We caught up with the brilliant and insightful James & Joshua a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, James & Joshua thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you scale up? What were the strategies, tactics, meaningful moments, twists/turns, obstacles, mistakes along the way? The world needs to hear more realistic, actionable stories about this critical part of the business building journey. Tell us your scaling up story – bring us along so we can understand what it was like making the decisions you had, implementing the strategies/tactics etc.

It is true what is said, “Rome was not built in a day.” With any great enterprise there are years of hard work and struggle that take place to make anything “great.” Constant dedication and strategic foresight are necessary to grow and adapt. So too is business. We were fortunate enough with Twinkle Trees to find a diamond in the rough, but it took many years of polishing and will take many more to build this business to what we dream it can be! So far, our greatest asset has been our character, ambition, and expertise in customer service. Since we began this adventure, 99 percent of our growth has come from these attributes and the holy power of the word-of-mouth; relatively none from paid advertisements. We aim to please and impress letting our magical trees do the rest. We do not consider ourselves as salesman, just regular people who believe in our product, confident in what we provide, and the willingness to create a beautiful experience for our clients and their guests. Impressions are key. When you make a true impact, nothing is impossible.
One of our greatest accomplishments to date is our partnership with Terry Emmert, owner of Emmert International. Terry is an accomplished and highly esteemed businessman in the Pacific Northwest with a wide-reaching influence and social sphere. The opportunity to display our trees and demonstrate our character enticed him to join our team, giving us guidance and support. Having a strong team is one of the most important ways to overcome roadblocks and achieve your goals. We can’t wait to see what we will be able to accomplish and the difference we will be able to make.

James & Joshua, 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?

The good old phrase is “right place, right time”. We met in Fairbanks Alaska while Joshua was serving in the military and James was attending college at the University of Fairbanks, Alaska. While James is from Florida originally and Joshua is form South Dakota, once Joshua finished his military contract, we moved back home to Gainesville, Florida. Shortly after moving back home, we decided to move to Portland, Oregon and begin an entirely different journey. Roughly after two years of moving to Portland, Oregon, we both got jobs at this restaurant called Killer Burger and the franchise owner called this business Twinkle Trees as the same time. We maybe did a few side jobs for him and in six months we went from truly flipping burgers to being business owners as he sold us the business!

Our general product that we offer is LED illuminated trees for any and all occasions. As we continue to grow our business, we are also working towards expanding the products and service we offer, such as moving into event planning as well as owning a wedding / event venue. Our product is so niche that there is almost virtually no competition in our market, and we are willing to travel anywhere in the US or Canada! Additionally, we have a very versatile product as we can serve as decor but lighting as well. Typically, when we do an event, we are the other things there for both of those needs!

We would say that we are most proud ourselves for how we were given this incredible opportunity to go from working in a restaurant to becoming business owners and running with it! This journey has truly changed our lives among many other friends and family members. Hard work and dedication will get you far in life if you have the patience and ambition!

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

No matter what you do, there are some things that are just out of your control. I read somewhere once that “when there is a dent in your plans, just remember the comeback is more important than the setback.” After a year and a half of owning and growing Twinkle, things were really looking up. Our client base was increasing, reputation growing, we even submitted the final payment of our initial loan; there was just such a positive buzz within us. Then something unprecedented happened….a global pandemic, economic shutdown, and complete uncertainty. No “gatherings” immediately halted the event industry. All our hard work, job security, and ultimately, our livelihood – GONE. There was no indication that things were going to return from this “new normal” anytime soon, or even at all. Everything we worked towards was shaken and we had to adjust. But all was not lost.
Initially, like for most out there, the pandemic created a moment to just breath and reflect, even among the uncertainty. With all this new free time, we spent almost 2 months in a camper that my mom bought, living on her five-acre property in Archer, Florida, doing yardwork and spending time with my family. Afterwards, we then traveled to South Dakota to spend a month with the in-laws. On the way back to Portland we had an amazing encounter with Julianna, the owner of “Devils Tower Tipi Camping” which led to a month-long stay helping her manage the campground and sharing in her truly rugged experience. No water, no electricity or A.C, and the only town 15 miles away. However, the view – spectacular, and the night sky, breathtaking. It was a much-needed refrain from the hustle and grind of our previous life. With the new addition to our family, Brody, a tiny stray dog we adopted from gas station in Broadus, Montana, we finally made it back to Portland Oregon. Full circle, we were able to resume our previous job where it all began and where our hard work had awarded us with our business Twinkle Trees. We were able to ride out the rest of the pandemic, secure an amazing business partner who helped us purchase a fleet of new and updated trees. When inquiries began again, we were able to impress, and it has truly been all up hill from there. Although 2020 and 2021 were rough, this year has been astounding. We have opened a second “ branch” (-ha!) in Gainesville Florida and look forward to being closer to family and whatever else the future may bring. Bring. It. On!

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I believe the most important thing that helped build our reputation within our market was by us truly being genuine people. We understand having a business in the event industry means there is always a budget and bottom dollar that has to be met. We would rather work to the greatest of lengths within our client’s budget to make their event come to life, rather than turn them away. We realize that the money isn’t always what’s truly important and our clients get to experience that firsthand. Creating and using this model to guide our business and its growth over the last four and half years, has led us to spending virtually almost no on marketing as word of mouth is all that we have needed, and its free! I guess the saying is true, “treat others the way you want to be treated”.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.twinkletrees.net
• Instagram: @twinkle_trees
• Facebook: @twinkletrees.net

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