About this episode

Christy Subia shares her journey of taking over Bedard Machine amidst personal challenges and transforming the business.

Most family shops don't get a clean handoff. Somebody gets sick, the calendar moves faster than the plan, and one person has to decide whether to step in or let the doors close. That's the story Christy Subia lived at Bedard Machine, and it's why I wanted her on the show. Bedard is a 95% aerospace shop in Brea, California with 23 people and 17 machines. And four years ago it was almost none of what it is now. Christy came in from outside the industry while her dad's Alzheimer's was quietly pulling him away from the business he started in 1979. Her mom was ready to shut it down. Christy decided to find out if she could run it instead. What she's done since is the part every owner should hear. She nearly doubled revenue, not by chasing new customers, but by chasing bottlenecks. She cut a 12-week office lead time down to four, moved people into the roles they were actually built for, and turned a careful guy in shipping into the shop's first full-time inspector. She says it plainly: solve one bottleneck and it just moves to the next department, so you keep chasing it. We also get into the human side, which is harder than any tolerance. Working shoulder to shoulder with her mom…

People in this episode

Host: Paul Van Metre

Guest: Christy Subia

Topics covered

• family business
• entrepreneurship
• leadership
• aerospace industry
• business transition
• problem solving

Keywords

• family business
• Alzheimer's
• revenue growth
• bottlenecks
• lead time
• women in business
• entrepreneurship

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Bedard Machine

Places: Brea, California

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