Sebastien Desmarais: Hollywood Woodwork
“We’re an architectural woodwork company, founded in 1968 by my grandfather at the time we were a small two-person shop and we started doing different things, and we grew up and eventually we focused on commercial architectural woodworking, and by 1999 we’ve grown to maybe a 20-million a year company.
And we started heading down a path of employee ownership. So, we’re an ESOP, we’re partially employee-owned, and since then, just been growing the business and now we’re diversified a little bit. We do woodworking, we do metalwork, and we’re also into residential as well.”
– Sebastien Desmarais
Welcome to a brand-new episode of the Woodpreneur Podcast. Today, your host Steve Larosiliere is joined by Sebastien Desmarais from Hollywood Woodwork.
Sebastien’s grandfather established Hollywood Woodwork in 1968, specializing in architectural woodwork. At the time, they had a small, two-person staff. By 1999, they had developed into a 20 million-dollar firm as a result of their focus on commercial architectural woodworking. The business then began to move in the direction of employee ownership. They are an ESOP member, which means they are partially employee-owned. Sebastien has been expanding the company and recently began to diversify. They work with metal, wood, and even residential clients.
In this episode, Sebastien shares where most of their assignments come from, who their biggest client is, and how he keeps in touch and maintains a good relationship with them long after the project has concluded.
Keeping up excellent client relations after the project is finished can be difficult. Nonetheless, Sebastien said it’s as easy as picking up the phone when people call, completing the task, and handling the issues.
“The individual who dives deeply into problems and seeks out solutions.”
That, in his opinion, is what keeps their customers coming back.
Listen now and get the whole story!
“Simple as picking up your phone when they call and delivering the work and dealing with the problems. The person who runs into the problems headfirst and tries to find solutions, I think that’s what keeps clients coming back.”
– Sebastien Desmarais
The More You Learn, The More You Earn
The more we put into learning, the more money we make and the more successful our businesses become. The more you comprehend and the more time you invest in gaining clarification regarding what it is that you must know to develop into a truly highly effective and prosperous business. Ultimately, you will apply everything you’ve learned to give something back to your families and society. That’s what gives us such a great kick. Learning is where it all begins. Sebastien is aware of the value of skill-building for his personal development and business. In fact, he considers joining (AWI (Architectural Woodwork Institute). This trade group helps companies with education) as one of the things that significantly impact his career.
“One of the things that probably had the biggest impact on my career was joining AWI, its Architectural Woodwork Institute. They’re a trade group that basically helps companies like ours with education. They write the standards for our industry. So that’s how a lot of people know them.
They developed a quality program, and then networking. And so, I’ve met companies like us all over the country. Some who have helped, some who have helped me, most people who have helped me, I got involved in their committees, their volunteering. I got involved on their board. And so that’s been probably one of the biggest things that I’ve done to help me.”
– Sebastien Desmarais
Want to get in touch with Sebastien Desmarais?
Contact him through:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sebastien-desmarais-0979631/
Website: https://www.hollywoodwoodwork.com/