5. I Started a Machine Shop on a Dare. Here’s the Real Story.

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Everybody wants the highlight reel. The 13,000 square foot shop, the wall of CNC machines, the certifications on the wall. Nobody wants to hear about the two toilets, the seven parking spots for 26 people, or the rigger who sliced a neighbor’s Tahoe clean in half. That’s exactly the part we’re telling you today.

This is the first episode Lee and I have done together, so we figured we’d start where it all started. We met on match.com back in 2010. A few months in, she told me to go get a job. I did, hated it, and then she dared me to start my own shop. That dare turned into Marzilli Machine.

We walk through the stuff the how-to-start-a-business books skip right over. Writing a real business plan with the SBA. Convincing a bank to bet on you. Zoning, remediation, and finding a building nobody could ever find. Starting with one 1997 Haas and a surface grinder in a garage wedged between apartment buildings in Fall River.

We also get into the grind nobody brags about. Eighty to a hundred hour weeks. Sleeping on a pullout couch at the shop. Doing payroll from a hospital bed and again before the honeymoon. Moving 22 machines in three days with 35 Gaylords and a spreadsheet. And the certifications that decide what work you’re even allowed to quote, from ISO to AS9100 to a CMMC bill that’s pushing good owners into retirement.

If you’re working for somebody right now and wondering what it takes to go out on your own, this one’s for you. No fluff, no filters. Just how it actually happened.

What’s Covered in this Episode

• (0:00) A rigger forgets to pull the truck wheels in and slices a neighbor’s Tahoe in half
• (1:09) How Lee and I met on match.com (and why she thought I was a jobless bum)
• (2:30) Quitting a boss who didn’t get the shop floor, and the dare to start my own
• (3:07) Writing the first business plan, plus Lee’s MBA and machining family
• (5:01) The SBA and MSBDC, and pinning down rent, power, payroll, and equipment
• (7:07) What the bank really wants, plus zoning, remediation, and a grandfathered shop
• (10:18) ProShop ERP: why I invested in myself first and saw ROI in weeks
• (11:54) One 1997 Haas, bad electrical, 7 parking spots, and moving 22 machines in 3 days
• (14:47) Lee joining the business and achieving significant growth
• (15:38) Why UPS and DHL wreck your parts, and how to package aerospace work
• (17:04) Lee back at work days after giving birth to make a client meeting
• (18:55) The grit nobody brags about: 80 to 100 hour weeks and sleeping at the shop
• (20:12) The certs that unlock better work, and what ISO, AS9100, and CMMC really cost
• (21:57) Owners aging out, shops closing, and private equity consolidating the industry
• (22:38) Elevate at IMTS 2026: leadership and community with AMT and Women in Manufacturing
• (23:30) Lee’s side of the shop: HR, books, financials, and financing the move
• (24:38) My road from machinist at 15 to shop owner, and learning to lead
• (27:30) Turning tribal knowledge into work orders, and splitting online from offline work
• (29:17) What’s next: solo deep-dives, Lee’s interviews, and guests

Resources Mentioned

• ProShop ERP
• Elevate at IMTS 2026
• Titans of CNC Academy
• U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)
• Massachusetts Small Business Development Center (MSBDC)

Connect with Jamie & Lee Marzilli

• Connect with Jamie on LinkedIn
• Connect with Lee on LinkedIn
• Marzilli Machine