We recently connected with Brianna Green and have shared our conversation below.

Brianna, appreciate you joining us today. Alright, so one thing we think people don’t talk about nearly enough is investments – either time or money. What’s one of the best or worst investments you’ve made and what did you learned from the experience?

As a wooden toy maker, I adhere to numerous safety regulations to ensure children’s safety. Learning and mastering these rules can be time-consuming. Because of these rules, the process of finishing toys involves multiple steps, from selecting lumber to applying finishes. I often found myself trying to correct painting errors, or wasting time setting up and taking down stations because I had outgrown my previous set up and hadn’t prioritized a larger workspace. In the shop, I was constantly tripping over wood scraps or unable to reach a much needed tool because everything was in disarray.

After a couple of years in business, I prioritized reassessing my workflow to enhance efficiency. This entailed replacing lumber storage solutions, expanding workspace at home, and dedicating weekends to labor-intensive tasks. We removed shelves in the basement and moved storage to make room for a painting station where each color has it’s own bay, and each bay is separated to prevent paint splatter. We cleaned the shop, removed old wood, installed appropriate dust collection, and moved tools to a flow that aligns with the steps required to make a toy from start to finish. We reorganized the office to create a permanent finishing station that doesn’t need to be disassembled after every use.

Implementing these changes enabled me to complete projects 30% faster, translating directly to a 30% increase in income. I was only able to make these changes because I had years of experience under my belt dictating the most pressing needs of my business.

If I can recommend one thing when it comes to investing in your business, it is to thoroughly understand your work flow and optimize production efficiency. Whether it’s managing time or resources like lumber, this understanding minimizes errors and maximizes output at minimal cost. Cleaning up the shop and workflow, with the exception of a new dust collector, cost approximately $250 in storage supplies. I’ll happily take a 30% efficiency increase for a $250 investment.

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 Brianna. Alongside my husband Derek, and two children, I officially founded Green Woodworks in January 2021. I had spent the prior 8 months with a covid quarantine hobby, turned side gig to make ends meet, turned full-fledged business. Through the incredible support of friends, neighbors, and family, I was able to grow my skill set (and tool collection) to what you see now.

I was very privileged to already have a shop full of Grampa Green’s old tools. This, coupled with all the machine know-how he instilled in my husband, gave me the boost needed to start creating. I’m forever grateful for the gifts Grampa continues to share with us.

The first toy I ever made with those tools was a rainbow made from a piece of red oak my husband hand planed from a piece of firewood.

Over time, I upgraded that $30 secondhand scroll saw to a RBI Hawke Precision scroll saw. The 10” Rockwell bandsaw has been upgraded to a Rikon 14” 10-326 Deluxe. Now, our products are made from hard maple, stained using TinyLand stains, and finished using Livos Clear Natural Oil Sealant and Biofa Hard Aqua Oil. In the last year, we’ve added a Millright CNC and OmTech 60W laser to our tool collection, allowing for larger quantities and high quality details.

My goal will always be to get safe, beautiful, heirloom quality, open ended toys in the hands of anyone who wants to play with them. My products are all safety compliant, cleanable, beautiful, and playable. Children play hard, and their toys need to keep up. My toys are designed to do just that.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I have built the majority of my customer base through social media – mostly Instagram. If you were to review my Instagram, pictures of my pretty toys are balanced pretty heavily with my face. I have always unapologetically shown up to interact with my customers as *me*. By sharing what is important to me, what I find funny, or heartbreaking, or infuriating, or joyful, my customers have learned my values and that has built trust. Building trust and relationship is what creates repeat customers and word of mouth marketing – two of the most powerful business resources.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Even though I am now a full time homeschooling mom and toymaker, I went to business college to become an accountant. Before I had kids, I was a full time tax accountant.

In school, there was this constant undercurrent that entrepreneurship was a battle to wage independently. That information had to be held close to your chest or competitors would steal your ideas and market share.

To be frank, that’s the biggest load of male centric bologna advice I ever received. Even in a male dominated field of woodworking, I am involved in the most supportive and open group of woman creatives. We share our wins and struggles together. We ask for advice on tools and finishes and regulation. We share in this space together and we are all stronger for it.

So don’t do this alone, because you can’t. There is strength in community and support.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.greenwoodworksnh.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/greenwoodworksnh
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/greenwoodworksnh