We recently connected with George Garvin and have shared our conversation below.
George, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?
Until I became a professional furniture designer and builder, all I had up to that point were what we refer to as “regular” jobs. I think what this means is being employed for the purpose of securing a consistent paycheck along with maybe some benefits, 401k, insurance, PTO, etc. Passion, dedication, pride, and a sense of fulfillment are incidental or even optional at a “regular” job. When I decided to make the shift from woodworking as a hobby to full time occupation, I knew I was giving up the benefits of being under the employ of a corporation. I figured I had my full schedule to pursue my dream job, which is to make things in my workshop that other people would want to buy. However, I had no idea that I would actually be spending much of my time doing things that were not directly woodworking. For a business like mine, it takes a number of employees for the day-to-day operations to function. But I’m a sole proprietor; I can’t afford a team of people to help me run my business. So I wear all of the hats. I’m the Chief Woodworker. I’m also the designer, estimator, onsite consultant, salesperson, marketing agent, social media liaison, webmaster, bookkeeper, shop porter, delivery driver, installer, machine maintenance person, administrative assistant, and photographer. Performing all of these duties takes up about half of my twelve to fourteen hour days, seven days a week. It has been a journey for the last six years learning to appreciate what it takes to keep a small business chugging along. There’s an old saying that goes, “Being a business owner means you can work anytime you want… just pick the 100 hours every week that work best for you.” I accept this, because although I don’t have the security and relative certainty of a regular job, I steer the ship; I am in control of my destiny. I wake up in the morning excited to start the day. I can’t wait to get my coffee and start responding to emails or updating my website before I open the shop and get to making sawdust. It’s the best feeling in the world; the kind of feeling you rarely get from working for someone other that yourself.
George, 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?
Like a lot of woodworkers, I got into woodworking because I wanted something and figured it would be easier to make it myself instead of buying it outright. In this case it was a bass guitar. I was a musician earlier in my life and always wanted one of those boutique guitars made from exotic wood. Well, my dad had a workshop where he made knives and turned bowls and whatnot so I asked him if he would help be build this guitar. Three months later, I had a beautiful instrument that I still have to this day, 20 years later. When my wife and I purchased our first home in ’03, we needed to fill it with furniture, so the garage became a defacto woodworking shop, and I began purchasing tools as I needed them. My neighbors in Cypress became accustomed to the sounds of me running machinery after work and on the weekends and would often come by to see what I had on the workbench that day. When we moved to the Texas Hill Country in ’16, my wife suggested I do woodworking as a business since I now had a larger dedicated workshop and room to store lumber. So I began advertising on Facebook Marketplace, updated my website, started an Instagram and FB page for Garvinworks. Although it was initially a struggle trying to find clients – and by “initially” I mean the first couple of years – eventually I started receiving requests for quotes on furniture pieces of all kinds. Now, six years later, I consistently have more work than I can handle… almost. This is largely due to word of mouth advertising; my clients do the majority of my marketing for me, and I get a lot of repeat business from my past clients. A wedding venue in Fredericksburg contracted me a couple of years ago to build twenty-two full sized church pews out of solid oak. Since then, the same client had me build sixteen dining tables as well as a few other miscellaneous pieces including an eight foot tall cross out of knotty alder. In fact, they have contracted my services again to build a “sweetheart table” that some of their clients have been requesting. I’ve made wall-to-wall bookcases, some with “secret” doors, beds, doors, cabinetry, entertainment centers, cutting & charcuterie boards, and of course, lots of tables of all sorts.
I think what draws clients to my business is I communicate with them like a regular person. I invite them to come by the shop and have a look at my setup. I make in person visits. While I’m at the client’s home, I take measurements, ask questions, make suggestions, listen to what their needs are, address any concerns, get as much detail about the furniture piece they want, and I talk with them about turning their vision into reality. I don’t leave without handing them one of my great looking business cards. I provide my clients 3D drawings of the design and we work back and forth until it is exactly what they want. I present them with a formal, professional looking quote. I do my best not to undercharge. Undercharging for your work means you don’t value your time and expense of doing business, and you don’t feel like the quality of your work warrants a price that is fair not only to your client, but to you as well. I provide samples of the finishing. I have a page on my website where clients can see pics of the progress along with a description of what I’m doing. I do professional quality work, and by that I mean I use high-quality materials, good building techniques, good finishing products, and I enjoy the work I do. My work does not look like it came from a factory; there is a distinctly human element in the furniture that I design and build. I always get butterflies in my stomach when I’m presented with the challenge of making something I’ve never made before, or using a technique for the first time, but I am never afraid to accept the challenge. I love learning about woodworking, even after twenty years of practicing it. I spend a lot of time on YouTube watching videos of other woodworkers, new and old. There’s always something to be learned from everyone.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
I grow my client base by maintaining a visually appealing, easy to navigate website with lots of examples of my prior work. Taking the best photos I can to represent my work. Being up front and honest with potential clients regarding their expectations and timelines. Answering questions with direct, clear responses. Maintaining a professional relationship with clients but treating them like friends. Making products that people want to tell other people about.
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
I have been finding, especially in the last year or so, that I’m getting a lot of contact from people who have heard about me from one of my clients. Neighborhood social media pages is an example of this. Someone will ask for a recommendation for someone who builds furniture and in neighborhoods where I have done work, my name will come up, leading to that person reaching out to me either through Facebook or my website contact form. When I am contacted by a potential client, if they don’t offer it initially, I’ll generally ask them how they came across my name in the interest of knowing where my marketing is most effective. I would say 80-90% of my business now are either repeat clients or referrals from a past client.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.garvinworks.com
- Instagram: @garvinworks
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/garvinworks
Image Credits
George Garvin