Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Samuel Hunt, Owner of Cordova Woodworking, located in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Cordova Woodworking is a high-end custom furniture-making and design business. I make and design modern hardwood furniture for customers that want to personalize their homes with quality, heirloom furnishings. I also sell woodworking plans for some of my designs to allow hobbyists to build modern pieces for their homes.
Tell us about yourself
Woodworking was introduced to me by my dad and was a personal hobby for a number of years. After co-owning online advertising for 6 years, I was looking for a career change. I went back to school for industrial design. I crammed two years of courses into one year to get a solid technical foundation in 3D design - sketching, ideation, and computer-aided design.
At this point, I started to get a lot of inspiration from some of the small production-based furniture makers I found on Instagram and decided to marry my passions for business, design, and furniture making into a company.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
In a relatively short period of time, I've introduced some original designs and become skilled enough at fine woodworking that I'm able to charge a premium for my work. I can't compete with retail stores on price, but I can be original and purposeful in my designs and craft. I'm always proud to deliver my products to my customers.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Figuring out what things you should absolutely have someone else do—and figuring it out fast. Looking back, there are things I should have immediately hired someone else to do despite the cost. A good example is photography - I am not a photographer. I'm selling a high-end product, and that's what my customers want to see. The photos tell the story. If the photos aren't as good as the product, it will be much harder to make sales.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Focus on what is working and figure out how to do it better every day.
- Hire people for tasks you think will drive more revenue than if you did the work yourself.
- Set reasonable timelines for testing/launching new products or ideas.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.cordovawoodworking.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cordovawoodworking/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@cordovawoodworking
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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