The Industrial Side
Listen. Learn. Execute. Repeat.
Conversations with operators in industrial, distribution, and field service businesses.
New to The Industrial Side?
March 18, 2026
What this is
Most businesses are not won in strategy meetings. They are won or lost in the day to day trenches. This is a short introduction to The Industrial Side . Why it exists, why now, and what you can expect. After hundreds of conve...
Recent Episodes
May 26, 2026
80 Years and Still Building: What Running a 26-Person Sign Shop Teaches You About Growing a Trade Business
Dan Verboski didn't grow up dreaming about signs. He left the State Department in 2017, looked for a business to buy, and ended up in Tyler, Texas taking over a 72-year-old sign company he knew nothing about. Leon Signs is no...
May 19, 2026
Dirty Hands, Clean Books: JD Beck on Buying and Running a Plumbing Business
Brian sits down with JD Beck, owner of Mountain Valley Plumbing and HVAC, to talk about what it actually takes to go from employee to business owner in the trades. JD's path wasn't a straight line. After four years as an Army...
May 12, 2026
Selling the Unsexy: How to Market a Boring Business and Win
What do screws, ship supplies, and mouthwash have in common? They're all "boring", and yet, they can all be marketed brilliantly. This week, Brian sits down with Jochebed Zakrzeswki, Director of Marketing at Metric Marine and...
May 6, 2026
From Industrial Bakeries to Business Acquisition: How a Manufacturing Insider Is Buying His Way Into Ownership
Bear with us on this one — Brian was running on cough medicine and not much else when we recorded this. The content is worth it. In this episode, Brian sits down with Guillermo Ochoa of Merseyshell LLC — a manufacturing veter...
April 28, 2026
How Distribution Companies Build Customer Experience That Actually Drives Revenue with Shelly Chandler
In industrial distribution, customer experience is rarely treated as a competitive advantage. Most companies assume the product and the price are all that matter. Shelly Chandler has spent her career proving that wrong. Note:...
April 21, 2026
Niche Manufacturing, Pricing Strategy, and Growth Through Acquisition with Rachel McGrath of Tower Products
Most people have never thought about the chemistry behind a printed page. Rachel McGrath has spent her career mastering it. Rachel is the CEO of Tower Products, a manufacturer of technical chemicals for the printing industry ...
About the Host
Brian Kabisa
Operator & Host
I’m an operator focused on how industrial, distribution, and field service businesses actually run day to day.
I started my career as an A-10 aircraft mechanic in the U.S. Air Force, working in environments where execution mattered and there was no room for error. Since then, I’ve worked across operations, consulting, and supply chain roles, with a focus on solving real business problems.
Today, I spend my time investing in and working with businesses facing the same challenges discussed on this show. The Industrial Side is an extension of that work.
WHAT WE FOCUS ON
Working capital and inventory decisions
Hiring and leading teams
Customer relationships and execution
Day-to-day operational tradeoffs
What actually works in practice