Our small business is spiraling out of control... 🌀

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This video is about how our small business is really taking off and we're making a TON of money selling cutting and charcuterie boards. It's getting a little overwhelming, but only because we haven't decided on our next goal. Our next business goal is selling 700 cutting boards and charcuterie boards a month. Even with a new small business goal, we still have a lot of work to do and Jennie is leaving to fly through hurricanes this summer.
00:00 Intro
00:08 Our small business is GROWING!
00:22 We're stressed and overwhelmed this week
00:34 Engraving and Shipping in our Cutting Board Business
01:57 Packing and Shipping in our Charcuterie Board Business
01:45 The next day
02:15 Sally's First Sale of Cutting Boards
03:07 Our number 1 rule of celebrating sales
03:37 Our new business goal!
05:03 We're shipping 20 boards a week right now
05:20 Glowforge repair of guide wheels
06:50 Andy Bird Builds SURPRISES US with a visit!
07:39 Your homework for today's video
08:28 When our Small Business will be DONE.
08:48 Why we're so overwhelmed and stressed in our small business
09:23 Our other job is getting in the way...
09:54 Jennie left...
Thanks so much for watching - subscribe and try out our channel for a few days!
Buy our scrap wood! [USA-only]
www.samaratableco.com/product...
Fan Mail:
Jennie & Davis
8524 Hwy 6 N
Box 533
Houston, TX
Find us on IG:
/ jennieanddavis
Our Blog:
www.jennieanddavis.com/blog
Music by:
Jaylon Ashaun - Stick to the Plan - thmatc.co/?l=6AFC9F7D
The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement.
Air Force-related Media Inquiries Email:
[e-mail]
#StudStack #FollowYourFears #WoodworkingBusiness #Woodworking #SideHustle #Business #Furniture #Money #Maker #Project #DIY #DIYIdeas

[@StumpyNubs]

I enjoy watching your journey, but I have some questions... It seems like many of your videos are about how busy you are making and shipping product, how fast you are growing, etc. So I was shocked to hear you are only shipping 20 boards a week. How do you fund a business in a large commercial space with your current employees (and the new hires Davis said you are so busy with and therefore seem imminent, and which will require funding until they make new sales) on just 20 boards a week? Are you using outside funding from the Stud Stack or another source to support this business in the short term? And why is it so hard to keep up, even with other things going on, with just 4 boards (on average) per day? (Your videos regularly show both of you in the shop, so at least sometimes two of you are working on those 4 boards per week.)- I think these questions may help add some context to your videos for your audience :)

[@jennieanddavis]

Hi! I'd love to give some context for our videos! We use NO outside funding (from KZbin, the Stud Stack, etc.) to pay our table company's bills. We've taken on NO debt to start/operate either business. The media business and the woodworking business are two totally separate businesses and neither is supporting the other financially. They independently produce enough profit on their own to sustain themselves, pay for their square footage of the rent, and have a little left over to reinvest in their growth. I know that sounds hard to believe, but it's the honest truth. We take very little for ourselves and we reinvest most of the business profits into our employees and other assets like computers or tools. Our personal lifestyle is financially sustained by our Air Force jobs and a small monthly stipend from our media business (recently it's been around $1300 a month). 20 boards a week is still $2,500 in revenue. That's $6k a month! And even though we only ship 20 boards a week, we sell many more. If someone wants to sit down and do the math, they'll see it's all possible. If someone wants to be jealous and angry, they'll say we're lying 😉❤️️.

[@StumpyNubs]

@@jennieanddavis - So you and Davis are not taking a salary yet, which means much of your labor cost is not yet supported by those 20 boards. That certainly makes a lot more sense! Labor is the most expensive part of any startup, and when you can support your own input of labor through a second (or third) job, you can (as you said) invest more into the business. Not sure what the "jealous and angry" comment was all about, but thanks for the context. :)

[@jennieanddavis]

@@StumpyNubs Of course! As you know, every business requires a certain level of risk and/or investment. We've put ourselves in a position where we can invest as much of our revenue as possible into the growth of the businesses. Personally, we cut our standard of living and saved money for a year before our military contracts allowed us to leave the active-duty Air Force and transfer to the Reserves. That meant we could start this business without needing to take money away from it. It's a very common transition method among entrepreneurs. We could have paid ourselves for labor along the way, and the business STILL would have been profitable! But it would have limited the growth rate of the businesses. It's definitely a trade-off. After this conversation, I really think this topic might make for a great video... Thanks for the idea, James! 🙏.

[@fatt-ass-pro]

J&D, and MR. NUBS... THANK YOU FOR YOUR HARD WORK...!! YOU CAN'T "WEAR ALL THE HATS" IN YOUR OWN SMALL BUSINESS...!! it takes a team...!! growth is stressful, and it's very easy to become overwhelmed... your perspective is valued and much appreciated...!! from a lil ol cutting board idea that creates its own synergy... to custom woodworking and tool reviews... and SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT.... BOTH of your pages are invaluable to not just myself, i appreciate you, and admire your work...!! keep in kickin' ass...!! now the hard pert for you guys J&D... DELEGATING AUTHORITY... and MANAGING EXPECTATIONS... stick to the plan...!

[@jamescraft2789]

Having served in the Army I can vouch that there are a lot of extra funds that are freed up as a result of being active duty...one of which is not having to pay for Healthcare for either of you that and a mortgage alone is enough to save and be able to cover initial startup cost. However, I was surprised to that you are only shipping* 20 boards a week...that helps me realize that my goal of 20 a month is absolutely reachable. It certainly helps to have these types of conversations and openness so thank you for replying to James 😊

[@malonecustomdesigns]

On your way to Kentucky to see Andy, feel free to stop by Arkansas and we will run some stuff through our Thunder laser and let you guys see what you think of it! :)

[@AndyBirdBuilds]

Loved our time together! Keep killing it!!

[@ronnorris1504]

It's always good to be busy, beats the alternative. Glad to see Andy Bird a fellow Ky native come to visit.

[@cridgit001]

y’all got this! So excited for y’all and y’all‘s journey ❤️

[@ca_ged]

Awesome how pumped she is after the sale….great sense of accomplishment.

[@keithsargent6963]

Glad to see your business booming. If your going to have problems, being swamped with orders is a good problem.

[@robertlivingstone3947]

Congratulations and a great video

[@bradleythompson5073]

You guys are doing so well!!!!! Keep it up

[@kenluning909]

Nice video. Hope yall get to the 700 mark soon.

[@sammisworkshops3762]

you guys are awesome, love the inspiration I get from seeing the videos. ALso I love that transitional music you used near the end, I used that in one of my videos recently too LOL. How cool!

[@billysmether6237]

Keep pushing, it will work out.

[@rjsiii3]

Nicely put together!

[@jennieanddavis]

Thanks so much, RJ!

[@Itsreallymarcus]

Automating the process just to pump out numbers drops the quality significantly, takes away the craftsmanship and doing high amounts of smaller is going to cause a burnout. It’s not sustainable

[@dennisg11348]

Great hanger at the end. Watch ya next time. Good job!

[@jennieanddavis]

Thanks so much for watching!

[@tommywhite2396]

I am inspired by you guys big time. Five years ago I had a big stroke that interrupted my life. I was an attorney in Texas. The stroke whacked my short term memory. I NEED another business but I don’t know how to begin with my limitations. Tips? Pointers? Suggestions? Y’all are amazing.

[@jennieanddavis]

Write clear checklists for every action. So long as you can read (or have someone read to you), your processes will get finished. When you’re ready to hire employees, just hand them the checklists and let their creativity flourish!

[@doylemccoy8911]

Have you thought about adding a dust port through your wall of the office to your shop vac? You can have one of those floor fittings so you can just sweep the confetti, dog hair, and paper shreddings right to your large shop vac system. Then, SWOOOOSH, be gone....

[@AlakaiAcademyKailuaKona]

Where do you sells come from? What platforms do you use?

[@robb4751]

You guys are awesome. I have a very small shop and all the tools and knowledge in the world I need to build with and be successful but I just can't find the drive to get there. I'm pathetic in that department. I like building outdoor furniture but just can't seem to get motivated. You guys are pretty inspiring.

[@computercreationz]

You would really speed up your production on engraving the boards if you stepped up a faster co2 laser. Right now your going at 150mm/s and a good quality co2 laser like Thunder laser you would be engraving at 400-600mm/second. Please consider it.

[@tonymartin3738]

You gonna do what your outtro says “stick to the plan” lol

[@daves.software]

I don't know how much time you guys spend on laser engraving, but if it's significant, you might want to upgrade from that Glowforge to something like a Trotec or Epilog Laser. They are *much* faster.

[@mariewood8267]

Hi Jennie and Davis! I'm new to your channel. You guys need AC in the shop! I have a shop 25' x 50' and recently added 2 mini-splits. I live in Las Vegas with 111-114 temps. The AC has greatly improved the quality of working in this heat! I look forward to watching more of your vids!!

[@jennieanddavis]

Hopefully we'll get AC in the next place!

[@farmitzdugan]

You guys should get one of those overhead packing peanut dispensers but for your crinkle paper. You just pull a lever and the right amount comes out every time.

[@jennieanddavis]

😮 researching now!!!

[@DubbleT33]

Hey Jennie and Davis! I've been watching for a while, congrats on your success!! One thing that I would recommend, to increase your workflow, is to move away from the Glowforge(s). There are commercial companies like Boss Laser, that provide equally spec'd units but without the cloud and cloud DELAYS. My wife and I moved to a Boss1420 laser and we're able to engrave three TIMES the product we used to just because the Glowforge was SO SLOW. Hope this helps! Enjoy!

[@jennieanddavis]

Hey Thanks, Matthew! The Glowforges have been GREAT to us. Since we're going to be hiring employees, ease of use and reliability are way more important than cost or speed. Glad you found a laser that fits your needs!

[@DubbleT33]

@@jennieanddavis Thanks for the reply - obviously, you are free to do what you want regarding technology and investment but your reply implies that commercial units are not (as) reliable and or are harder to use than Glowforge. As someone who has used both, the set up time, making graphics different colors so that Glowforge would recognize them correctly, and lack of repeatability all make it less reliable and harder to use (you've just learned their system already and know it so it doesn't seem as hard). Jennie also stated that your goal is to expand to selling 700 boards a month; I don't know what the call rate is on your orders but if you're shipping 20-30/wk now, even if you doubled your capacity with someone else (40-60/wk) you're still only capable of making 2000-3000/yr as opposed to the 8400/yr that you're selling - finding inefficiencies in your process and speeding up production (not sacrificing quality or the personal touch) will be critical as you move to the next stage. When you're already stretched thin and your commercial area loses internet for 6-8hrs and you can't roll out the boards you needed to because the Glowforge relies on the cloud, that'll be a bad day. At the end of the day, it is completely up to you how you run your business - I want to see you succeed. When it comes to purchasing the next laser engraver please keep the post mind. When the throughput on the Glowforge is 10 minutes and you could use another machine that costs the same is done in less than 3, just consider it. Boss also sells a 36x55" model for ~12k (4 times the engraving area for the cost of two Glowforges)

[@scooterc2776]

You guys rock

[@jennieanddavis]

Wait until we roll 🙃.

[@sampull3541]

Dang! Just in May I also bought two sets of replacement wheels for my Glowforge because I also didn't realize they came in two-packs!

[@jennieanddavis]

I think they know....

[@MilmoWood]

I love this new goal. You guys are going stratuferic. Congratulations from Milmo Wood in North Wales UK. Having followed you for sooo long it's really happening for you. AMAZING

[@jennieanddavis]

Hey thanks so much for watching across the pond! Appreciate your encouragement - that's extra special =)

[@petehafner1659]

Hey guys, please post a link to your buddy's channel. I'm having a hard time finding it with my PC. Thanks

[@phoneemail8503]

You can move your business to florida and merge with mine! I already make cutting boards and tables, and have a 5'x10' cnc table. Lol

[@Jimmolter761]

Just got me an XTool D1 10watt laser. now to learn how to use it.

[@jennieanddavis]

Nice! Have fun learning! =)

[@willhaimerl]

700 a month is doable, just open an online store!

[@whhsfordian]

In your roles as hurricane hunters, are you both enlisted or officer? I am just curious. Thanks!

[@jennieanddavis]

We're Captains

[@roncoleman4017]

While flying hurricanes, do you ever have ufo experiences? You 2 are an insperation to me and my woodworking hobby.

[@turbo-jm8hk]

Curious where y’all went to meteorology school, asking cuz my son is going next year and we already visited University of South Alabama & University of Louisiana Monroe

[@jennieanddavis]

Penn state is world class for weather! We went to Embry-Riddle in Arizona primarily for the Air Force ROTC program

[@peteyscott45]

Hey, I love your video format since it is so different than what I see on most maker KZbin channels! One thing that I wanted to point out is that the charcuterie board at the 1:57 point in the video that says "The Fraser's" should not have an apostrophe (nor should all the other boards in that frame with apostrophes). There is nothing following the last name to make it possessive. I did just google also to verify that my English major mom taught me correctly before commenting.

[@jennieanddavis]

Yup. This hurts us to see, too! But that's what the customer wanted.

[@wanderblest]

Came to the comments to make sure this had been covered. I would not give customers the option to use an apostrophe; it reflects poorly on you, and you guys have worked too hard to send incorrect boards out into the world!

[@peteyscott45]

@@jennieanddavis This sounds like an example of when the customer is not always right...

[@peteyscott45]

@@wanderblest That is my thoughts as well. It is an opportunity to provide some grammar knowledge to customers.

[@HandsonCNC]

BHAG! (Big Hairy Audacious Goal)

[@denisebergeron10]

Andy!!😃👍

[@jennieanddavis]

He's pretty great!

[@denisebergeron10]

@@jennieanddavis he really is!! I’m fairly new to watching KZbin and I’ve learned so much from you guys and him. Thanks for all y’all do. 😊😊

[@daveep9794]

Been watching your videos for a long time and it's been interesting to see your business grow. One question I don't recall being answered is...... how many coats of wax/oil to you give the boards before you ship them? Sometimes it looks like you just coat and ship, while other times it looks like you coat and put to one side. Just wondering....

[@jennieanddavis]

Thanks for watching Dave! Boards get one coat, and a refinishing kit request card is in the box if they want more!

[@wmsification]

Contact Mr. Cool and offer to do an exclusive video of the installation of their mini split AC product. This is leveraging your audience for their product.

[@Windycitysmokers]

Great video you guys are a huge inspiration for me branching out and starting my side hustle that WILL become my full time cnc centric business

[@jennieanddavis]

Let's go! Join the Stud Stack if you don't have friends with businesses to encourage you!

[@maximiliankrug1011]

Really sustainable Packaging, thanks.

[@jennieanddavis]

You’re welcome! It all goes right into the bin! ♻️

[@brucewelty7684]

yt seems to have dropped my sub to you guys.

[@csranch2000]

Are ya'll ever gonna make anything else but edge grain cutting boards? I know stud stack and yt help fund ya but if you quit the AF you can grow the buisness with more than cutting boards sooner.

[@jennieanddavis]

Why can’t we do both? They’re separate businesses and both profitable - no need to quit anything!

[@csranch2000]

@@jennieanddavis I just believe if you truly wanted this to take off, you could apply more resources and time to the business if you weren't doing the AF. Now if you are not confident it might work out I get it with something to fall back on. Just would like to see the business grow as ya'll speak about it.

[@jennieanddavis]

@@csranch2000 Maximizing money isn't always the driving factor for our life decisions. It's being useful to others and doing fulfilling work. The exact speed of our growth isn't a priority.

[@brokenbranchwoodshop1873]

J&D! Love yalls passion for the company. I’ll have a booth set up for my Woodshop at the George R Brown Convention center in Houston Wed-Thur this week. It’ll be open to the public from 1pm-7pm. Come check us out. Would love to meet y’all!

[@Reduxwood]

We sold 500 boards last month, id say volume is always good but quality is always better! Keep up the good work!

[@jennieanddavis]

Nice! Just found your channel - can't wait to watch more, Justin!

[@Reduxwood]

@@jennieanddavis Hey hey thanks! Justin

[@JoJo-edge]

Your shipping 20 boards weekly… unless your month has 9 weeks, that’s a tough goal.

[@nathanmelanson]

what is with the blue tape on the boards? All the boards are the same size, and logos in the same spot, correct? So, just make a template and be done with that manual task.

[@jennieanddavis]

They’re not all the same size and it literally takes 5 seconds per board. We have much bigger inefficiencies to solve before worrying about that lol

[@Greg8872]

Mario Addison? Nice! Question, what is the taped mark for what appears to be a "center" of the piece for?

[@jennieanddavis]

Laser alignment to ensure the engraving is centered!

[@Greg8872]

@@jennieanddavis ah, ok, thanks for the reply.

[@billgreen4592]

LOL, sorry that all this success is overwhelming you. . .

[@claytonlemieux4090]

Can both of you decommission your service now that you are growing in your table company

[@jennieanddavis]

Why would we? We’re having a ton of fun! It’s got its trade offs, but it’s worth it for the time being! We worked really hard to get where we are and we want to enjoy it for a bit!

[@Itsreallymarcus]

Also probably not a good idea to scale it so big that you need to invest 60+ hours a week into it as a full time business when you can’t give it that because you both still have other jobs. If your going to scale it to the goals you have created you need to choose…run a full time business or work for the Air Force and do the business as a free time side Hustle. Growing too quickly can also cause business failure. Especially when you don’t have the time and means to devote to it

[@threesonsrestorations4043]

1:58: looks like you also have a few customers requesting the (unnecessary) apostrophe to be added to their last names. As someone who makes similar stuff.....man does that small detail bug me. Do you try to talk them out of it?

[@jennieanddavis]

This has been a HUGE emotional burden to us! Haha I'm glad to know there are others out there. At the end of the day, we can't catch every mistake or grammatical error. If we 'help' a client, all we're doing is teaching them that we'll catch their mistakes. The day we miss a mistake is the end of the relationship. All we can do is remind them to check for typos and set a policy for what is/isn't appropriate. We've had other issues before that we've just had to let go, even though we want to 'correct' it. Gotta let people make their own decisions and move forward!

[@threesonsrestorations4043]

@@jennieanddavis That's a great strategy; thank you very much for sharing your wisdom here.

[@jonm189]

I was just going to comment on the same thing - it really bugs me and stands out a mile to me!!

[@davidkendrick3158]

Wow! Andy is making the rounds! Arkansas just a few days ago, now Houston! He should really go to Jacksonville while he’s out and visit with Chris at A Glimpse Inside! Hang in there, Davis…you got a whole team in the office and on the YT that has your back! Make sure you’re drinking lots of water working in that sweat shop!

[@qwsummers]

Do you understand what automation means? It's NOT hiring more people...

[@jennieanddavis]

People are the most important part of any process. Yes, automation is a word typically used in the process of removing people from the equation, but that's not how we see our business moving forward.

[@terrysheffer3202]

All this hustle and you are not taking any money? You still have full time jobs to support yourselves? How is this business model a success?? How long you’ve been in business?? Not very encouraging to see you still not making enough profit to take home. Oh and save the “jealous and angry” come back. We are here just wondering. 🤓

[@larryjenuwine7507]

I am in the process of selling my 45 year old company to retire and have started building cutting and charcuterie boards as a hobby. I have been watching your videos since the beginning. You guys are amazing. I find the laser especially interesting and have a question. What is the purpose of the piece of blue tape on the boards?

[@jennieanddavis]

To ensure the engraving is centered on the board

[@DubbleT33]

@@jennieanddavis Check out Boss lasers - that are faster, accurate, and INCREDIBLY REPEATABLE; you could make a jig that would solve your alignment step.

[@Tommy.461]

You need to find a couple of retired guys that can fill in sometimes. You could get a retired lady to print and pack boards. You get your money's worth from us old folks.

[@clayjr67]

Ok well do you want to be meteorologist with the military Or do you wanna build tables and cutting boards comes a time in our life when we have to make the tough decisions that way you won’t be overwhelmed like your video said lol I pray you make a good decision ,pray about it ,and God can show you the way God Bless

[@jennieanddavis]

Not all stress is bad. It forces us to grow in ways comfort never could. Right now, we're enjoying the chaos and learning to balance multiple priorities! We're healthier than we've ever been, happier than we've ever been, and more spiritually fulfilled than we've ever been. We're right where we're supposed to be!

[@clayjr67]

I am glad you guys r right where you want to be ,I enjoy your videos and love seeing you guys work through the tough stuff , I once did what you guys are doing still do a little bit I had a KZbin channel but I became disabled from diabetes not here to tell you sad storyI love the lord and it is tough to quit something trust me still do CNC stuff with my x carve lol upgrade and My newest adventure tumblers and cups oh my and I’m pretty good at it I know everybody’s doing sublimation ink cups but it’s something that I can do sitting down have problems with my legs and feet I enjoyed a lot don’t really make much money at it but it’s fun to do something that I enjoy, so I said you guys keep up the good work don’t burn yourself out trust in the lord and everything will work out nice to get to chat with you God bless Clarence my friends call me Clay

[@turtleplates]

Build the boards ship to me I'll engrave and ship out .. omtech laser can do those jobs faster for u lol pay me as a employee lol

[@johnfulton8023]

Our small business is spiraling out of control..... 20 boards a week?? I am surprised you have the subscribers you have, I note however only about 20% actually watch the videos

[@raygrant9673]

How are your eyes so huge! 👀

[@mattr0718]

This may not be a good solution because there is a height difference between you two but it looks like Davis is doing a lot of half bending over when fulfilling those boards. In the long run it might cause some pain that can sneak up. Raising the table height might give you some more ergo. Thanks for the consistent content.

[@colinmacdonald1939]

Using the term “automate” as a way to describe hiring employees to work for you is frankly crass.

[@houstonsam6163]

Have to agree here. Hiring people to automate means hiring people to develop machinery and software that will automatically mill the lumber, cut to size, glue-up, trim, finish, etc. If people are doing this then it's not automated. Once you hit 700 boards/month, how long can you sustain that rate given the size of the market, the durability of a cutting board, and the capacity of competitors? When you hit your goal for tables will you slow down the board business?

[@inclinedesigns]

@@houstonsam6163 also got to consider employee turnaround, they going to get bored making cutting boards constantly and not making any other wood items? To me, that would be like flipping burgers and frying fries all day.

[@simonmarcoux5879]

@@inclinedesigns I don't want to jump in completely on that conversation, but it is a real issue in professional woodworking environment. There are a lot of early woodworkers with no prior that are stuck planing wood all day. moreso, they are stuck doing that because they don't have the financial backing to jump on their own right away. Therefore, they either have a chance to do other stuff wayyy down the line...or you have huge turnovers :/ So to clarify, my point is employees will probably not even do boards end to end and just specialise/rince and repeat one/some part of the process.

[@jennieanddavis]

Totally understand your previous bad experience and loaded assumptions! We want to employ people because we were treated like dispensable nobody’s with no trust in previous jobs. It really sucks. That won’t happen in our businesses, just wait and see! ❤️ don’t be so quick to judge someone’s intentions, Colin.

[@morrielewin1554]

When it rains... you go fly through hurricanes! If you can smile when you are loosing your mind, does this mean you've gone over the deep end? Nope, doesn't look like you are going to crawl into a hole and hide. Those 700 boards aren't going to build themselves! Ha! Harness the dog to a cart and have him pull lumber to... eh, got nothing. Always enjoy your videos, situations, and celebrations. Not sure about the "automation" aspect, since that implies robotics, but you could go that route with all the technology and skilled talent in the world. Get'er done!