We were lucky to catch up with Hunter Hiatt recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Hunter , thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

Initially, I had started my business as a side hustle or hobby when my wife and I lived in Michigan. I was very comfortable with this stage in my life I had a good job I was learning a lot from and was still enjoying doing custom woodworking on the side for family and friends. However, my wife and I decided to move out of state to southern indiana for her job change. This was a total shot in the dark for us and a big risk because we didnt know a single person in this area of the state. On top of that I had two options, either get another job or launch my custom woodworking business full time. I was playing mental ping pong with this decision, but thankfully my wife has always been super supportive and encouraged me to follow my dreams and start my business full time. Obviously, starting a traditional business is a risk in and of itself. But we also were moving to an area where I had no network, I was still in the early stages of honing my craft & we frankly just had a lot of life going on. The first few months were very hard on my wife and I. We are trying to make new friends, get plugged into a new church and figure out how to grow this new business venture. Normally, I am a guy that likes quiet solitude however working alone at home everday and only spending a handful of hours with my wife everynight was getting quite lonely. And at the same time my wife was struggling to get used to her new work environment, so we were starting to question the risk we had taken by moving out of state and even starting my business. However, God started to fit things in place perfectly not only in business but our lives in general. Looking back 3 years later I have significantly grown my custom woodworking business and have expanded my network significantly. I am so glad we took the risk and faced the unknown head on.

Hunter , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Hi everyone, my name is Hunter Hiatt and I am the owner of Hiatt Custom Creations. My business specializes in custom woodworking and serves the Southern Indiana/Louisville, KY areas. My services include furniture, home decor, Interior & Exterior Home Improvements & Special Event Rentals. I started my business initially as a side hustle doing things for family and friends, but quickly came to a position in life back at the end of 2021 to launch my business full time. Not only am I a full time business owner, but I am a husband and father to a beautiful family. As well as a passionate follower of Jesus Christ. And I do my best to make sure principles and morals shine through in my business. Especially in the way I treat my clients and the quality/value I provide in every one of my projects.

I first started my business flipping old furniture and building new smaller scale items. I then quickly started expanding into larger scale furniture sets such as dining tables, home dry bars & living room table sets. That also expanded into home improvement projects such as laundry and closet shelving remodels, Privacy Fencing and Decks. I really enjoy providing my clients with quality pieces in their homes that is not only a showcase piece aesthetically, but also very functional and practical. I have a very creative mind and I think that has been what has helped me the most in bringing my clients ideas and visions to life.

Here recently I launched an event rental side of my business specializing in picture backdrops, ceremony arches and light up Marquee letters & numbers. In my area there isnt many businesses that provide this service and I wanted to help save my clients money by not having to buy and then try to resell these items. My wife and I had to do that for our wedding with a lot of our decor and I know how frustrating that can be. Looking to keep expanding my rental inventory and continue adding value in the communities special events.

For the last 3 years I have been really proud of the growth I’ve had in business. As well as very thankful for all of my great clients that have supported me along the way. I have received a lot of encouragment from special people in my life and that has been vital for me to keep going as an entrepreneur. I’ve found that surrounding yourself with like minded and positive people in your life is absolutely critical to the success of an entreprenuer. Its sometimes a draining and lonely road to trek, however the rewards far outweigh the struggles. I’ve met so many wonderful people, gained more freedom to control my calendar and have been on an amazing personal growth journey. Most importantly I’m thankful for what my business has provided for my family and our future.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

I have learned from some very succesful entreprenuers and individuals that are in life where Id like to be. And all of them hold personal growth to a very high standard. So for me I had to start being intentional about what content I was consuming on a daily basis. I started reading books that were helping me grow not only in business, but also translated to every other area of my life. I stared listening to podcasts and watching video trainings that were fueling me to move forward at a faster pace than I had before. If something in my life was causing me to get distracted from providing for my family, working towards my goals and dreams then it needed to be cut out of my life. In my personal opinion these habits are vital for an entreprenuer.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I believe earning clients trust has been the biggest factor in building a positive business reputation. Doing what you say you are going to do and provide a quality product that exceeds expectations is how I’ve been able to grow. When I first started I had to solely run facebook ads to earn new clients. However, word of mouth/referrals and repeat clients has lately been most of the projects that run through my business. And I beleive that is because of the trust I build with my clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.hiattcustomcreations.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HiattCustomCreations/