coatings aren’t just “preferences” when you can track what moves in a market and what creates the best first impression from the road. The shed industry is getting more organized, and better systems make it easier to quote, contract, schedule delivery, and keep clean records that turn into usable reporting. Then we widen the lens into leadership and brand. We talk culture made visible, the power of listening, and why hard conversations are a feature, not a flaw. We also introduce Wild Belief Co and the idea that differentiation doesn’t come from louder content, it comes from clarity, courage, and believing what you’re building. If you got value from the conversation, subscribe to the show, share it with someone in the shed business, and leave a review so more builders, dealers, and RTO teams can find it. What’s one metric or habit you want to improve this year? For more information or to know more about the Shed Geek Podcast visit us at our website. Would you like to receive our weekly newsletter? Sign up on our website: shedgeek.com Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube at the handle @shedgeekpodcast. To be a guest on the Shed Geek Podcast visit our website and fill out the "Contact Us" form. To suggest show topics or ask questions you want answered email us at info@shedgeek.com. This episodes Sponsors: Studio Sponsor: Shed Pro Identigrow Solar Blaster Cardinal Manufacturing Digital Shed Builder Pittsburgh Paints Co
A Better Rent-To-Own System PART 2
The shed rent-to-own world runs on numbers, but too many operators are forced to manage on guesses because the data shows up late, scattered, or trapped in legacy systems. We sit down with Duane and Leann Burkholder of Burkholder Management alongside Kyle Summers and Craig Felker to share the “why now” behind a new cloud-based RTO software platform called OWNLY and the partnership forming around it. If you’ve ever felt the pain of slow reports, duplicate entry, or having accounting and operations tell two different stories, this conversation will hit home. We get specific about what modern rent-to-own software should do for shed dealers, manufacturers, and RTO operators: real-time reporting you can actually build yourself, portfolio performance metrics that go deeper than averages, and clearer answers about term behavior and early payoffs. Duane explains how accounting integration changes the game, turning messy bucket transfers into mapped, trackable activity so you can see discounts, payoff decisions, and performance with accountability. Craig and Kyle connect those ideas to what leadership teams need most: speed, clarity, and control. Then we bring it down to the ground level, where the work happens: asset-level P&Ls that tie hauling, commissions, and revenue to a single building, plus tools for project management, collections workflows, and a branded customer portal for payments, autopay, contracts, and online payoff. We also talk about instant payment visibility for repo drivers in the field, so teams don’t lose time to phone calls and “where’s the payment?” confusion. This is Part 1 of a two-part series, and it sets up what could be a major shift in shed industry operations. Come back Friday for Part 2, share this with one RTO operator who’s tired of spreadsheet chaos, and leave a review if you want more deep dives like this. What’s the one report you wish your RTO system could show you today? For more information or to know more about the Shed Geek Podcast visit us at our website. Would you like to receive our weekly newsletter? Sign up on our website: shedgeek.com Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube at the handle @shedgeekpodcast. To be a guest on the Shed Geek Podcast visit our website and fill out the "Contact Us" form. To suggest show topics or ask questions you want answered email us at info@shedgeek.com. This episodes Sponsors: Studio Sponsor: Shed Pro PlayMor Playsets J Money LLC Cardinal Leasing IFAB
A Better Rent-To-Own System PART 1
A month in a war-torn village will change how you hear the words “need” and “want.” Today we sit down with Willy Bricker of North Mountain Structures (Chambersburg, PA) to talk about taking his family overseas to Ukraine to help rebuild homes near an active front line and what that experience revealed about faith, resilience, and human generosity. Willy walks us through what daily life looks like on a mission base: early mornings, crews heading out to repair roofs and damaged houses, air raid alerts that force workers off rooftops, and nights spent building real relationships with locals despite a language barrier. He shares the moments that hit hardest, including how kids adapt to war as “normal,” and why simply showing up can matter even when outcomes feel uncertain. We also bring it back to the shed industry with a candid look at leadership and operations. Willy explains how staying connected from overseas exposed weak points in communication and accountability, and why having the right people and systems in place made it possible for him and his business partner to step away and still keep the company running. From market volatility to customer expectations, we talk portable buildings, why North Mountain Structures avoids finished tiny homes, and the surprising upside of simplifying your product mix to sell more of what you do best. If the conversation gives you a fresh perspective, help us spread it: subscribe to the Shed Geek Podcast, share this with a friend in shed sales or shed manufacturing, and leave a review so more people can find the show. For more information or to know more about the Shed Geek Podcast visit us at our website. Would you like to receive our weekly newsletter? Sign up on our website: shedgeek.com Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube at the handle @shedgeekpodcast. To be a guest on the Shed Geek Podcast visit our website and fill out the "Contact Us" form. To suggest show topics or ask questions you want answered email us at info@shedgeek.com. This episodes Sponsors: Studio Sponsor: Shed Pro LuxGuard Making Sales Simple CAL Velocity 360
A Shed Builder’s Month Rebuilding Homes In Ukraine
Most shed businesses don’t have a lead quality problem. They have a response problem. We sit down with the teams behind ShedPro and Velocity360 to map the full journey from a high-intent Google search to a real conversation to a signed contract and scheduled delivery, and we get honest about where leads actually die: slow replies, inconsistent follow-up, and zero visibility into what’s working. We break down the “order of operations” that keeps owners from buying the wrong tool at the wrong time. First, you need consistent lead generation through a strong shed website, smart Google Ads, and a buying-friendly 3D configurator. Then you need one place to capture every lead, measure attribution, and run a repeatable process that improves response rate, close rate, and sales velocity. You’ll hear why speed to lead inside 60 seconds changes everything, how multi-touch follow-up can be helpful instead of pushy, and why automation should handle tasks while your salespeople focus on human conversations. We also dig into the realities of online shed sales, the tension it can create in dealer networks, and how analytics helps manufacturers and dealers invest ad dollars where they actually turn into revenue. Along the way, we talk values, culture, and what it looks like to grow a business that creates jobs and gives back. Subscribe for more shed sales and shed marketing insights, share this with a dealer who’s overwhelmed by leads, and leave a review. What’s your biggest bottleneck right now: leads, speed, or follow-up? For more information or to know more about the Shed Geek Podcast visit us at our website. Would you like to receive our weekly newsletter? Sign up on our website: shedgeek.com Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube at the handle @shedgeekpodcast. To be a guest on the Shed Geek Podcast visit our website and fill out the "Contact Us" form. To suggest show topics or ask questions you want answered email us at info@shedgeek.com. This episodes Sponsors: Studio Sponsor: Shed Pro NewFound Rentals Shed Suite First Choice Metals Shed Challenger
How Much Revenue Are You Losing To Silence
Your next customer is learning how to buy a shed or a building from 30-second clips, not from a brochure, and that shift is already rewriting the rules for portable buildings, steel buildings, and post-frame sales. We sit down with Jared Ledford to talk about why he’s launching America Builds Better, what he learned from long-form podcasting, and how the industry can use short-form video to earn attention without sounding like a commercial. The through-line is trust: the kind you only get when the content is real, useful, and made to help the whole category level up. We dig into the hard part too: “quality” is a weak claim when everyone says it. We explore what it could look like to communicate build standards in plain language that a consumer can actually understand, taking cues from post-frame and the NFBA trade organization model. That includes why permitting is often easier for pole barns, how shared guidelines create consistency, and why collaboration beats infighting when the market gets tight. Then we zoom out to the modern growth stack: SEO at scale, indexed pages, Google visibility, landing pages, paid ads, 3D configurators, and CRM follow-up systems. Jared also raises a clear warning about AI-generated slop content and how deep pockets can flood the feed, plus what to do instead so your brand voice stays human and credible. If you got value from this conversation, subscribe, share it with another dealer or builder, and leave a review so more people in the shed industry can find it. For more information or to know more about the Shed Geek Podcast visit us at our website. Would you like to receive our weekly newsletter? Sign up on our website: shedgeek.com Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube at the handle @shedgeekpodcast. To be a guest on the Shed Geek Podcast visit our website and fill out the "Contact Us" form. To suggest show topics or ask questions you want answered email us at info@shedgeek.com. This episodes Sponsors: Studio Sponsor: Shed Pro Cardinal Manufacturing Digital Shed Builder Velocity 360
The Future Of Shed Industry Media
Rent-to-own sheds can look like a numbers game from the outside, but the real differentiator is often painfully unglamorous: answering the phone, keeping your word, and treating people like humans. I’m joined by Titus Hofer and Josh Hosey to talk through the real story behind building an RTO operation in the shed industry, starting with Titus’s pivot after the 2008 housing crash and the moment he realized he was turning away “how much per month?” customers who simply needed a workable path to ownership. We get into what changed as shed financing options exploded and competition tightened. Dealer premiums, kickbacks, rising interest rates, and pressure on yield are all part of today’s rent-to-own landscape, but we keep coming back to the foundation: solid systems and processes for both technology and relationships. We also talk about the tension of scaling fast, the risk of letting calls roll to voicemail, and why being steady with dealers can matter more than chasing the loudest offer. A big turning point is how they solve bandwidth by partnering with Rosewood Management so customers can reach a live person and issues get handled by a team with clear roles. Along the way, Titus and Josh share the moments that stick with them most: second chances, hard conversations, and the joy of hearing someone make the final payment and truly own their portable storage building. If you work with sheds, portable buildings, or rent-to-own programs, subscribe and share this one with a dealer who cares about doing it the right way. After you listen, leave a review and tell me this: what’s the one thing that should never be sacrificed when the market gets competitive? For more information or to know more about the Shed Geek Podcast visit us at our website. Would you like to receive our weekly newsletter? Sign up on our website: shedgeek.com Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube at the handle @shedgeekpodcast. To be a guest on the Shed Geek Podcast visit our website and fill out the "Contact Us" form. To suggest show topics or ask questions you want answered email us at info@shedgeek.com. This episodes Sponsors: Studio Sponsor: Shed Pro Cardinal Leasing IFAB Identigrow Solar Blaster
The Secret RTO Strategy Is Answering The Phone
If your marketing feels stuck in an endless loop of “more spend, same results,” this conversation is for you. I sit down with Dillan Hart from BHC Group to get brutally practical about what’s working right now for shed dealers and portable building manufacturers when every market has more competitors, more ads, and more noise. We dig into the foundation most businesses skip while chasing leads: a complete Google Business Profile, consistent activity, and a real plan for Google reviews so local SEO can do its job. From there, we talk about why a trustworthy website is not optional if you want your Google Ads and Facebook ads to convert, and how weak landing pages quietly drain your budget. Then we get into the fun part: modern “old school” branding. Dillan explains why Facebook is basically the new TV, why lead forms are often an early ask, and how awareness campaigns with rotating creatives can reduce ad fatigue and even bring your cost per lead down over time. We also talk about content quality, speaking in plain language that normal homeowners understand, and why authenticity is becoming a competitive advantage as AI-generated content floods social feeds. If you want a clearer shed marketing strategy that builds trust before it asks for the sale, listen through and take notes. Subscribe, share this with a dealer friend, and leave a review so more people in the shed industry can find the show. For more information or to know more about the Shed Geek Podcast visit us at our website. Would you like to receive our weekly newsletter? Sign up on our website: shedgeek.com Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube at the handle @shedgeekpodcast. To be a guest on the Shed Geek Podcast visit our website and fill out the "Contact Us" form. To suggest show topics or ask questions you want answered email us at info@shedgeek.com. This episodes Sponsors: Studio Sponsor: Shed Pro Making Sales Simple CAL Stryker Hunting Blinds J Money LLC
Brand Awareness That Sells
Cash buyers are great, but they’re not the whole market, and “cash only” is a fast way to watch good leads walk off your lot. We sit down with Joel Oney from J Money to get practical about shed financing and why the payment option you offer can matter more than the price tag. We break down where rent to own shines, where it hits real limits, and how unsecured consumer loans can help you close bigger projects like large storage sheds, post-frame buildings, and steel structures that don’t fit the usual RTO model. We also talk directly to shed manufacturers who feel the squeeze on working capital. Scaling production means real money tied up in lumber, finished inventory, delivery capacity, and the manufacturing facility itself. Joel shares the two most common needs he sees in the field: inventory financing and facility financing, plus how lenders think about terms, collateral, and structure. We even get into bonus depreciation at a high level and why the way you finance a building can change how quickly you can expense parts of it, with the reminder to always confirm details with your CPA. Then we zoom out to the stuff nobody can control: uncertainty, consumer sentiment, oil prices, and the way a jump at the gas pump can freeze buying decisions. The takeaway is simple and challenging: keep improving, keep offering more solutions, and keep doing the right things repeatedly until the numbers turn. If this helps, subscribe, share it with a shed dealer or builder who needs it, and leave a quick review. What financing question do you want us to tackle next? For more information or to know more about the Shed Geek Podcast visit us at our website. Would you like to receive our weekly newsletter? Sign up on our website: shedgeek.com Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube at the handle @shedgeekpodcast. To be a guest on the Shed Geek Podcast visit our website and fill out the "Contact Us" form. To suggest show topics or ask questions you want answered email us at info@shedgeek.com. This episodes Sponsors: Studio Sponsor: Shed Pro Shed Suite Three Oaks Lumber Co. Shed Challenger LuxGuard Pittsburgh Paints Co
Shed Financing That Actually Fits
A self-serve “farmacy” that’s really a row of sheds selling fresh milled bread, local meat, eggs, raw milk, honey, and natural soap sounds like a gimmick until you hear the numbers, the traffic, and the community response. We sit down with Matthew Troyer of Delta Sheds to unpack how Middway Farmacy came to life on a revived property in Central Pennsylvania and why the simplest version of the idea is shockingly easy to launch: drag a shed into place, add lighting, install real security, and invite the right local producers to stock it. Matthew walks us through the turning points that mattered, from a 24/7 self-serve meat shed to the “bread shed” that exploded after people learned what fresh milled wheat can do for how you feel day to day. We get into the difference between commercial enriched flour and whole wheat berries ground in their original form, why ingredient transparency is becoming a real buying trigger, and how “local for locals” can be both a values play and a strong business model. He also shares what he learned the hard way about cash handling, cameras, and designing a system that nudges customers toward doing the right thing. Then we zoom out to the shed industry: the post-COVID slowdown, the pressure of competition, and why premium portable buildings now live or die by service, communication, and execution. We end with a candid look at affordability, zoning, and why finished portable structures are increasingly viewed as a realistic housing option for buyers who can’t stomach today’s mortgage payments. Subscribe for more real operator conversations, share this with a shed dealer or local producer, and leave a review if you want more episodes like this. What would you stock in a self-serve shed first? For more information or to know more about the Shed Geek Podcast visit us at our website. Would you like to receive our weekly newsletter? Sign up on our website: shedgeek.com Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube at the handle @shedgeekpodcast. To be a guest on the Shed Geek Podcast visit our website and fill out the "Contact Us" form. To suggest show topics or ask questions you want answered email us at info@shedgeek.com. This episodes Sponsors: Studio Sponsor: Shed Pro Digital Shed Builder Velocity 360 NewFound Solutions
What If Every Shed Lot Fed A Town?
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Meet the GEEK

Shannon Latham, the driving force behind the Shed Geek Podcast, is a seasoned professional deeply embedded in the shed and portable building industry with nearly two decades of experience. Raised in Southern Illinois, his path included roles as a casino bartender, hotel manager, and co-owner of multi-state sales locations. But it’s within the portable building industry where his impact has been most pronounced, spanning procurement, sales leadership, and ongoing collaboration with manufacturers, dealers, and suppliers shaping the space.

Shannon doesn’t just participate in the industry, he helps move it forward. Through the Shed Geek Podcast and the broader Shed Geek Media platform, he engages directly with the people building, selling, and innovating across the industry, contributing to the development of new systems, partnerships, and ideas. In his free time, he unwinds crawling around his living room floor with his beloved granddaughters or in his shed office, enjoying drawing, reading, and music, while also serving as a community service chaplain—an extension of the same grounded, service-oriented mindset he brings to his work.

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