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

Alright, Seth thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Taking care of customers isn’t just good business – it is often one of the main reasons folks went into business in the first place. So, we’d love to get a conversation going around how to best help clients feel appreciated – maybe you can share something you’ve done or seen someone do that’s been really effective at helping a customer feel valued?

One of the easiest and most effective ways to show gratitude towards your customers is to give them something free! We send a small gift to returning customers that is a great marketing tool and also a nice way to remind our loyal customers that we value them.

Seth, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Seth Affoumado. I started The Skillet Doctor LLC in 2009 as a diversion from a skateboarding accident! My goal was to learn how to preserve and revitalize vintage cast iron cookware and how to maintain it. The most common challenge was the proper “seasoning” technique, what oil is the best and how to keep rust off the skillets. As a way to separate myself from the many other cast iron geeks out there I created “The Skillet Doctor” then asked an old friend and great graphic designer Raoul Ollman to design and brand the logo. This set me apart from the other competitors. We all love the history of American cast iron foundries too. I’m especially interested in the vast variety of cast iron makers in America from the late 19th century through modern day. The Skillet Doctor is the persona of a person who respects family tradition and values heirloom cooking tools and wants to keep them in operation for future generations.

We are most proud of the restoration and preservation of seemingly hopelessly rusted and neglected cast iron skillets. It’s so satisfying to hear praise and joy from clients who have no idea how we do what we do and are delighted with the results.

Our brand is growing with other products. Besides restoration and sales of cast iron cookware, we make our own Skillet Doc’s Seasoned Salve with locally sourced ingredients, we have a composable bamboo cleaning brush and non- flammable leather skillet handle protectors.

We want to grow our brand in a way that people will come to us for more than skillet restoration. They will buy restored vintage skillets, seasoning salve and other branded products.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

My first job out of college was photography.
I moved from New York to San Francisco to work in photography studios and labs as a printer and photographer’s assistant eventually taking on my own photography assignments. I was trained as a film photographer. As we entered the digital age of photography my business slowly faded and became less successful. That’s when I had to pivot into another profession. I am a great teacher so I started teaching photography and music. In this time I also became interested in the restoration of cast iron cookware which gave me another exit strategy to explore my current business The Skillet Doctor!

How did you build your audience on social media?

When I started The Skillet Doctor in 2009 I had little if no social media presence. However, my training in marketing from
my photography career paid off big time with plenty of creative juice and sweat equity. I started doing YouTube and instagram posts for “Skillet Bluesday” and “Mystery Skillet Friday” enticing my followers to tune in for the next chapter. This strategy worked to gain a social media presence by relating stories about skillet restorations in progress, where my next pop up sale would be and what new treasures I found at an estate sale-

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Theskilletdoctor.com
• Instagram: @skilletdoc
• Facebook: https://Facebook.com/skilletdocfb
• Youtube: @theskilletdoctor7686
• Yelp: https://Yelp.com/biz/the-skillet-doctor-san-rafael-5

Image Credits

Tintype by Skillet Doctor LLC
All photos created by Seth Affoumado