We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ben Velarde. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ben below.

Ben, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

I must’ve thought about it for at least a year. If I wasn’t working or studying new woodworking techniques, then I was thinking of a business name. Naturally I wanted it to be catchy, and I didn’t like the idea of using my name. I wanted my future employees to feel included and be proud to represent a brand versus just working for someone’s company. I’ve always been able to think of witty phrases when joking around but couldn’t seem to land on something I loved now that I was taking it serious. Until one night as I hopped into bed and told my wife, “Why can’t I just think of something catchy like ‘Make It Grain’ or something?!” 2 seconds after it came out of my mouth my wife and I were looking at each other with excitement and started scouring the internet to make sure it was available and filed the LLC the following day.

Ben, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I was a service advisor in the auto-collision industry for 11 years. I enjoyed it for a while because it was challenging, fast-paced and the pay was great. But over time, I grew a disdain for the industry and it no longer felt gratifying. But I couldn’t imagine starting over somewhere else, with a pay cut. During my last year as an advisor, my wife started her own business (Girl Talk Beauty Shop) and had almost instant success. She suggested that I quit and look for something different. She was making good money and extremely happy doing it and wanted the same for me. One day I go to my brothers house and noticed he had a new dining table. When I asked where he got it, he said, “I built it.” I was in shock, I couldn’t believe that my brother, a software engineer, managed to build himself what looked to be a store-bought dining table. A light went off in my head as I was starting to remember all the times my wife had mentioned that I should try my hand at building things. I went home, ate crow, and started watching Youtube videos of woodworking and formulating a list of tools I needed to get started.
I started building a lot of farmhouse furniture using 2×4’s from the improvement stores. As my skills improved, my style changed and I shifted towards making more modern, detail-oriented pieces of furniture. With that change, I stopped using 2×4’s and started using real hardwood lumber. To help grow the brand, I started networking with Real-Estate Agents and began making custom cutting boards for their clients closing gifts.
The most important thing to me is quality. Although it’s not always possible, I strive for perfection on every single project. I want each of my customers to feel excited about the purchase they’ve made and to appreciate a piece of furniture that will be in their family for generations.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

During the first year of woodworking, I was making A LOT of farmhouse furniture. I was consistently 8 weeks out with orders making mostly coffee tables, entry tables, and tv stands. It was very simple designs but still great practice for a beginner. It became almost too easy and redundant and I was beginning to get bored. The problem was, I hated the farmhouse style and was always attracted to more modern, sleek furniture. I wasn’t proud building something that any aspiring DIYer could make. I made a decision to stop marketing farmhouse and more of the style that I like. This was scary for me because I was essentially turning down a constant source of income. But I realized that as an artist, it’s very important to love what you create. And as a businessowner, you have to love the process if you’re going to stick with it long enough to see the success you desire. I still take farmhouse orders, but just a lot less and as a result, it’s not half bad anymore.

How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.

I sell my products on my website. Most of my sales are local, but I do get the occasional out-of-state order. The cutting boards ship pretty easily but the furniture is a tricky one. I use an online service called uShip. You can setup a shipment itinerary and receive bids from independent companies for shipping. It’s kind of like Uber but for shipping cargo. I would like to eventually move to a more cost effective method of shipping furniture and are looking into designing a line of knockdown-styled furniture for flat packing. In terms of accepting payment, I try to have as many options available to make it more convenient for each customer.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.makeitgrainwoodworks.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/makeitgrainwoodworks?utm_medium=copy_link
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Make-It-Grain-Woodworks-100561591889527/