Remodeling your home is an incredibly personal process. You may want a professional to handle certain parts of it for you. But you may also want to add in hints of your own creativity or DIY spirit to the space. Rescued Furnishings has you covered on all fronts.
The furniture store and remodeling company also has a DIY wing, offering classes and tutorials to help those who want to refurbish their own furniture or complete their own home projects. Read more about this unique combination in this week’s Small Business Spotlight.
What the Business Does
Offers a selection of home remodeling and improvement services.
Founder Nicole Genz told Small Business Trends, “[We are] a furniture refurbishing company that also offers kitchen remodeling services and DIY classes.”
Business Niche
DIY and creativity.
The company doesn’t just perform refurbishing and remodeling services. It also teaches others how to do those things on your own. So they can help you improve your space whether you want to pay for professional remodeling or want to flex your own creative muscles.
How the Business Got Started
As a side hustle.
Nicole and her husband Brandt were full-time engineers back in 2013 when they started rehabbing furniture around their own home. Friends started asking for help — then friends of friends. And they realized there was a need in the market as well as women who wanted to learn how to do it themselves. Nicole got a business license and Facebook page in 2014 to spread the word to potential customers. And the company has used social media to grow from side hustle to full-time gig.
Biggest Win
Growing a family business.
Genz says, “Being able to grow a business as husband and wife and leave our full time jobs has been our greatest success. We get to be together as a family and bring our dogs to work every day.”
Biggest Risk
Choosing entrepreneurship over stability.
Genz explains, “We have had two really big risks. The first, is walking away from a safety net of having a 401K and health insurance. That anxiety doesn’t seem to really ever go away. The second has been opening our new location. Growing to a 20,000 sq foot business completely on our own has been a huge financial risk. We don’t have investors so it really is us pouring our livelihood into our business.”
Lesson Learned
Small business is personal.
Genz says, “You don’t realize how personal until it is your livelihood. Decisions you make affect your employees and clients and your life and you have to learn to balance those decisions so everyone wins. When something doesn’t pan out, you feel it in your bones as the owner. I didn’t know in the beginning how hard certain decisions would be.”
How They’d Spend an Extra $100,000
Creating more online classes.
Genz says, “I would definitely without a doubt focus on growing our online education program. We teach DIY classes to empower others and I would love to grow that to reach more people outside of our local community.”
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Images: Rescued Furnishings Facebook, Nicole Genz