The AC Method

Hosted by Aaron Clippinger

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152

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Jul 2026

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About the show

Custom Manufacturing Industry podcast is an entrepreneurship and motivational podcast on all platforms, hosted by Aaron Clippinger. Being CEO of multiple companies including the signage industry and the software industry, Aaron has over 20 years of consulting and business management. His software has grown internationally and with over a billion dollars annually going through the software. Using his Accounting degree, Aaron will be talking about his organizational ways to get things done. His podcast will give you shortcuts to handling situations without having to live it firsthand. With his comedic way of looking at things, you will be entertained by his stories while learning best practices.

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July 8, 2026Episode 15534 min

#155 Scaling to 30 Employees with Zero Sales Team

Can your custom manufacturing facility successfully scale across four decades, survive massive national recessions, and land elite professional sports teams without ever hiring a single salesperson?In this episode of The AC Method, Aaron Clippinger sits down with Jim Lutz, founder and president of Arena Graphics, to break down the operational parameters of extreme business longevity. Jim shares his journey from hand-painting restaurant banners in a tiny one-bedroom apartment to managing midfield stencils for the Baltimore Ravens and navigating high-stakes print installations for presidential events.They deep-dive into why traditional command-and-control management styles fail modern workforces, how to construct a self-reporting error tracking system that preserves trust, and the exact steps Jim took to eliminate his own office and empower his staff to run the shop better without him.🔥 Topics Covered:The No-Sales-Team Blueprint: Turning premium customer care into your ultimate marketing vehicle.The Owner Absentee Test: Why your business should improve when you step away.Hiring for Personality Over Trade Skill: Implementing the strict "pleasantness" interview standard.Self-Reporting Mistakes: Building accountability by logging preventable shop errors without fear.The Soft Hand Shift: Transitioning to high-empathy leadership styles to secure long-term worker retention.📣 "If you go into business thinking purely about academics, you're missing the point. Your network is your real engine."🌐 Follow Aaron on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ | ⁠Instagram⁠ | ⁠Web⁠🔔 Subscribe for more raw business insights and expert breakdowns on The AC Method!The AC Method is hosted by Aaron Clippinger and sponsored by SquareCoil.Go to squarecoil.com to streamline your custom industry today.

July 1, 2026Episode 15425 min

#154 Machine Jigs Are Killing Your Production Speed

If your custom manufacturing business or signage shop is still spending valuable shop hours milling, setting up, and hand-placing substrates into strict physical jigs, you are flushing profit straight down your facility's floor drains.In this episode of The AC Method, Aaron Clippinger sits down with Jason, the CEO of Auto Tran, to tear down outdated methods holding custom shops back. Jason reveals how they combined automated conveyor setups with printhead-mounted camera vision to erase the need for traditional jigs entirely. Now, you can drop parts onto a moving line at any angle, and the software corrects the alignment matrix in milliseconds.They break down the extreme cost of printhead strikes, the development of specialized "high-drop" waveforms that clear 16mm of safe space, and how continuous single pass systems are outputting 50+ custom parts a minute for massive commercial clients like PepsiCo.🔥 Topics Covered:The Death of the Setup Jig: Erasing the $20,000 upfront tooling block.The Return-Loop Bottleneck: Why forcing products to cycle backward back to the operator is a workflow killer.High-Drop Fluid Dynamics: Achieving sharp print registration from nearly an inch away.Single Pass Scale: Swapping scanner heads for ultra-fast, single-pass conveyor belts.Robotic Integration: Deploying automated cobots to load and pack out materials with zero human labor.📣 "If your machine returns every single finished component back to the user who loaded it, you haven't built a modern line—you've just created a bad loop."🌐 Follow Aaron on Linkedinlinkedin.com/in/aaronclippinger/🌐 Follow Aaron on Instagraminstagram.com/theacmethod🌐 Go to Aaron's webpageaaronclippinger.com🔔 Don’t forget to subscribe for more episodes of The AC Method!The AC Method is hosted by Aaron Clippinger and sponsored by SquareCoil. Go to squarecoil.com to dynamically structure your custom industrial tracking loops today.

June 25, 2026Episode 15328 min

#153 The "Do-It-All" Attitude is Killing Your Growth

If your custom manufacturing shop or signage studio is trying to build everything for everyone, you don't actually have an elite operation. You are trapped in the "Cheesecake Factory Trap"—offering an over-inflated menu of capabilities that guarantees internal chaos and kills your bottom line.In this episode of The AC Method, Aaron Clippinger sits down with Anthony Clayton, founder and CEO of Bluebird Graphic Solutions, to map out how to engineer high-level predictability out of unique, custom art fabrications. Anthony bridges his background in engineering with visual trade mechanics to explain how to separate your project delivery into three standardized operational flows.They deep-dive into the friction of getting legacy teams to adopt CRM software tracking, the realistic 4-year curve required to embed fresh corporate habits, and the emotional weight of fabricating the historically significant signage installations for the national Legacy Museum.🔥 Topics Covered:The Cheesecake Factory Trap: Finding your true profitable scope.The Three Core Project Flows: Categorizing ADA, graphics, and fabrication tracks.Automating Typographic Risks: Using script data tables to eliminate spelling errors on major corporate packages.The Rocket Stage Employee: How to handle critical team members outgrowing the culture.The Legacy Museum Project: Navigating high-stakes, emotionally challenging blueprint demands.📣 "People will take an ugly truth over a beautiful lie. Keep your clients entirely in the know."🌐 Follow Aaron on Linkedinlinkedin.com/in/aaronclippinger/🌐 Follow Aaron on Instagraminstagram.com/theacmethod🌐 Go to Aaron's webpageaaronclippinger.com🔔 Don’t forget to subscribe for more episodes of The AC Method!The AC Method is hosted by Aaron Clippinger and sponsored by SquareCoil. Go to squarecoil.com to streamline your custom trade workflows today.

June 18, 2026Episode 15228 min

#152 Overworking Is Killing Your Shop’s Scale

Are you truly a business owner, or have you just constructed a hyper-stressful, 14-hour-a-day job for yourself? In this episode of The AC Method, Aaron Clippinger sits down with Steve Lowe, President of Valley Signs, to unpack the psychological and operational shifts required to step out of daily production crises and step into true executive leadership.Steve transparently shares his journey from taking over a legacy, 30-year-old sign facility to weathering a complete workforce walkout in 2021. Discover how he bypassed manufacturing ego traps, implemented automated CRM tracking workflows, and used ChatGPT to build custom operational boundaries that doubled his corporate target-market scale.🔥 Topics Covered:The Founder Bottleneck: Applying the 3-week operational absence test.The Customer Boundary Shift: Retraining buyers out of chaotic "quick turnaround" demands.Overcoming Shop Floor Burnout: Why household harmony must precede corporate scaling.Evolving From Sticky Notes to Software: Replacing manual paper tracking with clear data visibility.AI Tool Integration: Utilizing customized prompts and 3D modeling environments to boost sales metrics.📣 "If you have a hammer, the hammer doesn't stand up by itself and drive the nail. Wield your operational tools with pure intent."🌐 Follow Aaron on Linkedinlinkedin.com/in/aaronclippinger/🌐 Follow Aaron on Instagraminstagram.com/theacmethod🌐 Go to Aaron's webpageaaronclippinger.com🔔 Don’t forget to subscribe for more episodes of The AC Method!The AC Method is hosted by Aaron Clippinger and sponsored by SquareCoil. Go to squarecoil.com to eliminate custom manufacturing bottlenecks today.

June 4, 2026Episode 15022 min

#150 Why Brokerage Models Fail

If you are running your business from a kitchen table while completely relying on subcontractors to deliver your physical client assets, your scaling potential is non-existent. Your custom brand reputation is entirely exposed to the broken timelines and empty promises of third-party vendors.In this episode, Aaron sits down with Shaun Ensign, CEO and co-founder of Legacy Sign Group, to analyze the heavy operational transitions required to move from basic brokerage models to dominant regional self-manufacturing powerhouses. Shaun pulls back the curtain on how his team successfully navigated scaling from an initial 2,100 sq ft footprint straight into a fully maximized 15,000 sq ft production layout.They break down the friction points of the manufacturing generational gap, how to deploy tech-savvy project management teams to safeguard institutional knowledge, and the exact steps taken to integrate real-time AI modeling and strict EOS structural frameworks into everyday trade environments .🔥 Topics Covered:The Self-Manufacturing Blueprint: Breaking your company's expensive dependency on sub-brokers.The CAD Conversion Pivot: Weaponizing programmatic cut lists to bridge the legacy builder talent deficit .Zoning Audits via AI: Deploying instant automated structural data formatting directly via sales reps .Level 10 Meeting Mechanics: Eradicating internal confusion through structural workflow transparency .Decentralizing real estate constraints: Building satellite production divisions to combat physical facility footprints .📣 "If your team relies entirely on one central figure for every operational answer, you haven't built a scalable business asset—you've just built an exhausting trap."🌐 Follow Aaron on Linkedinlinkedin.com/in/aaronclippinger/🌐 Follow Aaron on Instagraminstagram.com/theacmethod🌐 Go to Aaron's webpageaaronclippinger.com🔔 Don’t forget to subscribe for more episodes of The AC Method!The AC Method is hosted by Aaron Clippinger and sponsored by SquareCoil. Go to squarecoil.com to systematically streamline your custom manufacturing parameters today.

May 28, 2026Episode 15144 min

#151 Your Perfect Product is a Logistics Nightmare

You can own the fastest machinery and design the most visually stunning assets in your region—but if your brand rollout cannot survive the final mile of execution, you do not have a scalable business. You have a logistical disaster waiting to happen.In this episode, Aaron sits down with Chad Haar, CEO and owner of Lakota Sky, to pull back the curtain on managing national rollouts for dominant retail chains. Chad shares his transition from an aerial photographer to an installation powerhouse owner, discussing the critical systems required to keep field work simple at massive volume.They break down the cultural problem of on-site communication failures, the true cost of print material wastage in corporate backrooms, and the specific tracking mechanics needed to audit work in real-time so your clients stay entirely hands-off.🔥 Topics Covered:The Last Mile Blueprint: Why field execution is where your margins win or lose.The Value of Failed Competitor Bids: Weaponizing tight timelines to gain permanent client retention.Confronting Corporate On-Site Waste: Saving retail programs by circumventing storefront employee negligence.The Magnet Hack ("Click Click"): Engineering lightweight workflows that cut equipment dependencies by 90%.Auditing on the Fly: Using instantaneous photo logs to completely secure your compliance validation.📣 Systems are king. If you don't build software and documentation into your delivery chain, you're capping your scale potential.🌐 Follow Aaron on Linkedinlinkedin.com/in/aaronclippinger/🌐 Follow Aaron on Instagraminstagram.com/theacmethod🌐 Go to Aaron's webpageaaronclippinger.com🔔 Don’t forget to subscribe for more episodes of The AC Method!The AC Method is hosted by Aaron Clippinger and sponsored by SquareCoil. Go to squarecoil.com to streamline your custom manufacturing operation today.

May 21, 2026Episode 14919 min

#149 Stop Pricing Like an Employee

In this episode, Aaron breaks down the #1 mistake killing sign shop profits — underbidding your own work. From the employee mindset that keeps you pricing too low to the fear of losing deals that actually should walk away, Aaron shares the hard lessons every business owner needs to hear.🔥 Topics Covered:Why trading time for money destroys your growthThe four mindset traps keeping your prices lowWhy winning 80%+ of your bids means you're failingHow to stop feeling guilty about your pricesThe 20% test (pick one service, raise it, send ten proposals)📣"You are hurting your company far worse than any material cost change. You are underbidding your company's work."🌐 Follow Aaron on LinkedIn | Instagram | Web🔔 Don't forget to subscribe for more episodes of The AC Method!The AC Method is hosted by Aaron Clippinger and sponsored by SquareCoil.Go to squarecoil.com to streamline your custom industry today.

May 14, 2026Episode 1489 min

#148 Your Shop Is Hoarding Tools (And It’s Costing You Thousands)

Do you actually know how many tools are in your installers' trucks? Aaron Clippinger recently discovered 14 Hilti drills in his shop—for only 6 installers. In this episode, he dives into the massive "blind spot" of equipment mismanagement and the cultural issue of employees hiding broken tools.Aaron reveals the new SquareCoil "Resources" feature: a Home Depot-style tracking system that monitors machine hours, repair costs, and utilization. Learn how to use data to decide between a warranty repair or a trash can, and why 50% utilization on a crane truck means you need a better calendar, not a new vehicle.🔥 Topics Covered:The Hilti Audit: Facing the reality of over-equipped shops.The "Broken Tool" Phenomenon: Why employees won't tell you when things break.Forecasting with Section 179: Spending profit on machinery before tax season hits.Utilization vs. Waste: The 90% rule for buying new equipment.OSHA Preparedness: Digital records for ladder and safety gear maintenance.📣 "Good data equals good decisions. Stop leaving utilization on the table.".🌐 Follow Aaron on Linkedinlinkedin.com/in/aaronclippinger/🌐 Follow Aaron on Instagraminstagram.com/theacmethod🌐 Go to Aaron's webpageaaronclippinger.com🔔 Don’t forget to subscribe for more episodes of The AC Method!The AC Method is hosted by Aaron Clippinger and sponsored by SquareCoil.Go to squarecoil.com to streamline your custom industry today.

April 30, 2026Episode 14629 min

#146 Your Competitors Are Your Best Salespeople

In this episode, Aaron sits down with Rick Goyette, owner of All Mark Signs and Graphics, to discuss the "total teardown" of a legacy family business. Rick shares how he applied 30 years of corporate operations experience to move All Mark from a safety signage focus to a high-end custom project management powerhouse.They dive deep into the modern realities of the sign world: why answering the phone is your greatest competitive advantage, how to successfully manage a global remote design team, and when to pull the trigger on vertical integration for in-house installation and UL certification.🔥 Topics Covered:Transitioning from corporate executive to small business owner.The "Responsive" Edge: Winning business by just saying hello.Scaling with remote talent in a "hands-on" industry.Strategic Vertical Integration for safety and quality control.Leveraging peer networks to handle national property accounts.📣 Growth is about being found and being responsive. If you aren't doing both, you're leaving 50% of your orders on the table.🌐 Follow Aaron on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ | ⁠Instagram⁠ | ⁠Web⁠🔔 Subscribe for more raw business insights and expert breakdowns on The AC Method!The AC Method is hosted by Aaron Clippinger and sponsored by SquareCoil.Go to squarecoil.com to streamline your custom industry today.

April 23, 2026Episode 14513 min

#145 You Are the Bottleneck in Your Own Company

Are you the most valuable person in your company, or its biggest obstacle? In this episode, Aaron Clippinger explains why being "busy" is the biggest lie entrepreneurs tell themselves. He reveals the exact framework he uses to "fire himself" every year to ensure he isn't the cog stopping his company's gears.Learn the "Keep, Coach, Kill, Replace" audit and how to use the 80/20 rule to move mountains instead of just putting out fires.🔥 Topics Covered:The 21-Day Test: Can your business survive without you?Busy vs. Valuable: Breaking the reflex of "running into burning buildings".AI SOPs: How to document your job in 30 seconds.The Fire Yourself Ad: Writing the job description for your own replacement.📣 Your company doesn't need more of you—it needs less of you and more of your vision. 🌐 Follow Aaron on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ | ⁠Instagram⁠ | ⁠Web⁠🔔 Subscribe for more raw business insights and expert breakdowns on The AC Method!The AC Method is hosted by Aaron Clippinger and sponsored by SquareCoil.Go to squarecoil.com to streamline your custom industry today.