We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jim Skelton. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jim below.
Alright, Jim thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?
If I had a chance to go back a few years with the knowledge I have now, I would have started my business many years earlier. Firstly, and probably the most important at this point in my life (48 years old), I would have been able to work more easily at a younger age, with a younger body. Knifemaking is fairly physical work, and it wears particularly on your neck, back and other joints. Even though you’re not doing hard labor like lifting very heavy objects, craning your neck over for hours on end, or hand sanding a steel blade for a day-long session isn’t fantastic for your joints as you put on a little age.
Second, it’s painful to think back over a lifetime of working for other people and not being given the same degree of loyalty that I gave to my employers. Living around their schedule requirements, working beyond the scope of my position in order to make them more money (and hope to be a standout employee), countless unpaid hours of commuting, late nights & early mornings, time spent away from my children just to make someone else’s business more successful, and in the end you’re almost always reminded that you are expendable.
I’ve had a few wonderful jobs, and a couple of pretty great employers, but working for yourself is far more rewarding. You can get the same sense of accomplishment, but instead of that hard work solely benefitting someone else, you’re able to make that impact on your own life. As you grow, your business grows. As your business grows, you’re able to make more of an impact on your life than you would have simply collecting a paycheck and hoping for a bonus here or there from an employer.
When I made the leap, it was the end of 2016 and I was 42 years old. Going off on your own is a nerve-racking choice and one you don’t make lightly. You lose the safety net of a reliable paycheck, and this can lead to immediate stress and anxiety. In my case, the choice was made for me. The company I was working for needed to cut a huge amount of their payroll expenses in order to qualify for a loan to expand their business, and I was the top paid employee. Without warning I was given the option to lose half my pay for the same amount of work, or leave the company that I had relocated halfway across the country to join. So yeah… that loyalty part I was talking about, bit me in the ass again. So virtually overnight I jumped in head-first into launching my own business, and immediately it was sink-or-swim.
No part of it has been easy, but every part of it has been rewarding and has enriched my life in ways I never could have predicted. The pride of creating something from nothing, from getting positive feedback from my customers and knowing at the end of the day that the knife I made will excite a collector and give them something unique and special to enjoy.
Jim, 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?
Before I became a knifemaker and founded Skelton Bladeworks, I was a long time collector of high end custom knives. It has always been a passion of mine, and that passion led me to start a Youtube channel dedicated to reviewing custom knives of all kinds. Over a decade of reviewing knives allowed me to handle and appreciate thousands of knives as well as develop relationships with other members of the collecting community, many talented knifemakers and large knife companies. This definitely worked to my advantage because when I made the transition to becoming a knifemaker myself, I had already established a following and had a recognizable name in the industry. This allowed me to avoid the hardship of developing my brand and finding an audience that I could market to.
Prior to 2016, I had never actually made anything with my own two hands. My entire life’s-worth of tools could fit into a small portable toolbox, and honestly I was so uncoordinated that I would spend hours cursing at Ikea instructions while surrounded by numerous “spare parts” at the end of a build. A good friend saw potential in me, and if it weren’t for him, I would never have dared to even try my hand at knifemaking.
Jerry Moen, a semi-retired knifemaker and at the time, a director in the Knifemaker’s Guild, would tell me all the time that I should let him teach me how to make knives. He felt that with my knowledge, and my design background, that I could do well at it. Finally, he wore me down and as luck would have it… I was losing my job. Somehow, he was able to teach me quickly, and I learned the basics in his shop. I designed my first 3 models and those sales, along with selling a bit of my own personal knife collection allowed me to start building out my own shop. Within 1 month I was a fulltime knifemaker… sink or swim.
Every knife I make, I’ve designed myself. And each one is entirely handmade by me. From a basic EDC (Every Day Carry) knife all the way up to highly refined collectible knives in exotic & rare materials with weeks of work to finish just one. Whether it’s a “tactical” style knife that a customer may want to carry as a tool or for self defense, or a utilitarian cutting tool for their job, a chef knife for a discerning cook or a mirror polished nitre-blued Damascus showpiece with prehistoric Mammoth handles, I try to offer a varied selection of models and options to satisfy most people.
Shortly after I began, I was invited to join the Knifemaker’s Guild and I’m able to learn from some of the finest makers in the world, as well as share my knowledge with others coming up after me.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
Nothing good in life comes without sacrifice. When I decided I wanted to make a real go at this, I needed to equip myself with the necessary tools & equipment to get things going. Once all that expense is taken care of, you still need materials to work with, and expensive consumables that always need to be replenished. Since I made this decision quickly and without preparation, I knew that I would have to sacrifice a lot of material things that I owned & loved, for the sake of my business. I reached into my large custom knife collection that took me half a lifetime to amass, and began liquidating until I had enough to not only equip my shop… but equip it properly with quality machines and tools. I learned quickly where I could go cheap, and where I needed to spare no expense, so that I had the ability to work to my full potential.
What nobody tells you is that it won’t end there. Unless you’ve captured lightning in a bottle and become an instant success beyond your wildest dreams, you’ll have to deal with the common ebb and flow of business. One month you may be on top of the world, the next might take you by surprise with little or no revenue coming in. If it’s early-on and you haven’t yet built up a financial reserve, then you’ll sacrifice some more.
But it’s worth all of it. The stress, the lean financial times, the worry that maybe you’re not good enough, the sweat and the pain. It’s all worth it in the end because you’re doing this for you. You’re doing this for your family, And you’re not punching the clock of an ungrateful employer who buys their summer beach house off your hard work. Every success inspires you to work harder. Every failure teaches you a lesson. And every happy customer makes all of it worthwhile. I don’t care if I’m rich or poor, I could be living at half my current standards and still wake up happy everyday just because of the amazing customers I’ve had the chance to work with. Knowing that they’re happy, and seeing them come back for more is absolutely the most satisfying feeling I know.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
Ask 100 people how to best utilize social media for marketing and you’ll get 100 different answers. But I’ll make this short & clear: be transparent, open, honest and have FUN with your customer base. Whether you get 10 replies on a post about your work or 100… take the time to reply, and communicate with all of them. As a small business owner, letting the customers get to know you is vital. Letting them into your world, showing them your process, letting them feel like part of your business is what separates us from the huge corporations. When your customers realize that they aren’t simply a number to you, and that you are paying attention to them, they will be there to support your hard work. Maybe today, maybe 2 years from now.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @skeltonbladeworks @skeltonbladeworksofficial
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jim.theknife.5
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/JimSkeltonKnives