Grow Fast or Go Broke: The Truth About Scaling a Fab Shop

Most fab shops dream of growth. Few are ready when it comes.

Jesse Kleiman didn’t just grow JR Metal Works — he scaled it from a garage startup to a 70-person team taking on enterprise-level contracts.

In this episode, Jesse opens up about the reality of rapid growth: the cash flow crunches, the leadership pivots, and the culture shifts that come with scaling faster than you planned.

It’s not just about welding or expansion. It’s about what happens when your business outgrows you—and how to stay intentional through it all.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How to know when it’s the right time to expand

• Why rapid growth can be as dangerous as stagnation

• The cash flow traps every fast-growing shop needs to watch for

• How to build a culture that survives growth pains

• When (and why) to invest in a support team

• The leadership mindset that turns growth into longevity

Timestamps: 2:16 – Jesse’s story: starting JR Metal Works in 2016 and growing to 70 people 11:28 – Taking on gas pipe welding with zero experience (and figuring it out) 16:09 – The cash flow challenges of rapid growth 17:24 – Sales lessons at the enterprise level 30:07 – Why firing the wrong customer is sometimes the best decision 32:26 – The contract that doubled the business overnight 38:44 – Why leadership takes just “10 seconds of courage” 40:28 – Vendor relationships and surviving slow customer payments 43:50 – Jesse’s advice: always be

Resources:

Join our Facebook Group for conversations that will help grow your business: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1Dspnz4Qt5/

Connect with Jesse on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jesse-kleiman-685675113

JR Metal Works: https://jr-metalworks.com/

Lights Out Podcast: https://makingchips.com/show/lights-out/

Buy the Numbers Podcast: https://makingchips.com/show/buy-the-...