Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dano Jones. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Dano thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

The mission behind Circle Circle City Metalworks is to provide unique, artistic products at a great price. We are a design forward company with an emphasis on our product line. We offer over 300 unique designs that can all be customized to our customer’s desires as well as doing custom jobs and one offs. We are also a full service metal fabrication company that meets the standards of any industrial need. Our service and craftsmanship to second to none and pride ourselves in our excellent customer service.

Dano, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

At the age of 40 I decided to go to collage to get a degree in graphic design. While in school I was looking for a job. I answered a want ad for someone looking for a shop helper. the ad read in part “Looking for shop helper, must be good with power tools, artistic background preferred”… I have been working with power tools my entire life and have also always been an artist so I responded to the ad. I met with the owner, Jeff Mack of Cutting Edge Craftsmen and realized that it was metal fabrication company. Having never worked in the industry before, I told Jeff that I had no experience working with metal. he said ” I have 2 questions… can you read a tape measure and are you comfortable with power tools?”. My answer to both questions was yes so he told to come on board and that he would teach me. I had no idea I had a passion for metalworking until I put my hands on the material and started making things. It was the path that I was not looking for but it found me. Within six months I was the production manager for the company. Jeff had given the knowledge and experience that I needed to succeed. I ran Jeff’s company for him for nearly 5 years and in 2000, along with my now business partners, Ashley and Ryan Mullin, we bought the company from Jeff. We changed the name to Circle City Metalworks and rebranded. Learning to weld and work with metal at the age of 42 changed my life. I took a chance on something and it paid off big for me. I did finish school and got my degree in graphic design which has added me in my advancement in the metal industry. Understanding graphics allowed me to learn how to design in CAD which gives me the ability to design new products and create them using our plasma cutter.

Jeff was my mentor and he took a chance on me that he did not have to take. I will be eternally grateful for that. Also without the support of Ashley and Ryan Mullin I would not have been able to chase the dream of Circle City Metalworks.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

When I decide to go to collage everything in my life changed. I am husband and father of 2 so the pressures of life are very real for me. My wife is very supportive and told me to do whatever it took to find a new path. Enrolling in school and going to class with “kids” who were more on my daughter’s peer group than my own took some getting used to. The decision to go and follow through with school was one of the best things I ever did. I was stuck in manual labor jobs my entire life, factories, warehouses, delivery services. I was making a pay check but I needed more. When I found the job with Cutting Edge Craftsmen, there was shift in me. I was still doing manual labor, but it became rewarding. I’ve always had a strong work ethic, thank you Mom, Dad and Grandpa, but taking raw material and turning it into something and giving it life created a different type of pride in me.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

Meeting my business partners came while I was working for Jeff and CEC. Ashley and Ryan own a real estate company, FS Houses in Indianapolis and we did contract work for them. When Jeff told me he was ready to sell the company, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do next. I did not have the funds to purchase the company from him. Ashley and Ryan invested and made the whole thing possible.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://circlecitymetalworks.com
• Instagram: @circlecitymetalworks
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CircleCityMetalworks/