Meet Steve Crider | Business Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Steve Crider and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Steve, other than deciding to work for yourself, what else do you think played a pivotal role in your story?
This one’s easy, my family. I knew that I wanted to leave something for my sons to fall onto. They’re young enough I can teach them the trade of metalworking to be able to continue the family business. Besides, out of having three sons, I’m sure at least one of them will enjoy running the business!

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
One thing I typically hear from customers is that they enjoyed not only working with the designer and creator but the owner as well. This is one main aspect when choosing Plasma Fabworks is that you’ll hear directly from the owner himself. With that being said, it’ll keep the process with your projects as simple as possible because you’ll be talking with the one who overlooks all of these steps. I’m proud to work with all of our customers. They’re the reason I’m able to enjoy what I do. Keeping them happy is the main goal. All of our projects are of the best quality and I stand behind each and every one of those. Before stepping into owning my own business, I knew I had much to learn but that wasn’t going to stop me.  We had just moved to Texas from California, so learning my way around Texas was also challenging. Luckily there are many great resources online, one of them being a Podcast called “The Contractors Fight”. It’s basically a Podcast all about real life events from other business owners and their struggles when they started. Learn from their mistakes and their success. I’ve also listened to other business owners that were happy to share their stories with me. There are many to name, but let’s just say that many of them are my customers. I’ve learned that running a business is not easy, but it will have it’s own set of challenges. These challenges are good though! It’s a way to push yourself to the next level to get that reward of success. If you fall down you get back up and keep pushing, there is always light at the end of the tunnel. Plasma Fabworks is about quality and craftsmanship. Every project has standard, or a level of quality that it must pass and this is what any individual would want to see.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
One of our favorite places locally to visit are the Stockyards in Fort Worth. There always seems to be something going on there but Riscky’s BBQ is where it’s at! Don’t get me started on their all-you-can-eat BBQ ribs though. After eating lunch, we’d take a walk down the streets that’s lined with the old, original brick and stop at one of the many shops along the way. If we didn’t want to eat lunch, we’d make our way to the Water Gardens, also in Fort Worth. Here you’ll see architectural and engineering defeats. There are various water features within this plaza that are readily available to view throughout the year. All of which are quite amazing!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are a few people off the top of my head I’d like to give a shoutout to, but one particular individual that stands out above the rest is my wife Julie. She’s always been there to hear my struggles, fears and success, but one thing she’s great at accomplishing is support. Being a first time business owner, there was much unknown and stress that went along with this. Julie has been my main port of relief through her reassurance in all of this. Next would have to be Ryan Young from Avery Ironworks.  He was the first person to take a chance on me, and has been a huge help with his mentorship. He’s taught me a lot when it comes to running a business and finishing a project. It’s like reading a book to help find the answer.

Website: www.plasmafabworks.com

Instagram: instagram.com/plasmafabworks

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