We recently connected with Matt Fussell and have shared our conversation below.

Matt, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What do you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry? Any stories or anecdotes that illustrate why this matters?

The titans in my industry study the markets and pursue projects with the greatest earning potential. While that makes sense and follows business fundamentals, I have a different approach. General Green Manufacturing, GGM for short, caters to the underserved markets that the big companies often overlook. Our competitive advantage is that we are small and agile enough to take on projects where the earning potential of that niche may be too small for the big companies, but ample for us. We are building a catalog of specialty products that consumers can’t get anywhere else. The business model is backwards than most. Instead of new development cost being past onto the first initial customer as a “custom” line item we develop the part for a reasonable price and then market it as a off the shelf item for the rest of the world to see. Corporate America simply refuses to take on projects like this because the overhead is much too high for the development and engineering involved for the minimum return. Leaving many customers out to dry.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I come from a diverse, hands on, background. My experience primarily comes from the aerospace manufacturing industry where I learned the nuts and bolts of design, engineering, and manufacturing principles. My personal passion is rooted deeply in the sport of off-roading and automotive endeavors. All of that combined and GGM was created. We thrive and enjoy working with local customers to develop an array of products. We stand as the voice of the crowds of niche markets that don’t get the recognition from the mainstream. Our clients come to us for custom products that are either hard to find or don’t exist, all while paying reasonable prices.

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

GGM was started as a side hustle in February of 2021. It was rather casual and something that allowed me to justify purchasing equipment for my hobby. Progress was slow and barely covered its own cost. Then, is March of 2022 I was laid off from my full-time job. I quickly made plans to find another job out of state and continue my career, which was successful up until that point. After countless applications, many interviews, and a stack of rejection letters, I decided to stay in the Tampa area and go all in with the business. It has been a huge undertaking, from learning how websites and shipping work to determining the kind of drill bit to use. Every detailed puzzle piece has been on my shoulders to establish. However, getting over those first barriers and continuing forward fiercely have made even the small wins, so sweet. The stage I am in now is just past establishment and into development. It is exciting to have a foundation to stand on and be past the parts that I didn’t know anything about and then enter the stage where my skill set shines. The difficult part of this stage is all the time that goes into projects and the small return that comes back. The bet is all wagered on the next step, where products go to market and cash flows are more in my favor.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

This subject requires a look back into my past and frugal lifestyle. I have always been a saver, from when I was young, I always tried to put away as much as possible while still having some fun. When it was time to move out for college, I opted out of the norm of apartments and dorms. I instead paid cash for a used travel trailer and off I went to the RV park close to my school. This allowed me to save money and travel to jobsites/internships when school was out. I continued to live in that trailer even when I had a respectable job for another 5 years. I was able to save my pennies and build a safety net for a rainy day. All the while, I never had debt and kept the rest of my lifestyle well under my means. After I started my business and lost my job, I was able to maintain and continue to focus on my business because of my savings.

Contact Info:

• Website: generalgreenmanufacturing.com
• Instagram: @generalgreenmanufacturing
• Facebook: @generalgreenmanufacturingllc
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/general-green-manufacturing-llc

Image Credits
Roger Cox