GUEST SPEAKER … Isaac Weber (left), a farmer, excavator, and owner of two Archbold businesses, told Archbold Rotarians about his newest business venture – Lugbill Supply. Pictured with Isaac are Archbold Rotary president Drew Cleaver and Matt Mello (right), who arranged the program.
Isaac Weber wears many hats as a farmer, entrepreneur, and business owner. And, listening to him explain everything can pose a challenge to keep everything in the right order. But when Isaac tells how everything has come together, it sure seems like a logical plan.
Farming has always been an interest, he told Rotarians. In his case, the hundreds of acres that he is responsible for farming are rather far flung, including about 280 acres that he has near the Detroit metro airport. Those acres, he explained, he now mostly “cell phone farms” with the help of a farmer who lives closer to the land.
But his farming led to an excavating business around 2018 because he needed to move some dirt. A couple years later, Isaac decided to get involved with fitness, so he bought Temple Fitness on South Defiance Street in Archbold along with the rest of the building so the business now includes a tanning salon and space for more equipment and fitness classes. He explained his wife manages that business.
A couple years later (2022), he was talking with Dave Nafziger, who owned Lugbill Supply Company, after a Bible study class and learned that Dave was interested in retiring and selling the business.
They talked some more, and Isaac eventually ended up owning Lugbill Supply Company. At the time, he explained, he had no interest in making many changes in the business.
However, after learning more about the opportunities that were available to him through the Do It Best coop affiliation that Lugbill’s was already a part of, he decided to do a major remodel and expansion of Lugbill’s that was completed last year.
With that, the business has added weekday evening hours and Saturday afternoon hours. He said that he would like to use the railroad spur that comes to the back of Lugbill’s to lower transportation costs of the building supplies that they sell.
Ultimately, he hopes to own lumber yards between Toledo and Fort Wayne so he could purchase building supplies in a volume that would allow him to be even more competitive with the big box stores. In fact, he’s hoping to close on a lumber yard in 2024.
Having a vision for business opportunities is part of Isaac’s success; however, the key is having good managers and employees to keep the businesses moving forward.
“I usually end my day by 5 or 6,” he told Rotarians. “That’s possible because I have good people working for me to make the day-to-day decisions.”
