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

Alright, Nick thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

Relentlessness, stubbornness, learning to say no, flexibility, and field of view.

Relentlessness in forward motion towards the goal, especially when everything seems to be stalled or moving backwards.

Everyone has an opinion on how to do you. I’ve found that stubbornness, or more specifically, belief in myself and my view of the future of my business has been the driver of standing out in my field. Break the mould.

Learn to say no and know your limits. Do what you say you’re going to do when you say you’re going to do it and if you can’t, “no” is an acceptable answer. On that note, it’s okay to fire a client. Life’s too short for bullshit.

With that said, give grace and flexibility in yourself, your ideas, your schedule, and your expectations. Underpromise and overdeliver is a good hedge to fall back on. Don’t talk about it, be about it.

Learn to have a wide field of view. I mean to be microscopic and macroscopic, soothsayer and maester all at once. Learn from the past, pay attention to the details, look at the now, the path, and the big picture in one glance. Tunnel vision usually comes back to bite.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Background in Evolutionary Biology and spent some time at an incubator learning Osterwalder’s lean business startup model and that I’m not a product guy. I started building furniture out of fence pickets in my garage. After meeting a (now) buddy and mentor who went to furniture school, the material quickly quickly became hardwood and the aim became studio furniture. Hand-cut joinery, unique modern takes on classic design, fine finishes. The whole works. I’d rather make six $20k/yr than any kind of production.

The creative process of fine custom furniture is frustrating, yet immensely rewarding. Except it doesn’t scale. Doesn’t scale easily, anyway. So, here’s where the other half of my model comes in — content. Influencer? That feels gross to write, but I guess it’s partly accurate. I started making videos on IG, but the time in didn’t equal money out, so I started making YouTube videos. Like furniture, horrible at first. Again, the power of finding the right people at the right time and being open to opportunities had me trading dovetail lessons for how to make a video with a guy who cold called me out of the blue one day and who would become a great friend that would come over on sundays to swap skills.

In 2021, I had a couple things rearrange my life. First was the expecting of my wife and my first child, then the loss of him a few days after he was born, and building his memorial. Urn. Another word I just hate for some reason. That piece got me back in the shop and showed me more meaning could come from a design than just aesthetics and this led to making another for a couple who had lost their son too. He was 16 and had a whole life to tell in a single memorial piece. That was deeply healing for myself to build and I hope too for that family.

So, I’ve taken that value of story and meaning to my furniture and sculptural pieces and documented the process on YouTube for inspiration, insight, and entertainment. Like furniture, the production process is equally finicky and frustrating. I dig that kind of process. Those are the most rewarding, in my experience. Unlike furniture, video production is infinitely scalable, advertising dollars are more readily earned than commissions, and the opportunity for diversification is immense.

Have you ever had to pivot?

See previous.

Can you talk to us about how you funded your business?

Bootstrap, debt, and a dream. 0/10 recommend. Hire an advisor. The bank of unicorns and rainbows is an institution that breeds undue stress.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sawyer.furniture
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/sawyer_design
• Facebook: /n.sawyerdesign
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@sawyerdesign
• Other: reddit.com/u/sawyerdesign