Today we’d like to introduce you to Christopher Ackerman
Hi Christopher, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My business is Trusty Shellback Welding, I work on functional projects and create art welding pieces. I got into welding accidentally; during a drive to my house in Michigan, I drove past a welding school, decided to check it out, and signed up that day to begin the program before classes started the following day. It was the Advanced Welding Institute in Eagle River, Wisconsin, ranked the third welding school in the U.S. I had always been interested in welding, and now I’m a golden arm third-generation welder. I went through the program and graduated at the top of the class with 26 certifications. From there, I worked for Arrow Tank and Engineering Co. in Cambridge, MN. At Arrow Tank, I helped make parts for large pressure vessels including rocket coolers used on Space X equipment and became a coded welder. I learned about submersion arc welding and carbon arc gouging along with rolling techniques. I gained knowledge and skills in robotics, along with X-ray quality welding with many different alloys..
After working at Arrow Tank, I took an opportunity at another company to become a welding lead, and in that role, I discovered the ideals and values I wanted to promote did not aligned with the values of the company. That was the reason I took the leap and fully immersed myself in my own business and opened Trusty Shellback Welding in 2022. It began as a mobile repair business and I outfitted a mobile rig to travel to do welding jobs and repairs. After that, I purchased a workshop space in Cottage Grove, MN, and boot-strapped my workshop – collected supplies and gathered tools; built 3D modeling robots, set up a CNC table and connected a mechanized torch. In the workshop I began working on art pieces and various projects.
I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit and sold my first business at 16 years old. My family, faith, Metal Melting Anthony and hunger for adding value to the world are my inspirations. My parents are both entrepreneurs and my great-grandparents on both sides of my family were small business owners. I have a Christ driven business, and while I value faith and patriotism, I would say I am also non-traditional in most ways. Though the business started with welding repairs, I now create both artistic and functional pieces. I exhibited at fairs this summer and entered a piece called “Do svidaniya Coraline,” a stainless-steel praying mantis, and another piece called “Molten Horns” featuring many metal manipulation techniques such as Tig welding, black smithing and atmospheric introduction using recycled carbon steel. I have also been recently working on smudge pots, fire pits heavy equipment accessories and custom CNC advertisement panels for the city.
I come from a military family; my dad was serving on a Navy ship, the now decommissioned USS Kitty Hawk, and I was born over the equator in Japan. I am a battle cat son, and my business is military oriented. The shellback is a sailor on official duty who “crosses the line” of the equator. In the navy, you are a slimy pollywog until you cross over the equator and then you become a shellback, and I pay homage to that legacy with the name for my business, Trusty Shellback Welding.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
A big challenge while developing Trusty Shellback Welding was learning how to engineer the designs to execute the 3D elements. After spending thousands of hours writing miles of code I I taught myself 3D CAD design. Being driven helps, I enjoy working hard and I am motivated to add value to the world, this keeps me inspired to continue building the business and my skills. I absolutely have had failures, but tenacity is the best tool in my toolbox. My Dad gave me an incredible quality of tenacity and I have learned to never give up and always follow through.
An element of marketing is that you are also opening yourself up to a lot of criticism. I receive lots of negativity, along with praise online, for the pieces and work that I share. I learned to have a thick skin when it comes to negative feedback. I never stop talking with a customer if there is a problem, even if it burns a hole through me. I learned about the rule of 3/11; that 3 out of 11 people will share a positive experience, but if they have a negative experience, they will share that with 11 other people. I have made it a goal to never drop communication with clients and will continue to communicate with them to make it right. I think it is essential to rely on word of mouth from happy customers who will tell others about the business. In the beginning, I also did a fair number of small jobs and free work, or work for trade, to gain a customer base and recommendations.
Another huge barrier for me personally was the mental barrier. I felt like I had a lot to prove to myself, even more than to others. I remind myself of lessons others have tried to teach me. I had a foreman tell me that “you don’t know what you don’t know”. That phrase sticks with me because there is so much out there to learn and so many mistakes to learn from. A business owner I worked for taught me to, “take a minute and think about how something works, and then you can disassemble it.” I have really pushed myself out of my comfort zone in this whole endeavor. I often work 7 days a week and sometimes 16 hours a day: either in the workshop, out on the job, or inside doing marketing and administrative tasks. The sacrifices I have made are worth it to create something I can stand beside.
As you know, we’re big fans of Trusty Shellback Welding. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
One of my main drivers is to add value, and I create functional pieces that people can enjoy visually. I began scaling up and making the pieces larger and heavier. Then I began putting together “weld-it-yourself” kits and bringing other prototypes to market. I created a website to market and sell products, but I rely heavily on word of mouth. I prefer to meet people by appointment to visualize their project. I also use social media marketing like Facebook, Instagram reels, neighborhood apps and google. I enjoy that I don’t have a set schedule and can work extended hours in the workshop as orders come in. I continue to hone my skills and currently have 37 qualifications in welding, laser and submersion arc welding. I recently worked on blacksmithing a slide support for a large waterslide. I was able to combine my skills and knowledge to make pieces that can move vertically, horizontally, and can move back and forth.
Trusty Shellback Welding also allows me to feed my creative side. I put a lot of love and thought into the projects and pieces, the ideas come to me in my dreams, I dream about them. I enjoy that I have full creative range, and when an idea comes together it is so satisfying. Most of my day is spent creating prototypes and bringing them to production, then to market. In the future, I hope to see the business and my true niche develop. A large portion of the work could be manufactured, and I would like to be working on bigger art pieces and construction modifications. Especially the sculptural pieces, I would love to really scale those up. I take a lot of pride creating functional art sculptures with a purpose, like smudge pots, pet owner indicators or a shackled wine holder incorporating living components.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
My advice for those starting out would be don’t listen to the naysayers, and that, usually; when someone tells you not to do something, then it is the right move. Don’t be afraid to take risks, and risk is everything especially in your own business. Don’t be afraid to take the skin out of your own hide and remember that this is not a normal job.
Financial knowledge is also essential. I followed the Dave Ramsey financial principles and his plan as a jumping off point before I got established. Real estate has been key to financing my business as I scratched up enough cash to purchase my first home when I was nineteen. I also think that it is important to own everything you have rather than borrowing. I saved and struggled to get to a place financially where I could start my business. Sometimes banks are smarter than you and it is essential to get a financial education as you go forward. The big windfalls come from taking risks that can have a bigger payoff, and I use that to really explore and create the shape of the company. I am profitable and have done some creative financing along the way, but supporting myself and continuing to grow new products along with learning new processes is my goal.
I would say that you should also make sure that you have friends that you can trust and lean on and especially don’t be afraid to share information with others. Look yourself in the eye, and at the end of the day, it does not matter what other people say. Open yourself up and put yourself and your ideas out there for judgement, and to share with the rest of the world.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.Trustyshellbackwelding.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trustyshellbackmetalarts/profilecard/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TrustyShellbackWelding
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@chrisacke
- Yelp: https://yelp.to/LouVSgiwby
