We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jason Franklin. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jason below.

Jason, appreciate you joining us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

Showing me what a strong work ethic was- Growing up I watched the ups and downs of my dad’s career. He was a residential construction superintendent doing multimillion dollar high end homes. He would get laid off from time to time, usually just as he felt like things were going well with his company and then have to start looking for a new job. At one point, he lost his job and was out of work with very little openings around that fit his skillset. Things started getting pretty tough for our family. Dad went down to the local cable TV provider and got a job as a door-to-door salesman selling cable subscriptions. While other folks would have said “I’m not going to stoop to that level”, Dad did what he had to do for his family even if it wasn’t what he really wanted to be doing.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I basically grew up in carpentry and residential construction. My father and grandfather were both highly skilled as carpenters so working with wood was always in my blood. When I started college, I was an art major. But after 2 years of art school, I grew frustrated that my creativity and expression was limited by the bounds of my curriculum. I transferred and ended up with a business degree. I worked in residential construction for the past 26 years in all capacities from laborer, carpenter, accounting, sales, marketing and finally as a general contractor. While making a live edge table for myself during the pandemic, I began to fall in love with the sense of peace and calm that working in my shop brought. As I began making more things in the shop, the passion I had for artistic expression and the creative process that I enjoyed with my art background began to re-emerge. I started doing makers markets with my wife on some weekends selling cutting and charcuterie boards, wall art and other pieces. As much as I love making those pieces, I really enjoy working with clients now on larger commissioned projects -tables, countertops, and signage pieces. I love the creative process of working with client- coming up with ideas for the project, seeing their excitement and the look on their faces when they see the final product.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Trying to downsize one business while trying grow a new, different business- During the pandemic new leads slowed dramatically and projects that were underway were wrapping up and revenue was drying up quickly. Although I had several leads that I had been working for some time, they didn’t seem like they would be going to contract in the near future. Things had changed. My custom-building business, Franklin Renovations. After a fairly consistent decade of business, the future began to appear to be on shaky ground. I had been working on a live edge wood desktop for my home in my garage during in 2020 and had made quite a few items to sell to friends/family in that time. I decided that I would at a minimum, start a sole proprietorship called Franklin Woodworks so I could continue to make and sell woodworking pieces and possibly grow into that business. By summer of 2021, Franklin Renovations had one employee and the last small project was wrapping up with no new contracts on the horizon. I decided it was time to make a change and go back to the way I had done things when I started the business – all by myself. The plan was to be traditional general contractor and only take on several projects of a certain type throughout the year. Additionally, I would try to grow Franklin Woodworks over the next several years.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Using high quality materials and taking my finish work a step higher than many others- I source my wood from one of the best suppliers around that has the most reliable product and keeps a huge inventory of really beautiful slabs and board stock on hand. I always take my finish work to higher level as well- taking my sanding to a higher level of grit, where others would have already stopped. This equates to almost polishing after sanding for a smooth lustrous finish. I use really great natural, environmentally safe and food safe finishes as well that hold up over time and can be easily repaired should the need arise.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.franklinww.com
• Instagram: @franklinwoodworks1
• Facebook: franklinwoodworks1

Image Credits
Andrea Franklin