Today’s episode of the Woodpreneur Podcast features Matt Outlaw from 731 Woodworks.
From Humble Beginnings
When asked how 731 Woodworks got started, Matt says that the first question he always gets is where the number 731 came from. He explains that July 31st is his wife and his anniversary, and they named their business after that date in March of 2017. Matt explains that they started it out as a side business, so he took $100 and invested in some two-by-fours after watching a YouTube video by Jay Bates on building chairs. He started building and selling chairs and slowly built his business up from there all the while posting videos on the 731 Woodworks YouTube channel.
Content Creation vs Woodworking
Steve inquires how much of his time is spent on content creation vs actual woodworking and selling his products.
Matt explains that for the last six months his time is spent primarily on content creation for the most part. They do occasionally take on projects for other people, but if they are building something it’s usually for themselves currently. Prior to their content creation explosion, Matt would take whatever profits they made from the sale of a project and invest it into more supplies or tools needed for future projects. He started out with a borrowed circular saw from his dad and a couple of borrowed drills from his father-in-law and sold them on Facebook Marketplace.
As time went on and their business grew, the word of mouth got out about 731 Woodworks they would receive messages from people asking for recreations of things that they saw on Pinterest or other social media and Matt would usually say that he could do it and he would make it for them.
Matt states that he learned these skills from a life of working construction jobs coupled with growing up on a farm. He explains that if they needed something they built it or fixed it themselves which gave him a life of learning. This has given him an advantage when creating products based on customer requests, as he was willing to try it and if it didn’t work he would start over again. Matt believes it’s important for people to understand that even if something doesn’t work out the first try, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try again.
The Power of Etsy
Steve asks Matt about what kind of niche he’s developed for himself. Matt mentions that right from the start, farmhouse furniture took off for them and the YouTube channel is very farmhouse focused. He goes on to say that his clientele was very local until they managed to get their Etsy store started in late 2018 or early 2019. They didn’t start the store immediately because they were getting plenty of local orders, and they needed to decide on well-sized products for sale on Etsy because it costs significantly more to ship the larger furniture pieces.
One of the items that Matt sold the most was stove covers. These items exploded into 20,000 sales on their Etsy store, which he eventually needed to stop offering because they were taking up all of his time. When asked about where Matt sources his product from, he mentions that he buys primarily from Barton’s which is a local chain in Arkansas.
Matt mentions that they have kept their income separate because he has a full-time job as a state trooper which has allowed them to do more with the income that they’ve earned through woodworking. He mentions that he is now able to take his wife out to eat without hurting their bill money, and they were paycheck to paycheck before starting the woodworking business.
He goes on to say that the table saw was one of the most important tools he purchased, but a miter saw allowed him to make consistent angle cuts more easily, which was a pivotal tool early in the development of 731 Woodworks. Things started to take off with the company after the first year when they started to see returning customers. Matt believes that this delay was primarily because he was not doing any advertising beyond just posting on Facebook.
A True Sense of Community
When asked how the growth of the 731 Woodworks YouTube channel affected sales, Matt explains that it drove a lot of Etsy sales, especially the video about the stove covers, which had a link to the Etsy page. He notes that he’s not sure anyone locally has approached him because of a YouTube video specifically.
However, Matt explains that YouTube has been a powerful experience in his life due to the way they reach people. He didn’t expect a woodworking channel would reach people in significant ways, but they often receive a few emails a week about someone who has made it out of a dark place in their personal life by watching their videos. This sense of community subsequently led them to create a Facebook group where they maintain and promote positivity and care for their customers and their community.
Steve points out that Matt has already been following the Woodpreneur Method by branding himself well and developing this community around his brand, which in turn has made selling their products easier. Their customers understand the 731 Woodworks vision and mission, which makes it easier to ignore the people who come into his YouTube channel or Facebook group and try to promote negativity by commenting on the way he speaks or how he looks.
Matt agrees and explains that he didn’t initially intend to build a cohesive brand in that way. Originally he started making videos because he likes making videos and he enjoys building things. Editing the videos he creates is the perfect marriage of the two elements because he can sort of rebuild the project as he edits the footage.
Steve’s Advice Corner
Steve then asks what kind of marketing or business advice he can provide to Matt and 731 Woodworks. Matt explains that they’re working on building a course and developing a class to help answer questions from their audience. He believes that he has an excellent grasp of Etsy, especially for someone who went in with very few preconceptions, and he wants to be able to teach that skill set to others. Right now he feels the thing he could benefit the most from would be refining the flow of information and introducing automation into their workflow.
Steve starts by advising Matt to develop the market research phase of understanding exactly who Matt’s customers and audience are. He advises to grow an audience is by continually putting out free content. One option would be creating a downloadable PDF based on some of his more successful YouTube videos and builds and distributing that through MailChimp, Facebook, and other platforms.
He suggests that Matt should also start building awareness of his class by saying that he’s made a significant amount of money on Etsy, and then ask what questions people have about earning that kind of money through that platform. Then once he develops the outline of his course, he can go back to his Facebook group, launch a beta class with a limited number of participants, and charge people a certain amount of money for the experience. After which he can develop the outline, go onto these classes and coach them, and record each one to get testimonials, practice, and further refine his ultimate Etsy course.
Steve goes on to say that automation, in the beginning, is actually very manual, but as Matt develops his CRM systems the automation will come and make things easier and easier. He notes that the course Matt is planning to build needs to be very precise in order to get the interest of the audience, which will allow the classes to be successful.
Matt’s final parting advice to any prospective Woodpreneurs is to get out there and start making sawdust. “Begin by just making something, and if it doesn’t turn out right the first time, you get to roast some marshmallows and try again the next day.”
Website: www.731woodworks.com
Instagram: @731woodworks
YouTube: 731 Woodworks
Thank you Uneedainc: https://shop.sandpaper.com/ for sponsoring this episode of The Woodpreneur Podcast.