Rising Together: The AK Summit Manufacturing Association

Curt Anderson  00:01

Hey, happy Monday. Here we go, man, happy Monday. Happy Good afternoon, good morning, good evening, wherever you’re coming from. So we just want to wish you last Monday of the month of April, and man, are we going out with a bang. Holy,

Damon Pistulka  00:18

look at these two. So Damon, how are you? Dude, I’m doing awesome. Curt, did you survive the weekend? I did. We had and you know what I have to say, because we don’t get to say this very much. I’m gonna put it on the screen. The Seattle Mariners are in the top of our the West.

Curt Anderson  00:35

You know what? Everybody get a screenshot of that, right? Yeah, yeah, because it doesn’t

Damon Pistulka  00:39

happen very often

Curt Anderson  00:43

since Ken Griffey left the town. Left town. Alright, hey, let’s do introductions. I’m going to start with my dear friend, mysterious, like, my my heart is just pounding. Damon, if I go down, it’s like, just, just, like, just, just keep going around. Like, call 911 later you have the automatic defibrillator. My wife, I love her, just, you know, just like my heart couldn’t handle it today, because I’m so excited. So, alright, Megan Militello, how are you? Megan, what’s happening? I’m

Megan Militello  01:10

doing great. Thank you for having us on again. I feel like we we do this often, even though we’re on different sides of the nation,

Curt Anderson  01:17

you know. So what’s I lost? I was trying to, you know what I think in person, I’ve done more lives with you in person and you live in Anchorage, Alaska. I don’t know. I should Google how many miles away you are from me. I think you and I have been together on live more in person than I have with anybody else other than Bobby Damon. So how about that one? Wow, yes. So I came to your place when you guys were just cranking it with elevated oats, and you guys, and do you remember I go, Hey, do you want to go live? And you’re like, Yeah, let’s go live. I’m like, we did like a live stream on the spot. We were live together in Buffalo at the at the MEP conference. And then Dame and I came up and we were live together. And so I think we’ve done like, four or five lives in person. So, Megan, dear friend, I just worship the ground you walk on. Thank you for being here. And then you’ve got your partner in crime, Lacey and Hernandez. Lacey, you and I met Julie. I think it was like, Do you believe it was four years ago that we met? Isn’t that crazy? Wow,

Lacey Ernandes  02:18

time has flown that wild? So yeah.

Curt Anderson  02:21

So I had the privilege met you four years ago through the Alaska MEP. We had a little cohort program you came in and, man, I just, I just kindred spirits. I just worship the ground that you walk on, just like your partner, Megan. And so Alright, let’s start here. Megan, tell me. Let me give a little background on these two. Damon, they are you? Damon, you ready? You sitting down? I’m ready. Okay, man, I might even get choked up when I talk about these two, these guys, alright, serve two tours in Iraq. They are just, they’re they’re heroes. I just, I look up to them, admire them again. Worship both of them. Thank you for your service. Let’s give a round of applause. Thank you for your service to your to our country. You are guys. You guys are amazing. And then, you know, Megan, you’ve had a, you know, I think traffic guys were both traffic, air traffic controllers, both of you became super tight through the military, through army buddies. And you guys came back and, like you have a fascinating journey. Just talk a little bit about when you got out. Let’s whatever you want to share. Please. Do

Megan Militello  03:23

you know I was actually talking about this yesterday. I was talking to a young lady that’s doing a capstone project on women veterans in Alaska, and I was sharing about our deployments and how Lacey was already in the unit, and I was a late Deployer, so their unit was a 15, was the first 15 month tour in Iraq, so the people that had been out there had, like, already gone home on vacation or not, and they were getting extended. So it was a really tough, tough time. And then there was a small group of us that came out late, and we were only there for the last five months. So me and lacy met in Iraq, which is already like a wild part of the story, being air traffic controllers together, we learned a lot about communicating and putting aside, like, personal things about it right, or our egos, and it’s like, no, this is how the mission has to get done. So not only did we have that air traffic, but we had just the army background. I think, I think that that really strengthened our relationship. And then, you know, it was like almost 10 years, I think that we hadn’t really talked much. It was like a few calls here and there. Lacey was doing something completely different. I was doing something completely different. And my adventure into elevated oats and starting that business, I reached out to Lacey about making the logo, and then it just kind of all came back together. And it was like, wow. Like this is what, almost what I had been missing was, like those connections and that deep rooted relationship where, you know, you have each other’s back. No matter what, because actually have been in life and death situations where you have to have each other’s back no matter what. So I think that that bond like now going into business, even now starting this new adventure that we’re working on, which we’ll share all about, we just were able to communicate and work really well together. And I am so excited and proud to be able to have that in this lifetime. Awesome

Curt Anderson  05:26

soul sisters, if I can right is that I tell you guys are, you’re, you’re a special breed. And so Lacey, just shared a little bit from your perspective, going into the military, serving in Iraq. Just share a little bit on your journey.

Lacey Ernandes  05:39

Yeah, certainly. I joined the Army a year after graduating high school. I needed to get out of Indiana, otherwise we get stuck there. There’s a lot of agriculture, and I was, I wanted to see more, so I joined the Army, obviously. And I was one of the people who had taken my vacation, like, early in that deployment, she’s talking about the 15 months. And that was interesting, because all of America got to find out that we were getting extended while we didn’t know, because it was on the news. So it was like, Oh, hey, we have three months left. And the next day it was like, Oh, we have six months left. That was hard, it was and so, but it was nice to be able to have, like the late deployers, like Megan, and I think there was like five of you or something, and so we were like family there. And we

06:33

having new people. Was it was like the like, what you do for fun, I guess, yeah, like,

Curt Anderson  06:42

the new kid, the new kid at school, right? Yeah,

Lacey Ernandes  06:44

yeah. Like, oh, new people. Like, let’s find out all about them. We’ve all know each other. Yeah,

Curt Anderson  06:49

you, let’s find out about the new people, right? Yeah,

Lacey Ernandes  06:53

yeah, um, we came back from that deployment. We got ready for another deployment immediately. And then after that one, I got pregnant and got out of the military. Megan was still in. She came and visited me once after our son was born. And then I ended up getting back in the army, like she got out of the military and started working for the FAA. And let’s see. After that, I think I did, like, four more years in the Army and got out, because it was me and my husband and we had a young one, and it’s really, really difficult to try to manage that. I went to school for graphic design. I was a bill collector for a time.

Curt Anderson  07:36

Yeah, that went well, right? You love that, right?

Lacey Ernandes  07:39

Oh, yeah, it was my favorite, not, no, not really. But it did teach me a lot about, like, um, because I had been in sales before the army, you know, like, I had teenage jobs and whatnot, but So it taught me about how to close the sale when there wasn’t, like, when they already owe you money, yes, like, they already, they already bought it and probably got rid of whatever it was. So that was a cool experience. And then when I was in school for graphic design, that’s when, like, Megan and I really reconnected. And I just think it’s so cool, because I’m like, Girl, we’ve known each other almost like, 20 years now, and I thought I would, like, grow up with, you know, the people I went to school with, and be friends with them for the rest of my life. And I’m like, no me and you were real. Childhood friends now,

Damon Pistulka  08:22

yeah, that’s something. How those the later in life friendships are really something? Yeah,

Lacey Ernandes  08:29

definitely. That’s my sister.

Curt Anderson  08:34

So let’s what, what? Let me, let me see if this works. Sometimes I get the hearts going. David, there they are. Hey, Lisa’s got the hearts going. So, yeah, Lacey, what? So what attracted you to, you know, like, alright, military air traffic controller, what attracted you, you know, you try the bill collecting thing, not your jam. Really struck a chord on the graphics side, like, what the creativity, you know, you’ve now evolved to? And as a matter of fact, for folks out there, drop us a note, let us know you’re there, Dean. We got a few friends that are just, yeah, I’m

Damon Pistulka  09:05

going to drop some comments up here. Diane Byer says, Happy Monday, everyone. Diane, happy Monday. Back to you. Hope you’re having a great day. We got Molly. Blakely stopping by. Stan. Love this Molly. Thanks for being here. We got Usman stopping in saying greeting from uzman, how are you all there? Damon persuga, nice to meet you people here. Hope you’re doing good work. Best wishes to everyone. I can’t say it all right, but thanks for being here. Uzman. Love it.

Curt Anderson  09:37

Yeah, it’s all good. He’s got hearts

Damon Pistulka  09:39

emojis. You just going for it. Thanks, man.

Curt Anderson  09:42

Yeah, keep bringing emojis. So everybody out there drop us know, let us know that you’re there. Do us a favor. Connect with Megan on LinkedIn. Connect with Lacey. Lots of exciting things going on. So, yeah, please. Let’s go here. Like, what inspired you? Like, where did you find let’s this little creative bug. You know, when you connect with Lacey on LinkedIn, you’ve got, like, packaging. A designer, you’re an FDA labeling expert, what attracted you to that

Lacey Ernandes  10:05

great question? So in high school, I was, like, part of the yearbook and I was darkroom editor. I was kind of into, like taking pictures and like the creative side, but I was more into, like, playing with Photoshop and the Adobe programs. So I think I always just kind of played with that on my own time. I did go to college for a little bit before I dropped out, and I did, like a newsletter there. I was always kind of trying to do some sort of graphic thing, not knowing that I was, like, gonna do this for the rest of my life. But hey, so yeah, and when Megan approached me and with the elevated oats thing, I was like, wow, this is cool. Like I could have a package in a store. What me? So that was really cool. And I was all in, of course,

Curt Anderson  10:54

and I’ll tell you your your PRI. So these guys were just fierce entrepreneurs. Love the branding, the website, everything was phenomenal. The packaging, the product was absolutely delicious. And so you guys did an amazing job. Megan, I got to come visit. Got a little tour. So let’s just talk about like. I want to dive into, like, your superpowers. You’re now working. We’ve talked about the last MEP. You’re very both of you have been very involved with the MEPs. Take advantage of the programs that they offer, and now you guys have a really new and exciting association that you’re putting together to help entrepreneurs. Talk a little bit about, like, what? And I know you’re very humble, so I mean to throw a goofy question, but like, your superpowers, what do you feel like with your partnership with Megan? What do you love doing? What do you feel that you bring to the table? Let’s talk about, like, your entrepreneurial like, what? What really gets you fired up?

11:43

Me Okay, no, I’m sorry, Megan.

Curt Anderson  11:45

Did I say Lisa? I met Megan.

11:47

I’ll go first.

Speaker 1  11:48

I thought this was gonna be my question. I would actually love this question, because we were just on chatGPT, asking it. Hey, with everything you know about me, what would you say my superpower is, oh, did you really? We really did, yeah, like, in this last week, we did this, and which is a very interesting and cool insight. So for me, it is creating action driven communities. I love building community. I love bringing people together, because we can overcome if we’re together, right? Like, I think doing elevated oats showed that was my first business venture, and then that, I mean working with people like, you’re not a sole entrepreneur, like you have a partner, and you have employees, and you’re building something that’s going further out there. It is a lot. It’s a lot, yeah, so I think that having like, you can get very siloed into what you’re doing. You know, we had it vertically integrated system here in Alaska. We don’t have co pack packers that could be making our product, right? So we were doing everything, and then that takes up a lot of your time. And so I think that you kind of stop forgetting that people are out there doing the same thing. You know, we’re all trying to overcome these same problems. And when we decided, even before we shut down elevated oats, we connected a lot with different business owners, entrepreneurs learned a lot about the same challenges that they were facing we were facing after shutting down elevated oats because it, I think we really realized, like, this wasn’t right. The model that we set up for Alaska just wasn’t going to be the thing where we envisioned it going. So we’re like, it’s okay, there will be something else in our future. This is not this is not the only thing, right? So deciding to shut that down, these last two years, I’ve been working for the MEP, and so I’ve seen a lot more manufacturers on all different types of things that are happening. And we really are all facing the same problems. Like in Alaska, we’re facing a lot of the same challenges. Logistics, shipping, every manufacturer is going to make some type of comment about that, because our cost is we’re adding this cost coming up. We’re adding this cost going out. We already have these high prices here. Our supply chain is not really well connected. Here in Alaska, everybody’s getting everything from out of state. Having a new Amazon place is huge, like, that’s been a huge impact for here in Alaska. But there are ways that we can work together and overcome some of these, just common challenges that we have. And I’ve seen the manufacturers do it. I’ve seen them team up and consolidate shipping so that they can reduce the cost. We just need to get people in the same room. So if we can do that, like I know that it can happen if they’re together. Yeah, I like

Curt Anderson  12:45

that stronger together. And so let’s, let’s start here. So when you guys with elevated oats, and again, this was just a really cutting edge, dynamic food product that you guys. Offered. Just absolutely love what you guys did, just so courageous for you guys to take that leap of faith in entrepreneurship. Megan, when you guys had elevated oats, you would do, like, if I’m not mistaken, like monthly hikes, like mountain climbs, like what like, and you were bringing community together, posting that on social. Just share a little bit on that perspective.

Megan Militello  15:21

Yes. And I think that’s where the superpower really like comes into play, is it started with elevated ODEs. We went through an accelerator program, and Linda, who was the director of g beta at the time, was like, Hey, why don’t you host a hike for all of us in the cohort to go out on? So we’re like, okay, great, let’s do that. And then it kind of became this out of the box marketing like, tactic, like, Okay, let’s get everybody outside. This is our audience. This is exactly who we want to be talking to. And let’s give them the product. Like, we’re gonna hear about what they like. We’re gonna actually like, see them outdoors. But when we decided to shut down the business, like, I no part of me wanted to stop the community, right? I’m like, they know coming together to eat the granola like they’re coming together to get outside. They want that connection. They want to feel more confident outdoors. We saw the problems with that audience, and then, ultimately, now it is its own thing. We empowered the community members to lead hikes. So last month, we actually had more, I think, more than seven, actually, nine different adventures that were going on different hikes that you can join. One gentleman was doing bike rides. So, I mean, yeah, all three, by the way. So this is like, just the community getting together. You know, they’re just out there doing it, yeah? Yeah,

Curt Anderson  16:41

right. So, right. So then let’s, let’s go here. So you have that passion, and you suppose about that all the time. And reason I want to get into that is, you know, for manufacturers, I don’t care if you cut metal, bend steel circuit, you know, whatever it is, there is an opportunity, I know, like, it’s as entrepreneurs we get so nose to the grindstone, it’s hard to think like that, but it’s like, how could you create a community? And so I just want to hear share a couple things that Megan and Lacey have done. So now, okay, so then you guys decide, tough decision, and that is difficult for you know, entrepreneurs be like, hey, you know what? We’re going to take a pivot. We’re going to make a little transition. Lacey, share a little bit because you’ve been doing as I’ve been following you being my bestie that you are. You’ve been doing some consulting. Talk a little bit about what you’ve been doing since elevated oats, and then we’re going to dive into your new summit Manufacturing Association that you guys are launching

Lacey Ernandes  17:28

love. Um, okay, yeah, so I for people who don’t know I was married to the military as well. I was served, and my husband was still serving for he did 21 years. He just retired last Whoa, no, yeah, December is just Wow, good for him. So 21 years we were living in during all of elevated all of elevated oats. Sorry, we were living in North Carolina. We moved to Washington State, and it was probably, like eight months later when we decided to close elevated oats. And so I was like, whoa. We just moved to, like, the most expensive place on Earth, um,

Curt Anderson  18:13

Damon. You know that raw, right? Yeah.

Lacey Ernandes  18:16

But, um, I started working for a company called one explorers. I still actually work part time for them, doing their marketing and kind of handling their brand, but I also do I’ve been taking like logo design and like consulting on the side recently with the summit situation. So I think for me the whole time. It was nice to kind of have a break and not worry about, like, having to feed other people, you know, like when you have your own business, and,

Curt Anderson  18:50

yeah, you’re doing so I don’t have any hair left, right? So just a little bit stressful running a business, right? Megan,

Lacey Ernandes  18:56

so it was nice to, like, take a break a little bit, you know, and let somebody else handle their own business, um, and then, but the whole time, me and Megan are, like, talking, and we’re like, oh, you know, I kind of miss working with you. So it was just a matter of time before something came out of our

Curt Anderson  19:13

our brains. It was just a matter of time. So Megan, let’s slide over here, so you bring your passion, your expertise, your experience to the Alaska VP and for our friends out there not familiar, the Alaska VPS, the Alaska Manufacturing Extension Partnership, and you’ve done an amazing job there again, like bringing that superpower building community talk a little bit about how what you’ve been doing, and then how this bridge right in then we’re going to dive deep into the summit Manufacturing Association. Yeah,

Speaker 1  19:41

part of my role at the MEP was the scone pilot program. So it’s the supply chain, intelligence, optimization network, something like that, right? And the point is to strengthen our national supply chain. So if we have manufacturers that are looking for something. We can put their item out on this list. We list all the tolerances, how much they’re looking for when they want it. Basically, we’re trying to find someone that can make that that is in the US. So this isn’t putting a list out to the world. This is really just putting a list out to all of the MEPs in the nation, which there’s 51 right? So we have all of these MEPs looking at it, you already have their network that they’re tapping into to see if there’s some type of match. So with us doing that, I’m talking a lot to manufacturers about what they need, different things in their supply chain, what they’re manufacturing. And I it, you know, a lot of our manufacturers, we don’t have a lot of manufacturers. We have, like, I think less than 800 I want to say in the state, a lot of it is food based. A lot of them outsource a lot of what they do because of just our lack of resources here in the state. So trying to strengthen the national system really showed me, like, the flaws in just our local system, and how we’re not connected, and how we have, like, this one road system and our food manufacturers, like, there’s few distributors to choose from, and the broker that we talk to for elevated oats wants us to compete with the nationwide Like granolas, right? And I’m like, well, this doesn’t fit. Like these don’t compute, because we are different. We’re here, but people aren’t seeing it that way, right? So it’s, it’s trying to make changes in the system, because Alaska is just different. You know, we’re everybody’s importing everything, and we don’t necessarily need to, but there’s not the systems in place to just bring as much local in. So all of this to say, I started doing manufacturing mixers once a quarter to bring people together. And so that’s been going on for the last year and a half, which that idea really stemmed from the community hikes that were happening at elevated oats, right? And so it’s like, well, if this is working over here for this business, why wouldn’t it work over here for this industry, this community? How can we get these people together in the same room? So it’s a it’s different than a hike. We get everyone in the same room. I’ve learned a lot over the last year and a half when it comes to how we communicate in a room, what makes sense, what works, you know, like trying to get everybody to just have an icebreaker. And not everybody is a networker. Not everybody is just has this huge personality, right? Like, sometimes it takes a little work. So having these consistent events has been huge, I think, for our industry, and I’ve already seen so much come it’s almost, I think, of like a brain, you see, like all of the little sparks happening and the little clusters, that’s the rooms, that’s what’s happening. And so it’s, we want to continue it. We want to continue that because it’s so valuable, right? Okay,

Curt Anderson  23:01

so let’s dive right. What do you got demon?

Damon Pistulka  23:03

Well, and I mean, and like you said, Megan, it’s, it’s helping the people in the room make it a better experience for them, because there aren’t natural they’re in the room and inspect. And I want to say especially, but in manufacturing, a lot of the people aren’t used to going out and doing that kind of interaction, but once you show them a few simple things, they begin to enjoy it. And the next thing you know, your 800 manufacturing in Alaska are working together. Instead of going, Oh, I’m going to have to go to the lower 48 to find something else, right? Something else, and I go, there’s somebody that they might be 200 miles away, but that’s or three or 400 miles away even, but it’s still a heck of a lot easier for me to deal with that than than the ocean freight and the other things that we get to deal with coming all the way south. But that’s super cool, those manufacturing mixers are so there’s some mixers, in general, be able to talk to people, get to know them, because you never know one person could have this problem there. I said, I just solved that. I just had that. Or, or, you know, we’ve got to, like you said, before, we’ve got a container coming, but there’s room on it. Who else has stuff they want to put on it? Yeah, you know, so many things that’s cool. Super

Curt Anderson  24:19

great. And the thing there’s wonderful, you know, it takes a village to raise a it takes a village to raise a child. They say, right? It takes a village to raise a business, right? And so I love what you guys are doing here, because, like, you’re pulling people together. And like, you know, folks can go to, like, a chamber event, or like a small business development center, or BNI, like, some of the different networking, you know, and that’s wonderful, because you get different perspectives. But as a manufacturer, sometimes you’re like, Well, I don’t need to be hanging out with the attorneys, the financial planners, the the, you know, all the sales people selling me something. It’s just, I just want to geek out with other manufacturers that have the same similar problems that I have, or maybe I’ve got a solution that I can in in your in light of manufacturers like you said. Meg. Are not the most extroverted, you know, they might be a little bit on the introverted side. So I’m going to toss this up to both you guys. We are talking about your new summit Manufacturing Association. What is this and how are you guys making the more the world a better place? Who wants to grab that

Lacey Ernandes  25:17

one? Oh, she it’s off screen for me. So who’s that? No, I’m

25:22

kidding.

Lacey Ernandes  25:26

Um, okay, we’re starting what is it about? Well, we’re actually thinking about changing the name, which is probably why you have the APA summit Manufacturing Association up there. We think Alaska’s Manufacturing Association is probably more inclusive. There you go,

Megan Militello  25:40

lessons. It’s so funny, because we learn these like, so quick, right? You’re like, we’re gonna

Curt Anderson  25:46

do this. Well, now keep in mind, when you guys go national, you know, like, maybe, you know, so maybe you might. So anyway, that’s just my two cents, right? But anyway, go ahead, Lisa,

Lacey Ernandes  25:55

heard, heard, well, I don’t know how much I can say so, because there’s like, information that’s not totally out there, but hey, let’s just say there’s a trade war kind of going on. Okay?

Curt Anderson  26:07

Wait, there is, yeah, right.

Lacey Ernandes  26:11

And because of that, like, I understand we want to have more Made in America things, but we need to have the systems built, and we’re seeing we don’t have that we, we, we’ve just looked to see the land, and now we need to build things, yeah, because we’ve been importing for so long. And I think Alaska is a really good place to really I think model this because it is one smaller, but two is also away from the rest of the 48 you know, the lower 48 I guess. And so if we could build something that really connects everybody here, I think we could expand to the lower 48 Megan, back to you.

Megan Militello  27:00

I think, well, Curt, you know me and Lacey just have so many ideas. We have other ideas that are nationwide ideas, and this is that’s going to be another episode that would

Curt Anderson  27:11

be the next Right, right, right, like, three or four months from now, if I’m knowing you two, right? So we’re

Lacey Ernandes  27:15

walking, we’re in the walking, crawling, crawling, walking phase. Yeah,

Curt Anderson  27:19

heck, we’re crawling. You guys into the walking, right? Yeah, Alaska

Megan Militello  27:23

needs this community, right? So, like, we’re going to start just baby steps here. This is a, this is something that we see, is a gap that I think, I’m not going to say it’s not a lot of effort on our part, but we just need to, like the directory, right? Like, we have someone here that does a startup calendar to get that information out. We just need it all consolidated in one place so that we can go to it and use that as a tool.

Lacey Ernandes  27:53

And that’s our first, like, our biggest first thing is, like, starting that directory. We’ve heard around from people and, you know the ecosystem. I’m like, Oh yeah, the MEPs have started one. Every single time they’ve started, I guess they’ve had multiple iterations in Alaska, but that’s not accessible to the other manufacturers or the suppliers, and that is our goal is to be able to link those people up and even just the institutions that support them.

Curt Anderson  28:21

Yeah, I love that. And so, so the thing is, it’s kind of bringing the network and community together, like, who does what, you know? And that’s the thing is, like, it’s just Damon. How many times we talked about, like, there could be somebody right down the street that does what I need, but I don’t know it. And so now I’m going somewhere else, you know. So what are so let’s dive into community, and just some of the aspects you guys have. You have a new website, if I’m not mistaken, correct, yes, are we? Are we? Are we brought in? Pull it up. I will tell us a little bit about the so for manufacturers out there, Megan, just share a little bit like, what are what can they expect? What would they do when they meet with you? Let’s walk through, and then I’m going to grab the website. Yeah, right.

Megan Militello  29:05

So, as Lacy said, right now, our main focus is building the directory the MEP in Alaska. The grant is not going to be housed under the university anymore, so the organization is sunsetting. And as Lacey said, we’ve had three iterations of MEP in Alaska. This is not the first time that we’ve had the organization here, so it’s been very challenging to reach the metrics that need to be hit for that federal money that comes in. So yeah, all the work and data and everything that all of those MEPs have done is gone. Right? We don’t know what that list of manufacturers was that the first one had, or what the second one had, or who they were connected with, or what those businesses were doing so exist, or if they exist, or if they were shut down, or who’s doing what? Right? So we you. This is where it’s like. This is this is by manufacturers. For manufacturers like this is how we can connect with each other in Alaska, how we can strengthen our own businesses, our own supply chain, how we can keep things closer to home when it comes to what people can expect. We’re going to do quarterly mixers. Still, we would like to do one large annual event that is for connecting our folks, some type of B to B, something that’s all about manufacturing here in Alaska, because we have some people doing some really interesting things too. And then we want to connect our buyers and our suppliers. Like, how can we get people in front of those people? And then, if they’re I keep saying, and then there’s more. We have a lot of dreams, and if these things could all align, if we’re able to get funding for them, then we can execute those things, like programs for high school kids to introduce them to manufacturing so that we try strengthening our workforce here in Alaska. Because that’s another huge complaint, is that most of our people, the kids in Alaska, they leave. They come of age, they leave. So our population here is never growing, right? We have a lot of different weird challenges, and so we want to come at it from a few different angles, and kind of run that marathon, like, if we get our kids ready, like, how can we prepare them for our future workforce, instead of just being in this panic reaction, like we need to get people here for these jobs right now, right? It’s like we want to be thinking about it more in long term.

Damon Pistulka  31:30

Yeah, yeah, it is a long term approach to getting the labor force is huge everywhere and and especially in a place like Alaska, because you just, like you said, you have a lot of people that are leaving, and it is so critical to start early, because those those kids, those parents, they don’t even consider manufacturing a lot of times that, you know, the college or else, and the or else is probably not nearly as good as finding a manufacturing career. And that’s, that’s really one of the things I think is super cool. Super cool.

Curt Anderson  32:03

Yeah, I love that. And actually, Molly dropped a couple comments here, Damon, if you want to

Damon Pistulka  32:08

grab that, yeah, yep, she was talking about, she, that’s, that’s why she had a production out of Alaska that was earlier she was talking about that. And she said, I can help with that. I built the entire program talked, and then Diane says future, future workforces are incredibly important now, and that’s a huge thing. Megan is starting early, because when you see those kids, seventh, eighth, ninth, grade, whatever, when they’re really getting that impression of what I can do if manufacturing is in there, they’re not going to, you know, they’re not going to think that, hey, I’m going to, you know, do a retail job or something else. Because I’ve, I saw this. My son’s out of college now, but when he was getting out of high school, the the kids that weren’t going to college, the the choices just, I was just so disappointed, because there none of them, none of them, out of his group of friends, chose manufacturing. I know several of them would have done very well there. And and it’s, and it’s not a career like people think. It’s dust, dirty, all that kind of stuff. It is high technology. You can see your accomplishments every day, yeah? And it is a career that will allow you to build a life and a family and a legacy around something that you’ll be proud of.

33:35

So cool to build stuff, yeah, yeah,

Damon Pistulka  33:38

yeah, yeah. I mean, that’s like, that’s when I was in manufacturing. I’m one of those geeks that, if you’re building cool stuff out there after everything closed down, touching it, just feeling it right. Because, yeah, because we build some of the coolest stuff we do

Lacey Ernandes  33:54

every day. Her humans are so cool. Like, seriously, I love, I love what we invent. Like, yeah,

Curt Anderson  34:01

yeah. And Damon, we’ve, you know, we’ve been up to last a couple times we’ve had the pretty cool things, taking tours like and like, seeing what people are making, yeah, just awesome. So, all right, Megan, take us through the website, or Lacey, whoever, either one of you take us through the website. What are some tell us what’s going on here.

Lacey Ernandes  34:20

Oh, okay, I’ll do it. Here is our little hero thing. And the reason why I have this little slideshow going is because we want people to understand, especially in Alaska, like, manufacturers aren’t just, you know, like a factory that you think of industrial like, there are these small things too, like leather working and jewelry making and fashion design and all of that is making, and making equals manufacturing. So we really wanted to hit talk to all of the manufacturers in Alaska, because a lot of them are small, like this. Yeah,

Curt Anderson  34:58

yeah, we’ve encountered what. Fishing Lure, dog food, dog treats. You know, Samson, you know, has, like a wonderful little CNC shop, yeah, you know, Stacy with GC handrail, like she has, Oh, yeah. And incredible company, super cool, you know, doing hand rails for, like, decks and patios and that type of thing. So, I mean, there’s, you know, food processing, fish, seafood, you know. But there’s a lot of agriculture, right? I mean, it really covers a pretty though you are small, You’re mighty, you know, with those 800 manufacturers, we’ve seen a lot of really exciting, cool, we’ve had a team manufacturer on the show, yeah, before from, you know? Felicity law, yeah, yeah. Thank you. Felicity loft, yeah, thank you, yeah. She shared how she had a wonderful experience with the alas MEP and how they helped her tremendously. So, okay, Lacey, keep it rolling. What else? What else we have going on here? Okay,

Lacey Ernandes  35:57

well, um, here is where we’re talking about the mixers, and what if you click that thing, but you don’t have to, it’ll go to the events. We only have a couple, and we are planning on doing this chat GPT, because Megan and I are just avid fans of chat GPT. We should be investors, I think. But uh, honestly, and people approach us a lot about like, oh, well, how do you use that? And I think some people are intimidated, so we want to show them how you can use it for your small business or your manufacturing, and maybe save you on hiring some people,

Megan Militello  36:37

yeah, time, money, energy, yeah, yeah.

Lacey Ernandes  36:41

And then we have a full mixer that we’re planning, but we have not all the details we haven’t done yet.

Curt Anderson  36:50

Awesome. So it’s, and I’ll tell you the main I’m on the board of my local Manufacturing Association, and it’s just wonderful seeing, you know, what it can do. And, like I said, it’s just, you know, all sorts of different sizes companies that have been around for I think we have a member that was founded like, 1807, or something like that, you know, like, couple 100 years, you know, obviously the founder didn’t make it. The founder is not still part of the company, so, but, you know, so, but it’s just also, it could be the solopreneur, like we said, like the person working out of the living room. Or maybe they’re, they’ve got a trade that they’re working out of the garage, or it’s a 50 100, 200 500 person manufacturer. It’s just, it’s wonderful, an opportunity to bring all these folks together and just to collaborate. And just as you keep saying, Megan, stronger is better, right, together. You know, it’s just, this is wonderful. Talk to us a little bit about the directory. What’s going on with the directory? Okay, if

Lacey Ernandes  37:42

you, if you type, don’t do that one yet, go to get listed, because the the way we figure that we can keep the directory updated and people invested is that we need to charge a little fee that we’re thinking for manufacturers, $10 a month. Is pretty, pretty good right now. Um, if you click the directory, you won’t see anything, because you are not logged in, and it is not a customer facing directory. It is a business to business directory. Maybe that’ll change in the future, once we get more members and they have a say, but right now, we think that that’s the best way to keep the directory, you know, up to date, and people invested

38:24

and focused, very cool,

Curt Anderson  38:27

absolutely. So right now, with your supply chain, like what you experienced with the supply chain initiative through the MEP, how do you like from that? Is there anything from that experience that you feel is applicable to trying to get this community off the ground.

Megan Militello  38:44

I think it’s just access. Because right now, what I’m what happens is I’ll talk to someone and I’ll be like, Oh, hey, do you know this person, this person or this person? Let me connect you. And so I’m i for the last year, I’ve said that my superpower is connecting people, and that’s what I would do. I talk to a manufacturer, hey, and let me give you some connections. Let me send you this person. Oh, this is what you need. I know that this exists in the in the ecosystem. Talk to this person. And I don’t want to. I can’t just be that person, right? Like, we can’t have just a few players be those connector, yeah. So how can we create a space where you can go and you’re empowered to do that yourself and find those connections yourself, so that it’s not just someone in the ecosystem that knows all the things, or like a small group of people that know all the things. How can we alleviate that, that work, that connection work, and just put it all together, you know, give the people the power.

Curt Anderson  39:43

I absolutely love it. You know, one thing that hit me, Damon, did you have a comment question?

Damon Pistulka  39:47

Well, no, I think it’s really cool when you talk about if you can empower the members in your association to introduce people. So I’m talking to somebody today that has this challenge, and I. Know somebody else that can do it through your community. If you can introduce that way easily, that’s a huge thing, because we have these communities and they just sit there, right? You might go to like you said, you go to a mixer. That’s kind of cool. You do that. But the real power is when I talk to somebody that’s got a problem, and they say, Hey, I know that this company over here is doing this, and they might be able to help able to help you. You should talk to them, and you do that introduction, super easy, bing, bang, boom, it’s done. And it’s somebody that, A, the person you’re introducing them to, that that might be able to help them. It’s a huge thing. It’s a warm, warm introduction, which is great. And and B, the person gets help, and it’s good. So cool.

Curt Anderson  40:45

And I’ll tell you from the association I’m involved with, I find what you what you get out of it is what you put into it. You know what I mean? Like, if you go into a business community or a networking group, and you just kind of think, like, you know, magic is going to happen automatically. Like, it’s, it’s like going, it’s like a gym membership, you know, like, if I belong to a gym, man, I got, you know, I was there five o’clock this morning. Like, I need to be in there doing my thing. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, yeah. Well, you really need to do to be a part of it. And I think Megan and Lacey, what you guys, you you bring that contagious enthusiasm. And just, you guys are just such a positive force that, you know, there’s nobody better to pull this community together. Speaking of positive force, demon, did you see Diane? Buyer has a couple Diane,

Damon Pistulka  41:24

she’s got some great comments. Now is the great time to put the spotlight on American manufacturing. People are becoming more aware and are paying attention, that is for sure. And she said, there isn’t anything we use in our daily lives that isn’t manufactured, that is correct. So many things we just take for granted, and American manufacturers need a way to pull together in one community. So much change and challenges are happening in the industry. We are always better when we’re working and supporting each other. Yeah. So so true, so true. And you know what you’re doing there with your association is definitely going to help the members. Yeah, and then I

Curt Anderson  42:04

don’t if you guys caught this, Molly dropped up. Oh yeah, program. Megan, I talked to you about a few years back. So hey, this might be an opportunity right here, like, this is community right here, virtually. And so maybe there’s an opportunity to, you know, bring, you know, just how much value you know, for you guys to be successful, it’s all about the value, right? It’s and it’s not just a perceived value, it’s what the value that those manufacturers can get. So alright, best way for folks to find you guys are you are LinkedIn, Facebook. Where can we find where we’re you two hanging out,

Lacey Ernandes  42:34

LinkedIn is probably the best. Yeah.

Curt Anderson  42:42

LinkedIn, just check her, you know. And Lacey, you I love you. Have all sorts of fun comments. Now the education, are you guys going to be like, on top of the AI thing? Maybe? Are there going to be any other fun programs that you guys going to be doing just soon to be soon to find out, or what’s going on there?

Lacey Ernandes  42:57

We got a lot of things on the pipeline, but, you know, can only do so much with two

43:01

people? Let’s,

Curt Anderson  43:03

let’s. Now one question, I do. I’m I know, I know you guys are super busy because you’re building this amazing Association. We’re going to start winding down. Megan, if you could go back in time, what would you Is there anything you would do differently or tell your younger self as an entrepreneur? Is there anything you would have done differently as an entrepreneur with, like, the information that you know today, what would you’ve done differently? Anything?

Megan Militello  43:29

So many things differently,

Curt Anderson  43:30

yeah, like, huge, right? Yeah, you

Megan Militello  43:35

have to learn it. You can’t just, I mean, if I knew all the things I knew, then I wouldn’t be where I’m at right so find a mentor. Find mentors. I think that the people around you are extremely important. They can shave years off of your life, like just some of the conversations I’ve had with early stage food business owners. In an hour, I can give you so much information that I learned over that time, you know, and that’s so valuable. So I think that again, it goes to connections, relationships, asking questions to people. I think I would go back and do better at that, because, as it may look like I was doing that, but I think I was very in my weeds,

Curt Anderson  44:21

yeah, and it’s, and it’s hard to say, you know, to raise your hand and ask for help, and sometimes you just don’t even know what you don’t know, right? Like, I’m not even sure what questions even ask, but I think you’re hitting it right on the head, because if you think of, like, how do most businesses start? You know, like, you know, how about our dear friend Lynn from swoop, right? And, you know, she had a situation with clothing, and she wanted to solve it for herself. Next thing, you know, her co workers wanted that same piece of clothing that she’s wearing. Then next, you know, the hobby turns into, like this little side hustle. Now she’s got like, this full fledged business. So from a food standpoint, you know, like, and it was kind of the same thing for you guys, and like, you’ve done the packaging, you know. Trying to knock on the door for retailers. You know how to get, like, the the ingredients and FDA and all that stuff on your pack. Like, you know, a lot of those. So there’s no reason for us to, like, go through this on our own, right? No, right, yeah, yeah. Like, total, don’t go through it on your own. Lacey, how about that? I’m going to hit you with a different question, and maybe similar question, but a little different spin. Best business advice when you guys started your business was there? Was there? What would you tell your younger self and or was there somebody that gave you just phenomenal advice, or business advice that you’d like to share with a young entrepreneur? What’s the best business advice that you’d like to pass along? Yeah.

Lacey Ernandes  45:42

Um, I got two things, I think, but I the best business advice for sure, was, came from you, and Wesleyan was You’re welcome. Um, it was, don’t try to be everything to everyone, because you end up being nothing to no one, and the other one was the very hard lesson, very hard lesson of being too far in the tactics and not enough in the strategy.

Curt Anderson  46:11

Is that the truth? Yeah, man, that’s a drop right there. And,

Megan Militello  46:17

yeah, can I go? Can I change my answer a little because if I were to go back, well,

Curt Anderson  46:23

so, but Alright, so let’s take all right. So first off, find a mentor, right? Find a mentor. Number one, and I’ll tell you, I’ve been in business for 35 years, and I’m learning it’s just it’s insane, of like, how many mistakes I can make in a single day, right? Yeah, all right. So number one, I want to recap. So hold your thought. Megan, okay, find a mentor. Right. Number two, don’t try to be everything to everybody, because then we we become what? Nothing to no one, nothing to no one. Right. Number three was, don’t get lost in the tactics and at the expense of strategy. Right, man, does that drop the mic right there? Or what? Megan, drop the mic at number four. What do you got for number

Megan Militello  47:06

four? I really just want to add on to number three. And yeah, figure out, like a road map, a business model, strategy, strategy, strategy, strategy. Have a plan and be able to pivot. Remember this?

47:20

Yeah, that’s the thing. So,

Curt Anderson  47:27

man, did we used to geek out? Or what man I used to I loved our were we in person? Were we on virtual when we when we I think we were in person. Weren’t we Megan,

Megan Militello  47:36

when we were Yeah, when you did that. I think Lacey, I

Curt Anderson  47:39

think you and I did it in virtual and I think Megan, you and I were like, I’m like, Hey, I’m breaking out my little so if you guys want to know about the triangle, just, you know that thing that’s a game changer, isn’t it? Like, if you just if you could stay focused on that, right?

Megan Militello  47:52

Yeah, yes, yes. How? Okay, okay, I

Curt Anderson  47:56

know we’re coming into time. I want to hit that one step further, so I’ll put it out to either one of you. Lacy, you brought it up tactics. When you for someone that’s like, Well, wait a minute, like, I haven’t gone through a strategic plan. I don’t know. Like, what’s a strategy? What’s the difference between a strategy and a tactic? Like, so somebody out there that this might be a new foreign language to them, can you, how would you, how would you walk that person through, that new entrepreneur, through? Oh

Lacey Ernandes  48:20

goodness, I cannot do it any justice that you did. Um, Megan, I would do um, I’m thinking, well, a lot of the times I would just be, like, I would explain to them, like, if you chose this or this doesn’t move the needle at all. Like, it doesn’t matter, a strategy is it will move the needle for you. It’s how you’re doing it, not not the little individual pieces of how you’re doing it, those things you can change, and it will not matter what happens to your business, honestly, right? Strategy, strategy, it’s a plan how you’re going to make your money. That’s important, yeah, not

Megan Militello  49:02

just a social media post, right? Like, I think a lot of people will get caught up in that, like, I need to post, I need to put something up, and it’s that, like, is that part that doesn’t have to be part of your strategy, right? If you have strategy, right? So I think that’s get clear on what you’re supposed to be doing, so that your tactics aren’t all over the place, which are the just small things that we

49:23

do? Yeah, we’re just,

Curt Anderson  49:27

we’re just going to savor that for a minute, like, those are just great, great answers. I’m reading a phenomenal Damon and I are, like, avid readers. I’m reading a great book. It’s called barista to billionaire. Barista to billionaire. It’s a phenomenal book. I think you guys would both love it. It’s a gentleman. He, like, dropped out of college, was working at a coffee shop, started his entrepreneurial journey and built a billion dollar business. It’s absolutely fascinating, and I’m at the part right now where he met with Warren Buffett’s partner, Charlie Munger. So, like, here’s a drop out of college, Bill. Built up a billion dollar company, and he said, If I, if I have this, if I have this correct, the biggest players, like the, you know, the Bill Gates that you know, like they have, like they’re not caught exactly what you’re saying, lace, like they’re not stuck in today’s tactics or today’s problems. They have the ability to look out 510, 20 years down the road and be, just be laser focused. I’m going to have challenges today. But if I can, like, like, okay, stock markets all over the place, or whatever, whatever’s hitting you today, if you could say, laser focus on the eye and the prize of like, what does my what’s, what is this association going to look like in 2035 you know, what’s it going to look like 15 years from now? How can I build a legacy that could go past me, you know, like it was just really powerful, and I just, I felt that segues with what you’re just describing. So, okay, man. Conversation, okay, let’s I don’t, I don’t want this to end, but I know we’re coming into the bottom of the hour. Any parting thoughts, words of wisdom, Megan Militello, any parting thoughts, words of wisdom that you want to share with everybody as we close out?

Megan Militello  51:06

Community over competition, yeah,

51:09

oh yeah. Good one.

Curt Anderson  51:12

There you go. Community over man. Oh, my goodness gracious. Lacey. Any parting thoughts, words of wisdom as we close out today. Oh,

Lacey Ernandes  51:22

goodness, I already said all the things, um,

Curt Anderson  51:26

dropped all the truth bombs already, right? Chat

51:29

GPT, if you’re not in

Curt Anderson  51:33

community over competition and just chatGPT, man, and you will be Damon your thoughts as we want. What do you what? Oh, my goodness gracious, I didn’t have to call nine one. I made it through the conversation. How Juju? What are your thoughts?

Damon Pistulka  51:46

Yeah, no, I think it’s great to understand what you guys are going to doing with your association, bringing the manufacturers in Alaska together, because that is how you together, is how everyone succeeds. And like you said, collaboration over competition, community over competition. I mean, let’s, let’s face it, anybody that talks about competition, unless you’re Coca Cola, is really talking about something that doesn’t exist. And once they realize that, and start working together, everyone does better. That’s right. I just think that’s that’s so key, and when we when we really want everyone to do well, because there is some there, there’s enough for everyone. There is now, and there will be

Curt Anderson  52:32

so Alright, guys, we are going to close out. First off, I want to just extend. Anybody that joined us. Do your if you just joined us, do yourself a favor, go back, catch the hit the little rewind, drag button and catch the whole thing. Please connect with Megan on LinkedIn. Please connect with Lacey on LinkedIn. You’ll thank us later. They are doing amazing, incredible work. Cannot wait to see where this association goes. I want to thank you guys. Your your I look up to you. I admire you. I worship you, Uncle Curt, I am on. I’m on live I I’m I’m proud to say I love both of you guys. You’ve really meant so much to me over the years, and I just cherish both of you your friendship and serving our country proudly. God bless both of you, and we, I just want to say, we wish you guys just massive, massive, insane success. So go crush it, right? Just go out and crush it. Don’t even do it for yourselves. Do it for me and Damon. How’s that? Yeah, we’ll do Yeah. All right, hey, we’re going to close out. Diane drops one more comment here.

Damon Pistulka  53:30

Oh yeah. She had dropped one before that. Be able to pivot, be able to adjust to the ever changing challenges. That’s a big deal. And then she said, always in to help support the manufacturing industry. Let me know if I can help. So Diane’s in there in your corner as well. Awesome stuff. Curt, hey,

Curt Anderson  53:48

let’s close it out, guys, man, this was awesome. Thank you both. We hang out with us for one second. Guys, go out. Have an amazing, incredible rest of your week and do me a favor. Do Damon a favor. Do lace and Megan a favor. Just go out and be someone’s inspiration, just like these two amazing ladies and you too will make the world a better place. So we’ll see you guys soon. We’ll see you Friday.

Damon Pistulka  54:07

Yep, have a great week. Bye.