The Grit Blueprint
The Playbook for Building Unmistakable Brands in the Built World
You can be the best in your market and still get passed over by a competitor who simply shows up better and more consistently where their customers are looking.
The Grit Blueprint Podcast is where visibility, media, customer experience, and creative brand strategy turn trust into growth in the built world.
Hosted by Stefanie Couch, a lifelong building industry expert born and raised in the business, this show explores how companies in building materials, construction, manufacturing, and distribution position themselves to win before the first conversation even starts.
You’ll hear from executives, operators, and decision-makers who are rethinking how they show up in the market. You’ll also hear from Stefanie and the Grit Blueprint team as they share the systems, strategy, and content that make good brands impossible to ignore.
Every episode turns insight into action. Because in this space, great work alone isn’t enough. You have to be seen, be known, be chosen, and ultimately, become unmistakable.
Produced by Grit Media. Powered by Grit Blueprint.
The Grit Blueprint
Reviving a Small-Town Hardware Store: 3 Sons Hardware | Sponsored by Do it Best Group
Lori Ables shares the story of how she transformed a nearly empty store into an award-winning True Value hardware destination at 3 Sons Hardware in Minnesota. Her journey from reluctant retailer to passionate hardware store owner showcases the power of listening to customers and creating a family legacy business.
• Initially reluctant to enter retail when husband bought first hardware store in Ohio
• Purchased Minnesota store in 2022 and completed extensive remodeling with True Value's help
• Named business "3 Sons Hardware" with all three sons working in family businesses
• Expanded fishing department with live bait and tackle to serve local lakes community
• Focuses on listening to customers to adjust product mix for local needs
• Leads by example by working alongside employees on all tasks
• Balances having experienced retirees and younger employees for knowledge and energy
• Successfully navigating the True Value transition to Do it Best ownership
• Exploring AI technology for creating store signage and other applications
• Working in tandem with family lumberyard business for economies of scale
If you're ready to turn visibility into growth, head to gritblueprint.com to learn more and book a call to talk about your growth strategy.
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Tell me about the remodel process. You know I worked seven days a week for a few months and it was exhausting, but it was like it was so much fun getting to put things where I wanted them to be, and True Value's design team really helped in the process.
Stefanie Couch:Where have you seen challenges and been able to solve them in your business?
Lori Ables:This store is a lot different than my other store because our other store was more rural and this one is more. It's still a small town but it's more in town and so I really had to listen to the customers and what they're looking for. So since the remodel I've made a lot of changes, changed our product mix a little bit, not drastically, but enough to fit what the locals are looking for.
Stefanie Couch:Welcome to the Grit Blueprint Podcast, the playbook for building unmistakable brands that grow, lead and last in the built world. I'm Stefanie Couch, the founder of Grit Blueprint, and I'm a lifelong building industry insider. I was raised here, built my career here, and now my team and I help others win here. The truth is, you can be the best option in your space and still lose to someone else who simply shows up better and more consistently Each week. On the Grit Blueprint, I'm going to show you how to stand out, earn trust and turn your brand into a competitive advantage that lasts. If you're ready to be seen, known, chosen and become unmistakable, you're in the right place. Let's get started.
Stefanie Couch:Hi, I'm Stefanie Couch and this is the Grip Blueprint Podcast, and I'm here today in Orlando with Lori Ables from Three Suns Hardware. Thank you for joining me on the show, lori. Thank you, and you're here because you actually won an award last night, one of the Beacon Awards, which was super cool for your hardware store. So I'm excited to talk a little bit about what you're doing in Minnesota and how you actually got into the business with your sons All right. So you won a big award last night, the Beacon Award for Three Sons Hardware. Tell me a little bit about your store. You bought this store in 2022, but you've got a long history with hardware, so how did you get started in the business?
Lori Ables:We used to live in Ohio, okay, and my husband wanted to buy a business and get out of the trucking industry. So we started looking around and found a hardware store and know at the time it's a recession proof business and stuff. So he thought, well, this is great. So he, he ran it for a year and then got a big opportunity in trucking and said you know, well, I'm gonna need your help with hardware store. I'm like I know, I don't know anything about hardware, I don't want to work in retail, yeah, but I did it and then, like over a few months, I like really became to just love it. I just I was surprised, but I just loved it. It's. What part of it did you love the most? The customers and I loved being able to pick out different products, uh, different categories, for our store and tailor them to our customers. Yeah, and just the whole thing, just everything having a wide variety.
Stefanie Couch:Yeah, I love how everything's always different in a hardware store Every day, the people that come in. You never know who's going to come in. That's one thing that strikes me a lot about. I've interviewed a lot of hardware store owners with Do it Best and True Value and lots of different people. Everyone's market is so unique, and so you, in 2022, you purchased a store in Minnesota, yes, and you did a full remodel, so it was in pretty bad shape wasn't it.
Lori Ables:It was in bad shape, the previous owner had health issues and it was pretty bare. I'm surprised anybody shopped there. It was so empty. Yeah, and the building. They didn't take care of much of anything the last few years.
Stefanie Couch:Yeah, so you guys gutted the whole thing. Tell me about the remodel process. It was a lot of work but it was fun.
Lori Ables:It was. You know, I worked seven days a week for a few months but it was exhausting, but it was like it was so much fun getting to put things where I wanted them to be, and True Value's design team really helped in the process. They helped lay it out and I would want to make changes and they were great about making it all work.
Stefanie Couch:Yeah, and True Value is such an iconic, legendary brand that everyone knows that True Value logo with that scripted font. What has it been like? You guys now have had a transition in the last few months with Do it Best purchasing True Value. There's been a lot in the news about all the things happening, but now here in 2025, how are things going? And I know you've done so much in the store. You added a fishing department that is awesome for your Minnesota fishers and you have all of these cool things. But how has it been working with Do it Best and True Value?
Lori Ables:It's going good. They really Do it Best, has really done a lot of things in a short amount of time and it's kind of it's really impressive what they've done with True Value to help bring it back.
Stefanie Couch:Yeah, and it's such a great brand, like I said, so many years of history I'm glad that they revived it because it would have been really sad to see that go away. But you believe a lot in legacy because you have three sons that you have in the business. Tell me a little bit about the family connection and how they work in the business today.
Lori Ables:My oldest son works for me, okay, and he went to work for somebody else for a while in the car industry and stuff and then he used to work for me when he was little, yeah. So then he came back and he really likes it a lot. That's awesome he gets into. We just redid our whole tool department and he was a big part of that in helping choose what went in where and stuff. So that was kind of fun watching him get a picket and like it as much as I do.
Stefanie Couch:Yeah, and also to just see that you have ownership in something Like literally their names are on the door and that they're building something that's bigger than them, but also it is theirs and I love that. And family business is really special and also can be challenging at times.
Lori Ables:Yes.
Stefanie Couch:It's always fun. I grew up in a family lumberyard and hardware business and you never know quite how that dynamics is going to get as kids get older and all those things. But are you planning on the kids taking over the business? Is that the plan?
Lori Ables:That is the plan. Our younger two work at our lumberyard.
Stefanie Couch:Okay, so all three sons are involved. I love that and you have the lumberyard with your husband, Dave, so you guys work together but have two separate businesses that you're running. How much crossover is there between the hardware store and the lumberyards? I'm curious.
Lori Ables:Their run is two totally separate, but we do. You know, if they need something for contractors that they ran out of or don't have, they send them to our store or we deliver it to their store and then vice versa. We put some convenience lumber in our store and we get it, of course, from the lumber yard and he's now expanded power equipment we'll share. That's cool. Have some at each one.
Stefanie Couch:Yeah, it's nice to have economies of scale there and convenience and all those things. Well, tell me a little bit about you as a person. So you've won a hbs dealer magazine top woman award. You're leading the charge here at three sons. What do you like to do and what's your day-to-day look like in the actual store?
Lori Ables:Well, I open up every morning with the rest of my staff and just I like to do. I have office stuff to do, of course, but I just love to do everything that they're doing, like I like to see. Have them see me do the stuff that they do every day. I am not against mopping the floors. There's several mornings where I'll go in and I'll mop, or, you know, I change the filter in the bait tank or whatever needs done and help customers alongside them and assist them.
Stefanie Couch:It's always great to see your leader doing the things and setting that example like literally with their hands, and I think that does breed a culture of really just people will do anything that needs to be done and help people wherever Customer service and customer experience is really important in a small, local business. I believe it's what really sets them apart. How do you guys focus on that? What do you do in your store to make sure people are wanting to come back and choosing you?
Lori Ables:Well, we try to greet them at the door with a smile and ask them if they need assistance and then, even if they say no, we always check on them to make sure they're doing good. And then we go above and beyond, of course, to we don't have it. We see if we can get it, how soon we can get it, how soon we can get it, and if we just it's something we can't get, it all we try to help them find it wherever they can get it.
Stefanie Couch:mm-hmm tell me about the fishing department because I know it's kind of the hallmark. You love what you did there and that's a really cool standout. It's also very local, so not every hardware store has a lake nearby or or any of that, but obviously Minnesota has a lot of lakes. So tell me a little bit about how you got the idea to do the fishing department, what inspired you and how did you actually make that come to life?
Lori Ables:well, there are a couple big lakes relatively close to us. One of them is within five minutes of our store and there are a lot of fishermen, of course, in the area. So, um the previous owners, they did have a very small fishing department and it was it needed a lot of help. I purchased a new bait tank so we have the live bait as well as now that worms all that yeah normal stuff, but then the actual like tackle the jigs, all that kind of fun.
Stefanie Couch:Do you know about all that now? Like, do you know how to tell people what to use which jig, with which fish, in which place?
Lori Ables:well, not all of it, but I do have somebody on staff that's very good at it, like she grew up fishing. Okay, she just I let her take charge of the fishing department. Now this it's been expanded and established because she really does know what goes with what. Good for her. That's awesome. If they know what they're looking for, I can help them find it. But if they ask specific questions, I'm like Sue, can you come over here?
Stefanie Couch:Well, there's a lot of like nuance that goes to that, and I think there's a lot of lore that goes with it too. Like is this really true, or does this bait really work the best? You don't know. I think there's a lot of lore that goes with it too. Like, is this really true, or does this bait really work the best? You don't know.
Lori Ables:I think there's a lot of opinions on that, well, and there's always new stuff coming out every year. So it's you know, you got to keep up with it, just like everything else. Yeah, absolutely.
Stefanie Couch:And you have other areas of your store. I'm sure that people love and come in, but is there anything in particular that you found to be challenging about running a local hardware store that you would give advice on other for other people maybe that are starting or have a store? Where have you seen challenges and been able to solve them in your business?
Lori Ables:well, this store is a lot different than my other store because our other store was more rural and this one is more. It's still a small town but it's more in town and so I really had to listen to the customers and what they're looking for. So since the remodel I've made a lot of changes and changed our product mix a little bit, not drastically, but enough to fit what the locals are looking for, and we try to really pay attention to. You know, if one person says that we pay attention, but then we try to pay attention, you know, is it just one person that's looking for it or is it like would a lot of people be looking?
Stefanie Couch:for the same item Are you tracking that somehow, or you just kind of work like think about it and you say, oh, I got asked that last week, or are you tracking?
Lori Ables:that Some of my employees are very good at telling me, so then I do track it. That's cool yeah.
Stefanie Couch:Yeah, and I love having data in the business, but I feel like we as owners, a lot of times. There's so many data points, it's hard to know what matters and what doesn't, and it's a lot to track. Are you using any technology? Have you started using AI in your business? I'm always curious if people are, or even in your life, like using anything, or are you still curious to see how that pans?
Lori Ables:I started using AI to create signs around the store and I would like to use it for more, but I'm relatively new to it, so I'm figuring it out. Yeah, it's always changing too.
Stefanie Couch:The good thing I love about AI is you can't really break it and it can train you how to use it itself. It's like the only technology I know that you don't have to read a manual. You can just ask it how to use itself and it'll help you. So it's pretty cool. I'm curious to see how independent hardware store owners start to adapt and bring this into their businesses, because it is coming along pretty quickly down the pipe.
Lori Ables:I could see how it would help you create events and create lists of what you need to do and all that kind of stuff, stuff that you might not have thought of, and so, yeah, I am excited to start using it more and more. Yeah.
Stefanie Couch:You'll have to get back to me and let me know what you're. You'll have to send me an email from chat GPT and let me know how it's going for you. Well, tell me a little bit more about your team and how you lead your team and the things that you do. Maybe training your team. Training is always something I like to ask people about, because I feel like it's such a struggle, with so many items, so many little things, like even the fishing department, to learn all that and how to use it and what to do. It's tough. So how do you tackle training in your business?
Lori Ables:I utilize True Values University online so I utilize that and we carry steel, so we utilize their training as well. But a lot of it is done in store with employees that have been there longer, so we get somebody new, then we teach them Whoever is the expert in that area, we have them train the rest of the people Like my son is really good at the tools and nuts and bolts and electrical, so I have him walk them through and they might not become an expert like he is, but he can tell them the basics. You know enough to get answer most of people's questions.
Stefanie Couch:Yeah, and most people come in and they they want pretty basic information. Sometimes people ask those 56 questions and you're like I don't know, Let me go find someone. But I think it's cool to have the spirit of being okay for someone not to know something and having your team do that. Do you have a lot of younger people working in your store?
Lori Ables:Yeah, right now I have about four of my people are younger people and it's great to have that mix. Yeah, it's good. I have the retirees that are more knowledgeable and then the younger people. They just bring that extra breath of fresh air to the store, yeah, a little energy. Yes, it's nice, and it's nice to see them grow. They're usually shy when they first come in because they don't know much, and then, as they learn, they really are so much better at customer service, at greeting customers and it's nice.
Stefanie Couch:What excites you the most about the future of your business at Three Sons and what's coming next?
Lori Ables:I love to just see people grow and I like to see the relationships we're building with the customers. People come in and they know me by name, which is really nice to know. It's like, okay, I'm doing something right. If people are recognizing us and they know our employees by name, some of them will ask for them and that is great. That's a big deal, yeah, and we're always looking to grow. So, along with the lumber yard and adding another retail space over there, we'll have more available to add to our available to our customers.
Stefanie Couch:Basically, yeah you're doing great stuff in the industry and I always love to see people who are hungry and also who are trying to build something legacy wise for their family hungry and also who are trying to build something legacy wise for their family. And you and Dave obviously are doing that with the name of your company and also the work that you're doing every single day. So thank you for all you're doing in the industry and I'm so excited that we got to chat Congratulations on your Beacon Award. I know that that was hard earned. A lot of blood, sweat and tears went into that, and to get to that point, you have to do a lot to get there. So, and to get to that point, you have to do a lot to get there.
Stefanie Couch:So congratulations on that, thank you. And thank you so much for joining me. Yeah, thank you. Thank you for listening to the Grit Blueprint Podcast. If this episode helped you think a little differently about how to show up, share it with someone in your building world who needs it. If you're ready to turn visibility into growth, then head to gritblueprintcom to learn more and book a call to talk to us about your growth strategy. Until next time, stay unmistakable.
