When you've poured 46 years of your life into building a thriving precision machine shop—one that grew from a one-man garage to 50 employees, world-class equipment, and top-tier aerospace customers—you don't expect it to end with burnout.
In this deeply candid episode, I sit down with Cody Sisson, a lifelong machinist who built a remarkable business through decades of grit, innovation, and commitment to excellence—only to watch it collapse under the weight of exhaustion, health crises, and a perfect storm of setbacks.
Cody opens up about the early days of his shop, the thrill of landing major accounts like Honeywell and Hewlett-Packard, and the pride he took in caring for both his people and his customers. But he also shares the hidden cost of relentless drive—the long hours, delegation gone wrong, and emotional fatigue that slowly drained his passion for the work he once loved.
This conversation isn't just about loss—it's about lessons. Cody now dedicates his time to helping other shop owners recognize the warning signs of burnout and put systems in place before it's too late. His honesty offers a powerful reminder that even the strongest leaders can fall when they ignore their own limits.
If you've ever felt stretched thin as a shop owner or wondered what happens when the drive that built your business turns into the very thing that destroys it, this episode is one you can't afford to miss.
You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in...
- (0:52) The rise and fall of Cody's 46-year-old aerospace machine shop
- (3:13) Cody's trajectory from fascination with engines to building his own machine shop
- (9:37) Cody took the leap and started his own shop with just a few manual machines
- (10:44) Check out Verdant Commercial Capital for a true partner in your corner
- (13:37) Landing his first major customers and growing through word-of-mouth and persistence
- (16:07) Surviving the 1983 recession and pivoting to new industries
- (18:14) Buying an abandoned farm and rebuilding the business from scratch
- (18:50) Rapid growth to 50 employees and early adoption of CNC technology
- (23:05) Embracing concurrent engineering and "dying on the sword" for customers
- (25:35) Building a culture where employees loved to work—and introducing a 4-day workweek
- (26:57) Implementing DCD (later Epicor) ERP and custom shop-floor tracking in 1994
- (29:02) Meet me at the EBITDA Growth Systems Double Your Value Event!
- (33:00) Lessons from hiring the wrong leaders and trusting too easily
- (38:56) Buying and renovating a dream facility and investing in new equipment
- (41:16) Living through a quarter-million-dollar mill-run mistake
- (42:51) Navigating bankruptcy and a double cancer diagnosis
- (44:25) Catastrophic misquotes and lost margins that sealed the company's fate
- (46:28) The decision to shut down—and organizing a job fair to protect his employees
- (47:43) Processing the grief of losing a business you've built your entire life
- (49:02) Cody's reflections on burnout, fear, and the mental toll of ownership
- (50:30) How Cody is helping other shop owners recognize and prevent burnout
- (59:30) Join us at Top Shops 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina
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Audio Production and Show Notes by - PODCAST FAST TRACK
