People Are Paramount: Interview with Rick Carey, CEO of The Metal Ware Corporation

I recently went one on one with Rick Carey. Rick is the CEO of The Metal Ware Corporation, owner of NESCO.

Adam: In your experience, what are the key steps to growing and scaling your business? 

Rick: People are paramount to business growth. I have been fortunate to learn this firsthand by starting my business from scratch. I hired two people who I knew very well and then we were off to the races. As a small business, we wore many hats. To ensure my employees weren’t overwhelmed, we hired as needed to lesson workloads. This worked well because employees became a close-knit group of colleagues who welcomed adaptation to a somewhat undefined culture. When you repeat this 10-20 times, you create a company that was once your baby but now how a glowing personality. But, just like a child, it needs direction and coaching that comes from the great team members hired. When you employ the best employees for your company, you can successfully scare your business in response to demand.  

Adam: What is your best tip on the topics of sales, marketing and branding? 

Rick: It’s so important to be authentic. Long-term, thriving brands are most successful when they are authentic. Really anyone can use pop culture to create a brand that mirrors the latest trends, but with time, that identity will be dated and that investment will have been wasted. 

Adam: How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level? 

Rick: The best piece of advice I can give is to listen. Openly, I haven’t always been the best listener. Maybe that’s why I know it’s so important. The more you listen – not hear – and process the information you receive, the better you will be at making decisions – big or small – in the best interest of your company and its employees. 

Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading and managing teams? 

Rick: Always be honest and develop a relationship for telling it like it is – my biggest failures as a leader have come from the fact that I didn’t want to hurt someone’s feelings. Remember, if something isn’t right, you are not doing any favors if you dance around the issue. Develop clear expectations and responsibilities to create trust so employees know what they are expected to accomplish and where they stand. After all, everyone wants to live the American Dream. 

Adam: What is your best tip applicable to entrepreneurs, executives and civic leaders? 

Rick: Before going to sleep at night, ask yourself if the world is in a better place today because you were in it. That’s really the baseline of having a rewarding career and life. If the answer is ‘yes,’ repeat that same success over and over so you create a track record of greatness. 

Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received? 

Rick: As a father and a business leader, the best piece of advice I’ve received is to not miss my kids’ stuff. Schedule around the basketball games, take an afternoon off to go fishing with your kid(s), and make sure you’re loud enough so they hear your applause from the bleachers or audience and not face down answering emails. 

On a purely business note, find a good banker who you trust. I like to have a standing lunch with our banker. This not only helps me understand the world of a banker better but also ensures I’m doing what I can to be a great customer. As business owners, we know that cash flow is paramount to success. Establish a great rapport with your banker, so he/she feels empowered to tell it like it is and vice versa. If there comes a point where you have to deliver bad news, couple it with a solution. Your banker should be your business ally. Work together to propel your company forward. 

Adam: Is there anything else you would like to share? 

Rick: Make sure you find balance in decision-making. We all can appreciate bright-line rules because they make it easier to answer tough questions with a yes or no. We all know that’s not always how the world works. There will be complexities that must be weighed in the decision-making process. I’ve found that a balanced and unbiased approach to decision-making helps me make the best call.


Adam Mendler is the CEO of The Veloz Group, where he co-founded and oversees ventures across a wide variety of industries. Adam is also the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one on one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. Adam has written extensively on leadership, management, entrepreneurship, marketing and sales, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities and non-profit organizations.

Follow Adam on Instagram and Twitter at @adammendler and listen and subscribe to Thirty Minute Mentors on your favorite podcasting app.