Building a Furniture Brand with Ethan Abramson

On this episode, host Ethan Abramson sits down with Jordan Goetz, owner of the Austin, Texas based furniture company Growler Domestics.

Jordan is a furniture maker, but he is also a storyteller, and this episode has equal parts of both. We learn about how he's made his company grow, but we also hear the personal narrative of how he grew alongside his business.

Follow along as we talk with Jordan about starting his business, the lessons he's learned along the way, and how he turned his passion into a reality.

This episode is brought to you by Jobber - getjobber.com/ethan

On this episode, host Ethan Abramson sits down withWoodshop Mike, owner of the Georgia based furniture company Woodshop Mike.

Mike’s furniture company is located in Georgia, but his reach goes far beyond that. He has set up his business as not only a custom furniture company, but as a business that has multiple streams of income all generated from the projects he’s building. Working this way, he ensures that even if client work is slow he never has slow time in the shop.

Follow along as I talk with Mike about how he grew his business from what seemed at the time to be a complete life disaster into the successful company it is today.

We talk about the importance of face to face meetings, how to make a contract that protects your business, how he can collect 75% upfront for his furniture, and a lot more.

This episode is brought to you by Jobber - getjobber.com/ethan

On this episode, host Ethan Abramson sits down with Mark Robertson, owner of the Texas based furniture company Mark The Builder

We could spend an entire episode talking with Mark about his successful furniture company, how he's booked out for months, how he keeps his customer satisfaction high, how he is so in demand that he has to turn away business. But, for this episode, we are focusing mostly on how he is running a full time woodworking business and also working a full time other job at the same time. 

This is a topic that has been brought up in a lot of episodes, so I wanted to sit down with Mark and talk with someone who is living this double life daily, and learn from him about the pros and cons of this lifestyle and how he makes it work. 

Follow along as we talk about how he juggles two full time jobs, how he deals with clients expectations, his thoughts on being a black owned furniture business, and how he is growing his company, his way.

This episode is brought to you by Jobber - getjobber.com/ethan

This is a very special episode, We just finished our first season! 

We brought you 12 episodes, jam packed with business know-how, inspirational stories, behind the scenes insight into building a brand, and some laughs.

The reason host Ethan Abramson started this show was to pull back the curtain on the industry. To show that yes, there are important practices to being successful but there is also not just one path to do it. And after hearing from 12 successful business owners we can see just that. They all had similar core values and business techniques, but they went about building their business in different ways.

Before we start Season Two, we wanted to bring you an episode where we jump back into some of those important conversations, and the lessons we learned from them.

This episode is brought to you by Jobber - getjobber.com/ethan

On this episode, host Ethan Abramson sits down with Dave Puncochar, owner of the Nashville, Tennessee based furniture company Good Wood Nashville.

Dave has a lot going on. With a team of 12, he runs a custom furniture company, a custom flooring company, a furniture store, and a lumber, slab, reclaimed wood business. Standing alone, each of those would be a full time job, but when you mix them all together, from the outside, it looks like a steep mountain to climb.

Follow along as we talk about how he grew his business, how he deals with clients, and how he can offer a no questions asked 100% guarantee return policy on everything that comes out of his shop.

This episode is brought to you by Jobber - getjobber.com/ethan

On this episode, host Ethan Abramson sits down with Jess and Jef Behnke, owner of the Appleton, Wisconsin based furniture company Two Moose Design.

Jess and Jeff are at a turning point in their business. Having found overwhelming success with their line of home goods they are setting their eyes towards their next goal, furniture design. But as they move further into the world of furniture, they bring the knowledge of growing a strong business with them as well as a roadmap of the steps that brought them to where they are today.

Follow along as we talk about how to conquer selling on Etsy, the positive side of partnerships, dealing with competitors knocking off your creations, and much more.

This episode is brought to you by Jobber - getjobber.com/ethan

On this episode, host Ethan Abramson sits down with Mark Jupiter, owner of the Brooklyn, New York based furniture company Mark Jupiter.

Mark is a 4th generation craftsman, someone who literally has building in their blood. But he knew when he started his company that a love and legacy for building wasn’t enough to pay the bills. So he focused equally on the furniture making and the business side or the industry to make his company what it is today.

Nestled in the heart of Brooklyn, Mark and the 15 person team that makes up his furniture shop, are turning out custom work stronger than ever before. But how did he get here, how did he get to this highpoint in his career? 

Follow along as we talk about the value of hard work, how to have the tough conversations about pricing and lead times, furniture building vs the furniture business, and much more.

This episode is brought to you by Jobber - getjobber.com/ethan

On this episode, host Ethan Abramson sits down with Joanie Sprague, owner of the Huntington Beach, California based furniture company The Little Bit Workshop.

Joanie has had an impressive story, and has done many things in her life, but what probably stands out the brightest on her journey is her TV career. A career that showcased two very different worlds. One side, as runner-up on Cycle 6 of America’s Next Top Model and the other side, in a completely separate world, as a host and builder on very popular DIY and Home Renovation shows.

She has also had an impressive modeling career, which is a rather different thing entirely from building furniture. But she made that jump, and her company, The Little Bit Workshop, is busy. Busy building furniture that, in her own words, isn't necessarily high end, but is still furniture that people need.

Follow along as we talk about why she made a career change into Furniture, the struggles women feel not being taken seriously in the building industry, finding ones worth as a maker, and how furniture companies can look different but still be furniture companies.

This episode is brought to you by Jobber - getjobber.com/ethan

On this episode, host Ethan Abramson sits down with Donnie Galli, owner of the Destin, Florida based furniture company Designs by Donnie.

In his late 30's, Donnie found himself jobless with he and his family 3 days away from homelessness. That was the day he built his first piece of furniture, and he hasn't looked back since.

Donnie was an entrepreneur well before he became a furniture maker. And with a true entrepreneur's spirit, after each of his businesses failed, instead of giving up he learned from his mistakes and became stronger after each one.

But a hard working attitude doesn’t always get you to where you want to go, and although Donnie had collected a wealth of knowledge, he had very little else to show for his years of hard work. That is when he turned to furniture, not out of passion, but out of necessity.

Follow along as we talk about how Donnie built his company from literally nothing to the incredibly successful business it is today. 

This episode is brought to you by Jobber - getjobber.com/ethan

On this episode, host Ethan Abramson sits down with Jeremy Hill, founder of the Marietta, Georgia based furniture company Jericho Home.

Once a former teacher, now Jeremy builds furniture that you just want to gather around. Custom pieces that fit your home like they've always been there. He’s raised his company from a little garage to a thriving and successful business that keeps growing stronger year by year.

He has faced many struggles along his journey but has always come out the stronger for it. It isn't easier turning a local company into one with global reach, but he has done it, while still maintaining a healthy work life balance. 

Follow along as we talk about making the jump into working for yourself, the structure of pricing your work, the good and bad of taking on a partner, and much more  

This episode is brought to you by Jobber - BoostByJobber.com