Talkin Shop with ShopSabre

How much does an employee really cost a small business beyond their hourly wage?
In Episode 255 of Talkin' Shop with ShopSabre, hosts Brandon Bombardo and Nick Peters answer that question directly for shop owners and small manufacturers.
 
The short answer: an employee's true cost runs well past base pay. Once you add payroll taxes, workers' compensation, health and dental benefits, a 401(k) match, paid time off, training time, onboarding, tools, and software, a worker's real
cost can land about 25 percent above their wage, and in extreme cases up to 50 percent higher. A $25-per-hour employee who looks like a $60,000 salary can actually cost the business closer to $30 to $38 per hour.
 
Brandon explains why time, not money, is the real trade. A business is not buying labor; it is buying time applied to an outcome. Clock-in time is nearly guaranteed, but output during that time is not, which is why two employees on the same wage can deliver very different value. His benchmark: a $30-per-hour worker producing $100 per hour of output is a strong model, while one producing $30 per hour is a wash.
 
The episode also makes the case for automation over adding headcount. As Brandon puts it, you don't need more labor; you need to make the labor you already have more efficient. A CNC machine empowers existing workers instead of replacing them.
 
The show opens with real viewer questions. Brandon confirms the ShopSabre laser alignment tool is the Wi-Fi version, not Bluetooth; explains that ShopSabre CNC tables do not have vacuum built into the tabletop but offer an optional vacuum table with vacuum pumps; and names the biggest mistake CNC buyers make, which is shopping on price instead of researching value.
 
ShopSabre is an American manufacturer of CNC routers, plasma tables, and fiber lasers based in Lakeville, Minnesota. This episode is for cabinet shops, metal fabricators, and small manufacturers weighing whether to hire or automate.
Discover all our CNC machines and accessories: https://www.shopsabre.com/ 
Follow ShopSabre for daily updates, tutorials, and expert tips: 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shopsabre
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shopsabre
Twitter/X: https://x.com/ShopSabreCNC 
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@shopsabre 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shopsabre-cnc/ 
00:00 - Why Every Business Owner Miscalculates the Cost of Labor
04:02 - Customer Questions: Wi-Fi vs Bluetooth Laser Tool, Vacuum Tables, and the Biggest CNC Buying Mistake
09:46 - What a $25-an-Hour Employee Actually Costs: Taxes, Benefits, and the 25 to 50 Percent Markup
12:54 - Why You Hire Time, Not Tasks: Clock-In Is Guaranteed, Output Is Not
20:28 - How Labor Cost Drives Your Pricing and Margins, and Why a $50 Minimum Wage Backfires
25:33 - The Real Goal Is Maximum Output Per Labor Dollar, Not Fewer People
29:31 - Why Small Inefficiencies Scale, and What Happens When You Value Your Time at $0
37:24 - Roosevelt on Work Worth Doing, Plus Why American-Made CNC Makes Sense
#CNC #SmallBusiness #ShopSabre #CNCRouter #CNCPlasma #FiberLaser #Manufacturing #CabinetMaking #MetalFabrication #Automation #BusinessGrowth #MadeInUSA #TalkinShop #CostOfHiring

Since 2000, ShopSabre CNC has delivered high-quality CNC routers, plasma cutters, and laser engraving machines built in the USA to businesses and hobbyists worldwide. Subscribe for more insights on CNC technology, project builds, and industry-leading machine performance.

When does buying a CNC machine make more sense than hiring another employee or outsourcing the work? On this episode of Talkin' Shop with ShopSabre, hosts Brandon Bombardo and Nick Peters answer that question for shop owners weighing automation against labor.
The conversation breaks down how to calculate the real return on investment (ROI) of CNC automation — and why most shop owners get the math wrong. Brandon explains the difference between calculating ROI literally (only the time a task takes) and "paralysis by analysis," then reframes the core question every owner asks. It isn't "how many people does this replace?" — it's "how much inefficiency, does this eliminate?"
Using a cabinet shop example, Brandon contrasts a CNC machine cutting a full base cabinet — dados, shelf holes, hinge pockets and all — in roughly 4 to 8 minutes against an employee doing the same work by hand in 60 minutes or more, with far more room for error. He also walks through a $100,000 job to show that automation doesn't change the price a customer pays; it changes the profit and the lead time the shop keeps.
They cover the hidden costs of labor that spreadsheets ignore — recruiting, training, turnover, benefits, payroll taxes and absences — and why a $75,000 employee actually costs far more every year, while a machine is a one-time investment that compounds. Brandon and Nick also explain how ShopSabre customers regularly discover entirely new revenue streams after adding equipment they originally bought for a single task.
This episode is for cabinet makers, woodworkers, metal fabricators and manufacturing business owners deciding whether to scale with automation or more labor. 
ShopSabre is an American CNC manufacturer based in Lakeville, Minnesota, building CNC routers, plasma tables and fiber lasers.
Watch the full episode for Brandon's formula for sustainable growth — great people, great processes and great equipment — and why nothing changes if nothing changes. Subscribe to Talkin' Shop with ShopSabre for new episodes every week.
00:00 - Intro & Cold Open
01:03 - Today's Topic: Automation vs. Labor
04:14 - Listener Q&A: Vacuum Noise, Dust Doc & Feedback
09:30 - The Right Way to Calculate Automation ROI
13:09 - The Hidden Costs of Labor
16:24 - How Automation Creates Leverage
19:09 - Saving Money vs. Making Money
23:28 - Cabinet Build: Machine vs. By Hand
26:28 - The $100K Job That Changes Everything
28:44 - Don't Wait for the Bottleneck
33:26 - The True Cost of a $75K Employee
36:46 - Work Smarter, Not Harder
40:10 - Wrap-Up & What's Next
 

Discover all our CNC machines and accessories: https://www.shopsabre.com/ 
Follow ShopSabre for daily updates, tutorials, and expert tips: 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shopsabre
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shopsabre
Twitter/X: https://x.com/ShopSabreCNC 
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@shopsabre 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shopsabre-cnc/ 
 

Since 2000, ShopSabre CNC has delivered high-quality CNC routers, plasma cutters, and laser engraving machines built in the USA to businesses and hobbyists worldwide. Subscribe for more insights on CNC technology, project builds, and industry-leading machine performance.

You already know the answer. You're just waiting for someone to say it out loud. If you've ever stared at a job you turned away, a backlog you can't beat, or a stack of repetitive work eating your week alive, this episode is the gut check you've been avoiding.
 
Brandon Bombardo and Nick Peters get real about the single most expensive decision growing shops keep putting off: when to stop doing things the manual way and start investing in automation. They break down the exact warning signs that you've outgrown your process, why "we'll just work harder" quietly kills your margins, and the mindset shift that separates the shops that scale from the ones that stall out catching up forever.
 
Here's the truth nobody wants to hear: the moment you start asking "can I justify this?" you're already asking the wrong question. The shops that win ask something completely different, and once you hear it, you can't unhear it.
 
This one hits whether you run a cabinet shop, a sign business, a fab shop, or you're the one-person operation wearing every hat and feeling the squeeze. Brandon and Nick have lived this on both sides of the table, and they're not selling you a fantasy. They're handing you the framework to decide for yourself and a challenge to fix ONE thing this week.
 
Stop building someone else's business. Start building leverage into your own.
 
If this episode calls you out, drop a comment and tell us the ONE thing you're going to fix this week — personally or professionally. Smash that LIKE button, SUBSCRIBE for a new episode every week, and share this with the shop owner who needs to hear it. Your future self is already saying, "I should've done this sooner."
00:00 - When Is It Time to Automate Your Shop? Today's Question
02:46 - Viewer Questions: Why Use a CNC Instead of Doing It by Hand?
07:11 - Why "I Should've Done This Sooner" Is the Most Common Regret
12:17 - The Hidden Cost of Outsourcing: You're Building Someone Else's Business
16:16 - 5 Signs It's Time to Automate: Repetitive Work, Turning Jobs Away & Growing Lead Times
20:40 - Does Automation Replace Workers? Why It Only Replaces Wasted Time
24:02 - Why Consistency Is Manufacturing's Biggest Competitive Advantage
26:23 - How to Calculate Automation ROI Over 12, 24 & 60 Months
30:04 - Why Smart Shops Buy CNC Equipment Before They Actually Need It
36:20 - The Takeaway: Stop Asking "Can I Afford It?" Start Asking "Can I Afford Not To?"
41:36 - The One-Thing Challenge: Fix One Process This Week
 
#ShopSabre #CNC #Manufacturing #Automation #CNCRouter #SmallBusiness
#ShopOwner #Woodworking #CabinetMaking #CNCMachine #BusinessGrowth
#TalkinShop #MadeInUSA #Fabrication #entrepreneurship 

Discover all our CNC machines and accessories: https://www.shopsabre.com/ 
Follow ShopSabre for daily updates, tutorials, and expert tips: 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shopsabre
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shopsabre
Twitter/X: https://x.com/ShopSabreCNC 
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@shopsabre 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shopsabre-cnc/ 
Since 2000, ShopSabre CNC has delivered high-quality CNC routers, plasma cutters, and laser engraving machines built in the USA to businesses and hobbyists worldwide. Subscribe for more insights on CNC technology, project builds, and industry-leading machine performance.

What is the difference between a challenge and an excuse in business? On Episode 252 of Talkin' Shop with ShopSabre, hosts Brandon Bombardo and Nick Peters explain why challenges require a response while excuses only require justification — and why that distinction determines whether a manufacturing business grows or stalls.
Brandon outlines the concept of business momentum and why it functions like a machine: once it's running, it stays efficient, but once it stops, restarting requires significantly more energy. He argues that momentum in business is built through daily decisions, consistent effort, and stacking small wins — not through one lucky break or a single large deal. ShopSabre CNC, an American manufacturer based in Lakeville, Minnesota, works with shop owners across the country who face this exact challenge, and the ones who succeed are the ones who stay action-focused through the slow periods.
The episode addresses what Brandon calls "reasonable excuses" — statements like "the economy is just slow right now" or "we're short-staffed" that sound logical but don't eliminate the responsibility to act. While one shop waits for perfect conditions, another shop adapts its pricing, improves its processes, invests in new CNC equipment, and captures the work that's still out there. Brandon also introduces the idea of "your economy" — the reality that no two businesses experience the same economic conditions, even within the same industry.
Leadership during slow periods is a central theme. Brandon explains that teams mirror the energy of their leaders: if leadership responds with frustration and blame, the team mirrors that. If leadership responds with focus and direction, the team follows. He draws a direct comparison between coaching youth hockey — where momentum shifts can be felt on the ice — and running a manufacturing operation where momentum shifts happen on the shop floor.
The episode's key takeaway is that momentum is both fragile and powerful. It can be lost faster than it's built, but the businesses that learn to protect it — through small wins, reorganization during slow periods, and an action-over-excuses mindset — are the ones positioned for long-term growth.
Like this video if you're ready to stop making excuses and start building forward. Comment below with the biggest challenge slowing your shop down right now. Subscribe to Talkin' Shop with ShopSabre for weekly conversations on business, manufacturing, and CNC ownership.
[0:00] - Welcome to Talkin' Shop with ShopSabre CNC — Episode 252
[1:33] - Why Challenges Don't Kill Business Momentum but Excuses Do
[3:15] - Face Frame vs. Frameless Cabinets: Which Design Is Right for Your CNC Shop?
[4:14] - Fusion 360 CAM for CNC: ShopSabre Post Processors and Software Compatibility
[5:03] - What Happens When You Cut Foam on a CNC Router
[6:17] - Every Business Faces Challenges — Making Excuses Is Always Optional
[8:45] - How "Reasonable" Excuses Like "The Economy Is Slow" Keep Shops Stuck
[9:43] - How Business Momentum Is Built: Daily Decisions and Stacking Small Wins
[11:22] - Why Business Momentum Works Like a Machine: Easy to Maintain, Hard to Restart
[13:08] - Manufacturing Reality: Why You Can't Pause Production and Expect Revenue to Return
[15:00] - The Trap of Productive-Feeling Excuses That Change Nothing in Your Business
[16:18] - The Momentum Mindset: Asking "What Can We Do Next?" Instead of "Why Is This Happening?"
[17:15] - Pulling the Goaltender: How One Personnel Change Can Shift Business Momentum
[19:10] - How Leadership During Slow Periods Determines Your Team's Energy and Output
[21:41] - How Small Wins and Slow-Period Reorganization Rebuild Big Momentum
[24:12] - Why Every Shop Has Its Own Economy: Comparing Busy vs. Slow Across Industries
[27:45] - Takeaway: The Most Successful Businesses Protect Momentum Like a Golden Egg
[31:55] - Motivational Quote: Success Is Like a Snowball — It Takes Momentum to Build
[34:36] - Wrap Up: Baseball Tournament Stories and Building Forward
#ShopSabre #TalkinShop #CNC #BusinessMomentum #ExcusesVsAction #ManufacturingTips #SmallBusinessGrowth #CNCRouter #ShopOwnerLife #MadeInUSA #BusinessMindset #KeepBuilding #ActionOverExcuses #Entrepreneurship #cncmanufacturing 
Discover all our CNC machines and accessories: https://www.shopsabre.com/ 
Follow ShopSabre for daily updates, tutorials, and expert tips: 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shopsabre
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shopsabre
Twitter/X: https://x.com/ShopSabreCNC 
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@shopsabre 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shopsabre-cnc/ 
Since 2000, ShopSabre CNC has delivered high-quality CNC routers, plasma cutters, and laser engraving machines built in the USA to businesses and hobbyists worldwide. Subscribe for more insights on CNC technology, project builds, and industry-leading machine performance.

Why is wasted time the most expensive cost in business? In Episode 251 of Talkin' Shop with ShopSabre, hosts Brandon Bombardo and Nick Peters explain why time — not broken machines, material costs, or competition — is the single resource a business can never recover once it's spent.
 
This episode covers the real-world cost of poor follow-through in
manufacturing and the trades: unanswered quote requests, ignored emails, missed meetings, and delayed decisions. ShopSabre is an American CNC
manufacturer based in Lakeville, Minnesota that builds CNC routers, plasma tables, and fiber lasers, and Brandon draws directly on what the ShopSabre sales team sees every day to illustrate how wasted time compounds.
 
Brandon answers a key question: why does ignoring a small problem cost so much more later? He walks through how one avoided a five-minute conversation — like not addressing an employee who shows up late — can snowball into missed deadlines, lost team trust, employee turnover, and ultimately a lost customer. The takeaway: clarity beats slow uncertainty every time, and reliability, not brilliance, is what builds a business reputation.
 
The episode also answers two listener questions. First, the difference
between vacuum and CFM on a vacuum pump: vacuum measures how hard the pump pulls and holds the part, while CFM measures how much air it moves to overcome leakage on porous materials. Brandon explains why ShopSabre recommends Becker vacuum pumps — they run quieter, last longer in dusty woodworking environments, and deliver the highest pressure rating head-to-head for the money. Second, why sharing your full quote matters: customers who actually
compare line-by-line quotes usually find ShopSabre delivers more value, not just a lower sticker price.
 
This episode is for CNC shop owners, cabinet makers, metal fabricators, and
any small business owner who wants to stop losing time, money, and customers
to broken communication.
00:00 - Why Wasted Time Quietly Costs Businesses Thousands Every Year
03:11 - Time Is the Most Expensive Currency: Why You Can't Earn It Back
06:30 - Working Smarter Should Feel Like Cheating: Using Resources to Save Time
07:16 - Vacuum vs. CFM Explained: Why Vacuum Holds the Part, Not Airflow
10:15 - Why ShopSabre Recommends Becker Vacuum Pumps Over Cheaper Imports
12:23 - Why Sharing Your Full Quote Wins More Deals Than a Low Price
16:00 - Why Follow-Through Has Become the Rarest Skill in Business
24:58 - How Saying "No" Honestly Opens the Door to a Better Outcome
30:30 - How One Avoided 5-Minute Conversation Snowballs Into Lost Customers
33:16 - Why Reliability Beats Brilliance: Reputation Is Built on Consistency
38:35 - The Takeaway: Time Is Expensive Financially, Mentally, and Emotionally
42:25 - Why Communication Is a Lost Art: The Race Helmet Story
46:09 - Final Word: Respect Time, Honor Commitments, Keep Building
#ShopSabre #TalkinShop #CNC #CNCRouter #SmallBusiness #TimeManagement
#Manufacturing #Woodworking #BusinessGrowth #CNCMachine #ShopLife
#Entrepreneur #MadeInUSA #Fabrication #BusinessTips

Discover all our CNC machines and accessories: https://www.shopsabre.com/ 
Follow ShopSabre for daily updates, tutorials, and expert tips: 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shopsabre
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shopsabre
Twitter/X: https://x.com/ShopSabreCNC 
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@shopsabre 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shopsabre-cnc/ 
Since 2000, ShopSabre CNC has delivered high-quality CNC routers, plasma cutters, and laser engraving machines built in the USA to businesses and hobbyists worldwide. Subscribe for more insights on CNC technology, project builds, and industry-leading machine performance.