Thinking outside the box – Testing the status quo to make a sustainable difference

By Anna Lockhart.  

Oftentimes, business practices rarely change in favor of familiarity and normalcy. But if you could change things for the better, why wouldn’t you? Bobby Mesmer shares how his company’s willingness to think outside the box changed an industry.  

In a recent episode of the MetalCast podcast, host Heidi J. Ellsworth sat down with Bobby Mesmer of RMG Erectors & Construction, RMG Aviation, Iron Will Racing and RMG Luxury Services to discuss how business owners can boost their business by expanding perspectives and taking a chance.  

Bobby shared his story of coming into the construction industry, and how he used his unique outlook on business practices to make his own path rather than following the status quo. He explained, “People often start a business based off what they know... So, what tends to happen in businesses, people tend to take what they learned from whoever they worked for before they started business and continue to move that same process forward, which is a great program. But what it does is it standardizes the industries to never change.” 

He pointed out that, while sticking to what you know can be a safe option, taking the chance to go outside the box can be incredibly worthwhile. In the metal industries, there are practices that are always done the same way, every time. Bobby decided that, with his company, they were going to do something different, more efficient and sustainable. “Early on, we got a lot of pushback. The way that we went to erect buildings, people that thought that they knew how to erect a building were coming to us being like, ‘Well, that's not the way it's done.’ And we're like, ‘But what difference does it make? If we end up with the same common goal, which is a complete building that is done the right way per the plans, does it matter?’” 

Now, years later, those same businesses are trying to duplicate what they were originally so against. Bobby shared that the pre-engineered erecting market has completely changed their practices because of their willingness to try something new.  

“I would tell anybody out there in business, if you love what you do and you know what you do and you do it well, find a way to do it differently,” he shared. “You're going to get a little bit of pushback, but stay the course, because if you do it differently, which ultimately makes you do it better, and you do it more competitively and you're doing it more sustainably, that's going to put you in a process where people are going to admire that of you and they're going to come back to you, and you're going to rise to the top organically.” 

Read the transcript or Listen to the podcast to learn more about Bobby’s story and his tips for differentiating your business.