“There is profit in hard work, but mere talk leads to poverty.”
— Proverbs 14:23Owner, The Metal Shop LLC. Factory-direct metal roofing & fabrication, a growing family of businesses, and a few ideas worth passing on.
I'm husband to Esther and father to six — Leroy, Luke, David, Lorena, John, and James. Family comes first for us, plain and simple, and that shapes almost everything else on this page. We live on a 150-acre farm, where we raise our own beef — about ten or twelve head at a time — keep chickens for eggs, and try to grow as much of our own food as the season allows.
The business side runs alongside all of that. We manufacture metal roofing and run a light-gauge steel framing operation out of Bellevue, Michigan, with Metal Roofing Pros handling installs and Good Neighbor Fence covering steel privacy fencing — plus a handful of rental properties on the side. None of it came easy. There have been plenty of hard knocks along the way, but I've come to believe every one of them was a lesson worth having. When I'm not working, you'll usually find me hunting, fishing, or traveling with the family. Family and work — in that order — is about as close to a motto as I've got.
Factory-direct metal roofing, siding & trim fabrication out of Bellevue, MI.
Visit siteLight-gauge steel panelized buildings, engineered for fast, factory-precise assembly.
Visit siteThe installation arm — crews putting Metal Shop panels on roofs across Michigan.
Visit siteProject coordination and multi-entity operations across the family of companies.
Visit siteDIY steel privacy fencing — factory-direct panels you install yourself.
Visit siteAuthorized K Buildings dealer — pole barns and post-frame buildings.
Visit siteDWG F · SOFTWARE
The software that runs the shop.
Instead of renting a dozen off-the-shelf subscriptions that never quite fit, I set out to build the shop its own software — one system that runs the whole operation, from a customer's first quote all the way to steel going out the door, with the books tied straight into our accounting. It started as a way to fix our own headaches, and it's grown into something I'm genuinely proud of.
DWG H · BOOKKEEPING
Bookkeeping in plain English.
Most bookkeeping software is built for accountants. I wanted books that an ordinary business owner could open and understand — so I built them. Krell grew out of a simple idea: you shouldn’t need an accounting degree to know what you’re owed, what you owe, and what’s in the bank. It’s a full set of books — invoices and quotes, bills and checks, bank and card feeds, sales tax, 1099s, payroll for your CPA, month-end close and reports — written in the words people actually use, by someone who runs a small business himself. Try it free, with your own business name and logo on it.
Press, features, and write-ups on the shop and the family of businesses.
The belief that any challenge can be worked through — a personal framework becoming a course and an app. Also: children's ministry, devotionals, and a few thoughts on grace and practical wisdom.
A few books that shaped how I think about business, faith, or figuring things out.
Software and services I actually run the business on. Some of these links are referral links — using them costs you nothing extra and sends a little credit my way.