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

Jill, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

Our employees are the most important thing that we do. They are the spokespeople for our brand. Our leadership team decided, even before we opened the doors of our axe throwing lounge, that we would treat our people inside better than those who walk through the door. We wanted them to know they were important and like family. Because if the face of your company isn’t happy, your customers won’t come back.

This doesn’t mean we pay more than everyone. This doesn’t mean we lower the expectation of customer service or cleanliness. In fact, it’s the opposite. We have high expectations for our people. But it means we hear them and acknowledge them. Our workplace is a drama free environment and we teach the importance of confrontation and accountability. We give them appropriate investment in what we do and how we operate. Birthday gifts cards, monthly incentive rewards, a great Christmas party and free tee shirts go a long way! We bring in people to educate them about areas of life outside of axe throwing. We want them to be better, well-rounded individuals than when they entered our lives.

In an economy where business owners are struggling to find help, we have a waiting list of people wanting to be here. Half of our team either opened with us or have logged over 18 months. It’s such a testament to the power of belonging.

Jill, 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?

I’m Jill and just a few years ago, I was a stay-at-home mom who went axe throwing on a date night. After that, my husband, Heath, and I decided to walk through the doors of business ownership. This venture has had very little to do with axe throwing, but more about two of our other passions:

Community and Leadership Development

We have given our customers a place to hang out and be with their people. A place to gather and let go of the world outside. Especially as Covid has cycled through, it continues to provide stress relief and the opportunity to remember what being together is about. We are also able to be known as a place that gives and supports our community in a tangible way.

We’ve also been given this amazing staff to steward. Our goal from the beginning has been, knowing they would probably not be professional axe throwers, to make sure they learned skills that would carry them forever. Skills like financial independence, customer service, healthy confrontation, and the importance of healing your past wounds. None of these things has anything to do with throwing an axe, but everything to do with building your future.

Within the walls of our building, we have made the world of axe throwing look a bit different. We’ve elevated the dark, bar, outdoorsy feel into a lounge feel. We’ve made a place feel as comfortable for a family as it does for a bachelorette party. We love that we can provide a safe, clean, fun, large spot that also looks great. We are really proud of what we’ve created.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

We have amazing people around us, so when we began to pitch this idea of an axe throwing venue, we thought the capital would come from our circle. As it unfolded, that is not what happened.

A simple google search led us to what is now CLIMB Fund. CLIMB Fund is a not-for-profit Community Development lender whose mission is to ensure access to capital for entrepreneurs and small businesses that cannot secure traditional financing. They provide financing for the state of South Carolina. It was a nerve wracking process, mostly because we knew the future of Lumber Jill’s was riding on their decision to work with us.

The beauty of this process has not been the money they loaned us, but the resources they continue to provide, helping us succeed. Each business is assigned a mentor who shows up in the good and bad. They host events and panel discussions, access to resources and a fantastic network of business in every stage of ownership.

What started as a financial need has been one of our most important steps to success.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

There are so many things that make managing a team so much fun. Rewarding them, gifting them, meeting their families, providing opportunities they might not have had. But one of the most important is creating a Drama Free Work Zone.

Our culture has taught that confrontation and conflict is negative. But truly, you can’t have any meaningful relationship without conflict at some point. It becomes negative when it is not resolved or when it morphs into drama. Teaching your staff this skill takes work, but is a life-long skill for them. This only works if it is modeled and practiced from the top down. Here are some tips that have worked for us:

1. Decide from the beginning how management will handle disagreements and issues within themselves.
2. Establish a no gossip zone and shut it down when it starts.
3. Empower your employees to confront each other intentionally.
4. Teach them how to confront intentionally. And if you don’t know how to do it, learn.
5. Be prepared to mediate any unresolvable issues.
6. Communicate changes to policy effectively and allow them to have a voice. (Even if you don’t take their “advice,” sometimes being heard is enough.) We do this by hosting “Family Dinner” each month. It’s our staff meeting. This provides the time for us to eat, play, and learn together.
7. Think of them as family. Family is messy. But a healthy family does all they can to figure it out.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.throwlumberjills.com
• Instagram: throwlumberjills
• Facebook: throwlumberjills
• Other: tiktok: throwlumberjills

Image Credits
Amy Eddins Alexandra Shea