We were lucky to catch up with Laura Whitlow recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Laura, thanks for joining us today. Can you share a customer success story with us?

I started my business with the goal that “a stay at home mom on a budget could put her kids on the school bus, and before they got home, create something beautiful.” This has been the most rewarding part of my job. There are days when things are difficult–supply chain and shipping issues due to covid that STILL affect us, finding reliable employees, rising costs of almost everything….BUT when I get an email from a customer who is thrilled with their new kitchen or bedroom it means everything to me. This was an especially touching experience….This customer’s brother passed away very young and suddenly. She sent this: “It means the world to me that you reached out. When everything first happened, my daughter and I would just lay in my bed and watch all of your videos. They helped us escape the hurt we are feeling. I think I am finally ready to attempt to paint my kitchen.” And she DID paint her kitchen and it was beautiful!
I have received so many emails about how our paint line….the support we offer….and the family aspect of our business has helped someone through a difficult time. That is priceless to me!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Laura – I am a 56 year old mother of five and grandmother of two. I have been married for 35 years to my high school sweetheart and best friend. I own Rethunk Junk by Laura – a no sanding no priming no waxing paint line. I was painting furniture as a stress reliever for myself.and apparently was stressed enough that our house was filled to overflowing with furniture. My husband suggested I sell a piece and although I was sure no one would be interested I started selling! I continued painting and Tom-my husband-found an invoice from where I had ordered paint. We’ve teased that we could trace his bloodline directly to Ebeneezer Scrooge – he’s super frugal – and upon seeing said invoice, he decided he could create a product for me. He owned a chemical company for about six years and did indeed come up with something wonderful. I kept on painting like crazy. People would ask how I got so much done so quickly and no one seemed to believe me when I answered, “cause I’m fabulous!” so we started telling people about our amazing quickdrynoodornosandingnoprimingnowaxingselflevelingstickstoeverythingprettymuchperfect paint. :) Before long we were selling locally and now have over 200 stores across the US and one in Canada!

In order to really grow our business our family moved from Atlanta, Georgia to Millen, Georgia….a VERY TINY town. We felt like it was a sacrifice we needed to make to cut high rent costs and travel time etc. We moved into an old elementary school that needed quite a bit of work. As it turns out, that sacrifice WAS a difficult thing – the closest Walmart is over 30 min away which tells you shopping is nonexistent here. Not much in the way of restaurants either. BUT….four of our five kids moved with us. They each have a wing of the school they live in. The school library is our great room,. The gym is our shipping and receiving area. One wing is our production wing. It has taken a lot of work to create a home here, but what a blessing to live with our kids – watch them grow into amazing adults – have a close relationship with our grandkids — laugh together – have Sunday dinners together – walk across the hall to work :).

Our paint line is amazing. It sticks to wood, laminate, metal, veneer, stone, brick…almost anything! Customers have “Rethunk” ceiling fans, light fixtures, birdbaths, purses, shoes, kitchens, dining rooms, bedrooms, bathroom cabinets…for a fraction of the cost of purchasing those things new! We are getting ready to launch a product for painting floors and countertops. I am thrilled and proud of how easy to use our line is and how easy it makes it to transform and reuse pieces of furniture you already own.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I have a lot to learn about using social media effectively….but I do know a couple of things that have been instrumental in helping us grow our presence. I guess to sum it up I would say “be real!” I have had lots of advice from others telling me that I am not professional enough on our Facebook page. I finally have the courage to disagree with that. Today’s world is so impersonal and fast paced that having a face – a family – a realness behind our business name has made all the difference for us. I have an amazing person that works with us to create graphics and post about our fabulous paint line That is a HUGE advantage – necessity to have in place. But apart from that, I post about – well about my life. It makes a difference. Customers get to know you and are loyal to the brand sometimes before they even make their first purchase. I post pictures of my adorable grandkids – pictures of when my adult daughter used underwear for potholders since that’s what was closest in the laundry – pictures of my husband being silly – pictures of when a bat – yes a BAT landed in my hair. I remember leaving on a business trip and before I left I posted that I did not have time to lose the 50 pounds I needed to lose so I asked for suggestions for the best mascara so hopefully people would focus on my eyes and never notice my fourth chin or my big thighs. I was told I should never post something like that…..well I got hundreds of suggestions for mascara and tons of likes from that post. Don’t be afraid to be you and to be personal. It’s a GOOD thing for your business to make that connection!

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

We have over 200 stores across the US and keeping in touch with those retailers is an important part of our business. We have a customer service rep who handles regular monthly newsletters and communicates about specials we run…and stays in touch thru emails. That is super important to our retailers. The other thing we do that has proven to be really effective is what we call “Tuesdays at Two”. Every Tuesday at 2:00 we have a Facebook live just for our retailers. We have Facebook page set up just for them and post regularly and this is where we do our live. Our retailers can join live or watch on replay. We tell them the news for the week….and we encourage questions. We answer those questions live, and take the time to tell them how very much we appreciate them. I randomly send out what I call a “Box of Love”. It contains marketing goodies – relaxing lotion or shower ge – treats….just things to make them feel loved. It may sound silly but it is time well spent!!! Everyone wants to feel appreciated and as we foster that feeling we have retailers who are more understanding when there is a shipping issue – more patient when there is a product out of stock – more loyal and happy all around. They are a huge part of our business and frequent communication with them – letting them know we are here if they have a need = and making sure they know how important they are is a must!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.rethunkjunkbylaura.com
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/rethunkjunkbylaura
• Other: [email protected]