How Smucker Exteriors Tripled Staff and Increased Profits 500%

Smucker Exteriors was facing challenges. Contending with the typical struggles of running a startup—low profits, minimal staff and high stress—founder Dave Smucker needed a solution.

To meet these obstacles head-on, Dave took a leap of faith.  He made the decision to hire a business coach—and in 2017 embarked on a transformative journey alongside Coach Jonas from Integro Coaching.

The decision to engage with Jonas stemmed from a desire for sustainable growth. Dave saw that better profitability would be key for the longevity of his business. These days, the results of making that decision speak for themselves. 

When the two began their journey together, Smucker Exteriors was operating with a 3-5% profit margin on a typical project. These days, per-project profits have surged to an impressive 15-18%—a 500% increase from pre-coaching levels.

The Smucker Exteriors staff has also grown. Starting with Dave, Dave’s brother Allen and a humble team of three employees, the staff has nearly tripled in that time—boasting eight full-time members and a handful of additional part-time staff.

These two metrics—profitability and staff size—showcase the growth impact and scalability of Jonas’ business strategies. And while these results have been foundational in carrying Smucker Exteriors forward, it’s not just the company’s finances that have improved during that time. 

As many business leaders know, stress is a major factor in the day-to-day. And often, a growing company comes with an additional stress load. But that doesn’t have to be the case—particularly when an organization improves its processes. 

On that note, Smucker Exteriors staff and leadership claim stress levels have been cut in half—whereas polls once rated daily stress at an eight or nine out of 10, these numbers now hover around a manageable four or five. 

The reduction in stress is thanks to two things: operational improvements and an increased resilience developed through the coaching relationship.

For this reason, Dave describes Jonas not just as a coach, but also a collaborative partner. He (Dave) describes their bond as akin to being “brothers in business.” And as brothers, they’ve navigated challenges and celebrated their victories at every step of the way.

The two have also shifted toward a Kingdom mentality in running Smucker Exteriors. They now emphasize values-based leadership and the company’s long-term vision and mission statements. These guiding principles have also helped them streamline operations and improve daily production.

In reflecting on their journey together, Dave encourages others to embrace the coaching relationship with humility and openness. “Make the call, check in with a little bit of humility, and open up with some of what you have,” Dave shares. He also stresses the transformative power of pushing beyond your comfort zones.

From Jonas’ perspective, he relates that:

“Dave has taken to heart what I said, trusted me and put into practice what I gave him—which has benefited him tremendously in making his company immediately [more] profitable and strengthened as a whole.”

At the end of the day, Smucker Exteriors has gone through a remarkable transformation. From financial stability to team expansion and personal development, the coaching journey has been instrumental in driving Smucker Exteriors’ growth and renewed culture of excellence.

And in conclusion, Dave says “the main thing is just learning and growing and putting things in place.”

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