Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to John & Terri Bilott. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi John & Terri , thanks for joining 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.
About 8 years ago we came across antique church pews that were for sale. John said ” let’s get them. Terri always flipped furniture for over 20 years but did not think that would sell. Well they did and fast. So we would seek out church pews. We ended up exploring up and down the eastern coast and inland for very ” special pews” ones that date back over 100 years. We would save them from being chopped up by demolition crews sent in to renovate old historic churches being bought to make hotels, gyms or churches that did not want to show any historical markings but be ” modern” we had to wheel and deal with the places to keep the pews for a few days so we could go save them.. we are known on the eastern seaboard as the ” antique pew hunters and have ones that drive to Noth carolina to get one of your historical pews.. one day while in downtown smithfield. We came across a building that was vacant for 20 years. The roof was falling in . It had no electric, hvac, plumbing etc. But it was a 120 year old building that was ” just there” we fell in love with it. People thought we were crazy since we were told it would be more beneficial to demolish it and build new. That was not an option. So we started the renovating during covid times. To buy wood we had to go to Tennessee.. it was truly a labor of love and took about 9 months to get it all done.. we thought we would just put all of our pews in there for sale. Trouble is. Not everyone wants a church pew. So we refinished some furniture. Added some antiques, brought in some farmhouse and modern style items as well. We started our business in our front yard. Expanded to our back yard. Ended up buying an estimated 8000 Sq foot spot that we refinished 3200 of it so far and that’s where our pews special place is now along with our many unique items we have added. People come in to see our historical building and love the ” vibe” it has with its exposed beams. Cement floors. And brick walls. It is truly a destination stop if you are ever in smithfield
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Our store now offers a truly unique experience with some items having exactly where they came from. Church pews , historical items.. we also offer many unique refinished and painted furniture pieces. Dressers, tables, beds, chairs, shelving units. Unique gift ideas. Things you do nit find at your big store places. Farmhouse pieces. Pigs , cows chickens. Antique pieces throughout the store. And we will be offering local hand baked goods too! This is a one of a kind one stop shop. We also have started the farmers markets for downtown smithfield and we just had our first holiday bazaar with a band 72 craft vendors , pony rides and had scott mason from wral there too and it exceeded what we thought the turnout would be. We plan on doing many more events for the downtown of smithfield to put it on the map next year as well. We are not only growing our store but want to grow our gorgeous town too
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
Social media is a huge ” go to”. We find out of everything Facebook and Instagram are huge. We have now over 6000 followers on our The Twisted Willow page on fb alone.. how we did it? Put a post and or reel up daily on your page. Boost it closer to the weekend . That’s when many seem to shop.. join local fb pages . The yardsale ones that let a business post atleast once a week. Find others around your area doing the same kid of service you do. Reach out to them and form a circle. You all promote each other. It does work. Do reels. On fb and Instagram. Many younger ones love watching those.. you are the only on that can get your name out there. Also get QR codes for your store and place them around your store
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Buying this building that was practically falling down. We took it. Gave it huge amounts of love.. we would have one step forward and 20 steps back. But we kept going. If you want something bad enough you will do it
Contact Info:
- Website: https://the-twisted-willow-home-decor.myshopify.com/collections/all
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/the.twistedwillow?igshid=a3k1ZnNtajEwNmRp
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/historicalsmithfieldnc/
Image Credits
The twisted willow