Marc Spagnuolo: The Wood Whisperer

 

“I found this woodworking thing to be incredibly appealing. It’s so much fun to do, and it was great therapy for me when I would come home from basically an hour and 10-minute commute each way.”

 

• Marc Spagnuolo

 

Welcome back to a brand new episode of the Woodpreneur Podcast. Today your host Steve Larosiliere sits down with Marc Spagnuolo, also known as The Wood Whisperer. Marc used to work in the biotech industry in Southern California, and he eventually reached a point where he was very disenchanted with his job, so he started woodworking as a hobby on the side.

 

This path is shared by many woodworkers who discover a passion for woodworking after starting it as a hobby. Like other Woodpreneurs, Marc found not only a knack for woodworking but a genuine passion and a skill for the discipline. Through moving states to better his business, finding his niche within the industry, and much more, Marc has had an exceptional journey.

 

 

 

 

Finding his Direction in Life

 

“The woodworking was something I did on the side, and I eventually got good enough that I started to question what I was doing with my life. So I made a pivot to become a custom furniture maker. It was probably very ill-advised at that time, but I didn’t have kids, my wife had a stable job, and it was something that she was pushing me to do because she just wanted me to be happy. 

 

So I started a custom furniture business and did my best at that for quite some time, and I wasn’t very good at it. I could make furniture, but there’s a lot more to it than being a good woodworker. So we moved to Arizona for various reasons. I thought I might have more success there with my business and wound up getting a great shop, but I just had trouble making ends meet. 

 

There are many things I did to try to make it happen. But I eventually got to a point where it was like a make-or-break thing. My wife was like, ‘Look, here’s how much I need from you to afford this house. So if you can’t do this much, we’ve got problems.’ So I went back to work temporarily working for other people, which at that point was really difficult to do. At a certain point, when you have a taste of self-employment, you’re not a good employee anymore.”

 

• Marc Spagnuolo

 

After answering only to yourself and clients, working for other people in a more traditional arrangement can be challenging for many entrepreneurs, regardless of industry. Nevertheless, Marc did his best impression of an employee for a while until he found a guy in Phoenix who had a refinishing shop with an opening for a part-time employee.

 

This proved to be a key for Marc. A part-time position that brought in money on its own and operated within his industry so he could keep developing his skills while contributing to the necessary household income to support himself and his wife.

 

 

 

 

Getting into Tech Early

 

“I did that for a little while, and that’s when I discovered this thing called an iPod video; I believe it was called when it was released. When Apple first came out with iPods with screens, they pivoted from music, and then the iPod video was this major thing. So I discovered not only audio podcasts in about 2006, but this great thing of distributing video content via RSS feeds, and I started to get into some of the tech companies that were making videos at that time. 

 

That was when I had this epiphany that someone should be doing this for woodworking. I just dug in and did a little bit of research. There was not a lot of information out there at the time because the barrier to entry was huge, especially compared to what it is today. But I put in the effort and found an old JVC camcorder that we had sitting around, figured it out, made my first goofy video, and posted it online.

 

This was pre-YouTube at the time, and it really took off. I started to realize very quickly that not only is this fun, but this is actually going to be more profitable and more stable; If you could believe it, then what I was trying to do as a custom furniture maker.”

 

• Marc Spagnuolo

 

In the more than fifteen years since starting The Wood Whisperer, Marc has undergone the process of writing books, creating content, doing events, and everything that has come throughout the evolution of the wood industry. Despite being a self-described introvert, Marc had carved a niche for himself in the content creation part of the wood industry that he started before anyone else was doing what he was doing.

 

 

 

 

Steve’s Advice Corner

 

“A lot of what I’m pondering recently is around the concept of growth. Something that’s happening these days is with people like me who have a pretty large historical library of content. I see these people as circling buzzards as though they see there’s still meat on the bone, and they could do something with it that I can’t. These companies come along and want to partner with you. 

 

I would be curious to hear your perspectives on things like getting an offer from someone who wants to just take your content to the next level by investing. It’s part of the Superman mentality that I want to do everything. The thought of splitting however many percent of revenue with some other company is very difficult for me to wrap my head around as a bootstrap business.”

 

• Marc Spagnuolo

 

No matter how long-lasting or how large it may be, every business needs to prepare for and consider the future. Marc has been working in this industry for a long time, and he wants to ensure that any partnerships he makes will not damage the personal control over his brand that he has spent so long developing.

 

“I was just in Dallas the other day talking to somebody about this precise thing. Often, it all depends on who the partner is, and because you put your 10,000 hours into your content, it is super valuable and is very emotional. It’s you; it’s your thing. My gut says no to those situations because it’ll take a certain kind of company and a certain type of partner who will truly understand.

 

You can probably get an extra six figures a year, but to me, you’re in this for the long term. If I were you, I would dive more deeply into your community. I would dig into who exactly your audience is, what they are, and then serve from there. You may not have the time from a timing perspective, but maybe it’s a quarterly thing or two times a year.

 

Maybe take that approach, like, ‘I have one or two major projects that year.’ It could be something where you maybe bring on some outside people, but it’s short-term; they don’t own your stuff. You hire them on a project basis, and perhaps you have a launch around it or maybe repackaging some of your older things. Taking your best-selling YouTube videos and maybe making a curated playlist or something similar.”

 

• Steve Larosiliere

 

Website: https://thewoodwhisperer.com

 

Instagram: @woodwhisperer