We were lucky to catch up with Drew Allman recently and have shared our conversation below.
Drew, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Often outsiders look at a successful business and think it became a success overnight. Even media and especially movies love to gloss over nitty, gritty details that went into that middle phase of your business – after you started but before you got to where you are today. In our experience, overnight success is usually the result of years of hard work laying the foundation for success, but unfortunately, it’s exactly this part of the story that most of the media ignores. Can you talk to us about your scaling up story – what are some of the nitty, gritty details folks should know about?
For many years, I ran Board & Bolt defensively. I was thinking that I was running it the right way by being very conservative. I was working out of my garage, doing everything on my own, proud of myself for saving on rent and labor. I thought that making the decision to start a business would be the biggest and scariest risk that I took on the road to owning a business. I was wrong.
I knew something had to change. Doing all of the administrative tasks left me with little time to actually build the business. Any headway I would make left me with a mountain of tasks to complete because I had put them off. I knew the only was I could grown the business was by hiring someone but I was so afraid. “What if business dries up?”, I would tell myself. “How do I go about hiring someone?” was another familiar refrain. Well, I couldn’t keep doing the same thing and expect a different result – I was left with no choice. Despite the fear, I hired someone.
Immediately, I noticed I had the time to respond quickly to inquiries, send timely invoices to get paid more quickly and could actually make sales calls. However, this high was short lived.
While we were more efficient, the two car garage was a major bottleneck and source of disorganization and mistakes. There was no way to run multiple projects without one process impacting another. Sawdust would affect finishes, and moving things around constantly dinged adjacent projects.
I knew I needed to get a larger shop but I was so afraid. The idea of work drying up while still being responsible for payroll and rent was overwhelming. It wasn’t until I spoke with my bookkeeper that I knew I had to make the move. I asked him what his thoughts were on getting the new shop. Being a book keeper, he wasn’t big on motivation speeches but he told me what I needed to hear.
He said that many businesses in my position experience this existential question. Do I take the risk and go for it or do I tread water thinking that something will change without changing anything? He also said that there was no perfect indicator that my business is ready and that’s why so many fail. There’s no guarantee of success when you take certain risks but, despite this, the risk is actually necessary if one wants to make it to the next level.
This was all I needed. I found a shop that was a stretch financially but not too much of a burden. If I knew then what I know now, I would have taken these risks long ago. Board & Bolt is now vastly more efficient, profitable and has accomplished far more than it ever had in the years leading up to these tough decisions. That being said, the journey has given me far more appreciation for our success than I would have had if it had come easy.
Drew, 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?
Before becoming a business owner, I was in outside sales in the corporate world. I had experienced success but never felt like I fit in that environment. The last job I had was not the best to say the least which was a blessing. I was unhappy and looking for something different.
Luckily for me, I have a very supportive wife. When I told her I was thinking about quitting my job and starting a furniture business she totally supported the idea.
While I literally had no idea how to make furniture, I jumped right it. I became an apprentice to youtube and made many mistakes. Mistakes that would eventually make a formidable foundation of building and design theory that I still am incredibly proud of.
This knowledge of designing and building theory has bred what we believe to be our greatest strength. When we meet with clients, our primary goal is to understand where form and function intersect with each piece. We ask countless questions: “When you say “clean lines” what do you really mean?” “How important to you is maximizing natural sunlight?”. “Are you planning on having your children doing homework at this table?”. The answer to these detailed questions allow us to nail down exactly what the client wants.
Today, I can confidently say that we can craft any piece of furniture (beds, tables, vanities, desks), in any style (modern, farmhouse, industrial, classic) with any material (metal, wood, concrete, resin) resulting in a one-of-a-kind-piece for our clients.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
Without a double, I would recommend “The Obstacle is the Way”, by Ryan Holliday. It taught me that the only way I can truly become better is by working on the only things I don’t want to work on.
These things will be different for each person, but for an artist like me, it was organization, project management and financials.
This book helped me understand that my gifts allowed me to start my business but turning my weaknesses and adversity into a strength would all but guarantee my success.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
When was working in my garage by myself, I thought that the money I was saving was actually making me more profitable. I had kept this idea in my head for longer than I’d like to say but investing that money into employees and larger shop clearly resulted in better returns.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.boardandbolt.com
- Instagram: @boardandbolt
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/boardandbolt
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/board-&-bolt/?viewAsMember=true
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/board-and-bolt-denver
Image Credits
Drew Allman