How To Make 6 Figures As A Carpenter

Carpenter Makes Five Figures a Calendar month in Just Two Years Off an Thought from Pinterest - with James Smith

Go The Best Chapter My The #i Best Selling Book Start From Zero Completely For Free

How does someone with no carpentry skills build a furniture visitor that does five to six figures a calendar month in only two years?

James Smith is the co-founder of James and James, a company that makes custom, handcrafted article of furniture for homes and businesses. In 2011 James was unemployed and couldn't detect a job so he bought a $40 skill saw, some stain and wood and congenital a coffee table in his garage. He sold it online and soon more orders started coming in. Two years later his company has xx employees and is generating v-6 figures a month in revenue.

This interview is what this podcast is all about. James needed to pay his bills, did his enquiry, validated his ideas and it has paid off.

In This Interview Y'all'll Learn…

• 2:40  how James got the thought to build furniture
• six:40  how he used YouTube to learn how to build his first tables
• 8:08  when it's the right time to quit your day task
• 14:05  how James knows exactly what his customers are looking for
• 17:36  why the "nigh united states" page is and then important to James' marketing strategy
• 20:36  how they find people on the path to detect their product.

Downloads

• MP3
• Transcript

Show Notes

• James and James website
• James and James Facebook folio
• Pinterest

Podcast transcript

Andy: Welcome everyone to another episode of Starting from Nothing, the Foundation Podcast. Today I take with me James Smith.James is the co-founder of James & James, a company that makes custom handcrafted article of furniture for homes and businesses. In 2011, James is unemployed and couldn't find a job so he bought a $forty skill saw, some stain and wood and built a java table in his garage. He sold it online and presently more orders started coming in. Two years later, his company has 20 employees and is generating between 5 figures a month and sometimes over half-dozen figures a month in revenue, just in a couple of years. I think what's really cool virtually this is … how nosotros get James in the show is Chris, the producer hither, his mother-in-law bought a piece of furniture and he went to pick information technology upwards and met James, got to see the furniture and was only kind of blown away past the operation. James, I'thousand stoked to have you lot man. Thanks for coming on the evidence. James: Yeah, Andy. Thank you for having me. It'southward a pleasure to be on. Andy: Oh, homo. Tell united states about how you got started in your business concern. James: Yep, absolutely. It's a fun story and nosotros hear from customers all the time that read it on our website. They love it and they beloved supporting our business simply considering of … there'southward a lot of corporations out there that go started because they have lots of investors and tons of money and so it'due south kind of a fun story but we … Basically, plant myself in a situation where I didn't accept a job and I think a lot of people can relate with that especially over the concluding couple of years. Andy: Yeah. James: I was job hunting and connections weren't coming through and just didn't really know what I was going to do or how I was going to make ends meet. Around that time Pinterest starting to come to extreme popularity that summer … Andy: When was this? James: Information technology was summer of 2011; summertime/early fall. So, I started looking effectually at that place and just seeing what people were pinning and what items are popular for the habitation. I started noticing a lot of people were pinning very simplistic furniture that was made from solid wood. Kind of seeing a reverse trend back from like really complicated furniture that has all these different fancy features and stuff like that, so people wanting but simplistic solid furniture. But the other thing that I noticed every bit I started looking through it is a lot of the people that were pinning were really just daydreaming. Because a lot of that piece of furniture from craftsman, it would cost thousands and thousands of dollars for a table or for this, for that and so started just seeing. In that location's a existent hole here in the market place place for someone to come up along and build something, by hand, from solid wood and be able to sell information technology for a competitive cost. From there, I started thinking, "Okay, what if I started with something pocket-sized," and a coffee table seemed to make sense. And so did some pricing out and figuring it was going to cost this much in wood. I'll have to buy a saw and some sand paper and unlike things like that. Figured after about one or two of them, I could probably breakeven and and then start making coin on boosted java tables. And then I built a coffee table, I put it on Facebook, online. That first i didn't actually sell for a couple of months – I recall it was a calendar month or two, that actual java table fold. From that, people saw it and were like, "Hey, I love what yous're doing. I love the style. I love that you lot're building it by hand. Tin can you do a bench? Can you do some in-tables? And then eventually, tin yous do a dining room table?" I needed the coin then, of class, I wasn't going to say no to anything. I merely … "Of grade, I can exercise that." And so you get online and yous try to figure out how y'all're going to do information technology considering you got to do it. I actually just started from at that place. Just building a few unproblematic pieces and people loving what I was doing. A couple of weeks after that, a good friend from college – another James joined me. Nosotros started building together in the garage and it really only took off from there. Andy: How did yous know to go to Pinterest? James: You know, I think … earlier … Some of the jobs that I had before were in digital marketing and so I was e'er staying on sites like Mashable and Engadget and kind of but seeing what was popular out at that place. To think through those sites they were kind of saying Pinterest has these many 1000000 visitors and it's gaining this much attraction. Really, just out of curiosity for what the site was doing different than other sites out there. Andy: What were you doing earlier you did this? James: I was working for interactive advertizing agency working on websites and advertising campaigns for a lot of big companies similar Tyson and Walmart. A lot that brand customer service site, working with the client, figuring out what digital need they had whether information technology was mobile or social or a spider web platform and then working with a team of designers and developers to produce that. Andy: Have you lot always tried starting the business concern before? James: I wouldn't say starting a business. When I graduated from college back in 2009, I had a hard time finding my first job then for about 9 to ten months after graduation I did freelance video work. I filmed weddings and just a petty corporate videos and stuff similar that to make ends meet merely it was … it was merely me and my camera so I wouldn't necessarily telephone call it a business. Every bit far as freelance goes and just having the comfort to just kind of go out there and try to notice work and do any it takes, that was something that I was familiar with. Only as far equally the operations of a business, that was all new and foreign. Andy: Did you know this was going to piece of work? James: No, I didn't. I actually … that beginning night building that first coffee table, I had almost zero carpentry feel before coming into all that. I didn't realize it at the time but the round mitt saw that I bought for 40 bucks wasn't … didn't accept a large enough bract to cut through a slice of 4×iv which is what you utilize for the legs of the coffee tabular array. Andy: Yeah. James: So I had to cut information technology halfway through, plough it over then cutting it halfway through. Merely I had to keep it perfectly straight otherwise the leg wouldn't be level. I didn't take sawhorses; I didn't take clamps or whatever of the awesome things that we're able to have now as a growing business. And then I was trying to cutting that, cutting pieces and nothing was working. I call back I've been at it for five or six hours in the garage. And I only blown a 150 bucks or whatever on wood and saw material and I literally, literally thought to myself, "This is the stupidest thought I take ever had. This is not going to work." I was like, this is only wasted money. But I was like, yous know, I'm going to finish information technology and … got it finished quite out there and I'm glad I did considering things just kind of grew from in that location. Andy: So no carpentry experience at all. Similar before (crosstalk) … James: Yep. It's amazing what yous can learn on Google, right. Only looking around and figuring things out and talking to people that know what they're doing. That's the great thing about it though. In guild to produce something like piece of furniture by hand in the United states of america, it actually has to be simplistic designs. Information technology can't exist complicated stuff to do considering complicated stuff to practise takes more than time then that means you lot've got more than man hours in each slice and the price of your slice is no longer going to exist competitive. So, information technology really was just a perfect match. Not having that experience really works for my advantage considering the designs were then simplistic that the human being hours that went into them could exist paid for by charging a reasonable price for the furniture. A better price than what the article of furniture companies charge. Andy: James, this is and then astonishing. Why didn't you just proceed searching for a job? I feel similar most people would just keep searching or, similar … I'grand just blown away that this is what yous decided to do and followed through with information technology. James: Sure. To be completely honest, subsequently about a month or so of doing this, I did become another job. One of the job things came through. I accepted a chore and did this. A large part of the reason why the business has been successful is because the early on twelvemonth, the first year of the business, we didn't have to pull a salary from the business organisation. Nosotros were able to pull money from it as the business had information technology. But the nifty thing is I had some other chore during that time flow so a lot of it was getting off my job at 5:00, coming and working until ii:00 in the morning then doing information technology all over again. Andy: Wow. James: That actually helped because a lot of people … Ane of the things I e'er discourage people from doing is quitting their job and going and to start something new. Andy: Yeah. James: Start something new. Endeavour to get it to where it's going to be able to support you lot and then jump onto information technology. Considering yous're going to be such a less of a financial burden and you can take the money that the business is making and put it back into the business to grow information technology even faster and go tools that are going to make your job easier and able to produce different products. And then that was a actually big primal to success as well. And then, of course, after 8 months or so being back at that new job, I quit and went full time in the business because it was ready for information technology at that point.. Andy: Why did you keep doing the concern? Take y'all always want to have your ain business concern? Or … James: I've always … yep. I've always really enjoyed doing entrepreneurial things. In high school you lot'd find me filming the junior high graduation or the high school graduation and selling DVDs to moms. So I was ever trying to do 1 matter or another to brand coin or building a website for somebody. I've e'er enjoyed information technology. It'due south a smash. If you talk to any entrepreneur … we love it. We love what we exercise. We're crazy. Andy: Yeah. James: Yous accept long hours. You lot probably get paid way less than anywhere else but it'south just a nail. The excitement, you tin't become that anywhere else. Andy: It'southward really absurd knowing that you lot were doing digital marketing and now you lot're making furniture. Like something … new to your hands that is to me feels so much more than complex than but playing in the digital world. James: Aye. And the great thing is, yous know that digital experience, working with some of the top brands in the US on Facebook campaigns and spider web strategies and stuff similar that, that has been so huge to growing our business because … even though nosotros have a exhibit here in Arkansas adjacent to our shop where people can come up and see pieces, the vast majority of our customers discover us online. And then our online presence and our online social activities are and then central for us growing considering nosotros are, in every sense of the give-and-take, an due east-commerce business concern. Andy: Tell me some of the things that have translated. Because when I think of doing marketing for big brands similar Tyson, how does that use to a piffling e-commerce store that's just getting started? James: Aye. Nifty question. I think a lot of it is simply agreement the best practices of how those communities work. If you don't take that experience managing a Facebook page for a visitor, there'due south a lot of mistakes you lot could make. A lot of what you lot see in younger companies getting kickoff off with social media is that they tend to be overeager on social media and that turns away customers. I think having that big brand confidence, fifty-fifty when yous're a pocket-size company, but withal even so existence accessible and more like a face and less of a corporation is really awesome. I think more so, it comes in all-time practices in the websites. So looking at things like … Every single page, what are we trying to get the end user to practise on this page? And of class for us, it's buy furniture. Everything that we practice on that page is geared towards guiding that client and providing them with the information that they demand and the confidence they need to make that purchase. How you lot're laying out web pages and what pictures you're putting showtime and and so how you're formatting the wording in the copy that appears at that place, all that stuff when you've got hundreds of people hitting your website every twenty-four hours, 1 pocket-size change tin can dramatically change your conversion rate and it impacts yourselves. Andy: Totally. Totally. Accept me to the time when yous sold your first piece of piece of furniture. Who bought it and how did they find it? James: Yeah. Great question. I was however working in the garage. I'k renting a house with three other guys at the time. This lady called and she said we're looking at your article of furniture online; we love your style … which I thought was hilarious because I just had one coffee table at bay. I don't think I had much of a style. She's like, "Tin can we come over? Tin can nosotros look effectually?" I was like, "Sure." They came over – her and her mom. She's probably in her mid-30s or whatever and her mom was a little older than that. They came over, walked into the garage and they only got and then excited about the fact that it was being built from there and they could see the forest. They're like, "Well, can you lot practice this dimension and this dimension? We're actually looking for this height." Once again, I needed the money so I was like, "Of course. Of course I can." They were just then excited. I call up that got me really excited to see … that was kind of the first sample of that because fifty-fifty today nosotros had a delivery last last weekend. Our customers gets so excited and and so passionate almost our brand because it's and so different from what anybody else is doing. Just to see that from the very start person that came in the garage, to even customers now, just having that excitement, that's something that we try in every manner possible to bottle into … to have on our website and on our Facebook page. Andy: I notice it really disconnected from the business organization or like tired or in a funk. That's what always brings me out of it is getting reconnected with the passion and excitement of the customers. James: Admittedly. Yeah. If yous walk into our store right now, we've got these billboards on either piece of work side of the shop that accept all these comments that we've gotten back from customers. Andy: Cool. James: Information technology's really important to share that with the guys in the shop as well considering information technology's easy for me when I'thou getting the emails or for our delivery guys to know, but the guys that are in there, building the furniture and finishing it, they demand to see that feedback too to go along them going and keep them excited. Information technology'due south awesome because opening aircraft; we have feedback from all over the land. 1 call volition be for Maryland, the next call volition be from Silicon Valley and the side by side will be from Florida. That's a really, actually absurd aspect to see that you lot're working on a slice of article of furniture, you look at the tag, it'due south got the person'south name on information technology and information technology tells you what city or land it'southward going to. Information technology's fun to think about the stuff that your building … one of the guys in the shop being in homes in so many dissimilar places. Andy: Yep. You lot mentioned … and so you're selling … by and large to women are making the buy. James: Right. Andy: In the pre-interview, you mentioned something that they're non actually looking for a furniture. What are they looking for and what's the divergence than just looking for a coffee table? For me, I simply want a java table. James: Bully question. You lot're spot on. Almost everybody that calls us, almost everybody that emails us, well-nigh everybody that comes by, information technology's all women that are leading upwardly because they're ones that are making the decisions for what'southward going into the infinite and what not. Yeah. One of the things that we discovered actually early on on is that women … they don't come in … our customers don't come in looking to purchase a piece of article of furniture, they're looking to come in to create a infinite. Through creating that infinite, they're looking to fulfill an epitome or to convey a feeling in that room. For u.s.a., we realized very early on that it's non about our article of furniture; it'south nigh our furniture fitting into this concepts and idea that they accept for that space and what they're trying to practise with that infinite. Some people want a space that makes somebody walk in and realize how rich they are. Some people desire a space that people will walk in and feel very welcomed and some people want space. It's just all these different goals that everybody has. I retrieve i of the reasons that nosotros've been really successful, if yous become into a lot of furniture manufacturer'due south websites or a lot of furniture company websites, they have their furniture in one of 2 settings. It volition either be up against a solid groundwork, and so it's merely highlighting the slice of furniture. Y'all can sympathize why they do that. Andy: Yeah. James: Or it'southward in a room that costs millions and millions of dollars. The 2 sides of the spectrum: one side y'all've got, okay, this is a piece of furniture. It doesn't show me how information technology fits in to what I can create in my space. On the other side, people aren't stupid, you've got a room that … for near every American … this room is completely unattainable. So it's not bad, that's a beautiful slice of furniture yous got in at that place simply I don't have these huge vaulted ceilings and my house doesn't overlook an ocean view. Ane of the not bad things … considering our customers are then excited about our brand, a large percent of our customers volition actually send united states of america pictures of their tables or of their furniture in the completed space back to us … Andy: Oh, cool. James: … which is unbelievable. I hateful, who sends pictures back to their furniture shop? Andy: Aye. James: Simply our customers, they feel similar they get treated well enough and they experience that's a relationship that's what they practice and they send those pictures back to united states of america and so we're able to upload those onto our website and our Facebook folio. Information technology not just gives our customers lots of different ideas and inspiration for what they can practice for their space, just it also … it's something that accessible. They look at those rooms, "That's not that much different from my dining room. I can do that. All she did was she had a trim and she painted the wall color this fashion and she got to pull a geometric print and a absurd calorie-free fixture. Information technology's all very accessible." And then, past having those pictures, information technology really helps people consummate that vision. A lot of people can accept the sense or idea of what they're looking for for the room but they don't actually … they can't actually spell it out until they run across it. And and then they're looking for something that matches that. When they come up to our site, they see pictures from Washington D.C. and from California and from Utah and all these different places. And somebody'southward pic that they sent in is going to be shut to what they're looking for for their space and they tin start from there and see that our furniture does fit into what they're trying to create. Information technology'southward a bang-up way for us to build tons of images that, you know, we would have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to phase those dissimilar photos and stuff but our customers are kind enough to send those to united states of america and assistance inspire other customers. Andy: How exercise yous build a fan like that? Like someone who is so excited almost the coffee table they just got that they want to write you a cheers note and ship photos. What are you guys doing and the feel to make them so emotionally attached to your brand? James: Yeah. Great question. I think a part of it is really only telling our story in our website. If y'all go … my estimate would be if yous go to most company'south websites and you lot set what per centum of your visitors visit your About Us folio, it probably will exist a pretty small percentage. Simply for us, our About Us in our story folio is one of our about visited pages in our website. [Inaudible 00:17:36] story. We tell our story near how we got started from nothing and how at present we're able to have jobs and create more and more jobs for people right here in the United states. Nosotros also talk virtually the quality of our work. A lot of furniture companies are getting ships from oversees in crates and so they take to be concerned about the weight and and then they don't use real wood, certainly not handcrafted. They can't customize information technology to fit their infinite. If you walk into a furniture store and say, "I like this just can you exercise it a half a foot smaller and can you exercise it in a darker stain and a lighter paint color?" They're going to say no way. No fashion.. Andy: Sorry. James: Okay, maybe but information technology's going to take us xviii months to get it shipped over, whatever. Just for u.s., it's similar, "Of class, we tin can do that." Information technology doesn't affair to usa how long we're cutting information technology or what pigment color nosotros're putting on it. People are hearing that story and knowing … I'k supporting a company that was started from nothing and now creates jobs for people in the United States. I'm getting a production that'south built from solid woods and from wood that'south sustainably and responsively sourced, and being able to do that, that really makes people for really skillful and they want to exist involved in it and they want to support that. I think that's one of the primary reasons why people do achieve out to united states. I recollect there's likewise … another side of information technology is that people transport us pictures and nosotros post them on our Facebook page and they become tons of likes. Who doesn't want to have that affirmation of … Andy: Totally. James: Hither'south my end dining room. I just spent this much money on lights and this much money on furniture and this much money on pigment and all that stuff. And I want some [inaudible 00:18:59]. To be honest, nosotros give them an outlet for that too considering … Andy: Yes. James: Depending on the 24-hour interval, the time and day it'due south posted and whatnot. Yous get anywhere from 50 to 200 likes on your picture show and people comments on it about how they similar it and they want to know where you got this from and that from. And then it'due south a expert sense of customs and it besides just makes you experience really great. Andy: Are yous guys spending much money on marketing? Or is information technology all give-and-take of mouth? James: We spend very fiddling money on marketing. We tried … specially as we are growing really apace at the beginning of this year, nosotros invested in a lot of marketing to run into what would work. So we tried everything from billboards to banner ads. I mean, y'all name it. All kind … radio ads. Simply nada had a positive return on investment for us. Then, actually, the simply places that nosotros spend money now are in extremely targeted online ads that notice our customers forth the path to purchase. What I mean by that, you put a billboard out at that place, certain yous're reaching X hundred thousand people with that billboard but how many of those people are actively looking for a piece of furniture? Andy: Yep. James: And of those, how many of them practice your designs appeal to and your price point appeal too. You lot may have a really high attain with these traditional forms of advertising but when you boil it down to who'due south really out in that location prepare and willing to buy your furniture, it's a really pocket-size number. Versus if you invest in proper SCO and somebody goes on to Google and searches for farmhouse solid wood dining room table and bench. Chances are that they're actively … People just search for random things. They're searching for something considering they're trying to find something that they desire to buy or … Andy: Yeah. James: … their demand or their space. Sometimes that happens really early on on when they're months abroad from purchasing and they only realize they take that need. And then sometimes it happens right when they're sitting there with their wallet open and want to buy something to fill an instant need. We plant that … even though it's more expensive to get in front of those people, they are actively searching for that furniture and fix to buy, we take a lot college conversion rate because we're not having to filter through all these people that our bulletin is completely irrelevant for them because they don't want a dining room table. They may non even take a dining room. Andy: Yup. Yup. I'grand amazed at how quickly you grew the business. Like going from naught to seven figures almost in two years is ridiculous in whatsoever business and y'all guys are doing it with physical products that yous actually have to ship and build. What was kind of the growth curve similar? Did it start off really deadening? At what point did yous really start seeing a kind of grow exponentially calendar month later on month? James: Yeah. Bully question. It definitely grew the starting time several months. We get actually excited and we had more and more sales. But I would say information technology was really the summer of 2012, concluding summertime, where things really started to take off. Obviously I have a media mentions and stuff like The Foundation. This stuff is really helpful to us because information technology helps go the word out near what we're trying to exercise. We had some really influential bloggers find united states and blog about us. Just different things like that. We did a Facebook giveaway that ends upward being really successful in dredging a lot of people towards the states. It hasn't been every month is bigger than the side by side calendar month. Surprisingly, a lot of it has been great plateaued growth. Two or three or four months of consistent sales and and then suddenly the next month will be twice as large, they'll stay that way for a little bit and so it will be twice as large or any the growth factor is. Which is not the way nosotros would accept liked information technology. It's difficult if you're doubling from month to month or whatnot. The peachy matter is going back to just our designs beingness very simplistic. I don't accept to become out and find skilled creative person and craftsman that had been doing this for 10, 15 years. I but have to find really awesome people that love what we're doing and want to be a part of it and that's what nosotros've been able to exercise. The instant we bring somebody in … certain, there's some grooming and stuff similar that but people can starting time contributing really early on on and so that's helped us grow our business a lot. I think having ii James' has been actually helpful also. I'g not having the burden all to myself and we're growing. So we only have a really awesome crew that they know that we're growing crazy fast and that really excites them because they know the opportunities that that's going to mean for them in the future. Then they do really crazy stuff with us. Sometimes we [inaudible 00:23:21] 2:00 in the forenoon … Andy: Yup. James: We accept a squad that loves that. Nosotros dearest that camaraderie. We're trying to make it happen often. Information technology does happen. Everybody just dance together and we go it washed. Andy: Wow, dude. When y'all first started did y'all know … were you lot just building stuff that you thought was absurd or were you taking orders from people? How did you know what to build? James: Yes. Skilful question. Definitely information technology's what appealed to me. If I didn't like it, I didn't really want to build it. If you look at the dining room tables nosotros're building originally and the dining room tables that we build now, they're fairly unlike. [Inaudible 00:24:00] that came was nosotros would accept customers come up to the states and say, "Hey, I like what yous're doing but have you ever thought about painting the base black instead of having it stained?" Or, "I love what you're doing simply accept you ever idea about this or that?" Almost every single one of our production innovations has come from our customers request for it. Nosotros've grown really intentionally and that we don't say yes to everybody. So when people say, "Hey, can you lot do this? Tin you do that?" We say no a lot because we know what we do well and nosotros know what our core strings are and that's helped us stay actually profitable and grow stiff. At the same token, if you've got three people in a week ask y'all to do something and you said no, you're like, "Okay. Maybe we demand to effigy out if we can do this." Then y'all sit downwards and yous look, okay, does this make sense [inaudible 00:24:41]? What exercise we accept to charge to make information technology happen? And all that stuff. And and so you put it out there. A lot of times when nosotros introduce new product, we won't put it on our website to brainstorm with surprisingly. Nosotros'll merely practice it every bit a Facebook post. We'll have somebody do a customer order, they'll pay for united states to exercise it, we'll do it and then we'll stick it on Facebook. The products that inevitably end up doing well in the long run are the ones that people will find … They'll go through our Facebook pictures, find that table and order it off of our Facebook album. And so when we've got a Facebook mail service that'south selling several of that table it's like, okay, information technology's time to promote this 1 to actually become a product on our website and we'll become on our website. But nearly all of our innovation has been driven only from listening to what the customer wants. And and then also looking at what our existing customer wants but also … what people are not buying from us because our furniture doesn't appeal to them and how practise we create a new blueprint that does appeal to them. We just did that final calendar month with the round table design. What we heard was that people don't purchase round tables, they only buy circular tables. If you get into the market and you say, "I want to buy a round table," there's a very small chance that you're going to say, "Oh okay. I'll settle for a square table or a rectangle table."And so we realize we're missing from that market research, we're missing a lot of … a large department of the customers. Andy: Aye. James: Our electric current round table design wasn't selling so we did get out and we're very intentional about finding a blueprint and coming upwardly with the design that would work well. Nosotros've put that out there now. It's starting to sell. Growing our existing customer base but likewise figuring out how to reach people that are not interested in our furniture so that nosotros can grow via them instead of just upgrading a client from i furniture to another. Andy: Dude, I'm blown. I love how … you're pretty much taking lean startup principles and applying it to the furniture business. 1 affair we talk about a lot in the Foundation is never build anything before you have a sale and then … James: Yeah. Andy: You do a custom society for somebody who orders it, buys information technology, pays for it and and then mail service it online and see if people actually want it. It's just brilliant. James: Absolutely, yep. We definitely idea that model a lot. Why would you exit and kind of stick your neck out in that location and hope that something does well. When you've got a agglomeration of people on Facebook that are telling yous exactly what they desire. Andy: Yeah. James: People volition tell us, we'll post the picture out there or something that what come up up within the shop and we'll get very few likes on it and somebody will be like, "Oh, well, that looks weird." People are brutally honest online. I guess nosotros're grateful for. We take that feedback. You're admittedly right. Don't simply jump out there and kickoff a concern and hope that it's going to … hope information technology'south going to pay enough money to pay your bills. Don't simply throw a product out there or worse spend thousands of dollars developing a product. If there is a smaller version or a minimal viable production that you can put out in that location beforehand to test the waters. That will tell you lot a lot of times what yous need to adjust, this manner or that way. Information technology might be completely contrary to what y'all would have thought yous should take done. Accented correct. No matter what y'all're doing. The digital company or article of furniture company, I remember those principles stay simply as true. Andy: Yep. I love hearing it applied to a not-traditional businesses. How has your office shifted from two years ago when you bought the skill saw for the first fourth dimension and build the first piece of article of furniture to … What do you spend virtually of your time and energy on at present? James: Aye. Great question. From that first dates and at present my job is and so dramatically different. Andy: Totally. I'one thousand aware of that. James: My weight is dramatically different too considering [inaudible 00:28:01] much which is unfortunate. No, we've got … I honestly oasis't congenital a slice of article of furniture from the ground up in probably ten months, only considering nosotros have such an awesome team. That was another thing that I would encourage business concern owners to exercise. As soon every bit you can, as soon as it makes fiscal sense separate yourself from mean solar day to day of the business concern so that you tin can focus on growing the business and you can focus on seeing the bug from up in a higher place instead of within them and you can look at … how exercise we bulldoze this thing forward? How are we losing coin? How can we make ourselves more profitable? That'south been really awesome with … our growth as really early, I was able to bring an awesome squad. I've got a build sign manager and finish sign manager that … they take everything from … if I'thousand not here things get congenital and things motility along on time. That'due south actually enabled us to grow the business even faster. And and then a lot of what I spend my time on nowadays are identifying what our key problems are as a business because you have a lot of them, particularly when [inaudible 00:28:58] and and so figuring out how to squash those issues and eliminate them and put things in the place that will brand them no longer exist. Andy: Yeah. James: A lot of it is just looking for new opportunities. What are we missing? Where is the market going? And all that stuff. Some other important part of my job is still taking a lot of client phone calls and reading a lot of client emails – fifty-fifty when I don't have to. Simply to really stay in impact with what our customer is saying and what they're experiencing. The time that they contact united states of america, the time they become their furniture; how tin can nosotros meliorate that process and brand it a amend feel for them. It'south dramatically dissimilar than existence in their edifice. Just I honey information technology. Everyday my job changes I think just I wouldn't have it whatsoever other way. Andy: What's like a big problem you guys take overcome recently? Or a big challenge you guys have dealt with? James: Swell question. We decided in April that in club to keep growing our business, we needed to open up upwards shipping instead of only delivering a furniture to customers ourselves. That would enable united states of america to reach … obviously a lot larger customer base. I don't call up we realize when we made that decision, how difficult it was going to be because … You lot've got aircraft options like FedEx and UPS just that's non really an choice when you lot're aircraft an 8- human foot dining room table to a customer. Their prices just become way to expensive so yous take to await at things like [inaudible 00:xxx:14] freight and how practice you lot work with those companies. When you first enter in, y'all first determine to start shipping, you are very, very minor fish, and we still are, and how yous get these huge freight companies and have these million dollars contracts to even care almost you and to give you lot skilful customer service. Along those same lines, how practice yous successfully ship a production? At first, many tables that we shipped all arrived damaged. Andy: Oh, no. James: Thousands of miles away in most cases so we had to go and rebuild the tabular array and transport them a new one and hope that that 1 got there okay. Information technology was a really stressful procedure. Information technology wasn't funny because we were just losing coin left and right having to reship these things. But nosotros knew that it was extremely important that we figure shipping out because that was so important for the long-term good for our company so we just viewed all those losses as investments. And in every case, we made sure we did the right affair, the customer got their … did get undamaged piece of furniture. As soon as we possibly could get to them, their experience was good. And the skillful thing is, a lot of it nosotros simply did by setting proper expectations with the customers, letting them know, "Hey, we oasis't shipped very much. Yous're going to exist 1 of the early adapters to this. If it doesn't go well, don't worry, we're going to take care of yous, but we just want to permit you know." When you set that expectation, some people will be like, "That's okay. I don't desire to ship with y'all," and other people would be like, "That'due south fine. I want your stuff. Let'south do information technology. It's okay if it's going to be a little fleck of a frustrating situation." We decide customers that knew the expectations upfront, they were very accommodating and they knew nosotros were going to take care of it at the finish of the twenty-four hour period and nosotros did. But it took us a long time. It took us several months to figure out who's the best partnership with, how do nosotros properly package the article of furniture so it gets there okay. I'm happy to report that we're finally starting to come out on the other side of that and we're aircraft successfully left and right and very few things arrived damaged only it toll a lot of money. It took a lot of energy, a lot of frustration. Luckily, we're starting to run across a light at the end of the tunnel as far as the shipping concerns. Andy: What are your plans for the next 12 months? Where do y'all come across the concern going? James: Yeah. Yeah. Great question. We're looking at new delivery models. Nosotros're trying to figure out dissimilar things with distribution centers. How we tin can attain more people in a more efficient manner. If we ship a single table to a customer, information technology can cost somewhere over $295 for the freight and for the packaging. Which isn't horrible when you're apropos a dining room table purchase and our prices are a lot lower than the competitors. Fifty-fifty with that, our prices are still competitive. Merely we're looking more at how can we delivery more pieces to a location at ane fourth dimension and then that reduces the cost per piece and we tin get that cost down. It'south really figuring out how we reach more customers and how we reach the customers that we are reaching for a smaller price per gild. I don't increase our conversion. Nosotros're likewise focused very heavily on product innovation. How do nosotros come out with products that are appealing to people, that our products don't appeal as well. And and then likewise looking at entirely new products. Tin can nosotros partner with someone that's making chairs or making this or that, that fits in our make. With our brand tenants and sell those things on our website and provide that service for our customers. Nosotros definitely expect inside the twelvemonth for our product offer to aggrandize substantially and also our customer-achieve to expand in that price for reaching those customers to lower. That'southward actually our principal goals correct now. Andy: Beautiful, man. For people listening, where can they either learn more about you lot or check yous out or if they want to get in touch with you for any reason, how can they do that? James: Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. The all-time way to become [inaudible 00:33:43] nosotros have and see pictures and read our stories on our website, information technology'south carpenterjames.com C-A-R-P-Due east-North-T-ERjames.com. From there, you can besides link to our Facebook page. We've got well-nigh, I think, over xvi,000 Facebook fans now that are highly agile and posting pictures. Then, if you leap over Facebook.com/carpentryjames and its linked from carpenterjames.com, you tin can see that. Of course, you can always just Google James & James Piece of furniture. That will get yous to united states of america also. Andy: Beautiful, human. Thank you and then much for coming on. Annihilation else before nosotros wrap upward? James: No. I'll just encourage anybody that is interested in starting something to get for it. It'due south heady, it'southward an gamble but it'southward definitely worth it. I just appreciate the opportunity to come on and conversation with yous. Information technology was a blast. Andy: Dude, thanks human. James: Yeah, absolutely. Closing: Give thanks you for joining usa. We've taken this interview and created a custom activeness guide and then you know exactly what action steps to take to abound your business. But head over to thefoundationpodcast.com to download information technology for costless. Cheers for listening and we'll run across yous next week.

Source: https://thefoundation.com/podcast/episode22

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