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

Randy, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Almost every entrepreneur we know has considered donating a portion of their sales to an organization or cause – how did you make the decision of whether to donate? We’d love to hear the backstory if you’re open to sharing the details.

I get a lot of neglected guitars donated to me. I like to fix them up and give them away.

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?

I am a one man guitar shop. I build, repair, and modify electric guitars and basses. I also work on acoustic guitars. I have a small studio available by appointment. I do not have a normal ‘retail’ space and do not keep regular buisness hours. I have been tinkering with guitars since my teens. Friends started asking me to work on their guitars, and then they would recommend me to other guitar players. I began to build up a clientele, and about 3 years ago I decided to make a go at this full time. I have some custom builds available for sale, and so customers can try them out. They can buy one of these or we can design one to their specifications.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

Working on guitars has always been a side gig. About three years ago I walked away from a career and decided to make guitars my main source of income. Selling my first custom built guitar was when I realized I might actually make this work.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

My best source of new clients is word of mouth. I don’t want to spend time or money advertising. I want customers coming to me because of my reputation. I try to treat every job I do like it is a job interview. I also play in a band and use one of my creations on stage.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @syrguitar
• Facebook: R/T Customs and Randy Tennant

Image Credits
T. Dean Images