Fence Workers Association

One of the biggest challenges brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic has

been the impact to the supply-chain which has created significant material shortages and rapid material cost fluctuations. 

This poses a challenge to fencers, especially when costs change between the time you quote a job and actually purchase the materials. Our experts were able to weigh in with some advice on combating this challenge.

Dan Blanc, CEO/Founder of Fence King and Cohost of MyFenceLife Podcast mentioned, “I read a book right before the pandemic hit called The Pumpkin Plan and it changed the way I run my business. Its message was to focus on what you do best and proficiently, go ahead and do that, and put everything else to the side. In my market, we do more wood and aluminum than anything else. We have since focused on these two fence types and our working capital has tripled as we no longer have to stock any of the less popular fence types. With this focus, we are now able to have stockpiles of the main fence types we install.” 

"Forecasting is a big thing," mentioned Matt Warner, Founder of my Salesman and Empire Fence. “You need to look ahead and predict where you will be in the future. It is important to be proactive, think outside the box and be ready.”

“Stockpiling has been key for us too,” added Joe Everest, The Fence Expert and Owner of Ozark Fence and Supply Co.  “We stockpile as much material as possible, and we sell what we have. Slow season is the best time to buy as there is less demand and competition. Now we are stocked up for the next quarter and a half. We are now selling what we already have on the ground and that ensures all of our costs are fixed. We are also already ordering out 6-8 months in advance.”Brian of Las Vegas Fence says that BFC was a huge part of his success during the shortages, "they never left us hanging and found the materials when we needed them."