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

Thomas, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s jump right into the heart of things. Outsiders often think businesses or industries have much larger profit margins than they actually do – the reason is that outsiders are often unaware of the biggest challenges to profitability in various industries – what’s the biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?

This definitely has been a hard part of my career to navigate. As of recently, the market of what I do has become extremely saturated. Not only with new makers, but with very large corporations. The main issue is material costs are at an all time high with inflated shipping, goods pricing, etc. yet these new makers and corporations are using low grade lumber/ financial backing to drive the higher end market down. Clients automatically think because they saw a similar product online for $2,000 cheaper that my costs are too high but in turn, some of my projects can cost upwards of $6-$10,000 in just materials before I even get my hands on it. This has been and more than likely will continue to be a never ending battle and I will keep continuing to find the sweet spot for all of my clients.

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

My name is Tom Hamilton, I am originally from a small town called Prescott, Arizona. I have been an Arizonan a majority of my life minus a small stint in Montana and San Diego in my early twenties. As of now, I am currently based out of the Phoenix area. I discovered wood working a little over 6 years ago when I was in the optical industry. After about 10 years in optics, I decided to start a small side hustle for extra spending money in a little one car garage at a condo I was renting. It was hot, small, stuffy, inconvenient, but enough space for me to start a furniture refurbishing/reselling side business. I would find a unique piece of furniture I thought had value, fix any issues or flaws, give it a small revamp with paint or stain, and resale for a higher margin through different marketplaces. I absolutely loved it. This little side gig is what ultimately lead to what I do today. After about the sixth to seven refurbishing project I had completed a potential client reached out and asked if I could do a custom headboard. Knowing close to nothing about woodworking I knew I was ready to expand my knowledge on what I was currently doing and responded “absolutely!”. I knew with the internet, YouTube, and all the reading material available, there was a way to learn and that is exactly what I did. I saved up some profits from my refurbishing business, bought some cheap tools I thought I’d need, and decided to dive right in. After the struggle and learning curve, I conquered that very first build and once I saw the excitement on my clients face, I was absolutely hooked.

Now, six years later I am tackling my woodworking career head on with better tools, extensive knowledge, and a more consistent focus. After working with some local interior designers and tons of awesome private clients, I’ve expanded my portfolio to beautifully crafted Live Edge Tables, Epoxy Tables, Credenzas, Custom Island Tops, and so many other custom crafted furniture designs. If my shop has the capabilities and tools to do it, I usually will take it on. I do understand that custom can be quite expensive. I try and explain to my clients that they are not only paying for quality but also an experience. With every piece, comes with thousands of hours of mistakes and techniques. All of my pieces are built one at a time and I make sure to include you from the base design/color, epoxy colors, wood species, table or furniture design, dimension, etc. This process is what sets the Citizen Wood Company experience apart from major retailers and large brands. I understand It’s a hefty purchase and I want to make sure you feel comfortable along the way.
If you are in the market for a custom, handmade piece of furniture that will set your home or space apart from major retailer junk then look no further. I am your guy.

How did you build your audience on social media?

As the years pass building a brand you must always be ready to pivot in your marketing. The social media world is ever changing and you have to be ready to change your strategies along the way. A prime example I’ll use is Instagram. For the longest time it was staging and shooting your photos just right to draw customers to your page. The better the photo the more likes/follows would come. This strategy worked great for quite sometime until I noticed a complete hault in growth at around the 6k followers mark. I began to notice that tik tok and IG reels were becoming very popular in most industries but was very unfamiliar with where to even start. So what did I do? I just started recording every build from start to finish along with tagging the larger companies products I was using in my reel videos. At first, the likes were slow to come in but I decided early to keep pushing through and getting better and better with my video content, my angles were better, my music was better, I also purchased a suitable video editing app. Eventually this did pay off! My most successful video has over 460,000 views on my business account bringing in hundreds of followers. It also has been shared through YouTube from one of my preferred vendors reaching almost a million views! Since this change my followers have doubled from when I’ve started. It’s key to stay persistent and consistent. What’s even better is I am now offered bonuses through the apps for my content. A nice way for a small yet passive income.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

With any business you will need capital. Some will need only hundreds of dollars to start and others will need hundreds of thousands of dollars. Pick within your realm and go. My personal journey luckily didn’t require a ton of money to start. There are actually YouTube videos out there now(before I started) that tell you how to start a woodworking business with very basic tools and how much you can expect to spend. In the case of Citizen Wood Company I receive capital though the work that I do. I started with maybe $600 worth of tools. After I completed my first job I rolled the profits to another tool that I knew would make my next build easier. If a tool is too expensive or you are having trouble making enough profit, but you know will help your business grow, do not be scared to reach out to family or friends for small investments. It never hurts to ask. I continue using the rolling profit method. I am constantly purchasing better tools to make not only my life easier but my work better for my clients. The more you invest in your business the more return you can make from your business.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.CitizenWoodCo.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/citizenwoodco
• Facebook: Citizen Wood Company
• Yelp: https://m.yelp.com/biz/citizen-wood-company-phoenix
• Other: Google- Citizen Wood Company Pinterest- https://www.pinterest.com/CitizenWoodCompany Tik Tok – Citizen Wood Company

Image Credits
All portraits were taken by myself, the business owner.