Sam Metcalf's guest appearances

Sam Metcalf

Own The Promise

Between Two Posts 

The KC Underground Podcast

Ilya Bryzgalov

Ryan Miller

Cal Petersen

Kevin Weekes

Tristan Jarry

Matt Murray

Steve Thompson

Cam Johnson

Mike Vaughn

Eric Beenken

Brendan Kurvers

Jeff Vrieze

Cory Rutledge

Charlie Cameron

Josh Juergensen

OwlTail

This week we hear from VietNAHL vet and current goaltender at Bethel University Sam Metcalf! Sam (8:53) hops Between Two Posts to chat about his hard fought war through the NAHL which includes crazy coaches, shoe checks, endless demo gear, and so many other junior hockey stories! Be sure to Like, Follow, Subscribe, and Rate so we can keep these podcasts coming!--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/betweentwoposts/support

This week we hear from VietNAHL vet and current goaltender at Bethel University Sam Metcalf! Sam (8:53) hops Between Two Posts to chat about his hard fought war through the NAHL which includes crazy coaches, shoe checks, endless demo gear, and so many other junior hockey stories! Be sure to Like, Follow, Subscribe, and Rate so we can keep these podcasts coming!--- Support this podcast: <a href="https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/betweentwoposts/support" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/betweentwoposts/support</a>

Between Two Posts 11: Featuring Sam Metcalf

Sam Metcalf, Managing Principal of Industry, has built an impressive career on a lifetime passion for the M&amp;D industry. She explains how market segments are screaming for highly specialized professionals, and she has some profoundly helpful insights for those who want to take advantage of the tremendous opportunities this offers. One of her most fascinating tips? Be inquisitive and don’t hold back any of your questions. [00:00:04] Narrator: John Richter takes a moment to catch up with Sam Metcalf who’s built an impressive career on a lifetime passion for the M&amp;D industry. She explains the need for highly specialized professionals, and shares her helpful insights for those who want to take advantage of new and exciting opportunities. One tip? Be inquisitive… ask questions. Industry Forward starts now . Music up… [00:00:36] John: Hello, CLAfamily. Welcome to the Industry Forward podcast, the podcast designed to tellyou the stories behind the CLA promise and the careers that have been inspiredbecause of industry specialization. We create opportunities when we live theCLA culture and fulfill the CLA promise. [00:00:55] Weact as leaders, owners, entrepreneurs. At the center of this CLA promise is ourpurpose, our why: to create opportunities, to wake up each morning and askourselves, for whom will we create an opportunity today? If we did that, if weact in accordance with that belief, it would be a different firm. Imagine afirm where every morning, every person wakes up asking themselves, “Who amI going to create opportunities for today?” [00:01:24] Well,today, we’re going to hear about an individual who had a multitude ofopportunities created, mostly through the industry of manufacturing anddistribution.  Samantha Metcalf, welcometo the microphone. Would you tell us a little bit about your career? [00:01:41] Sam: Sure. Well, Idon’t know if you know this, but I came from Cleveland, Minnesota, population600 people. Graduated with 40 kids in my class and was from a very ruralcommunity. My dad was the sales director of a manufacturing and distributioncompany. They manufactured passenger elevators, and so I grew up following mydad around, riding on top of elevators, meeting individuals on themanufacturing floor. Myfirst job was babysitting the owner’s kids, and then I transitioned intoworking for the manufacturing company. I ran parts. I drove these very largevehicles all over the state of Minnesota and Iowa delivering manufactured partsto the customers. [00:02:24] John: I’m trying toimagine Sam Metcalf driving a big truck, but let’s go with it. [00:02:30] Sam: It wasdangerous, let’s just put it that way. So, it was fun. It was great. But itgave me a passion for the industry; it gave me a passion for the people. And soI went to college, went to St. Mary’s University and got an accounting degree.And mainly, that was because my mom was an accountant, and not knowing exactlywhat I wanted to do, I thought, you know, she was very good at her job; I wouldfollow in her footsteps. [00:02:53] So,started with a small public accounting firm. And I did a bit of everything. Iserved non-profits, I did 1099s, I did manufacturing companies. And I foundthat I was losing passion for what I was doing, and I really missed themanufacturing and distribution environment. So I had a choice to make: I waseither going to leave public accounting and go work for a manufacturing companyin their finance department, or I was going to go find a firm that I couldreally focus on manufacturing. [00:03:25] Andit happened to be right around that timeframe, I happened to be at a networkingevent and met two individuals from CLA within the manufacturing anddistribution group. That was–that was pretty good luck. So, met Eric Skie andBrent Terharr, and their passion and energy for the industry gave me the bug.And I actually reached out to them and asked them if I could join CLA about sixmonths later. [00:03:50] John: Oh, you did. So,a networking event and found their story inspiring. What was inspiring orintriguing to you? [00:03:59] Sam: What was sospecial to me with those two individuals is one, again, if you know thoseindividuals, very high-energy. A lot of passion for what they do. But inobserving them, because they were close to our booth–we were set up inbooths–but what I noticed about them was, they were having very differentconversations with the business owners that they were talking to. Itwasn’t about audit or tax or the compliance work. They were actually talkingabout the business. And again, it just–it connected with me, and it wassomething that I wanted to do. It just–it was like a lightbulb going off, ifthat makes sense. [00:04:32] John: Ah, very good.So you joined CLA.  [00:04:35] Sam: I did.  [00:04:36] John: This was howmany years ago?  [00:04:37] Sam: I’ve been withCLA for about 13 years, a little over 13 years. [00:04:41] John: Yeah, fantastic.And you started working on all kinds of enterprises? [00:04:47] Sam: I really got tofocus on manufacturing companies, and I primarily did insurance and tax work.So I started out as a generalist within our manufacturing and distributionteam. The unique opportunity I got, though, was when I first started inMinneapolis, there wasn’t a lot of work for me to do, and so I was able tospend time in Philadelphia working for that manufacturing and distributiongroup, helping them serve clients. [00:05:10] John: Mm, so yourcareer at CLA was really quite focused in the manufacturing realm. [00:05:16] Sam: Absolutely.  [00:05:16] John: Was there anyparticular segment of the industry that you spent more time than others? [00:05:20] Sam: You know,Minneapolis has a focus on some market segments just based on what the clientbase looks like. I really focused on precision metal forming and machining.Metal forming, bending, and printing–those were really the market segmentsthat I focused on. But at that point in time, I wouldn’t say that I had afocus. [00:05:36] John: Mm. And when youjoined us, you were at what–in what role? You were a– [00:05:44] Sam: I was a senior.  [00:05:45] John: Okay, asenior…  [00:05:47] Sam: Yup, yup.  [00:05:10] John: When you joinedus. Okay, so take us forward now. When did you become a principal with CLA? [00:05:16] Sam: Oh, jeez. Ibecame a principal probably four, five years ago–six, I don’t know. Timeflies. [00:05:22] John: Yeah, I think itwas further [indistinct] than that. [00:05:23] Sam: Was it?!  [00:05:23] John: Yeah, but that’sokay.  [00:05:24] Sam: I lose track oftime. But yeah, I became a principal, but I would tell you the journey to getthere was an absolute blast, and I think, you know, I changed–I changed pathsmany times to get where I was today. I woke up knowing that I wanted to servemanufacturing clients, but I–it took me a while to figure out in which way Iwanted to serve them, if that makes sense. [00:05:46] John: Terrific. So canwe–today you serve as the managing principal of our manufacturing anddistribution group, and you’ve been in that role for just shy of two years. [00:05:55] Sam: Yep.  [00:05:56] John: And during theperiod of time, you learned a great deal of lessons. Before we probe those, canyou describe for us, at a high level, what is manufacturing and distribution atCLA? [00:06:07] Sam: At CLA. Well,manufacturing and distribution at CLA–we have 7,[000 manufacturing clientsacross the country in all different types of segments. We serve privately-heldbusinesses. Just a fun fact about U.S. manufacturing: there’s about 252,[000manufacturing companies across the country. All but 4,[000 have less than 3[00employees. And three quarters of that, John, has less than 20. [00:06:36] Sowe have 7,[000 clients in CLA, but we have about 248,[000 clients that we havethe opportunity to meet and connect with in the marketplace. So it’s atremendous opportunity. [00:06:49] John: So if my math isanywhere close, we have about a 3% market share of manufacturers in the UnitedStates. [00:06:56] Sam: Yes.  [00:06:57] John: And the vastmajority of manufacturers in the United States fall into our sweet spot… [00:07:02] Sam: Absolutely.  [00:07:02] John: Of a hundred oremployees.  [00:07:05] Sam: Absolutely.Privately held.  [00:07:06] John: And they’reowned by private industry. [00:07:09] Sam: Yes.  [00:07:10] John: So some of themare family-owned. Many of them now are private equity owned. But the point is,they’re right in our sweet spot. [00:07:18] Sam: Absolutely.  [00:07:18] John: So, what’s theopportunity? Does it go beyond that? It’s just lots of clients? [00:07:22] Sam: No, I mean, Ithink the real opportunity–the market’s changing, John. And I think–and thishas been the history of CLA within our industry specialization, is, you know,traditionally we really focused from a community perspective with themanufacturing and distribution. But expectations are changing. The markets arechanging. Our clients’ needs are changing. And so, they expect us to have ahigher level of specialization. [00:07:46] Andso what that means is, within manufacturing and distribution, we need toseparate it and become subject matter experts in certain market segments,because again, each one of those market segments have different needs. Theyprocess things differently. And our clients are asking us to help them, so weneed to understand it at that level. [00:08:10] John: So could youprofile one of those market segments for us, those industry segments? Iunderstand it, but I want to make sure those listening understand that. [00:08:19] Sam: Absolutely,absolutely. Let’s take printing, for example. It’s a great market segment. Wehave a concentration in the Midwest. They have a lot of pain points as itrelates to leverage–managing working capital, expectations of their customers. [00:08:36] John: And it’s abusiness in total transition. [00:08:38] Sam: It is.  [00:08:38] John: People are notprinting, so what are–what do they sell? [00:08:42] Sam: They’re movingtowards digital marketing. They are changing their brand to say, “We’re nolonger a printer. We’re a marketer. We will help you go to market with yourbrand.” [00:08:52] John: And those thataren’t transitioning are being left behind. [00:08:55] Sam: They’reconsolidating.  [00:08:56] John: So our job is tostay in the game with them or help them stay in the game. [00:08:59] Sam: And it’s aunique skill set and expertise that they are looking for. They’re looking forthat help, which is why, along our journey with industry specialization, CLAhas gone from a community-based approach with our industry to now reallyneeding to get focused on a market segment. [00:09:17] John: Yeah, and thoseindustry segments, I can see where that would be, if you didn’t have thatin–that depth of knowledge, you couldn’t bring a solution their way. Andthat’s built, of course, around career. So can we probe your personal story… [00:09:32] Sam: Sure.  [00:09:32] John: …for a littlebit more? I want to go back in time. I was struck, because you joined CLA as asenior associate, but when you were with a smaller firm, you were already at anetworking event… at a networking event with just a few years of experience.Tell me about that, and what that felt like, and why you were asked to do that. [00:09:57] Sam: Well, I mean,being a part of a smaller firm, I think being in the market was reallycritical. I think it’s just as critical within CLA as it relates to creating amarket brand, helping people understand what we can do. But I’ll tell you thefeeling that I had was, you know, excitement, a little bit of anxiety, and alittle bit of vulnerability, because I would walk into these rooms atnetworking events, and I would be the youngest person in the room, and I wouldin most cases be the only female. [00:10:23] John: So in themanufact–I would imagine in the manufacturing field, that would have been abit of an anomaly, especially even as recent as–that was ten years ago. [00:10:32] Sam: But I saw it asa challenge, John, because again, I didn’t go to those events and feel likepeople looked down at me or looked at me differently. I actually felt like theywanted to help. So these business owners and people that I was engaged with, Iwas so afraid to go and talk to them, but once you struck up that conversation,they were more than willing to help you. So what turned into a scary situationturned into a huge education for me. Every event that I went to, I learnedsomething different. [00:10:58] John: Hmm. So yourcareer was built on experiences with manufacturers. It was built on thesenetworking events. How else did you accumulate the experience and knowledge youhave? [00:11:11] Sam: Well, I love toread. I love to read, so anytime I could get my hands on a book–a podcastnow–an article, I would read it. I absorbed as much as I could about theexternal market so I could teach myself. I surrounded myself with– again,clients were great teachers, because they were always willing to teach. Andthen there was a lot of mentors over my career in different ways that I believehave really helped craft the career that I have today. [00:11:39] SoI just–honestly, I was hungry for anything I could get my hands on, and someof the best experiences were those experiences that were through an inventoryobservation or an audit or a tax return. You know, I hear some of staffsometimes com–you know, being frustrated because they have to go do theobservation. “Why can’t we send an intern?” And I always say,“If you don’t want to go, send me,” because every time I went there,I learned something, I saw how something was made, and I was able to make thatconnection, then, to the financial statements. [00:12:10] Soagain, I took every opportunity, ugly or pretty, and just tried to learn fromit. [00:12:17] John: If you’re tryingto learn, I would imagine you were asking questions that you… [00:12:21] Sam: A few. You knowme, a few. [00:12:23] John: To which youdidn’t know the answers. [00:12:32] Sam: Again, Ijust–the community that we work in, that’s part of why I’m with CLA, andthat’s part of why I have such a passion for the clients that we serve. I havenever, not once in the 17 years that I’ve been practicing, ever had someonesay, “That’s a stupid question” or “I don’t understand whyyou’re asking that.” I have never had that happen to me. In fact, I havehad an overw–I mean, I’ve asked stupid questions, believe me. Butit’s always come back a really educational, “let me help you,”“let’s go look at this,” “do you understand how this connects tothis?” And again, that’s the only way that I was able to learn. [00:13:06] John: Hmm. So if youwere going to look back now and give someone a checklist, if you will, or astrategic plan on how to build their industry-specialized, inspired career,what would you say to them? [00:13:24] Sam: I would say,find a passion, pick an industry, then pick a segment–I’m just getting reallytactical here, find a mentor, trust CLA, and don’t be afraid to take thejourney. Because again, I believe CLA gives you these bumpers, and I think thatit’s really up to all of us and up to you as a young person to just try to findyour way and your unique role to add value within CLA and to our clients. Doesthat make sense? [00:13:56] John: It does. So,Sam, if I were to summarize it, it would… become a learner. Notone who always has the answer. You know, that’s a–that’s insightful, becauseas financial advisors, as practitioners, as CPAs, as experts in our field, weoften want to be the one who has the answer, and we’re afraid to be wrong. Butwhat you’re saying is, that’s the point. The point is actually not to know theanswer and to be inquisitive, particularly in the early years. Yeah,that’s, um… I gotta believe that’s helpful to someone who’s listening to usright now. Well, CLA, and Sam, I just have one final question, and maybe it wasembodied in the last one, but I want you to imagine right now, in your mind’seye, a senior associate who’s looking ahead at their career options. They’remaking the thoughtful decision of whether they want to be on the principal pathor on the director path, or maybe even the alumni path, and they’re lookingahead. [00:15:04] Andthey’re also being asked at that simultaneous to make a selection on theindustry in which they’re going to pursue, and they aren’t quite sure and maybedon’t even have the passion you’re suggesting, ’cause it hasn’t yet emerged.What advice would you have for them? [00:15:23] Sam: Wow, that’s areally good question, John. I think my advice to them in that situation wouldbe to really just be courageous. If there’s someone that they really find apassion for, or if there’s a mentor or someone that they connect with and theyfeel like they can learn a lot from, I may follow that person and the maybe theindustry that they’re following. Becauseagain, over time, I think that mentor or individual that they get a lot fromwill help them find the way for themselves. It might not be in that industry.It could be in a completely different service line. But I believe goodleadership and good mentorship will help you find your way. So, that would bemy advice, right, wrong, or different, but I just was lucky enough to find theindustry that I wanted to serve early on. Iknow that that’s not the case for everybody else, so I would–I would follow aperson that gets me excited to come to work every day. [00:16:18] John: Hmm, greatadvice from a great leader. Thank you, Sam, for coming and joining us today.That’s quite a story and a testament to CLA and our desire to inspire careers.Those of you who are listening, look ahead. Choose your path. Find the mentorthat Sam is suggesting. And if you’re unsure about what path you want tofollow, follow the leader you trust, and that passion, that future, willemerge. [00:16:47] Industry specialization is not about joining a group. It’s not about a designation. It’s about building and inspiring career, and it layers right on top of the outstanding opportunities for career development that come with our career paths. CLA, we are CLA, and we create opportunities. Music out…

Industry Forward: Sam Metcalf’s Passion for M&D