Episode #21: One of The Most Important Decisions for Your Machine Shop

You don’t need more leads.You need the right customers.In this episode, Mike Fritz breaks down one of the most important strategic decisions you’ll ever make for your machine shop: defining your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP).Most shops call themselves “job shops” and try to serve everyone. The result?Price pressure.Clogged capacity.Inconsistent margins.Your ICP changes that.We cover how to:Identify your most profitable work using your last 50–100 jobsStop saying “we make stuff” and start positioning your shop strategicallyUse ICP to filter RFQs and protect your capacityAlign your marketing, hiring, quoting, and equipment decisions around the right customersAnd one of the biggest takeaways:Your biggest customer is not always your ideal customer.If you want clearer messaging, stronger margins, and a shop that grows intentionally instead of reactively — this episode is for you.Subscribe to our weekly format:Sales & Marketing (1st & 3rd Tuesdays)Operations & Engineering (2nd & 4th Tuesdays)Bonus joint episodes on 5th TuesdaysIf this episode helps, please leave a review — it helps more shop owners find the show.