Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in handcrafts but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Nathan Epp, founder, and owner of Three Trees Workshop, located in Warrensburg, MO, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
We're a family business making heirloom-quality wooden games such as chess, Chinese checkers, cribbage, mancala, and Pegs and Jokers. The game boards are handcrafted in our shop using quality solid hardwoods, locally sourced whenever possible, and eco-friendly finishes. We source high-quality playing pieces to complement our boards.
The majority of our customers are buying gifts for someone else, so offering custom engraving enables them to add a really personal touch. We've engraved song lyrics, inside jokes, poems, pop culture references, Bible verses, and the occasional friendly challenge. It's really fun to see what people come up with!
It's important to us to give back to the community. We support local charities and plant five trees for every product we sell through a partnership with Trees for the Future.
Tell us about yourself
I'd been a hobby woodworker for most of my life, starting out as a kid learning from my dad and grandpas. In 2014, my wife Cynthia and I were moving back to the US from Mombasa, Kenya. It was an opportunity to start over and create a long-time dream from scratch, so we decided to try turning the hobby into a business. We moved to a new town, launched Three Trees, and welcomed our first daughter into the world, all within a couple of months!
I love working with wood because it's a time-honored material with a satisfying feel and beautiful depth that you just don't get from synthetic materials. I really enjoy watching the character of each piece of wood emerge throughout the process of carefully cutting, sanding, and finishing.
We focus on games to encourage creativity and connection between people and also the world around us. These days, so much of life is lived out online and on screens, and we want to help facilitate those real-world human interactions. We love knowing that people all over the world are gathering around our games for friendly competition that strengthens those human connections.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Longevity! Three Trees Workshop has been in business going on eight years and is growing each year. We've made it through the COVID-19 pandemic and plenty of other challenges. We're able to support our family by doing work we enjoy.
It's also pretty incredible to think about where all of our games have ended up. We've sent games made in Warrensburg, Missouri, to all 50 states and more than 20 countries on six continents! It's a privilege to be a part of spreading joy and positivity throughout our world.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
The flexibility of owning a business can be a blessing and a curse. When you work for yourself, it can be tough to find a balance between work and the rest of your life. There's no such thing as clocking out–there is always more work to be done, and the "office" is just a few steps away. Our business depends totally on us, and it can be tempting to spend every spare moment working on it. We've learned to make a conscious effort to set boundaries around work and protect the time we spend with our family. The flip side of that is that we have the flexibility to spend time with our kids during the day or go to events with them.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Be willing to ask for help. You can't be an expert in everything. We work with an accountant and graphic designer that are fantastic resources in areas where we don't have expertise.
- Be willing to try new things. A few years back, a customer approached us about making a game that we'd never heard of. We made their set for them and made a few more to see how they would be received. Today, our Pegs and Jokers sets are our second most popular games, just behind our top-selling chess sets.
- At the same time, it's also important to be willing to let go of things that aren't working. We started out making a wider variety of products, including wooden toys and kitchen/household items. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we realized we needed to streamline our product offerings and decided to focus solely on games. We've become more efficient and profitable as a result.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.threetreesworkshop.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/threetreesworkshop
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/threetreesworkshop/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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