We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tom Velure a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Tom, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. The first dollar your business earns is always special and we’d love to hear how your brand made its first dollar of revenue.

I actually started this business as a screen printer. We used to have group get togethers with friends, and would often offset the prices by selling t-shirts. Eventually I would pickup business from local businesses, making them shirts for their events or schools and sports. When my first kid was born, I made the shift to woodworking. With the woodworking, there were far fewer chemicals in the house, and I already had most of the equipment. The biggest addition that moved my hobby to a small business was a laser cutter. Once I had the laser, opportunities started coming to me. I no longer had to blank-canvas advertise to find clients. My neighbor used to make reclaimed wood boxes that a cooler would fit in, and one day early in laser ownership, I had walked over during a cooler delivery to ask if the customer would like to personalize their box. From that moment on, my neighbor and I partnered up to start personalizing just about anything from those cooler boxes to wedding invites, home decor and even making commercial signage for other local businesses. My favorite product to make though, is our lake maps. Each one is different, and personal to the customer. I feel like that’s one of the biggest joys in my business, seeing how happy I make someone with something I made.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

As I said before, Bored in the Basement started as a screenprinting business. I had originally applied for the business license after I was laid off when Chrysler went into bankruptcy. My first son was born and I was home for a few months while looking for a new job and going back to school. The screenprinting worked for a while, but never showed great success. When I bought my first laser, a whole new client base opened up to me, with a much wider product offering. Right now my main products are created from reclaimed wood that I get from barns, decks, fences, or any other reclaimable structure that doesn’t have lead-based paint or chemically treated wood. Our specialty is lake maps. Bored in the Basement (BitB) has already made over 1000 of these lake maps varying in bodies of water, rivers, island and oceans all over the globe. We talk with customers and build digital mock-ups to make sure the customer gets a hands on feel for the design process and gets exactly what they want to decorate or commemorate their homes or cabins. I currently have one part-time employee, Marie, who helps with all of our painting, sanding, shop management, and retail relations. We may expand someday, but for now we are both able to handle most of the work that comes in. One of the biggest questions we get is “why not ‘board’ in the basement”? The answer to that is easy, and always less satisfying than a pun, I quite literally painted a big logo on my parents basement wall one afternoon after school when I was bored. I always told anyone that saw that painting, that if I ever started a business, that is what I would name it. The second most asked question is “do you really run your business in your basement?”. The answer there is yes and no. I’d say about 50% is in the basement, 30% in my garage, and 20% out in the woods or urban settings finding wood.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Social media is absolutely key to building a small business, or at least I feel that has been my experience. I started with a Facebook page and constantly asked friends to share to try and spread the word. After BitB started creating items that could really speak for themselves, my page started to grow. Eventually we expanded to other platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. The majority of my new business still comes from Facebook, but once I’ve sold a piece to someone, almost everyone has asked me for something else down the road because they have seen what we can make from our Instagram feed. Lake maps are easily our best seller, but building the same kind of thing over and over can get a bit repetitive and lose my interest. In an attempt to curb that feeling, I regularly take on odd, new, challenging, or even collaborative projects. Social media is a great way to network with other small businesses both in and out of your regular viewer interests. One of my collaborations led to creating a stage piece for Mike Rowe Works, another lead to making deck boxes for people that play Magic the Gathering. Growing your social media presence can be hard, especially with the ever-changing algorithms of what content gets highlighted for people to see. Our biggest challenge is that we are a woodworking company, not a videographer or photographer. Be ready to step outside your comfort zone to learn new skills to thrive. That or be ready to hire someone that is. There is great power in knowing your strengths and weaknesses, and no shame in having someone else do what you’re not great at. I’m still looking for a videographer to follow me around all day to make YouTube videos and reels.

I find that social media opens a business up for opportunities that they may not initially see, and likewise can put your products in the eyes of those that may never know to look.

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

Like any student, I accrued a lot debt during college/trade school. When I decided to start Bored in the Basement, my brother and I pooled together about $3000 and bought a bunch of screenprinting equipment and stock of clothing to print on. I did not want to have a business that operated on a debt, and also did not really want to have any other partners or funders that would be drawing off the business. This always sounds amazing, but also really limits what can be done if you don’t have a lot of starting capital. I learned early how fast advertising dollars can disappear. Finding customers that actually wanted what we were making was also very difficult. The switch to woodworking, and the addition of social media, helped significantly. Facebook has a fairly robust business suite that pinpointed our customer base, and helped us market more efficiently. Since BitB is not my main job right now, and I didn’t have an employee for the first 3 years of the woodworking business, I left all the money that I made in a business account rather than giving myself a paycheck. This is obviously not something everyone can do, and I recognize that. I easily attribute this to why the business has been a successful debt-less company to this date. I have since been able to pair with other vendors and companies for sponsored posts, reviews, and builds where I can get better tools. When I combine a few of these methods, the operating capital for BitB has been sustainable, even adding an employee and sometimes paying myself. The addition of social media to spread the word and some amazing repeat customers that regularly talk us up have been our best form of advertising, which we only have to pay in quality builds and a positive customer experience.

Contact Info:

• Website: BoredInTheBasement.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/boredinthebasement/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/BitBDesign/
• Linkedin: https://www.boredinthebasement.com/lakemaps
• Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UC55vFUUv3R54pwLqqzSvQTQ
• Other: Twin Cities Live segment: https://www.twincitieslive.com/fun/37534/bored-in-the-basement/

Image Credits
Tom Velure @ Bored in the Basement