Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ester Shamba. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Ester, appreciate you joining us today. So, let’s imagine that you were advising someone who wanted to start something similar to you and they asked you what you would do differently in the startup-process knowing what you know now. How would you respond?

If I could start over today, I would believe in myself more. I realize I spent precious time standing in my own way and letting fear stop me from growing. Looking back, most of my biggest fears never happened. The things that did go wrong were unexpected but absolutely fixable. All that waiting and hesitation were for nothing.

I could have reached where I am today much faster if I had followed my instincts and hired a full staff sooner. Trying to do everything by myself and expecting to grow just doesn’t work. If I had to summarize this in two words, they would be ‘courage’ and ‘faith,’ as my sister always told me.

Ester, 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?

At Gratitwood, we create high-quality custom cabinets primarily for private homeowners. We also collaborate with interior designers and general contractors. Our creations include kitchen cabinets, mudrooms, laundry room cabinets, built-ins, bookshelves, entertainment centers, fireplace wall built-ins, and unique woodworking projects. Additionally, we offer accent walls and shiplap. Recently, we created a Murphy bed, which was an exciting project for us, and we hope to receive more requests for Murphy beds in the future.

We have a client-focused process and provide an A-to-Z solution: from design with our designer to installation with our team. We put our heart and soul into every project because we believe people should have their homes exactly the way they want them, in high-quality for the years to come. Through custom designs and projects, we give clients the opportunity to express themselves and make the most of their space.

Gratitwood was established by my husband, Kobi Shamba, and me in 2020 after we arrived in the US and became parents. We needed to make a living, and Kobi had a dream of starting a woodworking business. We began in our one-car garage, teaching ourselves everything necessary to run a business. Kobi learned about cabinets, making quotes, and estimates, while I learned about graphic design, digital marketing, and photography. We started our business from scratch, with our own hands quite literally: I designed our logo, we came up with the name, and I manage all the social media marketing and customer service. Kobi created a pricing formula, managed sales by himself for a while, and took care of the actual projects and the woodwork.

Today, we have a workshop and office space in Marietta, with employees and subcontractors. I am very grateful and happy about our journey. We love what we do and feel blessed to do it.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Social media has brought me many wonderful clients and significantly increased sales. I use social media as my personal “stage” to show my audience everything I want them to know about us and the business behind the scenes. I enjoy every moment of it! I get to share things I couldn’t show otherwise, teach about woodworking and cabinets, and joke about aspects of my life such as marriage, owning a business, and parenthood.

I believe people do business with people, and I like the idea of showing who we really are. What grew my audience was having a clear strategy and high-quality photos of our projects. When future clients see your business page, they need to understand what you’re selling, who you are, and feel connected.

My best advice for anyone starting with social media is to be authentic and not take it too seriously. If you’re looking for 100% perfect content, you will never post anything. Have fun—people can tell when your content is forced and if you’re trying too hard.

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

We put all our effort into delivering our products on time and making sure our clients are happy. If we had to change something, we did. If we were late, we took responsibility and communicated that. We always show our clients that we are here for them.

One of our top values as a business is customer service, and this is why our reputation is good. There are no shortcuts to a good reputation. One client refers to another, and the word gets spread.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.gtariwood.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gratitwood/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gratitwood/

Image Credits

Shani Uritzki