Block Lathe

How A Small Business Changed With The Times

Almost inevitably, if someone is running a successful small business, somebody will move in next door or down the block and try to compete with them on their turf. There’s nothing illegal or unethical about this, of course, but for the guy who has been enjoying a monopoly in his little corner of the world for a long time, it creates challenges he may not appreciate having to tackle.

Let’s take an hypothetical example. Joe the cabinetmaker had been working from home for a number of years. While he wasn’t making a fortune, he was happy, thanks to a steady stream of work from a couple of interior design firms and architects in his area. He also had turned his living room into a small showroom and occasionally got some work that way.

For over five years, Joe didn’t have to worry about work. He wasn’t getting rich, but he always got by. Then things changed. First came the economic slowdown. It hit his two main clients first and then, as their work dried up, so did his.

The next thing that happened was when the shopping center just across the street opened up. Somebody put a contemporary furniture showroom in it that included contemporary bar stools and other sleek, modern furniture.

Modern bar stools had been Joe’s showroom’s best sellers. He could easily produce dozens of these on his lathe and sell them at a decent price. People loved them for the breakfast bars in their homes and occasionally he even got an order for them from bar owners.

After having had it so easy for so long, Joe wasn’t ready for this new challenge. He’d had it so easy for so long and now, in the blink of an eye, he was verging on failure.

Joe took his problem to the next meeting of his local woodworking club. He took to the podium and presented his plight before the whole group and asked them for ideas. He discovered that he wasn’t alone. Almost everyone in the room was facing a similar crisis.

Although Joe had asked them for their help, it was he who came up with the answer. As small businesses, he and his friends could not possibly compete with larger showrooms that bought kitchen bar stools and other wood furniture at a huge discount. They had to create a niche market for their unique creations. Joe’s home showroom opposite the big new shopping complex was the perfect location.

They all threw their collective efforts into the product and completely transformed his home into a large and prominent furniture gallery in which they displayed only their very best work. It wasn’t long before people started wandering over from the shopping center to admire the work on display. As a result, Joe and his fellow woodworkers are enjoying greater success than they were before the economic downturn.

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