SE01 E03 What Nobody Tells You About Holding the Line | Jeremy Barker

Описание: Jeremy Barker built a successful business supplying Home Depot with storage buildings in his early twenties. Then he lost it all, went bankrupt, and spent a year living in his car. Most people would call that failure. Jeremy calls it his competitive advantage. Today he's the founder and CEO of Murphy Door, the number one hidden door brand in America, a thriving manufacturing business with significant growth and millions of social views in the past year.

This conversation goes deep on the decisions that separate businesses that scale from businesses that collapse. Jeremy breaks down why he stayed at the firehouse making $15.62 an hour even when Murphy Door was trending toward substantial revenue, why taking money out too early is like stealing milk from your own baby, and how the discipline of the fire service taught him everything Fortune 500 companies couldn't about span of control, chain of command, and knowing when to let go.
You'll hear about the UPS freight crisis in 2016 that nearly killed the business, how Jeremy found a warehouse in Lexington Kentucky sitting at a steakhouse after every other option fell through, and why asking for help is one of the most powerful words in business even though pride makes it the hardest to say. Jeremy also unpacks the September 2024 algorithm change and cyberattacks that wiped out 90 days of momentum, dropping growth significantly in a single month, and what the forensic audit revealed about taking your eye off the ball.

This is about the real constraints at scale, why vanity metrics like social views don't pay bills unless they convert, and how Jeremy keeps revenue per employee tight while managing over 100 people across multiple manufacturing facilities. He shares the hard call he had to make when his production manager told him either trust me with bigger decisions or you don't need me, why being liked as a leader will limit your impact, and what he'd tell his younger self about burning bridges with people who could have saved him in 13 seconds.

No fluff, no highlight reel. Just the unfiltered truth about what it takes to hold the line when the money's gone, the pressure's real, and failure was the most likely outcome.

Ready to build your Batcave or just see what's possible when you refuse to quit? Check out Murphy Door and follow Jeremy's journey.

Jeremy Barker, Founder & CEO, Murphy Door
Instagram: @jbarker482
LinkedIn:   / jeremy-barker-02007648  
Podcast: 90 Proof Wisdom
Website: https://murphydoor.com/

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#therefitpodcast #KyleKillian #Leadership #ExecutiveLeadership #BusinessLeadership #VeteranLeadership #HardThingAboutHardThings #LeadershipDevelopment #Entrepreneurship #CEOInsights #FounderStories #OperationalLeadership The Refit Podcast is where real leadership happens—no platitudes, no polished corporate speak, just honest conversations about the hard decisions that keep leaders up at night. Hosted by Kyle Killian, former U.S. Navy Intelligence Officer with nearly 30 years of military, corporate, and entrepreneurial leadership experience, this podcast dives into the moments when the playbook stopped working and leaders had to figure it out anyway.