Today we’d like to introduce you to Greg Seitz.
Hi Greg, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
As with many people my age, growing older often forces a change. In 2008, I was droning away at my job in a furniture manufacturing company near Dayton, Ohio, when the economy turned south. Many small businesses were effected, including my job making furniture. In 2008, I was approaching 50 yrs old, and the writing was on the wall for the company’s demise.
I did face a 6 week layoff initially, and I had to face the reality that my 23 year career there was coming to an end. I knew my age and experience wouldn’t be helpful, but understood that I was fairly proficient at what I did…cutting wood.
Over my time at the furniture company, I had taken on many side projects, from kitchen redo’s to cribbage boards, so I thought surely I can do something productive with myself….applying for work elsewhere didn’t seem realistic in a very bad economy. So I picked a ” product” that I thought I could make and sell on line. Having worked at many craft shows I had made many different things, flag boxes and shadow boxes being a part of my repertoire already, I felt it was something that a potential customer would understand what it was without having to hold it, or see it first hand…pictures with descriptions and options could work just as well.
So, I set out to make a website that offered flag cases and shadowboxes during week 1. Back in those days, you could purchase a domain name and have a free cookie cutter type of website up and running in a few days, and I did that. I also pursued other ways to sell online, Sites like ETSY still offer a way to make yourself known on the internet. It was also a way for me to put my unsold craft goods in front to the shopping public…free or low cost website training…I knew nothing!
By the end of my first six week layoff. I did have a functioning live website. It wasn’t any good, but I was happy that something was there. I could edit things, like add pictures etc…I even learned how to add PayPal buttons. I had my first sale at 8 weeks, and thought I was on my way!
But work called me back, and I again had an income for a couple of weeks. This cycle of work went on for almost a year, and slowly I began to sell more…I threw everything I had at the website , crappy as it was, it was what I had. I did eventually hire a company to help the site work better…$5000 for a year of SEO saw me go from 80 visits/ week to 2000/ month, so I did notice increased sales.
Over time, the furniture company was going up and down, and becoming a less reliable source of income for my family. They would call me back to work, but I was developing a backlog (2 or 3 days worth of work!) and I would tell them that I would come in on Tuesday or Wednesday,,,,then Thursday, Then the following week…. Eventually they pulled my Health insurance, and it stopped making sense to not work harder on what I was trying to do. More layoffs were inevitable.
Eventually, I pulled the plug on the furinture company , and the doors closed for good sometime in 2022…I feel bad for the folks that stuck around, but I never really looked back
Since 2008 I have made well over 9000 shadow boxes for everything from a silver spoon made in the 15th century , to a display box for arrows hand carved by an African hunter gatherer tribe. for people from Astronauts to Admirals, from Privates to Generals and from Garbage men to Eagle Scouts.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There are always challenges when you start from scratch and I suspect if I new more about business, I would have done some things differently, but I’m still learning as I go. Tough lessons have come from learning how to price my work, and how to schedule orders, so that my customers will know when to expect shipment of their custom made piece. The landscape for resources changes over time as well. Buying lumber has been tougher, and is priced as a commodity. It’s different every time I purchase it. And some lumber (walnut) has quadrupled in price AND the quality has gone down…Pricing 18 “standard ” sized products made from 4 different wood species, and 2 different depths was challenging without some kind of system in place to help.
What happens when your shipping company goes on strike, or damages all the work created last week? Covid shutdowns made fabric availability scarce. The Glass supplier goes out of business…what do you do?
I’ve been told by some of the smaller companies around me that my business has a lot of moving parts that relies on everything working well…that is as much a part of the business as maintaining a high functioning E-commerce website
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
We spend a great deal of time on making each box unique to the customer. Even though we are making squares, rectangles or triangles, with contents being very similar from one box to the next (medals, ribbons, patches, flags, we try to give each customer something different and unique to tell their story. This is never dull for us! We use several Design Software platforms to generate rendered layouts for our customers to preview how their box might look before purchasing. We also offer to mount items for the customer. Sometimes we have to invent ways to attach items so the customer can do it on their own. This is often the case with items the customer does not want to send to us for fear of the shipper losing the item…such as weapons like swords, rifles, or knives. More and more, we mount uniform pieces to the box interiors, shirts and jackets need special attention. And we do this without using glue that makes a mess out of whatever it touches.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Pricing my work was the hardest thing to figure out, but do not be afraid to put a real number on your custom work. Know what is is costing you to create.
Be prepared to work all of the time. When I first started working on my own, folks would comment how lucky I was to be able to set my own hours and take off whenever I wanted. Turns out that in order to succeed, you have to work all of the hours and pay for your time off. I work much harder now than I did working for the furniture company , but this is the monster that I am making.
Seriously listen to people’s ideas…someone’s different perspective might open a door for you.
Let your helpers help
Pricing:
- Shadow boxes $120.00 – $1310 +
- Flag Boxes $100 – $1350 +
- add on pieces $50 – $500
- Glass is included extra for UV or Museum
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.shadowboxguru.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShadowBoxGuru
- Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/gregseitzwoodwo
